The curtain of the 13th SAFF Championship draws to a close today after the seven-time champions India take on debutant finalist Nepal in the closing match of the regional football extravaganza at Maldives’ National Football Stadium in Male.

The general cricketing fraternity may not relate the game with Oman but the oil-rich gulf nation is all set to host the qualifying round of the flagship event in the form of ICC T20 World Cup from tomorrow.

On paper, Australia look formidable with seven of their big stars -- skipper Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell,

Indian captain Sunil Chhetri broke legendary footballer Pele’s record during their semifinal match of the SAFF Championship against Maldives on Wednesday.

“We had been waiting for this moment for the last 16 years but you killed our dream,” Tapu Barman shouted towards Uzbek referee Akhrol Riskullaev soon after Bangladesh’s encounter against Nepal, as well as their SAFF Championship campaign, drew to a close on Wednesday at Maldives National Football Stadium in Male.

Bangladesh suffered their second successive loss in their last official warm-up fixture leading up to the T20 World Cup with a 33-run defeat against Ireland at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi yesterday. The defeat came hot on the heels of a defeat against Sri Lanka two days earlier despite the Tigers being in control of the match for a large period of the game.

For someone who had just tuned in yesterday to watch the ongoing SAFF Championship’s virtual semi-final match between Bangladesh and Nepal at the dying seconds of the 78thminute, the move from the left that resulted in the sending off of goalkeeperAnisur Rahman Zico would seem like a great through-ball created by the Himalayan nation behind Bangladesh's defensive high-line . Although in reality, it was Rakib Hossain, whose atrocious back-pass towards the direction of his central defenders had Bangladesh on a slippery slope from then on at Maldives National Stadium in Male.

A batting collapse while chasing a commendable total saw Bangladesh suffer a comprehensive 33-run defeat against Ireland in their second and final official T20 World Cup warm-up game at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi today.

Ireland batter Gareth Delany smashed an unbeaten 88 to help his side to a challenging 177 for three against Bangladesh in their second and final official T20 World Cup warm-up game at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi today.

‘Fortune favours the brave’ as they say, and when a team play the beautiful game as if they are a man down before actually becoming one, it is akin to playing with fire, especially on the big stages like the virtual semifinal match that was played between Bangladesh and Nepal in the National Stadium of Maldives in Male yesterday.

Ireland have won the toss and elected to bat against Bangladesh in the Tigers' second and final official warm-up game at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi today.

A second-half brace from Sunil Chhetri powered India to an emphatic 3-1 victory over hosts Maldives at the National Football Stadium tonight to advance into the final of the SAFF Championship. 

Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the final of the SAFF Championship after 16 long years were dashed in controversial fashion as a dubious penalty decision late in the game saw the men in red and green relinquish a one-goal lead against Nepal in their last group match at the National Stadium in Male yesterday.

Following a four-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in the first official practise game on Tuesday, Bangladesh will be looking to rectify their mistakes and get into the groove when they take on Ireland in the second and final warm-up game today ahead of the qualifier round of the ICC World T20.

Oscar Bruzon believes the controversial decision to send off goalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico was the turning point of the game before another dubious decision to award Nepal penalty killed off Bangladesh’s dream of playing the final of the SAFF Championship at the National Football Stadium in Male yesterday.

Anjan Bista’s penalty, awarded by Uzbekistan referee Akhrol Riskullaev in a controversial fashion, in the dying minutes of the game broke the hearts of Bangladesh as Nepal came from behind to draw 1-1 in their final group fixture of the SAFF Championship at the National Football Stadium in Male yesterday.

India added pace bowler Shardul Thakur to their Twenty20 World Cup squad while all-rounder Axar Patel dropped out of the 15-man side and into a list of stand-by players, the country's cricket board (BCCI) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Ten-man Bangladesh failed to hold on to a slender lead as an 88th-minute penalty by Anjan Bista saw Nepal bounce back and eke out a 1-1 draw today in their final SAFF Championship group stage game in Male, denying the men in red and green a chance to make it into the final of the regional championship for the first time in 16 years. 

Five years after losing a heart-stopping T20 World Cup final to the West Indies, Eoin Morgan's England start as narrow favourites in their bid to become double world champions despite the absence of Ben Stokes.

Two of South Asia's best forwards in Sunil Chhetri and Ali Ashfaq, have traditionally been Bangladesh national team's tormentors in chief since they began representing their respective sides India and Maldives in the international arena. Both of them found the mark yet again in the ongoing SAFF Championship by scoring a goal apiece against Bangladesh.