PCB penalises Akhtar for misconduct

“Shoaib Akhtar returned to the team hotel in the morning of the second final in Sydney. He has been banned for Sunday’s match immediately and the board will also impose a heavy cash fine on him,” Zia said.

Haq apologises to fans
Stylish Pakistani batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq apologised to cricket fans on Monday for his team’s failure in Australia and vowed to fight for his place in the coming home series against Sri Lanka. “I am as disappointed as they are. We simply failed to live up to their expectations. I feel very sad at theone-sided loss in the finals,” Inzamam told AFP from his hometown Multan, in central Pakistan.

Pakistan were demolished 2-0 by Australia in the best of three finals in the tri-series down under. Inzamam failed miserably, scoring just 97 runs, at ten runs per innings in nine matches. “We failed to simply adjust to the wickets in Australia and the failure of top order also put a lot of pressure “I will fight for my place amd will do justice to my talent,” Inzamam vowed.

Jayasuriya warns of upset
Dashing Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya promised his young side will put up a tough fight against Pakistan in the coming tour and warned his team were capable of pulling off a big upset. “We know the series against Pakistan will be very tough but my young team is positive and full of confidence and has the capability to surprise any team,” jayasuriya told a press briefing on Monday, a day after his team’s arrival at Karachi.