The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sports Reporter

Barisal Division took the upper hand when they declared their first innings making a massive 304 for the loss of nine against Dhaka Division on the third day of the four-dayer match of the Ispahani Mirzapur Tea 9th National Cricket League at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sunday.

Earlier, Dhaka Division were skittled out for 157 in the first innings on the first day.

Later, Dhaka Division were at the stumps scoring 155 for the loss of four wickets in the second innings.

Dhaka Division had just eight-run lead and they had six wickets to spare on the final and fourth day.

Nasiruddin Faruque, Raisul Islam, Talha Jubaer contributed 34, 35 and 29 (not out) to the Barisal total on the third day.

Mosharrof Hossain of Dhaka grabbed three wickets giving away 40 runs.

Shamsur Rahman and Mahmudullah Riyad of Dhaka were at the crease on 35 and 24 before the two umpires drew the bails for the third day.

Mohammad Ashraful, the skipper of Dhaka Division and Javed Omar, the opener of the hosts added 28 and 24 to the Dhaka second innings total.

Talha Jubaer, Sajedul Islam, Arafat Salahuddin of Barisal got one wicket each.

At the Narayanganj Osmani Stadium, Sylhet Division scored 174 for the loss of three wickets in the first innings at the close of third day play.

Earlier, Khulna Division posted 274 in the first innings.

Rajin Saleh of Sylhet hit a captain's knock of 54 facing 109 deliveries including 10 fours.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim and Alok Kapali of Sylhet were at the crease on 54 and 39 before the two umpires pocketted the bails for the third day.

Mushfiqur Rahim used 131 balls in his fine half century, which was studded with five boundaries and one over boundary.

Mashrafee Bin Mortaza of Khulna bagged a 44 runs while Ziaur Rahman took one wicket for 34 runs.

Meanwhile, Rajshahi Division are now in a better position as they made 192 in the first innings and then they shot out Chittagong Division for 115 in the first innings on the third day of the four-dayer match at the Chittagong Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Stadium.

Later, Rajshahi Division made 78 for the loss of three wickets before the bails were drawn for the third day.

Number Ten batsman Tareq Aziz of Chittagong was the only notable scorer for the hosts. He made 35 off 52 balls including two sixes and three fours.

Mohammad Shahzada of Rajshahi bowled a devastating spell and completed as 17-5-24-5.

Farhad Reza was the other bowler, who successful with the cherry. He harpooned three wickets for 20 runs.

Later, none of Rajshahi batsman was successful with the willow.

Suja Datta and Tareq Aziz took one wicket each for 10 and 24 runs respectively.

Reuters, Brisbane

Sri Lanka's preparations for this week's first Test against Australia suffered a blow on Sunday when they lost by four wickets to Queensland at the Allan Border Field.

Chasing 142 for victory, Queensland reached the target for the loss of six wickets to bring an end to dismal few days for the tourists ahead of the first test in Brisbane starting Thursday.

Clinton Perren was 62 not out at the close, with man of the match Ashley Noffke unbeaten on 21.

Queensland had earlier bowled Sri Lanka out for 226 in their second innings and appeared to be cruising to victory when they went to tea at 36-1.

But while the Sri Lankan batsmen failed to come to terms with the grassy wicket, the pace bowlers kept them in the match.

Farveez Maharoof (3-33) took the only wicket before tea when he dismissed opener Jimmy Maher for 12 with the score on 35.

UNB, Dhaka

Renowned sports organiser and former secretary general of Bangladesh Olympic Association Golam Quddus Chowdury Babu was named the new president of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation on Sunday.

National Sports Council (NSC) made the appointment under clause 20 of the NSC Act of 1974.

Golam Quddus Chowdhury, a former national player and general secretary of Bangladesh Volleyball Federation from 1991 to 1998, replaced Privatization Board member Miah Mohammad Mushtaq, who took the charge in November last year.

In his immediate reaction, GQ Chowdhury said he was associated with the country's volleyball for a long time. "It's a golden opportunity for me now to serve volleyball properly and to regain the game's popularity with the cooperation all concerned."

Chowdhury, senior vice-president of the present committee of Volleyball Federation, also acted as Director of Asian Volleyball Confederation and Internal Auditor of International Volleyball Federation.

AFP, New Delhi

If controversial Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar hopes to redeem his image on the current Indian tour, he will first have to conquer Sachin Tendulkar.

Chucking allegations, a drug-ban, indiscipline and injuries have dogged the mercurial paceman ever since his international debut in 1997. But when he is battle-ready, he can make life miserable for batsmen.

Akhtar's duels with Tendulkar have caught the fancy of fans on both sides of the border ever since his first-ball dismissal of the master batsman in a Test match in Kolkata in 1999.

Their duel was the talking point during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. Tendulkar won that battle with a bold 98 off 75 balls to set up his team's victory at Centurion.

Tendulkar later described the innings as one of the highlights of his record-breaking one-day career.

But Akhtar has not always been a punchbag for the Indians.

His 34 wickets in 23 one-dayers against the arch-rivals means he remains a constant threat. He has also grabbed 19 wickets in seven Tests against India.

Tendulkar has often dominated the Pakistani attack with rich strokeplay, having scored 2,122 runs in 61 one-dayers with five centuries and 918 runs in 16 Tests with two hundreds.

Pakistan will play five one-dayers on the current tour, with the first starting in Guwahati on Monday. The teams will then clash in a three- Test series beginning on November 22.

Akhtar is known as much for his mood swings as for hurling down thunderbolts and they have often proved his undoing in a career spanning nearly a decade.

He recently served a 13-match ban, primarily for striking team- mate Mohammad Asif with a bat ahead of the inaugural Twenty20 world championships in South Africa in September.

Akhtar has been placed on probation for two years, meaning he could be suspended for life if he again breaches the players' code of conduct.

He returned to international cricket in the decisive fifth and final one-dayer against South Africa at home last month, only to prove he could be a batsmen's nightmare when on song.

His four-wicket burst nearly set up his team's win before the batsmen messed it up chasing a 234-run target at Lahore. Pakistan lost the series 3-2, but Akhtar won many a heart on his comeback.

He is now on a mission.

"I promise I will do my best and give my full effort on the tour of India to help my team win both the one-day and Test series," said Akhtar.

"I have missed a lot of cricket due to injuries and other reasons but now I want to focus on my game. This may be my last tour so I must do something special for the fans in India so that they remember me in a good way."

He needs to keep Tendulkar silent first if he wants to make this tour a memorable one for him.

India have found talented youngsters in Robin Uthappa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh, but still depend on Tendulkar for setting or successfully chasing a stiff target.

Tendulkar may not be as explosive a batsman as he was a decade ago, but he still has the shots to test any attack. He also has an uncanny knack of finding gaps where none appears to exist.

The Indian is the world's leading scorer in one-dayers with 15,703 runs in 402 matches and a record 41 centuries.

It promises to be an engrossing contest when he faces Akhtar, one of the fastest pacemen in the world.