COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Babar Azam said Friday that injured quicks Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah remained central to his team’s World Cup plans, after their absence saw the team crash out of the Asia Cup.
Azam’s men went down to fellow co-hosts Sri Lanka by two wickets Thursday in a last-ball thriller of a rain-shortened Super Four knockout game in Colombo.
Both Naseem and Rauf were injured in the Super Four loss to India in the 50-over tournament, a tune-up for the ODI World Cup in India starting next month.
“Haris Rauf is not bad, he has a little bit side strain but will recover before the World Cup,” said Azam.
“Naseem Shah has missed a couple of matches but I don’t know about his recovery. But in my opinion he will be in the World Cup.”
The pace duo’s absence was felt when Pakistan failed to defend 252 in their 42-over-a-side match against Sri Lanka.
Charith Asalanka steered his side home in that game, hitting a four and a double off the last two balls, bowled by debutant Zaman Khan.
“Definitely when you lose your best bowlers, that costs you and your team,” Azam said after the match.
“We were not short of effort but didn’t finish well.”
Zaman, a fast bowler who made an impression in the Pakistan Super League, needed to defend eight runs and bowled the first four for just two, including a wicket.
But the left-handed Asalanka, who made 49, had the home crowd rejoicing with his winning strike to take Sri Lanka, who won the last edition of the tournament, into their 11th Asia Cup final.
Azam said the team would learn from their mistakes to put on a better show in India next month, where they will meet the hosts in a hotly anticipated October 14 clash in Ahmedabad.
“In fielding we lacked the kind of response that we should have got. In the bowling, there is an issue in the middle overs,” said Azam.
“We will try to learn from them and will clear them before going into the World Cup.”
Injured Pakistan quicks Haris, Naseem still in World Cup contention
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Injured Pakistan quicks Haris, Naseem still in World Cup contention
- Azam’s men went down to fellow co-hosts Sri Lanka by two wickets Thursday in a last-ball thriller
- The pace duo’s absence was felt when Pakistan failed to defend 252 in their 42-over-a-side match
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
