Sports Bulletin

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI: Abrar Ahmed produced his best performance of the season on Thursday, taking six wickets for 61 runs, to put Sindh eight runs ahead of Southern Punjab before they finished with the second innings lead of 80 with eight wickets in hand at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. The second day of the seventh round belonged to the 24-year-old mystery spinner as Abrar recorded his fifth five-wicket haul in as many matches of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He further consolidated his position as the leading wicket-taker and now has 38 scalps at 17.66. The next best, Central Punjab’s Mohammad Ali, has 24. Southern Punjab, replying to Sindh’s 210, were bowled out for 202 in 59.5 overs as Abrar, once again, proved too hot to handle. Mohammad Umar and Ghulam Mudassar equally shared the remaining four wickets. The best score in Southern Punjab’s innings came from Sharoon Siraj who made 35 off 76. Sindh were 72 for two in 28 overs when stumps were drawn with Khurram Manzoor batting at 26 and nightwatchman Mohammad Umar on 0. Omair Bin Yousuf (18) and Saud Shakeel (21) were dismissed by Mohammad Ilyas and Salman Ali Agha. At Abbottabad, Balochistan’s Bilawal Iqbal took three more wickets against Northern to record first-class career’s 11th five-wicket haul. The 33-year-old right-arm medium fast took five wickets for 49 as Northern could manage 259 in 85.2 overs. Balochistan’s batters put up solid performances that took their side to 218 for three in 52 overs by the end of the day’s play. Haris Sohail stroked a half-century, making 66 not out off 101, and had the company of his captain, Asad Shafiq, who batted at 47 not out off 103, at the other end. Imran Butt made 44 off 53 and Abdul Wahid Bangalzai scored 38-ball 41. Northern all-rounder Aamir Jamal, who announced himself at the world stage by defending 15 in the final over of the sixth T20I against England on his international debut, took two wickets for 67. Brilliant half-centuries by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Khalid Usman and Niaz Khan in the lower-order lifted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to 436 after they resumed the day on 267 for five. Khalid made 53 off 148 (five fours and a six) and Niaz scored 65 off 80 (11 fours). Mohammad Imran, with his 40 off 60 (three fours and four sixes) contributed crucial runs at number 11. Central Punjab’s opener had accumulated 99 runs in 30 overs with Abdullah Shafique scoring 54 not out off 82 (eight fours and a six). He was joined by Abid Ali, the only batter in men’s cricket to score a century on Test and ODI debuts, on 38 off 98. Toss uncontested – Southern Punjab opt to bowl against Sindh at Pindi Cricket Stadium Sindh 210 all out, 69.1 overs (Sarfaraz Ahmed 56, Muhammad Umar 39, Fawad Alam 27, Abrar Ahmed 26, Saud Shakeel 23; Mohammad Abbas 5-50) and 72-2, 28 overs (Khurram Manzoor 26 not out, Saud Shakeel 21) Southern Punjab 202 all out, 59.5 overs (Sharoon Siraj 35, Salman Ali Agha 231, Mohammad Ilyas 25, Azam Khan 24, Hasan Ali 21; Abrar Ahmed 6-61. Muhammad Umar 2-40, Ghulam Mudassar 2-52) Northern elect to bat against Balochistan at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Northern 259 all out, 85.2 overs (Umar Amin 130, Faizan Riaz 31; Bilawal Iqbal 5-49, Akif Javed 2-59) Balochistan 218-3, 52 overs (Haris Soahil 66 not out, Asad Shafiq 47 not out, Imran Butt 44, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 41; Aamir Jamal 2-67) Toss uncontested – Central Punjab opt to bowl against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the LCCA Ground Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 436 all out, 126.3 overs (Israrullah 124, Naiz Khan 65, Khalid Usman 53, Waqar Ahmed 47, Kamran Ghulam 45, Mohammad Imran 40, Sahibzada Farhan 25; Usama Mir 3-98, Ahmed Danuyal 3-115, Mohammad Ali 2-66) Central Punjab 99-0, 30 overs (Abdullah Shafique 54 not out, Abid Ali 38 not out)

Sports Bulletin Report BAHAWALPUR: Bahawalpur, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), Okara and Islamabad stormed into the semifinals of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy 2022 (Grade-1) after completing first round of the tournament. 1st semifinal will be played between Bahawalpur and Azad Kashmir and 2nd semifinal will be played between Okara and Islamabad. Both Semifinals will be played at Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur. Bahawalpur beat Islamabad by 10 wickets Venue: Dring Stadium Bahawalpur In the morning, Bahawalpur won the toss and asked Islamabad to take guard. Islamabad made 181 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Ayub Khan was the top scorer with 64 runs off 52 balls and Shahzaib Haider made 52 runs off 36 balls. Saqib and Babar claimed 1 wicket each for Bahawalpur. In reply, Bahawalpur chased down the target with ease in just 15.1 overs without any loss. Moaeen Aslam once again played a superb innings of unbeaten 106* runs off 50 balls well supported by Muhammad Rashid who remained not out on 66* off 42 balls. Result: Bahawalpur won by 10 wickets Man of the Match: Moaeen Aslam Attock Vs Gujranwala beat Attock by 8 wickets Venue: Dring Stadium Bahawalpur Gujranwala won the toss and decided to bowl first. Attock set the competitive total of 237 uns on the board for the loss of 3 wickets in allotted 20 overs. Ehtisham ul Haq was the highest scorer with 90 runs off 50 balls while Mohammad Raheel made 85 runs off 63 balls. In Reply Gujranwala achieved the target of 238 runs in 19 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. The veteran Mohammad Akram was the star batsman, he scored dazzling 146 runs off 84 balls and Israr Hassan made 28 runs for Gujranwala. Result: Gujranwala won by 8 wickets Man of the Match: Mohammad Akram Azad Jammu Kashmir beat Peshawar by 6 wickets Venue: Dring Stadium Bahawalpur Peshawar won the toss and elected to bat first. Peshawar made 160 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Sana Ullah Khan was the main scorer with 73 runs off 48 balls and Muhammad Asif made 26 runs off 27 balls. In reply, Azad Kashmir achieved the target of 161 runs in 15 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Kamran Akhter once again shined with the bat, as he scored stunning 92 runs off 53 balls while Mohammad Tehseen made 22 runs off 13 balls. Muhammad Asif fetched 1 wicket for Peshawar. Result: Azad Kashmir Kashmir won by 6 Wickets Man of the Match: Kamran Akhter Okara beat Lahore by 4 wickets Venue: Dring Stadium Bahawalpur Okara won the toss and decided to bowl first. Lahore were bowled out only on 123 in 17 overs. Ahmer Iftikhar was the top scorer with 22 runs while Karamat Ali made 20 runs. Umair Aslam and Mohammad Irfan took 2 wickets each for Okara. In Reply Okara reached the target in 18.1 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Fasih Ullah was the leading scorer with 20 runs and Muhammad Irfan made unbeaten 18* runs for Okara. Matiullah, Salman and Rizwan claimed 2 wickets each for Lahore. Result: Okara won by 4 wickets Man of the Match: Mohammad Irfan

Sports Bulletin Report Dubai (UAE): The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 has approved Mohammad Haris as a replacement for Fakhar Zaman in the Pakistan squad. Haris was named as a replacement after Zaman was ruled out after sustaining a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury to his right knee. The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad. The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 consists of Wasim Khan, ICC General Manager - Cricket (Chair); Chris Tetley, ICC Head of Events; Peter Roach, Cricket Australia, Shane Doyle, Men’s T20 World Cup Local Organising Committee; Shaun Pollock (Independent) and Ian Bishop (Independent).

Haroon Zulfiqar ISLAMABAD: Shifa International Hospital Islamabad beat Panthers Cricket Club by 137 runs in the friendly here at Margallah Cricket Ground Islamabad. Panthers Club Captain won the toss and invited to bat first Shifa International, Shifa International bowled out for 268 in the 30th overs, Batsman Azmat Bashir hit a fine century 115 runs 77 balls with three six and 13 fours, while Mohammad Naseer (45), Salman Khan Kundi (28) and Imtiaz (17) were their leading run-getters. Panthers Club Atif (4 for 53), Hafi (2 for 40) and Akbar (2 for 44) were the other main wicket-takers. In reply, Panthers Club could score 131 for seven in 30 overs. Asif 32, Umar Jilani 23 and Akbar 22 were the key contributors. Salman Khan Kundi bowled well and claimed 2 wickets for 14 runs in 4 overs. Azmat Bashir was declared “Man of the Match” for his impressive Performance.

Sports Bulletin Report BAHAWALPUR: Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad, Bahawalpur and Okara have won their matches in the 13th National Bank of Pakistan T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy (Grade-1) at two different grounds Bahawalpur on Wednesday. Azad Kashmir beat Lahore by 6 wickets: First match of the day was played between Lahore and Azad Kashmir at the Dring Stadium Bahawalpur. In the morning AJK won the toss and decided to bowl first. Lahore made 221 runs in allotted 20 overs for the loss of 3 wickets. Mati Ullah made 58 runs and Rizwan Ali chipped in with 57 runs. Idrees Saleem took 1 wicket. In reply, Azad Kashmir with the help of Mohammad Tehseen’s superb innings of unbeaten 48 not out runs off 22 balls reached the target in 19.2 overs by losing their 4 wickets. Kamran Akhter made 56 runs. Farhan Ullah took 2 wickets. Result: Azad Kashmir won by 6 wickets Man of the match: Mohammad Tehseen Islamabad beat Gujranwala by 37 runs: In 2nd match of the day, Gujranwala won the toss and asked Islamabad to bat first. Islamabad set the competitive target of 183 runs on the board by losing their 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Ayub Khan Shined with the bat, he made unbeaten 66 runs off 39 balls and well supported by Anees Javed who scored unbeaten 50* runs off 37 balls. Ameer Hamza took 3 wickets while Israr and Talha Iqbal took a wicket a piece. In reply, Gujranwala were bowled out only on 145 runs in 18.2 overs. Atiq ur Rehman was their top scorer with 37 runs. Syed Kashan took 3 wickets while Husnain fetched 1 wicket each for Islamabad. Result: Islamabad won by 37 runs Man of the Match: syed Kashan Bahawalpur beat Attock by 9 wickets: The third match of the day played between Attock and Bahawalpur. Attock won the toss and decided to bat first. Attock team scored only 124 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Junaid Khan was the leading scorer with 20 runs. Saqib Ali took 2 wickets while Usman, Babar, Sajid and Shahzeb took 1 claimed 1 wicket each. In reply, Bahawalpur reached the target with ease in just 8.2 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Moeen Aslam shined with the bat, he scored excellent unbeaten 60* runs off 31 balls and Rashid made 45 runs. Result: Bahawalpur won by 9 wickets Man of the Match: Moaeen Aslam Okara beat Peshawar by 5 wickets: Peshawar won the toss and elected to bat first. Peshawar made 201 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Mohammad Asif was the prominent scorer with 76 runs off 58 balls and Abdul Manan made unbeaten 46* runs off 28 balls. In reply, Okara achieved the target of 202 runs in 19.5 overs for the loss of 5 wickets. Badar Munir once again shined with the bat; he scored dazzling 94 runs off 51 bslls while Fasih Ullah made 34 runs off 31 balls. Mohammad Asif and Haseen Ullah fetched 1 wicket each for Peshawar. Result: Okara won by 5 wickets Player of the match: Badar Munir

 Sports Bulletin Report  LAHORE: Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas’ second consecutive five-wicket haul skittled Sindh for 210 after Southern Punjab opted to bowl, without contesting the toss, at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on the first day of round seven of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23. The Test fast bowler took five wickets for 50 in 18.1 overs, accounting for Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Khan, Fawad Alam, Saim Ayub and Abrar Ahmed.Wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed made a fighting 56 off 62, hitting seven fours. This was the top-score of the innings. Southern Punjab were 21 for one. Umar Siddiq, one of the three centurions for Southern Punjab in the last round, was dismissed for six off Ghulam Mudassar. Zain Abbas and Mohammad Ilyas, 14 and 0, respectively, will resume Southern Punjab’s innings tomorrow.  Umar Amin stroked his second century of the season as Northern, who elected to bat after calling correctly at the toss, were 232 for five against Balochistan at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The left-hander was unbeaten on 116 off 174 balls and hit 13 fours and a six. This was 33-year-old’s 26th first-class century. Bilawal Iqbal took two wickets for 41 runs in 17 overs. Khurram Shahzad, Yasir Shah and Hussain Talat picked up a wicket each. At the LCCA ground in Lahore, Israrullah recorded his 14th first-class century as he made 124 in 211 balls. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finished the day at 267 for five after Central Punjab opted to bowl without contesting the toss. Waqar Ahmed and Kamran Ghulam scored 47 and 45. Ahmed Daniyal took two wickets for 80 runs. Mohammad Ali and Usama Mir picked up a wicket each.  Scores in brief:  Toss uncontested – Southern Punjab opt to bowl against Sindh at Pindi Cricket Stadium  Sindh 210 all out, 69.1 overs (Sarfaraz Ahmed 56, Muhammad Umar 39, Fawad Alam 27, Abrar Ahmed 26, Saud Shakeel 23; Mohammad Abbas 5-50) Southern Punjab 23-1, 7.3 overs (Zain Abbas 14 not out)  Northern elect to bat against Balochistan at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium Northern 232-5, 68.3 overs (Umar Amin 116 not out, Mohammad Huraira 35, Faizan Riaz 31; Bilawal Iqbal 2-41) Toss uncontested – Central Punjab opt to bowl against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the LCCA Ground  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 267-5, 75 overs (Israrullah 124, Waqar Ahmed 47, Kamran Ghulam 45, Sahibzada Farhan 25; Ahmed Daniyal 2-80)

Sports Bullitin Report LAHORE: Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan are hoping to carry forward the winning momentum gained in the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup as they take on Ireland in the first of the three ICC Women’s Championship ODIs at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Friday. Ireland, on their maiden tour to Pakistan, will play three T20Is from 12 to 16 November at the same venue following the conclusion of the ODI series. These ODIs will be Ireland and Pakistan’s second series in the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25. While Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka 2-1 in Karachi in June, Ireland lost all three matches to South Africa in Dublin in June. The hosts enter the series on the back of a productive five-day pre-series camp, which included two intra-squad matches and intense training and practice sessions. Pakistan - who are number eight in the ICC Women’s ODI rankings are ready to make an impression in the 50-over format in familiar playing conditions. Meanwhile, Ireland occupy the ninth spot in the ODI rankings. Pakistan enjoy an historic edge over the tourists in ODIs, having won 12 out of the 18 matches played between the two sides to date. The last time the two sides competed in One-Day Internationals was in February 2017 with Pakistan winning the match by 86 runs courtesy two wickets for 25 in 10 overs from left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu. Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof while talking to PCB Digital, said: “After a good performance in the recently concluded ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup, we are now focused on delivering our best in the ODI series which is a part of the ICC Women’s Championship. “Our aim like other teams would be to get points from the series. We have good blend of experience and youth in our side and it is really good to see young players performing and helping the side to win. “We are here to play a good game of cricket and we want fans to come to the stadium and support the team.” Ireland captain Laura Delany said: “We are delighted to be here in Pakistan, it’s a pretty historical moment for an Irish cricket team to travel to Pakistan for the first time and we will relish the opportunity. “The ODI series will be a competitive one as ICC Women’s Championship points will be up for grabs. We would like to go out there and put a really strong performance in the first game. “It’s a brilliant opportunity for the young girls to come to the stadium and get behind the Pakistan women’s team who have been incredibly successful for the last few years.” The three matches will begin at 9:30am with the toss at 9:00am. The series will be live streamed on the PCB YouTube channel. Pakistan ODI squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Umm-e-HaniIreland ODI squad: Laura Delany (c), Amy Hunter, Arlene Kelly, Cara Murray, Celeste Raack, Eimear Richardson, Gaby Lewis, Jane Maguire, Leah Paul, Louise Little, Mary Waldron, Orla Prendergast, Rachel Delaney, Rebecca Stokell and Shauna Kavanagh.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Twenty-two women Under-19 cricketers will undergo skills and fitness training at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi from November 4 to 12, 2022. The U19 High Performance Skills Camp is in continuation to last month’s first phase of U19 High Performance Skills Camp, in which 27 players took part at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre, Multan. The second phase of the camp is going to provide an opportunity for players to work closely with coaches to hone their skills ahead of the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s World Cup, to be staged in South Africa in January next year. The players will play a number of practice games during the nine-day camp to help them understand different scenarios of a match. The camp will be headed by former Test cricketer Mohsin Kamal. The players will report for the camp at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi on 4 November. Chief Selector Asmavia Iqbal: “The ICC has taken a great initiative to organise World Cup at the U19 level. The coaches had worked on the skills of the 27 players camp held in Multan last month. During the camp, the players had played practice games to help them understand how to bat in the powerplay and bowl in the death overs. “The upcoming camp will help the participants to further enhance their skills. It is designed in such a manner which will ultimately help them to compete with the teams in the forthcoming mega event.” Player names:  Aliza Sabir, Anosha Nasir, Aqsa Yousaf, Areesha Noor, Syeda Aroob Shah, Dina Razvi, Eman Fatima, Eyman Fatima, Haleema Azeem Dar, Hania Ahmer, Laiba Nasir, Maham Anees, Mahnoor Aftab, Muskan Abid, Noor Fatima, Quratulain Ahsen, Rida Aslam, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Tahzeeb Shah, Warda Yousaf, Zaib-Un-Nisa and Zamina Tahir Support Staff: Aisha Jalil (manager), Mohsin Kamal (head coach), Jawad Hamid (assistant coach), Muhammad Kamran Hussain (assistant coach), Tahir Mehmood (assistant coach), Rabia Siddiq (Physiotherapist), Mohammad Usman Shahid (Performance Analyst) and Saboor Ahmed (Strength and Conditioning Coach)

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI: The sixth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23 brought Balochistan their second win in the ongoing edition, thanks to Yasir Shah’s spellbinding display of leg-spin bowling which garnered him his fifth match haul of 10 wickets as title defenders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa crashed to a seven-wicket defeat. This was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s fourth defeat in six matches, meaning their hopes of winning the third title in a row are almost extinguished. They are at the bottom of the points table, as they have been for the majority of the season, and their other two contests have ended in draws. Fourth-ranked Balochistan, on the other hand, closed the gap with second-placed Sindh. Eleven points separate the two sides with Central Punjab, whose all six matches have ended in draws, placed third. Northern, meanwhile, after being rescued by Rohail Nazir’s superlative 149 are the only team to have gathered more than 100 points and are placed first with 101 points. In their match against Southern Punjab, Northern faced a real possibility of being forced to follow-on, but the former Pakistan U19 captain batted his team out of trouble. Southern Punjab, placed fifth, had three centurions in the match. While Umer Siddiq and Salman Ali Agha made centuries in the first innings, Usman Salahuddin scored tons in both innings. Their teammate Mohammad Abbas breached the 600-first-class-wicket mark during his first five-wicket haul in the tournament. Aamer Yamin displayed his all-round credentials for Central Punjab against Sindh, as he begun the match with a five-wicket haul and topped it up with four more scalps in the second, scoring a half-century in between. Sindh’s Saad Khan smashed his first century of the season, making 161. His teammate, Abrar Ahmed, continued to bamboozle the batters with his mystery spin. He took four wickets in the first innings and bowled 10 overs in the second, which lasted 37. In the seventh round, which commences Wednesday, Sindh stay at the Pindi Cricket Stadium to host Southern Punjab at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. The contest will be beamed through PCB’s YouTube channel. Balochistan travel to Abbottabad from Multan to play Northern. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab lock horns at the LCCA Ground in Lahore. Top performers: Experienced Test batter Azhar Ali now has the most runs for the tournament with 580 at a handsome average of 96.67 and is followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sahibzada Farhan who is second on the list with 558 runs at 50.73 after his second-innings half-century against Balochistan. Southern Punjab’s Usman Salahuddin’s twin hundreds against Northern in Abbottabad has lifted him to third spot with 545 runs at an average of 60.56. The other two batters with more than 500 runs are Abdullah Shafique (537 at 67.13) and Hussain Talat (511 at 51.10). There are no points for guessing the bowler with most wickets in the tournament as Abrar Ahmed’s sensational run has him 10 wickets clear of the joint second best bowlers on the list. The 24-year-old Sindh bowler has now accumulated 32 wickets at 19.06 despite playing only four matches. He has two four-fers, one of them coming in the last match, and four five-wicket hauls. Central Punjab’s Mohammad Ali and Northern’s Mubasir Khan are locked on the second spot with 22 wickets each. Ali has recorded two five-fers, while Mubasir’s only five-wicket haul of the tournament came against Southern Punjab in the last round. Right-arm medium fast bowlers Mohammad Umar of Sindh and Ihsanullah of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are fourth and fifth on the list with 18 and 17 scalps.

Sports Bulletin Report RAWALPINDI: With less than a month remaining to the start of the historic Test series between Pakistan and England, the Pakistan Cricket Board has announced ticket prices for the first Test, which will be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium from 1-5 December. Ticket prices for the Imran Khan, Javed Akhtar, Javed Miandad and Azhar Mahmood Stands – the four VIP Enclosures – have been fixed at PKR500, while the Premier Enclosures, which include Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Miran Bakhsh and Yasir Arafat Stands, have been fixed at Rs 250 each day. Tickets will be available online on Wednesday at 1000 PST at https://pcb.bookme.pk/ Payments can be made using Easypaisa/Jazzcash/credit card/Nift options. The Rawalpindi Test will be the first between the two sides in Pakistan since 2005, and their first-ever meeting at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in the traditional format, which has to date staged 12 Tests since December 1993. Since the revival of international cricket in 2019, Pakistan have played four Tests at this venue against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and Australia, winning two and drawing two. The Rawalpindi Test, as well as the Multan (9-13 December) and Karachi (17-21 December) matches will be part of the ICC World Test Championship and ticket prices for these two matches will be announced in due course. Pakistan are fifth on the table with a 4-3 record in four out of a maximum of six series (51.85%), while England are 7-8 in five series (38.6%). Australia and South Africa are occupying the top two positions with success percentages of 70 and 60, respectively. The Test series will be part of the second-leg of England tour. In September, England played seven Twenty20 Internationals in Karachi and Lahore, winning a closely and keenly contested series 4-3. England have already named a strong 15-player squad, which will be captained by Ben Stokes. Zakir Khan, Director International Cricket said: “We experienced an unprecedented 95 per cent crowd turnout when the two sides featured in the seven-match T20I series in Karachi and Lahore, which helped in showcasing Pakistan as a cricket-loving country. The same two sides will now participate in the format enjoyed by the purists. We have continued to value our fans by maintaining affordable prices. “For the passionate Rawalpindi and Islamabad cricket fans, it is a great opportunity to attend the match and be part of the historic Test between the two sides that enjoy massive following and fan-base. It is also a chance for the parents to bring their children so that they can watch modern-day stars in action and be attracted to cricket and eventually fall in love with this great sport.”