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LONDON: Seamers Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali took four wickets each as Pakistan seized control of the first test against Zimbabwe on the opening day at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday. The pair helped the tourists dismiss their hosts for 176 in the first innings, before Pakistan reached 103 without the loss of a wicket in reply at the close to trail by 73 runs in the first game of the two-match series. Openers Abid Ali (56 not out) and Imran Butt

LONDON: Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton said on Thursday (Apr 29) he planned to be in Formula One next season, was enjoying this year's title battle and had already been laying the groundwork for 2022. The 36-year-old, who is out of contract with Mercedes at the end of this year, tested Pirelli's 18-inch 2022 tyre compounds at Imola this month. Never a big fan of testing, the Briton told reporters ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix that for once he had volunteered to

VILLARREAL, Spain: Villarreal claimed a narrow advantage in their Europa League semi-final against Arsenal with a 2-1 home victory in the first leg on Thursday (Apr 29), although they will feel frustrated at letting the London club off the hook. First-half goals by Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol put the Spanish club in command and it looked bleak for the visitors when Dani Ceballos was sent off just before the hour mark. Arsenal were rocking and needed keeper Bernd Leno to avoid them

SINGAPORE: South Korea's Inbee Park overcame steamy conditions to lead the HSBC Women's World Championship first round with an eight-under-par 64 as she seeks her third title in Singapore on Thursday (Apr 29). Despite confessing that she does not enjoy the heat, the reigning Olympic champion showed she was still one for the big occasion as she signed for a bogey-free card, marked by eight birdies. The tournament, cancelled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is the first event on any international

The Canadian GP has been cancelled for the second successive year due to Covid-19 and will be replaced in its June slot by Turkey. F1 says that international travel restrictions in Canada meant it "became impossible for Formula 1 to enter the country without a mandatory 14-day quarantine" for the Montreal event. The Turkish GP at Istanbul Park will instead take over the June 11-13 slot Turkey proved a popular addition to last year's revamped schedule after a nine-year absence from the sport

South Africa’s Kevin Anderson recorded 12 aces and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Millennium Estoril Open with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena on Wednesday in Portugal. Anderson trailed 2-4 in the tiebreak before winning five straight points to finish in one hour and 49 minutes. He'll face No. 6 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia, who endured two rain delays and rallied to beat Portugal's Nuno Borges 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4. No. 3 seed Ugo Humbert of France

Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek said on Wednesday (Apr 28) that he has secured funds to test the resolve of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke in a bid to buy the Premier League club from the American billionaire. Kroenke and his son and director Josh put out a joint statement on Tuesday saying that they remain "100per cent committed to Arsenal" and were not interested in selling a stake in the club despite furious backlash from the fans. Thousands of fans protested outside

LONDON: Silverstone will be the first circuit to trial Formula One's new sprint qualifying format, the British Grand Prix venue said on Wednesday (Apr 28). The sport confirmed this week that teams and bosses had agreed unanimously to debut a new points-scoring qualifying race at three grands prix, yet to be confirmed, this season. "We are incredibly excited that Silverstone fans will be the first to experience the Formula One sprint qualifying format at this year’s British Grand Prix," said the circuit's managing

LONDON: Harry Kane has said he is frustrated at not winning trophies with Tottenham Hotspur even as the prolific striker continues to win individual accolades every season. Kane was named Premier League Player of the Year at the London Football Awards and the 27-year-old leads the league with 21 goals as he looks to win his third Golden Boot award. However, the north London side blew an opportunity to win their first trophy since 2008 when they lost the League Cup final to

PARIS: Manchester City took a big step towards their first Champions League final as goals by Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez earned them a 2-1 comeback win at Paris St Germain in the semi-final first leg on Wednesday (Apr 28). PSG went ahead courtesy of a Marquinhos header in the first half, but Mauricio Pochettino's side lost control after the break with De Bruyne and Mahrez finding the back of the net in the space of eight minutes to secure City's 18th

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will look to sort out their middle-order woes and bring their campaign back on track when they take on an inconsistent Rajasthan Royals in an IPL game, on Thursday. MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses, the last one being a nine-wicket defeat against Punjab Kings in Chennai and need to start the Delhi leg afresh. The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan have lost thrice in the tournament so far and will seek to build on the six-wicket

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings beat bottom side Sunrisers Hyderabad to go top of the IPL on Wednesday as the big-money tournament staged its first game in India's coronavirus stricken capital. Scores of police guarded the barricaded gates around the Feroz Shah Kotla ground in Dehli during the match which Chennai won by seven wickets in 18.3 overs. Normally the stadium would be packed with 40,000 people for major cricket games. But with Delhi accounting for more than a tenth of the 3,200

LONDON: The Wimbledon Championships will become a 14-day tournament from 2022, with matches set to be played on Middle Sunday, traditionally a day off at the grasscourt Grand Slam, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said on Tuesday. The first Sunday of Wimbledon is normally a rest day, on which tournament organisers work to get the courts back into top shape for the latter rounds, resulting in a packed "Manic Monday" schedule. "From 2022, to coincide with the centenary of centre court,

LONDON: Europe's soccer governing body UEFA is set to increase the size of the national team squads at this year's European Championship from 23 to 26 players, British media reported on Tuesday (Apr 27). The rule is being changed to lighten the burden on players after the start of the 2020-21 season was delayed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic while the campaign was also compressed to finish by May, in time for the Jun 11-Jul 11 Euros. The decision was taken

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) rode on an AB de Villiers special and a solid final over from Mohammad Siraj to inflict a one-run defeat on Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The ever-reliable De Villiers scored an unbeaten 42-ball 75 to power RCB to 171 for five before their bowlers, led by Harshal Patel (2/37), Mohammed Siraj (1/44) Kyle Jamieson (1/32), restricted DC to 170 for four. Needing 14 off the final over, DC fell agonisingly

No. 7 seed Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany moved into the second round of the BMW Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory Tuesday against Slovakia's Andrej Martin in Munich, Germany. Struff struck six aces and only faced two break points (saving one) during the 76-minute match. Up next is compatriot Dominik Koepfer, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 winner against three-time Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber. No. 5 Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia cruised 6-2, 6-3 over Brazil's Thiago Monteiro. American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald upset No. 6 seed

World number eight Tyrrell Hatton became the fourth player to withdraw from this week's Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, after receiving a positive test for COVID-19, the PGA Tour said on Tuesday. The Englishman, who finished in a share of eighth place at last week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans team event with 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett, was among the top players in this week's field at Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead course. "Hatton will have the PGA Tour's full support throughout his

Christian Horner has told that he was "delighted" to lure Ben Hodgkinson away from rivals Mercedes, but says Andy Cowell - who left the F1 world champions earlier this year - is unlikely to be joining Red Bull's "tremendously exciting" engine project. Red Bull made a big statement last Friday when they announced the hiring of Hodgkinson as technical director for their new engine programme, given his two-decades worth of experience for Mercedes' Powertrains division. In an interview with Sky Sports News' Craig

Julian Nagelsmann will take over as Bayern Munich coach from next season to replace Hansi Flick, the reigning German champions announced on April 27. Nagelsmann, who is just 33, will move from RB Leipzig on a five-year contract after Flick, whose relationship with the club's powerful sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has deteriorated over transfer policy, asked to be released from his contract. "I am convinced that Bayern's sporting future will be a very successful one with Julian Nagelsmann," Oliver Kahn, the club's former

SYDNEY: Australia's Olympic Committee on Wednesday (Apr 28) hailed a decision to fast-track COVID-19 vaccinations for athletes travelling to the Tokyo Games despite accusations of queue-jumping. The Australian government announced late on Tuesday that an estimated 2,000 athletes and staff members would get jabs before travelling to the games, which are scheduled to begin on Jul 23. "We want to see our athletes head to Tokyo to compete and then return to Australia safely," said health minister Greg Hunt. Australian Olympic Committee CEO