Bangladesh came from a goal down to register a 3-1 victory over Maldives in the Bangabandhu SAFF Championship 2023, Group B match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, here on Sunday.
After having lost the first match against Lebanon, the team from Dhaka was desperate for three points to stay afloat in the tournament. Now with three points from two matches, they are very much in contention for a spot in the semi-final. The Maldives too have three points from two matches on the virtue of the win against Bhutan.
The Bengal Tigers looked strong from the beginning as they dominated the game in the opponents’ half. However, despite making a few attempts to penetrate through the Maldives defence, the team couldn’t find the target.
On the other end, Maldives played on the counter, but couldn’t produce any dangerous attacking moves. Yet, to Bangladesh’s surprise, the island nation went on to take the lead in the 18th minute. It was a brilliant move that began from the right flank. Mohamed Irufaan passed the ball to Hamza Mohamed near the edge of the box and the striker drove it in perfectly into the bottom right corner.
The scoreline didn’t justify the trend of the match, as Bangladesh continued to hold the majority of ball possession and showed some good passages of play. In the 34th minute, the men in green had a golden opportunity to equalise from a corner. However, Topu Barman’s headed attempt was blocked by the Maldives defence and in the end, it came to nothing.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh continued to push for an equaliser and eventually, their efforts paid dividends in the 42nd minute. An incoming aerial delivery was headed inside the box by Barman once again and an unmarked Rakib Hossain directed it towards goal to make it 1-1.
Bangladesh continued to produce waves of attacks following the restart as they looked determined for full points. In the 66th minute, substitute Shekh Morsalin went for a shot from outside the box. Unfortunately, the ball deflected off a Maldives defender and went off the right post. The resultant corner, however, caused a melee inside the box and to Bangladesh’s delight, Tariq Raihan Kazi managed to put the ball in.
At the stroke of 90 minutes, Shekh Morsalin found the breakthrough on the counter-attack. The substitute attacker displayed fine skills to beat a Maldives defender and lashed home to make it 3-1 and put the game to bed.
In their final group stage game, Bangladesh will face Bhutan, while Maldives go up against Lebanon on June 28.
India off to winning start at Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing C'ships in Jordan
India began its campaign at the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships with two commanding wins on opening day as Hardik Dahiya (43kg) and Rudraksh Singh (46kg) started off with commanding wins in the preliminary round.
Sr Men’s Nationals: J & K, Chattisgarh in Division C; Chandigarh, Uttarakhand in Division B secure victories on day 4
Hockey Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh Hockey and Hockey Association of Bihar enjoyed victories in Division C while Hockey Chandigarh and Hockey Uttarakhand won in Division B on the fourth day of the 15th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2025 in Jhansi.
Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning side gave birth to T20 cricket, says PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that he believes Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning side with their aggressive and unique style of batting gave birth to T20 cricket.
IPL 2025: There is a trust factor of relying on each other, says Kohli on bond with Rohit
Talismanic batter Virat Kohli spoke about his bond with his long-time teammate and India skipper Rohit Sharma, saying that there’s always been a trust factor between them as they have relied on each other to do the job of winning matches for the team.
Rohit-Kohli to retain A+ BCCI contracts, Iyer to return but Kishan may remain out: Sources
Indian batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are all set to retain their A+ grade contract, which is worth Rs 7 crore in the BCCI's annual player contracts.
Champions Trophy: Spinners, Rohit and Rahul carry unbeaten India to third title win
India's spinners called the shots majorly to pick five wickets collectively on a sluggish pitch, while captain Rohit Sharma top-scored with 76 and KL Rahul stayed calm to hit an unbeaten 34 to give the Men in Blue their third Champions Trophy triumph with a four-wicket win over New Zealand here on Sunday.
Champions Trophy: Kane Williamson to not field in India's chase after picking quad strain
New Zealand’s premier batter Kane Williamson will not be fielding in India's chase of 252 in the ongoing ICC 2025 Champions Trophy final after suffering a quad strain while batting in the first innings at Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.
Champions Trophy: Spinners pick five wickets as India restrict New Zealand to 251/7
India’s spinners called the shots yet again on a slow pitch with just two degrees of turn as they restricted New Zealand to 251/7 in their 50 overs in the 2025 Champions Trophy final at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday.