Sports

Pak vs Eng: Pakistan eye breaking tie in third T20I against England

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Seven-match series tied 1-1.
Match to be staged at NSK.
Pakistan confident ahead of third game.

KARACHI: Pakistan will be aiming to break a tie in its seven-match series against England when Babar Azam’s men take to the field in the third game at the National Stadium later today (Friday) at 7:30pm.

The series was tied 1-1 Thursday after Babar smashed an unbeaten magnificent century along with Mohammad Rizwan (88) to lead Pakistan to their first victory in the home series.

England, who are touring Pakistan for the first time in 17 years, won the first match of the series after the Men In Green’s lacklustre performance with both — the bat and ball.

However, in the second match, the opening pair’s unbeaten 203-run partnership boosted the Green Shirts’ confidence — as they completed a chase of 200 in 19.3 overs.

‘Blindly trust each other’

Speaking after the second T20I for Geo’s segment “Game Changer”, Rizwan said that he enjoys great understanding with Babar.

“We blindly trust each other, we help each other and have great communication which is helping us,” Rizwan said about his partnership with the skipper.

“There’re certain moments when we feel the pressure – these two moments are the start of the innings and when we are near the target. At start, because we always aim to provide a solid start and near the target because we feel that we shouldn’t lose the wicket after coming so close,” Rizwan said.

Talking about his partnership record with Babar, Rizwan said that there can’t be a bigger honour for him if his numbers are putting Pakistan’s name ahead.

The opening pair was recently under criticism from some for not being able to do enough but Thursday’s inning seemed a reply to all the critics.

‘Gamble’

England captain Moeen Ali said his one over of off-spin bowling against Pakistan was a “gamble” that did not pay off after the visitors lost the second match.

“The momentum changed when I bowled my over. That really gave them the belief and after that, they were almost unstoppable,” Moeen said.

“I felt like it was under control for most of it. I genuinely feel my over lost the game for us. That was a gamble on my part.

“I went to try and get a wicket, almost buy a wicket. Obviously, it didn’t work and that’s when Pakistan really won the game.”

Latest News

Weather in Rawalpindi: PMD prediction for the Pakistan-New Zealand T20Is

Published

1 day ago

Farwa

Rain is expected to have an impact on Pakistan vs. New Zealand’s five-match Twenty20 International series.

According to meteorological projections, the city is likely to have thunderstorms and rain starting tomorrow, and the rain is predicted to continue all week.

The series’ final two games are slated to take place in Lahore.

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecasted a “rain-windstorm/thunderstorm with an isolated hailstorm” on April 18 throughout a number of Pakistani regions, including upper/southwest Sindh, KP, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir, Islamabad, Punjab, and Balochistan.

On April 20, however, precipitation was predicted by the Met Office for KP, the nation’s capital, Punjab, northeastern Balochistan, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The New Zealand team has already landed in Islamabad for an intriguing five-match Twenty20 International series against Pakistan, it should be mentioned.

Pakistan vs New Zealand T20I series:

18 April: 1st T20I, Rawalpindi (7pm Pakistan Standard Time)
20 April: 2nd T20I, Rawalpindi (7pm PST)
21 April: 3rd T20I, Rawalpindi (7pm PST)
25 April: 4th T20I, Lahore (7pm PST)
27 April: 5th T20I, Lahore (7pm PST)

Pakistan squad:
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Azam Khan (wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Irfan Khan Niazi, Usama Mir, and Zaman Khan
Reserves: Haseebullah, Mohammad Ali, Agha Salman, Sahibzada Farhan, and Mohammad Wasim Jr

New Zealand squad:
Michael Bracewell (c), Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Dean Foxcroft, Ben Lister, Cole McConchie, Zak Foulkes, Jimmy Neesham, Will O’Rourke, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert (WK), and Ish Sodhi

Pakistan

PCB acquires a multi-story structure next to Gaddafi Stadium

Published

2 weeks ago

Farwa

The multi-story building is set to undergo renovations and be converted into a seven-star hotel, catering to both local and foreign guests.

With this development, the problem of housing foreign players and visiting teams during the Pakistan Super League (PSL)—who presently have to stay in five-star hotels in the area—will be resolved.

This will also save travel time and get rid of traffic problems while teams are traveling from their hotels to the stadium.

In addition, three significant stadiums, including the Gaddafi Stadium, are being renovated by PCB in preparation for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan.

In an interview with the media during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 final last month, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi acknowledged the necessity of upgrading three main stadiums before moving on to other locations.

“Before the Champions Trophy, our three key venues—Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi—will be refurbished. After these three are completed, we will renovate the remaining venues as well. After they are renovated, our stadiums will be state-of-the-art, according to Chairman PCB.

Later that month, representatives from NESPAK (National Engineering Services of Pakistan) gave the chairman the idea to renovate three significant stadiums.

In addition to highlighting the significance of renovating the hospitality boxes at all three locations, the chairman gave instructions to the officials about his plans to improve the view for the fans from every seat in the stadium, according to a press statement from the PCB.

“The Chairman directed the NESPAK officials to begin stadium work immediately, keeping in mind a tight window of time before hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, as the upgradation plan will be finalized soon.”

Pakistan

Shan Masood desires test matches between India and Pakistan.

Published

2 weeks ago

Farwa

Due to long-standing political difficulties between the two adjacent countries, Pakistan and India have not played a Test match since 2007–08 and a bilateral series in any format since 2012–13.

However, only international competitions such as the Asia Cup and ICC World Cups brought the bitter adversaries together.

Their most recent match took place in front of an enormous crowd of about 130,000 in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, while their T20 World Cup 2022 match was seen by an even larger gathering of about 94,000 people at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).