11th South Asian Games 2010
Young Tigers write history
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Bangladesh players party with the national flag after winning the T20 cricket final against Sri Lanka in the 11th South Asian Games at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. PHOTO: STAR
Bangladesh's young cricketers made a piece of history last night at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur by winning the inaugural edition of the discipline in the 11th South Asian Games. Mohammad Mithun's boys recorded a six-run victory over Sri Lanka in the nail-biting gold medal match to put Bangladesh's name in the Games' history book on top as this is the first time that cricket -- the T20 version -- has been included in the region's biggest sporting extravaganza. Every one of the 20,000 spectators at the venue was on the toes with Sri Lanka requiring 20 runs from last two overs, chasing 158 for the gold. And they erupted once Nasir Hossain took a stunning running catch at widish long-on to put an end to the visitors' brave chase which confirmed that the hosts' national anthem would be played for the cricketers' achievement. Sri Lanka were bowled for 151 runs with one ball to spare. "It's a proud moment for all the cricketers of the country. It's something special as Bangladesh clinched the cricket's first ever gold. We had a target of winning the gold and in the end our dream came true today," said Bangladesh Under-21 team skipper Mithun, who led from the front with a 21-ball 37 that contained five boundaries and a six. "The team spirit was the key behind this success and we are delighted as our names would be put into the history books. We had some problem in our batting but our fielding and bowling was excellent all through the competition. We lost the league match against the same team due to some silly mistakes but in the end we proved that Bangladesh was best team in the competition," said delighted wicketkeeper-batsman. Coach Sarwar Imran believed that the success portrayed Bangladesh cricket's strength at the age level. "It's just showed that we have the potential. We have hardly got success in age group cricket as per our strength and that's why today's success is very, very special in many ways," said Imran. Back to the match, Bangladesh posted a fighting total of 157-7 after deciding to bat thanks to Mithun and opener Anamul Haque who hit team highest 43 off 38 deliveries that saw four boundaries. In reply, Sri Lanka made a poor start losing their first wicket in the very first over but Sachith Pathirana (36), captain Ashan Priyanjan (25) and Lahiru Thirimanne (39) almost silenced the crowd by playing sensibly with scoring over eight runs per over, but Sri Lanka lost composure after losing three wickets within seven runs. Leg-spinner Sabbir Rahman all but killed the Lankans' hopes by taking two wickets in an over and the young spinner also kept his cool in the final over when Sri Lanka needed 14 runs. He was the best Bangladesh bowler with four for 31 runs on the day. Nasir took two wickets for 30 runs while pacer Shuvashish Roy was also impressive as he conceded only six runs in the penultimate over. He also took one wicket to keep Bangladesh on course. Earlier, Pakistan survived a scare to confirm the bronze medal after an exciting two-wicket victory over Nepal, the Himalayan country who played their best game in the third-place deciding match in the competition. Pakistan's victory came with only three balls to spare after Nepal set a decent total of 147-6 riding on Pradeep Airee's unbeaten 52 off 45 balls that featured four boundaries and a six after deciding to bat at the same venue. In reply, pre-tournament favourites Pakistan lost wickets at regular interval but Rameez Alam (33 not out) and Shoaib Khaliq (30) contributed 45 runs in the sixth wicket stand as they reached the target of 148 losing eight wickets in 19.3 overs. Chandra Saud was the most successful Nepali bowler by picking up three wickets for 19 runs. BRIEF SCORESBANGLADESH: 157-7 in 20 overs (Anamul 43, Rony 12, Mithun 37, Sabbir 20, Nasir 14, Jubair 10, Arif 14 not out; Perera 2-35, Pathirana 2-22) SRI LANKA: 151 all out in 19.5 overs (Pathirana 36, Ashan 25, Lahiru 39, Nasir 2-30, Sabbir 4-31) Result: Bangladesh won by six runs.
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