Sports

KARACHI: Experienced second seed Mohammad Sajjad finally halted an unprecedented run of young Ahsan Ramzan as the former recorded an excitement-filled 7-6 victory in the final to win the fourth overall national snooker title here at the NBP Sports Complex on Monday. Fresh from his victories over Asif and Babar Masih in preceding matches, Punjab’s Ahsan moved led 1-0, 2-1, …

Lahore: Pacer Hasan Ali thinks every match in the upcoming is important to win and they are not just focusing on games against India and New Zealand. The 27-year-old Hasan Ali, in a virtual presser, told reporters that players will look to prepare well before first match against arch-rivals India on October 24. “The hype for Pakistan vs India matches …

LONDON: England were able to name their strongest available squad for the Ashes tour to Australia on Sunday as their stars committed to the trip after coronavirus (Covid-19) quarantine fears. The Ashes tour had been the subject of tense negotiations after England’s players and their families expressed concerns over tough Covid quarantine restrictions in Australia. England Test captain Joe Root …

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka have added spinner Akila Dananjaya, batter Pathum Nissanka, and seamers Lahiru Kumara and Binura Fernando to their revised 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Cup, the country’s cricket board said on Sunday. The quartet replaced all-rounders Lahiru Madus­hanka and Kamindu Men­dis, spinner Praveen Jayaw­ic­krama and veteran fast bow­ler Nuwan Pradeep. Mad­ushanka missed out after fracturing his collarbone …

LAHORE: In what was a disastrous National T20 Cup campaign for them, Southern Punjab signed off in style on Sunday. Last year’s runners-up humbled holders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 11 runs at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. With the semi-final lineup almost decided, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa afforded a fourth loss on Sunday. At the time of filing this report, Balochistan were in dire straits …

LAHORE: Captaincy can be taxing for many an individual on a sporting field. But Iftikhar Ahmed proved that theory otherwise in Lahore on Saturday. Leading Khyber Pakht­unkhwa following the departure of Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi on World Cup duty, he drew inspiration on all fronts. Iftikhar was the supreme commander in the National T20 Cup as excelled with …

LAHORE: Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Khalid Mahmood on Saturday expressed his disappointment over a statement of incumbent PCB chairman Ramiz Raja before the Senate Standing Committee on Sports given this week that “Pakistan cricket could collapse if the Indian prime minister decides to stop Pakistan’s funding (from the ICC)”. “As a former chairman of the PCB who has been …

The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) has taken a wait-and-watch approach on Afghanistan but will discuss the game’s fate in the country in a board meeting next month, ICC acting chief executive Geoff Allardice said on Sunday. Afghanistan risk isolation since the country’s Taliban takeover in August, with Cricket Australia threatening not to host them for a one-off Test in Hobart next …

Tyson Fury retained his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title on Saturday when he sent Deontay Wilder to the canvas for a third time with a vicious right hand to the head in the 11th round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, US. The enthralling slugfest was more competitive than many expected but still ended as most predicted, with …

LAHORE: It was an abject surrender as Southern Punjab’s wretched National T20 Cup campaign came to a shuddering halt in Lahore. Friday’s night fixture at the Gaddafi Stadium saw last season’s runners-up suffered their seventh defeat in nine matches of this edition, while Sindh temporarily surged to the top of the table on the back of Sharjeel Khan’s swashbuckling century …