Cricket

India started the tournament with two strong performances as they defeated Bangladesh and Pakistan both by a six-wicket margin. Rawalpindi: The ICC Champions Trophy semifinal place for India was secured after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh which also removed tournament hosts Pakistan from contention. Alongside India, New Zealand progressed to the semifinals with two wins from two matches in Group A. India secured victories in their opening two matches by defeating Bangladesh and Pakistan both by six wickets. Pakistan needed multiple favorable outcomes following

New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 60 runs in their Champions Trophy match opening thereby marking Pakistan's first international tournament appearance in thirty years. Will Young and Tom Latham scored brilliant centuries that led New Zealand to a total of 320-5. Tom Latham scored an unbeaten 118 runs off 104 balls while opener Young made 107 runs from 113 balls as New Zealand capitalized on Pakistan's decision to bowl first on a flat National Stadium pitch. The Air Force made a ceremonial flight over

Champions Trophy LIVE Score, PAK vs NZ: Facing significant pressure during the match at Karachi's National Stadium, skipper Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and decided to send New Zealand in to bat first. Champions Trophy LIVE Score, PAK vs NZ: The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will start with Pakistan facing New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday. The Pakistan-New Zealand match promises to benefit both sides because they played each other recently in a tri-series tournament in Pakistan. The Champions Trophy returns to the

During the Champions Trophy's first match in Karachi Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to make New Zealand bat first on Wednesday. Pakistan will host its first global cricket tournament since 1996 through the eight-nation ODI competition. Pacer Haris Rauf joins the home team after recovering from his lower chest muscular sprain sustained during last week's tri-series. Abrar Ahmed is Pakistan's only frontline spinner.  New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra is unable to play following his severe head injury from the tri-series opening match.

Lockie Ferguson withdrew from New Zealand's Champions Trophy campaign due to a foot injury which struck on Tuesday creating a crucial setback for the Black Caps before their match against Pakistan. New Zealand Cricket reported that Lockie Ferguson experienced foot pain following his bowling performance in Sunday's Afghanistan warm-up match which led doctors to determine that the 31-year-old would be unable to participate in the full tournament. New Zealand Cricket has sent the injured player home while calling up Canterbury Kings fast bowler

New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets in 16.2 overs after Smriti Mandhana and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge easily chased down 142 runs. Mandhana maintained her exceptional performance over the past year while recording her quickest WPL fifty. She targeted Delhi Capitals’ bowling straight from the first over and remained unbeaten throughout her innings. Mandhana completed her innings with 81 runs scored from 47 balls including three sixes and ten fours. Wyatt-Hodge achieved a score of 42 runs from 32 balls

The cricket chief of Pakistan hopes that next week's Champions Trophy will become the first major multi-country cricket event in nearly three decades to pave the way for more similar tournaments. The 2009 Lahore attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team bus resulted in top cricket teams avoiding Pakistan which led them to shift their home games predominantly to the UAE. The Pakistan Cricket Board spent several years persuading international cricket organizations about the security of visiting the country. The cricket board managed

When D Gukesh pulled off a colossal "upset" victory over Ding Liren in the historic World Chess Championship this month, it was perhaps best the Indian prodigy could manage to showcase his calm under pressure and sangfroid. It was later also revealed that Gukesh's team for the World C'ship also included mental-conditioning coach Paddy Upton. Upton has notably worked with the Indian national team in the 2011 ODI World Cup winning year. Gukesh has exhibited coolness yet again at the ongoing Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, something

Having departed from the squad, the Australia custodian fast bowler Mitchell Starc is the latest player to miss the ODI Champions Trophy due to personal concerns. The team will now head to the tournament with three frontline quicks missing for the ODI competition in Pakistan and the UAE. Starc’s withdrawal follows the exit of two pace stalwarts Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood who were sidelined with different injuries. With Starc’s withdrawal global champions Australia will now be relying on a mix of fringe

Former West Indies opening batter Chris Gayle backed India stalwart Virat Kohli to wind up his position on top of the ICC Champions Trophy run-scorers' graph. The left-hander also sent a lovely message for Kohli's longest-serving partner Rohit Sharma, urging him to hit sixes and stay on the Wankhede wicket for as long as he wanted. A little over seven years after fans around the globe last witnessed its action, the Champions Trophy returns to their lives on 19 February. The tournament is reaching new

India captain Rohit Sharma returned to form with an impressive hundred in Sunday's second ODI against England after being forced by poor performance to withdraw from a Sydney Test match a month earlier. Rohit Sharma opted out of T20 Internationals right after India won their second 20-overs World Cup title but his performance in test matches has been disappointing. Media reports claim that selectors questioned the Mumbai player about his post-Champions Trophy future because he'll turn 38 in April. Although Rohit scored only

The U19 women’s cricket team from India replicated their championship success! Recently in Malaysia the Indian U19 women’s team succeeded in retaining their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title. Their determination and confidence showed immediately and reached its peak when they defeated South Africa by nine wickets to secure the trophy spectacularly. Team captain Niki Prasad evaluates the factors which led to their victory while back in their home country. I called together my team before the final match and told them we

The Indian batting star Virender Sehwag complimented the stadiums located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah for hosting remarkable matches during the current ILT20 tournament. Sehwag described UAE stadiums as having some of the best batting tracks that enable players to score big runs. My playing time here was limited but I participated in several matches for India and during the IPL and found batting in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi extremely enjoyable. Dubai Capitals fought Desert Vipers until the final ball but

The Champions Trophy match between England and Afghanistan will take place this month even though British politicians have urged for a match boycott due to Taliban restrictions on women's rights. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced Thursday that the February 26 fixture in Lahore would proceed after consultations with the UK government and the International Cricket Council in addition to England players. Since the Taliban regained authority in 2021 female sports participation was banned which led to over 160 British politicians demanding

On Wednesday India captain Rohit Sharma dismissed questions about his performance and international cricket future by stating his complete concentration was on the upcoming one-day international series against England and the Champions Trophy. Despite losing both the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia with a 3-1 defeat and suffering a 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand, Rohit Sharma at 37 rejected thoughts of test retirement amidst his extended poor performance period. He stepped away from Twenty20 international cricket after India won the World Cup

Bodybuilding attracted Gulbadin Naib's attention during his childhood instead of cricket. Arnold Schwarzenegger the Hollywood strongman served as his role model. After moving to cricket Naib advanced through the levels until he became instrumental in Afghanistan's dramatic ascent to international prominence despite ongoing conflict. During Wednesday night's match at Dubai's renowned 'Ring of Fire', the 33-year-old batting all-rounder played a key role in the action. When the Dubai Capitals began their chase of 190 against the Desert Vipers during Qualifier 1 of the

The US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Paris climate agreement through an executive order while a UAE cricket team established new standards for sustainability through their forward-thinking initiatives.  As an ILT20 franchise team in the UAE IPL-style T20 league the Desert Vipers have stopped using plastic bottles for players while also introducing team jerseys made from recycled materials.  Matt Bailey who leads strategy at the Desert Vipers remarked that they have become Dubai’s first sports organization to join the United

As the battlelines get drawn for the ILT20 Season 3 finale, Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram has backed the Desert Vipers to outshine. The Vipers, MSF's first team to clinch a playoff spot this season with their emphatic batting and bowling display, and defending champions MI Emirates finished the second spot in points table to qualify. The decisive wins on Sunday, (the double-header by played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai) with a large local crowd behind them, took Sharjah Warriorz and Dubai Capitals into the playoffs

India achieved a 150-run victory in the last T20 match at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday due to Abhishek Sharma's incredible century which helped them win the series 4-1.  England opener Phil Salt (55 off 23) took the initial step to chase the mammoth 248 target but received minimal support as his teammates lost their wickets around him. The Indian spinners secured early wickets which forced England to struggle at 68-4.  England fell apart dramatically reaching 97 all out in just 10.3 overs while

Usman Khawaja achieved his first double century for Australia while debutant Josh Inglis scored a hundred against Sri Lanka enabling the team to reach a massive 654 for six before declaring their first innings on the second day of the opening Test match on Thursday.  Australia achieved their highest test score in Asia through Usman Khawaja's marathon 232 and his century-plus partnerships with Steve Smith and Inglis.  At the Galle International Stadium stand-in skipper Smith scored 141 runs while Inglis hit 102 runs