The story could have been written in the very first minute, or sadness could have spread through the stands before the final whistle. But the match between the Pakistan and Bangladesh Olympic teams at the Four Nations Diamond Jubilee Tournament in the Maldives ended without bite. On a day of squandered chances by the forwards and heroics from goalkeeper Mehedi Hasan Sraban, the two sides shared the points in a 0-0 draw.
When the match at the Male Stadium was just a minute old, Bangladesh could have been celebrating. From Najmul Faisal’s cross, Sourav Dewan’s gentle touch inside the small box went over the bar. After weathering that early jolt, the red-and-greens kept control of the first half, but poor finishing frustrated them repeatedly. In the 28th minute, Murshed Ali wasted the simplest chance — after Rahul’s pass, with only the opposition keeper to beat, he shot straight at the goalkeeper. In first-half stoppage time, Bangladesh were denied a penalty when a foul on Rabbi in the box drew no response from the referee.
The biggest drama came in the 61st minute. The referee first showed Pakistani defender Syed Abdullah Shah a red card for pushing Bangladesh captain Manzurur Rahman, but later changed the decision to a yellow. Relieved at not being reduced to 10 men, Pakistan then mounted attack after attack. In the 66th minute, Sraban leapt like a hawk to fist away Ali Haider Shah’s superb side volley for a corner, and in the final minute he stopped Fahim Hamid’s fierce shot to keep Bangladesh’s net intact. On a day of attacking failure, it was Sraban’s resolve that earned Bangladesh a point.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report