Cricket
National T20: Sindh defeat Northern on DLS method
ABDULLAH ASJAD
Rawalpindi (October 1, 2021):-GFS Sindh retained their top position on the points table in the National T20 2021-22 with a three-run win via the DLS method against Northern in the 14th match of the tournament played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Friday night.
Heavy rain brought a halt with Northern 62 for three (7.3 overs) in their 177-run chase. After the rain ended, a wet outfield forced the match to be abandoned.
The ball before the rain interruption earned Sindh Nasir Nawaz’s wicket that turned the DLS equation in their favour. Northern needed to be 66 for three to earn victory on the DLS method at that stage of the match. Nasir was caught attempting a big shot off Danish Aziz.
Nasir top-scored for Northern with 27 off 19 balls (three fours, one six). Haider Ali scored 11 while Imad Wasim was batting on 13 when the rain arrived.
Sindh now have eight points from five games while Northern have accumulated six from five matches.
Earlier, Northern won the toss and opted to bowl. Sindh lost Shan Masood for one in the second over of the innings. Sharjeel Khan took the attack to the Northern bowlers in a 52-run stand for the second-wicket with Khurram Manzoor (15).
After Khurram’s departure, Sharjeel continued his onslaught, the left-hander played a series of attacking shots and only a superb diving catch at the mid-wicket fence by Haris ended his 64-run innings. Sharjeel faced 43 balls and hit 10 fours and two sixes.
Saud Shakeel made another useful contribution before being dismissed by Salman Irshad for 28. Salman then got rid of Anwar Ali (13) with another slower ball. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed chipped in with a useful 26 off 18 balls (two fours).
Rumman Raees ended the Sindh innings on a high with two big sixes (one each in the penultimate and the final over). For Northern Salman, Shadab Khan and Musa Khan took two wickets apiece. Haris who bowled a fiery opening spell gave away only 22 runs in his four overs.
Scores in Brief:
GFS Sindh beat Northern by three runs on DLS method
GFS Sindh 176-7, 20 overs (Sharjeel Khan 64, Saud Shakeel 28, Sarfaraz Ahmed 26; Shadab Khan 2-33, Salman Irshad 2-36, Musa Khan 2-48)
Northern 62-3, 7.3 overs (Nasir Nawaz 27; Danish Aziz 1-1, Shahnawaz Dahani 1-9)
Player of the match: Sharjeel Khan
Saturday’s matches:
Balochistan vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -3pm
GFS Sindh vs Home City Central Punjab -7:30pm
National T20: Balochistan overcome Southern Punjab by eight wickets
ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL
Islamabad (October 1, 2021):- Balochistan overcame ATF Southern Punjab by eight wickets in the National T20 Cricket Cup fixture, as they achieved their 175 runs target after lossing only two wickets,as 8 balls were sapre at Pindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi on Friday.
It was ATF Southern Punjab’s fifth defeat in a row, as the winners of the day Balochistan kept their hopes alive to get the berth in top-four stage of the perstigious national T20 showpiece.
As the target was 175-run in 20 overs, Balochistan reach home in 18.4 overs for the loss of two wickets only. Openers Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (player of the match) and Abdullah Shafique added 84 runs. Abdullah’s 44 included five fours and one six, the right-hander faced 28 balls.
Abdul Wahid posted the second T20 half-century of his young career, the right-hander had scored a fifty against the same side in their earlier clash that Balochistan had won by seven wickets.
Abdul Wahid’s 50 came off 42 balls and the right-hander hit seven exquisite fours before he was dismissed lbw by Aamer Yamin.
Haris Sohail remained undefeated on 47 off 35 balls. The left-hander hit six fours in his innings, Haris finished the match in the company of Sohail Akhtar who remained not out on 16, the two added 41 runs for the unfinished third-wicket stand.
Aamer and Umar Khan took a wicket apiece for Southern Punjab. This was Balochistan’s second victory in the tournament.
Earlier, Balochistan won the toss and opted to bowl. Southern Punjab lost their first three wickets with only 28 runs on the board. Sohaib Maqsood who handed over the captaincy reins to Aamer top-scored for his side with 54 off 34 balls (six fours, two sixes). Sohaib added 71 runs for the fourth-wicket with Hassan Khan. This was Sohaib’s second successive fifty plus score in the tournament.
Hassan who scored 28 off 22 (three sixes) fell to Umaid Asif who dismissed Sohaib in the same over. Southern Punjab lost their third wicket for the addition of a mere four runs as Azam Khan (2) was dismissed lbw by Haris Sohail.
Aamer scored a quickfire 25 off 12 balls while Khushdil Shah contributed 25 off 22 while tail-enders Umar (12) and Naseem Shah (11) not out helped Southern Punjab reach 174 for nine.
Junaid Khan took three wickets for 29 runs while Umaid who also took two catches in the field including a splendid diving effort to dismiss Aamer, took three for 30 runs.
Scores in Brief:
Balochistan beat ATF Southern Punjab by eight wickets.
ATF Southern Punjab 174-9, 20 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 54, Hassan Khan 28, Aamer Yamin 25, Khushdil Shah 25; Junaid Khan 3-29, Umaid Asif 3-30)
Balochistan 176-2, 18.4 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 50, Haris Sohail 47 not out, Abdullah Shafique 44; Aamer Yamin 1-28)
Player of the match: Abdul Wahid Bangalzai
Saturday’s matches:
Balochistan vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -3pm
GFS Sindh vs Home City Central Punjab -7:30pm
Gavaskar backs Rohit Sharma for India captaincy
BIPIN DANI
All's not well in the Indian team. The reports coming from the UAE, where the IPL teams are playing, not only R. Ashwin but two more senior players are reported to have had reservations over Virat Kohli's captaincy.
First, Ashwin's name came as he had revolted against Virat Kohli and had complained to the BCCI secretary (Jay Shah) about feeling insecure. Ashwin was not included in the final eleven in any of the four Test matches in England.
Kohli had a fallout with the selectors for the inclusion of Ashwin in the T20 World Cup squad as the Indian captain wanted leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal for the mega event.
Kohli had reportedly accused the player of not showing enough intent in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June this year.
Now, it is also being reported in the media that Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are not happy with Kohli in the team.
Pujara was dealing with some harsh criticism for his slow batting, India's Test deputy-skipper Ajinkya Rahane was struggling to score runs in the longest format. Both were treated very harshly by the skipper in the dressing room.
Interestingly, the coach Ravi Shastri has failed to pacify the situation and Kohli has announced to quit the captaincy after the World Cup.
Now, we hear that the BCCI treasurer has denied the controversy, but there can't be a smoke without fire. There can't be any evidence of the complaints, and even if the evidence is there, can anyone believe that the BCCI would revealt it?
Adding fuel to the controversy, legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar has voiced his opinion to change the captain for next month's T-20 World Cup in the UAE.
“I think (of) Rohit Sharma (as captain) for the next two World Cups,” Gavaskar said on the Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
“You could say they (World Cups) are back-to-back, one starting in a month and another exactly a year from now. So clearly, yes, you don’t want to change too many captains at this particular stage.
“Rohit Sharma would definitely be my choice for captaincy of the Indian team for both these T20 World Cups,” Gavaskar said.
National T20: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat GFS Sindh by six wickets
ABDULLAH ASJAD
Rawalpindi:-GFS Sindh suffered their first defeat in the National T20 (2021-22) as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a comfortable six-wicket victory in the 12th match of the tournament played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Thursday night.
Set a 151-run target, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa completed the chase in 17.4 overs with six wickets left. Opener Fakhar Zaman led the charge for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a typically aggressive 49 off 32 balls (four fours, four sixes). The left-hander hit pacer Mohammad Hasnain for three sixes and a four in the second over the innings as Hasnain conceded 28 runs –most in an over in the tournament so far.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa batters didn’t let the early loss of their prolific captain Mohammad Rizwan affect the chase as Sahibzada Farhan, Adil Amin and Musadiq Ahmed took the side past the target.
Farhan scored 45 off 30 balls with the help of three fours and as many sixes. The right-hander added 58 runs for the third-wicket with Adil who scored 26 off 19 balls (three fours.)
Rumman Raees, Anwar Ali, Danish Aziz and Zahid Mahmood took a wicket each. This was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s third win in four matches, Sindh too have three wins from four games.
Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opted to bowl after winning the toss. Sharjeel Khan hit three fours in the opening over of the match bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-hander was however pegged back by the bowlers and was eventually dismissed by Arshad Iqbal for 25.
Sindh lost Shan Masood (13) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (0) in one Asif Afridi over to crash to 41 for three (7.3 overs).
Khurram Manzoor and Saud Shakeel did the repair work by adding 56 for the fourth-wicket. The left-handed Saud was dismissed for 32 by Imran Khan Snr who then got rid of Danish Aziz the next ball.
Imran narrowly failed to take a hat-trick as Shaheen spilled a difficult chance in the slips with Anwar Ali the batter.
Anwar hit a last ball six off Mohammad Wasim Jnr as Sindh finished with what looked like an under par score midway. Asif took two wickets for 20 runs while Imran returned figures of 4-0-24-2.
Scores in Brief:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat GFS Sindh by six wickets.
GFS Sindh 150 for 7, 20 overs (Khurram Manzoor 54, Saud Shakeel 32; Asif Afridi 2-20, Imran Khan Snr 2-24)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 156 for 4, 17.4 overs (Fakhar Zaman 49, Sahibzada Farhan 45; Rumman Raees 1-10, Anwar Ali 1-11)
Player of the Match: Fakhar Zaman
School Cricket Championship October 7 in Peshawar
SPORTS NEWS
Peshawar (October 1, 2021):- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cricket Association is hosting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa School Cricket Championship 2021-22 from 7 October in 35 districts of the province. The 30-over matches will have more than 4000 players participating in 276 teams in the month-long event.
The age criteria for players’ participation in the tournament is, players born on or after 14 August 2005.
The tournament will be played at 69 venues across the province with 40 teams from private schools and 236 teams from government schools featuring. The teams have been divided into 76 pools with 510 matches to be played in the tournament.
National T20: Haider Ali stunned Central Punjab
Muhammad Kabir
Rawalpindi (September 30, 2021):-Haider Ali’s sensational unbeaten 91 helped Northern comfortably chase down a 201-run target against Home City Central Punjab in the 11th match of the National T20 2021-22 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Thursday evening.
The right-handed top-order batter who was later adjudged player-of-the-match played a series of sensational shots in his 91-run innings off 53 balls (six fours, six sixes).
Haider set the platform for the chase with a stroke-filled 84-run third-wicket partnership with Mohammad Nawaz who scored 41 off 21 balls (two fours, four sixes). Nawaz who was the player-of-the-match for Northern in their victory last night against Southern Punjab played some powerful shots to put the Central Punjab bowlers under pressure.
Haider continued his aggressive batting mode even after Nawaz’s dismissal, he hit two back-to-back sixes off Ehsan Adil as Northern continued their charge towards the big target.
Asif Ali helped Haider overcome any nerves in the death overs by scoring 28 off 14 balls (three fours, one six).
Northern completed the chase with two balls to spare with Haider at the crease along with his captain Shadab Khan.
Earlier, Babar Azam produced a T20 batting master class after winning the toss and opting to bat first. The Central Punjab and Pakistan captain posted his sixth T20 century (most by any Pakistan batter).
Babar’s 105 came off 63 balls only, the right-hander hit 11 fours and three sixes in a typically effortless batting display that left the Northern attack stunned and bereft of answers. Babar reached his century with a glanced four off Haris Rauf.
Babar added 67 runs for the first-wicket with Ahmed Shehzad who hit five fours in a Sohail Tanvir over before falling to Mohammad Nawaz for 37 (20 balls, eight fours).
Wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Akhlaq carried the momentum with a 17-ball 21 before falling to Shadab after hitting him for two sixes.
Shoaib Malik joined hands with Babar, the two added 92 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand that took Central Punjab to their imposing total. Shoaib scored 31 off 21 balls (four fours). Nawaz and Shadab were the only two wicket-takers for Northern.
Scores in Brief:
Northern beat Home City Central Punjab by six wickets
Home City Central Punjab 200-2, 20 overs (Babar Azam 105 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 37, Shoaib Malik 31 not out; Mohammad Nawaz 1-29)
Northern 201-4, 19.4 overs (Haider Al 91 not out, Mohammad Nawaz 41, Asif Ali 28; Wahab Riaz 1-17)
Player of the match: Haider Ali
Friday’s matches:
Balochistan vs ATF Southern Punjab -3pm
Northern vs GFS Sindh -7:30pm
Jaffna Stallions owners planning to invest in global tournaments in USA
BIPIN DANI:
The owners of the Jaffna Stallions team who are denied the ownership of the last year winning team in the forthcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL) are now planning to bring their investments in some major league cricket in the USA, according to its spokesperson Mahesh Abeyewardene.
Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Canada, where he resides, he said, "We plan on participating in global tournaments. Some of our investors are planning to bring major league cricket to the USA".
"The consortium that created the championship brand will continue to own these assets".
"Jaffna Stallions have not been sold to any individual or entity".
It is learnt that the owners were verbally asked to buy Colombo Kings.
PCB names 18-woman squad for camp
SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT
Karachi (September 30, 2021):-Eighteen national women players will take part in a 16-day training camp to prepare the side for the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier, which will be played in Zimbabwe from 21 November to 5 December.
The camp will be held from 5-20 October at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, National Stadium, Karachi, in a bio-secure environment.
During the camp the players will work on their fitness, match practice, scenario-based practice and match sessions keeping in mind the Zimbabwe event. To provide a challenging environment to the players, matches against U19 boys’ team will also be held at the camp.
Players for the camp: Aimen Anwer, Aliya Riaz, Anum Amin, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Javeria Khan, Kainat Imtiaz, Maham Tariq, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz, and Rameen Shamim.
Nawaz, Haider and Shadab guide Northern to victory
ABDULLAH ASJAD
Rawalpindi (September 29, 2021):-An impressive batting performance earned Northern a five-wicket win over ATF Southern Punjab in the tenth match of the National T20 played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Wednesday night.
All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz (player-of-the-match) made full use of two dropped chances as he scored an unbeaten 56 off 35 balls (six fours, two sixes) to spearhead his side’s 176-run chase.
Nawaz added 67 runs for the fifth-wicket with his captain Shadab Khan who turned the game on its head by scoring 23 runs off Naseem Shah’s over -18th of the innings to ease out the nerves in Northern’s camp.
Shadab who got off to a sedate start scored 30 off 20 balls (three sixes, one four) with his three sixes and one four coming in Naseem’s over.
The chase was duly completed on the first ball of the final over with Nawaz hitting the winning runs, top-order batter Haider Ali (40 off 27 balls, five fours, one six) and opener Nasir Nawaz (24 off 15, two fours, two sixes) had earlier set the platform of Northern’s chase.
Left-arm-spinner Hassan Khan took two wickets for the luckless Southern Punjab who are now languishing at the bottom of the six-team table after suffering their fourth consecutive defeat. Northern have now won two out of their three matches.
Earlier, Northern won the toss and opted to field, the Southern Punjab total was set-up by a swashbuckling innings of 75 off 47 balls by captain Sohaib Maqsood who promoted himself as an opener along with Zeeshan Ashraf. The left-hander Zeeshan perished for one, Sohaib added 74 runs for the second-wicket with Salman Ali Agha who scored a run-a-ball 24 was dismissed by Imad Wasim.
Sohaib hit eight fours and four gigantic sixes in his innings, he was eventually dismissed by pacer Musa Khan. Musa then got rid of the dangerous Khushdil Shah (20), Sohaib and Khushdil added 49 runs for the third-wicket.
The pair of Aamer Yamin (23 off nine balls, three fours, one six) and Azam Khan (18 off 12, two sixes) hit some big shots in the death overs to propel Southern Punjab to their impressive total.
Musa took three wickets for 40 runs, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad and Haris Rauf took a wicket apiece for Northern.
Scores in Brief:
Northern beat ATF Southern Punjab by five wickets
ATF Southern Punjab 175-6, 20 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 75, Salman Ali Agha 24, Aamer Yamin 23; Musa Khan 3-40)
Northern 177 for 5, 19.1 overs (Mohammad Nawaz 56 not out, Haider Ali 40, Shadab Khan 30; Hassan Khan 2-13)
Player of the match: Mohammad Nawaz
Thursday’s matches:
Northern vs Home City Central Punjab -3pm
GFS Sindh vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -7:30pm
T20 Cup: Sindh reach on top with a comprehensive victory against Balochistan
MUHAMMAD KABIR
Rawalpindi (September 29, 2021):-Joint efforts took GFS Sindh to the top of the National T20 Cricket Cup 2021 on points table as they thrashed Balochistan by 77 runs at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Wednesday evening. The victory was Sindh’s third in as many matches, they now have six points and are at the top of the six-team points table.
Set a 176-run target, Balochistan were blown away by the Sindh bowling attack led by Shahnawaz Dahani, Zahid Mahmood and Danish Aziz who took nine wickets between them. Balochistan were bowled out for 98 in 16.4 overs. Fast bowler Shahnawaz took four wickets for 12 runs in 2.4 overs, leg-spinner Zahid took three for 18 in four and Danish took two for 23 in his four overs of left-arm-spin.
Shahnawaz has now taken eight wickets in three matches and he is currently the joint-leading wicket-taker along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shaheen Shah Afridi. Balochistan openers Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Imam-ul-Haq got the team off to a 46-run start. However, the chased fell away as soon as Imam was dismissed for 19 runs.
Balochistan lost all ten wickets for an addition of 52 runs as their batters failed while attempting big shots. Abdul Wahid was top-scorer with 29 off 23 balls (five fours). Bismillah Khan with 12 runs was the only other batter to reach double figures as the whole team was bowled out with 20 balls to spare.
Earlier, Sindh captain Sarfaraz Ahmed won the toss and opted to bat first. The left-handed opening pair of Sharjeel Khan and Shan Masood provided the side a flying start of 52 runs in 6.2 overs. Sharjeel who hit three sixes and one four in a typically aggressive 34 off 20 balls fell to Umaid Asif.
Khurram Manzoor was dismissed for 10 while Shan got run out a ball after hitting a big six, his 30-ball innings off 31 included three fours and one six. Saud Shakeel contributed 32 off 24 balls (four fours). Saud added 55 runs for the fourth-wicket with Sarfaraz.
Sarfaraz added 39 runs for the unbroken fifth-wicket alliance with Anwar Ali (22 off 13 balls). The wicketkeeper-batsman scored for his side with an unbeaten 41 off 25 balls that included three fours and a six off Umaid (last ball of the Sindh innings). Kashif Bhatti, Umaid and Khurram Shahzad took a wicket apiece for Balochistan.
Scores in Brief:
GFS Sindh beat Balochistan by 77 runs.
GFS Sindh 175-4, 20 overs (Sarfaraz Ahmed 41 not out, Sharjeel Khan 34, Saud Shakeel 32; Khurram Shahzad 1-25, Kashif Bhatti 1-31)
Balochistan 98 all out, 16.4 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 29, Imam-ul-Haq 19; Shahnawaz Dahani 4-12, Zahid Mahmood 3-18, Danish Aziz 2-23)
Player of the match: Zahid Mahmood
Thursday’s matches:
Northern vs Home City Central Punjab -3pm
GFS Sindh vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa -7:30pm
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