1. Jasprit Bumrah (India)

The Indian pacer was the first-ever bowler to take a hat-trick in WTC. Bumrah achieved this highly impressive feat against West Indies in 2019 by dismissing Darren Bravo, Sharmarh Brooks and Roston Chase on consecutive deliveries.

2. Naseem Shah (Pakistan)

The Pakistan pacer picked up an impressive hat-trick against Bangladesh in 2020 in Rawalpindi. Naseem dismissed Najmul Shanto, Taijul Islam and Mahmudullah on consecutive deliveries.

3. Keshav Maharaj (South Africa)

The South African spinner took the hat-trick against West Indies in 2021. Maharaj achieved the feat by dismissing Kieran Powell, Jason Holder and Joshua Silva on consecutive deliveries.

4. Gus Atkinson (England)

The England seamer took an impressive hat-trick against New Zealand in 2024 in Christchurch. Atkinson dismissed Nathan Smith, Matt Henry and Tim Southee on consecutive deliveries to achieve this feat.

The post List of bowlers to take hat-trick in World Test Championship (WTC) appeared first on Cricket Country.

The Men in Green have decided to make 2 big changes to their playing XI for the 3rd T20I as they have brought in wicketkeeper-batter Haseebullah as a replacement to skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who has been rested today.

Pacer Naseen Shah has also been rested for the final encounter and fellow pacer Jahandad Khan has been brought in as his replacement. Salman Ali Agha is set to captain the Men in Green for this match in Rizwan’s absence.

The post Australia vs Pakistan 3rd T20I Live Score: Pakistan win the toss and elect to bat first appeared first on Cricket Country.

With the Men in Green having already lost the series with defeats in both the 1st and 2nd match, they decided to rest skipper Mohammad Rizwan for the final match. Replacing him as the captain for the match will be all-rounder Salman Ali Agha.

Surprsingly, Agha was preferred over former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for the role. However, this move does make sense as Agha is the vice-captain of Pakistan’s T20I team.

The Pakistan team have also decided to rest pacer Naseem Shah for the final T20I and he will be replaced by Jahanded Khan, who is a left-handed pacer. On the other hand, Rizwan will be replaced in the starting XI by wicketkeeper-batter Haseebullah. The rest of the team is the same as what they fielded in the last game.

Pakistan will be looking to avoid a series whitewash to the Baggy Greens who have easily proved to be the more dominant side in the last 2 matches.

The post NOT Babar Azam: THIS Pakistan star will replace Mohammad Rizwan as captain for 3rd Australia T20I appeared first on Cricket Country.

Pacer Shaheen Afridi re-claimed the top spot on the latest ODI bowler rankings. This comes after he picked up 8 wickets in th3 ODI series against Australia at a brilliant average of 12.62.

It saw Afridi move up three places and take the pole position from South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj, who fell down to the third spot. On the other hand, Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan remained second. Afridi previously held the number 1 spot on the bowlers ranking midway through last year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.

Afridi’s teammate Haris Rauf jumped 14 places to 13th overall and reached a new career-high rating following his 10 wickets and Player of the Series heroics against Australia. Another Pakistan pacer, Naseem Shah also went up by 14 places to reach the 55th position.

Afridi’s rise to the top of the bowling charts means that Pakistan now have the top-ranked player in both batting and bowling in ODI cricket, with former skipper Babar Azam increasing his lead at the top of the batter charts following his total of 80 runs in the Australia series.

On the other hand, new skipper Mohammad Rizwan also made gains on the list for ODI batters and reached the 23rd position following his 74 runs in Australia.

The post Pakistan team sees MAJOR gain in ICC ODI rankings following Australia series triumph appeared first on Cricket Country.

Winning the toss, Pakistan’s newly-appointed captain Mohammad Rizwan had no hesitation in fielding first as he wanted to unleash his pace quartet on a fresh and bouncy Perth wicket.

Pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah took 3 wickets each and tore apart the Australian top order. Haris Rauf chipped in with 2 more wickets as the visitors bundled out the hosts for a mere 140-run total in Perth. The Australian batting order completely crumbled in the absence of their senior pros who had left the squad to prepare for the Border-Gavaskar series.

Chasing the modest target of 141, Pakistan openers Abdullah Shafique (42) and Saim Ayub (37) broke Australia’s morale with their partnership of 84 runs.

Finally, a 58-run stand between Babar Azam (28*) and Rizwan (30*) would be enough for the visitors to complete the chase in only 26.5 overs. This victory will be nothing short of a huge confidence booster for the Men in Green, who will next be facing the Baggy Greens in a 3-match T20I series starting from November 14.

The post Pakistan decimate Australia by 8 wickets in 3rd ODI, record MONUMENTAL series victory appeared first on Cricket Country.

PCB picked a second-string squad for the series against Zimbabwe. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is not going to be a part of the T20I series.

“This approach follows the selectors’ rotation policy and provides opportunities to domestic performers, aligning with the team’s strategy for the ICC Champions Trophy and beyond,” PCB said in a statement.

Pakistan squad for ODI series:

Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir

Pakistan squad for T20I series:

Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wk), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan

The post PCB does not appoint any Spot for Babar, Naseem and Shaheen in ODI and T20I team for Zimbabwe Tour appeared first on Cricket Country.

Taking Pakistan’s success in recent series with the absence of senior star players, it is currently not clear if the veteran players will be taken out of white-ball formats as well.

It has come out that the senior players are under extreme pressure to give a better performance in the upcoming opportunities, or will they risk facing the same outcomes in the white-ball format.

PCB would however be reluctant to take tough decisions, especially since Champions Trophy is just a few series away. In the longer span of time, it will not be good if the senior players stay out for the series.

The post This move by PCB can trouble Senior players like Babar Azam before Champions Trophy appeared first on Cricket Country.

Jasprit Bumrah has made a significant impact in Indian cricket without a doubt. His ability to swing the ball and his excellent accuracy have made him a dangerous player in international cricket. His contributions have elevated India’s bowling attack, which is now called to be stronger than the batting lineup.

Naseem Shah is also a fast bowler from Pakistan side. He has made an important impact in his short career. His ability to generate speed and swing the new ball has been playing a key role in the victories of Pakistan across all formats.

Ihsanullah recently made a bold claim addressing both Jasprit Bumrah and Naseem Shah, where he stated that Naseem Shah is superior to Jasprit Bumrah. He highlighted Naseem’s ability to consistently deliver match-winning performances.

Pakistan pacer Ihsan Ullah says Naseem Shah is a better bowler than Jasprit Bumrah 🇮🇳🇵🇰🤯

Do you agree with him or not? pic.twitter.com/n56ZcmDzZR

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) October 19, 2024

“If I compare Bumrah, then Naseem Shah is a better bowler than Bumrah,” Ihsanullah said on the podcast.

“Naseem Shah was also performing like this in the 2021 (2022) World Cup. It doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t perform too well in a year. Still, Naseem Shah is better than him,” he added.

This declaration by Ihsanullah caused a lot of disturbance on social media and a lot of people criticised him for his statement.

Here is how people have reacted:

According to Ihsan Ullah,

Pakistan has a bigger economy than USA

— Ash (@Ashsay_) October 19, 2024

That’s like saying a bicycle is faster than a Ferrari because it has more wheels spinning! 😂 Bumrah doesn't just bowl—he's out there solving cricketing equations with those pinpoint yorkers. But hey, props to Naseem for the hype—every team needs a hype man!

— Anand (@Anand07792769) October 19, 2024

Koi bhi kuch na kuch kahta rahta hai…

Ihsan Ullah ko kaun janta hai PAK ke bahar….

— SACHIN TIWARI (@GreatTiwari80) October 19, 2024

Koi bhi kuch na kuch kahta rahta hai…

Ihsan Ullah ko kaun janta hai PAK ke bahar….

— SACHIN TIWARI (@GreatTiwari80) October 19, 2024

The post Pakistan pacer’s shocking claim regarding Jasprit Bumrah reeks havoc on social media appeared first on Cricket Country.

Spinner Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were the key players in securing the wickets for Pakistan in the Test match. In the second inning, Shan Masood shockingly decided not to use any bowler other than Noman Ali and Sajid to bowl all 33.3 overs. They worked efficiently with each other and restricted England for just 144 runs.

This massive achievement from Noman Ali and Sajid Khan led them to become the first duo of spinners since 1956 to have taken all 20 wickets in a Test match.

On Day 4, England stepped to the pitch as they needed 261 runs to win with 8 wickets to spare. Though their aggressive Bazball approach helped them t reach an extraordinary win in the first Test, it did not do much this time. Five of the Englanders were dismissed with single digits as the team got bowled out in just 33.3 overs.

Both Noman and Sajid played for Pakistan for the last time in July 2023 and January 2024 respectively. Them being recalled sparked debate among the fans, especially since they came in the place of the duo of star pacer Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Them being included proved to be useful, so did the decision of Shan Masood to rely on the two spinners in the final innings.

After a humiliating loss in the first Test, Pakistan made several changes in their squad. The new PCB selection committee decided to put former skipper Babar Azam along with pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah to rest.

The post PAK v ENG: Pakistan register 152 run victory in home ground after 3 Years, 8 Months appeared first on Cricket Country.

While on the other hand, England received a major boost ahead of the match as skipper Ben Stokes fully recovered from his hamstring injury, which he sustained while playing The Hundred. Now, he is set to make a return to red-ball cricket in the second Test.

Pakistan have made a total of 4 changes to the XI which played in the first Test. Kamran Ghulam is set to replace Babar and make his Test cricket debut while Sajid Khan has come in for Abrar Ahmed who fell severely ill while playing the first Test.

Then, instead of replacing Naseem and Shaheen with pacers, Pakistan have instead opted for 2 more spinners in the playing XI. Spinners Noman Ali and Zahid Mahmood have also been brought in by the Men in Green and the only pacer in their XI now is Aamir Jamal.

England have made 2 changes to the XI which featured in the first Test as Stokes will come in for Chris Woakes while pacer Matthew Potts will replace fellow fast bowler Gus Atkinson.

The post Ben Stokes returns as both England and Pakistan announce playing XIs for 2nd Test appeared first on Cricket Country.