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  • Babar Azam outpaces Virat Kohli as the fastest Asian batsman to make 10,000 international runs

    Babar Azam outpaces Virat Kohli as the fastest Asian batsman to make 10,000 international runs

    Pakistani team’s captain, Babar Azam, became the fastest Asian batsman to reach 10,000 runs in international cricket on Sunday by surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous mark.

    At the Galle International Stadium, Babar reached the milestone during Pakistan’s opening Test match against Sri Lanka. Contrasted to Kohli’s 232 innings, the top ODI and T20I batter only needed 228 innings to reach 10,000 runs.

    Javed Miandad, a legendary Pakistani batsman, had previously accomplished this feat in 248 innings, making him the fastest Pakistani batter to reach 10,000 runs in international cricket.

    The 27-year-old accomplished another milestone by scoring 10,000 runs in international cricket, making him the 11th Pakistani batter to do so.

    It is worth noting that the right-handed batter is ranked fourth in Test batting thanks to Babar’s consistency, and he is the top T20I and ODI batsman.

    He is comfortably at the top of the list for Pakistani batters and ranks fifth all-time among batters, just behind Sir Vivian Richards (206), Hashim Amla (217), Brian Lara (220), and Joe Root (222), but ahead of players like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith (both 232).

    Babar Azam has also hit the headlines for encouraging Virat Kohli on Twitter while he was having a rough stretch with the bat. Kohli is currently going through a difficult period of form.

    Finally responding to Babar’s tweet, the 33-year-old Kohli said, “Thank you. Keep shining and rising. Wish you all the best.”

  • ‘This too shall pass’, Pakistani captain Babar Azam backs Virat Kohli to regain form

    ‘This too shall pass’, Pakistani captain Babar Azam backs Virat Kohli to regain form

    After the batter lost form and was benched for the upcoming West Indies series, the Pakistani captain Babar Azam spoke out in favor of the former Indian captain Virat Kohli to stay strong on Thursday night.

    Due to a groin injury, Kohli missed the first ODI against England and scored just 16 runs in the second game, which India lost by a score of 100 runs at Lord’s.

    After scoring 1 and 11 in the T20I series and failing in the rescheduled fifth Test, the right-hander has now gone 77 consecutive international innings without reaching three figures.

    Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal are both resting for the same tour, so his name is also absent from India’s T20I squad to play the West Indies.

    Fans and former greats have questioned Kohli’s place in the team because of the impending T20 World Cup and the need for World Test Championship points to stay in the running for next year’s final, but his Pakistani counterpart has expressed his support on social media.

    Few players have the same understanding of the challenges of maintaining world-class form as Pakistan’s captain, who is currently experiencing a golden period.

    Babar is ranked first in the MRF Tyres ICC batting rankings for both ODI and T20I matches, as well as fourth in Test cricket, after scoring international centuries in recent series against Australia and the West Indies as well as a T20I half-century against Australia in Lahore last month.

    Prior to the England ODIs, captain Rohit Sharma stood up for his teammate, giving Kohli additional support earlier in the week.

    “When someone is scoring consistently for so long, we can’t overlook his contribution if he is not scoring in one or two series or in one or two years.”

    “We know the importance of Virat Kohli. The experts have got all the right to talk about it but for us these things don’t matter,” he added.

  • Tendulkar claims Bumrah best bowler, Salman Butt disagrees

    Tendulkar claims Bumrah best bowler, Salman Butt disagrees

    Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah was declared Man of the Match for his career best figure of 6 for 19 after India’s phenomenal victory in the first One Day International (ODI) against England in a three-match ODI series.

    Former Indian captain and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar tweeted: “Bumrah is the best bowler across all formats.”

    Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt does not agree with Sachin.

    “Shaheen has not played much but is among the very best. He is no less than him (Bumrah). Shaheen with experience will only get better and then he has more pace and offers a different angle,” said Salman Butt on his YouTube channel.

    Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi made his debut in 2018 with 204 wickets in 96 international matches. He has been named as ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year. He is the first Pakistani and the youngest ever player to win the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy.

  • Gang caught running fake IPL to scam Russian gamblers

    Gang caught running fake IPL to scam Russian gamblers

    In a betting fraud similar to the 1973 movie The Sting, a gang staged a phony “Indian Premier League” competition with farmers serving as the participants.

    Before Indian police broke the scheme, the so-called “Indian Premier Cricket League” advanced to the quarterfinal round.

    Police claim that the tournament started three weeks after the original IPL ended in May, but that did not stop the gang, which they claim rented a secluded farm in the western state of Gujarat.

    According to Insp. Bhavesh Rathod, they set up a cricket field replete with “boundary lines and halogen lamps.” In addition, the accused had mounted high-definition cameras to the ground and employed computer-generated graphics to show results on a live-streaming screen.

    The group allegedly paid unemployed youth and labourers Rs1,054 (£4.20) per game to broadcast the matches live on the “IPL” YouTube channel.

    According to the authorities, players followed the orders of the “Russia-based mastermind” and alternately wore the jerseys of the Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians, and Chennai Super Kings.

    To give the competition an authentic feel, crowd noise sound effects were downloaded from the internet and a speaker with a talent for impersonating an Indian commentator from the real IPL was employed, according to Fox Sports.

    The cameraman simultaneously made cautious not to show the full field, beaming close-ups of the players instead.

    Russian gamblers were duped into placing bets on a Telegram channel the gang had set up, and the group would then use walkie-talkies to warn the phony umpire on the field.

    According to Rathod, the fictitious official “would signal the bowler and batsman to strike a six, four, or get out.”

    The policeman said, “We got a tip-off and we busted the racket while a ‘quarter-final’ match was being played.

    In the first instalment, the Russian gamblers gave the accused more than 300,000 rupees, according to Rathod.

    A gangster is duped by a bunch of con artists who set up a fictitious betting enterprise in the movie The Sting with Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

  • Pakistan and India to reportedly play against each other on August 28

    Pakistan and India to reportedly play against each other on August 28

    India and Pakistan will likely play against each other in the Asia Cup 2022 on August 28, as per a Sri Lankan journalist.

    According to the journalist, India and Pakistan will be paired in one group in the Asia Cup while Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan will play in another group.

    Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in the T20 format between August 27 and September 11.

    Both teams last played against each other in 2021 T20 World Cup where Pakistan had beaten India by ten wickets.

  • Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon semifinal due to abdominal injury

    Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon semifinal due to abdominal injury

    For the eighth time in his illustrious career, Rafael Nadal defeated Taylor Fritz in a thrilling five-set match to reach the Wimbledon semifinals.

    After winning, the Spaniard will not be competing in the tournament. Before his semifinal matchup with Nick Kyrgios, Nadal has announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon, according to Stuart Fraser of The Times.

    As a result, Kyrgios may receive a victory by default, enabling the Australian to play in his first Grand Slam final.

    Nadal said at a press conference: “Unfortunately as you can imagine I am here because I have to pull out from the tournament.

    “As everyone saw yesterday I have been suffering with a pain in the abdominal and something was not OK there. That is confirmed, I have a tear in the muscle and the communication is too late.

    During the match against Fritz, Nadal was dealing with an abdominal injury. The 36-year-old said that although the discomfort he was feeling on Wednesday almost forced him to leave the game, the injury had first surfaced a week earlier.

    “For a lot of moments,” Nadal said, per ESPN, “I was thinking, ‘Maybe I will not be able to finish the match.”

    Nadal, innately, prevailed in the lengthy, five-set match, which took place over the course of more than four hours, and won 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4). That guaranteed him the opportunity to face Kyrgios, though Nadal wasn’t certain he would be able to.

    On Thursday, Nadal underwent testing for the injury that grew worse over the course of his protracted struggle with Fritz. He later withdrew from the competition, so clearly they didn’t go well.

    For Nadal, dealing with injuries is nothing new. Due to a rare foot condition called Mueller-Weiss syndrome, which wears down the bones in the feet, he has previously had to miss events or be forced to retire. After suffering a foot injury that hindered him during his French Open victory, he wasn’t even sure if he would participate in Wimbledon.

    However, the abdominal problem is uncharted territory, and Nadal seems to have realised he couldn’t win another match while still experiencing its aftereffects.

    “It’s difficult,” Nadal said of playing through the injury. “Nothing can be fixed when you have a thing like this. That’s it.”

  • Ons Jabeur becomes first Arab woman to reach Grand Slam final

    Ons Jabeur becomes first Arab woman to reach Grand Slam final

    Ons Jabeur defeated close friend Tatjana Maria in the Wimbledon semifinals on Thursday, making history as the first Arab woman to compete in a Grand Slam singles final.

    After winning 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, Tunisia’s world number two, 27, will play either Simona Halep or Elena Rybakina in the title match on Saturday.

    Jabeur, the first Arab player to reach a Slam semifinal, said, “I’m a proud Tunisian woman standing here.”

    Irene Bowder Peacock from South Africa and Renee Schuurman from Australia in 1959 were the only African women to have advanced to a Slam singles final before Thursday.

    “It’s a dream come true from years of work and sacrifice. I’m happy that’s paid off and I’ll continue for one more match,” said Jabeur.

    “Physically, Tatjana is a beast, she doesn’t give up, I thought she would give up — her touch, her serve and everything on the court is impressive. I hope she’s continues this way. Let’s not play again I’m good for now.

    “I know in Tunisia they are going crazy right now. I want to see more Arab and African players on the tour. I love the game and I want to share the experience with them.”

    With breaks in the third and seventh games, Jabeur easily defeated mother-of-two Maria in the first set. In the opening set, the Tunisian had 15 winners to her opponent’s six, and she did not encounter a single break point.

    On the strength of a sequence of deft slices, Maria, who Jabeur referred to as her “barbecue buddy,” did manage to ultimately breakthrough for 3-1 in the second set.

    The more precise German levelled the match with six unforced errors to Jabeur’s 17 in the second set.

    However, there would be no unexpected victory when the 103rd-ranked Maria’s challenge was rejected. Jabeur earned a double break for a 5-0 lead before saving a second match point to go down in history.

  • Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal beats Taylor Fritz despite injury concerns

    Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal beats Taylor Fritz despite injury concerns

    After overcoming an abdominal ailment to defeat Taylor Fritz in a gripping match, Rafael Nadal gave no assurances that he would be able to show up for his Wimbledon semifinal match against Australian Nick Kyrgios on Friday.

    On Wednesday at Centre Court, Nadal was on the verge of quitting his match because of a physical issue, but he found the motivation to defeat Fritz in four hours and 20 minutes, according to Reuters.

    The Mallorcan would complete the calendar slam, a feat last accomplished in 1969 by Australian great Rod Laver, with a victory at the US Open at Flushing Meadows and a victory in his third Wimbledon tournament, his first on the well-kept grounds since 2010.

    However, the 36-year-old gave no assurance that he would be at Centre Court to continue his historic campaign.

    “I don’t know,” Nadal said when asked about his chances of playing the unseeded 27-year-old Kyrgios. “Honestly, I can’t give you a clear answer because if I gave you a clear answer and tomorrow another thing happens, I will be a liar.”

    When Nadal needed medical attention during his quarterfinal match against 11th-seeded Fritz, he acknowledged he had to change his style of play to keep playing. The Spaniard, though, thought about giving up several times throughout the competition.

    “I just wanted to give myself a chance. Not easy to leave the tournament, not easy to leave Wimbledon, even if the pain was hard,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner said. “I don’t know. I wanted to finish. I fought. Proud about the fighting spirit and the way that I managed to be competitive under that condition.”

    Before deciding whether to continue competing at the grasscourt Major, Nadal stated he was concerned about the knee and will get additional scans on Thursday.

    Nadal, who participated in and won the Roland Garros tournament while receiving painkiller injections before each match, said: “I am used to holding discomfort and playing with problems.” He only announced his participation in Wimbledon after receiving radiofrequency treatment for foot trouble.

    “Knowing that, when I feel something like I felt, that is because something is not going the proper way in the abdomen. But let’s see. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day, has been an important increase of pain and limitation,” he said.

  • FIFA lifts ban on Pakistan Football Federation

    FIFA lifts ban on Pakistan Football Federation

    The ban on the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has finally been lifted by FIFA, according to a statement from the Normalisation Committee.

    Pakistan now returns to the international football circuit and will also be able to host its leagues and other events thanks to financial support from FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation after FIFA made the decision following the fulfilment of all necessary requirements by Pakistan (AFC).

    According to a press release from the FIFA Council’s Bureau, the suspension against the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) that was imposed in April 2021 as a result of excessive third-party interference will be lifted on June 29, 2022.

    The choice was made after FIFA was informed that the PFF’s normalisation committee had reclaimed full control of its facilities and was capable of handling its finances.

    The normalisation committee’s mandate would now be unachievable to complete by the original deadline of today, the statement continued, so the bureau decided to extend the committee’s authority until June 30, 2023.

    According to FIFA, “this will allow the latter to finally carry out the tasks assigned to it in full.”

    Haroon Malik, the chairman of the Normalization Committee, congratulated the entire country on the development and said his team had worked incredibly hard to lift the ban that had plagued both football players and fans in the nation.

    With the ban lifted, the Pakistani football team will once again be able to play in international competitions and friendly matches, and after more than a year of absence, regular football activities will once again be conducted in the nation.

    After the Ashfaq group unlawfully occupied the PFF headquarters in April of last year, Pakistan was placed under a travel ban. The Normalization Committee’s authority has now been extended by a year, and it has been given the responsibility of holding elections, starting up football activities, and taking control of PFF’s property.

  • ‘Speed allowed should be more’: Afridi responds to fine for overspeeding by motorway police

    ‘Speed allowed should be more’: Afridi responds to fine for overspeeding by motorway police

    Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi continues to stay in the headlines even after retirement.

    Lala was fined by the Motorway Police for exceeding the speed limit. According to details, while travelling from Lahore to Karachi, Afridi was fined Rs 1,500 for violating the speed limit on the Motorway.

    Afridi gladly paid the fine and thanked the highway police for treating all citizens equally. Lala also took selfies with Motorway Police personnel.

    Lala made a suggestion to the Motorway authorities and tweeted, “My humble suggestion is we have very good highways, the speed allowed should be more than 120kph!”