Shikhar Dhawan finally ran into good run-scoring touch, Virat Kohli played his role to perfection, and MS Dhoni finished things off in style as India, after a competent bowling performance led by Jasprit Bumrah, ensured that the Asia Cup 2016 final went its way with greater all-round ability. It was India’s sixth Asia Cup crown, and the second time the team had won the title with Dhoni at the helm. Asked to bat at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Sunday (March 6) in a match reduced to 15 overs a side due to rain, Bangladesh ended on 120 for 5. It got tense, but after Dhawan and Kohli had done all the hard work, Dhoni blitzed 20 from six balls with two sixes… Read More →

A strong batting effort led by Tillakaratne Dilshan took Sri Lanka to a formidable total, but Pakistan, buoyed by contributions from Sharjeel Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed and, most significantly, Umar Akmal, went past the target with relative ease to record a win in the last round-robin stage match of the 2016 Asia Cup. Sri Lanka, after being put in, scored 150 for 4, brilliant by the standards of the tournament. But Pakistan knocked off the runs in 19.2 overs for a six-wicket victory. Sharjeel and Sarfraz set things up for Pakistan, and when Akmal and Shoaib Malik got together, the target was still a tricky 57 from 43. But it was one of Akmal’s better days, and with Malik for company,… Read More →

Virat Kohli bossed yet another tricky chase, taking charge after India had lost its openers early, and Yuvraj Singh wound back the clock with some majestic hits to script a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2016 game on Tuesday (March 1) at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium. After the bowlers had produced another clinical performance to keep Sri Lanka down to 138 for 9, India raced to 142 for 5 with four deliveries to spare to secure its place in Sunday’s final. There are very few sights in modern-day cricket as appealing as Yuvraj connecting cleanly. He hasn’t managed to do it too often of late, but against Rangana Herath, he did, twice off consecutive balls. The wet outfield and… Read More →

Sabbir Rahman, standing head and shoulders above everyone on either side, powered Bangladesh to a famous win against Sri Lanka at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. Rahman pummelled 80 in 54 balls to take Bangladesh to 147 for 7, and Sri Lanka was kept down to 124 for 8, sealing a 23-run win. For a change, it was a pitch without as much green as in the previous games, and that made the Bangladesh v Sri Lanka contest at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday (February 28) less of a bowling unit v bowling unit affair. The conditions also made fast bowlers, with the exception of Mustafizur Rahman, a lesser threat than they were in the first four matches, and the spinners… Read More →

Lasith Malinga smiled a lot, slung them in fast and slung them in slow, and in just the first over of the United Arab Emirates reply in its Asia Cup 2016 fixture at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur on Thursday (February 25), the captain had swung the game Sri Lanka’s way. Sri Lanka had put up a below-par 129 for 8. But once Malinga, in his comeback match, had strutted his stuff with an inswinger into the left-handed Rohan Mustafa and a slower yorker that Mohammad Shahzad had no answer to, even that looked like a massive total. Nuwan Kulasekara then struck twice in the fourth over of the innings, and UAE’s hopes of an upset victory started to vanish. However, Swapnil Patil, the wicketkeeper-batsman, and… Read More →

Sri Lanka team led by Lasith Malinga departs to Bangladesh yesterday to take part in the upcoming AsiaCup T20.