Bangladesh through to Super 10 despite stunning loss to HK

Bangladesh through to Super 10 despite stunning loss to HK

Chittagong: Hong Kong notched up a stunning two-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a thrilling qualifying round match but could not prevent the home side from booking a Super 10 berth in the World Twenty20 here on Thursday.

Chasing a small target of 109, minnows Hong Kong struggled to 50 for five in the 10th over but a fine rear-guard effort from lower-order batsmen, led by Munir Dar (36), took them to a shock win with two balls to spare at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Despite the loss, Bangladesh sneaked through to the Super 10 by topping Group A on net run rate. They finished the qualifying round on four points -- same as Nepal -- but had a better net run rate of plus 1.466 as against plus 0.933.
Bangladesh would have been knocked out of the tournament had Hong Kong chased down the target in 13.1 overs but that proved to be a tough ask.

Number seven batsman Dar, who top-scored with a 27-ball 36, was mainly responsible for the memorable win for Hong Kong as he took his side to the threshold of victory in the match that went down the wire. Coming at the crease when Hong Kong were down 50 for five after 9.1 overs, Dar kept the asking rate at run-a-ball in the last six overs and took his side to 100, just nine adrift of target, when he was out in the 18th over.

There were some tense moments for Hong Kong as they lost another wicket but finally needed six runs from the last over. Abdur Razzak hit a six off Haseeb Amjad as Hong Kong reached 114 for 8 in 19.4 overs to notch up a historic win.
HK vs BAN, 10th Match, Group A, Chittagong


HK 114/8 (19.4 Ovs)
Haseeb Amjad* 12 (6)
Nadeem Ahmed 2 (2)

BAN 108 (16.3 Ovs)
Abdur Razzak* 3.4-1-31-1
Sabbir Rahman 1-0-3-1



CRR 5.80 Partnership 14(7)
Last Wkt T Afzal 0(7)

For Bangladesh, left-arm spinner Shakib-al-Hasan grabbed three wickets for just nine runs to put Hong Kong in trouble initially while Mahmudullah got two wickets for 13 runs. Today`s win by Hong Kong was the fourth such instance by an Associate country defeating a Full Member of the ICC in World Twenty20.


Earlier, Hong Kong left-arm spinner Nadeem Ahmed grabbed four wickets as a listless Bangladesh suffered a dramatic batting collapse to be shot out for just 108. Put into bat, Bangladesh lost two wickets in the dramatic first over but recovered quickly only to suffer a sensational batting collapse as they lost their last seven wickets for just 23 runs in the Group A match.

From 85 for three in the 11th over, they were all out for 108 in 16.3 overs with top-scorer Shakib-al-Hasan`s (34) departure triggering a batting collapse for the home side who have comfortably won their previous two matches. Four Bangladesh batsmen were out for nought while three could score only in single digits. Besides, Shakib who hit six fours in his 27-ball innings, opener Anamul Haque (26), captain Mushfiqur Rahim (23) and Nasir Hossain (14 not out) could reach double figures against a side who have lost both their earlier matches badly.

Ahmed (4/21) got able support from leg-spinner Nizakat Khan (3/19) and pacers Tanwir Afzal (2/24) and Irfan Ahmed (1/17) as Hong Kong bowlers made Bangladesh batsmen pay for their mistakes. Bangladesh began on a disastrous note as they lost two wickets for just three runs in 0.5 overs with opener Tamil Iqbal (0) and one-down Sabbir Rahman (2) dismissed by Tanwir Afzal in the second and fifth balls of the match.

But Shakib-al-Hasan (34) and the other opener Anamul Haque (26) stitched 48 runs from just five overs to steady the innings before the home side suffered another collapse. Once Shakib, who hit six fours in his 27-ball innings, was out in the 11th over, the floodgates were opened and Bangladesh batsmen threw away the advantage and perished in quick succession as if they were competing against each other in returning to the dressing room.

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim (23), Mahmudullah (2), Farhad Reza (0), Abdur Razzak (0) Rubel Hossain (0) and Al-Amin Hossain (1) were out in quick succession as Bangladesh could only put up a meagre total against one of the weakest sides in the tournament.
Source:Z News

At least 27 dead in north Thailand bus accident

At least 27 dead in north Thailand bus accident

By TheWeeklyDiscovery

BANGKOK — At least 27 people died and more than 20 others were injured late yesterday(Sunday 23rd, March 2014 ) when a bus careered off a hillside road and into a ravine in northern Thailand, police said.
Thailand’s roads are among the world’s deadliest and accidents are common, especially on buses travelling late at night.
“The toll is now at 27 dead and 24 injured — they are severely injured from what I can see,” police captain Sittichai Panyasong of Mae Tho district in Tak province said, revising up an earlier toll.
The accident took place at around 8:40 pm local time (1340 GMT) in Tak, which borders Myanmar, as several buses ferried Thai local government workers to neighbouring provinces for a field trip.
“The brakes failed as the bus came downhill on a hilly road and it crashed through the concrete barrier and fell into 150 metre-deep ravine,” Sittichai added.
The victims are mainly believed to be local government officials but a child was also among the injured, he said.

Source:Oman Observer

Sci-Tech and Business

Co-op Bank says it needs a further £400m


by The Weekly Discovery







The Co-operative Bank(Owned by The Co -operative group) has announced something of a combshell this morning: it needs to find another £400m of capital to cover unexpected costs and charges relating to misconduct and poor documentation.



The lender's management has uncovered the costs, which come predominantly from compensation for PPI misselling, poor customer treatment relating to mortgages and breaching technical rules when it comes to consumer credit, according to chief executive Niall Booker.

It also expects to report a year-end loss before tax of between £1.2 and £1.3bn, and that its CET1 ratio will be around 7.2 per cent versus previous guidance of towards the upper end of a range of below nine per cent. The regulatory minimum's seven per cent.

The £400m means raising yet more capital from its owners. Co-op Group owns just 30 per cent of the bank now, with the remaining stake held by hedge funds and investor institutions. After the Group, the largest stake is held by Perry Capital. £1.1bn has already been raised to stop it going bust - now, shareholders are left with little choice other than finding the money.

Co-op Bank's management say its working on fixing problems it's got. That's meant a focus on the loan book and ensuring there's enough cash to keep it running - the further costs have only just been realised.

Co-op Group's already promised a further £226m injection into the lender - separate to the newly-discovered £400m needed.