Tag: T20I

  • PAK vs SA warm-up match: 50 for Hassan

    PAK vs SA warm-up match: 50 for Hassan

    Pakistan lost the second warm-up match against South Africa on Monday after Hassan Ali could not defend 19 runs in the last over.

    Pakistan had the upper hand, with South Africa needing 47 off the last three, but 18 and 22-run overs on either side of Shaheen Afridi’s 10-run 19th over proved costly.

    Earlier in the day, Pakistan were put into bat and they made the most of the opportunity as they posted a sizeable total of 186 runs on the board after Fakhar hit five sixes and two fours on his way to 52 off 28 balls before retiring out as Pakistan managed to score 120 off their last 10 overs.

    It looked like Pakistan were on a roll with the ball as well but then came a storm named Rassie van der Dussen, who single-handedly took the game away from them. In the end, South Africa ended up winning a thriller of a match on the final delivery by Hassan. Hassan’s expensive 52-4 spell was highly criticised by the fans.

    On the other hand, Pakistan’s arch-rivals Indian cricket team comfortably beat Australia by nine wickets.

    Pakistan and India are set to play on October 24.

  • VIDEO: ‘Buddha ho gaya hai’: Babar Azam to Shadab Khan

    VIDEO: ‘Buddha ho gaya hai’: Babar Azam to Shadab Khan

    Pakistan crushed West Indies by seven wickets in their T20 World Cup 2021 warm-up fixture in Dubai on Monday.

    Apart from Pakistan’s dominance with both bat and ball, the match also saw a hilarious banter involving Babar Azam and Shadab Khan.

    During the first over of West Indies’ innings, Lendl Simmons took a quick single on the second ball, prompting the Pakistan captain to point out Shadab’s lack of agility on the field.

    “Buddha ho gaya hai. Jawani vich tera run out si (You’ve gotten old otherwise it would have been a wicket for you if you were young),” stump mic caught Babar as saying.

    This video caught Twitterati’s attention and got viral in minutes.

    Pakistan will open their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign against arch-rivals India in Dubai on October 24.

  • VIDEO: Babar shows ultimate sportsman spirit by calling back Shimron Hetmyer

    VIDEO: Babar shows ultimate sportsman spirit by calling back Shimron Hetmyer

    Pakistan Cricket Team’s captain, Babar Azam, showed the ultimate sportsman spirit as he called back West Indian batter, Shimron Hetmyer, to bat during the 2021 T20 World Cup warm-up match on Monday.

    Hetmyer was adjudged out after he was caught by wicket-keeper, Mohammad Rizwan, off the bowling of right-arm pacer, Hasan Ali. While the decision looked correct, Hetmyer said that he did not touch the ball with his bat and complained that he was wrongfully given out.

    Babar decided to go against the decision of the umpire and decided to bring the batter back to the crease as the batter could not take a review because it was not allowed in the warm-up matches.

    Take a look:

    Pakistan brushed defending champions West Indies aside in their first warm-up game, crushing Kieron Pollard’s side by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare. In a comprehensive all-round bowling performance, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Imad Wasim, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali found themselves amongst the wickets while keeping the run-scoring down, before a majestic half-century from Babar Azam, and an unbeaten 24-ball 46 from Fakhar Zaman put West Indies out of their misery.

    West Indies had won the toss and opted to bat first, but found themselves tied down by a disciplined Pakistan bowling attack.

    Pakistan will face South Africa in their next warm-up match on Wednesday. While the Shaheens will be playing their first match of T20 World Cup on Sunday against India.

  • Pakistan vs India match tickets sold out within hours

    Pakistan vs India match tickets sold out within hours

    Tickets for the much-anticipated T20 World Cup contest between Pakistan and India were sold out within hours.

    Read More – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    According to details, International Cricket Council (ICC) put the tickets for T20 World Cup up on sale on Sunday with a maximum capacity of 70 per cent crowd following Covid-19 protocols.

    Within hours, the tickets for Pakistan vs India were sold out, as expected. The high-octane clash is scheduled for October 24 at Dubai International Stadium.

    Read More – Pakistan, India placed in same group in T20 World Cup

    The arch-rivals will meet after almost three years. They last played against each other in Asia Cup 2018.

    The T20 World Cup is to be played in the UAE and Oman from October 17 to November 14.

  • Pakistan squad for New Zealand, England and ICC T20 World Cup announced

    Pakistan squad for New Zealand, England and ICC T20 World Cup announced

    Pakistan cricket selectors have named the 15-player squad for the upcoming Twenty20 Internationals (T20I) against New Zealand and England, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.

    The seven home T20Is in Lahore and Rawalpindi will be played from September 26 to October 14, while Pakistan will proceed to take on India in a battle of former champions in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opener in Dubai on October 24.

    Domestic performers Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah have been drafted into the side to provide more firepower in the middle-order.

    The 15-player squad includes five batters (Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez and Sohaib Maqsood), two wicketkeeper-batters (Azam Khan and Mohammad Rizwan), four all-rounders (Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Shadab Khan) and four fast bowlers (Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Shaheen Shah Afridi).

    Travelling reserves are Fakhar Zaman, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.

    Announcing the squad at a presser, Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim said: “While selecting the squad, we have tried to cover all our bases by catering for the modern day brand of T20 cricket that will be required to perform impressively in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This includes trusting the abilities, skills and experience of the players to perform in a high-pressure global tournament in conditions that are familiar to us, as well as looking at the teams we will play in Group-2 matches.”

  • England tour of Pakistan 2021 schedule announced, Rawalpindi to host both series

    England tour of Pakistan 2021 schedule announced, Rawalpindi to host both series

    England men’s and women’s teams will travel to Pakistan for a bilateral series. Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be hosting both the series.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), on Friday, announced that the England men’s team will take on the home side in two T20Is at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi in October. The England women’s team will also play two T20Is and three ODIs against the Pakistan women’s team during the same month at the same venue.

    The England men and women’s teams will arrive in Islamabad on October 9. Subsequently, the touring sides will play the T20Is on October 13 and 14, with the matches being held as double-headers. After the completion of the T20I series, the England men’s squad will leave for Dubai on October 15.

    However, the England women’s side will stay back and partake in three ODIs on October 17,19 and 21 respectively. This will be England senior team’s (men or women) first tour to Pakistan since 2005-06. Incidentally, the matches were initially scheduled to be played at the National Stadium in Karachi on October 14 and 15, but had to be rescheduled as a result of “operational and logistical reasons”.

    “We are delighted to welcome both the England men’s team for what will be their first tour to Pakistan since 2005, and the England women’s team, who will be touring Pakistan for the first time. Both are additional tours with England men’s side scheduled to return to Pakistan in the last quarter of 2022 for white-ball and ICC World Test Championship fixtures,” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said.

  • Babar Azam hits back at Shoaib Malik on team selection criticism

    Babar Azam hits back at Shoaib Malik on team selection criticism

    Babar Azam has hit back at Shoaib Malik for his criticism that former has no control over team selection.

    While addressing a virtual press conference on Wednesday, Babar addressed Malik’s comments and firmly told everyone to put an end to this discussion.

    “This debate should end now. The same thing is repeated in every press conference that I have no control over selection,” said Babar Azam. “You can see on the field that I handle everything. I decide the playing 11. Management give their input. I know my responsibilities as a captain.”

    Read more – Afridi wants PCB to review middle-order performances, suggests Shoaib Malik’s inclusion in T20Is

    Malik had also said that the Pakistan team needs an international level white-ball coach while stating that the current team management relies on likes and dislikes.

    “I don’t have any problem with the coach. This is the domain of PCB. Team management is fully supporting every player, so I am happy,” said Azam while purportedly addressing Malik’s remarks about head coach Misbah-ul-Haq.

    Read more – Why is the Pakistan cricket team so dramatic?

    Malik’s comments had come after Pakistan’s humiliating defeat by Zimbabwe during the second T20I in Harare last week.

    Later in the third T20I, Pakistan had clinched the series 2-1 with a comfortable 24-run win.

  • Rizwan, Usman, Hasnain help Pakistan beat Zimbabwe with 11 runs

    Rizwan, Usman, Hasnain help Pakistan beat Zimbabwe with 11 runs

    Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in the first T20I with 11 runs, courtesy of a fine display of bowling from Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Qadir and Mohammad Rizwan’s brilliant knock.

    When no one stood for Pakistan in the batting, Rizwan stood there and helped Pakistan get a decent total of 149 runs. On the other hand, the rest of the team managed to score only 67 runs.

    Read more – Why is the Pakistan cricket team so dramatic?

    Zimbabwe failed to put the struggling teams away, and Pakistan were there for putting away several times in that first innings. In the end, the 12 wides bowled, and the sloppiness in the field came back to cost them, and the frenetic nature of the chase when it should have been a cakewalk didn’t quite work in the end. They could only reach up to 138 runs with the fall of 7 wickets.

    Rizwan’s unbeaten 82 of 61 balls also helped him win the Player of the Match award.

    “They won the toss and used the pitch well. The wickets here are different, the pitch keeps low. But Babar and I have this plan where if one fails the other tries to go deep. It’s working for now. In Zimbabwe, the ball doesn’t quite come on to the bat, but once Hafeez fell, my aim was to get us to 150,” said Rizwan in the presentation ceremony.

    Meanwhile, Qadir’s three-fer for only 29 runs and Hasnain’s brilliant bowling spells led Pakistan to victory.

    Pakistan has defended total of under 150 thrice against ZIM and ZIM made 137, 137 and 138 this time too close.

  • Indian govt greenlights visa issuance for Pakistan team for T20 World Cup

    Indian govt greenlights visa issuance for Pakistan team for T20 World Cup

    The Government of India has approved the request to issue visas to the Pakistan cricket team and journalists for the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place from October to November this year.

    According to details, although visas for the Pakistan cricket team have been sorted, it isn’t clear whether fans can travel across the border to watch the matches.

    The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI’s) apex council has been told by Board secretary Jay Shah following “government assurances”.

    Shah informed the council of the same in a video conference meeting held on Friday where it was also decided that the mega-event will be staged across nine venues with Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium hosting the final.

    “The visa issue of Pakistan cricket team has been sorted. However, whether the fans can travel across the border to watch matches is still not clear,” an Apex Council member told the Press Trust of India on conditions of anonymity.

    “It will be decided in due course of time. However, we had promised ICC that it will be sorted.”

    Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for close to a decade now due to political tensions between the two countries.

    Pakistan has been demanding assurances from the ICC that visas will be granted to its players for the 16-team extravaganza, which will complete seven editions this year.

    It must be noted here that the qualifying round for the mega event will take place firstly with teams divided into two groups. Sri Lanka, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, and Oman are placed in Group A whereas Bangladesh, Holland, Namibia, and Scotland will compete in Group B.

    For the main event, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, and two qualifying teams are part of Group 1 whereas India, South Africa, Afghanistan, England, and two qualifying teams are placed in Group 2.

    Two top teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals followed by the mega final, scheduled on November 15.

    The tournament is most likely to be played with COVID-19 protocols being enforced. The Decision regarding the crowd will be taken after monitoring the situation closer to the time.

  • Afridi wants PCB to review middle-order performances, suggests Shoaib Malik’s inclusion in T20Is

    Afridi wants PCB to review middle-order performances, suggests Shoaib Malik’s inclusion in T20Is

    Former captain of the Pakistan cricket team Shahid Afridi, while congratulating the Pakistani team on winning the T20I against South Africa, emphasised the need to work on middle-order performances.

    “Despite the victory, we need to review the middle-order performances where we seem to be struggling for a long time,” wrote the former all-rounder on Twitter.

    He also suggested that since it is the T20 World Cup year, the team should consider bringing Shoaib Malik back.

    On Friday, Pakistan defeated South Africa by three wickets in the last fixture of the four-match T20I series at the Supersport Park in Centurion and clinched the series 3-1.

    Pakistan, like South Africa, suffered a middle-order collapse as they went from 92-1 to 129-7.

    However, Mohammad Nawaz kept his cool in the end and was aided by some poor bowling by the hosts, allowing the tourists to cap the tour with a 3-1 T20I series win to go with the ODI triumph earlier this month.

    Pakistan will now depart for Zimbabwe on Saturday where they will play three T20Is on April 21, 23 and 25, followed by two Tests, which will be played from April 29 to May 3 and May 7-11.

    Malik went past 10,000 T20 career runs when he scored 74 in a domestic game in Rawalpindi in October 2020. He is the third batsman to have reached the landmark after Kieron Pollard (10,370 runs) and Chris Gayle (13,296 runs).

    The 39-year-old cricketer made his T20 debut in 2005 for Sialkot Stallions and has played 417 T20s in his career, scoring his 10,488 runs at an average of 37.06, with 64 half-centuries. He also has 151 wickets at 27.15, at an economy rate of 7.02.

    In his international career, Malik has played 116 T20Is, scoring 2,335 runs at an average of 31.13, with 8 half-centuries. He has 28 wickets at 23.53, at an economy rate of 7.08.

    Malik became the third batsman to reach 2000 runs in T20 Internationals after Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill. He reached the milestone during his 92nd T20 innings against Zimbabwe in Harare. While Mohammad Hafeez became the second Pakistani player to reach 2000 run-mark, number ninth in total.

    The 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in October and November 2021 in India.