Sports

Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan dazzle in series decider

Published

4 years ago

2023/01/14

Pakistan put up 280/9 in their 50 overs in the final ODI against New Zealand in Karachi. When they opted to bat in the series decider, Pakistan would have taken this score at the start of the innings but halfway through, they looked well-set to breach the 300-run mark. Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan put on a brisk 154-run stand for the third wicket but New Zealand stormed back after breaking that stand before Agha Salman provided the finishing touches with a 43-ball 45.

Pakistan didn’t make the greatest of starts as Lockie Ferguson struck in the second over of the innings to dismiss Shan Masood for a second-ball duck. Babar Azam took ten balls to open his account but Zaman at the other end looked in good touch right from the start. Kane Williamson’s decision to introduce spin as early as the seventh over of the game proved to be a masterstroke as Michael Bracwell got Babar stumped off his third delivery.

At 21/2, the hosts needed a partnership quite badly to stabilise the innings and they got one in the form of Zaman and Rizwan. The wicketkeeper-batter swept his third ball for a boundary whereas Zaman fetched two boundaries in a Mitchell Santner over. Post the first powerplay, the two batters were content in picking singles but Zaman broke the shackles with a couple of boundaries off Tim Southee. He brought up a fifty and looked in great nick as the duo raised 100 for the third wicket.

Once set, the boundaries started flowing again as Zaman took on Santner to smash him over deep midwicket for a six before Rizwan drove Southee through the covers to inch closer to a fifty. Rizwan then started finding the boundary at regular intervals as well, taking his strike rate past 100 before failing to read a googly from Ish Sodhi to give New Zealand a much-needed breakthrough. The visitors capitalised on the opening as Zaman was first run out immediately after getting to his century. After 40 overs, Pakistan were 206/4 but Henry Nicholls was involved in another run out, this time to see the back of Haris Sohail.

Salman managed to stand tall but saw the likes of Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir fall in quick succession without making an impact. While New Zealand kept a check on the rate, Salman came up with a few boundaries to guide the side past 275.

Brief scores:

Pakistan 280/9 in 50 overs (Fakhar Zaman 101, Mohammad Rizwan 77, Agha Salman 45; Tim Southee 3/56) vs New Zealand.

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Colombo Kaps down Dambulla Sixers by 21 runs

Published

7 hours ago

2026/07/26

Priyan

Colombo Kaps defended 197 runs to win the 12th match of the Lanka Premier League by restricting Dambulla Sixers to 176/8 at the Dambulla International Cricket Stadium on Saturday [25] night.

SCORES:
Colombo Kaps 197/5 in 20 overs [Rubin Hermann 39, Sadeera Samarawickrema 16, Sharujan Shanmuganathan 12, Kamindu Mendis 88*, Ben McDermott 14, Janith Liyanage 17; Fazalhaq Farooki 1-41, Dushmantha Chameera 1-41, Ramesh Mendis 1-05, Gulabdin Naib 1-15]
Dambulla Sixers 176/8 in 20 overs [Pavan Rathnayake 50, Marques Ackerman 40, Gulabdin Naib 28, Maheesh Thhekshana 13; Shahnawaz Dahani 2-20, Wanuja Sahan 1-34, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-33, Malsha Tharupathi 1-26, Milan Rathnayake 1-26]

Latest News

Kandy Royals win by 11 runs

Published

7 hours ago

2026/07/26

Priyan

Nuwan Thushara starred with three wickets

Kandy Royals’ bowlers led by Nuwan Thushara were able to defend their score of 165 to win the 11th match of the Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Gallants by 11 runs at Dambulla on Saturday.

SCORES:
Kandy Royals 165/6 in 20 overs [Lahiru Udara 16, Dale Phillips 34, Wanidu Hasaranga 16, Moeen Ali 41, Angelo Mathews 28, Vijay Shankar 15; Pramod Madushan 2-41, Akif Javed 2-26, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth 2-36]

Galle Gallants 154/8 in 20 overs [Sam Harper 14, Charith Asalanka 14, Chamika Karunarathne 52, Dasun Shanaka 57*; Nuwan Thushara 3-33, Asitha Fernando 2-33, Moeen Ali 1-11, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-26]

Sports

Jaffna Kings LPL side under SLC purview

Published

13 hours ago

2026/07/26

Thilina Walpola

Jaffna Kings former co-owner Manjot Kalra is in judicial custody until July 31

Innovative Production Group (IPG), the tournament rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), in consultation with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), has terminated the franchise agreement with Sports Commune, which was granted franchise rights of the Jaffna Kings.

The termination follows the franchisee’s inability to fulfil its financial obligations under the terms of the franchise agreement. As a result, all rights relating to the Jaffna Kings franchise have reverted to IPG, which, together with Sri Lanka Cricket, has assumed full operational control of the team.

IPG confirms that the 6th edition of the LPL will proceed as scheduled and Jaffna Kings will continue to participate in the tournament under the same nomenclature, with no changes to the squad, tournament format, or match schedule.

To ensure the uninterrupted operation of the franchise, IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket have taken complete responsibility for all player, coaching staff, and support staff contracts. The organizers also confirm that all logistical arrangements for the team have been secured, ensuring the squad is intact for the tournament.

Furthermore, approximately 90% of all player and staff payments have already been completed, with the remaining payments to be settled in accordance with contractual commitments.

IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket remain committed to delivering a successful sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League while upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and transparency for players, teams, commercial partners, and fans.