Sports

MELBOURNE: Selector George Bailey on Sunday insisted under-fire Aaron Finch would be Australia’s skipper at this year’s Twenty20 World Cup, calling mounting criticism of his leadership and form “white noise”. Finch’s scores of one and 12 in their opening two games against New Zealand last week, coupled with his failure to fire in the recent Big Bash League, has sparked …

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given approval to the eagerly-awaited First Boards of the six cricket associations at its 61st Board of Governors (BoG) meeting while empowering the interim bodies, appointed for one-year term, to carry out functions assigned to respective management committees. According to the discussions which took place here on Saturday, the BoG also decided that …

KARACHI: The high-voltage derby HBL Pakistan Super League clash on Sunday night was as boisterous as everyone had anticipated. And despite being buoyed by the support from the noisy crowd, Karachi Kings finished second best to the Fakhar Zaman-inspired Lahore Qalandars in a thrilling finish. Lahore’s fourth triumph in 12 matches — achieved with only four balls to spare — …

ST JOHN’S: Chris Gayle was called into the West Indies Twenty20 squad on Friday for the first time in two years as the 41-year-old eyes a place in the World Cup later this year. Gayle, one of cricket’s global superstars, was named in the 14-man squad for the three-game series against Sri Lanka which starts in Antigua on Wednesday. The …

MANCHESTER: Man­chester City moved 13 points clear at the top of the English Premier League as John Stones sealed a 2-1 win against West Ham that made it 20 successive victories in all competitions for the leaders. Pep Guardiola’s side are closing in on their third Premier League in four seasons thanks to priceless contributions from their in-form centre-backs. Ruben …

KARACHI: Haider Ali is regarded as one of the brightest batting prospects when it comes to white-ball cricket. And already in the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League 6 edition, the precocious right-hander has been a vital cog for Peshawar Zalmi. The 20-year-old, born in Attock, has been instrumental in both victories when Peshawar were chasing targets of 190-plus here at …

KARACHI: Wahab Riaz and Saqib Mahmood shared the bowling honours with seven wickets between them as Peshawar Zalmi completed a six-wicket rout of Islamabad United in their HBL Pakistan Super League encounter at the National Stadium here on Saturday night. For the 10th consecutive game, the side chasing the target won the match after the two-time former PSL winners Islamabad …

KARACHI: Babar Azam starred with a sublime unbeaten 90 as holders Karachi Kings catapulted to a rousing seven-wicket victory over Multan Sultans in their HBL Pakistan Super League 6 fixture at the National Stadium here on Saturday. As per the norm in this tournament so far, total of 195-6 in 20 overs seemed inadequate to defend as Multan Sultans found …

KARACHI: Hamza Shikoh seized the initiative on the opening day of the Sindh Amateur Golf Championship, grabbing a one-stroke lead at the Karachi Golf Club on Friday. Hamza returned a card of 71 — the only under-par score of the day — to grab top spot ahead of Arsalan Shikoh Khan (72). Beyond the top two were Mohammad Ahmed Mannan …

NYON: Seven-time European champions AC Milan have been drawn to play Man­chester United in what is the standout tie in next month’s Europa League round of 16. Friday’s draw sends Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic back to the English club where he played for two years, including the 2016-17 season when United won their only Europa League title. Ajax Amsterdam, the …