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Al Jazeera
a day ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Pakistan sweep series against Bangladesh as Haris hits 107 in third T20I
A nerveless century from Mohammad Haris has led Pakistan's chase of 197 runs to win the third T20 international cricket match against Bangladesh and complete a 3-0 series win in Lahore. Having won the first two matches after choosing to bowl first, Pakistan asked the visitors to bat first in the third match on Sunday at Gaddafi Stadium in Pakistan's eastern metropolis. Given a tricky target of 197, Pakistan lost Sahibzada Farhan – their highest scorer in the second T20I – in the first over to Mehidy Hasan Miraz. While the Pakistan of old may have crumbled under the pressure of losing a quick wicket, the new-look side under young captain Salman Agha and freshly-appointed coach Mike Hesson kept up their scoring rate. Saim Ayub and Haris formed a 92-run partnership as they took on the Bangladeshi bowling attack to maintain a high scoring rate and keep the target within sight. Ayub was dismissed in the 10th over by Tanzim Hasan Sakib after scoring 45 runs off 29 balls, but by then, Haris had taken on the role of the main hitter and kept the big shots coming. The wicketkeeper-batter hit seven sixes and eight fours in his 46-ball 107, which kept Bangladesh out of contention for most of Pakistan's innings. He was all smiles as he accepted the Player of the Match award and said that despite not performing well for Pakistan in the recent past, he kept working hard. 'I tried to learn from my mistakes and didn't want to waste this opportunity that I got to play in this series,' he said. Haris added that he batted with the simple plan of 'see ball, play ball' and didn't want to play any unnecessary shots. Earlier, Bangladesh's innings had got off to a swift start when Parvez Hossain Emon and Tanzid Hasan overpowered Pakistan's opening bowlers Ayub and Faheem Ashraf. They set up an opening stand of 110, but the Bangladeshi batting lineup derailed soon after Tanzid's departure in the 11th over. Despite starts from captain Litton Das (22 runs) and Towhid Hridoy (25 runs), the Tigers were unable to maintain the scoring rate set by the openers. A total of 196-6 in 20 overs ensured the home team faced some pressure when they came out to bat, but Pakistan's array of attacking batters disregarded scoreboard pressure and took their team home with 16 balls to spare. Pakistan captain Salman, who was on the pitch with Haris when the winning runs were scored, said he was delighted with his team's consistency. 'We want to test ourselves where things become difficult, and we wanted to chase to put the boys under pressure,' Salman explained after the match. The 3-0 series sweep was Pakistan's first since 2021.
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Pakistan seal T20 series against Bangladesh with 57-run win
Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 57 runs in the second T20 international in Lahore to seal the three-game series 2-0. Opener Sahibzada Farhan was named Player of the Match after he top scored with 74 for the hosts, who won the toss at Gaddafi Stadium before posting 201-6. It was a fair fight back from Bangladesh to restrict the hosts after Hasan Nawaz recorded the best strike rate of the innings with an unbeaten 51 off 26 balls. Tanzim Hasan gave some respectability to the chase, which was reduced to 77-7, when, coming in at nine, the Bangladesh bowling allrounder added 50 off 31 balls. Abrar Ahmed's off-break spin was key to restricting the tourists as he claimed 3-19 off his four overs to help Pakistan to their first T20 home series win since December 2021. 'It feels very good … I didn't know it was three and a half years,' the Pakistan captain Salman Agha said afterwards of the end of the barren run. 'It was a complete performance, and that is way better than anything else. 'Everyone is loving the team environment where everyone can come and enjoy playing for Pakistan.' Pakistan, who won the first match by 37 runs at the same venue, brought in opener Sahibzada in place of Fakhar Zaman. The decision was fully repaid with six sixes and four fours recorded by the right-hander in his 41-ball innings. The match could not have got off to a worse start for Bangladesh with Shoriful Islam limping out of his first bowl. The left-arm seamer appeared to tweak a groin while fielding the ball in his follow-through and adds to a long list of absent pacers for the tourists. 'When Shoriful was injured, the momentum shifted,' the Bangladesh skipper Litton Das said. 'We have a lack of bowling, but we came back well because I would back our batters any day to chase 200 on this track. 'Whoever is batting well has to keep going, for 13 or 14 overs, but after four overs we didn't bat well and there were back-to-back wickets. 'In cricket, you have to do the basics, we don't do it at the moment.' Bangladesh had reached 44-0 in the fourth over of the chase before the collapse that ended their hopes of bouncing back from the opening defeat. Opener Tanzid Hasan struck 33 from 19 balls in the stand, but once he fell to the seam of Faheem Ashraf an inevitable end quickly formed. The last match is on Sunday, also in Lahore.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
LIVE: Pakistan vs Bangladesh – second T20I cricket match
Pakistan host Bangladesh in the second T20 international of their three-match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan begins at 8pm (15:00 GMT).The hosts won the first T20I on Wednesday by 37 series is part of both nations' preparations for the next ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will be played in February and March up to date: Follow Al Jazeera Sport on our website and on X for the latest news, features and live events from around the world. Update: Date: 12m ago (12:01 GMT) Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: Hello, welcome and thanks for joining our live coverage of the T20 International (T20I) cricket series between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hosts Pakistan are in the ascendancy after winning the opening match comfortably, by 37 runs, on Wednesday, but the visitors will look to make things even tonight. The match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore begins at 8pm (15:00 GMT). I'm Hafsa Adil, bringing you all the pre-match build-up with key talking points, team news, social media buzz and toss before Kevin Hand joins us for the live photo and text commentary of the action. Stay with Al Jazeera as we gear up for another promising T20I encounter in Lahore.
Times of Oman
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Perera, Sikandar inspire Qalandars to third HBL PSL title
Lahore: Shaheen Shah Afridi's Lahore Qalandars romped to their third HBL PSL title in four years as they beat Quetta Gladiators by six wickets in a thrilling last-over finale here at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Sunday night in front of a packed house. Qalandars, who notched their second-highest successful chase, hunted down the 202-run target with one ball to spare as they became the second team besides Islamabad United to bag three HBL PSL titles in the tournament's 10-year history. The successful 202-run chase by Qalandars is also the highest target surmounted by a team in a T20 final. Kusal Perera, who top-scored for Qalandars with a blazing 62 not out, joined forces with Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza to help their team complete a come-from-behind triumph as the duo stitched an unbeaten 19-ball 59-run fifth-wicket stand. Qalandars required 57 off 20 balls when the Perera and Sikandar got together with the latter making his mark right from the get-go as he struck a six and a four against Mohammad Amir off his first two balls to close off the 17th over of the innings. In the subsequent over, Perera struck two sixes against Khurram Shahzad consigning him for 16 runs. With the required rate above 15, the penultimate over saw Qalandars ransacking 18 runs as Perera again smacked Amir for two fours and a six on the last ball to bring the equation down to 13 required off the final over. Faheem Ashraf gave away only five runs on the first three balls before Raza (22 not out, 7b) bludgeoned a sensational six over deep cover-point followed by a four – the winning shot, to seal the title for Qalandars. Perera, who harvested 170 runs in four games this season, backed up his Eliminator two half-century with the match-winning unbeaten fifty in final in which he hit five fours and four sixes facing 31 balls. After Qalandars were 85-2 in the ninth over, Perera also stitched a 30-run partnership each with Abdullah Shafique (41, 28b, 4x4s, 1x6) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (14, 16b, 1x4, 1x6) to keep the innings intact. At the start of the chase, Mohammad Naeem provided his team with a head-start as he struck six sixes and one four in his 27-ball 46 including a 39-run opening stand with Fakhar Zaman (11, 10b, 2x4s) and a steady 46-run second-wicket partnership with Abdullah. Naeem set the tone for Lahore's successful chase by striking four sixes in a space of five balls across the second and third overs helping his team collect 56 runs off the Powerplay. Qalandars were 97-2 at the halfway stage before they belted the required remaining 105 runs off the next 9.5 overs. Earlier, Quetta Gladiators posted their third-highest total of the HBL PSL X after stumbling to 21-2 with Shaheen and Mohammad Salman Mirza removing the both openers cheaply. Gladiators' top run-scorer in the innings and best batter of the tournament Hasan Nawaz fought back with 76 off 43 balls keeping the run flow going. Hasan and Rilee Rossouw wrestled back with a 19-ball 37-run stand after two early blows, which also saw their team finish the Powerplay with 57-2. Sikandar then removed Rossouw bringing on Avishka Fernando (29, 22b, 5x4) to the crease as he partnered Hasan for the next 6.3 overs. The duo struck nine fours and two sixes collectively in a 67-run stand for the fourth wicket to keep Lahore's bowling attack on their toes. Dinesh Chandimal too helped Gladiators by assisting Hasan in a brisk 46-run stand, where the experienced Sri Lankan batter hit two sixes before departing in the 18th over for a 13-ball 22. Shaheen and Haris Rauf then stemmed Gladiators' progress by delivering a two-wicket over each for eight runs collectively as the 2019 champions found themselves 178-8 in 19 overs. The last over of the innings saw Faheem hit Salman Mirza for three towering sixes and a four to collect 23 runs before falling for an eight-ball 28 on the last ball of the innings. For Lahore, skipper Shaheen, also the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 19 scalps, returned impressive figures of 4-0-24-3, while Salman and Haris picked up two wickets each. Scores in brief: Match 34: Final – Lahore Qalandars beat Quetta Gladiators by six wickets at Gaddafi Stadium Quetta Gladiators 201-9, 20 overs (Hasan Nawaz 76, Avishka Fernando 29, Faheem Ashraf 28, Rilee Rossouw 22, Dinesh Chandimal 22; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-24, Haris Rauf 2-41, Mohammad Salman Mirza 2-51) Lahore Qalandars 204-4, 19.5 overs (Kusal Perera 62 not out, Mohammad Naeem 46, Abdullah Shafique 41, Sikandar Raza 22 not out; Abrar Ahmed 1-27) Player of the final – Kusal Perera (Lahore Qalandars) Best batter of the tournament – Hasan Nawaz (Quetta Gladiators) – 399 runs in 12 matches Best bowler of the tournament – Abrar Ahmed (Quetta Gladiators) – 17 wickets in 12 matches Best wicket-keeper of the tournament – Mohammad Haris (Peshawar Zalmi) – 247 runs & 12 dismissals in 10 matches Best fielder of the tournament – Abdul Samad (Peshawar Zalmi) – Nine catches in five matches Emerging player of the tournament – Mohammad Naeem (Lahore Qalandars) – 316 runs and seven catches in 12 matches Best all-rounder of the tournament – Faheem Ashraf (Quetta Gladiators) – 163 runs and 17 wickets in 12 matches
Al Jazeera
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Al Jazeera
Raza the hero as Lahore beat Quetta for third Pakistan Super League trophy
All-rounder Sikandar Raza has written his name in Pakistan cricket folklore after hitting the match-winning six as the Lahore Qalandars beat the Quetta Gladiators by six wickets to win the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Raza, who was part of Zimbabwe's Test team until Saturday afternoon, joined the Qalandars' playing XI 10 minutes prior to the toss for the final on Sunday evening in Pakistan's eastern metropolis. The Pakistan-born off-break bowler and lower-middle-order batter took one wicket and scored 22 runs off seven balls as Lahore chased a target of 202 with one ball to spare. Lahore's run chase was largely built around Kusal Perera's 62 runs, with support from top-order batters Mohammad Naeem and Abdullah Shafique, but it was Raza's whirlwind journey from the United Kingdom to Pakistan and his subsequent role in hitting the winning runs that stole the show and Lahori hearts. The 39-year-old recounted his last 24 hours by saying he had 'dinner in Birmingham, breakfast in Dubai, lunch in Abu Dhabi and flew straight to Lahore for the PSL final'. Raza bowled 25 overs in the Test on Friday and batted for 20-plus overs on Saturday before leaving for Pakistan. 'To have a victory like this, I just have no words,' he said after the match. The hosts finished on 204-4 from 19.5 overs to lift their third PSL trophy in four years, making Shaheen Shah Afridi the only captain to win three PSL titles. Earlier, Quetta posted a formidable total of 201-9 in their 20 overs as young batter Hasan Nawaz scored 76 runs off 43 balls and Faheem Ashraf cracked three sixes and two fours in an innings of 28 off eight balls. Afridi was the pick of the Lahore bowlers, taking 3-24 in his four overs. Perera was named player of the match for his instrumental innings that kept Lahore in the match until the last over. Meanwhile, Nawaz was named player of the tournament for amassing 399 runs in the competition.
