Pakistan – Page 11

Cricket World Cup 2015: Pakistan beat South Africa in thriller

March 7, 2015 by Nasheman

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Pakistan’s pace bowlers stunned South Africa to earn a thrilling 29-run win in Pool B of the World Cup.

Chasing 232 in Auckland, South Africa looked well placed on 67-1, before Pakistan’s left-arm trio got to work.

Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Irfan dismissed the Proteas for 202, despite captain AB de Villiers’ 77.

Pakistan had earlier scraped to 222, with South Africa’s total adjusted after rain reduced the match to 47 overs per side.

The victory, a third in succession, means Pakistan will definitely reach the quarter-finals if they beat Ireland in their final group game on 15 March.

Even if they lose in Adelaide, Misbah-ul-Haq’s side will have a chance of progressing on net run-rate depending on other results involving the Irish and West Indies.

For South Africa, a first opportunity to reach the last eight was missed, but their qualification will be assured with a win against the UAE on Thursday.

They arrived at Eden Park on the back of consecutive scores in excess of 400 but, like their earlier defeat by India, wilted when faced with the pressure of a run-chase.

De Villiers attempted a single-handed pursuit as the rest of his team failed to deal with the pace and hostility of the Pakistan attack.

The Proteas had earlier been cruising during a stand of 67 between Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis, but, when Du Plessis feathered Rahat behind, it began a collapse of four wickets for 10 runs.

Amla was brilliantly caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed off Riaz, Rilee Rossouw hooked the same bowler to fine leg and David Miller was trapped in front by Rahat.

When Irfan returned to have JP Duminy caught hooking, De Villiers was left to play a virtually lone hand, pulling Riaz for two sixes in the same over.

He dished out similar treatment to Afridi and flayed the attack in the batting powerplay to make an unlikely victory appear possible.

But, he edged an attempted hook off Sohail Khan behind with 32 still required and, soon after, Riaz found the edge of last man Imran Tahir to give Sarfraz a record-equalling sixth catch..

The Proteas had succumbed to sort of pace and bounce that their own bowlers had earlier produced to restrict Pakistan to what seemed like a substandard total.

Sarfraz, at the top of the order in place of Nasir Jamshed, took the fight to South Africa by heaving three leg-side sixes from one Duminy over.

However, when he was needlessly run out by Miller’s good work in the outfield, South Africa chipped through the Pakistan batting.

Indeed, the Proteas may have restricted Pakistan further had De Villiers not had to bowl six overs of his medium pace to cover for the expensive Duminy, who was on his return from injury.

Still, when Pakistan lost their final five wickets for 10 runs after a second rain delay, that seemed academic.

Captain Misbah was the eighth man out, his defiant 56 a fourth half-century in five innings. His team seemed beaten, yet, in fact, they already had enough.

World Cup 2015: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq completes 5000 ODI runs without a century

March 7, 2015 by Nasheman

Misbah-ul-Haq needed just seven more runs at the start of Pakistan’s World Cup match against South Africa. The veteran player now is the only batsman to score 5000 runs but not have a single century in his career.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq in action during the match against South Africa. ©Getty Images

by Agence France-Presse

Auckland: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq became the first batsman to score 5,000 one-day international runs without any individual century when he reached the landmark against South Africa in a World Cup match in Auckland on Saturday.

The 40-year-old Misbah was only seven runs shy of 5,000 before the start of the Pool B clash at Eden Park.

A single steered through midwicket off Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir saw Misbah, batting at number four, go to 5,000 ODI runs in his 147th innings in 160 matches at this level.

Misbah, often criticised for slow scoring, came into this match averaging over 43 in ODIs with a highest score of 96 not out against the West Indies at The Oval during the 2013 Champions Trophy in England.

However, he belied his reputation by equalling West Indies’ great Vivian Richards’s all-time record for the fastest Test century with a 56-ball ton against Australia in Abu Dhabi in November last year.

Cricket World Cup 2015: Pakistan cruise past UAE in Napier

March 4, 2015 by Nasheman

by Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

Pakistan kept up their push for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a routine 129-run victory over the United Arab Emirates in Napier.

Ahmed Shehzad hit 93 and both Haris Sohail (70) and captain Misbah-ul-Haq (65) weighed in with half-centuries as Pakistan ran up 339-6.

UAE were reduced to 25-3 early in their reply and though in-form Shaiman Anwar made 62, they fell well short on 210-8.

Pakistan join Ireland and West Indies on four points in a congested Pool B.

Ireland meet Pakistan on 15 March, the final day of the group stage, in a match that is looking increasingly likely to decide qualification for the last eight.

For Pakistan, a second win in four days represents a build of momentum after heavy defeats by India and West Indies in their opening two matches.

The 1992 champions will almost certainly earn a place in the next round if they win their final two games against South Africa and the Irish.

They were rarely troubled in this comfortable win against a UAE side who did not disgrace themselves, particularly by sticking to their task with the ball on a good wicket with one very short square boundary.

Indeed, the Associate side will rue two missed opportunities off Shehzad, the opener put down on two and nine.

Reprieved, he compiled a 160-run stand with Haris, missing out on a century when his dive to complete a second run was not enough to prevent a run-out.

With Haris being caught at mid-on off Mohammad Naveed soon after, Pakistan were in danger of wasting a good platform, but Misbah steadied with Sohaib Maqsood (45).

When the time came, they opened their shoulders, beginning a blitz that would see 124 runs added in the final 10 overs. In that time, Shahid Afridi’s 21 from seven balls made him only the second man, after Sanath Jayasuriya, to score 8,000 runs and take 300 wickets in one-day internationals.

If they were to pull off an unlikely chase and a great World Cup shock, the UAE needed a solid start with the bat, but their top order could not handle the Pakistan pacemen.

Rahat Ali bowled Amjad Ali before Sohail Khan had both Andri Berenger and Krishna Karate caught behind to effectively end the contest.

Anwar and Khurram Khan shared a defiant partnership of 83 until Khurram flicked Maqsood to square leg for 43.

The match meandered to its inevitable conclusion, but for Anwar, an innings that ended when caught at long-off off Afridi took him to a total of 270 runs, the highest of the tournament so far.

Uproar over Mufti's remark in Parliament; Opposition walks out of lower house

March 2, 2015 by Nasheman

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Mufti Mohammad Sayeed after his swearing in as the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. ANI Photo

New Delhi: The members of the opposition in the lower house of the Indian Parliament Monday staged a walk out from following uproar over Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s remark of crediting Pakistan and Hurriyat for peaceful elections in the region.

The opposition walk out took place minutes after federal home minister Rajnath Singh put forward the government’s views in this regard.

“I have already had discussion with the prime minister. I am making statement after his approval. The credit for conducive environment during polls in Jammu and Kashmir goes to the Election Commission, our armed forces and people of J-K,” said Singh in Lok Sabha.

The members of the opposition instead demanded a statement from prime minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

“We want the prime minister to speak on this matter in the house and condemn statement given by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister so that a clear message can be given,” said Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge.

(ANI)

Cricket World Cup 2015: Pakistan beat Zimbabwe to keep hopes alive

March 2, 2015 by Nasheman

by Steve Canavan, BBC Sport

Former champions Pakistan survived a scare to pull off a dramatic 20-run victory over Zimbabwe and record their first win at the 2015 World Cup.

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq’s stubborn 73 and a fiery half-century from pace bowler Wahab Riaz helped the 1992 winners recover from 4-2 to reach 235-7.

Brendan Taylor’s 50 looked to have put Zimbabwe on course for a famous win.

But Mohammad Irfan, with career-best one-day international figures of 4-30, and Riaz (4-45) won it for Pakistan.

Riaz became the first Pakistani to score a fifty and take four wickets in the same World Cup match – and only the eighth cricketer to achieve the feat.

And victory was important for Misbah’s men, who, after heavy defeats by India and the West Indies, would have faced an uphill battle to progress to the quarter-finals had they lost again.

“It was really tough because it was a make or break game for us,” said the Pakistan captain. “You can’t believe how happy we are because we were out of the tournament if we’d lost this game.”

Despite a backdrop of fierce criticism from the public and former players back home – and with chief selector Moin Khan forced to return from the World Cup after visiting a casino – Pakistan posted their highest score of the tournament so far, though their innings got off to a wretched start.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Pakistan were rocking at 1-1 and 4-2 as Tendai Chatara claimed the wickets of openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad.

But skipper Misbah played a vital innings, steadying the ship as wickets regularly fell around him – including two in one over when Williams dismissed Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi in the space of three balls. Afridi, celebrating his 35th birthday, went for a duck.

Only a late flurry from Riaz – his 54 coming from 55 balls – injected some urgency into the Pakistan innings and gave them a meaningful total to defend.

Zimbabwe lost Sikander Raza and Chamu Chibhabha cheaply – Irfan taking both – but Taylor’s half-century and Sean Williams’ 33 from 32 balls took them to 128-3 and appeared to put them on course for victory.

However, Riaz repeated his batting heroics with the ball, sharing eight wickets with fellow left-arm paceman Irfan as Zimbabwe crumbled.

Injured captain Elton Chigumbura, who was helped off the field with a suspected quadricep tear while fielding, tried valiantly to steer Zimbabwe to victory but was last man out for a run-a-ball 35.

“It is always disappointing to lose a game like this when you feel you have a chance to win,” said Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura.

“Our weakness has been that we have not had one guy scoring a hundred or batting through the innings.”

While Zimbabwe will be frustrated not to have registered only a fourth ODI win over Pakistan, Misbah’s team now head into their next Pool B game against the United Arab Emirates on 4 March with renewed hope of making the last eight.

West Indies beat Pakistan by 150 runs

February 21, 2015 by Nasheman

West Indies reduced Pakistan to 1-4 as they secured a crushing 150-run victory and their first win of the World Cup.

by BBC Sport

Jerome Taylor dismissed three batsmen for ducks and captain Jason Holder also struck in Pakistan’s first 19 balls.

It was the worst start to an innings in World Cup history and Pakistan were all out for 160 in 39 overs in Christchurch, with Taylor taking 3-15.

Andre Russell smashed 42 not out off 13 balls as West Indies hit 115 from the final 10 overs to finish on 310-6.

After such an entertaining display of big hitting at Hagley Oval, few would have expected the drama that followed.

Shahid Afridi drops a catch – one of five that Pakistan failed to take

Fast bowler Taylor dismissed Nasir Jamshed with the second ball of the innings, Younus Khan with the sixth and Haris Sohail with the 18th in a devastating spell of three wickets for one run that left Pakistan’s hopes in disarray.

Holder added to Pakistan’s misery by removing Ahmed Shehzad – the only Pakistan player to have scored a run – next ball.

Russell soon sent Misbah-ul-Haq on his way for seven before Sohaib Maqsood (50) and Umar Akmal (59) stopped the collapse.

Sammy ended their stand of 80 and wickets continued to fall before Pakistan were all out with 11 overs remaining.

“It was a wonderful performance,” said West Indies skipper Holder. “We batted really well.

“Russell, Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy added impetus at the end of the innings, then Taylor was excellent with the new ball.”

The defeat leaves 1992 champions Pakistan, who face Zimbabwe on 1 March in their next match, bottom of Pool B after two emphatic defeats.

“It was a tough day, especially after we won the toss,” said Pakistan skipper Misbah. “The guys batting up front have been struggling a bit, and that made it very difficult for us, especially on a pitch like that, with the ball seaming a bit. We just have to pick ourselves up.”

West Indies will go into their next game on Tuesday, also against Zimbabwe, on a high having eradicated the memories of their humiliating defeat by Ireland.

The only downside to their victory was an injury to Darren Bravo, who had to retire hurt on 49 after tearing a hamstring.

Denesh Ramdin (51) and Lendl Simmons (50) picked up the pace after Bravo was helped off, with Simmons striking his team’s first six in the 37th over.

Ramdin departed at the end of the 40th over with the score 195-4 but Simmons and Sammy (30) pressed the accelerator, helped by Mohammed Irfan dropping a fifth catch of the innings.

Russell only started his incredible innings in the 48th over but hit his first ball for four and fired three massive sixes in the next over.

Another mighty six came in the final over to bring up the 300 and, although Simmons was run out off the final ball, West Indies had seized the initiative.

Pak 'terror boat': Coast Guard DIG, B K Loshali claims he ordered it to be 'blown up'

February 18, 2015 by Nasheman

Indian Coast Guard DIG B K Loshali, speaking on Monday, (Inset: The fishing boat on fire on the high seas).

Surat: The government may have claimed that the occupants of the ‘terror boat’ intercepted by the Coast Guard on 31 December, 2014 set themselves on fire but a statement by a senior Coast Guard official saying that he had ordered the boat to be ‘blown off’ may just open a can of worms on the incident again.

In an exclusive report, the Indian Express today quoted a Deputy Inspector General of the Coast Guard, B K Loshali, saying that he was there at Gandhinagar and he had ordered officials to ‘blow the boat off’ as opposed to government’s he claim that the boat had blown itself up under suspicious circumstances.

Watch the video here:

The DIG’s statements came while he was launching the boat and the report quotes him as saying that while he had prepared a written speech, he would deviate from it to express what was in his heart.

The report has sparked controversy given that the defence establishment and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar have consistently maintained that the occupants of the boat had blown themselves up after leading the Coast Guard on a chase.

The official stand of the coast guard, was that after receiving an intelligence input they had pursued the ship with an aircraft and a vessel. They said that instead of surrendering, “the boat started moving in a zig-zag way and switched off lights.”

The occupants of the boat allegedly ignored warning shots that were fired at it and after some time its occupants were accused of setting the vessel on fire, resulting in it sinking. No evidence had emerged of the occupants carrying explosives.

The government had also claimed that they had evidence of call intercepts that were made from the boat to Pakistan, which proved that the occupants were suspected terrorists.

Pakistan had said it expected India to conduct a “transparent” probe and had said that its own investigation has shown that there was “no sound evidence” to substantiate India’s assertions.

(Agencies)

Sholay makes its Pakistan debut 40 years after its release

February 17, 2015 by Nasheman

“There has never been a more defining film on the Indian screen. Indian film history can be divided into Sholay BC and Sholay AD” – Shekhar Kapoor

by Anum Rehman Chagani, Dawn

Sholay‘s release in 1975 proved to be a watershed event in the industry. The movie screened for five years at a landmark Mumbai theatre, the longest ever run in India at the time. It’s no wonder that owner and managing director of Mandviwalla Entertainment, Nadeem Mandviwalla is now bringing the cult classic to Pakistani cinema screens, over 40 years after its release.

Talking to Dawn.com, Mr. Mandviwalla shares: “Sholay is undoubtedly one of the most unique films of all time; it’s a classic that has never been released in the country. Many people have been deprived of the experience of watching it in a cinema so we feel the audience will want to come watch it, given the opportunity.”

The pioneering film is an action adventure circling around two petty thieves hired by a police officer to exact revenge on a ruthless bandit. The star-studded cast included Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Hema Malini and Jaya Bhaduri, among other Bollywood greats.

The movie was remastered last year in 2014 and released in 3D for the new generation of moviebuffs. It will be releasing in 2D and 3D in Pakistan.

Mandviwalla adds, “The movie will not have a wide release. It will be shown at more cinemas but less shows. It’s tentatively releasing on 20 March, as 23 March will be a public holiday (on account of Pakistan Day) so people will have a wide array of movies to watch such as Jalaibee and Insurgent, which are also releasing around the same time.”

Other movies that have been reworked and released in 3D in Pakistani cinemas such as The Lion King and Titanic didn’t garner much attention so it will be interesting to see if Sholay will meet the same fate. For what it’s worth, it seems highly unlikely!

Pakistan: Explosion near Lahore's Police Lines, eight dead

February 17, 2015 by Nasheman

by Dawn

Lahore: At least eight people were killed and several others were injured in an explosion that took place near the Police Lines in Lahore on Tuesday, hospital sources told Dawn.

The explosion took place near the main gate of Police Lines in Lahore’s Qila Gujjar Singh area and according to preliminary reports, it took place in a vehicle parked in the area.

Huge plumes of smoke were visible in the air in the heavily populated area which was quickly cordoned off by security personnel.

Several vehicles parked near the site of the blast caught fire and window panes in nearby buildings were also shattered.

DIG Operations Haider Ashraf told Dawn that it appeared that the explosion was a suicide blast. Initial investigation revealed that ball bearings were used in the bomb.

Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Amin Wains told media persons that the blast was most likely carried out by a suicide bomber.

He added that the target of the attack was the Police Lines but the security measures forced the bomber to detonate his explosives prematurely.

Eye-witnesses said gunshots were heard from inside the Police Lines, however security personnel have said that the shots were only fired by members of the law enforcement agencies after the blast.

Emergency was imposed in hospitals across Lahore and injured were being shifted to the Mayo and Ganga Ram hospitals in the provincial capital.

The site of the explosion lies close to the headquarter of Pakistan Railways.

Today’s explosion comes nearly three months after a massive bombing near the Wagah border claimed over 60 lives in Lahore. The bombing at Wagah was followed by the terrorist attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School in December which claimed over 140 lives — with most of the victims being children and students at the institution.

The Dec 16 attack resulted in the formulation of a National Action Plan to counter terrorism which also saw a parliamentary consensus on the formation of military courts in the country as well as renewed resolve to counter religious extremism by cracking down on terror financing and regulating madrassahs. The government also rolled back the moratorium on capital punishmentfollowing which a number of convicted terrorists have been hanged in jails across the country.

Since the government set the NAP rolling, the country has seen a number of terrorist attacks — the major ones being attacks on imambargahs in Rawalpindi, Shikarpur and Peshawar.

India beat Pakistan by 76 runs as estimated one billion viewers tune in to World Cup clash

February 16, 2015 by Nasheman

Victorious: India made it six wins out of six in their World Cup encounters with Pakistan Photo: AFP

by Scyld Berry, Telegraph

India made it six victories out of six against Pakistan in World Cup encounters as they won the mela-cum-melee in Adelaide by 76 runs.

The result is almost irrelevant as both countries are sure to qualify for the quarter-finals. But a lot of bragging rights went to India, again, as the television audience was estimated at one billion viewers.

The fragility of Pakistan’s batting was painfully exposed as they collapsed to 103 for five in pursuit of India’s 300. Such a target was no more than par for this tournament as the first three matches had resulted in totals of more than 300 when New Zealand, Australia and South Africa had batted first.

Pakistan’s batting has long been shown in its worst light when chasing 250-plus targets, and on hard pitches in Australia, not that they had played there for the last five years. Put the two factors together and it was no surprise that their captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, was left holding the babies.

One by one Pakistan’s batsmen were bounced out. First it was Younis Khan, a great Test batsman, but his highest score as an ODI opener was four before this strange promotion. He barely improved upon it before gloving a bouncer.

Ahmed Shehzad and Haris Sohail kept Pakistan in the hunt briefly. But India have a variety in their bowling which England can only envy, and they won the game by taking key wickets in mid-innings, with Pakistan’s unwilling compliance.

Ravi Ashwin began with two maidens – gold-dust in ODIs – in his first three overs, and the wicket of Sohail, caught at slip off an offbreak which bounced.

When Umesh Yadav – pacier than anyone England have – was brought back for a second spell, he too illustrated the frailty of Pakistan’s batting in the face of bounce.

Shehzad square-cut to point without rolling his wrists. He had done exactly the same in the warm-up game against England, instead of shelving an idiosyncracy that he could get away with at home but not in Australia.

Sohaib Maqsood steered a ball that bounced, his second, to slip. It was only his 19th ODI innings and, again, his first in Australia: no sort of preparation for this World Cup.

India’s batsmen, on the other hand, have had time to adjust to Australian pitches after two to three months in the country, even if they had failed to win a competitive game. Virat Kohli, in particular, has adjusted to Adelaide: he had scored a century in both innings of the December Test, and followed with another, his 22nd in ODIs.

Not pressing too hard against the new ball, almost cautious, India reached 42 for one from ten overs without any extravagant shots. But Kohli and Shikar Dhawan got on top of a varied attack by running hard between wickets and exploiting Pakistan’s inferior fielding.

Kohli and Dhawan added 129 for India’s second wicket before Dhawan was sent back and run out by a direct hit from Misbah at midwicket. It would have been so different if Yasir Shah had caught Kohli at long-on early, a hard chance off Shahid Afridi.

Kohli was dropped a second time, when 76, off a regulation chance to the wicketkeeper. But this was Umar Akmal, a stop-gap, not their proper keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed: a second experiment which, like Younis opening, failed.

Suresh Raina supplied the improvising and accelerating with his 74 off 56 balls. Along with MS Dhoni and Kohli, he is one of three survivors of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 2011. This time they shape as semi-finalists, alongside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.