RawalpindiPeople have been advised to take extra care of their health in the wake of heat spell prevailing in most parts of the country.

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ISLAMABAD: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has sought an explanation from the provinces over high water losses with experts rightly apprehendi

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KARACHI: Perhaps for the first time in his career, any case involving Shoaib Akhtar has been overshadowed by a scandal that has some other Pakistan cr

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ISLAMABAD: As part of his efforts to prolong his stay, President Pervez Musharraf has tried to woo some senior members of the Ex-Servicemen Society th

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LAHOREPunjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif said Sunday that the judicial reforms and the promotion of education would be at the top of th

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Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz shared six wickets to script Pakistan’s emphatic 70-run victory over Bangladesh in the opening match of a triangular one-day series here on Sunday.

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MIRPUR, DHAKA: Pakistan easily outclassed Bangladesh by 70 runs in the rain-curtailed opening match of the triangular series here on Sunday at the Sher-e-Bangal National Stadium.Chasing 234 runs to win the match at their home ground, Bangladesh were restricted at 163 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 40 overs with a fighting unbeaten knock of 56 runs by their captain Mohammad Ashraful.Other main scorers were opener Tamim Iqbal (29) and tail-ender Abdul Razzak (26 not out) while six players could not enter into double-figures and three of them were dismissed for nought.Spinners Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz claimed three wickets each for 19 and 22, respectively while pacer Umar Gul tool two for 28.Earlier, Ashraful won the toss and invited Pakistan to bat first after the match was reduced to 40 overs-a-side due to rain.Pakistan were all out for 233 runs in 39.4 overs after openers Salman Butt and Kamran Akmal gave Pakistan a solid start of 75 runs and later Butt and Mohammad Yousuf added 65 runs for the third wicket partnership.Salman Butt made 70 runs with ten fours and Yousuf scored 59 with seven fours but after then no batsman could make any significant score except Misbah-ul-Haq, who blasted 39 off 22 balls with three fours and two sixes, and then the collapse began.The last five wickets fell for just six runs as Bangladeshi pacer Aloke Kapali and slow left-arm bowler Abdul Razzak captured three wickets each for 49 and 35 runs, respectively, and Mashrafe Mortaza claimed two for 36.Dolar Mahmud made his international debut for Bangladesh.Teams: Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Shahriar Nafees, Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Raqibul Hasan, Alok Kapali, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Dolar Mahmud, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain.Pakistan: Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal (wk), Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik (captain), Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul.

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DHAKA - Salman Butt and Mohammad Yousuf hit half-centuries as Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 70 runs on Sunday in the rain-delayed opening match of a triangular one-day series.

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ANTWERP, BELGIUM: Penalty corner striker Muhammad Ateeq fired in a brace of goal as touring Pakistan hockey team trounced Belgium Under21 team with a hefty margin 4-0 on their last-leg of the European tour here at Dragon Hockey Club Ground.However, manager Pakistan team Zakauddin has expressed his reservations on umpiring after the match ended.Despite confronted by injury problems, Pakistan gave a sterling performance against a youthful Belgian side who fought tooth and nail to restrict the visitors to a limited score. Pakistan forged ahead in the fifth minute of the first period through Muhammad Ateeq’’s first penalty corner, whose rasping low push sounded the board. Belgians retaliated and earned two consecutive penalty corners which proved abortive. However, the combination of Shakeel Abbasi, Muhammad Saqlain and Rehan Butt brought the Belgian defence under tremendous pressure and Pakistan earned their second penalty corner in the 20th minute. Ateeq, whose conversion perfection is increasing with the passage of matches, drag-flicked with tremendous power to double the lead. Ten minutes later an electrifying move between Shakeel Abbasi and Rehan Butt stretched the lead further when latter’’s fierce shot from a close angle gave no chance to the goalkeeper. Pakistan comfortably led 3-0at half time.The visitors continued their forays on resumption and within two minutes added their fourth goal through left winger Haider Abbas” bullet-like back hand shot. Pakistan indulged in some erratic hockey thereafter and thus squandered away few goal scoring chances. Pakistan has developed an effective right flank with Shakeel Abbasi, Waqas Akbar and Muhammad Javaid but it’’s the left flank which is a bit worrisome for the management. Inside left Muhammad Zubair’’s tendency to position himself too close to left winger Haider Abbas hampers the flow of the nimble-footed left winger and thus Pakistan is perilously deprived of an effective two-pronged attack. Meanwhile, the fast moving Belgians countered late in the second half and had some goal scoring chances including two penalty corners but goalkeeper Nasir Ahmed was brilliant with his anticipation and interceptions. Pakistan had their share of penalty corners but they were wasted.”We have got injury problems here,” said manager-chief coach Khawaja Zakauddin, “but I am confident that we will manage it. Forward Waqas Sharif is not fully fit and so is team captain Zeeshan Ashraf but I think Zeeshan will be OK when we reach Dublin.” Coach Naveed Alam was optimist about Pakistan’’s chances of winning the tournament at Dublin, “We have formed a good combination with youth and experienced and hope that the team would put up a good performance.” Pakistan will play first Test against Belgium Olympic team on Saturday. The second Test will be played on Sunday. The team will fly to Dublin, Ireland June 9 to take part in the Satanta 4-Nation Hockey Tournament being played there from June 11 to 15.Pakistan, host Ireland, Olympic qualifiers Britain and Canada are the other participants of the event.

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A senior police official says four policemen died and he and two others were wounded when unknown attackers fired guns and then a rocket at their patrol in Pakistan’s volatile northwest.

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