Pakistan’s brittle batting was exposed again as a Ben Sears-inspired New Zealand won the third and final one-day international by 43 runs Saturday to sweep the series 3-0.The tourists were dismissed for 221 off 40 overs in response to New Zealand’s 264-8, in a match shortened to 42 overs after a delayed start at Mount Maunganui.It followed the pattern of the first two games, with the hosts winning the opener in Napier by 73 runs, followed by an 84-run victory in Hamilton.New Zealand also dominated the preceding T20 series, winning 4-1.Pakistan struggled throughout the tour to adjust to the sustained bounce and movement of New Zealand’s seam attack and their batsmen were again guilty of rash shots at Bay Oval.Aggressive pace bowler Sears claimed 5-34 to follow his five-wicket bag in Hamilton, with four of his victims falling to short-pitched deliveries.Player of the series Sears became the first New Zealander to claim five wickets in successive ODIs and said he simply appreciated a chance to play in the 50-over series, having previously been considered a T20 specialist. “It was a cool couple of days, I’m pretty grateful to get the opportunity against a really good team and it was cool to get some wickets,” said Sears, who adopted the same successful approach in both games.”Same plan, it was just trying to hold it through the middle and just keep that pressure going. It was just cool to be part of that performance.”Fellow seamer Jacob Duffy, who was a handful in both series, took 2-40, including the wicket of Mohammad Rizwan for 37 in the 33rd over to effectively end the tourists’ hopes of victory.Babar Azam top-scored with 50 off 58 balls while opener Abdullah Shafique ground out a sluggish 33 off 56.- Pakistan outplayed again -Pakistan’s innings began badly when opener Imam-ul-Haq was forced to retire hurt for one, having been struck on the jaw by a fielder’s throw when attempting a quick single.Rizwan conceded his team had been outplayed.”It’s a disappointing series. I will give credit to New Zealand, they played really well in all departments of the game,” he said.”They are like true professionals in all departments. And we need to improve and that’s it, we need to play better against the new ball.”Earlier, Rhys Mariu scored a maiden half-century after New Zealand were asked to bat first, with the start of the match delayed for two hours because of a wet outfield.Opener Mariu, playing just his second international match, scored a composed 58 off 61 balls, featuring six fours and two sixes.A number of New Zealand middle-order batsmen made starts but didn’t press on for big scores until captain Michael Bracewell produced a flashy 59 at the death.Bracewell struck six sixes in his 40-ball knock before being caught off the last ball of the innings bowled by Akif Javed.Seamer Javed took 4-62 off his eight overs although Naseem Shah was arguably the best of the Pakistan bowlers, taking 2-54 and bowling with good pace and movement.

Sri Lanka’s leader rolled out the red carpet on Saturday for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Colombo balances ties with neighbouring giant India and its biggest lender, China.President Anura Kumara Dissanayake welcomed Modi — the first foreign dignitary to visit Colombo since the leftist leader swept elections last year — with a 19-gun salute.Dissanayake and Modi are expected to sign agreements on energy, defence and health, but the visit’s highlight will be the launch of an Indian-backed 120 megawatt solar power project.The solar plant on the island’s northeastern Trincomalee district had been stalled for years, but reinvigorated with New Delhi’s backing as a joint project.Modi, who praised his “spectacular welcome” to Sri Lanka after arriving in Colombo late on Friday evening, was given an honour guard parade in the capital’s Independence Square.His visit comes as Colombo grapples with the competing interests of New Delhi and Beijing.New Delhi has been concerned about China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka, which it considers to be within its sphere of geopolitical influence.- Regional allies  -Dissanayake’s first foreign visit was to New Delhi in December, but he followed that with a visit to Beijing in January, underscoring Sri Lanka’s delicate balancing act.China has emerged as Sri Lanka’s largest single bilateral creditor, accounting for more than half of its $14 billion bilateral debt at the time the island defaulted on its sovereign debt in 2022.Beijing was also the first to restructure its loans to Sri Lanka, a move that cleared the way for the island to emerge from that year’s worst-ever economic meltdown.Colombo also signed an agreement announced in January with a Chinese state-owned company to invest $3.7 billion on an oil refinery in the island’s south.It would be Sri Lanka’s largest single foreign investment and is seen as crucial for the island’s economy.New Delhi has expressed concern over China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka.Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka comes after a summit in Thailand and a string of meetings with leaders of regional nations as he sought to shore up India’s relations with neighbours.On the sidelines of the Bangkok BIMSTEC meeting — the grouping of the seven nations on the Bay of Bengal — Modi held a rare face-to-face meeting with Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing.Modi also held talks on Friday with the interim leader of neighbouring Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, the first such meeting since a revolution in Dhaka ousted New Delhi’s long-term ally Sheikh Hasina and soured relations.India was the biggest benefactor of Hasina’s government and her overthrow sent cross-border relations into a tailspin, culminating in Yunus choosing to make his first state visit last month to China.Modi also met on Friday in Bangkok with his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli, the first since Kathmandu’s leader returned to power last year, as well as Tshering Tobgay of Bhutan.

Benazir Raufi stands alone in her restaurant, her staff and customers too afraid to visit after Pakistan’s government announced it was cancelling the residence permits of hundreds of thousands of Afghans.Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be cancelled — the second phase of a deportation programme which has already forced 800,000 undocumented Afghans across the border.”If I’m deported, it will destroy me. Either my heart will stop, or I’ll take my own life,” 45-year-old Raufi, who was 13 years old when her family fled civil war in Afghanistan in the 1990s, told AFP.”Pakistan gave us our smile and now those smiles are being taken away.”Ten Afghan women who worked for her have refused to leave home after the restaurant in Rawalpindi was raided by police — facing deportation to a country where women are banned from studying, certain jobs and visiting some public places like parks.”I have no one to return to. The Taliban won’t accept us,” Raufi added, her voice cracking. The government’s deadline for ACC holders to leave voluntarily has been pushed back to April, but harassment by authorities has been underway for months, according to activists. Those born in Pakistan, married to Pakistanis, or living for decades in the country are among those to have their government residence permits cancelled.The deportation campaign comes as political ties between the neighbouring governments have soured over Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating security situation along the border. Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people killed in attacks — nearly half of them security forces personnel — according to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies.Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government denies.The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force them out.- ‘No future for my daughter’ -“I have freedom (in Pakistan) — I can visit the park, and my daughter can go to school,” Dua Safay, who fled when the Taliban government returned to power in 2021.”There’s no future for me or my daughter in Afghanistan,” added Safay, whose real name has been changed.Some 600,000 Afghans have crossed the border into Pakistan since the Taliban government implemented their austere version of Islamic law.”They will be sent back to a country where conditions are extremely harsh, especially for women and children,” according to Moniza Kakar, a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer.”These people fled to escape persecution. Forcing them back into that fire is a violation of international law.”Millions of Afghans have travelled to Pakistan over the past four decades, fleeing successive conflicts including the Soviet invasion, a civil war and the post-9/11 US-led occupation.The ethnic Pashtun belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which borders Afghanistan shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Afghan Pashtuns.Around 1.3 million Afghans with resident cards issued by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) are allowed to remain in the country but have been banned from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.”Over 1,000 people have been moved to detention centres in the past three to four days, while thousands are leaving voluntarily all over Pakistan,” Kakar added.- ‘They’ll call me Pakistani’ -Many families fear being mistreated or extorted for money by the authorities if they are detained, or of being separated from relatives.”If I have to go, I’ll go in tears, with a broken heart,” said 43-year-old Naimatullah, who was born in Pakistan and has never been to Afghanistan. “They (people) won’t even see me as an Afghan — they’ll call me Pakistani. I am a nobody.”After the deadline, Samiullah, who was born in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan and is married to a Pakistani woman, will be considered an illegal foreigner.”My wife will not be able to go with me, my daughters are from here. It is a constant struggle. I can’t get caught,” the 29-year-old told AFP.Tens of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan who are waiting to be relocated to Western nations also fear being deported.Most are advised by Western nations to cross into Pakistan where their asylum claims take months to be processed.Among them is Samia Hamza, a 31-year-old women’s rights activist and mother of four, currently in the northwestern city of Peshawar.”They gave us a support letter but the Pakistani police does not recognise it,” she told AFP.”We need to stay one more month in Pakistan, then we will receive our visa to Brazil and leave.”