Sports Bulletin

SPECIAL REPORT  Shoaib Malik has hailed the spirit in the Pakistan dressing room as a key factor behind his side’s impressive start to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Shoaib Malik of Pakistan looks on during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between Pakistan and New Zealand at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on October 26, 2021 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Shoaib Malik has hailed the spirit in the Pakistan dressing room as a key factor behind his side’s impressive start to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Victories over India, New Zealand – against whom Malik compiled a crucial unbeaten 26 in the chase – and Afghanistan have put Pakistan top of Group 2 going into Tuesday’s clash with Namibia in Abu Dhabi. A fourth straight win would leave Saqlain Mushtaq’s men with one foot in the semi-finals and keep the feel good factor going in a squad whose confidence is growing with every passing game. “Morale is high,” Malik said. “Obviously when you win games, the confidence level is quite high in the dressing room. “Everyone is looking forward to playing the rest of the games we have left in the tournament. “When you start the tournament, the goal is to give your best shot as a team. But since I've joined the team, I've seen Pakistan teams practise sessions and the way they have been dealing with pressure from the world until now, it's been exceptionally good. “And I guess to see consistency in Pakistan dressing room, that's the biggest thing for me so far, everyone's helping each other. “It's a team game. When you're playing a team game, then you need your teammates' help, you need a lot of support from your management. And I see all of that coming.” Namibia will go into the contest looking to bounce back after a 62-run defeat against Afghanistan on Sunday. Pierre de Bruyn’s side began the Super 12s stage with a memorable victory over Scotland and are now bidding to claim a notable scalp to keep their own semi-final dreams alive. And whatever happens in Abu Dhabi, de Bruyn has been proud to witness how his players have brought together a nation with their exploits in the tournament so far. “What this team, what these players have done in the last couple of weeks to inspire the nation back home and to inspire all the young players and kids in Namibia to play cricket has been enormous,” he said. “I can't explain how big it is, what this team have achieved in terms of inspiration and getting a lot of young people to play cricket. “It is a very good Namibian story but I also believe it's been a very good, inspiring cricket story. “We're showing as a very small nation with two and a half million people that it can be done. It can be done by really hard work, by really good planning and getting a group of players together and sharing the same vision, sharing the same culture. “I think that is what this story is about. It doesn't matter whether you always have the resources around you. You can make it happen. “The last 24 hours [since the Afghanistan match] was a matter of just trying to relax because we know how big this game is and what we're going to face. “It’s important we take the learnings from last night and improve on those points. Tomorrow is going to be a great experience for the players but we need to be 20 per cent better.”

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 1, 2021):-As the Pakistan Cricket Board continues its efforts to strengthen grassroots cricket, it has completed the second phase of club registration in which 3,822 clubs have registered the player data. As many as 844 clubs falling under the jurisdiction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cricket Association have provided the player data – which is the most from any of the six CAs. They are followed by Central Punjab CA (788 clubs), Sindh CA (670 clubs), Southern Punjab CA (517 clubs), Balochistan (512 clubs) and Northern CA (491 clubs). Separately, 200 clubs will submit the requisite data when the club registration will resume early next year. Following the completion of this phase of the process, the PCB will shortly begin the club scrutiny to award them memberships in accordance with the applicable regulations.

BIPIN DANI Following two successive defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand in the ongoing T-20 World Cup, perhaps Team India "needs" Daniel Jarvis, aka Jarvo 69 to bring luck for Virat Kohli's troops. Describing himself as a comedian, filmmaker and a prank-star, Jarvo 69 entered on the pitch on a few occasions during India's last tour of England and whenever he invaded the pitch, Indian team had won the matches. Last we heard was that he was sent to jail. But, now the Metropolitan Police confirmed that the ‘Jarvo’ has been released on bail without charge pending further investigation "Does India need me for the T20 World Cup? Got my full kit ready!!!", Jarvo 69 had posted a message on social media. Interestingly, more recently, he made his "debut" for New Zealand in a Rugby match.  "Where's Jarvo 69", the fans have reacted on social media in response to his "offer".

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT  Colombo: The Lanka Premier League (LPL) Colombo franchise has a new owner as 27th Investments Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Anil Damani entered the second season of the premier T20 tournament of the Island Nation by acquiring the Colombo-based franchise in the tournament. Anil Damani is CEO & President of 27th Investments , which is one of the fastest growing investment companies in the southeast of USA. The 27th investments is a leader and a very manages several different entities under the 27th portfolio. Some of their primary investments are in Commercial Real Estate, Restaurants and Entertainment. Speaking about entering the LPL, Damani said, "I am absolutely ecstatic to enter the Lanka Premier League as the owner of the Colombo franchise. The Lanka Premier League showed propitious signs of enormous growth in its last season and therefore I am thrilled to have joined the tournament at this juncture. I am eagerly looking forward to developing the Colombo franchise into one of the best T20 franchises in the world." Welcoming the new owner, Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant IPG, the official promoter of LPL, said, "It's a great honour for me to welcome the CEO and President of 27th Investments Anil Damani as the owner of the Colombo franchise. I am sure that his love and passion for the game of cricket will only boost the Lanka Premier League and increase the fan following of the Colombo franchise."

Ali Ahmed LAHORE (November 1, 2021):-Balochistan and Sindh stormed into the final of A.S. Ali Blind Cricket Trophy 2021 after thrashing their opponent in the last league matches at Faisalabad on Monday. Punjab Vs Islamabad AJK Venue: Cricket Ground of Sports Complex Chak No 8 Punjab won the toss and decided to bat first. Punjab played well and posted a gigantic total of 381 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in allotted 40 overs. Mohammad Akram the veteran batsman once again shined with the bat and played an excellent innings of unbeaten 140* runs off 84 balls. Moeen Aslam missed his ton and made 91 runs off 51 Balls. Mohammad Salman was the successful bowler for Islamabad-AJK, he took 2 wickets. Islamabad-AJK in reply chased down the target of 382 in 38.2 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Anees Javed played an outstanding innings of 164 runs off 117 balls and Ayoub Khan scored 106 runs off 78 balls. Mohammad Akram, Habib Taj and Abdul Razzaq shared 1 wicket each. Result: Islamabad-AJK won by 6 Wickets Man of the Match: Anees Javed Balochistan Vs KPK Venue: Boranwali Cricket Ground Faisalabad Balochistan won the toss and asked KPK to bat first. KPK’s Captain Nisar Ali played terrific innings of 154 runs off 103 balls. He was well supported by Sanwal Shahzada, he made unbeaten 67* runs. KPK piled up 388 runs on the board for the loss of 7 wickets. Fakhar Abbas was the pick amongst the bowlers he claimed 4 wickets while Israr Hassan took 2 wickets. In reply, Balochistan team’s captain Zafar Iqbal played a marvelous innings of unbeaten 106* runs off 61 balls, helping his side to beat KPK by 8 wickets. Israr Hassan was the second highest scorer with unbeaten 87* runs off 48 balls. Balochistan reached the target in 35.5 overs by losing their 2 wickets. Mohammad Idrees Saleem fetched 2 wickets. Result: Balochistan won by 8 Wickets Man of the Match: Zafar Iqbal   

Special Report LAHORE (November 1, 2021):-Teenager Mohammad Huraira finished the second round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 with an excellent maiden first-class century as the match between his side, Northern, and Central Punjab ended in a draw at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The 19-year-old batter struck 12 fours and a six, making an unbeaten 107 off 146. The right-hander from Sialkot added 89 and 110 runs with Nasir Nawaz (55 off 53) and Umar Amin (56 off 73) for the first and second wickets before the day ended with Northern, in their second innings, at 239 for two. The day had begun with Northern eyeing their first win of the season with Central Punjab trailing by 184 with a wicket in hand, but a brilliant 96-run stand for the last wicket between Bilawal Iqbal (48 not out) and Ehsan Adil (49) helped Central Punjab post 367 all out in 116.5 overs. The partnership denied Northern crucial bonus bowling points, as the Nauman Ali-captained side failed to bowl out Central Punjab in 100 overs. Central Punjab bagged eight points from this match, while Northern pocketed 11. The other two matches – played at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium and Multan Cricket Stadium – were also drawn. At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Balochistan’s Ayaz Tasawar and Bismillah Khan converted their overnight half-centuries into centuries against Southern Punjab. Ayaz and Bismillah begun the day at 65 and 56, respectively, and they went on to make 113 and 116. Ayaz smashed 14 fours in his 264-ball innings, while Bismillah dispatched 17 off the 205 balls he faced for fours. Ali Usman took two wickets before Imran Butt’s Balochistan declared at 571 for seven. Southern Punjab made 112 for two in their second innings with Tayyab Tahir, who made an excellent double-century in the first innings, top-scoring with 60 not out. Southern Punjab gathered 11 points from this match, while Balochistan bagged nine. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 63 runs to their overnight score before they declared innings at 503-7 on the final day of their fixture against Sindh at the Iqbal Stadium. Iftikhar Ahmed, who started the day eyeing a century, could add only one run to his overnight score as he was LBW by Sohail Khan for 82. He hit 11 fours and a six in the 148 balls he faced. Rehan Afridi, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wicketkeeper-batter, smashed 74 off 131 (10 fours) down the order. He was dismissed by Fawad Alam, the opposition’s captain. Fawad’s left-arm orthodox bagged him two wickets – the most in the innings – for 46 runs in 12.2 overs. Sindh’s Asad Shafiq and Fawad Alam scored solid half-centuries as they made 96 and 66 before the stumps were drawn. Their resilient knocks helped Sindh stage a recovery after they were reduced to 18 for three with Sameen Gul dismissing Sharjeel Khan and one-drop Saad Khan. Sindh were 180 for five in 55 overs when stumps were drawn. Sindh bagged nine points from the match, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 11 more points to their tally. After the conclusion of the second round on Saturday, Northern lead the points table with 23 points. Southern Punjab are placed second with 21 points. Last season’s joint-winners Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are locked on 20 points with Balochistan as Central Punjab are third, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are fourth and Balochistan are fifth. Sindh, with 18 points, are at the bottom of the table. Scores in brief: Central Punjab and Northern play a draw at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Northern 455-9dec, 132.5 overs (Faizan Riaz 213, Sarmad Bhatti 82, Rohail Nazir 54, Nasir Nawaz 46; Ehsan Adil 3-60, Zafar Gohar 3-141) and 239-2, 50.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 107 not out, Umar Amin 56, Nasir Nawaz 55) Central Punjab 367 all out, 116.5 overs (Abid Ali 81, Hussain Talat 62, Ahmed Shehzad 58, Ehsan Adil 49, Bilawal Iqbal 48 not out; Musa Khan 4-81, Nauman Ali 2-127) Match points – Northern 11, Central Punjab 8 Southern Punjab and Balochistan play a draw at Multan Cricket Stadium Southern Punjab 457-5dec, 98.5 overs (Tayyab Tahir 221, Azam Khan 85, Imran Rafiq 81, Umar Siddiq 32, Zain Abbas 30; Junaid Khan 2-87) and 112-2, 32 overs (Tayyab Tahir 60 not out) Balochistan 571-7, 178.1 overs (Bismillah Khan 116, Ayaz Tasawar 113, Imam-ul-Haq 109, Imran Butt 95, Haris Sohail 49, Amad Butt 35; Muhammad Imran 2-102, Ali Usman 2-165) Match points – Southern Punjab 11, Balochistan 9 Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa play a draw at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Sindh 367 all out, 110.1 overs (Saad Khan 129, Fawad Alam 122, Sohail Khan 28, Ashiq Ali 26, Mohammad Hasan 25; Niaz Khan 5-58, Imran Khan Snr 3-58) and 180-5, 55 overs (Asad Shafiq 96, Fawad Alam 66 not out) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 503-7, 144.2 overs (Israrullah 160, Sahibzada Farhan 100, Iftikhar Ahmed 82,  Rehan Afridi 74 not out, Adil Amin 25; Fawad Alam 2-46) Match points – Sindh 9, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11

Report: ABDULLAH ASJAD Islamabad (October 31, 2021):- New Zealand trounced India by 8 wickets in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at Dubai Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.   New Zealand’s Captain Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Indian strong batting line put only 111 runs on the scoreboard. Indian top order did not start in good style, as the opening batter KL Rahul scored 18 runs in 16 balls and hit only 3 fours. Other opener Ishan Kishan scored just 4 runs. Hardik Pandya played a bit responsible innings and added 23 runs. Left handed batter Ravindra Jadeja increased 26 runs in team total. Kiwis bowlers bowled superbly against a strong Indian batting line. Pacer Trent Boult crashed Indian batting and sent 3 batters back to the pavilion and gave only 20 runs in his 4 overs while Spin bowler Ish Sodhi picked up 2 important wickets and sent out danger man Rohit Sharma and Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who had scored 51 runs against Pakistan on last Sunday, just scored 9 runs as he wasted 17 deliveries. In reply, Black Caps chased a small 111 runs target in only the 14th over and wasted only 2 wickets. Daryl Mitchell played an aggressive innings and scored 49 runs in only 35 balls as he smashed 4 fours and 3 huge sixes. Skipper Kane Williamson got 33 runs on 31 balls. Martin Guptill scored only 20 runs. Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah picked up a couple of wickets after conceding only 19 runs. Kiwis spinner Ish Sodhi got man of the match award. Summarized score card New Zealand beat India at Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai by eight wickets  India 110/7, in 20 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 26, Hardik Pandya 23; Trent Boult 3/20, Ish Sodhi 2/17)  New Zealand 111/2, in 14.3 overs (Daryl Mitchell 49, Kane Williamson 33 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 2/19, Mohammed Shami 0/11)  Player of the Match: Ish Sodhi (New Zealand)  

SPECIAL REPORT: Asghar Afghan assured Afghanistan fans that the country’s cricket has a platform to progress even further as his final international match ended in victory over Namibia. Asghar Afghan of Afghanistan is carried off by team mates after his final game during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between Afghanistan and Namibia at Sheikh Zayed stadium on October 31, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Asghar Afghan assured Afghanistan fans that the country’s cricket has a platform to progress even further as his final international match ended in victory over Namibia. The 33-year-old, who announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Saturday, made a sprightly 31 as Afghanistan posted a winning total of 160-5. With Naveen-ul-Haq, 22, leading the way with the ball and other young players coming through, the former captain feels he is leaving a side in rude health. “To be honest, trust me, Afghanistan cricket is in very safe hands, and cricket will improve definitely,” he said. “For all the supporters from the last few years and the newcomers that are supporting us, I believe that Afghanistan cricket will improve more day by day, and trust me that will show.” Afghanistan’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup campaign is now back on track as they beat Namibia by 62 runs, responding to their defeat to Pakistan in their second Group 2 game. It was an emotional day for Asghar and the vocal Afghan contingent in the stands, as the batter was given a guard of honour onto the field and showered with handshakes when dismissed. “I announced my retirement last night, so I received a lot of messages from my fans and colleagues how they were unhappy,” he said. “It's a very hard decision when you get to retirement, but I decided for my youngsters they should come. It was too important, and they should come and feel the pressure of the World Cup.” Afghanistan still harbour hopes of reaching the knockout stages of an ICC major event for the first time at the seventh attempt. They face India in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday in what promises to be a thrilling contest. For Namibia, it was a tough day at the office and they were unable to build on the momentum of their maiden T20 World Cup victory over Scotland. One positive came in the spell of leg-spin bowled by Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 20, something of wildcard appearing in just his eighth T20 international. He trapped both Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Najibullah Zadran lbw, dismissing them for low scores. Namibia coach Pierre de Bruyn revealed that Loftie-Eaton had been suffering from injury in the lead-up. “It was about managing Nicol leading up to game time,” said De Bruyn. “He had a quad strain, so it was tough. He wasn't really on tour ready, so we needed to get him bowling fit in the nets first. What he's shown today is that he's ready, and I'm so pleased for him. “He's a confident player. He's a youngster. So that's a very big positive.” Namibia face an uphill challenge in their maiden T20 World Cup campaign with New Zealand, India and Pakistan next up. “We're definitely looking forward to them, and we are fully aware that it's going to now really get tough,” said De Bruyn. “We just don't want to be a team that's just going to walk up and provide a middle practice. We want to continue competing. We need to sharpen up our skills. We need to believe. “Today was maybe an icebreaker for this team, experiencing this level of intensity. So we haven't got a long turnaround. One day training, and then we've got to come and face the heat.”

BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka's national players will be given a dose of booster vaccine once they arrive after the World Cup from the UAE. This was revealed by Prof. Arjuna de Silva, the chairman of the medical panel of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo on Sunday morning, he said, "all our national players already had two doses of (Sputnik) vaccine and it would be around six months once they return from the World Cup".  "We will be conducting the antibody tests on their return and those found low in tests will be given a booster dose of Pfizer vaccine". After the World Cup, Sri Lanka will play two Tests matches at Galle (Nov. 21-25 and Nov. 29-Dec.3). "No fans will be allowed for the home series against Windies, but yes, we are planning to allow their entry in the Lanka Premier League (LPL)", de Silva confirmed. In the meantime, it is also learnt that all players of the Under-19 which defeated the Bangladesh team (5-0) team were given the first dose of Pfizer vaccine on 26th October. They will be given the second dose after 21 days.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD (October 31, 2021):-Afghanistan got their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 campaign back on track with a thumping 62-run victory over Namibia. Mohammad Nabi’s side went against the grain and chose to bat first in Abu Dhabi, posting 160 for five from their 20 overs with opener Mohammad Shahzad making 45. Namibia never looked like chasing it down, losing wickets at regular intervals and ending 98 for nine. For Afghanistan, it was a resounding response to their narrow defeat to Pakistan as they stayed second in Group 2. Taking first use of the Sheikh Zayed surface, Afghanistan’s openers looked to target the left-arm seam of Ruben Trumpelmann that did such damage to Scotland in Namibia’s four-wicket win. The fifth ball of the game was an overpitched delivery that Hazratullah Zazai climbed into and lifted over long-on for six. Trumpelmann was taken out of the attack, returning in the fourth over, but the dynamic was the same as Hazratullah took him for two well-placed fours through the gully region. Southpaw Hazratullah was at his ebullient best and smoked Jan Frylinck over the midwicket fence for six. His partner Shahzad took longer to hit his straps but did so in the final over of the powerplay, swiping David Wiese through midwicket for four and then flaying him over third man for six. When fielding restrictions were lifted, Afghanistan were 50 without loss. JJ Smit’s nagging left-armers looked most threatening for Namibia and he broke the opening stand when Hazratullah picked out deep square leg, departing for 33 from 27 balls. Skipper Gerhard Erasmus turned to the wildcard leg-spin of Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, whose first over went for two and ended with a ball that ripped past Shahzad’s outside edge. The 21-year-old accounted for Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the tenth, trapping him in front for four at 69 for two. Shahzad was still there and continued to pepper the midwicket boundary, before top edging a catch to Bernard Scholtz and heading back for a pivotal 45. Asghar Afghan came to the crease and struck the ball well in his final T20I innings, despite losing his first partner Najibullah Zadran LBW to Loftie-Eaton. He got down on one knee to smash Fylinck over long off for six and helped take a Smit over for 16 runs with two boundaries behind square. Nabi, Asghar’s successor as Afghanistan’s T20 captain, offered his usual flurry at the finish with an excellent cameo of 32 from 17 balls, with five fours and a six off Trumpelmann. Namibia’s chase faltered at the first when Craig Williams skied the fourth ball of the innings, bowled by Naveen-ul-Haq, comfortably caught by Usman Ghani. Nabi fared well with the bat but less so with the ball at first as he was dispatched by Michael van Lingen for six over long-on and then by Loftie-Eaton through the arc for another maximum. Namibia expected a trial by spin but it was Naveen’s seam that hurt them up front when Van Lingen fell for a clever slower ball and was caught at square leg for 11 at 16 for two. And Gulbadin Naib’s medium pace dismissed Loftie-Eaton as he tried to swipe a cutter across the line only to be clean bowled. The re-introduction of spin did the trick when Rashid Khan bowled Zane Green when he attempted a paddle sweep to the wrong ball, making it 36 for four. Namibia could not build any kind of partnerships and lost two wickets in four balls when Hamid Hassan yorked Erasmus for 12 and then got Smith to snick behind for a duck at 56 for six. Wiese and Frylinck stemmed the tide for a few overs without being able to score at a prolific rate, the latter trudging off after looping Naveen to Nabi at mid-off. Another tame dismissal came as Pikky Ya France offered a simple return catch for Gulbadin but Wiese got a good one as he was bowled by a full Hassan delivery for 26. Scores in Brief: Afghanistan beat Namibia by 62 runs at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Afghanistan 160/5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 45, Hazratullah Zazai 33; Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 2/21, Ruben Trumpelmann 2/34) Namibia 98/9 in 20 overs (David Wiese 26, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 14; Hamid Hassan 3/9, Naveen-ul-Haq 3/26) Player of the Match: Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan)