Sri Lanka lost early wickets in their second innings but extended their lead to 220 runs over Pakistan in the third and final Test in Sharjah to boost their chances of a series victory.
Debutant fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti dismissed experienced duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in consecutive deliveries as Pakistan strengthened their hold on the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Between 2014 and 2019, he scored 21 centuries in just 55 Tests. Among these were seven double centuries, the most by an Indian in Test cricket. Remarkably, six of those double tons came within a span of just 22 Tests.
The Pakistan Cricket Board is planning to hold the remaining matches of PSL-5 in November provided the situation arising out of the coronavirus pandemic improves in the next few months, PCB CEO Wasim Khan said. The PSL was suspended last Tuesday after the PCB revealed that a foreign player showed symptoms of the coronavirus, but Khan said the remaining matches may be held during the 10-day window available in November.
Wasim at one stage asked Babar and Misbah whether the players felt the tour should be called off in the given conditions.
Khurram Manzoor was unbeaten on 131 and Pakistan ended on 263 for three, a lead of 14 runs over South Africa who were bowled out for 249 early in the morning session.
ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson on Wednesday made it clear that international cricket can return to Pakistan only after the security situation improves in the country. Richardson was speaking at a press conference held after he presented the ICC Test Championship mace to Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq at the Gaddafi stadium here for bagging the number one position in the ICC rankings.
Pakistan cricket chief on Tuesday gave a clean chit to chief selector Moin Khan over his visit to a Christchurch Casino a day before the team's defeat at the hands of the West Indies at the ongoing World Cup.
Former India batsman Robin Uthappa highlighted the significance of an India-Pakistan clash during a World Cup.
Former Pakistan pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar has said that current skipper Misbah-ul Haq needs to adopt Imran Khan's frontline approach employed by the captain in 1992 if the 2015 squad wants to win this year's Cricket World Cup.
Younis Khan's superb 218 put Pakistan in a strong position before they picked up four England wickets to take complete control on the third day of the fourth and final Test at The Oval on Saturday.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq tells Chandresh Narayanan that his team will break the jinx that has haunted them in five of the last six editions when they take on India in their World Cup opener on February 15.
Misbah-ul-Haq has stressed on the need for Pakistan and India to revive their bilateral cricket ties .
Pakistani selectors have named experienced opener Taufeeq Umar and senior batsman Younis Khan in a 19-member squad for the two-Test series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates, starting next week.
Suryakumar Yadav has dropped one spot to fourth place in the latest ICC Men's T20I Players Rankings
Senior Pakistani cricketers have taken great umbrage at the remarks made by PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan that the absence of educated players in the national team has led to recent poor performances. Senior batsman Muhammad Hafeez said cricket itself is a complete education. "I am proud to be a Test cricketer and for me this is my degree," Hafeez said on the social media a clear reference to Khan's remarks. Making it obvious that he did not agree with Khan's views, Hafeez said while education was very important for everyone but earning degrees was not enough in life. Hafeez expressed confidence that Pakistan's Test squad would perform well even in English conditions. The experienced batsman is not attending the boot camp in Kakul as he is undergoing rehabilitation for a knee problem at the national academy in Lahore.
Despite losing their first Asia Cup encounter against arch-rivals India, Pakistan's former T20 captain Misbah-ul-Haq feels Shahid Afridi's boys look in good shape for the crucial World T20 to be held in India in March. "Pakistan's bowlers made 83 look difficult against a strong batting team like India. It is something that will encourage them in the next games. They shouldn't lose hope because of the defeat against India," said Misbah in his blog for cricket.com.au. "After this bowling performance I think the pressure on our batsmen will be less. The batsmen need to understand that the pitches in the Asia Cup are different from the Pakistan Super League and even if they score 130 or 140 their bowlers can defend it," the skipper of Pakistan's Test side added. Misbah also hailed India's performance against Pakistan on Saturday and called them one of the favourites to lift the World T20 title.
On a day when Brendon McCullum broke the record for the fastest Test hundred, Suresh Raina said he couldn't be happier to have the Kiwi swashbuckler in his IPL team Gujarat Lions even though he wants an Indian to breach the milestone.
The World Cup bound Pakistani cricketers will have two counselling sessions with a well-known sports psychologist before leaving for the World Cup.
Unwilling to give up on a seemingly jinxed series against India, Pakistan Cricket Board's Executive Committee Chairman Najam Sethi said the PCB can spare a fortnight for the matches should the Indian government give its go ahead.
The short bilateral cricket series between India and Pakistan will be held between December 24 and January 5 if the much-anticipated rubber gets the green signal from the Indian government this week.
The Pakistani cricket authorities have still not given up hope of playing a bilateral 'home' series with India in December in the United Arab Emirates.
The 27-page code was approved at the last meeting of the PCB's Board of Governors and aims to cover every individual working with the Board and the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Encouraged by a recent ICC statement on the importance of Indo-Pak cricket ties, the PCB has now sought the assistance of the ICC President Zaheer Abbas to convince India to play in December.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has written a letter to the Board of Control for Cricket in India inquiring about the scheduled bilateral series in December to be held in the United Arab Emirates and has also asked them to keep politics away from cricket.
Pakistan's national Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has been dropped from the 12-member squad named for the two-Test series against South Africa to be held in UAE later this month.
Sri Lanka require 153 runs for a series-levelling victory after Pakistan rode Azhar Ali's obdurate century before being all out for 329 on day four of the second Test on Sunday.
Pakistan were granted an extra review option after being robbed of a wicket due to an apparent error by TV umpire Paul Reiffel during the second Test in Colombo.
Young Pakistan batsman Haider Ali wants to hit the ball as clean as his inspiration Rohit Sharma does and emulate the Indian limited-overs vice-captain in scoring double hundreds frequently. Ali, who rose to prominence with his exploits in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, has got his maiden national call-up for the tour of England.
India may have slipped to fourth in the Test rankings following the drawn Test in Fatullah, but its openers, Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan, achieved career-best rankings for batsmen.
The next edition of the Asia Cup One-day tournament is likely to be held next year.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and as many T20Is. The first of three-match Test series is slated to get underway from July 30
"I think the way the people have come and supported the Pakistan Cricket Board, the team and cricket throughout this series it is a strong enough message for the rest of the cricket world to give us more support now to have regular international matches in Pakistan," Misbah sa
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has expressed apprehensions about the prospect of Indian cricketers touring Pakistan in near future.
Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis left the press conference after his team's hard fought 29-run win against a formidable South Africa in Auckland.
Pakistan's chief selector Moin Khan has been ordered to return home immediately from Australia by in the aftermath of the controversy generated over his visit to a casino in Christchurch.
The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Shaharyar Khan has said that the decision to call back Moin Khan from the World Cup and later sack him as chief selector was taken to keep his prestige and reputation intact after the Casino incident.
For a team that started off disastrously, entering the quarter-finals of the World Cup is quite an achievement. Rediff.com analyses what could have been the case.
Australia romped into the semi-finals of the cricket World Cup, trouncing Pakistan by six wickets in the third quarter-final at the Adelaide Oval on Friday. They will meet defending champions India, who beat Bangladesh, in the second semi-final slated for March 26.
Pakistan look to get their so far lacklustre World Cup campaign going with a win over Zimbabwe.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances