রিয়াল-বার্সায় সেই রোনালদো-মেসি

৮-০, ৫-০, ৩-০, ৫-০। ! মেসি, ভিয়া, জাভি, ইনিয়েস্তা—বার্সেলোনার এমন জয়ের যাঁরা কারিগর, তাঁদের নিয়ে যিনি কাজ করছেন সেই পেপ গার্দিওলাই তো বিস্মিত হচ্ছেন, সাধারণ দর্শক আর কী বলবে!
বার্সেলোনার এই চার জয়ের সর্বশেষটি এল পরশু। বার্সেলোনাকে হুঁশিয়ার করে ন্যু ক্যাম্পে এসে রিয়াল সোসিয়েদাদ উড়ে গেল ৫-০ গোলে। এই জয়ের পর বার্সেলোনা কোচ গার্দিওলাই বলেছেন, ‘আমরা ঠিক জানি না এই দলটা কী করতে চলেছে! এটা সাধারণত এক বা দুটি ম্যাচে ঘটতে পারে। কিন্তু এখন এটি ঘটছে সব সময়!’
বার্সেলোনার মতো অন্যস্তরের ফুটবল খেলতে না পারলেও ভালো খেলছে রিয়াল মাদ্রিদও। বার্সেলোনার সঙ্গে এল ক্লাসিকোর ফলটা বাদ দিলে এ মৌসুমে হোসে মরিনহোর দলকেও দুর্দমনীয় বলতে হয়। স্প্যানিশ লিগে বার্সেলোনার প্রধান প্রতিদ্বন্দ্বীরা পরশু রিয়াল জারাগোজার মাঠ থেকে ফিরেছে ৩-১ গোলের জয় নিয়ে।
অন্য স্তরের খেলোয়াড়দের মধ্যে শ্রেষ্ঠ বলতে হবে লিওনেল মেসিকেই। গত চার ম্যাচে বার্সেলোনা করেছে ২১ গোল, এর ৭টিই আর্জেন্টাইন তারকার। আলমেরিয়ার বিপক্ষে হ্যাটট্রিক করেছেন, এল ক্লাসিকোয় গোল না পেলেও পরের ম্যাচেই ওসাসুনার বিপক্ষে জোড়া গোল করে দলকে জিতিয়েছেন। সোসিয়েদাদের বিপক্ষেও গোল ‘হয় না হয় না’ করতে করতেও দুর্দান্ত দুটি গোল পেয়ে গেলেন।
বার্সার মেসি আর রিয়ালের ক্রিস্টিয়ানো রোনালদো ছুটছেন সমান্তরালে। পরশু একটি গোল করেছেন রিয়ালের পর্তুগিজ এই উইঙ্গারও। রিয়াল-বার্সার শিরোপা লড়াই যেমন জমে উঠেছে, তেমনই জমজমাট মেসি-রোনালদো দ্বৈরথও। স্প্যানিশ লিগের সর্বোচ্চ গোলদাতার তালিকায় দুজনই এখন পাশাপাশি। সমান ১৭টি করে গোল করেছেন দুজনই।
দুই দলের দুই কোচও মেতেছেন তাঁদের সেরা খেলোয়াড়ের বন্দনায়। রোনালদোকে নিয়ে রিয়াল কোচ মরিনহো বলেছেন, ‘ক্রিস্টিয়ানো রোনালদো একজন ফেনোমেনন খেলোয়াড়। যে মাঠেই যায়, ও সেই মাঠই মাতিয়ে আসে।’
রোনালদো জারাগোজার মাঠ মাতিয়ে এসেছেন ঠিক, কিন্তু রিয়াল বার্সেলোনার মতো প্রতিপক্ষকে ছিঁড়েখুঁড়ে শেষ করে দিতে পারেনি। অনেকটা শ্রমসাধ্য জয় নিয়েই ফিরতে হয়েছে তাদের। জার্মানির মেসুত ওজিলের ১৫ মিনিটের গোলের পর ৪৪ মিনিটে ফ্রি-কিক থেকে ব্যবধান ২-০ করেন রোনালদো। দ্বিতীয়ার্ধের শুরুতেই গোল করেছেন অ্যাঙ্গেল ডি মারিয়া। পেনাল্টি থেকে একটি গোল শোধ করে জারাগোজা।
বার্সাকে তাতিয়ে দিয়ে ন্যু ক্যাম্পে নেমে এই রাতে ৯ মিনিটেই প্রথম গোল খায় সোসিয়েদাদ। গোলটি করেন ভিয়া। ৩৩ মিনিটে ব্যবধান দ্বিগুণ করেন ইনিয়েস্তা। দ্বিতীয়ার্ধের খেলা মিনিট দুই না পেরোতেই গোল করেন মেসি। খেলা শেষের মিনিট তিনেক আগে মেসি করেন তাঁর দ্বিতীয় গোল। আর বদলি বোজান কিরকিচ শেষ মুহূর্তে করেন ৫-০।
ইংলিশ প্রিমিয়ার লিগে চেলসি আটকে গেছে টটেনহাম হটস্পারে। টটেনহামের মাঠে পাভলিউচেঙ্কোর গোলে পিছিয়ে পড়া চেলসির জন্য ড্র করতে পারাটাই ছিল অনেক। ৭০ মিনিটে দিদিয়ের দ্রগবা গোল পেয়ে যান টটেনহাম গোলরক্ষক গোমেজের ভুলে। শট ফিস্ট করতে গিয়েও ব্যর্থ হয়েছেন। এরপর এই গোমেজই হয়েছেন নায়ক আর দ্রগবা হয়ে যান চেলসির খলনায়ক। দ্রগবার পেনাল্টি ঠেকিয়ে স্পারদের ড্র এনে দিয়েছেন গোমেজ।
চেলসি কোচ কার্লো আনচেলত্তি অবশ্য দ্রগবার ওপর চাপ সৃষ্টি করতে ।

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গভীর শ্রদ্ধায় পালিত হচ্ছে শহীদ বুদ্ধিজীবী দিবস

প্রতিবছরের মতো এবারও শহীদ বুদ্ধিজীবীদের প্রতি গভীর শ্রদ্ধা নিবেদনের মাধ্যমে জাতি পালন করছে শহীদ বুদ্ধিজীবী দিবস। শহীদদের প্রতি শ্রদ্ধা জানাতে শীতের সকালে রাজধানীর এবং রায়েরবাজার বধ্যভূমিতে ভিড় করতে শুরু করে নানা শ্রেণী-পেশার লোকজন।
মিরপুর শহীদ বুদ্ধিজীবী স্মৃতিসৌধে সকাল আটটার দিকে রাষ্ট্রপতি জিল্লুর রহমান ও প্রধানমন্ত্রী শেখ হাসিনা পুষ্পস্তবক অর্পণের মধ্য দিয়ে শহীদদের প্রতি শ্রদ্ধা জানান। এ সময় বিউগলের করুণ সুর বাজানো হয়। তাঁদের সঙ্গে সেখানে মন্ত্রিপরিষদ সদস্য, সাংসদ ও দলের জ্যেষ্ঠ নেতারা উপস্থিত ছিলেন। রাষ্ট্রপতি ও প্রধানমন্ত্রী এ সময় এক মিনিটি নীরবতা পালন করেন।
প্রধানমন্ত্রী ও রাষ্ট্রপতি শ্রদ্ধা নিবেদন শেষে বের হয়ে যাওয়ার পরপরই শ্রদ্ধা জানাতে শুরু করে বিভিন্ন রাজনৈতিক, সামাজিক ও সাংস্কৃতিক সংগঠন। শহীদ পরিবারের সদস্যরা শ্রদ্ধা জানাচ্ছেন হারানো স্বজনদের প্রতি।
এদিকে রায়েরবাজার বধ্যভূমিতেও শহীদদের প্রতি শ্রদ্ধা জানাচ্ছে সর্বস্তরের লোকজন।
আওয়ামী লীগ, বিএনপিসহ অন্যান্য রাজনৈতিক দল এবং সামাজিক ও সাংস্কৃতিক সংগঠন বিভিন্ন কর্মসূচির মধ্য দিয়ে দিবসটি পালন করছে। আওয়ামী লীগ বেলা তিনটায় বঙ্গবন্ধু আন্তর্জাতিক সম্মেলন কেন্দ্রে আলোচনা সভার আয়োজন করেছে।

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Hapless New Zealand swept away again

India 107 for 2 (Parthiv 56, Yuvraj 42) beat New Zealand 103 (Styris 24, Ashwin, 3-24, Yuvraj 2-5, Nehra 2-34) by eight wickets


Only Brendon McCullum showed any intent, but Ashish Nehra nipped him out before he could inflict serious damage

New Zealand were at the receiving end of another humiliation as a hapless batting performance led to their lowest score against India and sealed a 0-5 whitewash. On a dry pitch susceptible to the influence of the overcast weather, New Zealand were keen to make the most of initially favourable batting conditions. But their edginess against pace at the start of the innings, and capitulation to spin later on, ensured their misery in ODIs continued.

The pitch offered limited assistance to the bowlers and was not responsible for the domination that India showed; New Zealand's inability to survive perhaps was. The seamers were crafty enough to make use of the hint of swing and movement available early on, the spinners, led by R Ashwin, varied their lengths, pace and worked the angles well to prove more than a handful against the middle and lower orders.

Praveen Kumar's control and Ashish Nehra's quick recovery from a Brendon McCullum onslaught in his first over set up India. Praveen earned his prize straight away, beginning with three straight-ish deliveries before getting one to nip away and prompt a fatal poke from Martin Guptill. Nehra had a contrasting start, struggling for line and length, dragging one short to be dispatched over square leg and providing width to be slammed through the off side for two boundaries. McCullum's aggressive posture, characterized by his advances down the wicket as well as moving well across to look for scoring opportunities, promised an entertaining counterattack. It caused his downfall instead, as he shuffled across to Nehra and was done in by the inswing to be caught on the pads, leaving New Zealand 14 for 2.

Smart stats
This is the second time India have won an ODI series 5-0. The only previous instance was against England in 2008-09, when a seven-match series was curtailed to five due to the terrorist attack in Mumbai. India won each of those five games.
For New Zealand, it was their fourth 5-0 drubbing in a five-match series. Three of those four series defeats have happened since 2003.
New Zealand's total of 103 is their lowest in a completed innings against India. It's their second-lowest in India - they'd scored six runs fewer against Australia in Faridabad in 2003.
India won with 173 balls to spare, which is their fourth-highest in all ODIs and their best against New Zealand. For the visitors too, it's the fourth-heaviest defeat in terms of balls remaining.
Over the five-match series, Indian batsmen averaged 56.95 runs per wicket, at a strike rate of 94.05 runs per 100 balls, and scored four hundreds. New Zealand averaged 24.38 at a strike rate of 80.43, and didn't manage a single hundred.
Ashish Nehra became the 11th Indian bowler to take 150 ODI wickets.
The pitch largely behaved itself for the duration of the innings and the Indian bowlers, for their part, provided reasonable opportunities to ease the pressure. Ross Taylor looked confident, piercing the field with some delicious drives past mid-off, but his stay ended with an instinctive attempt at a pull against Nehra, and the ball scraped the glove on the way to Parthiv Patel. Jamie How appeared on course to lend some respectability to what's been a miserable series with some lovely flicks off his pads and Scott Styris seemed determined to get the innings back on track, but the steadiness that they had painstakingly brought to the innings was obliterated by spin.

The slow bowlers were expected to play a prominent role as the day wore on and it didn't take long for Yuvraj Singh to step into the act. In the 17th over, after having built a stand of 43 with Styris, How tried to play across the line and was bowled as the ball straightened. Styris misread the length and played the sweep, almost as an afterthought, against Ashwin in the next over to be caught plumb. And Grant Elliott, included in the line-up to strengthen the batting, made no impact, failing to read the straighter one from Yuvraj to be lbw.

Three wickets in three overs, and the departure of Daniel Vettori to a catch at slip not long after indicated New Zealand were in a hurry to finish the game even before the weather, overcast and ominous, was given a chance to intervene. Sure enough, Kyle Mills' inability to read Ashwin's carrom ball and Tim Southee's gifting a catch to short leg marked a sorry end to a line-up that bats deep.

The early wickets of the in-form Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were the only consolation as New Zealand succumbed to a 0-5 battering, with their World Cup preparations in disarray following a bitter experience in two recent assignments in the subcontinent. India, for their part, have been boosted by the successful return of Yusuf Pathan and the consistency of Ashwin, while consecutive fifties from Parthiv Patel have further spiced up the selection race for the World Cup.

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Gautam Gambhir, bowlers make 2-0

India 259 for 2 (Gambhir 138*, Kohli 64) beat New Zealand 258 for 8 (Guptill 70, Styris 59, Sreesanth 4-47) by eight wickets
The captain led from the front to set up an easy chase

Gautam Gambhir's bowlers responded well to his call of bowling first, restricting New Zealand with smart, accurate bowling, and the captain reciprocated with a fluent 138 off 116 balls to make the chase look easy.

Gambhir, capping off a return to form that began with a struggling Test fifty in Hyderabad last month, never let his strike-rate come under 100 once he crossed the mark in the sixth over. He had for company an equally hungry Virat Kohli, who now has two centuries and a fifty in his last three international outings.

Dew, expected later in the evening, was the reason why India put New Zealand in on a cracking surface, but the towels were conspicuous by absence in the second half of the game. Which is what made the bowling effort special.

The pitch played slow and low, and India cut out the pace and the room. There was nothing spectacular done with the ball, just accurate, wicket to wicket bowling for most of the part. Martin Guptill and Scott Styris tried to take New Zealand towards a fighting total with important fifties, but India pulled the visitors back every time they threatened to break free.

New Zealand began with three boundaries in the first two overs, but Sreesanth's late swing removed Jamie How. Guptill and Kane Williamson looked solid but subdued in a 50-run stand for the second wicket. Those runs took 12.5 overs coming - all but seven of those deliveries in the Powerplay.

The duo did little to upset the bowlers' rhythm. Munaf Patel was allowed to hit the same spot again and again, with slight seam movement either way. One of those moved a bit more than expected, and found a way through Williamson's bat and pad, taking the top of off. The pressure showed when Ross Taylor went to hit Yusuf Pathan's first delivery for a six, but found deep midwicket.

Styris came out in the 25th over with the score yet to reach three figures, and cut out the unproductive balls, taking singles with ease and finding timely boundaries. When he and Guptill asked for the Powerplay in the 35th over, R Ashwin responded with a carrom balls to remove Guptill. That set New Zealand back by a couple of overs.

Styris and Daniel Vettori had to take some time set up another charge, but Sreesanth pegged them back again. Like he did in the first match of the series, Sreesanth came back for a new spell in the 46th over, and took two wickets with his first two deliveries. He ended a threatening ninth-wicket partnership in the last game, and got rid of Styris and Vettori this time.

New Zealand opened their defence with Nathan McCullum, presumably to get through some overs of spin before dew appeared, and immediately troubled M Vijay, who struggled to come to terms with the slowness of the pitch.

Gambhir, however, was playing in a different world. He timed almost everything sweetly except for a couple of inside edges that went for fours. Against Kyle Mills, he walked down the pitch on a couple of occasions to create the driving length. When Mills pitched slightly short, he cut him away. The driving between mid-off and extra cover stood out.

By the end of the eighth over, Gambhir had scored four times Vijay's eight, taking India to 40, and putting Mills out of the attack. Against Styris he made room and went over extra cover. Andy McKay strayed too straight, and was clipped for four into the leg side. There was not a hint of power; the short back lift emphasised how well he timed the ball.

Vijay continued his patchy innings until he tried a premeditated slog-sweep off Vettori in the 18th over, and was bowled. Gambhir, though, had reached 54 off 48 by then, out of India's 87, and looked set to carry India through. A crucial moment came in the 22nd over when Gambhir's bat got stuck into the ground as he tried to slide it in, but Vettori failed to collect the throw cleanly and Gambhir was let off.

Every time Gambhir needed quick runs, he made room and went over extra cover. Kohli batted like he was never dismissed in Guwahati, pulling powerfully wide of long-on, and punching square for most of his runs. Over by over, the 116-run partnership brought the asking rate down, until it read 4.3 for the last 13 overs when Kohli found short midwicket with a pull shot.

It was a distraught batsman that left the wicket, 36 short of a third straight century, which was possible with 56 still required. His captain and a senior back in Delhi, though, was there to see India home and continue their unbeaten home season.

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Afridi fifty seals title for Pakistan

Pakistan 139 for 2 (Afridi 54*, Akmal 37) beat Sri Lanka 138 for 6 (Sangakkara 64*, Mathews 35*, Razzaq 3-20) by eight wickets

It wasn't the edge-of-the-seat final that would have signed off the ICC World Twenty20 in style, but that won't matter to Pakistan who gave their nation a something to savour amid troubled times. From the moment Tillakaratne Dilshan, the tournament's top-scorer, fell in the opening over Pakistan had a grip on the match. Shahid Afridi, who emerged as their trump card, guided his team home in the 19th over with an unbeaten 54, and it was left to Younis Khan to raise the trophy in what he later announced would be his final Twenty20 international, in front of a sea of delirious Pakistan supporters.

Pakistan won't be playing at home for the foreseeable future, but the following they have had at this event has reinforced the notion that England can be a surrogate home. The masses were cheering from early on as Abdul Razzaq - a great individual comeback-story among the team's resurgence - claimed three key wickets in his opening burst to leave Sri Lanka on 32 for 4. They never looked back despite the best efforts of Kumar Sangakkara.

Occasionally the tension rose as the required rate climbed, but each time Afridi was on hand with one of his most mature innings. He hit consecutive balls from Muttiah Muralitharan for six and four in the 14th over, a calculated assault against a key bowler. The destination of the trophy was sealed when he swung a huge six over midwicket off Isuru Udana in the 18th over - the moment when Sangakkara gambled on one of his weaker bowling links - and followed that with another boundary off a high full toss.

Shoaib Malik played his part with 24 off 22 balls in a match-winning stand of 76 after Kamran Akmal had given early impetus to the top-order. The batsmen knew they didn't have to take many risks and played Ajantha Mendis better than any other team as he went for his most expensive spell of the tournament.

Pakistan's rise from rank outsiders to champions is an extraordinary display for a team that had to beat Netherlands by a significant margin to even stay in the event during the group stages. However, they have peaked at the right time and couldn't have produced a more complete performance for a final. They fell five runs short two years ago at Johannesburg, but this time there was no mistake.

Sri Lanka, who have been the model of consistency, were caught off guard by aggressive tactics. In a stirring atmosphere, Pakistan were on top of their game from the start as 17-year-old Mohammad Aamer belied his inexperience with a tone-setting opening over. In a clear plan he bowled short at Dilshan who was distinctly discomforted by the approach. Against the fifth ball Dilshan tried to take the initiative with a scoop over short fine-leg, but only managed to pick out the man on the edge of the circle. He had middled virtually all his attempts at the shot during the tournament and what a time for it to go wrong.

With the tournament's leading run-scorer heading off Pakistan were buoyed and Sri Lanka shaken. Jehan Mubarak was promoted to No. 3, but he couldn't survive the second over when he came down the pitch and got a leading edge into the covers to give Razzaq his first.

Sri Lanka briefly rallied as Sanath Jaysuriya suggested he could marshal a turnaround. Favouring the leg side he swung Razzaq for six with a forceful short-arm pull and collected four more next ball, but it was a short-lived response when an inside edge crashed into the stumps. Razzaq was flat on his face at the moment of dismissal after slipping in his follow-through but it was Sri Lanka who were feeling unsteady.

Younis Khan went on the attack and his decision to post a wide slip paid rich dividends when Mahela Jayawardene steered the ball straight to Misbah-ul-Haq at ankle height. Razzaq was playing his cricket with a new lease of life after being giving another crack at international level. He wasn't part of the original squad, but Yasir Arafat's injury that prompted the switch now looked like a stroke of fortune.

Four wickets inside the Powerplay meant Sri Lanka had little choice but to play it safe as Younis turned to his spinners. Sangakkara was calmness personified amid Sri Lanka's problems aware that the hopes of a decent total rested on his shoulders. He paced his innings expertly, reaching fifty off 44 balls despite the problems that surrounded him, but only found support when joined by Angelo Mathews.

The final five overs brought 59 runs and if any attack could make a game out of 138 it was Sri Lanka's. However, early wickets were key and they didn't materialise as Akmal and Shahzaid Hasan played sensibly. The wizardry of Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan and the accuracy of Lasith Malinga have provided wonderful entertainment over the last weeks, but on this occasion couldn't conjure the magic spell that was needed.

As Afridi and Malik embraced mid-pitch after the winning moment the emotion showed what this victory means for Pakistan. They needed this success most and perhaps that drive was the deciding factor. The country faces a difficult few years of rebuilding, but this victory will have brought great joy and, hopefully, belief of a brighter future.

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