{"id":21369,"date":"2025-10-01T00:04:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T00:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=21369"},"modified":"2025-10-01T00:04:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T00:04:01","slug":"pak-wheelchair-cricket-team-dominate-afghanistan-in-t20-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=21369","title":{"rendered":"Pak wheelchair cricket team dominate Afghanistan in T20 Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Pakistan\u2019s wheelchair cricket squad made a stunning start to the four-match T20 series, thrashing Afghanistan by five wickets in the opening encounter at the UBL Sports Complex on Monday night.<\/p>\n<p>Chasing a target of 146, the hosts overpowered Afghanistan in just 15.5 overs, thanks to a brilliant all-round performance. Star of the night Usama Tariq smashed a rapid 66 off 40 balls, while leg-spinner Imran Arain delivered a devastating spell, taking five wickets to earn the Player of the Match award.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier, after opting to bat first, Afghanistan were bundled out for 145 in 19.4 overs. Asif (28), Raheem (26), and Zar Alam (13) provided brief resistance, but Pakistan\u2019s bowlers dominated. Alongside Imran Arain\u2019s five wickets, Muhammad Fayyaz picked up three scalps, while Ayub chipped in with one.<\/p>\n<p>In reply, Pakistan\u2019s chase was powered by Usama Tariq\u2019s fireworks, supported by Muhammad Fayyaz\u2019s unbeaten 37 and useful knocks from Ahmed (16), Misal (5), skipper Muhammad Zeeshan (5), and Mubeen (6). Pakistan crossed the finish line with ease, Arain and Fayyaz remaining unbeaten at the crease.<\/p>\n<p>After the emphatic win, Pakistan\u2019s wheelchair captain Muhammad Zeeshan shared his delight: \u201cAfter 20 years, we are finally hosting international wheelchair cricket on home soil. Later this year, Pakistan will also stage the Wheelchair Asia Cup featuring six teams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Afghanistan captain Mansoor Adil lauded the occasion despite the defeat, saying: \u201cPakistan\u2019s hospitality has been excellent. This series is a valuable preparation for the upcoming Asia Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The victory gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the four-match series, with the next game scheduled to further showcase the competitive spirit and growing recognition of wheelchair cricket in the region.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistan\u2019s wheelchair cricket squad made a stunning start to the four-match T20 series, thrashing Afghanistan by five wickets in the opening encounter at the UBL Sports Complex on Monday night. Chasing a target of 146, the hosts overpowered Afghanistan in just 15.5 overs, thanks to a brilliant all-round performance. Star of the night Usama Tariq [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}