Liverpool, Fulham seek potential Euro edge

There will be a European backdrop to Fulham’s Premier League visit to Liverpool on Sunday as both sides are just one round away from facing each other in the Europa League final.

Liverpool’s quarter-final win over Benfica on Thursday and Fulham’s victory over German champions Wolfsburg mean there is a strong possibility that respective managers Rafael Benitez and Roy Hodgson will face each other in the Hamburg final on May 12.

However, before that date, both sides have to conclude their domestic campaigns with the majority of the spotlight falling on Liverpool and their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

It has been a trying year for Liverpool due to poor form and injuries while the likes of Manchester City and Tottenham are in marginally better positions to compete for the final qualifying spot.

But Benitez has not given up his hopes of combining Europa League glory with Champions League qualification and is still backing his side to do it.

They also have the added incentive on Sunday that another home victory would make it nine consecutive Premier League victories at Anfield which would be a new club record.

Benitez said: “It was a very good performance against Benfica but now we must look to win every game left this season.

“If we can get to the Europa League final we will be really pleased but we also want to stay close to the top four. We have to target both.

“We have two targets now. We will try to win every game, starting by trying to beat Fulham on Sunday. Hopefully now we can see Fulham in the final as well because it would be good to have two English teams there.”The Cottagers have a poor record at Anfield where they have never won – a statistic that extends to 28 matches and goes back to their first meeting in 1934.

Back in October Fulham beat Liverpool 3-1 at Craven Cottage and will travel to Merseyside hoping to achieve their first ever double over Benitez’s men.

Striker Bobby Zamora scored in that victory, one of the 19 goals he has netted so far this season and that impressive tally has provoked interest from clubs across Europe and he has also been tipped for inclusion in England’s World Cup squad.

However, teammate and former Liverpool player Danny Murphy insists that if Hodgson is to keep on developing Fulham as a team and as a club, then it is integral to keep hold of their top-scorer.

“He has been our best player by far this season. He’s causing big problems for so called top-class defenders week in week out,” the Fulham captain said.

“The only worry for us now is whether we will be able to keep hold of him but let’s hope that we can. I’d be surprised if there aren’t clubs coming in for him this summer.

“There are financial restrictions at every club. Fulham can’t compete with a club like Man City, obviously, so you have to be realistic but Bobby is an important part of the team and I think it is important that we keep all our best players at the club.”

Hodgson looks set to be without the services of Simon Davies (rib) and David Elm (illness) while Zamora may also be a slight doubt with an Achilles twinge.

For the home side, Benitez has no new injury concerns following Thursday’s victory and has Emiliano Insua back from injury while Maxi Rodriguez is eligible to play again after UEFA rules meant he could not feature against Benfica.

Jayasuriya, Ranatunga enter parliament

Veteran cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya and Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga have won seats in parliament, a local official said Friday.

Jayasuriya contested Thursday’s polls for President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and left the island a day before voting to play at an Indian tournament.

The 40-year-old batsman and political novice was given special permission to cast his ballot on Wednesday, a day ahead of the nationwide election.

Jayasuriya garnered 74,352 votes to win his seat in the southern district of Matara, an official with the local election commission told AFP.

Jayasuriya retired from Test matches in 2007 to prolong his career in the shorter forms of the game. He has been included in Sri Lanka’s squad for the World Twenty20 tournament in the Caribbean from April 30-May 16.

Ranatunga represented the opposition Democratic National Alliance and secured 27,792 votes to enter parliament. He joined politics after retiring from cricket.

STEVEN FINN’S WALKING TALL BUT STILL A RISING STAR

STEVEN FINN may have taken a short-cut to international cricket’s biggest stage but England’s tallest ever player is keeping his feet fi rmly on the ground – despite having praise heaped on him by Steve Harmison.

The 21-year-old Middlesex pace bowler – who at 6ft 8in towers above any other England Test cricketer – impressed many judges with his performances on his debut tour of Bangladesh last month. Harmison is just one of a growing
band of admirers who expect Finn to play an increasingly important rolefor Andrew Strauss’ side this summer and beyond.

Last week the Durham quickie backed Finn to start the return Test series against Bangladesh next month and also said he believed the England new boy could play a key role in this winter’s Ashes series Down Under.

Finn, though, is not getting carried away and is keen to avoid comparisons with a man who already
has more than 200 Test wickets tucked safely under his belt.

“For someone of his stature to say that, gives you a massive boost but he’s a fantastic bowler who has proved it for England for years,” said Finn.

“He was the number one bowler in the world, the only English bowler to do that I think, so it’s a huge
confidence-booster but, again, I have to perform consistently like he has done for a number of years. It’s lovely to have those compliments but it’s something that I can’t become too carried away with.”

Finn was fast-tracked into the England side in Bangladesh and leapfrogged Liam Plunkett and Ajmal Shazad to play in both Tests under rookie skipper Alastair Cook.

He took just four wickets in the series, but showed enough promise to suggest that England may have found the Harmison of the future. “I felt it went well,” said Finn. “It was a nice fi rst taste of international cricket – something I had dreamed of doing since I was very young.

NCL T20 begins in city today: Cyclones of Chittagong meet Rajshahi Rangers in opener

The new look Destiny Group National Cricket League (NCL) T20, in the style of Indian Premier League (IPL), kicks off today (Sunday) at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS) in Mirpur.

Cyclones of Chittagong (Chittagong Division) will play Rajshahi Rangers (Rajshahi Division) in the opening match at 7:45 pm after an hour-long opening ceremony.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith will inaugurate the shorter version of the prestigious league as chief guest at 5:30 pm.

A grand laser show, cultural program and fireworks display will feature the inauguration ceremony ahead of the opening match between Chittagong Cyclones and Rajshahi Rangers.

Satellite TV channel ATN Bangla will telecast live the inauguration ceremony and the opening match.

On the following day (Monday), Cyclones of Chittagong meet Sultans of Sylhet (Sylhet Division), Dhaka Dynamites (Dhaka Division) play Barisal Blazers (Barisal Division) at SBNCS, while Rajshahi Rangers (Rajshahi Division) meet Kings of Khulna (Khulna Division) at the BKSP in Savar.

Six divisional teams are taking part in the NCL T20, partially following the Indian Premier League (IPL) format. The participating teams, however, have chosen their respective players by lottery during the ceremonial event launch at Hotel Sheraton Hotel on Wednesday, not by auction like IPL.

A large number of Pakistani players, alongside Sri Lankan and Indian cricketers are likely to play here in the league.

Three teams – Sultans of Sylhet, Rajshahi Rangers and Dhaka Dynamites – in separate press briefings expressed firm determination to battle for the league title, saying that said their target is to clinch the league title.

At a press briefing on Saturday, Dhaka Dynamites captain Mohammad Ashraful said: “We formed a perfect team for the T20 cricket and will fight for the league title.”

Dhaka Dynamites officials informed that two Sri Lankan players – Ajantha Mendis and Thushara Mirando – have already arrived in the capital to play for their team and Imran Nazir of Pakistan arrives here tomorrow.

Dhaka Dynamites captain Mohamamd Ashraful, team owner Shayan F Rahman, Nazmul Hassan Papon MP and coach Khaled Mahmud Sujon were present at the briefing.

Earlier, local business house Destiny Group emerged as the title sponsor of the league providing Tk 1.5 crore at the event launch ceremony on Wednesday.

The BCB also signed agreement with six franchises, which purchased the six divisional teams of the NCL T20 at the function.

Aziz Al Kaiser Tito of Partex Group purchased the Barisal Division team named as “Barisal Blazers” to be led by top order batsman Shahriar Nafees.

Lutfar Rahman Badal of Neel Sports purchased the Chittagong Division team, “Cyclones of Chittagong”. Famed national opening batsman Tamim Iqbal will captain the team.

Shayan F Rahman of Beximco Group became owner of Dhaka Division team, “Dhaka Dynamites”, to be captained by former national skipper Mohammad Ashraful.

Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, Chairman of ATN Bangla, purchased the Khulna Division team, “Kings of Khulna”. Captain of national Cricket team Shakib Al Hasan will lead the team.

Hasan Imam of MN Group became the owner of Rajshahi Division team, “Rajshahi Rangers”, and former national skipper cum wicket keeper Khaled Mashud Pilot will lead the team.

Rezwan Bin Faruk, Ali Asif Khan, Latif Khan and Farid Khan of Riz Biz Event Management jointly purchased the Sylhet Division team, “Sultans of Sylhet”. Recent past national captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza will captain the team with team icon Alok Kapali as his deputy.

The players of NCLT20 are divided in five groups. Players of Grade A + player will get Tk 400,000 each, of Grade A Tk 300,000, Grade B Tk 200,000, Grade C Tk 150,000 and Grade D Tk 100,000.

The champions team will receive Tk 70,00,000, runners-up team Tk 35,00,000, man of the tournament Tk, 100,000, fastest fifty maker Tk 50,000 and highest sixes maker 50,000.

Messi strikes again as Barca win Clasico 2-0

Lionel Messi’s exquisite finish set Barcelona on their way to a potentially decisive 2-0 win at Real Madrid on Saturday to lift the champions three points clear of their arch-rivals at the top of La Liga.

After his brilliant four-goal Champions League haul against Arsenal on Tuesday, the Argentina forward struck in the 33rd minute at the Bernabeu before Pedro doubled the visitors’ lead in the 56th with a clinical left-foot strike.

Both goals were created by Barca’s Spain midfielder Xavi, the first when he chipped the ball to Messi over the Real defence and the second when he sent Pedro clear to finish with a low strike beyond Iker Casillas.

La Liga top scorer Messi twice came close to adding to his 27 goals of the campaign and Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes was rarely troubled as Real struggled against the European champions’ slick passing game.

The victory puts Barca on 80 points with seven matches left and leaves the big-spending Madrid club, who have 77, facing a season without silverware after their exits from the Champions League and King’s Cup.

It was a fourth straight win in the “Clasico” for Barca coach Pep Guardiola and he becomes the first manager of the Catalan club to claim two straight away wins over Real.

Brazil rallies to beat US in Confed Cup final

JOHANNESBURG – Brazil’s “Beautiful Game” came alive in the second half Sunday with three comeback goals in a 3-2 win over the United States in the Confederations Cup final.

Luis Fabiano scored two of the goals and Lucio added the third in the 84th minute to give Brazil its second straight Confederations Cup title and third overall.

But it was all looking good for the Americans, playing in the men’s final of a FIFA tournament for the first time, in the first half when Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan gave the team a 2-0 halftime lead.

“You realize why these guys are worth so much at times like this, but it’s still disappointing,” Donovan said. “We are in the position where we don’t want respect, we want to win.”

Brazil really did look like a beaten team in the first 45 minutes, creating little and being constantly stymied by the United States defense and goalkeeper Tim Howard. During that time, the American attack was stretching the nervous-looking Brazil defense, with Donovan working hard to give his team several scoring chances.

Although that quality play managed to give the Americans a hefty lead, Brazil was not about to let yet another title slip by.

“At halftime, we said there was something lacking, some lack of positioning,” Brazil coach Dunga said through a translator. “We corrected that and we pressured our opponent in the second half and we were able to score a goal.”

Luis Fabiano started the comeback in the 46th minute. The striker collected a pass from Ramires before turning and shooting past defender Jay DeMerit for his fourth goal of the tournament. He added a tournament-leading fifth to equalize in the 74th, heading in a rebound after Kaka’s cross was kicked against the crossbar by Robinho.

“We gave up the first goal so early in second half,” United States coach Bob Bradley said. “We really put ourselves in a tough spot.”

Lucio then delivered the decisive goal in the 84th, heading a corner from Elano past Howard.

“We made more use of the wings and we scored goals,” Dunga said.

Dempsey, who also scored in the 2-0 semifinal win over Spain, gave the Americans the lead in the 10th minute by redirecting a cross from Jonathan Spector. Donovan added the second by finishing off some nice passing play with Charlie Davies on a fast counterattack in the 27th.

Spector started the unthinkable after only 10 minutes, running down the right and sending a low cross into the area. Dempsey, who had plenty of room to maneuver, raised his right leg and put just enough of a touch on the ball to alter the direction and send it past a diving Julio Cesar.

Donovan then got possession at his own end shortly after Maicon had sent in a corner for Brazil from the right. The United States midfielder ran up the middle, passed to Davies and then reclaimed the ball from his teammate before beating Julio Cesar.

“They turned the ball over, Ricardo gave me a good pass in the middle,” Donovan said. “I gave it to Charlie and he did a good job getting it back to me. Just did the rest from there.”

The Americans appeared to get some luck in the 60th when Kaka headed a cross from Andre Santos to the near post. Howard stepped back into his goal and knocked the shot off the underside of the crossbar and then grabbed it safely in his arms.

Kaka appealed, arguing that the ball had crossed the line before Howard was able to get to it, and television replays appeared to show he was correct.

“I don’t know whether the ball crossed the goal line,” Kaka said. “Maybe the TV images will show. It would have been fantastic for me to score a legitimate headed goal.”

Brazil has won eight matches in a row, and is unbeaten in 16. The five-time world champions also won the Confederations Cup in 1997 and 2005.

And in 15 matches against the United States, the Brazilians have only lost once — a 1-0 result in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The Americans reached the semifinals at the first World Cup in 1930, and made the quarterfinals in 2002. Besides that, its most famous victory before ending Spain’s record 15-match winning streak in the semifinals was a 1-0 win over England at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil.

“I think people around the world see that we have a good team, we have good players,” Bradley said. “Hopefully we can continue to step forward.”

In the third-place match, Spain fought back to beat host South Africa 3-2 after extra time in Rustenburg.

___

Lineups:

United States: Tim Howard, Jay DeMerit, Carlos Bocanegra, Oguchi Onyewu, Jonathan Spector, Ricardo Clark (Conor Casey, 88), Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Charlie Davies, Jozy Altidore (Jonathan Bornstein, 75), Benny Feilhaber (Sacha Klejstan, 75).

Brazil: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Luisao, Lucio, Andre Santos (Daniel Alves, 66), Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, Ramires (Elano, 67), Kaka, Robinho, Luis Fabiano.

Source: AP

Samaraweera hit in chest: Geo TV

Sri Lankan cricketer Thilan Samaraweera has been hit in the chest, after gunmen fired on his team’s bus as it drove into Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday, reports Pakistan’s Geo TV.

Lahore Police chief Habib-ur-Rehman said five people were killed in the attack by a dozen gunmen, who fired AK 47s and rockets and hurled grenades as the bus drove to the 60,000-seater stadium.

Sri Lanka’s sports minister said five players and an assistant coach were wounded, two of whom were being treated in hospital.

The Samaraweera seemed to be the worst hit among his team members.

Police said it was unclear whether injuries were caused by bullets, shrapnel or flying shards of glass.

“Police are chasing the terrorists,” police chief Habib-ur-Rehman said. “They appeared to be trained men.”

The attack had echoes with one on the Indian city of Mumbai in November which led to the Indian cricket team cancelling its planned tour of Pakistan.

India blamed that attack on Pakistan-trained militants and the incident sharply raised tension between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Sri Lanka, which had been invited to Pakistan after India pulled out, immediately cancelled the rest of the tour.

“We are trying to bring the team back as quickly as possible,” a Sri Lankan cricket official said.

Pakistan TV showed footage of gunmen with rifles and backpacks running through the streets and firing on unidentified vehicles.

The driver of the Sri Lankan team coach said one of the attackers had thrown a grenade under the bus, but it did not detonate.

A witness told Reuters he believed two police commandos were killed along with a regular policeman and a traffic warden.

Shopkeeper Ahmed Ali said the two police commandos had been driving behind the team bus when they were hit.

“It was a very heavy firing and I heard at least two explosions at the time,” said a Reuters witness who had been on his way to cover the test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan cricket players shot in terrorist attack in Lahore

At least six players in the Sri Lankan national cricket team were hurt when masked gunmen fired on the team bus in Lahore while being driven to the Gaddafi stadium on Tuesday.

Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed when 12 masked gunmen on rickshaws attacked with guns, grenades and rockets.

The team bus came under fire as the players headed to the stadium for the third day of the second Test against Pakistan.

Thilan Samaraweera was one of those hurt along with Tharanga Paranavitana. Both are in hospital. Samaraweera has a bullet wound to his thigh. Paranavitana has a gash to his chest from shrapnel.

Those wounded with minor shrapnel injuries were skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaas and Ajantha Mendis.

Samaweera scored back-to-back double centuries in this series, 214 yesterday and 231 in the first Test in Karachi last week.

The assistant coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Paul Farbrace from England, was injured by shrapnel.

It was previously reported that Australian Trevor Bayliss sustained minor injuries, but this is not correct.

“The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus,” Jayawardene told Cricinfo.

“We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace, but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris.”

Australian umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis were both in the convoy that was fired on, but both were OK, an International Cricket Council spokeswoman said.

“They are both fine and we are in the process of getting both out of Pakistan and back home,” she said.

Match referee Chris Broad was also fine, however the spokeswoman would not comment on the condition of reserve umpire Ahsan Raza.
CNN reported that he was in a critical condition.

Former captain and star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya said he had spoken to the team and was thankful all players and staff were OK.

“I spoke to Kumar Sangakkara … [he said there were] little injuries but everyone is OK, under control, thank God,” he told CNN-IBN.

‘Flesh wounds’

Gavin Scowell, a director of sports channel Ten Sports, said he saw a number of Sri Lankan players with “flesh wounds” soon after the shooting.

Mr Scowell, who was in Pakistan to cover the tour, told CNN-IBN he heard gunfire and ran towards the Sri Lankan dressing room when he saw a number of players being carried in.

He believed about eight players had been hit, many with flesh wounds.

However there was “no panic”, and everyone was “very brave”, he said.

Mr Scowell said he saw spinner Ajatha Mendis with a wound to his head, but he was sitting up in a chair and offered a thumbs up.

‘Grenades lobbed’

Indian TV network Zee News reported two grenades were lobbed at the bus as it moved  from Liberty Chowk to Polo Ground Road.

There was then “indiscriminate firing”, it said.

Sri Lanka is to immediately pull the team out of Pakistan.

History of security fears

The shooting came as the Sri Lankan army pushed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country in a civil war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Fears of attacks by Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda have caused many teams to postpone or cancel cricket tours to Pakistan in recent years.

Australia earlier this month forced Pakistan to change the venue of a one-day series to the neutral venues of Dubai and Abu Dhabi when the two sides meet in April-May this year over security fears.

Australia, which also played Pakistan in three Tests at the neutral venues of Colombo and Dubai in 2002, have not toured Pakistan since 1998.

India also refused to send its team across the border amid heightened tensions in the wake of attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are due to jointly host the cricket World Cup in 2011.

Last month, Pakistan’s cricket chief vowed to improve security arrangements for the 10th edition of the four-yearly event and denied there was a risk associated with staging some of the games in the troubled country.

Last month, security concerns raised by other teams forced the ICC to move the 2009 Champions Trophy out of Pakistan.

The elite eight-nation competition was to be held in September-October this year but the ICC was to announce a new venue in April.

The event was originally scheduled for last year but was put off after South Africa pulled out of the event and Australia, England and New Zealand showed reluctance to tour because of fears about players’ safety.

In 2002, the New Zealand cricket team withdrew from a tour of Pakistan after militants exploded a bomb outside the team hotel in Karachi killing 11 French defence technicians.

AFP, Arjun Ramachandran, Jamie Pandaram

Kolkata buys Mashrafee for $6 lakh

Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders has dramatically bought Bangladesh allrounder Mashrafee Bin Mortaza for $ 600000 in an auction, according to crininfo.com.

Mashrafee became the first Bangladeshi player sold from Pool F in the official Indian Twenty20 league.

There were no bids for him initially but just before the hammer went down, Kolkata made a bid at the base price of $50,000. It was the start of the most dramatic sale at the auction.

Kings XI Punjab threw themselves in the fray, locking horns against Kolkata, for Mashrafee. The bids spiralled slowly towards $400,000 and the auctioneer asked Punjab if they want to go $410,000, Priety Zinta nodded.

The raises were slow and the bidding went on and on and on. Kolkata touched the $500,00 mark. Punjab went further at $550,000. The atmosphere in the room grew quieter as the bids rose and the auctioneer attempted to speed up the process.

Kolkata was the first to bid $600,000 for Mashrafee at which point Punjab bowed out of the race. It was the longest lot in the auction, almost as long as a short chess game. A bit similar to Ishant Sharma’s surprise $950,000 tag at fag end of the auction last year.

Bet there are celebrations in Narail, Mashrafee’s hometown. What a moment for Mashrafee, he’s the first Bangladesh player to be bought by the IPL.

Wonder what Shakib Al Hasan is thinking? He’s had such a fabulous year with bat and ball and yet there were no bidders for him. Do the franchises look at ICC rankings?

Mashrafee’s base price was $50,000 and he went for $600,000.

COURTESY: cricinfo.com

Bangladesh clinch ODI series

Bangladesh clinch the Grameenphone ODI Series 2-1 when the Tigers crushed Zimbabwe by six wickets in the third and final ODI match at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Friday.

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by two wickets in the first ODI on January 19.

Later, the Tigers took the sweet revenge over the African side defeating the tourists by six wickets in the second ODI on January 23.

The match was fixed 37-over-a-side affair due to foggy weather.

Chasing Zimbabwe’s 119 for the loss of nine wickets in 37 overs, Bangladesh overhauled the winning taeget in 32.4 overs making 121 for the loss of four wickets.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, the country’s best medium pacer, prolific all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and

spinner Mahmudullah Riad played the key role to restrict the African side to a modest total.

Mashrafe completed at 3/26 and Shakib Al Hasan finished at 3/15 while Mahmudullah Riad chipped in with two wickets for 17 runs.

Sean Williams of Zimbabwe top-scored with 38 before he was cleanly bowled by Mahmudullah Riad. Williams hit five fours in his 46-ball knock.

Besides, Keith Dabengwa remained undefeated with 21.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza gave his team early breakthrough as the medium pacer trapped lbw opener Vusimusi Sibanda for a duck. Then, Hamilton Masakadza, the other opener was caught at the first slip by Mehrab Hossain (Junior) off Mashrafe for just 10 runs.

Mashrafe struck again as he cleanly bowled one down Stuart Matsikenyeri for 10 runs.

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Shakib Al Hasan, who is now the world number one ODI all-rounder according to the ICC ranking was adjudged the player of the series. Shakib harpooned six wickets in three matches and scored seventy runs.

Opener Tamim Iqbal and Mehrab Hossain (Junior) added together 38 runs in the opening stand before Mehrab was unfortunately run out by Sibanda scoring two.

Opener Tamim Iqbal hit a worthy 34 off 49 balls amid five strokes beyond the ropes.

Skipper Mohammad Ashraful again showed a poor batting performance. He was trapped lbw by Raymond Price scoring just three runs. His five previous scores are 18, 26,13, 4 and 5.

After dismissal of Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan came to the crease but his innings was short-lived as Raqibul was trapped lbw by Raymond Price scoring 14. At that time the board was giving a reading of 89 for the loss of four wickets.

Later, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim contributed a valuable 32 runs in their unbroken fourth wicket stand and powered their side to reach the winning spot.

Shakib Al Hasan cracked an undefeated 33 off 36 balls including four fours while wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim hit 20 (not out ) off 31 balls with three boundaries.

Raymond Price bagged a couple of wickets giving away nine runs.

Source: The New Nation