INDIA’S favourite cricketing son Sachin Tendulkar will play a World Cup final in his home town of Mumbai after helping his country beat Pakistan by 29 runs in Mohali.

Pakistan must try to level their NatWest International Twenty20 series against England tomorrow, despite still having to contend with a crisis which refuses to go away.

PAKISTAN’S limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi last night described Yasir Hameed as having the mental age of an adolescent.

A UN employee and his bodyguard were killed in a shooting at a refugee camp in north-western Pakistan today, police said.

Up to 500,000 people could be forced to flee the Swat valley fighting between Taliban forces and the Pakistan army, the country's government warned today.

ANDREW STRAUSS’S love affair with Lord’s continued yesterday when he marked his first Test as England captain with a century that left Pakistan already needing a ground record-equalling 342 to win the first Test.

ALASTAIR Cook celebrated his England call-up for this week’s Test against Sri Lanka in fine style against Ireland at Chelmsford yesterday.

ENGLAND batsman Kevin Pietersen has become the third player to return home from the tour of Pakistan after suffering a recurrence of a rib injury.

Andrew Flintoff took two wickets in two balls to revive England’s hopes just when it seemed they were running out of time to force the result they need in Faisalabad to have any chance of registering a seventh successive Test series victory.

England were unable to make a much-needed breakthrough as Pakistan consolidated a slim first-innings advantage by moving to 50 without loss in their second innings at lunch on day four of the second Test in Faisalabad.