WORLD number one Ashleigh Barty reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time on Monday (5) beating French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 7-5, 6-3.
The 25-year-old Australian will play the winner of the match between unseeded compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic and British teenager Emma Raducanu on Tuesday (6) for a place in the semifinals.
Defeat brought an end to Krejcikova's 15-match winning streak and she will have to wait another year to see if she can emulate her late coach and mentor Jana Novotna in winning the title.
In another match, former world number one Karolina Pliskova reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal on with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian wildcard Liudmila Samsonova.
Czech eighth-seed Pliskova, who has yet to drop a set at the tournament, will face either Madison Keys of the United States or Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic for a place in the semifinals.
PAKISTAN will host its first international padel tournament next month, with Karachi’s Legends Arena set to stage the Asia Pacific Padel Tour (APPT) Grand Slam from October 30 to November 2.
The tournament will feature professional men’s and women’s competitions, along with men’s, women’s and mixed amateur events. The total prize fund is US$13,000, and registrations for amateur players remain open until October 20.
Legends Arena, which opened Pakistan’s first padel courts two years ago, has since been at the centre of the sport’s rapid growth in the country. Pakistan now has more than 350 courts, with Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad emerging as key hubs.
Jahangir Khan, chairman of Legends Arena, said the event is an opportunity for local players to measure themselves against Asia’s best. “When we started two years ago there was a lot of interest in padel but the standard wasn’t that high as everyone was just learning. But now, in two years, I can see it's a very different standard of padel here,” he said.
“Having the international tournament here at Legends Arena will be a boost to the younger generation, especially those taking up this sport very seriously. It will also give our players the opportunity to see what level they are at. I am confident that in the future, we just might have some of the top players from here as well.”
APPT CEO Carlos Carrillo said: “We are excited to come to Pakistan for the first time and bring international competition to the country. It is a pleasure to do so in collaboration with Legends Arena.”
Talal Shah Khan, CEO of Total Sports and Legends Arena, said: “Bringing the Asia Pacific Padel Tour Grand Slam to Karachi is a proud moment for all of us at Legends Arena and for Pakistan’s growing padel community.”
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Indian players celebrate after their team's comfortable win over Sri Lanka in Guwahati on Monday. (Photo: Getty Images)
INDIA began their ICC Women’s World Cup campaign with a 59-run win over Sri Lanka in the opening match in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur scored half-centuries to help India reach 269 for eight in 47 overs after rain shortened the game.
Sri Lanka started their chase strongly, reaching 82 for one in 15 overs. Skipper Chamari Athapaththu scored 43 off 47 balls, hitting freely against anything loose.
India’s spinners then turned the game. Deepti dismissed Athapaththu with a straight delivery, leaving Sri Lanka’s middle order under pressure.
Earlier, India had slipped to 124 for six after Inoka Ranaweera struck three times in one over. The 39-year-old left-arm spinner finished with four for 46.
Sri Lanka, however, dropped several chances, allowing Deepti and Amanjot to build a 103-run stand for the seventh wicket. Ranaweera also missed a return catch off Amanjot.
Amanjot top-scored with 57 from 59 balls, hitting five fours and a six. Deepti made 53 from 53 balls, her 16th ODI fifty.
With the ball, Deepti also moved past Neetu David to become India’s second-highest wicket-taker with 143, behind Jhulan Goswami’s 255.
“We lost back to back wickets and we needed to steady the innings,” said Deepti, who was named Player of the Match. “(I’m) Happy to have done that. I’m used to batting under pressure and enjoyed the challenge today.”
Sri Lanka, returning after missing the 2022 World Cup, could not recover and their batting struggled again.
The 13th Women’s World Cup is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka with eight teams. The top four from the league stage will qualify for the semi-finals.
More than 23,000 spectators attended the opener. The tournament prize money is $13.88 million, a 297 per cent increase from $3.5 million in 2022.
(With inputs from agencies)
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This was the biggest margin of victory for an associate member against a full member. (Photo credit: X/@CricketNep)
NEPAL bowled out the West Indies for 83 in the second T20I in Sharjah on Monday to secure a 2-0 lead in the series and their first-ever bilateral win against a Test-playing nation, with one match left.
Batting first, Nepal made 173 for six in 20 overs with half-centuries from Aasif Sheikh and Sundeep Jora. The bowlers then dismissed the West Indies in 17.1 overs to win by 90 runs.
Mohammad Aadil Alam finished with 4-24 while Kushal Bhurtel took 3-16 in just 2.1 overs of leg spin.
This was the biggest margin of victory for an associate member against a full member. West Indies’ 83 was also the lowest total by a full member against an associate side.
"We are very happy. It took a lot to win against a Test-playing country," Nepal captain Rohit Paudel said. His side had won the first match on Saturday by 19 runs.
"After two days, winning a bilateral series feels really great. The way we've been playing the last two or three years, lots of eyes are on us. We want to continue this way and play more against Test-playing nations," he said.
Nepal’s innings was built on a 100-run stand for the fourth wicket between Aasif Sheikh, who remained unbeaten on 68, and Jora, who scored 63 off 39 balls with five sixes.
West Indies were reduced to 23 for three and, after recovering to 63 for four in the 12th over, collapsed to 83 all out.
"For us, it's just about understanding really fast that this is international cricket," said West Indies captain Akeal Hosein. "If you try to benchmark yourself here and can't match the level, then you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself if you're really international material."
The defeat comes two months after West Indies were bowled out for 27 by Australia in a Test match, the second-lowest score in Test history. The two-time T20 World Cup winners also failed to qualify for the 2023 50-over World Cup and are currently outside the qualification places for 2027.
The third match is on Tuesday, with Nepal aiming for a 3-0 sweep.
"We want to finish the series on a high note," said Paudel. "The motivation is to complete a clean sweep but for that, we have to start again from the beginning. We want to carry this momentum into the qualifiers, and we want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup."
(With inputs from agencies)
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The presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour, with reports saying India did not want to receive the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi. (Photo: Getty Images)
India beat Pakistan by five wickets to win ninth Asia Cup title
Team did not attend delayed trophy presentation ceremony in Dubai
Tilak Varma hit unbeaten 69, Kuldeep Yadav took 4-30
Abhishek Sharma named player of the tournament
INDIA defeated Pakistan by five wickets on Sunday to win a record-extending ninth Asia Cup title but did not attend the trophy presentation ceremony.
India remained unbeaten to retain the Asia Cup crown — they also won the previous edition held in the 50-over format — but Suryakumar Yadav’s side did not collect the trophy in Dubai.
The presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour, with reports saying India did not want to receive the trophy from Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and Asian Cricket Council head Mohsin Naqvi.
"I have been informed by the ACC that the Indian cricket team will not be collecting their awards tonight," presenter Simon Doull announced. "So that does conclude the post-match presentation."
Chasing 147, India relied on Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 69 to reach the target with two balls left. Varma shared a 60-run fifth-wicket stand with Shivam Dube, who made 33 before falling at the end of the 19th over.
With 10 needed off the last over, Varma hit a six before Rinku Singh struck the winning boundary. The Indian players ran to celebrate, while Pakistan players shook hands among themselves.
Kuldeep Yadav was instrumental in India’s win with figures of 4-30, bowling out Pakistan for 146. He finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 17 scalps. Opener Abhishek Sharma was named player of the tournament for his 314 runs at a strike-rate of 200, including three fifties.
India slipped to 20-3 and later 77-4, but Varma steadied the chase with three fours and four sixes in his knock.
"It was a bit of pressure, but I wanted to stay at the wicket and finish the game," said Varma, who was named player of the match. "I was prepared to bat anywhere and I was backing on my game."
Sanju Samson contributed 24 runs, while Dube provided key support to take India across the line in front of a crowd dominated by Indian fans.
"It is a tough pill to swallow," Pakistan captain Salman Agha said. "We could not finish well in the batting. Bowling, we gave everything."
Bumrah retaliates
Tensions carried over from the teams’ earlier meetings in the tournament, with political posturing and on-field exchanges.
Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Haris Rauf for six in the first innings and responded with a gesture mirroring one Rauf had made towards the crowd in the previous match.
Put in to bat after no handshakes at the toss, Pakistan began strongly as Sahibzada Farhan scored 57 and Fakhar Zaman made 46 in an opening stand of 84. But from 113-1, Pakistan collapsed to 146 all out in 19.1 overs.
Kuldeep broke the stand in the 13th over, removing Saim Ayub, and later took three wickets in the 17th, including Agha for eight. Pakistan lost six wickets for 21 runs as Zaman fell short of his fifty.
India and Pakistan, who have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade, only face each other in multi-nation tournaments at neutral venues.
India had beaten Pakistan in both earlier meetings in the competition. In the Super Four clash, Farhan made a gun celebration after his half-century, while Rauf gestured towards the crowd in a manner seen as mocking India’s military.
In the group-stage match, Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav did not shake hands with Agha, and both teams continued the no-handshake stance throughout the tournament.
PAKISTAN will be gunning for revenge but an unbeaten India look firm favourites to retain the Asia Cup title when they clash in a potentially testy final in Dubai on Sunday (28).
The Indian juggernaut has crushed every opposition on their path before swaggering into the final of the eight-team tournament looking every inch the reigning 20-over world champions.
Pakistan were swatted aside twice, first in the group stage and then in Super Fours, by an India team containing the world's top-ranked batter and bowler in the T20 format in opener Abhishek Sharma and spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
Six-hitting machine Abhishek is also the tournament's leading scorer with 309 runs from six innings, often setting the tone of India's batting in the first six powerplay overs.
In a low-scoring tournament where only Pathum Nissanka of Sri Lanka managed a century, Abhishek's red-hot form at the top meant skipper Suryakumar Yadav's struggle with the bat has not really been felt.
Wily seamer Jasprit Bumrah has helped India control the powerplay overs with the ball but left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been their wrecker-in-chief leading the bowlers' chart with 13 wickets.
Fellow spinners Axar Patel and Chakravarthy have also kept it tight in the middle overs and the slew of all-rounders at his disposal has left Suryakumar practically spoilt for bowling choices.
Sparks flew and tempers frayed both times India and Pakistan met in what is their first tournament since a military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
India survived a scare in Friday's (26) dead rubber when they edged out Sri Lanka via Super Over, which should shake off any complacency that might have crept into their campaign.
"(I got) what I wanted from the boys -- just to try and execute their plans, be clear and not to fear," Suryakumar said of their flawless campaign heading into the final.
"That was really important and I am sure everyone got what they wanted. Happy to be in the final."
Pakistan will naturally be motivated to avoid a third defeat to India in a single tournament and will take heart from their narrow victory in Thursday's (25) virtual semi-final against Bangladesh.
"Very excited," Pakistan captain Salman Agha said of the final against India. "We know what we need to do, and we are a good enough team to beat anyone, and we will come on Sunday and try to beat them."
Meanwhile, Agha condemned India's refusal to shake hands with them, calling it "not good for cricket".
India angered Pakistan by not shaking hands in either of the first two meetings between the teams in the UAE. The tension increased when players exchanged words during last Sunday's (21) clash, with India filing an official complaint over gestures made by Pakistan duo Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan.
Agha said the lack of handshakes had left him perplexed.
"I have been playing competitive cricket since 2007 and have never seen a game go without a handshake," Agha said on Saturday (27), speaking for the first time on the controversy.
"It is not good for cricket. Even in worst times between Pakistan and India, players have shaken hands. My father is a great fan of cricket, and he never told me that such a thing happened."
Agha said players must be careful not to cross the line when it comes to discipline.
"I think every individual has his own style. If someone wants to be aggressive on the ground, then why not. If you control the aggression of a fast bowler, then nothing is left.
"Every player knows how to deal with his emotions. I give free hand to my players to react on the ground unless he is disrespecting other players and the country."
The Pakistan skipper said his team will follow the protocols for a captains' photo shoot with the trophy on Sunday, which India is likely to boycott.
"They do what they want to do," said Agha. "We will do what is in our protocol. Rest is up to them, if they want to come for that it's up to them. If they do not want to come, don't come."