After defeating an invincible Sri Lankan team, Pakistan have risen to become the world champions in the T20 Cricket World Cup.

Amid roars of ‘Pakistan Zindabad!’ and ‘Boom Boom Afridi!’ at the historic grounds of Lord’s, Shahid Afridi’s sensible yet electrifying batting took Pakistan Cricket to new heights.

People in Lahore and throughout Pakistan are celebrating on the streets, in their homes and at dozens of public screenings. Sweets, crackers, fireworks, and shouts of Boom Boom Afridi heard everywhere.

So much for a nation sunk in depression and conflict for so long; we badly needed this victory… :)

Pakistan Zindabad!

Defending champions of the RBS T20 Cricket League, Sialkot Stallions, have retained their crown after beating Lahore Lions in the final of the domestic tournament’s 2009 season.

After winning the toss, Lahore Lions decided to bat first at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium last night. Imran Farhat was the highest scoring batsman for the Lions who sent to the pavilion after scoring 47 runs. Twenty whole overs and a loss of eight wickets landed the Lions with a total of 150 runs; a target that was achieved rather easily by their rivals.

Opening Stallion, Imran Nazir was the star of his team who scored 57 runs; highest in the match.

Sialkot Stallions won the game with 4 wickets and 5 balls remaining.

See complete match summary here.

We congratulate the Stallions on their fantastic win and hope they get a place at the 2009 Champions League T20 tournament to be played in India this year. So far, no Pakistani team has been included in the multi-million dollar event on a presumption that Pakistan Cricket has imposed travel restrictions on its players – a claim that PCB denies.

Exclusion of any Pakistani team from the event will result in further isolation of Pakistan Cricket which has been suffering badly due to the security situation back home.

Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix lands in Lahore

Spotted at Allama Iqbal International  Airport – Hasan’s Flickr

One of the targets of yesterday’s shootout at Liberty was a van carrying Pakistani fourth umpire Ahsan Raza and ICC official Chris Broad. Just as the bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers quickly drove out of danger,  thanks to their heroic Pakistani driver, an ambulance, a police escort vehicle and the white van carrying these two officials were left behind.

Ahsan Raza @ Cricinfo.com

Ahsan Raza was seriously injured after bullet shots and is still in critical condition at a hospital in Lahore while Chris Broad miraculously survived 25 minutes of targeted shooting unscathed.

In a press conference after reaching home safely, Broad has strongly criticized the security forces which left their van alone right in the middle of the roundabout with terrorists spread all around.

Broad’s concerns and statements in this regard are very valid and justify his anger, however, we have to see what really happened as the attack continued.

When the bus carrying Sri Lankans moved on, other police vehicles might have followed hurriedly to provide cover for ‘the target’ against any further attacks on the stadium route. That might have left the remaining party vulnerable. On the other hand, it still is not clear how many escorts were initially with the convoy.

The Government seriously need to find some critical answers to these questions as soon as possible. Western media, on the other hand, is hailing the return of Broad as a ‘hero’s return’ while forgetting glorious sacrifices made by the policemen who laid their lives to cover the guests including him and his fellows. They surely owe their life to these ‘true’ heroes.

Meanwhile, we request everyone to please pray for Ahsan Raza’s life and quick recovery of all others including policemen injured in this carnage.

Teeth Maestro is currently running a poll on his blog regarding people’s opinion on who do they think planned a terrorist activity of this magnitude and significance.

Who would you blame for the Lahore Attacks?

So far, only one option gets the majority votes. Go, vote and check for yourself…

An ambush targeting the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore earlier this morning has literally sent waves of disbelief and shock across Pakistan. Citizens of Lahore are specifically terrified at the extent of sophisticated weaponry used by terrorists in an incident that caused unprecedented damage to the country’s image and its cricketing future.

On its way to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium for the second test match in series, the convoy carrying Sri Lankan players in a bus was brutally attacked by almost twelve gunmen as it passed through the Liberty Roundabout. The bus was miraculously shielded from about two rocket attacks and serious damage was avoided as Police Security escorts forcefully retaliated twenty-five minutes of heavy gunfire. This, however, did not prevent seven precious lives, including those of five policemen, from being lost while four policemen, five Sri Lankan cricketers, their assistant coach, and a Pakistani umpire sustained injuries. During this mayhem, the team was immediately driven to safety at the Stadium put under heavy guard while two of the injured players were shifted to Services Hospital.

According to the police authorities, about twelve terrorists armed with very sophisticated weapons including rocket launchers, hand grenades, Kalashnikovs, mousers and suicide jackets arrived at the scene in rickshaws and attacked the convoy, exactly when it was turning from Main Boulevard to Gadaffi Stadium, from seven directions according to a highly planned strategy.

Television footage showed all attackers making an astonishing escape after committing this heinous activity, totally unscathed, from one of city’s most important commercial centers in broad daylight. Many analysts are calling it an unparallel security lapse on behalf of the intelligence agencies and local authorities.

The only good news is that all injured cricketers and their assistant coach are stable, out of danger and will be airlifted from Gadaffi Stadium by Pakistan Air Force helicopters to the airport from where they will be safely flown back to Colombo very soon. Sri Lankan foreign minister is on his way to Pakistan to analyze the situation on ground.

In 2008, due to the deteriorating security situation and political instability in the country, Australia was the first team to cancel its tour of Pakistan. Then security concerns with respect to safety of visiting players saw Pakistan’s hopes of hosting the second most prestigious cricketing event, Champions Trophy 2008, coming to an end followed by a consecutive cancellation of India’s highly awaited tour of Pakistan earlier this year. After today’s shocking events Pakistan may see its cricketing image plunging to extreme darkness as we might not have any visitors for quite a long time now.

Forces behind a crime of this magnitude cannot be taken easily as evidence from the sophistication of weaponry and planning used by the attackers suggests that these terrorists were no ordinary ones. There has to be a comprehensive investigation of a possible internal or external involvement and it has to be conducted as early as possible to prevent future recurrences.

We are waiting and watching how the unconcerned politicians are waging a war against the will of common man who does not want anything but security, justice, and only the bare necessities of life at affordable rates. They seem to have little concern with the damage and anarchy their confrontational politics can bring to the already suffering fabric of Pakistani society.

A few hours ago, the SriLankan team was ambushed and attacked by a dozen terrorist gunmen from three sides, who are also being reported to be carrying rocket-launchers and grenades. A few of the guest team’s players were injured, but all of them have survived the attack, while 8 security forces men are reported to have died while protecting the guest team players.

A news report (in Urdu) with video footage from surveillance cameras can be found HERE.

You can follow twitter reports and opinions on #lahore as more facts (and fiction) unfold HERE.

Traffic is being diverted from the Gulberg area to other roads, and the Sri Lankan team is being transported back home immediately.

Stay safe fellow Lahoris.

The last Sunday of the month is approaching. You know this means it’s time for Critical Mass.
Join us at 10am this Sunday 22 February for Lahore’s 3rd Critical Mass cycling event.

Cyclists in China coined the term Critical Mass to describe the phenomenon that takes place when cyclists can take over streets and traffic dominated by automobiles. Critical Mass now takes place in over 200 cities around the world.
Critical Mass is not an organization. It is an idea. Critical Mass is about having clean cities that provide mobility and accessibility. Critical Mass is about clean transport.
Critical Mass is about showing a man on a cycle is the same as a man in a ten lac car. Critical Mass is about democracy. Critical Mass is about having the right to mobility.
Everyone in Lahore knows how bad the traffic is. Critical Mass Lahore is the first step in taking our streets back.
Critical Mass is an idea. Make it yours.

What do I need to participate in a Critical Mass Event?
Nothing but a road-worthy cycle and an sense of fun.

Where and how else to Critical Mass Events take place?
Critical Mass events are typically held on the last Friday of each month in cities all over the world. Get more information at www.critical-mass.info. For information about Critical Mass Lahore, some to Zakir Tikka at 10am on Sunday 22 February 2009.

Sri Lanka crushed Pakistan by 234 runs in the 3rd and final ODI played Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on 24 January 2009. The Lankans batting first set a target of 309 runs and in reply our star studded team could only come up with 75 in 22.4 overs.

As a Pakistani cricket fan I feel like the we just can’t seem to have enough embarraement on and off the field. Maybe the state of our cricket team reflects the current state of our nation.