Sensational Shakib keeps Bangladesh in semifinal contention
Bangladesh win by 62 runs
Southampton, Jun 24: Shakib Al Hasan came up with a special all-round performance, steering Bangladesh to a 62-run win over Afghanistan here on Monday and keeping their semifinal hopes alive in the World Cup.
Mushfiqur Rahim (83 off 87 balls) and Shakib (51 off 69) showed their class on a difficult surface to help Bangladesh post a competitive 262 for seven after Afghanistan opted to field at the Hampshire Bowl.
Shakib, who also became the tournament's leading run getter on way to his half-century, was also exceptional with the ball. The left-arm spinner ended with figures of five for 29 for in 10 overs, his best in ODI cricket.
With this incredible effort, Shakib also became only the second cricketer after India's Yuvraj Singh to score a fifty and take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match.
Chasing 263 was always going to be tough for a fragile Afghanistan batting line-up but 48 for no loss in 10 overs raised hopes that the Gulbadin Naib-led side might just get its first win of the tournament after six losses in a row.
However, the batting fell apart after Shakib removed Rahmat Shah (24) and from 49 for no loss, Afghanistan were reeling at 132 for six. The seventh wicket stand for 56 runs between Samiullah Shinwari (49 not out) and Najibullah Zadran (23) saved them the blushes. Afghanistan were eventually all out for 200 in 47 overs.
Bangladesh's third win in seven games took them to seven points and if they win their remaining fixtures against India and Pakistan, the Mashrafe Mortaza-led unit will end the league stage with 11 points.
Earlier, Rahim and Shakib shared a 61-run partnership laying the foundation for a decent score on a slow surface. The India-Afghanistan game here on Saturday also saw batsmen struggle to score freely.
Mosaddek Hossain (35 off 24) provided the much-needed fireworks in the death overs, taking the total past 250. The stand-out bowler for Afghanistan was spinner Mujeeb Ur-Rahman (3/39), troubling the batsmen with his variations.
Liton Das (16) was promoted to open the innings alongside Tamim Iqbal (36) with Soumya Sarkar pushed down the order. Das could not make the opportunity count and was caught at cover off Mujeeb.
Iqbal and star all-rounder Shakib then shared a 59-run stand before Mohammad Nabi hit the former's stumps, leaving Bangladesh at 82 for two in 17 overs.
Shakib, who surpassed David Warner to become the tournament's leading run-getter, played a gritty knock that included just one four.
The world's premier all-rounder has so far scored two hundreds and three half-centuries in the competition.
Rahim, who too has been in sublime form like Shakib, played another valuable knock for his team. Had he not fired, Bangladesh would have struggled to go beyond 225. His innings comprised four boundaries and a six.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
