Tag: #final

  • ‘Proud to share this era’: Roger Federer congratulates Rafael Nadal on winning 21st grand slam title

    ‘Proud to share this era’: Roger Federer congratulates Rafael Nadal on winning 21st grand slam title

    Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer has congratulated Spain’s Rafael Nadal on winning his 21st grand slam singles title after beating Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in a nail-biting Australian Open final.

    Taking to Instagram stories, Federer shared a picture of Nadal celebrating his victory and wrote: “To my friend and great rival @RafaelNadal. Heartfelt congratulations on becoming the first man to win 21 Grand Slam Singles Titles.”

    The Swiss star revealed that he and Nadal were joking about both being on crutches. “Never underestimate a great champion.”

    “Your incredible work ethic, dedication and fighting spirit are an inspiration to me and countless others around the globe. I am proud to share this era with you,” he added.

    Federer further said that he is honoured to play a role in pushing Nadal to achieve more. He ended by saying, “I am sure you have more achievements ahead but for now enjoy this one.”

    Nadal fought back from two sets down to win the next three sets in order to win a nail-biting match.

    In the dramatic final set, Nadal broke Medvedev’s serve in the fifth game but the Russian broke back in the 10th game to level the set.

    Nadal, however, broke back immediately to clinch victory and become the first ever man in the history of tennis to win 21 grand slam titles.

    The Spaniard surpassed the previous men’s record of 20 he held jointly with Federer and Serbian player Novak Djokovic.

  • Ash Barty beats Danielle Collins to end 44-year wait for home Australian Open Champion

    Ash Barty beats Danielle Collins to end 44-year wait for home Australian Open Champion

    Ashleigh Barty beat Danielle Collins to win the Australian Open title, ending the home nation’s 44-year wait for a Grand Slam women’s singles champion.

    Ace player Barty fought back from 5-1 down in the second set to win 6-3 7-6 (7-2) on a jubilant Rod Laver Arena.

    The 25-year-old Queenslander has won the title without dropping a set in Melbourne this fortnight.

    After winning the 2019 French Open and last year’s Wimbledon title, she now claims three of the four majors.

    The Australian star player thanked all the staff as the ballkids stand on ceremony.

    “It’s been one of my favourite experiences,” said Ashleigh, adding, “this is just a dream come true. I’m so proud to be an Aussie.”

  • ‘Hoped to see Pakistan play’: Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar meet at T20 World Cup final

    ‘Hoped to see Pakistan play’: Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar meet at T20 World Cup final

    Former Pakistani cricketers Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar met at the Dubai International Stadium during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final on Sunday.

    The Rawalpindi Express shared a picture on Instagram where he and Afridi looked cheerful upon seeing each other at the stadium.

    “Ran into the crowd favourite and our very own @safridiofficial . Lovely to see you lala,” he wrote in the caption.

    Minutes before meeting Afridi, Akhtar had posted another of his pictures from the final match, saying it “would have been a different day” had Pakistan made it to the final.

    However, the cricketer said it was a lovely feeling to watch the much-anticipated match at “the Ring of Fire”.

    “Would have been such a different day. But nevertheless, what a lovely feeling being at the Ring of fire,” he wrote.

    Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi said that he was “looking forward” to winning team at the T20 World Cup final.

    Taking to Instagram, Afridi shared a picture from the Dubai International Stadium and said that he “had hoped to see Pakistan play” in the final.

    The cricketer wished both the teams playing best of luck and hoped that the “best team” wins.

    Beating Kiwis with 8 wickets, Australia became the champion of T20 World Cup 2021.

  • Rizwan, Fakhar, Shaheen congratulate KPK for defending National T20 Cup Title

    Rizwan, Fakhar, Shaheen congratulate KPK for defending National T20 Cup Title

    Pakistani cricketers Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who are currently in a bio-secure bubble for the ICC T20 World Cup and who were also the part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) team, congratulated their team for defending the title and beating Central Punjab at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday after Captain Iftikhar Ahmed produced an all-round performance.

    “Huge congratulations to the whole KPK as we have successfully defended our title. We decided in our very first meeting to play like warriors and Alhumdulillah we managed to do that successfully. What a team. What a performance,” wrote Rizwan while congratulating his team.

    Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi also took to Twitter to congratulate their team.

    The KPK captain completed the run chase by smoking Mohammad Faizan for a four through cover on the last ball of the 17th over and unleashed a roar in the Lahore night sky. He bagged the player of the final and the best player of the tournament awards.

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 152 for 3 (Iftikhar 45*, Ghulam 37) beat Central Punjab 148 (Shehzad 44, Akmal 42, Iftikhar 3-5, Imran 3-26) by seven wickets

  • UK’s Emma Raducanu wins US Open in historic final

    UK’s Emma Raducanu wins US Open in historic final

    United Kingdom’s (UK) Emma Raducanu’s extraordinary run at the US Open finished in glorious fashion in New York as the 18-year-old became Britain’s first female singles Grand Slam champion after 44 years.

    According to details, Raducanu, the first qualifier ever to reach a Grand Slam final, once again rose to the occasion, beating the 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-3 with a remarkable display of big hitting and composure. Just three months after making her debut on the main women’s tour, Raducanu became the youngest Grand Slam singles champion since 17-year-old Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004.

    She is also the first woman ever to win the title in only her second Grand Slam tournament.

    Raducanu had made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon, where she became the youngest British woman in the open era to reach the fourth round. As the world No 150, she is the lowest ranked player ever to win the US Open, though Kim Clijsters did not even have a world ranking when she won the title in 2009, having just returned to competition after having a baby. Raducanu will now climb to No 24 in next week’s updated world rankings list.

    Having come through qualifying, she lifted the title by winning nine matches in the space of 17 days and without dropping a set in any of them.

  • Djokovic levels Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal with 20th Grand Slam title

    Djokovic levels Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal with 20th Grand Slam title

    Novak Djokovic has beaten Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final to win a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title.

    Djokovic bounced back from a first-set wobble to win 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

    It was Djokovic’s sixth Wimbledon title and 20th at a major tournament, putting him tied for first on the all-time list with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

    The top-ranked Serb broke for a 4-3 lead in the fourth set when Berrettini double-faulted and earned another break in the final game.

    Djokovic had led 5-2 in the first set. Berrettini was playing in his first Grand Slam final.

    In the post-match ceremony, when asked about his 20th Grand Slam, he said: “I will not stop winning the Grand Slams and I hope they (Federer and Nadal) won’t stop either.

    “They are legends of our sport,” he said. “They are the two most important players that I ever faced in my career. They are the reason I am where I am today. They have helped me realise what I need to do to get stronger, physically, mentally and tactically.”

  • Pakistan beat India in tri-nation blind cricket series final

    Pakistan beat India in tri-nation blind cricket series final

    The Pakistan Blind Cricket team outclassed India in all departments in the final to win by a handsome margin of 62 runs and lift the Triangular Blind Cricket Series title at Bashundhara Cricket Ground in Dhaka.

    It was after 15 long years that Pakistan managed to beat arch-rivals India in the final of a major cricket event. The last such occasion was the 2006 Blind Cricket World Cup Final where Pakistan had defeated India to clinch the mega event.

    The final on Sunday was played in a revised format, limited to 15 overs per side since the Bangladesh Government had announced to impose a very strict lockdown due to rising COVID0-19 cases. As a result, the organising committee hurriedly decided to hold the series on a single league system rather than on the original format of the double league. The rest of the league matches were curtailed to 10 overs.

    Indian Captain Ajay Reddy elected to field first after winning the toss in the final. Pakistan once again could not get off to a good start as they lost Rashid in the very first over for a duck.

    Captain Nisar Ali and Zafar Iqbal, however, then pot on a brilliant 96-run stand for the second wicket. Skipper Nisar played a crucial knock of 69 with seven boundaries while Zafar Iqbal scored a breezy 48 off 28 balls as Pakistan posted 174 for 3 in 15 overs. Captain Ajay Reddy grabbed two wickets.

    In reply, Pakistani bowlers never allowed the Indian batsmen to play freely and defended the target well by restricting the rivals to just 112 for 7 in 15 overs. Muhammad Shahzaib once again was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 12 in 3 overs while Sajjad Nawaz bagged two wickets.

    Pakistan skipper Captain Nisar Ali won the Man of the Match.

    The team celebrated the victory with #pawrihoraihai style.

  • PSL5: Sania Mirza lands in Karachi to cheer on Shoaib Malik

    PSL5: Sania Mirza lands in Karachi to cheer on Shoaib Malik

    The fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which was was suspended back in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, is all set to resume on November 14.

    International players for the remaining matches have started to arrive in the country and it has emerged that Shoaib Malik’s wife Sania Mirza has also arrived in the country to cheer on her husband and his team Peshawar Zalmi.

    Meanwhile, Lahore Qalandar’s Australian cricketer Ben Dunk has also arrived in Karachi.

    South African players Dan Velas and Cameron Delport, England’s Ravi Bopara , Alex Hales and West Indies’ Chadwick Walton have also reached Karachi.

    Liam Livingstone has been replaced by Saqib Mahmood in the Peshawar Zalmi squad. The replacement has been made after Livingstone became unavailable following his selection in the England’s ODI squad for the South Africa tour.

    Peshawar Zalmi’s West Indies duo Darren Sammy and Carlos Brathwaite are expected to join their respective squad today.

    Multan Sultans’ all-rounder Mahmudullah has been ruled out of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 playoffs after the all-rounder tested positive for COVID-19 in the pre-departure test that was conducted in Bangladesh.

    It should be noted that the cricketers arriving in Karachi will have to undergo coronavirus tests while the matches of the event will be played on November 14, 15 and 17.

    Due to the bad weather conditions, matches from Lahore are relocated to Rawalpindi and Karachi.

  • On This Day: Javed Miandad breaks Indian hearts with last-ball sixer

    On This Day: Javed Miandad breaks Indian hearts with last-ball sixer

    It was on April 18, 1986, when former Pakistan batsman Javed Miandad struck a final-ball six to defeat India in the finals of the Austral-Asia Cup.

    This match still sends shivers down the spine of ardent cricket fans in both Pakistan and India. Miandad had smashed a six off the final ball of the match bowled by Chetan Sharma, reports said.

    The feat is remarkable as Pakistan needed four runs off the final ball to win the Austral-Asia Cup. Miandad did not succumb to pressure, giving the cricket fans a memory to cherish forever.

    Pakistan needed 246 runs to win the match, and the side found itself at 61/3. It was then that Miandad walked out to the middle and played a match-winning knock of 116 runs.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    In his innings, Miandad struck three fours and as many sixes.

    Batting first, India had got to a score of 245 as Kris Srikkanth made 75 runs while Sunil Gavaskar went on to register 94 runs from 134 balls.

    For Pakistan, Wasim Akram scalped three wickets.

    Miandad has often been involved in fierce battles with India. During the 1992 World Cup group stage game, Miandad ended up mocking the style of India’s wicket-keeper Kiran More.

    The Austral-Asia Cup has been played thrice, with Pakistan winning the tournament on all three occasions.