Rashid sees the other side too

The 2022 Asia Cup will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while still being officially hosted by Sri Lanka, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said in a statement on Wednesday. The ACC said that the tournament has been moved to the UAE "considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka". It will be played between August 27 and September 11.

"Considering the prevailing situation in Sri Lanka, the ACC after extensive deliberation has unanimously concluded that it would be appropriate to relocate the tournament from Sri Lanka to the UAE," the ACC said in a statement.

Sri Lanka has been reeling under economic and political turmoil. However, they had hosted Australia in a bilateral series and are currently hosting Pakistan. The ACC said that it had made every effort to host the tournament in the country.

"Every effort was made to host the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and the decision to shift the venue to the UAE was taken after much deliberation. The UAE will be the new venue while Sri Lanka will continue to retain hosting rights," ACC president Jay Shah was quoted as saying. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly had earlier said that the tournament had been moved out of Sri Lanka to the UAE.

This will make it the second consecutive time that the tournament will be played in the UAE. The six-team Asia Cup will be played as a T20 tournament this year. India are the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2018 while it was still played in the ODI format.

The Asia Cup will be played in T20 format this time and serve as preparation for the World Cup in October. It will start with a qualifying round of matches between UAE, Kuwait, Singapore and Hong Kong. The winner will go on to the main tournament and play Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Bangladesh are expected to face a stiffer challenge in their do-or-die Asia Cup match against Afghanistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today.

Batting remained the biggest area of concern -- as evidenced by a lacklustre performance in the first game which saw the Tigers get bundled for a meek 164 against a relatively inexperienced Sri Lankan bowling attack. When it comes to Afghanistan, who possess two world-class spinners in Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, they are always in contention to make even the in-form teams work for their runs.

However, it appears that Fazalhaq Farooqi could pose a greater threat for the Tigers' vulnerable top-order. Farooqi, 22, has been lethal against Bangladesh in recent times, having contributed with eight scalps and two three-wicket hauls in their 2-1 away series win against the Tigers in July this year.

Overall, Farooqi had 14 wickets in six games against Bangladesh, at an economy of 4.46. The left-arm seamer not only provided the early breakthrough but also left the Tigers batters perplexed with his lethal full-pitched deliveries swinging both ways.

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha is well-aware of the Afghan bowling unit's threat, but is optimistic that the Tigers batters will be able to emerge unscathed in the vital Asia Cup match.

"Afghanistan's bowling attack is one the best in the world and definitely it's a challenge. We have played against them recently and our players had some success. So, it all depends on the day how you perform. We are very much aware of the challenge that we are going to face," Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha told the media yesterday.

As the game will be played in Lahore's Gaddafi stadium, where pacers have historically enjoyed a clear edge over spinners in 64 ODIs -- having registered 519 scalps against 239 -- it would be intriguing to see how the Bangladesh batters negotiate someone like Farooqi.

Given the conditions against Afghanistan in store, it will be fascinating to watch if the Bangladesh team management chooses a different team combination.

"We just arrived here and we haven't seen the wicket yet. Definitely if the condition and pitch here is different, we will definitely think about a different combination," Hathurusingha said.

Bangladesh will need to beat Afghanistan to keep their dreams of qualifying for the Super Four stage alive, but they will also need to rely on the net run-rate to progress.

"Before we think about the final, we need to get to the second round. So, this game is very important because of what happened in the last game against Sri Lanka.

"So, we know this is a must-win game for us and we certainly didn't play to our potential in the last game and we didn't represent ourselves well enough. But we are confident to bring our A game against Afghanistan tomorrow [today]," said the Bangladesh coach.

In Bangladesh, cricket is not just a sport, but rather a spirit. It is something that connects every household, every community, and is a language every Bangladeshi knows how to speak. It is one thing that has the power to keep millions of viewers glued to their screens and feel the surge of adrenaline rush at the same time.

And with Bangladesh making waves in cricket and creating moments that will forever be etched in our hearts and memoires, here are the top five most memorable moments of Bangladesh cricket.

Qualifying for the 1999 World Cup and winning ICC Trophy 1997

Albeit having played their first international game in the 1980s, Bangladesh had to wait for their World Cup qualification for over a decade. After making it to the final of the ICC Trophy 1997, Bangladesh secured a spot in the 1999 World Cup. The semi-final against the Netherlands where Akram Khan's heroic performance left the entire nation in joyful tears.

It was a difficult match to watch as Bangladesh initially lost four wickets with only 14 runs, adding to this was a very unfavourable rainy weather. However, the situation took an impressive turn when, towards the final over, the target was achieved and Bangladesh won the match, qualifying themselves for the 1999 World Cup.

Beating Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup

Another momentous glory was when Bangladesh beat Pakistan during the 1999 World Cup. That year, the Tigers were led by the legendary Akram Khan, where the team ended up beating Pakistan by 62 runs, vastly owing to the team effort by Shahriar Hossain and captain Akram Khan, eventually having the Pakistan Team all out by 161 runs.

It was an unbelievable sight to witness, when even before recapping the last wicket and making the final verdict, the crowd was on the ground cheering for Bangladesh! This victory felt like winning beyond cricket and gave Bangladeshis all over the country the true taste of joy. 

The Banglawash

Who does not remember the unforgettable Banglawash in 2010? This series between Bangladesh and New Zealand will always be known and remembered among the Bangladesh cricket fraternity as "Banglawash" as it was a series where Bangladesh clean swept the opponent, winning all matches.

After winning the One Day International series, Bangladesh continued to win the rest of the matches, and this victory remains as one of the greatest achievements for Bangladesh cricket to this day. It was also the series where Rubel Hossain made a mark in the international scene and Bangladesh discovered a gem of a bowler.

Photo: ACC

Bangladesh women cricket win Asia Cup

Bangladesh cricket truly is an example of how cricket brings a nation together, undivided by gender. During the Asia Cup 2018, Bangladesh Women's Cricket Team celebrated massive victory as they defeated India in the final, enabling Bangladesh to achieve its maiden trophy in a multi-team tournament.

The match neared an intense end in the last over where nine runs were required, with Rumana Ahmed and Sanjida Islam batting. In an unprecedented turn of events, with fours and a wicket, the match ended with Jahanara Alam securing the final run. This was a massive and memorable win for the Bangladesh Women's Cricket Team.

Bangladesh losing to Pakistan in Asia Cup 2012    

Not all memorable moments of cricket are associated with winning a match — sometimes the memory of a loss in the field, especially in our own land stays reserved within our hearts for years. Such was the case in Asia Cup 2012, when Bangladesh needed only 9 runs in the last over to win against Pakistan in the final round.

The match took an intense nail-biting finish by the time of the final delivery when Bangladesh was short of four runs. Being so close to claiming the cup and what seemed like an inevitable victory for Bangladesh throughout their batsmanship quickly turned into defeat as Pakistan ended up winning by two runs. Although Bangladesh did not win the match that time, the Tigers won the hearts of the nation. 

Bangladesh clinched the two-match T20I series against Afghanistan with a six-wicket win (by DLS method) in the second T20I at The Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. 

Before this series, Bangladesh and Afghanistan had played two bilateral series in the format, with Rashid Khan and Co. winning one and the other one ending in a draw.

The Tigers chased down the 117-run target as skipper Shakib Al Hasan guided his side to victory with an 11–ball 18-run knock, while Shamim Hossain hit the winning runs with five balls remaining. 

The hosts got off to a flying as openers Liton Das and Afif Hossain put up a 67-run stand but Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck twice in the 10th over to bring back the visitors into the contest. 

In the following over, Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored a six-ball four, played all over a full and straight delivery off pacer Azmatullah Omarzai.

This reduced the Tigers to 76 for the loss of three after 11 overs.

Mujeeb came on and sent back Liton, who managed to score 35 runs off 36 balls, with the first delivery of the 10th over, courtesy of a stunning catch at covers from Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan, and Afif's 20-ball 24 came to an end as was caught at deep-midwicket while trying to slog-sweep on the third delivery of the over.

After scoring 50 runs in the first five overs, Bangladesh could only manage 20 runs in the next five which caused the potentially straight-forward chase to become interesting at the latter stage.
 

Afghanistan managed to post 116 for seven against Bangladesh in the second of the two-match T20I series after the match got reduced to 17 overs due to rain at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. 

The visitors overcame their initial struggles as they were reduced to five for 67 after being put into bat first. But a 42-run stand between Azamatullah Oamarzai and Karim Janat propelled Afghanistan's score to 116.

Omarzai top-scored with a 21-ball 25, while Janat took 15 balls for his 20.

For Bangladesh, Taskin Ahmed picked up three wickets, while Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman scalped two each, with the former extending his position at the top of the all-time T20I wicket-takers list with 140 scalps.