Sports

DHAKA: Skipper Mahmudullah struck an unbeaten 43 as Bangladesh defeated New Zealand by six wickets in the fourth Twenty20 International to seal the five-match series 3-1 in Dhaka on Wednesday. Mahmudullah guided the hosts 96-4 in 19.1 overs after four wickets each from left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman helped them bowl out the Black Caps for …

LAHORE: Former Pakistan captain and coach Intikhab Alam is not happy with the way head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis left the national team in the wilderness just one month before the start of the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE. Former Test captains Waqar and Misbah out of the blue resigned just as the Pakistan squad for the …

THERE is an unwritten rule in Pakistan cricket: find a good man, give him too many jobs too soon, overburden him, and watch him crack. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, Pakistan’s last major title, Sarfaraz Ahmed was the first to succumb. Wicket-keeper, batsman, captain in every format, Sarfaraz’s demise was as predictable as the PCB’s initial blind faith in his …

Australia’s cricket board said on Thursday it will scrap a planned Test match against the Afghanistan men’s team if the Asian country’s Taliban rulers do not allow women to play the sport. Australian broadcaster SBS quoted a Taliban representative as saying he did not think women would be allowed to play cricket because it was “not necessary” and it would be against …

Afghanistan cricket chiefs are still awaiting instructions from the country’s new Taliban government on the future of the women’s game and are not anticipating a decision any time soon, a top cricket official told Reuters. The Taliban named a new government on Tuesday, three weeks after sweeping to power when the Western-backed government collapsed in the wake of the withdrawal of US-led foreign …

Three days every week, as many as 70 youngsters fill up the pitch at the Dar Hockey Academy in Lahore. Run by Olympian Tauqir Dar, the academy offers training for free from Thursday to Saturday with the hope of finding Pakistan’s next generation of world beaters. For now, for all their hopes and aspirations, the future doesn’t hold much hope. …

The timing of it was just like one of Babar Azam’s exquisite drives through the arc between point and extra cover. While departing simultaneously and leaving the rest of the backroom staff in the dark, both Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis have obviously read the writing on the wall — about what’s in store. Deep down in their hearts both the …

LAHORE: While avoiding any comment on the out-of-the-blue resignations of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis, newly appointed interim coach of Pakistan cricket team Saqlain Mushtaq on Tuesday claimed his team would play aggressive brand of cricket against New Zealand in the forthcoming limited-overs home series. The series comprises three day-night One-day Internationals, to be staged in Rawalpindi from Sept 17-21, and …

NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic struggled but advanced within three matches of completing the first men’s singles calendar-year Grand Slam in 52 years on Monday by outlasting American Jenson Brooksby at the US Open. World number one Djokovic rallied past 99th-ranked Brooksby 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to book a quarter-final encounter with Italian sixth seed Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of …

COLOMBO: Debutant spinner Maheesh Theekshana claimed four wickets as Sri Lanka hammered South Africa by 78 runs in the third One-day International to clinch the series 2-1 in Colombo on Tuesday. Theekshana, an off-spinner with a lethal carrom ball, returned figures of 4-37 as the hosts bowled out South Africa for 125 in 30 overs while chasing a target of …