COLOMBO: Pakistan’s spinners turned the screws to bowl Netherlands out for 147 in the first match of the T20 World Cup at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club on Saturday.
The Dutch looked to be in a good position at 127-4 with four overs to go, but Pakistan applied the brakes with the slow men sharing six wickets between them.
Captain Scott Edwards anchored the innings with a polished 37 off 29 balls, but perished when he tried to take the aerial route against leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.
Part-time spinner Saim Ayub then struck twice in the 17th over before left-arm quick Salman Mirza’s three-wicket burst dismissed the Dutch with one ball to spare.
Pakistan, who won the toss and chose to bowl, conceded just 20 runs in the final four overs backed up by a razor sharp performance in the field with several outstanding catches in the deep.
Pakistan cannot afford any slip-ups in the group stage after saying they will not play against India on February 15 on government instructions and forfeiting the points in Group A.
Pakistan will play all their matches in Sri Lanka in the 20-team tournament co-hosted by Sri Lanka and defending champions India.
Pakistan bowl out Netherlands for 147 in T20 World Cup opener
https://arab.news/j7xa3
Pakistan bowl out Netherlands for 147 in T20 World Cup opener
- The Dutch looked to be in a good position at 127-4 with four overs to go
- But Pakistan applied the brakes with the slow men sharing six wickets between them
Israeli bobsleigher dismisses Olympics ‘diatribe’ by Swiss TV commentator
- The commentator went on to tell viewers that Edelman had posted on social media “in favor of the genocide in Gaza”
- Israel has responded by qualifying these claims as “lies” and “anti-Semitic“
PARIS: An Israeli bobsleigher said on Tuesday he gave no “credence whatsoever” to the “diatribe” from a Swiss television commentator who had questioned the legitimacy of him competing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The commentator on Swiss channel RTS said Adam Edelman’s supportive comments of Israel’s more-than-two-year bombardment of Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of over 70,000 people and the destruction of most of the territory’s infrastructure, should have resulted in him being barred from the Olympics.
“Edelman, first appearance at an Olympic Games, who defines himself and I quote ‘as a Zionist to the core’,” remarked the commentator, Stefan Renna, as Edelman and teammate Menachem Chen began their two-man bobsleigh run on Monday.
The commentator went on to tell viewers that Edelman had posted on social media “in favor of the genocide in Gaza. I remind you that genocide is the term used by the United Nations commission of inquiry.”
A commission mandated by the United Nations and several NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have accused Israel of perpetrating a genocide in Gaza.
Israel has responded by qualifying these claims as “lies” and “anti-Semitic.”
Renna also commented that Edelman had “said the Israeli military intervention was, I quote, the most morally justified war in history.”
He suggested Edelman should have been barred from the Milan-Cortina Games on the same basis that the International Olympic Committee refused to allow Russian athletes to appear if they had made pro-war remarks regarding their country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Edelman was furious and hit back on his Instagram account.
“I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed toward the Israeli bobsled team on the Swiss Olympic broadcast today,” he wrote.
“I can’t help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings (the Israeli team’s nickname) is a team of 6 proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage.
“No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit and unyielding pride in who we represent.
“Working together toward such an incredible goal and crushing it. Because that’s what Israelis do.
“I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give credence to this commentary.”
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said it was not for them to comment.
“In terms of specific comments by a commentator, that is a matter you have to refer to the broadcaster,” he said at the IOC daily briefing.
RTS had yet to respond to AFP’s request for a comment.
