Cricket
Super League III: UR United defend Title after 10-wicket victory
Islamabad (Sports News): UR United Faisal Hills successfully defended their Super League Edition III crown with a commanding 10-wicket victory over Faisal Hills Badshah in the day-night final played at the Faisal Hills Cricket Ground, Taxila.After winning the toss, UR United captain Habib Ullah opted to bowl first, a decision that proved decisive as his bowlers restricted Faisal Hills Badshah to 157 runs.For Faisal Hills Badshah, Sohail Afridi top-scored with 43, while Uzair contributed 31 and Usman Shah added 22. UR United's bowling attack shared the spoils, with Waleed Arif, Lala Haq, and Asif Manzoor claiming two wickets each to keep the opposition under pressure throughout the innings.Chasing 158, the defending champions produced a flawless batting display, reaching the target in just 15.4 overs without losing a wicket. Captain Habib Ullah led from the front with a magnificent 103 not out, while Rohan remained unbeaten on 49, as the opening pair completed one of the most dominant run chases in the tournament's history.Tournament Awards:Player of the Final: Habib UllahImpact Player of the Final: Usman ShahColourful Innings of the Final: RohanBest Player of the Tournament: UzairBest Batter of the Tournament: Habib UllahBest Bowler of the Tournament: Asif ManzoorEmerging Player of the Tournament: Ahsan Mehmood
PBCC raises monthly Honorarium for 18 National Blind Cricket Players
Abdul Jabbar FaisalISLAMABAD: Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) has increased the monthly honorarium for the National Blind Cricket Players of different categories.According to an official of PBCC, reinforcing its commitment to the welfare and recognition of visually impaired athletes, Blind Cricket Council has enhanced the monthly honorarium for 18 outstanding national blind cricketers in recognition of their consistent performances in recent domestic competitions.The revised honorarium will be effective for six months, from July to December 2026, under PBCC's Player Support Programme. To support its athletes in view of increasing living costs, PBCC has increased the monthly honorarium across all categories. Syed Sultan Shah, Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council congratulates all selected players and wishes them continued success in their future national and international assignments. Category Monthly Honorarium:A Rs. 32,000B Rs. 26,000C Rs. 22,000Names of Selected Players:Badar Munir (A), Kamran Akhter (A), Nisar Ali (B), Mati Ullah (B), Mohammad Safdar (B), Mohammad Rashid (B), Mohammad Shahzaib (C), Moain Aslam (C), Babar Ali (C), Niamat Ullah (C), Sana Ullah Marwat (C), Israr Hassan (C), Mohsin Khan (C), Junaid Khan (C), Talha Iqbal (C), Mohammad Idrees Saleem (C), Naeem Ullah (C), and Anees Javed (C).
Pakistan Women beat Sri Lanka Women by four wickets
Dambulla (SBR):Ayesha Zafar’s 39 and two wickets from Momina Riasat led Pakistan women to a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka women in the third T20I at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla on Tuesday afternoon. It was touring side’s first win in the three-match T20I series.Chasing 114 to win, Pakistan achieved the target for the loss of six wickets with 10 balls to spare. Right-handed batter Ayesha top-scored for the winning side with a 31-ball 39, which included six fours.Shawaal Zulfiqar also contributed with the bat, scoring a 12-ball 21, which included three fours and a six.For the hosts, captain Chamari Athapaththu and Kavisha Dilhari took two wickets each.Earlier, after being put into bat, Sri Lanka scored 113 for six in their allotted 20 overs. Athapaththu was the top scorer for the hosts with 34. The left-handed batter’s innings included five fours.For Pakistan, 23-year-old Momina Riasat was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of two for 18 from four overs.Pakistan ended the tour with two wins from the six matches played.Scores in brief:Sri Lanka 113-6, 20 overs (Chamari Athapaththu 34, Sanjana Kavindi 20; Momina Riasat 2-18)Pakistan 115-6, 18.2 overs (Ayesha Zafar 39, Shawaal Zulfiqar 21; Chamari Athapaththu 2-20, Kavisha Dilhari 2-24)Player of the match – Ayesha Zafar (Pakistan)Player of the series – Imesha Dulani (Sri Lanka)
Michael Smith appointed batting coach of Pakistan men’s team
Lahore (Salman Faisal): Former South African cricketer Michael Smith has been appointed batting coach of the Pakistan men’s team, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed today. 46-year-old will work with the team across both red-ball and white-ball formats.Smith featured in 89 first-class matches, 72 List-A matches and 16 T20 matches from 2003 to 2013. The right-handed batter scored 7,029 runs across the three formats, including nine centuries and 40 half-centuries.Smith, who holds a Level 4 coaching qualification, has served on the coaching staffs of three HBL PSL franchises: Islamabad United, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans. He has also worked as batting coach with Australia’s Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania.As a coaching consultant, Smith has worked with South Africa’s KZN Inland and Eastern Province.Smith, who has been appointed for a two-year term, will join the Pakistan team ahead of the three-match Test series against England, commencing on 19 August.
Sri Lanka Women beat Pakistan women by six wickets
Dambulla (Sports News): Sri Lanka women beat Pakistan women by six wickets in the second T20I at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday to take an unassailable lead in the three-match T20I series. The third match of the series will be played at the same venue on Tuesday, 4 August. After captain Muneeba Ali opted to bat first, Pakistan made a flying start through Muneeba and Shawaal Zulfiqar. The opening pair added 90 runs in 9.5 overs and provided the visitors with an excellent platform.Pakistan raced to 68 without loss in the powerplay, with both openers finding the boundary regularly. Muneeba struck six fours and a six during her 30-ball 45, while Shawaal top-scored with 48 from 35 balls, smashing eight fours.Sri Lanka removed both openers in quick succession, but Pakistan continued to maintain a healthy scoring rate. Eman Naseer contributed 21 from 21 balls, while Saira Jabeen struck three fours in a nine-ball 16.Eyman Fatima provided the late acceleration with an unbeaten 30 from only 19 balls. Her innings included three fours and two sixes and helped Pakistan collect 46 runs from the final five overs. Umm-e-Hani remained unbeaten on two as Pakistan finished on 175 for five from their allotted 20 overs.Chamudi Praboda was Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler, taking two wickets for 27 runs.Defending 176, Pakistan made an early breakthrough when Waheeda Akhtar dismissed Imesha Dulani for five in the second over.Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu then counter-attacked with a 15-ball 40, hitting five fours and three sixes. Umm-e-Hani ended her innings before also dismissing Vishmi Gunaratne for 31 to finish as Pakistan’s leading bowler with two wickets for 28 runs from four overs.Sanjana Kavindi, playing her first T20I, scored 46 from 24 balls, while Harshitha Samarawickrama remained unbeaten on 37 from 22 deliveries. Kavisha Dilhari contributed an unbeaten 14 as the hosts achieved the target with four wickets down in 17.4 overs.Scores in brief Pakistan 175-5, 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 48, Muneeba Ali 45, Eyman Fatima 30 not out; Chamudi Praboda 2-27)Sri Lanka 178-4, 17.4 overs (Sanjana Kavindi 46, Chamari Athapaththu 40, Harshitha Samarawickrama 37 not out; Umm-e-Hani 2-28)Player of the match: Sanjana Kavindi (Sri Lanka)
Stephen Fleming joins as England Men's new Test team, as a Head Coach
Islamabad (Sports News): Stephen Fleming has been appointed as England Men's new Test Head Coach, with Joe Root returning to be Men's Test Captain.Fleming has had an 18-year association with Chennai Super Kings, winning five Indian Premier League titles. He will begin his role as Head Coach with this winter's tour of South Africa. Marcus Trescothick will be the interim Head Coach for the upcoming series against Pakistan.Root has already captained the most Men's Test matches and will continue to add to his total, which also includes the most victories as Test captain.
Sri Lanka women beat Pakistan women by six wickets
Dambulla (SBR):Sri Lanka women began the three-match T20I series on a winning note against Pakistan women as they romped to a six-wicket victory in a successful 177-run chase with six balls left as they were led by Imesha Dulani’s unbeaten century here at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Friday.Pakistan were helped to their highest total in WT20Is on Sri Lankan soil as opening batter Shawaal Zulfiqar registered her maiden half-century for Pakistan scoring a sublime 63 and also shared a 66-run opening stand with Muneeba Ali. For Pakistan, batter Eman Naseer and left-arm spinner Momina Riasat made their WT20I debuts.In pursuit of the chase, Sri Lanka gathered 78 runs in 7.1 overs before Nashra Sundhu picked up her 201st wicket for Pakistan across formats, removing Chamari Athapaththu for a 22-ball 39. Umm-e-Hani was involved in three of the four wickets to fall as Pakistan resisted by taking three for 37 in 30 balls.Hani first employed a brilliant dive at long-on to pouch Athapaththu’s catch in eighth over before removing Vishmi Gunaratne for three in 10th. She was again the catcher when Nashra got rid of Harshitha Samarawickrama for seven in the 13th over.Player of the match Imesha managed to keep the run flow intact with regular boundaries as she hit 17 fours and one six in her match-winning 64-ball 101 not out – her maiden ton in international cricket. Humna Bilal accounted for Kavisha Dilhari to start the penultimate over but Sri Lanka reached the target by the end of it.Earlier, Pakistan were put into bat by Athapaththu and their opening duo replied by taking 64 runs off the powerplay. Muneeba’s rampaging 24-ball 42-run knock was cut short in the seventh over as she was run out after hitting nine fours.Debutant Eman scored 21 before with the help of one four before becoming first of Dilhari’s two scalps. Eman and Shawaal shared a 61-run stand off 51 balls. Shawaal hit 10 fours and one six in her first match for Pakistan since September 2025.Pakistan scored 45 runs off the last 28 balls of their innings Saira Jabeen chipped in with a eight-ball 12-run knock hitting two fours, while Eyman Fatima and Umm-e-Hani also struck a four each.The second match of the series will be played on Sunday, 2 August at the same venue.Scores in briefPakistan 176-7, 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 63, Muneeba Ali 42, Eman Naseer 21; Kavisha Dilhari 2-36)Sri Lanka 177-4, 19 overs (Imesha Dulani 101 not out, Chamari Athapaththu 39; Nashra Sundhu 2-25)
Muneeba-led Pakistan aim to compete hard in three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka
Dambulla (SBR): Pakistan and Sri Lanka are set to begin their three-match women’s T20I series from Friday, 31 July at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla. The second and third T20Is will be played on 2 and 4 August, respectively.Wicketkeeper-batter Muneeba Ali will be in-charge of the T20I team after regular captain Fatima Sana left for England to take part in the The Hundred tournament following the ODI series. Muneeba, Pakistan’s first women’s T20I centurion and scorer of two hundreds in the format so far, has previously stood in for Fatima once each in T20Is and ODIs.Muneeba led Pakistan against Australia during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Dubai and against Zimbabwe in the third ODI of the series in May earlier this year.Pakistan began the Sri Lanka tour with a win before the hosts came from behind to claim the three-match ODI series 2-1. The two teams moved from Hambantota to Dambulla on Wednesday and took part in a three-hour training session on Thursday.A total of eight changes have been made to Pakistan’s T20I squad that featured in the recently concluded T20 World Cup. In head-to-head fixtures, Pakistan have an edge over Sri Lanka with 11 wins out of 21 WT20I matches and one game ended as no result. Pakistan and Sri Lanka women have only played three bilateral T20I series with Sri Lanka winning the inaugural one in Sharjah by 2-1 in January 2015.In March 2018, Pakistan won by 2-1 in Colombo including a thrilling one-wicket victory, while in May 2022, Pakistan clean swept Sri Lanka 3-0 in Karachi.Muneeba Ali, Pakistan women's T20I captain: "We look forward to competing hard in the T20I series here in Dambulla and the aim is to finish the tour on a high with series win. It is an honour for me to lead Pakistan at any given opportunity and I'll do my best to contribute towards the development of youngsters and produce positive results for the team."We have a number of young and up-and-coming players in the T20I squad and it will be exciting to see them ply their trade on the top level against some of the best players."We are aware of Sri Lanka's capability to bounce back from any situation and we will look to take the field with the best preparation and planning possible."Pakistan T20I squad:Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (captain), Ayesha Zafar, Eman Naseer, Eyman Fatima, Humna Bilal, Maham Anees, Momina Riasat, Najiha Alvi, Nashra Sundhu, Saira Jabeen, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tasmia Rubab, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda AkhtarPlayer support personnel:Ayesha Ashhar (manager), Wahab Riaz (mentor/head coach), Abdur Rehman (spin bowling coach), Umaid Asif (fast bowling coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Imran Farhat (batting coach), Raza Kitchlew (media manager), Waleed Ahmed (analyst), Tehreem Sumbal (physiotherapist)Sri Lanka T20I squad in alphabetical order:Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Chamudi Praboda, Harshitha Samarawickrama (wk), Hasini Perera, Imesha Dulani, Kaushini Nuthyangana, Kaveesha Dilhari, Kawya Kavindi, Malki Madara, Nilakshika Silva, Nimasha Meepage, Rashmika Sewwandi, Sanjana Kavindi, Sugandika Kumari and Vishmi Gunaratne.Tour schedule: (All matches to begin at 9.30am Pakistan time)23 July – Pakistan won by five wickets25 July – Sri Lanka won by eight wickets28 July – Sri Lanka won by eight wickets31 July – First T20I at Rangiri Dambulla International cricket stadium, Dambulla2 August – Second T20I at Rangiri Dambulla International cricket stadium, Dambulla4 August – Third T20I at Rangiri Dambulla International cricket stadium, Dambulla
SEAMERS MAKE NOTABLE GAINS IN ICC MEN’S TEST BOWLING RANKINGS
Islamabad (Sports Report): Seam bowlers called the shots in the first match of the ICC World Test Championship series between the West Indies and Pakistan in Tarouba, which the home side won by 90 runs, and the movements in the ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings reflect that.Player of the Match Justin Greaves finished with a career-best match haul of seven for 39 and gained 21 places to reach a career-high 48th position and his team-mate Jayden Seales moved up five places to 24th after finishing with a five-for in the second innings. Greaves has also advanced eight slots to ninth in the all-rounders’ list.Pakistan’s Mohammad Abbas, who has been ranked as high as third (in 2018), made his first appearance in the top 20 since late 2021 as he advanced nine places ahead to 17th after his match haul of eight for 85.The batting rankings see Pakistan captain Babar Azam move up four slots to 15th after an unbeaten 58 in the second innings while Shan Masood’s 109 in the first innings has lifted him eight places to 36th. Shai Hope’s 92 in the first innings has taken him from 51st to 39th and Kavem Hodge is up to 60th after a seven-slot gain.India captain Shubman Gill begins his third stint as the top-ranked ODI batter after New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell conceded the top spot, missing the final ODI against the West Indies in Bridgetown due to a low-grade hip strain.The New Zealand pair of Will Young (up three places to joint-38th) and Tom Latham (up five places to 46th) and the West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford (up 13 places to 45th) have moved up the batting rankings. With the ball, Namibia’s Bernard Scholtz had remarkable figures of 10-2-21-1 against the Netherlands and 10-2-14-0 against Nepal to move up five places to seventh in the ODI rankings.India’s teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has surged ahead to 48th position in the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings after his Player of the Series effort in Zimbabwe helped him gallop 230 places. He finished with 151 runs in three innings that boasted a 19-ball 50 in the first match and a 49-ball 81 in the third.Others to move up the T20I rankings include Tilak Varma (up two places to sixth) and Shreyas Iyer (up seven places to 24th) in the batting rankings. Blessing Muzarabani (up 10 places to 26th) and Ravi Bishnoi (up 31 places to 41st) have advanced in the bowling rankings.
West Indies beat Pakistan by 90 runs in first Test match
Tarouba (PCB Report): Pakistan suffered a 90-run defeat against West Indies on the fourth day of the first Test at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba with the hosts taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The second Test match will be played in Port of Spain from 2 August.Resuming their second innings at 126 for seven, West Indies were dismissed for 181, setting Pakistan a target of 211. Mohammad Abbas completed his seventh five-wicket haul in Test cricket, returning impressive figures of five for 22 from 15.5 overs.Shamar Joseph, who returned unbeaten on the overnight score of 22, struck 38 off 27 balls, including four sixes, before Mohammad Ali breached his defence. Abbas then removed Kemar Roach for 18 and Jomel Warrican for 14 to wrap up the innings. Khurram Shahzad and Ali grabbed two wickets each.Pakistan’s run-chase suffered early setbacks as Imam-ul-Haq and Azan Awais were dismissed for three apiece. Salman Ali Agha was trapped leg-before for nought as Pakistan slipped to 25 for three.Captain Babar Azam held firm at one end, but wickets continued to fall regularly. Mohammad Rizwan made 11 before being bowled by Justin Greaves, who also accounted for Aamir Jamal. Ali Usman, Shan Masood, Khurram and Ali were dismissed in quick succession, leaving Pakistan struggling at 71 for nine.Babar reached his 32nd Test half-century from 81 balls and combined with Mohammad Abbas in a 49-run partnership for the last wicket. Abbas contributed a fighting 23 off 33 balls, hitting four boundaries, while Babar remained unbeaten on 58 from 107 balls, including nine fours.Jayden Seales ended the resistance shortly after tea by dismissing Abbas, as Pakistan were bowled out for 120 in 40.2 overs. Seales finished with five for 20, while Greaves and Roach bagged two wickets each.Scores in brief:West Indies 311 all out, 98.5 overs (Shai Hope 92, Kavem Hodge 84; Mohammad Ali 4-50, Mohammad Abbas 3-63) and West Indies 181 all out, 54.5 overs (Shamar Joseph 38, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 35; Mohammad Abbas 5-22, Mohammad Ali 2-52, Khurram Shahzad 2-54) Pakistan 282 all out, 80.1 overs (Shan Masood 109, Imam-ul-Haq 63; Justin Greaves 5-27, Shamar Joseph 2-58) and 120 all out in 40.2 overs (Babar Azam 58 not out, Mohammad Abbas 23; Jayden Seales 5-20)
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