Sports

DOHA: Morocco coach Walid Reg­ragui has urged his team to believe they can defeat powerhouse Spain as they attempt to reach a first World Cup quarter-final. The north African side are in the last 16 for only the second time after advancing as winners of Group ‘F’ ahead of 2018 runners-up Croatia, having defeated Belgium and Canada in Qatar. “It …

HATS off to England, the brave England, for reviving five-day cricket. Test cricket was dead — or perhaps was meant to shield home batters — and almost buried on the first four days at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. But eventually the courage and the belief innovatively inculcated into this Ben Stokes-led brigade by Brendon McCullum did wonders for them in dimming light. …

Skipper Ben Stokes hailed England’s nail-biting victory in the first Test against Pakistan on Monday as “one of the best” of his career — particularly given the state of the lifeless Rawalpindi pitch. With just minutes to spare in dying light after five days of enthralling cricket, England finally halted a heroic last stand by Pakistan’s tailenders to win the first Test …

Pace spearhead Haris Rauf has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against England due to an injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Tuesday. “A grade-II strain in [the] right quad has ruled Haris out of the Test series against England,” the cricket board said. The fast bowler underwent a MRI during …

DOHA: Brazil forward Neymar is set to play for the five-times champions in their World Cup last-16 match against South Korea on Monday after recovering from an ankle injury, coach Tite said. Neymar suffered the injury in Brazil’s opening 2-0 win over Serbia, which ruled him out of their 1-0 win over Switzerland and the shock defeat by Came­roon, one …

DOHA: Japan will “fight like samurai” in Monday’s World Cup last-16 clash with Croatia as they battle to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, defender Yuto Nagatomo said. Japan reached the knockout round after stunning Germany and Spain to top Group ‘E’ but they are not satisfied with what they have achieved so far in Qatar. Veteran Nagatomo is …

AL KHOR: England set up a titanic World Cup quarter-final against holders France as Jude Bellingham’s masterclass insp­ired a 3-0 win against Senegal in the last 16 on Sunday. Gareth Southgate’s side survived a nervous start at the Al Bayt Stadium before Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane put Senegal to the sword with a pair of clinical finishes before half-time. …

It’s day five of the first Pakistan versus England Test series in Rawalpindi and fans are not happy with the Green Shirts’ progress. They claim that the team is trying to draw the match instead of playing to win and are super disappointed with the “tuk tuk” play and lack of intent. Team Pakistan is currently batting in the second …

ARSHAD Nadeem, whose record-breaking throw in the javelin final of the latest Commonwealth Games brought Pakistan’s first track and field medal in 56 years, underwent elbow surgery in London on Sunday. The surgery was performed by Dr Ali Sher Bajwa, who said in a video message that he was confident about Mr Nadeem’s full recovery, according to a Geo News report. Mr Nadeem, who …

All-rounder Liam Livingstone has been ruled out of the rest of England’s tour of Pakistan with a knee injury, the team’s management said on Monday. The 29-year-old made his Test debut on Thursday in the ongoing first Test in Rawalpindi, scoring nine and seven not out in England’s two innings. But he jarred his knee while fielding on day two …