T20

Salman Agha axed before T20 home series against Sri Lanka, but Shaheen Shah Afridi is retained as ODI captain.

Sahibzada Farhan has replaced Salman Ali Agha as Pakistan’s Twenty20 cricket captain, ushering in changes to the leadership and squad for the upcoming three-match home series against Sri Lanka.

Farhan led Pakistan to a silver-medal finish at the Asian Games, losing to India in the final on Sunday.

Batter Hasan Nawaz and fast bowler Naseem Shah were recalled to the T20 squad.

Nawaz had been out of favour since November, but in the Asian Games final he hit 96 and was out off the final ball as Pakistan lost by 19 runs.

Shah last played in the shortest format at the T20 World Cup in February. He was also added to the one-day international squad for the following tri-series with Sri Lanka and England.

Rising star Razaullah was rewarded for his impressive performance on his Test debut against England last month in Birmingham and was included in the T20 and ODI squads. He is yet to make his white-ball debut.

Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was retained as ODI captain of a team that included Agha and Babar Azam.

But the selectors ignored Mohammad Rizwan because the wicketkeeper was under investigation by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Authority. Rizwan was one of the seven players who were summoned home after Pakistan lost the second Test to England at Lord’s in August.

Khawaja Nafay was the specialist wicketkeeper for the T20s while Ghazi Ghori, who made his Test debut in England, was the first-choice gloveman for the ODIs.

Rawalpindi will host the three Sri Lanka T20s from October 9-13. The tri-series begins on October 18.

Tait back as bowling coach

Former Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait was named as Pakistan’s bowling coach after his recent stint with the Bangladesh team. Under Tait, Bangladesh beat Pakistan 2-0 in the Test series this year.

Tait replaced Ashley Noffke, who has been contracted by the Netherlands.

Pakistan T20 squad: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Arafat Minhas, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Nawaz, Muhammad Imran Randhawa, Khawaja Nafay, Maaz Sadaqat, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim.

Pakistan ODI squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Ghazi Ghori, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saad Baig, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Moqim.

South African Lhuan-dre Pretorius hit 50 in 24 balls, needed 16 more to reach 100 and took another 18 to hit 150.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius hit 188 not out off 79 deliveries in Bloemfontein to break Chris Gayle’s record score in the T20 format.

Playing for the Titans against the Knights in the South African CSA Challenge, the 20-year-old left-hander opened the batting and hit 13 sixes and 14 fours in his innings to surpass Gayle’s 175 for Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League in 2013.

Pretorius reached 50 in 24 balls, needed 16 more to get to his century and took another 18 to hit 150.

Gayle scored his 175 off 66 balls, striking 17 sixes and 13 fours.

The 20-year-old has represented South Africa in all three international formats. He was making his first Titans appearance of the season after scoring 226 total runs, tied for most with Dewald Brevis, in a three-nation series in Namibia in September.

On Friday, he dominated the strike, facing the equivalent of more than 13 overs to tie Australians Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the most balls faced in a T20 innings.

The second-highest scorer was Sinethemba Qeshile with 14 as the Titans finished on 267-3.

They then bowled out the Knights for 143 to win by 124 runs.

The Titans total was the second-highest in the competition’s history, behind their 271 also against the Kings in 2022. In that match, Brevis hit 162, until Friday, a competition record. This time he made seven.

The Cricinfo website calculated that in 91 T20 games, Pretorius has a strike rate of 150.44.

CSA T20 Challenge, Bloemfontein

Titans 267-3 (20 overs): Pretorius 188* (79); Boast 1-46

Knights 143 (17.2 overs): Cloete 39 (25); Ferreira 3-16

Titans won by 124 runs

Scorecard

Lhuan-dre Pretorius has broken Chris Gayle’s record for the highest score in a men’s T20 match with an unbeaten 188 in a domestic fixture in South Africa.

The 20-year-old South African’s knock off 79 deliveries, including 13 sixes and 15 fours, helped Titans post 267-3 against Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge.

It eclipsed the 175 made by Gayle for Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) against Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League.

Pretorius, who has played 17 T20s, three one-dayers and two Tests for South Africa, finished with a strike rate of 237.97.

He made his half-century off 24 balls but only required 16 more balls to get to three figures and then got to 150 off just 58 deliveries.

Titans then bowled out Knights for 143 to wrap up an emphatic 124-run victory at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

India defeat Bangladesh by 114 runs to book women’s cricket final against Sri Lanka, who beat Pakistan by eight wickets.

Smriti Mandhana has become the highest run-scorer in women’s T20 international cricket, guiding India to a crushing win over Bangladesh in an Asian Games semifinal in Japan.

The recently crowned Asian champions defeated Bangladesh by 114 runs on Sunday as Mandhana’s fellow opener Shafali Verma hit her maiden T20 hundred at the Korogi Athletic Park ground in Nagoya.

Mandhana scored 37 off 19 balls with five fours and two sixes in her side’s 195-4 in 20 overs and, in the process, went past New Zealand all-rounder Suzie Bates’s 4,758 runs at the top of the all-time list to stand on 4,788 runs from 171 innings.

Earlier this month, Mandhana reached the top of overall run-scoring charts in women’s international cricket after smashing a record-breaking 124 off 64 balls in the Women’s Asia Cup in Dubai.

Mandhana overtook former India captain Mithali Raj, who had been the top international scorer with 10,868 international runs, during her match-winning innings against Hong Kong on Thursday.

Verma was the star on the day for India in the Asian Games semifinal, scoring 100 not out off 49 balls with three fours and nine sixes. She reached her hundred off the final ball of the 20-over innings and was clearly emotional as she took off her helmet and raised her bat in celebration towards her applauding teammates on the boundary.

India then restricted Bangladesh to 81 in 15.4 overs.

The 50-over world champions will meet Sri Lanka on Tuesday in the gold medal match, which will be a replay of the Asia Cup final from last Sunday, when India won a record-extending eighth title.

Sri Lanka advanced to the final after their captain Chamari Athapaththu led them to an easy eight-wicket win over Pakistan with more than two overs to spare.

The island nation hunted down the 178-run target with 13 balls to spare as Athapaththu led the scoring with 83 not out.

Earlier, Pakistan were asked to bat first and, with half-centuries from Ayesha Zafar and Shawaal Zulfiqar, they posted a total of 177-4 in 20 overs.

Zafar, who hit the joint third-fastest fifty for Pakistan in WT20Is off 27 balls, shared a record stand of 115 with Zulfiqar, which is the second-highest in the format for Pakistan and the highest for the third wicket.

Pakistan were able to score 27 runs off the last three overs as their all-rounder captain Fatima Sana hit two fours and one six in her 12-ball 20.

In reply, Sana broke Sri Lanka’s 36-run opening stand in the fifth over, bowling out Imesha Dulani for 27. Athapaththu, who hit seven fours and six sixes in her 50-ball knock, joined forces with Hasini Perera (42) to form a match-winning 95-run partnership off 56 balls.

Nashra Sundhu provided Pakistan the breakthrough in the 14th over, with Sri Lanka requiring another 47 runs off the last six overs, but Athapaththu’s quickfire stand of 47 off 23 balls with Harshitha Samrawickrama (17 not out) took their team over the line with 13 balls to spare.

Pakistan will play Bangladesh for the bronze medal, also on Tuesday.

Who: India vs Sri Lanka
What: Women’s T20 Asia Cup final
Where: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
When: Sunday, September 13, 6:30pm local time (14:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 3:30pm local time (13:30 GMT) before our live text commentary stream.

Record seven-time winners India face defending champions Sri Lanka in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup final on Sunday, as the 15-match competition in the United Arab Emirates readies itself for its closing act.

In a tournament which has largely yielded low-scoring contests, both Indian and Sri Lankan spin units have tasted success – Deepti Sharma spearheading the heavyweights’ charge and captain Chamari Athapaththu leading by example for the title holders.

Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana’s terrific top-order pairing has further strengthened India’s title bid at the tournament, where both teams boast a perfect record.

Having reached the final in every edition of the Women’s Asia Cup they have played, India are favourites to add another trophy to their glittering cabinet.

But Sri Lanka possess a threat of their own – they are one of only two sides who have beaten India in the title clash in past and will be eager to retain the trophy they proudly lifted two years ago.

Before Sunday’s showdown, Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the game:

Who did India and Sri Lanka beat in the semifinals?

India defeated Bangladesh in the first semifinal on Thursday by 40 runs before Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by four wickets in Friday’s low-scoring thriller.

When did India and Sri Lanka last meet?

The pair last met in a T20 international in Thiruvananthapuram on December 30, 2025, as hosts India defeated Sri Lanka by 15 runs, sweeping that series 5-0.

Records swing heavily in India’s favour – they have won nine of their last 10 T20Is against Sri Lanka.

How many Women’s Asia Cup titles have India won?

India are the most successful team in the Women’s Asia Cup, having won a record seven titles.

They won the 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008 editions, when the tournament was played in a one-day international format, as well as the 2012, 2016 and 2022 T20 editions.

How many Women’s Asia Cup titles have Sri Lanka won?

Sri Lanka have won the Women’s Asia Cup once, winning the last edition in 2024 after beating India by eight wickets in the final.

Who are India’s key players?

India’s openers Shafali and Mandhana are the top two leading scorers in the ongoing edition, having scored 168 and 154 runs each in four matches.

Shafali has registered two half-centuries – scoring identical 64s against Thailand in the opener and Bangladesh in the semifinals – while Mandhana hit an incredible 124 against Hong Kong in the league phase.

With the ball, all-rounder Deepti has been most impactful with her spin bowling, bagging a joint-highest 11 wickets with an average of 3.63.

N Shree Charani has also played a key role with eight wickets and holds the record for the second-most economical bowler (3.27).

Who are Sri Lanka’s key players?

Captain Athapaththu, who bowls right arm off-break, has been Sri Lanka’s most impactful player, sharing the honours of the most wickets with Deepti at 11, with an average of 5.36. Left-arm orthodox bowler Sugandika Kumari has also contributed with six wickets.

With the bat, top-order left-hander Harsthitha Samarawickrama has chipped in 89 runs for the fourth-highest scorer in the competition.

Form guide

Last five matches, most recent first:

• India: W-W-W-W-L
• Sri Lanka: W-W-W-W-L

What have the players said?

India’s Deepti Sharma: “[This] team doesn’t take any team lightly … We always think as a team, ‘How we can do better in each and every game. As a collective team performance, how we can do better.’”

Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu: “If we can execute our plans in the final, I think we can beat any team.”

Probable India XI

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Kranti Gaud, N Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma

Probable Sri Lanka XI

Imesha Dulani, Chamari Athapaththu (captain), Sanjana Kavindi, Harsthitha Samarawickrama, Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Nilakshika Silva, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wicketkeeper), Sugandika Kumari, Chamudi Praboda, Mithali Ayodhya

Where can I watch India vs Sri Lanka?

• India: Sony Sports, SonyLIV
• Sri Lanka: TV1, Sirasa TV
• Pakistan: PTV Network, Tamasha
• Bangladesh: T Sports, iScreen
• United Kingdom: Sony MAX
• MENA region: StarzPlay Cricket, StarzPlay