Sports
Pakistan steady after Das ton | The Express Tribune
Pakistan closed the opening day of the second Test match with 21 for no loss in six overs, trailing by another 257 runs, after pacers Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali shared nine wickets to dismiss Bangladesh for 278 in 77 overs here at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
After they were inserted in by Shan Masood, Bangladesh were reeling at 116-6 in 38.2 overs and then 176-7 when Litton Das helped them recover with a 126-run knock off 159 balls as he shared two half-century partnerships with Taijul Islam and Shoriful Islam lower down the order.
Pakistan’s breakout stars of the first Test Azan Awais (13 not out, 20b, 3x4s) and Abdullah Fazal (8 not out, 16b, 1×4) opened the innings with 36 balls to see off the day as incumbent opener Imam-ul-Haq made way for Babar Azam in the playing XI.
Azan and Abdullah saw out the two overs each bowled by Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Nahid Rana sent down an over each before stumps were drawn.
Earlier, pacer Khurram Shahzad – playing his seventh Test and first since January 2025 – returned a haul of four for 81 in 17 overs and he was ably supported by the senior spearhead Mohammad Abbas, who backed up his six-wicket match haul from Dhaka Test with figures of 16-3-45-3.
Hasan Ali picked up two for 49 in his 11.5 overs after being stretchered off the field in the eighth over of the day – his first – when his head hit the turf in follow-through attempting to catch the ball.
Sajid Khan replaced Noman Ali and picked up the solitary wicket of Taijul, breaking the 114-ball 60-run stand and giving Pakistan the coveted seventh breakthrough.
Hasan put an end to Litton’s knock before snapping Nahid’s scalp to finish the Bangladesh innings, while Khurram broke the 38-run stand between Litton and Taskin.
At the start, Abbas gave Pakistan the perfect start with a wicket-maiden opening over removing Mahmudul Hasan Joy for a two-ball duck before removing the debutant Tanzid Hasan (26, 34b, 3x4s) as well in the 10th over.
Pakistan pacers put a spanner in the works for the Bangladesh batting line-up as they took five for 72 from last ball of 10th over to second ball of 38th over as Tanzid, Mominul Haque (22, 41b, 3x4s), Najmul Hossain Shanto (29, 74b, 3x4s) and Mushfiqur Rahim (23, 64b, 2x4s) perished after getting starts.
Khurram brought one in from outside off from round the wicket to beat Mominul’s inside edge as the ball crashed into the stumps. Shanto edged one behind to Mohammad Rizwan off Abbas, who plucked his 100th Test wicket overseas becoming just the sixth Pakistan pacer to do so.
Mushfiqur Rahim was pinned leg-before wicket by Khurram four overs after Shanto’s departure, while 10 balls later Khurram induced a catch at deep fine leg with a short ball off Mehidy, which was plucked by Hasan, who had returned to the field earlier towards the end of first session.
Scores in brief:
2nd Test – Day 1 Stumps – Pakistan v Bangladesh at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sylhet
Bangladesh 278 all out, 77 overs (Litton Das 126, Najmul Hossain Shanto 29, Tanzid Hassan 26, Mushfiqur Rahim 23, Mominul Haque 22; Khurram Shahzad 4-81, Mohammad Abbas 3-45, Hasan Ali 2-49)
Pakistan 21-0, 6 overs (Azan Awais 13 not out)
Sports
Athena goes above and beyond to retain title at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor, eyes legendary reign
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Athena has been one of the most dominant champions across pro wrestling and that dominance continued on Friday night at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor.
The Ring of Honor Women’s World Championship was up for grabs in a Survival of the Fittest six-way match. Athena had to outlast Billie Starkz, Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki and Zayda Steel. Chairs, ladders and other foreign objects would enter the match through the night.
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Athena enters the ring during the women’s pro-wrestling event Stardom at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Jan. 13, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
While Athena eliminated Steel early, putting down the rest of her opponents was not an easy task. Athena found herself in a precarious position. Competitors stacked chairs on top of each other and Adora made use of them. She chokeslammed Athena through them during the match.
Sakazaki even tried her best to keep Athena down.
Athena was laid out on a table. Instead of going to the top turnbuckle to hit a splash, Sakazaki springboarded herself off the top rope in the middle of the ring and hit the Magical Girl Splash onto Athena and through the table.
Still, Athena was undeterred.
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Athena needed to go nearly 10-feet up onto a ladder. She flipped off it and hit World with the O-Face. She then pinned World, completing the final elimination.
Athena has now eclipsed 1,253 days as the Ring of Honor women’s world champion.
She told Fightful earlier in the week that her goal was to surpass Bruno Sammartino’s reign as champion. The legendary pro wrestler held the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship for 2,803 days at the height of his career.
“Hey man, when we get to Supercard of Honor this week and I beat the epic Roman Reigns’ last championship run, I just want you to know that I’m gonna be so petty,” she said. “I want everyone to know that we are gonna have the pettiest celebration ever. We’re gonna have kittens, green apple skittles, whiskey, tequila, you name it. … But we are just gonna have a big smorgasbord of a party. We’re gonna have a cookout. It’s gonna be amazing.
“But like I said before, my goal is Bruno Sammartino. Seven years, baby, seven years. But you know what, when you’re ‘forever champion,’ what’s years? What’s years? A lot of people think that might be getting ahead of myself. But at the end of the day, I’ve been champion for over—what is it 1,250 days or something like that? I don’t see this anytime soon.
Athena enters the ring during the women’s pro-wrestling event Stardom at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Jan. 13, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
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“Hell, all these girls that are in this match think that they’ve learned something by experiencing Athena, but I’m ever changing, ever evolving. That’s just the way I’ve always been and there’s not gonna be a harder worker than me. As I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, no man can touch my reign, no woman can live up to my legacy. I am the forever Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion. It’s about time y’all get over it.”
It’s clear that the “Forever Champion” is focused on being just that.
Supercard of Honor results
Bandido and Ryusuke Taguchi compete in a bout during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling ‘Best of Super Jr.’ at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on May 24, 2019. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
- Sammy Guevara def. Action Andretti.
- Rush def. LSG.
- Mina Shirakawa and Queen Aminata def. Janai Kai and Lacey Lane.
- Dezmond Xaver and Myron Reed def. Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese.
- Nigel McGuiness def. Josh Woods.
- Red Velvet def. Viva Van to retain the Ring of Honor Women’s World TV Championship.
- AR Fox def. Lio Rush to retain the Ring of Honor World TV Championship.
- Deonna Purrazzo def. Diamante to retain the Ring of Honor Women’s Pure Championship.
- Lee Moriarty def. Ace Austin to retain the Ring of Honor Pure Championship.
- Dalton Castle, Truth Magnum, Turbo Floyd def. Carlie Bravo, Shane Taylor and Shawn Dean to win the Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Championship.
- Mark Davis def. Xelhua to retain the AEW National Championship.
- Bandido def. Blake Christian to retain the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship.
- PM Shehbaz to decide Naqvi’s visit.
- Invitations sent to PCB chief.
- Ahmedabad to host both events.
LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has been invited to attend the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board meeting and the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final in Ahmedabad later this month, sources told Geo News on Saturday.
An international cricket news website reported that the ICC is set to hold a series of meetings, including the Chief Executives Committee (CEC) and Board meetings, to resume discussions on the future of the World Test Championship (WTC).
As per the report, the CEC meeting will be held virtually on May 21, while the in-person Board meeting is scheduled to be held on May 30 and 31 in Ahmedabad, where the IPL 2026 final will also be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on May 31.
The report further suggested that Naqvi would ordinarily be expected to attend the meeting in person, but the tense relationship between the governments of the two countries, as well as their cricket boards, cast doubts over his participation.
Meanwhile, sources have claimed that the PCB chairman has been invited to attend both the Board meeting and the final of the cash-rich league in Ahmedabad later this month.
Consequently, the PCB head has forwarded the invitation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who will decide whether he will cross the border to attend the meeting and the IPL 2026 final, sources added.
It is pertinent to mention that the upcoming meetings, part of the ICC’s quarterly gatherings, were originally scheduled to be held in March-April in Doha, Qatar, but had to be postponed due to conflicts in the region.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 and the Ireland tri-series on Saturday, with Fatima Sana retained as captain and five players set for their first appearance in the tournament.
The same squad will feature in the tri-series in Ireland and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in England and Wales from June 12 to July 5.
Pakistan will take part in the tri-series in Dublin from May 28 to June 4, with hosts Ireland and West Indies the other participating teams. Pakistan are set to play four matches in the event.
Eyman Fatima, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Saira Jabeen and Tasmia Rubab are among the selected players who will feature in the T20 World Cup for the first time.
Fatima, 24, will play her third T20 World Cup and captain Pakistan for the second successive edition, having also led the team in the 2024 tournament in the UAE.
Pakistan recently completed a 3-0 clean sweep against Zimbabwe in a T20I series in Karachi, with the PCB saying the series gave players an opportunity to showcase their skills and prepare for the upcoming tournaments.
Before the World Cup, Pakistan will play two warm-up fixtures in Derby, facing Sri Lanka on June 6 and Scotland on June 9.
Pakistan will begin their campaign against India at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 14, before facing South Africa at the same venue on June 17.
They will then play Bangladesh at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton on June 20, Australia at Headingley in Leeds on June 23, and the Netherlands at the Bristol County Ground in Bristol on June 27.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled for June 30 and July 2, while the final will be staged at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on July 5.
Wahab Riaz has been named mentor and head coach, while Ayesha Ashhar will serve as manager. The support staff includes Abdur Rehman as spin bowling coach, Umaid Asif as fast bowling coach, Abdul Majeed as fielding coach and Imran Farhat as batting coach.
Pakistan squad: Fatima Sana (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Tasmia Rubab and Tuba Hassan.
Reserves: Amber Kainat, Momina Riasat, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah and Umm-e-Hani.
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