Wisden Bangladesh - 2013

[Zeeshan]

This deserves a thread...because i said so :p

Actually not many people read the entries on Wisden and may not be aware of it. I will post the four of them.

[Zeeshan]

Tournament review

Mohammad Isam

Bangladesh's success in the Asia Cup, which they hosted, gave the tournament fillip © AFP Enlarge

1. Pakistan 2. Bangladesh 3. India 4. Sri Lanka
This was the tenth Asia Cup, a tournament that - since its inception in April 1984 - had generally felt like one commitment too far. Rarely had it stirred fans from any of the top sides into chest-thumping jingoism. But this edition - the third held in Bangladesh - was different, lit up by the unexpected success of the home side, and the completion, at long last, of Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international hundred. After 28 years of anonymity, the Asia Cup gave thanks to the rise of the underdog, and the removal of a giant albatross.
To start with, it looked like the same old story, even though India had just completed a gruelling and humiliating two months in Australia, and had only a fortnight to regroup before heading to Dhaka. They were without Zaheer Khan and Virender Sehwag - both rested - and had to contend with the ongoing soap opera surrounding Tendulkar's landmark. Nonetheless, they still appeared to have a team capable of cleansing their woes. They were also the defending Asia Cup champions, having won the previous competition, in Sri Lanka in June 2010.
Sri Lanka, too, also had fatigue to deal with, after playing four intense games in eight days at the climax of the one-day series in Australia; they went into their first match here without so much as a training session.

Bangladesh were mired in their own drama. The original squad had not been approved by the Bangladesh Cricket Board president, A. H. M. Mustafa Kamal, who ordered Tamim Iqbal to prove his fitness after a bout of fever. The chief selector Akram Khan - Tamim's uncle - quit next day, prompting the prime minister to intervene and restore them both. Mushfiqur Rahim was also in trouble: his criticism of the Bangladesh Premier League had not gone down well with the board, who had made him sign a letter of apology before confirming him as captain.
Pakistan, though, arrived in Dhaka relatively fresh and, for once, trouble free. Perhaps that explained why Misbah-ul-Haq's side - under new coach Dav Whatmore - emerged as winners, but it was close. More surprising was the identity of the team that took them all the way - Bangladesh. They delighted their fans with several fine displays which, for once, owed more to teamwork than individual brilliance. Shakib Al Hasan, the Man of the Series, was the pick of the Bangladeshis, but Tamim passed 50 in each match, and the rest chipped in.


http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenal...ry/647531.html

[Zeeshan]

1st match

Bangladesh v Pakistan, 2011-12


Mohammad Isam

At Mirpur, March 11, 2012 (day/night). Pakistan won by 21 runs. Pakistan 4pts. Toss: Bangladesh.
Shakib Al Hasan's fatal heave, his stumps splattered behind him, summed up the tournament opener: a game lost by Bangladesh rather than won by Pakistan. Tamim Iqbal had provided some solidity at the top with a watchful 64, then Shakib and Nasir Hossain revived the chase after a mid-innings wobble. The Bangladeshis were 224 for five in the 44th over, needing only 39 more, but Umar Gul scissored an inswinger through Nasir's gate to prompt the decisive collapse. Earlier, Pakistan had banked on solidity, initially from Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, who put on 135; at the end of the innings Gul belted 39 from 25 balls. Shahid Afridi poked his first ball back towards the bowler, Shakib, who juggled it, palmed it on to the chest of Misbah-ul-Haq, the non-striker, then somehow pocketed the rebound.
Man of the Match: Mohammad Hafeez.
© John Wisden & Co.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenal...ry/647533.html

[Zeeshan]

Bangladesh v India, 2011-12


Mohammad Isam

At Mirpur, March 16, 2012 (day/night). Bangladesh won by five wickets. Bangladesh 4pts. Toss: Bangladesh.
Under the Dhaka sun, Tendulkar reached his much-hyped oasis after a drought lasting a year (and four days). Such was a nation's collective sense of relief and release, it seemed almost incidental that his 100th international hundred came in a match India would contrive to lose. The search for this statistical nirvana - and the ballyhoo which had accompanied almost every innings since the 99th, against South Africa during the 2011 World Cup - slowed Tendulkar down late on and, with the Bangladeshi bowlers keeping the big hitters quiet at the end, India's final total was imposing rather than impossible. Between the 31st and 40th overs, they managed only 49 runs, with Tendulkar moving from 78 to 95 before finally reaching his milestone off the fourth ball of the 44th over; in all he faced 147 deliveries. Bangladesh, by contrast, collected 73 in that ten-over block, which put them in the box seat, and they completed their mammoth chase - their largest to beat a higher-ranked side - in the final over. Shakib Al Hasan clubbed five fours and two sixes, and Mushfiqur Rahim picked up the baton with 46 off 25 balls, fuelled by a cluster of sixes: in the 48th over, he flicked Pathan over midwicket and hammered the subsequent full toss, before climbing into Kumar in the 49th. Teamwork has rarely been Bangladesh's forte but, on a night that should have belonged exclusively to Tendulkar, they ganged up to steal at least some of the headlines.
Man of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan.


http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenal...ry/647539.html

[Zeeshan]

6th match

Bangladesh v Sri Lanka, 2011-12


Mohammad Isam

At Mirpur, March 20, 2012 (day/night). Bangladesh won by five wickets (D/L). Bangladesh 4pts. Toss: Bangladesh.
Very occasionally, a game of cricket changes the mood of a nation: this was one such moment. Bangladesh calmly chased 212 in 40 overs to gift their fervent supporters a major final after years of disappointment. Just as sweetly, Bangladesh's victory edged out India, thanks to the result in their head-to-head encounter. Again it was Shakib Al Hasan who drove them into a position of strength, but his dismissal - four overs after the departure of Tamim Iqbal set the alarm bells ringing, as the revised target was still 77 runs away (there had been a 90-minute rain delay). However, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain coolly took Bangladesh over the line in the face of a barrage from Malinga. Senanayake's off-spin also induced a few jitters, but not enough - and Sri Lanka returned home without a win.
Man of the Match: Shakib Al Hasan.
© John Wisden & Co.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenal...ry/647543.html

[Zeeshan]

Bangladesh v Pakistan, final, Asia Cup, 2011-12


Mohammad Isam

At Mirpur, March 22, 2012 (day/night). Pakistan won by two runs. Toss: Bangladesh.
A final worthy of the occasion was edged by Pakistan, who drew on their greater experience and produced one of their best fielding displays in recent memory. Younis Khan's three catches and Hammad Azam's agility (which atoned for a dropped chance) pressed home the advantage won by Pakistan's three spinners. Saeed Ajmal was deadly on a pitch that had slowed to a standstill: what seemed a modest total - rescued from 133 for six by a 22-ball blast by Shahid Afridi and an enterprising innings from wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed - turned out to be defendable. Tamim Iqbal hit his fourth successive fifty, and Shakib Al Hasan produced the goods yet again, but the rest couldn't wriggle out of the jam, and Bangladesh were unable to manage nine from the final over, delivered by Aizaz Cheema. There was controversy off the first ball, when Cheema seemed to impede Mahmudullah as he was looking for a second run, but the umpires decided the obstruction was unintentional; a later, official, complaint predictably came to nothing. Bangladesh's young team shed tears after their narrow defeat, and looked inconsolable, despite their two splendid victories earlier in the tournament.
Man of the Match: Shahid Afridi. Man of the Series: Shakib Al Hasan.
© John Wisden & Co.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenal...ry/647547.html

[bimmerBoy]

Keep those posts coming. At this rate you will reach 100k posts in no time. Who knows might even reach 1 million posts.

[Nadim]

Originally Posted by bimmerBoy
Keep those posts coming. At this rate you will reach 100k posts in no time. Who knows might even reach 1 million posts.

Whats your problem in that?

[Roey Haque]

Cricket needs some good magazines. Isn't Wisden considered the bible of cricket or something? Then why are they featuring articles which don't tell us anything that we already don't know. Should have been a power rankings of all the Bd players or something. Or something about the up and coming cricket venues in the country. Would have been more interesting.

[Night_wolf]

Originally Posted by bimmerBoy
Keep those posts coming. At this rate you will reach 100k posts in no time. Who knows might even reach 1 million posts.

good, i am itching to know what comes after cricket savent

[bimmerBoy]

Originally Posted by nadim 98
Whats your problem in that?

You mean "why do you care you have only 9 posts. I am the one who should be worried i have almost 40k posts and hes catching up to me.

[Night_wolf]

Originally Posted by bimmerBoy
You mean "why do you care you have only 9 posts. I am the one who should be worried i have almost 40k posts and hes catching up to me.

huh?, how old are you?

[bimmerBoy]

Originally Posted by Night_wolf
huh?, how old are you?

Ok I don't wanna escalate this any more I know mod's are tough these days. Especially on newbies.