Sports
Pakistan prevail in heart-stopper to seal final date with Sri Lanka
ASIA CUP 2022
Pakistan won a seesawing, low-scoring thriller to beat Afghanistan by one wicket in Sharjah, thus booking their date with Sri Lanka in the final of the 2022 Asia Cup. The result not only brought down the curtain on Afghanistan’s campaign but also on defending champions India’s.Having restricted Afghanistan to 129 for 6 after winning the toss, Pakistan would have expected smooth sailing but Afghanistan’s bowlers kept a lid on the scoring rate. After ten overs, Pakistan were 52 for 3.
Shadab Khan, promoted to No. 5, released the pressure with some lusty hits but Afghanistan kept picking up the wickets to stay in the contest. Still, it wasn’t until Fazalhaq Farooqi’s double-strike in the 18th over that Afghanistan had a real chance.
With 21 needed from two overs, Fareed Ahmad sent back Haris Rauf and the dangerous Asif Ali. That left Pakistan requiring 11 from the final over, with No. 10 Naseem Shah and No. 11 Mohammad Hasnain at the crease. But Farooqi missed his yorker twice in two balls, and Naseem dispatched both full tosses over long-off to seal the game with four balls to spare.
Earlier in the day, Naseem kicked things off for Pakistan with a tight first over, but Hasnain struggled with his line and length. Rahmanullah Gurbaz took advantage of that, hitting Hasnain for back-to-back sixes in the second over.
Hazratullah Zazai once again had a circumspect start. He was on 8 off ten balls before Haris strayed on the pads. Zazai duly tucked it to the fine-leg boundary before punching the next ball through covers for four. Rauf then bowled one short, which Zazai ramped towards deep third where Naseem spilled the chance.
Rauf wasn’t to be denied for long, though. Two balls later, he bowled Gurbaz, who tried to slog a length ball through midwicket but failed to connect. Zazai couldn’t capitalise on the dropped chance either, with Hasnain castling him with a slower ball in the fifth over.
Afghanistan were 43 for 2 after five overs but Pakistan’s spinners Shadab and Mohammad Nawaz put a brake on the scoring rate. In the next five overs, Ibrahim Zadran and Karim Janat managed just 29 runs. In an attempt to up the scoring rate, Janat took Nawaz on only to miscue a slog sweep to long-on.
Najibullah Zadran deposited Shadab over deep midwicket for a six, but he too holed out trying to repeat the shot later in the over. In the next over, the 15th of the innings, Naseem sent back Mohammad Nabi for a first-ball duck to ruin the Afghanistan captain’s 100th T20I.
Ibrahim seems to be playing the anchor’s role in this Afghanistan side but on the day was too slow even for that role. By the end of the 15th over, he had consumed 30 balls for just 26 runs. He did hit Shadab over covers for a six after that, but Rauf had him caught behind soon after for 35 off 37 balls.Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai threw their bats around in the death overs, but the Pakistan fast bowlers kept them largely quiet with clever use of the slower ball.
Babar Azam’s streak of low scores in the Asia Cup continued as Farooqi trapped him lbw for a first-ball duck. In the fourth over, a flash of brilliance from Najibullah saw the back of Fakhar Zaman, who pushed one in the covers for a quick single. But Najibullah charged at the ball, picked it up with his right hand, turned around and nailed a direct hit at the bowler’s end to find Fakhar short of his ground.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman was parsimonious with his quick googlies and carrom balls, conceding just five runs off his three powerplay overs. Afghanistan, though, needed regular wickets and Rashid didn’t disappoint. In his second over, he trapped Mohammad Rizwan lbw with a googly to leave Pakistan 45 for 3 in the ninth over.
With 72 required from nine overs, Shadab opened up. He first hit Nabi for a six and a four, and followed it with another six off Mujeeb. However, Fareed and Rashid gave away just nine in the next three overs to make it 39 needed from the last four.
By now, Shadab was struggling with what looked like a quadriceps issue. He swept the first ball of the 16th over, bowled by Rashid, for a six but was taken near short third when he went for another big hit on the next ball. Afghanistan’s celebrations, though, were short-lived as Asif slog-swept the following ball for another six.
Farooqi brought back Afghanistan in the game by dismissing Nawaz and Khushdil Shah in the 18th over. But Asif threatened to win it for Pakistan on his own, as he had done against the same opposition at the last T20 World Cup. With 18 needed from nine balls, he got one in the slot from Fareed and sent it over wide long-on for six.
Fareed banged the next one into the pitch, and Asif top-edged the hook to short fine leg. The pumped-up, in-the-face celebrations after the wicket resulted in Fareed and Asif almost getting physical before the two were separated.
Until then, Farooqi was the star of the match for Afghanistan but he failed to land his yorkers against Naseem, whose successive sixes led to frenzied celebrations in the Pakistan camp and a tearful exit for his opponents.
Brief Scores:
Afghanistan 129/6 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 35; Rauf 2-26, Shah 1-19) lost to Pakistan 131/9 in 19.2 overs (Shadab 36; Fareed Ahmad Malik 3-31, Fazalhaq Farooqi 3-31) by 1 wicket
A sensational maiden IPL ton from Priyansh Arya condemned Chennai Super Kings to their fourth successive loss in IPL 2025. Under severe pressure in run chases, CSK finally managed to breach the 200-run mark but it still wasn’t good enough as Arya’s stunning 39-ball ton in just his fourth appearance, coupled with another sloppy fielding display let the visitors down.
Where was the game won?
Quite strangely, it was the PowerPlay once again even though CSK had a fruitful opening stand. They didn’t lose a wicket as well in the PowerPlay but it still proved to be the point of difference as Punjab Kings went berserk in their first six overs. Despite losing three wickets, Priyansh Arya made all the noise in this phase as he raced to a stunning half-century to power his team to 75 for 3.
Punjab Kings
Powerplay – A flying start for the hosts
Phase score – 75/3 [RR: 12.50, 4s/6s: 5/6]
Only for the fourth time in the history of IPL, a game began with a six as Priyansh Arya upper cut Khaleel Ahmed off the very first ball over the ropes. That was a sign of things to come as the PowerPlay turned out to be very eventful. There were wickets, there were runs and in the end it was the home side that finished the phase on top despite having three batters back in the pavilion already. Prabhsimran Singh inside-edged one onto his stumps and then Shreyas Iyer and Marcus Stoinis were sent packing by Khaleel Ahmed. But at the other end, Arya went absolutely berserk taking on every single bowler. Veteran R Ashwin was welcomed with a four and got picked apart for 21 runs as Arya brought up a stunning 19-ball fifty.
Middle overs – The Priyansh Arya show
Phase score – 89/3 [RR: 9.88, 4s/6s: 4/7]
Despite that poor start, Ashwin came back with a bang as he picked two crucial wickets in a single over to turn the tide. Nehal Wadhera skied one and was caught by Dhoni and in the same over, Glenn Maxwell hit one hard straight back to the bowler to fall for 1. At that point, PBKS’s chances appeared bleak with half the side back in the pavilion for just 83. However, after a couple of overs they were at it again. They continued to adopt a positive approach and it paid off as Arya and Shashank Singh went on a six-hitting spree. Ashwin’s final over saw him concede 20 runs, and Matheesha Pathirana was then carted around for a hat-trick of sixes as Arya brought up a sensational century. PBKS managed to score 43 runs off 12 balls in that period which once again put them on the box seat. Arya, who had a slice of luck enroute his century, was finally dismissed when he hit Noor Ahmad straight to long on.
Death overs – Shashank, Jansen blunt CSK
Phase score – 55/0 [RR: 11, 4s/6s: 2/3]
Despite Arya’s heroics, CSK could have still kept Punjab Kings below 200 considering they were a wicket away from bowling at the tail. However, Shashank and Marco Jansen kept the away side at bay at the death. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s decision to not bowl Noor for his fourth over proved to be costly as well. With Pathirana also having an off-day, CSK ended up conceding a few boundaries at the death with Shashank getting to his fifty.
Chennai Super Kings
Powerplay – Finally, a productive opening stand
Phase score – 59/0 [RR: 9.83, 4s/6s: 10/0]
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra put an end to CSK’s opening woes this season with a fruitful partnership in the PowerPlay. They kickstarted the run chase with a boundary each in the first over and repeated the feat in Arshdeep Singh’s next over as well. Rachin then took on Yash Thakur for a hat-trick of boundaries to give CSK some momentum. In the process, the duo put on more than 50 for the opening wicket to lay down the foundation.
Middle overs – Under-fire duo keep CSK’s faint hopes alive
Phase score – 86/2 [RR: 9.55, 4s/6s: 5/4]
Just when CSK thought they could capitalise on that start, things turned sour real quick as Rachin got stumped off Maxwell in the very first over after the PowerPlay. To make matters worse, Gaikwad failed to contribute once again in a big chase and that put CSK under a lot of pressure. Already under fire for not delivering in the tournament, Shivam Dube had a massive job in hand alongside Conway. Dube made a good start to his innings and he got himself going with a flat six off Lockie Ferguson. Conway, who received a couple of reprieves, hit a much-needed six off Stoinis to release some pressure before a big over from Jansen dragged CSK back into the contest heading into the slog overs.
Death overs – CSK fall short……again!!
Phase score – 56/3 [RR: 11.2, 4s/6s: 1/4]
PBKS needed just two good overs to turn the tide completely in their favour. And they got it from their experienced duo of Arshdeep and Ferguson. Following a tight over from the left-arm pacer, Ferguson bowled a very good knuckle ball to castle Dube as the equation came down to a very tough 68 off 24. Yuzvendra Chahal was finally brought into the attack for his first over and he too delivered to drag his team closer to the win. MS Dhoni then kept CSK’s faint hopes alive with a couple of sixes off Ferguson before smashing Arshdeep for a four and a six, as the equation came down to 28 off 6. Yash Thakur, tasked with bowling the final over, got the big wicket of Dhoni with a full toss down leg that the veteran hit straight to short fine-leg. CSK needed someone to pull off a Rinku Singh at that point, which just didn’t happen.
Brief scores:
Punjab Kings 219/6 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 103, Shashank Singh 52*, Marco Jansen 34*; Khaleel Ahmed 2/45, Mukesh Choudhary 1-21, Ravichandran Ashwin 2-48, Noor Ahmad 1-32) beat Chennai Super Kings 201/5 in 20 overs (Devon Conway 69, Shivam Dube 42, Rachin Ravindra 36, MS Dhoni 27; Yash Thakur 1-39, Glenn Maxwell 1-11, Lockie Ferguson 2/40) by 18 runs
What’s next for the two teams?
With pressure mounting, CSK are now in need of a quick turnaround as they return home to face Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday. A day later, Punjab Kings will take on another team that’s under pressure – Sunrisers Hyderabad – in an away fixture.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) smashed their second-highest total in the IPL, and conceded 90 in the powerplay during the chase, before inducing a collapse of 5 for 23 to beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens.
Mitchell Marsh’s fourth fifty of IPL 2025, and Nicholas Pooran’s 36-ball 87, took LSG to 238. KKR’s top order fired too, with Ajinkya Rahane top-scoring with 61 off 35 balls. He shared handy partnerships with Venkatesh Iyer and Sunil Narine but could not take the hosts home.
On a day where all bowlers travelled, LSG stuck with five bowlers. Shardul Thakur and Akash Deep went for many wides and conceded over fifty in their four-over spells, but they also got key wickets that derailed the chase.
The hosts were 162 for 2 in the 13th over, and needed another 77 runs off 43 balls. But KKR’s middle-order batters kept taking chances and holing out to fielders. Ramandeep Singh hit a slot ball off Ravi Bishnoi to Aiden Markram at long-off, Angkrish Raghuvanshi miscued a reverse sweep off Avesh Khan to the wicketkeeper, and Venkatesh, who was the set batter, mis-hit a full ball off Akash Deep to long-on.
Despite big-hitting finisher Andre Russell falling cheaply to a full toss from Thakur, Rinku Singh who finished with a 15-ball 38*, kept the chase alive. But LSG’s plan of shuffling the bowlers and giving spinners two overs at the death paid off as they sealed a four-run win.
The chase started with Akash Deep struggling to find his line. He bowled three wides down leg, the first of which went to the boundary. The second would have too, had Rishabh Pant not run and dived to the left. Narine and Quinton de Kock whacked two slot balls for sixes. Narine edged two slower balls off Thakur as KKR blazed to 31 for 0 in two overs.
A jaffa from Akash Deep beat de Kock’s defence but tempted Pant into an unsuccessful review. Akash Deep, though, made amends next ball by reviewing an lbw that landed just in line with the stumps and beat de Kock’s slog across the line. Thakur, at the other end, went for the wide-line ploy and delivered three wides. Narine clubbed the other two for a six and a four over cover.
Rahane got a lucky edge behind point but helped himself to a flick for his first two fours. Pant kept Akash Deep on for his third over, but Rahane brought out Test-quality boundaries, including a square drive to a length ball. KKR’s captain then got hold of Avesh, this time with flicked sixes over the leg side, to take KKR to 90 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.
Digyesh Rathi, the in-form legspinner, was brought in right after the powerplay and he struck right away, landing one wide and getting it to turn away further for Narine to toe a big hit to long-off.
Venkatesh and Rahane kept the tempo up with a 71-run third-wicket stand off 40 balls. Rathi did find the edge off Venkatesh’s back-foot square drive but the ball deflected sharply and went off the flap of Pant’s gloves for four.
An innovative paddle from Rahane brought up a 26-ball fifty. Venkatesh whacked two boundaries off Rathi, which brought pace back into the attack. Thakur’s ploy to bowl wide again led to five consecutive extras to start the 13th over, but the over ended with Rahane chipping to cover, and the collapse to follow.
Earlier, Marsh and Markram put on 99, the highest opening partnership in this season so far. They added 59 off the first six overs: 46 of those came in three overs from one end, and 13 from the other. The duo took on Spencer Johnson for three fours and two sixes, most of them through the leg side, which had the shorter boundary.
Varun Chakravarthy, brought on in the fifth over, went for just five runs. He got turn and bounce, and when Markram premeditated a sweep by going across, he nearly got bowled. But Harshit Rana couldn’t follow up as the openers smacked him for two sixes. Markram cut over deep third, and Marsh picked the slower one and slapped it down the ground.
Narine came on right as the field spread but Marsh didn’t let him settle. He first slog-swept a length ball at the stumps, and then rocked back to pull a slightly short ball behind square leg. Three relatively quiet overs from the spinners went for 23 runs, and LSG were 95 for 0 at the halfway mark.
Harshit was cut on return when he went short and wide, but came back with an offcutter that beat Markram’s attempted flick, and hit the middle and off stumps. Marsh finished the over by cutting another short-and-wide ball to bring up a 36-ball fifty. His attack against pace continued against Vaibhav Arora with a six and a four over the leg side.
Pooran got going with a couple of cuts against Johnson and came into his own against the spinners. Varun went wide first up but Pooran reached out and drove it over cover for six. When Narine came on next over, Pooran nailed a slog sweep and a lofted hit down the ground that ensured Narine didn’t get a fourth over.
Russell got Marsh with a wide slower ball that was cut to deep point, but Pooran continued his onslaught. He brought up a 21-ball fifty with a six behind square, and two in front in the next over off Harshit. Russell had no place to hide against Pooran in the 18th over. The short balls were pulled, while a missed yorker was bashed down the ground. In the end, three fours and two sixes were hit, as the 24-run over was the most expensive of the innings.
Harshit went into the pitch with pace variations, and Arora bowled yorkers in the last two overs, where only three fours were hit despite Pooran batting through to the end.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 238 for 3 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 87*, Mitchell Marsh 81, Aiden Markram 47, Harshit Rana 2-51, Andre Rusell 1-32) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 234 for 7 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 61, Venkatesh Iyer 45, Rinku Singh 38*, Quinton de Kock 15, Sunil Narine 30, Harshit Rana 10*; Akash Deep 2-55, Shardul Thakur 2-52, Avesh Khan 1-45, Digvesh Rathi 1-33, Ravi Bishnoi 1-47) by four runs
[Cricinfo]
35th Battle of Kelaniya
Skipper Thathsara Eshan, left-arm spinner Poorna Kalhara and paceman Tharusha Kodikara produced outstanding performaces as Gurukula beat arch rivals Dharmaloka, Kelaniya by an innings and 83 runs at the 35th Battle of Kelaniya big match at P. Sara Oval on Monday.
Forced to follow on after being bowled out for 85 runs Dharmaloka performed better in the second essay but the left-arm spin of Poorna Kalhara was too hot to handle as they were bowled out for 120 runs.
The big match was played as a three-day encounter for the first time but Gurukula sealed an innings win with a day to spare as Kalhara completed a match bag of 11 wickets.
Bowling the bulk of overs in the second innings Kalhara returned impressive figures 25-10-38-7 to seal a comfortable victory. He made his presence felt in the batting department as well making a vavaluable half century. His efforts earned him the Man of the Match and the Best Bowler awards.
In the first innings, Kalhara was joined by paceman Tharusha Kodikara to rattle Dharmaloka for 85 runs. Kodikara ripped through the lineup with a five wicket haul.
Skipper Eshan top scored with 103 runs for Gurukula to post 288 runs. His century included 14 fours. He was adjuded the Best Batsman.
Poorna Kalhara (L) / Thathsara Eshan (R)
Dharmaloka skipper and wicketkeeper Hashen Shyamal was given the Best Fielder award.
It was the fourth victory of the big match series for Gurukula. Dharmaloka are yet to taste vitory in the big match. Gurukula are coached by Rasitha Dinesh Tharanga, under whose guidance the team reached semi-finals of the Under 19 Division I Tier ‘A’ limited overs cricket tournament this season.
Scores
Gurukula
288 all out in 75.2 overs (Poorna Kalhara 57, Denura Dimansith 28, Thathsara Eshan 103, Janith Mihiranga 24, Tharusha Kodikara 26; Thishan Nipun 2/59, Sithum Ramod 2/64, Sathidu Praboda 5/100)
Dharmaloka
85 all out in 35.5 overs (Kaveen Deneth 17, Hashen Shyamal 25; Tharusha Kodikara 5/39, Poorna Kalhara 4/18) and 120 all out in 56 overs (Omal Vihanga 34, Themira Mikasana 25; Poorna Kalhara 7/38, Ohas Sadew 2/38)
by Reemus Fernando
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