Sports Bulletin

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka could not host the last Asia Cup in Sri Lanka due to the economic crisis and political unrest in the country, but it is now "safe" to host the forthcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL). This was revealed by former captain Sanath Jayasuriya. Speaking exclusively here in Mumbai, where the 53-year-old came to attend the second Road Show hosted by the Sri Lanka Tourism and Consulate General of Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya said, "Sri Lanka is now safer than what it was a few months ago. We will certainly host the LPL successfully and welcome the foreign players and the visitors. We want more people from the Asian countries to come and watch the matches and be satisfied with yourselves". Interestingly, Jayasuriya, who is a part of the Sri Lanka Legends team participating in the Road Safety World Series in India, came immediately playing the match against Bangladesh team in Raipur and returned to Raipur in the wee hours on Thursday to play the second Semi Final against West Indies. Chances of winning the upcoming World Cup 2022 in Australia, Jayasuriya says, "Our team is capable of winning the World Cup. Look at our recent performance in the Asia Cup. We were underdogs for the Asia Cup. When our team lost against Afghanistan, the people had written off our team and India was favourite to win it but ultimately, Sri Lankan team rose to the occasion". "Same thing had happened in the 1996 World Cup. No one had said that Sri Lanka would reach the Semi Final but we won the World Cup and therefore we urge the fans not to undermine our performance on and off the field".  

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lahore:-An unbeaten innings of 88 runs by English batter Phil Salt played a vital role in the England’s win that leveled the T20 bilateral cricket series 3-3 of the 7 fixtures at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on Friday night. A sparkling innings with a strike rate of 214.63 including 13 fours and three huge sixes after facing only 41 balls, Salt had no mercy for any bowler and hit strokes bravely all around the ground and got full advantage in the first 6 overs field restrictions. Both opener Salt and Hales plundered 55 runs in 3.5 overs for the first wicket. The England openers were sensational in the powerplay, smoking the Pakistan bowlers all around the park and had accumulated 50 by the end of the third over – with Salt on 26 off 10 and Hales having blasted 23 runs off just eight balls. A wise introduction of Shadab Khan in the fourth over promised to turn the run chase on its head as the leg-spinner removed Hales on the fifth ball of the over that gave away only five runs, but Salt was unstoppable at the other end and dispatched Mohammad Nawaz for three fours and a six in the fifth over. Malan then got two boundaries off Mohammad Wasim Jnr in the sixth over, one off the edge and the other through a beautiful drive through covers as England finished the powerplay with 82 for one. Salt’s assault continued as he reached 50 in only 19 balls on the second ball of the seventh over – after having whacked Aamir Jamal, the hero of the previous T20I, for a four through covers on the previous ball. With Malan providing support from the other end, Salt continued his onslaught. Malan was LBW in the 10th over off Shadab with England just 42 runs away from the target. Ben Duckett, who has had a phenomenal series with the bat but couldn’t fire in the last match, ensured England’s run-rate never dropped and made 26 not out off only 16. Salt finished with 13 fours and three sixes next to his name in his undefeated 41-ball innings. Earlier, England skipper Moeen Ali after winning the toss for the fifth time in the series opted to chase, having made two changes to his side with Mark Wood and Chris Woakes being replaced by Reece Topley and Richard Gleeson. Despite a bad start to their innings with debutant Mohammad Haris and Shan Masood out by 3.2 overs, Pakistan, courtesy a fantastic 87 not out at a strike rate of 147 from captain Babar Azam, posted a respectable 169 for six in allotted 20 overs. Pakistan could muster only five runs in the first two overs and despite Haris, who replaced injured Mohammad Rizwan in the line-up – swatting Gleeson for a six over his head could not get going as the wicketkeeper was caught at short third-man, attempting a ramp. Shan, shuffling across, was trapped LBW off David Willey and with Pakistan two wickets down for only 15 was when Babar decided to attack the visitors and smashed the left-arm fast bowler for two fours on the last three balls. As Haider started to look good, a short-ball from Sam Curran curtailed his stay in the ninth over that brought Iftikhar Ahmed in the middle. It seemed like Iftikhar had come with the intention of going after Adil Rashid. He picked the leg-spinner’s googly with ease and dispatched it for a boundary between the long-on and deep mid-wicket fielders. The next Adil over – 12th of the innings – he clubbed the ball down the ground for a six. But the highlight of his innings came in the 14th over when he hit Adil for a gigantic six over deep mid-wicket that sent the jam-packed Gaddafi Stadium crowd in a frenzy and brought up Pakistan’s 100. Gleeson started the 16th with long-on and long-off up in what seemed like a challenge thrown to Asif to test his batting skills against short-pitched balls. Asif smashed Gleeson for a four over mid-on and two balls later Babar deposited the right-arm pacer over long-on to become the joint fastest, with Virat Kohli, to breach the 3,000-run mark in the format. From this point, the fans were in for a Babar masterclass. The artful strokemaker beautifully worked a full toss over cover for a maximum in the 17th over. Pakistan gathered 19 in the last over, bowled by Topley, and it was Babar who provided the momentum – helping a slower bouncer to the fine-leg boundary on the first ball and drilling the ball in the slot over long-on for a six the next. Mohammad Nawaz added six more to the total with a swat over mid-wicket on the penultimate ball and holed out to long off the final ball. Green Shirts closed their innings at the score of 169 for 6 in 20 overs per innings fixture. Summarised Scorecard: England beat Pakistan by 8 wickets Toss: England won and decided to bowl first Pakistan Batting (169 for 6 in 20 overs): Babar Azam 87 runs not out (balls 59, 4X7, 6X3), Iftikhar Ahmed 31 runs (balls 21, 4X2, 6X2), Haider Ali 18 runs (balls 14, 4X1, 6X1), Mohammad Nawaz 12 runs (balls 7, 4X0, 6X1) England Bowling: Sam Curran (2 for 26), David Willey (2 for 32), Reece Toplay (1 for 31), Richard Gleeson (1 for 39) England Batting (Target 170 in 20 overs): Phil Salt 88 runs not out (balls 41, 4x13, 6x3), Alex Hales 27 runs (balls 12, 4X4, 6X1), Ben Duckett runs 26 not out (balls 16, (4X4, 6X0), Dawid Malan 26 runs (balls 18, 4X5, 6X0) Pakistan Bowling: Shahdab Khan (2 for 34) Player of the match: Phil Salt (England) Next match on Sunday at the same venue

BIPIN DANI Former Pakistan captain Moin Khan has been denied the US visa, it is learnt. According to the sources in Pakistan, the 51-year-old Khan was scheduled to leave for the USA this week as he is one of the three international nominees for the Cricket Hall of Fame award which is scheduled to be held in the USA on October 1. The Cricket Hall of Fame institution in the USA was founded in 1980 to celebrate the sport of cricket, its heroes and supporters who, in the true spirit of the game over the years, have served the game. The other two international cricketers to receive this award this year are : ex-windies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sir Richie Richardson, the former West Indies cricketer, who now is the ICC match-referee. "We received a note from Moin Khan's agent stating the rejection of Moin's visa. He will now be felicitated online", Michael Chambers, the Executive Director of the institution said over the telephone. In the meantime, Cricket Council USA (CCUSA) is hosting the World Cup 2022 Legends Tournament next month. "It will be held at the Central Broward Regional Park", Mahammad A. Qureshi, the CEO and the chairman of CCUSA said. "It is an ICC approved venue, which can accomodate 20,000 spectators and T-20I are being played", Qureshi added.

Ali Ahmed Ch Lahore:-Pakistan, for the second time in as many games, nullified the notion that the mantra to success in T20 cricket is to win the toss and chase. After edging England out by three runs in Karachi on Sunday, Babar Azam’s side on Wednesday defended their lowest score in Pakistan (145) in another thriller to go 3-2 up in the seven-match series at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium. Mohammad Nawaz was phenomenal with the new ball and derailed England’s run chase from its onset with the wicket of Alex Hales, who trying to swat the left-arm orthodox down the ground edged the ball into the hands of short third-man. Phil Salt picked up the only fielder guarding the leg-side boundary on the first ball of the fourth over when he flicked Haris Rauf to leave England at 19 for two. Mohammad Wasim Jnr bowled a brilliant fifth over, beating Dawid Malan four times by hitting the corridor of uncertainty and when Malan finally got off the strike with a thick edge on the fifth ball, Ben Duckett’s attempted cut ended into third-man’s hands. The introduction of spin further compounded problems for England. The pair of Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed bowled eight overs in tandem that allowed only 41 runs, but more importantly accounted for in-form Harry Brook and Malan. The overs seven till 10 allowed England only one boundary and Shadab, making his comeback into the side, got Brook LBW – when the on-field umpire’s decision was overturned through DRS. Iftikhar, after drinks, sent Malan back to the pavilion in a similar fashion. Shadab’s four overs allowed 25 runs, while Iftikhar gave away only 16 runs. That the match went till the final ball was because of Moeen Ali’s rearguard knock. The England captain scored 51 not out off 37 and took the game deep in the hope that he may target any weak link in the Pakistan bowling line-up. Debutant Aamir Jamal, who replaced Mohammad Hasnain, was given the task of defending 15 off six. The right-arm fast bowler was exceptional with his wide yorkers, sending down dots on his first two balls, and despite being dispatched for a six on the third legal delivery (the previous one being a wide outside off-stump), he made a terrific comeback to allow only a single – that off a penultimate ball. Pakistan had made two more changes with Haider Ali coming in for Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Wasim Jnr replacing Shahnawaz Dahani. Moeen, after calling correctly at the toss, decided to stick with the set template of winning the toss and opting to chase a total down as England made a plethora of changes that brought back Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran and Malan into the mix.  Wood continued his brilliant return to international cricket – after a long elbow injury-induced layoff – as his sheer pace and intelligent lengths garnered him the key wickets of Babar Azam, Haider Ali and Asif Ali. Pakistan lost their captain – the hosts’ first wicket – in the third over as Babar pulled Wood into the hands of deep square-leg. Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood – with a 25-run partnership in 18 balls - looked on course to rebuild the innings and launch a counterattack but the latter, in his attempt to paddle David Willey over short fine-leg, edged the ball handing an easy catch to Duckett at backward point towards the end of the powerplay. Haider top-edged a pull for Wood to catch off his own bowling and four overs later Iftikhar followed him back to the pavilion, becoming Willey’s second and last wicket. Asif Ali was bowled off Wood in the next over, but Pakistan’s innings slid further into disarray in the 14th over as Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan were run out in the space of four balls that left Pakistan at a paltry 100 for seven. That Pakistan managed 145 was because of Rizwan’s gutsy half-century, his fourth in the series. The wicketkeeper – struggling to find a reliable partner at the other end - stayed at the crease till the 18th over and made 63 off 46 before his signature pick-up shot off Sam Curran landed in Adil Rashid’s hands. Like Willey, Sam also returned two for 23.  Wasim and Haris struck a four and a six, respectively, in the penultimate over, bowled by Chris Woakes, that lifted the hosts to 145 before the right-armer accounted for Haris on the last ball as Pakistan were bowled out with an over to spare.  Rizwan was named player of the match. Scores in brief: Pakistan 145 all out, 19 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 63; Mark Wood 3-20, David Willey 2-23, Sam Curran 2-23) England 139-7, 20 overs (Moeen Ali 51 not out, Dawid Malan 36; Haris Rauf 2-41) Player of the match – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan).

BIPIN DANI Indian all-rounder Deepti Sharma is in the news for being the first woman cricketer to run out the England batter without delivering the ball. At Lord's on Saturday, she knocked off the stumps at non-striker's end when Charlie Dean was out of the crease and thus the first instance of the woman ODI ended abruptly. Indian spinner R. Ashwin, who had also ran out England batter Jos Buttler in a similar fashion in the IPL has praised Deepti Sharma's "presence of mind" and stated that the bowler should be credited with the wicket and be given the bravery award. He may have said this in jest as the bowler is never credited for the run out wicket but his comments have not gone well with the world's highest wicket taker Muthiah Muralitharan. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Cuttack, where he is playing the Legends League in India,legendary off-spinner Murali says, "what presence of mind ? No cricketer would play international matches if he or she has no presence of mind. I would have appreciated Deepti (Sharma) if she had given the warning to the non-striker first. It would have been in the right spirit of the game then".   Late reports coming from England suggest that the 25-year-old all rounder had warned the batter and also informed the umpires prior to running her out. However, England team has denied having received such warning.   "Yes, lawfully, she (Deepti Sharma) was right in running out the non-striker but that's in the law and not in the spirit of the game. The white ball game is a pressure game and in a tight situation the non-striker may have left the crease early and if this act by the non-striker is repeated, the run out is justified. Not otherwise in my opinion".  India's former wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani also echoed the same views. "Where is the Bravery & presence of mind “ and a  “BRAVERY AWARD” Hah !!! Sorry Ashwin, you have been a party to such Bravery in the past. Come on guys, bring back the gentleman spirit into the game". "If the Bowler feels that the non- striker is taking advantage of backing, the right spirit is to warn him / her ( like Courtney Walsh/ Viv Richards ). If a non-striker continues after warning then the bowler is legitimate to run him out", Kirmani added. Rita Dey, who was a selector when Deepti Sharma started playing cricket sees no point in warning. "Law is a law! The ICC made the rule then why there are irrelevant questions ? It's (running out) fair. The batter was completely out of crease by miles before the ball gets delivered and the rule is under ICC legitimate rules. No point in questioning if it's fair or not", she said.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Karachi, 25 September 2022: Pakistan celebrated their 200th T20I with a thrilling win in a match that swung like a pendulum - the hosts ran out England’s last batter at 19.2 overs to record a three-run win. The Sunday’s victory at the National Stadium has levelled the seven-match series 2-2 and added a pinch of excitement ahead of the last three matches to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium. The 18th over of the run chase had almost settled the match for England with Liam Dawson smashing Mohammad Hasnain for a six, four off a no-ball, four, four and another four, before a dot and a single on the last two balls. The over had began with England needing 33 and the tourists needed nine off 12 at its conclusion. Haris Rauf’s marvellous death bowling - in the next over - turned the match on its head. Dawson swatted Haris for a boundary in front of square on the second ball, but Haris, undeterred, followed it up with a bouncer which garnered Pakistan his crucial wicket. Dawson was beaten by pace and ended up holing out to midwicket. Haris and Dawson had a chat about the dismissal after the match and the fast bowler told PCB Digital Dawson was anticipating a yorker after hitting him a four on the previous ball, but he pulled his length back instead. Proper mind games! Olly Stone, in his debut match, recorded a golden duck the next ball as a scorching yorker rattled his stumps and with five remaining off the last eight balls, Reece Topley could yield only one run off a leg-bye in the over. The drop-scene came in the last over when Shan Masood, the ever-alert Shan Masood, gathered the ball at mid-on, ran towards the non-striker’s end and dislodged the bails with an underarm flick when Topley attempted to sneak in a single to bring Adil Rashid on strike. Pakistan’s defence of 167 was off to a solid start with Mohammad Nawaz accounting for Phil Salt in the first over, albeit after being smashed for two fours. Hasnain bowled beautifully in the powerplay, allowing England batters to get only 11 runs in his first two overs. He got the prized wickets of Alex Hales, who returned to the side after sitting out in the previous game, and Will Jacks in his first over (the second of the match). The former mistimed a pull that Usman Qadir gathered with an athletic dive at short midwicket and the latter was bowled with a lovely length ball. Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, who set up a remarkable win for England on Friday, looked in prime touch, and launched a terrific counterattack that stunned Pakistan and the National Stadium crowd alike. Pakistan could have had England four down inside the powerplay had Nawaz not spilled a sitter at cover with Brook on four. Duckett attacked Mohammad Wasim Jnr in the fifth over, hitting him for three fours on the bounce, and added 43 runs in 5.2 overs with Brook before Nawaz had him trapped LBW in front. But that did not deter England from continuing with the attack and the pair of Brook and Moeen Ali struck a 49-run partnership off 30 balls. The England captain became Nawaz’s third and final wicket of the match in the 14th over. David Willey ramped Haris for consecutive fours to continue to lessen the difference between the runs required and the balls remaining, before Dawson took on Hasnain in the 18th over. Pakistan, for the third time in four matches, accumulated more than 50 runs in the powerplay thanks to the solid foundation that the world’s most successful opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam had laid. Pakistan were 52 for none at the completion of the sixth over with Rizwan playing the lead role, scoring 38 off 26, hitting seven off the eight fours. Babar Azam got in the groove in the eight over, dispatching David Willey for consecutive boundaries, but Adil Rashid’s next over tightened things for the two batters, leaking only three singles and Liam Dawson gave away eight in the next as Pakistan were 82 for none at the drinks. Rizwan smashed Adil for a six over midwicket, but Babar fell in the next over. Over next five overs, the pair of Rizwan and Shan, who had breached the 50-run mark just in his second T20I last match in only 28 balls, added 40 runs, as the hosts failed to capitalise the death overs. Masood was LBW in the penultimate over off Willey and Khushdil Shah and Rizwan fell on the first two balls of the final over, bowled by Reece Topley. The packed National Stadium, however, was in for an entertaining end, as Asif Ali hit two gigantic sixes off the three balls he faced to lift Pakistan to 166 for four. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat England by three runs Pakistan 166-4, 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 88, Babar Azam 36, Shan Masood 21; Reece Topley 2-37) England 163 all out, 19.2 overs (Liam Dawson 34, Harry Brook 34, Ben Duckett 33, Moeen Ali 29; Haris Rauf 3-32, Mohammad Nawaz 3-35, Mohammad Hasnain 2-40) Player of the match – Haris Rauf (Pakistan)

BIPIN DANI Team India’s senior pace bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar has been going through a bad patch in T-20 international matches. His death overs in the last three outings were very ineffective (he gave away 49 runs) and the team lost all encounters. His performance prompted criticism from not only cricket fans but even the legendary Sunil Gavaskar. But Bhuvi has a staunch supporter in his wife Nupur. Reacting to the criticism, Nupur, who is not travelling with the team, put up a post in defence of her husband on Insta. “Nowadays, people are so worthless, that they have nothing better to do and have so much time to spread hate and envy... My advice to all those is — nobody is affected by your words or care about your existence. So please spend that time in making yourself better, though there is very little scope for that!!” she wrote. This is not the first time a cricketer’s wife has taken up cudgels against critics of the players. Take the case of Virat Kohli. His Bollywood actress wife Anushka Sharma has replied sharply to criticism of Virat’s poor form on several occasions in the past. Even Sakshi Dhoni gave a terse reply to industrialist Harsh Goenka when he criticized Dhoni’s game when he was playing for the Pune IPL team. Meanwhile, “We are not disturbed by this criticism. It is a part of the game. Even great cricketers have failed in matches”, Bhuvi’s sister Rekha said. “Before the recent Asia Cup, Bhuvi was named ‘Player of the Match’ in two different series. This T-20 cricket is unpredictable. The matches are played under pressure and expectations from players are very high. Bowlers cannot always be blamed. There are other factors such as dropped catches, dew on the pitch, behavior of the wickets, etc., which influence the outcome of the game. Bhuvi is a well-experienced player and will not lose hope. It is a part of the game,” his childhood coach, Sanjay Rustogi says.

BIPIN DANI Unlike Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is calm on field regardless of the situation, both his successors Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lose their tempers more than often.  On Tuesday, Team India captain Rohit Sharma lost his cool when no request for a DRS signal came from bowler Yuzvendra Chahal or Dinesh Karthik. Only the captain has to signal for the DRS but the bowler and wicket-keeper are at the best angles to suggest to the captain.  Former Australian captain Steve Smith was trapped by Chahal in front of the stumps as he was looking to drop it on the leg side and pinch a single. When the replays shown on the big TV screen suggested that the ball was going on to hit the stumps. Rohit saw the footage on the big screen, he appeared annoyed with Chahal and wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik but at that time it was too late and the 15-second DRS time had already elapsed. It was at this moment Rohit was seen grabbing DK's neck in a playful manner.  According to Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad, this was done in jest. "I don't think Rohit grabbed DK's neck in psainful manner. Both are good friends. I think Rohit is just telling him, ``why didn't you prompt me to take a DRS immediately". Lad, however, agrees that Rohit is not as cool as Dhoni.  Leave aside Rohit's recent gesture, there have been other instances when he has lost cool on the field of play. * He got angry at Bangladesh bowler Mustafizur Rahman. * He was livid at Navdeep Saini and asked him to use his head.   * He abused Rishabh Pant after an overthrow. 4) Rohit Sharma once was seen abusing the Umpires. 5) During the recent Asia Cup, he was seen shouting at Arshdeep Singh when a simple catch was dropped.

SPORTS BULLETIN Karachi:-Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan form the best T20I opening pair and why that is the case was on display in front of a packed house at the National Stadium as the duo overhauled a mammoth 200-run target with three balls spare against England to hand Pakistan their second 10-wicket win in the format. They are the only pair to put seven 100-plus stands together and to make over 1,800 runs together. The hosts entered the contest at the back of a defeat in a one-sided affair on Tuesday and as England went 1-0 up in the seven-match series, Pakistan faced their third consecutive loss. With the pressure mounting on Babar’s side, Moeen Ali, the England captain, influenced by the dryness and cracks on the pitch elected to bat and his side dominated the first half of the match, making the journey to a daunting 199 for five. The need of the hour was batting brilliance and the 30,000 fans that turned out to back their side were not disappointed from the onset of the run chase as Rizwan – who struck his career’s 18th half-century – cut and flicked David Willey for two boundaries in the first over. Babar, who became only the second captain from a Test playing nation after India’s Rohit Sharma to score two centuries in the format – made his intentions clear in the third over pulling Sam Curran for a four at deep mid-wicket and lifting his slower-one down the ground for another boundary. Pakistan, from that point, primarily dealt in boundaries, with Rizwan’s signature pick-up off the pads going for six in the fifth over being the highlight, and won the powerplay by piling 59 runs. England had made 48 for two in their first six overs. Rizwan had reprieves on the way – the first in the powerplay when Alex Hales spilled a chance backpeddling at mid-off and the second at the start of the seventh over when Phil Salt failed to glove Adil Rashid’s ball with the batter down the wicket. He made England pay right away dispatching Adil for two fours on the bounce two balls later. Babar, at the start of his second over, dispatched Adil for a four through covers through a cracking shot. The two gathered singles every remaining ball. It was the constant strike rotation that formed the hallmark of their partnership in the middle overs and denied the England bowlers any opportunity to tie one of them up. Liam Dawson, one of the regular features in the HBL Pakistan Super League, replaced Richard Gleeson to add to the spin bowling stocks, and despite the bite on offer on occasions, Pakistan openers comfortably pushed the England spinners back. The tactical genius of the two meant Pakistan won the first 10 overs as well, finishing seven runs better than England. Rizwan reached the 50-run mark right after the drinks break. Soon the moment of the match was to follow as Babar and Rizwan took turns dispatching Moeen into the stands in an over that cost the tourists 21 runs and left the one of the biggest amphitheatres of the country buzzing. Babar, on the first ball, spanked Moeen over mid-wicket, then deposited him over wide long-on, before Rizwan smashed the England captain over backward square. The over lifted Pakistan’s run rate to 9.61, just 1.10 behind the required, and one over later when the two smashed Adil for a six each, the current run rate surpassed the required, and left Pakistan needing 49 off the last five. Babar, who had come into the series after a string of bad scores in the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup, completed his record second century in the 18th over when he tapped and ran to complete a single on his 62nd ball. They say the penultimate over is the most important in T20 cricket and Moeen, in his last ditch effort, handed the ball to previous match’s top-performer, Luke Wood, to tilt the 20 off 12 equation into England’s favour, but Babar and Rizwan stole 17 off it, making the nervy left-arm pacer bowl three wides. Babar drilled Curran through covers - with the equation now down to one off four - to complete one of the most fascinating run chases of all time. A run chase that seemed insurmountable had now turned into a cakewalk, something that is a testament to the class of these two. England had a field day with the bat as Moeen’s fascinating 55 not out from just 23 balls lifted them to 199 for five. The opening pair of Salt and Alex Hales provided a solid start to the visitors gathering 42 in five overs before the shrewd introduction of Shahnawaz Dahani bowled Hales and Dawid Malan on the first two balls of the sixth. Ben Duckett played an exceptional innings in the middle. He attacked Mohammad Nawaz’s left-arm orthodox with masterful sweeps (both traditional and reverse) and scoops, making 43 off 22 (seven fours) before he was cleaned up by Nawaz. Harry Brook looked in good touch as he attacked the pace bowlers, but missed Haris Rauf’s guileful cutter to be bowled in the 17th. Moeen then took on the charge and spanked Dahani for two fours in the 18th and deposited Hasnain, who gave only three runs in the first over, courtesy some disciplined and tight bowling, for consecutive sixes on the last two balls of the innings. Haris was the other bowler to finish with two wickets as Dahani. This win also made Babar Pakistan’s most successful T20I captain with 30 wins. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat England by 10 wickets England 199-5, 20 overs (Moeen Ali 55 not out, Ben Duckett 43, Harry Brook 31, Phil Salt 30, Alex Hales 26; Haris Rauf 2-30, Shahnawaz Dahani 2-37) Pakistan 203-0, 19.3 overs (Babar Azam 110 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 88 not out) Player of the match – Babar Azam (Pakistan)

BIPIN DANI Sri Lankan spin bowler Maheesh Theekshana has been promoted in the Sri Lankan Army to Sergeant on producing sparkling performance in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022 at Dubai, United Arabs Emirates. The 22-year-old right-arm off-spinner has been promoted to the rank of Sergeant. This promotion has been given to him considering his recent performance in the Asia Cup and success in the red and white ball games. Theekshana was also financially benefited and a cheque of Rs. Five lacs was presented to him by Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage at his office on Tuesday. Known for his mystery spin bowling, Maheesh Theekshana was the first 21st century-born player from Sri Lanka, who made his debut against the visiting South Africa team at the R. Premadasa Stadium last year. His international debut earned him the wicket with the very first ball. Maheesh was brought up by his grand-mother Indra Padmini, who was visibly happy to learn the news of her grand-son's promotion. Maheesh did seek the blessing of his guardian on Wednesday morning. Maheesh is a Xerox of Ajantha Mendis, who now is in India playing matches. Maheesh was playing for Colts' Cricket Club but his life changing decision to move to Army was taken in consultation with mentor Chinthika Perera, whom Maheesh called him on Wednesday morning and thanked him.   Speaking exclusively, Perera said: "Maheesh is a well disciplined honest and humble cricketer. He got the right direction now. He is completing his dream and I am sure he will gain many more successes in cricket and life".