Two-time World Cup winner and ICC Hall of Famer Lisa Sthalekar has revealed the first five players she would select if choosing a dream ODI XI with the World Cup 2023 just a month away.
Pakistan does not have any injury concerns but they are one of the most undercooked ODI sides at the moment. Since the 2019 World Cup, the 'Green Brigade' has played just 29 ODIs, whereas India have played 57 matches in the same period. - Asia Cup 2023
Suryakumar Yadav, the lone Indian in the top 10, continued to top the charts in the latest ICC men's T20I player rankings.
De Leede ripped through the Pakistan line-up taking 4-62 and Colin Ackerman claimed 2-39 after the Netherlands won the toss and decided to bowl, but Rizwan (68) and Shakeel (68) ensured the Asian side made 286 in 49 overs.
Chapman (57-ball 104 not out) combined with Jimmy Neesham (45) to overhaul the 194-run target and stun Pakistan
After left-armer Afridi's two early wickets, Australia could have been in even deeper trouble but Pakistan failed to capitalise on chances offered by Khawaja and Smith.
While Rohit Sharma will be eager to test his ultra-aggressive batting template against the Asian giants, for Virat Kohli it is the perfect platform to return to form after enduring a tough phase in the last few years.
Babar Azam's glorious unbeaten 102 kept Pakistan alive but Australia remained on course for victory in the second Test in Karachi on Tuesday.
The former Pakistan spinner has also come out in support of Deepak Hooda, who has not been included in the playing XI, despite being in top form in the white-ball setup.
PCB supremo Zaka Ashraf in his desperate bid to do damage control after indirectly terming India "enemy nation", hailed the warm reception that was accorded to the Pakistani team.
Chasing 152, Pakistan got off to a steady start as openers Rizwan and Azam took Pakistan to 35 after five overs. The two batsmen looked in great touch and eventually steered the side to a 10-run victory.
England's Harry Brook and Ben Duckett combined for a brilliant partnership and the returning Mark Wood snared three wickets as the visitors beat Pakistan by 63 runs in the third Twenty20 in Karachi on Friday to take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series.
Shinwari rattled the top order as he scalped three of the opening five wickets.
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan believes it is at least five years too early to compare Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as the Indian skipper has proven himself in "every kind of situation" while the latter has not. Younis believes the young Babar still has a long way to go.
'There are matches immediately after Netherlands, so it's unlikely there will be time for changes'
Meanwhile, the sports ministry has asked the PCB not to offer a long-term contract to its incumbent director of cricket Mohammad Hafeez yet, who came into the role after the 50-overs World Cup last year.
'It shows a lot of security within, and it means they have a lot of confidence to bounce back so I won't be surprised if India bounces back very quickly and in a big fashion.'
Suryakumar jumped in front of Pakistan captain Babar Azam and into third place on the latest list of T20I rankings for batters
Ishan Kishan jumps 10 places to 23rd, Hooda re-enters top 100
Babar capitalised on an early reprieve to score a career-best 143 not out when bad light forced early stumps with Pakistan 109 ahead with seven wickets remaining.
Kohli reached the landmark in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022 against England
'The next game is obviously a big one for us against the Netherlands in Adelaide. Have to put this one behind quickly, take whatever learnings we can.'
'That was proper (batting) from those two, it set the tone for how we want to play our cricket, take the game on.'
Pakistan batsman Babar Azam's sparkling form has earned him comparisons with Virat Kohli but the elegant right-hander says he has a long way to go before he can be considered the Indian skipper's equal. Both top-order batsmen score freely and play the cover drive particularly well. Babar averages above 45 in Tests and 50-plus in both One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals, putting him in the top five of all three formats.
Haris Rauf bowled a couple of hostile spells, while Imam-ul-Haq struck a silken 78 as Pakistan secured a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in a Super Four clash of the Asia Cup, in Lahore on Wednesday.
Pakistan's former captain Shahid Afridi rued the absence of top players from his country in a 'big platform' like the Indian Premier League.
Senior pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar confirmed that there are no assigned death bowlers for India in the T20 World Cup.
'It's good to have someone with a lot of experience batting with you because he can take you through how to take the game on'
'Shaheen's absence big setback for Pakistan'
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and his deputy Mohammad Rizwan were looking to get some batting practice but were forced off the ground as the rain stopped play in the third over.
A slew of records were broken as Pakistan recorded a six-wicket win over Sri Lanka after chasing down a mammoth 345 in their ICC World Cup match in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
England's Harry Brook bagged his second player of the month award after his exploits in New Zealand Test series,
Dominic Xavier wonders why India has lost its mojo.
Former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar said Pakistan Babar Azam, who is a big fan of Virat Kohli, should learn to play like his "idol" and convert good starts into big knocks by adapting to match situations the way the Indian captain does.
England take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Pakistan has dominated the ODI format over the last year. In 2022, they whitewashed West Indies and Netherlands 3-0 at home and away respectively. They followed this up with a 2-1 series win over New Zealand at home in January 2023.
Former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee is confident Aaron Finch and Co. can bounce back from their crushing group stage defeat at the hands of England provided their top-order fires in the upcoming matches of the T20 World Cup.
Ashwin gained two places after taking six wickets in India's emphatic victory over Australia in the second Test in New Delhi.
India showed they have plenty of depth waiting in the wings as they completed a sweep over the Caribbean side on Wednesday
Man Of The Match Shaheen Afridi stole the show on Sunday with his brilliant bowling against India. The Pakistani pacer sent back the in-form opening pair of K L Rahul and Rohit Sharma with unplayable balls to set the tone for Pakistan's imposing victory by 10 wickets.
