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Pak vs Aus: Pakistan take momentum to Lahore as Australia rue another near-miss

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  • The wicket at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will be something of an unknown as it hosts its first Test since 2009.
  • “(Batting) five sessions in a Test match against Australia is no joke,” says wicketkeeper Rizwan.
  • Pakistan have now twice foiled Australia’s vaunted attack.

Pakistan and Australia head to the third and final Test in Lahore with the series locked and all to play for but the home side will feel they have the momentum after pulling off a brilliant save in Karachi.

Inspired by a majestic 196 by captain Babar Azam and 104 by Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s 171.4-over stonewall was the longest any team has batted in the fourth innings of a Test, barring England’s epic 654 for five in the ‘Timeless Test’ against South Africa in Durban in 1939.

“(Batting) five sessions in a Test match against a world-class team like Australia is no joke,” said wicketkeeper Rizwan.

“This match is definitely a benchmark for our team to rise above.”

Pakistan have now twice foiled Australia’s vaunted attack, though the lifeless Rawalpindi pitch aided the home side’s cause in the series-opener.

Read more: T20I, ODI matches shifted from Rawalpindi to Lahore, Sheikh Rasheed says

Australia, meanwhile, spoke of disappointment in falling three wickets short of victory but may quietly feel relieved to leave Karachi with the series tied.

Pakistan were motoring toward what would have been a record 506-run chase for victory until spinner Nathan Lyon dismissed Babar and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf in consecutive balls.

Australia’s inability to close out matches from dominant positions on day five has become a problem.

They have now racked up five such failures in their last 19 Tests, having let England off the hook in Sydney during the recent Ashes and India twice in the 2-1 series defeat in the previous home summer.

While Australian media questioned whether skipper Pat Cummins might have enforced the follow-on rather than making his team bat again, the tourists’ sloppy fielding on day five ultimately paved the way for disappointment.

Mitchell Swepson, Australia’s first Test legspinner in more than a decade, may feel particularly aggrieved after finishing with figures of 0-156 from nearly 54 overs’ work in the fourth innings of his debut Test, with four chances going begging off his bowling.

“I thought ‘Swep-o’ bowled fantastically today,” Cummins said.

“I don’t know how he’s ended up with those figures.”

The wicket at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium will be something of an unknown as it hosts its first Test since 2009.

Selecting an attack has been a virtual guessing game for Australia on their first tour of Pakistan in 24 years and Lahore may be no different.

Cummins said they will at least have a full complement of bowlers to choose from, with him and his fellow pacemen sparing themselves a bigger workload in Karachi by routing Pakistan for 148 in their first innings.

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Pakistan’s Kishmala Talat bags bronze in Asian Games shooting competition

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  • Talat secures third position in 10m Air Pistol event.
  • This is Pakistan’s first medal in the ongoing Asian Games.
  • India’s Palak Gulia and Esha Singh bag gold and silver.


Pakistan’s Kishmala Talat on Friday bagged the bronze medal in the shooting discipline, securing the maiden medal for the country at the ongoing Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China.

Talat, competing in the 10 metres Air Pistol event, secured the third position, while India’s 17-year-old Palak Gulia and 18-year-old Esha Singh bagged gold and silver for the first and second positions, respectively.

The Pakistani shooter had a total score of 218.2 against her Indian competitors Gulia and Singh, who managed to land a score of 242.1 and 239.7, respectively.

Earlier, Pakistan’s journey ended in the 10 metres air rifle shooting discipline after Ghufran Adil, Aqib Latif and Zeeshan Fareed failed to qualify for the top 8 for next round.

Ghufran finished 31st with 622.7 points, Aaqib finished 44th with 616.7 and Zeehshan finished 53rd with 608.4 points.

Pakistan, as a whole, finished 14th with a total of 1874.8 points in the 10 metres air rifle competition.

In another shooting competition, Pakistan’s GM Bashir, who started well in the first round of the qualification phase and secured eighth position, dropped out of the top 4 race after only getting 13 points in the second round.

Pakistani female athletes cleared to travel to China

On Thursday, the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) has allowed two female athletes to travel to China.

After consultation with the Pakistan Sports Board, Sahib e Asra and Arooj Kiran have been given the green signal to participate in the event.

The two were previously barred from travelling to Hangzhou with other players due to a delay in the dope test results. 

Both the players will be available to participate in the athletics event today. Asra will compete in the 400 metres race while Kiran is in the 100 metres category.

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How much Babar, Shaheen and Rizwan will earn under new PCB deal?

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced the much-awaited central contracts, awarding a massive 202% hike in the monthly retainer of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan.

After the increase, the trio — roped in category A — is expected to receive Rs4.5 million, a more than four-fold increase over the previous year.

The deal comes after four months of deadlock between the PCB and players, and for the first time will see them get a share of the country’s payout from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“PCB has successfully negotiated a three-year central contact deal with its senior players that will run from July 1 2023 to June 30, 2026 in which 25 cricketers will be offered a deal,” the board said in a statement.

According to the agreement, players are divided into four categories with skipper Babar, Rizwan and Afridi in the top flight.

Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan are placed in category B with a reported salary of Rs3 million, while Imad Wasim and Abdullah Shafique are in category C on Rs1.5 million.

Category D players — Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Saim Ayub, Agha Salman, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan — will be on Rs750,000 a month.

The PCB said player match fees will also be hiked by 50% for Tests, 25% for one-day internationals and 12.5% for Twenty20 matches.

In a departure from the previous year, red-ball and white-ball national contracts have been amalgamated.

Furthermore, players have been granted the liberty to participate in two foreign leagues each season while the financial model for the three-year contract will be locked, with player performance reviews scheduled every 12 months.

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Shubman Gill vs Babar Azam: Top batters vie for No 1 ranking in World Cup 2023

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Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s lead as the top ODI batter continues to diminish as India’s Shubman Gill makes further inroads on the batter on the latest ICC rankings update.

Gill has been in superb touch for India during the first two matches of their ODI series against Australia, with the in-form opener having amassed a total of 178 runs for the series during the opening two contests.

The right-hander hit a quickfire 74 during the opening match of the series in Mohali and backed that up by scoring the sixth ODI century of his career in Indore to reach a new career-high rating on the updated list for ODI batters.

Gill now has a total of 847 rating points and is just 10 rating points behind Babar, ahead of the start of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on October 5.

With Pakistan not scheduled to play an official ODI match until their World Cup opener and Gill set to sit out India’s final clash of their series against Australia, it means Babar will enter this year’s tournament with the top ranking.

The race between Babar and Gill at the top of the batter rankings will continue to be closely fought throughout the six weeks of the World Cup, with the pair holding a massive lead over their nearest challengers.

South Africa hard-hitter Rassie van der Dussen (743 rating points) is third on the batter rankings and more than 100 points adrift of the leading duo, while Ireland young gun Harry Tector rises to fourth and a new career-high rating despite the fact much of his side’s ODI series against England was affected by rain.

India duo Shreyas Iyer (up eight places to 30th) and KL Rahul (up six spots to 33rd) also enjoy a rise up the rankings this week following impressive performances against Australia, while teammate Mohammed Siraj maintains a narrow lead at the top of the list for ODI bowlers.

Siraj rose to the top on the back of his six-wicket haul during the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka earlier this month and holds an 11-point lead over Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood at the top of the rankings despite the fact he hasn’t featured in the ODI series against the Aussies.

Just 55 rating points separate the top 10 players on the ODI bowler rankings, with experienced Australia spinner Adam Zampa improving one place to seventh on the back of his three wickets from the opening two matches against India.

India pacer Mohammed Shami (up nine spots to equal 25th) and Australia counterpart Sean Abbott (up 14 places to equal 45th) also make some ground on this list on the latest rankings update, while Bangladesh quick Mustafizur Rahman improves five spots to 23rd after five wickets in his side’s ODI series against New Zealand.

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