Sports

PARIS: Argentina featured heavily in shortlists for FIFA’s Best awards following their World Cup triumph, with forwards Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and coach Lionel Scaloni receiving nominations in their categories. Messi, along with his Paris St Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, were among the 14 players shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men’s …

LAHORE: While reinstating the services of its former regional coaches from Dec 26, the PCB is silent about the future of groundsmen and curators, whose services were also terminated along with reg­ional coaches in 2019, after the implementation of the new PCB constitution. The letters have been received by the regional coaches concerned. “We are pleased to inform you that you …

In popular culture, the lion is often depicted in one of two ways. The first and most common depiction shows the lion in his immovable prime, an aura of unmistakable majesty surrounding him. Behold The King himself and bow down before him, for he is wise, regal, and golden. The second depiction shows an aging lion — covered in battle …

HARARE: Former England batter Gary Ballance struck 30 runs on his Zimbabwe debut in a five-wicket Twenty20 victory over Ireland here at the Harare Sports Club on Thursday. After Ireland had been dismissed for 114 in 19.2 overs, a four from wicket-keeper Clive Madande lifted Zimbabwe to 118-5 with 12 balls to spare. Ballance, 33, was born in Harare, making …

PARIS: Lionel Messi celebrated his return to competition after the World Cup by scoring a second-half goal as Paris St Germain extended their Ligue 1 lead to six points with a 2-0 home win over Angers on Wednesday. Messi had been rested for PSG’s first three matches following the long break in the season caused by the World Cup but …

MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic was drawn on Thursday to play Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena on his return to the Australian Open and could meet Nick Kyrgios in the last eight. The Serbian star, who was deported a year ago, will kickstart his bid for a 10th Melbourne title and a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam crown against a player ranked 75th in …

KOLKATA: KL Rahul’s unbeaten 64 helped India down Sri Lanka by four wickets to clinch a series victory in the second One-day International here at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj earlier took three wickets each as India bowled out Sri Lanka for 215 in 39.4 overs. India were in trouble at …

KARACHI: If all goes by the trend, spin will again play a key role when Pakistan take on New Zealand in the deciding fixture of their three-match One-day International series — evenly poised at 1-1 — here at the National Stadium on Friday. The venue’s pitches are commonly known to be flat tracks which allow batters to dominate, but the …

Australia on Friday defended their hotly contested decision to pull out of a cricket series against Afghanistan following a Taliban crackdown on women’s “basic human rights”. Australia and Afghanistan were scheduled to play three ODIs in the United Arab Emirates in March but Cricket Australia (CA) scrapped the series after consultation with stakeholders, including the Australian government. “Basic human rights …

Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat against New Zealand in the deciding fixture of the three-match One-day International series — evenly poised at 1-1 — here at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday. Pakistan were forced to make two changes from their second match lineup as Imam-ul-Haq (hamstring injury) and Naseem Shah (fever) were out, making way …