Tag Futebol

Tamim Iqbal and Essex have determinedly played down the reasons for Tamim’s abrupt abandonment of his stint at the county

David Hopps and Mohammad Isam12-Jul-2017Bangladesh batsman Tamim Iqbal and Essex have determinedly played down the reasons for his abruptly abandoning a stint with the county, after allegations emerged that his wife was the victim of a racially-motivated incident in Stratford in east London.ESPNcricinfo understands that a nervous Tamim reported an altercation to Essex Cricket on Monday, the day after his debut in a NatWest Blast match against Kent at Beckenham, and asked that his contract be terminated so the family could return to Bangladesh.Essex immediately agreed to his request, and the county and player chose to play down the incident, with Essex’s chairman John Faragher and chief executive Derek Bowden overseeing a brief statement which requested that Tamim’s privacy be respected.Essex have made no concerted effort to discover the nature of the incident and it is not thought that any official complaint has been lodged with the Metropolitan Police.It is known that Tamim’s family was uneasy about the environment in London even before his arrival in England. Essex put his family up in a luxury apartment in Stratford at his own request – some 35 miles from their Chelmsford headquarters – after agreeing to an eight-match deal.Terrorist attacks on the British mainland, in London and Manchester, have caused a marked increase in racial tension. Last week, through the Freedom of Information legislation, the newspaper also obtained police figures that showed an unparalleled rise in hate crimes of 23% compared to the previous year, in the 11 months after the UK voted to leave the European Union.The arrival of Tamim’s family in the UK coincided with protests at Stratford train station against recent acid attacks and Islamophobia in east London. The anti-racism demonstration came after police confirmed that an acid attack in neighbouring Newham was being treated as a hate crime.There have been conflicting reports, emanating from Bangladesh, about the exact nature of the incident involving Tamim, his wife Ayesha Siddiqa who often wears a hijab, and their one-year-old son – it is variously said to have occurred in a Stratford restaurant or while the family was on the street.Tamim, meanwhile, was keen to keep his agreement with Essex and not make public his reasons for returning home. “I want all my fans and well wishers to know that I cut short my season with Essex to come back home early for personal reasons,” a statement on his official Facebook page read. “Some media reported that we were the target of attempted hate crime. This is really not true.”England is one my favourite places to play cricket and Essex have been entirely gracious even though I had to leave early. I thank all my fans and well wishers for their concern and messages and look forward to going back to England for future matches.”Essex continued to insist that they will not expand on their brief statement which read: “We wish him all the best and it would be appreciated if Tamim’s privacy is respected during this time.”Whatever the cause of Tamim’s hurried departure, it appears that it will remain officially unreported.

Patrick Sandusky, US Olympic Committee’s chief external affairs officer, has said all sports should want to be in the Olympics and that a T20 competition in the Summer Games would fit well into a 17-day Olympic schedule

Peter Della Penna24-Jun-20162:51

US Olympic Committee official talks up cricket at the Olympics

Patrick Sandusky, chief external affairs officer at the US Olympic Committee, has told ESPNcricinfo that “all sports should want to be in the Olympics” and that a T20 competition in the Summer Games would fit well into a 17-day Olympic schedule. Sandusky said that although the decision to accept cricket into the games program is up to the International Olympic Council, he is optimistic an application would have a good chance of being accepted if the ICC decided to submit one.”I see the Olympics as the pinnacle of sport and the greatest sports festival there is but I think cricket needs to [make a decision] on their own time, whatever that is,” Sandusky said. “I don’t know enough about the internal governance of the ICC and how it would relate into bidding for a potential future slot, but I’d certainly think that Twenty20 cricket at least is a very natural fit in terms of numbers/size of teams, number of days a tournament can be played in and could it fit with an Olympic calendar not unlike a Rugby Sevens tournament.”Sandusky related cricket to the impact that an Olympics inclusion has had on rugby’s rise in popularity in USA ahead of Rubgy Sevens’ addition for the upcoming Summer Games in Brazil. He felt cricket’s inclusion could be a similar catalyst for a rise in popularity and competitiveness for the USA national team.”One of the things we have in the United States is we’ve got a lot of people that are really good at hand-eye (coordination), ball, bat and catching,” Sandusky said. “We’ve had success converting American football players into a successful Rugby Sevens team. We now have a Rugby Sevens team going to the Olympics and it’s not inconceivable that they could be a medalist.”Rugby Sevens didn’t exist as a sport ten years ago in the United States. First and foremost, it’s realistic getting the right things in place to get the right people exposed to the sport. I think we have a lot of athletes out there that have the appropriate skill. Obviously they don’t know the sport itself and the strategies around it but much like Rugby Sevens, I think there’s an opportunity there.”Sandusky’s involvement in USA’s cricket affairs began last August when he was appointed to a seven-man advisory committee by the ICC, but initial interest in the sport was piqued when he lived in London from 2001 to 2005 while working as part of the 2012 London Olympic bid effort.”If you look at cricket in the market and the number of people that are interested in cricket and you look at the staggering TV numbers when India plays Pakistan, I think that there’s a huge opportunity for the Olympics,” Sandusky said. “If cricket were in the Olympics, I think it goes to targeting new and different markets than your traditional Olympic markets as well as exposing a market like the United States to cricket as well, or you could pick out a country like Germany that maybe isn’t as well known in cricket but a big sporting nation in the Summer Games.”Traditionally, cricket has kind of found its niche in the Commonwealth countries. I think there’s an opportunity, whether it’s with relocating their [regional] offices to the United States or a push potentially [to have cricket] in with the Olympics, to grow out of those core countries that have been the traditional cricketing powers.”Apart from cricket’s growth, the Olympics could also benefit significantly from the increased market presence and popularity in countries like India.”Countries like India that have such large television markets might be more interested in the Olympic Games,” Sandusky said. “I think the Olympics what it would gain is you’re just hitting new fans with the Olympic brand.”A diehard rugby fan might not be an Olympics fan but since now they’re sport’s in it, they’re now going to be exposed to other sports like fencing, judo, wrestling and I think getting that sort of exposure really is good from the Olympics point of view because you’re bringing in fans from different age groups, different parts of the world and you’re exposing them to new things.”If a kid says maybe he didn’t find a sport he liked and they look on TV and say, ‘Hey what’s that sport of cricket? Maybe I’d like to do that.’ I think that’s what the Olympics brings in a global sense, exposure to showing kids that there’s all these different sports that they can play.”

Gloucestershire pace prospect Craig Miles claimed 5 for 61 as Lancashire were bowled out for 275 on a compelling first day of their Second Division match at Bristol

ECB/PA07-Jun-2015
ScorecardGloucestershire pace prospect Craig Miles claimed 5 for 61 as Lancashire were bowled out for 275 on a compelling first day of their Second Division match at Bristol.The 20-year-old seamer took his wicket tally in the competition this season to 29 and received good support from Matt Taylor after the hosts had won the toss in sunny conditions.Despite solid half-centuries from Karl Brown and Steven Croft, Lancashire were 190 for 7 at one stage before useful late order contributions from Jordan Clark, Tom Bailey and coach Glenn Chapple, who blasted 29 not out from 13 balls to ensure a second batting point.Gloucestershire suffered a blow when wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick had to be taken to hospital for x-rays on a damaged hand. Geraint Jones, the former England keeper, took over the gloves in the afternoon session.By the close the home side had slipped to 15 for 2 from ten overs. Lancashire opted to go into the game without a specialist spinner, preferring to give the evergreen Chapple a first outing of the summer, and by the close must have felt they had edged the day.Miles and Taylor set the tone for a disciplined Gloucestershire bowling effort, both conceding only six runs from six-over spells with the new ball, a period that saw Paul Horton caught at gully off Miles for four.Alviro Petersen helped Brown add 45 before falling lbw for 20, advancing down the pitch to try and clip Taylor through the leg side. Ashwell Prince quickly followed, bowled by Miles for a single. Opener Brown moved to a watchful half-century before he also had his stumps disturbed by Miles, playing off the back foot.Alex Davies was leg before to a full ball from Taylor for 11 and James Faulkner fell to a poor shot for nine, caught behind chasing a wide one from Miles.Croft produced some of the best batting of the day, easing to a half-century off 68 balls, and looking in little trouble until he was pinned lbw on the back foot by Miles with the score on 190.Tea was taken without addition to the total before Clark and Bailey produced a useful eighth-wicket stand of 49. They looked set to take Lancashire through to the new ball until Benny Howell struck twice in the same over. The medium-pacer had Clark caught behind driving and then induced a poor shot from Kyle Jarvis, who miscued a catch to cover and departed for a duck.Out stepped Chapple to face the first over with the second new ball. The 41-year-old took three boundaries off it to dent Miles’ figures and bring up the 250.Bailey was bowled by Taylor to end the innings, having made a valuable contribution, and Gloucestershire were left with a tricky period to negotiate before stumps. They lost both openers, Chris Dent, caught behind off Jarvis for two pushing forward defensively, and Will Tavare lbw to Bailey for four.

Cheteshwar Pujara does not give England much chance of avoiding defeat after India struck late on the second day

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2012Cheteshwar Pujara batted for 513 minutes for his unbeaten 206, which took England’s ordeal in the field to 640 minutes, following which he saw England lose three wickets in a little over an hour. That has given him enough confidence to believe the match might not need to go into the fifth day.”It’s going to be a challenging task for them,” Pujara said when asked if he thought England could come back from here. “The way they were batting it looked like they were a fragile batting line-up for sure.”The three England wickets have made everyone look at the pitch in a different light. “I think there’s quite a lot of rough on the wicket and it’s turning quite big,” Pujara said. “The kind of momentum we got in these 18 overs I think we can bowl them out tomorrow. Obviously we’d like to finish the game before five days.”After the first day Virender Sehwag had said the pitch was easy to bat on if you didn’t play your shots. Pujara had a different take. “There is nothing wrong with the wicket,” he said. “We’ve got three wickets, the ball is turning. We have utilised the conditions better than them.”Even before the series began, Pujara had said he was comfortable against the England bowling. His quiet confidence only restated that belief. “I’d like to mention that it was good that I got out on 87 in the practice game,” Pujara said. “If I had ended up scoring a hundred, I wouldn’t have had the same motivation to score a hundred and then turn it into a double-hundred in this game.”I was comfortable facing all the bowlers. Initially my concern was Graeme Swann because I hadn’t faced him before. But after I faced a couple of overs against him, I felt that I could manage.”The result was his maiden double-century in Tests, but also Pujara’s ninth 150-plus score of the 16 times he has reached 100 in first-class cricket. Nine of those 150-plus scores have come in his last 10 first-class centuries. He sounded proud of that habit.”I’ve done the same thing in domestic cricket,” he said. “I never like to get out. There’s always a price on my wicket. Even after scoring a double-hundred I never wanted to give away my wicket. That’s the reason why I’m able to score big runs.”

A round-up of the action from the second day of the second round of Division Two matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2011Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited‘s bowlers backed up the good work done by their batting colleagues to leave Multan in desperate trouble at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Resuming at 372 for 2, the overnight centurions Ali Waqas and Umar Akmal were unable to drive the advantage further. But the lower order, led by the free-flowing Mohammad Awais lifted them to 510 for 8, at which point they decided to declare. Mudassar Ali and Ali Ahmed shared the spoils with four wickets apiece. Multan’s reply ran into trouble steadily as SNGPL made frequent strikes. Asad Ali made the first incision, after which Bilawal Bhatti and Azhar Shafiq struck twice apiece to leave Multan fumbling at 114 for 5.Quetta were in desperate trouble against Karachi Whites after capsizing for 93 at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, conceding a 253-run first-innings lead. Only four batsmen got into double-figures, with captain Taimur Ali top-scoring with 21, as Tabish Khan and Mansur Ahmed ran through the Quetta line-up. They lasted less than 41 overs, as Tabish and Mansur helped themselves to seven of the 10 wickets. Their second innings didn’t start very differently, as Bismillah Khan succumbed to Adeel Malik before stumps. Earlier, half-centuries from Akbar-ur-Rehman and Abdul Jabbar were backed by a resilient lower order as Karachi Whites finished with 346.Usman Salahuddin’s resolute 88 wasn’t enough to give Lahore Ravi the first-innings lead against Peshawar in what was turning into a low-scoring scrap at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Resuming at 113 for 5, Salahuddin was the only batsman to stand up for Lahore Ravi, as Noor-ul-Ahmed (5 for 50) and Waqar Ahmed (4 for 63) scythed through the lower order. Peshawar lost Haroon Ahmed early in their second innings, but Mohammad Fayyaz and Naved Khan steadied the innings. Neither batsman could cash in on the start though, as Peshawar went to stumps at 149 for 4.A strong batting performance on the second day gave Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) firm control of their match against Lahore Shalimar at the Gaddafi Stadium. KRL had begun the day on 140 for 1, already leading by 56 in the first innings after routing Lahore for 84. Bazid Khan went on to score a century (103) and Ali Naqvi made 59. KRL eventually declared on 357 for 6, with a lead of 273. Lahore were 13 for 0 at stumps as they battled to avoid an innings defeat.United Bank Limited’s (UBL) lower order contributed significantly to ensure their team achieved a string first-innings total against Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium. UBL had ended day one on 288 for 6 with Imtad-ul-Haq not out on 27. He went on to remain unbeaten on 102 and Misbah Khan, batting at No. 10, scored 50 off 70 balls as UBL piled up 460 for 8 before declaring. Hyderabad made a steady start, reaching 89 for no loss, before they lost three wickets for 11 runs and were 109 for 3 at stumps.

Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, has said England will start as “underdogs” in the Ashes in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Oct-2010Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, has said England will start as “underdogs” in the Ashes in Australia but the run of successes since regaining the urn last year has given his team a better chance compared to the last time they were there, when they suffered a 5-0 thrashing. England haven’t won an Ashes series in Australia since 1986-87.”We are definitely underdogs because Australia in Australia are an incredible cricket team,” Pietersen said in Durban. He’s in South Africa to represent the domestic side Dolphins in two first-class games, an experience, he said, should help him regain his form. Pietersen hasn’t scored a century in 26 innings and in a low-scoring series against Pakistan, which England won 3-1, he averaged 23.33 in four Tests.”It was certainly the toughest conditions I have played in during the six summers I have spent playing Test cricket in England,” he said. “There weren’t too many batsmen who averaged 20 or 30 at the top of the order from either side.”I haven’t got as many runs as I could have possibly got in the last couple of months and [in South Africa] there is a chance for me to play on some good wickets and against the Kookaburra ball.”I am out here now to try to put things right, to spend some time in the middle and work a lot harder than I have worked before, so that I am in the best nick possible come the Ashes tour.”The England team recently underwent a bonding exercise at a boot-camp in Bavaria, Germany. “I think we have got a really good squad and it is a squad that has matured a lot. It has become a really tight unit, all the guys get on well and when the going gets tough, as I know it does when you tour Australia, we have a unit that will stand together and pull through,” Pietersen said. “We have just had a camp in Germany and the team spirit and bonding was amazing on what was quite a tough trip mentally and physically.”

The West Indies bowling unit had a productive day out, keeping Bangladesh under pressure across all three sessions

Mohammad Isam24-Nov-2024Bangladesh 269 for 9 (Jaker 53, Mominul 50, Alzarri 3-69) trail West Indies 450 for 9 dec (Greaves 115*, Louis 97, Athanaze 90, Mahmud 3-87) by 181 runsWest Indies maintained their control of the Antigua Test with Bangladesh ending the day on 269 for 9 at stumps on the third day. The hosts hold a lead of 181 runs after Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales and allrounder Justin Greaves nearly did enough to enforce a follow-on on Bangladesh. A late resistance helped the visitors avoid it, but they remain well on the back foot after three days of play.Bangladesh looked to bat steadily on a slow surface, but despite starts, couldn’t find one batter to go big like West Indies achieved in their first innings. Jaker Ali and Mominul Haque got out soon after reaching their fifties, while Litton Das fell for 40. Jaker and Taijul Islam added 68 runs for the seventh wicket to get Bangladesh closer to the follow-on mark of 251, which they crossed in the day’s last hour.Bangladesh started the third morning quietly, with Mominul getting a pair of boundaries off Shamar Joseph. Shortly afterwards, Kemar Roach removed Shahadat Hossain for 18, for which he played 71 balls. It was an innings going nowhere before he edged to first slip where Kavem Hodge took a low catch.Mominul and Litton saw to the end of the first session, continuing to bat obdurately. The usually free-flowing Litton started off with an easy square-cut boundary off Alzarri, but then mostly played within himself. Only in the over before the lunch break, Litton freed his arms to get another four, this time cutting Shamar.West Indies however got the breakthrough shortly after the lunch break when Seales trapped Mominul lbw after the left-hander reached his 21st fifty.Stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz then endured a test of bouncers from the West Indies attack, with Alzarri even hitting him on his shoulder. Seales chipped in with his share of bouncers and verbals.Litton also got bogged down, resulting in getting bowled by a slightly short delivery from Shamar that he dragged onto his stumps. Litton made 40 off 76 balls with three fours, but it was a disappointing exit for one of three experienced Bangladesh batters.Mehidy struck a couple of boundaries off Greaves and Shamar later in the second session, but the short ball kept bothering him. After surviving 66 balls, Mehidy finally popped an Alzarri bouncer to short-leg where Mikyle Louis took a comfortable catch.Then came the unlikely revival act by Taijul and Jaker. The pair did take advantage of a tiring West Indies attack while also being disciplined with their choice of shots. They had to scavenge for scoring opportunities but were always looking for the odd boundary. They survived a dropped chance apiece too.Taijul kept using the pace of the West Indians, guiding the ball behind square on the off-side, while Jaker tried to force the issue. Jaker got his four boundaries with the pull shot and the hoick, one of which helped him bring up his fifty. Alzarri separated the pair after they had batted along for 19 overs when he bowled Taijul. Jaker fell to a Seales catch in the deep midwicket boundary, as he tried to clip Greaves for a big one.There was a bit of by-play between Alzarri and Taskin Ahmed towards the end, particularly after the fast bowler hit the Bangladeshi tail-ender on the head. The two exchanged words, but Alzarri couldn’t knock off the tenth Bangladesh wicket against the fading light.West Indies came into the third day on the back of a fine batting performance on the first two days. They continue to have control of proceedings at North Sound going into the penultimate day and will want rain to stay away in pursuit of a result.

The general sale of tickets for all World Cup matches to commence from 8pm IST on September 8, the BCCI said

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2023With less than a month to go for the first match of the men’s ODI World Cup, the BCCI, the host board, has announced the release of as many as 400,000 tickets in the next phase of ticket sales.A BCCI statement on Wednesday evening said that the “general sale of tickets” for all matches of the World Cup will commence from 8pm IST on September 8, adding that “fans will be notified of the further sale of tickets in the next phase in due course”. The release did not mention any details of the next phase though.ESPNcricinfo has learnt these tickets are part of a further phased approach to meet the huge demand from fans, though there was no mention previously that such a batch would go on sale. The original phased approach of online sales (except for the knockouts) ended on September 3.Related

• ODI World Cup tickets to go on sale on August 25

• Date changes for India-Pakistan and eight other games

The BCCI arrived at the number of tickets to be sold in coordination with the state associations that will host the World Cup matches. It is understood that those associations were asked by the BCCI to release a certain number of tickets – usually meant for the former’s members – which were then added to public tickets quota.The BCCI had faced a lot of backlash from fans and other stakeholders for first releasing the schedule only 100 days before the start of the tournament, and then making further changes to it, which further delayed the release of tickets. The statement said the board “acknowledges the high demand for tickets” and planned to release more tickets after “discussions with the hosting state associations” to accommodate “as many passionate cricket fans as possible, ensuring their participation in this historic event”.”The BCCI deeply acknowledges that fans are the heartbeat of the tournament, and their unwavering passion, engagement, and contributions are pivotal to the success of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023,” the statement said.According to the original plan of ticket sales revealed by the ICC on the same day that they released the revised schedule, the tickets were to go on sale in seven phases, from August 25, 41 days before the tournament opener.

• August 25: Warm-up and World Cup matches not featuring India
• August 30: India warm-up matches in Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram
• August 31: India World Cup matches in Chennai (vs Australia, Oct 8), Delhi (vs Afghanistan, Oct 11) and Pune (vs Bangladesh, Oct 19)
• September 1: India World Cup matches in Dharamsala (vs New Zealand, Oct 22), Lucknow (vs England, Oct 29) and Mumbai (vs Sri Lanka, Nov 2)
• September 2: India World Cup matches in Kolkata (vs South Africa, Nov 5) and Bengaluru (vs Netherlands, Nov 12)
• September 3: India World Cup matches in Ahmedabad (vs Pakistan, Oct 14)
• September 15: Semi-finals and final

In comparison, the 2019 World Cup (in England and Wales) had tickets go up for sale in September 2018 and then again on March 21, 2019, as an ICC response to the high demand for tickets.The 2023 World Cup will kick-off on October 5 with England vs New Zealand – a repeat of the 2019 final – in Ahmedabad. Nine other cities will host World Cup games in India: Hyderabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata. The ten teams will all play each other in the first round before the semi-finals are played in Mumbai (November 15) and Kolkata (November 16), and the final in Ahmedabad on November 19.

Opener left stranded on 92 not out as rain forces abandonment with series squared

Andrew Miller24-Jul-2022South Africa 159 for 2 from 27.4 overs (de Kock 92*) vs England – match abandonedQuinton de Kock was left stranded on 92 not out from 76 balls after an effortlessly fluent innings, but his hopes of an 18th ODI hundred were dashed as two heavy bands of rain swept across Headingley to wash out the third ODI and leave the series squared at one match apiece.De Kock scored the first 69 of his runs from 55 balls in a 90-minute window prior to the first of two rain delays, then added a further 23 from 14 balls when play resumed briefly at 2.15pm. But 33 balls later, a heavier downpour swept in, shortly after his partner Aiden Markram had brought up exactly 1000 ODI runs in reaching 24 not out from 34 balls.De Kock, in particular, had been in the mood to make good on his skipper’s ambitions after taking first use of a dry run-laden deck. His chanceless knock contained 13 fours, almost exclusively the product of supreme timing and placement, not least an angled push through the covers off Reece Topley that perfectly bisected two fielders.His delicate ramp through deep third off Sam Curran was no less impressive, as he stood tall to the short ball, and deflected it without fuss beyond the reach of the keeper, and though the near two-hour break in play came at an inopportune moment for de Kock, he resumed without fuss with three more fours: a brace of well-timed reverse sweeps off Adil Rashid and a lashed drive through the covers off Liam Livingstone.De Kock’s batting partners didn’t find the going quite so good, as England’s seamers in particular continued the good work they have shown all summer to keep their team competitive even while their batters have been struggling for their usual fluency.David Willey prised the day’s first opening to see off Janneman Malan, who had been limited to two runs from his first 13 balls before changing his approach with two off-side fours in three balls from Topley. That flurry didn’t last, however, as Willey held a firm line across the right-hander from over the wicket, and Jason Roy accepted an open-faced drive at backward point.Rassie van der Dussen, a centurion at Durham in South Africa’s emphatic victory in the opening ODI, looked good once again for his 26 from 38 balls, with four fours including a dinky ramp over the keeper off Moeen Ali. But, after de Kock had cashed in on an unusually loose first over from Rashid, the legspinner tightened his line to the right-handed van der Dussen, and Jonny Bairstow at backward square leg clung onto a lofted sweep.Both teams had named unchanged XIs following England’s series-levelling win in another rain-affected contest at Old Trafford on Friday.

A 115-run stand made light work of a stiff target as Qalandars remain unbeaten

Danyal Rasool22-Feb-2021This might only have been a T20 game, but it felt like an epic by the time Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez chased Quetta Gladiators out of the contest. Ages ago, or so it seemed, Chris Gayle struck his highest PSL score, 68 off 40 balls – aided by several dropped catches along the way – to help Quetta post 178, the highest first innings score this tournament. It looked a match-winning total then, but a stunning onslaught from Hafeez and Zaman helped Lahore Qalandars make short work of the target, and they got there with more than an over to spare.Hafeez was particularly destructive, grabbing a game that had looked like drifting by the scruff, forcing an asking rate that had soared above 11 back below a run-a-ball within the space of three overs. It was like stick cricket by the end; the sixes and fours Hafeez was striking appeared to come as easily as buttons being pushed on a keyboard, with Quetta skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s apoplectic rage visible to the world’s cameras. The unbeaten 115-run second wicket partnership came off just 58 balls, with Hafeez responsible for scoring 73 off them in the 33 deliveries he faced.After being put in to bat, Quetta rejigged the batting line-up even if they didn’t make any changes. Banton and Saim Ayub fell early once more, with Lahore Qalandars permitting them just 38 runs in the Powerplay, but Gayle and Sarfaraz would accumulate a 101-run partnership that put Quetta back on track. Sarfaraz appeared to be timing the ball more sweetly than has been in evidence for quite some time, and while Gayle wasn’t at his fluent best, it didn’t stop him from bludgeoning five fours and as many sixes on his way to top-scoring for his side. Mohammad Nawaz put in a cameo at the end and Quetta had all the momentum then, but Hafeez and Fakhar had other ideas.Star of the day
There was some spice in the contest after a terse recent exchange between Hafeez and Sarfaraz on social media. When Hafeez was called upon to bowl with the Quetta captain at the crease, there was added jeopardy in the game. While Sarfaraz got him away for a couple of boundaries off his second over, the 40-year-old would more than get him back with the bat.Hafeez would later tell Gayle he didn’t have the muscles to bat like him, but what Hafeez does possess in his repertoire most could only lust after. With barely a shot looked like it was played in anger, he caressed – that word is used advisedly – his way to his fastest PSL half-century, off just 24 balls, capitalising on some wayward bowling and a fairly straightforward drop on the boundary by the young Saim Ayub. With the asking rate coming down so quickly it might have needed a parachute, he sped up even further, finishing with another 23 off just nine deliveries, the winning sot a disdainful drive over extra cover off the young Mohammad Hasnain.It goes on to illustrate why Hafeez keeps backing himself to be a part of Pakistan’s World T20 plans, and if he’s in this sort of touch, he’ll be pivotal to his franchise’s hopes of finally landing a PSL title.Miss of the day
In a game that was perhaps defined as much by errors as individual brilliance, there were several who vied for this role. Agha Salman was the early frontrunner, dropping Gayle twice at cow corner in what looked like decisive moments, while Tom Banton and Saim Ayub fell early once more and each put Fakhar and Hafeez down once. But Usman Shinwari’s third over, which leaked 19 at a time Lahore needed in excess of 11 an over to seal the win, marked the moment the game finally turned as Quetta capitulated in spectacular fashion.Sarfaraz, perhaps fuelled by the personal ambition to get one over Hafeez, would go on to rebuke Shinwari publicly after that over, and as the fours and sixes rained down, his mood would only grow fouler. The negativity around the fielding side appeared to have doomed them well before the winning runs were struck, and it already seems like Quetta might have an uphill task if they are to turn this campaign around.Honourable mention
Zaman was Man of the Match, by the way, and with 82 off 52, it’s an innings that deserves more than to be overshadowed by Hafeez’s brilliance. He would relieve the pressure superbly as Sohail Akhtar at the other end struggled to get going, ensuring the required rate wouldn’t get out of hand early on. And when Hafeez joined him, he wasn’t second fiddle by any means, continuing to showcase why, even as his international form remains patchy, he remains one of the most sought-after players in the PSL.