Pakistan retain West Asian Baseball Cup with a flourish

National team ends campaign with a 11-0 victory over India.

KARACHI: Pakistan crushed India 11-0 on the final day of the 12th West Asian Baseball Cup to retain the title, with Iran and India securing second and third places respectively at the event which was held at the Pakistan Sports Board Complex in Islamabad.

Pakistan’s Muhammad Sumair Zawar, Muhammad Jawad, Burhan Johar and Muhammad Ahsan Baig scored two home runs apiece while Zubair Nawaz, Muhammad Arsalan and Muhammad Waqas Ismail scored one each to guide Pakistan to their third straight victory in the tournament.

“Our team did not concede any goal in all three matches, which shows we have a strong pitcher,” Pakistan captain Adil Sardar told The Express Tribune. “It feels great to have teams come from different countries. The Indian team is here for the first time and we’ve realised that Indians and Pakistanis are similar in many ways.”

Meanwhile, India captain Pankaj Chand said that although all games are played with an aim to win, their first priority was to thaw the oft-frosty relations between the two nations. “We came here with a message of peace and harmony, and I think we have achieved that,” said Chand.

He added that the tournament was well organised. “When we left India, we thought there will be problems playing in Pakistan. But we are impressed with every aspect — from security to hospitality, everything is perfect here.”

Iran down Iraq 18-4

Iran defeated Iraq 18-4 to secure second place by winning two out of three matches.

Iran’s Syed Batani and Syed Husnain scored three runs as Majid, Nima, Jalil, Yasir and Yasin contributed two, while Rajab and Majid Muhammadi scored one each.

Iranian captain Kavan Rana said that while the environment in Islamabad was safe and secure, the crowd enthusiasm needs to be worked on.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2015.

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