Cricket

Asia Cup August 2022

No, it cannot be called an upset anymore. Afghanistan truly dominated the proceedings against an overconfident Bangladesh side. After a superb bowling display, Afghan top-order struggled at first but Najibullah Zadran's stormy knock left Bangladesh bowlers clueless. The convincing seven-wicket win helped Mohammad Nabi’s Afghanistan reach the Super 4 stage. &nbsp;Afghan stars struggleChasing a below par total of 128 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Afghan openers started off slowly. Rahmanullah Gurbaz could not cope with the dot ball pressure and got stumped off Shakib's bowling. After the powerplay overs, they had 29/1 on the board. &nbsp;As the fielders spread out, Bangladesh bowlers did not let Hazratullah Zazai and Ibrahim Zadran score freely. In the 10th over, Zazai got out for a 26-ball 23. After 10 overs, they had 48/2 on the board. The wicket of skipper Nabi put a big dent on Afghanistan hopes of chasing down the total.&nbsp; &nbsp;Najibullah changes the gameNajibullah walked in to bat when Afghanistan needed 66 runs from 42 balls. At first, Ibrahim switched gears and hit Taskin Ahmed for a couple of boundaries in the 15th over. Najibullah hit his first six in the 16th over. The 17th over turned out to be a big one as Najibullah hit two more sixes to make the equation easier. Mohammad Saifuddin leaked 22 runs in the 18th over and Najibullah finished the match in style with a six in the next over. &nbsp;The two batters shared an unbeaten 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket from 33 deliveries. Najibullah remained unbeaten for 43 runs off 17 deliveries including one four and six sixes. On the other end, Ibrahim played the anchor role and scored 42 runs from 41 deliveries. &nbsp;Shakib's controversial statementEarlier, Shakib took the decision to bowl first after winning the toss. The Bangladesh all-rounder made a bold statement at the coin toss as he said, “We will bat first. It will be difficult for Afghanistan, so that is what we will look to do.” &nbsp;The collapseHowever, it turned out to be the opposite. Mujeeb Ur Rahman bamboozled Bangladesh's top order by getting the wicket of Mohammad Naim, Anamul Haque and Shakib. Rashid Khan was introduced into the bowling attack after powerplay overs and took the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim. Bangladesh were reduced to 28/4 in the seventh over. &nbsp;Damage controlRashid struck again and got the wicket of Afif Hossain. With half their side gone in the 11th over, Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain did some damage control. Rashid got Mahmudullah (25) in his last over but Mosaddek got a few boundaries in the slog overs to get Bangladesh to a respectable total. He remained unbeaten for 48 off 31 deliveries as Bangladesh managed to put 127/7 on the board.

No, it cannot be called an upset anymore.

asia-cup-27-aug-2022

Afghanistan blow away overconfident Shakib's Bangladesh to cement place in Asia Cup 2022 Super 4

Shaheen Shah Afridi has left Pakistan contingent and departed for London to complete his rehabilitation. The left-arm pacer got ruled out of ongoing T20 Asia Cup owing to a knee ligament injury.&nbsp; &nbsp;PCB Chief Medical Officer, Dr Najeebullah Soomro: “Shaheen Shah Afridi requires uninterrupted, dedicated knee specialist care and London offers some of the best sports medical and rehabilitation facilities in the world. In the best interest of the player, we have decided to send him there. &nbsp;“The medical department will receive daily feedback on his progress whilst in London and we are confident Shaheen will return to full fitness before the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.” &nbsp;Shaheen is expected to regain complete fitness before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia. So far, his exact return to competitive cricket is yet to be decided. He suffered the injury in July during first Test against Sri Lanka. Despite the injury, he was also a part of Pakistan's squad for Netherlands which raise a few eyebrows and led to widespread criticism.&nbsp;Mohammad Hasnain was named Afridi's replacement. Hasnain did not feature in Pakistan's campaign opener as 19-year-old Naseem Shah made his T20I debut. Naseem took two wickets on debut as he battled through cramps. However, Pakistan clearly missed the services of their star bowler Shaheen.&nbsp;&nbsp;Background of doctorsAs per a press release by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the 22-year-old will remain under the supervision the board's Medical Advisory Panel. London-based Dr Imtiaz Ahmed and Dr Zafar Iqbal comprise of this panel. &nbsp;Imtiaz has been the Head of Medical Services at Queens Park Rangers Football Club. His colleague in the advisory panel, Dr Zafar is currently head of Sports Medicine at the Crystal Palace Football Club. Before 2015, he had also worked with Tottenham Hotspur FC, Liverpool FC and Kent County Cricket Club.

Shaheen Shah Afridi has left Pakistan contingent and departed for London to complete his rehabilitation.

Pakistan fast bowler leaves for London after Asia Cup loss against India

The result of Asia Cup 2022 last Super 4 game did not go Pakistan's way but Hasan Ali who got his first chance in the tournament had his fun. Pakistan lost the match in the 17th over but it was redemption of sorts for Ali. He took a catch while evading a collision with teammate Iftikhar Ahmed. Last year, he dropped the catch of Matthew Wade which cost Pakistan a spot in the final. After taking the catch, Hasan was in a playful mood and played catch with Iftikhar while sitting on the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp;The video of Pakistan fielders playing catch when their team was on the verge of losing to Sri Lanka has been doing rounds on Twitter.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Babar 🥺🥺. Saw his smile after so long. Cute 🥺. <a href="https://twitter.com/babarazam258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@babarazam258</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BabarAzam%F0%93%83%B5?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BabarAzam𓃵</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvsSL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvsSL</a> <a href="https://t.co/bNtZSZSFsN">pic.twitter.com/bNtZSZSFsN</a>— Naalain Muhammad (@CivilEngr5607) <a href="https://twitter.com/CivilEngr5607/status/1568286071535845380?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div> &nbsp;He took Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka’s catch off Mohammad Hasnain’s bowling. However, it did not have an effect on the outcome of the game. Wanindu Hasaranga came in to bat and finished the game with two boundaries as Pakistan lost the match by five wickets with three overs to spare.&nbsp;Another funny incident happened during Sri Lanka's run chase when wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan took the review without consulting skipper Babar Azam. Interestingly, umpire Anil Chaudhary signalled for third umpire straight away as Babar had a confused look on his face. &nbsp;Poor performanceHasan got a chance to play in the dead rubber as skipper Babar rested in-form Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan. He did not make an impact with the ball and conceded 25 runs in three overs he bowled. With the bat, he got out for a two-ball duck as Pakistan got all out 121 at Dubai International Cricket stadium. &nbsp;The 28-year-old is unlikely to feature in the Asia Cup 2022 final against hosts Sri Lanka on September 11 at the same venue. Until and unless there is an injury, teenager Naseem will be back in the Pakistan side for the final against Shanaka’s side.&nbsp;

The result of Asia Cup 2022 last Super 4 game did not go Pakistan's way but Hasan Ali who got his first chance in the tournament had his fun.

Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed play catch after avoiding collision, video goes viral

In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, former India captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar launched a scathing attack at the hype of India-Pakistan fixtures during the Asia Cup. The cricketer-turned commentator underlined that Sri Lanka have delivered a resounding reminder to the other Asian cricket-playing nations, including India after winning their sixth continental title.&nbsp;"They were under the radar, weren’t they? (India and Pakistan). Because everything about the Asia Cup," Gavaskar said.&nbsp;"Everyone was talking about India-Pakistan, India-Pakistan and India-Pakistan as if these were the only two teams. And when you look at the fact that Sri Lanka has won this (Asia Cup) for the 6th time, that is second only to India, it does tell you that when you talk about prospects, you must not ignore Sri Lanka. And that’s a nice tight slap that Sri Lankans have given to all those who were trying to say it’s going to be an India vs Pakistan final," the former batter said.&nbsp;Dasun Shanaka's Sri Lanka defeated Babar Azam's Pakistan by 23 runs in the final and pocketed their first Asia Cup title in a decade. The Lankan Lions were slept on by most of the cricket pundits as India and Pakistan were the favourites to win the silverware, especially after Afghanistan embarrassed Sri Lanka in the first match of the competition.&nbsp;Undeterred by a confidence-shattering defeat, Sri Lanka came back firing on cylinders and won all their matches remaining five matches in convincing fashion.&nbsp;Gavaskar also touched upon what Team India's real goal should be heading into the T20 World Cup, a tournament the Men in Blue haven't won since winning the inaugural edition in 2007.&nbsp;"I mean that should be the whole aim, it’s not just to win one match (against Pakistan) but to win the World Cup. And, obviously, beating Pakistan would be a great step forward because that gives you a lot of confidence, because then you can tackle the other teams. But I think you have got to win at least 4 out of the 5 matches because then you can qualify for the knockouts," Gavaskar opined.&nbsp;The T20 World Cup is scheduled to get underway in Australia on October 16 with India slated to start their campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 23.&nbsp;

In an exclusive chat with Sports Tak, former India captain and legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar launched a scathing attack at the hype of India-Pakistan fixtures during the Asia Cup.

Furious Gavaskar lashes out at premature predictions, says 'Sri Lanka have given a tight slap'

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Sri Lanka registered an emphatic six-wicket win in a pulsating Super Fours stage match against India on September 6 (Tuesday) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. The Lankan Lions finished the job with just one ball to spare and by securing the victory, Dasun Shanaka's side almost finished the Men in Blue's hopes of extending their Asia Cup trophy count to eight.


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