All posts by h716a5.icu

New Zealand blasted through to the semi-finals and knocked West Indies out of the tournament in a dramatic finale to their quarter-final in Townsville

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was joy unbridled for New Zealand, after they took the 18 they needed off the last over•ICC/GettyNew Zealand blasted through to the semi-finals and knocked West Indies out of the tournament in a dramatic finale to their quarter-final in Townsville, where New Zealand needed four runs from the last ball of their chase and Ish Sodhi struck the winning boundary. New Zealand had to find 18 runs from the 50th over and at seven wickets down, West Indies were clear favourites to progress.But Sodhi managed a boundary and a single from the medium pace of Justin Greaves, and his partner Jacob Duffy picked up a leg bye to leave 12 runs required from three balls. Sodhi struck a six, a two and a four to complete the dramatic win as New Zealand overhauled the West Indies total of 237 and moved into the final four of the competition, along with India, Australia and South Africa.The day had started reasonably well for West Indies, who were sent in, as their openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Sunil Ambris put on 48 for the opening wicket. Brathwaite (53) and Akeal Hosain (54) both contributed half-centuries and despite three wickets to Matthew Quinn, West Indies were able to bat out their overs and posted a challenging 237 when the last batsman was run out from the final ball of the 50th over.Ronsford Beaton picked up two early wickets in the chase but Ben Horne steadied New Zealand with 59, and Robert O’Donnell (42) and Cam Fletcher (49) kept them in the contest through the middle of the innings. But with ten overs remaining, New Zealand still needed 89 runs, and it was only through the striking of Sodhi at the very end that they triumphed.

The race for the semi-finals got tighter as Dhaka Gladiators became the fourth team to be tied on ten points after Saturday’s opening match in Mirpur.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2012
ScorecardThe race for the semi-finals got tighter as Dhaka Gladiators became the fourth team to be tied on ten points after Saturday’s opening match in Mirpur. It was a comfortable five-wicket win against Barisal Burners, led by contributions from Imran Nazir, Azhar Mahmood and Kieron Pollard.Barisal had a good platform set by the opener Ahmed Shehzad, who hit 51, off 39 balls. Naved-ul-Hasan bowled economically, taking 2 for 22 off four overs to restrict Barisal to 156. England’s Phil Mustard hit 33 off 23 balls before he was dismissed by the part-timer Mohammad Ashraful.Dhaka were in trouble at 11 for 2, but the Pakistan duo of Nazir and Mahmood put them firmly on course with a stand of 92 for the third wicket. Mahmood made 42 off 30 balls, while Nazir made 65 before he was dismissed by Suhrawadi Shuvo. There was a minor jitter at 112 for 5, but Pollard ensured Dhaka crossed the finish line without any further loss of wickets.The only sore point for Dhaka was that their captain Mashrafe Mortaza was fined BDT 25,000 for a slow over-rate in Friday’s game against Chittagong Kings.

N Srinivasan has said the BCCI is open to dialogue with Sahara India Parivar to try and resolve why Sahara pulled out of their Indian team sponsorship and ownership of the Pune Warriors

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2012The dispute between the BCCI and Sahara India appears to be reaching a resolution with senior officials of the Indian board saying it was open to dialogue with one of its oldest business partners and Sahara’s owner indicating that there would be talks by the weekend. ESPNcricinfo understands a meeting between the principals will take place in Mumbai after February 9.The simmering dispute came to a head on Saturday when Sahara announced its decision to pull out of its sponsorship of the Indian team and ownership of the Pune Warriors IPL franchise. The announcement, made an hour before the start of the annual IPL auction in Bangalore and shortly after Sahara’s representatives had left the city, caught IPL and BCCI officials by surprise.It also sparked concern among Indian cricket’s stakeholders and on Monday N Srinivasan, the BCCI president, made the first conciliatory gesture. “We will reach out to Sahara and we will contact them to find out what the issues are,” he told , an Indian news channel. “The BCCI is open to dialogue, we recognise the long relationship we have had with Sahara, we have no problems facing this… we had an excellent relationship with Sahara for the last 12 years.”A few hours later, Sahara chairman Subrata Roy told the same channel that a meeting was being planned between the sponsors and the BCCI for February 12. He also said he’d been in talks with with IPL governing council Chairman Rajeev Shukla and BCCI treasurer Ajay Shirke. “I would like to believe both of them [Shukla and Roy] would have spoken about a date but we hope to have some exchange of calls tomorrow [Tuesday],” a Sahara official told ESPNcricinfo.Roy said there had been a “chain of displeasures” between the sponsors and the BCCI over the last few years and that, he did not know what would come out of the meeting but, “I and my team will sit with open and talk with open mind.” He said that his two most important priorities in the discussion were going to be, “that my players play in this season and that secondly, there should be matches in Pune…” Sahara are known to have signed a deal worth Rs 207 crore with the Maharashtra Cricket Association for the naming rights of their new stadium outside Pune.When asked whether sorting out IPL disagreements would lead to a resumption of the Indian team sponsorship, Roy said he did not think the BCCI would have any difficulty in finding a new sponsor. Sahara, he added, had allocated funds to “social causes.” “We are committed to huge social work, now we can’t come back from that. Cricket has become very rich in India and they are many good people enthusiastic about supporting the Indian team, this sponsorship will be taken care of by some big company.”Roy’s statements masked the sense of dismay among his colleagues that the BCCI did not go the extra bit to prevent Sahara from walking out – in particular, not postponing the auction. Sources in Sahara say the BCCI top brass was well aware of Sahara’s impending decision and had in fact received an ultimatum on Friday evening. “Sahara had given a cut off time of 9 am on Saturday, asking the BCCI to accept some of their requests. But no one responded to that,” a Sahara source told ESPNcricinfo.”The auction was starting at 11 am. Being aware of the situation and that Sahara were going to leave after 9 am, at least they could have called the Sahara people to see if they could sit and re-negotiate,” the source said. “It is question of the IPL as a tournament. Pune Warriors is only one of the franchises. Why could they not try one more time?”Srinivasan, who appeared on several television news programmes in a rare effort at PR, seemed to address that sense of hurt by stressing on the BCCI’s willingness to negotiate with Sahara. “We can’t prejudge what issues will be discussed when BCCI and Sahara meet, but we recognise the relationship with them and are sure of sorting out the issue. They might have felt aggrieved and did not get what they wanted from the IPL.”Asked if he was sending out a message of reconciliation, Srinivasan said, “Personally, yes. I am open to dialogue and BCCI is open to dialogue. We recognise there were grievances on their part but there was no reason to break suddenly.”One point of dispute was around Yuvraj Singh, who is currently being treated for cancer and is not expected to play this season. Sahara had wanted his $1.8 million salary added to the Pune Warriors’ purse in the auction held in Bangalore, a request it said was denied by the BCCI. Asked about this, Srinivasan said, “Decisions related to IPL are taken by the Governing Council. The auction is over now. We can’t pre-judge what the BCCI and Sahara will discuss. There should be an element of secrecy in that. We should sit down and see how things can be sorted out.”Srinivasan, who was not in Bangalore for the auction, said Sahara’s decision had taken him by surprise . “I was surprised when I came to know (about Sahara ending sponsorship). There was a brief conversation the night before the auction. He (Subrata Roy, the Sahara chief) said he was hurt. It was a bit late in the evening and I did not expect they would pull out the next morning.”It has been an up and down relationship but I hope most of the issues will be resolved when we meet. There is an opportunity to sit across the table with Sahara. All issues will be discussed but it will be premature to speak about the issues now.”Earlier in the day Rajiv Shukla, a BCCI vice-president and the IPL chairman, spoke on a similar theme. “We are open to discussions, open for dialogue because they have been our partner for 11 years. We don’t want anything to be decided in haste. So far they [Sahara Pune Warriors] are still an IPL franchise, unless we get anything in writing from them. We are extremely positive.”Any rapprochement will most benefit the franchise, though it has already lost out on the auction process. “Most of the players we wanted in the auction are gone, but we still have one of the best sides in the tournament,” a franchise official said. “We would have liked a [Ravindra] Jadeja or a [Brendon] McCullum but one player is not going to win you a tournament.””We wanted a change in regulations before the auction. Now even if they do it the only option we have is to avail of replacement players.” The key, though, as Roy repeatedly said, is that the Warriors should play and that the IPL should return to Pune.

A beaming Cricket Ireland president, Basil McNamee, was among the dozensof delighted Irish fans awaiting their heroes at the team hotel inBangalore on Wednesday night

Siddarth Ravindran02-Mar-2011A beaming Cricket Ireland president, Basil McNamee, was among the dozensof delighted Irish fans awaiting their heroes at the team hotel inBangalore on Wednesday night, savouring “the best victory in Ireland’scricket history”. The stunning upset of England, their fiercest sportingrival, not only threw Group B wide open and injected excitement into along-drawn league phase that was expected to be boringly predictable, butalso brought into focus the ICC’s decision to shut out Associate nationsfrom the 2015 World Cup.”This win is just a dream come true,” McNamee told ESPNcricinfo. “It alsosends out a message that Associates can’t be taken for granted byeverybody, that we can surprise.” Ireland’s back-from-the-dead victorygives them a real chance of making it to the quarter-finals, with two winsfrom their remaining four matches likely to ensure their qualification.Ireland’s position was bleak after defeat in the opening game toBangladesh, and sliding to 111 for 5 against England. The resilience theyshowed in constructing the largest ever World Cup chase particularlypleased McNamee. “We were used to being defeated. So when victory comes, avictory against England, it’s absolutely wonderful,” he said. “Not onlythat, our boys played so well. It looked several times that we were goingto be second-best again but our boys dug in.”The travelling Ireland supporters had plenty of anxious moments in thetense chase, relief and joy finally taking over when John Mooney clipped aboundary to midwicket off the first ball of the final over. It was nearlytwo hours later that the Ireland team arrived at the hotel to a rousingreception from the already partying fans.William Porterfield and the rest of the side soaked in the applause andcheers from the fans who turned the lobby into a sea of green and white.”It was great to see so many of our supporters out here,” a composedPorterfield told ESPNcricinfo. “It was even better to give them somethingto cheer about.”Ireland broke a slew of records and charted new ground in their win -fastest World Cup century for Kevin O’Brien, biggest World Cup chase, andtheir first victory over England being the prominent ones – andPorterfield said the team hadn’t yet realised the enormity of theachievement. “We got to let this sink in still,” he said. “We’ve all grownup dreaming of moments like this in a World Cup, and we’re going to enjoythis time with our family and friends and have a couple of drinks.”It was the end of a day that he said “definitely eclipsed any Irishcricket has had” but even then he was not distracted from the task aheadfor Ireland. “We’ve got another four games left in the group, andhopefully we can give our fans something more to cheer about,” he said.”We’ve got to back this up in our next few performances and hopefullyqualify for the next stage.”

Tamim Iqbal has been banned for one domestic game following an altercation with Mohammad Ashraful during a Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2012Tamim Iqbal has been banned for one domestic game following an altercation with Mohammad Ashraful during a Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match between Victoria Sporting Club and Old DOHS in Mirpur.Tamim rushed aggressively at Ashraful, the Old DOHS captain, and exchanged words with him. As a result, the match referee imposed a one-match suspension on Tamim and fined him Taka 5000.The incident occurred in the tenth over of the Old DOHS innings, when umpire Anisur Rahman gave Faisal Hossain lbw off Shakib Al Hasan’s bowling. While Faisal was taking his time to walk off, a Victoria official began shouting at the batsman to leave the field. Ashraful immediately asked the umpire to look into the matter, after which Tamim ran towards Ashraful.”I was aggressive in my approach while protesting against his [Ashraful] comments. I asked Ashraful bhai to stay in the game but he used abusive words for which I got angry. Being a senior cricketer, he should also know what should be done, but after the match I apologised,” Tamim told ESPNcricinfo. “I have a very good relationship with Ashraful bhai, and I believe it will continue because everything is finished after the match.”The Victoria official, Lutfur Rahman Badal, was also suspended for one game by the match referee.

Surrey clinched a nerve-tingling two-wicket County Championship victoryover Gloucestershire despite Mark Ramprakash being given out for obstructing thefield at Cheltenham

30-Jul-2011
ScorecardSurrey clinched a nerve-tingling two-wicket County Championship victoryover Gloucestershire despite Mark Ramprakash being given out for obstructing thefield at Cheltenham.The veteran batsman was on 35 when he was judged to have impeded Ian Saxelby asthe Gloucestershire player went to gather Kane Williamson’s throw at thebowler’s end as Jason Roy went for a risky second run.Surrey were cruising at 137 for 4, chasing 184 to win, at the time. WhenZafar Ansari fell lbw to Jon Lewis for a duck two balls later it was 138 for 6with 46 still required. But after Roy (45) and Gareth Batty (eight) had also fallen, Yasir Arafat (five not out) and Tim Linley (six not out) saw the visitors home to end a superbmatch. Surrey took 24 points to Gloucestershire’s five.The hosts had begun the day on 249 for four in their second innings, with alead of 112. They soon lost Alex Gidman, caught in the slips by Zander de Bruynhaving added just nine to his overnight score of 57.Wickets fell steadily as Arafat sent back Richard Coughtrie (16) and WillGidman (20) for a return of two for 76 and match figures of seven for 162. Linley also finished with seven victims in the game for a total of 136 runs as he accounted for Jack Taylor (10) and Gloucestershire were bowled out for 320 shortly after lunch.That made Surrey favourites and they achieved a solid start in the face oftheir modest target as Rory Hamilton-Brown and Steve Davies put on 50 before thelatter was caught behind fending at Will Gidman for 19.It was 60 for two when Hamilton-Brown (39) was taken at first slip by AlexGidman off Lewis and 80 for three when off-spinner Taylor struck in his firstover, having De Bruyn pouched by Hamish Marshall at slip – a sharp catch – for11.Tom Maynard fell lbw to David Payne for two, the ball striking his pad beforethe bat, and at 85 for four the match was in the balance. But Ramprakash was a reassuring presence for Surrey after his first-innings century and he looked in little trouble until his controversial dismissal threatened to change the game.The 41-year-old started to walk off and then returned for a furtherconversation with umpires George Sharp and Nigel Llong before finally making hisway to the pavilion. In doing so Ramprakash joined an obscure list to be dismissed in bizarre ways.After Ansari’s departure, Batty was well taken at first slip above his head byAlex Gidman off brother Will with Surrey still 23 short. Only three had been added when Roy edged Lewis to wicketkeeper Coughtrie, having made his 45 runs off 64 balls, with six fours. Despite several scares, Arafat and Linley survived with the latter hitting the winning runs.

Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, will join his former captain Chris Gayle at the Sydney Thunder during this summer’s Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2011Fidel Edwards, the West Indies fast bowler, will join his former captain Chris Gayle at the Sydney Thunder during this summer’s Big Bash League. The Thunder have confirmed Edwards and Doug Bollinger as their newest two signings as they put together a squad based around the star opening duo of Gayle and David Warner.Edwards, 29, recently made his return to the West Indies side after two years out following back surgery. The Thunder general manager John Dyson said Edwards and Bollinger would be a potent new-ball combination.”They are going to create plenty of headaches for batsmen in the KFC T20 Big Bash League,” Dyson said. “Fidel has proven to be a consistent wicket taker, especially in the last series against India, while Doug is one of the premier fast bowlers in Australia and is coming off an excellent IPL series.”The Thunder, who are based at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, will be coached by Shane Duff, a former Sydney club cricketer who has also been Sri Lanka’s strength and conditioning coach. Daniel Smith, the wicketkeeper who recently lost his New South Wales contract, will be both assistant coach and a player.Meanwhile, the Melbourne Stars have secured another player from interstate, the Tasmania allrounder James Faulkner. The Stars scored a coup last week by locking in three current and former captains from other states, including the Tasmania leader George Bailey. The MCG-based Stars have also signed the young Victorian allrounder Alex Keath and the Bushrangers’ left-arm spinner Jon Holland.The Adelaide Strikers have given a new lease of life to Adam Crosthwaite, the former Victoria wicketkeeper, who hasn’t played at the elite level since early 2009. Crosthwaite moved to Sydney when the Bushrangers made it clear Matthew Wade was their No.1 gloveman, but he has not managed to find a way into the New South Wales squad.Crosthwaite will join his former mentor Darren Berry, who was an assistant coach at Victoria and is now in charge of the Strikers and South Australia. The Strikers have also signed Lee Carseldine, the Queensland batsman who lost his state contract this year, and the Tasmania fast bowler Brendan Drew.The South Australia-contracted players Theo Doropoulos and Gary Putland have also become Strikers. Meanwhile, Peter Forrest, the former New South Wales batsman who has signed with Queensland for this summer, will remain north of the border after being named in the Brisbane Heat squad.The squads so far
Adelaide Strikers Aiden Blizzard, Cameron Borgas, Lee Carseldine, Tom Cooper, Adam Crosthwaite, Theo Doropoulos, Brendan Drew, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Harris, Michael Klinger, Nathan Lyon, Aaron O’Brien, Gary Putland, Kane Richardson. Overseas players: Kieron Pollard.
Brisbane Heat Nick Buchanan, Daniel Christian, Ben Cutting, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser.
Hobart Hurricanes Travis Birt, Mark Cosgrove, Xavier Doherty, Luke Feldman, Evan Gulbis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Michael Hogan, Phil Jaques, Matt Johnston, Jason Krejza, Nick Kruger, Ben Laughlin, Rhett Lockyear, Tim Paine, RIcky Ponting. Overseas players: Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Owais Shah.
Melbourne Renegades Ryan Carters, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, Aaron Heal, Jayde Herrick, Michael Hill, Brad Hodge, Glenn Maxwell, Andrew McDonald, Brenton McDonald, Dirk Nannes, Nathan Reardon, Will Sheridan, Shaun Tait. Overseas players: Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi.
Melbourne Stars George Bailey, James Faulkner, Jon Holland, David Hussey, Alex Keath, Chris Simpson, Adam Voges, Cameron White.
Perth Scorchers Tom Beaton, Michael Beer, Mark Cameron, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach, Nathan Rimmington, Luke Ronchi. Overseas players: Paul Collingwood, Herschelle Gibbs.
Sydney Sixers Ed Cowan, Moises Henriques, Nic Maddinson, Peter Nevill, Ben Rohrer, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc.
Sydney Thunder Doug Bollinger, Tim Cruickshank, Jason Floros, Usman Khawaja, Daniel Smith, David Warner. Overseas players: Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle.

Chaminda Vaas took seven wickets as Division Two leaders Northamptonshire took total command at Wantage Road

31-May-2011
Scorecard
Chaminda Vaas took seven wickets as Division Two leaders Northamptonshire took total command of the third day of their County Championship match against Glamorgan at Wantage Road.Northamptonshire declared on 461 for 6 at lunch, with Rob White making 140 and wicket-keeper David Murphy blasting a career-best 79 off 98 balls. Glamorgan were then skittled for just 72 in the afternoon, with former Sri Lanka seamer Vaas taking a fantastic 5 for 22 before he claimed 2for 36 in the visitor’s second innings as they closed on 119 for 3.After yesterday’s wash-out, Northants began the day on 325 for 3 with White resuming on 101 and Murphy on 12. Murphy went on to complete a half-century off 58 balls by smashing Graham Wagg for six over midwicket – a shot which also gave the hosts a full set of batting bonus points.White was to depart when he chipped Alex Jones to Dean Cosker at mid-on before Murphy holed out by launching Cosker to Mike Powell at deep fine leg. Captain Andrew Hall followed him back to the pavilion with the very next ball as he was trapped lbw by Cosker. Northamptonshire then declared during lunch, leaving David Sales unbeaten on 12 and James Middlebrook on 11.Glamorgan were to lose Will Bragg early on when he was caught leg before by Vaas, and Powell followed three balls later when he edged Vaas to Middlebrook at gully. Glamorgan captain Alviro Petersen (18) went when he was caught by Murphy off Vaas, before Jack Brooks got in on the act by forcing Gareth Rees to slice him to Stephen Peters at third slip for a duck.Ben Wright and Wagg both went without scoring by being caught behind by Murphy off Brooks and Vaas respectively. Glamorgan wicketkeeper Mark Wallace then dragged Vaas on to his middle stump to give Vaas his 30th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.Robert Croft and Jones were then both bowled by Hall before the skipper completed the rout when he was edged by Cosker to Murphy.Following-on still 389 runs behind, Glamorgan lost Petersen for two in the third over when he nudged Vaas to Sales at second slip. Bragg finally brought some stability as he made a half-century off 83 balls, but he went cheaply on 52 when he launched Middlebrook to Brooks at long leg.Powell then feathered Vaas to Murphy in the third over before the close and Rees and Jones will resume tomorrow on 44 and 4 respectively.

Andrew Strauss has admitted England fielded the wrong bowling attack in Hobart but accepted that his team should still have been able to chase down a modest target to level the one-day series

Andrew McGlashan at Bellerive Oval21-Jan-2011Andrew Strauss has admitted England fielded the wrong bowling attack in Hobart but accepted that his team should still have been able to chase down a modest target to level the one-day series. Instead they subsided to 184 all out despite Australia losing two frontline bowlers to injury, and now face a tough task to get back into the series.England twice had the home side on the ropes when they batted. Firstly the new ball reduced them to 4 for 33 after Strauss inserted Australia following heavy morning rain. However, he lacked a fourth seamer to ram home the advantage – instead having to use Jonathan Trott, James Tredwell and Michael Yardy – and the problem occurred again towards the end of the innings when Australia lifted themselves from 8 for 142 through a record ninth-wicket stand of 88 between Shaun Marsh and Doug Bollinger.”In hindsight we should probably have got the fourth seamer in our side, that was a mistake,” Strauss said. “We probably didn’t think it was going to be quite as slow and stodgy as it was. A [Luke] Wright or a [Chris] Woakes would have been a good addition to side, but things are always clearer at the end of the game than the start.”The first sign that Strauss was a frontline quick short came when Trott and Tredwell found themselves operating in tandem by 20th over with Australia still 4 for 56. “That’s the problem with only three seamers, we were probably a little light of a fourth seamer to bowl at that stage,” Strauss said. “The biggest regret is that Doug Bollinger got 30 and put on all those runs with Marsh.”Still, England should have been capable of chasing 231 but, as at the MCG where they managed to post 294, too many wickets were handed to the opposition rather than bowlers having to work for them. Trott pulled a long hop to midwicket, Ian Bell carved to backward point and Michael Yardy was run out. Eoin Morgan was also caught as he tried to clear mid-on having opted to take the Powerplay.”It was a very poor day, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “When you are chasing that score you need one guy to get 80-odd and none of us did that. There we lots of 20s and 30s, too many early wickets and ultimately it wasn’t good.”A lot of us made poor decisions today. There were quite a few soft dismissals,” Strauss added. “The one thing I’d say is that we aren’t in the business of handing out huge recriminations to our batsmen. We want to see them play positively, that’s the most important thing for us. It’s worked well for us in the past and that last thing we want to see is batsmen going into their shells. In that sense it won’t be all doom and gloom, we just have to play smart cricket and we didn’t do enough of that today.”England are also able to point to the absence of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. The two quick bowlers are rejoining the squad in Sydney, but Broad isn’t expected to play during the series and Swann is out for up to two weeks. They now have an added concern about Tim Bresnan who picked up a calf problem and needed a runner when he batted, but Strauss said an early comeback for Anderson, who isn’t scheduled to play until Adelaide, wasn’t being considered.

After failing to chase 211 last night, they overcame three difficult phases in their pursuit of a target of similar proportion, to win a series they had led 2-0 but almost let slip out of their grasp

The Report by George Binoy08-Dec-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNasir Hossain is mobbed by team-mates after he hit the winning runs•AFPBangladesh’s batsmen held it together, but only just. After failing to chase 211 last night, they overcame three difficult phases in their pursuit of a target of similar proportion, to win a series they had led 2-0 but almost let slip out of their grasp. Twenty-four hours after their fans exited Shere Bangla in despair, the stadium was a venue of riotous celebration, as Nasir Hossain carved the winning boundary to drag his team to a two-wicket victory and claim the series against West Indies 3-2.There was chaos at the finish. With one run needed, Nasir smashed the ball over cover and raised his arms in triumph as he completed the winning run. His partner, the No. 10 Elias Sunny, however, did not make it to the other end because he thought the ball had gone for four. The fielder in the deep returned it and Kieran Powell uprooted a stump amid the celebrations. Darren Sammy’s protests that a run had not been completed prompted the umpires to check. No run had indeed been completed; nobody had been run out either. Everyone took their positions again and Nasir’s slashing bat sparked off another round of celebrations.The confusion in those final moments was in contrast to the calm with which Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir steered a tense chase, after Bangladesh’s bowlers had recovered admirably from a Kieron Pollard battering.Chasing 217, Bangladesh were 30 for 3 in the ninth over, the top order unable to withstand Kemar Roach’s pace and bounce. The previous evening, the collapse had ended only when the hosts were shot out for 136, but not in this deciding contest.The shift in momentum was immediate; Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah scored 29 runs off the 11 balls following Jahurul’s dismissal. West Indies’ bowling was poor: their lengths were too short and their lines were scattered outside off and down leg side, resulting in 18 wides. They had conceded 26 extras in each of the previous three ODIs; they gave away 27 today.Sammy, who excelled with bat and ball in the fourth match, leaked 16 runs in the tenth over. He conceded six runs in wides, bowled a long-hop that Mahmudullah pulled for four and a half-volley that was driven to the cover boundary. The change bowlers also struggled. Andre Russell pitched short and wide and was cut twice by Mushfiqur to the boundary. Sunil Narine bowled five tight balls in his first over before the sixth was loose and punished. Roach returned for his second spell in the 19th over and he too conceded two boundaries.Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah ran hard between the wickets, and cut and pulled forcefully. Only when they had added 91 at better than a run a ball did West Indies have any respite. Both batsmen were bowled by Narine in their 40s and Bangladesh were in front no more.After 30 overs in the first innings, West Indies had been 145 for 3. Bangladesh, at the same stage of their chase, were 148 for 5. West Indies had collapsed thereafter, though, while Bangladesh did not.Nasir, in the company of rookie Mominul Haque, added 53 for the sixth wicket. They consolidated at first, and,once the batting Powerplay was taken in the 36th over, they attacked. Nasir slogged Veerasammy Permaul over the midwicket boundary to bring the runs required to fewer than 40. And when Mominul was dismissed with Bangladesh close, Sohag Gazi took then closer with quick boundaries. He too fell, but Nasir stayed the course.That Bangladesh were not chasing a target closer to 250 was because their spinners took a clutch of wickets on either side of a 132-run stand between Pollard and Darren Bravo. They kept West Indies scoreless for 34 deliveries, between overs 2.6 and 8.4, and dismissed Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle during that period to leave the visitors on 17 for 3.The repair job was up to Bravo and Pollard, who had failed in three matches after saying he would smash the ball into another city. Pollard didn’t hit any into Khulna, but he hit eight balls for six between midwicket and long-off, punishing Sunny in particular.Mushfiqur needed to call on a fifth spinner to dismiss Pollard; Mominul got one to keep low and sneak past the bat to hit off stump to dismiss him for 84 for 74 balls. A real scrap was in progress as West Indies began the last ten overs on 188 for 5 and Mahmudullah struck twice in the 41st over; his first wicket was of Bravo for 51.West Indies were dismissed in 48 overs, and in a game of small margins, 12 unused deliveries and 27 runs concedes in extras was the largesse Bangladesh needed to achieve a momentous result. The victory took Bangladesh to No. 8 in the ICC’s ODI rankings, ahead of New Zealand.