December 2, 2022
Desert fest: Argentina get their mojo back
Clenched teeth, head lowered. That is how Lionel Messi returned to the dressing room after his first-half penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczesny. If that is how things had ended, it could have been Messi’s last World Cup game. But his team had other ideas.
November 28, 2022
Burden now as big as Messi’s gifts
Lionel Messi dropped off from Mexico’s midfield marker and just stood there for an instance, standing quite a few metres from the top of the box, as he usually does. Only a nuanced eye would know that he is waiting for Julian Alvarez to push the centre-backs just a little bit more before he almost willed Angel Di Maria pass onto his feet. This is the nearest distance to goal that his countrymen could find him with a pass and with Argentina’s World Cup hanging on the line, Messi did the impossible.
October 19, 2022
October 11, 2022
The Shakib-Liton batting order conundrum
Bangladesh’s batting order and their overall batting plan in the T20I format continue to flummox, with Liton Das and skipper Shakib Al Hasan’s batting positions an area which negates Bangladesh’s advantage as a batting unit heading into the T20I World Cup in Australia.
September 10, 2022
Finishers’ impact grows as final beckons
When it comes to death-over bowling, the 2022 Asia Cup has seen pretty sub-par performances from a few bowlers. Pakistan’s Harris Rauf and India’s Arshdeep Singh have been the most reliable names in the tournament, but in general, runs have been leaked and the biggest boost it has given is to batters who played the role of finisher in the T20 event.
September 5, 2022
Modern T20s a thorn on off-spinners’ side?
The recent pattern of the T20 game has seen wrist spinners gain more ground but the dearth of off-spinners in the shortest format has seen their roles come into question, whereas in ODIs the off-spinners are called to stem the flow of runs and also to lull batters to take chances against them, resulting in their dismissals.
September 2, 2022
Tigers exit Asia Cup with heavy hearts
It was heartbreak for Bangladesh as they exited the Asia Cup, unable to grab the bull by the horns, on Thursday following an agonising two-wicket defeat in Dubai.
August 29, 2022
Nawaz differs with Shanaka
After being dealt a crushing blow by Afghanistan in the first match of the 2022 Asia Cup, Sri Lanka captain and all-rounder Dasun Shanaka opined that Afghanistan were a much more difficult hurdle than their Group B opponents Bangladesh.
August 26, 2022
Can Tigers overcome overwhelming odds?
Bangladesh appear to be the fifth-best among the top five teams heading into the Asia Cup tournament.
August 2, 2022
Mahmudullah hired for third T20I!
T20I skipper for just a series, Nurul Hasan Sohan's injury triggered chaos and exposed the lack of clarity in the decision-making of the Bangladesh national team's think tank once again.