Stars Cricket Club vs Giants Cricket Club

Stars Cricket Club chased 156 run in 19 overs with the loss of only 4 wickets against Giants in Millennium Cricket League (MCL) T20 game.  Fahad Bajwa excellent knock of 50 runs was the key in the successful run chase.Hhe wa ably supported by Mohsin Khan, Mohsin Malik, Sami Baig, Rana Hussien and Adeel Khan

Scorecard

Noman Iftikhar: From Shalwar to Limelight

Our Trip to Florida last week was a memorable one to say the least. We went to watch cricket. But the weather was something we could just dream about, living in New Jersey has SOME downfalls. So we ended up watching less cricket and doing more sightseeing and fishing.   I have no regrets about it what so ever because not only we had an awesome time but also I got to see what made my trip worth it and it was Noman Ifthakar doing what he does the best on field, watching him getting emotional after winning and thanking Allah while prostrating after winning the final of US Open before joining his teammates who were dancing and screaming for joy was a sight to see.   It made me think about the days when he started and how far he has come, from the suburbs of Jersey to Florida.
All of us had faith in him and always knew he has the talent even on the days he showed up in white shalwar for league games :) he has struggled in life to achieve what he got. It makes all of us immensely proud to call him our team mate and more importantly a good friend. What I saw on that field not only gave me a glimpse of  Noman's future but also showed me that he is in a good place in his life now. All I can do is smile and feel a little smug about the intuition that I always had about him being an extraordinary cricketer and a good kid:)

Congratulations!! Well done Nomi! Well done!

Nelson Mendela and sports

Last week the world lost another gem in the form of Nelson Mandela. We are all familiar with his great accomplishments and the major part he played in dismantling the legacy of apartheid in South Africa which aided the country to move forward from a very dark time. 

I was aware of Mr. Mandela’s political accomplishments and the way he went about in achieving it, but was not aware of how he used sports to bring his country together. One of the most famous instances was his 1995 Rugby World Cup final appearance wearing the Springboks Jersey which symbolized 
nothing but harmony and equality (If anyone is interested, the movie, Invictus portrays this scene beautifully).

This gesture of Mr. Mandela got me thinking, are there any other sports instances that has brought a whole country together? 

If I were to pick one from my recent memory, I would have to go with the World Series played between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks after the September 11 attacks. I am by no means a baseball fan, but know for a fact that everyone around the country (I would guess, besides the Diamondbacks’ fans) were rooting for the Yankees to win just so a little relief and joy can be achieved by a city that was hurting so much. 

I look forward to reading some other instances of similar nature.