Sports Bulletin

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".

SPORTS BULLETIN Karachi:-Alex Hales marked his return to international cricket with a bang, as he smashed 53 in 40 balls were vital for England’s victory against hosts Green Shirts by six-wicket in the first of the seven T20 Internationals’ tie at National Cricket Stadium Karachi. It was a dream return of sorts for Hales, who has not featured in England colours since 2019, as he anchored the run chase, scoring at a strike rate of 133, and helping his side roll over the 159-run target with four balls spare. After the early wicket of Phil Salt, who made run-a-ball 10, Hales added crucial runs with Dawid Malan (20 off 15) and Ben Duckett (21 off 17) with both partnerships worth 34, before Harry Brook’s whirlwind 25-ball 42 not out (seven fours) took the game away from the grasp of the hosts. Naseem Shah’s first over went for 14 runs with both the openers – Salt and Hales, hitting a boundary each. The introduction of Shahnawaz Dahani, following a tight second over from Mohammad Nawaz, provided Babar Azam’s side a breakthrough when Salt pulled the right-arm pacer’s short-pitched delivery into the hands of Haider Ali, stationed at deep square-leg. That was the only wicket Pakistan would bag in the powerplay as Malan and Hales launched a counterattack. Malan welcomed Usman Qadir with a six over his head – off a full toss – at the start of the seventh over, but a beautiful leg-break delivery bamboozled Malan the next ball, who edged it back to the bowler to cup it safely. Duckett’s adventurous approach did not reap him the rewards he and Moeen Ali, who captained England in the absence of an injured Jos Buttler, would have expected as he was trapped LBW trying to reverse sweep a ball. Hales fell in the 17th over when he top-edged Haris Rauf, but the match had been settled in England’s favour by then. Pakistan posted 158 - after Moeen elected to bowl - at the back of Mohammad Rizwan’s 68 in 46. Pakistan were off to a flying start as the pair of Rizwan and Babar lifted Pakistan to 51 by the close of powerplay and had them at 85 at 9.3 overs when the latter was bowled off a scorching googly from Adil Rashid. Pakistan lost their next three wickets for 11 runs as Haider, Rizwan and Shan Masood fell inside 11 balls. Debutant Luke Wood had a terrific start to his T20I career returning three for 24 from four overs. The collapse was further aggravated by the left-arm pacer with the scalps of Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah at death as the hosts could add only 71 in the last 10 overs. The two sides meet for the second T20I on Thursday at the same venue, where the third and fourth matches will also be played. The action moves to Lahore from 28 September as the Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan’ Home of Cricket, hosts the last three matches. Scores in brief: England beat Pakistan by six wickets Pakistan 158-7, 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 68, Babar Azam 31, Iftikhar Ahmed 28; Luke Wood 3-24, Adil Rashid 2-27) England 160-4, 19.2 overs (Alex Hales 53, Harry Brook 42 not out, Ben Duckett 21, Dawid Malan 20; Usman Qadir 2-36) Player of the match – Luke Wood (England)

Bipin Dani Sri Lanka's all national cricketers will undergo fitness tests on Wednesday, it is learnt. According to the sources in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the list of national players to undergo these tests on Wednesday also includes the World Cup squad. "All these tests will be conducted at the R. Premadasa Stadium under the supervision of our experienced trainer Grant Luden", a top source in the SLC revealed to this Reporter. Incidentally, Luden will be a member of the support staff traveling to Australia with the World Cup players. He was also in the UAE for the recent Asia Cup. South Africa-born Luden, who has worked with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is well-experienced in handling the players' injuries and has been working with the SLC as a Physical Performance Manager. Pramodya Wickramsinghe, the head of the national selection panel will travel with the team as a tour selector. The 51-year-old former fast bowler recently travelled to the UAE to oversee the performance of the players. Apparently, his recent trip to the UAE was in his own capacity and he also didn't stay in the same hotel where the team was put up.  

Bipin Dani The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board has hosted a Residential Camp for the probables of the World Cup squad, it is learnt. According to highly placed sources in the SLC, the camp will be held in Kandy. "The wickets at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (PICS) are similar to the Australian wickets where the World Cup matches are to be played", the source, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Dubai. "We have given one week's rest to the players. They will assemble in Kandy and start training in the 3rd week of this month". All players who were there during the Asia Cup are fit and raring to go. We will add a few more players for the camp and then a list of the final 15 will be sent to the ICC before their desad-line",  the source further added. Incidentally, the head coach (Chris Silverwood), who has sought a small-break after the Asia Cup is in England but scheduled to return before the residential camp. The selectors have "more or less" picked the World Cup squad in consultation with the head coach when they all were in Dubai during the Asia Cup. However, pace bowler Dushmantha Chameera may be considered. "He has "almost" recovered from his ankle injury. In case, if he has to undergo surgery after seeking the second opinion, can wait till the World Cup and be under the knife in Australia after the World Cup", someone known to the development, revealed. "The selectors may also include Binura Fernando and Lahiru Kumara for the camp. One or two from these additional players may board a flight to Australia", the source further added.

BIPIN DANI Eying off the classic defensive stance of the batter, the young leg spinner delivered his first ball. He knew immediately it had perfect flight, the ball fizzed through the air, biting hard off the pitch it turned sharply past the edge of the bat. Steve Waugh looked up and fixed his steely glare on the bowler as he reset. Tom Brooks was eleven years old, and the action took place in the cricket net he built out the back of the Brooks family farm at Scone, three hours drive from Sydney. “I was immediately impressed by his ball flight and the turn he got on the ball” Waugh said of his first experience with Tom. “I then went away to school at St Ignatius college Riverview”, says Brooks “As I’m from the country I would always prioritise my commitments at home before my cricket”. However, at age 15 I made it into the Riverview First X1”. His coach at Riverview, the esteemed James Rodgers, stated that “in 40 years of Brooks was easily best bowler I have coached” Brooks was already playing against the men’s country sides from age 10, and after school finished Brooks was drafted straight into First Grade in Sydney, with Wests. Last year, his second season his figures showed his development with 31 Wickets at an average 24. Tom is mentored in his craft by ex-Test Spinner Kerry O’Keefe. “Playing grade cricket, I travel down on a Friday night and go home on a Sunday night after play, and help around the farm, as it holds a close place to my heart” says Tom In January 2022, Steve Waugh introduced Tom to Sir Ian Botham, and pushed forward the idea of a summer stint in the UK. Botham was straight into it, fixing up Tom, now 21, With Richmondshire CC, in North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket Leagues. Joining Richmondshire XI and nicknamed “Warnie” by his team-mates, Tom helped the Team win two championships, with 77 wickets at 19.38 and a best of 6/35, and a batting average of 29.83 with a strike rate of 131.62. “I have a massive opportunity to pursue my cricket and now I have decided to give it a serious go” says Tom.