da bet sport： Bangladesh ensured they finished top of Group A with a 171-run demolition of Uganda
Andrew McGlashan in Colombo09-Feb-2006Bangladesh 255 (Mushfiqur Rahim 64, Ssemanda 4-43) beat Uganda 84 (Ishraq Sonnet 3-26) by 171 runs
Bangladesh produced a professional allround display to finish top of their group, routing Uganda by 171 runs after bowling them out for 84 at the SSC. Mushfiqur Rahim led the way with the bat, while there was an eye-catching display from the newcomer to the side, Ishraq Sonnet, who clubbed 37 off 25 balls, then knocked the top off the Ugandan batting with three early wickets.Uganda are the weakest of the associate members in the tournament, sothere was little surprise that an on-song Bangladesh team were far toostrong for them. However, for half of Bangladesh’s innings an air ofcomplacency threatened to undermine their effort, with the top orderguilty of playing loose shots, as they slipped to 88 for 4.Allister de Winter, the Bangladesh coach, was satisfied with theperformance but admitted the start had been sloppy. “We weren’t too happywith what happened early, we wanted to make sure that we respected theopposition and I don’t think we respected their style of play as much aswe should have.”They bowled quite well in the first hour and we paid the price with a fewearly wickets, but it has been the bottom of our order that has saved usmore than once. We don’t want to have to rely on that going into the SuperLeague.”Uganda’s bowling was tight enough to keep the batsmen honest, but therewere always loose deliveries on offer. As Rahim settled in he latched ontoanything off line, hitting six crisp boundaries in his 80-ball knock.Uganda had a chance to remove him on 11, only for Ronald Semanda tooverstep. Bangladesh would have been 108 for 5, but following his let-off,Rahim began to steer Bangladesh into a more comfortable position through astand of 71 with Mehrab Hossain Jnr.The Ugandan fielding, which has let them down in this tournament, againproduced the occasional comical moment as fielders over-ran the ball, lostit under their feet, or threw it miles over the wicketkeeper. But this wasdown to over-exuberance, a trait that in no way should bediscouraged. There was also one notable exception when Uganda’s captain,Hamza Almuzahim, produced a brilliant direct hit from mid-on to run outMehdi Hasan, sending the Ugandans into their wild celebrations, whichcertainly have a sense of the football pitch about them.The bowlers did not worry the Bangladeshis for pace, however their lateswing did provide a test, especially for the left-handers. The captaincertainly showed faith in his opening bowler, Daniel Ruyange, as thebatsmen were greeted by the rare sight of three slips and a seven-twooffside field.That attacking gesture did not last long, but thecommitment did, with Charles Okello the pick of the attack, quite a featfor someone who is nothing more than an occasional bowler. Ssemanda madepartial amends for his costly no-ball, by eventually bowling Rahim, andfinishing with four wickets, to give Uganda the confidence-boost of dismissing Bangladesh inside their 50 overs.However they never threatened to last that long themselves, falling to a mixture of pushes and prods against the spinners once Sonnet had run through the top order. The pitch offered some turn, albeit slowly, and the Ugandans had little idea how to cope with the probing lines and lengths. In theirearlier two matches they had succumbed for 73 against Pakistan and 137 against New Zealand, and here again they fell short of three figures. Arthur Kyobe was the only one to show any real resistance, and was the last man out for a gutsy 31.Bangladesh now wait and see who they will face in the Super Leaguequarter-finals, either England or Zimbabwe, but on current form they will fear no-one. “We’ve played well against both sides,” said de Winter, “andare just conscious of sticking to our own gameplans.” Uganda, meanwhile,head into the Plate tournament aiming to show themselves in a betterlight, having learnt some hard lessons.