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Women’s World Cup: Looking at the positives despite losing to Australia, says Bismah

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Pakistan cricket team skipper Bismah Maroof has said that she is looking as the positives despite her side losing by a big margin to Australia in the second match of the ICC Women’s World Cup here.

An unbeaten 72 from Australian Alyssa Healy and incisive bowling from Alana King saw the six-time tournament champions defeat Pakistan by seven wickets with 92 balls remaining, despite Bismah scoring an unbeaten 78 off 122 balls.

The loss notwithstanding, Bismah made her country’s second-highest score at the World Cup and celebrated her first half-century since returning from maternity leave in front of her six-month-old baby Fatima on International Women’s Day on Tuesday.

“I think when batting we gave away too many wickets early on. But the partnership with Aliya (Riaz), we wanted to take it deep and I think we got a decent total after the start we had. I think the way myself and Aliya batted that was positive. We talked in the meeting about someone in the top order needs to go and bat deep and that was a positive sign from us,” said Bismah about the partnership.

Aliya too scored a patient 53, though she consumed 109 balls for her half century.

“After the comeback (from maternity leave), it was very important for me to perform and it was very special for me as my mother and daughter were here, so I wanted to make it count,” added Bismah.

On International Women’s Day, Bismah showed it is possible to lead the side and flourish on the cricket field after having a baby. In between her hectic cricket schedule, she is sometimes just a mum to her six-month-old daughter Fatima who has joined Bismah in New Zealand for the World Cup and is stealing the show in the process.

Fatima was on hand to congratulate her mum as Bismah made 78 not out in Pakistan’s loss to Australia.

For Bismah, it marked her first half-century since having her daughter and broke plenty of records in its own right.

It was the second-highest individual score for Pakistan at a World Cup and contributed to a 99-run stand for the fifth wicket alongside Aliya Riaz.

That was also Pakistan’s fifth 50-run stand against Australia and it speaks about Bismah’s commitment to the team.

On Tuesday, the World Cup here got to witness one of the best moments so far. Having raised her bat to acknowledge the applause of the crowd and her teammates on reaching her half-century, Bismah took off her helmet, turned to the pavilion and cradled her arms as if rocking a baby. Then, the camera cut to the balcony as Fatima was held by her grandmother who waved one of the baby’s tiny hands back.

It reflects a feeling lots of parents go through, that nothing else matters but your child and while Bismah has made a return to the day job, her success is all for her daughter, reports ICC.

It was another poignant cricket moment on International Women’s Day after the ICC Women’s World T20 Final took place on March 8, 2020 with the MCG filled to the brim with women’s cricket fans.

International

‘I’m happy here’: Cristiano Ronaldo pledges to continue at Al Nassr in Saudi Pro League

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Portugese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has vowed to continue at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia despite walking away empty handed in this season. The 38-year-old has earmarked the tournament to be among the top five in the world.

Ronaldo, who signed a two and a half year contract with Al Nassr, scored 14 goals in 16 games in the season, with his side standing second behind Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro league. However, there were speculations about how long will he stay as reports of swap deal with Saudi-owned Newcastle United emerged, who have now qualified for next season’s Champions league.

In an official Saudi Pro League interview, the star footballer revealed:

“I’m happy here, I want to continue here, I will continue here. And in my opinion, if they continue to do the work that they want to do here, for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be a top five league in the world. I expected to win something this year, but we didn’t, but next year I’m really positive, but next year I’m really positive and confident that things will change and we go in a better way.”

Cristiano Ronaldo suggests he is still adjusting to strange training timings in Saudi Arabia:

Ronaldo also revealed how contrasting the training timings in Europe and Saudi Arabia are, elaborating:

“In Europe, we train more in the morning, but here we train in the afternoon or evening and in Ramadan, we train at 10 at night. So this is strange but as I tell you, these situations are part of an experience, memories. I like to live these moments because you learn with these things.”

With 837 goals in 512 games, Ronaldo is the combined highest goal scorer in history.

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Lionel Messi to leave PSG at the end of the season, confirms club manager Christophe Galtier

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Paris Saint Germain superstar Lionel Messi will leave the club at the end of the current season, manager Christophe Galtier confirmed on Thursday. Messi made 74 appearances for PSG in which he scored 32 goals and made 35 assists. In Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain has played 37 matches out of which they have won 27, lost six and drew four.

PSG had acquired Messi’s services two years ago in a record transfer deal after he left FC Barcelona in 2021.

Messi, who’s contract with PSG ends this season, is now being linked with with a move to Saudi Arabia while talk of a return to the Nou Camp has picked up in Spain in recent weeks.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner will play his final match for PSG against Clermont Foot on Saturday.

“I had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football,” Galtier said on Thursday. “This will be his last match at the Parc des Princes, and I hope that he will receive the warmest of welcomes.”

Messi’s envious record

In the Spanish La Liga football competition, Lionel Messi has scored 474 goals in 520 matches. In the French Ligue 1, Messi has scored 22 goals in 57 matches.

The 35-year-old while playing for Football Club Barcelona has scored 672 goals in 778 games. While playing for Paris Saint-Germain he has scored 32 goals in 74 matches.

No plan to bring Messi back: Barca president

FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta recently said that the club has re-established good relationships with Argentine legend Lionel Messi, but it would not pay any price to bring him back to the Camp Nou Stadium.

“I have spoken with Leo to somehow redirect the situation that occurred when I had to put the institution ahead of everything, including him, the best player in the world,” said Laporta in a Monday morning TV show.

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Mark Zuckerberg strikes gold against jiu jitsu fighters, posts pictures on Instagram

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In the past, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has appeared helpless in front of the US Congress where he has been slapped by fines, and fired 11,000 vulnerable employees after being hit by falling revenues. But outside the business arena where Meta is facing tough competition from TikTok and other rivals, Zuckerberg is a huge mixed martial arts fan.

Contrary to setbacks in the tech sector, the Facebook founder has tasted victory in jiu jitsu.

Striking gold, but in a different arena

  • The billionaire who has trained with UFC fighters, posted pictures after winning jiu jitsu matches for the first time.
  • The billionaire who tried his hand at martial arts, revealed that he won a gold medal in the Gi categroy and a silver medal in the No-GI category.
  • His post on Instagram received comments from UFC featherweight and bantamweight category champions, as well as jiu jitsu hall of fame member Bernardo Faria.

Competitive or short tempered?

  • The entrepreneur turned sportsperson, who also enjoys surfing, was seen getting into a heated argument after losing a contest during the tournament in California as well.
  • On the work front, Zuckerberg’s firm Meta also surprised the markets by bouncing back with strong earnings, after struggling with loss of ad revenue.
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