Sports Bulletin

Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI:-A 92-run innings by Saim Ayub encouraged Sindh's bowlers to restrict their opponents Northern batters at 180 runs in 20 overs, as they were chasing 191 runs target in the third game of National T20 Cricket Cup 2022 at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Acting captain of Northern Ali Imran won the toss and put opposition into bat, as the weather for the game of cricket was beautiful in the empty stadium of Pindi. Sindh managed 190 runs for 7 on the board in allotted 20 overs. Saim Ayub was top scorer with 92 runs. Saim Ayub plunder the runs with massive hitting, as he smashed six four and seven sixes during his 52 balls innings. Saad Khan contributed 26 runs not out while Saud Shakil scored 20 runs in 18 balls to set 191 target for the home town cricketers. Sohail Tenvir snared three batters with his magical bowling after conceding 28 runs in his 4 overs. Usman Shinvari, Mehran, Salman and Aamir shared one wicket each. Northern batters could aggregate 180 for runs in 20 overs, as they were just 10 runs behind their target. Nasir Nawaz was the best scorer of the Northern with 39 runs in 21 balls innings. Mubasir Khan scored 33 was the other notable performance. Mir Hamza (3 for 33), Sohail Khan (2 for 38) and Saim Ayub (1 for 26) were the wicket-takers for Sindh. Saim Ayub claimed player of the match award. Summarized Scorecard: Sindh beat Northern by 10 runs Toss: Northern won the toss and decided to bowl first Sindh Batting: (190 for 7 in 20 overs) Saim Ayub 92 runs (52 balls, 4X6, 6X7), Saad Khan 26 not out (17 balls, 4X2, 6X1), Saud Shakil 20 runs (18 balls, 4X0, 6X1) Northern Bowling: Sohail Tenvir (3 for 28), Usman Shenvari (1 for 36), Mehran Mumtaz (1 for 32), Salman Irshad (1 for 32), Aamir Jamal (1 for 32) Northern Batting: (180 for 7 in 20 overs) Nasir Nawaz 39 runs (21 balls, 4X6, 6X1), Mubasir Khan 33 runs (25 balls, 4X4, 6X1), Zeeshan Malik 29 runs (31 balls, 4X2) Sindh Bowling: Mir Hamza (3 for 33), Sohail Khan (2 for 38), Saim Ayub (1 for 26) Player of Match: Saim Ayub (Sindh). Day-2 (Game-II): KP beat Central Punjab by 18 runs Summarized Scorecard: Toss: KP won the toss and elected to bat KP Batting (165 for 6 in 20 overs): Kamran Ghulam 39 runs (32 balls, 4X6, 6X1), Mohammad Sarwar 30 runs (31 balls, 4X4), Adim Amin 24 runs (17 balls, 4X2, 6x1) Central Punjab Bowling: Ali Asfand (2 for 22), Usman Mir (1 for 27), A denial (1 for 40) Central Punjab Batting: Tayyab Tahir 72 (45 balls, 4X5, 6X3), Ahmed Shahzad 26 runs (20 balls, 4X5), Juniad runs 18 (14 balls, 4X3) KP Bowling: Imran Khan Senior (4 for 24), Asif Afridai (2 for 24), Irshad Iqbal (1 for 20)

Smita Chhetri is the only woman team manager in Asia Cup BIPIN DANI Hong Kong is the only team participating in the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) has woman manager. The team is being managed by former cricketer Smita Chhetri. Incidentally, she is managing the media here too. Speaking exclusively, she said, "Managing men’s national team is one of the best opportunity, which I got from Cricket Hong Kong. So far I do not see much challenge managing them as I have known them for long time and we get along very well. I try to stay strict with them when during match and trainings but otherwise we have fun and pull our legs more". "I wouldn’t say it’s very easy to manage men’s team but it’s not difficult as well. I am very experienced with high performance logistics behind the scenes and being manager for the same for the first time has been extraordinary experience. Sometimes I fall behind managing time between usual team managers duties and at the same time coordinating with media but I won’t complain because I am having so much fun". I had played for women’s U19 in 2008 and followed by T20s being a manager and player is totally different. As a player we only had responsibilities to play, eat and have fun. We were very young that time as well. When I look back and compare now, I am very thankful to Cricket HK for amazing opportunity. Its equally fun to travel as a player and manage the team", the 32-yearold Nepal-born Smita signed off. Later, Ravi Nagdev, the Cricket HK General Manager, speaking from HK, added, "She is a bright, responsible and hard working young woman. I think she has all qualities that it takes to be a team manager. The gender even does not come into the picture".

Abdul Jabbar Faisal RAWALPINDI:-Sindh and Balochistan have registered victories on the opening day of the National T20 Cricket Cup 2022 after thrashing Southern Punjab and Central Punjab respectively by 42 and 2 runs at Pindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi on Tuesday. In the first match of the day, Sindh’s Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowlers inspired their side to a commanding win over Southern Punjab. A fighting 42 off 32 by player of the match Sarfaraz Ahmed and a dominant show with the ball saw Sindh defeat Balochistan comprehensively in the tournament opener. Southern Punjab opted to chase after winning the toss and kept Sindh’s scoring rate in check with wickets at regular intervals as Sindh exhausted all their batters and managed 147 with two balls spare. Openers Sharjeel Khan (24 off 19) and Saim Ayub (30 off 20) added 38 runs together before the former was undone by leg-spinner Ali Majid. Wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz walked in the middle with three wickets down for 73 in the 10th over and made his experience count. He cracked six fours and scored at a strike rate of 131. Over the course of his innings, Sarfaraz batted with the tail and was his side’s last wicket to fall when he was caught off Sameen Gul, who returned the innings’ best figures of three for 24. Pacer Mohammad Ilyas was the other bowler to account for three batters. He sent Omair Bin Yousuf, Sohail Khan and Danish Aziz back to the pavilion and gave away 29 in his four. Left-arm wrist spinner Faisal Akram returned two for 26. Southern Punjab were never really in the run chase and were bowled out for a paltry 105 in 16.4 overs. They lost their top three inside the powerplay and were three down for 29 in just 5.3 overs with Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali and Danish Aziz accounting for Zain Abbas, Zeeshan Ashraf and Sohaib Maqsood. Their problems were amplified in the ninth over with leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood accounting for Salman Ali Agha and Moinuddin in the space of four balls. Danish Aziz took his second wicket in the 12th over by sending Mohammad Imran back. The only notable batting performance in the run chase came from Sharoon Siraj, who struck 36 off 27. In the second match of the day, all-rounder Irfan Khan Niazi, a product of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s age-group programme, led Central Punjab’s fightback and had his side in touching distance of the win with four needed off the last ball after the last over began with 19 remaining. He had arrived at the crease with 127 required off 64 with established players in Ahmed Shehzad (17 off 19) and Abdullah Shafique (15 off 18), and former U19 captain Qasim Akram (13 off nine) back in the pavilion, and added 61 with Tayyab Tahir (51 off 33) and 41 with Faheem Ashraf (18 off eight). It was the stand between Tayyab – who struck seven fours and a six – and Irfan that proved to be pivotal as they scored 61 at 9.38 runs per over, before Faheem and Irfan added 41 at a blistering 15 runs per over. Irfan, who shared the player of the match award with Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, smashed three sixes and as many as fours. Balochistan’s Wahid and Shan Masood hammered 54 each to help Balochistan post a towering 186 for four after their captain Yasir Shah elected to bat. The two had come together in the fourth over with 36 on board following the dismissals of Haseebullah and Asad Shafiq on back-to-back deliveries. Asad and Haseebullah promised a good start as the two kept the run rate hovering around 10 an over. Asad, especially, looked in solid touch as he hit 23 runs (five fours) at a strike rate of over 191. Wahid and Shan added 111 runs together at the average of eight runs per over, blasting 13 boundaries between them. Wahid, who scored at over 138, sent four deliveries flying above the boundary rope and dispatched three off the 39 he faced for fours, while Shan, who scored at exactly 150, struck six fours in his 36-ball knock. Ahmed Daniyal took all four of Balochistan’s wickets. Scores in brief: Match 1 - Sindh beat Southern Punjab by 42 runs Sindh 147 all out, 19.4 overs (Sarfaraz Ahmed 42, Saim Ayb 30, Sharjeel Khan 24; Sameen Gul 3-24, Mohammad Ilyas 3-29, Faisal Akram 2-26) Southern Punjab 105 all out, 16.4 overs (Sharoon Siraj 36; Sohail Khan 3-15, Danish Aziz 2-22, Zahid Mehmood 2-26) Player of the match – Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh) Match 2 – Balochistan beat Central Punjab by 2 runs Balochistan 186-4, 20 overs (Shan Masood 54, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 54, Asad Shafiq 23, Amad Butt 21; Ahmed Daniyal 4-28) Central Punjab 184-5, 20 overs (Irfan Khan Niazi 57 not out, Tayyab Tahir 51; Amad Butt 3-29) Player of the match – Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Balochistan) and Irfan Khan Niazi (Central Punjab) Wednesday’s fixtures: 0930 - Northern v Sindh 1400 - Central Punjab v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Ireland Women’s batter, Gaby Lewis, has risen six places to a career-best number 27 in the latest MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings. The move comes after Ireland’s dominant, outbound tour success against the Netherlands, where her side returned three emphatic wins to end the series unbeaten. The visitors made a strong showing with the bat in hand, Lewis making scores of 92 from 98 deliveries and 25 from 32 as she helped her side to victory by eight and five wickets respectively in the first and last matches of the series. Thanks to these dazzling performances at the crease, she now celebrates her career-best ratings points tally of 494. Leah Paul and captain Laura Delany, returned maiden ODI centuries in the second fixture of the series, becoming the first pair to score hundreds in the same innings for Ireland Women. In that team-record-tumbling match, Ireland set their highest women’s team total in ODIs of 337 for eight. The 236-run, third-wicket partnership between the pair was also the highest of any wicket in Irish women’s cricket, with Paul’s 137 from 138 deliveries the highest individual score in Ireland Women’s ODIs. If that wasn’t enough, their eventual, 210-run triumph was the team’s highest winning margin by runs in women’s ODIs. The pair make strong gains in the batters’ rankings, Delany rising 15 spots to a career-best 34th place with 455 rating points, while Paul shoots up 25 slots to 56th on 346 points. In addition, they rise to 66th and 71st respectively in the bowlers’ rankings with 280 and 266 points and in the allrounders list, Delany once again leads the charge, advancing 15 positions to 28th place, with Paul following with her own 25-place jump to share 36th spot with India’s Shikha Pandey. The final notable Irish team mention goes to Cara Murray, whose maiden five-wicket-haul (five for 39) in the same record-breaking match, saw her rise by 12 spaces to 60th in the bowlers’ rankings, with 321 rating points. While it was a losing series for the Netherlands, there were some individual gains to celebrate. Captain Babette de Leede leads the rankings advancements with a 91-slot catapult to number 120 in the batters’ rankings with 175 ratings points, thanks to her 76 from 98 balls in the series opener. Iris Zwilling advances from 144th place to 81st for bowlers and Frederique Overdijk was the all-round star with two unbeaten scores of 47 (88) and 38 (65) in the first and last matches and helpful contributions with the ball in hand. She rises 18 places to 97th spot in the batters’ rankings, while also moving 58 spots up to 116th place in the bowlers’ rankings and 61 places to number 93 in the all-rounders list.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE:-The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the ticket prices for the seven-match T20I series between Pakistan and England to be played in Karachi from 20-25 September and 28 September to 2 October in Lahore. Ticket prices for the Karachi matches have been fixed from PKR1,500 to PKR250. The PCB has already announced gate proceeds from the first T20I will be donated to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund 2022. Likewise, affordable prices have been fixed for the Lahore T20Is, which now range from PKR3,000 to PKR500. When Australia played a T20I here on 5 April, ticket prices ranged from PKR4,000 to PKR500. Usman Waheed, Director – Commercial said: “England is visiting Pakistan for the first time in 17 years and these matches will be a build-up to October’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. To ensure maximum fans can attend these matches and watch live some of the best shortest format cricketers from either side, we have decided to make the tickets affordable, ensuring families also turn up in big numbers to support cricket and both the sides. “The first T20I also presents an opportunity to all the Karachi cricket spectators and fans to play their part in supporting all those affected by the catastrophe caused by the monsoon rainfall and floods. They can do this by purchasing tickets and helping the PCB to donate a substantial amount in the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund. Cricket unites our nation and this is a time to demonstrate that we stand together in these difficult and challenging times.” Ticket prices of Karachi T20Is Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Javed Miandad (VIP enclosure) – PKR1,500 Imran Khan, Quaid, Wasim Akram (premium enclosure) – PKR750 Asif Iqbal, Intikhab Alam, Iqbal Qasim, Mohammad Brothers, Nasimul Ghani (first-class enclosures) – PKR500 Majid Khan, Waqar Hasan, Wasim Bari, Zaheer Abbas (general enclosure) – PKR250 Ticket prices for Lahore T20Is: Fazal Mahmood, Imran Khan (VIP enclosures) – PKR3,000 Rajas and Saeed Anwar (premium enclosures) – PKR1,500 Abdul Qadir, AH Kardar, Javed Miandad and Sarfraz Nawaz (first-class enclosures) – PKR750 Hanif Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Majid Khan, Nazars, Quaid, Saeed Ahmad, Zaheer Abbas (general enclosures) – PKR250

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) and Rashid Khan (3/22) shared 6 wickets before the Zadran duo of Najibullah 43 not out (17 balls, 5 sixes) and Ibrahim 42* (41 balls, 4 fours) shared 69 runs off 33 balls between them to hand Afghanistan an emphatic 7-wicket win over Bangladesh to advance to the Super Fours stage of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2022. Earlier in the evening, Bangladesh opted to bat first but were soon put in trouble as Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3/16) did the early damage by picking up three wickets in his first spell to put Bangladesh under pressure at 24/3 in the 5th over. Rashid Khan was introduced to bowl the 7th over and struck in his very 2nd delivery as he trapped Mushfiqur Rahim for 1 to leave Bangladesh at 28/4. Afif Hussain (12), Mohammadullah (25) and Mossadek Hussain (48*) batted well but Rashid Khan (3/22) kept taking wickets as he removed Afif Hussain (LBW) and Mohammadullah (caught in the deep by Ibrahim Zadran) one after the other to help Afghanistan reduce Bangladesh to 127 in their 20 overs. Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz (11) earlier in the chase at 15/1, and then after a 30-run partnership with Ibrahim Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai (23) was trapped in front at 45/2 in the 10th over to leave Afghanistan in trouble. The skipper Mohammad Nabi (8 off 9b) promoted himself up the order but lost his wicket only adding 8 runs to the total. Najibullah Zadran came in at 5 and started to rebuild the Afghanistan inning as he struck a big six over the deep mid-wicket off Mahedi Hassan in 16th over before clobbering Mustafizur Rahman for two more sixes in the 17th over to bring the equation down to 26 off the last three overs. Ibrahim Zadran clipped the first ball of the 18th over off his legs for four, which was followed by another pull shot and a couple of more sixes by Najibullah to take 22 runs off the 18th over to make Afghanistan needing only 4 runs off the last two overs. Najibullah finished the game with another big six for Afghanistan as he smashed one over the bowler’s head to help Afghanistan to an emphatic win by 7 wickets. Ibrahim Zadran won the best catch of the match award whereas Mujeeb Ur Rahman was adjudged as the player of the match for his impressive figures of 3/16 in his 4 overs. With this emphatic victory, Afghanistan advanced to the top four of ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2022.

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI:-Sindh all-rounder Anwar Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for a level 1 offence for showing dissent at an umpire’s decision. The incident occurred in the opening match of the Kingdom Valley National T20 Cup 2022-23 when Anwar, in the seventh over of the second innings, showed dissent when his delivery was deemed wide overhead. Anwar was found to have violated Article 2.8 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel. On-field umpires Rashid Riaz and Nasir Hussain, third umpire Saqib Khan and fourth umpire Imtiaz Iqbal levelled the charges, and Anwar, who pleaded guilty, accepted the sanction proposed by Nadeem Arshad. Sindh beat Southern Punjab by 42 runs.  

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-Sindh will take on Southern Punjab in the opening fixture of the Kingdom Valley National T20 Cricket Cup 2022-23, which will commence from August 30 (Tuesday) at Pindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi. The match will start at the local time 9:30 am. The Kingdom Valley National T20 Cup 2022-23 will be played in two legs. Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium will host the first 16 matches till 7 September and then the action will move to Multan Cricket Stadium, where the remaining matches will be played from 10-19 September. Led by Khalid Usman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the defending champions, will enter the tournament with the mission of securing a hat-trick of titles after winning the 2020-21 and 2021-22 editions. They have won 15 of their last 24 matches. Khalid Usman said: “There is a little pressure when you are defending the title, but, thankfully, we have a good unit that has all the potential to do the job. The atmosphere in the team is great. My message to my boys is to play fearless, positive cricket and give their 110 per cent. The new structure and introduction of CCA and divisional cricket in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has helped a great deal in nurturing the young cricketers in our region.” Balochistan enter the tournament with confidence as they ended the previous season on a high by winning the Pakistan Cup. Since playing the final of the 2019-20 edition of the tournament, Balochistan have failed to make it to the semi-finals and that’s what they would look to change when they face-off Central Punjab on the opening day of the tournament under the captaincy of Yasir Shah. Yasir Shah said: “We are looking forward to carry the momentum from the Pakistan Cup. Our youngsters – Haseebullah and Abdul Wahid Bangalzai – were terrific in that tournament, and I am sure they will continue their form. We have a good T20 side and our players have been doing well in different leagues recently.” Central Punjab faced a defeat to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Lahore last season, thanks to Iftikhar Ahmed’s whirlwind 19-ball 45 not out, in the final. It was the first instance of the side making it to the final after they failed to qualify for the semi-finals in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 editions. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf leads them this season. Faheem Ashraf said: “To captain Central Punjab is surely an honour because it is the biggest region in the country. It is a dream to lead or represent Punjab or Central Punjab. To thrive in T20 competitions, it is important to come together as a unit and develop good combinations from the onset, so we are looking to do that.” Northern were champions of the first National T20 played following the revamp of the domestic structure. They lifted the trophy at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, by thumping Balochistan in the final. They have been one of the most consistent teams in the tournament, making it to the semi-finals in the last two editions. Under the captaincy of Umar Amin, their aim must be to start good at their home, Rawalpindi, and go the distance when the tournament moves to Multan. Umar Amin said: “It is always fun to play at my hometown and leading Northern in this tournament has doubled my excitement. Our team has a good combination of youth and experience. The youngsters are quite energetic. We made some mistakes at crunch moments in the last two editions because of which we could not play the final. This time, I hope, we will not repeat them.” Southern Punjab had a last-minute change of guard after Hasan Ali was called up to the national side for the ongoing ACC T20 Asia Cup. All-rounder Salman Ali Agha, who made his Test and ODI debuts recently, has been handed the reins in the absence of the star pacer. Southern Punjab had a memorable 2020-21 campaign in which they fell 10 runs short of winning the title, but showed great grit and determination in making it to the final. Sohaib Maqsood’s stunning 81 off 29 scripted an epic run chase when they scaled the 162-run target in 10.4 overs against Balochistan to secure a spot in the semi-final, where they beat Northern by seven wickets. They couldn’t make it to the last four in the previous edition and will be hoping to stage a resounding comeback. Southern Punjab vice-captain Zain Abbas said: “This is a very important tournament for every domestic cricketer. We have prepared well for it and are coming into this tournament with a passion to do well as we have not won a major tournament for Southern Punjab yet. We want to win this tournament.” Sindh, led by Saud Shakeel, play the first match of the Kingdom Valley National T20 Cup 2022-23 when they take on Southern Punjab tomorrow. Following a lacklustre 2019-20 edition, Sindh have made it to the top four and played semi-finals in the last two tournaments. Saud Shakeel said said: “It is an honour for me to be captaining Sindh. Our strength is our good combination: we have good spinners, we have hard-hitting openers, Sharjeel being one of them, and we have sloggers in the middle-order. Hopefully, we will do well in this tournament.”

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in an ACC T20 Asia Cup thriller at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday night. Naseem took a wicket on his second delivery and two balls later almost had Virat Kohli as he finished with highly impressive figures of 4-0-27-2. This included the last over he bowled while battling cramps and conceded 11 runs, as India reached the 148-run target with two balls to spare. Before Naseem started the 17th over, Pakistan were penalised for a slow over-rate and had to bring one fielder inside the 30-yard circle. But Naseem showed tremendous courage and grit to overcome all the pain to leave India requiring 21 runs off the last two overs. Haris Rauf conceded 14 off the penultimate and though Mohammad Nawaz dismissed Ravindra Jadeja on the first delivery, then conceded a single before bowling a dot ball, Hardik Pandya hit a six to seal one of the closest victories over Pakistan. Pandya remained unbeaten on a 17-ball 33 with four fours and a six, while Jadeja, promoted to No.4, scored a 29-ball 35 with two fours and two sixes. Kohli, playing his 100th T20I and dropped by Fakhar Zaman in the second slip off Naseem, scored a 34-ball 35 with three fours and a six. After Naseem bowled KL Rahul, Mohammad Nawaz picked up the wickets of Rohit Sharma (12) and Kohli as India slipped to 53 for three. When Naseem disturbed the symmetry of Suryakumar Yadav’s stumps, India were in a spot of bother at 89 for four in 14.2 overs. However, Jadeja and Pandya added 52 runs for the fifth wicket and pulled India from the jaws of defeat. Pakistan were gallant in the field and produced one of their finest performances. Apart from Naseem, Shahnawaz Dahani followed up his batting exploits by conceding 29 runs off his four overs, Shadab Khan returned figures of 4-0-19-0, Haris conceded 35 off his four overs and Nawaz finished with three for 33. Earlier, Pakistan scored 79 runs in the second half of their innings for the loss of eight wickets to be bowled out for 147 in 19.5 overs. This included a six-ball 16 from last man Shahnawaz Dahani, who belted sixes off Bhuvneshwar Kumar (four for 26) and Arshdeep Singh (two for 33). Dahani had joined Haris after Pakistan had slipped to 128 for nine in 18.3 overs after being 68 for two in 10 overs. Haris also had a little fun with the bat in front of a full house, hitting two fours in a seven-ball 13 not out as Pakistan’s last pair put on 19 invaluable runs in eight balls. Apart from Dahani and Haris’s gutsy and courageous knocks, it was an otherwise unimpressive batting display by Pakistan as their top five batters succumbed to short-pitched deliveries. Babar Azam, who played two gorgeous straight drives, was caught at short fine-leg trying to hook Kumar, Fakhar Zaman (10) was caught at the wicket trying to play an upper cut off Avesh Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed (28) was caught by wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik attempting to hook Pandya, Khushdil Shah (2) was caught at deep extra-cover trying to cut Pandya and top-scorer Mohammad Rizwan (43) was found in an awkward position to Pandya’s short of a length delivery and was caught at third-man. Asif Ali, who has a reputation of being a power-hitter, was caught at mid-off off Kumar, who also pinned Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah in front of wickets in the penultimate over of Pakistan’s innings. Pandya was the India bowler who exposed Pakistan middle-order batters’ vulnerability against short-pitched deliveries and finished with impressive figures of 4-0-25-3. Kumar, who had provided the early breakthrough by dismissing Babar, came back and added three more wickets to finish as the most successful bowler with four for 26. Pakistan will now play Hong Kong in their second Group A match in Sharjah on Friday, 2 September. Scores in brief: India beat Pakistan by five wickets Pakistan 147 all out, 19.5 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 43, Iftikhar Ahmed 28, Shahnawaz Dahani 16; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-26, Hardik Pandya 3-25, Arshdeep Singh 2-33) India 148-5, 19.4 overs (Virat Kohli 35, Ravindra Jadeja 35, Hardik Pandya 33 not out; Mohammad Nawaz 3-33, Naseem Shah 2-27) Player of the match: Hardik Pandya (India)

BIPIN DANI India-born scorer Umesh Lagad, now working in the UAE for the last many years and wearing many hats of club cricketer, umpire, and coach was "more than happy" to be part of the Indo-Pak Asia Cup match, which Rohit Sharma-led team won in the last over on Sunday. The distance between Sharjah and the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) is about 50 kilometers, which can be driven within 45 minutes on any normal day but Umesh Lagad, the Manual Official scorer of the Asia Cup was well aware about the road traffic he would have had to face to reach at the venue on Sunday. He had left his house more than six hours before the scheduled commencement of the high voltage Indo-Pak. "There will be unimaginable road traffic on Sunday. You also please leave earlier", he had advised before the match.   This was the second Indo-Pak. match Lagad was scoring. "I also officiated as a scorer in the T-20I World Cup match between India and Pakistan last year".   Umesh Lagad hails from a small village called Chikhli in Gujarat. "Ramayan-famed Sita (Dipika Chikhaliya) hails from my village", he said proudly. "Compared to all other matches, this India-Pakistan match is always filled with high drama and tensions. We have to be more cautious and careful while doing duty for this match as one mistake from our side may create a big controversy".    "Focusing on the game and concentrating on umpires' signal was, however, didn't pose much of a problem to me as I have already umpired in the past". He has been a regular at the IPL and the PSL (Pakistan Super League) matches when played in the UAE. Being a regular scorer in the box, he gets an opportunity to meet the world's legendary cricketers. "I feel so proud when they come and appreciate my work after the match". "I can't wait more to work in big matches like this", he signed off. There are six different scorers-Manual Official scorer, on-line scorer, D/L scorer, Linear scorer, Media scorer and the stadium scoreboard scorer-officiating in the Asia Cup.