Pakistan captain Babar Azam became the fastest batsman to reach 2,000 Twenty20 international runs Sunday, achieving the feat in 52 innings, four fewer than Indian superstar Virat Kohli.
Azam lifted his T20 total to 2,035 runs by making 52 as Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe by 24 runs to win a T20 series 2-1 at Harare Sports Club.
Kohli has scored 3,159 runs in the 20-over format, but it took him 56 innings to pass the 2,000-run landmark.
After Azam and Kohli come Australia skipper Aaron Finch (62 innings) and former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum (66).
Azam won the toss, opted to bat and the tourists made 165-3 in 20 overs as they sought redemption after a shock 19-run loss two days ago.
The batting of Mohammad Rizwan (91 not out) and Azam (52) and career-best bowling from Hasan Ali (4-18) ultimately ensured Pakistan would not suffer the humiliation of losing the series.
Zimbabwe made a bold bid for victory, though, reaching 101 for one after 13 overs before being undone by the loss of three wickets within 15 balls for the addition of just eight runs.
As the Pakistan bowlers tightened their grip, only Brendan Taylor (20) made a meaningful score and the hosts finished on 141-7.
"It was a team effort," Azam said. "Rizwan and I wanted to take it deep, and I thought we finished very well.
"When I went in to bat, the wicket looked better than the first two games. I want to give Zimbabwe credit, they played brilliantly in the first half of the innings."
Player of the series Rizwan said: "The ball was coming onto the bat initially, but the ball kept stopping later on.
- 'Hard wicket' -
"We wanted to stay out there because we thought it was a hard wicket to get adjusted on. Babar and my plan was whoever hangs around has to stay there till the end."
Ali, who was voted player of the match, said: "The way their openers played was brilliant, but we felt we were in control if we got one wicket. The ball wasn't really coming on to the bat."
Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams was upbeat despite the series loss.
"We've got some talented young batsmen like Wesley Madhevere and a good group of bowlers. In the middle period, we had to attack the spinners more aggressively, but we're getting there."
It was the second successive T20 series success for the tourists after beating South Africa 3-1 before travelling to Harare.
Rizwan cracked three sixes and five fours as Pakistan exceeded the expectations of Azam, who believed it would be a challenge to surpass 140 on what he considered a bowler-friendly pitch.
After the loss of Sharjeel Khan for 18 off the last ball of the fourth over, Rizwan and Azam put on 126 for the second wicket before the captain was out in the final over.
Medium pacer Luke Jongwe, the star of the shock Zimbabwe victory, was once again the most impressive bowler with figures of 3-37.
Needing to score at a rate of 8.3 runs an over to overtake Pakistan and achieve a historic first bilateral T20 series victory, Zimbabwe began promisingly.
Unperturbed by the loss of Tarisai Musakanda for 10, fellow opener Wesley Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani speedily compiled a 65-run second-wicket stand.
But when Marumani (35) was bowled by Mohammad Hasnain, Pakistan gained the initiative and Madhevere (59) and Regis Chakabva (0) soon followed to the dressing room.
KUSH MAINI became the first Indian to win the Formula 2 Sprint Race at the Monaco Grand Prix, achieving the milestone at the track on Saturday, 24 May.
Maini’s victory at Monaco marked his first win of the F2 season and his first podium with Dams Lucas Oil.
He is the first Indian driver to secure a victory at the circuit, known for its prestige in the racing world.
Maini started the race from pole position as the BWT Alpine F1 team reserve driver. He made a strong start and maintained his lead throughout the race.
“P1 and first Indian to win at Monaco. It’s a great honour and dream come true really. I want to thank DAMS and everyone who’s supported me. We keep believing,” said Maini after the race during the podium ceremony.
Maini had qualified P10 for Sunday’s Feature Race, which placed him in pole position for the Sprint Race because of the reverse grid system. From the lights out, Maini led all 30 laps of the race.
Maini said the Monaco win was important for his confidence and performance this season, following a difficult start to 2025.
Indian business tycoon Gautam Singhania was seen in the pit lane congratulating Maini after the win. Singhania’s JK Racing, along with TVS Racing, has supported Maini’s racing career from the beginning.
Maini will look to carry the momentum from Saturday’s win to the Feature Race on Sunday and then to the race in Barcelona next weekend.
The summer rains typically start in Kerala around June 1 and then move across the country by mid-July, enabling farmers to plant crops like rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane. (Representational image: Reuters)
Monsoon rains reached the coast of India's southernmost state of Kerala on Saturday, arriving eight days earlier than usual and marking the earliest onset in 16 years. The early rains bring the promise of relief from a heatwave and support hopes of a strong harvest.
The monsoon provides nearly 70 per cent of the rain needed by India’s $4 trillion economy, helping to water farms and fill aquifers and reservoirs. Around half of India’s farmland does not have irrigation and relies on the June–September monsoon season for key crops.
The summer rains typically start in Kerala around June 1 and then move across the country by mid-July, enabling farmers to plant crops like rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.
This year, the southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 24, its earliest arrival since May 23, 2009, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
The IMD said the monsoon has reached Kerala and parts of neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as parts of Mizoram in the northeast.
The IMD said conditions are favourable for the monsoon to move further into Goa, parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, the northeastern states, West Bengal and the remaining parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the next 2 to 3 days.
Surplus pre-monsoon rainfall and the early monsoon onset will allow farmers, especially in the southern and central regions, to start sowing summer crops sooner, said Ashwini Bansod, vice president for commodities research at Phillip Capital India.
"Abundant soil moisture and early sowing could potentially boost crop yields," Bansod said.
Last year, the monsoon reached Kerala on May 30. Overall summer rainfall in 2024 was the highest since 2020, helping to recover from a drought in 2023.
The IMD last month forecast above-average monsoon rains for the second consecutive year in 2025.
The department defines average or normal rainfall as between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of the 50-year average of 87 cm (35 inches) for the four-month monsoon season.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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South Western’s first service under public ownership on Sunday was a rail replacement bus. (Photo; Getty Images)
SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAYS on Sunday became the first private train operator in the UK to return to public ownership as part of the Labour government’s plans to renationalise the country’s railways.
Renationalising rail operators is a key policy under prime minister Keir Starmer, who led his party back to power last July after 14 years in opposition.
“Today is a watershed moment in our work to return the railways to the service of passengers,” transport secretary Heidi Alexander said in a statement.
Train passengers in Britain face frequent cancellations, high ticket prices and confusion over which services they can use.
Privatisation of train operations began in the mid-1990s under Conservative prime minister John Major, but the rail network remained publicly owned and run by Network Rail.
Four of the 14 operators in England are already run by the state due to poor performance in recent years. This was originally meant to be temporary before returning to the private sector.
Labour defeated the Conservatives in elections last year, promising to improve the country’s transport services.
Legislation was passed in November to bring train operators into public ownership when contracts expire, or sooner if there is poor management. The rail operators will be managed by “Great British Railways”.
Alexander said this would end “30 years of fragmentation”, but warned that “change isn’t going to happen overnight”.
“We’ve always been clear that public ownership isn’t a silver bullet, but we are really firing this starting gun in that race for a truly 21st-century railway, and that does mean refocusing away from private profit and towards the public good,” she said.
South Western’s first service under public ownership on Sunday was a rail replacement bus.
Government data shows that four per cent of train services in Britain were cancelled in the year to April 26.
Rail unions, which have held strikes in recent years over pay and conditions during the cost-of-living crisis, welcomed the takeover.
“We’re delighted that Britain’s railways are being brought back where they belong -- into the public sector,” said Mick Whelan, general secretary of the union Aslef.
“Everyone in the rail industry knows that privatisation... didn’t, and doesn’t, work,” he said.
Two more operators serving southeastern and eastern England are set to be brought back into public ownership by late 2025.
All current contracts are due to end by 2027.
The government said renationalisation could save up to £150 million per year as it will no longer have to pay compensation fees to rail operators.
The main rail operators in Scotland and Wales, where transport policy is handled by the devolved governments, are also publicly owned.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Sheikh Hasina. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
BRITAIN's top crime-fighting unit has frozen two expensive London homes belonging to connections of Bangladesh's former leader Sheikh Hasina, as investigations into alleged money theft continue.
The National Crime Agency secured court orders to freeze the properties, which belong to Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman. His father, Salman F Rahman, was a close business adviser to Hasina and created the major Bangladeshi company Beximco, reported the Financial Times.
The frozen assets include a high-end flat in Grosvenor Square worth £6.5 million, bought in 2010, and another property in Gresham Gardens, north London, purchased for £1.2m in 2011.
Court documents show both homes are owned through companies based in the Isle of Man, the FT report added.
Sheikh Rehana, who is Sheikh Hasina's sister and mother of former British minister Tulip Siddiq, has previously lived at the Gresham Gardens address, according to voting records. It remains unclear whether she still lives there.
"We can confirm that the NCA has secured freezing orders against property in 17 Grosvenor Square, London, and Gresham Gardens, London, as part of an ongoing civil investigation. We cannot comment further at this time," the agency said.
These freezing orders stop owners from selling or moving their assets while investigations proceed.
Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission is examining both Salman and Ahmed Rahman for suspected embezzlement, according to its chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen.
Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman
A representative for Ahmed Rahman strongly rejected the allegations. "Our client denies any involvement in any alleged wrongdoing in the strongest possible terms. He will of course engage with any investigation which takes place in the UK," the spokesperson said.
"It is well known that there is political upheaval in Bangladesh, where numerous allegations are being made against many hundreds of individuals. We would expect the UK authorities to take this into consideration."
Hasina governed Bangladesh from 2009 until student protesters forced her from power last August. She now lives in India after fleeing the country during widespread demonstrations against her increasingly authoritarian leadership.
Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus now leads Bangladesh's temporary government, which aims to reform institutions including police, media and courts that he claims were controlled by Hasina's Awami League party.
Following last year's uprising, Yunus appointed central bank governor Ahsan Mansur to lead efforts recovering billions of dollars allegedly stolen by associates of the previous government.
The interim administration has frozen bank accounts and seized property belonging to suspected individuals, while cooperating with American, British and other international authorities to trace missing funds.
However, supporters of the banned Awami League accuse Yunus's government of pursuing political revenge through its anti-corruption campaign against the former regime.
Tulip Siddiq, Sheikh Hasina's niece and still a Labour MP, became involved in the scandal after Bangladesh's new government named her in two corruption investigations.
Though she denies wrongdoing, Siddiq resigned from her ministerial position in January following concerns about potential damage to the government's reputation.
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De Armas addresses rumours as she trains for a high-intensity action film with Cruise
Ana de Armas has addressed the ongoing buzz linking her to Tom Cruise, but she’s making it clear: what’s brewing between them isn’t love, it’s just work.
The actress, known for her roles in Blonde and the upcoming Ballerina, has been spotted alongside Cruise several times in recent months at dinners, in parks, and even stepping out of helicopters. These sightings quickly ignited speculation about a possible relationship. But according to de Armas, there’s nothing more to it than professional collaboration.
Tom Cruise and Ana de Armas spotted leaving a London heliport, sparking dating rumours
X/Tom Cruise News
“Of course I’m working with Tom,” she said in a recent interview, brushing off the chatter with a hint of amusement. “We’re developing a few projects together with Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie. It’s been intense, but it’s also been a lot of fun.”
Liman and McQuarrie are no strangers to big-screen action, both having long-standing ties with Cruise through films like Edge of Tomorrow and the Mission: Impossible series. De Armas spoke highly of the duo, calling them “a great team” and praising the energy and creativity on set.
While the specifics of their collaboration remain under wraps, the actress hinted that the scale of the projects demands extreme physical preparation. “The training is intense, the kind you expect when working with someone like Tom. He sets the bar high, and we’re pushing ourselves to meet it.”
This isn’t the first time de Armas has had to bat down dating rumours. During an appearance on Good Morning America, she again emphasised that multiple projects and not a romance are behind the frequent sightings with Cruise. “We’re working on a few things. Not just one. It’s exciting stuff,” she said.
Ana de Armas keeps it professional despite romance speculation with Tom Cruise
Instagram/Vogue/People
Cruise, meanwhile, has publicly shown support for Ballerina, de Armas’s lead role in the John Wick spinoff set to release on 6 June. He called the film “fantastic” and praised her performance.
Their high-profile outings, including a birthday walk in the park and a helicopter ride over London, might look like scenes from a romantic film. But as far as de Armas is concerned, they’re just part of the job.
“We’re just enjoying the process,” she said. “That’s all there is to it.”
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