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  • Super Sunday: Here is why October 24 will be a treat for sports fans

    Super Sunday: Here is why October 24 will be a treat for sports fans

    October 24, 2021, will be marked with a star by all sports fans. On this day, all sports fans, especially cricket and football fans, will be glued to their seats as they witness the sports’ biggest rivalries in just one day. There will be five biggest rivalries on the pitch that day.

    Pakistan vs India T20 World Cup Face-off

    So we will witness the biggest cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan on October 24, 2021. The cricket rivalry between Pakistan-India is one of the most intense in the world. The strained relationship, resulting from the bitter diplomatic relationship between the two countries resulting from the partition of the Subcontinent laid the groundwork for an intense sporting rivalry between the two nations, who share a cricket heritage.

    India and Pakistan are set to start their campaign in the T20 World Cup on October 24. International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced that Group 2 will start the World Cup campaign with an intense showdown between India and Pakistan. Indian and Pakistani cricket fans are eagerly awaiting this clash.This match ignites a flame of rivalry between the two groups of players and fans.

    FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid

    The world’s greatest football rivalry between Spanish football titans FC Barcelona and Real Madrid can be seen on the same day. Few rivalries in sports can compare with the spectacle, the passion and the sheer football brilliance of Barcelona and Real Madrid.  The El Classico represents a clash of cultures between the Castilian Spanish and the Catalan. But for a true football fan, a match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid quite simply represents a great football match between two great clubs.

    Barcelona and Real Madrid enter the 2021-22 season with a point to prove after both the sides were to beaten to La Liga glory by Athletico Madrid last season. Athletico were crowned champions while Real Madrid finished second and Barcelona third. Many big names have exited from both the clubs like Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Lionel Messi, so many will look forward to the match as to see again who emerges victorious in the first El Classico of 2021-22 campaign.

    Manchester United vs Liverpool FC

    Another high profile inter-city rivalry and one of the biggest in the premier league is the match between Manchester United and Liverpool. This match will also be taking place on this Super Sunday. The North-West derby never fails to surprise the imagination of football fans all over the world. This intense rivalry between these two clubs does not stop in football but extends to their economic and cultural enmity.

    The raw passion involved in a football match between Manchester United and Liverpool is a symbol of inter-city contention for over two years. Like every year, this year also the match between Manchester United and Liverpool will spark a spirit of excitement and rivalry among the fans. Both the teams look strong and will be aiming this season to win the Premier League title after their defeat last Season to Manchester City.

    Juventus vs Inter Milan

    The Derby d’Italia is the match between Inter Milan and Juventus, two of the greatest clubs in Italian football. This match will also be played on October 24. This matchup between Inter Milan and Juventus is considered to be one of the greatest and the most intense in Italian football. The rivalry between Juventus and Inter became more bitter after the scandal of Calciopoli.

    Juventus lost the Serie A title last season after 9 years. Inter Milan dominated the Serie A and won the title breaking Juventus’s 9 consecutive title win streak. Both the teams will fight neck to neck in the Serie A. Juventus will be looking forward to winning the title again after their last season defeat while Inter Milan will be focusing on continuing their winning streak. This match between the Italian giants will be one of a kind to watch.

    Olympique de Marseille vs Paris Saint Germain

    One of the greatest rivalries in the world and the greatest in France is the Le Classique, the match between the two French Supergiants Marseille and Paris Saint Germain. Le Classique will also be played on this day. The animosity between Marseille and PSG extends far outside of Football. These two have been dominating French football from the very beginning and have also won a combine of 40 domestic trophies.

    The rivalry between Marseille and PSG is neither the oldest nor the most traditional in Ligue 1, but it is without doubt the most fiercely contested on and off the pitch dividing loyalties across the country. With the recent signings of PSG (Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi, Georgino Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnaruma), many football fans are looking forward to witness the greatest rivalry in France. PSG will definitely give a tough fight to Marseille and will definitely look to reclaim its title back in the French league this season.

  • ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has disclosed that 50 per cent of the board’s budget is based around the funds it gets from the International Cricket Council (ICC) whose “revenues are generated mainly from India”.

    Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial affairs on Thursday in Islamabad, Ramiz said it was time for PCB to reduce its dependence on funding from the ICC and start tapping the local market.

    “ICC is a politicised body divided between the Asian and Western blocs and 90 per cent of its revenues are generated from India,” the PCB Chairman said.

    Ramiz said the ICC had become more of an event management company and PCB would have to make its voice heard if it does not want a repeat of the cancellation of confirmed series by New Zealand and England.

    What New Zealand did was unacceptable because till now they have not shared any information with us on what led them to abandon the series in Pakistan. But they are now trying to reschedule the series, he said.

    Ramiz hinted of some good news regarding the postponed New Zealand series in a week’s time.

    He indicated that the New Zealand cricket board was working on a new schedule to tour Pakistan.

    Read More – Ramiz Raja ‘erroneously’ tweets about ECB chairman’s resignation, deletes later

    Senator Raza Rabbani suggested that Pakistan should now not play against New Zealand and refuse any series but Ramiz pointed out that this would not be possible as Pakistan was part of the international cricket community.

    The good thing is that they are working on something, which means they want to amend things with us, he said.

    The New Zealand cricket team had arrived in Pakistan on September 11 for the first time in 18 years to play three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals but left on September 19 without playing any match after their government and security agencies advised them to return home citing “security concerns”.

    Ramiz, in a candid briefing to the senators, also made it clear that he would unveil his plans for Pakistan cricket and the board in a week or 10-days’ time while in four weeks’ time he would have his team ready.

    Read More – New Zealand cricket chief open to rescheduling of abandoned Pakistan series

    “To me, it is simple if the national team cannot do well and win matches, it means that everyone in the board from the tea man to the top official have failed in their duties,” he said.

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 schedule announced

    Oman will take on Papua New Guinea in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground on October 17 while the Super 12 stage commences with a fixture between Australia and South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

    Read More – Pakistan, India placed in same group in T20 World Cup

    The complete schedule was announced on Tuesday by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which confirms the highly anticipated match between former champions India and Pakistan. It will take place on October 24 at the Dubai International Stadium while Ashes rivals England and Australia play at the same venue six days later.

    The final will be played in Dubai on November 14, with November 15 marked as a reserve day.

    This will be the first time in over two years India and Pakistan will play each other, the last meeting being at the 50-over World Cup in England in 2019.

    Earlier, T20 World Cup moved away from India due to Covid. The ICC has moved the Twenty20 World Cup from India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman because of the pandemic. India will remain the host of the event scheduled from October 17 to November 14, the ICC said in a statement.

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, Oman

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, Oman

    ICC has officially announced that Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

    The cricket governing body announced the news on their social media accounts.

    Earlier, it was reported that the T20 WC 2021 is set to begin from October 17 in the UAE, with the final for the 16-team tournament scheduled for November 14. The tournament will start days after the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, which is likely to be held on October 15.

    As per details, the venue for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has been shifted to the UAE and Oman, with the tournament set to run from October 17 to November 14.

    The tournament was originally set to be staged in India, but had to be shifted given the deadly second wave of Covid-19 there.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will remain the hosts of the event, which will now be held across four venues – Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.

    The first round of the tournament, comprising eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and the UAE. Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they will join the eight automatic qualifiers.

    “The BCCI is looking forward to hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 tournament in UAE and Oman,” said Saurav Ganguli in the official statement.

    The upcoming edition will be the first Men’s T20 World Cup played since 2016, when the West Indies beat England in the final in India.

    The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea, before the play-off stage and the Final on November 14.

  • ICC trolled for showing Waqar Younis as Indian player

    ICC trolled for showing Waqar Younis as Indian player

    Netizens are trolling International Cricket Council (ICC) for a major blunder, showing Waqar Younis as Indian player in Hall of Fame graphics which celebrates the career of the former Pakistani pacer.

    The graphic arrives within five seconds of the video that shows a picture of Waqar in his follow through alongside a brief summary of his international career.

    Even though ICC changed the same after being called out, however, the fans were quick to react and criticise the Council’s media and social media team for the error.

    https://twitter.com/daniel86cricket/status/1396729364285378561?s=24
    https://twitter.com/kiran_aman567/status/1396737862851256322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1396737862851256322%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2Fcricketnext%2Fnews%2Ficc-trolled-for-major-blunder-hall-of-fame-graphic-shows-waqar-younis-as-india-player-3770612.html
    https://twitter.com/kiran_aman567/status/1396737862851256322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1396737862851256322%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.news18.com%2Fcricketnext%2Fnews%2Ficc-trolled-for-major-blunder-hall-of-fame-graphic-shows-waqar-younis-as-india-player-3770612.html
    https://twitter.com/kiran_aman567/status/1396744160821055489?s=19

    Former Pakistan captain Waqar was inducted into ICC Hall of Fame in 2013. Born in Vehari, he led Pakistan cricket team in 17 Tests and 62 ODIs.

    “It is a huge honour and privilege to be in the same category as icons like Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan and Javed Miandad. I grew up hearing about their exploits and then ended up playing with the latter two, as well as with Wasim Akram,” Waqar had said after the announcement.

    “To be in the august company of some of the greatest players the game has ever seen is personally quite exciting for me. A big, heartfelt thanks from me to all the living members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and those from the voting academy, who thought me worthy of this.”

    Meanwhile, Waqar also thanked the ICC on Twitter for honouring him.

  • Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman among ICC ‘Player of the Month’ nominees

    Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman among ICC ‘Player of the Month’ nominees

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced nominees for April’s ICC Player of the Month Awards. Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are among the nominated players.

    ICC introduced the award to recognise the best performances from both male and female cricketers across all formats of international cricket.

    In the month of April, Pakistan captain Babar Azam became the number one ranked batsman in the ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings, ending Indian Cricket Team’s captain Virat Kohli’s long reign at the top of the charts.

    Babar’s match-winning 82-ball 94 in the third ODI against South Africa helped him gain 13 rating points to reach a career-best 865 points. He also contributed 122 from 59 balls in Pakistan’s successful chase in the third match of a T20I series against the same opposition.

    His compatriot Fakhar Zaman also produced a stellar showing during the month, scoring two centuries in the ODI series victory over South Africa, including a magnificent 193 in the second match in Johannesburg. 

    Completing the men’s shortlist, Nepal’s Khushal Bhurtel was the leading run-scorer as his team won a tri-series also featuring the Netherlands and Malaysia. His significant contribution with the bat totalled 278 runs, including four half-centuries in five matches.

    Meanwhile, Australia’s Alyssa Healy, her team-mate Megan Schutt and New Zealand’s Leigh Kasperek made it to the Women’s Player of the Month nominees.

    Winners will be announced every second Monday of the month on the ICC’s digital channels. 

    Fans can vote for their favourite players, both male and female on given links by ICC or directly by going to ICC’s website.

  • Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman

    Babar Azam dethrones Virat Kohli to become number one ODI batsman

    Babar Azam has dethroned the Captain of the Indian Cricket Team Virat Kohli to become the number one batsman in One-Day Internationals, becoming the fourth batsman from Pakistan to attain the number one position in the latest ICC rankings list update, released on Wednesday.

    The 26-year-old player of the match scored 94 off 82 balls in the last match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League series against South Africa in Centurion which helped him gain 13 rating points to reach 865 points and he now leads the Indian captain by eight points.

    Babar, a star of the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cups in 2010 and 2012 has been playing ODIs since 2015 and had started the series against South Africa at 837 rating points but moved up to 858 (ahead of Kohli) after his score of 103 in the first match. He dropped to 852 by the time of the last weekly rankings update with a score of 32 in the second ODI.

    By ending Kohli’s 1,258 day-supremacy, Babar has emulated compatriots Zaheer Abbas (1983-84), Javed Miandad (1988-89), and Mohammad Yousuf (2003) as the number one ODI batsman. In Tests, Babar has attained a best of the fifth position and is currently ranked sixth while in T20Is he is third but has been number one in the past.

    Meanwhile, Fakhar Zaman is another Pakistan batsman to move up the ODI batting charts, gaining five slots to reach a career-best seventh position after his knock of 101. Shaheen Afridi (up four places to a career-best 11th place) and left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (up 29 places to 96th) have progressed thanks to their three-wicket hauls in the match.

    Babar had earlier overtaken Rohit Sharma to get to the second spot.

    Reacting to the news, Azam, in a statement, said: “I feel privileged and honoured to have joined the company of stalwarts like Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Mohammad Yousuf, who will always be the shining stars of Pakistan cricket.”

    “This is another milestone in my career, which will now require even more hard work and absolute consistency with the bat in order for me to hold on to the ranking for an extended period of time, like Sir Vivian Richards from January 1984 to October 1988 and Virat Kohli for 1,258 days,” he continued.

    The captain further said: “I have also previously topped the T20I rankings, but the ultimate ambition and goal is to lead the Test rankings, which are the real testament and reward to a batsman’s calibre, reputation and skills. I understand to achieve this objective, I will not only have to perform consistently but more importantly, against the top sides.”

    “I am looking forward to this challenge and remain confident I will be able to accomplish this target with the support of my teammates and coaching staff. But at this stage, I will savour the moment as it has come almost 18 months after I was first appointed the white-ball captain and that too at the back of my performances which helped Pakistan become the first Asian side to win two ODI series in South Africa,” added Azam.

  • Babar Azam grabs second spot in latest ODI batting rankings

    Babar Azam grabs second spot in latest ODI batting rankings

    Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has dethroned Rohit Sharma to grab the second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. With 837 rating points, Babar has gone past Rohit’s tally of 836 points after the latter failed to play big innings in the first ODI against England.

    Captain of the Indian cricket team Virat Kohli is still at the top with 868 rating points to his name. England’s opener Jonny Bairstow played an innings of 94 in the 1st ODI to clinch his career-best 7th position in the ODI rankings.

    The English captain Eoin Morgan has moved to 24th place whereas all-rounder Ben Stokes has moved up from 75th to 64th in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers.

    Stokes also went past his fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes to clinch the third spot in the ODI rankings for all-rounders. After a match-winning knock of 98, India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has moved two places to 15th and pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gained five places to get into the list of top 20.

    The rankings are updated after taking into account the performances in the 1st England-India ODI and the first two matches of the New Zealand-Bangladesh series.

    On the other hand, Azam is on the same spot of three in T20I rankings with 801 rating points followed by Kohli who moved up one spot with 762 rating points.

    On the contrary, thePakistani skipper is at sixth place in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

  • India qualify for ICC World Test Championship Final, will face NZ at Lord’s

    India has qualified for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship final after beating England with an innings and 25 runs in the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

    India outclassed England with both the bat and ball inside 3 days to set up the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June.

    Resuming on their overnight score of 294 for 7, the hosts added another 71 runs on Day 3 thanks to Washington Sundar and Axar Patel’s 8th-wicket partnership to post 365 in their first innings.

    Having conceded a 160-run lead on day 3 of the contest, England needed a vastly improved batting performance in the second innings but another disappointing show saw them getting bundled out for 135 in the final session.

    Left-arm spinner Axar Patel picked up yet another five-wicket haul while Ravichandran Ashwin also grabbed 5 for Team India.

    India needed just a draw to reach the WTC final but a victory means they qualified for the summit clash in the top spot with 490 points. India registered 12 wins from 17 Tests, lost 4 and drew just 1 Test in the competition.

    No other team came close to matching India’s record. England had 11 wins from 21 Tests but still ended up in fourth place.

    Read more – Kevin Pietersen mocks Team India after Chennai loss against England

    New Zealand had already qualified for the WTC final with 420 points from 11 Tests with 7 wins and 4 losses.

    https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1368149627464118274?s=20

    The World Test Championship final will be played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London from June 18.

  • South Africa’s Faf du Plessis announces retirement from Test cricket

    South Africa’s Faf du Plessis announces retirement from Test cricket

    South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis on Wednesday announced that he is retiring from Test cricket. 

    The former South Africa captain wrote in a post on Instagram, where he also shared a statement on his decision. “My heart is clear and the time is right to walk into a new chapter.”

    With two T20 World Cups in the next two years, Du Plessis said he is shifting his focus to the shortest format of the game. “It has been an honour to play for my country in all the formats of the game, but the time has come for me to retire from Test cricket,” he wrote.

    “The next two years are ICC T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be.”

    He represented South Africa in 69 Tests and scored 4,163 runs at an average of 40.02. He scored 10 centuries and registered his highest score of 199 in 2020. He had a memorable Test debut against Australia in Adelaide in 2012, when he scored 78 in the first inning and followed it up with a maiden Test century in the second.

    His final Test came in Rawalpindi against Pakistan earlier this month.

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) also thanked the veteran cricketer on Twitter for “the memories”.

    Meanwhile, The Pakistan Super League (PSL) announced the replacement picks for the teams that will lose some players due to international commitments.

    The teams made replacement picks for the players who have either become fully or partially unavailable due to international cricket commitments. Du Plessis, who was earlier part of the Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2020 play-offs, returns to the league as a partial replacement player in the Quetta Gladiators outfit in place of the West Indian Chris Gayle.