Women’s Asia Cup: Pakistan start off with win over Thailand despite b…

Dubai [UAE], September 2 (ANI): Pakistan’s bowlers were at their very best in Dubai and guided their side to a comfortable win in their opening Asia Cup encounter on Tuesday.

This bodes well for the team, which has faced some tough results in recent times, and will boost the side ahead of their much-anticipated clash against arch-rivals India on Saturday. beltedkingfisher.blog

Fatima Sana won the toss and elected to bat first in Dubai. Thipatcha Putthawong was right on money with her left-arm spin, picking two wickets in her first over to leave Pakistan languishing at 7/2. This helped Putthawong overtake Deepti Sharma in the list of the most wicket-takers in women’s T20Is, just days after the Indian had overtaken her, as per ICC.

Shawaal Zulfiqar (1) and Gull Feroza (0) fell to her turn, before Phannita Maya accounted for Ayesha Zafar (9) too. Muneeba Ali and Sadaf Shamas arrested the slide, and got Pakistan to 60/3 by the halfway mark.

Pakistan looked like they were settling in when Suleeporn Laomi struck twice in the 13th over, removing Shamas (20) and then Fatima Sana (0).

Muneeba’s half-century helped Pakistan close in towards the hundred, but the left-hander eventually fell to Laomi for 54.

Umm-e-Hani and Tuba Hassan’s late cameos helped the side get close to a run-a-ball total. Putthawong (3/18) and Laomi (3/14) were the standout performers for Thailand.

Chasing 120 for a win, Thailand were rattled early in their innings as the number nine-ranked T20I bowler Sadia Iqbal struck twice to destabilise their start.

Natthakan Chantham was joined by skipper Naruemol Chaiwai, and while the duo managed to stem the flow of wickets, the scoring rate failed to take off. When Chantham fell to Nashra Sundhu’s turn at the halfway mark, Thailand’s asking rate was closer to eight-and-a-half on a slow wicket.

By the time Tuba Hassan accounted for Chaiwai (17), Thailand were already far behind the asking rate. Spinners kept a check on Thailand’s batting, as Pakistan eventually secured a 35-run win.

Indonesia face off against Sri Lanka in Group B of the Asia Cup tomorrow, whereas India take on Hong Kong the day after in Group A. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

After the debatable dropping from the playing XI and the unexplained absence from the tour of Zimbabwe, Sanju Samson is back in the India squad that will take on Afghanistan later this month in a three-T20I series.

On Tuesday, the BCCI announced the 15-man squad that will face Afghanistan in Delhi, with Afghanistan being the designated hosts of this series. The IND vs AFG series will be hosted at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on September 13, 15, and 17.

The 15-man contingent saw the return of several India players who missed the tours to the UK and Zimbabwe, partially or wholly.

Of these, the biggest name, obviously, was that of fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. But Bumrah’s name had an asterisk along with it, and so did those of Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Harshit Rana.

This is because the participation of Bumrah, Sundar, Reddy, and Harshit in the IND vs AFG T20I series is subject to them being fit and cleared by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

Bumrah suffered a recurrence of a left knee injury during the ODI series in England, while Harshit and Washington both sustained hamstring injuries in England. Reddy has been out of action since the ODI series against Afghanistan at home in June owing to a quadriceps injury.

Mystery spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is declared fit – hence no asterisk to his name – and is set for a comeback to international cricket. Chakaravarthy also injured his hamstring in the T20Is in England and missed the Zimbabwe tour. Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has also been named in the squad for the Afghanistan T20Is.

When will Hardik Pandya return?

It was expected that Pandya would play against Afghanistan, but he was not named in the squad, and his comeback has been extended. Hardik has not played any professional cricket since the conclusion of the IPL 2026 due to a reported leg strain.

Pandya is not part of the India squad for the Asian Games in Japan. That could also be the reason that his return has been delayed, giving him more time to attain full fitness. Pandya might return to international cricket with the ODI series against West Indies at home, which begins on September 27.

India had sent a second-string squad to Zimbabwe, from which the dropped players include Prabhsimran Singh, Rinku Singh, Ashok Sharma, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav, and Yash Thakur.

Meanwhile, Samson will once again be competing with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the opener’s spot. While Samson had a blockbuster hat-trick of matches towards the end of the T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, Sooryavanshi forced himself into the national side through a sensational IPL 2026 season and bagged the Man of the Series award in Zimbabwe.

IND vs AFG: India Squad For Afghanistan T20I Series

Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Axar Patel, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy*, Jasprit Bumrah*, Harshit Rana*, Washington Sundar*

* Subject to fitness clearance

Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.

English Premier League outfit Manchester City, who are getting used to life without head Pep Guardiola for the first time in a decade, have broken England’s record transfer fee by paying a total of 125 million British pounds to rivals Chelsea for the signing of Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez on a permanent deal during the deadline day of the transfer market.

This was the second time that an English club paid over a sum of 100 million for Enzo Fernandez, who is expected to reinforce Manchester City’s midfield, which needed rebuilding after a number of experienced names left the Etihad Stadium. While some players left after the expiry of their contracts, others were sold to other clubs on hefty sums.

Also Read: Lionel Messi and his Kolkata connection: Here’s a timeline of his visits to India and what followed

Like Rodri, Spain’s 2026 World Cup winning captain for example, was sold to FC Barcelona for over 80 million euros. Another two of Pep Guardiola’s trusted servants – Bernardo Silva and John Stones – left as free agents to Real Madrid and Inter Milan. All of these three players were a part of Manchester City’s massive success in the last 10 years or so.

But since Guardiola’s departure at the end of last season and arrival of his former assistant Enzo Maresca as the new head coach, the squad has gone through a massive shake-up, especially the midfield and frontlines. Manchester City also signed the likes of Eliott Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi on huge transfer fees to give the best chance to Maresca to go and fight for major trophies.

Manchester City will be looking to reclaim the Premier League title, something they won a total of seven times, including four in a row, under Pep Guardiola. However, due to the declining squad and some new faces, the Cityzens could not challenge for the coveted title, finishing third in the 2024/25 season and second below Arsenal last term.

After Pep’s departure, City has spent more than 300 million euros in reinforcements with Enzo Fernandez, a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina, becoming the latest addition. Fernandez was under the club’s radar for most of the summer transfer window and a deal was expected to happen on the deadline day.

City’s interest particularly intensified as Enzo Maresca, who has worked with the midfielder during his short stint at Chelsea, pushed for the signing. The Italian mastermind will be hoping for Fernandez to work his magic at the Etihad Stadium.

Enzo Fernandez has signed a five-year contract, keeping him at the blue side of Manchester until 2031. The midfielder, 25, has won numerous trophies with his former clubs, most notably the Club World Cup in 2025 with Chelsea.

With this transfer, he also becomes the third most expensive signing in the history of football after Neymar and Kylian Mbappe’s transfers to Paris Saint-Germain.

Indian all-rounder Krunal Pandya has made it clear that he is still hoping for another chance with India after being left out of the squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.

Soon after India’s squad was announced, Krunal shared an Instagram story with the words “Hope is still alive”, along with a fingers-crossed emoji and the Indian flag. The post came after there had been speculation that the all-rounder could return to the national team for the series in New Delhi.

Krunal has not played for India since 2021, but his recent performances have kept him in the discussion for a return. The 35-year-old enjoyed a strong IPL 2026 season with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who won the title for the second straight year.

Krunal scored 226 runs in nine innings during the 2026 season at a strike rate of 145.80. He also picked up 14 wickets, giving RCB an important option with both bat and ball.

His form with RCB had led to questions about whether he could get another opportunity in the Indian team. However, the selectors have gone with Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as the main spin-bowling all-rounder options for the Afghanistan series.

Krunal last played an international match for India in 2021. He has played 19 T20Is, scoring 124 runs in 10 innings at a strike rate of 130.52. With the ball, he has taken 15 wickets at an average of 36.93, with his best figures being 4/36.

He also has five ODI appearances to his name, scoring 130 runs and taking two wickets. His best score in the format is an unbeaten 58.

The upcoming Afghanistan series will be played entirely in New Delhi, with the three matches scheduled for September 13, 15 and 17. India will be led by Shreyas Iyer, while Jasprit Bumrah returns to the squad, subject to fitness clearance.

The squad also includes Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar and Washington provide the all-round options, while Arshdeep Singh, Bumrah and Harshit Rana form the pace group.

After the series against Afghanistan, Shreyas Iyer and co will fly to the Japanese cities of Aichi and Nagoya for the 2026 Asian Games, where the Indians will be vying to defend the gold medal they won in the previous edition at Hangzhou three years ago.

Similarly for the women’s team, they will also be looking to win back-to-back Asian Games title following the conclusion of the on-going ACC Women’s Asia Cup in UAE.