After years of will-they-won’t-they, months of administrative bickering and weeks of visa uncertainties, the moment has finally arrived. Pakistan will take to the field in a World Cup match in India, Hyderabad the somewhat unassuming venue, Netherlands the slightly inauspicious opponents. It’s a gentle start rather than an explosive one, but it’s a start nonetheless,

Australia 351 for 7 (Green 50*, Warner 48, Inglis 48, Mir 2-31) beat Pakistan 337 (Babar 90, Iftikhar 83, Labuschagne 3-78) by 14 runs Australia beat Pakistan by 14 runs in the sides’ final warm-up game before the World Cup, propelled by a team effort with bat and ball. In a game that Australia controlled

Pakistan 160 (Jamal 41, Shukla 4-49, Ghazanfar 3-26) beat Hong Kong 92 (Hayat 29, Khushdil 3-13) by 68 runs Pakistan stuttered to 73 for 6 before their lower order salvaged their innings to post a strong total of 160 and their spinners bowled out Hong Kong for 92 to book a semi-final berth in the

The PCB and the Pakistan men’s team players have reached a landmark agreement on central contracts, ending several months of deadlock and uncertainty. For the first time in Pakistan, three-year contracts have been put in place – rather than the standard 12 months – along with a significant increase in player earnings, as well as

Pakistan may have endured a tumultuous Asia Cup campaign where they finished last in the Super Four stage, but Babar Azam was keen to remind everyone they were the top-ranked ODI side in the world just days earlier. And while Pakistan missed out on a semi-final spot at the last ODI World Cup, Babar was

Bangladesh 65 for 5 (Shorna 14*, Sandhu 3-10) beat Pakistan 64 for 9 (Riaz 17, Shorna 3-16) by five wickets Shorna Akter first ran through Pakistan’s lower-middle order and then did the needful with the bat when Bangladesh’s lower-middle order could easily have unraveled similarly to take her team to the podium at the Asian

On the other hand, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start with Chamari Athapaththu using sweep shots to negate the spinners’ turn. After scoring two boundaries, she mistimed a slog sweep to hole out on 14 off 19 balls. Opener Anushka Sanjeewani also fell inside the powerplay for a 13-ball 15 but Harshitha Samarawickrama

Pakistan’s plans for a pre-World Cup team bonding trip to Dubai have been cancelled as the team was on Friday still awaiting visas to travel to India. The Pakistan squad were due to fly to the UAE early next week and stay for a couple of days before flying to Hyderabad, ahead of their first

Pakistan have also brought in an extra legspinner in Usama Mir, who made his ODI debut earlier this year against New Zealand but was not part of the Asia Cup squad. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim make up the remainder of Pakistan’s pace attack, while Mohammad Haris is among the reserves. Spin-bowling

Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah is likely to miss the entire World Cup after scans revealed an injury to his right shoulder that is worse than was initially suspected. The PCB is understood to be seeking a second opinion, but scans from tests in Dubai appear to show the injury could rule him out for

Criticising the decision to add a reserve day for the Asia Cup Super Four match between Pakistan and India – the only game in the tournament apart from the final to get the advantage – after the tournament had started, Arjuna Ranatunga has warned that favouring one team (read India) over others will put international

Babar Azam has raised the possibility that Naseem Shah may not recover in time to take part in Pakistan’s opening games at the World Cup in India. While the PCB has not made public any timeline for Naseem’s recovery from a right should injury, Babar appeared unsure as to whether Naseem would be fit for

Pakistan Women 186 for 2 (Ameen 68, Maroof 60*) beat South Africa Women 185 (de Klerk 60, Brits 32, Iqbal 2-26, Dar 2-31, Sandhu 2-37) by eight wickets Half-centuries from Sidra Ameen and Bismah Maroof led Pakistan to an eight-wicket win in the final ODI and prevented South Africa from sealing a 3-0 series sweep.

Big picture It is, once more, that time of the Asia Cup again. One match away from the match that never happens. For years, decades, even, the prospect of an India-Pakistan final has teased and tantalised, but remained just out of grasp, leaving the two giants of the subcontinent sportingly and commercially unsatiated. And for

Neither Rauf nor Naseem batted in Pakistan’s chase against India, which ended on 128 for a 228-run defeat, which affected Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the Asia Cup final. They must now beat Sri Lanka in their final Super Four game. In case the weather forces an abandonment, Sri Lanka will go through to the

If this is the kind of positive spin that can only come from a member of the coaching staff, that is because, it is. Pakistan head coach Grant Bradburn described the match as a “gift”, not only for giving Pakistan a sighter of the challenge India pose, but also because it brought his own team’s

Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah‘s participation in the rest of the Asia Cup is in doubt after they picked up injuries during the Super Four game against India in Colombo over Sunday and Monday. ESPNcricinfo understands that the fast bowlers are almost certain to miss Pakistan’s next game, against Sri Lanka on Thursday, and they

South Africa 169 for 4 (Brits 45, Goodall 36, Kapp 29*, de Klerk 24*, Iqbal 2-32) beat Pakistan 168 (Sana 69, Riaz 53, de Klerk 4-32, Klaas 3-14, Khaka 2-21) by six wickets They might have swept the T20I series, but Pakistan are finding the ODIs a tougher nut to crack, conceding the series at

A Dutch court has sentenced former Pakistan batter Khalid Latif to 12 years in prison after he was tried in absentia for urging people to murder Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders. The court ruled that statements by Latif should be regarded as incitement to murder, sedition and threat. Latif lives in Pakistan and has not

Haris Rauf hasn’t taken the field against India on Monday’s reserve day in the Asia Cup Super Four game in Colombo after feeling “a little discomfort in his right flank” on Sunday’s scheduled match day. Only 24.1 overs were bowled on Sunday before rain pushed the game into the spare day. The extent of Rauf’s

For much of this World Cup cycle, it is Pakistan’s top three with the bat who have generated the most encouraging headlines. But ahead of their second meeting against India in just over a week, the focus is now firmly on the three with the ball. “I feel very proud of the fast bowlers I

There is a reserve day for the Pakistan vs India match, though – the only Super Four game to have that luxury. However, the umpires will try to achieve a result on the match day itself. In case there is a delay or an interruption, the hours of play can be extended by 90 minutes.

South Africa 292 for 4 (Luus 107*, Kapp 100, Sandhu 2-50) beat Pakistan 165 (Riaz 49*, de Klerk 3-23, Mlaba 3-39) by 127 runs Centuries from Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp laid down the platform for a 127-run win that gave South Africa a 1-0 lead in the ODI series against Pakistan in Karachi on

Pakistan suffered an injury scare in the first Super Four match of the Asia Cup, with key fast bowler Naseem Shah going off the field with an injury to his right arm. He returned to the field shortly after, following treatment from the physio. The incident occurred in the seventh over of Bangladesh’s innings while

Big picture: Teams share complicated relationship Talk of rivalries has dominated the Asia Cup. India-Pakistan. Pakistan-Afghanistan. The Naagin derby. Heck, you could even throw in the Rohit derby. Here’s another sizzling rivalry to kick off the Super Four stage. Pakistan and Bangladesh have endured a long and complicated relationship on and off the field, and

A deadlock between the PCB and the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has thrown the planning for the last leg of the Asia Cup into disarray. Over the last 48 hours, the ACC took significant steps towards moving the last five Asia Cup matches to Hambantota – a move the PCB was on board with –

Pakistan 150 for 5 (Maroof 39, Sekhukhune 2-24) beat South Africa 144 for 5 (Wolvaardt 72, Sandhu 2-16, Iqbal 2-25) by six runs South Africa were still in the 151 chase till the 19th over with Laura Wolvaardt batting on 72 off 53 balls before Iqbal had her caught. The visitors, needing 18 off the

Pakistan will be going into their final Group A match of the Asia Cup, against India on Saturday in Pallekele, with the same side that beat Nepal in Multan on Wednesday. It is the second time Pakistan have opted to name their line-up a day early, a practice that is set to continue throughout the

Ravi Shastri believes India have the upper hand in Saturday’s Asia Cup game against Pakistan in Pallekele, but only just. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the fixture, Shastri said that Pakistan were a much improved side, and have “narrowed the gap” with India, but the strength of India’s line-up and an experienced captain

50 overs Pakistan 342 for 6 (Babar 151, Iftikhar 109*, Kami 2-85) vs Nepal Babar Azam put up a masterclass in ODI batting as he scored 151 off 131 balls to lift Pakistan up to 342 for 6 in the opening match of the 2023 Asia Cup. Batting was tricky in Multan and Nepal had