The New Nation - Internet Edition

Rajshahi earn 4th outright victory beating Chittagong by 8 wickets

UNB, Dhaka

Rajshahi Division earned the 4th outright victory in their 7th round match on the 3rd day of four-day Ispahani Mirzapore Tea 10th National Cricket League outplaying hosts Chittgaong Division by eight wickets at Bir Shrestha Shaheed Ruhul Amin Stadium in Chittagong on Wednesday.

Chittagong Division, dismissed for 80 runs in the first innings to be the victim of follow on replying to Rajshahi Division's first innings total 240 runs, resumed their 2nd innings with 89 for 2 and finally folded the innings at 227 runs in 91.5 overs.

One down Masum-ud-Dowla, who resumed batting with 34 runs, made 53 playing 177 balls that featured six fours while another night watch batsman Tariq Ahmed (11) contributed 24 runs off 62 balls with three boundaries.

After the dismissal of eight top order batsmen for 165 runs, tail-enders Tareq Aziz Khan and Yasin Arafat contributed 59 runs in the 9th wicket stand enabling Chittagong.

Number ten batsman Yasin Arafat scored 36 runs off 41 balls with six fours while number nine Tareq Aziz Khan made 22 off 52 balls with three fours.

New ball bowler Mohammad Shahzada claimed four wickets for 80 runs while Shafiul Islam, Saqlain Sajib and Suhrawardy Shuvo took two wickets each.

Chasing an easy target of 68 runs to win, Rajshahi Division opened the 2nd innings and scored 73 runs for the loss of two wickets in 16.4 overs to earn a comfortable victory on the third day.

Opener Jahurul Islam and two down Suhrawardy Shuvo remained unbeaten on 45 and 12 runs respectively after the dismissal of opener Sabbir Rahman (11) and one down Farhad Hossain (4).

Mohammad Younus grabbed the two wickets conceding 17 runs in six overs.

Brief score: Rajshahi Division first innings - 240 all out in 88.5 overs; Suhrawardy Shuvo 56, Anisur Rahman 37, Sabbir Rahman 36, Zahurul Islam 31, Masum-ud Dowla 2/21, Rezaul Karim 2/25, Kamrul Islam 2/35 and Mohammad Younus 2/40.

2nd innings - 73 for 2 in 16.4 overs; Jahurul Islam not out 45, Suhrawardy Shuvo not out 12, Sabbir Rahman 11, Mohammad Younus 2/17.

Chittagong Division first innings - 80 all out in 49.1 overs; Yasin Arafat 23, Arman Hossain 20, Nafees Iqbal 11, Tareq Aziz 11, Suhrawardy Shuvo 3/21, Shafiul Islam 3/36, Saqlain Sajib 2/3, Mohammad Shahzada 2/11.

2nd innings - 227 all out in 91.5 overs (Overnight 89 for 2 in 40 overs); Masum-ud-Dowla 53, Yasin Arafat 36, Arman Hossain 24, Tariq Ahmed 24, Faisal Hossain 22, Tareq Aziz 22, Mohammad Shahzada 4/80, Shafiul Islam 2/31, Saqlain Sajib 2/36 and Suhrawardy Shuvo 2/ 59.

Biman champions in Div I Badminton League

Sports Reporter

Biman Bangladesh Airlines emerged as the champions of the men's team event of the Fahami Group First Division Badminton League on Wednesday.

Neet Concern Badminton Club became runners-up in the same event while Ahoban Badminton Club finished third in the same event.

Meanwhile, Biman Bangladesh Airlines clinched the championship title of the women's team event while Neet Concern Badminton became runners-up in the same event and Dewan Textile Badminton Club finished third in the same event.

The matches of the First Division Badminton League were held at the Dhaka Wooden Floor Gymnasium. Bangladesh Badminton Federation arranged the league under auspices of Fahami Group.

Today Secretary General of Bangladesh Olympic Association Kutubuddin Ahmed will distribute the prizes among the winners as the chief guest while Managing Director of the Fahami Group Motaherul Islam Chowdhury (Shawpan) will be present with him as the special guest.

BSWA distributes its awards for last three years on Dec 3

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Sports Writers Association (BSWA) will distribute its sports awards for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 at a function at the hall room of National Sports Council (NSC) Tower on Wednesday (December 3).

Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed will be the chief guest at the function and distribute the awards. Vice Chairman of Premier Bank Ltd BH Harun will be present as special guest at the function that will begin at 3:30 pm.

The BSWA named 32 sportsmen, organizers, referees, umpires, sports and sponsoring organizations for their contributions in the field of sports during the last three years.

It named national cricket team captain Mohammad Ashraful as the sportsman of the year for 2005, vice captain of national cricket team Mashrafe Bin Mortaza for the year 2006 and chess talent Abdullah Al Rakib for the year 2007.

BSWA award winners for the year 2005: Mohammad Sujon (football), Javed Omar Belim (cricket), Russell Mahmud Jimmy (hockey), Enamul Haque Jr. (cricket), Mollah Sabira Sultana (weightlifting), Taiyub Hasan Shamsuzzaman Babu (football referee), Nurul Alam Chowdhury (organizer), Sirajul Islam Bachchu (organizer), Mousumi Industries Limited (sponsor), Narayanganj DSA (active association) and Mohammad Ashraful (sportsman of the year).

Award winners for the year 2006: Arif Khan Joy (football), Shahriar Nafees (cricket), Russell Khan Bappi (hockey), Shahjahan Ali Rony (swimming), Mizanur Rahman (taekwondo), Siddiqur Rahman (golf), Reefat Bin Sattar (chess), Zahid Hasan Emily (football), Laboni Akhter Jui (swimming), Nadir Shah (cricket umpire), Kutub Uddin Ahmed (organizer), Ispahani Limited (sponsor), Kazi Alamgir (special award) and Mashrafe Bin Mortaza (sportsman of the year).

Award winners for the year 2007: Shakib Al Hasan (cricket), Ziaur Rahman (kabaddi), Shafiqur Rahman Munna (organizer), Haji Abdus Sattar (special award), Rajshahi DSA (active association), United Insurance Company Limited (sponsor) and Abdullah Al Rakib (sportsman of the year).

Pietersen's century boosts England

AP, Cuttack

Kevin Pietersen scored an unbeaten hundred and shared a 112-run fifth-wicket stand with Owais Shah to guide England to a challenging 270 for four Wednesday in the fifth limited-overs international against India.

Pietersen's unbeaten 111 off 128 deliveries is the first hundred by an England batsman during this seven-match series, which India has already secured by winning the first four matches.

Pietersen's seventh century in 87 one-dayers contained one six and 10 boundaries and gave England a chance of producing a morale-boosting victory.

Pietersen featured in two big stands, adding 89 runs for the third wickets with Paul Collingwood and then 112 for the unbroken fifth-wicket partnership with Shah, whose unbeaten 66 in 57 balls contained nine boundaries was his second successive half-century.

Shah's 72 in the fourth one-dayer Sunday was also the previous highest score by an England batsman in this series.

Put in to bat by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, England was revived by Pietersen's partnership with Collingwood after losing openers Alastair Cook for 11 and Ravi Bopara for 24 to be 68-2 in the 10th over.

Playing for the first time in the series, Cook chased an outswinger from Zaheer Khan and was caught by Sachin Tendulkar at first slip. Bopara was out driving, edging an outswinger from Khan to Yuvraj Singh at backward point. He hit three fours in 33 balls.

Pietersen took time to get settled but received good support from Collingwood before the former England one-day captain was dismissed trying to hit out against offspinner Harbhajan Singh.

Collingwood fell to an outstanding catch by Khan at long-on after scoring 40 from 64 balls with four boundaries.

Four balls later, Andrew Flintoff was dismissed for 0 after edging a ball from paceman Ishant Sharma to Tendulkar in the slips.

Khan had the best figures of 2-60, while Harbhajan claimed 1-47 and Sharma 1-54.

Bangladesh score 250 against SA

Sports Reporter

Bangladesh scored 250 in the first innings against South Africa on the first day of the second Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion of South Africa on Wednesday.

Junaid Siddiqui top-scored with 67 off 144 balls amid 11 fours while Mushfiqur Rahim, the other notable scorer for Bangladesh made 65 off 86 balls with nine fours and two sixes.

Besides, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan added 31 and 30 runs respectively to the Bangladesh total.

M Ntini and M Morkel grabbed four wickets each giving away 32 and 73 runs respectively.

Div II Football : Uttar Baridhara on top

Sports Reporter

Uttar Baridhara Club took the top of the points table of the Second Division Football League when they blanked Kadamtala Sangsad 6-0 in the day's first match at the Kamalapur Bir Sreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Stadium on Wednesday.

Uttar Baridhara Club secured 39 points from 15 matches while Kadamtala Sangsad remained with seven points from 16 matches.

Shapla, Jewel of Uttar Baridhara scored two goals each and their teammates Ahsan, Dulal netted one each.

In the day's second match, Prantik KC outplayed Gazir Chat SC by three goals to nil at the same venue.

Riad, Sagor, Rubel scored one goal each for the victorious team.

Prantik KC collected 12 points from 15 matches while Gazir Chat SC earned seven points from the same number of outings.

Today Karwan Bazar Progoti Sangha will play against BG Press S&RC while Police AC will take on Matuail Udayan Sangsad at the same venue.

V-Day Tennis Competition begins Dec 16

UNB, Dhaka

The Popular Pharmaceutical V-Day Tennis Competition, organized by Bangladesh Tennis Federation, will be held December 16-25 at the Ramna National Tennis court Complex in the city.

The competition will be held in eight events -- men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, boys' singles (16 years and below), boys' singles (14 years and below), and men's doubles (above 50) and men's doubles (above 40).

The entry fee of Tk 50 for junior events and Tk 100 for senior events will have to be submitted to the tournament referee at the time of sign-in.

The last date of submitting the entry fee is December 14 at the National Tennis Court complex.

Bangladesh earns two more bronze on 5th day of SA Shooting

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh earned two more bronze medals on the 5th day of the 4th South Asian Shooting Championship in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Bangladesh women's team comprising Olympian shooter Sabrian Sultana

(553), Sharmin Shilpa (543) and Tripti Datta (540) won the team event bronze medal in the 50 meter free position (women's).

Shooter Sabrian Sultana (shoot of 441.3) finished 5th in the event.

In men's skit, Nuruuddin Selim (106), Altamas Kabir (101) and Iqbal Islam (101) also secured the bronze in the team event.

Nuruuddin Selim finished 4th scoring 128 in the shoot-off of the event.

Bangladesh shooting team is due to return home on Sunday.

BHF President XI Hockey team returns home today

UNB, Dhaka

President XI of Bangladesh Hockey Federation returns home today (Thursday) after a disappointing performance in the just concluded Jindal Steel 45th Nehru Cup Hockey tournament in Haryana, India.

BHF President XI suffered defeat in all their group three phase matches losing to Bharat Petroleum 5-1 in the opening match, to Central Railway (SCR) of India 3-5 in 2nd match and to ONGC XI 1-0 in the third and last group match.