Cricket

Evin Lewis's scintillating 94-run knock propelled West Indies to a resounding eight-wicket victory over England in the rain-affected opening ODI of the three-match series in Antigua.Chasing a revised target of 157 from 35 overs, Lewis unleashed a barrage of boundaries, smashing five fours and eight towering sixes in his 69-ball innings. He forged a crucial 118-run partnership with Brandon King (30) to lay the foundation for the West Indies' triumph.Lewis's pursuit of his sixth ODI century was halted by Jacob Bethell, who caught him off Adil Rashid's bowling with just 13 runs needed for victory. However, Keacy Carty (19) and captain Shai Hope (6) guided the West Indies home with 55 balls to spare.England, fielding four ODI debutants, were dismissed for 209 runs in 49.4 overs. Stand-in captain Liam Livingstone top-scored with 48, while Sam Curran contributed 37.Gudakesh Motie was the star of the West Indies bowling attack, claiming 4 for 41, while Jayden Seales took 2 for 22.The victory gives West Indies a 1-0 lead in the series, with the second match scheduled for Saturday at the same venue.

West Indies captain Shai Hope elected to bowl first after winning the toss in the opening ODI against England in Antigua. The match marked the international debuts of John Turner and Dan Mousley for England, along with 50-over debuts for Jamie Overton and Jordan Cox.Liam Livingstone, standing in for the injured Jos Buttler, made his captaincy debut for England. Despite missing key players like Harry Brook due to upcoming Test tours, Livingstone expressed excitement for the young team's opportunities.Turner's selection came after impressing in the 2023 Men's Hundred, while Mousley's inclusion provided England with four allrounder spin options alongside Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, and Livingstone. Cox was slated to bat at No. 3, while Overton would be available to bowl after playing as a batter in his T20I debut against Australia.West Indies, returning from their Sri Lanka tour, made one change to their lineup, with Shimron Hetmyer replacing Jewel Andrew in the middle order.

Pakistan's hopes of reaching the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final next year have been revived after a remarkable turnaround in their fortunes. Despite a historic series defeat to Bangladesh and a subsequent loss in the opening Test against England, Pakistan's chances appeared all but over. However, a 2-1 series win over England at home has pushed them back into contention.India's dominance at home was shattered by a visiting New Zealand side, who secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-Test series. This result shook up the WTC standings and made the race for the final more open.Currently, India and Australia remain in the top two positions in the standings. However, India's lead has been reduced to just 0.32 PCT, while New Zealand's strong performance has lifted them to fourth place with a 50.00 PCT. Pakistan, though still in seventh with 33.33 PCT, is now mathematically back in the race.For Pakistan to qualify for the WTC final, they must win all four of their remaining matches – two away games against South Africa and two against the West Indies at home. Doing so would raise their PCT to 52.38. However, this alone will not be enough. Pakistan will need other results to go their way, with teams like India, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and South Africa needing to lose key matches to allow Pakistan to climb into the top two spots.While Pakistan's chances of reaching the final remain slim, the series victory over England and the shake-up caused by India's surprise defeat have ensured that they are still in the conversation. The road ahead is difficult, but Pakistan's qualification hopes are not over yet.

Pakistan's seasoned off-spinner Sajid Khan has employed a unique strategy to unsettle England players during the ongoing third Test in Rawalpindi. Beyond his trademark mustache twirling and thigh thumping, Sajid has leveraged his bilingualism to gain an edge.While Sajid's bowling prowess stems from his spin angle and delivery flight, his batting exploits are a different tale. During the 86th over, Sajid engaged in a conversation with vice-captain Saud Shakeel, oblivious to the stump mic capturing their exchange.Sajid's subsequent six over midwicket into the Javed Miandad stand was a deliberate ploy, as he revealed. The intended targets were Pakistan-origin spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir."We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single. When we did that, they brought the field up, and the bowlers flighted it. Saud told me once they do, no half measures: just go for the big shot as hard as you can," Sajid explained.In the following over, Sajid unleashed two sixes and a four against Bashir, again targeting the midwicket region. His unbeaten 48 off 48 balls propelled Pakistan to 344.Rehan acknowledged Sajid's impressive batting but denied being misled by the Urdu conversation."He didn't fool me at all. He just said it for the media. I didn't even hear him. He said something like he's going to run down this ball, and I knew he was going to try and scoop me, and it didn't really work. I think he batted well, and he hit some big blows, but he didn't really fool me or Bash," Rehan said.Sajid's tactics have added an intriguing dimension to the Test match, showcasing his ability to influence the game both on and off the field.

England's Test series against Pakistan ended in disappointment as they suffered a 2-1 defeat, with a humiliating 112-all out in the second innings of the third Test. Captain Ben Stokes, who returned from injury in the second Test, endured a dismal series, culminating in an embarrassing dismissal in the final innings.Stokes, batting on three runs, opted to leave a delivery from Noman Ali in the 22nd over. However, the ball kept low and turned back in, trapping Stokes plumb on the pads. The dismissal left England reeling at 70/5, and they proceeded to lose their remaining wickets for just 42 runs.Pakistan's spinners, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, proved to be England's undoing, claiming 39 of the 40 English wickets in the second and third Tests. England's successive defeats have severely dented their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle final.Stokes's return from injury has been far from impressive, with the all-rounder managing only 53 runs in four innings. Apart from a knock of 37 in the second Test, he has failed to cross 15 in an innings.England's batting woes have been compounded by the absence of key players such as Jonny Bairstow and Jofra Archer. The team's inability to adapt to the spin-friendly conditions in Pakistan has been a major factor in their downfall.Pakistan, on the other hand, have been buoyed by the performances of their spinners. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan have been virtually unplayable at times, and their ability to extract turn and bounce from the pitches has been a major advantage.The series win is a significant boost for Pakistan, who have been struggling in Test cricket in recent years. It also marks a disappointing end to England's tour of Pakistan, which began with a dramatic victory in the first Test in Multan.

England's head coach Brendon McCullum has expressed disappointment over his team's 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan, acknowledging that they "had an opportunity to have been better than that." After a dominant victory in the first Test, England succumbed to back-to-back losses in Multan and Rawalpindi, where Pakistan's spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali wreaked havoc.McCullum admitted that he was surprised it took Pakistan until the second Test to prepare spinning pitches, a tactic that has been England's undoing on recent tours of the subcontinent. He praised the Pakistani spinners for their exceptional bowling, but emphasized that England's batsmen failed to adapt to the challenging conditions.Despite the defeat, McCullum remains confident in his team's batting group, which he believes is the best England has. However, he acknowledged that they need to improve their ability to handle spin-friendly surfaces. The focus will also fall on England's spinners, who were outperformed by their Pakistani counterparts.McCullum emphasized that England will learn from their mistakes and use the lessons from this series to improve their performance in future matches on spinning pitches. He stressed the importance of holding firm during difficult periods and seeking continuous improvement.

Pakistan's offspinner Sajid Khan has emerged as a thorn in England's side, not only with his on-field antics but also with his cunning tactics. Beyond his signature mustache twirls and thigh thumps, Khan has found a novel way to unsettle the English: exploiting the bilingualism of their spin bowlers.During the fourth ball of the 86th over, Khan and teammate Saud Shakeel engaged in a seemingly innocuous conversation in Urdu, unaware that the stump mic was capturing their words. However, Khan's true intentions were far from innocent."We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers," Khan revealed. "Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single."The strategy worked to perfection. The English bowlers, assuming Pakistan was playing defensively, adjusted their field accordingly. This gave Khan the opportunity to unleash his power, launching Shoaib Bashir over midwicket for a six.Khan's deception continued in the following over, where he plundered two more sixes and a boundary off Bashir. The English bowlers, now thoroughly bamboozled, spread the field out, only to see Khan clear the rope with ease.England's spin bowler Rehan Ahmed, while acknowledging Khan's impressive innings, dismissed the claims of deception. "He didn't fool me at all, he just said it for the media," Ahmed said. "I didn't even hear him."Despite Ahmed's denial, Khan's tactics have undoubtedly played a role in Pakistan's growing lead. By exploiting the language barrier, Khan has created confusion and doubt in the minds of the English bowlers, giving Pakistan a significant advantage.

On the opening day of the third and final Test match between England and Pakistan, the pitch at Karachi's National Stadium presented a challenging surface for batters, resulting in a dramatic collapse of wickets.Pakistan's Sajid Khan emerged as the star performer, claiming six wickets for 128 runs in 29.2 overs. This marked the third time in his career that he has taken five or more wickets in an innings.England captain Ben Stokes, who won the toss and elected to bat first, saw his team make a solid start, reaching 56 without loss. However, the pitch's unpredictable behavior soon became evident, and Zak Crawley's dismissal for 29 triggered a rapid collapse.England lost five wickets for just 42 runs, slumping from 56-0 to 98-5 within 12.5 overs. The pitch's uneven bounce and variable pace proved to be a nightmare for the batters.Despite the difficult conditions, Jamie Smith emerged as a beacon of hope for England, scoring a gritty 89 runs. He formed a crucial 107-run partnership with Gus Atkinson, who contributed 39 runs, helping England recover from their precarious position of 118-6.By lunch, England had reached 110-5, and by tea, they had progressed to 242-8, thanks to Smith and Atkinson's efforts. England's innings eventually concluded with a total of 267 runs.Sajid Khan's impressive bowling performance was a major factor in Pakistan's dominance on the first day. His ability to extract bounce and movement from the pitch proved to be a handful for the English batters.The match is poised for an intriguing contest over the remaining days, with Pakistan holding a slight advantage after the first day's play.

England fought back on the opening day of the series-deciding third Test in Rawalpindi, reducing Pakistan to 73/3 at close. Home spinner Sajid Khan starred with a six-wicket haul, while Jamie Smith's rearguard 89 helped England post 267.On a dry and spin-friendly pitch, 13 wickets fell on day one, with all but one going to the spinners. Pakistan's Sajid and Noman Ali dominated the morning session, bowling unchanged for 42 overs and taking 9 wickets between them.England's spinners came to the fore in the final session, with Shoaib Bashir dismissing Abdullah Shafique and Jack Leach accounting for Saim Ayub. Gus Atkinson was the only fast bowler to grab a wicket, dismissing Kamran Ghulam.Smith's 89, which included six towering sixes and five fours, enabled England to add 149 for their last four wickets. He shared a 105-run partnership with Gus Atkinson (39) for the seventh wicket.Sajid completed his third five-wicket haul by removing Rehan Ahmed and Jack Leach. England lost captain Ben Stokes early in the afternoon session, but Smith and Atkinson's partnership kept them in the game.The morning session was dominated by Sajid and Noman, who exploited the turning and low-bouncing pitch. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett made a confident start, but England lost three wickets in quick succession.Noman had Crawley caught off a miscued drive, while Sajid removed Pope and Root leg before. Duckett was trapped lbw by Noman for 52, and Harry Brook was bowled behind his legs by Sajid for five.Both teams included three spinners on a grassless pitch, which Pakistan dried with fans and heaters. Sajid and Noman shared all 20 wickets in Pakistan's second Test win to level the series at 1-1.