BENGALURU: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has relocated February’s tri-nation One-Day International (ODI) series with New Zealand and South Africa from Multan to Lahore and Karachi, two cities set to host the Champions Trophy later in the month.
The PCB said the move was due to the advanced stage of preparations at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium and Karachi’s National Stadium, which will host six of the 12 Champions Trophy group stage matches.
Lahore will also host one semifinal as well as the final provided India, who are playing all their matches in Dubai following an agreement that neither India nor Pakistan will visit each other’s countries for ICC tournament matches, do not qualify.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will also host three matches of the eight-team tournament.
The PCB is upgrading the facilities at all three venues in the country as Pakistan prepares to host an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, when they co-hosted the ODI World Cup.
The tri-series will be played from Feb. 8-14, while the Champions Trophy will kick off on Feb. 19 in Karachi, with defending champions Pakistan playing New Zealand.
PCB moves tri-series to Lahore and Karachi to indicate readiness for Champions Trophy
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PCB moves tri-series to Lahore and Karachi to indicate readiness for Champions Trophy
- Pakistan is scheduled to play tri-nation ODI series at home against South Africa, New Zealand in February
- Series moved from Multan due to advanced stage of preparations at Lahore and Karachi stadiums, says PCB
Napoli cruise past Milan to book Italian Super Cup final spot in Riyadh
- Napoli make second Super Cup final in new four-team format, which was introduced in the Kingdom in 2023
- Milan rue missed chances as Rafael Leao’s absence due to knock proves costly
RIYADH: On one of the coldest evenings of the year in Riyadh, the atmosphere inside Al-Awwal Park was anything but subdued. Thousands of fans braved the conditions to witness another major chapter in Saudi Arabia’s growing international calendar, as Napoli and AC Milan went head-to-head in the first semi-final of the 2025/26 Italian Super Cup.
It wasn’t to be for I Rossoneri, as goals from David Neres and Rasmus Hojlund proved decisive for Napoli, sending them into the Super Cup final for the second time in the new four-team format after missing out on last year’s edition.
Backed by raucous Forza Milan chants, Milan nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Ruben Loftus-Cheek tested Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, who reacted sharply to make a vital save.
Napoli responded with a spell of pressure of their own, but were repeatedly denied by a well-organised Milan defence.
Milan came close again in the 34th minute, as Adrien Rabiot was found inside the six-yard box from a dipping cross, only for his effort to fly over Milinkovic-Savic.
They would keep that momentum going as just a few minutes later, a swift counter-attack led by Alexis Saelemaekers found Christopher Nkunku on the edge of the box, though his strike also flew over goal.
Napoli punished Milan’s missed chances in the 39th minute. A low pass from Rasmus Hojlund across the box was parried by Mike Maignan straight into the path of David Neres, who made no mistake slotting the ball into the open net.
Napoli pushed for a second before the interval, with Hojlund testing Maignan again, who turned the striker’s effort behind for a corner. The Milan goalkeeper was called into action once again in the second half, producing a strong save to deny Amir Rrahmani.
Yet it was another powerful strike that finally broke past the Frenchman, with Rasmus Hojlund capitalising on a deep through ball from Leonardo Spinazzola to extend Napoli’s lead in the 63rd minute and tighten their grip on the game.
Milan fans briefly found a lift in the 75th minute when Luka Modric came out to a standing ovation, though it proved to be their only notable moment of the second half. Despite enjoying spells of possession, Massimiliano Allegri’s side were unable to break through and exited the tournament after just 90 minutes.
Napoli will now turn their attention to the final, where they will look to lift the Italian Super Cup for the third time in their history. For Riyadh, the semi-final marked another night of elite European football, with fans set to witness more action in tomorrow’s semi-final between Bologna and Inter Milan.
