Bangladesh beat Pakistan to enter Asia Cup final
Abu Dhabi, Sep 27: Bangladesh pulled off an upset, defeating Pakistan by 37 runs in the Super Four match to enter the final of the Asia Cup here on Wednesday.
In the summit clash, Bangladesh will face India.
Defending 239, Bangladesh bowled tight line with left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman leading the pack with 4-43. Mehidy Hasan also contributed with two wickets.
Right from the start, Bangladesh bowlers made their intentions clear, picking up two wickets in first two overs.
Apart from Imam-ul-Haq (83) no other batsmen stood up to the occasion and went back cheaply. Shoiab Malik (30) and Asif Ali (31) tried to contribute but could not stay for long at the crease and thus dismissed when needed the most.
Tail-ender batsman Shaheen Afridi (14) then tried to take Pakistan out of troubled waters but failed and Pakistan only managed to score 202/9 in their allotted 50 overs.
For Bangladesh, apart from Rahman and Hasan, Rubel Hossain, Mahmudullah and Soumya Sarkar took one wicket each.
Earlier, Bangladesh posted 239, thanks to some brilliant batting from Mushfiqur Rahim (99) and Mohammad Mithun (60).
After losing couple of early wickets, Rahim and Mithun played sensibly and helped their team to post a respectable total. Towards the end Mahmudullah (25) also contributed.
For Pakistan, Junaid Khan took four wickets while Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali took two wickets each.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 239/10 (Mushfiqur Rahim 99l Junaid Khan 4/19) against Pakistan Imam-ul-Haq 83, Mohammad Mithun 4/43)
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CPI(M) rallies behind party member on his remarks against Rahul, Priyanka
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The ruling CPI(M) leaders on Monday rallied behind the party's politburo member A Vijayaraghavan in the raging political row over his controversial remarks on the Lok Sabha poll victories of Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Wayanad.
During a recent party event in Wayanad, Vijayaraghavan reportedly claimed that Rahul secured victory in the high-range segment twice with the support of communal forces and that extremist elements were present at Priyanka Gandhi's campaign rallies.
Prominent Marxist party leaders on Monday said that Vijayaraghavan didn't say anything wrong or against the party's policy and they would oppose minority communalism and majority communalism alike.
They also reiterated the charges raised by Vijayaraghavan against the Congress and accused the grand-old party of entering into an unholy nexus with communal outfits for electoral gains.
The CPI(M) leadership came out in support of the politburo member a day after the Congress and their United Democratic Front (UDF) ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), alleged that Vijayaraghavan was attempting to provoke majority communalism in society.
When his reaction was sought by the media, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said what Vijayaraghavan had said was accurate and alleged that communal outfits like SDPI and Jamaat-e-islami were acting like front partners of the UDF.
He charged that their nexus was evident during the recent Palakkad Assembly bypoll.
The criticism against the Jamaat-e-islami was not against the Muslim community and the opposition against the RSS was not against the Hindus, he said, adding that the CPI(M) would not show any compromise in opposing both the minority and majority communalism.
Strongly supporting Vijayaraghavan, senior CPI(M) leader and ruling LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the leader had criticised the stand of the Congress party, which forges a nexus with communal forces during elections.
"Vijayaraghavan has not taken any communal stand. His remarks were also not meant to promote communalism. He has taken a stand that can safeguard society from communal forces," he said.
Senior leader and former minister P K Sreemathi also said Vijayaraghavan had not said anything other than the Marxist party's policy and stand.
Pointing out that communal and extremist forces are gaining strength in the state, she said they cannot be allowed to flourish in Kerala.
"Whoever it is... whether it is Hindu communalism or Muslim extremism, the CPI(M) will take a strong stand against it," she said.
She also accused the Congress of forging ties with communal forces during elections.
On Sunday, Congress leaders accused Vijayaraghavan of making comments against Rahul and Priyanka to "please" the Sangh Parivar, while the IUML alleged that he was attempting to provoke majority communalism in society.
AICC general secretary K C Venugopal strongly criticised Vijayaraghavan, accusing him of using "communal" language that even the Sangh Parivar might hesitate to employ against Rahul. Venugopal also questioned whether the CPI(M) shared the same opinion.
Leader of Opposition, V D Satheesan, echoed similar sentiments, charging the CPI(M) with pushing the same communal agenda propagated by the Sangh Parivar.
Harshly criticising Vijayaraghavan, KPCC chief K Sudhakaran accused the ruling CPI(M) of "surrendering to extreme communalism and providing support to the RSS in the state".
