Bangladesh vs Pakistan (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh produced a dominant performance to defeat Pakistan by eight wickets in the first ODI and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. The hosts were outstanding with both ball and bat, comfortably chasing down the small target of 115 in just 15.1 overs. It was Bangladesh’s first win over Pakistan since the 2018 Asia Cup, making the victory even more special for the home crowd.

The match was largely decided during Pakistan’s batting innings. Pakistan started steadily with Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat putting together a 41-run opening partnership, but things quickly fell apart once the first wicket fell. Bangladesh pacer Nahid Rana delivered a fiery spell that completely changed the game, ripping through Pakistan’s top and middle order. He picked up five wickets and could have had a sixth as well, but Bangladesh chose not to review an LBW decision against Faheem Ashraf. Captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz also played his part with three wickets, leaving Pakistan struggling at regular intervals. Only Faheem Ashraf, who scored 37, offered some resistance late in the innings to push Pakistan to 114 all out in 30.4 overs.Chasing the modest target, Bangladesh made the task look easy. Tanzid Hasan Tamim led the charge with a brilliant 67 not out off 42 balls, smashing seven fours and five sixes and attacking Pakistan’s spinners confidently. He was well supported by Najmul Hossain Shanto, who added 27, as the pair built a strong partnership to take the game away from Pakistan.Pakistan managed just two wickets during the chase, with Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr picking up one each, but the bowlers failed to put any real pressure on the Bangladeshi batters. In the end, Bangladesh sealed a comfortable win and handed Pakistan a heavy defeat to start the three-match series.

Kolkata: Held up in a hotel here for more than a week, the West Indies and South Africa squads will finally be able to fly home as the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed travel plans had been firmed up after delays triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Gulf region. As per last reports, South Africa were set to depart on Wednesday night, with all members up in the air by the next 36 hours. The West Indies team was booked on flights within Thursday as well.

“Four South Africa players and five family members have boarded flights and are making their way home, with all 29 remaining members of their contingent scheduled to depart in the next 24 hours,” the ICC said in a press release on Wednesday afternoon. “Of the West Indies contingent, nine members have departed for the Caribbean, while the remaining 16 are booked on flights departing India in the next 12 hours.”

West Indies had been stuck in Kolkata ever since their Super Eights match against India on March 1. South Africa too were lodged in the same hotel since their semi-final loss to New Zealand at Eden Gardens on March 4. West Indies coach Daren Sammy had taken to social media expressing his frustration at not being given clarity on their travel plans. That was four days ago.

Since then, the growing conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces prompted closure of airspace over several countries, with international hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi being hit the worst. England, however, made it out of the country through a charter flight that was reportedly arranged by the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) while West Indies and South Africa were stuck here. That prompted allegations of bias which the ICC has categorically rejected.

“The ICC rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare. Suggestions otherwise across a variety of media platforms from people uninformed of the situation are as unhelpful as they are incorrect. There is no link between arrangements made in the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made previously for England or any other nation, which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions.

“The delay is the direct result of the ongoing crisis across the Gulf region, which has caused widespread and continuing disruption to international air travel, including airspace closures, missile warnings, re-routing constraints, as well as the cancellation and rescheduling of both commercial and charter flights at short notice. These are conditions entirely outside the ICC’s control, and they have made each travel solution significantly more complex and time-consuming than under normal circumstances.”

India get $2.63 million prize purse

The ICC also announced the final distribution of the tournament’s $11.25 million prize money pool, with champions India getting $2,639,423 and runners up New Zealand getting $1,422,692. Semi-finalists South Africa and England got $1,005,577 and $974,423 respectively. Among the Super Eight teams, West Indies got $538,269, Pakistan $522,692, Zimbabwe $491,538 and Sri Lanka $475,962. The base participation pay for each team was $225,000.

Kiran George (PTI Photo/Gurinder Osan)(

NEW DELHI: India had a mixed day at the Swiss Open on Wednesday, with some impressive wins but several early exits. The biggest highlight came from Kiran George, who stunned former world champion Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in straight games. Ranked 42nd in the world, Kiran edged past the third seed 23-21, 21-19 in the opening round and will next face Hong Kong’s Jason Gunawan. However, Gunawan knocked out former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, defeating him 21-15, 12-21, 21-4 in the round of 32.India also celebrated an upset victory in mixed doubles as Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto beat Denmark’s fourth-seeded pair Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund 21-15, 21-14. They will now take on China’s Gao Jia Xuan and Wu Meng Ying in the next round.Despite these wins, several Indian shuttlers were knocked out early in the Super 300 tournament. In men’s singles, US Open champion Ayush Shetty lost 18-21, 19-21 to Canada’s Brian Yang. In women’s singles, Unnati Hooda was beaten 21-14, 21-14 by Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian, while top seed Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia comfortably defeated India’s Tanvi Sharma 21-11, 21-10 in just 30 minutes.India also faced a setback when HS Prannoy, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist, gave a walkover to Japan’s Koki Watanabe. In mixed doubles, Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde were eliminated after losing 19-21, 14-21 to Thailand’s fifth-seeded pair Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat.On a positive note, India’s top men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the round of 16 with a 21-19, 21-19 win over Singapore’s Eng Keat Wesley Koh and Junsuke Kubo. H Amsakarunan and M R Arjun also advanced after defeating Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Ray and Lin Yu Chieh 21-16, 24-22.