South Africa beat Pakistan by 28 runs after Quinton de Kock scored his maiden one-day international hundred and Dale Steyn posted his best ever match figures in the fourth game of the series in the United Arab Emirates on Friday.
Pakistan's cricket legend, Imran Khan has said that he would like to see Pakistan and India resume bilateral series after the warm welcome given to the national team in India during the ICC World T20.
Former Pakistan captain and fast bowling great, Wasim Akram slammed the formation of an inquiry committee by the cricket board to probe into the team's poor show in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. "I don't understand the purpose of announcing a probe committee when the national team is due to leave for India for the World T20," Akram told a news conference on Saturday. Akram, who was Director of the Islamabad United franchise which recently won the Pakistan Super League in Dubai, said that it was lamentable that instead of supporting the team the players were being put under pressure. "I don't agree with this thinking. This decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board to evaluate the team's performance in the Asia Cup at this time," he added. "It does not make sense as the World T20 is just a few days away."
'If the conditions change and we can have the Asia Cup, it must be held as earnings from it are distributed as development funds to member countries for next two years'
Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis has cautioned his countrymen not to expect the Pakistan Super League to immediately churn out players of the class of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, like the Indian Premier League has done for the game in the neighbouring country.
Pakistan edged Zimbabwe by two wickets in the second and final Twenty20 International on Sunday to clinch the series 2-0 at a boisterous Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
West Indies number 11 Jason Holder smashed 14 runs off the final over to earn his side a dramatic tie with Pakistan in the third one-day international at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Friday.
Tainted left-arm pacer Muhammad Aamir was in line to make his comeback to the Pakistan team for the tour to New Zealand in January.
Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com looks on the lighter side of things after India beat Pakistan in Adelaide for their sixth straight win over their arch rivals in a World Cup clash.
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.
Corey Anderson has claimed that the all-rounders are a massive part of a squad
Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim took four wickets to spin Pakistan to a 13-run victory over Zimbabwe in the first of two Twenty20 Internationals at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Kane Williamson hit a brilliant 123 as New Zealand staved off Pakistan's spirited challenge to eke out a series-levelling seven-run victory in the fourth one-day international in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi hailed New Zealand batsman Corey Anderson, who broke his long-standing record for the fastest one-day century - but admitted he had never heard of him before
India paid the price for costly blunders at crucial junctures to suffer a nerve-wracking one-wicket defeat at the hands of arch rivals Pakistan, who rode on Shahid Afridi's brilliant cameo to virtually assure themselves a berth in the final of the Asia Cup in Mirpur on Sunday.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Monday claimed that match-fixing was at its peak in 1996 and said the environment in the dressing room was far from conducive.
Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten half-century to steer India to a six-wicket victory against Pakistan in the World Twenty20 in Kolkata, on Saturday. Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from the match.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels the jinx that a host country has never won a World Twenty20 title may be broken this time. "There has to be a first time. No host country has won it and it can be India. The way the Indians have been playing from Australia, they look a happy, balanced unit. The fielding is top class and that's great. " The former India captain said, "India are favourites by a 'little bit' to win the WorldT20 and along with the hosts, Australia, South Africa and England can make semis going by current form. Gavaskar also found New Zealanders a potential threat for other formidable teams. "New Zealand play under the radar. Expectations are less, so they can come and surprise. It will be a cracker of a game against India. They have fabulous strokemakers. Trent Boult is there and Tim Southee, who had played in IPL. He knows how to bowl in Indian conditions. They can spring a surprise," he said.
Pakistan survived a late order scare from Sri Lanka to pull off an exciting 11-run win in the first one-day international, to go 1-0 up in the five-match series in Sharjah.
Rajneesh Gupta has some interesting numbers from the match. Check them out.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and veteran pacer Ashish Nehra on Friday did not come for Indian team's pre-match day training after being advised rest ahead of the crucial Asia Cup T20 game against Pakistan, in Fatullah on Saturday. While Dhoni is suffering from back spasms, the injury-prone Nehra has his own specific training programme, which is different from the general team routine. Dhoni had played through pain against Bangladesh but back spasms need adequate recovery time, which is specifically the reason he has been given 48 hours to recuperate before the Pakistan match. His cover Parthiv Patel had his first training session but had precious little do as he did not get to bat in the main nets. Unless Dhoni's physical condition deteriorates further, Parthiv's chances of playing are minimal. There was one interesting sight during the training session on the match-eve. Both India and Pakistan trained adjacent to each other inside the main stadium at the Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium and trained at the same time between 4-6:30 pm local time. However, during the entire two and half-hour training session, no pleasantries were exchanged between the members of the two sides.
Supremely confident of his pace attack, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Friday said his fast bowlers are capable of sending the Indian top-order packing in the first six overs itself when the two teams lock horns in the Asia Cup T20 group league match, in Fatullah on Saturday. "Pace bowlers are the main form of attack in these conditions. We have got four pacers and they are just cricketers who are considered to be wicket-taking. Our fast bowlers will try to utilise the opening six overs by removing their batsmen as that is considered to be their strength," Afridi said at the pre-match press conference. Afridi though acknowledged that Indian batsmen do play spinners very well. In the spin department, Afridi will be supported by left-arm spinner Muhammad Nawaz, who has done well in the recently concluded PSL. "Indian batsmen usually play spinners very well and they have in-form players in their squad as they have come here playing some good cricket. I think apart from me there is Mohammad Nawaz who performed really well in the domestic cricket as well as in the PSL. The fast bowlers are also in good shape whether it is Amir, Wahab or Irfan.
Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamir was Friday booed on his return to international cricket by the crowd during the first Twenty20 match against New Zealand in Auckland. The 23-year-old left-arm pacer was making his first appearance for Pakistan since returning from a five-year ban and jail time for being implicated in a spot-fixing scandal in 2010. Pakistan defeated the hosts by 16 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, with Mohammad Hafeez scoring 61 as they reached 171 for eight. Shahid Afridi's astute captaincy coupled with an all-round effort, helped Pakistan overcome New Zealand's challenge.
Pakistan wrapped up their tour of the West Indies with an 11-run win in the second Twenty20 international in St Vincent on Sunday to complete a One-day double over the world T20 champions.
Half-brothers Darren and Dwayne Bravo provided the foundation for success as West Indies beat Pakistan by 37 runs on Tuesday to win the second One-Day International in Guyana and tie the five-match series.
Pakistan's controversial former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar wants the PCB to appoint Australia's Tom Moody as the coach of the national team, which has faced a torrid time in the ICC Champions Trophy, failing to win a single match in three appearances.
Suspended from international cricket for an illegal bowling action, Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal on Friday returned to the national side.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is facing resistance in its attempts to rehabilitate tainted pacer Muhammad Aamir with most of the players in the national side being averse to sharing the dressing room with him.
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.
Will these names be a part of the Bigg Boss 9 line-up?
Pakistan's disgraced cricketer Salman Butt has tendered a personal apology to his former captain Shahid Afridi when they crossed paths at the national cricket academy in Lahore.
The 27-year-old batted five innings in the tournament, scoring a total of 273 at an average of 136.50 with a strike-rate of just under 147.
AB De Villiers required just 31 balls for his genius to propel him to the fastest ever one-day international century, a matchless masterclass that left even Chris Gayle bowing in admiration as South Africa walloped West Indies on Sunday.
Pakistan bowling came to the fore after Mohammad Hafeez's unbeaten fifty as they defeated World T20 defending champions Sri Lanka by 15 runs in their warmup match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday. Hafeez struck an unbeaten 70 from 49 balls to help Pakistan post 157/5 before they restricted Sri Lanka for 142/9 in front of a cheering crowd of more than 10,000. Sri Lanka were wayward with their bowling especially in the death overs and bowled eight wide balls, including five from Dushmantha Chamara, further helping Pakistan's cause.
A 27-member Pakistan cricket contingent left for India to take part in the Twenty20 World Cup, finally ending days of uncertainty over their participation in the mega event. The team will be reaching Kolkata via Abu Dhabi. The Pakistan squad including 15 players, 12 officials and support staff reached the Allama Iqbal international airport amidst tight security and boarded a flight hours after the Pakistan government finally gave the PCB the green signal to fly to India to take part in the ICC event. Due to a long stay in Abu Dhabi the squad will reach Kolkata later this evening. Head coach Waqar Younis, before departing for India, left a message on his Twitter account calling for unity in the team. "Come on together we can do it," he tweeted a message aimed at motivating the players. He told the media that though the departure of the team for India had been hit by uncertainty and security issues, the focus of the players now would only be on cricket and doing well in the world event.
Pakistan pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory over hosts Bangladesh to storm into the finals of the Asia Cup cricket tournament, knocking India out of the title race.
Sunday night's dramatic one-run victory in Abu Dhabi and the cancellation of the third ODI between India and the West ensured top billing for George Bailey's side as the race to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 heats up amongst some of the top-ranked sides.
Pakistan's cricket board (PCB) have backed struggling Test and one-day skipper Misbah-ul-Haq to lead the team at next year's World Cup but have considered potential replacements should he decide to stand down from his role as captain.
'Dhoni was a very shrewd captain in terms of his out of the box thinking and getting the work done.'
Sri Lanka clinched the one-day international series against Pakistan after their bowlers, led by Thisara Perera, routed the tourists to secure a seven-wicket victory in the deciding third and final match on Saturday.
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