Bangladesh inflict heavy defeat on Nepal

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AFP) — Bangladesh put in a clinical performance to defeat newcomers Nepal by eight wickets in the World Twenty20 in Chittagong yesterday.

The hosts, who fielded after winning the toss, kept Nepal down to 126-5 in their 20 overs before reaching the modest target in 15.3 overs.

Opener Anamul Haque scored a 33-ball 42 with five boundaries and two sixes and shared an opening stand of 63 with Tamim Iqbal (30).

Shakib Al Hasan hit four sixes in his 37 not out and Sabbir Rahman made 21 not out to complete the chase.

Nepal’s modest score was built around a polished 35-ball 41 by skipper Paras Khadka and a 43-ball 40 by Sharad Vesawkar who shared a 85-run stand for the fourth wicket.

But the experienced pair failed to speed up things in the final overs against some tight Bangladeshi bowling.

Paceman Al-Amin Hossain was the pick of the home bowlers with 2-17 in four overs.

The second straight win puts Bangladesh in a strong position to qualify for the Super-10 stage from Group A.

Jackson hopes to recreate magic at Knicks

NEW YORK, USA (AFP) — Phil Jackson, who coached a record 11 NBA championship teams, has agreed to return to the struggling New York Knicks, the National Basketball Association team announced yesterday.

The former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers coach was introduced as the president of basketball operations of the beleaguered NBA team at a news conference.

“I am going to jump in with both feet,” Jackson said. “We want to build a team. This is the best place to play basketball.”

Jackson will be trying to recreate the magic he was part of with the Knicks in the 1970s.

Jackson, who played for the Knicks from 1967-1978, has been put in charge of all basketball decisions for the Knicks. He helped the Knicks win their most recent NBA crown in 1973.

The 68-year-old Jackson retired from coaching in May 2011 after leading the Chicago Bulls to six crowns in the 1990s and then Los Angeles Lakers to five titles. His last title came in 2010 with Los Angeles.

Jackson won 11 NBA titles as a coach, surpassing the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He also has a .704 career winning percentage, the highest of any NBA coach.

Zenit St Petersburg put Villas-Boas in charge

MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Ambitious Russian side Zenit St Petersburg yesterday named ex-Chelsea and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas as their new manager, as the club seek to break through into the top ranks of European football.

The 36-year-old Portuguese handler, who first made his name with Porto, will officially sign for Zenit on March 20, taking over from Italian Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked last week.

Villas-Boas will receive at least 8.5 million euros ($11.8 million) a season as well as possible bonuses, the R-Sport news agency quoted a source in the club as saying.

He takes over just a day after Zenit play at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last 16, with the Russians needing to overturn a 2-4 first leg deficit. Caretaker manager Sergei Semak will be in charge for that game.

Zenit’s owners, the Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, will be looking beyond this season in signing Villas-Boas as they seek glory on the European stage.

Zenit General Manager Maxim Mitrofanov was quoted by ITAR-TASS news agency as saying he hoped the appointment would motivate the players ahead of the Dortmund game.

Barcelona, Messi top AP’s poll

LONDON, England (AP) — Lionel Messi and Barcelona are back on top of the Associated Press global football poll.

Barcelona edged Liverpool by three points to take team of the week honours after routing Osasuna 7-0 in the Spanish league. Messi leads the player vote for the second time this season after scoring a hat-trick in that victory and becoming Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 371 goals.

Aurelio Capaldi of RAI Sport in Italy, meanwhile, highlighted the performance of Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, who is fifth in the poll.

“Iniesta keeps acting like a maestro and his performances are always ready to seduce the crowd,” Capaldi said.

Liverpool was second in the team poll after an emphatic 3-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League, and Steven Gerrard was second to Messi after scoring two penalties in that match.

AP Global Football 10 rankings

Players:

1. Lionel Messi (177 points)

2. Steven Gerrard (101)

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (91)

4. Diego Costa (69)

5. Andres Iniesta (49)

6. Andrea Pirlo (45)

(tie) Luis Suarez (45)

8. Bastain Schweinsteiger (44)

9. Cristiano Ronaldo (38)

10. Fabian Delph (29)

Teams:

1. Barcelona (168 points)

2. Liverpool (165)

3. Bayern Munich (122)

4. Paris Saint-Germain (92)

5. Atletico Madrid (76)

6. Juventus (62)

(tie) Real Madrid (62)

8. Arsenal (61)

9. Aston Villa (39)

10. Borussia Moenchengladbach (32)