Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD (November 5, 2021):-A 4-match series of practice hockey matches between the national senior and junior hockey teams will start from Saturday at National Hockey Stadium, Lahore under the control of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). According to an official of PHF, the 21-member national junior hockey team will play a four-match series, as all 28 players will be participating in the series, who were the part of senior hockey camp. The National Hockey Selection Committee will shortlist 18 members of the National Junior Hockey Team that will take part in the upcoming Junior World Cup. The four-match hockey series is scheduled on November 6, 7, 9 and 10. All matches will be played at 3:00 p.m. Secretary General PHF Mohammad Asif Bajwa said: This hockey series is being organized in preparation for the World Junior Hockey Cup which will be played in Bhubaneswar, India from November 24 to December 5, the National Junior Hockey Team and in connection with the formation and preparation of the national senior hockey team to participate in the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy being held from December 14 to 22 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He added that the "National Senior, Junior Hockey Series" will be kept off-camera so that the players' performances, game patterns and game technical planning content remain off-camera. The National Junior Hockey Squad Comprises Waqar (Goalkeeper), Abdullah (Goalkeeper), Rizwan Ali, Aqeel Ahmed, Adeel Latif, Moin Shakeel, Hammad Anjum, Roman Khan, Ghazanfar Ali, Hanan Shahid, Rana Waheed, Umeer Sattar, Mohibullah, Abu Dharr, Abdul Manan, Ali Aziz, Mohsin Hassan, Muhammad Abdullah, Ehtesham Aslam, Abdul Rahman, and Samiullah. While National Senior Hockey Cam comprising Muneeb-ur-Rehman (Goalkeeper, Sui Southern Gas), Akmal Hussain (Goalkeeper, WAPDA), Mubashir Ali (WAPDA), Abu Bakar Mahmood (National Bank), Tazeem-ul-Hassan (Mari Petroleum), Rizwan Ali (WAPDA), Asif Hanif (Mari Petroleum), Amjad Ali Khan (WAPDA), Osama Bashir (Air Force), Junaid Kamal (National Bank), Faizan (National Bank), Emad Shakeel Butt (National Bank), Muhammad Faisal Qadir (National Bank), Umar Bhatta (WAPDA), Ali Shan (Sui Southern Gas), M Azfar Yaqoob (Sui Southern Gas), Rana Sohail Riaz (Sui Southern Gas), Ejaz Ahmed (WAPDA), Ahmed Nadeem (Mari Petroleum), Hamza Waheed (Air Force), Salman Razzaq (WAPDA), Naveed Alam (Sui Southern Gas), Obaidullah (Sindh, WAPDA), Noheez Zahid Malik (National Bank), Afraz (Mari Petroleum), Junaid Manzoor (National Bank), Zakaria Hayat (Air Force) and Zakirullah (Navy) are undergoing training.

SPORTS DESK Islamabad (November 5, 2021):-The Doosan Bears won the Wild Card series and will face the LG Twins in the best-of-three semi-playoff series. The winner will face the Samsung Lions for a chance to challenge the regular season winners KT Wiz in the Korean Series. The KT Wiz topped the Samsung Lions, 1-0, in a tiebreaker game to win the regular season title of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league. The two clubs shared the same record (76 wins-59 losses, with 9 draws) after the 144-game regular season. As the league champions, the Wiz advance directly to the Korean Series finals, while the Lions will skip the first two rounds of the postseason and play in the playoff series to earn a chance to challenge the Wiz in the Korean Series. The KBO postseason opened on Monday, 1 November, with the Wild Card series between the fourth and fifth place teams. The fourth-place Doosan Bears started with a 1-0 advantage over the fifth-place Kiwoom Heroes. The Heroes forced a game 3, defeating the Bears, 7-4, in front of over 12,000 fans at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. The Bears came back to win the rubber game, 16-8. The Doosan Bears will now play against the LG Twins in the semi-playoff series. The winner will advance to the playoff series against the Samsung Lions. The best-of-three playoff series opens on Tuesday, 9 November. The best-of-seven Korean Series opens on Sunday, 14 November. An eventual game seven is scheduled for Monday, 22 November. All games will be played at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.

Sports Reporter ISLAMABAD (November 5, 2021):-Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has conducted two  PTF  Yellow Badge Officiating Courses, at Lahore and Islamabad, held from 28th to 30th October 2021 and 1st to 3rd November 2021 respectively. These Officiating Courses were specially arranged for Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi. A total of 14 Officials attended the course in Lahore and 16 Officials in Islamabad. The courses were conducted by Shahzad Akhtar Alvi, Head of Officiating and also ITF White Badge Umpire. The participants were provided with all possible administrative facilities during the courses. Salim Saifullah Khan President -PTF also visited the course venue at PTF Complex, interacted with the officials, and emphasised the following. These courses are specially organized to induct fresh blood into the officiating field. Officiating is a very important part of tennis. Due to the revival of International Tennis, our officiating staff requires tremendous improvement. Tennis is played in 200 countries as compared to other sports, therefore you should work hard in the officiating field so that you can also be able to represent Pakistan at the International level. He also congratulated the PTF Management for organizing the events in a befitting manner.

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (November 5, 2021):-The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Michael Jones as a replacement for Joshua Davey in the Scotland squad. Michael Jones of Scotland poses for a picture during the Scotland Portrait Session for the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier at The Holiday Inn on February 28, 2018 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Michael Jones as a replacement for Joshua Davey in the Scotland squad. Right hand batter Jones, who has played nine ODIs, was named as a replacement after Davey was ruled out due to a groin injury. Jones was a reserve as per the allowance for teams to travel with extra players in view of COVID-19 quarantine requirements. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 consists of Chris Tetley (Head of Events, Chair), Clive Hitchcock (ICC Senior Cricket Operations Manager), Rahul Dravid and Dhiraj Malhotra (BCCI Representatives), Simon Doull and Ian Bishop (Independent Members).

Sports Bulletin Report Abu Dhabi (November 5, 2021):-Charith Asalanka and Pathum Nissanka’s inspired batting helped propel Sri Lanka to a 20-run win over the West Indies, ending their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on a high. The pair put on 91 for the second wicket, with Asalanka making 68 and Nissanka 51, as their side soared to 189 for three to set a challenging target. Kieron Pollard’s men were never equal to the task and the late heroics of Shimron Hetmyer, to the tune of 81 not out, were in vain as they ended on 169 for eight from their 20 overs. The West Indies opted for the off-spin of Roston Chase in the opening over for the first time in the tournament to counter Kusal Perera, who tentatively poked him for four with the third ball. Both the southpaw, searching for his first big score, and Nissanka settled well and Perera was typically severe on a short ball from Ravi Rampaul, smacking it flat over square leg for six. Perera perished on 29 when he offered a sharp return catch to Andre Russell, who adjusted his weight superbly to dive down and pouch the catch. From 42 for one, Nissanka and Asalanka embarked on their partnership that was characterised by subtle, fine glances and innovative use of the crease to score heavily behind square. Akeal Hosein’s spin had posed Nissanka problems and he countered by using his reverse sweep to swat him for a one-bounce four to bring the stand to 50. Frustration grew in the field when Russell found Nissanka’s outside edge only for it to fly to the fence and then he strayed down the leg side and was clipped to the boundary by Asalanka. They built a partnership of 91 from 61 balls, that came to an end when Dwayne Bravo’s latest slower ball variation forced Nissanka into a big swing and he was caught by Hetmyer. Sri Lanka barely slowed down and with skipper Dasun Shanaka freeing his arms to complement Asalanka, the 17th and 18th overs went for 16 and 17 runs respectively. Two further blows for four from each of them was followed by Asalanka’s superb knock coming to an end when he top-edged a pull off Russell that Hetmyer did well to dive forward and grab. Rampaul bowled an excellent final over but the momentum lay firmly with Sri Lanka and rolled over into the start of the run chase. Beanpole quick Binura Fernando forced Chris Gayle into a soft dismissal, looping up a simple catch to Wanindu Hasaranga at mid-on. After a pair of quick boundaries from Evin Lewis, he forced the other Windies opener to chop onto his stumps and it was 10 for two. Fernando was in the thick of it and he took punishment from Nicholas Pooran, who cut loose with three boundaries in four balls from his second over including an emphatic six over wide long-on. Just as Chase looked to have settled, he fell victim to a blinding diving catch at midwicket from Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who threw himself to his left to take a stunner and dismiss him for nine. Pooran and Hetmyer tried to steady the ship but the latter failed to score quickly enough to prevent his partner from having to take undue risks. They combined for 30 from 34 balls but Pooran went for one big shot too many and holed out off Dushmanatha Chameera to long-off for 46. Oddly, the loss of Pooran seemed to free Hetmyer to play his natural game and he hooked the very next ball for six and then crashed Chameera for four in an eventful 13th over. The revival wasn’t to last, however, as Andre Russell offered a tame return catch to Chamika Karunaratne to make it 94 for five, a blow that looked fatal to Windies’ chances. The equation looked bleak and although Hetmyer swung Karunaratne for three fours that over, Pollard was clean bowled for a golden duck to settle the matter at 107 for six. Hetmyer played a superb and largely lone hand, hitting Karunaratne for successive sixes and then a four, ending on a defiant unbeaten 81 from 54 balls. It was an emphatic way for Sri Lanka to finish an encouraging tournament, while West Indies will hope to end their title defence with victory over Australia on Saturday. Scores in brief Sri Lanka beat West Indies at the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 20 runs Sri Lanka 189/3 in 20 overs (Charith Asalanka 68; Pathum Nissanka 51; Andre Russell 2/33, Dwayne Bravo 1/42) West Indies 169/8 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 81 not out, Nicholas Pooran 46; Wanindu Hasaranga 2/19, Binura Fernando 2/24) Player of the Match: Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka)

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 4, 2021):-18-year-old Abdul Wahid Bangalzai stroked an unconquered maiden double-century at the home of Pakistan cricket during the second day’s play in a live-streamed third round action of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Thursday. Abdul Wahid Bangalzai returned undefeated on 203 for Balochistan who declared their first innings against Discover Pakistan Central Punjab for 472 for eight. When bad light forced an early closure, Central Punjab were 37 for one with Test batters Abid Ali (12) and Azhar Ali (four) at the crease. Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, the Quetta-born Pakistan U19 batter playing in just his third first-class match, had started the day at 93 in Balochistan’s 223 for four. The youngster batted for six hours and 28 minutes, and struck 24 fours and two sixes. Together with Jalat Khan, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai added 167 runs for the seventh wicket. Jalat missed his third career century by nine runs when he was dismissed for 91, an innings that came off 117 balls and included 11 fours. For Central Punjab, Ahmed Bashir (2-50), Zafar Gohar (2-92) and Bilal Asif (2-117) shared wickets. At the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost five wickets for 26 runs to slip from 125 for one to 151 for six before Nabi Gul rescued them with a fine unbeaten century that helped his side finish off the day at 209 for seven against ATF Southern Punjab. Nabi was batting on 108 with 12 fours and three sixes from 171 balls and added 53 runs for the seventh wicket with Sajid Khan (20). Earlier, Nabi had put on 109 runs for the second wicket with Sahibzada Farhan, who scored 59 from 96 balls with five fours and three sixes. ATF Southern Punjab’s left-arm spinner Ali Usman caused maximum damage when he returned figures of 23-5-76-5, while Mohammad Ilyas and Zia Ul Haq picked up one wicket apiece. Earlier, ATF Southern Punjab resumed their first innings at 369 for seven and were bowled out for 453. Mohammad Imran, who started the day at 122, was the last man out after scoring 179. He occupied the crease for just under five hours during which he faced 195 balls and struck 21 fours and five sixes. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Niaz Khan took three for 62, Sameen Gul bagged three for 82 and Sajid Khan snapped up three for 120. At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Northern captured two late wickets as Sindh ended the day at 133 for three. Sindh were cruising at 132 for one before they lost Khurram Manzoor (40) and nightwatchman Tabish Khan (0) to Mubashir Khan and Nauman Ali, respectively. When play ended, Saad Khan was batting on 88 (9x4, 135b) who put on 128 runs for the second wicket with Khurram. Earlier, Northern were bowled out for 374 after resuming the day at 287 for six. Test spinner Nauman Ali hit four fours and two sixes in a 61-ball 51 and Rohail Nazir contributed 54 after resuming his innings at 32 not out. GFC Sindh’s Mir Hamza added one more wicket on Thursday to finish with four for 65, while Tabish Khan, Sohail Khan and Mohammad Asghar picked up two wickets each. Scores in brief (day 2 of 4, round 3): At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore Balochistan 472-8d, 131.5 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 203 not out, Jalat Khan 91, Imam-ul-Haq 72, Bismillah Khan 48, Haris Sohail 29; Ahmed Bashir 2-50, Zafar Gohar 2-92, Bilal Asif 2-117) Discover Pakistan Central Punjab 37-1, 14 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 21, Abid Ali 12 not out, Azhar Ali 4 not out) At Multan Cricket Stadium Northern 374, 108 overs (Mohammad Huraira 112, Aamir Jamal 55, Rohail Nazir 54, Nauman Ali 51, Faizan Riaz 46; Mir Hamza 4-65, Tabish Khan 2-82, Mohammad Asghar 2-85, Sohail Khan 2-90) GFS Sindh 133-3, 49 overs (Saad Khan 88 not out, Khurram Manzoor 40) At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad ATF Southern Punjab 453 all out, 94.5 overs (Mohammad Imran 179, Azam Khan 103, Hassan Khan 54, Tayyab Tahir 52; Niaz Khan 3-62, Sameen Gul 3-82, Sajid Khan 3-120) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 209-7, 60 overs (Nabi Gul 108 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 59, Sajid Khan 20; Ali Usman 5-76)

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 4, 2021):-Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced West Indies will play three Twenty20 Internationals and as many ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches at the National Stadium in Karachi from 13–22 December. This will be the West Indies’ first tour of Pakistan since April 2018 when they played three T20Is. The two-time former 50-over world champions will be playing ODIs in Pakistan for the first time since December 2006. The December ODIs will form part of Pakistan’s fourth series in the Super League, which will see the top seven sides and the event host India qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 with the remaining two sides progressing from the qualifying event. PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja: “After missing out on home internationals in September and October, the West Indies tour will formally kick-off of an exciting and entertaining season of men’s international cricket in Pakistan with HBL Pakistan Super League 2022 and Australia’s first full series to follow. “The West Indies have always remained one of Pakistan cricket fans’ favourite sides. I am hopeful that the NCOC will support this series by allowing maximum crowds so that the fans can watch live in action their favourite players and back both the sides.”   Schedule: 9 Dec – West Indies arrival in Karachi 13 Dec – 1st T20I, Karachi 14 Dec – 2nd T20I, Karachi 16 Dec – 3rd T20I, Karachi 18 Dec – 1st ODI, Karachi 20 Dec – 2nd ODI, Karachi 22 Dec – 3rd ODI, Karachi 23 Dec - Departure

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Lausanne, Switzerland (November 4, 2021):- Following two outstanding FIH Hockey Pro League victories against higher ranked Germany on home soil in Brussels, Belgium’s Red Panthers will aim replicate that superb form when they take on title holders and reigning Olympic, World and European champions the Netherlands in Amsterdam. It is the second time in under a month that the neighbouring nations have faced each other at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen, on the southern outskirts of the Dutch capital. On 13th October in front of 4000 fans, the imperious Dutch claimed a 2-0 win in the first FIH Hockey Pro League match of the 2021-22 season, with legendary attacker and triple Olympic gold medallist Lidewij Welten opening the scoring after just 17 seconds. However, the contest was far from one-sided and, following Belgium’s excellent 1-0 and 3-1 triumphs over Germany on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October, the Red Panthers will be in confident mood and relishing the opportunity to challenge the finest women’s international hockey team on the planet. Under the guidance of head coach Raoul Ehren, the Dutchman who guided Den Bosch to huge success both domestically and in European competition, Belgium are clearly making big strides forward, with those triumphs over Die Danas taking them to an all-time high of 7th in the FIH  World Rankings. Whilst the Red Panthers clearly have a very exciting future ahead of them, they will know that they face an almighty challenge against Alyson Annan’s dazzling Dutch team. Annan has named nine Olympic gold medallists from Tokyo 2020 for this match, with Welten, captain Eva de Goede, Margot van Geffen, Pien Sanders and Xan de Waard amongst them. A trio of players are set to make their senior international debuts for the Oranje, with Tessa Clasener (HDM), Fiona Morgenstern (Oranje-Rood) and Pleun van der Plas (Den Bosch) being given the chance to shine on the big stage as Annan – who in the October clash with Belgium gave debuts to Marente Barentsen and Joosje Burg, who have retained their places – continues to look at the potential stars of the future.  

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (November 4, 2021):-Adam Zampa’s five-wicket haul and a quickfire 40 from Aaron Finch saw Australia ease to an eight-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a group 1 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai on Thursday. Put in to bat, Bangladesh slipped to 10 for three and never recovered as all the Australian bowlers fired to dismiss Bangladesh for 73. Aaron Finch and David Warner made short work of the chase as Australia reached the total with 82 balls to spare to boost their qualification hopes. The tone was set by Mitchell Starc, who clean bowled Liton Das for a golden duck with the third ball of the innings. In the next over, Josh Hazlewood undid Soumya Sarkar with added pace before Finch turned to the spin of Glenn Maxwell and the surprise move paid off, Mushfiqur Rahim falling for a single. Another wicket would fall before the end of the powerplay and it was a key one, with the promising Mohammad Naim picking out Pat Cummins at square leg as the Tigers ended the powerplay on 33 for four. There was no let-up when Zampa entered the attack, with his first ball seeing Afif Hossain edge to captain Finch at first slip. Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullah combined with Shamim Hossain to engineer something of a rebuild, reaching 58 for five after an opening 10 overs which included 35 dot balls. Zampa then struck with consecutive balls as Shamim fell for 19 before Mahedi Hassan was trapped lbw. The leg-spinner would have to wait patiently through overs from Starc and Cummins for the chance to make it three in three and he was denied his maiden hat-trick as Matthew Wade dropped Taskin Ahmed. As a consolation, he went on to complete his five-for, taking the final two wickets of Bangladesh’s innings to finish with five for 19, his best figures in T20Is. With Australia knowing net run rate was crucial, Finch set about chasing the total down as quickly as possible and joined forces with Warner to take 12 runs off Mustafizur Rahman’s first over Mustafizur’s next was no better as Warner and Finch dispatched him for four boundaries to add 21 to their total. Taskin responded well to being crashed for consecutive sixes by Finch, clean bowling the skipper but only after he had made 40 off 19 balls as Australia ended the fifth over at 58 for one. Warner went in the next over, again clean bowled, this time by Shoriful Islam as Australia completed the powerplay needing only seven runs for victory. Mitchell Marsh needed only three balls to complete the job, finishing the game in style with a six as Australia eased home. Scores in brief  Australia beat Bangladesh at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai by eight wickets Bangladesh, 73 all out in 15 overs (Shamim Hossain 19, Naim Mohammad 17; Adam Zampa 5/19, Josh Hazlewood 2-8) Australia 78/2 in 6.3 overs (Aaron Finch 40, David Warner 18; Taskin Ahmed 1/36, Shoriful Islam 1/9) Player of the Match: Adam Zampa (Australia) 

Sports Reporter LAHORE (November 4, 2021):-Punjab weightlifters with 107 points won the Inter-Provincial Boys Under-17 Weightlifting Tournament at the weightlifting venue adjacent to Nishtar Park Sports Complex (NPSC) Gymnasium Hall here on Thursday. Punjab players took six gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal during the 3-day competition held under the auspices of Sports Board Punjab (SBP). Sindh boys, who scored 56 points, bagged second position with two silver and four bronze medals. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (55 points) finished third with three silver and four bronze medals while Balochistan (53 points) got 4th place with two gold medals, one silver and two bronze medals. In the 71kg contest, Punjab’s Abdul Razzaq clinched the gold medal, Shahnawaz of Sindh took silver while bronze went to KP’s Abdul Samad. Punjab weightlifter Danish Butt dominated the +71kg competition by winning gold medal. The silver medal was won by M Haris of KP while Noel Jhon of Sindh bagged bronze in this event. Punjab’s Abdul Raheem grabbed gold medal in 64kg weight category. Noor Ahmed of Balochistan took silver and Sindh’s Shaharyar got bronze medal in this competition.