With hardly any international flavour in their ranks, their hopes rest on ace spinner Saeed Ajmal, the top-rated spinner in world cricket, and the experienced Misbah, who will look to shoulder the responsibility of amassing the runs.
Opener Tom Latham struck his second consecutive hundred to keep New Zealand on course for a big first-innings total on the opening day of the second Test against Pakistan on Monday. Opting to bat first after winning the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the visitors, trailing 1-0 in the three-Test series, reached 243 for three wickets at the close.
Suspended from international cricket for an illegal bowling action, Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal on Friday returned to the national side.
Pakistan pacer Muhammad Irfan remains a doubtful starter for the cricket World Cup quarter-final against Australia on Friday.
KK discusses his top songs with Rajul Hegde/ Rediff.com, and even sings some of them!
The SC has stayed the arrest of social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband till Friday.
Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored a majestic 91 not out to lead Pakistan to a thrilling four-wicket victory over England in their final World Cup warmup at Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Former Test player and coach Mudassar Nazar feels BCCI has been unfair to Pakistan and advised the Pakistan Cricket Board to look after its own interests where cricket ties with India are concerned. "The present situation is really sad for me. It leaves me disappointed. Because I have played a lot against India in India, Pakistan and Sharjah and I know how important these matches are for development of a player and raising resources for the boards," Mudassar, who is now Director Academies in the board, told PTI in an interview.
The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has welcomed as a "good omen" the decision of the country's political parties to hold talks with it and other militant groups.
At least 75 people were killed and 115 others injured in the attack.
New Zealand's batting tail wagged to take them to 403 in their first innings before they returned to dismiss Pakistan's openers on the second day of the second Test in Dubai on Tuesday.
Ace Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda got a morale booster ahead of the upcoming Asian Games as he finished overall fourth in the prestigious IAAF Diamond League Series to pocket $ 3,000 prize money.
England, who have won both the one-day and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, play a two-day practice match in Colombo before heading to Galle which hosts the first of the three Test matches from November 6.
The shift comes as the gap between the international benchmark Brent and the Middle East price marker narrows
Skipper Brendon McCullum led from the front, smashing an unbeaten 83, as Otago Volts from New Zealand beat Pakistan's Faisalabad Wolves by eight wickets in a qualifying round match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Mohali on Tuesday.
The lawyer of the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court to probe the 2002 Gujarat riots on Thursday contended that Sanjeev Bhatt, suspended Indian Police Service officer, forged evidence to malign the state government.
Officials from India's biggest private refiner recently visited Iran to chalk out the details for resumption of trade ties with Tehran.
Pakistan have not settled on their best line-up for their World Cup opener against champions India this weekend, coach Waqar Younis said.
The blast was claimed by both the local affiliate of the Islamic State terror group and by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand squandered away a good start and could just end Day 1 on a fifty percent score after the end of the fifth round of World rapid chess championship in Berlin.
A defiant fifth-wicket stand of 74 between Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq ensured Pakistan secured a draw in the second Test against New Zealand on Friday to maintain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt wants BJP chief Amit Shah to be made a respondent for allegedly foisting wrong criminal cases against him, former additional solicitor general Indira Jaising tells Prasanna Zore/Rediff.com
The suspect was hiding in a house in Kakori area. The densely populated neighbourhood was cordoned off and at least 20 commandos were involved in the operation, police said.
Shot putter Manpreet Kaur and long distance runner G Lakshmanan grabbed gold medals on a remarkable opening day for India at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships as the hosts won seven medals to sit atop the medal tally, in Bhubaneswar, on Thursday.
The West Indies Cricket Board has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India to work for a "mutually agreeable solution" over its demand for 26.2 million pounds as compensation for the former's decision to abandon its tour to India.
The Congress considers the community to be in its fold without bothering about its representation or welfare while the BJP assumes that the Muslims would not vote for its candidates, says Shafeeq Rahman.
Over 300 people were also injured in the attack and many of them were in a critical condition.
The Gandhi statue to be unveiled in Parliament Square will be his second in London. There is another one at the city's Tavistock Square. Aditi Phadnis reports
Citing amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran's report, Zakia Jaffery on Thursday claimed there was enough evidence to warrant a probe and trial against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra riots despite a clean chit by the Special Investigation Team.
On Monday, prosecution had sought death penalty for all the 24 people convicted for the gruesome killings.
Zakia Jafri's lawyer on Friday alleged before a court here that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had conspired to instigate Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers and other members of Hindu community after the Godhra train burning incident in 2002.
Woman Grandmaster Bhakti Kulkarni and Grandmaster S P Sethuraman made history, winning the gold medal in the Asian Continental Women's and Open chess championship that concluded in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on Friday.
Australia enter their World Cup quarter-final as runaway favourites against Pakistan in Adelaide on Friday, but will be wary of an enigmatic team that have proved a major thorn in their side at past tournaments.
The Apex court, however, said that the interim order providing protection from arrest to Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand shall be extended till the larger bench takes up the matter.
Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, on Tuesday approached the Gujarat high court challenging the Ahmedabad metropolitan court order upholding SIT's clean chit to Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi and others in connection with the 2002 riots case.
The cricket community in Pakistan has reacted cautiously to reports that the Indian and English Boards were willing to play Pakistan at neutral venues with some asking the PCB not to fall in the "trap".
Faisalabad Wolves rode on skipper Misbah-ul-Haq's unbeaten 93 to beat Kandurata Maroons by 10 runs and post a consolation win in an inconsequential qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Mohali, on Friday.
The absence of top stars took some sheen away but India's record-breaking medal haul and a maiden top-of-the-table finish made the just-concluded 22nd Asian Athletics Championship here a memorable one.
The Indian under-23 team lifted the ACC Emerging Trophy tournament as they thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan by nine wickets in the final with opener Lokesh Rahul (93) being the star of a lop-sided chase.
