Sports Bulletin

BIPIN DANI Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, the recipient of the Padma Bhushan Award, who made his Test debut five decades ago (against West Indies at Port of Spain on March 6, 1971) will be felicitated in the United States of America (USA), it is learnt. This was confirmed by P.K. Guha, an ardent follower and promoter of cricket in the USA. Speaking exclusively over the telephone on Wednesday, he said, "Yes, we are going ahead with our plan to host Sunil’s 50th anniversary of Test Cricket debut celebration". Incidentally, the celebration was scheduled to be held last year in 2021 but had to be postponed because of Covid restrictions.   "The event is scheduled for July 30 (Saturday) in Farmington Hills, a Detroit suburb here". "Kapil Dev, Gundappa Vishwanath, Clive Llyod and Farokh Engineer are scheduled to join the event, other than Sunil himself", Guha further added. Vishy and Sunil are brothers-in-law. Viswanath is married to Gavaskar's sister Kavita. Gavaskar, with Vishy, Kapil Dev and Engineer have played against Clive Llyod's Windies team. In 2015, Guha had organized the biggest cricket event in Michigan by hosting cricket legends such as Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Wadekar, B.S. Chandrasekhar,  Engineer, Chetan Chauhan, Karsan Ghavri and Padmakar Shivalkar. Guha had a special bond with the late Chetan Chauhan. Cricket fans in the metro Detroit area enjoyed interacting with the cricket stars at a sold-out show in Troy, Michigan.

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (UAE):-The International Cricket Council (ICC) has thanked hosts New Zealand Cricket for the successful delivery of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022. The event, which has been one of the most competitive Cricket World Cups ever, saw Australia crowned as champions after 31 games. With eight teams competing across six host cities, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland, Hamilton, Dunedin and Tauranga, the event was brilliantly and safely delivered with Australia lifting the trophy for a record fifth time. ICC Chair Greg Barclay said: “We are delighted with the way the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 has been staged. It has been the most wonderful advertisement for cricket with closely fought competitive matches on superb pitches at beautiful venues. “I’d like to thank New Zealand Cricket and the Local Organising Committee for their commitment and dedication, often in challenging circumstances with COVID impacting on all areas of the event. Thanks too, to the ICC staff for once again delivering such a high-quality global cricket event and to the Match Officials for doing such a great job. “The New Zealand cricket loving public have done our sport proud, packing the Hagley Oval to make the final a great spectacle. Of course, our biggest thanks must go to the players who have made this event so memorable.” “Finally congratulations to Australia for winning the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 in outstanding fashion.”

Ali Ahmed LAHORE:-Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has congratulated both Australia and Pakistan cricket teams for producing enthralling, exciting and competitive cricket throughout the 38-day historic tour. “The three-Test series was combative and engrossing going into the last hour of the 15th day to find a winner, while white-ball cricket confirmed the high billing and calibre of both the sides. The camaraderie and respect demonstrated by the two sides during high-pressure cricket was exemplary and a massive advertisement for our sport,” Mr Ramiz Raja said. “Players from either side, through their on and off the field behaviour, significantly enhanced the values and spirit of cricket, which is exactly what this great sport is all about. “After witnessing and experiencing firsthand what this great country has to offer, I am confident the Australia players and officials will take home fond memories and become bigger advocates and goodwill ambassadors for Pakistan than before. “World cricket is proud and thankful to both sides for the way they played this series and won the hearts and minds of the cricket fans within and outside Pakistan. There is no doubt Pakistan and world cricket is now better placed than it was before this historic series. “I would like to place on record my heartfelt thanks to Cricket Australia who made this series possible by sending their best available players, as well as the PCB staff who delivered an outstanding and flawless series at the backend of HBL PSL 7. “I am also grateful to our enthusiastic and energetic Pakistan cricket fans who made this series a big success by thronging the three venues to appreciate and support both the sides. They got behind the players and teams whole-heartedly and appreciated strong performances, images of which continue to dominate the new and traditional media. “I would also like to thank all the security agencies, local and federal governments, our valued commercial partners and the broadcasters, who ensured things worked smoothly and excellent pictures went out for the global viewers and fans.”

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (UAE):-Men’s Test captains Babar Azam (Pakistan), Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies) and Pat Cummins (Australia) have all been shortlisted for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month award for March 2022 following their supreme efforts during a month which was packed with outstanding individual performances around the globe. The women’s shortlist for March is comprised of stars from the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. England bowler Sophie Ecclestone, and run-machines Rachael Haynes (Australia) and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) are in the running to scoop the award following stellar performances during the month against the world’s best. The ICC Player of the Month nominees for March were announced on Wednesday, based on performances across formats and including matches from the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup held in New Zealand, amongst others. An independent ICC Voting Academy* and fans around the world can now vote to decide the winners, which will be announced next week. Fans can register via icc-cricket.com/awards and are invited to cast their votes until Sunday 10 April. ICC Men’s Player of the Month Nominees for March: Babar Azam (Pakistan) Pakistan’s skipper played an integral part in his side’s batting during the recent series against Australia. Despite not ending the World Test Championship (WTC) three-match series victorious, Babar amassed 390 runs during the month in Tests, including a record-breaking 196 in the second Test to salvage a draw against the odds. In addition, his efforts at the crease in the two ODI matches during the month saw Babar score 57 and 114 respectively, with the latter helping his side chase down an imposing target of 349 set by Australia. This is the second time he’s featured on the shortlist for the ICC Player of the Month award, after winning in April 2021. Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies) The West Indies’ Test captain and opening batter led from the front during the recently concluded successful WTC series against England, scoring 341 runs at an average of 85.25. Brathwaite’s resolve and determination at the crease was best characterized by his monumental 160 from 489 balls in the second Test in response to England’s big first innings total. This mammoth innings ensured a drawn second Test and provided the platform for his side to clinch the series by winning the final showdown in Grenada. Pat Cummins (Australia) In a WTC Test series which was dominated by run scoring, Cummins stood out for his bowling performances in unforgiving conditions. He led his side, and the bowling attack, to victory in Pakistan playing a pivotal role in clinching the series thanks to a match-winning spell, taking 5 for 56 in the first innings and following up with 3 for 23 in the second innings of the final test. Taking 12 wickets at an average of 22.50 helped him secure his first nomination in the ICC Player of the Month awards. ICC Women’s Player of the Month Nominees for March: Sophie Ecclestone (England) Ecclestone’s outstanding bowling performances during the month helped steer her side to the Women’s Cricket World Cup final in New Zealand. Her spin bowling caused problems throughout the tournament for opposition batters, taking 20 wickets during the calendar month at an average of 12.85. Her prowess was capped by a magnificent spell in the victory over South Africa in the semi-final, taking 6 for 36 to ensure a 137-run victory. This is the second time she has been nominated for the ICC Player of the Month accolade (previously shortlisted in June 2021). Rachael Haynes (Australia) Scoring 429 runs in the eight matches she played during the month, Haynes was at the forefront of Australia’s unbeaten run through to the Women’s Cricket World Cup Final. Averaging 61.28 during the month, along with a healthy strike rate of 84.28, her stellar performances came at crucial times – 130 against England in their opening match and 85 in the semi-final victory over the West Indies. Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa) Wolvaardt’s endeavours for South Africa were critical to her team reaching the semi-finals of the Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand. Up to the end of the semi-finals, she was the tournament’s leading run-scorer, amassing 433 runs at an average of 54.12, passing 50 on five occasions and proving a thorn in the side of many opposing teams.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Australia produced a world champions-like performance when they wrapped up their historic tour of Pakistan with a three-wicket victory in the one-off T20I in front of a packed-to-capacity Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday night. Aaron Finch finally produced a sparkling performance after three consecutive 50-over failures to hit 55, his 16th T20I half-century in 89 matches. Josh Inglis hit a 15-ball 24, Travis Head clubbed three fours and a six in a 14-ball 26, Marcus Stoinis belted five fours in a nine-ball 23 and Ben McDermott scored a 19-ball 22 not out as Australia achieved the 163-run target in 19.1 overs. Finch faced 45 balls and hit six fours. He put on 40 runs for the first wicket with Head, another 44 runs for the second wicket with Inglis, while his sixth wicket partnership with McDermott yielded 29 runs. In their run-chase, Australia had a couple of minor blips. They were first reduced from 83 for one to 129 for five and then lost two wickets in the penultimate over as they required four runs off the last over. But McDermott ensured there were no late twists to the tale. Australia needed just over eight runs per over from the very outset and were always ahead of the target. They scored 63 runs for one wicket in the PowerPlay overs, 95 for two at the halfway stage and 138 for five after 15 overs. For Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Usman Qadir picked up two wickets apiece conceding 21, 30 and 33 runs, respectively. Earlier, Pakistan threw away a 67-run opening start in 7.3 overs to slip to 148 for eight in 18.2 overs before finishing at 162 for eight. Hard-hitting Fakhar Zaman (0), Iftikhar Ahmed (13), Khushdil Shah (24) and Asif Ali (3) collectively contributed run-a-ball 40 runs between them as Pakistan managed only 82 runs in their last 10 overs, including 50 runs in the last five overs. Pakistan will be thankful to No.10 batter Usman Qadir to helped them cross the 160-run mark. The left-hander slapped two fours and a six in a rapid six-ball 18 not out. Pakistan captain Babar Azam was once again his side’s top-scorer with a brilliant 46-ball 66 that included six signature fours and two sixes. This was Babar’s 26th T20I half-century in 74 matches. Mohammad Rizwan scored 23 off 19 balls with a four and a six. For Australia, fast bowler Nathan Ellis was the pick of the bowlers. Playing only his third match, Ellis returned figures of 4-0-28-4. Scores in brief: Pakistan 162-8, 20 overs (Babar Azam 66, Khushdil Shah 24, Mohammad Rizwan 23, Usman Qadir 18 not out, Nathan Ellis 4-28) Australia 163-7, 19.2 overs (Aaron Finch 55, Travis Head 26, Josh Inglis 24, Marcus Stoinis 23, Ben McDermott 22 not out; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-21, Mohammad Wasim 2-30, Usman Qadir 2-33) Player of the match – Aaron Finch (Australia)

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq stitched an unbroken 190 runs second wicket partnership after fast bowlers Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Shaheen Shah Afridi shared eight wickets between them to hand Pakistan a thumping nine wickets victory over Australia in the third and final One-Day International at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday night. Haris took three for 39, Wasim picked up three for 40 and Shaheen scooped two for 40 to dismiss Australia for 210 in 41.5 overs after Babar had won the third successive toss and maintained consistency by electing to field. Babar then led the run-chase with a superlative 105 not out, his 16th century in 86 matches, while Imam provided an excellent support to his captain by returning undefeated on 89 as Pakistan raced to victory in 37.5 overs to annex their first ODI series over Australia since 2002. Babar is now just four centuries behind Saeed Anwar, who stroked 20 centuries in 247 matches. Pakistan batting coach Mohammad Yousuf stroked 15 centuries in 281 ODIs. World No.1 Babar struck 12 sweetly time boundaries in a highly-entertaining and stroke-full 115-ball innings as Australia paid a heavy price for giving a second life to the champion batter when Travis Head dropped him at mid-wicket when he was still in single digit. Babar, who scored 57 and 114 in the previous two matches, reached his half-century from 57 balls with seven fours, while he reached the magical three figures with an exquisite cover-drive off Marnus Labuschagne from 110 balls with 12 fours. Babar was later adjudged player of the match as well as player of the series. No.10 ranked Imam followed up his knocks of 103 and 106 with another eye-catching innings of 89 not out that will certainly vault him into the top-five of the ICC ODI batting charts when the latest rankings are released on Wednesday. Imam faced 100 balls and his innings was punctuated with six fours and a six. The left-hander completed his 11th career half-century from 55 balls with five hits to the fence. Earlier, Shaheen Shah Afridi provided a dream start to Pakistan in the winner takes all match when he clean bowled Head on the first delivery of the match. Haris then struck twice by trapping a struggling Aaron Finch in front of the wickets and then getting Labuschagne caught in the slip as Australia slipped to three for six. Australia plunged to 67 for five when Marcus Stoinis (19) and Ben McDermott (36) fell to Zahid Mahmood and Mohammad Wasim Jnr, respectively. Alex Carey (56, 61 balls, 6x4, 1x6) and Cameron Green (34) put on 81 runs for the sixth wicket to put Australia back on track. However, their departure in a space of seven runs ended all hopes of the tourists putting up a decent score and it was only due to Sean Abbott’s 40-ball 49 with six fours and a six that the visitors were able to reach 210 in 41.5 overs. Abbott was particularly ruthless against Shaheen when he took the Pakistan speedster for 21 in an over, but was just the delay of the inevitable. By virtue of winning the series 2-1, Pakistan has moved to eighth on the 13-team ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League on 60 points. In the ICC ODI Team Rankings, Pakistan are sixth, five points behind South Africa.

BIPIN DANI Sri Lankan players participating in the ongoing IPL matches in India have expressed their gratitudes towards the world's other renowned sportsmen.  The 24-year-old all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga has copied his wicket celebration from footballer Paris Saint-Germain FC superstar Neymar Jr. "My favourite footballer is Neymar and that is his celebration which I do. When I go play, I don't take any pressure. That's why I feel I got success," Hasaranga said, grabbing four wickets of KKR team at the DY Patil Stadium on Wednesday. His four-wicket haul not only got him the Player of the Match award but his team Royal Challengers Bangalore won by three wickets. The Sri-Lankan spinner imitated Neymar's celebration. Earlier this week, another Sri Lankan top order batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa had confirmed that he was motivated by Nepal's mountaineer Nirmal Purja. Playing for the Punjab Kings XI team, Bhanuka said, "We had a theory. We wanted a movie called 14 peaks (about mountaineer Nirmal Purja who climbed the highest 14 mountains in the world within a year) to get motivated".

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Pakistan hit back with a vengeance when they recorded their highest successful ODI run-chase to defeat Australia by six wickets to level the three-match ODI series at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday night. Opener Imam-ul-Haq scored his second successive century of the series, first Pakistan batter to achieve this feat against Australia, and world No.1 Babar reached the magical three figures for the 15th time in 50-over cricket as Pakistan raced to the 349-run target with six balls to spare. Eight years ago at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Mirpur, Pakistan had scored 329 to win by three wickets with one ball to spare. Pakistan’s other big successful run-chase was against India in Mohali in November 2007 when they scored 322 to win by four wickets with one ball remaining. This was Pakistan’s fifth highest match aggregate. They were previously involved in 734-run, 719-run, 717-run (all against England in England) and 709-run (against Zimbabwe in Lahore) thrillers. Overall, this was the 25th highest match aggregate in 4380 ODIs to date. The victory put Pakistan back on No.6 in the ICC ODI Team Rankings, while the 10 win points lifted them from 11th to eighth in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. Imam scored 106 runs from 97 balls with six punishing fours and three towering sixes, while Babar scored 114 from 83 balls with 11 eloquent fours and a massive six. Imam put on 118 runs from 113 balls for the first wicket with Fakhar Zaman, who scored an attractive 64-ball 67 with seven fours and two sixes, while his second wicket stand with Babar yielded 111 runs from 92 balls. Following the departure of Imam, Babar kept the pressure on the accelerator as he put on 80 runs for the third wicket from 61 balls with Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 26-ball 23. When Imam fell, Pakistan required 120 runs off 15.5 overs, while 40 runs were required off 34 balls when Babar’s impressive innings ended. When Rizwan perished, Pakistan needed 32 runs from 25 balls, which later became 27 off 18 balls. Nonetheless, Khushdil Shah (27 off 17 balls with two fours and two sixes) kept a cool head on his shoulders and made sure there were no further loses as he got the required runs in 19 balls. Iftikhar Ahmed was the other not out batter with eight off seven balls. Imam and Babar, the local lads, matched each other stroke by stroke as they sent Australia on a leather chase to provide full entertainment to around 20,000 spectators. While Imam reached his half-century from 50 balls with two fours and two sixes, Babar reached his 50 from 42 balls with three fours and a six. Imam’s century came off 90 balls with six fours and three sixes, Babar reached his century from 73 balls with 10 fours and a six. Earlier, for the second successive time, Babar Azam put Australia into bat and though Shaheen Shah Afridi handed Australia captain Aaron Finch a golden duck, the decision appeared to have backfired when the visitors sprinted to 200 for two in 29.1 overs with a total of around 400 firmly within their sights. However, Pakistan bowlers bounced back strongly as they conceded 148 runs in the remaining 20.5 overs to restrict Australia to 348 for eight. Shaheen Shah Afridi finished as the pick of bowlers with four for 63, while Mohammad Wasim snapped up two wickets for 56. Ben McDermott had a day to remember when he recorded his maiden century in fourth match while scoring a 108-ball 104 that included 10 fours and four sixes. Travis Head followed up his 101 on Tuesday with a 70-ball 89 with six fours and five sixes, Labuschagne scored 59 off 49 balls with five fours and Marcus Stoinis contributed a 33-ball 49 with five fours and a six. Australia scored their last 48 runs in 29 balls, thanks to Sean Abbott’s 28 off 16 balls with four fours. Australia’s biggest partnership was for the second wicket when Head and McDermott put on 162 runs from 144 balls. For the third wicket, McDermott and Labuschagne put on 74 runs from 63 balls, while Stoinis and Abbott were involved in a 42-run partnership for the seventh wicket from 23 balls.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Abdul Qadir, who took 236 Test and 132 ODI wickets with a bouncy run-up flicking the ball from hand to hand, was formally inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame posthumously ahead of the second One-Day International between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium. Saqlain Mushtaq, Pakistan’s most successful spinner with 496 international wickets and also head coach of the men’s national side, inducted Abdul Qadir into the eight-man elite group by presenting the commemorative cap and plaque to his youngest son Usman Qadir, who is part of Pakistan’s white-ball squad for the ongoing Series. Qadir’s best Test performance was, in fact, at the Gaddafi Stadium when he took nine for 56 against England in 1987. He played seven ODIs at the headquarters of Pakistan cricket but he is most remembered for his nine-ball 16 not out against the West Indies in the 1987 World Cup that earned Pakistan a one-wicket victory and a place in the semi-finals ahead of the two-time former world champions. Usman Qadir: “I am sure dad watching from up there will be absolutely delighted and pleased with the way his institution has recognised him today in front of his own fans and at his favourite cricket ground. Cricket was everything for him and on behalf of my family, I thank the PCB for acknowledging his services to Pakistan and the global game. “He was a cricket genius who was always happy to share his knowledge and experience. He took a lot of pride in the art he had mastered that ultimately gave a new dimension to cricket. Rest followed him and contributed in making wrist spin bowling a lethal weapon that is equally entertaining to watch and follow in all formats of the game.” Saqlain Mushtaq: “It is an honour and pride for me to formally induct Abdul Qadir into the PCB Hall of Fame on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board. Abdul Qadir is a hero and a star for all generations for his outstanding and marvelous contributions to this great game.” Born on 15 September 1955 in Lahore, Qadir made his Test debut against England in 1977 and in only his second match in Hyderabad, took six for 44 with the Wisden Cricketers Almanack describing him as “the most notable discovery of his type for some time”. Qadir passed away on 6 September 2019. Wisden Cricketers Alamack, in its tribute, wrote: “The legendary Pakistani leg-spinner Abdul Qadir was one of the finest exponents of his art, with his skills and magical tricks inspiring generations to come.”

Bipin Dani Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya paid rich tributes to Shane Warne, whose memorial service took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Australia on Wednesday. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, the 52-year-old ex-all rounder Jayasuriya said, "as Sri Lankans we will never forget his role during the Tsunami. He was among the first to show up and help rebuild lives". "Shane Warne was ahead of his time. He inspired a new generation of cricketers and took the world by storm. On the field he was ruthless and competitive. Off the field he was one of the nicest people I had the honor of knowing". "The world of cricket will truly miss this genius especially at a time his knowledge is most needed for the game". "A Champion cricketer and a Gem of a person, may his soul be at peace", he concluded.