Pakistan continues World Cup surge with thrilling win over Afghanistan

Agencies
June 30, 2019

London, Jun 30: In a game that ebbed and flowed to the hilt, Imad Wasim showed nerves of steel with an unbeaten 49 off 54 balls as Pakistan kept their semifinal hopes alive with a three-wicket victory over Afghanistan in a thrilling World Cup clash here on Saturday.

After restricting the already knocked out Afghanistan to 227/9, Pakistan made heavy weather of the target by losing wickets at regular intervals.

In the last five overs, Pakistan needed 46 runs with four wickets in hand. But skipper Gulbadin Naib missed a trick by bringing himself to bowl instead of persisting with spin which is their strength.

Gulbadin gifted Imad a full toss that went for four. In the next ball, Imad hit the ball in the air but Asghar Afghan lost it in the sky to let go of the chance.

The next two balls were hit for consecutive fours as the Afghanistan skipper leaked 18 runs to bring down the equation to 28 runs off 24 balls.

Gulbadin made amends in the field by effecting the run out of Shadab Khan (11) in the 47th over, but Wahab Riaz hit an unbeaten 9-ball 15 to bring the equation down to six runs off the final over with Imad on strike. 

The ice-cool Wales-born all-rounder kept things simple and with two balls to go, smacked Gulbadin for a four to win it for his country. It was the fifth four he hit in his stellar innings. 

With nine points from eight matches, Pakistan pipped England in the points table to the fourth place. Hosts England will take on India on Sunday. Pakistan have one game left, against Bangladesh on July 5.

Pakistan were off to a stuttering start as Fakhar Zaman (0) was trapped in front by Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/34) in the second ball of the innings.

Imam-Ul-Haq (36; 51b, 4x4) and Babar Azam (45, 51b, 4x5) then added 72 runs for the second wicket before Mohammad Nabi (2/23) had Imam stumped as the batsman needlessly charged down the track.

Babar was clean-bowled by Nabi soon after and with Mohammad Hafeez (19) also not hanging around for long, Pakistan were reduced to 121/4 before Rashid Khan castled the in-form Haris Sohail (27).

In the 37th over, umpire Paul Wilson turned down an LBW appeal by Rashid though replays showed it to be very close. But with both sides having no reviews left, it could not go upstairs as Afghanistan kept turning the screws on their more fancied rivals.

Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (18) was run out and from then on Imad held fort at one end, also keeping pace with the asking rate as Pakistan emerged victorious in the end.

Earlier, Shaheen Shah Afridi snared four wickets as Pakistan restricted Afghanistan to 227/9.

Afridi, who returned match-winning figures of 3/28 against New Zealand in the last match, conceded 47 runs in 10 overs and bagged four wickets to never let Afghanistan take the charge as Imad Wasim (2/48) and Wahab Riaz (2/29) also came good with the ball. 

For the Afghans who won the toss and elected to bat first, Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran top-scored with identical scores of 42.

While Asghar blazed his way off 35 balls, his innings laced with three fours and and two sixes, Zadran took 54 deliveries hitting six fours.

Opener Rahmat Shah (35; 43b, 4x5) also looked good before he was caught by Babar Azam at short cover off Wasim.

Afghanistan were 27/2 before Rahmat and Ikram Alikhil (24) tried to steady the ship.

But after Rahmat's dismissal, things fell apart although Asghar and Alikhil shared a 64-run stand for the fourth wicket.

While Asghar was caslted by Shadab Khan, Alikhil could not takcle the pressure of dot balls before finally holing out to long on where Mohammed Hafeez took an easy catch off Wasim.

Zadran and Mohammed Nabi then stitched together a crucial 42-run partnership for the sixth wicket before Riaz got Nabi's back and Zadran dragged a Afridi delivery on to his stumps.

The Afghans could not manage to score much in the last five overs but still managed to put up their highest score in the tournament batting first.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 227/9 in 50 overs (Asghar Afghan 42, Najibullah Zadran 42, Shaheen Shah Afridi 4/47) vs Pakistan 230/7 in 49.2 overs Imad Wasim 49 not out, Babar Azam 45; Mohammad Nabi 2/23, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/34)

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Agencies
July 20,2020

Vitoria, Jul 20: Lionel Messi won a record seventh top scoring title in the Spanish league after netting twice in Barcelona's 5-0 rout of Alav s in the final round.

Messi ended with 25 goals, four more than Karim Benzema, who did not score in Real Madrid's 2-2 draw at Legan s.

Messi is the first player to finish as the league's top scorer in seven different seasons. He reached the milestone despite missing games because of an injury early in the season. The Argentine's 25 goals came in 33 matches.

Messi was tied with Telmo Zarra with six scoring titles. He has also now equaled Hugo Sanchez's feat of four straight top-scorer trophies.

"Individual achievements are always secondary," Messi said on Sunday.

"I wished it could have come along with the league title."

This is also the third successive season that Messi finished with the most assists 21 in the league.

Ansu Fati, Luis Su rez and Nelson Semedo also scored Sunday for Barcelona, which had already secured second place behind Madrid.

Fati opened the scoring in the 24th minute, Messi added to the lead 10 minutes later and Su rez closed the first-half scoring in the 44th. Semedo got on the board in the 57th and Messi in the 75th to help Barcelona rebound from a 2-1 home loss to Osasuna.

"Today things were different," Messi said.

"The team showed better attitude and commitment. It was an important step forward for us ahead of what's left in the season."

Barcelona now turns its focus to its Aug. 8 home game against Napoli in the round of 16 of the Champions League. The first leg, played before the break, ended 1-1.

Barcelona coach Quique Seti n finished under pressure after the team relinquished a two-point lead over Madrid when the league resumed following the pandemic break. It was four points back before Madrid's match at Legan s.

Barcelona defender Cl ment Lenglet had to be substituted early in the second half because of an apparent muscle injury.

Alav s, sitting in 15th, had already done enough to stay up.

BAR A "B" TEAM

American winger Konrad de la Fuente scored twice as Barcelona's "B" team beat Valladolid B to keep alive its hopes of reaching the second division next season. The victory put Barcelona in the second round of the promotion playoffs.

The 19-year-old De la Fuente, who recently had his contract with Barcelona extended through the 2021-22 season, scored in each half.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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News Network
July 23,2020

New Delhi, Jul 23: With one year to go for the Olympic Games to begin in Tokyo on July 23, 2021, Indian women's hockey team skipper Rani Rampal on Thursday said the side has performed well against top teams in recent times and can do the same at the Olympics.

The Indian team has competed well against top teams in the recent past and has registered memorable victories at the FIH Series Finals and the FIH Olympic Qualifiers last year.

"We have competed against top teams in the recent past and we have shown that our team has the capability of winning a medal and making our country proud at the Olympics. We have a good group of experienced players, who are guiding the junior players very well. Our team has been getting better with each tournament we have played and we will definitely improve our game even further in the next one year," said the 25-year-old said in a statement.

Speaking about her participation at the Olympics, Rani said that the experience will help her make better decisions at the Tokyo Olympics.

"It was great to be a part of the Olympics in Rio. We made history by qualifying for the tournament after 36 years. It was a great feeling to be playing at the biggest of stages. Even though we didn't register the best of results, I have certainly learned a lot by playing the Olympic Games matches in 2016. I am sure all the players, who played in the 2016 Olympics, will make much better decisions on the pitch at the Tokyo Olympics, based on their experience in Rio," she said.

The Tokyo Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021, while the Paralympics will take place from August 24 to September 5, 2021.  

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