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Champions League Football Returns With Two Spectacular Games

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  The Champions League returned with the first two games of the quarterfinals, where Manchester City took on Real Madrid and Arsenal clashed with Bayern Munich.  Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich  Arsenal hosted Bayern Munich at Emirates Stadium in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals between the two sides. Bayern started as favourites because of the history between the two teams. Before this game, in the last ten encounters between the two sides, Bayern won five, Arsenal were victorious three times, and two ended in a draw. But this Arsenal team under the coaching of Mikel Arteta was never going to be easy, as they hold the top seed in the English Premier League currently, whereas Bayern Munich are fifteen points behind Bayern Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and hold the second seed. This game was entertaining as two teams fought hard till the end. Bukayo Saka started the scoring for Arsenal as he scored the first goal of the game at the twelve-minute mark, assisted by Ben White.
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Captaincy Circus Continues In Pakistan Cricket As Babar Is Reappointed As White Ball Captain

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  Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) continues to entertain the fans as they have reappointed Babar Azam as their white ball captain, just three months after he stepped down from that role. Babar was offered T20I captaincy just before the Australia tour back in late 2019 which he accepted and then in 2020 he was made Pakistan's all format captain. His four-year captaincy tenure had a few ups and more downs. The positives included, beating India for the first time in a World Cup back in 2021, reaching the semi-final of 2021 T20I World Cup, the final of Asia Cup 2022 and T20I World Cup 2022. Negatives were that we reached the knockout stages multiple times under Babar's leadership, but never got over the line. Babar was unable to win any championship in his captaincy reign. Few more negatives were that Pakistan's test side lost two back to back home series in 2022 against Australia and England, in short we lost four test matches in a row under his leadership.  After the ODI World C
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Another Twist In Pakisan's Cricket Saga: Retired No More!

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Another weekend in Pakistan cricket full of entertainment - what's new in that though? This one took fans by surprise, as both Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir have decided to take their retirements back. These announcements come off the back of certain mysterious meetings between Pakistan Cricket Board officials and the two players. Both have made themselves available for selection for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. These decisions by Imad and Amir have sparked interesting debates on social media as fans have divided opinions.  Imad's decision of taking his retirement back was relatively well received by fans, as Pakistan desperately needs a quality spin bowling all-rounder in the lower order. Shadab Khan is there, but his bowling isn't as effective anymore. Imad was also in sublime form in the later half of the Pakistan Super League season 9 as he collected three man of the match awards in the playoffs. Also, Mohammad Nawaz's poor form has made it easier for Imad to wal
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PSL 9 Final: United Win Their Third Title As Sultans Disappoint In Yet Another Final

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  Islamabad United lift the Pakistan Super League title for the third time, with Imad Wasim claiming his third man of the match in a row. It was another thriller of a game, and we saw quite a few in this tournament. Multan Sultans fought till the very last ball, but the 'Boys in red' held their nerves and secured the win. Karachi's crowd didn't disappoint, either, as it was a full house for a Monday night final. Sultans batted first in the big game and put up a below par total on a good batting surface. Muhammad Rizwan's underwhelming tournament continued as he only managed to score 26 runs off 26 balls. Usman Khan on the other hand continued his sublime form and scored yet another fifty. Iftikhar Ahmed also known as Iftimania came to the rescue and powered Sultans to a fighting total of 159 runs. Sultans' batters had no answer to Imad Wasim's spin as he became the only player in PSL history to take five wickets in a final. In the chase, United started off w
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PSL 9 Eliminator 2: Imad-Haider Partnership Steals The Game From Zalmi As United Head Into The Final

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  "ICE RUNNING THROUGH HIS VEINS", Ian Bishop said this on commentary when Imad Wasim won Islamabad United the game against Multan Sultans. Well, almost a week later Imad has repeated something similar against Peshawar Zalmi but this time the knock was really special as it took Islamabad United into the finals after 6 years. This time around, Imad wasn't alone, as he was supported by a reincarnated Haider Ali. United won the toss and bowled first on a flat Karachi surface. This decision of bowling first was questioned by the commentators earlier in the game because just a day before, United defended comfortably against the Gladiators.  Zalmi openers came out all guns blazing, specially young superstar Saim Ayub; he was unstoppable in the power play and was well-supported by the Zalmi skipper. The partnership was broken in the eighth over by Naseem as he removed Babar courtesy an exceptional catch by Shadab. Saim then slowed down after his fifty, but Mohammad Haris on the
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PSL 9 Eliminator 1: United Stand Tall As The Gladiators Crumble In The Knockout Game

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Islamabad United defeat Quetta Gladiators in Eliminator 1 in a one-sided contest, and move on to face Peshawar Zalmi in Eliminator 2 of Pakistan Super League 9. In the second game of the playoffs Islamabad United took on Quetta Gladiators in a do-or-die game on March 15th, 2024. Earlier in the tournament the Gladiators had defeated United in a low scoring game in Lahore when the two teams met for the first time in the tournament. While the second time around the game was rained out in Rawalpindi. This was the third time the two teams collided and the boys in red outplayed the purple force. Islamabad who are known to be good chasers surprisingly chose to bat first after winning the toss. The two changes made by United turned out to be vital as both Martin Guptill and Obed McCoy delivered impactful performances. Guptill scored a handy fifty and was involved in four different partnerships with Alex Hales, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Azam Khan. Hales, Agha, Shadab and Azam all played
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Consistent Sultans: PSL Finalists For Four Consecutive Years

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  Multan Sultans display impeccable consistency once again, as they make it to the final of season 9 of the Pakistan Super League. Their fourth final in a row. In the qualifier of PSL 9 Multan Sultans faced Peshawar Zalmi on March 14th, 2024 where the finalists from last year outplayed Zalmi in all aspects of the game. Peshawar's skipper Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bat first on a sluggish Karachi surface. Babar started off well but wasn't supported by his partners on the other end as the trio of Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris and Haseebullah failed in the big game. Babar also slowed down as his innings progressed and lost his wicket to a pinpoint yorker by Chris Jordan. Peshawar Zalmi were soon bowled out on a below par total of 146 runs courtesy of brilliant bowling by the Sultans.  The leading wicket taker of the tournament, Usama Mir, added two more wickets to his name and now has 23 wickets in the competition. The experienced fast bowling duo of David Willey and Chris
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