Bangladesh's Bounty Hunt (26 May 1999)

26 May 1999

Bangladesh's Bounty Hunt

Zahid Newaz in Dhaka

A bounty of 20 US dollars each run in case of every half-century holds out for any Bangladeshi batsman in the ongoing World Cup.

Veteran Minhajul Abedin Nannu has already secured 1,360 dollars for his scintillating unbeaten 68 against Scotland while promising opener Mehrab Hossain Opee made 1,280 dollars for a brilliant 64 against West Indies.

The BRTC Sporting Club of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation announced the cash bonanza Tuesday, a day after Bangladesh recorded its historic win against Scotland in the World Cup.

For Nannu the cash award will be a plus to his man-of-the-match prize worth 6,000 dollars given by the ICC and 2,000 dollars by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as team member of the winning side and another amount of Tk 2,000 dollars being adjudged man of the match as bonus.

The reckoning takes Nannu's windfall cash award to 11,360 dollars while of Opee 3,280 dollars.

Ahead of the debut of Bangladesh in the World Cup, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had announced cash award of 1,000 dollars each for a win in the world's biggest cricket show. But immediately after the first win, the Prime Minister herself doubled the figure.

There is also announcement of similar cash awards for any subsequent win in the remaining two matches against Australia on May 27 and Pakistan on May 31. According to the announcement, a batsman will also get 2,000 dollars for a century while a bowler as much for hauling four wickets in a single match.

On Monday, Nannu, a former national skipper, hit Bangladesh's highest 68 runs against Scotland in Edinburgh to propel the team to an honorable total of 185 for 9 in stipulated 50 overs. The allrounder, who was included in the World Cup squad at the eleventh hour crossing many hurdles in the cricket arena, scored his ODI career-best 68 not out in 118 balls that featured six boundaries. It was also the second fifty by a Bangladesh batsman in the World Cup.

Nannu's previous highest was 45 against one-day debutant Kenya in the Triangular Cricket tourney in Madras, India, on May 24 last year. With the day's innings, Nannu scored 386 runs in 25 ODI matches.

Coming to bat in a difficult situation with Bangladesh tottering at 26 for 5 in the 11th over, Nannu completed his half century with a single off a Brinkley delivery playing 104 balls when scoreboard showed 158 for 8 in 45.4 overs.

In his second appearance in the World Cup, Nannu surpassed previous individual highest World Cup mark of 64 runs made by promising opener Mehrab Hossain Opee, who scored the first ODI century and World Cup's half century for Bangladesh.

Opee earned the distinction of making the country's first ODI century against Zimbabwe last March and hammered Bangladesh's first world cup fifty against two-time world champions West Indies on Friday.

Source :: CricInfo365