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SA v IND, 1st Test: India need six wickets on day five to breach Fortress Centurion

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 India had another terrific day in the first Test against South Africa as the tourists’ now need six wickets to breach Fortress Centurion on day five. After setting a target of 305 for the hosts’, India took out four wickets, including two from a brilliant Jasprit Bumrah in the last 20 minutes of day four to leave South Africa at 94/4 in 40.5 overs.

Chasing 305, Mohammed Shami made the early breakthrough as he set-up Markram with two away-swinging deliveries and finally completed the set-up by having the right-hander withdraw his bat late, thereby chopping on to the stumps. Keegan Petersen and captain Dean Elgar survived against the new-ball pair of Shami and Bumrah till Mohammed Siraj claimed Petersen with an outswinger, taking the outer edge to keeper Rishabh Pant’s right.

Siraj and Bumrah got a few lifters but Elgar put up a defiant show of resistance against everything coming at him. He, along with Rassie van der Dussen, were stodgy and resolute in their partnership of 40 runs off 137 balls for the third wicket.

It took a peach of a nip-backer from Bumrah to hit the top of off-stump as van der Dussen shouldered his arms, breaking a stubborn stand. Elgar marched on to bring his half-century with a clip through square leg off Siraj. Bumrah put India on top at the end of day four with a perfect yorker to rattle nightwatchman Keshav Maharaj’s stumps.

Earlier, Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen took four wickets each to bowl out India for 174 in the second innings. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s quick knock of 34 was the top score in India’s second innings while Rabada and Jansen took figures of 4/42 and 4/55 respectively.

Resuming from 16/1, nightwatchman Shardul Thakur had a nervy time. He left balls outside the off-stump and even survived an lbw chance off Jansen. Thakur flayed a powerful upper-cut over backward point off Jansen. But Rabada got one to kick off from a length to take the outer edge of Thakur’s bat to Mulder at third slip.

Pujara avoided a pair with a drive through mid-on off Ngidi. But on the fourth ball from the pacer, Pujara chipped to mid-wicket, where Rabada dropped a simple catch. Rahul, who picked easy leg-side boundaries while being cautious, chased a wide ball from Ngidi and edged to Elgar at first slip.

Pujara pounced on width from Mulder with a cracking cut through off-side. Kohli, on the other hand, wristed flicks and glances off Ngidi and Mulder before hitting Rabada twice for boundaries through point till lunch arrived.

Post lunch, Kohli fell on the first ball, playing a loose drive to a wide outside the off-stump delivery from Jansen and edged behind to keeper Quinton de Kock. This was the second time in the match that Kohli had driven and nicked behind. The Indian captain could only smash his pad with the bat while going back to the pavilion, with 2021 being the second successive year Kohli didn’t score a century.

Pujara could add a boundary to his score from lunch before being strangled down leg by Ngidi. Ajinkya Rahane slammed Jansen for three boundaries: a square drive through point, followed by a hooked six over backward square leg and a crisply-timed cover drive to accelerate India’s lead. But in an attempt to repeat the hook in Jansen’s next over, Rahane fell with the top-edge flying to van der Dussen at deep square leg.

Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin hit a flurry of boundaries while sharing a stand of 35 runs for the seventh wicket. But Rabada bounced out Ashwin as the ball took the glove edge to Petersen at gully. Pant continued to attack the pacers, whipping Mulder for successive boundaries before pulling Rabada through mid-wicket. But on the next ball, Rabada had the last laugh as a confused Pant toe-ended the pull to mid-on.

Rabada then picked his fourth wicket as Shami was caught by Mulder at third slip. Bumrah dabbed through gully to take the lead past 300 before Jansen bowled Siraj to end India’s second innings at 174. Though India lost seven wickets in 18 overs but added 95 runs to set a daunting target for South Africa and be on track to notch up a maiden Test win at a venue which is a fortress for the hosts’.

Brief scores: India 327 in 105.3 overs and 174 in 50.3 overs (Rishabh Pant 34, KL Rahul 23; Kagiso Rabada 4/42, Marco Jansen 4/55) against South Africa 197 in 62.3 overs and 94/4 in 40.5 overs (Dean Elgar 52 not out, Jasprit Bumrah 2/22), South Africa need 211 runs to win.

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Champions Trophy: Pakistan’s dismal show likely to be discussed in cabinet and parliament

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Islamabad, Feb 27: The Pakistan cricket team’s depressing, dismal, and cheerless performance in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, resulting in its early exit from the tournament, has not only broken the hearts of home fans but also knocked on the doors of the country’s Prime Minister.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has personally taken notice of the team’s early departure and the below-par performance and is likely to take up the issues related to the cricket team in the cabinet and the parliament. Pakistan’s final Group A fixture against Bangladesh was washed out in Rawalpindi due to rain on Thursday, which meant that they ended their campaign without a win. With only one point, thanks to a washout, Pakistan will finish at the bottom of the group.

Prime Minister’s aide on Political and Public Affairs, Rana Sanaullah, has said that PM Shehbaz will also take up the matter at the parliament. “The Prime Minister will personally take notice, and we will also ask him to raise these cricket-related issues in the cabinet as well as in the parliament,” said Rana Sanaullah.

It is pertinent to note that Pakistan is hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Special arrangements have been made to glorify the event, with Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi cricket stadiums renovated to increase audience capacity and further enhance the facilities. However, the team’s fans were left dejected after Pakistan lost both its matches and was knocked out of the tournament when their final league match with Bangladesh was rained off.

While anger persists among cricket fans, questions are being raised over the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), its chief Mohsin Naqvi, and the selection committee, which selected the squad. Aqib Javed, head coach of Pakistan, has tried to justify the team selection, stating that all players were selected on the basis of their recent performances.

On the other hand, internal issues within the PCB are also being linked with the team’s bad performance as many believe that the cricket board’s decision-making regarding playing eleven, the team, and the players has prompted foreign coaches like Jason Gillespie to part ways.

Rana Sanaullah said that he will also call on PM Sharif to address the ongoing issues within the PCB, emphasising that the cricket sport as a whole is in bad shape. “The sport at college and district levels is in a bad position, and the amount that has been spent on a professional level should be revealed before the public”, said Rana Sanaullah.

Rana Sanaullah also raised concerns over amounts being paid to mentors, who he highlighted admitted that they were unaware of their responsibilities and were being remunerated for doing nothing. “You will be surprised after hearing about the perks and privileges of other officer-bearers. You will be confused whether they are officials of a Pakistani institution or those belonging to a developed nation”, he said.

It would not be wrong to say that Pakistan’s performance on home grounds has certainly left fans heartbroken. In major ICC events, Pakistan’s performance in the past years has also not been mentionable.

In 2023, Pakistan only won four out of nine matches during the ODI World Cup in India and ended in fifth position on the points table. Pakistan also made an early exit from last year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA after losing to India and the USA in the preliminary stage.

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Champions Trophy 2025: Pakistan’s Cricket Stadiums Far From Ready, Tournament Could Be Moved To Dubai, Claims Report

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Problems seem to be mounting for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as they face a race against time to handover a proper stadium to the International Cricket Council (ICC) before the Champions Trophy gets underway. According to The Times Of India report, the construction and upgradation work is still underway at the National Stadium in Karachi, Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium

A source following the developments said,”It is a very disappointing picture. All three stadiums are far from ready and it’s not renovation or refurbishment, but proper construction which is underway. There is so much work left with seats, floodlights, facilities and even the outfield and playing surfaces,”

The report further states there is not much time left for the venues to be handed over and it’s not a surprise that there are discussions about moving the entire tournament to the UAE. 

The PCB has to hand over the tournament venues to ICC by February 12, however, the stadium work which was scheduled to be finished by December 31, is yet to be completed.

A team of from the ICC will leave for Pakistan towards the end of the week to do a status check and informal contingency discussions are underway in Dubai corridors.

What is the Current stadium of Champions Trophy venues?

Lahore and Karachi are the two centres where heavy construction work is underway and their multi-storied enclosures, which will have dressing rooms and hospitality boxes, are yet to enter the finishing stages. In addition to the new enclosures, there is fencing work, placement of floodlights and seats which is far from the finish line.

The source added, “The weather is not ideal for construction and finishing work to happen at a rapid pace. At Gadaffi, even the plaster work isn’t completed yet. And most of the time is taken by finishing work because we are talking about dressing rooms etc. They just can’t be random rooms/enclosures for an ICC event. ICC has a checklist which needs to be met. National Stadium has decided to not completely finish the new enclosure because there is no time,”

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AFC Asian Cup 2027 to take place in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar from Jan 7 to Feb 5

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Kuala Lumpur, Jan 7: The AFC Asian Cup 2027 will take place from January 7 to February 5 across three cities – Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar – in Saudi Arabia, the AFC announced on Tuesday.

A total of five stadiums in Riyadh will host the tournament’s matches; the King Fahd Sports City Stadium, the King Saud University Stadium, Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University Stadium, Kingdom Arena and the Al Shabab Stadium.

Two stadiums have been confirmed for Jeddah – King Abdullah Sports City and Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium – with a new state-of-the-art venue to be built in Al Khobar, completing the world-class infrastructure set to provide the backdrop for Asia’s top 24 national teams.

Saudi Arabia was announced as the host nation for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in 2023. This will be the first time Suadi Arabia will host the tournament.

“Confirming the dates and selecting the stadiums for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ is a strategic milestone in our journey to host the tournament. This announcement goes beyond simply identifying locations and schedules; it reflects the ongoing high-level collaboration between us and the AFC as we work towards delivering an exceptional tournament that fulfills the aspirations of the entire Asian continent,” Saudi Arabian Football Federation chief Yasser Al Misehal.

Eighteen teams have already sealed their places at the AFC Asian Cup 2027. The remaining berths will be decided via the Qualifiers Final Round, which is scheduled to commence from March 2025 and features six groups of four teams – confirmed at last month’s draw – with the winners of each group making up the final cast.

India, aiming for its fifth appearance at the AFC Asian Cup, has been placed in Group C alongside Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangladesh. The team will look to replicate or surpass its 2019 performance, where it showcased significant progress on the continental stage.

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