Pakistan edge last-ball thriller against Sri Lanka but exit T20 World Cup
Al Jazeera
Pakistan needed to beat Sri Lanka by a substantial margin to leapfrog New Zealand into second semifinal qualifying spot.
Pakistan crashed out of the Twenty20 World Cup despite a five-run victory against already-eliminated Sri Lanka in a Group Two Super Eights match in Pallekele.
Their inferior net run-rate meant Pakistan had to win big against Sri Lanka on Saturday in order to pip New Zealand and join group leaders England in the semifinals.
They racked up 212-8 after Sahibzada Farhan (100) and Fakhar Zaman (84) combined in a T20 World Cup record 176-run opening stand.
They had to restrict their opponents to 147 or less to make the last four, but Sri Lanka finished on 207-6, nearly snatching a victory.
Pavan Rathnayake made 58, and Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka smoked an unbeaten 76 off 31 balls, including hitting three consecutive sixes in the final over as his side fell marginally short of a memorable win.
Family, advocates call for full probe after Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal dies less than 24 hours after being detained.
Farmers in northern India are dressing up in bear costumes to protect their crops from monkeys.
Rights group says Tomahawk missile likely used in Minab school strike that killed at least 170 people, mostly children.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country has shown it is ready to take the war “as far as necessary”.
Oil and gas price hikes due to the war have rattled the global economy.
Airline says limited number of flights will operate as of March 18 between Qatari capital and dozens of destinations.
Iranian state media calls for turning fire festival into a symbolic protest by burning figures of US President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu.
Pushback comes as US President Donald Trump says NATO allies should help secure key waterway amid soaring oil prices.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari accuses Iran of targeting civilian areas as he calls for de-escalation.
Kenyan foreign minister meets Russian counterpart amid reports that hundreds of Kenyans were recruited to fight in Russia and Ukraine.
Despite degraded launch capabilities, Iran has enough missiles to fire strategically and keep the region on edge, experts say.
Every aspect of Iran’s ability to project regional power is being successfully degraded.