Pakistan stunned by Zimbabwe in another thriller days after heart-breaking loss to India

News Network

October 27, 2022

Pakistan-born Sikandar Raza starred for Zimbabwe with a fantastic 3-wicket-haul as the Babar Azam-led side suffered a shocking 1-run defeat to Craig Irvine's side in a Super 12 match in Perth on Thursday.

Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign is in shambles after a last-ball defeat to arch-rivals India in their opening match on Sunday. Pakistan restricted Zimbabwe to a modest 130/8 at Perth Stadium, reaching only 129/8 in reply.

Pakistan's chase got off to a terrible start, with the world's top-ranked T20 batsman, Mohammed Rizwan, returning to the dugout for 14 after chopping a delivery from two-meter-tall Blessing Muzarabani (1-18) onto his stumps.

Shaan Masood was left to steady the ship with a composed 44, frequently exploiting the large outfield to run twos. However, Raza used his off-spin to further restrict the Asian side, stumping Masood off a wide.

Earlier in the day, Mohammad Wasim Jr recorded his best T20 World Cup figures as he and spinner Shadab Khan helped Pakistan restrict Zimbabwe to a modest 130 for 8 in their match on Thursday.

Wasim (4/24) and Shadab (3/23) combined for seven wickets to derail Zimbabwe's innings after a promising start. Haris Rauf, who was bowled out by Virat Kohli in the penultimate over of their previous match, also had his most economical T20 bowling figures, finishing with 1 for 12 from four overs.

Rauf broke the partnership when Ervine was outpaced and lobbed one to Mohammad Wasim at short fine leg. Madhevere followed suit two balls later, LBW to Wasim as the batter attempted an unsuccessful review. Milton Shumba (8) didn't help his team's cause either, giving Shadab a simple return catch shortly after.

Sean Williams (31) and Sikandar Raza (9) shared 31 runs for the fourth wicket before Shadab struck twice in the 14th over to derail Zimbabwe's promising start. Shadab first cleaned up Williams as the batter attempted an expansive reverse sweep, and Regis Chakabva edged the next delivery, which was brilliantly caught by skipper Babar Azam at slips on the bowler's final ball of his spell, denying him a hat-trick.

Another double blow from Wasim in the next over broke Zimbabwe's backbone. Raza failed to replicate his form from the qualifiers, being bounced out by Wasim, caught by Rauf at a deep square leg fence in the next over, and dismissed Luke Jongwe in the very next ball.

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Israeli forces invade southwestern Syria, set up checkpoint in Quneitra

News Network

November 24,2025

Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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