Tag: home-sports

  • CWC’19: Soil from Virat Kohli’s school taken to England ‘for blessings’

    Soil from Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli’s school has been taken to England “to bless him” as he leads his side in the 2019 version of the ICC World Cup.

    According to Star Sports, the soil has been collected from Kohli’s school, where the world’s best batsman first learnt to play cricket.

    “The soil from @imVkohli’s school, where he learnt to play cricket, is going to London to bless him. Reply with your blessings and wishes and share this post with five other Virat fans as #KingKohli hunts for the #CricketKaCrown,” Star Sports tweeted.

    While the rationale behind the bizarre move is “to help India reclaim the coveted trophy” it last won in 2011, it has left Twitter in disbelief as people criticise the country for validating itself as the “land of superstitions”.

    https://twitter.com/ashoswai/status/1137121368187723776

    https://twitter.com/_Khader_/status/1137040597871517696
    https://twitter.com/SavageRaptor7/status/1137040961534480384

    India have already won their opening match against South Africa. Their next match is scheduled for June 9 against Australia at The Oval in London. Kohli’s Blues will also be facing their arch-rivals, Pakistan, on June 16.

  • VIDEO: Shoaib Akhtar slams ‘fat and unfit’ Sarfaraz after defeat to Windies

    A day after Pakistan faced a humiliating seven-wicket defeat to West Indies in their opening fixture of the 2019 ICC World Cup, Shoaib Akhtar has gone on to slam skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed for being “fat and unfit”.

    Pakistan were left red-faced on Friday when their batting order collapsed and the entire team went back to pavilion for just 105 runs. Windies, on the other hand, chased the target at the loss of three wickets.

    With the cricket team being severely criticised after the match, former cricketer Akhtar, who is no new to controversies, roasted Sarfaraz for his “lack of fitness” as the captain.

    “When Sarfaraz Ahmed came for the toss, his stomach was sticking out and his face was so fat,” he said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “He’s the first captain I’ve seen who is so unfit. He’s not able to move across and he’s struggling with wicket-keeping,” he added.

    “Speechless” was Akhtar’s first reaction as the result of the match came out.

    “Okay, the match is over. Recollecting my thoughts and emotions. We have to back these boys, they are representing our nation. They need our support throughout the World Cup,” he said in a subsequent tweet.

    Sarfaraz, during the post-match press conference, said he has full faith in the team and believes that the players will come back stronger after the disappointing result.

    The Greens will next take on hosts and hot favourites England on Monday.

  • VIDEO: Malala trolls India at World Cup 2019 opening ceremony

    VIDEO: Malala trolls India at World Cup 2019 opening ceremony

    Taking a hilarious dig at Pakistan’s arch-rivals, world’s youngest Noble Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai has trolled India at the star-studded opening ceremony of World Cup 2019 in London.

    During the ceremony held at Buckingham Palace, a short competition called the 60-second challenge was held. One cricket legend and a celebrity represented each team that had to score as many runs as possible in the given sixty seconds.

    For India, former skipper Anil Kumble and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar took part in the game. They, however, managed to score only 19 runs, while Pakistan scored exactly the double.

    Sharing her thoughts over Pakistan maintaining the seventh place with 38 runs, Malala trolled the Indian team saying that in comparison, they came in last with only 19 points.

    “Pakistan, we were okay, not too bad, came number seven, but India came last,” she said, after which the audience broke into laughter.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “They tried their best and we appreciate their hard work,” Malala added.

    Cricketing legends like Viv Richards, Jacques Kallis, Brett Lee and Kevin Pietersen were among other notable participants.

  • VIDEO: Virat Kohli imitates Pakistan’s ‘Peechay Tou Dekho’ kid

    VIDEO: Virat Kohli imitates Pakistan’s ‘Peechay Tou Dekho’ kid

    At a time when Indian leadership is snubbing Pakistan’s efforts for regional peace, a video of Indian cricketing stalwart Virat Kohli mimicking Pakistan’s latest internet sensation — the ‘Peechay Tou Dekho’ kid — has emerged.

    Ahmed Shah has taken social media by storm ever since his “Peechay Tou Dekho”  video started making rounds over the internet.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmJuxKgUtAk

    Appearing on several TV channels, Ahmed, who belongs to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has become a celebrity.

    Now, a video breaking the internet shows Indian skipper Kohli breaking into laughter as he tries to copy Ahmed’s way of speaking Urdu.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “Who is that behind [you]? Who is that?” he can be heard as saying in the video that shows how a Pakistani kid is winning hearts across the border.

  • CWC’19: Inzamam hopeful of Pakistan ending losing streak against India

    CWC’19: Inzamam hopeful of Pakistan ending losing streak against India

    Chief selector Inzamamul Haq is confident that the national cricket team will finally break its six-match losing streak in the World Cup against India when it takes on the arch-rivals on June 16.

    Pakistan have never won against India in a world cup match, but the former skipper feels that they can post a breakthrough victory this time around when the two teams meet in Manchester next month.

    “People take an Indo-Pak match very seriously and some even go on to say that ‘we will be happy even if only we can win against India during the World Cup’,” Inzamam was quoted as saying by a cricket website.

    The veteran of 120 Tests, however, said that the mega cricketing tournament was not just about the match against India, and “Pakistan have the potential to beat other sides as well”.

    Pakistan go into the 2019 World Cup having suffered 10 successive ODI defeats and were also beaten by Afghanistan in a warm-up match on Friday.

  • World Cup 2019: Warm-up fixtures

    World Cup 2019: Warm-up fixtures

    The ICC World Cup is just around the corner and it is time for the teams to get a bit warmed up.

    Here is the schedule for the 10 official warm-up matches to be played from Friday (May 24) to Tuesday (May 28).

    Day, Date Fixture Venue
    Friday, May 24 Pakistan vs Afghanistan Bristol
    Sri Lanka vs South Africa Cardiff
    Saturday, May 25 England vs Australia Southampton
    India vs New Zealand London
    Sunday, May 26 South Africa vs West Indies Bristol
    Pakistan vs Bangladesh Cardiff
    Monday, May 27 Australia vs Sri Lanka Southampton
    England vs Afghanistan London
    Tuesday, May 28 West Indies vs New Zealand Bristol
    Bangladesh vs India Cardiff

    The real World Cup action begins on May 30 and will be telecast in Pakistan on Ten Sports and PTV Sports.

  • ICC, PCB wish Sarfraz on his birthday

    ICC, PCB wish Sarfraz on his birthday

    With skipper Sarfraz Ahmed celebrating his 32nd birthday on Wednesday, a plethora of wishes continues to flood Twitter.

    On the occasion, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have congratulated the Pakistan cricket team captain in their tweets.

    “Happy birthday to Pakistan captain, @SarfarazA_54! Will he be lifting another at the end of #CWC19?” tweeted ICC.

    PCB, on the other hand, tweeted a video showing Sarfraz cutting his birthday cake with players and team management.

    Sarfraz is in England where he is leading his side in the ICC World Cup to be held from May 30 to July 14.

  • Formula One legend Niki Lauda passes away

    Formula One legend Niki Lauda passes away

    Legendary Formula One driver Niki Lauda passed away at the age of 70 on Tuesday. His death comes eight months after he underwent a lung transplant. If you’ve seen the 2013 blockbuster Rush, you probably know who Niki Lauda is but if you haven’t read on.

    Lauda was born as Andreas Nikolaus on February 22, 1949, in Vienna into an upper-middle-class family, who did not share his passion for cars. In 1968, without telling his parents, Lauda won his first race with a Mini Racer he had bought with his grandmother’s help.

    During his driving career, Lauda suffered horrific injuries on August 1, 1976 when his vehicle burst into flames on the Nuerburgring in Germany. He had severe burns to his face and hands and inhaled toxic fumes which severely damaged his lungs.

    Despite being given the last rites in hospital he made an almost miraculous recovery to race again just six weeks later still bandaged and in intense pain.

    He missed only two races that season but was unable to hold off the challenge of Britain’s James Hunt, who went on to claim his only world title. The rivalry between the two men was also portrayed in Rush.

    The next season, in 1977, Lauda went on to win his second Formula One world championship with Ferrari. He also went on to win a championship in 1984 with Mercedes. Lauda continued to be associated with F1 and was a non-executive chairman at Mercedes F1 since 2012.

    Apart from that, Lauda was also an airline entrepreneur. He bought and sold several airlines including Lauda Air and Niki.

  • Pakistan not taking any wickets ‘to avoid PM Imran’s wrath’, explains Ramiz Raja

    Pakistan not taking any wickets ‘to avoid PM Imran’s wrath’, explains Ramiz Raja

    Explaining why Pakistani bowlers have been unable to defend 300 plus totals in the last couple of games, commentator and former cricketer Ramiz Raja has made some funny post-match remarks.

    Instead of coming down hard on the team for losing the ODI series to England ahead of ICC World Cup 2019, the former skipper chose to be sarcastic.

    Taking to Twitter to reveal bits of conversation between Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Pakistan team members, Ramiz shared how the former had called out some team members on “silly wicket-taking celebrations”.

    “Ever since being called out by PM Imran Khan on silly wicket-taking celebrations, this team it seems has decided to not take any wickets to not invite the wrath of the great man! Keeping trouble free, the Pak bowlers,” he tweeted jokingly and added a wink emoji at the end.

  • Shadab declared fit; to play World Cup

    Shadab declared fit; to play World Cup

    Leg-spinner Shadab Khan has been declared fit to play the forthcoming World Cup after latest test revealed zero viral load in his blood.

    According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Khan will leave for London on May 16, where he will meet Dr Patrick Kennedy on May 17, before joining the national team in Briston on May 20.

    His appearance in warm-up matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, however, will be subjected to team management’s decision and his fitness.

    Shadab himself also shared the news on his Twitter account.

    Khan had earlier been ruled out of the ongoing One Day International (ODI) series against England due to illness. “Tests revealed a virus that will require treatment and rest for, at least, four weeks,” PCB had said in a statement.