Opening batsman Rohit Sharma hit a blistering 74 to set up India’s first win at the Twenty20 World Cup with a 66-run drubbing of Afghanistan on Wednesday as Virat Kohli’s team avoided a shock early exit. The Indian batting finally fired with Sharma and KL Rahul, who made 69, putting on 140 for the opening wicket to guide India to …

ABU DHABI: Namibia coach Pierre de Bruyn was effusive in praise for his inexperienced team despite a defeat against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, saying they “tested” their opponents. Pakistan won by 45 runs — their fourth win in as many games to become the first team to reach the semi-finals in the T20 World Cup from Group 2. …

Two defeats cannot make India a bad team overnight, opener Rohit Sharma said after firing the 2007 champions to their first victory at the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday. The pre-tournament favourites are at high risk of an early exit following comprehensive defeats by Pakistan and New Zealand in the Super 12 stage of the tournament. They snapped their losing streak with a 66-run victory over Afghanistan on …

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the most destructive opening pair at the T20 World Cup, have been described as “unique” by batting coach Matthew Hayden. The Australian legend should know — over a 15-year international career, left-hander Hayden was a fixture at the top of the order, compiling more than 8,000 Test runs and over 6,000 in ODIs. “Babar and …

KARACHI: Range-bound trading took place on the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Wednesday owing to the concerns about a selling spree by foreign investors as well as expected monetary tightening. According to Arif Habib Ltd, the technology sector remained in the limelight throughout the day as traders placed their bets on high-beta stocks to mark quick trading gains. On the flip …

KARACHI: Eight banks have been selected to get financing at one per cent from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) but allowed to charge up to 9pc for onward collateral-free lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SBP Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Wednesday announced the banks had shown great interest in this innovative collateral-free financing scheme introduced with the …

LAHORE: An enormous growth of 81 per cent has been recorded in the arrival of cotton at ginning factories, the Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA) said on Monday. According to the PCGA data, over 6.25 million bales arrived at the factories by Nov 1 against more than 3.45m on the same date last year — a difference of 2.8m bales …

GLASGOW: Focus at the COP26 summit turned on Wednesday to how the world will pay for its ambitions to quit fossil fuels and help vulnerable nations survive climate change, as campaigners expressed scepticism over promises of billions from financiers and governments. After a world leaders’ summit yielded a landmark deal slashing methane emissions, negotiators are now tasked with keeping alive …

DUBAI: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they thwarted an attempt by the United States to detain a tanker carrying the Islamic Republic’s oil in the Sea of Oman. US officials said that the Iranian report was not true and there had been no American attempt to seize a tanker. The American officials said that in reality Iranian forces had …

KABUL: The United Nations children’s agency said it was planning to set up a system to directly fund Afghan teachers, after the international community placed a freeze on funding to the Taliban-led administration. “Unicef is setting up a system that will allow direct payments to teachers without the funds being channelled through the de facto authorities,” Jeannette Vogelaar, Unicef Afghanistan’s …