Sports

DHAKA: Najmul Hossain struck his third Test century as Bangl­adesh dominated a hapless Afghanistan to score 362-5 on the first day of the one-off Test in Dhaka on Wednesday. Najmul made 146 off 175 balls and set up an imposing total in his 212-run second-wicket partnership with Mahmudul Hasan, who hit 76 to make his third Test fifty. Mushfiqur Rahim …

ST PIERRE (Mauritius): With the defence reinforced, Pakistan showed greater resolve and even though the national team fell to a 1-0 loss to Kenya on Wednesday there were signs of improvement. Even Kenya coach Engin Firat felt it. Pakistan came into the game after being pummeled by hosts Mauritius in a 3-0 loss in their Four Nations Ser­ies opener on …

LONDON: Veteran seamer James Anderson is still addicted to cricket at 40 and only getting better with age, his strike partner Stuart Broad said, with the prolific England pair expected to play key roles as they enter their ninth Ashes campaign. Anderson appears to be impr­oving with time and has shown no signs of losing his edge. He is England’s …

PARIS: Paris Olympics security coordinator Ziad Khoury has resigned following his suspension for alleged “inappropriate behaviour” towards a woman, officials said Sunday. Khoury’s functions were “terminated at his request,” according to the official newsletter of the 2024 Games. Khoury, 53, had been the subject of a complaint following inappropriate remarks that he was alleged to have made during a trip …

LONDON: Consistency may not be Zak Crawley’s biggest strength but England vice captain Ollie Pope has no doubt the opener would make his mark in the Ashes series against Australia this month. Crawley has a Test average of 28.26 but appears to enjoy the backing of his team management, which values his match-winning ability more than his output. Pope reckoned …

India’s defeat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final on Sunday underlined the cricket-mad country’s lack of success in global tournaments and has thrown the future of their frontline batters into doubt. India’s much-vaunted top order let them down at The Oval, where Australia secured a 209-run victory to be crowned Test cricket’s world champions. India, who lost the inaugural WTC final to New …

LAHORE: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has received the approval to release the pending salaries of former Pakistan head coach Siegfried Aikman and a cheque is most likely to be handed over to the Dutchman via the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) soon. “The PSB has received the approval [to release] the pending payments of Mr. Aikman and most probably the …

BEIJING: Hundreds of jubilant fans greeted Lionel Messi as he arrived on Saturday in Beijing, where his World Cup-winning Argentina will face Australia in a friendly match next week, before leaving a storied European career to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami as a free agent. His arrival was annou­nced in a post on the organising International Foot­ball Invitation’s …

ISTANBUL: Manch­ester City won the first Champions League in their history on Saturday and secured a treble of trophies by beating Inter Milan 1-0. In a far closer match than many pundits had predicted, Rodri’s sweetly-struck goal proved the difference for Abu Dhabi-backed City, who have already won the Premier League and FA Cup this season. Rodri sidefooted in on …

LAHORE: The stance maintained by the Pakistan Cricket Board has paid off. The Board of Cricket Control in India has accepted the ‘hybrid model’ proposed by the PCB to host the Asia Cup, sources close to the matter told Dawn on Saturday. Under the model, the first four matches of the tournament will be hosted in Pakistan before it is shifted to …