Abdullah Al Mehdi

The wicket served at Mirpur wore a dark foreboding.

Mehedi Hasan Miraz was hoisted in the air by teammates with none other than Shakib Al Hasan amongst those lending a shoulder, for he had done the seemingly impossible.

The exultation of triumphing in close encounters and the celebrations thereafter all became symbolic of the rivalry, which peaked in 2018.

Since returning from his ban last year, Shakib Al Hasan had been looking to find his groove in all three formats and although there have been struggles, there has also been successes. However, always feeling the need to keep ahead of the curve, Shakib had identified some areas that needed work.

Bangladesh team will look to regain lost confidence in the upcoming series against Pakistan following a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign in UAE recently. The Tigers had notched series wins against Australia and New Zealand at home ahead of the World Cup but their preparations on slow, docile pitches left them with obvious deficiencies while their qualities proved not to be quite adequate for the challenges of a World Cup.

Mushfiqur Rahim has been Bangladesh’s main man in the T20I format for a long time and it is his sheer ability to score runs all over the wicket along with the innate skill of catching the tempo of a match that sets him apart from his peers.

While life inside a bio-secure bubble has been difficult for some cricketers, including England all-rounder Sam Curran who on Monday opted to sit out Australia's Big Bash citing strains over protocols, there appeared to be enough fun to go around for everyone concerned in Bangladesh cricketers' bio-bubble for the Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

Liverpool legend Ian Rush scored 346 goals for the Reds during a coveted career. The legendary striker sat down for an interview with The Daily Star, organised by the club's commercial partners Standard Chartered Bank. The 58-year-old Welshman spoke about Jurgen Klopp’s team that ended a 30-year title drought, his view of the current footballing climate, the bond with Diego Maradona and much more.