Pakistan
Can’t express my feelings in words: Nigar Sultana after historic win against Pakistan
“I can’t express my feelings in words,” said an exalted Nigar Sultana after leading Bangladesh women team in their historic first-ever World Cup victory against Pakistan on Monday.
The nine-run win in New Zealand’s Hamilton, also the maiden against Pakistan, almost eclipsed Bangladesh women’s loss in their first two matches to South Africa and New Zealand in this World Cup.
“We beat Pakistan. We beat them in the World Cup. It’s a history,” captain Nigar said. “I can’t express my feelings in words. It’s a big achievement, and we would like to carry this momentum forward.”
What Bangladesh men’s team did in 1999— beating Pakistan in World Cup and securing first World Cup win— women did in 2022.
Read:Bangladesh women make history beating Pakistan in World Cup
“We know this Pakistan team better than the other teams as we played them in many matches,” Nigar added. “Playing them on a regular basis helped us to beat them in the World Cup.”
Bangladesh batted first in this match and posted a challenging total of 234 for seven in 50 overs. Fargana Hoque scored 71 for Bangladesh while Nigar scored 46.
In reply, Pakistan fell short of nine runs and lost the match despite a century from the opener Sidra Ameen.
After breaking Pakistan’s opening stand of 91 runs, the Bangladesh bowler never looked back. Fahima Khatun took three wickets while Rumana Ahmed took two for Bangladesh to complete a historic win.
Bangladesh women make history beating Pakistan in World Cup
Bangladesh Women national team beat their Pakistan counterpart in the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup by nine runs on Monday at Hamilton.
It was Bangladesh women team’s maiden win in the World Cup. The Bangladesh Men team also beat Pakistan to earn their maiden World Cup win back in 1999.
Read: Australia beats Pakistan by 7 wickets at Women's World Cup
Fargana Hoque and the captain Nigar Sultana hit 71 and 46 while batting first and helped Bangladesh post a challenging total of 234 for seven in 50 overs. It was the second fifty by Fargana in this World Cup. Sharmin Akhter did well with the bat scoring 44.
For Pakistan, Nashra Sandhu bagged three wickets conceding 41 runs in 10 overs.
In reply, Pakistan fell short of nine runs despite a ton from Sidra Ameen. Pakistan had a 91-run opening stand, which has a good foundation for them to chase down a challenging total.
Read: Women's World Cup: New Zealand beats Bangladesh by 9 wickets
Rumana Ahmed broke Pakistan’s opening stand, and after that Pakistan lost the momentum they had.
Fahima Khatun scalped three wickets conceding 38 runs in eight overs while Rumana bagged two wickets.
Pakistan eventually ended up on 225 for nine in 50 overs and lost the match.
In their earlier matches, Bangladesh lost to South Africa and New Zealand. Coming to the third match of their first World Cup, Bangladesh managed to record their maiden win.
Australia rattle 505-8 against Pakistan in 2nd Test
Australia’s lower-order, led by Alex Carey’s 93, blunted the Pakistan bowling attack to reach 505-8 on the second day of the second test on Sunday.
Carey missed out on a deserving century when he was clean bowled attempting an ambitious slog sweep against Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s part-time off spin late on.
Carey and Mitchell Starc, who was unbeaten on 28, nearly played out the entire last session as they put on 98 runs on a slow wicket to the frustration of Pakistan’s bowlers.
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“You want to make those triple figures (and) the way the game’s going, it was quite an important knock in the end,” Carey told host broadcasters after batting for just over three hours and hitting seven fours and two sixes in his 159-ball effort.
“It’s great to have 500 runs on the board. Hopefully the pitch starts to deteriorate tomorrow and we can create those 20 chances.”
Starc joined Carey at the stroke of tea after Usman Khawaja played a marathon knock in the country of his birth and finally fell midway into the second session. Khawaja hit 160 in nine hours and 12 minutes before Australia continued to wore down the Pakistan bowlers for 180 overs spanning two days.
It was Australia’s greatest number of overs batted in a test innings in Asia in 14 years, surpassing its 179.3 overs against India at Delhi in 2008 when it was bowled out for 577 runs.
An occasional turn for spinners off a flat track gave Pakistan Khawaja’s wicket when off-spinner Sajid Khan (2-151) hit the top of the stump off a ball that drifted away enough from the left-hander.
Carey and Starc dominated Pakistan with their near-century stand before Babar broke through to end another tough day in the field for the home side.
Starc gave a chance on 3 but left-arm spinner Nauman Ali (1-115) couldn’t hold onto a return catch over his head early in the last session that was dominated by the tourists.
Resuming on an overnight 127, Khawaja defied Pakistan pace and spin before he was finally undone by Sajid while attempting a defensive shot off his back foot.
Khawaja raised his bat to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd, who chanted “Khawaja, Khawaja” as he left the field after his century in the city that was once home to his family.
Khawaja scored just two more boundaries on Sunday to add to the 13 on day one, but tired the Pakistan bowlers through his sedate knock that came off 329 deliveries.
Sajid picked up both his wickets in the most productive middle session for Pakistan with left-arm Nauman also clean bowling Cameroon Green (28) in the last over before the break to get his first wicket.
Sajid earlier had Travis Head (23) lbw off a fuller delivery that didn’t spin enough as the batsman tried to play across the line and was struck low on the front pad.
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Earlier, Khawaja added 28 to his overnight score in the first session as Australia added a further 81 for the loss of only nightwatchman Nathan Lyon’s (38) wicket after it resumed on an overnight 251-3.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi (0-85) and Hasan Ali (1-67) couldn’t get any lateral movement with the second new ball that was only 10 overs old and spinners Sajid and Nauman also couldn’t get the better of the patient Khawaja.
Lyon defied Pakistan for an hour and 15 minutes but Pakistan had chances to break the stand. The home team called for a television referral against Lyon in the day’s third over bowled by Hasan Ali but the television replays suggested the ball could have missed the leg stump.
Faheem Ashraf (2-55), who didn’t bowl in the last session, then dropped a one-handed catch off his own bowling when Lyon had reached 31 before the right-arm seamer finally broke the partnership when he knocked back Lyon’s middle stump.
Australia’s first test in Pakistan since 1998 ended in a draw in Rawalpindi where the lifeless pitch was rated as below average by the ICC.
“The weather is quite hot as compared to Rawalpindi and the cracks (in the pitch) will open up,” Ashraf said. “We could see a result in this test match.”
Australia beats Pakistan by 7 wickets at Women's World Cup
Six-time world champion Australia swept aside Pakistan by seven wickets Tuesday to remain unbeaten after two group-stage matches at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup.
Pakistan scored 190-6 after being sent in to bat at Mount Maunganui and Australia surpassed that total in just under 35 overs.
Australia's run chase was set up by opener Alyssa Healy who made 72 from 79 balls.
Ellyse Perry (26 not out) and Beth Mooney (23 not out) were at the crease when the winning runs were struck.
Also Read: Rumana Ahmed on the verge of reaching two milestones as first Bangladeshi woman cricketer
For Pakistan, captain Bismah Maroof finished 78 not out, falling one run short of the highest score by a Pakistan player in a Women's World Cup match. Maroof shared a 99-run partnership with Aliya Riaz, a fifth-wicket record for Pakistan in one-day internationals. Riaz made 57.
That simple synopsis of the match at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui doesn't come close to encapsulating its significance on International Women’s Day.
Australia has competed in every women’s World Cup since the first in 1973, winning in 1978, ‘82, ’88, ‘97, 2005 and ’13. It has produced some of the greatest players in the history of women’s cricket and entered the tournament as the favorite to win again.
Cricket Australia recently announced measures to boost the base salary for women players to $65,000 Australian dollars ($48,000) and women's cricket moves steadily toward pay parity with the men's game.
There was no formal women’s cricket in Pakistan until the 1990s when it began with the most tentative of footholds at the initiative of sisters Shaiza and Sharmeen Khan.
As late as 1997 the Pakistan women’s team was denied permission to play on religious grounds.
But he Pakistan Cricket Board established a so-called Women's Wing in 2005 and the women's national team has since participated in four World Cups. With limited resources it had won only two World Cup matches before the current tournament. Most of the current Pakistan team are at least semi professional and the team’s coaches and support staff are full-time
But the greatest measure of the progress women’s cricket has made on this IWD is that 29-year-old Mahroof played the innings while her daughter Fatimah, born in August, was in the pavilion. Maroof returned to international cricket six months after her daughter's birth.
Also Read: India beats Pakistan by 107 runs at Women's World Cup
The Pakistan Cricket Board is sharing costs to allow Maroof “to travel with a support person of her choice to assist in caring for her infant child.”
Maroof’s mother cared for Fatimah while her mother was at the crease and in the field.
“Of course in this comeback it was very important for me to perform and it’s very special as my mother and daughter are here so I wanted to make it count,” Maroof said.
Pakistan played India in its opening match on the weekend and India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana described Maroof’s return to international cricket “inspiring.”
“Coming back post pregnancy in six months and playing international cricket is so inspiring,” Mandhana said on Instagram. “Mahroof is setting an example for sportswomen across the globe.”
India beats Pakistan by 107 runs at Women's World Cup
Pooja Rastraka made a career-best 69 in a 112-run seventh-wicket partnership with Sneh Rana which lifted India to a 107-run win over Pakistan in its opening match Sunday at the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
India was the first team in four matches at the tournament to bat first on winning the toss. The other three teams, New Zealand against the West Indies, Bangladesh against South Africa and England against Australia, all bowled first and failed in run chases.
Read:ICC Women's World Cup: Tigresses start campaign on wrong foot
In Sunday’s match, India made a commanding 244-7, then defended its total superbly through the spin bowling of Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Deepti Sharma and Rana as Pakistan struggled to generate momentum and was out for 137 in 43 overs.
Left-armer Gayakwad and off-spinners Sharma and Rana bowled with relentless accuracy to a suffocating off-side field and the Pakistan batters couldn't find profitable scoring areas. Gayakwad took 4-31 from her 10 overs.
Wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh claimed five dismissals.
There wasn’t much turn from the pitch at the Bay Oval but the India spinners used flight and drop to restrict Pakistan. After five overs Pakistan was 6-0, after 15 overs 43-1, after 20 overs 65-3.
Pakistan also bowled well early in the India innings, checking the scoring through the use of spin. India lost opener Shafali Verma in only the third over but a half century from Smitri Mandhana allowed it to recover to 96-1 in the 22nd over when Mandhana fell for 52.
India then lost five wickets for 18 runs between the 23rd and 34th overs, slumping to 114-6 as Pakistan appeared to grab the upper hand. The wickets that fell included India captain Mithali Raj for 9. In taking the field Sunday, Mithali became the first woman and third player after Javed Miandad and Sachin Tendulkar to play at six World Cups after her first in 2000.
Mithali has played in all 11 of India’s matches against Pakistan and India is unbeaten in those matches. Her goal on Sunday was for India to score 250 or more and they fell just short.
Vastrakar was the reason they even came close, coming to the crease No. 7 and reaching her one-day international half century from 48 balls. Her entire innings of 69 came from 57 deliveries and swung the match heavily towards India.
“I’m very happy to win my first Player of the Match trophy and in a World Cup game,” Vastrakar said. “The focus was to get the team towards 200 and I planned my batting with that in mind.
“I love batting in pressure situations. In domestic cricket, coaches always send me out to bat when the team is under pressure.”
Read:Domingo expresses disappointment over sloppy fielding
Vastrakar found the perfect partner in in Rana who also scored at a high rate, reaching her maiden ODI half century from 45 balls with four boundaries.
India was 160-6 in the 40th over and added 84 runs in the last 10 overs to put a score on the board which required Pakistan to reach its highest World Cup total to win.
India’s win took it to the top of the points table on run-rate after the first full matches. South Africa, Australia and the West Indies also have two points.
Death toll climbs to 63 in deadly Pakistan IS mosque attack
Officials vowed Saturday to hunt down and arrest the masterminds behind a deadly mosque attack in Pakistan a day earlier claimed by an Islamic State affiliate. The assault killed 63 people and wounded nearly 200.
IS said in a statement the lone suicide bomber was from neighboring Afghanistan. He shot two police guarding the Shiite Muslim mosque in northwest Peshawar before entering inside and exploding his device, it said. The attack took place as worshipers knelt in Friday prayer. The IS affiliate, known as IS in Khorasan Province, is headquartered in eastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban rulers in Afghanistan, who have been fighting IS, condemned the attack. IS has proven to be the Taliban's greatest security threat since sweeping into power last August.
“We condemn the bombing of a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan. There is no justification for attacking civilians and worshipers," Taliban Deputy Minister for Culture and Information Zabihullah Mujahid tweeted. He refused to comment on the IS claim that the suicide bomber was Afghan.
The death toll was likely to continue to rise, said Asim Khan, spokesman for Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital. At least four of 38 patients still hospitalized are in critical condition, he said.
Also read: IS claims Pakistan bombing that kills 56 at Shiite mosque
Late into Friday night and early Saturday, Pakistanis buried their dead amid heavy security, with sniffer dogs deployed. Police carried out body searches of mourners who were then searched a second time by security provided by Pakistan's Shiite community.
Hundreds of mourners crying and beating their chests attended funeral prayers for 13 victims late Friday and for another 11 on Saturday at Peshawar's Kohati Gate. The coffins were covered with shrouds, some with Quranic sayings. They were lined up on open ground, made visible by bare light bulbs.
"These were human beings and worshipers inside the mosque, and they were brutally killed at a time when they were busy praying to God," Hayat Khan told The Associated Press late Friday night as he buried a relative.
One of the police officers who was shot outside Kucha Risaldar mosque died immediately and the second died later from his wounds, police officials said.
Pakistan Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said in a statement that three investigation teams were established to study forensic evidence and closed-circuit TV footage to track down the attack's organizers.
In CCTV footage seen by The Associated Press, the lone attacker concealed his bomb beneath a large black shawl. The footage showed the bomber moving quickly up a narrow street toward the mosque entrance. He fired at the police protecting the mosque before entering inside.
Also read: 10 killed in blast in eastern India
Within seconds, there is a powerful explosion and the camera lens is obscured with dust and debris. The crudely made device was packed with ball bearings, a deadly method of constructing a bomb to inflict maximum carnage because it sprays deadly projectiles over a large area. The ball bearings caused the high death toll, said Moazzam Jah Ansari, the top police official for Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is the capital.
Immediately after the bombing, Pakistan's minority Shiites slammed the government for lax security arrangements demanding greater attention to their safety.
Friday's attack in Peshawar's congested old city was the worst in years in Pakistan. The country has seen renewed militant attacks after several years of relative quiet that followed military operations against militant hideouts in the border regions with Afghanistan.
The attacks have mostly been carried out by the Pakistani Taliban since last August when the Afghan Taliban swept into power and America ended its 20-year involvement in Afghanistan. The Pakistan Taliban are not connected to the new Afghan rulers. However, they are hiding out in Afghanistan and despite Pakistan's repeated request to hand them over, none have yet been found and expelled.
The Islamic State affiliate, often referred to as IS-K, is an enemy of the Afghan Taliban and has carried out successive operations against them since coming into power last year. Pakistani security officials have insisted IS has little presence in Pakistan, yet in their statement claiming responsibility for the mosque attack, IS vowed to carry out more attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Islamic State fighters are constantly targeting Shiites living in Pakistan and Afghanistan despite the intense security measures adopted by the Taliban militia and the Pakistani police to secure Shi’a temples and centers," said the IS statement carried on its Amaq News Agency site.
Imam’s 1st test century takes Pakistan to 245-1 vs Australia
Opener Imam-ul-Haq hit a memorable first test century on Friday and led Pakistan to a commanding 245-1 in its first home test against Australia in 24 years.
The left-hander closed out the opening day of the first test on 132 not out on a typically slow and grassless subcontinent wicket. Veteran Azhar Ali is also looking solid on 64 not out.
Read:Bangladesh announces squads for South Africa tour
Australia might have missed a trick by opting to go with its three frontline fast bowlers, who hardly troubled the batters with both the new and old ball. Australia even used its three part-time spinners — Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Steve Smith — without any reward.
Imam and Azhar denied Australia any hope of a breakthrough with the new ball in the 10 overs before stumps and stretched their second-wicket partnership to 140.
The lone Australian specialist spinner, Nathan Lyon (1-87), got the only success of the day for the visitors when he dismissed Abdullah Shafique for 44 just before lunch, but not before a 105-run opening wicket stand with Imam.
Azhar and Imam then frustrated Australia for the entire two sessions by piling up another century stand.
Imam, playing in his 12th test but first in 27 months, showed grit throughout the day against fast bowlers and spinners after captain Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bat.
Fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and skipper Pat Cummins hardly troubled Pakistan’s top order in their short spells as they bowled 45 overs between them.
Lyon earlier extracted brief turn off the wicket with the new ball but both openers dominated the spinner by using their feet and raised a century stand.
Lyon was ineffective until he claimed Shafique in the penultimate over before lunch. Shafique got beaten in the flight and tried to heave the offspinner over long off. He was brilliantly caught by a running Cummins.
Imam, who last played a test match against Australia at Adelaide in December 2019, survived a close call for lbw in Starc’s third over as the visitors went for an unsuccessful television review and the replays suggested the ball would have went over the stumps.
Imam raised his century in the last session when he drove Starc through the covers for his 13th boundary beside hitting two straight sixes against Lyon.
Shafique also had a close call but Head dropped a difficult chance at leg slip in Lyon’s second over, a ball after the spinner was smacked for a straight six.
Imam had earlier raised his half century by pulling Cummins to square leg boundary for a four and overtook his batting partner once Australia briefly applied the offspin of Head and Lyon.
Read:Liton, Nasum guide Bangladesh to easy win vs Afghanistan in first T20
It’s the first time Australia has played a test match in Pakistan since 1998 due to concerns over security from several attacks in Pakistan. It’s a three-match test series.
Australian players wore black armbands as a tribute to Australia’s former wicketkeeper great Rod Marsh, who died on Friday at age 74.
Suicide bombing kills 56 at Shiite mosque in Pakistan
A suicide bomber struck inside a Shiite Muslim mosque in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar during Friday prayers, killing at least 56 worshippers and wounding 194 people, hospital officials said.
No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Both the Islamic State group and the Pakistani Taliban — a militant group separate from the Taliban in Afghanistan — have carried out similar attacks in the past in the area, located near the border with neighboring Afghanistan.
According to the spokesman at Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital, Asim Khan, many of the wounded were in critical condition. Scores of victims were peppered with shrapnel, several had limbs amputated and others were injured by flying debris.
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Peshawar Police Chief Muhammed Ejaz Khan said the violence started when an armed attacker opened fire on police outside the mosque in Peshawar’s old city. One policeman was killed in the gunfight, and another police officer was wounded. The attacker then ran inside the mosque and detonated his suicide vest.
Local police official Waheed Khan said the explosion occurred as worshippers had gathered in the Kucha Risaldar Mosque for Friday prayers. There are fears the death toll will rise further, he added.
Ambulances rushed through congested narrow streets carrying the wounded to Lady Reading Hospital, where doctors worked feverishly.
Shayan Haider, a witness, had been preparing to enter the mosque when a powerful explosion threw him to the ground. “I opened my eyes and there was dust and bodies everywhere,” he said.
At the Lady Reading Hospital Emergency department, there was chaos as doctors struggled to move the many wounded into operating theaters. Hundreds of relatives gathered outside the emergency department, many of them wailing and beating their chests, pleading for information about their loved ones.
Pak conspiracy against Bangla language, culture still on: Speakers
Speakers at a discussion on Monday said Pakistan’s conspiracy against Bangla language and Bengali culture has not stopped yet which was started immediately after the partition in 1947.
The discussants said people responded to the conspiracy by defeating Pakistanis in the Language Movement and the War of Liberation but the conspiracy of Pakistan and its followers continues.
The discussion titled ‘Twenty-one to seventy-one: the Golden Jubilee of Independence and the Mujib Year’ was organised marking the Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day at Jatiya Press Club.
Read: Street drama 'Rokte Lekha Bangla Bhasha' performed in city
Voluntary organization Media Forum for Human Rights and Environmental Development (MHED) organized the discussion.
President of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Omar Farooq was the chief discussant.
President of Dhaka Union of Journalists Quddus Afrad and President of Bangladesh-India Sampriti Parishad Freedom Fighter Professor Fazle Ali spoke as special guests with MHED's Advisor and President of Indian Media Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (IMCAB) Basudeb Dhar in the chair.
Besides, NAP Secretary General Golam Mostafa Bhuiyan, General Secretary of Indian Media Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (IMCAB) Masum Billah, Treasurer Aminul Haque Bhuiyan, Executive Director of MHED Rafiqul Islam Sabuj were present.
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The speakers said Pakistanis were trying to impose Urdu language in 1952 by saying that Urdu was the language of Muslims and Islam.
But this is not true, even Urdu is not the provincial language in any province of Pakistan, they said.
The speakers said Pakistanis determined the character of a language from their communal consciousness and thinking.
Pakistan head coach backs struggling captain Babar
Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq has backed the leadership qualities of all-format captain Babar Azam ahead of next month’s historic home series against Australia.
Babar has captained Karachi Kings to eight consecutive Twenty20 loses in the Pakistan Super League and has scored only two half-centuries. The 2020 champions are out of contention for the playoffs.
“Babar Azam is world No. 1 player, and he has performed outstandingly for Pakistan,” Mushtaq told reporters Thursday. “T20 cricket is all about momentum. All the six teams (in PSL) are very strong, but the team which gets the momentum takes the edge. Unfortunately, Karachi couldn’t get the momentum.”
Babar is fifth in PSL scoring with 268 runs in eight games.
“I have no doubt about Babar,” Mushtaq said. “He’s a world-class player, strong leader, equally good against spin and fast bowlers. He has played lots of knocks for Pakistan and every (cricket) expert in the world talks about him.”
Australia makes its first trip to Pakistan in 24 years to play three test matches, three ODIs and a one-off T20. The Aussies are due to arrive on Feb. 27.
Read: BAN vs AFG 2022: Momentous ODI records between Bangladesh and Afghanistan
The tour starts in Rawalpindi on March 4 with the first test, followed by test matches in Karachi and Lahore. The ODIs and a T20 will be played at Rawalpindi.
Pakistan test players have started a training camp in Karachi under the supervision of Mushtaq and batting coach Mohammad Yousuf. They’ll shift to Rawalpindi later this month.
Australia is the top-ranked test team in the world and will be touring Pakistan on the back of its 4-0 Ashes win at home against England. Led by Pat Cummins, Australia is at No. 2 on the ICC World Test Championship points table behind Sri Lanka while Pakistan occupies the No. 3 spot.
Mushtaq was hopeful the home conditions will suit his players against Australia.
“They play tough cricket,” Mushtaq said. “Wherever they go, they go with full preparation and obviously we have to play tough cricket against them. They had a really good series against England, but they are coming to our territory and we will give our best.”