http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 wins Gold at Asian Games Cricket
There was joy for the Bangladeshi camp as they won the gold medal in the Asian Games cricket competition.
Cricket was included in the Games for the first time and Bangladesh that fielded an experienced squad, as compared to the rest of the teams, toppled the rest of the opposition including the fiercely competitive Afghanis in the final of the event.
The tournament was part of the Guangzhou Asian Games that attracted sportsmen from more than 40 countries of the continent.
The Afghan boys; who beat Pakistan in the semi-final, much to everyone's surprise, batted first in the final. Their batsmen struggled to get the ball away on a sluggish wicket at the Guangdong International Cricket Stadium. After a slow start the Afghanis
accelerated towards the end of their innings to post a competitive score of 118 for the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 earlier in the year top scored with a hard-hitting 38 off 36 balls.
He hit some big boundaries towards the end of the innings to give his bowlers an outside chance. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahadat-Hossain-c2480 and Mohammad Ul Ashraful, who was also captaining the team, took 2 wickets each for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s reply was off to a stuttering start as the batsmen failed to break the shackles imposed by the Afghanis.
They slowly clawed their way back in the game and needed 31 runs off 20 balls at one stage when Sabbir Rahman and Naeem Islam went after the bowling. Rahman was in belligerent form and turned the match on its head with three enormous sixes at the closing
stages of the game.
The win arrived in the last over of the match and the jubilant Bangladeshi fans ran onto the pitch to celebrate the performance.
There was delight in the Bangladeshi camp, on the other hand the coach of Afghanistan former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rashid-Latif-c84084 praised his team.
He claimed that he inspired his team by narrating them the tale of India’s stunning win in the 1983 World Cup final against the, then mighty, West Indies.
"The Indians were not as fit as their rivals, nor was their skill superior to the West Indies, yet on that day they played better and won," Latif told media. "My team here was the fittest and they had good skills too, but I warned the boys not to take Bangladesh
lightly."
"The result proved me right, but I am happy we are on the right path. We will improve further if we play the big teams regularly. The aim is to be a Test nation soon and play against the best. I want to bring youngsters into the game so the sport continues
to grow in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Afghanistan-c745."
The Bangladeshi coach also had praise for his opponents; he observed that the valiant Afghanis were on the right track and are set to become a formidable team in international cricket in the years to come.
"We are celebrating, but I hope Afghanistan will celebrate too because they deserve the silver medal," http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Sarwar, the Bangladesh coach, said. "They are a very good side and I am sure they will become a top team in the near future. Their
rise has been remarkable.
"This was not an easy win at all. We expected them to make around 100 or 110, but they went to 118 and then kept us under pressure till the end."
Meanwhile Pakistan won the bronze medal in the competition after beating http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in the third position play-off earlier in the day.
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