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Record chase sends Pakistan to tri-series final

Published

1 year ago

2025/02/13

Priyan

[File photo] Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha added 260 for the fourth wicket. [Cricbuzz]

Led by centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha, Pakistan registered their highest successful ODI run chase, beating South Africa by six wickets in a high-scoring encounter in Karachi on Wednesday. The win, their first in the tournament, has now sent them to the final of the tri-series to be played on Friday (February 14).

Pakistan had made a steady start to the run-chase with Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman putting on a half-century stand in less than six overs, before the former departed. Even as Babar had set the tempo with two boundaries in the opening over, much of the attack in this period had come from Zaman’s bat. The southpaw had taken a liking to Corbin Bosch and smashed him for 25 runs in two overs.

Zaman’s assault aside, South Africa kept chipping with regular wickets to reduce the home side to 91 for 3 by the 11th over. Saud Shakeel holed out to Wiaan Mulder at deep mid wicket while Zaman’s jab caught the outside edge to the ‘keeper. Nonetheless, the brisk start offered time for Agha and Rizwan to settle in.

Even as Rizwan got going by pulling the first ball of his innings for a boundary, he soon moved towards a more conservative approach. In the early part of their partnership, Agha and Rizwan depended more on rotating the strike, and were pacing at well below run-a-ball by the time they brought up the half-century of their partnership.

Even as there were the occasional boundaries flowing, the first intent of pressing the accelerator was noticed in the 29th over, when Rizwan slogswept Keshav Maharaj for a six and then went down the track to Senuran Muthuswamy for the same result. Agha was more pleasant with his strokeplay even as he played some fine shots on the up. As the partnership swelled, the flow of boundaries also increased. Runs came at a faster pace and the bowlers seemed less threatening.

Rizwan brought up his century by pulling Wiaan Mulder for a six, only three balls before Agha reached the mark with a single – his maiden ODI ton. The duo added 260 runs for the fourth wicket before Agha’s innings was cut short, two runs short of the target. Tayyab Tahir completed the formalities by stroking the first ball of his innings for a boundary to help Pakistan over the line with an over to spare.

Earlier in the day, half-centuries by Temba Bavuma, Matthew Breetzke and Heinrich Klaasen had set the stage for South Africa’s total of 352 for 5. Opting to bat, the visitors had blazed away to 51 runs within the eighth over before losing their first wicket, when Toni De Zorzi’s edge was pouched by a fine diving effort from Agha at slips. It was the first of the two stunning catches he had taken.

The second had come much later, against the run of play at the start of the 39th over, when Breetzke’s powerful cover drive on the up was intercepted by Agha, who dived to his right. However, between those two catches by Agha, South Africa had laid a strong foundation with Bavuma and Breetzke stitching a 119-run alliance and Breetzke adding 68 more in the company of Klaasen.

On a pitch where there wasn’t much assistance for the bowlers, it was an well-paced innings by South Africa. Without having to take too many risks, Bavuma used the width of the crease well to find a regular flow of boundaries. Breetzke, on the other hand, was more assertive with his intent to score. Every now and then he gave the charge to the bowlers, unsettled them from their lengths and used it to his advantage.

The flow of boundaries continued in a good flow as they marched along at close to run a ball. Much like Breetzke’s innings later, Bavuma’s stay too was cut short in the 80s and without the bowler having much of a role to play in it. Bavuma set off for a single after cutting the ball to backward point. However, Breetzke aborted the run, leaving his captain stuck mid-way on the pitch. The dismissal led to aggressive celebrations from the Pakistanis, which even forced the umpires to intervene and warn the captain.

While Breetzke continued in his pace, Klaasen cut loose in the 34th over, smashing Mohammad Hasnain for four boundaries. He kept the attack going and drilled two boundaries off Naseem Shah too just before Breetzke’s fall. Even as two set batters were dismissed, the stage was set for a late flourish, and Klaasen capitalised on it in the company of Kyle Verreynne. The most ruthless of the attacks came against Shaheen Afridi, who was taken apart for 20 runs in the 46th over. Hasnain came under fire again in the last over of the innings when Corbin Bosch launched him for a boundary and a six. In a contest where more than 700 runs were scored, it seemed like South Africa’s acceleration came a little too late.

Brief scores:
South Africa 353/5 in 50 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 87, Matthew Breetzke 83, Temba Bavuma 82; Shaheen Afridi 2-66) lost to Pakistan 355/4 in 49 overs (Salman Agha 134, Mohammad Rizwan 122*; Wiaan Mulder 2-79) by 6 wickets

[Cricbuzz]

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Iran executes two convicted members of banned opposition group

Published

7 hours ago

2026/04/4

Priyan

Glenn Torshizi, whose brothers were executed by the Iranian government, joins others in a protest at the US State Department, to highlight the executions in Karaj, Iran, of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members, on March 30, 2026, in Washington, DC [Cricinfo]

Iran has executed two men convicted of being members of the banned People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) opposition group, in the latest action targeting dissidents, even as the United States – Israeli war on Iran drags on.

The two were executed on Saturday morning after the country’s Supreme Court upheld earlier sentences that convicted them of PMOI/MEK membership, and “armed rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts”.

“Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian were hanged after trial and their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court,” the Iranian judiciary website, Mizan Online, said on Saturday.

PMOI/MEK had initially supported the 1979 Islamic revolution that unseated the Iranian monarchy. However, in the 1980s, it fell out with the new leadership in Tehran and was designated a “terrorist” organisation. PMOI/MEK has since operated in exile.

Four other convicted members of the group were executed on March 30 and 31. According to information on the PMOI/MEK website, the men were: Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi.

All six men were arrested and convicted by a Revolutionary Court in late 2024, according to PMOI/MEK.

The group condemned the executions in an April 2 statement, calling Tehran’s actions a “futile” attempt to suppress opposition.

“These brutal executions will not silence the opposition; instead, they will only intensify the resolve of Iran’s rebellious youth to overthrow the regime,” PMOI/MEK said.

Rights groups, too, have criticised the spate of hangings. Activists have long accused Iran of being the second most prolific executioner after China.

In a statement following the first set of hangings on March 31, Amnesty International accused Iranian authorities of torturing the men while they were held in prison and then abruptly transferring them to an unknown location shortly before their executions.

Amnesty further raised fears of more planned executions, including of protesters arrested during mass anti-government demonstrations in January, during which thousands were killed.

“It is unconscionable that even as the population is reeling from conflict and mass bereavement amid the ongoing aerial bombardment by Israel and the USA, the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran continue to weaponize the death penalty to eradicate dissenting voices and further terrify people,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began on February 28, Tehran has executed several people, including Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian-Swedish national convicted on charges of spying for Israel in a case that has drawn outrage from Stockholm and the European Union.

One man convicted of acting on behalf of Israel and the US during the protests was also executed on Thursday.

Earlier, on March 19, four people – Saleh Mohammadi, Mehdi Ghasemi, and Saeed Davoudi – arrested in connection with the uprising, were killed.

Amnesty warns that another five young protesters previously sentenced to death could soon be executed after they were moved from the Ghezel Hesar prison to an unidentified location this week.

[Aljazeera]

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Afghanistan earthquake kills eight members of same family

Published

7 hours ago

2026/04/4

Priyan

An Afghan man clears rubble from the courtyard of his damaged house, in the aftermath of an earthquake at a village in the Khulm district of Samangan province on November 4, 2025 [Aljazeera]

An earthquake in Afghanistan has killed eight members of the same family when their home collapsed in the Gosfand Dara area of Kabul province.

Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said on Saturday that a child aged around two years old was the only survivor. Afghanistan’s disaster management agency said the boy was injured

The 5.8-magnitude quake struck at 8:42pm local time (16:12 GMT) on Friday at a depth of 186km (115 miles). The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicentre was in the northeastern province of Badakhshan.

The capital Kabul is about 290km (180 miles) southwest of the epicentre.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in areas closer to the epicentre. The province is remote so it can often take several hours before local authorities can relay information back to Kabul.

Strong tremors were felt in multiple parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul and the Indian capital New Delhi, witnesses told the Reuters news agency.

Pakistan also felt the quake, including in the capital Islamabad and Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Afghanistan is frequently jolted by earthquakes along the Hindu Kush mountain range – near the junction of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates. On average, 560 people are killed by quakes there every year.

The deadliest tremor in the country’s recent history struck last August. The shallow magnitude 6 earthquake in eastern Afghanistan wiped out mountain villages, killing at least 2,200 people.

Most casualties were in Kunar province, where Afghans typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys.

Impoverished Afghanistan often faces difficulty in responding to natural disasters, especially in remote regions.

Many homes in rural and outlying areas are poorly built with bricks, wood and mud.

[Aljazeera]

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Breakdown of the teams and groups of the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US after the final playoffs

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/4

Priyan

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ermedin Demirovic and Dzenis Burnic celebrate qualifying for the FIFA World Cup after beating Italy in a penalty shootout at the Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 31, 2026 [

Iraq’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has completed the lineup of 48 nations for the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The Lions of Mesopotamia edged Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday to win the second final of the FIFA Playoff tournament in Mexico. In the first final earlier, Democratic Republic of the Congo beat Jamaica 1-0.

In the other games, Turkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden and Czechia were the final four teams to complete the European quota of World Cup qualification.

Widely considered the most famous sporting event in the world, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be its biggest ever. Forty-eight nations will play instead of the usual 32, with 104 matches in 16 venues across the three host nations.

Argentina will look to defend the trophy lifted by iconic captain, Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022. Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their debut.

The World Cup’s first game will be a throwback to 2010 when Mexico take on South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the tournament opener then. Football fans will hope the opening goal this year matches the screamer scored by Lawrence Tshabalala from the South African hosts then.

Mexico in group A – which includes South Korea and Czechia – will be one of the toughest of the 12 groups.

Team USA are alongside Australia, Paraguay and Turkiye.

Canada, too, face the challenging task of making it out of a group comprising Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia.

Here’s a breakdown of the 48 teams in the 12 groups:

Group A: