T20 World Cup | Semi-final: Fakhar Zaman’s late surge helps Pakistan put 176/4 against Australia

Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman who hasn’t really been among runs in this T20 World Cup unveiled a brilliant batting display when it was most required. The left-handed batsman struck an unbeaten half-century against Australia in the semi-final in Dubai on Thursday.

After being put into bat by Australia skipper Aaron Finch, Pakistan openers Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam began the proceedings in a cautious manner as the two compiled 71 runs for the first wicket before the latter departed for 39 off 34 after being caught in the deep by David Warner off Adam Zampa while trying to accelerate.

Rizwan on the other side, continued with his form and notched up yet another half-century in the competition during the course.

The wicket-keeper batsman along with Fakhar stitched a stand of 72 runs for the second wicket before Rizwan was eventually out for a 52-ball 67 which included four maximums and three fours.

But Rizwan’s departure didn’t really cause much hindrance as Zaman continued to score runs at the other end and struck a couple of sixes in the final over to help his side put 176/4 in 20 overs on the board.

For Australia, it was Adam Zampa who was the pick of the bowlers after he returned with figures of 1/22 in 4 overs.

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T20 World Cup | Semi-Final | Mohammad Rizwan dazzles in semis, hits a composed fifty

Mohammad Rizwan, who has been in great form throughout the T20 World Cup 2021 dazzled in the semi-finals as well as he reached his 11th T20I fifty and third of the competition. Batting against Australia, the start of the wicket-keeper batter was not on expected lines as he was not able to open his account in the first five balls that he faced. But once that period was over he started exploring options even as Babar Azam at the other end made merry of the form he is in, showing his class on the field. Rizwan, who is batting on 51 off 42 balls, at the time of writing this piece, was in a 71-run partnership for the first wicket with Babar. After the dismissal of the captain, the vice-captain Rizwan started to build another stand with Fakahar Zaman and at the end of the 15 overs, he has had a 46 runs stand with the left-hander, which came in just 30 balls. Being at the crease and the kind of batsman he is, the player from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be looking to unleash the beast within. Presently Rizwan has hit two fours and three sixes.

T20 World Cup | AUS vs PAK | Semi-final: Babar, Rizwan continue to provide Pakistan steady start

Pakistan were off to a brilliant start against Australia in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup on Thursday in Dubai. Openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam had put 47 runs on the board for the first wicket in the power play overs. While Rizwan was unbeaten at 21 off 18 deliveries, Babar scored 24 off 18 in the first six overs. Rizwan though had a couple of hiccups after he was dropped twice, first by David Warner in the third over off Glenn Maxwell and then on the final delivery of the power play by Adam Zampa. Warner had to cover some ground to run back as he was stationed in the cover while Zampa who was placed at deep fine leg put in a great effort as dived forward but couldn’t grab the catch. Pakistan have come into the semi-final on the back of an unbeaten run in the competition after they comprehensively won all their group stage matches while Australia on the other side won four out of the five matches that they played.

PAK W vs WI W | 2nd ODI: West Indies ride on exceptional bowling from Hayley Matthews to take unassailable lead

West Indies women team took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan side in Karachi on Thursday. The Caribbean team rode on some exceptional bowling from the unit to bundle out the hosts at 116 runs while chasing 154 to win the match by 37 runs. Pakistan started off in a decent manner after openers Muneeba Ali and Sidra Ameen put 27 runs on the board for the first wicket but Ali’s departure suddenly saw wickets starting to fall at regular intervals and the home side was reduced to 80/5 to eventually get bowled out. Hayley Matthews returned with some brilliant bowling performance as she picked up four wickets at the cost of 26 runs in 9 overs where she also bowled a couple of maidens. Apart from her, Shamilia Connell scalped a three-wicket haul while Shakera Selman and Anisa Mohammed also bagged a wicket each. Earlier, in the day, West Indies too struggled to put runs on the board as they lost wickets regularly. Dottin top-scored for the side with 34 off 50 balls while Hayley Matthews chipped in with a 47-ball 26. Kycia Knight was retired hurt while she was batting at 19 off 21. For Pakistan, Omaima Sohail, Anam Amin and Fatima Sana picked up a couple of wickets each as West Indies were all out for 153 in the 46th over. The visitors also won the first encounter while the third and final match will be played on Sunday in Karachi.

Pieter Malan appointed captain as South Africa announce A squad for home series against India A

South Africa have announced their 14-man squad under the leadership of Pieter Malan to face India A in the three-match long four-day series scheduled to start towards the end of this month. The series has been seen as one of the opportunities for the players across both sides to claim spots for themselves in their respective national sides when they clash in December later on. “The senior South Africa and India teams will be clashing this summer here at home, so this is an ideal opportunity for players with Proteas ambitions to put their hands up and make a case for themselves,” CSA convenor of selectors Victor Mpitsang said. “Test cricket remains one of CSA’s key focus areas, along with ensuring that the format continues to thrive and hold relevance in our country. It is therefore vital that a steady stream of talent continues to emerge from our high-performance programme.” Earlier this week, India also announced their squad for the same series under the leadership of Priyank Panchal that also includes the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini, who have already played Test cricket. The series is scheduled to start on November 23 and conclude on December 9 while the Test series between senior India and South Africa men will commence on December 18. South Africa A squad Pieter Malan (C), Sarel Erwee, Dominic Hendricks, Raynard van Tonder, Sinethemba Qeshile, Senuran Muthusammy, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman, George Linde, Jason Smith, Tony de Zorzi India A squad Priyank Panchal (C), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla