DURBAN: A masterclass in spin bowling from Keshav Maharaj and a brilliant propelled South Africa to a comprehensive victory over Australia in the 1st ODI at Kingsmead.

In a thrilling encounter that swung dramatically across both innings, South Africa defeats Australia in 1st ODI, sealing a comprehensive victory to take a 1-0 lead in the bilateral series. Backed by a passionate home crowd, the Proteas successfully defended a competitive total as South Africa won by 67 runs after bowling out the visitors in clinical fashion.

Opting to field first after winning the toss, Australia’s bowling unit found immediate rhythm, asking tough questions of the South African top order. The hosts found themselves in a spot of bother early on, losing key wickets cheaply under the overcast Durban skies. However, top-order batsman Matthew Breetzke anchored the innings with immense maturity.

Breetzke paced his century beautifully, bringing up a magnificent 112 off 106 deliveries. He found an able partner in all-rounder Marco Jansen, who counter-attacked fiercely to smash a rapid 75 off 59 balls.

Together, the duo stitched a vital 107-run partnership for the sixth wicket, resurrecting the Proteas from a precarious position and guiding them to a robust total of 297/8 in 50 overs. Nathan Ellis finished with commendable figures of 3 for 57.

In reply, Australia’s chase began with absolute fireworks. Skipper launched a brutal assault on the South African pace attack during the powerplay restrictions. Marsh’s blistering 60 off just 36 balls, which included six maximums, looked set to turn the run chase into a cakewalk as Australia rocketed to 96/1 within the first 10 overs. The visitors looked firmly in control, scoring at a rate that left the Proteas skipper searching for answers.

The turning point of the contest arrived with the introduction of spin on a gripping Kingsmead surface. It was Keshav Maharaj’s four-wicket haul that completely turned the tide of the match. The left-arm orthodox spinner choked the run flow and triggered a catastrophic batting collapse from which the Australians could never recover.

Maharaj finished with spectacular figures of 4 for 20 across 9.2 overs, bamboozling the middle order with his flight and sharp turn. He received excellent support from fellow spinner Bjorn Fortuin, who picked up 2 for 34.

From a position of absolute dominance, Australia’s batting lineup crumbled against the turning ball, losing their final nine wickets for just 134 runs. The visitors were eventually bundled out for 230 in 41.2 overs.

Breetzke was named Player of the Match for his rescue act, but it was the discipline of the spin twins that guaranteed the victory. The teams will now travel to Johannesburg, where South Africa will look to carry this winning momentum into the second ODI on September 27.

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By Nawaz Gohar : Pakistan and Australia will feature in a three-match ODI series commencing from Saturday, 30 May at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The second ODI will be staged at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday, 2 June, while the third ODI will be played at the same venue on Thursday, 4 June.

All three ODIs will begin at 4.30pm PKT.

Pakistan will be captained by Shaheen Shah Afridi, while the tourists will be led by Josh Inglis. The first ODI at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be Pakistan’s 1,000th ODI. Pakistan, who played their first ODI against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1973, have so far played 999 ODI matches, winning 527 and losing 442. Nine matches ended in a tie, while 21 matches ended with no result.

In the head-to-head record, third-ranked Australia have played 111 ODIs against fifth-ranked Pakistan. Pakistan have won 36 matches, while Australia have emerged victorious on 71 occasions. Three matches ended with no result, while one match was tied.

Pakistan have won each of the last two bilateral ODI series between the sides by a 2-1 margin. Australia toured Pakistan for a three-match ODI series in 2022, which the hosts won 2-1. Then in November 2024, Pakistan toured Australia for a three-match ODI series, which the visitors won 2-1.

Talking to PCB Digital on the eve of the series, Shaheen Shah Afridi said:

“The first ODI in Rawalpindi will be a special occasion as it marks Pakistan’s 1,000th ODI. It is an important milestone in our cricket history and we would like to celebrate it with a strong performance against Australia.

“Australia are one of the strongest teams in world cricket and contests between the two sides have always been highly competitive. Our preparations for the series have been good. The players have worked hard during the training camp and everyone is eager to contribute towards the team’s success. We have a talented group that combines experience with exciting young players.

“We have enjoyed success against Australia in the last two bilateral ODI series and that gives us confidence, but we understand that every series presents a new challenge. Our focus is on executing our plans well and maintaining consistency throughout the three matches.

“Playing at Rawalpindi and Lahore is always special because of the passionate support we receive from the fans. Their encouragement motivates us to give our best on the field and we hope to provide them with an entertaining brand of cricket.”

Broadcast details:

For the first time, the PCB will live-stream the matches on PCB’s OTT platform “PCB Live” in Pakistan. More details on PCB OTT platform is available here. The three ODIs will also be broadcast live on PTV Sports across the country.

Fans can also witness the action on “PCB Live” in Europe, UK, North America, Caribbean and Africa. For viewers abroad, Fox Sports (Australia), T Sports and Tapmad (Bangladesh), Willow (North America), Cricbuzz (MENA) and Dialog (Sri Lanka) will broadcast the action.

The commentary panel will feature former Test captains Aamir Sohail and Ramiz Raja, who will be joined by former Test cricketer Bazid Khan and former Pakistan women’s captain Urooj Mumtaz. Former Australia Test batter Greg Blewett will also be part of the commentary team. Zainab Abbas is set to present the PCB’s famous PitchSide Studio during the pre- and post-match shows for all three matches of the series.

16-member squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan, Shamyl Hussain and Sufyan Moqim

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Australia defeated India by 184 runs on the 5th day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Monday.

On the fifth day of the fourth Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series of 5 Test matches, the Indian team was bowled out for 155 runs in response to the target of 340 runs, 9 Indian players could not reach double figures.

India’s Yashvi Jaiswal scored 84 and Rishabh Pant scored 30 runs, captain Pat Cummins and Scott Polland took 3, 3 wickets for the Kangaroos while spinner Nathan Lowen dismissed 2 players.

Apart from them, Mitchell Starc and Travis Head got one wicket each, the Australian bowlers dropped India’s last seven wickets for just 34 runs, and India was out for 121 runs with 3 players out.

Australian captain Pat Cummins was adjudged man of the match for taking 3, 3 wickets in both innings as the Kangaroos took a 2-1 lead in the 5-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy series with the victory.

A new attendance record was set in the ongoing fourth Test match between India and Australia, during which more than 350,700 fans came to the field in Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 5 days.

According to the report of the leading cricket website Cricinfo, earlier in 1937, 3 lakh 50 thousand 534 cricket fans visited the ground.

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T20 World Cup: South Africa and Sri Lankan batsmen’s slowest batting record…
…………Asghar Ali Mubarak ……..

South Africa and Sri Lankan batsmen have set a new record by batting slowly in the T20 World Cup. In the Group D match. South Africa defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets.

It was impossible for the batsmen to bat on a tough bowler-friendly wicket in New York, where the African team also lost 4 wickets chasing the target after the Sri Lankan team was bowled out for 77 runs. In the match, the batsmen of both the teams showed slow batting where Sri Lankan players scored 77 runs off 115 balls,

while South Africa also had to resort to 98 balls to achieve the target. In the match, the players of both the teams played record dot balls and created a new world record of the T20 World Cup. The two teams faced a total of 214 balls and played 127 dot balls, which is a world record in the T20 World Cup.

The previous highest was 123 dot balls played in the 2007 T20 World Cup match between South Africa and India. The highest number of dot balls bowled in T20 Internationals was 148 in a match between Ireland and Kenya in 2008.

South Africa started the World Cup 2024 successfully by defeating Sri Lanka thanks to the excellent performance of the bowlers. In the Group D match, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first, which proved disastrous.
Sri Lanka suffered their first loss when Patham Nissanka walked out in the third over of the innings after scoring just three runs.

Kaushal Mendis and Kamindu Mendis had taken the score to 31 when the South African captain introduced Enrich Nokia and Keship Maharaj from the bowling end, who destroyed the Sri Lankan batting line in a few overs. With Nokia running Kamindu Mendes for 31, in the next over,

Maharaj took two catches and finished the work of skipper Vinandu Hasaranga as well as Sidira Samara Wickrama, both of whom failed to open the account. Kagiso Rabada takes two wickets

The Sri Lankan team was not even able to recover from this loss as Nokia took the valuable wicket of Kaushal Mendes in the next over and thus at the end of 10 overs the Sri Lankan team had lost five wickets for 40 runs. The failure of the batting line of the Sri Lankan team can be estimated from the fact that they could hit only fours till 12 overs and in the same over Nokia also got the third wicket while chasing another.

After the fall of 6 wickets for 45 runs, Dasan Shanaka came in to support the experienced Angelo Mathews and both hit a couple of sixes to take the score to 68 but Kagiso Rabada scattered Shanaka’s wickets to give his team their seventh win. Sri Lanka’s hopes of reaching the 100 mark were dashed when Nokia finished Mathews’ 16 in the fourth over.

The entire Sri Lankan team collapsed for just 77 runs on the last ball of the 20th over and eight of its players could not even get into double figures.

The South African bowlers put up a brilliant display of nippy bowling which can be gauged from the fact that Nokia and Otniel Baartman conceded 7 and 9 runs respectively in their quota of four overs. On behalf of the Proteas,

Nokia took four wickets for 7 runs, Maharaj and Rabada took two wickets each while Bartman took one wicket. Chasing the target, the South African batsmen also faced difficulties in scoring runs on a difficult wicket.

The score had just reached 23 when Dasan Shanaka ended skipper Aiden Markram’s innings to give his team their second win. Sri Lanka had a chance to take another wicket in the same over but Kaushal Mendes could not catch South African batsman Tristan Stubbs in the slip.

Stubbs seized the opportunity and combined with Quinton de Kock to complete the team’s half-century, but the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman’s 20-run innings came to an end on a total of 51. Stubbs’ score of 13 runs increased the score by 7 runs, but David Miller and Henry Claeson steered their side to victory.

South Africa reached the target with 22 balls to spare and won the match by 6 wickets and also secured two valuable points. Enrich Nokia was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant batting.

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T20 World Cup begins in America: USA defeats Canada in the opening match

…….. Asghar Ali Mubarak…. ……….

The opening ceremony of the ICCT20 World Cup was held in New York, the first match of the short-format tournament was played between the teams of USA and Canada in Dallas.

In the opening match, the host USA defeated Canada by 7 wickets and started the event victoriously. In the first match of the ICCT20 World Cup played in the American city of Dallas,

Canada batted first and lost 5 wickets in the scheduled 20 overs. Scored 194 runs in response to which the host team achieved the desired target in 17.4 overs at the loss of 3 wickets. Earlier,

the captain of the American cricket team, Monanik Patel, won the toss and invited Canada to bat first. Canada’s Aaron Johnson and Navneet Dhaliwal gave the team a 43-run start, both getting out with 23 and 61 respectively. Pargat Singh 5, Shreyas Mowa 32, Dilpreet Bajwa 11 runs,

while Nicholas Curtin played an aggressive innings of 51 runs. Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh and Corey Anderson took one wicket each for USA.

Steven Taylor was bowled out for the hosts and skipper Monanik Patel returned to the pavilion after scoring 16 runs, but Andrew Goss and Aaron Jones contributed 131 runs to the team’s win. Andrew Goss scored 65 runs, while Aaron Jones played an electrifying innings of 96 runs off 40 balls which included 10 sixes and 4 fours. Dutta took one wicket each.

It should be noted that in the second match of the event, the teams of West Indies and Papua New Guinea were competing in Guyana. The third match of the T20 World Cup will be played between Namibia and Oman in Barbados. On June 3, 2 matches will be played.

has reached Dallas, where they will play their opening match against the host USA on June 6, while Pakistan’s second match and the biggest Pakistan-India clash of the mega event will be held in New York on June 9.

The ninth edition of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will continue from June 1 to June 29, jointly hosted by the United States and the West Indies, in which 20 teams are participating for the first time.

Divided into 4 groups, while each team will play 4.4 matches in the preliminary group stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the playoffs.

After that, the remaining 8 teams are further divided into two groups in the Sprite stage, where all teams have to play 3-3 matches to reach the semi-finals and the top two teams of each group play a semi-final.

will go, after which the two teams will battle for the trophy on June 29 in Barbados.

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Australia wrest top position in Tests but India remain No. 1 in ODIs and T20Is

Islamabad, 3 May 2024: By ; Nawaz Gohar

Australia, who defeated India in the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, have reclaimed No. 1 position in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings following the annual update that drops results from the 2020-21 season and reflects all series completed since May 2021.

Australia now lead the table with 124 rating points, but India, who ceded top position to them, are just four points behind and 15 points clear of third-placed England. South Africa are the fourth team above the 100-point mark with 103 points.

India slipped mainly because their 2-1 series win in Australia in 2020-21 has dropped from the rankings.

The order of teams ranked from third to ninth remains the same. Only nine teams are now ranked as Afghanistan and Ireland have yet to play sufficient Tests while Zimbabwe too are out as they have played only three Tests over the past three years.

Teams need to play a minimum of eight Tests over a three-year period to get on the rankings table.

India, however, remain atop the ODI and T20I rankings after the annual updates, that weight matches completed prior to May 2023 at 50 per cent and subsequent matches at 100 per cent.

India may have lost the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup final to Australia but have increased their lead over them from three to six points, leading the table with 122 points. There are no changes in the top 10 but Ireland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 11th position.

Third-placed South Africa have closed the gap with Australia from eight to four points while Sri Lanka are just two points behind fifth-placed England.

The T20I rankings see Australia move ahead of England to second place but they are seven points adrift of India, who lead with 264 rating points.

South Africa are just two points behind England after leapfrogging two places from the sixth position that they had before the update. New Zealand also have 250 points like South Africa but behind on fractions while the West Indies are at 249 points, which means that just three points separate third-placed England from sixth-placed West Indies.

In other movements, Pakistan have dropped two places to seventh while Scotland have overtaken Zimbabwe to 12th position.

Outside the top 20, the biggest rating gains are achieved by Spain (up from 33rd to 30th), Isle of Man (44th to 41st) and Switzerland (50th to 45th).

In all, 86 countries have played at least eight T20Is in the past three years and so earned a ranking. Six countries are no longer ranked: Greece, Mexico, Myanmar and Turkey have played seven T20Is and so will be ranked after their next match, while Belize and Cook Island have played six T20Is, so will be ranked after playing two more matches.

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Pakistan to tour Australia for white-ball series in November

Pakistan to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Australia

Series to take place from 4 to 18 November across six cities
Lahore, 26 March 2024;

Pakistan are set to visit Australia for a white-ball series scheduled for November this year. The tour, which will mark the start for Australia’s white ball schedule for the summer of 2024-25, will comprise six games in total – three ODIs and as many T20Is – to be played across six venues from 4 to 18 November 2024.

Pakistan will be returning to Australia after a gap of nearly 11 months, after having competed in the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, which comprised three Test matches played across Perth, Sydney and Melbourne in December 2023-January 2024.

The three-match Dettol Men’s ODI series will begin on 4 November at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pakistan and Australia will then play in Adelaide and Perth on 8 and 10 November, respectively. Pakistan last played an ODI series on Australian soil back in 2016, which saw the home-side come out on top.

Subsequently, Pakistan and Australia will face one another in the three-match Dettol Men’s T20I Series. Pakistan’s last T20I outing on Australian soil was back in 2022, wherein the men in green appeared in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The series will start at The Gabba in Brisbane. Action will then move to the Sydney Cricket Ground; Pakistan’s last T20I at the venue saw them beat New Zealand at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final. Hobart will be the last stop on the tour, where the final T20I will be played on 18 November.

Full schedule:

ODI Series ;  4 November: MCG, Melbourne 8 November: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

10 November: Perth Stadium, Perth

T20I Series ; 14 November: The Gabba, Brisbane
16 November: SCG, Sydney 18 November: Bellerive Oval, Hobart

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Australia defeated defending champions India by 79 runs in the final of the ICC U-19 World Cup to become world champions for the fourth time.

By; Nawaz Gohar

In the final match of the ICC U-19 World Cup in Benoni, South Africa, Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. For India, Raj Lambani took 3 wickets, Naman Tiwari took 2 wickets while Somi Pandey and Mushir Khan took one wicket each.

Chasing a target of 254 runs, the entire Indian team was bowled out for 174 runs in 43.5 overs, opener Adarsh ​​Singh played an innings of 47 runs, Mushir Khan scored 22 runs, Murugan Abhishek scored 42 runs and Nauman Tiwari scored 14 runs.

While no other player could enter in double figures. Earlier, Harjas Singh scored 55 runs on behalf of Australia, Captain Hugh Webgen scored 48 runs and Harry Dixon played a brilliant innings of 42 runs.

While no other player could enter in double figures. Earlier, Harjas Singh scored 55 runs on behalf of Australia, Captain Hugh Webgen scored 48 runs and Harry Dixon played a brilliant innings of 42 runs.

Australia’s squad; Captain Hugh Webbgan, Harry Dixon, Sam Konstas, Harjas Singh, Ryan Hicks, Oliver Peck, Charlie Anderson, Raf McMillan, Tom Stricker, Mahily Beardman, Callum Wadler

India’s squad; Captain Uday Saharan, Priyanshu Molya, Sachin Das, Araveli Avinesh, Murugan Abhishek, Adarsh ​​Singh, Arshin Kulkarni, Mushir Khan, Naman Tiwari, Raj Lambani, Soumi Pandey

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Cricket Legends Afridi ,Yuvraj Pietersen to Illuminate T20 Extravaganza

London ; In an extraordinary gathering of cricket excellence, Edgbaston is set to host the highly anticipated World Championship of Legends (WCL) this summer. Featuring luminaries like Shahid Afridi ,

Yuvraj Singh, , and Kevin Pietersen, the T20 tournament is approved by the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB)on showcasing retired and non-contracted players from cricketing powerhouses England, India, Pakistan, Australia, West Indies, and South Africa.
Harshit Tomar, Director of Zabawa Entertainment, shared his excitement, affirming, “The current announcement strengthens WCL’s status as a top-tier platform for past cricketing champions, creating new opportunities for the league’s development and global significance.”

WCL has catalyzed advanced contract negotiations with cricket luminaries from the 1990s and 2000s. Notable figures such as Yuvraj Singh, Shahid Afridi, Kevin Pietersen have committed to participating in this cricketing extravaganza.
“We aspire to deliver top-tier sports entertainment to fans globally,” Tomar stated, emphasizing the grand scale of the tournament.
Scheduled to commence from the 3rd of July, the tournament promises to be an event of riveting clashes and unforgettable moments eagerly anticipated by fans and cricket enthusiasts.

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Amir Hassan ready to make a name for himself in the U19 mega-event

Lahore, 9 January 2024:

By Nawaz Gohar

Left-arm fast bowler, Amir Hassan is looking forward to making the most of the South African conditions in the upcoming ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2024. 18-year-old Amir has represented Pakistan U16 and Pakistan U19 teams after starting his journey as U13 player from Rawalpindi.

He was born in Landi Kotal, the hometown of Shaheen Shah Afridi, whom he considers his idol, and started his cricket career after shifting to Rawalpindi several years ago. He played two editions of the PCB U13 Inter-Regional T20 tournament in 2017 and 2018.

Amir represented Rawalpindi Region U16s in the 2018-19 season of the U16 One Day Tournament and proved his mettle by becoming the fourth leading wicket-taker as he picked up 13 scalps in seven games at an average of seven and best bowling figures of 5-23. He was rewarded with a call-up to the Pakistan U16 team for the Bangladesh tour in 2019 where he played one three-day game.

He represented Rawalpindi in the National U19 Cup and National U19 Championship in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 editions paving the way for his selection in Pakistan U19 for the away series against Bangladesh U19 in 2023. Amir hit the ground running in his first one-day game for Pakistan U19 at Chattogram where he returned with figures of 5-24 in his quota of 10 overs.

Amir was part of the Pakistan Shaheens side that toured Australia in July-August 2023. He later featured in the ACC U19 Asia Cup 2023 where he ended up as the third leading wicket-taker for Pakistan U19 besides Mohammad Zeeshan and Ubaid Shah, with six wickets in four matches.

In a chat with PCB Digital, Amir said: “I’ve always received support from my family, and in my childhood, they encouraged me to pursue the game properly which is why I shifted to Rawalpindi. I’ve followed Pakistan’s best left-arm fast bowlers and they have inspired me to pick up cricket as a professional as well. I like to bowl in-swing like some of the famous bowlers of this trade.”

Amir is confident that he’ll help Pakistan U19 at the World Cup to get regular breakthroughs as the conditions in South Africa favour pacers. “We have been preparing for the World Cup in the camp and the coaches have helped us a lot to get ready for the tournament. Our focus is to put up quality performances in the group matches first and then look forward to lifting the trophy.”

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