Sports Bulletin

Report: ABDULLAH ASJAD Islamabad(November 2,2021):-South Africa overcame Bangladesh by 6 wickets in ICC Men’s T 20 World Cup 2021 at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. African skipper Temba Bavuma decided to bowl first after winning the toss. South Africans bowlers succeeded to stop Bangladeshi batters only 84 runs in 20 overs game. Bangladeshi Opener Liton Das scored 24 runs and wasted large numbers of 36 balls in T20 cricket game while Mahedi Hasan added 27 runs in 25 deliveries as he smashed 2 fours and solitary six. Africans bowlers did outclass bowling and pacer Anrich Nortje bowled very beautifully and picked up 3 wickets and conceded only 8 runs in 4 overs while second opener Kagiso Rabada took 3 wickets for 20 runs. Spinner Tabraiz Shamsi got 2 wickets. In reply, South African batter chased 85 runs target in 14th over with 6 wickets in hand. Captain Temba Bavuma played a highly regarded innings and scored 31 runs and faced 28 balls. He hit 3 fours and single six. One down batter Rassie van der Dussen scored22 runs in27 balls while wicket keeper batter Quinton de Kock added 16 runs only. Bangladeshi pacer Taskin Ahmed came back in the team and sent 2 batters back to the pavilion. Mahedi Hasan and Nasum Ahmed got a single wicket each. Kagiso Rabada declared man of the match. Summarized Scorecard: South Africa beat Bangladesh at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by six wickets Bangladesh 84 all out, in 18.2 overs (Mahedi Hasan 27, Liton Das 24; Anrich Nortje 3/8, Kagiso Rabada 3/20)  South Africa 86/4, in 13.3 overs (Temba Bavuma 31 not out, Rassie van der Dussen 22; Taskin Ahmed 2/18, Mahedi Hasan 1/19)  Player of the Match: Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)   +  

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Faisalabad (November 2, 2021):-Sindh defeated Balochistan by 44 runs in the final of AS Ali Blind Cricket trophy 2021 at Boranwali Cricket Ground Faisalabad on Tuesday. Mohammad Rashid got man of the match award on his sparking innings of 212 runs. Balochistan won the toss and decided to bowl first. Sindh openers started the innings briskly and didn’t allow the Balochistan bowlers to get settled. Mohammad Rashid once played a splendid innings of 212 runs off 123 balls while Badar Munir scored dazzling 121 runs off 79 balls. Sindh piled up a mammoth total of 452 runs in 40 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. In reply, Balochistan took a bad start lost their 3 main batters in the early stage of the innings and opened the gate of success to Sindh. However, Haroon Khan and Israr Hassan tried their best to fight back but Balochistan fell 44 runs short of the target. Balochistan made 408 runs in 40 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Haroon Khan was their highest scorer with 145 runs off 92 balls and Israr Hassan got out after scoring 100 runs off 67 balls. Ehtisham ul Haq was the pick amongst the bowlers he claimed 3 wickets while Badar Munir took 1 wicket. Col (Rtd) Ijaz Ahmed Nasir, Special Assistant to Chairman Interloop Ltd, Syed Sultan Shah, Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council & President World Blind Cricket Ltd, Abdul Sattar D O Special Education Faisalabad, Anwar Ali Sial Director Finance PBCC and Syed Mohammad Salman Tariq Bukhari Director Cricket Operations PBCC were the guests of the occasion and distributed prizes amongst the players.  Best player of the tournament: B1: Zafar Iqbal (Balochistan) B2: Nisar Ali (KPK) B3: Mohammad Akram (Punjab) Best Wicket Keeper: Naseebullah (Balochistan)

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (November 2, 2021):-Pakistan and Bangladesh feature in a highly anticipated match on the opening day of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier 2021 to be played across four venues in Harare from 21 November to 5 December. The 10-team tournament gets off with a set of warm-up matches on 19 November, after which the south Asian rivals will play at the Old Hararians Club on 21 November. There will be three other matches played concurrently on the same day – West Indies versus Papua New Guinea (Sunrise Cricket Club), Thailand v Zimbabwe (Harare Sports Club) and Ireland v Netherlands (Takashinga Cricket Club). The match between the 2016 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup champions West Indies and Sri Lanka will be another high-profile match during the preliminary league of the tournament which sees the West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Papua New Guinea and the Netherlands in Group A, and Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe and the United States in Group B. There is no knockout stage in the competition, with the preliminary league, consisting of five teams each in two groups, followed by a Super Six stage to decide the final positions at the end of 29 matches. The Zimbabwe tournament is an important one on the calendar as it decides three qualifiers for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022 to be held in New Zealand from 4 March to 3 April, joining five teams who have already qualified through the ICC Women’s Championship – Australia, England, India, South Africa and hosts New Zealand. The three qualifiers as well as the next two teams will also ensure places in the next ICC Women’s Championship (IWC) along with the top five from last time, as the number of teams in the third cycle of the IWC goes up from eight to 10 teams. All fixtures are day matches starting at 09h30 local time. Group A: West Indies, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Netherlands Group B: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Zimbabwe, USA    

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 2, 2021):-The absorbing red-ball cricket action will resume from Wednesday when the third round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 begins. The first two rounds have provided glimpses of individual and collective brilliance with 16 centuries scored, four of which were maiden, and three bowlers record maiden five-wicket hauls. Nineteen-year-old Mohammad Huraira, who was part of the national side that featured in the U19 World Cup last year, scored his maiden first-class century on the final day of Northern’s second round clash against Central Punjab, which ended in draw. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sahibzada Farhan, Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad will hold great significance as he scored his first century at this level there against Sindh. Southern Punjab’s Tayyab Tahir brought up his maiden ton in style as he smashed 221, becoming only the second batter after Faizan Riaz to score a double-century this season. Tayyab leads the batting chart with 360 runs and Faizan follows him with 342 runs. These two are the only batters in the tournament to have scored more than 300 runs, to date. Central Punjab’s Abid Ali is third with 280 runs. Nauman Ali, member of the national Test team, had scored his maiden first-class ton on the last day of round one at the Gaddafi Stadium. After Northern’s pacer Musa Khan took five wickets for the first time in the first round, Balochistan off-spinner Raza-ul-Hasan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Niaz Khan recorded their maiden five-fers in the second round. The bowling chart, however, is led by Central Punjab’s all-rounder Zafar Gohar as his left-arm orthodox has accounted for 11 batters at 37.09 runs per wicket. Twenty-one-year-old Musa has taken nine wickets at 20.67, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Imran Khan Snr, Raza-ul-Hasan and Balochistan’s Ali Usman have taken seven wickets apiece in two matches. While all six matches across the first two rounds ended in draw, Northern, who were the finalists of the 2019-20 edition, are at the top with 23 points – two clear of the second-ranked Southern Punjab. Southern Punjab displayed tactical and calculated approach when their batters crossed the 400-run benchmark inside the 100 overs of their first innings in the second round fixture against Balochistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium, which brought them maximum (five) batting points. Southern Punjab, which is captained by Mohammad Abbas, have collected seven batting points in the first two rounds, which is the joint-most with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Azhar Ali’s Central Punjab, Iftikhar Ahmed’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Imran Butt’s Balochistan are locked on 20 points, with net run-rate separating them. Central Punjab’s better net run-rate has them at third spot, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are fourth and Balochistan are fifth. Fawad Alam’s Sindh have catching up to do when they face Northern at Multan Cricket Stadium as they are at the bottom of the table with 18 points. For their third round fixture, Central Punjab will stay in Lahore as they play Balochistan, who will play their first match of the season at Pakistan’s home of cricket after playing their first round fixture at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad and second round fixture at Multan Cricket Stadium. All the action from this match will be beamed across the globe through PCB’s official YouTube channel. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also remain stationed at Faisalabad to host Southern Punjab, who travel for the first time in this edition after playing their first two matches in Multan.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Sharjah (November 1, 2021):-Jos Buttler’s maiden T20I hundred helped England come through a test against Sri Lanka by 26 runs in Sharjah to all but confirm their semi-final place. After being put in to bat for the first time in this tournament, England stumbled to 35 for three before Buttler scored the first century of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to guide Chris Silverwood’s men to 163 for four. After Buttler’s heroics, you always felt Sri Lanka were behind in the chase, losing wickets at crucial times and eventually being bowled out 26 runs short. Having taken 12 off the opening over, it looked like it could have been business as usual for England but Wanindu Hasaranga had other ideas, bowling Jason Roy with a googly, the opener only able to make nine before having to depart. Out came MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I World No.1 batter Dawid Malan, but he could not last much longer, surviving being dropped by keeper Kusal Perera before being bowled next ball by Dushmantha Chameera to see England reduced to 34 for two. Jonny Bairstow fared even worse, going for a golden duck, as Sri Lanka correctly reviewed for lbw, and captain Eoin Morgan was needed to do a job alongside Jos Buttler. By the halfway mark in their innings, Buttler and Morgan had moved England to just 47 for three, but from there Buttler took the initiative, hitting the first boundary for five overs before smashing Chamika Karunaratne for a four and a six in back-to-back balls. Buttler brought up his fifty from 45 balls before Eoin Morgan got in on the act, reverse sweeping for four. The next over, England finally started to motor, smashing three sixes to take 22 off Lahiru Kumara and move their total past 100, Buttler adding 13 runs off just four balls. Hasaranga had gone for two for 13 from his first three overs, and having seen the ball smashed back over his head for six by Morgan he got revenge by bowling him, only after the England captain had made 40 and added 106 alongside Buttler. With Buttler needing just seven for a maiden T20I century, he launched the ball high but was dropped as Pathum Nissanka was unable to hold on to the ball. And needing six off the final ball for his hundred, Buttler dutifully dispatched a Chameera full toss on the leg side for six to move England on to 164. Buttler was straight back into the action, running out Nissanka before Charith Asalanka tried one heave too many and was caught for 21 off 16 as England got their second wicket of the powerplay. Perera was next to go, Morgan taking a difficult catch off the bowling of Adil Rashid, but Sri Lanka still ended the powerplay on 40 for three, four runs more than England, but the Lions would need a Jos Buttler. Avishka Fernando was not going to be that man as he was given out plumb lbw, sent back to the pavilion for 13 off 14 deliveries before the Lions reached the halfway mark at 66 for four. Having conceded 12 runs off the first four balls of his second over, Tymal Mills was forced to go off with a quad injury with Morgan required to rejig his attack. Sam Billings came on as a sub and was involved in a tandem catching effort with Roy to dismiss Hasaranga who had batted valiantly, adding 34 from 21 balls. Buttler was at it again, with a long-range direct hit to dismiss a stranded Dasun Shanaka before Chameera fell in the same Chris Jordan over as Sri Lanka slipped to 134 for eight. Eventually, Sri Lanka succumbed in the penultimate over, Moeen Ali finishing the job as Eoin Morgan became the most successful captain in men’s T20I cricket with his 43rd win in the shortest format. Scores in brief England beat Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium by 26 runs England 163/4 in 20 overs (Jos Buttler 101 not out, Eoin Morgan 40; Wanindu Hasaranga 3/21, Dushmantha Chameera 1/43) Sri Lanka 137 all out in 18.6 overs (Wanindu Hasaranga 34, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 26, Dasun Shanaka 26; Adil Rashid 2/19, Chris Jordan 2/24) Player of the Match: Jos Buttler (England)

SPECIAL REPORT  Shoaib Malik has hailed the spirit in the Pakistan dressing room as a key factor behind his side’s impressive start to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Shoaib Malik of Pakistan looks on during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 26, 2021 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Shoaib Malik has hailed the spirit in the Pakistan dressing room as a key factor behind his side’s impressive start to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Victories over India, New Zealand – against whom Malik compiled a crucial unbeaten 26 in the chase – and Afghanistan have put Pakistan top of Group 2 going into Tuesday’s clash with Namibia in Abu Dhabi. A fourth straight win would leave Saqlain Mushtaq’s men with one foot in the semi-finals and keep the feel good factor going in a squad whose confidence is growing with every passing game. “Morale is high,” Malik said. “Obviously when you win games, the confidence level is quite high in the dressing room. “Everyone is looking forward to playing the rest of the games we have left in the tournament. “When you start the tournament, the goal is to give your best shot as a team. But since I've joined the team, I've seen Pakistan teams practise sessions and the way they have been dealing with pressure from the world until now, it's been exceptionally good. “And I guess to see consistency in Pakistan dressing room, that's the biggest thing for me so far, everyone's helping each other. “It's a team game. When you're playing a team game, then you need your teammates' help, you need a lot of support from your management. And I see all of that coming.” Namibia will go into the contest looking to bounce back after a 62-run defeat against Afghanistan on Sunday. Pierre de Bruyn’s side began the Super 12s stage with a memorable victory over Scotland and are now bidding to claim a notable scalp to keep their own semi-final dreams alive. And whatever happens in Abu Dhabi, de Bruyn has been proud to witness how his players have brought together a nation with their exploits in the tournament so far. “What this team, what these players have done in the last couple of weeks to inspire the nation back home and to inspire all the young players and kids in Namibia to play cricket has been enormous,” he said. “I can't explain how big it is, what this team have achieved in terms of inspiration and getting a lot of young people to play cricket. “It is a very good Namibian story but I also believe it's been a very good, inspiring cricket story. “We're showing as a very small nation with two and a half million people that it can be done. It can be done by really hard work, by really good planning and getting a group of players together and sharing the same vision, sharing the same culture. “I think that is what this story is about. It doesn't matter whether you always have the resources around you. You can make it happen. “The last 24 hours [since the Afghanistan match] was a matter of just trying to relax because we know how big this game is and what we're going to face. “It’s important we take the learnings from last night and improve on those points. Tomorrow is going to be a great experience for the players but we need to be 20 per cent better.”

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 1, 2021):-As the Pakistan Cricket Board continues its efforts to strengthen grassroots cricket, it has completed the second phase of club registration in which 3,822 clubs have registered the player data. As many as 844 clubs falling under the jurisdiction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cricket Association have provided the player data – which is the most from any of the six CAs. They are followed by Central Punjab CA (788 clubs), Sindh CA (670 clubs), Southern Punjab CA (517 clubs), Balochistan (512 clubs) and Northern CA (491 clubs). Separately, 200 clubs will submit the requisite data when the club registration will resume early next year. Following the completion of this phase of the process, the PCB will shortly begin the club scrutiny to award them memberships in accordance with the applicable regulations.

BIPIN DANI Following two successive defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in the ongoing T-20 World Cup, perhaps Team India "needs" Daniel Jarvis, aka Jarvo 69 to bring luck for Virat Kohli's troops. Describing himself as a comedian, filmmaker and a prank-star, Jarvo 69 entered on the pitch on a few occasions during India's last tour of England and whenever he invaded the pitch, Indian team had won the matches. Last we heard was that he was sent to jail. But, now the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the ‘Jarvo’ has been released on bail without charge pending further investigation "Does India need me for the T20 World Cup? Got my full kit ready!!!", Jarvo 69 had posted a message on social media. Interestingly, more recently, he made his "debut" for New Zealand in a Rugby match.  "Where's Jarvo 69", the fans have reacted on social media in response to his "offer".

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT  Colombo: The Lanka Premier League (LPL) Colombo franchise has a new owner as 27th Investments Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Anil Damani entered the second season of the premier T20 tournament of the Island Nation by acquiring the Colombo-based franchise in the tournament. Anil Damani is CEO & President of 27th Investments , which is one of the fastest growing investment companies in the southeast of USA. The 27th investments is a leader and a very manages several different entities under the 27th portfolio. Some of their primary investments are in Commercial Real Estate, Restaurants and Entertainment. Speaking about entering the LPL, Damani said, "I am absolutely ecstatic to enter the Lanka Premier League as the owner of the Colombo franchise. The Lanka Premier League showed propitious signs of enormous growth in its last season and therefore I am thrilled to have joined the tournament at this juncture. I am eagerly looking forward to developing the Colombo franchise into one of the best T20 franchises in the world." Welcoming the new owner, Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant IPG, the official promoter of LPL, said, "It's a great honour for me to welcome the CEO and President of 27th Investments Anil Damani as the owner of the Colombo franchise. I am sure that his love and passion for the game of cricket will only boost the Lanka Premier League and increase the fan following of the Colombo franchise."

Ali Ahmed LAHORE (November 1, 2021):-Balochistan and Sindh stormed into the final of A.S. Ali Blind Cricket Trophy 2021 after thrashing their opponent in the last league matches at Faisalabad on Monday. Punjab Vs Islamabad AJK Venue: Cricket Ground of Sports Complex Chak No 8 Punjab won the toss and decided to bat first. Punjab played well and posted a gigantic total of 381 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in allotted 40 overs. Mohammad Akram the veteran batsman once again shined with the bat and played an excellent innings of unbeaten 140* runs off 84 balls. Moeen Aslam missed his ton and made 91 runs off 51 Balls. Mohammad Salman was the successful bowler for Islamabad-AJK, he took 2 wickets. Islamabad-AJK in reply chased down the target of 382 in 38.2 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Anees Javed played an outstanding innings of 164 runs off 117 balls and Ayoub Khan scored 106 runs off 78 balls. Mohammad Akram, Habib Taj and Abdul Razzaq shared 1 wicket each. Result: Islamabad-AJK won by 6 Wickets Man of the Match: Anees Javed Balochistan Vs KPK Venue: Boranwali Cricket Ground Faisalabad Balochistan won the toss and asked KPK to bat first. KPK’s Captain Nisar Ali played terrific innings of 154 runs off 103 balls. He was well supported by Sanwal Shahzada, he made unbeaten 67* runs. KPK piled up 388 runs on the board for the loss of 7 wickets. Fakhar Abbas was the pick amongst the bowlers he claimed 4 wickets while Israr Hassan took 2 wickets. In reply, Balochistan team’s captain Zafar Iqbal played a marvelous innings of unbeaten 106* runs off 61 balls, helping his side to beat KPK by 8 wickets. Israr Hassan was the second highest scorer with unbeaten 87* runs off 48 balls. Balochistan reached the target in 35.5 overs by losing their 2 wickets. Mohammad Idrees Saleem fetched 2 wickets. Result: Balochistan won by 8 Wickets Man of the Match: Zafar Iqbal