Ashraful tonleads Bangladesh to 300
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Mohammad Ashraful replaced his usually aggressive approach with a more conservative one on his way to the second century of his career, and in combination with Raqibul Hassan, who made his second-successive 80-plus score, took Bangladesh to a formidable 300 for 8 during their Asia Cup opener against UAE in Lahore. Raqibul and Ashraful put on 141 off just 122 balls to provide the thrust to the innings after UAE's spinners had managed to slow things down during the Powerplays, according to website cricinfo.
The UAE seamers had a tough time settling in after Bangladesh chose to bat, with Zahid Shah conceding two wides in the opening over, and Fahad Alhashmi outdoing him with four in the next. Bangladesh, though, did not make use of the freebies when the over-eager Nazimuddin, who played and missed twice, flirted with a perfectly-bowled outswinger from Shah to offer a simple catch to Arshad Ali at second slip. Ashraful, off the very next ball, had a lucky escape when an inside edge missed the stumps, and Shah was left frustrated when an almost identical shot brought Bangladesh their first boundary in the next over.
Ashraful, however, settled down and the signs were ominous when he latched on to a short delivery from Amjad Javed and crashed it to the midwicket boundary. But once again, there was another slice of fortune when a third inside edge went past the wicketkeeper. In the meantime, Tamim Iqbal, who struggled to get going, flicked Alhashmi to the fine-leg boundary to bring up Bangladesh's fifty and move into double figures. Ashraful then played a copybook extra cover drive against the wayward Javed to bring up the fifty-run stand. Javed had conceded 24 runs in just two overs, and Saqib Ali, the captain, decided to introduce spin. Mohammad Tauqir, the 36-year old offspinner and left-arm spinner Shadeep Silva combined to dry the runs down. Saqib, who bowls offspin, brought himself on in the 17th over as the pitch began to respond well to spin.
Bangladesh lost a wicket against the run of play as Tamim failed to heed Ashraful's call to avoid an unnecessary third run in the 24th over, walking back after making 40. As though vented his frustration at the end of a 95-run second-wicket stand, Ashraful played a stunning inside-out shot to reach his third half-century of the year. He celebrated the landmark with another scorcher to the extra cover boundary off Silva, though it was a near fumble by the cover fielder who just about got his hands on to the ball.
Raqibul, who batted with verve and purpose, made his intentions clear by lofting the left-arm spinner Khurram Khan one-bounce to long-on. Ashraful matched his intent with two-successive boundaries against the same bowler: sending the ball to his favourite extra-cover region, before launching him to the midwicket boundary. Raqibul brought about an element of sharpness to the running, something that ensured that Ashraful did not need the aid of boundaries on his way from 73 to 100.
The UAE seamers had a tough time settling in after Bangladesh chose to bat, with Zahid Shah conceding two wides in the opening over, and Fahad Alhashmi outdoing him with four in the next. Bangladesh, though, did not make use of the freebies when the over-eager Nazimuddin, who played and missed twice, flirted with a perfectly-bowled outswinger from Shah to offer a simple catch to Arshad Ali at second slip. Ashraful, off the very next ball, had a lucky escape when an inside edge missed the stumps, and Shah was left frustrated when an almost identical shot brought Bangladesh their first boundary in the next over.
Ashraful, however, settled down and the signs were ominous when he latched on to a short delivery from Amjad Javed and crashed it to the midwicket boundary. But once again, there was another slice of fortune when a third inside edge went past the wicketkeeper. In the meantime, Tamim Iqbal, who struggled to get going, flicked Alhashmi to the fine-leg boundary to bring up Bangladesh's fifty and move into double figures. Ashraful then played a copybook extra cover drive against the wayward Javed to bring up the fifty-run stand. Javed had conceded 24 runs in just two overs, and Saqib Ali, the captain, decided to introduce spin. Mohammad Tauqir, the 36-year old offspinner and left-arm spinner Shadeep Silva combined to dry the runs down. Saqib, who bowls offspin, brought himself on in the 17th over as the pitch began to respond well to spin.
Bangladesh lost a wicket against the run of play as Tamim failed to heed Ashraful's call to avoid an unnecessary third run in the 24th over, walking back after making 40. As though vented his frustration at the end of a 95-run second-wicket stand, Ashraful played a stunning inside-out shot to reach his third half-century of the year. He celebrated the landmark with another scorcher to the extra cover boundary off Silva, though it was a near fumble by the cover fielder who just about got his hands on to the ball.
Raqibul, who batted with verve and purpose, made his intentions clear by lofting the left-arm spinner Khurram Khan one-bounce to long-on. Ashraful matched his intent with two-successive boundaries against the same bowler: sending the ball to his favourite extra-cover region, before launching him to the midwicket boundary. Raqibul brought about an element of sharpness to the running, something that ensured that Ashraful did not need the aid of boundaries on his way from 73 to 100.