Sahibzada | Pakistan

Spinner Mohammad Nawaz set it up for Pakistan before opener Sahibzada Farhan finished it off to the joy of a packed crowd at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. With Nawaz (3-16) weaving his magic with the ball, including two wickets in two balls, in the Twenty20 tri-nation clash, Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 128-7 before romping to their target with 4.3 overs to spare in their Twenty20 tri-nation series clash on Saturday. Sahibzada led the batting effort with his sixth T20 half-century, hitting five sixes and six fours in an explosive 80 not out off 45 balls, as Pakistan eased to a six-wicket victory that made in two in two for the hosts, who beat Zimbabwe by five wickets in the series opener. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have no wins in two with the defeat following a humbling at the hands on Zimbabwe on Thursday. But it had seemed all so different at the start when skipper Dasun Shunaka won the toss and elected to bat with openers Kamil Mishara and Pathum Nissanka tearing into Pakistan’s bowling with the latter c...

LAHORE: Sahibzada Farhan looked keen on making up for lost time. Almost six months since he last represented Pakistan, the flamboyant opener sparkled with a career-best 74 as hosts trounced a hapless Bangladesh by 57 runs in the second Twenty20 International at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday to seal the three-match series with a game to spare. With Sahibzada in full flow — having returned to the national team fold after an impressive show in the Pakistan Super League — and Hasan Nawaz making a quickfire 51 not out, Pakistan amassed 201-6 after electing to bat. The bowlers then came to the fore as Bangladesh lost their way after a bright start; spinner Abrar Ahmed being the destroyer-in-chief with 3-19 as Pakistan bundled them out for 144 with only Tanzim Hasan Sakib (50) offering some late resistance. It was Pakistan’s first series victory since they beat Zimbabwe in December last year. Sahibzada’s poor return in that series had seen him fall out of national reckoning, but on his return, he set the tone for Pa...