Zahid Mehmood Archives

Karachi Kings include Zahid Mehmood as full replacement for injured Saad Baig

ISLAMABAD: Karachi Kings included leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood in their PSL 9 squad as a full replacement for wicketkeeper batter Saad Baig.

Baig suffered a groin strain and has been advised to go through rehab by the medical panel.

The rehabilitation process of the young wicketkeeper has been started, owing to the medical panel’s advice that without complete rehab, there is a risk of this injury getting worse.

Saad Baig will remain with the Karachi Kings squad and continue his rehab process.

Meanwhile, Zahid Mehmood, who was included in Karachi Kings’ squad for the PSL 9 as a partial replacement initially, will now replace Baig in the squad for the complete season.

Mehmood has played two games for Karachi Kings and picked two wickets in the ongoing season.

Karachi Kings are currently sitting in the fifth position in the points table with four points in five matches after their 20-run defeat against leaders Multan Sultans at the iconic National Bank Stadium yesterday.

The 20-run victory meant Multan Sultans became the first team to qualify for the Playoffs in the ongoing ninth edition of the marquee league.

Chasing a mammoth 190, the Kings could accumulate 169 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

The home side got off to an unwanted start to the pursuit as they lost two wickets — Tim Seifert (1) and James Vince (7) — inside the batting powerplay with just 28 runs on the board.

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Following the slump, skipper Shan Masood partnered with Shoaib Malik to anchor the run chase briefly.

The pair batted sensibly and added 53 runs for the third wicket before Usama Mir dismissed Masood in the 10th over to dent Kings’ recovery.

Masood scored an anchoring 36 off 29 deliveries, hitting five boundaries.

Malik then put together a brief partnership with Leus du Plooy (12) before both fell in successive overs, resulting in the Kings slipping to 99/5 in 13 overs.

Veteran all-rounder Malik top-scored for the Kings with a 28-ball 38 which featured five boundaries.

The Kings then lost another wicket in the 17th over when Muhammad Irfan Khan returned after scoring a 19-ball 23.

Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawaz offered valuable resistance in the death over with a brilliant 41-run partnership which lasted on the penultimate delivery but the Kings fell short of tasting their third victory in the PSL 9.

Hasan scored a brisk 17 off eight deliveries while Nawaz remained unbeaten with a 17-ball 27, featuring three boundaries and a six.

For the Sultans, Usama Mir bagged two wickets while David Willey, Chris Jordan, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Ali struck out a batter apiece.

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Rashford, Martial on target as United win 4-1 in Melbourne

MELBOURNE: Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford got on the scoresheet as Manchester United rallied from a goal down to beat Melbourne Victory 4-1 Friday and hand manager Erik ten Hag his second win since taking over.

It followed their 4-0 thumping of Liverpool in Bangkok on Tuesday when Jadon Sancho, Fred, Martial and Facundo Pellistri were on target.

A well-organised Victory were no walkover and shocked the English giants in front of 74,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with a goal on the break in the fifth minute.

United clawed back with goals on the cusp of half-time from Scott McTominay and Martial before Rashford made it 3-1 with 12 minutes left and a Victory own goal capped the deserved win.

“It was good that we were able to recover,” said Ten Hag. “It’s pre-season and we wanted to see how the team reacts.

“We went 1-0 behind but we stayed composed and finally just before half-time we scored twice.

“Their defence was really compact and it was difficult to create chances,” he added. “But a couple of times we got behind the defensive line and it was justified that we scored.”

United used 22 players against Liverpool and while Ten Hag largely stuck with the same starting line-up he switched it up at the break with 10 changes.

Captain and centre-back Harry Maguire started for the first time under the Dutchman after missing the Liverpool clash, slotting in alongside Victor Lindelof with Raphael Varane absent from the matchday squad.

David de Gea was also missing after picking up what appeared to be a muscle strain in Bangkok. With Dean Henderson on loan, it was left to back-up keeper Tom Heaton to play the full 90 minutes.

In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Martial again led the line flanked by Jadon Sancho and Antony Elanga.

But they were stunned by a quick counter-attack when Victory broke from their own penalty area with a pass down the right flank behind Luke Shaw finding Ben Folami.

With United wide open in defence, Folami squared the ball to Chris Ikonomidis who calmly tucked the ball past Heaton.

United slowed the pace and began to find a rhythm with McTominay going close and Bruno Fernandes only denied by a great save from Melbourne keeper Paul Izzo.

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Zahid, Wasim Jr to make their ODI debuts against Australia

LAHORE: Pakistan’s leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood and the all-rounder Mohammad Wasim Jr will make their ODI debuts against Australia, here at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the two cricketers will make their ODI debut today in the first ODI of the historic three-match series against Australia.

Wasim and Zahid have already represented the country in T20Is, however, this will be their first international match in the 50-overs format. Wasim has played 10 T20I matches, while Zahid could represent the green shirts in only one match.

On the other hand, Australia’s leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson and right-arm speedster Nathan Ellis will also be making their ODI debuts.

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