BUENOS AIRES, Nov 4(ABC): Lionel Messi has been building up to this moment, aware that his fifth World Cup with Argentina almost certainly represents his last chance to get his hands on the trophy. In July he reported back a week early for pre-season training with Paris Saint-Germain and since then he has looked like a man on a mission, determined …

SYDNEY, Nov 4(ABC): Former Australian captain and batter Ian Chappell has put his weight behind bilateral cricket saying Pakistan and India hosting each other would be much better than them playing a Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The veteran cricketer and commentator said that love for the game of cricket kept players united. “It is ridiculous,” Chappell responded when …

ADELAIDE, Nov 4(ABC): Glenn Maxwell s unbeaten 54 helped Australia beat Afghanistan by four runs to stay in the hunt for the semi-finals at the Twenty20 World Cup on Friday in Adelaide. The result ensured New Zealand book their final-four spot from Group 1. The hosts and defending champions Australia need England to lose their final Super 12 match on …

DUBAI, Nov 1(ABC): The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has ruled out the possibility of a Pakistan-India Test series in Australia. As per media reports, a BCCI official has said that there is no question of playing any series between Pakistan and India other than ICC and ACC events. The official said that if the Modi government …

ADELAIDE, Nov 1(ABC): “Absolutely perfect” Virat Kohli trained as usual at the Twenty20 World Cup on Tuesday, coach Rahul Dravid said, adding he hopes there is no repeat of the invasion of privacy which left the star batsman “paranoid”. Kohli on Monday took to social media to condemn the actions of an intruder who filmed the inside of his room at …

KARACHI, Nov 1(ABC): Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif has set Guinness World Records for being the youngest climber to summit Mount Everest and K2. Nineteen-year-old Shehroze, who is also known as Broad Boy, summited two tallest mountains — the 8,849-metre-high Everest and 8,611-metre-high K2. Shehroze was first included in the Guinness book of world records back in 2021. “Alhumdulilah! I have been published in the Guinness book …

MELBOURNE, Nov 1(ABC): Steve Smith will be happy to bat anywhere in the Australian order if called upon at the T20 World Cup and he might finally have his chance with injury doubts hanging over a number of his teammates. Captain and opener Aaron Finch, number six Tim David, and all-rounder Marcus Stoinis are all questionable ahead of Australia’s final …

KARACHI, Nov 1(ABC): Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal Tuesday bid adieu to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi after it decided to not retain him for the next season. Taking to his YouTube channel and Twitter, Akmal confirmed the development. “Goodbyes are always hard..it has been a wonderful 7 years journey with @PeshawarZalmi,” Akmal wrote in his tweet, thanking …

Nov 1(ABC): Pakistan’s qualification hopes to the semi-finals stage of the T20 World Cup hang on to the upset of India and South Africa against weak sides Bangladesh and Netherlands. Pakistan need to win all remaining matches and their next vital encounter is scheduled against confident South Africa on Thursday, but the Men In Green’s hopes of advancing to the …

LAHORE, Oct 31(ABC): The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 Player Draft will be held, with the defending champion Lahore Qalandars having the first pick as representatives from the six teams took part in a random drawing on Monday at the Pakistan Cricket Board offices to decide the pick order. The second and third picks will go to the champions of …

Oct 31(ABC): Indian captain Rohit Sharma and top order batsmen Virat Kohli and KL Rahul have been rested for the white ball tour of New Zealand next month but the trio will return for the Bangladesh series, Indian selector Chetan Sharma said on Monday. India will play three Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals in New Zealand from Nov. 18, …

MEXICO CITY, Oct 31(ABC): Red Bull’s double world champion Max Verstappen won the Mexico City Grand Prix on Sunday to set a Formula One record of 14 victories from a single season, as well as the most points scored. The Dutch driver led from pole position at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, stopping on lap 26 of 71 to switch from …

MILAN, Oct 31(ABC): Paul Pogba’s chances of playing in the upcoming World Cup are at risk again after media reports in Italy said he had suffered a thigh injury. France star Pogba had recently returned to training with Juventus, for whom he is yet to feature following a knee injury suffered in the summer. Neither Juve nor Pogba’s representatives responded to AFP’s requests for …

PERTH, Oct 31(ABC): Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has said that it is never easy to make a comeback following an injury which has kept a player out of action for three months. Talking to journalists on Sunday at ICC mixed zone following Pakistan’s 6-wicket win over the Netherlands, Shaheen said that his pace is the same …

PERTH, Oct 31(ABC): Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy said it was disappointing to see Pakistan losing two matches from a position from where they should’ve won it. Sammy — who also coaches Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) Peshawar Zalmi franchise — said that not being able to score runs doesn’t take Babar Azam’s class away from him. Sammy is currently …

PERTH, Oct 31(ABC): South Africa s five-wicket win against India takes them a lot closer to a semi-final spot, while at the same time jeopardising the qualifying chances of Pakistan. Here s a look at how the teams are shaping up with six matches to go in Group 2. South Africa Played: 3, Points: 5, NRR: 2.772, Rem matches: vs …

MELBOURNE, Oct 31(ABC):  Australia captain Aaron Finch said his team cannot afford to take Ireland lightly in Monday s T20 World Cup contest, specially after Andy Balbirnie s side pulled off a massive giant-killing act against England. Ireland stunned England in a rain-marred Super 12 contest on Wednesday and are joined by defending champions Australia as well as England on …

LAHORE, Oct 31(ABC): Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram has revealed recently that he actually became addicted to cocaine after his cricketing career was over. In his biography “Sultan A Memoir”, the Sultan of Swing made these shocking revelations which are hard to believe. Some excerpts have come out of from his book where he shared that he became addicted cocaine and …

LAHORE, Oct 31(ABC): The Pakistan women’s team will perform well in the home series against Ireland, said pacer Fatima Sana confidently. Ireland’s women’s cricket team will visit Pakistan this November to play a double cricket series versus Pakistan. The members of the Pakistan team are excited about Ireland’s maiden tour. Pakistan will play the visitors in three ODIs and as many …

Oct 31(ABC): Ireland’s women cricket team has arrived in Lahore on its maiden visit to Pakistan. Pakistan’s cricket stars expressed excitement over the upcoming home series against the visitors. The visitors are touring the country for the first time in November to play three ODIs and as many T20Is at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The …

PERTH, Oct 31(ABC): Pakistan white-ball cricket team’s vice-captain Shadab Khan Sunday remained hopeful for continuing momentum in the ICC T20 World Cup following its win over the Netherlands in Australia’s Perth Stadium. Pakistan defeated the Netherlands by six wickets to register their first win in the mega tournament after two consecutive defeats from India and Zimbabwe; however, Shadab hopes that the Green …

PERTH, Oct 28(ABC): Pakistan batsman Shan Masood warned that his “demoralised” side must pick themselves up quickly and keep believing if they are to salvage their fading Twenty20 World Cup dreams. Pakistan suffered a shock one-run loss to Zimbabwe in Perth on Thursday, four days after they went down to arch-rivals India in their tournament opener in similarly agonising fashion. One …

Oct 28(ABC): Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav said his partnership with Virat Kohli had been forged by mutual respect for each other’s style after the pair guided their team to a 56-run win over the Netherlands in the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday. Kohli’s superb 62 not out was his second successive unbeaten half-century after a blitzkrieg in India’s victory over …

SYDNEY, Oct 28(ABC): Rilee Rossouw has taken the long road to the Twenty20 World Cup and the in-form South African batsman is determined to enjoy the ride for as long as he can. The 33-year-old lefthander scored the first century of the tournament to help the Proteas to a thumping 104-run win over Bangladesh on Thursday and put them back on …

EINDHOVEN, Oct 28(ABC): Arsenal have to quickly put Thursday s disappointing 2-0 Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven behind them as they face a hectic fixture schedule, manager Mikel Arteta said. PSV advanced to the knockout stage of Europe s second-tier competition following goals from Joey Veerman and Luuk De Jong. The result ended Arsenal’s 100 per cent start to Group …

MANCHESTER, Oct 28(ABC): Manchester United s Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the starting lineup as they sealed a place in the Europa League knockout rounds with a 3-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol at Old Trafford on Thursday (Oct 27). Ronaldo, who was left out of the squad for the weekend Premier League trip to Chelsea for disciplinary reasons, …

Perth, Oct 28(ABC): Zimbabwe’s unexpected win against Pakistan in ICC T20 World Cup 2022 on Thursday has made the group 2 interesting for all the teams but has left Pakistan stranded in ifs and buts to progress further in the tournament. Pakistan with defeats by India and Zimbabwe is currently at 5th place with no points in two games. India, South …

PERTH, Oct 28(ABC):Skipper Babar Azam blamed batting collapse for his side’s defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the ICC T20 match at Perth Cricket Stadium on Thursday. Pakistan fell one run short chasing a target of 131 as the Men in Green failed to score 11 off the last six balls bowled by Brad Evans. Speaking to the journalists after the …

Perth, Oct 28(ABC): Zimbabwean cricketer Sikandar Raza feels that his side’s win over Pakistan in ICC T20 World Cup is best win for him since he has started playing cricket for Zimbabwe. Sialkot born Raza took 3 wickets conceding 25 runs to help his side beat Pakistan by one run. A result that has made the group 2 of super 12 …

Oct 28(ABC): The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 has approved Asitha Fernando as a replacement for Binura Fernando in the Sri Lanka squad. Asitha Fernando who has played three T20Is, was named as a replacement after Binura Fernando was ruled out due to a left hamstring injury that was sustained in Tuesday’s match against …

DUBAI, Oct 27(ABC): India star Virat Kohli has been rewarded for his heroics against Pakistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on the latest ICC Men’s Player Rankings, while a new contender has emerged for the No.1 spot on the list for batters. Kohli smashed an unbeaten 82 to guide his side to a memorable final-ball victory over Pakistan …

PERTH, Oct 27(ABC): Sri Lanka have added fast bowlers Asitha Fernando and Matheesha Pathirana and wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella as back-up players to their T20 World Cup squad in Australia following a series of injuries to their players. The trio has been called up should the need arise for them to replace players in their main squad. Tim McCaskill, head of …

DOHA, Oct 27(ABC): Qatar is to drop pre-arrival Covid tests before the World Cup, the health ministry said on Wednesday, weeks after announcing that the million-plus incoming fans do not need vaccinations. The latest relaxation in anti-Covid measures will take effect on November 1, 19 days before the first World Cup on Arab territory starts on November 20. The arriving …

PERTH, Oct 27(ABC): Zimbabwean cricketer Sikandar Raza is confident of a good show by his side in the ICC T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on Thursday. Speaking exclusively , the 36-year-old Sialkot-born Zimbabwean player termed Pakistan a very good side, adding that his team was ready for the challenge. “I am really looking forward to this game. We’ve had …

PARIS, Oct 26(ABC): Paris St Germain s Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored twice, with Neymar also on target, as the French club s fearsome attack tore apart Maccabi Haifa in a 7-2 win to send them into the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday (Oct 25). The irrepressible trio were simply too much for Maccabi to …

LONDON , Oct 26(ABC): James Vince and Sam Billings have won recalls to England s ODI squad for a three-match series in Australia, which takes place immediately after the men s T20 World Cup. Jason Roy will also make his return to international cricket after a lean English summer led to him losing his spot in the T20I side and …

KARACHI, Oct 26(ABC): India batter Virat Kohli should retire from T20I, ex-Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said, after the former skipper led the Men In Blue to victory against the Green Shirts in their World Cup opener at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last week. “I want him to retire from T20I because I don’t want [him to put] his entire …

LAHORE, Oct 26(ABC): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and National Bank of Pakistan signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the naming rights of one of the country’s most iconic Test venues — the National Stadium in Karachi. As such, the venue will now be known as the National Bank Cricket Arena, a statement from the cricket board said …

Oct 26(ABC): The categories of eight players were upgraded following the local player category renewal process for the Pakistan Super League 2023, while the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also opened the registration window for foreign players. The player lists, according to a PCB statement, have been shared with the six franchises for the tournament to be played across four venues …

KARACHI, Oct 26(ABC): Simon Taufel, legendary Australian umpire, has finally broken silence on the controversial final over in the T20 World Cup match between arch-rivals Pakistan and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday. In the last decisive over, the ball by Pakistani pacer Mohammad Nawaz deflected after hitting the wickets, as Indian hard-hitter Virat Kohli was bowled on a free hit. …