Category: Sports

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  • ‘Ballon d’Or’ without Messi or Ronaldo? Shocking first for football world

    ‘Ballon d’Or’ without Messi or Ronaldo? Shocking first for football world

    Portuguese star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s great Lionel Messi have not been nominated for the Ballon d’Or awards for the first time since 2003.

    Six Britishers have been shortlisted for the 30-man International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) 2024 Ballon d’Or award.

    Captain Harry Kane, midfielders Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Declan Rice and forwards Bokayo Saka and Cole Palmer are in the running for the 2024 Male Footballer of the Year award. Eight players from Manchester City and Arsenal ranked first and second in the Premier League, respectively, have been nominated for this award.

    Spain and Barcelona sensation Lamine Yamal, who just turned 17 in July, is also included in the list.

    England reached the final of Euro 2024 but lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin on 14 July.

  • Australians put up historic T20 runs blitz against Scotland

    Australians put up historic T20 runs blitz against Scotland

    The Australian cricket team set a world record for chasing a target in T20 while beating Scotland on Wednesday.

    The match in Edinburgh saw the Australian team score 113 runs in the first six overs (Power Play). Australia also set the record for achieving a target of 150-plus runs in less than 10 overs.

    Batting first, Scotland scored 154 runs for nine wickets. Australia achieved the target in 9.4 overs.

    Travis Head scored 80 runs off 25 balls with 5 sixes and 12 fours in his innings, and Mitchell Marsh scored 39 runs off 12 balls with three sixes and 5 fours. Australia beat Scotland by seven wickets in the first T20 match.

  • Can Pakistan qualify for World Test Championship?

    Can Pakistan qualify for World Test Championship?

    Pakistan cricket team’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) have darkened after Bangladesh whitewashed the national team in the two-match test series at home, but these are still some possibilities for Pakistan to qualify for the championship.

    After losing against Bangladesh, Pakistan lost 24 crucial points in the WTC and was relegated to 8th place in the rankings.

    In the World Test Championship cycle, under Shan Masood’s captaincy, the Pakistani team has won only two out of seven matches. Its WTC points total 19.05, which is better only than the West Indies.

    To qualify for the finals of the WTC cycle, Pakistan will have to win the remaining three matches against England at their home ground, and also whitewash West Indies and South Africa.

    Now, the Green Shirts have to win all seven remaining matches, after which their percentage of points will be 58.2. If Shan manages to do this, then the chances of playing in the finals will still not be possible but will remain bright.

    India and Australia are at the top of the points table, while the national team will have to monitor the results of other teams.

  • PCB refuses to issue NOC to Haris Rauf for Big Bash League

    PCB refuses to issue NOC to Haris Rauf for Big Bash League

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has refused to issue a No Objection Letter (NOC) to national fast bowler Haris Rauf for the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia. Despite interest from several teams, he was not selected because of the NOC policy.

    The fast bowler had requested a special NOC for the Big Bash League from the PCB, but the board rejected his request.

    PCB responded that he has played in two leagues, Major League Cricket (MLC) and The Hundred, so NOC cannot be given now. The Melbourne Stars and Sydney Thunders were keen to sign him in BBL.

    PCB did not issue NOCs to other cricketers, including Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, due to the Champions Cup. However, PCB issued NOCs to Usama Mir for Big Bash.

  • Shakib Al Hasan not returning to Bangladesh following murder charges

    Shakib Al Hasan not returning to Bangladesh following murder charges

    Bangladesh’s star cricketer and former Awami League member of parliament Shakib Al Hasan, facing a murder case in Bangladesh, is not returning home with other players after winning the Test series against Pakistan.

    The Bangladeshi team has reached Karachi airport to return home and will arrive in Bangladesh via Dubai and Doha from Karachi.

    However, sources at the airport say he has left Karachi for Dubai. He separated from the team at night and went alone.

    A murder case was registered against Shakib on August 22 in Dhaka for allegedly killing a man during anti government protests.

    Bangladesh whitewashed Pakistan for the first time in Test history in the two-match series.

  • Did Babar Azam take retirement from Test cricket?

    Did Babar Azam take retirement from Test cricket?

    A post about Babar Azam’s retirement from Test cricket after individual scores of 31 and 11 in both innings in the second Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, has gained immense attention on X (formerly Twitter).

    A slightly detailed retirement announcement post is circulating on social media with the message ‘Khuda Hafiz Test Cricket’ and a thumbprint from Babar Azam’s parody account. Two such posts on Monday surprised cricket fans, but both posts had nothing to do with reality.

    Pakistan cricket team’s batting star, Babar Azam, is under heavy criticism on social media platforms after poor performances in international cricket.

    Moreover, his batting last year failed to produce any victories for Pakistan. As a result, social media users have been targeting him with often offensive memes, and now fake posts related to his retirement have gone viral.

    Babar Azam stepped down as captain after ODI World Cup 2023 but was reinstated for the T20 World Cup 2024.

    His recent form in Test cricket has been disappointing. He has scored just 190 runs at an average of 19 in his last 10 innings, while his average in the 50-over format has dropped to 34 a year earlier. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old cricketer has maintained an average of 38 in T20 cricket.

    Under Babar’s captaincy, Pakistan exited from the T20 World Cup 2024 group stage after losing against the USA and India.

  • Uruguay’s Luis Suárez is retiring from international football

    Uruguay’s Luis Suárez is retiring from international football

    Uruguayan star footballer Luis Suarez has announced his retirement from international football.

    The 37-year-old striker confirmed during a press conference yesterday that Saturday’s qualifying match against Paraguay will be the last match of his international career.

    The Former Liverpool and Barcelona striker is the top goal-scorer for Uruguay, scoring 69 goals in 143 appearances.

    In a press conference, the former Barcelona star said, “I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, and I think it’s a good time to retire. When I play my last match with the national team, I want to be calm, I will be as excited to play the last match as I was when I played the first match for Uruguay in 2007.”

    He has played nine major international tournaments for Uruguay and sparked major controversy twice.

    In the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Luis Suarez was sent off for a goal-line header in the last minute of extra time to prevent Ghana from advancing to the semi-finals. However, Uruguay won this match, and Luis Suarez is still intensely disliked in Ghana. After this match, the Ghanaian players did not shake hands with Suarez.

    The second major controversy came in the 2014 FIFA World Cup match between Uruguay and Italy when he bit the Italian defender Chiellini on the shoulder. He was immediately expelled from the World Cup.

    Luis is linked with American club Inter Miami, where he plays forward alongside his Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.

  • ‘Sir aapka vision hai’: X goes berserk after Bangladesh’s historic win against Pakistan

    ‘Sir aapka vision hai’: X goes berserk after Bangladesh’s historic win against Pakistan

    Bangladesh cricket team achieved a historic win over Pakistan, whitewashing them in a two-match Test series. They defeated Pakistan in the second Test match by six wickets at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

    In the first Test match, Pakistan lost by 10 wickets.

    Fans now share hilarious reactions on X (formerly Twitter). Here are some reactions.

  • Bangladesh whitewashes Pakistan in two-match Test series

    Bangladesh whitewashes Pakistan in two-match Test series

    Bangladesh won the second Test match by six wickets at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, defeating Pakistan in the two-match Test series.

    In the first Test, Bangladesh achieved a historic win over Pakistan by 10 wickets.

    Previous Updates:

    Bangladesh needs to score just 60 runs for a historic victory in the second Test against Pakistan, with eight wickets in hand.

    In the 2-match home series, the shadow of a whitewash has begun to hover over Pakistan as the Pakistani bowlers failed to defend the target of 185 on the final day of the second Test.

    In the match being played in Rawalpindi, Bangladesh scored 125 runs for losing two wickets. With eight wickets remaining, they need 60 runs to win.

    Captain Najamul Hasan Shanto is at the crease with 33 runs and Mominul Haque 20 runs.

    For Pakistan, Mir Hamza and Khurram Shahzad took one wicket each.

    Yesterday, the fourth day of play ended early due to rain, and the Pakistani team was bowled out for 172 runs in the second innings, giving them a target of 185 runs to win.

  • National hockey team management changed during tri-nation series

    National hockey team management changed during tri-nation series

    Pakistan’s hockey team management has changed during the ongoing tri-nation hockey series in China.

    Olympian Zeeshan Ashraf became the head coach of the national team, and coach Sheikh Usman was made the team’s manager.

    Usman had participated in the training camp as the head coach. However, change in management could not save the team from defeat.

    China defeated Pakistan by 6-3 goals in the match. The tri-party tournament includes Pakistan, China and Japan.