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P20 - PAKISTAN LINK - AUGUST 25, 2023 SPORTS

akistan clinched another vic- Pakistan Thrash Afghanistan to pleted his run-a-ball 150. He got out
tory against Afghanistan in a at the hands of Shaheen Shah Afridi in
Pthrilling second match of the the 45th over but the destruction was
one-day international (ODI) series Take 2-0 Lead in ODI Series already done for Pakistan. His power-
against Afghanistan by one wicket in packed knock included 14 boundaries
Hambantota, Sri Lanka. and three maximums.
Men in Green continued their su- Naseem Shah guides Green Shirts to a thrilling victory Shaheen bagged two wickets while
perb form, bearing in mind that they Naseem Shah and Usama managed to
won the first ODI by 142 runs, and won in last over as they needed 11 runs off 6 balls take one.
the series. Rahmat Shah and Azmatullah
Naseem Shah, who led Pakistan to Fazalhaq was running towards the Omarzai, who retired hurt in the first
a victory against the same opposition crease to bowl the ball, he managed ODI, were replaced by Riaz Hassan
in Asia Cup 2022, once again guided Shadab, who was on the non-striking and Shahid Kamal for Afghanistan in
the Green Shirts to a thrilling victory end. the second ODI.
in the last over as they needed 11 runs But, after Shadab’s bizarre dismissal, Pakistan were unchanged for the
off 6 balls. Naseem took charge of Pakistan’s bat- contest.
Chasing the target of 301 runs, ting and led them to a victory. Playing XIs
Pakistan lost Fakhar Zaman for just Earlier in the first innings, Afghani- Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz
52 runs but it was Imam-ul-Haq and stan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan,
skipper Babar Azam, who formed a scored 151 runs to help Afghanistan Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Ikram
118-run stand and got their team in a post 300-5 in 50 overs. Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid
dominant position. After deciding to bat first, Afghani- Khan, Abdul Rahman, Shahid Kamal,
However, right after completing his stan's opening pair of Gurbaz and Ibra- Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
fifty, Babar fell to Fazalhaq Farooq, af- him Zadran scored 227 runs together. Pakistan: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar
ter which the winning side started to It was Afghanistan's second-highest Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Moham-
lose wickets. Naseem Shah celebrates Pakistan’s second win in the ongoing ODI series ODI partnership. mad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed,
At one point, it looked over for the against Afghanistan. — Twitter/@TheRealPCB Zadran (80) was removed by Usama Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan,
Green Shirts but Shadab Khan helped Mir as he missed his fifth ODI century. Usama Mir, Shaheen Afridi, Nas-
his side to get back in the game once again by scoring 48 off 35. The last over had all the drama, as But, Gurbaz kept on going and com- eem Shah, Haris Rauf

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Cricket Board PCB Women Cricket Trials for U19 on Aug 29 tone for a brighter future in women’s
Level-III Coach and Cricket Coordi- cricket. With the nationwide trials, we
nator for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hajra are eagerly poised to bring in a new
Sarwar Thursday said that the open tri- The trials, she said, would be con- wave of talented individuals forward,
als to select women cricketers in three ducted by the National Selection Com- Hajra said.
different categories including U19, mittee, which comprises chairperson “We have a great and exciting
Emerging, and Senior would be held and former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar, amount of women’s cricket events
on August 29 here at Maazullah Khan former international cricketers Asma- ahead, and these trials will help us
Cricket Academy, inside Qayyum via Iqbal and Marina Iqbal. identify splendid talent that the se-
Sports Complex Peshawar. The trials will be conducted for lectors can consider for the national
Hajra Sarwar, the only female quali- three age groups including U19, in teams’ squads, ” Hajra Sarwar, hailing
fied coach who did her Level-III from which players who are born on or af- from District Swabi, said.
Australia and is now associated with ter September 1, 2004 are eligible, an About the schedule of the trials is-
Pakistan Cricket Board for Peshawar Emerging Team and Seniors categories sued by the Pakistan Cricket Board
Region, said that all arrangements in respectively, Hajra Sawar said. Domestic Cricket, the trials, she said
this connection have been made. About the trials, she said, it would would be organized in eight academies
She said a request has been made to help the selectors identify talent and including Maazullah Khan Cricket
Director General Sports Khyber Pakh- select squads for Pakistan Emerg- Academy, Peshawar, Qayyum Sports
tunkhwa Khalid Mehmood to ensure ing and Pakistan U19 teams. Pakistan Complex.
hostel facilities for those women crick- Emerging side will compete against She said besides Peshawar, the trials
eters coming from Dera Ismail Khan the District and Regional levels which grassroots level, will hold a nationwide West Indies Emerging team at home will also be organized in Mohammad
to Chitral for the opening trials to be would also boost women cricket in women’s cricket trials, across eight in October this year, while Pakistan High Performance Centre, Karachi,
conducted under the aegis of Pakistan Pakistan. cricket academies from 23 to 31 Au- U19 will feature in a triangular event Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance
Cricket Board in Peshawar like other It is a good chance for the women gust. involving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Centre, Multan, Women Sports Sta-
big cities across Pakistan. cricketers to appear in the trials for These trials will provide an excep- Bangladesh in January 2024. dium, Bahawalpur, Kinnaird College
She said it is golden opportuni- the selection of Under-19 and Senior tional platform for talented female She disclosed that Pakistan Cricket for Women, Lahore, Pindi Cricket Sta-
ties for women cricketers to be part of teams as well from Peshawar Region. cricketers from various age categories Board have recently awarded first-ever dium, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Abbot-
the trials and do their efforts to select. She said, the Pakistan Cricket to showcase their skills and progress domestic contracts to 74 women crick- tabad Stadium, Abbottabad, Bugti Sta-
She said the Pakistan Cricket Board Board, as part of its continuous effort to the higher levels of the game, Hajra eters among them three players hailing dium, Quetta and Qayyum Stadium,
is not giving central contracts even at to unearth women cricketers at the Sawar added. from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, setting the Peshawar.

Ahead of Asian Games 2023, Pakistani Pakistan Shaheens’ Squad for

Athletes to Undergo Dope Tests Asian Games Announced

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Shaheens will take part in the event
will be on sports that have had a bad doping test record in Board has announced the Shaheens’ from the quarter-finals stage scheduled
the past, Weightlifting, Athletics and Kabaddi players were squad that will participate in the up- to take place on October 3 and 4. The
specifically mentioned. The Pakistan Weightlifting Associa- coming Asian Games. semi-finals will be played on October
tion have had a tough time dealing with this issue as in the Qasim Akram will be in charge 6, while the final will be held on Octo-
recent 34th National Games — which were organised in May of the Pakistan Shaheens in the 19th ber 7. The match for Bronze medal will
2023 — there were positive dope tests of some Athletics and Asian Games, set to be held in Hang- also take place on Saturday, October 7.
Weightlifting players. The dope tests of the players are likely zhou, China. The event will be played Pakistan men’s team won a bronze
to start this weekend, the sources added. in a T20 format from September 28 to medal in their maiden and only ap-
It must be noted that the Games in Hangzhou will be held October 7. pearance in the Asian Games held in
from September 23 to October 8. The players who have represented Guangzhou, China, in 2010.
Pakistan will be participating in Archery, Athletics, Pakistan at the international level are Pakistan Shaheens squad:
Bridge, Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Climbing, E-sports, Aamir Jamal (2 T20Is), Arshad Iqbal Qasim Akram (captain), Omair
KARACHI: The Pakistan Olympics Association (POA) Fencing, Golf, Hockey, Kabbadi, Karate, Rowing, Sailing, (1 T20I), Asif Ali (21 ODIs, 55 T20Is), Bin Yousuf (vice-captain), Aamir Ja-
and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) are planning to or- Shooting, Squash, Swimming, Tennis, Taekwondo, Table Haider Ali (2 ODIs, 33 T20Is), Khush- mal, Arafat Minhas, Arshad Iqbal, Asif
ganise random doping tests for athletes ahead of the Asian Tennis, Volleyball, Weightlifting, Wrestling and Wushu. dil Shah (10 ODIs, 24 T20Is), Mo- Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mirza
Games 2023, sources told Geo News on Wednesday. All the Some major sports from which Pakistan will be missing are hammad Hasnain (9 ODIs, 27 T20Is), Tahir Baig, Mohammad Hasnain, Mu-
preparations for the testing programs are set and about 30 Judo, Equestrian, Baseball, Football and Gymnastics. Paki- Shahnawaz Dahani (2 ODIs, 11 T20Is) hammad Akhlaq (wk), Rohail Nazir,
to 40 players will be a part of this. stani athletes will miss participating in these sports due to and Usman Qadir (1 ODI, 23 T20Is). Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Muqeem
The POA and PSB have mutually decided that their focus funding issues and delays in confirming entries. As per the tournament’s regulations, and Usman Qadir.
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