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Pakistan won the Kitply Tri-series Cup by beating India in the final match on Saturday at Dhaka by 25 runs.

After Pakistan’ Captain Shoaib Malik won the toss and elected to bat, the team put an untouchable target of 316 at a loss of three wickets only. Salman Butt made a brilliant score of 129 out off 136 including twelve 4s and three 6s. After giving such a magnificent inning, he was hurt and retired of the play.

Younis Khan’s century helped the team to reach the untouchable target by giving 108 runs at 99 balls with 8 boundaries and 3 sixes.

Team India can only score 290 before getting all out. Chasing the huge target of 316 runs, India had a slow start. Virendra Sehwag was sent back to pavilion after making just 2 runs. Rohit Sharma and Gambhir tried their hard to help the team but Rohit was out at 24 runs and Gambhir devoted 40 runs for the team.

Yusuf Pathan was the fourth wicket of team India which was sent after making only 25 runs. Yuvraj Singh, however, scored his half century but soon dismissed after scoring 56 runs. M S Dhoni, the captain also helped the team by his score of 64 runs out off 59 balls but it couldn’t help to achieve the success. The last wicket to fall was of Dhoni.

Irfan Pathan and Suresh Raina respectively made 28 and 24 runs. Pravin and Piyush Chawla were soon dismissed at 5 and 2 runs respectively.

Tags: Bangladesh, Dhoni, India, Kitply Cup, Kitply Cup 2008, Pakistan, Shoaib Malik, Yuvraj

Indian pace man S Sreesanth is ruled out on Saturday for the upcoming tri-series in Bangladesh after getting a side strain. Punjab seamer Manpreet Gony is now included in the Indian squad as his replacement. Gony get his award of showing a good performance on the recently concluded Indian Premiere League.

“Due to non availability of Sreesanth, it was decided by the selection committee to send Manpreet Gony for Bangladesh tri-series,” Niranjan Shah, BCCI Secretary, said in a media release.

Because of his injury, Sreesanth is advised to take a rest of two weeks before getting work.

“Sreesanth was assessed by Dr. Kinja at Bangalore on Friday. He has got a left-sided external oblique strain. He would require about 2 weeks for recovering from the current situation and getting back to his normal bowling routine,” the press release added.

Gony has given a wonderful performance in IPL for the runner ups Chennai Super Kings. He had played just five-first class matches and claimed 17 wickets in 16 matches at an average of 26.05.

Gony is the third player who is called for ODI because of their brilliant work in IPL. Earlier Baroda all rounder Yousuf Pathan and Hyderabad spinner Pragyan Ojha were given ODI calls for the tri-series.

The Kerala pacer would now undergo a two-week rehabilitation programme and will be available for the Asia Cup, to be held in Pakistan.

“He will be available for Asia Cup 2008 to be played at Pakistan. Mr. Sreesanth rehabilitation will be organized at NCA in Bangalore,” the BCCI press release said.

Tags: Bangladesh, Cricket, Gony, India, Pakistan, Sreesanth, Tri Series

A series of blasts inside a residential hotel in Dhaka in Bangladesh injured at least 50 people early on Monday.

According to the reports, the blasts occurred in three rounds between 2200 hours IST on Sunday and 0130 hours early on Monday in the 12-storey hotel Orchard Plaza located near civil centre in the capital city.

Police, elite RAB personnel and firefighters rushed to the spot when several explosions took place one after another, police said.

The actual cause of the blasts was not clearly ascertained by the police. It was suspected that blast occurred in a gas pipeline and short circuit inside the hotel that could have caused the explosions.

Many foreigners were also injured in the blasts, however there was no fatality reported yet. The injured, including members of the law-enforcing agencies and firefighters, were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Tags: Bangladesh, bomb blast, Dhaka, Terror Attack

Sachin Tendulkar’s groin injury put him away from the upcoming cricket tri-series in Bangladesh, and subsequent Asia Cup. He was ruled out of the series on Thursday.

He was declared unfit by Mumbai Indians’ physiotherapist, Nitin Patel, for the June 8 to 14 tri-series, also involving Pakistan.

“Tendulkar is not available for the tri-series as well as the Asia Cup on the advice of Mumbai Indians physiotherapist Nitin Patel. He has not recovered sufficiently from his groin injury,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah informed in Mumbai on Thursday.

Tendulkar will also skip the Asia Cup, to be held in Pakistan from June 24 to July 6, he added.

Tendulkar has also missed the first seven matches of the Indian Premier League because of the injury. A few day’s back Sachin requested the selectors to keep him away from the selection of the team for Bangladesh.

Tags: Aisa Cup, Bangladesh, Indians, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Pakistan, Sachin, Sachin Tendulkar, Tendulkar

The Kolkata-Dhaka Moitree Express was flagged off on Monday morning by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav resuming passenger train services between the two neighboring countries after 43 long years.

The train journey was interrupted briefly for 15 minutes at Naida at 8:35 am by a citizens group called ‘Amra Bengal’ demanding the scrapping of Indo-Bangladesh friendship treaty. Soon after the train is blocked, the police came into action to resume the journey.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Liquat Ali Chowdhury were present at the Kolkata railway terminal in north Kolkata at the flag-off ceremony of the six-coach train along with a host of dignitaries.

The bi-weekly service of the train is scheduled to leave Kolkata on Saturdays and Sundays at 7.10 am reaching Dhaka at 10.30 pm. From Dhaka, it will leave at 8.30 am to reach Kolkata at 9 pm.

Before partition, there was a regular over-night service from Kolkata to Dhaka via Goalanda and Narayangunj.

At the time of partition, there were three trains- East Bengal Mail, East Bengal Express, Barishal Express running from India to East Pakistan (Now Bagladesh). The trains were operational till 1965.

After 1965, there was left no train service between the two neighboring countries cutting all the links.

But the common history, culture and language of the people of West Bengal and Bangladesh demanded the need of a regular rail link which gave rise to only cargo services started in 1972. But soon this service also had to be discontinued. In 2000, goods services were restored with the commissioning of Petrapol-Benapol rail link.

After 43 years, Maitree is started to link the two countries. AC first class fare is set to charge Rs 780 while the cheapest service fare is upto Rs 320. The six coach train includes one AC first coach, one AC chair car, one Pantry car and two non-AC chair car.

Tags: Bangladesh, Dhaka, India, Kolkata, Train