Sports

PALLEKELE: Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Friday played down the talks of pressure on his side and said they were banking on their experience in Sri Lankan conditions to do well against India in their Asia Cup match. Pakistan had played a two-match Test series in Sri Lanka in July and then several players, including Babar, stayed back for the …

India captain Rohit Sharma played down hype around Saturday’s Asia Cup blockbuster against Pakistan, saying their focus is on using the tournament to fine-tune their preparations for the home World Cup later this year. The next round of cricket’s most emotionally charged rivalry will take place in Pallekele between the arch-rivals, who play each other only in multi-team events thanks …

CHESTER-LE-STREET: England Twenty20 Interna­tional debutant Brydon Carse took three wickets to set up a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the series opener at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday. The 28-year-old South Africa-born paceman, in for the injured John Turner, returned fine figures of 3-23 from his maximum four overs as New Zealand were held to a modest 139-9. Left-arm quick Luke …

PALLEKELE: Fast bowler Matheesha Pathi­rana returned impressive figures of 4-32 to help Sri Lanka to a comprehensive five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup match on Thursday. Spinner Maheesh Thee­kshana struck early before Pathirana joined forces to dismiss Bang­ladesh for 164 in the opener of the Sri Lanka leg of the 50-over tournament, a precursor to October’s ODI World …

LAHORE: Pakistan continued their domination in the Hockey5s Asia Cup as they beat Oman and played a high-scoring draw with Malaysia in Salalah, Oman on Thursday. The national side beat Oman 9-4 to register their fourth victory on the trot before their perfect run ended with a 5-5 draw against Malaysia. Nevertheless, Paki­stan stayed on top of the tournament’s Elite …

KARACHI: A lot has changed for Pakistan since they last took field during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in February this year. They have a new captain in Nida Dar, their former head coach Mark Coles resigned just recently and they lost a gem of a hard-hitter in Ayesha Naseem to an unusually early retirement last month. Pakistan, therefore, …

16 June 2019, Old Trafford, Manchester. That was the last time Pakistan squared up against arch-rivals India in an ODI, in a World Cup fixture which was as one-sided as they come. Virat Kohli’s men triumphed by a whopping 89 run margin, stamping their authority vs Sarfaraz’s unit, with the Pakistan skipper himself coming under the spotlight for yawning on the field. …

As Pakistan and India get ready to face each other tomorrow (Saturday) in their first encounter of the ongoing Asia Cup, cricket icon Virat Kohli already seems to be preparing his team for an intense clash as he is clearly not underestimating the Green Shirts. In a clip shared by India’s Star Sports channel of Kohli’s interview, titled ‘Prime Time With Virat …

Pakistan skipper, Babar Azam, has stated that it was a “proud moment” for him to have the former Indian captain Virat Kohli praise him in an interview during the T20 World Cup 2022. In a video posted by the Indian sports channel, Star Sports, on Thursday, Babar answered how he felt regarding the comments given about him by the Indian batter. …

KANDY: Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka said on Wednesday the defending champions will challenge every team in the Asia Cup despite injuries to several key players. Sri Lanka, co-hosting the tournament with Pakistan, face Bangl­adesh on Thursday after injuries forced them to drop two key players at the last minute. They won the tournament in the T20 format last year …