Sports

LEEDS, England: Afghanistan talked big after qualifying for World Cup 2019. But a series of defeats in the tournament has brought them down to earth. On Friday, Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib urged other cricket-playing nations of Asia including Pakistan to help Afghan cricket. The Afghans owe much of their success in international cricket to Pakistan but have in recent years …

LEEDS, England: When Pakistan crashed to a stunning three-wicket defeat against Afghanistan in a warm-up game on May 24 in Bristol, their World Cup preparations seemed to be in tatters. Less than five weeks later, things look completely different as the two teams clash in the World Cup here at a sun-baked Headingley on Saturday. While Afghanistan have crashed out …

PARIS:   France’s elimination from their own World Cup against the United States on Friday — 24 hours after England made the semi-finals — had the knock-on effect of qualifying Great Britain’s women for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Of the 12 qualifiers for the women’s football competition at next year’s Games, three come from the three best performing European sides at …

PARIS: Megan Rapinoe basked in the limelight as her brace downed France at the women’s World Cup on Friday and sent the United States into a huge semi-final showdown with England two days after her public spat with Donald Trump. The timing was perfect for the 33-year-old after she dominated the headlines in the build-up to this match, but also …

LONDON: Today’s second match, a day/night, will be the 37th match of the ICC World Cup 2019. This is also being played between two neighbouring countries — Australia and New Zealand — at Lord’s. Both have played so far seven matches each. Australia have won six and lost one, securing 12 points with an NRR of 0.906. They are on …

Already-eliminated South Africa dealt a huge blow to Sri Lanka’s hopes of moving onto the final four with a thumping nine-wicket defeat of the Asian side in their World Cup match on Friday at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis and Hashim Amla’s unbroken 175-run stand set the stage for their side’s victory on the batting …

LEEDS: Pakistan are still resonating with emotion after reviving their World Cup aspirations with back-to-back victories. A little over a week ago, some of the players didn’t want to leave their hotel rooms out of fear of a backlash that incessantly followed them after the India defeat. But two big wins on, few players from the same lot strutted into …

KARACHI: South Africa, the perennial chokers of international cricket without any doubt, were knocked out of the 2003 World Cup — which they were co-hosting with Zimbabwe and Kenya — in bizarre circumstances by Sri Lanka after being tipped among the favourites. In the do-or-die pool fixture at the Kingsmead in Durban, South Africa had reached 229-6 in 45 overs …

West Indies’ World Cup dream came to a cruel end on Thursday after India handed them a comprehensive 125-run defeat at Old Trafford. They were chasing a modest target of 269 runs but were swept away by India’s bowling attack and crumbled down in 35 overs. India now require one point to cement their spot in the semi finals, according …

Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, in post-victory musings on Thursday, heaped praise on his teammates for not losing hope and delivering their very best on the field against New Zealand, especially admiring Babar Azam’s innings which he said were second to none in his memory. “I don’t remember seeing a better innings in chase than the one Babar played against New …