Sports

ZURICH: FIFA has urged teams at the World Cup in Qatar to “focus on football” and not let the sport be dragged into ideological or political “battles” in a message that received a sharp rebuke from Amnesty International. The letter from FIFA president Gianni Infantino and the governing body’s secretary general Fatma Samoura follows a number of protests made by …

LAHORE: Scintillating centuries by openers Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali guided Pakistan to a crushing 128-run victory over Ireland in the opening match of the six-match One-day Inter­national series here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday. While Sidra smashed her career-best 176 not out, Muneeba registered her maiden ODI century to help Pakistan post 335-3 before Ireland were bowled out …

SYDNEY: All eyes at the Twenty20 World Cup will fall on England against Sri Lanka on Saturday after New Zealand booked their place in the semi-finals and Australia just about stayed alive. New Zealand’s victory over Ireland on Friday at the Adelaide Oval sealed one of the top two spots in Group 1 and a place in the last four with hosts …

Allrounder Ravichandran Ashwin said Saturday India must pile the pressure on early and be clinical in their execution if they want to get past Zimbabwe and into the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals. The two sides meet at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday after India’s narrow five-run win over Bangladesh put them top of Group 2 with six points from …

ADELAIDE: All-rounder Mohammad Nabi quit as captain of Afghanistan’s Twenty20 team on Friday, barely an hour after their winless World Cup campaign ended with a loss to Australia in Adelaide. Nabi, 37, will continue as a player but said he and the selectors were not “on the same page”. “From the last one year, our team preparation was not to a level …

England’s Mark Wood said an attack on former prime minister Imran Khan was worrying ahead of a three-Test series in Pakistan, but added that he trusted the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to assess any security concerns. Ex-cricketer Imran, who was ousted as prime minister in April, was six days into a protest procession bound for Islamabad when he was shot in the …

MELBOURNE: Australia must put the foot down in pursuit of victory against Afghanistan and not worry about the other external factors which could affect their bid to reach the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals, chief selector George Bailey said. The reigning champions take on the Afghans in Adelaide on Friday facing elimination from the rain-affected tournament. They trail New Zealand and …

Pakistan on Thursday called up batting all-rounder Mohammad Haris to replace the injured Fakhar Zaman just hours before they face South Africa in Sydney with their T20 World Cup hopes on the line. Haris, who can also bowl off spin and keep wicket, was approved as a replacement by the event’s technical committee after Zaman was ruled out of the …

Australia captain Aaron Finch said on Thursday he could pull out of his team’s pivotal final Super 12 match at the Twenty20 World Cup against Afghanistan because of a hamstring injury. Finch hit form on Monday with a 44-ball 63 in the win against Ireland but was unable to field after feeling a “twinge” during Ireland’s innings. The defending champions will probably …

Bangladesh have blamed “fake fielding” by India’s Virat Kohli for their nailbiting Twenty20 World Cup loss and will raise it with cricket’s governing body, an official told AFP on Thursday. India won by five runs in the rain-hit Adelaide clash on Wednesday that went to the last ball, all but destroying Bangladesh’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals for the first time. Afterwards, …