Moeen Ali leads England to 166-4 against New Zealand in T20 World Cup semi-final

 

ABU DHABI, NOV 10: All-rounder Moeen Ali smashed an unbeaten 51 to steer England to a challenging 166 for four against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.

England lost their openers including Jos Buttler for 29, lbw off Ish Sodhi, after being invited to bat first as Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson won an all-important toss in Abu Dhabi.

But Moeen hit back with his 37-ball knock and put on a key partnership of 63 with Dawid Malan, who hit 41, for the third wicket.

Pace bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult kept a tight leash in the first three overs before Buttler smashed two successive boundaries.

Jonny Bairstow also got a couple of fours but did not look comfortable after being promoted to open in place of the injured Jason Roy.

Adam Milne replaced fellow quick Boult from one end to break through as he got Bairstow out for 13 off 17 balls with Williamson taking a sharp catch at mid-off.

In-form Buttler tried to rebuild but an attempt to reverse sweep leg-spinner Ish Sodhi got him trapped lbw for 29 off 24 deliveries.

The opener, who moved past Pakistan’s Babar Azam as the leading batsman in the tournament with 269 runs, reviewed the call but replays suggested the ball would have hit his off stump.

The left-handed Malan, who was dropped on 10 by wicketkeeper Devon Conway off Jimmy Neesham, hit the first six of the innings off Southee in the 16th over but departed next ball caught behind.

But Moeen launched an attack as he hit Sodhi for a six and then smashed Milne for two hits over the fence.

Liam Livingstone hit 17 off 10 balls before departing and Moeen completed his first 50 of the tournament with a boundary off Neesham.

The winners will face either Australia or Pakistan in Sunday’s final in Dubai.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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Australia to tour Pakistan next year for first time since 1998

 

ISLAMABAD, NOV 8: Australia will tour Pakistan in March and April next year — the country’s first since 1998 — to play a series of Test, ODI and T20 matches, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Monday.

In a statement, the PCB said the visiting team will play three Tests, three one day internationals (ODIs) and one Twenty-20 international (T20I) match.

The Test matches will be played in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore from March 3 to 25, the PCB said, adding that all four white-ball matches will be played in Lahore form March 29 to April 5.

“The Tests will be played as part of the ICC World Test Championship, while the ODIs will be connected to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League — a 13-team event from which the seven highest-placed sides and the hosts, India, will qualify directly for the event proper in 2023,” the cricket body said.

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said he was “delighted to welcome Australia to Pakistan”.

Raja observed that Australia was one of the high-performing cricket teams and playing with them in Pakistan after a gap of 24 years would be a “special treat for the fans”.

The chairman said the tour would also give the Aussies the opportunity to not only play at some of Pakistan’s most iconic venues but also “feel and enjoy the respect, love and hospitality that this great country offers, something which most of their previous generation of cricketers missed out by playing offshore”.

For his part, Cricket Australia Chief Executive Nick Hockley said Australia was “excited” about the prospect of visiting Pakistan and playing a highly anticipated series in a country “so incredibly passionate about the game and their national team”.

“Pakistan is a formidable opposition with an exceptionally talented team, as evidenced by their dynamic performances in the current ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE,” he said.

Hockley thanked the PCB for its efforts to plan the tour and said the Australian cricket board was looking forward to working with the PCB and relevant agencies to “ensure that appropriate and sufficient arrangements are put in place for the tour”.

Hockley shared that Cricket Australia’s delegation will visit Pakistan to meet PCB and provincial and federal authorities to discuss and finalise matters related to the tour including team operations, logistics, security and Covid-19 protocols.

Pakistan had staged its last four series with Australia in Sri Lanka, England and the UAE.

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Schedule of matches:

• 1st Test, Karachi – March 3 to 7
• 2nd Test, Rawalpindi – March 12 to 16
• 3rd Test, Lahore – March 21 to 25
• 1st ODI, Lahore – March 29
• 2nd ODI, Lahore – March 31
• 3rd ODI, Lahore – April 2
• T20I, Lahore – April 5

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Earlier this month, the PCB announced that the West Indies cricket team will play three T20Is and three ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches at Karachi’s National Stadium from Dec 13 to 22.

It will be the West Indies’ first tour of Pakistan since April 2018 when they had played three T20Is.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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T20 WC: Pakistan make it to the semis Scot-free, set up Nov 11 clash with Australia

 

• Green Shirts win 5 straight, including historic win over India
• Babar and Co beat Scotland to set up semis clash with Australia on Nov 11

SHARJAH, NOV 7: In a T20 World Cup 2021 Group 2 match that was effectively a dead rubber and meant nothing to almost everyone, Pakistan still went in hard, played their full-strength squad and inflicted a heavy 72-run loss on Scotland in Sharjah on Sunday night.

The victory means that Pakistan finished the group stage campaign as the only unbeaten side in the competition, with a perfect five wins from as many matches.

The victory also means that Pakistan will now face Australia, the other group’s runners-up in the second semi-final on Nov 11 (Thursday).

Not that they needed a big score to win against an overmatched Scotland side, Pakistan still amassed 189-4, thanks to their run machine of a captain Babar Azam’s systematic 66 and Shoaib Malik’s stroke-filled 54 off just 18 balls.

Malik’s 50 was the joint-fastest of World Cup 2021 alongside KL Rahul’s, also against Scotland.

The 190-run target was always going to be tough for Scotland but they did not even give it much of a try, with much of their batsmen sticking around despite finding runs hard to come by and eventually giving up. They eventually finished with 117-6 as Malik was named the player of the match for his whirlwind 54.

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Courtesy Dawn News

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T20 World Cup: Scotland begin pursuit of gargantuan 190-run target set by Pakistan

 

SHARJAH, NOV 7: T20 World Cup: Scotland begin pursuit of gargantuan 190-run target set by Pakistan. Star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has added another feather in his cap as he achieved the milestone of the most runs in T20Is in a calendar year.

The 28-year-old dethroned West Indies legend Chris Gayle, who handed up his boots after the defending champions knocked out from the ongoing T20 World Cup.

When Rizwan hit his fifth run during Pakistan’s Super 12 stage match against Scotland, he surpassed Gayle’s 1,665 runs, which the left-hander scored in 2015.

The wicketkeeper departed after scoring just 15 in the game.

Earlier, Rizwan entered the record books after becoming the first-ever cricket to score 900-plus T20I runs in a calendar year as no other player has been able to score over 748 runs in one year.

Rizwan also surpassed his teammate Babar Azam (1,607 runs) and India’s Virat Kohli (1,614 runs) when it comes to the most overall T20 runs in a calendar year.

Rizwan also became the first player to score 10 50+ scores in T20Is in a calendar year. His tally this year includes a century as well.

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Courtesy Samaa News

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Pakistan batting first; looking to put a big score on the board for Scotland

 

SHARJAH, NOV 7: Pakistan vs Scotland: Rare off night for Rizwan as he departs for 15. Pakistan batting first against Scotland in Sharjah on Sunday.

Babar Azam still on the pitch playing his shots in style. Scotish skipper his players to give their 100% in this game against Pakistan.

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