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Brits, Kapp, Sekhukhune give South Africa 1-0 lead
Eighteen-year-old Seshnie Naidu enjoyed a dream T20I debut in Multan, taking a blinder of a catch at short fine leg and a wicket with her second ball as South Africa beat Pakistan by ten runs in the first match of a three-game series.
In the first ever T20I, men’s or women’s, played at this venue, South Africa did not get the “ten or 15 runs over 150” that captain Laura Wolvaardt hoped they would, and with Pakistan 47 for 5, it did not look like they needed it. But a strong effort from Aliya Riaz and new Pakistan captain Fatima Sana made a fist of things with an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 75 off 45 balls. That meant South Africa were made to work hard to defend their score and it did not help that they put down three catches, another area Wolvaardt earmarked for improvement.
Wolvaardt herself was guilty of the first blunder in the fifth over, with Pakistan already struggling on 14 for 2. Nida Dar was on 4 when she skied Tumi Sekhukhune to mid-off. Wolvaardt got to the ball but could not hold on. Later,Chloe Tryon put down Sana on 10 off Sune Luus and then Luus dropped Sana in the deep on 22, off Ayabonga Khaka .
Happily for South Africa, none of that could keep them from a win, albeit a much closer one than they would have liked.
South Africa’s experienced players produced the goods: Tazmin Brits scored her third T20I half-century in four innings to rescue South Africa from 20 for 2 in the third over, Luus hit a run-a-ball 27 (only her first score over 20 this year) and Tryon finished with 15 not out off 7. The 63-run stand off 61 balls between Brits and Luus anchored the innings.
Pakistan made early incisions with spin when Sadia Iqbal dismissed Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch off successive deliveries, but they might need to rethink their reliance on slower bowlers. Overall, Pakistan bowled 16 overs of spin, and played only one seamer – Sana – with Diana Baig benched on what was expected to be a turning track.
While Pakistan restricted South Africa to a mere 132 for 4, the value of variety in attack was evident when South Africa bowled. Their two senior seamers – Marizanne Kapp and Khaka – bowled their full quota of four overs each and five other bowlers rolled their arm over. Kapp started with a maiden and took a wicket with her second ball when Gull Feroza hit her in the air. From the other end, Khaka gave away only one in her first over before Kapp struck again, castling Sidra Amin to make it 6 for 2. Muneeba Ali broke the pressure with a boundary off the eighth ball she faced and Nida followed it up with another four and then came the moment of magic.
Muneeba tried to flick Sekhukhune fine, Naidu dived, reached almost behind her shoulder, plucked the ball and held on as her elbow hit t ground. It took multiple replays to confirm what she knew: she had taken a wundercatch. She was brought on to bowl in the eighth over and had Sadaf Shamas caught off her second ball to leave Pakistan on 21 for 4.
South Africa seemed to ease off after that and Pakistan found runs more easily, which would only make Aliya and Sana, especially, more upset with the way they started the chase. The pair hit cleanly into the night sky, with five fours each, and Aliya struck their only six, to take Pakistan close, but not close enough.
Brief scores:
South Africa Women 132 for 4 in 20 overs (Tazmin Brits 56*, Sune Luus 27; Sadia Iqbal 3-34, Nida Dar1-11) beat Pakistan Women 122 for 5 in 20 overs (Aliya Riaz 52*, Fatima Sana 37*; Tuni Sekhukhune 2-15, Marizanne Kapp 2-22, Seshnie Naidu 1-25) by ten runs
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Zimbabwe stun Sri Lanka to enter Super Eight unbeaten
One time is a shock. Two times, and the second to beat hosts Sri Lanka at their own game, is Zimbabwe. Led by their canny bowling, Zimbabwe pulled Sri Lanka back from a flying start to keep them to 178 on a sluggish Premadasa track. Their opener Brian Benett, quickest scorer in their history, dropped anchor, stayed unbeaten like his team, and Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani did all the damage from the other end to seal their second-highest successful T20I chase.
Sri Lanka’s innings had three neat divisions: first 29 balls for 54 for 0, next 72 for 82 for 4 and then a finishing kick of 42 for 3 off the last 19 balls. Zimbabwe went Bennett and non-Bennett. Bennett scored 63 off 48; the other three combined for 102 off 64 balls. Raza was the decisive hand: 45 off 26 after the asking rate had gone past 11.
Brief scores:
Zimbabwe 182 for 4 in 19.3 overs (Brian Bennett 63*, Tadiwanashe Marumani 34, Ryan Burl 23, Sikandar Raza 45; Dasun Shanaka 1-26, Dushan Hemantha 2-36, Dunith Wellalage 1-27) beat Sri Lanka 178 for 7 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 62, Kusal Perera 22, Kusal Mendis 14, Pavan Rathnayake 44, Dunith Wellalage 15*; Blessing Muzarabani 2-38, Graeme Cremer 2-27, Brad Evans 2-35) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
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Ex-UK Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former United Kingdom royal, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to UK media reports.
A statement from Thames Valley police was released Thursday which said, “As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.
“The man remains in police custody at this time.”
“We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance. Please also remember that this case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid being in contempt of court, ” the statement added.
“Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.
“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
Andrew, the former British prince, who was stripped of his title last year over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, should cooperate with the US authorities in their investigation, the UK Prime Minister Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.
[Aljazeera]
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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts
Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 12.00 noon 19 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 19 February 2026
The public are warned that thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts after 2.00 p.m.
There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.
ACTION REQUIRED:
The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.
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