Dunedin [New Zealand], March 20 (ANI): Trent Boult took four while James Neesham and Mitchell Santner accounted for two dismissals each as New Zealand thrashed Bangladesh by eight wickets in the first ODI on Saturday.
The Kiwis took just 21.2 overs to seal the game after the hosts’ bowlers ran riot to bundle Bangladesh out for 131 in the first ODI.
Chasing a paltry score of 132, Martin Guptill and Henry Nicholls stitched a 54-run stand for the first wicket within six overs to dismantle Bangladesh bowling. Taskin Ahmed provided the visitors the first breakthrough when he removed Guptill.
But Nicholls and Devon Conway again brought up a partnership worth more than 50 runs as New Zealand reached triple figures. But just at the cusp of the win, Hasan Mahmud ended Conway’s sluggish knock.
However, New Zealand had plenty of overs to get over the line and the hosts seal the match in the 22nd over to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Earlier put in to bat first, Bangladesh got off to a bad start as they lost skipper Tamim Iqbal in the fifth over.
The Bangladesh captain was off to a flying start as he smashed a six in the third ball of the match. But it was Boult who had the last laugh as he trapped him in front of stumps.
Since then Bangladesh batsmen struggled to leave a mark as New Zealand seamers kept on taking wickets at regular intervals from both ends.
Only Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim managed to score past 20 runs mark as Bangladesh was all out for 131 in 41.5 overs. Mahmudullah was the highest scorer with 27. Boult bagged 4 wickets for 27.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 131 (Mahmudullah 27, Mushfiqur Rahim 23; Trent Boult 4-27); New Zealand (Martin Guptill 38, Henry Nicholls 49*; Taskin Ahmed 1-23) (ANI)

Florida [US], March 20 (ANI): World-number one Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Miami Open which gets underway from March 22.
The Serbian tennis star cited coronavirus restrictions while announcing that he will miss the upcoming tournament. Djokovic has now joined Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the list of players who have withdrawn from the Miami Open.
“Dear fans, I’m very sorry to announce that this year I won’t travel to Miami to compete. I decided to use this precious time at home to stay with my family. With all restrictions, I need to find balance in my time on tour and at home. I look forward to coming back next year!” Djokovic tweeted.
Earlier, three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, Andy Murray, was granted a wildcard into the 2021 Miami Open.
Murray, who last played the Miami Open in 2016, is a two-time champion of the event having won the title in 2009 and 2013. In addition, he reached the event final in 2012 and 2015.
Last month, Djokovic defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the finals of the Australian Open 2021 at the Rod Laver Arena to clinch his 9th Australian title.
The Serbian Djokovic came out all guns blazing and it seemed as if he did not want to waste time in winning his 18th Grand Slam, but Medvedev eventually came back and the set was tied at 5-5. However, in the end, Djokovic showed his class to win the first set 7-5 in about 42 minutes.
The 33-year-old Djokovic made light work of Medvedev in the second set and the Serbian won the second set with ease and as a result, he was just one more set away from winning his ninth Australian Open title. (ANI)

Jind (Haryana) [India], March 20 (ANI): Odisha, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Punjab registered wins on day three of the 11th Hockey India sub-junior men National Championship 2021 here in Jind on Friday.
In Pool A, Odisha beat Chhattisgarh by a comprehensive 8-0 margin in the first match of the day. Ajit Mahato (24′, 53′), Oram Bilkan (7′, 40′) and Menjas Ekka (52′, 54′) scored two goals each. Abhisek Topno (21′) and Satish Munda (19′) scored one goal each.
In Pool C, Jharkhand eased to a 5-0 win against the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu. Adisan Minj (18′, 25′) scored a couple of goals whereas Dohdray (55′), Roshan Lakra Reetik (51′), and Captain Sukhnath Guria (44′) scored one goal each.
Chandigarh edged out Andhra Pradesh 2-1 in a thrilling fashion in In Pool F contest. Sagar’s (16′) field goal put Hockey Chandigarh in the lead but Hockey Andhra Pradesh equalised through Kotaru Teja (18′). Amit (52′) scored the winner in the final quarter for Hockey Chandigarh.
In Pool E, Haryana beat Rajasthan 3-1. Amit Khasa (1′) and Prikshit Panchal (6′) gave Hockey Haryana a good start. Ajay Shaktawat (32′) pulled one goal back for Hockey Rajasthan before Ravinder (42′) scored Hockey Haryana’s third goal.
In the final match of the day, Punjab beat Karnataka 6-0 in a Pool D game, led by Dilraj Singh’s (5′, 12′, 53′) fine hat-trick. Jaskarandeep Singh (52′, 56′) scored both his goals in the final quarter of the match. Sandeep Singh (25′) scored one goal.
The pool match between Uttar Pradesh Hockey and Assam Hockey was forfeited. (ANI)

Abu Dhabi [UAE], March 20 (ANI): Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan has equalled Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s record of most wins as captain in the men’s T20Is. Afghan achieved the feat against Zimbabwe in the second T20I on Friday.
Usman Ghani scored 49 and Karim Janat hit fifty before Rashid Khan picked three wickets as Afghanistan clinched the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe.
With the victory in the second T20I, Afghan registered his 41st win as captain equalling the record of former Indian skipper MS Dhoni, who had led India in 72 T20Is in which the Men In Blue won 41 games.
England skipper Eoin Morgan is third on the list with 33 wins while Pakistan’s Sarfaraz Ahmed has 29 wins as captain. Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has 27 wins as a skipper is fifth on the list.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan is now the third-highest wicket-taker in men’s T20Is. He picked three wickets on Friday to leapfrog New Zealand pacer Tim Southee. Rashid has 95 wickets and is behind Shahid Afridi and former Sri Lanka bowler Lasith Malinga.
Last week, in the second Test, an 11-wicket haul for Rashid and record batting performances from skipper Afghan and Hashmatullah Shahidi helped Afghanistan level the Test series.
The match was a record-runner for the team as Hashmatullah Shahidi became the first Afghan double-centurion, Asghar became the first one to score 150 for Afghanistan while Rashid Khan ended with bowling the most number of overs this century so far.
In the first innings, Rashid returned with the figures of 4-138 from 36.3 overs while in the second innings, the spinner returned with seven wickets. Because of Rashid’s brilliance in the second innings, Zimbabwe only managed to set a target of 108 runs for Afghanistan which they chased down, riding on Rahmat Shah’s half-century. (ANI)

Birmingham [UK], March 20 (ANI): Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu stormed into women’s singles semi-finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships after a thrilling victory over Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi on Friday (local time).
The reigning world badminton champion came from behind to beat Akane 16-21, 21-16, 21-19 in 76 minutes long match to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Sindhu had lost the first set but staged a thrilling comeback to take the game in the decider.
The hard-fought game saw rallies getting longer and longer in the third set. At one point, Sindhu was leading the decider 11-15 but Akane bounced back to with four consecutive points.
However, the India shuttler shifted gears in the final minutes of the play to win the quarter-final match on Friday. Sindhu will now lock horns with Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand on Saturday.
Earlier, shuttler Lakshya Sen crashed out of the ongoing All England Open after losing the quarter-finals clash against Netherlands’ Mark Caljouw.
The 19-year-old failed to overcome Caljouw’s challenge and lost the hard-fought encounter 17-21, 21-16, 17-21 in the clash that lasted for 55 minutes.
Lakshya faced a defeat in the first game but in the second game, he made a strong return and gave a tough fight to the opponent to take the clash into the third game. But in the final game of the match, Caljouw showed his grit and experience to progress to the semi-finals of the competition.
Also, the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy bowed out of the competition after losing in straight games to Netherlands’ Selena Piek and Cheryl Seinen in the quarterfinals. The Indian duo lost to the 24th-ranked pair of Selena and Cheryl 22-24, 12-21 in 39 minutes. (ANI)