Sports Bulletin

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   

Special Report LAHORE (November 1, 2021):-Teenager Mohammad Huraira finished the second round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 with an excellent maiden first-class century as the match between his side, Northern, and Central Punjab ended in a draw at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The 19-year-old batter struck 12 fours and a six, making an unbeaten 107 off 146. The right-hander from Sialkot added 89 and 110 runs with Nasir Nawaz (55 off 53) and Umar Amin (56 off 73) for the first and second wickets before the day ended with Northern, in their second innings, at 239 for two. The day had begun with Northern eyeing their first win of the season with Central Punjab trailing by 184 with a wicket in hand, but a brilliant 96-run stand for the last wicket between Bilawal Iqbal (48 not out) and Ehsan Adil (49) helped Central Punjab post 367 all out in 116.5 overs. The partnership denied Northern crucial bonus bowling points, as the Nauman Ali-captained side failed to bowl out Central Punjab in 100 overs. Central Punjab bagged eight points from this match, while Northern pocketed 11. The other two matches – played at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium and Multan Cricket Stadium – were also drawn. At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Balochistan’s Ayaz Tasawar and Bismillah Khan converted their overnight half-centuries into centuries against Southern Punjab. Ayaz and Bismillah begun the day at 65 and 56, respectively, and they went on to make 113 and 116. Ayaz smashed 14 fours in his 264-ball innings, while Bismillah dispatched 17 off the 205 balls he faced for fours. Ali Usman took two wickets before Imran Butt’s Balochistan declared at 571 for seven. Southern Punjab made 112 for two in their second innings with Tayyab Tahir, who made an excellent double-century in the first innings, top-scoring with 60 not out. Southern Punjab gathered 11 points from this match, while Balochistan bagged nine. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 63 runs to their overnight score before they declared innings at 503-7 on the final day of their fixture against Sindh at the Iqbal Stadium. Iftikhar Ahmed, who started the day eyeing a century, could add only one run to his overnight score as he was LBW by Sohail Khan for 82. He hit 11 fours and a six in the 148 balls he faced. Rehan Afridi, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wicketkeeper-batter, smashed 74 off 131 (10 fours) down the order. He was dismissed by Fawad Alam, the opposition’s captain. Fawad’s left-arm orthodox bagged him two wickets – the most in the innings – for 46 runs in 12.2 overs. Sindh’s Asad Shafiq and Fawad Alam scored solid half-centuries as they made 96 and 66 before the stumps were drawn. Their resilient knocks helped Sindh stage a recovery after they were reduced to 18 for three with Sameen Gul dismissing Sharjeel Khan and one-drop Saad Khan. Sindh were 180 for five in 55 overs when stumps were drawn. Sindh bagged nine points from the match, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 11 more points to their tally. After the conclusion of the second round on Saturday, Northern lead the points table with 23 points. Southern Punjab are placed second with 21 points. Last season’s joint-winners Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are locked on 20 points with Balochistan as Central Punjab are third, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are fourth and Balochistan are fifth. Sindh, with 18 points, are at the bottom of the table. Scores in brief: Central Punjab and Northern play a draw 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) and 239-2, 50.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 107 not out, Umar Amin 56, Nasir Nawaz 55) Central Punjab 367 all out, 116.5 overs (Abid Ali 81, Hussain Talat 62, Ahmed Shehzad 58, Ehsan Adil 49, Bilawal Iqbal 48 not out; Musa Khan 4-81, Nauman Ali 2-127) Match points – Northern 11, Central Punjab 8 Southern Punjab and Balochistan play a draw 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) and 112-2, 32 overs (Tayyab Tahir 60 not out) Balochistan 571-7, 178.1 overs (Bismillah Khan 116, Ayaz Tasawar 113, Imam-ul-Haq 109, Imran Butt 95, Haris Sohail 49, Amad Butt 35; Muhammad Imran 2-102, Ali Usman 2-165) Match points – Southern Punjab 11, Balochistan 9 Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa play a draw 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) and 180-5, 55 overs (Asad Shafiq 96, Fawad Alam 66 not out) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 503-7, 144.2 overs (Israrullah 160, Sahibzada Farhan 100, Iftikhar Ahmed 82,  Rehan Afridi 74 not out, Adil Amin 25; Fawad Alam 2-46) Match points – Sindh 9, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11

Report: ABDULLAH ASJAD Islamabad (October 31, 2021):- New Zealand trounced India by 8 wickets in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at Dubai Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.   New Zealand’s Captain Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Indian strong batting line put only 111 runs on the scoreboard. Indian top order did not start in good style, as the opening batter KL Rahul scored 18 runs in 16 balls and hit only 3 fours. Other opener Ishan Kishan scored just 4 runs. Hardik Pandya played a bit responsible innings and added 23 runs. Left handed batter Ravindra Jadeja increased 26 runs in team total. Kiwis bowlers bowled superbly against a strong Indian batting line. Pacer Trent Boult crashed Indian batting and sent 3 batters back to the pavilion and gave only 20 runs in his 4 overs while Spin bowler Ish Sodhi picked up 2 important wickets and sent out danger man Rohit Sharma and Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who had scored 51 runs against Pakistan on last Sunday, just scored 9 runs as he wasted 17 deliveries. In reply, Black Caps chased a small 111 runs target in only the 14th over and wasted only 2 wickets. Daryl Mitchell played an aggressive innings and scored 49 runs in only 35 balls as he smashed 4 fours and 3 huge sixes. Skipper Kane Williamson got 33 runs on 31 balls. Martin Guptill scored only 20 runs. Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah picked up a couple of wickets after conceding only 19 runs. Kiwis spinner Ish Sodhi got man of the match award. Summarized score card New Zealand beat India at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai by eight wickets  India 110/7, in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 26, Hardik Pandya 23; Trent Boult 3/20, Ish Sodhi 2/17)  New Zealand 111/2, in 14.3 overs (Daryl Mitchell 49, Kane Williamson 33 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 2/19, Mohammed Shami 0/11)  Player of the Match: Ish Sodhi (New Zealand)  

SPECIAL REPORT: Asghar Afghan assured Afghanistan fans that the country’s cricket has a platform to progress even further as his final international match ended in victory over Namibia. Asghar Afghan of Afghanistan is carried off by team mates after his final game during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between Afghanistan and Namibia at Sheikh Zayed stadium on October 31, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Asghar Afghan assured Afghanistan fans that the country’s cricket has a platform to progress even further as his final international match ended in victory over Namibia. The 33-year-old, who announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Saturday, made a sprightly 31 as Afghanistan posted a winning total of 160-5. With Naveen-ul-Haq, 22, leading the way with the ball and other young players coming through, the former captain feels he is leaving a side in rude health. “To be honest, trust me, Afghanistan cricket is in very safe hands, and cricket will improve definitely,” he said. “For all the supporters from the last few years and the newcomers that are supporting us, I believe that Afghanistan cricket will improve more day by day, and trust me that will show.” Afghanistan’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign is now back on track as they beat Namibia by 62 runs, responding to their defeat to Pakistan in their second Group 2 game. It was an emotional day for Asghar and the vocal Afghan contingent in the stands, as the batter was given a guard of honour onto the field and showered with handshakes when dismissed. “I announced my retirement last night, so I received a lot of messages from my fans and colleagues how they were unhappy,” he said. “It's a very hard decision when you get to retirement, but I decided for my youngsters they should come. It was too important, and they should come and feel the pressure of the World Cup.” Afghanistan still harbour hopes of reaching the knockout stages of an ICC major event for the first time at the seventh attempt. They face India in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday in what promises to be a thrilling contest. For Namibia, it was a tough day at the office and they were unable to build on the momentum of their maiden T20 World Cup victory over Scotland. One positive came in the spell of leg-spin bowled by Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 20, something of wildcard appearing in just his eighth T20 international. He trapped both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran lbw, dismissing them for low scores. Namibia coach Pierre de Bruyn revealed that Loftie-Eaton had been suffering from injury in the lead-up. “It was about managing Nicol leading up to game time,” said De Bruyn. “He had a quad strain, so it was tough. He wasn't really on tour ready, so we needed to get him bowling fit in the nets first. What he's shown today is that he's ready, and I'm so pleased for him. “He's a confident player. He's a youngster. So that's a very big positive.” Namibia face an uphill challenge in their maiden T20 World Cup campaign with New Zealand, India and Pakistan next up. “We're definitely looking forward to them, and we are fully aware that it's going to now really get tough,” said De Bruyn. “We just don't want to be a team that's just going to walk up and provide a middle practice. We want to continue competing. We need to sharpen up our skills. We need to believe. “Today was maybe an icebreaker for this team, experiencing this level of intensity. So we haven't got a long turnaround. One day training, and then we've got to come and face the heat.”

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka's national players will be given a dose of booster vaccine once they arrive after the World Cup from the UAE. This was revealed by Prof. Arjuna de Silva, the chairman of the medical panel of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo on Sunday morning, he said, "all our national players already had two doses of (Sputnik) vaccine and it would be around six months once they return from the World Cup".  "We will be conducting the antibody tests on their return and those found low in tests will be given a booster dose of Pfizer vaccine". After the World Cup, Sri Lanka will play two Tests matches at Galle (Nov. 21-25 and Nov. 29-Dec.3). "No fans will be allowed for the home series against Windies, but yes, we are planning to allow their entry in the Lanka Premier League (LPL)", de Silva confirmed. In the meantime, it is also learnt that all players of the Under-19 which defeated the Bangladesh team (5-0) team were given the first dose of Pfizer vaccine on 26th October. They will be given the second dose after 21 days.