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  • Legendary umpire Asad Rauf passes away

    Legendary umpire Asad Rauf passes away

    Former Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf passed away on Thursday (September 15) due to cardiac arrest. Rauf breathed his last at the age of 66.
    He officiated 64 Tests (49 as on-field umpire and 15 as TV umpire), 139 ODIs and 28 T20Is.

    Rauf was a former National Bank Of Pakistan (NBP) and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) first-class player and played 71 first-class and 40 List A matches.
    When it comes to umpires, the former match official was one of the most well-known names in the mid-2000s. He has been on the ICC’s ODI panel since 2004 and was promoted to the ICC’s elite panel in 2006, barely a year after his Test debut.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja expressed his grief over the passing of the former umpire. “Saddened to hear about the passing of Asad Rauf. Not only was he a good umpire but also had a wicked sense of humour. He always puts a smile on my face and will continue to do so whenever I think about him. Many sympathies with his family for their loss,” wrote Raja.

  • ‘Babar hits a cover drive, calculate kinetic energy,’ now a part of Physics syllabus

    ‘Babar hits a cover drive, calculate kinetic energy,’ now a part of Physics syllabus

    Cricket commentators and fans agree that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s cover drives are poetry in motion. Often termed as treat for sore eyes, the graceful shot has thrilled cricket aficionados since Azam made his debut. Now, his absolute best shot have got more recognition and are taught to students in Physics book.

    According to ESPN Cricinfo, “cover drive in cricket is the act of stroking the ball through the covers with well-timed wristwork and conventional movement of the front foot toward the pitch of a delivery aimed at or outside the off stump.”

    A tweet by Shiraz Hassan has been circulating on the internet. It points out that Federal Board has added a question regarding captain’s shot in a Physics book.

    Shiraz wrote, “Babar Azam’s cover drive related question in 9th grade physics syllabus (federal board) (via Reddit).”

    The question says:

    Babar Azam has hit a cover drive by given kinetic energy of 150 J to the ball by his bat. 

    a) At what speed will the ball go the boundary if the mass of the ball is 120g? 

    b) How much kinetic energy footballer must impart to a football of mass 450g to make it move at this speed?

    Twitteratis are now reacting to this tweet

    https://twitter.com/BozoHeadrock/status/1569712527159828481
  • Teams which have qualified for FIFA World Cup 2022

    Teams which have qualified for FIFA World Cup 2022

    The countdown for FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar has begun. It will be the first edition of the tournament to be held in the Middle East and the first to start at the end of the calendar year, from November 20 till December 18.

    A total of 32 countries have earned a ticket to tournament through regional qualifying matches. The following list provides a regional breakdown:

    • Africa : 5
    • Asia : 4
    • Europe : 13
    • North America and Australia: 4
    • South America: 4

    This 2022 World Cup will feature 32 teams. Qatar and another 31 countries have qualified for the tournament.

    Below is the list of teams

    Group A:
    • Qatar
    • Ecuador
    • Senegal
    • Netherlands
    Group B:
    • England
    • Iran
    • USA
    • Wales
    Group C:
    • Argentina
    • Saudi Arabia
    • Mexico
    • Poland
    Group D:
    • France
    • Australia
    • Denmark
    • Tunisia
    Group E:
    • Spain
    • Costa Rica
    • Germany
    • Japan
    Group F:
    • Belgium
    • Canada
    • Morocco
    • Croatia
    Group G:
    • Portugal
    • Ghana
    • Uruguay
    • South Korea
  • Ahmed Shehzad trolled by fans for criticising Asif, Shadab incident

    Ahmed Shehzad trolled by fans for criticising Asif, Shadab incident

    Sri Lanka became Asia Cup 2022 champions, defeating Pakistan by 23 runs with Bhanuka Rajapaksa’s unbeaten knock of 71 on 54 balls paving the way to victory.

    Pakistani cricketers made a litany of mistakes on the field, with a dropped catch of Rajapaksa as Shadab bumped into Asif Ali while both tried to catch the airborne ball.

    The collision prompted former Pakistan opening batter Ahmed Shehzad to take to twitter to vent his feelings, typing out a sarcastic tweet that triggered cricket fans.

    “Boys, its as simple as “mera haiiiiiiii” or “its miiiiiiiiiine”. This has happened multiple times this tournament,” Shehzad wrote.

    Although the former cricket star raised a valid point, he was heavily trolled by twitteratis because of mistakes he committed during his career.

    “bhai tum fake catches apne claim kar lete they, not the game tips coming from you”, wrote a user.

    One of the user replied with a video of Shehzad dropping the catch.

    A user replied, “U have done it like 200 times … relax and enjoy at home”

    After the match, Shadab Khan posted an apology saying, ” Catches win matches. Sorry, I take responsibility for this loss. I let my team down. Positives for team”

  • US Open 2022: Carlos Alcaraz wins the men’s singles title

    US Open 2022: Carlos Alcaraz wins the men’s singles title

    Carlos Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud in US open tennis men’s final to become the youngest men’s Grand Slam champion since Rafael Nadal at 2005 French Open and the youngest US Open champion since Pete Sampras in 1990.

    In the process, Alcaraz also broke Lyeyton Hewitts’ record of becoming the youngest player to achieve world no 1 ranking.

    “This is something that I dreamed of since I was a kid – to be number one in the world, to be a champion of a Grand Slam,” said Alcaraz

    US Open champion went on to say, “This is something that I worked really really hard for. It’s tough to talk right now, a lot of emotions.”

    Alcaraz’s idol, Rafael Nadal, also congratulated him on winning the champoinship.

    Casper was previously defeated by Rafael Nadal in French Open Final. This defeat in US Open final marks second grand slam defeat for Casper Ruud.

    With era of Nadal and Novak Djokovic coming closer to end, world of tennis has found another superstar in Alcaraz having the potential to rule for coming years.

  • Wasim Akram’s upcoming autobiography book to include some shocking revelations

    Wasim Akram’s upcoming autobiography book to include some shocking revelations

    Former captain of Pakistan Wasim Akram has announced that his autobiography book, “Sultan Wasim Akram,” will be released in the coming weeks.

    The “Sultan of Swing” made the announcement on Twitter, writing: “Finally you will know the truth & my side of the story! Details and dates soon to follow, stay tuned…”

    Details indicate that the Justice Malik Qayyum Commission report, match-fixing, and cricket celebrities would come under a lot of shocking relevations. There will be various translations of the book, including Urdu.

    In his book, Akram incorporated memories from both his personal and professional lives. He also discussed Imran Khan and the 1992 World Cup in the book.

    The cricketer allegedly disclosed some significant but previously unreported cricket-related occurrences.

  • Throwback: Did Rohit Sharma want to become coach of Pakistan’s cricket team?

    Throwback: Did Rohit Sharma want to become coach of Pakistan’s cricket team?

    From wanting to become Pakistan’s cricket team coach to losing against Pakistan, it’s been a long road for Rohit Sharma.

    After Pakistan’s thumping victory against India, an odd video of Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma surfaced on social media.

    In the video, the reporter asked Rohit, “What would you suggest to Pakistani batsmen so that they come out of this crisis?” Pakistan had just been comprehensively defeated in World Cup 2019 by arch rivals India.

    To this, Sharma sarcastically responded by saying, “If I ever become the coach of Pakistan’s team, I will tell them”.

    On September 4, Pakistan won against India by five wickets in a do-or-die match of the Asia Cup 2022. Sharma scored 28 runs. For Pakistan, Shadab Khan picked up two wickets for 31 runs, while Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Muhammad Nawaz took a wicket each.

    Prior to this, in another India vs Pakistan match which was played on August 28, Sharma got out after scoring only 12 runs.

    In yesterday’s (September 8) match against Afghanistan, Indian cricketer KL Rahul stepped in as captain for the toss. He said that Sharma “wants to take a break”.

    Last year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Rohit Sharma as the new One Day International (ODI) captain of the Indian cricket team. He took over from his predecessor, batting maestro, Virat Kohli.

  • Afghan players had to take sleeping pills after Pakistan defeat

    Afghan players had to take sleeping pills after Pakistan defeat

    Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi has revealed that the team took sleeping pills after losing Wednesday’s high stakes game to Pakistan.

    Afghanistan started Asia Cup 2022 with back to back wins in group stage against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. However, in the Super Four stage, they lost all their matches.

    After the toss against India on Thursday, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi revealed that after losing to Pakistan, his team mates left the ground right after the match. They had green tea and took sleeping pills after reaching the hotel.

    “Left the ground straight after the team talk, had green tea, and then took some sleeping pills! [laughs] All round the boys have played really well,” Nabi said after winning the toss against India on Thrusday.

    Afghanistan came within a hair’s breadth of victory on the September 7 game, picking up 9 of Pakistan’s wickets in 19 overs. Pumped up for the win, the Afghan players watched the game slip out of their hands as Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah hit two back to back maximums in the first two balls of the last over and took the match away from them.

    Read more: ‘People have forgotten that I am also a bowler’: Naseem Shah

    After losing to Pakistan, Afghanistan lost their chance to qualify for the Asia Cup 2022 final.

    They faced India the very next day and were defeated by 101 runs with Kohli’s stellar knock of 122 on 61.

    Bhuvneshwar Kumar achieved his career best figures of 5-4 in his four over spell against Afghanistan.

    Read more: Virat Kohli dedicates 71st century to wife Anushka Sharma

    Bhuvneshwar Kumar achieved his career best figures of 5-4 in his four over spell against Afghanistan.

  • Virat Kohli dedicates 71st century to wife Anushka Sharma

    Virat Kohli dedicates 71st century to wife Anushka Sharma

    Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally smashed his maiden T20I and 71st International century against Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 match on Thursday.

    The master batsman scored an international century after a gap of 1020 days. He now holds the record of second highest number of centuries across all formats. Kohli has also become the 4th Indian to smash a century in all three formats after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul.

    The superstar batsman is now the fastest to achieve the 71 centuries mark. Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting achieved this feat in 523 and 652 innings while Kohli took 522 innings.

    During the innings break, Kohli said, “I feel very blessed, very grateful right now. The last 2-2.5 years have taught me a lot. I am going to turn 34 this November. These celebrations are all from the past. I’ve put a lot of things in perspective. Actually, I was a bit shocked because this was the format I least expected a century in. But look, it’s all god’s blessing. I’ve been working hard. It was a moment that was very special for me and for the team as well.”

    While taking about moral support, he dedicated his 71st century to his wife Anushka Sharma.

    Kohli went on to say, “When you have someone next to you, having conversations, putting things in the right perspective like I have been and Anushka [Sharma] has been by my side through all these times… time away from the game has taught me a lot of things. When I came back I was not desperate. I was grateful for what God has blessed me with. People were talking about me not getting a hundred. But I was looking at how much he’s given me already. So that really calmed me down. That relaxed me. I was just happy to come back. Six weeks off, and I was refreshed. I realized after taking a break how tired I really was physically and mentally. Your competitiveness doesn’t allow you to take that call but I think it was a blessing in disguise for me. I wanted to be the best version of myself for the team and when I came here and batted in the nets, I felt my old rhythm coming back and it was just about getting those performances in the middle as well.”

    Kohli looked at his absolute best in the match against Afghanistan. He completed his half century in 32 balls. He then accelerated and smashed out a century in just 53 balls. With his stellar knock of 122 on 61 balls, Kohli has surpassed Rohit Sharma’s 2017 record of 118 against Sri Lanka.

  • No, Afghans are not ‘Namak Haram’; keep your racism in check when criticising Afghan fans

    No, Afghans are not ‘Namak Haram’; keep your racism in check when criticising Afghan fans

    Following Pakistan’s victory against Afghanistan in the Super 4 match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Afghanistan fans in the stadium were spotted throwing seats at Pakistan fans. A few Afghan fans were also caught on camera physically assaulting Pakistani cricket team supporters.

    The videos are being widely shared on social media with people condemning these acts of hooliganism by Afghan fans at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. However, some people on social media, while denouncing the behaviour of Afghan fans, opted for racist abuse. A few referred to them as ‘Namak Haram’, a racist term often used to address Afghan immigrants living in Pakistan.

    People on social media are coming forward to condemn racist comments. Have a look at the tweets.

    Mohsin Dawar, Member National Assembly from North Waziristan also came forward to condemn the racist comments.

    “Using a cricket match as an excuse to hurl racist abuse against Afghans is peak shamelessness. Pakistan’s decades-old strategic depth policy and interventionist misadventures in Afghanistan are why Afghans have a problem with Pakistan. Introspect before belittling Afghans,” he wrote.