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

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8 months ago

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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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Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam get special jerseys from PCB chairman

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6 days ago

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After the victory over Ireland, Babar Azam surpassed Uganda’s Brian Masaba (44 victories) to become the most successful skipper in T20I history with 45 wins. Since taking over as captain in 2019, Azam has guided Pakistan in 78 games.

In the interim, Shaheen Afridi reached the noteworthy landmark of 300 wickets in international cricket. During the second Twenty20 International, Ireland skipper Paul Stirling became his 300th wicket.

The 24-year-old is also the fifth-youngest bowler to reach the mark.

Since making his international debut in 2018, he has played in 145 matches across all formats for Pakistan. In Test cricket, he claimed 113 wickets, while in ODI and T20I, he claimed 104 and 84 wickets respectively.

Interestingly, in the second Twenty20 International, Pakistan chose to bowl first, and in the fourth over, Afridi dismissed both of Ireland’s openers, bringing the score down to 34-2.

Nonetheless, Ireland reached 193 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to an outstanding 51 runs from 34 balls by Lorcan Tucker, which included five boundaries and two sixes. Gareth Delany also hit a rapid 28 off 10 balls.

Thanks to the half-centuries of Fakkhar Zaman and Muhammad Rizwan, Pakistan was able to successfully chase the 194-run mark with 19 balls remaining.

After early wickets from Babar Azam (0) and Saim Ayub (6), they put up a 140-run partnership in 78 balls to turn the tide of the match in Pakistan’s favour.

With an undefeated 75 off 46 balls that included six boundaries and four sixes, Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan, while Zaman was removed after making 78 runs off of 40 balls.

Another important contributor was Azam Khan, who scored an undefeated 30 off 10 with four sixes. In the seventeenth over, he blasted three sixes off Mark Adair to end the match in spectacular fashion.

Pakistan and Ireland will play their third and final Twenty20 International tomorrow, May 14.

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PCB will install floodlights for PSL matches at Quetta Stadium.

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2 weeks ago

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By installing floodlights by September, PCB will keep its word. Following stadium renovations, PSL matches would also be held in Quetta, according to Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

He stated at a press conference held at Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti Cricket Stadium that the possibility of holding Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Quetta was being considered.

In Gwadar and Quetta, he said, the PCB would do its part to promote cricket.
Quetta Stadium will soon have floodlights installed, as announced by the interior minister, which Chief Minister Bugti congratulated for the news.

The province has a wealth of skills, and installing floodlights will help promote sports and cricket in particular. He responded to a query by saying that chances will be given to the province’s youth at the federal level.

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The women’s team from Pakistan travels to England for a white-ball series.

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2 weeks ago

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The national squad left Karachi earlier today to play three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals in the series.

Dr. Muhammad Faisal, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in England, greeted the women’s team and management.

The team will soon depart for Leicester to play a practice match on 9 May against the ECB Development XI. On May 11, in Birmingham, the first Twenty20 International will take place.

Notably, this will be Pakistan’s eighth and final series of the current event cycle. The ODIs in the series are a part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022–25.

Pakistan women squad for England tour

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Player support personnel: Nahida Khan (manager), Mauhtashim Rasheed (interim head coach), Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Hanif Malik (fielding coach), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager), Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist), Zubair Ahmed (analyst) and Hina Munawar (chief security officer)

Tour Schedule

9 May – T20 warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Uptonsteel County Ground (11.00 am local time)

11 May – 1st T20I, Birmingham (2.30 pm local time)

17 May – 2nd T20I, Northampton (6.30 pm local time)

19 May – 3rd T20I, Leeds (1.00 pm local time)

21 May – One-Day warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Northampton (11.00 am local time)

23 May – 1st ODI, Derby (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

26 May – 2nd ODI, Taunton (11.00 am local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

29 May – 3rd ODI, Chelmsford (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

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