Tamim fifty keeps Zimbabwe at bay
Khulna (Bangladesh): Opener Tamim Iqbal’s restrained batting helped Bangladesh reach 193-3 on the first day of the second test against Zimbabwe on Monday. At stumps, Iqbal was 74 not out with Shakib Al Hasan on 13, leaving the Zimbabwe bowlers frustrated. Mahmudullah was the other notable scorer with 56. Iqbal made two significant partnerships with Mominu Haque (35) and Mahmudullah to lay a solid platform for Bangladesh after captain Mushfiqur Rahim won the toss and elected to bat first. The day began for Zimbabwe almost perfectly as they dismissed Shamsur Rahman cheaply to leave Bangladesh 6-1. Shamsur Rahman was the only batsman to be dismissed in the morning session when he was trapped lbw for 2 by Elton Chigumbura. The umpire’s decision was not out but Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor called for review. Mominul Haque and Iqbal helped the side back on track as the pitch gradually slowed and Zimbabwe bowled in controlled aggression. Their 72-run partnership rescued Bangladesh from the early trouble. Haque was undone by the extra bounce off Panyangara to offer a return catch. Iqbal, however, stayed solid. Relying mostly on singles, he brought up his first 50 against Zimbabwe in the last over of the lunch session when he took a single off Natsai M’Shangwe. It was his 17th 50 overall for which he had to concede 169 balls, making it easily his slowest 50 ever in International cricket. Brief Scores — Bangladesh: 193/3 in 90 overs (Tamim Iqbal 74 not out, Mahmudullah 56; Tinashe Panyangara 2/29) against Zimbabwe.
Nothing wrong with Malik’s bowling action
Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has heaved a sigh of relief after the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed that his bowling action has not been reported by the match officials during a recent game in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. “Malik’s action was scrutinised by the umpires and the match referee during a recent match between Malik’s ZTBl side and Karachi Dolphins after he took five wickets in the first innings. But after the umpires and match referee studied the video recordings of his bowling they found nothing wrong with action,” a PCB official confirmed. “No report was made to the board about Malik’s bowling action and he is clear to bowl in the tournament,” the official added. Malik, who has been in good form with the bat and ball while captaining the ZTBl bank side, said he had been concerned after media reports that his action would be reported to the board. “I am happy now that the match officials didn’t make any report because I have been focussing on my bowling a lot now,” Malik said. “Being an allrounder and since I play a lot of T20 cricket in foreign leagues now I know it is important to also contribute as a bowler with my off-breaks,” he insisted. Malik has been out of favour with the Pakistani selectors since he played in the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh earlier this year. His last Test appearance was in 2010, while he played his last ODI was in the Champions Trophy last year in England. Malik’s name is expected to feature in the list of 30 probables for the World Cup.
Shukla to lead Bengal in Vijay Hazare
Kolkata: Bengal on Monday named laxmi Ratan Shukla as the captain of a 16-member squad for the first two matches in the East Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here. Bengal open their campaign against Odisha at the BCA in Kalyani on November 7, while in the second match they will face Jharkhand at the JU second campus ground on November 11. Squad: laxmi Ratan Shukla (c), Arindam Das, Shreevats Goswami, Sudip Chatterjee, Manoj Tiwary, Subhajit Banerjee, Sourasish lahiri, Iresh Saxena, Debabrata Das, Veer Pratap Singh, Ashok Dinda, Pritam Chakraborty, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Sourav Sarkar, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Writtick Chatterjee.
Test team for Aus tour to be selected today
Mumbai: Karnataka's in-form young opener Kannaur lokesh Rahul has staked a strong claim for inclusion in India's Test squad to Australia which is to be picked here on Tuesday by the five-man selection committee headed by Sandeep Patil. The two centuries (185 and 130) he hit for South Zone, albeit in a losing cause, in the Duleep Trophy final against Central Zone could not have come at a better time for the 23-year-old Bengaluru-born batsman. The selectors are bound to give a serious thought of including this Karnataka youngster as the third opener in the squad behind first-choice Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan - who did the duty in the first two Tests of the series that India lost to England last season. Rahul is expected to be included as the reserve opener in place of the experienced 33-year-old Gautam Gambhir who looked out of sorts and failed to cross 20 in his four innings when included in place of Dhawan in the last two Tests in England.