Sports

LONDON: Spain and Germany held on to claim uninspiring wins in the Nations League on Saturday, when Luxembourg and Montenegro also won their games. Mikel Oyarzabal pounced on a horror slip by Swiss captain Granit Xhaka to seal a 1-0 victory for Spain in an empty stadium in Madrid, while Germany defeated Ukraine 2-1 in front of more than 17,000 …

KARACHI: Inspired by a fiery burst from Haris Rauf, defending champions Northern made certain of their semi-final qualification in the National T20 Cup after thwarting Southern Punjab’s late resurgence to clinch a narrow five-run victory in Rawalpindi on Sunday. After being restricted to a below par 145-7 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Northern fast bowler Haris wrecked the top-order batting …

LAHORE: Pakistan’s upcoming three-match One-day International series against Zimbabwe has been shifted to Rawalpindi due to logistical reasons, the country’s cricket board said on Sunday. Multan was scheduled to host the 50-over matches which would now be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium from Oct 30, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement. The three ODIs are part …

NURBURG: Even Lewis Hamilton once saw Michael Schum­acher’s record of 91 wins as unbeatable. Now he’s matched it. Lewis Hamilton equalled Schumacher’s all-time record on Sunday with an Eifel Grand Prix victory that catapulted the Mercedes driver closer to a seventh world championship. While the Briton triumphed at the Nuerburgring, the German circuit where Ferrari great Schumacher won five times, …

NÜRBURGRING: Valtteri Bottas seized pole position for the Eifel Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team-mate and Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton alongside on the front row of the grid at the Nuerburgring. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who had been on provisional pole after the first flying laps of the final session at the German circuit, qualified in third place …

LAHORE: Mir Afzal Khan, caretaker Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, visited the Pakistan Olympic House here on Saturday and discussed with POA president retired Lt Gen Syed Arif Hasan the ways and means to promote Olympic sports and Movement in Gilgit-Baltistan. According to a press release issued by the POA on Saturday, CM Afzal, Lt Gen Arif Hasan and POA secretary …

PARIS: Top seed Novak Djokovic resisted a valiant and inspired fightback from Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up a French Open final showdown with old rival Rafael Nadal on Friday, winning a near four-hour battle 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1. Showing no sign of the physical problems that troubled him during his previous match, Djokovic was initially dominant and poised for …

KARACHI: Balochistan rode on an excellent contribution from Awais Zia to complete a six-wicket victory over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their First XI clash of the National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi on Saturday. The left-handed opener, who had played five Twenty20 Internationals between 2012 and 2014 without much success, anchored Balochistan home in the 17th over with an undefeated 92 despite …

LAHORE: Central Punjab fast bowler Naseem Shah has been withdrawn from the ongoing National T20 Cup after the player complained of a niggle in groin. According to a press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Saturday, Naseem, who earned a chance to play international cricket at the age of 16, has been replaced by paceman Waqas Maqsood. Naseem, …

LONDON: Serbia reached the Euro 2020 playoff finals after a double from second-half substitute Sergej-Milinkovic Savic gave them a 2-1 win away to Norway after extra time on Thursday while seven other nations joined them on a night of nerve-wracking action. Scotland will face the Serbians in Belgrade in one of four playoff finals on November 12 for a berth …