Pakistan team won't travel to India for ICC women's ODI World Cup
Lahore, Apr 19 (PTI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday announced that their women's team will not travel to India for the ICC ODI World Cup later this year and play their matches at a neutral venue, following the hybrid model accepted earlier this year.
When Pakistan hosted ICC Champions Trophy recently, BCCI had refused to send Indian team across the border due to diplomatic tension between the two nations and their matches were held in Dubai.
A hybrid model was agreed upon that allowed both India and Pakistan to play their matches at neutral venues if one of the two countries was to host an ICC event.
"Just like India didn't play in Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and were allowed to play at a neutral venue, whatever venue is decided, we will play. When there is an agreement it has to be adhered to," he said.
The PCB chief said India and ICC being the hosts of the tournament would decide on the neutral venue.
India will host the tournament from September 29 to October 26 with Australia being the defending champions.
Naqvi also expressed satisfaction over the impressive manner in which Pakistan women's team qualified for the World Cup.
Pakistan ended up winning all their five matches in the Qualifiers held in Lahore. They beat Ireland, Scotland, West Indies, Thailand and Bangladesh to qualify smoothly for the main round for which hosts India, England, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have already qualified.
"The team showed how to take home advantage and play like a collective unit. I am happy that women's cricket is doing well now,” he said.
He added the PCB would definitely announce a special reward for the women's team for their outstanding performance.
Naqvi also said that he was happy that the PCB had hosted another ICC event successfully after the Champions Trophy.
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RCB secure IPL playoff berth with 23-run win against Punjab Kings
Dharamsala (PTI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru rode on fluent half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer, along with a decisive opening spell from pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, to thrash Punjab Kings by 23 runs and seal a playoff berth in the IPL here on Sunday.
Kohli (58 off 37 balls), Iyer (73 not out off 40 balls) and Devdutt Padikkal (45) produced impactful knocks as RCB piled up 222 for 4 in 20 overs.
Bhuvneshwar (2/38) then removed the dangerous Punjab Kings opening pair of Priyansh Arya (0) and Prabhsimran Singh (2) early to all but shut the door on the opposition, who eventually managed 199 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Pacer Rasikh Salam (3/36) compounded Punjab Kings' misery by dismissing skipper Shreyas Iyer (1) in the fourth over as the hosts slumped to 19 for 3.
Late-order batters Shashank Singh (56 off 27 balls) and Marcus Stoinis (37 off 25 balls) attempted to revive the innings with a counter-attacking effort, but the towering RCB total ultimately proved far beyond PBKS' reach.
Earlier, Kohli stitched together a 76-run stand with Devdutt for the second wicket to lay the foundation before adding another 60 runs with Venkatesh for the third wicket as table-toppers RCB delivered yet another authoritative batting display.
Brief Scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 222 for 4 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 58, Devdutt Padikkal 45, Venkatesh Iyer 73 not out; Harpreet Brar 2/35).
Punjab Kings: 199 for 8 in 20 overs (Cooper Connolly 37, Suryansh Shedge 35, Marcus Stoinis 37, Shashank Singh 56; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/38, Rasikh Salam 3/36).
