Bangladesh brush aside UAE

Bangladesh registered their first win in the Asia Cup 2016 after they thumped United Arab Emirates by 51 runs at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur today.

It was a clinical performance with the ball from Bangladesh as Mustafizur and co made sure no more hiccups for the home team.

Bangladesh didn’t allow UAE any big partnerships, and always kept things in control from both ends. Mustafizur, Mashrafe, Shakib and Mahmudullah took two wickets each.

Mohammad Usman was the highest run-getter for UAE with 30.

Shakib took the last UAE to fall when he had Raza stumped for five.

Bangladesh sensed victory when Taskin Ahmed got the better of Mohammad Usman in the 16th over. Usman was the mainstay in UAE’s faltering chase, and contributed to his team’s cause with 30 runs from 30 balls with two fours and two sixes to his name.

Mahmudullah returned in the 13th over to snare his second wicket. Saqlain haider was caught for two. Haider came down to a tossed up ball but smashed it straight to the fielder.

Shakib joined the party in the 12th over and was the cause of the seventh UAE wicket to fall tonight. Bangladesh sensed an early shower after Shakib struck.

Fahad Tariq just walked past the ball, and was easily stumped by the keeper. The ball gripped and ripped past the outside edge to leave Tariq stranded.

Mahmudullah took the sixth wicket to fall for UAE in the 11th over, and Bangladesh looked well and truly on top.

UAE batters imploded once again, and their bizarre approach to the chase left commentators and cricket connoisseurs bewildered

Amjad was hit wicket for three as he tried to connect with a wild slog.

Mustafizur Rahman turned the tables on UAE with two wickets in two balls in the 8 th over to place Bangladesh in the driver’s seat in the game.

The cutters from Mustafizur were too good for UAE batters. Swapnil Patil was caught when his leading edge carried to Mashrafe at mid-on.

Mohammad Shahzad became Mustafizur’s first wicket of the match when he was sent back to the pavilion in the 8th over. He was caught and bowled for 12.

Mashrafe took his second wicket in his second over to send UAE sliding in their chase. UAE lost their third wicket in the seventh over.

Shaiman Anwar of UAE was dismissed for one as he got a leading edge to point where the fielder took a athletic catch.

Mashrafe Mortaza gave Bangladesh their second breakthrough in the fifth over when Rohan Mustafa was caught at third man for 18.

Rohan tried too hard to hit the full ball outside off from Mortaza but only managed to get the outside half of the bat for a simple catch to Mustafizur Rahman.

UAE reeling early…

Al-Amin struck in the second of UAE’s chase to the delight of his teammates and the home crowd.

Muhammad Kaleem tried to hit a full ball outside off over mid-on but was caught easily by Tigers captain Mashrafe Mortaza

Kareem fell for a five-ball duck.

Earlier, UAE managed to keep Bangladesh down to 133 with a spirited performance in the field during the 3rd game of Asia Cup 2016 today.

It was Mahmudullah’s late cameo of 36 from 27 balls allowed Bangladesh to score a par total on the decent batting track at Mirpur.

For UAE, Mohammad Naveed and captain Amjad Javed took two wickets each. Overall the UAE bowlers stuck to their plans to frustrate Bangladesh batters.

Mohammad Naveed picked his second scalp in the 19th over when he got the better of Tigers skipper Mashrafe Mortaza.

Mortaza drilled a drive that carried all the way to long-off where Fahad Tariq didn’t make any mistake. Mashrafe fell for a three-ball duck.

UAE captain Javed stalled Tigers’ innings in the 18th over with two wickets in two balls.

Nurul Hasan looked to loft the ball down the ground but mistimed his shot. The fielder at long-on ran in and took a good, low catch to dismiss Hasan for a golden duck.

Shakib Al Hasan fell after scoring only 13 from 13 balls. His hand-eye coordination looked jaded as he missed a high full toss and lost his stump. Javed looked for the yorker but the full toss did the job nevertheless.

UAE took control of the match with after two wickets came in the space of four balls. Bangladesh suffered another blow in the 13th over.

Mushfiqur Rahim was caught behind for only four. He got a feather edge to the keeper when he should have put away the short and wide ball from Naveed.

Bangladesh lost the wicket of Mithun at the worst possible time when the batsman looked well settled.

Rohan Mustafa of UAE was delighted as he ran towards the keeper who just inflicted a run-out at the expense of Mohammad Mithun’s clumsiness in the 12th over.

Mithun scored 47 from 41. His knock contained four fours and two sixes.

UAE got their second breakthrough in the tenth over when Sabbir smashed a ball tossed on middle and leg by Rohan Mustafa straight down the throat of deep mid-wicket.

UAE cricketers in action during Asia Cup 2016. File Photo: STAR

Sabbir fell for six, and UAE bowlers were operating with a spring in their steps.

Bangladesh lost their opener Soumya Sarkar in the sixth over against the run of play.

Soumya started to get going, entertained the crowd with some glorious shots in his 21. He faced 14 balls and struck two fours and a six.

With Mithun, Soumya gave Tigers a positive start, and the opening stand produced 46 runs at 8.6 per over. However, the rub of the green was not with the UAE cricketers so far.

Tigers got the momentum they needed in the fifth over when UAE captain was taken apart for 17 runs.

Bangladesh openers Soumya and Mithun survived close shaves as UAE bowlers keep them honest.

UAE bowlers managed to keep Bangladesh openers Soumya Sarkar and Mohammad Mithun honest with good length bowling, and induced some false strokes from both the batters early.

Bangladesh got the momentum they needed in the fifth over when UAE captain was taken apart for 17 runs.

UAE captain Amjad Javed won the toss and opted to field first against Bangladesh led by Mashrafe Mortaza in the third match of Asia Cup 2016 at Mirpur Stadium.

Bangladesh are making some bold bets themselves: the occasional green pitch, four fast bowlers, a hitter among the top three in their line-up to suit T20 needs.

Their fielding took the shine away from an improved understanding of the shortest format, but luckily for them, changing that is firmly in their hands.

Bangladesh's batting was again the weak point in their 45-run loss to India on Wednesday.

Faced with a challenging total on a greenish pitch, Bangladesh's top order could neither handle the moving ball nor did they have the wherewithal to get their eyes in and cash in later.

UAE are also on a proper high; last week they beat Ireland for the first time in over a decade and used that momentum to topple Afghanistan as well.

The main round of the Asia Cup brought the high-rollers to their party and Sri Lanka, after a little careless gambling, cleaned them out.

Bangladesh

Nurul Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (Wicketkeeper), Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Taskin Ahmed, Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman

United Arab Emirates

Rohan Mustafa, Muhammad Kaleem, Mohammad Shahzad, Muhammad Usman, Shaiman Anwar, SP Patil (Wicketkeeper), Saqlain Haider, Amjad Javed (Captain), Mohammad Naveed, Ahmed Raza, Fahad Tariq

This Star file photo shows Bangladeshi cricket fans waving the national flag at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.