Sports
Babar, Rizwan fifties power Pakistan to third T20 World Cup final
Led by half-centuries from Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan powered to the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, at the back of a dominating all-round display against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket ground, where they registered a seven-wicket win, on Wednesday.
Electing to bat, New Zealand were restricted to 152 for 4 on a slow, turning pitch, despite Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 35-ball 53. Run-scoring was difficult and against a disciplined bowling attack and a spirited fielding performance, New Zealand managed to score only 10 boundaries and two sixes.
In response, Pakistan asserted their dominance early on with a 105-run opening stand between Babar and Rizwan, with both the batters stroking fifties. Even as New Zealand managed to pull Pakistan back slightly towards the end, Babar’s side managed to reach the target with five balls to spare.
Pakistan dominated right from the start. A quintessential Shaheen Afridi first over where Finn Allen’s pads were always under threat with the incoming delivery. An inside edge saved him once but Afridi had the pads hitting the middle of middle stump eventually.
Kane Williamson and Devon Conway’s cautious approach allowed the Pakistan pacers to be on the offensive at all times, and yet escape not have to prove expensive. By the end of the powerplay, they had conceded only 38 runs, losing Conway to a fine throw by Shadab Khan off the last ball, which caught him short of the crease.
Williamson and Mitchell added 68 runs for the fourth wicket but not before losing Glenn Phillips early, offering Mohammad Nawaz an easy return catch. On the used pitch that was slow and low and turned considerably, with the bowlers operating cleverly to the dimensions of the field – ranging from 65 to 80 meters – run scoring wasn’t easy. The harder the batters tried, the more they struggled.
Despite that, Mitchell and Williamson – who combined to stroke only 4 boundaries and 2 sixes in 77 balls – managed to pick 33 runs from Shadab Khan’s spell, the most expensive figures for the leggie in this tournament. While Mitchell kept picking the twos and score at fairly decent pace, Williamson struggled to go too far beyond run-a-ball before eventually falling in the 17th over while looking to play a scoop and getting cleaned up by Afridi.
Neesham and Mitchell picked some quick runs towards the end, adding 35 runs in the last 22 balls, with the latter bringing up his half-century to help New Zealand to a slightly below-par 152 for 4.
Quite unlike New Zealand, Pakistan asserted their dominance with the bat in the powerplay, an approach that Rizwan stated was intentional given that the pitch was expected to slow down. It could have been a different story had Conway pouched the outside edge induced by Boult when Babar was yet to get off the mark. But that opportunity was lost, so was the opportunity to run him off the next ball.
After a couple of quiet overs, Babar and Rizwan cut loose against Lockie Ferguson in the third over, stroking him for three boundaries. While Babar struggled early on, Rizwan kept a healthy scoring rate. By the end of the powerplay, Pakistan had wiped off 55 runs from the target and even Babar had found his groove.
Even as there was turn and the pitch was slow, Babar and Rizwan had adjusted well to the conditions and the pace and went on to stitch a 105-run stand in 76 balls before Babar holed out to long on.
Mohammad Haris was troubled by the slower balls and failed to make adequate connections. Off the first 17 balls, several edged, he managed to score only 17 runs. To complicate matters, Rizwan fell while attempting to free his arms and slash at an angling away delivery from Boult, caught at deep point. It brought the game down to 21 runs in the last three overs, and then fur
ther reduced to 19 in 15 – with a new batter and a struggling Haris in the middle. However, a couple of clean hits from Haris – a drive through extra cover for a boundary and a pull for a six, brought the equation down to 8 runs from the last two overs.
Mitchell Santner bowled a fine penultimate over, created three wicket-taking opportunities – before having Haris dismissed off the final ball, but left Pakistan with needing only two off the last over.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy will retire from all forms of cricket following the upcoming series against India.
The 35-year-old wicket-keeper has more than 7,000 runs and 275 dismissals to her name in all formats of the game and led Australia to a historic 16-0 whitewash of England 8n the Ashes in 2025.
She has won the World Cup twice, with the highest individual score of 170 in a World Cup final coming against England in 2022, and the T20 World Cup on six occasions.
Healy said: “I’m still passionate about playing for Australia, but I’ve somewhat lost that competitive edge that’s kept me driven since the start, so the time feels right to call it a day.
“I’ll genuinely miss my team-mates, singing the team song and walking out to open the batting for Australia. Representing my country has been an incredible honour and I’m grateful for one last series in the green and gold.”
Healy is married to Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc and is the niece of another Australian great in wicket keeper Ian Healy. She also already has a successful broadcasting career as a pundit and commentator.
Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia CEO said: “Alyssa is one of the all-time greats of the game and has made an immeasurable contribution both on and off the field over her 15-year career.
“We look forward to celebrating her achievements throughout the series against India.”
Australia host India in a Test match, three one-day internationals and three T20 matches in February and March
(BBC Sports)
They began with a scrappy last-ball win to kick off WPL 2026, but there was nothing scrappy about Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) second win, over UP Warriorz, on Monday night.
Grace Harris tore into her former franchise with a breathtaking assault, sending the ball to all parts of the DY Patil Stadium. By the time she was out for a 40-ball 85, RCB needed just seven runs to win with 50 deliveries remaining.
In an effort similar to her opening-night honours, Lauren Bell swung the new ball and troubled Warriorz’s openers in her first two overs. In trying to break the stranglehold, Harleen Deol attempted to jailbreak in her third, but could only spoon a catch to Smriti Mandhana at mid-off for a 14-ball 11. And just like that, UP Warriorz had seen two different opening pairs come and go without giving them the start they were after.
She was denied a wicket in her first over – the sixth of the innings – when Meg Lanning’s swipe landed agonisingly short of Arundhati Reddy at backward square leg, but Shreyanka Patil had Lanning hack uncharacteristically to Radha Yadav at deep midwicket off her next.
In the same over, she also had a second wicket when Phoebe Litchfield flat-batted a short ball straight to Mandhana at mid-on, shortly after having reverse-swept her for six
Coming off a four-for and an unbeaten half-century against Mumbai Indians, de Klerk began with two wickets off her first two deliveries. Kiran Navgire fell first when she heaved a length ball to cow corner, while Shweta Sehrawat was brilliantly caught at backward point by Reddy. Warriorz were in all sorts of trouble at 50 for 5.
This was the perfect fire-and-ice combination on paper. But on Monday, they were both mellower and batted risk-free for much of their unbeaten 93-run partnership. Deandra Dottin signalled a change of intent when she went after Patil in her third over – the 15th – by muscling a length ball for six over long-on. That galvanised both batters to break free; Deepti Sharma gave the perfect finish by going after Patil in a 15-run final over that helped them finish with 143.
With two rookies in their top four, RCB could’ve chosen to play safe by having Gautami Naik partner Mandhana. But they took the aggressive route, and Harris justified that decision by muscling a 22-ball half-century as RCB wiped out 78 in the powerplay alone.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has opened an investigation and warned of possible disciplinary action for “unacceptable behaviour of players and officials” as they clashed on the pitch on Saturday at the end of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarterfinal between Algeria and Nigeria.
“CAF has referred the matters to the disciplinary board for investigation and has called for appropriate action to be taken if the identified persons were to be found guilty of any wrongdoing,” said African football’s governing body in a statement on Monday.
Tensions spilled over on the pitch at the end of the January 10 game in Marrakesh, Morocco, which Nigeria won 2-0 thanks to second-half goals by Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams.
Referee Issa Sy was shielded from irate Algeria team staff and was escorted off the field. Video clips showed Sy was still being pursued in the mixed zone for media and broadcasters as he made his way to his cabin.
Any disciplinary action could have an impact on the Super Eagles as they prepare for their semifinal showdown on Wednesday against Morocco.
“CAF strongly condemns any inappropriate behaviour which occurs during matches, especially those targeting the refereeing team or match organisers,” CAF said.
Video showed accredited media fighting in the mixed zone as they waited for players to pass through for interviews after the match.
Algeria’s federation also confirmed it had filed a complaint with CAF over Sy’s performance
“The Algerian Football Federation cannot ignore the refereeing performance observed during the last match, which raised numerous questions and caused considerable confusion,” it said in a statement.
“Certain decisions have damaged the credibility of African refereeing and do nothing to enhance the value of continental football on the international stage.”
CAF said it was also investigating incidents in Friday’s last-eight tie between the hosts and Cameroon.
Morocco won that game 2-0 in Rabat, Morocco, and the Indomitable Lions were notably unhappy at the officiating in particular the refusal to award them a penalty for a challenge on Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo in the second half.
(BBC Sports)
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