Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 has approved Binura Fernando as a replacement for left arm fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka in the Sri Lanka squad. Fernando who has played nine T20Is, was named as a replacement after Madushanka was ruled out due to a torn quad muscle. Fernando will travel out from Sri Lanka and join the rest of the squad in Australia. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 consists of Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager - Cricket (Chair); Chris Tetley, ICC Head of Events; Peter Roach, Cricket Australia, Shane Doyle, Men’s T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee; Shaun Pollock (Independent) and Ian Bishop (Independent).

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI (October 16, 2022): Tayyab Tahir stroked his third century of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23, Azhar Ali registered third double-century of the event, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi reached three figures for the first time in his career and, Asad Shafiq and Khurram Manzoor scored their first hundreds of the season on day two of the PCB’s premier competition at various grounds of the country. While the batters had smiles all-round, the bowlers also had something to cheer about when Sameen Gul picked up his sixth career five-fer, Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Umar picked up four wickets apiece, and Mehran Mumtaz, Nauman Ali and Mohammad Imran Randhawa claimed three wickets each. At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resumed their first innings at the overnight score of 291 for five against Sindh and were bowled out for 384 after adding 93 runs this morning. Mohammad Sarwar Afridi, playing his 14th match and starting the day at 79, was dismissed after scoring 148. His 201-ball innings included 20 fours and three sixes. Kamran Ghulam added four runs to his overnight score of 89 to miss his 11th first-class century by seven runs. His 93 came off 205 balls and included nine fours and two sixes. Off Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s five wickets to fall on the second day, three were picked up by mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed who finished with figures of 39.2-9-130-4. The bespectacled spinner now has 15 wickets in three innings. Fast bowler Mohammad Umar picked up the remaining two wickets to finish with figures of 26-3-87-4. In reply, Khurram Manzoor led Sindh’s strong and positive response with a brisk 130-ball 116 – his 31st century in 191 matches – to take his side to 214 for two in 51 overs at close. Together with Saim Ayub (42), Khurram, who hit 16 fours, put on 84 runs for the first wicket, while he added 113 runs for the second wicket with Saud Shakeel. Saud (43) and Omair Bin Yousuf (5) will resume Sindh’s first innings on Monday. At the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Central Punjab started the second day at 300 for three and declared their first innings at 509 for nine against Northern. Test batter Azhar Ali, who commenced his innings at 130, was dismissed after scoring 219, while Tayyab Tahir ended up with 114 after starting the day at 82. Azhar’s 323-ball innings was studded with 20 fours and six sixes, while 29-year-old Tayyab, who is the leading run-getter of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to date with 449 runs, struck six fours and six sixes in a 178-ball 114. The two batters added 224 runs for the fourth wicket. Wicketkeeper-batter Ali Shan, batting at No.8, scored a 99-ball 55 with three fours and a six. For Northern, Mehran Mumtaz (three for 111), Nauman Ali (three for 173) and Mubasir Khan (two for 76) shared wickets. When play ended, Northern had reached 107 for one. Mohammad Huraira (53) and Umar Amin (35) who have added 86 runs for the unfinished second wicket, will resume Northern’s reply on Monday. At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Test batter Asad Shafiq scored his first century of the season and 26th overall, to help Balochistan score 346 against ATF Southern Punjab. Balochistan had started the day at 225-4 with Asad Shafiq batting on 70. Asad struck 16 fours in a 183-ball innings. Other notable lower-order batters were Haseebullah (33) and Khurram Shahzad (26). For ATF Southern Punjab, fast bowler Sameen Gul bowled impressively and finished with figures of 30-8-84-5. He was well supported by Mohammad Imran Randhawa, who added a wicket to his yesterday’s tally to finish with figures of three for 75. In reply, ATF Southern Punjab had reached 109 for two in 32.4 overs when bad light forced an early closure, Sharoon Siraj (46) and Usman Salahuddin (32) will resume ATF Southern Punjab’s response on Monday. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (fourth round, day two): Central Punjab vs Northern at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Central Punjab (overnight 300-3) 509-9d, 140 overs (Azhar Ali 219, Tayyab Tahir 114, Ali Shan 55, Abdullah Shafique 32, Mohammad Saad 27; Mehran Mumtaz 3-111, Nauman Ali 3-173, Mubasir Khan 2-76) Northern 107-1, 34 overs (Mohammad Huraira 53 not out, Umar Amin 35 not out) Sindh vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (overnight 291-5) 384, 115.2 overs (Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 148, Kamran Ghulam 93, Sahibzada Farhan 53, Rehan Afridi 47; Mohammad Umar 4-87, Abrar Ahmed 4-130, Mir Hamza 2-51) Sindh 214-2, 51 overs (Khurram Manzoor 116, Saud Shakeel 43 not out, Saim Ayub 42; Ihsanullah 2-54) ATF Southern Punjab vs Balochistan at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Balochistan (overnight 225-4) 346, 127 overs (Asad Shafiq 106, Ali Waqas 45, Haris Sohail 37, Haseebullah 33, Imran Butt 30, Khurram Shahzad 26 not out; Sameen Gul 5-84, Muhammad Imran Randhawa 3-75) ATF Southern Punjab 109-2, 32.4 overs (Sharoon Siraj 46 not out, Usman Salahuddin 32 not out)

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE (October 16, 2022): Pakistan’s first Test captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar and country’s most successful Test batter and 2009 T20 World Cup winning captain Younis Khan have been inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame. The two iconic figures of Pakistan cricket have joined Abdul Qadir, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas in the illustrious group. Kardar (posthumously) and Younis were inducted following a transparent voting process, which was participated by Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis (all former Pakistan men’s captains and PCB Hall of Famers), Sana Mir, Urooj Mumtaz (both former Pakistan women’s captains), Aaliya Rasheed, Dr Nauman Niaz, Rasheed Shakoor, Qamar Ahmed and Waheed Khan (all respected print and broadcast journalists). PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja siad: “The PCB Hall of Fame is designed to acknowledge, recognise and cherish the sacrifices, contributions and achievements of the role models in our sport and it is befitting that in our diamond jubilee celebrations, we induct two stalwarts from two completely different generations and eras of our proud cricket history. “AH Kardar gave us a cricket dream, vision and mission in our formation years, and Younis Khan was one of the players who gave his absolute best in fulfilling those expectations through exemplary hard work, deep commitment and untiring performances against all opposition and across all formats. Younis Khan said: “I feel honoured and humbled to have been inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame by the Pakistan Cricket Board. There are many notable names amongst the list inducted prior to me, whose performances have been outstanding. I, thus, feel it a matter of immense pride and honour for my name to be amongst those legends, having given my all to make my country proud. “Success is something that should not be attributed to just an individual, for there are many stakeholders who have helped me in my journey, and to whom I am indebted: my family, team-mates, captains and support staff, and all those who provided me with the opportunity to serve my country and team with respect and dignity. Collectively, everybody along my journey shaped me and instilled within me the tenacity and drive.

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI: Azhar Ali stroked his 45th first-class century as Central Punjab justified their decision of batting first against Northern by reaching 300 for three at stumps on day one of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fourth round fixture at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Saturday. The 37-year-old veteran of 95 Tests was batting on 130 and with him was Tayyab Tahir on 82 as the two batters have put on 168 runs for the unfinished fourth wicket. The two had joined hands after Nauman Ali had picked up two of the three wickets to reduce Central Punjab to 132 for three. Azhar Ali’s 209-ball innings includes 15 fours and four sixes, while Tayyab has struck six fours and four sixes in a 130-ball knock. Abid Ali (11), Abdullah Shafique (32) and Mohammad Saad (27) were the batters to return back to the pavilion. Sindh and ATF Southern Punjab let Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan off the hook, respectively in the other two matches. At the Pindi Cricket Stadium in a match that is being live-streamed, Sindh’s decision to field first appeared to be spot-on after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had slipped to 128-5 after being 111 for two. However, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Sarwar Afridi rescued their side from complete collapse by stitching an unfinished 163-run sixth wicket partnership to take their side to 291 for five at stumps. Kamran Ghulam was batting on 89, an innings that has come from 186 balls and includes nine fours and two sixes, while Sarwar’s 118-ball 79 contains 11 fours and two sixes. Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan (53) and Rehan Afridi (47) had added 98 runs for the third wicket to lift the defending championship to 111 for two after Sindh fast bowler Mir Hamza had removed both the openers with the scoreboard reading 13. Fast bowler Mohammad Umar, in the second session, picked up two wickets after Arbab Ahmed had ended the third wicket partnership by accounting for Rehan. The story was not too different at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium where Balochistan recovered from 102 for three to finish the day at 225 for four in 83 overs against ATF Southern Punjab. Former Test batter Asad Shafiq saved his side’s blushes when he returned undefeated on 70 from 111 balls with 10 fours. Asad added 112 runs for the fourth wicket with Haris Sohail, who contributed 37, after openers Ali Waqas (45) and Imran Butt (30) had provided Balochistan a 73-run start before they lost three wickets for 29 runs. For ATF Southern Punjab, Mohammad Imran Randhawa has bagged two wickets for 34 runs. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (fourth round, day one): Toss – Uncontested, Sindh decided to field vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 291-5, 90 overs (Kamran Ghulam 89 not out, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 79 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 53, Rehan Afridi 47; Mir Hamza 2-38, Mohammad Umar 2-45) v Sindh Toss – Uncontested, ATF Southern Punjab decided to field vs Balochistan at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Balochistan 225-4, 83 overs (Asad Shafiq 70 not out, Ali Waqas 45, Haris Sohail 37, Imran Butt 30; Mohammad Imran Randhawa 2-34) v ATF Southern Punjab Toss – Central Punjab won the toss and elected to bat first vs Northern at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Central Punjab 300-3, 86 overs (Azhar Ali 130 not out, Tayyab Tahir 82 not out, Abdullah Shafique 32, Mohammad Saad 27; Nauman Ali 2-93) v Northern

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Pakistan have made one change in their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022 with Fakhar Zaman and Usman Qadir swapping places. Fakhar is included in the 15-player squad and Usman has moved to the traveling reserves. The change was necessary as Usman Qadir is yet to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb that he suffered during the 25 September T20I against England in Karachi. The leg-spinner will not be available for selection before 22 October. Fakhar will arrive in Brisbane from London along with Shaheen Shah Afridi on Saturday and will be available for selection in the two warm-up matches against England (17 October) and Afghanistan (19 October), during which the team management will assess the left-handed batter’s fitness. Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood. Traveling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir. Schedule of Pakistan’s matches: 23 October – vs India, Melbourne 27 October – vs winner Group B, Perth 30 October – vs runner-up Group A, Perth 3 November – vs South Africa, Sydney 6 November – vs Bangladesh, Adelaide

BIPIN DANI It is not only Achini Kulasuriya's sportsmanship is hailed but another Sri Lankan woman player also won the hearts of the fans on Thursday. The 36-year-old slow left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera had won the Player of the Match award for her 2 wickets against Pakistan in the Women's Asia Cup in Bangladesh but instead of pocketing the Award alone, she preferred to share it with Achini, whose last over denied Pakistan the berth in the final. "Sharing an award was an instant decision", Inoka Ranaweera, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Bangladesh, said. "I wanted to appreciate her great effort. We have a great team spirit. We always support each other and celebrate success together". "I think all the players contributed to this win.  Final over was the most crucial one of the game. We were only allowed 3 fielders outside the 25 yard. So I think Achini bowled a brilliant over in that pressure situation. My spell has no worth if we haven't won the game. So that's why I thought I should share the award", she explained her decision of sharing the award. The terms for players winning the awards are changed from Man of the Match and Man of the Series to Player of the Match and Player of the Series. This avoids the gender discrimination.   "Yes, I think it's a good move. Now a lot of things have changed. I think everything is getting better", she signed off.

Sports Bulletin Report Multan: Hosts Multan beat Abbottabad by 74 runs in the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy 2022 Grade-2 final at Sports Complex Stadium, Multan on Friday. In the morning, Abbottabad won the toss and asked Multan to take guard. Multan thrashed Abbottabad by a huge margin of 74 runs. Multan Team’s Captain Mohammad Safdar once again played an extraordinary innings of unbeaten 213 runs and well supported by Ghulam Akbar who scored 59 runs. The Multan team finished with a giant total of 306 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in their stipulated 20 overs. In reply, Abbottabad batters were able to score 232 runs by losing their 5 wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Riasat Khan was their top scorer with unbeaten 148 runs. Arslan and Akbar took 1 wicket each. Mohammad Safdar was declared best player of the final. Sail Abbas (Business Head National Bank of Pakistan), Syed Sultan Shah (Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council), Rana Nadeem Anjum (Divisional Sports officer Multan), Syed Salman Bukhari (Director Cricket Operations PBCC), Anwar Ali Sial (Director Finance PBCC) and Noor Khan Qaisrani (Tehsil Sports Officer Multan) were the guests and distributed prizes amongst the players. Awards: Player of the Tournament: B1: Riasat Khan (Abbottabad) B2: Niamat Ullah (Quetta) B3: Mohammad Safdar (Multan) Best Wicket Keeper: Amjad Mugheri (Hyderabad)

Middle-order ensures Pakistan enter T20 World Cup with momentum and confidence Sports Bulletin Report Christchurch (October 14, 2022: Pakistan notched up their 21st T20I victory in 31 matches since the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup India 2021 when they defeated New Zealand by five wickets to win the T20I tri-series at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Friday. A blistering 22-ball 38 not out by No.4 batter Mohammad Nawaz, a quick-fire 15-ball 31 by No.5 Haider Ali and a rapid 14-ball 25 not out by No.7 batter Iftikhar Ahmed ensured Pakistan headed to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022 oozing with confidence after they achieved the 164-run target with three balls to spare. Nawaz, who scored a 20-ball 45 in the previous match against Bangladesh, clobbered two fours and three sixes, while Haider ended his run drought with an innings that included three fours and two sixes. Iftikhar joined the party when 32 runs were required from 23 balls by slapping a four and a match-winning six. The middle-order finally fired after Mohammad Rizwan (34), Babar Azam (15) and Shan Masood (19) had departed at the score of 74 for three to leave Pakistan requiring 90 runs from 51 balls. With Shadab Khan and Mohammad Wasim Jnr not required to bat on Friday, Pakistan demonstrated they have the ability and firepower in the middle-order that can take them a long way in the T20 World Cup in which Pakistan will play its Group 2 matches from 23 October to 6 November. Nawaz and Haider turned the match on its head in the 15th over after Pakistan required 67 runs from the last six overs. Haider collected 13 runs from the first four deliveries from Ish Sodhi, before Nawaz belted successive sixes as the over yielded 25 runs. Haider departed in the following over, but after striking fours off Tim Southee to reduce Pakistan’s target to 34 runs from 25 balls. Earlier, Kane Williamson scored at a strike-rate of 155 to top score for New Zealand with a 38-ball 59 that included four fours and two sixes. Glenn Phillips (29), Mark Chapman (25) and James Neesham (17) were the other notable run-getters as the home side only managed 33 runs in the last five overs against quality bowling by Pakistan. Shadab Khan conceded four runs in the 16th over, Haris Rauf gave away 10 runs in his last two overs (17th and 20th), Mohammad Wasim’s final over (18th of the innings) cost 11 runs, while Naseem Shah picked up two wickets and conceded eight runs. Haris finished with impressive figures of two for 22 runs, while Naseem Shah ended with figures of two for 38. Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz gave away 63 runs in their eight overs. Pakistan will now travel to Brisbane on Saturday where they will play two warm-up matches against England (17 October) and Afghanistan (19 October). They will take on India on 23 October in Melbourne in their tournament opener. In Brisbane, they will reunite with Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Matthew Hayden. Fakhar and Shaheen will travel after completing their rehabilitation in London, while Hayden will join as the team mentor for the T20 World Cup. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat New Zealand by five wickets New Zealand 163-7, 20 overs (Kane Williamson 59, Glenn Phillips 29, Mark Chapman 25; Haris Rauf 2-22, Naseem Shah 2- 38) Pakistan 168-5, 19.3 overs (Mohammad Nawaz 38 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 34, Haider Ali 31, Iftikhar Ahmed 25 not out, Shan Masood 19, Babar Azam 15; Michael Bracewell 2-14) Player of the match – Mohammad Nawaz (Pakistan)  

Salman Khan Multan (October 13, 2022):-Multan and Abbottabad set to meet in the final of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy 2022 Grade-II  on October 14, 2022 (Friday) at Sports Complex Stadium, Multan, as both teams beat their respective challengers in semifinals at the same venue on Thursday. In the first semifinal Multan overcame their opponent by 86 runs. Sheikhopura won the toss and decided to bowl first. Openers Mohammad Safdar and Ghulam Akbar destroyed the weak bowling of Sheikhopura and both aggregated 226 runs for the 1st wicket partnership. Multan set the gigantic total of 288 runs on the board for the loss of 2 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Mohammad Safdar once again shined with the bat and he scored unbeaten 170 not out runs while Ghulam Akbar chipped in with 60 runs. Aftab Hussain took 1 wicket. In reply, Sheikhopura was restricted to 202 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in allotted 20 overs. Sanwal Shahzada was their highest scorer with unbeaten 130* runs and Ashraf Bhatti made 26 runs. Muhammad Arslan claimed 1 wicket for Multan. Mohammad Safdar declared man of the match. Later, in the second semifinal, Abbottabad claimed one run victory against Faisalabad, who had won the toss and put Abbottabad into bat first. Abbottabad posted a competitive total of 222 runs on the board for the loss of 4 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Riasat Khan played an extraordinary innings of unbeaten 128 runs and Asnaad Khan made 30 runs. Usman took 1 wicket for Faisalabad.   In reply, Faisalabad tried their best to reach the target but fell just 1 run short of the target. Faisalabad’s team was able to score 221 runs by losing their 5 wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Bilal Ali was their top scorer with 82 runs while Ejaz Hussain made 29 runs. Sohaib, Adeel and Naeem Ullah got 1 wicket each for Abbottabad. Riasat Khan received man of the match award.

Sports Bulletin Report Sylhet, Bangladesh (October 13, 2022): Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by one run in a last-ball thriller in the second semi-final at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (SICS) to qualify for the final of the ACC Women’s Asia Cup. The final will be played between India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, 15 October. Requiring nine runs of the last over, and with three runs required to win off the final ball, Nida Dar was run-out while attempting to take a double, as Pakistan managed to score 121 for six in their 20 overs. Chasing 123 runs to win, the opening pair of Muneeba Ali and Sidra Amin provided a solid 31-run start to the innings. The left-handed Muneeba scored 18 off 10 balls, hitting three fours, before getting herself run-out on the first ball of the fourth over. After the departure of Muneeba, captain Bismah Maroof joined Sidra and the pair added a 16-run partnership for the second wicket. Sidra (nine off 20, 1x4) got back to the hut while playing a reverse flick off Inoka Ranaweera on the last ball of the seventh over with 47 runs on the board. In the batting powerplay, Pakistan scored 46 for one, and struck six fours. Pakistan were in a spot of bother when they lost Omaima Sohail (10, 14b) in the 11th over and scoreboard reading Pakistan 65 for three. At the crucial juncture of the match, Bismah and Nida got together and the most experienced pair took Pakistan to 107, with Bismah getting dismissed for 42 off 41, studded with four fours. The pair stitched 42 runs for the fourth wicket. The dismissal of Bismah gave a ray of hope to Sri Lanka and they fully capitalised on the chance and restricted Pakistan to 121.  Nida scored run-a-ball 26, and struck one four. For Sri Lanka, Inoka Ranweera bagged two wickets for 17 runs. Earlier, after opting to bat first, Sri Lanka managed to score 122 for six in their 20 overs, on the back of 50-run partnership between Harshitha Samarawickrama (35, 41b, 1x4) and Nilakshi de Silva (14, 27b) for the third wicket. Opening batter Anushka Sanjeewani was other notable run getter with 26 off 21 balls, which included one four and one six. Nashra Sandhu was the most successful bowler for the winning team with match figures of 4-0-17-3. Spinners Sadia Iqbal and Nida and right-arm fast Aiman Anwer scooped one wicket each. Scores in brief: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by one run Sri Lanka 122-6, 20 overs (Harshitha Samarawickrama 35, Anushka Sanjeewani 26; Nashra Sandhu 3-17) Pakistan 121-6, 20 overs (Bismah Maroof 42, Nida Dar 26; Inoka Ranaweera 2-17) Player of the match – Inoka Ranaweera (Sri Lanka)