Sports Bulletin

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Dubai (October 29, 2021):- ):-Asif Ali, four sixes in the penultimate over of the match, overwhelmed all efforts of  Afghanistan guys in a Group II fixture of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2021 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai on Friday night. Asif blitzed 25 in just seven balls to ensure Babar Azam’s 51 did not go to waste as they successfully chased 148 to win by five wickets in front of a raucous crowd at the Dubai International Stadium. Only some back-end fireworks from Afghanistan skipper Mohammad Nabi and Gulbadin Naib, who shared an unbeaten stand of 71 off 48 balls, gave their side a competitive total after they had slipped to 76 for six. Asif had smashed 27 in 12 balls to help Pakistan beat New Zealand last time out and having trumped India in their opener, they have now cemented their spot on top of Group 2 and put one foot in the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s World T20 2021. Nabi bucked the trend by choosing to bat in Dubai despite the dew and may have been regretting that call when Hazratullah Zazai was dismissed for a five-ball duck in the second over. The Afghanistan opener’s top edge off Imad Wasim was safely pouched by Haris Rauf to give Pakistan an early breakthrough. Mohammad Shazad struck the first boundary of the innings, but two balls later departed for eight after tamely chipping Shaheen Shah Afridi straight to mid-on to leave Afghanistan floundering at 13 for two. Rahmanullah Gurbaz got off the mark in some style, planting Wasim into the stands with an eye-catching slog-sweep but should have been easily run out soon after only for Mohammad Rizwan’s wayward throw to spare his blushes. Asghar Afghan also opened his account with a maximum in Wasim’s second over which went for 17, but the No.4 was soon walking back for 10 after Rauf took a sharp return catch, with his younger brother Karim Janat replacing him. In what was now typical fashion, Janat got going with a six off Haris but could only watch on as Rahmanullah holed out off Afridi for 10 as Afghanistan lost four wickets inside an action-packed powerplay, finishing on 49 for four. Janat’s promising partnership of 25 with Najibullah Zadran was cut short when the former holed out off Imad, who finished with two for 25, for 15 in the 10th over. The theme of big hits and wickets continued when Najibullah sent Shadab Khan out of the park only for the bowler to exact immediate revenge, having him caught behind for 22 with a wrong-un. Skipper Nabi was joined by Gulbadin and the pair spun the game on its head with a vital partnership of 71 off 48 balls, both batters finishing unbeaten on 35. Gulbadin exploded into life in Hasan Ali’s 18th over, smashing a six and two fours on his way to single-handedly adding 19 of the 21 runs scored. The 50 partnership came off just 36 balls and the carnage continued with Haris' 19th over going for 15 runs as Pakistan leaked 36 runs in just 12 balls. Shaheen's final over cost just seven, even with a no-ball, but the damage was done, and Afghanistan finished on 147 for six, more than enough for their spinners to get stuck into. Pakistan got off to a slow start in reply when Rizwan, eight off 10, was well caught on the boundary by Naveen-ul-Haq off Mujeeb Ur Rahman in just the third over. Fakhar Zaman wasted no time in getting going as he and captain Babar guided Pakistan to 38 for one from the powerplay before Mujeeb returned to complete an excellent spell of one for 14 from his four overs. Fakhar and Babar’s partnership reached 50 from just 39 balls as Pakistan took control of the chase with wickets in hand. Babar’s class shone through as he made his way to 36 before danger man Rashid Khan, belatedly brought into the attack in the 11th over, thought he had him trapped LBW only for the decision to be overturned on review. But DRS could not save the skipper’s partner Fakhar as Nabi had him pinned in front for 30 from the very next ball at the other end, curtailing the third-wicket partnership of 63 and leaving Pakistan 75 for two. Rashid had his 100th T20 international wicket, the quickest to the milestone, for real when Mohammad Hafeez’s top-edge found Gulbadin to give Afghanistan a chance with the asking rate creeping over nine. Babar should have been caught by Naveen off Rashid but the spinner had his man with the final ball of his spell of two for 26, a googly castling the Pakistan skipper as he surprisingly aimed a huge swipe into the leg side with 12 already having come from the 17th over. Naveen bowled a sensational 18th over which cost just two runs during which he shelled an exceptionally tough reaction chance off Shoaib Malik but two balls later the veteran batter nicked one behind to depart for 19 with 24 still needed off 13. Just as Afghanistan clawed their way in front, Asif had other ideas, belting four huge sixes off Janat in the 19th over to seal an incredible victory with six balls to spare. Scores in Brief Pakistan beat Afghanistan at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai by five wickets Afghanistan 147/6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Nabi 35 not out, Gulbadin Naib 35 not out; Imad Wasim 2/25, Shaheen Shah Afridi 1/22, Shadab Khan 1/22) Pakistan 148/5 in 19 overs (Babar Azam 51, Fakhar Zaman 30, Asif Ali 25 not out; Rashid Khan 2/26, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1/14) Player of the Match: Asif Ali (Pakistan)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Sharjah (October 29, 2021):-The West Indies sealed a tight encounter against Bangladesh, winning by just three runs off the final ball of the game to knock Bangladesh out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. Nicholas Pooran crashed 40 of 22 to rescue West Indies innings having lost the toss and been put into bat, as they posted 142 for seven. Bangladesh were steady in their reply but needing 13 off the final over, they could only manage 10 as the Windies kept their own qualification hopes alive. Debutant Roston Chase was into the action early on as opener Evin Lewis was caught easily by Mushfiqur Rahim at square leg. After being promoted to open, ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle was not all-conquering, instead being clean bowled by Mahedi Hassan having made four off ten. Shimron Hetmyer then fell in the seventh over and it would be four overs before the West Indies got a boundary, Chase combining with Kieron Pollard to steady the ship. Pollard then faced choppy waters as Bangladesh went up for a review for LBW but the DRS showed the impact was outside off stump and Pollard was safe, for now. Two balls later, Pollard was walking off retired hurt, a ball later new batter Andre Russell was back in the dugout, run out without facing as Taskin Ahmed got a toe to Chase’s drive back down the ground. Russell’s dismissal brought out Pooran who made 40 off 22 to rescue the West Indies to 119-5 and Chase was then undone by Shoriful Islam, who knocked over his leg stump. Jason Holder survived the hat-trick ball but his partner Dwayne Bravo fell three balls later as Pollard returned to the crease with five balls to go. He and Holder crashed what turned out to be three crucial sixes to push the West Indies to a respectable score. Captain Pollard was not the only one hurt, with Shakib Al Hasan noticeably hobbling between the wickets as he opened Bangladesh’s chase. And it was Shakib who was the first batter to go, sending an easy catch to Holder to leave Bangladesh on 21 for one. Mohammad Naim dragged the ball back onto his stumps off the bowling of Holder as the Tigers ended the powerplay on 29-2, the same as the Windies. From there, Bangladesh kicked on reaching 60 before the loss of their third wicket, Soumya Sarkar sending the ball into the diving hands of Gayle. The next wicket followed a similar pattern, Bangladesh adding 30 runs before losing a wicket, this time Rampaul bowling Mushfiqur for eight. With three overs remaining the Tigers needed 30 from 18 balls with Liton Das crashing a four to swing the game towards Bangladesh as he and Mahmudullah looked to be controlling the chase. Liton could not stay until the end though, as the long limbs of Holder caught him on the boundary, with six balls to go Bangladesh needed 13 runs. The West Indies were plagued by fielding errors missing run-out chances, dropping catches and missing balls, but with Bangladesh needing a boundary off the final ball, Russell held his nerve to bowl West Indies to a narrow victory. Scores in brief  West Indies beat Bangladesh at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah by three runs. West Indies 142/7 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 40, Roston Chase 39; Shoriful Islam 2/20, Mahedi Hasan 2/27) Bangladesh 139/5 in 20 overs (Litton Das 44, Mahmudullah 31 not out; Jason Holder 1/22, Akeal Hossein 1/24) Player of the Match: Nicholas Pooran (West Indies)

Special Report LAHORE (October 29, 2021):-Sahibzada Farhan’s maiden first-class century and Israrullah’s breezy 160 put Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 73 runs ahead of Sindh on day three of their second round fixture of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. The pair put a solid 226 runs for the opening wicket and the partnership helped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa take their points tally from the match to six as it added four batting points. Farhan smashed 13 fours and a six as he made 100 off 198 balls. The right-handed opener had to wait 54 innings to record his first-ever century. He was duly supported by Israrullah who smoked 19 fours and three sixes from the 228 balls he faced. In the previous round, Israrullah had smashed a half-century in both innings. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 440 for four in 127 overs with their captain Iftikhar Ahmed (81 not out) and wicketkeeper-batter Rehan Afridi (43 not out) at the crease. At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Balochistan’s Imam-ul-Haq smashed his sixth first-class ton as he scored 109 off 256 with the help of 12 fours against Southern Punjab. The left-handed batter struck a 214-run opening partnership with Imran Butt, who missed out a century by five runs when he was bowled by Mohammad Imran. Mohammad Imran also denied Haris Sohail a half-century as he got rid of the left-hander on 49. On the last day of the match, Ayaz Tasawar and wicketkeeper-batter Bismillah Khan will resume Balochistan innings at 416 for four. They have batted 136.3 overs. Ayaz is unbeaten on 65 (eight fours), while Bismillah is batting at 56 (nine fours). Balochistan bagged three batting points as they were 302 for three after 100 overs. Northern pacer Musa Khan followed-up his maiden five-fer in the last match with four for 61 to put his side ahead of Central Punjab at the Gaddafi Stadium. The right-armer accounted for Abid Ali, top run-getter with 175-ball 81, Azhar Ali (17), Mohammad Saad (29) and Saad Nasim (two). Central Punjab – who began the day on 68 for the loss of no wicket – were 271 for nine in 93.4 overs and Musa’s exploits helped Northern bag three bowling points. While Musa will be looking to bag another five-wicket haul on Saturday, Northern will be looking to bag bonus points for bowling out an opposition under 300. Earlier, both openers – Abid and Ahmed Shehzad (58) – scored half-centuries and added 110 runs for the first wicket. Hussain Talat played a solid knock in the middle-order as he made 62 off 95 (eight fours and two sixes). Scores in brief: Sindh choose to bat after winning the toss against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Sindh 367 all out, 110.1 overs (Saad Khan 129, Fawad Alam 122, Sohail Khan 28, Ashiq Ali 26, Mohammad Hasan 25; Niaz Khan 5-58, Imran Khan Snr 3-58) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 440-4, 127 overs (Israrullah 160, Sahibzada Farhan 100, Iftikhar Ahmed 81 not out, Rehan Afridi 43 not out, Adil Amin 25) Innings points – Sindh 4, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 6 Southern Punjab choose to bat after winning the toss against Balochistan at Multan Cricket Stadium Southern Punjab 457-5dec, 98.5 overs (Tayyab Tahir 221, Azam Khan 85, Imran Rafiq 81, Umar Siddiq 32, Zain Abbas 30; Junaid Khan 2-87) Balochistan 416-4, 136.3 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 109, Imran Butt 95, Ayaz Tasawar 65 not out, Bismillah Khan 56 not out; Muhammad Imran 2-74) Innings points – Southern Punjab 6, Balochistan 4 Central Punjab elected to bowl after winning the toss against Northern at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Northern 455-9dec, 132.5 overs (Faizan Riaz 213, Sarmad Bhatti 82, Rohail Nazir 54, Nasir Nawaz 46; Ehsan Adil 3-60, Zafar Gohar 3-141) Central Punjab 271-9, 93.4 overs (Abid Ali 81, Hussain Talat 62, Ahmed Shehzad 58; Musa Khan 4-61, Nauman Ali 2-92) Innings points – Northern 6, Central Punjab 2

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Faisalabad (October 29, 2021):-Khyber PakhtunKawa and Balochistan have won their matches in the ongoing AS Ali Blind Cricket Trophy 2021 after beating Punjab and Sindh respectively seven and five wickets in Faisalabad on Friday. KPK Vs Punjab: Venue: Cricket Ground of Sports Complex Chak No 8 Faisalabad In the morning KPK won the toss and decided to bowl first. KPK bowlers bowled exceptionally well and didn’t allow Punjab batsmen to set a good target. The Punjab team was bowled out on 331 runs in 39.1 overs. The veteran Mohammad Akram was the highest scorer with 193 runs (off 132 balls) and Moaeen Aslam made 47 runs (off 35 balls). Haseen Ullah and Idrees Saleem took 2 wickets each while Nisar Ali fetched 1 wicket. The target of 332 runs wasn’t proved tough to the strong batting lineup of KPK and they chased down quite easily in 32 overs for the loss of 3 wickets. Sana Ullah Khan shined with the bat and played a superb innings of unbeaten 128 not out runs (off 78 balls) while Shahzeb Haider was the second highest scorer with unbeaten 97 not out runs (off 71 balls). Mohammad Numan, Mohammad Akram and Yasir Malik took 1 wicket each.  Result: KPK won by 7 wickets Man of the Match: Sanaullah Khan Balochistan Vs Sindh Venue: Boranwali Cricket Ground Faisalabad Balochistan won the toss and asked Sindh to take guard. Sindh posted a competitive total of 411 runs on the board for the loss of 4 wickets in allotted 40 overs. Badar Munir played a superb inning of 222 runs (off 135 balls) and Mohammad Rashid scored unbeaten 72 not out runs (off 38 balls). Israr Hassan and Husnain Shah shared a wicket each. Balochistan reached the target in 40th over of the inning for the loss of 5 wickets. Zafar Iqbal played a captain’s innings and he scored brilliant 112 not out runs (off 69 balls) helping his side to beat Sindh by 5 wickets. Faisal Mehmood scored a dazzling 90 runs (off 66 balls). Mohammad Shahzeb and Ehtisham ul Haq claimed 1 wicket each.    Result: Balochistan won by 5 wickets Man of the Match: Zafar Iqbal

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka's former pitch curator Jayananda Warnaweera was not surprised to see Australian opener David Warner regaining his form. The 35-year-old left-handed batsman Warner, who was running out of form before the match against Sri Lanka, scored 65 runs (which included 10 boundaries) at Dubai Sports City (DSC) ground on Thursday.  Warner was not in the form even in the IPL also. He is understood to have practiced hard on concrete pitches in the UAE before the match against Lankans. "Practising on a hard concrete wicket is always helpful because the ball comes faster on this pitch and it helps the batsman to regain his confidence", the 60-year-old Warnaweera, who has vast experience of working as a groundman in Sri Lanka said exclusively over the telephone. "We don't have concrete pitches (in Srti Lanka) and I very well remember Kumar Sangakkara practicing on a turf wicket in Galle for three-four hours and it helped him a lot". "Team India captain Virat Kohli also practices hard facing balls coming at a faster speed. The batsman can change his mind set up, tries to hit hard and gets well-adjusted to the timing".    

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (October 29, 2021):-Australia laid down a marker with a convincing seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in Dubai to make it two wins from two in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021. David Warner and Aaron Finch set the tone with a 70-run opening stand as the Aussies chased down a target of 155 with relative ease, with the former making 65 in a return to form. That sets them up perfectly for the next game in Group 1 against England, who are also two from two, with the winner taking a giant step towards the semi-finals. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have been beaten for the first time in the tournament and face a crucial clash with South Africa next up. After being put into bat, Sri Lanka lost Pathum Nissanka to an early top edge off Pat Cummins, but Charith Asalanka signalled his intent immediately with back-to-back boundaries. In the next over from Glenn Maxwell, he lifted the spinner out of the ground from the very first ball. A 63-run partnership with Kusal Perera set the platform, but the introduction of Adam Zampa changed things. He had a big shout for LBW in his first over and in his second he had Asalanka caught sweeping by Steve Smith for 35. Perera carried the fight with a big six off Mitchell Starc but a ball later he was heading back for the same score as Asalanka, unable to keep out a vicious yorker. At 86 for three and with two new batters, Sri Lanka needed to rebuild but Zampa got another, Avishka Fernando, while Starc had Wanindu Hasaranga caught behind. From the chance of making 170 or more, Sri Lanka were in trouble, not helped by Zampa finishing off his spell for a miserly two for 12. Bhanuka Rajapaksa set about consolidating with his skipper Dasun Shanaka as the pair added 40, largely thanks to 17 off the 17th over from Marcus Stoinis. Cummins broke that partnership as Shanaka top-edged to Matthew Wade, but Rajapaksa ended up unbeaten on 33 to take Sri Lanka to 154 for six. Very quickly, it became clear that they did not have nearly enough. Finch and Warner tucked into the bowling, readily accepting a regular supply of bad balls to dispatch to the boundaries. Finch powered two fours in the very first over and he and Warner combined to take Lahiru Kumara for 20 runs off his first over. Warner should have been on his way for 18, gloving one through to Perera off Dushmantha Chameera, but the wicket-keeper put it down as his bowler started to celebrate and umpire Richard Illingworth was twitching his finger. That was costly and by the end of the powerplay, Australia were 63 for none, the best performance of the tournament so far. Finch fell for 37 in Hasaranga’s first over, chopping on and in his next, Maxwell picked out Fernando on the boundary after dragging the ball over midwicket from outside off. Warner kept going though, moving to a half-century in the 12th over as he and Smith saw off the threat of Hasaranga and then went after the fast bowlers. As Australia looked to finish it off quickly, Warner found Rajapaksa on the boundary for 65 off just 42 deliveries, but Smith and Stoinis got them home with three overs to spare, to boost the net run-rate as well. Scores in brief Australia beat Sri Lanka at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai by seven wickets Sri Lanka 154/6 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 35, Kusal Perera 35; Adam Zampa 2/12, Mitchell Starc 2/27) Australia 155/3 in 17 overs (David Warner 65, Aaron Finch 37; Wanindu Hasaranga 2/22, Dasun Shanaka 1/6) Player of the Match: Adam Zampa (Australia)  

Hammad Ahmed Kayani KARACHI (October 28, 2021):-Former Test cricketer and member of PCB’s elite panel of match referees Ali Naqvi will lead the playing control team in the three One-Day Internationals between Pakistan Women and West Indies Women at the National Stadium, Karachi on 8, 11 and 14 November. The on-field umpiring responsibilities will be shared amongst Asif Yaqoob, Faisal Afridi and Rashid Riaz – all on the PCB’s elite panel of umpires. The match officials’ appointments in detail are below: 8 Nov – 1st ODI. Rashid Riaz and Asif Yaqoob (on-field umpires) and Faisal Afridi (reserve umpire). Ali Naqvi (match referee) 11 Nov – 2nd ODI. Asif Yaqoob and Faisal Afridi (on-field umpires) and Rashid Riaz (reserve umpire). Ali Naqvi (match referee) 14 Nov – 3rd ODI. Asif Yaqoob and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires) and Faisal Afridi (reserve umpire). Ali Naqvi (match referee).

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT ISLAMABAD (October 28, 2021):-Khyber PakhtunKawa and Sindh have won their matches in the AS Ali Blind Cricket Trophy 2021 after beating their opponents on Thursday at Faisalabad. Col (Rtd) Ijaz Ahmed Nasir, Special Assistant to Chairman Interloop Ltd inaugurated the event. He was accompanied by Syed Sultan Shah, Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council. Results (Day-1): Islamabad-AJK Vs KPK: (Venue: Boranwali Cricket Ground Faisalabad) 1st Match of the event was played between Islamabad-AJK and KPK. KPK won the toss and decided to bowl first. Islamabad-AJK scored competitive 366 runs in stipulated 40 overs by losing their 6 wickets. Mohammad Salman played excellent innings of 90 runs (off 77 balls) and Anees Javed made unbeaten 82* runs (off 54 balls). Shahzeb Haider took 1 wicket. KPK in reply chased down the target in 35 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Nisar Ali played a captain’s knock and he made outstanding 213* runs (off 120 balls) helped his side to beat Islamabad-AJK by 9 wickets. Mohammad Talha scored 109 runs (off 76 balls). Ejaz Hussain claimed 1 wicket. Result: KPK won by 9 Wickets Man of the Match: Nisar Ali  Sindh Vs Punjab (Venue: Cricket Ground of Sports Complex Chak No 8 Faisalabad) Sindh won the toss and asked Punjab to take guard. Punjab made par score of 331 runs by losing 9 wickets in allotted 40 overs. Muhammad Akram was the top scorer for his side with 80 runs off (53 balls), Atiq ur Rehman chipped in with 72 runs (off 74 balls). Amjad Hussain claimed 2 wickets while Badar Munir, Muhammad Safdar, Muhammad Rashid and Riasat Khan took 1 wicket each. Sindh reached the target in 36.3 overs by losing their 4 wickets. Mohammad Rashid played wonderful inning of 86 runs (off 68 balls) and Riasat Khan scored brilliant 80 runs (off 59 balls). Mohammad Akram took 2 wickets while Sajid Nawaz and Kamil shared a wicket each.   Result: Sindh won by 6 Wickets Man of the Match: Mohammad Rashid

LAHORE (October 28, 2021):- The Golden stars cricket club beat Fazal Memorial cricket club by 77 runs in the Dosti Cup Cricket Tournament at Township whites ground. The winning team scored 249 for 7 in 35 overs fixture. Mahad Bajwa was top scorer with 72 runs, as he hit five fours and one six during his innings. Kashif Ali and Zamin Ali respectively contributed 45 and 43 runs. Summarized scorecard: Golden Star Cricket Club: 249/7 in 35 Overs (Mahad Bajwa 72 4X5, 6X1, Kashif Ali 45,Zamin Ali 43,& Zain 15, ALI 5/42, Kamran 2/32) Fazal Memorail Cricket Club: 171/all out in 32 Overs (Ali 51, Waseem 15 Ihsan 14, Mohammad Shehrooz 2/10, Asad Ali Asif 2/24, Abdul Rehman 2/30, Zain Jutt 2/33, Ali Raza 2/33) (Press Release) 

Sports Reporter Karachi (October 28, 2021):-Three squad members of the national women’s team participating in the pre-West Indies series camp at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre have tested positive for Covid-19. These members tested positive in the routine Covid-19 testing yesterday and are under 10-day quarantine, which ends on 6 November. The other squad members will remain in isolation till 2 November and undergo tests every alternate day, starting tomorrow, to stem any potential spread of the virus. As per the PCB Covid-19 Protocols, all squad members had joined the bio-secure environment after returning two negative tests. These squad members had been vaccinated for Covid-19 in May. Pakistan and West Indies will play three ODIs on 8, 11 and 14 November at the National Stadium.