Sports Bulletin

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 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 Bulletin Report Abu Dhabi (November 3, 2021):-Aruthless India kept their slim ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final hopes alive with a convincing 66-run victory over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi. Virat Kohli’s side entered the match knowing the side needed three victories from their remaining matches to stand any chance of making the last four following back-to-back defeats. An excellent opening partnership of 140 between Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul laid the foundations and then Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya provided the late fireworks, adding 63 in just 21 balls to take India to 210 for two, the highest score of the tournament so far. Afghanistan’s attack badly missed the injured Mujeeb Ur Rahman and the loss of both openers inside four overs quickly left them playing catch-up in reply. Karim Janat (42 not out) and Mohammad Nabi (35) provided cameos but Mohammed Shami (three for 32) and the returning Ravi Ashwin (two for 14) helped India see out a comfortable and morale-boosting win. Having been restricted to 110 for seven by New Zealand on Sunday, India were eager for a strong start when inserted at the toss and their experienced openers provided it. Rohit ended the opening over in style, lofting Gulbadin Naib for four over mid-off, and Rahul provided his own statement of intent five balls later by smashing Sharafuddin Ashraf over long-on for the first six of the innings. Another followed in a costly fifth over, which ended with India on 52 without loss after Rohit cleared the ropes over long-off before driving through cover for four more. Afghanistan’s attack temporarily stemmed the tide as the opening pair rotated the strike, with no boundaries for 20 balls, but Rahul ended the mini drought and soon swept Rashid Khan behind square as the scoreboard continued to motor. Rohit won the race to his half century, getting there in 37 balls, and a savage pull for six by his partner brought up the pair’s fourth T20I century stand later in the 12th over. Rahul was raising his bat at the start of the 13th after reaching his half century in two fewer balls than Rohit, who took the attack to Rashid and slammed successive sixes shortly afterwards. Just as Rohit looked to truly cut loose, however, his superb knock was ended when he drove Janat to Mohammad Nabi at extra cover to provide Afghanistan with a much-needed breakthrough. Pant was promoted to number three to continue the attack and having survived reviews from consecutive Rashid deliveries, he made the most of his reprieves by carting Gulbadin for huge back-to-back maximums to hand India back their momentum after the seamer had cleaned up Rahul earlier in the over. Pandya also took advantage of a let-off, thumping two sixes off the unfortunate Naveen after a routine chance had been put down by Najibullah Zadran coming round from long-off, and another mighty blow from Pant took India past 200 in the final over to leave Afghanistan with a mountain to climb. Knowing he had to put his foot down from the outset, Hazratullah Zazai got the chase up and running by taking on India’s dangerous new ball pair, cutting Mohammed Shami for four before lofting Jasprit Bumrah over the deep mid-wicket boundary. Neither took long to hit back, however, as both openers fell in successive deliveries. Shami induced a leading edge to see the back of Mohammad Shahzad for a four-ball duck and when Zazai sliced to mid-on off Bumrah, Afghanistan were 13 for two. The incoming Rahmanullah Gurbaz was quickly into his stride, launching Shami for back-to-back sixes in a fifth over which cost 21 to breathe fresh life into the chase. Gulbadin followed up with twin boundaries off Pandya as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 47 for two, just six runs adrift of where India had been at the same stage. The eight wickets in hand soon became seven as Rahmanullah went on the attack once more and was well held by Pandya inches inside the rope at long-on from the bowling of Ravi Jadeja. Then came a landmark moment for Jadeja’s fellow spinner Ashwin, who trapped a sweeping Gulbadin in front to claim his first T20I scalp since 2016 and leave Afghanistan 61 for four at the halfway stage of the reply. The same bowler then clean bowled Najibullah Zadran, attempting a reverse sweep, and didn’t concede a boundary in a miserly four overs which represented a fine return to his country’s limited overs side. The required rate was growing all the time but Nabi and Janat were in no mood to throw in the towel. The pair added 57 for the fifth wicket before Shami returned to seal the deal, with Nabi excellently caught by a diving Jadeja at mid-wicket and Rashid launching his first delivery to Pandya at mid-off. Janat crowned his impressive unbeaten 42 from 22 balls with a six from the final ball of the innings but Afghanistan must now beat New Zealand and hope other results go their way if they are to make the semi-finals. Scores in brief India beat Afghanistan at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 66 runs India 210/2 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 74, KL Rahul 69; Karim Janat 1/7, Gulbadin Naib 1/39) Afghanistan 144/7 in 20 overs (Karim Janat 42 not out, Mohammad Nabi 35; Mohammed Shami 3/32, Ravichandran Ashwin 2/14)

Dubai (November 3, 2021):-The ICC today confirmed that umpire Michael Gough will not be appointed to any further matches during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 The ICC today confirmed that umpire Michael Gough will not be appointed to any further matches during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 following a breach of the bio-security protocols. The ICC recognises the extended periods he has spent in bio-secure conditions over the past two years and will continue to support the wellbeing of all match officials operating in this environment. (Press Release)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Dubai (November 3, 2021):-The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has approved Reece Topley as a replacement for Tymal Mills in the England squad. Left-arm fast bowler Topley, who has played 13 ODIs and six T20Is, was named as a replacement after Mills was ruled out due to a thigh injury. Topley 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 Dubai (November 3, 2021):-Martin Guptill’s electric 93 helped New Zealand underline their semi-final credentials and knock Scotland out of the tournament with a comfortable 16-run victory in Dubai. Opener Guptill blitzed seven sixes, the most of any innings so far at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, in a boundary-filled 93 off 56 balls and shared a stand of 105 with Glenn Phillips, who made 33, to help New Zealand recover from 52 for three to post 172 for five. Scotland had done well to ensure they were not chasing more but the total turned out to be enough as regular wickets prevented them from ever mounting a serious challenge with No.6 Michael Leask’s unbeaten 42 off 20 balls turning out to be too little too late as the defeat ended their chances of progressing further in the competition. After being put in to bat, New Zealand got off to a fast start as Guptill and Daryl Mitchell pushed the Black Caps up to 35 without loss after four overs. That all changed when Safyaan Sharif took two wickets in five balls, removing Daryl Mitchell lbw for 13 before crucially strangling New Zealand captain Kane Williamson down the legside for a duck. Unperturbed by the carnage at the other end, Guptill became the second batter, after India captain Virat Kohli, to chalk up 3,000 T20I runs with a booming six off Alasdair Evans as New Zealand took 16 from the last over of the powerplay, reaching 52 for 2. Spinner Mark Watt made an immediate impact having Devon Conway caught behind for just one as he tried to reverse sweep his very first ball, wicket-keeper Matthew Cross taking another excellent catch behind the stumps. Scotland continued to slam the brakes on after the powerplay with just 18 runs coming from four overs as New Zealand made it to 70 for three at the halfway stage. However, Guptill started to motor and brought up an excellent half-century off just 34 balls with an almighty 102m six off Chris Greaves, becoming the first man to hit 150 T20I maximums. Guptill found solid support in the form of Phillips but his partner was given a reprieve on 20 when Leask, struggling with the sun in the deep, shelled a catch off Greaves. Leask could have redeemed himself shortly after by snaffling Guptill on the boundary edge but again he lost the flight of the ball as it landed just over the rope for a six off Brad Wheal. Despite visibly struggling with the heat in Dubai, Guptill set about trying to ruin Sharif’s figures, lamping the seamer for two sixes in the 16th over which cost 17. Scotland persisted with bowling back of a length and Guptill continued to oblige by sending the ball out of the park and soon brought up the 100 partnership with Phillips from just 71 balls with a single off Watt, who escaped with impressive figures of one for 13 from his four overs. A stand of 105 was soon ended when Phillips, 33 off 37 balls, skyed one to Greaves in the deep off Wheal. An exhausted Guptill fell agonisingly short of a century the very next ball, chipping straight to Calum MacLeod at long-on and trudging off for a very well-made 93, 66 of which came in boundaries. Those two wickets helped Scotland restrict New Zealand to just 22 runs from the last three overs, leaving them 173 to win when it could have been even more. Back in the side after injury, Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer made a sprightly start to the chase, hitting four boundaries on his way to 17 from 11 before Trent Boult’s knuckle ball deceived him and he was caught by Tim Southee in the third over. Adam Milne’s searing pace greeted Cross’s arrival to the crease and the Scottish gloveman initially had no answer, facing out a maiden. But when the two were reacquainted in the final over of the powerplay, Cross certainly made up for his slow start by smoking Milne for five consecutive fours to drag Scotland up to 48 for one after six. George Munsey, 22 off 18, took up the gauntlet after Ish Sodhi’s introduction to the attack, swatting the spinner for back-to-back sixes over the legside. But the opener perished two balls later when he did not get all of a full toss, allowing a knee-sliding Southee to take a splendid catch on the move down the ground. Richard Berrington joined Cross and after ten overs Scotland were 76 for two, six runs and one wicket better off than New Zealand were at the same stage but still needing another 97 to pull off an upset. However, Southee poured cold water on Scotland’s hopes of an unlikely win when his nip-backer bowled Cross for 27. And when MacLeod’s attempted scoop ended in him being bowled by Boult for 12, Scotland needed a miracle with 71 runs off 31 balls required. Berrington’s departure for 20 realistically signalled the end of Scotland’s hopes and although Leask entertained with three late sixes it only served to narrow the deficit as they finished on 156 for five. Scores in brief New Zealand beat Scotland at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai by 16 runs New Zealand 172/5, in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 93, Glenn Phillips 33; Safyaan Sharif 2/28, Brad Wheal 2/40) Scotland 156/5 in 20 overs (Michael Leask 42 not out, Matthew Cross 27; Trent Boult 2/29, Ish Sodhi 2/42) Player of the Match: Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

H Shah MANCHESTER (November 3, 2021):-England bowler Tymal Mills has been ruled out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a right thigh strain. Mills sustained the injury bowling in the T20 World Cup Super 12s match against Sri Lanka on Monday in Sharjah. Results of the scan on Tuesday night revealed the extent of the injury. Surrey’s Reece Topley has been added to the England World Cup squad following his role as travelling reserve.

Aamir Ali Janjua Dubai (November 3, 2021):-Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s two successive half-centuries in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 have helped him overtake England’s Dawid Malan and grab the No. 1 position for batters in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings. Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s two successive half-centuries in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 have helped him overtake England’s Dawid Malan and grab the No. 1 position for batters in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings. Babar, who scored 51 against Afghanistan and 70 against Namibia to lead the 2009 champions into the semifinals, is at the top for the sixth time in his career. The 27-year-old had first attained top position in 28 January 2018. He is presently also ranked No. 1 in ODIs. Babar’s tally of 834 rating points keeps him 36 points ahead of Dawid Malan but Babar’s career best remains 896 rating points that he achieved after scoring 65 against England at Cardiff on 5 May 2019. Malan had been at the top since 29 November last year. England’s performances in the tournament too reflect in the rankings, with both their openers Jos Buttler and Jason Roy moving up in the latest weekly update. Buttler has gained eight slots to reach a career-best ninth position after smashing his maiden T20I hundred against Sri Lanka while Roy is up five places to 14th. Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka celebrates the wicket of Jonny Bairstow of England during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between England and Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 01, 2021 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Wanindu Hasaranga of Sri Lanka celebrates the wicket of Jonny Bairstow of England during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup match between England and Sri Lanka at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on November 01, 2021 in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has topped the bowling charts for the first time in his career after two successive three-wicket hauls against South Africa and England. He replaces South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi, who was at the top since 10 April this year. The top four bowlers in the rankings are all wrist spinners, with England’s Adil Rashid overtaking Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan to take third place with a career-best 730 rating points. A fast bowler who has made rapid rise is South Africa’s Anrich Nortje, who has gained 18 slots to reach seventh position. At the top of the all-rounders’ table, Mohammad Nabi has caught up with Shakib Al Hasan on 271 rating points. Hasaranga is fourth in this list. Some other notable movements: Batters Aaron Finch of Australia up three places to third Richard Berrington of Scotland up one place to 21st Rohit Sharma of India up one place to 23rd Mohammad Nabi of Afghanistan up two places to 27th David Miller of South Africa up six places to 33rd Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies up nine places to 38th Craig Williams of Namibia up nine places to 44th Kane Williamson of New Zealand up six places to joint-46th Temba Bavuma of South Africa up 35 places to 52nd Bowlers Chris Jordan of England up four places to ninth Ish Sodhi of New Zealand up six places to 10th Mitchell Santner of New Zealand up four places to 17th Jasprit Bumrah of India up 10 places to joint-24th Imad Wasim of Pakistan up 10 places to 26th Shadab Khan of Pakistan up six places to 27th Dwaine Pretorius of South Africa up 65 places to 34th Shoriful Islam of Bangladesh up 77 places to 38th Mitchell Starc of Australia up eight places to 40th Trent Boult of New Zealand up 32 places to 41st Safyaan Sharif of Scotland up five places to 44th Jan Frylinck of Namibia up 13 places to 48th Jason Holder of the West Indies up 19 places to 50th All-rounders Liam Livingstone of England up 57 places to 10th

SPECIAL REPORT What has impressed me most about Pakistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has been their consistency. It is not usually something you associate with Pakistan. We always hear about an unpredictable Pakistan but in this tournament they have maintained their intensity, the catching has been good, the running between the wickets as well and as a unit they are performing to the standards we expect them to.  At international level, you make plans and you have to execute them. That is exactly what they are doing. A lot of the credit goes to the players who are working so hard and that is the platform that they have used to achieve what they are right now. But I think Saqlain Mushtaq also deserves a lot of praise for the work he is doing. He is not someone I have spent a lot of time with, but the one interaction I’ve had with him was a profound one. I was recovering from a back injury and was changing from bowling medium pace to bowling off spin. I used to hold the ball with four fingers and was talking about how leg spinners use the third finger and off spinners use two fingers to bowl. I still remember what he said to me. He said: “Your job is to put as many revolutions on the ball as possible and have more control, just bowl the ball in whatever way you can do these two things best.” It says a lot about his approach to coaching and the way he has empowered these players. Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander have of course been a big influence and Rameez Raja has given extra responsibility to Babar Azam as captain. When the captain has that responsibility, they feel confident making decisions. It is the same for the players. There are of course more factors in their success, but there is a freedom in this team for the players to express themselves. The environment is great for the players to succeed. I was pleased to see Pakistan decide to bat first against Namibia to give themselves a bigger challenge. Regardless of the opposition, it is not easy to bat in those conditions, but they did very well and now they are in a great position to top the group and avoid England, who are playing some great cricket, in the semi-final. Elsewhere in the group, I think New Zealand were very impressive against India. They are very good in ICC tournaments, but they still have a very tough game to come against Afghanistan, who I have loved watching. Hamid Hassan coming into their team has only strengthened their bowling and even without him, we saw how hard they pushed Pakistan. It will be an interesting contest against India. Virat Kohli talked about how India needed to be braver after the loss to New Zealand. Now they are playing the most courageous team in the tournament. Afghanistan are the only team who love to win the toss and bat. That should make for a great game and it is huge in the context of Group 2. It is not easy to get over a big defeat like India suffered to Pakistan and it felt against New Zealand that they had still not fully moved on. For their sake, they will hope to have put those defeats behind them against Afghanistan.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Abu Dhabi (November 2, 2021):-Pakistan cruised to a 45-run victory over Namibia as opening pair Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan again starred with the bat to all but confirm their semi-final spot at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium Abu Dhabi on Tuesday night. Babar, 70, and Rizwan, 79 not out, became the first pair to share five T20I century stands with their second of the tournament as they put on 113 for the first wicket. Pakistan had started slowly but the Group 2 leaders smashed 130 from their last ten overs to register an imposing 189 for two. Namibia were always up against it and despite 40s from David Wiese and No.3 Craig Williams, fell well short of their target as Pakistan maintained their perfect record with a fourth consecutive Super 12s victory at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021. Babar chose to bat but runs were hard to come by early on as Ruben Trumpelmann opened up with a maiden to Rizwan. Rizwan continued to struggle and JJ Smit thought he had him trapped lbw for two in the fifth over only for DRS to prove the ball had pitched just outside leg stump. Babar was by far the more fluent of the pair scoring 21 of the 29 Pakistan added in the powerplay without loss. For the eighth time in 19 T20I innings Babar and Rizwan brought up a 50 partnership, on this occasion from 55 balls, and at the halfway stage Pakistan were travelling nicely at virtually a run a ball with all ten wickets still in hand. Trumpelmann returned to the attack in the 12th over, his previous two going for just two runs, and was greeted with a six by Rizwan before Babar brought up his third half-century of the tournament from 39 balls as Pakistan put their foot on the gas. Some 30 runs had come from the last two overs and Rizwan finally looked to have found his groove, launching Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton for a meaty six down the ground before Babar brought up a magnificent 100 partnership in exactly 13 overs. But Wiese finally ended Babar’s impressive knock in the 15th over when he holed out in the deep for 70 off 49 balls, curtailing an opening stand of 113. And his replacement at the crease Fakhar Zaman soon joined him back in the hutch for five after a super one-handed grab from wicket-keeper Zane Green gave Jan Frylinck a deserved wicket. However, that was as good as things got for the bowling side as Mohammad Hafeez, 32 off 16 balls, and Rizwan, 79 off 50, launched into some astonishing late hitting with a partnership of 67 from just 26 balls. Rizwan had started slowly but brought up a 42-ball half-century with a six before brutally dismantling Smit in the final over, taking 24 from it to leave Namibia an unlikely 190 to win. That task got even harder when Hasan Ali’s delivery dismantled Michael van Lingen’s stumps in the second over of the chase. Stephen Baard picked up Haris Rauf for six over the legside as Namibia reached 34 for one off the powerplay, with the required run rate already over 11. Despite diving for his ground, Baard was run out by a combination of Haris and Rizwan for a promising run-a-ball 29 after Williams slipped and sent him back, ending a partnership of 47. Skipper Gerhard Erasmus raced to 14 off 6 as Namibia climbed to 70 for two after ten overs, still needing more than two runs a ball to pull off a remarkable victory. Erasmus was given a life when Shaheen Shah Afridi spilled a steepling catch off Shadab Khan, so it fell to the aggrieved bowler to see the back of the Namibia captain for 15, taking a simple catch off Imad Wasim. Williams’ valiant knock of 40 from 37 balls ended when he plinked one to long-off from Shadab’s final ball in the 14th over, with Namibia’s hopes fading fast with 97 off six overs still needed. Smit soon followed before Wiese was rapped on the head by Haris but bravely continued to wield the willow in vain, making an unbeaten 43 off 30 balls as Namibia eventually finished well adrift on 144 for five. Scores in brief Pakistan beat Namibia at Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi by 45 runs Pakistan 189/2, in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 79 not out, Babar Azam 70; David Wiese 1/30, Jan Frylinck 1/31)  Namibia 144/5 in 20 overs (David Wiese 43 not out, Craig Williams 40; Imad Wasim 1/13, Hasan Ali 1/22)  Player of the Match: Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)