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LPL: Wives of players remain in bio-bubble till LPL final
Bipin Dani
The family members of the players and the support staff participating in the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) will continue to be with them in Hambantota also.
The second leg of the second edition of the LPL will begin in Hambantota from December 20.
"Our policy for the family members will be the same at the second venue also", one of the sources in the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board said on Tuesday morning.
Few family members of almost all LPL franchise teams have joined the same bio-bubble. Even few foreign players have also brought their life-partners, it is learnt. The decision to allow them was taken by the medical panel.
"Bubble life is very tough. We must not forget that the mental pressure on players is immense. Some had not seen their family members for months and hence this decision was taken". Prof. Arjuna de Silva, the chairman of the medical panel of the SLC, who is also the Medical Director for the LPL 2021, said over the phone.
"They (family members) travel separately to the ground and have been watching the matches from the special enclosure", he added.
CLIMBING - Int News 14 Dec, 2021
Islamabad (Sports Desk):-The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), the Alpine Association of Slovenia, and the Chinese Mountaineering Association announced the cities of Koper, Slovenia, and Wujiang to host IFSC World Cup competitions in 2022.
The fifth largest city in Slovenia, Koper will host an IFSC World Cup for the first time, from 2 to 3 September, extending a long-lasting tradition that saw the city of Kranj, Slovenia, organise 25 World Cup competitions between 1996 and 2021.
After welcoming World Cup competitions for seven consecutive years – from 2013 to 2019 – Wujiang will make its return to the IFSC World Cup circuit with the 13th and closing act of the 2022 season, set to take place from 30 September to 2 October.
The IFSC Lead and Speed World Cup in Bali, Indonesia, has also been rescheduled and will now take place from 24 to 26 September.
IFSC World Cup Series 2022 calendar:
1-3 April – Moscow (RUS) – Boulder, Speed
8-10 April – Meiringen (SUI) – Boulder
29 April-1 May – TBD location in Japan – Boulder
6-8 May – Seoul (KOR) – Boulder, Speed
20-22 May – Salt Lake City (USA) – Boulder
27-29 May – Salt Lake City (USA) – Boulder, Speed
22-25 June – Innsbruck (AUT) – Boulder, Lead
1-3 July – Villars (SUI) – Lead, Speed
8-10 July – Chamonix (FRA) – Lead, Speed
22-23 July – Briançon (FRA) – Lead
2-3 September – Koper (SLO) – Lead
24-26 September – Bali (INA) – Lead, Speed
30 September-2 October – Wujiang (CHN) – Lead, Speed
LPL: Jaffna Kings demolish Dambulla Giants by 7 wickets
Colombo (SB Report):-Thisara Perera's Jaffna Kings continued their king-sized domination of the Lanka Premier League 2021 by demolishing Dambulla Giants by 7 wickets to pick up their fifth successive triumph on Monday at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka. With the win, the Jaffna Kings confirmed a spot in the playoffs.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, the Kings bundled out Dambulla Giants for 69 with Chaturanga de Silva coming to the party, picking up 4 wickets for 16 runs.
Perera's decision to bowl on a spinning track proved to be the correct one as off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana gave early blows to Dambulla Giants, dismissing Niroshan Dickwella and Sohaib Maqsood in the first over itself. In his next over, Theekshana dismissed Nuwanidu Fernando for 2 runs, forcing the Giants on the back-foot.
Afterward, De Silva’s magical spell began, as he cleaned up the Giants' middle-order in quick succession. Philip Salt, who was the only one who showed a bit of resistance, was dismissed by star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga for 23 runs as the Giants were bowled out in just 14.1 overs, setting up a meager total for the Kings to chase.
In the chase, Jaffna Kings lost Upul Tharanga early on, but the side made a surprise call, promoting Wanindu Hasaranga to bat at No.3. The pinch-hitter rose to be the darling of the spectators as he bludgeoned an 18-ball 37 to set the tempo in that victory charge.
Upfront, Avishka Fernando infused the razor edge as he belted the bowling, scoring 22 runs in 17 balls with six and 2 fours in his innings, making a short work of the target. The game came to a close as hard-hitting opening batsman Fernando slammed the second delivery of the ninth over by Ramesh Mendis over mid-wicket for a six, finishing off the chase in style.
BB Shaheed Tennis: Top seeds move into next round
Abdullah Asjad
ISLAMABAD (December 14, 2021):-The 7th Benazir Bhutto Shaheed National Tennis Championship started here at Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) G-6, as the all seed players of the Men’s Singles event moved into next round after beating their opponents on Tuesday.
Results:
Men’s Singles Matches (First Round):
Mohammad Shoaib beat Mohammad Talha khan 6-0,6-2
Barkat ullah bt Parbhat Kumar 6-2, 7-6(4)
Yousaf Khalil bt Ahmad Asjad 6-2, 6-1
Muzammil Murtaza bt Israr Gul 6-0, 6-1
Mudassir Murtaza bt Mohammad Huzaifa Khan 6-1, 6-1
Hamid Israr bt Ilham Khan 6-3, 6-4
Hasheesh Kumar bt Mohammad Hamza aasim 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-0
Aqeel Khan bt Faizan Fayyaz 6-0, 6-1
Shahzad Khan bt Ahmed Kamil 6-2, 6-1
Sami Zeb Khan bt Nofil Kaleem 6-2, 6-1
Heera Ashiq bt Waqas Malik 6-2, 6-1
Ladies Singles (First Round):
Kainat Ali bt Amara khan 6-1, 6-1
Oreen Jasia bt Maryam Fazal 6-0, 6-0
Syeda Eraj Batool bt Mahnoor sohail 6-2, 6-1
Asifa Shahbaz bt Azeena Aleem 6-2, 6-4
Zahra Suleman bt Marium Shahid 6-0, 6-1
Saher Aleem bt Sunila 6-0, 6-0
Boys Under-18 Singles (First Round):
Shaeel Durab bt Mohammad Talha khan 6-1, 6-2
Kamran Khan bt Azan Sajid 6-1,6-0
Mohammad Zaryab Khan bt Raza ghaus 3-0 (Retd)
Asad Zaman bt Umer Masood 6-1, 6-1
Nalain Abbas bt Hasan ali 6-4, 6-4
Farman Shakeel bt Mohammad Ahtasham 6-3, 6-0
Uzair khan bt Faizan fayyaz 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
Mohammad Salaar bt Inam Qadir 6-0, 6-0
Mohammad Hamza Aasim bt Mohammad Abdullah 6-1, 6-0
Ahtesham Humayun bt Huzaima Abdul Rehman 6-2, 7-5
Mohammad Talha Khan bt Sami Zeb Khan 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-2
Boys Under-14 Singles (First Round):
Nabeel Ali Qayum bt Rayan Khan 4-1, 4-0
Zohaib Afzal bt Mohammad Talha Khan 5-3, 4-2
Mohammad Junaid bt Ihsan ullah 4-2, 4-0
S. Hamza Hussain bt Safi ullah 4-0, 4-0
Mohammad Salaar bt Abdul Basit 4-1, 4-2
B/G U-12 Singles (First Round):
Samer Zaman bt Arsalan Khan 4-0, 4-1
Shayan Afridi bt Saqib Ali 4-0, 4-0
Razik Sultan bt Sameer Maqsood 4-0, 4-1
Mohammad Haziq Aasim bt Lalarukh Sajid 4-0, 4-1
Abdul Basit bt Mahd Mehmood 4-1, 4-0
Mohammad Ayaan Sherdil bt Awais Ali 5-3, 4-1
B/G U-10 Singles (First Round):
Anis Khan bt Arshman Maqsood 4-0, 4-0
Abdul Wasay bt Qasim ul Khair 4-1, 4-0
Amir Masood bt Wishal Arshad 4-1, 4-0
Arsalan Khan bt Fatima Maqsood 4-0, 4-0.
Pakistan crush West Indies by 63 runs in first T20
Special Report
KARACHI (December 13, 2021):-Pakistan crushed West Indies by 63 runs in the first T20 International of three-match series at National Cricket Stadium Karachi on Monday night. While chasing 201 runs, West Indies all out on 137 runs in 19 overs.
Earlier, Pakistan scored 200 for 6 runs in allotted 20 overs, as the major contributors were Mohammad Rizwan, Haider Ali and Mohammad Nawaz, who scored 78, 68 and 30 runs respectively.
Summarized Scorecard:
Toss: West Indies won and decided to field
Pakistan Batting: (200 for 6 in 20 overs)
Mohammad Rizwan 78 (52 balls, 4X10), Haider Ali 68 (39 balls, 4X6, 6X4) Mohammad Nawaz 30 (10 balls 4X3)
West Indies Bowling: Romario Shapherd (2 for 43), Akeal Hosein (1 for 19), Oshena Thomas (1 for 38)
West Indies batting:
Shai Hopes 31 (26 balls 4X4), Odean Smith 24 (16 balls 4X2, 6X2) Rovman Powell 23 (15 balls 4X1, 6X2), Romario Shapherd 21 (10 balls 4X2, 6X1)
Pakistan Bowling:
Mohammad Wasim (4 for 40), Shadab Khan (3 for 17), Mohammad Nawaz (1 for 24)
Results:
Man of the Match:
Pakistan (Playing XIs):
Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi
West Indies (Playing XIs):
Nicholas Pooran (c), Shai Hope (Wicketkeeper), Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Devon Thomas, Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Dominic Drakes, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Oshane Thomas
Schedule:
13 Dec – The first T20I (Pakistan beat West Indies by 63 runs)
14 Dec – The second T20I will begin at 1800
16 Dec - The third and final T20I will begin at 1800
18 Dec – The first ODI will start at 1300
20 Dec – The second ODI will start at 1300
22 Dec – The third ODI will start at 1300.
Warner and Matthews named ICC Players of the Month
Aamir Ali Janjua
DUBAI (December 13, 2021):-Australia opener David Warner and West Indies all-rounder Hayley Matthews have been adjudged the ICC Players of the Month for November after their superb performances during the voting period.
Warner’s crucial efforts in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 helped him pip Pakistan opener Abid Ali and New Zealand seam bowler Tim Southee to grab the men’s award while Matthews’s all-round show in ODIs won her the women’s award ahead of left-arm spinners Anam Amin of Pakistan and Nahida Akter of Bangladesh.
Warner won the award on his maiden nomination following his Player of the Tournament show at the T20 World Cup, in which he smashed 53 in the final against New Zealand after 49 in the semifinal against Pakistan. He was also named Player of the Match in an earlier Super 12s match against the West Indies for a blistering 89 not out off 56 balls. Warner aggregated 209 runs at an average of 69.66 and a strike rate of 151.44 in four T20Is during the period.
Jury member Russel Arnold said about Warner: “David was back to his scintillating best during the T20 World Cup and his aggression at the top of the order was outstanding. His 209 runs at a strike rate of 151 in four innings simply tells the story. There was no recovering from the early onslaught by Warner and his stroke play was pleasing to the eye.”
Matthews won the award on her second nomination. She was earlier nominated in July along with captain Stafanie Taylor, who was the winner then. Matthews scored 141 runs and grabbed nine wickets at an average of 13.11 during the period. She starred in a series win over Pakistan, scoring 57 runs and taking three for 31 in the first match before a four for 26 runs in the second.
Jury member Irfan Pathan said about Matthews: “Hayley was the star, performing with both bat and ball. Her all-round performance was one of the reasons the West Indies won against Pakistan, and she deserves to be the women’s Player of the Month.”
SPORTS NEWS - National 13 Dec, 2021
LAHORE (December 13, 2021):-The elections of Punjab Modern Pentathlon Association (PMPA) held on Monday, as House elected Zulfiqar Ahmed Ghumman as the president of PMPA for the term of next 4-years.
Rao Shahid Qayyum was elected Senior Vice-President, Ch Mohammad Ashraf, Mohammad Afzal, Mohammad Amir Raza Khan, Tahir Mahmood Vice-Presidents, Mohammad Ashfaq Secretary General, Amir Shah Finance Secretary, Kaleemullah Farooqi Associate Secretary and Oksana Lyman was elected as Chairperson Women Wing. The members of Governing Body are: Sana Arshad, Khawar Mateen, Shah Muhammad, Qaiser Ali and Mohammad Sajid. (Press Release).
Kaun-Baney-ga Punjab ka Boxing Champion event concludes
Sports Report
LAHORE (December 13, 2021):-The boxing competitions of ‘KaunBaneyga Punjab ka Boxing Champion’ concluded at Nishtar Park Sports Complex Gymnasium Hall on Monday. Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum was the chief guest on this occasion. He also witnessed thrilling boxing competitions of the event.
Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum distributed prizes among the successful teams at the closing ceremony where the participating teams also had group photographs with him. Punjab Boxing Association (PBA) organized the grand boxing event with the collaboration of Sports Board Punjab in which around 180 boxers from all nine divisions of Punjab took part in the boxing event.
Addressing the prize distribution ceremony, Vice-Chairman Sports Board Punjab Rao Zahid Qayyum appreciated the boxing skills of young male and female pugilists belonging to different divisions of the province. “Kaun-Bane-yga Punjab ka Boxing Champion’ provided a suitable platform to talented boxers of the province. “Sports Board Punjab will continue to hold more such boxing events in future,” he added.
LPL 2021: Colombo Stars beat Galle Gladiators by 41 runs
SB Report
COLOMBO (December 13, 2021):-Angelo Mathews returned from an injury to lead Colombo Stars to a much-needed 41-run win over Galle Gladiators with a 57-ball 73 in Lanka Premier League 2021 match on Sunday at the R. Premadasa Stadium Colombo, Sri Lanka.
After electing to bat first, Colombo Stars captain Mathews opened the innings and helped his team in posting a solid total of 162/7 in the rain-curtailed 18-over match. He hit 8 boundaries and 3 sixes in his innings. Colombo Stars innings was also bolstered by Dinesh Chandimal who made 36 off 14, smashing 4 fours and 2 sixes in his innings.
In reply, Galle Gladiators were bowled out for 121 in 16.5 overs with Stars pacer Naveen ul-Haq claiming 3 for 27, suffering their second successive defeat in two days. Kusal Mendis scored 64 runs in 39 balls, with 7 fours and a six in the chase. But he found no support from the remainder of the Galle Gladiators' batting order.
Seekuge Prasanna, who took 2 for 23, and Ravi Rampaul, who picked 2 for 34, also contributed with the ball for Colombo Stars as they picked up only their second win of the season.
Wahab Riaz rates Rohit, Babar and De Villiers as top batsmen
Special Report
Colombo, Sri Lanka (December 13, 2021):-Jaffna Kings fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who has already picked five wickets in three games at the ongoing Lanka Premier League 2021 season, went on to name his picks for top fast bowlers and batsmen in the world at the moment, and he included India pacer Jasprit Bumrah and opening batsman Rohit Sharma in the list.
In a recent interaction, Riaz was asked to name some of the best fast bowlers in the world at the moment, and he went on to praise Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mitchell Starc.
"They have a lot of capability. They read the game and execute their plans really well. If they require yorkers, or if they require slow ones, they would read the wicket and bowl accordingly," Riaz said.
The Pakistan speedster was also asked to name the batsmen he finds difficult to bowl to and he picked AB de Villiers' and also explained the reasons behind the same.
"There are a lot of such players like Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam who are hard to bowl to. But one player I have always been afraid to bowl to is AB de Villiers. He always knows what is coming next from me. He reads the game well, and always plays well against me," Riaz added.
The Pakistan speedster further went on to describe his Jaffna Kings teammate Wanindu Hasaranga as the best leg-spinner in the world right now and credited him for the team's success this season so far.
"If I am honest, Wanindu Hasaranga is one of the best leg-spinners right now in the world. Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana have been really good this season for our team. They really set the tones in the powerplay overs by taking wickets and restricting the opposition," Riaz said.
Kings have won 4 out of 5 games so far in the season and are currently lying at the top of the table. The defending champions Kings had lost their first game against Galle Gladiators but have bounced back superbly since then.
"We learned from the mistakes we made in our first match. Now we are trying to cover all those basics. Everybody is ticking every box and that's why we are winning as a team," Riaz said.
Riaz further went on to praise the Kings management for packing up a stacked squad this season with plenty of options on the bench.
"Hats off to Jaffna coach and captain who have selected this team knowing the conditions and what combinations this team needs. The good thing is that everybody is responding well to all of them," Riaz said.
Speaking on the team's game plan to defend the title, Riaz said that they are making plans game by game and not thinking far ahead.
"You have to play good cricket throughout the tournament. You cannot say you are the favourites in the tournament as that can put you on the back foot. I can see the hunger in boys to win. We are thinking about one game at a time. We are not thinking about championship or too far ahead," he said.
The veteran pacer further went on to praise the Lanka Premier League tournament for giving a chance to youngsters to learn from some of the best cricketers in the world.
"It's great exposure for youngsters as they will learn to play against some of the best players in the world. They will share the dressing room with senior players like Thisara Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, and gain experience. That is the exposure you require to make an impact at the international stage," he signed off.
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