An extraordinary contest was settled when England, needing 237 to win, lost Jonathan Trott for 94 to the third delivery of the final over.

At the other end was Ian Bell, bravely batting with a broken foot.

Bangladesh’s 236-7 did not look nearly enough at the interval but the tourists battled brilliantly with the ball.

The result ended a run of 14 defeats for Bangladesh in one-day internationals.

Trott, playing only his fifth one-day international and first since November, was so nearly England’s hero – though even if he had won the match at the death his achievement would have only served to mask a thoroughly lacklustre display by England in every department.

It would be churlish to take anything away from Bangladesh, however. They were forced to shuffle their squad at short notice when two batsmen succumbed to injuries in the series opener at Nottingham, and held their nerve admirably during a tense conclusion.

When Ajmal Shahzad was bowled by Shakib Al Hasan in the 40th over of the chase, England were 166-7 in the 40th over and 71 runs were still needed. Bangladesh were clear favourites.

But the momentum briefly swung back England’s way. New batsman Stuart Broad was not content to let the required run rate get any further out of hand, and one huge six from him off Rubel Hossain left 36 wanted from the last five.

Bangladesh hit back. Broad (21) speared the first ball of the 47th over to point and Trott struggled to hit boundaries for a while, leaving himself and James Anderson needing 23 from the final 12 balls.

Trott, who had played with utmost patience for so long, was forced to up the ante. Skipper Mashrafe Mortaza saw his second ball, a perfect yorker, deflected down to fine-leg for four and the third was beautifully driven down the ground for four.

When Anderson was then caught off the final ball of the over, Bell had to hobble to the crease with Eoin Morgan as his runner, and 10 wanted off the last six balls.

In the event, Bell did not need to face a ball.

Trott crashed each of the first two balls, bowled by Shafiul Islam, for two. But the third was a slower ball which he could only edge to wicketkeeper Jahurul Islam, and Bangladesh could finally celebrate a famous win.

The last hour had produced a wonderfully thrilling finish, though the match as a whole had provided fairly dire fare for much of its life.

England should be good at chasing by now – this was the eighth ODI in succession in which they had found themselves batting second, and they had won five of the previous seven – but neither of the two openers was able to get past the 10th over.

Strauss played some lovely shots in reaching 33 from 36 balls before trying to be a bit too cute against the seam of Rubel only to knock a catch off the face of the bat to Jahurul.

Craig Kieswetter went soon afterwards. He had raced to 20 from 17 balls but a loose drive was snicked to Jahurul and Hossain, a skiddy seam bowler and a tactical replacement for the slow left-armer Faisal Hossain, joyously celebrated again.

He could have added Paul Collingwood to his tally from the very next ball but a raucous appeal for yet another catch at the wicket was declined by umpire Richard Illingworth despite evidence of an audible nick.

England had to regroup fast, but Collingwood only made 10 before falling lbw to Abdur Razzak and Eoin Morgan departed the same way for just one.

When Michael Yardy (10) was bowled by Shakib Al Hasan playing across the line England were 115-5 in the 26th over and in serious trouble.

Trott desperately needed a partner to help him nurse the team somewhere towards their target, but Luke Wright (15) endured another poor day in England colours and was unable to be that man, edging Shafiul Islam to slip.

Having weathered a nervous patch in the field, and an exploratory over from Mohammad Ashraful in which he was hit for a six by Wright, Bangladesh now circled for the kill as the required rate ballooned past six an over – and despite the best efforts of Trott, and for a while Broad, it was to be their day.

England had chosen to freshened up their side, resting Tim Bresnan and James Tredwell. That allowed them to give Yorkshire seamer Shahzad and Trott, who hit 226 against Bangladesh in the first Test of the summer, an outing.

The resultant shape provided greater depth in the batting than normal, and that was just as well for England once Bell had limped off the field following a freakish injury sustained following a routine dive at square leg.

The hosts began accurately enough with the ball, keeping the usually explosive Tamim Iqbal at bay.

And when he was well caught by a diving Kieswetter behind the stumps off a Shahzad delivery that left him a fraction, one always sensed England would be able to keep Bangladesh to a modest total.

But the home side did not make their life as easy as it might have been. For all his intelligent use of both the old and new ball, Shahzad betrayed plenty of uncertainty in the field.

He put down Imrul Kayes in the seventh over for just six in the unusual position of short third-man and four overs later completely misjudged a second chance at third man. They were costly misses, as Kayes went on to make 76.

Two drops by Wright later in the innings were more forgivable since both were extremely tough chances, though on a day when England’s ground fielding was generally far from its best those errors compounded a sloppy overall performance.

Kayes batted with no great tempo nor acceleration to an innings which lasted into the 44th over – and that caused problems for a Bangladesh line-up weakened by the absence through injury of two of their better batsmen, Raqibul Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Kayes put on 83 with Jahurul in by far the biggest stand of the match – though it was Bangladesh’s accurate display with the ball that brought them their hugely important victory.

Sehwag grabbed four wickets for six runs with his off-spin as Bangladesh were shot out for 167 in 34.5 overs after losing their last six batsmen for the addition of just 12 runs.

India cantered past the modest target in the 31st over, with Sehwag’s Delhi teammate Gautam Gambhir smashing 82 off 101 balls with the help of six boundaries.

Sehwag managed only 11 with the bat and Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan removed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma off successive balls, but India were never in trouble.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (38 not out) put on a match-winning stand of 78 with Gambhir, who fell leg-before to Mashrafe Mortaza when just 10 runs remained for victory.

“The spinners won it for us,” said Dhoni. “It was good we chased a low target, because it is very difficult to bat under lights here.”

Shakib conceded his team did not put enough runs on the board.

“Losing all those wickets in the end was the turning point,” he said. “We had the advantage of batting first before the lights came on, we should have got a much bigger score.

“But we are up for the remaining games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.”

Defending champions Sri Lanka had opened the four-nation tournament on Tuesday with a 16-run win over Pakistan.

Each team plays the other once in the league with the top two advancing to the final on June 24.

Bangladesh, who elected to bat after winning the toss, made a flying start as openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes hammered 35 from the first 17 deliveries.

After Tamim fell for 22 off 12 balls, caught in the covers off Praveen Kumar, Kayes and Mohammad Ashraful added 46 for the second wicket.

Bangladesh were 81-1 in the 14th over before three wickets fell for 19 runs, two of them to seamer Ashish Nehra who removed Kayes (37) and Ashraful.

Mushfiqur Rahim (30) and Mohammad Mahmudullah (23) put on 55 for the fifth wicket, before India dented the innings.

Sehwag marked his return with a superb spell on the slow wicket at the Rangiri stadium.

He had Rahim caught at the wicket, trapped Suhrawadi Shuvo and Shafiul Islam leg-before and then terminated the innings by bowling last man Syed Rasel.

Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in the next match on Friday.

SCORES IN BRIEF
BANGLADESH: 167 all out in 34.5 overs (Imrul 37, Mushfiqur 30, Mahmudullah 23, Tamim 22, Ashraful 20; Sehwag 4-6, Nehra 2-28)

INDIA: 168 for 4 in 30.4 overs (Gambhir 82, Dhoni 38 not out; Mortaza 2-37, Shakib 2-49)

Result: India won by six wickets.

Man-of-the-match: Gautam Gambhir.

Umpires: Billy Doctrove and Bruce Oxenford.

Well it was not entirely quiet in the end as the sports journalists gave the former Bangladesh captain a standing ovation that was both heart-warming and timely.

The former Bangladesh captain who announced on Monday of his retirement from all forms of cricket, held a press conference at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday.

His legacy as a cricketer and a Bangladesh captain received a major blow when he decided to join the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2008 and the man himself admitted it could have been a huge error in judgment.

“It was a big mistake,” acknowledged Bashar, adding that the last two years of his cricket career was not good.

“I can only blame myself because I went to the ICL. It could have been a smooth ending for me but for that, I could not finish my career while playing for the country,” said the right-handed batsman who was renowned for playing the shots at a time when most Tigers batsmen failed to make an impact.

“I have a few grievances but you don’t always get what you want. It has been a long journey from 1989 and I’ve played for Bangladesh since 1995 but I must say I am quite happy with my career,” said the 37-year-old Bashar.

The moment he realised that he was surplus to requirements for Bangladesh, Bashar knew that his time was up.

“It is a harsh reality that I won’t touch bat and ball but I’ve always said that when I’m not selected for the country, I would stop playing.

“But I played club and first-class cricket and even in the last few days of my career I heard some say that I should continue playing. But I knew my time was up,” said the man who has three centuries in his 50 Test matches.

Bashar however slated the practice of senior cricketers being deprived of a retirement from the playing field.

“It has become a tradition. Khaled Mashud had the same treatment while (Aminul Islam) Bulbul bhai didn’t even have a proper ending till today. I hope this trend changes in the future,” said Bashar.

Twin tons from Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga made the 250-run target look small and Sri Lanka easily maintained their hundred percent successes in the tournament as well as confirmed a final berth in grand style. For the Tigers, the third defeat in a row all but confirmed their elimination.

The runs came thick and fast as the unbeaten Lankans achieved their target (252-1) with 7.1 overs to spare.

It was a nightmare scenario for the local bowlers on a flat track, especially in the second session, as the two openers executed shots all over the park with consummate ease. Bangladesh however managed to avert their third 10-wicket defeat against the Lankans, thanks to spinner Nayeem Islam who got an edge of Jayawardene to wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim.

They might have survived from the humiliation of a ten-wicket defeat but the truth is that Sri Lanka virtually faced no resistance from Jamie Siddons’ charges in the match as Bangladesh’s batting also lost it’s gel after two impressive performances.

Jayawardene, who smashed thirteen boundaries during his 117-ball 108, flew in for the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan and made an immediate impact in the team as the stylish right-hander slammed his twelfth one-day hundred while Tharanga continued his rich vein of form with an unbeaten 126-ball 118 that contained 18 boundaries.

However, Sri Lanka had much to thank Lady Luck for. Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan skipper won the toss for the third successive occasion to make the obvious decision of bowling first under conditions where bowlers struggle in the second session due to the dew factor.

That meant Bangladesh batting first for the third occasion in a row, once through own folly. But while against India they batted well; this time the innings saw a lack of thrust. Most of the players got starts but failed to carry on as the wickets fell at regular intervals against the disciplined bowling effort of the Lankans.

The southpaw opening pair of Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes made another confident start but the early departure of the dashing Tamim made sure that there would be no ample fireworks in the initial stage like the previous two games in front of nearly 10,000 fans.

And then there was a costly run out when a confident Mohammad Ashraful departed on an unlucky 13 after a sharp direct throw by Thilan Thushara from the third man spoiled the former Bangladesh skipper’s attempt to take an ambitious second run.

Imrul Kayes was quick to follow him being trapped in front by Thisara Perera as Bangladesh were reduced to 88 for three.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan however returned amongst the runs after forlorn performances in the last two games but his 75-ball 47 and a 77-run fourth wicket association with Rokibul Hasan (43 off 71 balls) hardly made the impact from where the hosts could throw a real challenge for the Lankan batsmen.

The score could have been much better if a collapse had not happened during the batting powerplay, as the home side lost five wickets for 32 runs. Bangladesh took the batting powerplay from the 43rd over on 199 for four but lost the way very quickly when Shakib was out first ball of the Powerplay trying to drag a short ball from Thushara from outside off for the pull, only to find the man at the square-leg boundary.

A cameo came from wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, who smacked two sixes in an over against Thilan Samaraweera to collect seventeen runs. But his 22-ball 32 and inform Mahmudullah Riyad’s run-a-ball 24 in the latter part of the innings were not good enough to put up a stiff target for their opponents on the batting paradise.

And in the second innings, the Lankan batsmen aptly proved how good the track was.

And then the all-rounder will desperately try to regain the rhythm of the past year to prove that he has not been going through a lean patch. The 22-year old skipper made a poor start in the New Year as he scored only one run and bowled without any success against Sri Lanka in the first game that Bangladesh lost by seven wickets.

Shakib’s performance was at the peak in the international engagements in 2009 but he failed to carry it on to the domestic circuit and as well in the first international game in the New Year, so the number one all-rounder in ODI rankings, who is suffering from mild fever, needs to come up with his best in the battle with the wounded Indians who suffered a five-wicket defeat in the second game of the competition.

Winning the toss however has become a vital issue due to dew factor as in the previous two games Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara on both occasions tossed the coins rightly and in the end had the last laugh.

It was a tough job, especially in the first game, for the team fielding second as the spinners struggled to grip the wet ball and that helped the Lankans to overtake the formidable total in both matches with ease. Things get even more difficult for a team like Bangladesh who are mainly dependant on their slow bowlers.

“Nothing would be better if luck favours us in the toss but we can’t control this thing rather we have to make sure that we play our best game against India. We have the self-confidence that it is possible for us to beat any team if we can play our best cricket,” said vice-captain Mushfiqur Rahim after a training session at Mirpur yesterday.

Though Bangladesh captain Shakib blamed the dew factor behind his team’s poor bowling in defence of 260 runs against the Lankans, his deputy Mushfiqur however admitted yesterday that the pace bowlers also failed to bowl in the right spot and it would be a big challenge for the bowlers against the formidable Indian batting line-up. It was a forgettable international debut for young Shafiul Islam and Rubel Hossain also struggled with his line and length. There is however a good chance to see experienced left-arm pacer Syed Rasel included in the side in place of Shafiul but still the Tigers feel the absence of leading paceman Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who had a pivotal role in his team’s success against India at home and in the 2007 World Cup.

“I think our pace bowlers failed to bowl in right spot and that was the reason we could not put initial pressure on the Sri Lankan top order and on the other hand it was difficult for the spinners to grip the wet ball properly. It will be a tough challenge for us to stop the strong Indian batting line-up.

“We got a very good batting track and we have to try to restrict the Indians between 270 to 280 runs if we bowl first and on the other hand I think we have the ability to score even three hundred runs on this track. Actually we want to stick to the basics,” opined the wicketkeeper batsman.

Bangladesh’s batting performance was impressive as they rode on Mohammad Ashraful’s 75 to score 260 runs despite a top order hiccup but Mushfiqur believes that there is a lot of scope to improve their batting.

“We got a good start but suddenly we lost a few wickets, so we have to make sure that we lose less wicket to create the opportunity to accelerate the innings in the last ten overs. We proved the big hitting ability in the last game as we collected 90 runs in the last ten overs,” he said.

A tough challenge awaits the Tigers against India but there was no short of confidence in the Bangladesh tent ahead of their second match in the tournament.

But those memories were brushed aside by Sri Lanka with an air of almost arrogance. The opening match of the Idea Cup, which was billed up as a fierce encounter, lived up to be a no-contest in the end as the Lankans defeated the hosts by 7 wickets with 5.1 overs to spare under the lights of Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.

World’s number one one-day batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan smashed his first hundred (104) against Bangladesh while skipper Kumar Sangakkara scored 74 to steer their side to the target of 261 in 44.5 overs.

In modern cricket, which is so much dominated by power and not by technique, where a switch hit is more applauded than a straight drive, where Twenty20 is more fashionable than Test cricket, 260 runs in a one-dayer can at best be termed an average score. And on a pitch that was described at the toss as a very good batting track with prospects of dew later in the evening, that 260 runs is bound to look as an ordinary effort. However in the context of the game, it ended as a good one, especially after the way the top four faltered in a space of just nine runs.

Bangladesh had a very good start on a surface conducive to big score and against a depleted Sri Lankan bowling attack that had no Muralidaran, Malinga or Mendis in the line up. Openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes were picking boundaries and singles at relative ease and it looked like a 300-run innings until the 12th over after which things changed dramatically. The next five overs exposed an old picture of Bangladesh batting as four of the top fell prey to their own demons, playing uncontrolled shots on short-pitched stuff. There were no demons in the pitch for sure.

Imrul started the rot mistiming a pull of Nuwan Kulasekara and holing out at fine leg, Tamim followed as he tried one hoick too many against Dilshan. Rokibul Hasan was squared up by a short-pitch delivery from Suranga Lakmal, brilliantly taken at slips by Thilan Samaraweera while skipper Shakib Al Hasan flashed hard at a wider one from Lakmal which was equally brilliantly grabbed by Chanaka Welegedara at third man. 65 for no loss became 74 for 4 in space of four overs.

Consolidation came in the form of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mohammad Ashraful. Mushfiqur took the attacking role while Ashraful decided to sit back for a while, but they together amassed few valuable runs before the wicketkeeper-batsman was dismissed by a full-toss from Suraj Randiv. At 132 for five after 32 overs Bangladesh looked in dire need of a big and rollicking partnership.

Ashraful’s knock of 75 was as contrasting as his batting style has flung over the years. He started pretty slow, in fact very slow for a one-day game. He scored his first 30 runs at a rate slightly above 50. But more importantly he kept the runs ticking and was prepared to shift gear when the occasion demanded. Towards the end of the innings, he started to play aggressive and exquisite shots that reminded all of his past flamboyance. He found good support in Mahmudullah Riyad who craftily mixed aggression with caution. Mahmudullah’s brave knock came to an end in the 48th over after he had added a valuable 45 runs including the first six of the innings.

Ashraful was by then having his time at the crease, playing all the shots in his repertoire. He was looking good to carry it till the end, but an unfortunate run-out ended his excellent effort. He scored his runs with the help of only four boundaries. Bangladesh did their best to put on a challenging total, the batting powerplay, taken between 45th and 49th overs, yielded 43 runs. And Naeem Islam, dubbed ‘Chhokka Naeem’ in local cricket, gave it a grandtsand finish smacking two sixes in the last over to take the score to 260 for 7 after fifty overs. Naeem ended not out on 22 off just nine deliveries and gave Bangladesh a lift in their spirit.

‘I think it’s a fantastic opportunity to see where we are; see how much we have improved. And see how matured the boys have got,’ Siddons said at a press conference ahead of today’s opening match.

Bangladesh will face a new-look Sri Lanka team in the tournament opener. The coach said he is also eagerly waiting to face India, the other team of the tournament, who are now one of the top-ranked teams in the world.
‘I am excited to put them up against India. We need to see whether we are on track before the World Cup. This series is a fantastic opportunity for us to step up. I am looking forward to India, obviously they are super star team and we are not. But that’s the challenge,’ he said.
Bangladesh won all four one-day series they played last year, but it hardly satisfied their critics as they played only against lowly Zimbabwe and West Indies. Siddons said he would have been more confident before going into this tournament had those series wins were against top teams.

‘As I said it wasn’t ideal preparation for this tournament but you can’t always play the best team I guess. Other teams were busy. We had Zimbabwe to beat, West Indies to beat and we did it really well. I think the way we played was pleasing,’ he said.

‘The wins are wins, I mean I love winning. But the way the boys have played, the way they have handled people like Kemar Roach in the West Indies, bowling 150km, with no problem and people like Price of Zimbabwe, top 10 bowler in the world, they played him fantastic,’ he said.
Siddons takes confidence from Bangladesh’s performance against Sri Lanka last year when the islanders were defeated in the league phase and nearly lost the final with their first five wickets going down for six runs.
‘I think the wicket was same here. We should have won that final had Murali not played some pretty good cricket at the end. We have got no fears with Sri Lanka but we will have to play really good cricket to compete against both the sides,’ he said.

Star off-spinner Muralitharan, who is more of a threat as bowler than as a batsman, is missing the tournament as Sri Lanka opted to give him a break. Siddons was delighted that Sri Lanka will be without their other star spinner Ajantha Mendis.

‘Probably we haven’t seen the other two spinners that they are going to put up against us. So, we will see how well the replacement players are, I am sure they are good players. I am sure they have got some tricks up their sleeves. But Murali, Mendis really gave us a hard time last time around. It’s good to see them not here. I am pretty happy with that,’ said Siddons.

Azad Majumder

‘We have tried lot of other combinations and I don’t think we have got it right yet. Shafiul may be a new player, but he has proved himself in domestic cricket. Rubel has not played his best cricket yet. I hope both of them will do well,’ said skipper Sakib al Hasan.
Sakib, however, did not rule out a chance of opening the bowling with spinners, something which Bangladesh did on many occasions in the past, most recently against Zimbabwe at home.

‘Yes, we can do this. Since we are very much dependant on spinners we have some plans on spin bowling. Hopefully they will work,’ Sakib said.

Coach Jamie Siddons made it clear that Imrul Kayes will open the batting for the hosts with Tamim Iqbal as Shahriar Nafees and Aftab Ahmed, the two Indian Cricket League returnees, have been left out.

‘Since I have been here we have established a group and after the ICL players left, it has been Imrul, Imroze (Junaed Siddique) and Tamim pretty much led the way through,’ he said.

‘So I am happy that we haven’t changed too much. Obviously Imroze is out of form and out of the side, so now Imrul will get his chance. He played in our Test side and hasn’t really been out of the side,’ Siddons added.

Shakib Al Hasan has been named his deputy but once again the number one all-rounder in one-day rankings will lead the team if Mashrafe fails to pass the fitness test.

The decision has been taken at the BCB’s board of directors meeting chaired by president AHM Mustafa Kamal at the headquarters in Mirpur.

“Subject to fitness, Mashrafe will appear in a practice match on December 26 and then we can only understand his position. Actually everything will depend on the report of the national team physio and whether the player himself feels comfortable to play the series. If he passes the fitness then definitely he will lead the team otherwise Shakib will do the duty as usual,” said BCB’s media committee chairman Jalal Yunus after the meeting.

A selection from the 26-member squad of the preliminary national team camp will play a practice day-night one-day match against Dhaka Premier Division League champions Mohammedan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on December 26.

And after the match it is expected that the final team will be announced for the tri-nation tournament, which will kick off with the match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on January 4 next year at Mirpur.