Sports Bulletin

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Sharjah (UAE):-Asif Ali had struck Karim Janat for four sixes in the penultimate over of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to earn Pakistan an unlikely five wickets victory over Afghanistan. 11 months later, No.10 batter Naseem Shah almost did the same when he clubbed the first two deliveries of the 20th over by Fazalhaq Farooqi for maximums to snatch victory for Pakistan from the jaws of defeat and put his side in the final of the ACC T20 Asia Cup. Pakistan, chasing 130 for victory, had needed 11 runs in the last over with the last pair at the crease. But Naseem turned the match on its head when he hit Fazalhaq, the most successful Afghanistan bowler who returned figures of three for 31, for two straight sixes to not only earn Pakistan victory by one wicket but also send Afghanistan and India packing from the tournament. Pakistan wobbled at the top of the innings when they slumped to 45 for three. But Iftikhar Ahmed (30) and Shadab Khan (36) added 42 runs to put them back on track. However, Iftikhar’s departure opened all floodgates as Pakistan slipped to 118 for nine by losing six wickets for 31 runs, including the scalp of Asif Ali (16). But Naseem had other ideas and proved that it’s not over until it is over. Naseem has had a memorable start to his T20I debut when he overcame cramps to take two India wickets on his debut in Dubai on 28 August and 11 days later, excelled with the bat to produce one of the most thrilling and exciting finishes in the history of the shortest format of the game. Pakistan’s victory means Thursday’s match between Afghanistan and India, and Friday’s fixture between Pakistan and Sri Lanka are now irrelevant, though Pakistan and Sri Lanka will treat this to earn psychological advantage ahead of the final. Earlier, after putting Afghanistan into bat and conceding 37 runs in the first 24 balls, Pakistan bowlers roared back strongly and choked their opponents with accurate, intelligent and quality bowling by conceding 92 in the remaining 96 balls as Afghanistan finished at 129 for six in 20 overs. This included 10 runs in Haris Rauf’s last over his Lahore Qalandars’ teammate clubbed him for a six and four to finish with 18 not out off 15 balls. After a flying start, Afghanistan batters’ strategy to take on the highly-talented skillful bowler badly backfired as they collapsed like a house of cards, slipping from 78 for two to 104 for six before finishing at 129 for six. Such was the dominance of the Pakistan bowlers that Afghanistan batters scored 57 in the last 10 overs after spiriting to 72 for two at the halfway stage. Ibrahim Zadran finished as the top-scorer with 35, while opener Hazratullah Zazai contributed 21. Captain Mohammad Nabi earned a first-ball duck in his 100th T20I when he was bowled by Naseem Shah (one for 19). Haris Rauf was the most successful bowler with two for 26, but it was the spin duo of Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan who mesmerised Afghanistan batters with their guile. Nawaz conceded 23 runs in his four overs and picked up the wicket of Karim Janat (15), Shadab Khan avenged Najibullah Zadran for hitting him for the first six in the tournament to end with one for 27. Mohammad Hasnain deceived Zazai with a slower one to finish with one for 34. Scores in brief: Pakistan beat Afghanistan by one wicket Afghanistan 129-6, 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 35, Hazratullah Zazai 21; Haris Rauf 2-26) Pakistan 131-9, 19.2 overs (Shadab Khan 36, Iftikhar Ahmed 30, Mohammad Rizwan 20, Asif Ali 16; Fazalhaq Farooqi 3-31, Fareed Ahmed 3-31, Rashid Khan 2-25) Player of the match – Shadab Khan (Pakistan)

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (UAE):-A superlative half-century by Mohammad Rizwan and a 20-ball cameo by Mohammad Nawaz earned Pakistan a clinical and methodical five wickets victory over India in the Super-4 match of the ACC T20 Asia Cup here on Sunday night. Rizwan overcame a knee injury, which he sustained while keeping wickets, to top-score with a 51-ball 71 and Nawaz slapped six fours and two sixes in a swashbuckling 42 as Pakistan achieved the 182-run target with five wickets and one ball to spare. In the Group A match last week, India had defeated Pakistan by five wickets with two balls remaining. Babar Azam was dismissed early when he fell for a 10-ball 14 and Fakhar Zaman’s uneasy stay ended with an 18-ball 15, but Rizwan and Nawaz put on 73 runs for the third wicket to ensure Pakistan stayed in contention and ultimately romped home with calculated and precise scoring and hitting. Although Rizwan and Nawaz departed in a space of 11 runs, and Asif Ali fell with two runs required in two balls for victory, Iftikhar Ahmed hit Arshdeep Singh over his head for two runs to seal a memorable victory for Pakistan – only their third in 11 meetings. Asif Ali, who survived a caught behind appeal and then was dropped the very next ball by Singh in the 18th over, did his job by scoring 16 off eight balls that included a six and a four in the penultimate over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which yielded 19 runs after Pakistan had required 26 runs in the last two overs. Khushdil Shah finished with an 11-ball 14 not out, while Iftikhar scored the winning two runs. Rizwan was simply magnificent with the bat, demonstrating his wide range of shots to all parts of the park. Despite struggling with a bad knee, Rizwan was as quick as a hare, converting ones into twos and twos into three. He was caught at long-off off Hardik Pandiya when Pakistan needed 35 runs in 19 balls. Nawaz proved his promotion was a masterstroke by the team management when he took on the bowlers with precise shot-selection and found the boundary at regular intervals. The left-hander was caught at long-off off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 16th over when Pakistan needed 46 runs for victory. Earlier, Pakistan burst the bubble of India’s highly-rated middle-order when they conceded 88 runs in the last 10 overs and picked up four wickets to restrict the defending champions to 181 for seven, which, at one stage was looking over 200 after the Men in Blue had sprinted to 62 for one in the PowerPlay overs and then reached 93 for three at the halfway stage. The shrewd Pakistan bowlers, led by spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Shadab Khan and well supported by the quicks, held the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda by the scruff of their necks in the middle overs to allow them to collectively score 43 runs from 38 balls. Had Fakhar Zaman not showed butter fingers in the last two deliveries and given away two boundaries when it should have been a run and a wicket, Pakistan could have limited India to inside 175. Yadav (13) was caught attempting to sweep outside the off-stumps, Pant (14) felt to an over-adventurous reverse sweep, Pandya (0) was surprised by Mohammad Hasnain’s pace and was caught at short mid-wicket and Hooda (16) tried to hit Naseem Shah outside the venue only to be brilliantly caught by Nawaz at mid-wicket. Nonetheless, India was able to absorb the failure of its over-rated middle-order after Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul had provided their side a flying 54-run start in five overs and then Kohli anchored the innings until he was run-out in the final over of the innings. Sharma struck three fours and two sixes in a 16-ball 28, while Rahul struck a four and two sixes in his 20-ball 28. Kohli played a typical Kohli innings, which was full of confidence, excellent shot-selection and quick running between the wickets. The champion batter scored 60 runs off 44 balls, which also included four eloquent boundaries and a six off Naseem that brought his 32nd half-century. Kohli was run-out by a direct throw from Asif Ali from fine-leg, a dismissal Pakistan retrospectively may regret after Fakhar Zaman conceded two boundaries off the final two balls from Ravi Bishnoi’s willow. Pakistan bowlers bounced back strongly after being on the receiving end in the first half of the innings. Nawaz was outstanding, finishing with figures of 4-0-25-1, Shadab Khan was crafty while recording figures of 4-0-31-2, while Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain bowled their hearts out and returned identical figures of 4-0-38-1. Naseem Shah had a forgettable match after an impressive debut against the same opposition and at the same venue last week as he went for 45 off his four overs. Pakistan will now play Afghanistan in Sharjah on Wednesday, while their last Super-4 match will be against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Friday. Scores in brief: India 181-7, 20 overs (Virat Kohli 60, KL Rahul 28, Rohit Sharma 28; Shadab Khan 2-31, Mohammad Nawaz 1-25) Pakistan 182-5, 19.5 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 71, Mohammad Nawaz 42, Asif Ali 16, Fakhar Zaman 15, Khushdil Shah 14 not out, Babar Azam 14) Player of the match – Mohammad Nawaz (Pakistan)

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Shahnawaz Dahani will not be available for Sunday’s ACC T20 Asia Cup Super-4 match against India due to a suspected side strain. The injury happened while bowling in the match against Hong Kong in Sharjah on Friday. As is the case with any suspected side strain injury, the medical team will monitor him for the next 48-72 hours, following which they will make decisions, including carrying out a scan and further participation in the tournament

Green Shirts outclass Hong Kong by 155 runs Sports Bulletin Report Sharjah (UAE):-Pakistan thumped Hong Kong by 155 runs in the Group A fixture of the ACC T20 Asia Cup on Friday to set up Super-4 matches against India (on Sunday in Dubai), Afghanistan (on Wednesday in Sharjah) and Sri Lanka (on Friday in Dubai). This was Pakistan’s biggest victory in terms of runs after they had defeated the West Indies by 143 runs in Karachi in April 2018 and New Zealand by 103 runs in Christchurch in December 2010. For Hong Kong, their score of 38 was the joint-ninth lowest total in the history of T20Is behind Turkey (21), Lesotho (26), Turkey (28), Thailand (30), Turkey (32), Finland (33), Philippines (36), Panama (37) and Cameroon (38). Power-hitter Khushdil Shah faced 15 balls and scored 35 not out, while big-hitters Asif Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed as well as Shadab Khan remained unutilised as third-ranked Pakistan collected 193 for two after being sent into bat. Shadab took four for eight, Mohammad Nawaz bagged three for five and Naseem Shah snapped up two for seven as the three were in a hurry and wrapped up Hong Kong’s innings in 10.4 overs. Khushdil clobbered five sixes, including four in the final five balls of the innings, which helped Pakistan to add 55 runs in the last three overs after the they were struggling at 138 for two in 17 overs. After a boundary-free penultimate over, Khushdil sealed the match in the last six deliveries of the innings which yielded 29 runs. Khushdil added 64 runs for the unbroken third wicket in 23 balls with Mohammad Rizwan, whose contribution was 16 runs in eight balls. Rizwan failed to find a boundary off his last seven deliveries but still managed to finish as the top-scorer with a 57-ball 78 not out with six fours and a six. After Babar Azam (nine off eight) departed earlier, Rizwan added 116 runs for the second wicket with Fakhar Zaman, who slapped three fours and two sixes in a 41-ball 53. While Rizwan reached his 14th half-century off 42 balls with four fours and a six, Fakhar completed his eighth half-century from 38 balls with three fours and two sixes. When India played Hong Kong last Wednesday, they scored 192 for two and then restricted the 20th ranked side for 152 for five. However, the fact that made India’s victory more impressive and attractive was the performance of their power-hitter Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 68 off 26 balls with six fours and six sixes, which helped the defending champions to collect 78 runs in the last five overs, including 54 runs in the last three overs. When India and Pakistan squared off in Dubai last week, India snatched victory by the skin of their teeth, romping to the 148-run target for the loss of five wickets with two balls to spare. Nonetheless, past matches will have no bearing on Sunday’s game when the two sides will aim to make a winning start to the Super-4 stage. Scores in brief: Pakistan 193-2, 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 78 not out, Fakhar Zaman 53, Khushdil Shah 35 not out; Ehsan Khan 2-28) Hong Kong 38 all out, 10.4 overs (Shadab Khan 2.4-0-8-4; Mohammad Nawaz 2-0-5-3, Naseem Shah 2-0-7-2) Player of the match: Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Co-host of Asia T20 Cricket Cup, Sri Lanka qualified for the top-four stage of the tournament after beating Bangladesh by 2 wickets in their last Pool B match here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night. Bangladesh’s target of 184 runs was achieved by Sri Lanka in the last over. Kaushal Mendes scored 60 runs. In the match played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sri Lankan captain Dasan Shanka won the toss and invited Bangladesh to bat first. Bangladesh scored 183 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the scheduled 20 overs, Afif Hussain was prominent by scoring 39 runs. Apart from this, Mehdi Hasan scored 38 runs, Mahmudullah 27 runs and Shakib Al Hasan played 24 runs. In the closing stages of the match, Mossadegh Hussain Bangladesh scored 183 runs in the scheduled overs thanks to the lightning fast innings. Mussadegh Hussain remained unbeaten by scoring 24 runs off 9 balls. Hasaranga and Karunaratne took 2 wickets and 2 wickets for Sri Lanka.

BIPIN DANI The Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lankan team will top Group B in the ongoing Asia Cup. Despite of this the Afghanistan team having won two matches (against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh), whereas the host team has only (one) victory against Bangladesh on Thursday. Explaining the rules, the Technical Committee chairman Charith Senanayake, speaking exclusively, said, The higher ICC ranked team (from both groups) during the group stage will be deemed as the ‘Home’ team unless, SRI LANKA is playing, in that scenario SRI LANKA will be considered as the home team. This is applicable during the next phase of the tournament. "By this rule, even if the Indian team had lost the match against Pakistan, they would have headed the Group A". Sri Lanka will play against Afghanistan at Sharjah on Saturday (September 3) and against India on Tuesday (September 6) in Dubai. It may also be noted that the Asia Cup is being co-hosted by three parties, namely, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The ECB became co-host due to the inability of Sri lanka to host the event. Sri Lanka, however, remains as the original host.  Ravin Wickramaratne (SLC) and Salman Hanif (ECB) are the co-directors of the tournament.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Babar Azam will lead Pakistan against Hong Kong in the last group match of ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022 on Friday in Sharjah. This will be the first match between the two teams in the shortest format. Pakistan's opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are currently placed at the first two spots in the ICC T20 Batters Rankings. Pakistan is confident of clinching a place in the Super 4 stage of the tournament by defeating Hong Kong, who were beaten by table-toppers India on Wednesday in Dubai. Pakistan lost a nail biter against India on Sunday as well. Fakhar Zaman said: "It was a tight game against India, the morale is high in the camp and all our players are confident of doing better in the upcoming game. "T20 is a short format which provides an equal opportunity for both teams to show-case their strengths. To aim for the Super 4 we have to ensure we minimise our errors and put up a good show. "Hong Kong has played good cricket in the qualifiers but we will try to stick to our plans. "The weather is hot here in UAE but we are trying to keep ourselves hydrated. We'll be playing against some competitive teams in Super 4 and for that we need to be in perfect shape. The match will be played at the historical Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE):-Both India and Pakistan have been fined 40 percent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate in their Group A match of the Asia Cup on Sunday, 28 August. Jeff Crowe of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees imposed the sanctions after Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam’s sides were ruled to be two overs short of their respective targets after time allowances were taken into consideration. In accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Both captains pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction, so there was no need for a formal hearing. On-field umpires Masudur Rahman and Ruchira Pilliyaguruge, third umpire Raveendra Wimalasiri and fourth umpire Gazi Sohel levelled the charges.

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 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)