HARARE, Zimbabwe: A career-best 61 from opening batsman Fakhar Zaman set up Pakistan’s imposing 182 for 4 in their tri-series opener against hosts Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.
Zaman’s efforts were boosted by a late flurry of boundaries from Asif Ali and veteran batsman Shoaib Malik, who put on an unbroken 62 for the fifth wicket at the death.
Zaman kept Pakistan steady through the first half of their innings while Zimbabwe, having opted to bowl first, chipped away at the other end with regular strikes.
Mohammad Hafeez, recalled to the Pakistan national team after his bowling action was cleared last month, made just seven runs — including a six --before splicing a big shot down the ground to be excellently caught by new Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza, backpedaling from mid off.
Medium pacer Chamu Chibhabha had Hussain Talat caught behind for a scratchy 10, and when Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed popped a simple catch into the covers off-spinner Tendai Chisoro, Pakistan were 78 for 3.
They were helped by Zaman’s fluent scoring at the other end, and he brought up his second T20I half-century from 33 deliveries with a flick through square leg in the 13th over. Zaman appeared settled at the crease, but two overs later he missed a heave at Chisoro and had his leg stump pegged back.
By then, however, Pakistan were 121 for 4, and with just over five overs still to be bowled had set a considerable platform.
Ali and Malik combined to plunder 61 from the last five, including five sixes, as Zimbabwe’s bowlers struggled to contain them. Chisoro, with 2 for 28, and Kyle Jarvis, with 1 for 9 from the two overs he bowled, were the only bowlers to escape punishment.
Zimbabwe responded slowly and still required 99 runs off the final six overs as they moved ponderously to 89 for 5 with Tarisai Mukasanda contributing 34.
Zaman career best 61 bolsters Pakistan
Zaman career best 61 bolsters Pakistan
- Pakistan set target of 183 for Zimbabwe
- Ali and Malik combined to plunder 61 from the last five overs, including five sixes, as Zimbabwe’s bowlers struggled to contain them
FIFA announces $60 World Cup tickets after pricing backlash
PARIS: World Cup organizers unveiled a new cut-price ticket category on Tuesday after a backlash by fans over pricing for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Football’s global governing body FIFA said in a statement that it had created a limited number of “Supporter Entry Tier” fixed at $60 for all 104 matches, including the final.
It said the plan was “designed to further support traveling fans following their national teams across the tournament.”
FIFA said that the $60 tickets would be reserved for fans of qualified teams and would make up 10 percent of each national federation’s allotment.
Fan group Football Supporters Europe , which last week called prices “extortionate” and “astronomical,” responded by saying the FIFA was offering too little.
“While we welcome FIFA’s seeming recognition of the damage its original plans were to cause, the revisions do not go far enough,” FSE said in a statement on Tuesday.
Last week, FSE said ticket prices were almost five times higher than in 2022 in Qatar, describing FIFA’s pricing for 2026 as a “monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup.”
“If a supporter were to follow their team from the first match to the final it would cost them a minimum of $6,900,” it said at the time, adding that World Cup organizers had promised tickets priced from $21 in a bid document released in 2018.
‘Appeasement tactic’
On Tuesday, FSE said FIFA’s partial ticketing U-turn exposed flaws in how prices for next year’s tournament had been set.
“For the moment we are looking at the FIFA announcement as nothing more than an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash,” FSE said.
“This shows that FIFA’s ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation — including with FIFA’s own member associations.
“Based on the allocations publicly available, this would mean that at best a few hundred fans per match and team would be lucky enough to take advantage of the 60 US dollar prices, while the vast majority would still have to pay extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before.”
The organization also criticized the failure to make provisions for supporters with disabilities or their companions.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed FSE, stating that FIFA’s cheaper ticket category did not go far enough.
“I welcome FIFA’s announcement of some lower priced supporters tickets,” Starmer wrote on X.
“But as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”
Announcing the $60 tickets on Tuesday, FIFA said that national federations “are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.”
FIFA also said that if fans bought tickets for games in the knockout rounds only to find their team eliminated at an earlier stage, they “will have the administrative fee waived when refunds are processed.”
It added that it was making the announcement “amid extraordinary global demand for tickets” with 20 million requests already submitted.
The draw for tickets of all prices in the first round of sales will take place on Tuesday, January 13.
