Bangladesh wins toss, opts to bat against Pakistan

DHAKA: Shahid Afridi grabbed five wickets for 23 runs and then kept his cool in a batting crisis as Pakistan overcame Bangladesh by five wickets in the first one-day international in Dhaka on Thursday.

The leg-spinner ripped through the Bangladesh line-up as the hosts were bowled out for 91 after electing to bat at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium — with seven batsmen failing to reach double figures.

Pakistan lost five wickets chasing the modest target which was eventually overhauled in the 26th over to give the tourists the lead in the three-match series.

Seamer Rubel Hossain and spinner Shakib Al Hasan claimed two wickets apiece to leave Pakistan struggling at 63-5, before Afridi took his team home with an unbeaten 24 off 23 balls.

As the runs dried up on the turning wicket, Afridi broke free with three successive fours off Shakib and then cut the same bowler for another boundary to win the game.

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq made 16 not out, sharing a match-winning stand of 30 with Afridi.

It was Pakistan’s 26th win in 27 one-dayers against Bangladesh, the lone defeat having come during the 1999 World Cup in England.

Bangladesh, who lost half the side for 31 runs on the slow wicket, were dismissed in 30.3 overs and barely managed to surpass their lowest one-day total against Pakistan of 87.

Wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed picked up four catches as the four Pakistani spinners shared eight of the 10 wickets.

Bangladesh’s batting never recovered after losing opener Tamim Iqbal with the fourth ball of the innings, trapped leg-before by off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez.

Seamer Umar Gul, who shared the new ball with the spinner, struck in his third over when he forced Naeem Islam to edge a catch to Misbah in the slips.

Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim was caught behind off Shoaib Malik for 11, before Afridi grabbed two wickets in one over to reduce the Tigers to 31-5.

Afridi had opener Shahriar Nafees caught at backward point by Malik and then saw Mohammad Mahmudullah edge a catch to Sarfraz three balls later.

Nasir Hossain and Shakib put on 36 for the sixth wicket to ensure Bangladesh surpassed their lowest ever one-day total of 58 — against the West Indies at the same venue during the World Cup in March.

Nasir made 21 with two boundaries when he top-edged a catch off Aizaz Cheema, while Shakib became Afridi’s third victim after scoring 15.

Last man Rubel Hossain hit an unbeaten 15 before Afridi claimed the final two wickets to terminate the innings.

The second one-dayer will be played at the same venue on Saturday.

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Naeem Islam, Shahriar Nafees, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Nasir Hossain, Farhad Reza, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam.

Pakistan: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema.

Umpires: Johan Cloete (RSA) and Enamul Haque (BAN)
TV umpire: Sharfuddoula Saikat (BAN)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)

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Sangakkara, Mathews help Sri Lanka to 218-9

ABU DHABI: Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews hit fighting half-centuries as Sri Lanka reached 218-9 off their allotted 50 overs in the fifth and final day-night international against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi stadium here on Wednesday.

Sangakkara scored 78 and Mathews made 61 during their innings-repairing fifth wicket stand of 118 before Sri Lanka lost track, with only a late order batting fightback helping them to a fighting total.

Sri Lanka, who trail 3-1 in the five-match series, were reduced to 46-4 after they decided to bat under overcast conditions which the Pakistani seam attack took full advantage of, grabbing four early wickets by 11th over.

Paceman Sohail Tanvir, who took 4-34, had opener Upul Tharanga (three) and Dinesh Chandimal (seven) in his first spell while Umar Gul accounted for Sri Lankan skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan (12) — all three caught behind the wicket.

First change Junaid Khan dismissed Chamara Silva (one) to leave the fight to Sangakkara and Mathews who slowly built the innings against some quality pace and spin bowling.

Sangakkara hit eight boundaries during his 99-ball knock — his 67th one-day half-century — before he miscued a drive off spinner Mohammad Hafeez and was caught at extra cover by Misbah-ul Haq.

Mathews, who hit two boundaries and two sixes off 101 balls, was bowled round his legs by off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.

Thisara Perera (25) added 34 runs for the eighth wicket with Seekkuge Prasanna who made eight not out.

Pakistan, who won the first, third and fourth matches in the series, rested opener Imran Farhat, Aizaz Cheema and Sarfraz Ahmed to bring in Tanvir, Khan and Asad Shafiq.

Sri Lanka were forced to bring in Silva for Mahela Jayawardene who returned home due to knee injury.

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Butt, Amir lose appeals against jail terms

LONDON: Disgraced Pakistan players Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir lost their appeals Wednesday against their jail sentences for their part in a betting scam that rocked the world of cricket.

The Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals at a hearing in London.

On November 3, former Test captain Butt, 27, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and promising fast bowler Amir, 19, was ordered to serve six months in a young offenders’ institution.

The pair were not present at the Court of Appeal in London for the hearing before Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge, the head of the English judiciary, and two other judges.

The judges rejected a claim by Butt’s lawyer Ali Bajwa who argued that the former skipper’s sentence was “manifestly excessive”, while Henry Blaxland, representing Amir, had urged the court to suspend his sentence.

Bajwa argued that Butt’s sentence was “out of proportion to the seriousness of the offence that was committed”.

Although serious, it was at the “lower end of the scale” of such offences.

Bajwa described Butt as a broken man in a state of “ruin and disgrace”.

“The very fact of conviction and imprisonment amounted to exceptional punishment for Mr Butt,” he said.

Butt’s wife gave birth to a baby boy just 30 minutes before the trial verdict.

Blaxland had urged the judges to impose a suspended sentence of a length that would enable his immediate release.

Their Pakistan teammate Mohammad Asif and their British agent Mazhar Majeed were also jailed.

In a scandal that shook the sport, Butt, Amir and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, were all jailed for their parts in fixing elements of the August 2010 Test match against England at Lord’s.

Cricket agent Mazhar Majeed was also jailed.

Asif and Butt were found guilty charges of conspiracy to cheat at gambling and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments after a trial, while Amir and Majeed admitted the charges.

Under the current arrangements, the four will serve half their sentences before being released on license.

The fixing plot was uncovered by the News of the World, the Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid which was shut down over a phone-hacking scandal in July this year.

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