Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players each on a field at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard-long pitch. The game is played by 120 million players in many countries, making it the world's second most popular sport. Each team takes its turn to bat, attempting to score runs, while the other team fields. Each turn is known as an innings (used for both singular and plural).

The bowler delivers the ball to the batsman who attempts to hit the ball with his bat away from the fielders so he can run to the other end of the pitch and score a run. Each batsman continues batting until he is out. The batting team continues batting until ten batsmen are out, or a specified number of overs of six balls have been bowled, at which point the teams switch roles and the fielding team comes in to bat.

In professional cricket, the length of a game ranges from 20 overs (T20) per side to Test cricket played over five days. The Laws of Cricket are maintained by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) with additional Standard Playing Conditions for Test matches and One Day Internationals.

Pakistan

Coordinates: 30°N 70°E / 30°N 70°E / 30; 70

Pakistan (ⁱ/ˈpækᵻstæn/ or ⁱ/pɑːkiˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاكستان‎ ALA-LC: Pākistān, pronounced [pɑːkɪst̪ɑːn]), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاكستان‎ ALA-LC: Islāmī Jumhūriyah Pākistān IPA: [ɪslɑːmiː d͡ʒʊmɦuːriəɪh pɑːkɪst̪ɑːn]), is a country in South Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 199 million people. It is the 36th largest country in the world in terms of area with an area covering 881,913 km² (340,509 sq mi). Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast respectively. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

The territory that now constitutes Pakistan was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the Mehrgarh of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including Hindus, Indo-Greeks, Muslims, Turco-Mongols, Afghans and Sikhs. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander of Macedonia, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the subcontinent's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of the Subcontinent where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.

Pakistan national cricket team

The Pakistan cricket team (Urdu: پاکستان کرکٹ ٹیم‎), also known as The Green Shirts or The Shaheens), is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the team is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and participates in Test, ODI and Twenty20 International cricket matches.

Pakistan have played 858 ODIs, winning 452 (52.86%), losing 380, tying 8 and with 18 ending in no-result. Pakistan were the 1992 World Cup champions, and also came runners-up in the 1999 tournament. Pakistan, in conjunction with other countries in Southeast Asia, have hosted the 1987 and 1996 World Cups, with the 1996 final being hosted at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The team has also played 98 Twenty20 Internationals, the most of any team, winning 57 losing 38 and tying 3. Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and came runners-up in the inaugural tournament in 2007.

Pakistan have played 395 Test matches, with winning 126, losing 111 and drawing 158. The team has the third-best win/loss ratio in Test cricket of 1.135, and the fifth-best overall win percentage of 31.89%. Pakistan was given Test status on 28 July 1952, following a recommendation by India, and made its Test debut against India at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi, in October 1952, with India winning by an innings and 70 runs. In the 1950s, several Pakistani Test players had played Test cricket for the Indian cricket team before the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley (/ˈli.haɪ ˈvæ.li/), known officially by the United States Census Bureau and the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area and referred to informally and locally as The Valley is a metropolitan region officially consisting of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren county on the western edge of New Jersey, in the United States. The Lehigh Valley's largest city, with a population of 119,104, is Allentown.

The Lehigh Valley is the fastest growing and third most populous region in the state of Pennsylvania with a population of 821,623 residents as of the 2010 U.S. Census. It is eclipsed in total population only by the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. It is the 64th most populated metropolitan area in the United States. Lehigh County, the Valley's largest county in terms of overall population, is among the fastest growing in the nation as well, ranking in the 79th percentile for population growth between 2010-2012. The core population centers are located in southern and central Lehigh and Northampton counties along U.S. Route 22 and Interstate 78.

Nankana Sahib

Nankana Sahib (Urdu: ننكانہ صاحِب‎), (Punjabi: Shahmukhi: ننکانہ صاحب Gurumukhi: ਨਨਕਾਣਾ ਸਾਹਿਬ), is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak. Guru Nanak who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Today, Nankana Sahib is a city of high historic and religious value for Sikhs and is a popular pilgrimage site for Sikhs from all over the world. It is located about 80 kilometers south west of Lahore and about 75 kilometres east of Faisalabad,

History

The township was founded by Rai Bhoi and thus was known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi. His great grand son Rai Bular renamed it as 'Nankana Sahib' after the birth of Guru Nanak. The Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, originally constructed in around 1600 CE was renovated in the years 1819–20 CE by Gian-Punjab Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia The Sikh Conference of Panjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Peshawar, Kangra and Hazara.

During the Akali movement, on 20 February 1921, Narain Das, the Udasi mahant (clergy) of the gurdwara at Nankana Sahib, ordered his men to fire on Akali protesters, leading to the Nankana massacre. The firing was widely condemned, and an agitation was launched until the control of this historic Janam Asthan Gurdwara was restored to the Sikhs. Again in the 1930s and 40's the Sikhs added more buildings and more architectural design.