Sri Lanka took the upper hand after the third day of the opening Test at Galle on Friday, reducing Pakistan to 118-5 after Kaushal Silva's second Test century took the hosts to 300 in their first innings.
Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Amir shone as Pakistan defied the odds to overwhelm arch-rivals India by 180 runs and pull off a major upset in the ICC Champions Trophy final.
India should remember that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations will remain special due, not least, to bonds of all Muslims with The Holy Land. They would also be strategic enough, irrespective of whether the ambassador is a military man or a career civilian appointee., notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Superb pace bowling, immaculate catching and astute captaincy combined to forge a thrilling final-day victory for England, who dismissed Pakistan for 201 to win the third test by 141 runs and go 2-1 up in the series. England refused to be cowed by a 103-run first-innings deficit, building a 343-run lead when they batted again and then destroying the tourists with an immaculate performance in the field that saw six wickets tumble between lunch and tea.
Azhar Ali's hit a belligerent century on the final day as Pakistan pulled off a dramatic five-wicket victory in the final Test against Sri Lanka to level the three-match series 1-1 on Monday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Day 2
Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad struck his maiden Test hundred but Pakistan's hopes of a series-equalling victory looked distant on the third day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
England beat Pakistan by 44 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis scoring method in a rain-affected first One-Day International in Southampton on Wednesday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to outgun title-contenders, Gujarat Lions in a must-win Indian Premier League clash.
Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed his third five-wicket haul of the series but Sri Lanka took the upper hand on day two of the third and final Test by restricting the visitors to 209 for nine at Pallekele on Saturday.
Moeen Ali made a superb century to lift England to 328 all out after Pakistan had taken four early wickets on the first day of the final Test at The Oval on Thursday.
Australia broke Pakistan's dangerous third-wicket partnership to reduce the tourists to 177 for three, still 361 runs in arrears, at tea on a rain-disrupted third day of the third and final Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Opener Azhar Ali was the batsman to fall for 71, leaving elder statesmen Younus Khan, who is inching towards his 34th Test century on 84 not out, and Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made 18, to resume for the extended final session.
Chasing a competitive 258 for victory, Pakistan overhauled the target with just three balls to spare with former captain Shoaib Malik (51 off 43 balls) getting the winning runs.
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.
IPL Season 11 begins on April 7. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers.
Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat against India in their Asia Cup ODI.
Pakistan's spinner Yasir Shah had Ian Bell (40) stumped in the third session as England ended the day at 222 for 4 on Day 2 of the 3rd Test in Sharjah on Monday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be looking to take the confidence from their Monday night's nerve-wracking one-run victory when they clash with Mumbai Indians.
It will be a battle of survival for the two national captains as Virat Kohli's struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore square off against a fledgling Pune Supergiants led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an IPL encounter for the bottom-rung teams in Bengaluru on Saturday. With five defeats in seven games, RCB are currently placed at a lowly seventh spot in the table with four points while Pune are just a notch above in sixth spot courtesy their third win against Delhi Daredevils, on Thursday. It has been a tough journey for the two superstars of Indian cricket as their franchises have dished one disappointing performance after another. RCB with perhaps the most intimidating batting line-ups has had to taste defeat because of a pedestrian bowling attack that has failed to defend 180 plus scores in most of the matches.
Ross Taylor ended a poor run of form to score his 16th test century and bat New Zealand into a potentially series-winning position at the end of the fourth day of the second Test against Pakistan at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Monday. Already 1-0 up in the two-match series courtesy of an eight-wicket win in Christchurch, New Zealand declared their second innings at 313 for five, just after Taylor reached the milestone, and set Pakistan a victory target of 369.
Pakistan routed England by nine wickets in the one-off Twenty20 international in Manchester on Wednesday to end their tour on a high.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq fell just short of his sixth Test century but his team clung on to their slim hopes of salvaging the second Test against Sri Lanka after a stirring rearguard action in Dubai on Saturday.
India left out Sourav Ganguly and frontline bowlers Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. Young batsman Rohit Sharma, pacers S Sreesanth, and Praveen Kumar and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik came in.
The PCB banned Shehzad for violating anti-doping regulations after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in May and his suspension was scheduled to end on November 10.
Pakistan crushed Bangladesh by 328 runs on Saturday to win their final Test with a day to spare.
James Anderson claimed four wickets as England made an excellent start to the third and final Test in Sharjah by bowling out Pakistan for 234 on Sunday.
Australia were two wickets from victory at the end of day four of the first day-night test against Pakistan on Sunday, but the tourists were buoyed by a feisty fourth innings chase and a brilliant unbeaten century from Asad Shafiq.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers of the Pakistan team from cricket World Cups.
Pakistan spinners Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah took nine wickets in the second innings as the hosts beat Australia by 221 runs in the first Test on Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes produced a record 273-run partnership in an unbroken opening stand to help Bangladesh whittle down Pakistan's huge lead to 23 runs at the close of the penultimate day of the opening Test at Khulna on Friday.
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews led by example, hitting an unbeaten 77 to help his team overcome a top order wobble and take a 291-run lead against Pakistan at the end of the third day's play in the third and final Test at Pallekele on Sunday.
Pakistan have named Azhar Ali as their One-day captain following the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq from One-Day Internationals after this month's World Cup.
Desperate to get their campaigns back on track, the two bottom placed teams in the Indian Premier League -- Kings XI Punjab and Royal Challengers Bangalore -- lock horns in Mohali on Monday, aiming to keep their winning momentum going to stay afloat in the ninth edition of the T20 league.
Mushfiqur Rahim stroked a brilliant 99, while Mustafizur Rahman picked up four wickets as Bangladesh outclassed Pakistan by 37 runs to qualify for the final, in the Asia Cup in Dubai, on Wednesday.
A PCB official said the suspended off-spinner has been named in the preliminary squad as he was in the process of correcting his action and would soon appear for an ICC biomechanics test.
Umar Akmal has been dropped from the Pakistan Twenty20 squad to face England as he is under investigation for bringing the sport into disrepute in an off-field incident, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reported on Thursday.
Asad Shafiq and Younus Khan made gritty centuries to lift Pakistan to 340 for six as England's bowlers toiled in perfect batting conditions on the second day of the final Test at The Oval on Friday.
Sri Lanka recovered from losing opener Upul Tharanga to reach 99 for one in reply to Pakistan's 451 at close on the second day of the first Test on Thursday.
Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by five wickets to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup.
Pakistan will open their innings in Sunday's World Cup match against India with Younis Khan in an attempt to accommodate leg-spinner Yasir Shah, and also include talented youngsters Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood in the final eleven.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances