Sports

LONDON: Arsenal have no time to dwell on their Cham­pions League exit as they return to Premier League action this weekend with the chance to reclaim top spot. Manchester City were the big winners last week, hammering Luton Town 5-1 before Arsenal and Liverpool both lost, and are now firm favourites to claim an unprecedented fourth straight English top-flight title. …

LAHORE: Pakistan will announce new set of coaches for red and white ball formats for the national team by the end of this month, an official of the country’s cricket board official told the Press Trust of India news agency on Friday. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also confirmed that besides South Africa’s Gary Kirsten and Australia’s Jason Gillispie, the board had …

West Indies Women on Thursday defeated Pakistan Women in the opening ODI by 113 runs after West Indies captain Hailey Matthews scored a career-best 140 not out — her fifth career century in 81 matches — for her side, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a press release. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat first at …

Indian captain Rohit Sharma said that he would love to be in a contest with the Pakistan cricket team in Test format. While speaking to Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist and former English skipper Michael Vaughan in a Club Prairie Fire Podcast released on Thursday, Sharma voiced his support for the resumption of bilateral cricket between the neighbours.   Pakistan and India …

Heavy rain caused the first Twenty20 international between Pakistan and New Zealand to be abandoned after just two deliveries in Rawalpindi on Thursday. New Zealand skipper Michael Bracewell won the toss, which had also been delayed by 30 minutes, and opted to bat but no action was possible for two-and-a-half hours. Umpires Ahsan Raza and Aleem Dar then announced a …

AL AIN: Al-Hilal’s record breaking run of 34 consecutive wins came to a shuddering halt on Wednesday as Jorge Jesus’ Saudi Pro League leaders were beaten 4-2 by hosts Al-Ain in the first leg of their Asian Champions League semi-final. Soufiane Rahimi’s first half hat-trick put the Hernan Crespo-coached side from the United Arab Emirates on the cusp of a …

MANCHESTER: Off the pace in the Champions League and La Liga last season, Real Madrid have bounced back strongly to give themselves a strong shot at securing both. Carlo Ancelotti’s side dug deep for long periods on Wednesday to keep reigning European champions Manchester City at bay and squeeze past them on penalties into the semi-finals of the Champions League. …

SYDNEY: Former Australia cricket captain Meg Lanning said Thursday that an unhealthy “obsession” with food and exercise led to her sudden international retirement last year aged just 31. Lanning skippered Australia’s all-conquering women’s team for almost a decade, winning four Twenty20 World Cups, a 50-over World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold. But behind the star batter’s cool exterior she says …

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant produced a wicket-keeping masterclass in Wednesday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) victory against Gujarat Titans to strengthen his claim on a place in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Pant is playing his first tournament since suffering serious injuries in a car accident in December 2022 that kept him out of last year’s IPL as well as …

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan is close to breaking a significant T20I record, currently held by teammate Babar Azam and Indian star batter Virat Kohli, during the upcoming New Zealand series. Kohli and Azam are the joint-fastest to score 3000 runs in T20I cricket, taking 81 innings each, followed by Australia’s Aaoron Finch who took 98 innings. However, Rizwan …