Persistent rain in Rawalpindi washes out Day 1 of 2nd test between Pakistan and Bangladesh

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Persistent rain in Rawalpindi washes out Day 1 of 2nd test between Pakistan and Bangladesh

2024-08-30 15:25 Last Updated At：15:30

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Persistent rain washed out the opening day of the second test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Bangladesh leads the two-match series 1-0 after it notched a historic 10-wicket win at the same venue last week when Pakistan was bowled out for an embarrassing 146 in the second innings on the fifth and final day.

Players and team officials stayed in the hotel and umpires called off the play at 12:05 p.m. local time with rain still pouring down and leaving the outfield submerged.

Both teams are in the bottom half of the World Test Championship standings with Bangladesh at No. 7 and Pakistan at No. 8, just above last-place West Indies.

An embattled Pakistan, which has lost four test matches in a row since Shan Masood was elevated as captain last year, hasn’t won a home test since it beat South Africa in December 2021. The remaining four test matches against New Zealand and Australia were drawn.

Pakistan dropped rusty fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and named another left-armer Mir Hamza along with leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed in its 12-man squad.

Afridi, who was playing his first test in eight months, was ineffective and had to wait until Pakistan took the third new ball to claim 2-88 as Bangladesh replied to Pakistan’s 448-6 declared with a strong total of 565.

Abrar was surprisingly released from the first test squad and was asked to play in a four-day game against Bangladesh ‘A’ in Islamabad and Pakistan’s ploy to go with an all-out pace attack in a home test match after 28 years backfired.

In contrast left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan and off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz took seven wickets in between them on a dramatic fifth day to skittle out Pakistan for its lowest-ever total against Bangladesh in 14 test matches.

Bangladesh batters, led by Mushfiqur Rahim’s resilient 191, were also among the runs with Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Litton Das and Mehidy all scoring meaningful half centuries.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

US historian leads charity run in Kyiv to highlight the plight of Ukrainian POWs

2024-09-14 19:57 Last Updated At：20:00

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. historian and author Timothy Snyder on Saturday led a charity run in Kyiv to raise awareness of the conditions under which Ukrainian prisoners of war are held in Russia as the conflict approaches a third winter.

The race came following a recent escalation in Russian missile and drone attacks, largely aimed at Ukraine's electricity infrastructure.

People clapped and cheered after Snyder, a 55-year-old Yale University professor who has written extensively on eastern Europe and the global resurgence of authoritarian regimes and is much admired in Ukarine, addressed the nearly thousand runners. He then joined a workout and participated in the run.

“Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are illegally held in captivity during an illegal war,” Snyder told The Associated Press just ahead of the run. “This race is about reminding everyone of that and expressing solidarity with Ukrainians and giving Ukrainians a chance to do something together,” he said.

The 5 and 10-kilometer runs took place around a sprawling park in the Ukrainian capital created out of a renovated Soviet-era exhibition center.

The runners included members of the public, servicepeople and veterans, as well as wives of the POWs. Among them was 27-year-old Anastasia Ofyl, whose husband Oleksandr was captured by the Russians. “We have to fight for him,” she said. “That’s why I’m running.”

Ukrainian soldiers often give harrowing accounts of their conditions in Russian captivity when they return home as part of regular prisoner exchanges.

In a report issued in July, a United Nations human rights agency said it “continued to document the widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, against civilians and Ukrainian prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation.”

Snyder, who has organized fundraisers as part of the country’s war-relief effort, enjoys near-celebrity status in Ukraine. On Tuesday, he visited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked him for his charity work. The Ukrainian head of state also received former UK prime minister Boris Johnson, former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the American actor Michael Douglas this week.

After Saturday’s race, Snyder was surrounded by admirers, many of whom waited in line for autographs and selfies. Some asked the historian to sign translated copies of his widely-read books on Ukraine, “Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and Stalin” and “The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America.”