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Rain
upsets Bangladesh |
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News |
May 31, 2000
Thundershower played silly games with Bangladesh as the hosts worked their way to a comfortable 98 for 2 in 25.2 overs in their second Pepsi Asia Cup fixture against India at Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Just when the home team put the nightmare of Monday's clash against Sri Lanka behind them and knuckled down against the former champions, rain came pouring to put a hold to their promising start.
The match will restart at 2.30 p.m. today and Bangladesh will begin from where they had left off overnight, weather permitting.
It look only fifteen minutes for the heavy afternoon downpour to submerge the Bangabandhu National Stadium, forcing match referee John Reid to suspend the game. Bangladesh will undoubtedly feel frustrated by the elements since their two batsmen at the crease, skipper Aminul Islam and one-down Habibul Bashar, were playing with so much ease.
It was refreshing to watch the way Aminul took revered Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble head on and Bashar taking the attack to left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi.
Although Bangladesh suffered and all too familiar top-order collapse after Aminul won the toss and decided to bat, the duo led a spectacular recovery mission. The hosts lost both openers with 30 runs on the board.
First match half-centurion Javed Omar scored only one before he dragged an in swinger from right-arm seamer ThiruKumaran on to his stumps. Javed's opening partner Shahriar made 11 off 34 balls before departing the same way he did in the previous innings. He mistimed and attempted lofted on-drive against Kumaran into the safe hands of Joshi.
But the innings flourished after Aminul joined Bashar. Bashar hammered three inmmaculate fours, and an exquisite six against Joshi that landed behind the site screen at the Paltan end.
The shots helped Aminul, who has had a bad patch for quite sometime, gradually gain the much-needed confidence.
India, the four times champions, on the other hand looked a bit rusty in their fisrt match in nearly two months. Saurav Ganguly's men also had a stroke of bad luck when wicketkeeper Saba Karim was ruled out o the meet after sustaining a severe blow in his forehead. Rahul Dravid stood in for the injured keeper
Source: The Daily Star
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