Sports

CHRISTCHURCH: South Africa completed an extraordinary turnaround in form when they beat New Zealand by 198 runs in the second Test on Tuesday to square the two-match series. After setting New Zealand a target of 426, South Africa bowled out the home team for 227 to win with more than a session remaining at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. New Zealand …

ISLAMABAD: The Nati­onal Command and Oper­ation Centre (NCOC) on Covid-19 has decided to allow 100 per cent stadium capacity for the month-long Pakistan-Australia cricket series, starting from March 4. The decision was taken on Tuesday when the Australian team started preparations at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium for the first test match against Pakistan. While the coronavirus positivity across the country was …

WHEN an Australian cricket team last toured Pakistan 24 years ago, no one had imagined that the cricket-loving South Asian nation would become an unsafe territory for foreign teams due to the war on terror triggered by the 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001. As Australia prepares for a full tour starting on March 4 — comprising three …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan were forced to make a third change in their squad for the first of the three upcoming Tests against Australia after pacer Haris Rauf tested positive for Covid-19 after a Rapid Antigen Test on Tuesday. The home side had already lost frontline pacer Hasan Ali and bowling all-rounder Faheem Ashraf due to injuries ahead of the first game, …

Ashes-winning Australia will face unfamiliar conditions, heavy security and unpredictable, but talented, opponents when they begin their first Test in Pakistan for 24 years on Friday. Having landed in Islamabad just three days ago to be immediately engulfed in “head of state-level security”, the Australians have had little time to acclimatise to conditions in Rawalpindi, where the first Test will be played. …

HAVING led the Lahore Qalandars to their maiden Pakistan Super League title, Shaheen Shah Afridi — like his other Pakistan teammates — faces a quick turnaround from the razzmatazz of the country’s premier T20 tournament to the hard grind of international Test cricket. After all, the speculation over whether or not they would come, and much deliberation, Australia have arrived for their first …

CHITTAGONG: Rahman­ullah Gurbaz and Rashid Khan starred as Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets in the third One-day International to avoid a whitewash in the three-match series on Monday. Gurbaz hit an unbeaten 106 off 110 balls to power Afghanistan to 193-3 in 40.1 overs after Rashid’s 3-37 helped the visitors bowl out Bangladesh for 192 runs in 46.5 overs …

CHRISTCHURCH: Kyle Verreyne stepped boldly into the vacancy left by the sudden retirement of Quinton de Kock with a maiden century Monday which put South Africa in total control of the second Test against New Zealand by the end of the fourth day. Verreyne’s unbeaten 136 allowed South Africa to declare their second innings at 354-9 just before tea, setting …

ISLAMABAD: Promising Hamza Khan set up a title clash with veteran Farhan Mehboob as he outclassed Farhan Zaman in the PSF-International Squash Circuit-I semi-final on Monday. Hamza, who made headlines in 2020 when he won the Boys’ U-15 British Junior Open after defeating England’s Yusuf Sheikh, was in fine touch as he took just 22 minutes to eliminate Farhan Zaman, …

DUBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) plans to work in the future on the men’s and women’s calendars to avoid fixture clashes that can undermine events like the women’s World Cup, chief executive Geoff Allardice said on Monday. The tournament, which begins in New Zealand on March 4, clashes with three major men’s series — Pakistan vs Australia, India vs …