Sports Bulletin

Standing room tickets released for sold out Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Standing room tickets will be released on Thursday to the highly anticipated ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 fixture between India and Pakistan at the MCG. Over 4,000 standing room tickets and a limited number of additional seated allocations will be released from tomorrow (25 August) at t20worldcup.com at 07H00 Pakistan time / 07H30 IST/ 12h00 AEST. The standing room tickets will be available for $30 and sold on a first come, first served basis. All fans are encouraged to create their T20 World Cup ticketing account in advance due to the anticipated demand for the additional tickets. The ticket release ensures that as many fans as possible can attend the fixture scheduled to be played on Sunday 23 October. General ticket allocations previously sold out within five minutes of going on sale in February. A limited number of packages also remain available for purchase via the ICC Hospitality and ICC Travel & Tours programmes. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will also launch an official re-sale platform closer to the event’s opening match on Sunday 16 October. Fans are reminded to only purchase tickets through the official ticketing site at t20worldcup.com. Buying tickets through unauthorised channels cannot be guaranteed. Fans who miss out on tickets can still book their place to see the world’s best cricketers at other T20 World Cup matches, with kids tickets starting from just $5 and adult tickets from $20. Tickets are also still available to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Final, also being played at the MCG on 13 November.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-West Indies have been fined 40 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against New Zealand in the third and final ODI in Barbados on Sunday. Richie Richardson of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanction after Nicholas Pooran’s side was ruled to be two overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. In addition, as per Article 16.12.2 of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League Playing Conditions, a side is penalized one point for each over short. Consequently, West Indies will lose two points from their points tally during the Super League. Pooran pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Joel Wilson and Leslie Reifer, third umpire Gregory Brathwaite and fourth umpire Nigel Duguid leveled the charge.

Bipin Dani Next time, if you are out for a drive in Mumbai try to look around for Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma on a black Suzuki Access 125 scooter (MH02 FS 2692) drive. Former India captain may have taken his gorgeous wife on a rain pothole road for fun (maybe on his friend's scooty, which is being owned by Kshitiz Tambe) but this can be out of form of Kohli's hand and eye coordination exercise. It has been more than 1000 days since Kohli last scored a hundred in an international match. "Yes, scooter driving can help Kohli to have better eye and hand coordination. The man who drives a car can be a little relaxed, but it is not the case with the scooter rider. He has to be more cautious and careful, “Ms. Pallavi S. Kothawade, the Dy. RTO at her Mumbai office, speaking exclusively to this Reporter. "Hand and eye coordination and reflex training is one of the basics for any sport. Training on hand and eye helps in quicksilver decision making ability with proper trigger movements to execute the right movement pattern at the right time", believes Team India's trainer Ramji Srinivasan. "Neuromuscular pathways when well defined had a huge impact on the performance. There are speciality training protocols working on specifics rather than gross process. After some age training smart had a huge advantage than training hard". "Loads of exercise protocols are there to be designed according to the sport and skill. At the end of the day whether you have the projectile thrown at you or you are the projectile, better the reflex better the survival and excellence". "Focusing on specialized skill has cutting edge advantages than concentrating on gross fitness", the trainer added. Another renowned trainer, who has worked with Shikhar Dhawan, R. Ashwin, Vijay, Unmukt Chand and several other athletes says, "I think Kohli is trying to keep his mind relaxed and spend time. He has been working so hard over the years and too much scrutiny too”. "Mind needs recovery as much as the body. He was high performing across all formats and team captain too. When the results didn’t go well and of course politics with Sourav and his "friendship" with Rohit, he let go of captaincy it was a sudden dip in his stature. It has been hard for him to transition smoothly", Badri added.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-The pre-season camp for the 2022-23 domestic men’s season will commence on Tuesday (August 23, 2022) at the respective cricket centres of the six Cricket Associations. The preliminary squads of Balochistan, Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern, Sindh and Southern Punjab will train at Bugti Stadium, Quetta, LCCA ground, Lahore, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, House of Northern, Islamabad, Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi and Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre, Multan, respectively, till 25 August. The players will arrive at the cricket centres today. These squads have been finalised by the national men’s selector, Mohammad Wasim, in consultation with the six Cricket Associations and the final line-ups for the National T20, which begins from 30 August, and Cricket Associations T20, commencing 2 September, will be announced on the last day of the camp. The players and officials part of the ongoing Kashmir Premier League will join their sides when they arrive in Rawalpindi and Quetta on 26 August. The camps at six centres will be conducted by the coaches part of National High Performance Centre panel. Preliminary squads: Balochistan: Abdul Hanan Achakzai, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Abu Huraira, Aftab Ahmed, Akif Javed, Ali Waqas, Ammad Butt, Asad Shafiq, Ayyaz Tassawar, Azeem Ghumman, Bismillah Khan, Dawood Khan, Fahad Hussain, Fahad Iqbal, Faheem Younis, Gohar Faiz, Haris Sohail, Haseeb Ullah, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Wali, Hidayat Ullah, Hussain Talat, Imam-Ul-Haq, Imran Butt, Jalat Khan, Junaid Khan, Kabir Raj, Kaleem Ullah, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Shehzad, Latifullah, Mirwais Tareen, Mohammad Ghaus, Mohammad Ibrahim Snr, Mohammad Idrees, Mohammad Ismail, Mohammad Javed, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Shahid, Najeeb Ullah Achakzai, Nasir Khan, Rasool Bakhsh, Raza-Ul-Hassan, Salim Mal, Shan Masood, Shehbaz Khan, Shoaib Ahmed, Taimur Ali, Taj Wali, Tariq Jameel, Yasir Shah, Zain ullah Snr and Zubair Khan Central Punjab: Abdul Sammad, Ahmed Daniyal, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Ahmed Shahzad, Ali Shafiq, Ali Shan, Ali Zaryab, Ammer Hamza, Asad Raza, Bilal Asif, Bilawal Bhatti, Bilawal Iqbal, Fahad Munir, Gohar Hafeez Butt, Hamza Akbar, Haseeb-Ur-Rehman, Hunain Shah, Imran Dogar, Irfan Khan Niazi, Junaid Ali, Kamran Afzal, Mohammad Abu Bakar, Mohammad Akhalq, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Irfan Jnr, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Rameez Jnr, Mirza Salman, Mohsin Riaz, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Saad, Mohammad Waheed, Mohammad Waleed, Mukhatar Ahmed, Nisar Ahmed, Rizwan Hussain, Saad Naseem, Sadaqat Ali, Saif Badar, Shahrukh Ali, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohaib Ullah, Umar Akmal, Usama Mir, Waqas Maqsood, Zafar Gohar and Zaid Alam Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Adil Amin, Adil Naz, Afaq Ahmad, Ahmed Khan, Aitizaz Habib Khan, Amir Azmat, Arshad Iqbal, Arshad Ullah, Ashfaq Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Farhan Khan, Fazl-ur-Rehman, Gohar Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsan Ullah, Imran Khan Snr, Irfan Ullah Shah, Israrullah, Khalid Usman, Maaz Ahmed  Sadaqat, Maaz Khan, Mehran Ibrahim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi, Mohsin Khan, Mohammad Bilal, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Nisar Afridi, Mohammad Usman, Musaddiq Ahmed, Nabi Gul, Najeebullah, Niaz Khan, Rehan Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan, Sajjad Ali, Salman Khan, Saqib Jamil, Shahab, Shahid Aziz, Sher Badasha, Tahir Khan, Usman Tariq, Waqar Ahmed, Zeesshan Khan and Zubair Khan Northern: Abdul Faseh, Ali Imran, Ali Sarfraz, Amir Jamal, Aqib Liaqat, Ather Mehmood, Atif Khan, Faizan Riaz, Farhan Shafiq, Hassan Nawaz, Hassan Raza, Imad Wasim, Jamal Anwar, Kashif Ali, Mehran Mumtaz, Mubasir Khan, Mohammad Arham, Mohammad Hammad, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Ismail, Mohammad Naqash, Mohammad Shoaib Khan, Munir Riaz, Musa Khan, Nasir Nawaz, Raza-Ul-Mustafa, Rehman Khan, Rohail Nazir, Salman Irshad, Saqlain Gillani, Sarmad Bhatti, Shadab Majeed, Shoaib Amir, Sohail Tanvir, Sufiyan Maqim, Syed Aqib Shah, Taimoor Khan, Taimur Sultan, Umair Masood, Umar Amin, Umar Khan, Umer Waheed, Usman Khan Shinwari, Waqas Ahmed, Zaman Khan, Zeeshan Malik and Ziad Khan Sindh: Abrar Ahmed, Ahsan Ali, Akbar Khan, Alyan Mehmood, Ammad Alam, Anwar Ali, Arish Ali Khan, Ashiq Ali, Asif Ali Jnr, Asif Mehmood, Asim Ali, Danish Aziz, Ghulam Mudassar, Hassan Mohsin, Jahanzaib Sultan, Junaid Ilyas, Kashif Ali, Kashif Iqbal, Khurram Manzoor, Majid Asghar, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Ali Khan, Mohammad Asad, Mohammad Asad Malik, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Umar, Mustafa Nasir, Omair Bin Yousuf, Rameez Aziz, Rizwan Mehmood, Rumann Raees, Saad Khan, Saifullah Bangash, Saim Ayub, Shahid Mirani, Sharjeel Khan, Shehzar Mohammad, Sohail Khan, Syed Faraz Ali, Syed Waleed Aazeem, Usman Khan and Zeeshan Zameer Southern Punjab: Abdur Rehman Muzamil, Adeel-ul-Rehman, Ahmad Hasan, Ali Husanian, Ali Imran, Ali Majid, Ameer Mauvia, Amir Yamin, Anjum Naveed, Awais Abbas, Azam Khan, Faisal Akram, Farhan Sarfaraz, Gulfam Aziz, Gulraiz Sadaf, Hassan Khan, Humayun Altaf, Imran Rafiq, Jalat Khan, Kaleemullah, Majid Ali, Maqbool Ahmed, Mohammad Arsalan Zia, Mohammad Asif Fawad, Mohammad Basit, Mohammad Sadaqat, Moinuddin, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Mohammad Jahangir, Mohammad Junaid Awan, Mohammad Rameez, Mohammad Shehzad, Mohammad Sudais, Mohammad Umair, Musaf, Omer Farooq, Rahat Ali, Saif-ur-Rehman, Sameen Gul, Sharoon Siraj, Sohaib Maqsood, Tahir Hussain, Umer Siddique, Usman Salahuddin, Waqar Hussain, Waseem Rasool, Waseem Akram, Yousaf Baber, Zain Abbas, Zeeshan Ashraf and Zia-Ul-Haq.

Sports Bulletin Report MURIDKE:-It was a commanding 70 not out at a strike rate of 106.06 by Central Punjab opener Eyman Fatima that made her side champions of the Women’s Under-19 T20 Tournament with a seven-wicket win over Sindh. Central Punjab chased down 109 with four balls spare at Lahore Country Club as player of the final Eyman smashed 12 fours and two sixes in her 66-ball knock. She added 32 runs for the opening wicket with captain Shawal Zulfiqar and 49 with Warda Yousaf for the second wicket. Eyman finished the tournament with the second most runs (171 at 85.50) – one run behind her captain, Shawal, who topped the charts with 172 (86 average). The two Central Punjab batters were amongst the four batters to score half-centuries in the tournament with Sindh’s Aroob Shah and Central Punjab’s Warda Yousaf being the other two. Sindh managed 108 for eight after they were put into bat. Aroob, once again, led her side from front with 45 off 28 (eight fours) before she was run out by her opposite number. Anoosha Nasir made 21 off 25. Central Punjab’s Quratulain and Laiba Nasir returned two for 14 and two for 22. Quratulain, along with Aroob, finished as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament (nine wickets). Aroob was named player of the tournament for her all-round show. Best performers of the tournament were all from Central Punjab as Shawal bagged the award for batter, Quratulain for bowler, Eyman for fielder and Zamina Tahir for wicketkeeper. Brief Scores: Sindh 108-8, 20 overs (Aroob Shah 45; Quratulain 2-14, Laiba Nasir 2-22) Central Punjab 110-3, 19.2 overs (Eyman Fatima 70 not out) Awards: Player of the final – Eyman Fatima (Central Punjab) Player of the tournament – Aroob Shah (Sindh) Best batter – Shawal Zulfiqar (Central Punjab) Best bowler – Quratulain (Central Punjab) Best wicketkeeper – Zamina Tahir (Central Punjab)

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-The inaugural Cricket Associations Divisional Senior Tournament 2022-23 in all six Cricket Associations concluded on Sunday. Sargodha Division, Hazara-Mardan Division, Gilgit Baltistan Division and Sahiwal Division were crowned champions in Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern and Southern Punjab jurisdictions respectively. In the Balochistan-leg, Quetta-Rakhshan and Sibi-Naseerabad, while in Sindh jurisdiction, Karachi and Sukkur-Larkana Division were declared joint winners after the two finals were abandoned due to rain. Balochistan Cricket Association Quetta-Rakhshan and Sibi-Naseerabad were declared joint winners of the Balochistan-leg. Nasir Khan representing Sibi-Naseerbad Division scored 362 runs from four matches at 90.50. Nasir’s teammate Taimur Ali scored 222 runs from four outings in the tournament. Mohammad Junaid from Quetta-Rakshan scored 160 runs from four matches at 32. Zainullah Snr representing Quetta-Rakshan Division took 22 wickets from four matches with three five-fers. Zainullah’s teammate and left-armer Mohammad Junaid took 19 scalps from four outings in the tournament. Sibi-Naseerabad Division’s Mohammad Javed bagged 17 wickets from four matches. Central Punjab Cricket Association In the Central Punjab jurisdiction, Sargodha Division won the leg due to their first innings lead over Lahore Division in the final staged at the LCCA Ground from 19-21 August. Amongst the batters, Sargodha Division’s Hamza Akbar topped the table with 274 runs from four matches at 91.33. Ameer Hamza representing Faisalabad Division scored 269 runs from three outings in the tournament at 89.67. Sargodha Division’s Mohammad Abubakar scored 257 from three matches at 42.83. In the bowling charts, Lahore Division’s Haseeb-ur-Rehman and Mohammad Rameez Jnr bagged 16 and 15 wickets, respectively from four matches. Gujranwala-Sialkot Division’s Asad Raza grabbed 14 wickets from three matches. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cricket Association Hazara-Mardan Division were declared champions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Divisional leg after taking a first-innings lead over D.I.Khan-Bannu Division in the final held at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium from 18 to 20 August. Left-handed batter Maaz Ahmed Sadaqat representing Hazara-Mardan Division topped the batting list with 395 runs from three outings in the tournament. Second on the list was Mohammad Usman representing Malakand Division who scored 355 runs from three matches at 71. Mohammad Nisar Afridi featuring for D.I.Khan-Bannu Division scored 291 runs from four matches at 58.20. Maaz Khan from Hazara-Mardan Division leads the bowling charts with 18 wickets from three matches. Sher Badshah and Adil Naz representing D.I.Khan-Bannu Division bagged 16 and 15 wickets, respectively. Northern Cricket Association Gilgit Baltistan Division were crowned champions of the Northern-leg on the basis of first-innings lead in the final against Rawalpindi Division staged at the House of Northern from 18 to 20 August. Sardar Hassan Raza representing Rawalpindi Division was the leading run-getter with 346 runs from two outings in the tournament at 115.33. Right-handed batters Taimur Khan and Umair Masood finished the tournament with 218 runs each from four matches each. Shoaib Amir and Saqlain Gillani representing Rawalpindi Division bagged 15 and nine wickets, respectively. Left-arm bowler Mohammad Ismail from Gilgit Baltistan grabbed eight scalps from four games. Sindh Cricket Association Karachi Division and Sukkur-Larkana Division were declared the joint winners of the Sindh Cricket Association Division tournament after the final between the two teams was abandoned due to rain. Karachi Division’s Shehzar Mohammad topped the batting charts with 213 runs from two outings in the tournament at 106.50. Hyderabad Division’s Rizwan Mehmood scored 145 runs in two innings at 36.25. Karachi Division’s Majid Asghar was the most prolific bowler with 14 wickets from two matches. Mohammad Asad and Mohammad Asad Malik representing Shaheed Benazirabad-Mirpur Khas Division bagged nine and six wickets, respectively. Southern Punjab Cricket Association Sahiwal Division clinched the title of the Southern Punjab Cricket Association-leg on first innings lead against Multan in the final staged at the District Sports Ground, Multan from 18 to 20 August.  Bahawalpur Division’s Ali Imran occupied the top spot with 411 runs from three matches at a staggering average of 102.75. Sahiwal Division’s Mohammad Arsalan Zia scored 408 runs from four matches at 136. Mohammad Sudais representing D.G Khan Division scored 308 runs from three matches at 61.60. Amongst bowlers, Sahiwal Division’s Mohammad Jahangir bagged 22 wickets from four matches. Left-arm bowler Mohammad Rameez from D.G.Khan Division grabbed 20 wickets from three matches. Another left-arm bowler Mohammad Junaid associated with Multan Division took 15 wickets from three outings in the tournament.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-The Pakistan Cricket Board today confirmed details of England’s tour of Pakistan for three Tests, which will be played in December. This will be England’s second half of the tour, following seven Twenty20 Internationals in Karachi and Lahore from 20 September to 2 October. Ben Stokes’ side will open the tour with the first Test in Rawalpindi from 1-5 December, before both sides move to Multan for the second Test from 9-13 December. Karachi will host the third Test from 17-21 December. This will be the first time England will play a Test in Rawalpindi, which has previously staged 12 matches with the home side winning five and losing three. When England last toured Pakistan in 2005, they lost the Multan Test by 22 runs. The venue has staged five Tests, with Pakistan winning three and losing one. National Stadium was considered Pakistan’s happy hunting ground until Nasser Hussain’s side in 2000 ended Pakistan’s 34-Test unbeaten record, winning the third Test in near darkness by six wickets. Pakistan’s only other loss in 44 matches in Karachi was against South Africa, who won the 2007 Test by 160 runs. Nonetheless, with 23 Test wins, the National Stadium remains Pakistan most favourite Test venue. Zakir Khan, PCB Director, International Cricket said: “We are pleased that Pakistan and England Test rivalry, which has historically produced close and tight matches, will return to our backyards in December. Both the sides have evolved since they last played in Pakistan in 2005 and have recently been playing entertaining and exciting cricket. I remain confident this series will live up to the expectations of the global cricket fans who want to watch and enjoy competitive and thrilling matches. “Pakistan cricket fans have waited for almost 17 years to see elite England players in action. And although they have enjoyed watching a number of them live in the recent editions of the HBL Pakistan Super League, nation versus nation Test cricket is the pinnacle where international stars and heroes are born.” Clare Connor, ECB Interim Chief Executive Officer: “The return of our men’s Test team to Pakistan for the first time since 2005 will be an historic occasion. The opportunity to play Test cricket in front of passionate cricket-lovers in Pakistan after such a long time is something to be cherished. “We have been working closely with the PCB over recent months and I am grateful to them for everything they have done, and continue to do, to make our Test and T20 tours a mouth-watering prospect for all involved.” The three Tests will count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23. No.4 ranked England are presently sitting in seventh position on the Test championship table, while sixth-ranked Pakistan are fifth. Schedule of Tests: 1-5 December – 1st Test, Rawalpindi 9-13 December – 2nd Test, Multan 17-21 December – 3rd Test, Karachi Schedule of T20Is (matches to start at 1930 PKT): 20 September – 1st T20I, Karachi 22 September – 2nd T20I, Karachi 23 September – 3rd T20I, Karachi 25 September – 4th T20I, Karachi 28 September – 5th T20I, Lahore 30 September – 6th T20I, Lahore 2 October – 7th T20I, Lahore      

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-Mohammad Hasnain will replace Shaheen Shah Afridi in the Pakistan squad for the ACC T20 Asia Cup, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates from 27 August to 11 September. 22-year-old Hasnain has represented Pakistan in 18 T20Is in which he has taken 17 wickets. Hasnain will join the side from the United Kingdom, where he is representing Oval Invincibles in The Hundred competition. Meanwhile, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usman Qadir will leave for Dubai in the wee hours of Tuesday. They will replace Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood, who were part of the 16-member ODI squad against the Netherlands. Pakistan will take on India in their opener in Dubai on Sunday, 28 August, while their second Group A fixture will be against a qualifier (UAE, Kuwait, Singapore or Hong Kong) in Sharjah on Friday, 2 September. The Super Four matches will be played from 3-9 September. Pakistan squad for ACC T20 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain) (Central Punjab), Shadab Khan (vice-captain) (Northern), Asif Ali (Northern), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab), Shahnawaz Dahani (Sindh) and Usman Qadir (Central Punjab).

Sports Bulletin Report Rotterdam (Holland):-Pakistan showed nerves of steel to avoid embarrassment against 13th-placed Netherlands when they carved out nine runs victory in a low-scoring third match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League on Sunday. After six of the eight scheduled series of three ODIs each, third-placed Pakistan has 120 points with 12 wins, with the top three sides separated by five points. Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Pakistan produced a dismal batting performance to stutter to 206 all-out in 49.4 overs. Nevertheless, and like they have done so many times in the past, they bounced back strongly with the ball to dismiss the Netherlands for 197. The home side required 56 runs off the final 10 overs, then 35 runs in 30 balls and finally, 14 runs in the last over that was bowled by Mohammad Wasim Jnr. Interestingly, Pakistan applied pressure on their inexperienced opponents by suffocating them for runs by bowling a total of 178 dot balls instead of taking wickets, which had appeared to be the only way to win the encounter at the halfway stage. While the bowlers stuck to the plan and maintained a tight line and length, the fielders backed them as well as they could to continue to increase the pressure. Babar Azam also demonstrated intelligent captaincy when he made timely bowling changes that didn’t allow the Dutch batters to dictate terms. All the Pakistan bowlers came to party and brought the smiles back on the faces of their captain, head coach and the bowling coach. Naseem Shah, playing his third ODI, took a five-fer and finished with figures of 10-0-33-5, while Mohammad Wasim provided excellent support with career-best figures of 9.2-0-36-4. Shahnawaz Dahani and Zahid Mahmood, playing their first matches of the tour, returned figures of 10-0-37-0 and 8-0-39-0, respectively. Mohammad Nawaz conceded 41 off his 10 overs. The result was a heartbreak for Tom Cooper, who plays his professional cricket in Australia and notched up his third successive half-century of the series. After scoring 65 and 66 in the previous two losing causes, he top-scored with 62 from 105 balls with four fours. When he became the seventh batter to be dismissed in the 46th over with 33 runs required, it was curtains for the Dutch. After the Netherlands had slipped to 37 for three, Cooper added 71 runs for the fourth wicket with Vikramjit Singh (50). The 35-year-old veteran of 29 ODIs added another 56 runs for the sixth wicket with Teja Nidamanuru (24) after the home side were in serious bother at 116 for five. Earlier, electing to bat first after making four changes in the starting line-up, Pakistan played an unprecedented 179 dot balls to limp to 206 all out in 49.4 overs. Babar Azam top-scored with 91, fourth time he had been dismissed in the 90s in 92 matches. He reached his 22nd half-century from 84 balls, including 50 dot balls, while his remaining 41 runs came at a run-a-ball. Dropped when 20, Babar’s uncharacteristic and not-so-fluent innings included seven fours and two sixes, and ended when he offered a return catch to off-spinner Aryan Dutt. Babar, who was the sixth batter out at the score of 168 in the 43rd over, added 55 runs for the second wicket with Fakhar Zaman (26, 43 balls) and 46 runs for the third wicket with Salman Ali Agha (24, 42 balls). Mohammad Nawaz was the other batter who made some contribution to the Pakistan score with a 35-ball 27 with one four and two sixes. No.9 batter Naseem Shah provided some entertainment late in the order. In the nine balls he received, he successfully reviewed umpire’s decisions twice, survived a run-out but was involved in Zahid Mahmood’s run-out, before becoming the last-wicket to fall when he holed out to Logan Van Beek off Vivian Kingma, who finished with figures of two for 15. The most successful Dutch bowler was medium-pacer Bas de Leede, who took three for 50 off nine overs, but the bowler who impressed everyone was 19-year-old wrist spinner Shariz Ahmad, claimed the wicket of Salman and finished with figures of 8-0-41-1. The two changes in the top-order included opener Abdullah Shafique and wicketkeeper/batter Mohammad Haris, who replaced Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan, respectively. Debutant Abdullah lasted just five balls before being bowled by Kingma, while Haris faced 10 balls before he was caught by Tom Cooper inside the 30-yard circle off de Leede at a time when Pakistan were struggling and captain Babar Azam was standing at the non-striker’s end. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat the Netherlands by nine runs, Pakistan win series 3-0 Pakistan 206 all out, 49.4 overs (Babar Azam 91, Mohammad Nawaz 27, Fakhar Zaman 26, Salman Ali Agha 24; Bas de Leede 3-50, Vivian Kingma 2-15) Netherlands 197 all out, 49.2 overs (Tom Cooper 62, Vikramjit Singh 50, Teja Nidamanuru 24; Naseem Shah 5-33, Mohammad Wasim 4-36) Player of the match – Naseem Shah (Pakistan)

Sports Bulletin Report Rotterdam (Holland):-Opening batter Abdullah Shafique received the One Day International Cap in the 3rd One Day International match against Holland at Rotterdam on Sunday, as Pakistan skipper Babar Azam decided to bat first after winning that toss. Pakistan Playing XIs Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Agha Salman, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (WK), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Zahid Mahmood, Shahnawaz Dahani Netherlands Playing XIs Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, Bas de Leede, Tom Cooper, Scott Edwards (C & WK), Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Musa Ahmed, Shariz Ahmad, Aryan Dutt, Vivian Kingma Match Officials: Umpires:             Michael Gough (England) Rizwan Malik (Netherlands) TV Umpire: Adriaan van den Dries (Netherlands) Reserve Umpire               : Nitin Bathi (Netherlands) Match Referee: Chris Broad (England)