Mandhana stars in inaugural Lord’s Test

India’s Smriti Mandhana pulls against England in the inaugural women’s Test at Lord’s. Photo: AFP LONDON: India opener Smriti Mandhana fell agonisingly short of becoming the first woman to score a Test century at Lord’s as the celebrated ground staged its inaugural women’s Test on Friday. The elegant Mandhana made 83, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur…

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Sinner salutes ‘true inspiration’ Djokovic

LONDON: Jannik Sinner hailed Novak Djokovic as a “true inspiration” as the defending Wimbledon champion revealed he had to raise his game to end his rival’s title bid on Friday. Sinner produced one of his best performances this year to rout Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in a one-sided Centre Court semi-final. The world number one…

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Merino’s late goal sends Spain into WC semis

LOS ANGELES: Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semi-final against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday. The stunning finish at SoFi Stadium sets up a tantalizing showdown between European champions Spain and the tournament favorites France and the red-hot Kylian…

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England clinch T20Is against India

England captain Harry Brook and Phil Salt celebrate after scoring the winning runs in a nine-wicket victory over India in the fourth T20 at Bristol. Photo: AFP LONDON: England captain Harry Brook led the way as his side thrashed India by nine wickets at Bristol on Thursday to secure a dominant series win over the…

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Pogacar reclaims TdF yellow jersey

Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar made his decisive move on the punishing Col du Tourmalet to claim victory in the sixth stage of the Tour de France. Photo: AFP LONDON: Reigning champion Tadej Pogacar stamped his authority on the Tour de France on Thursday, winning the mountainous sixth stage and reclaiming the race leader’s yellow jersey from Torstein Traeen, who…

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Ex-FIFA referees question different fates of Balogun, Quansah

England’s Jarell Quansah is shown a red card by referee Alireza Faghani after a VAR review. Photo: REUTERS LONDON: FIFA’s handling of two World Cup red-card cases came under renewed scrutiny on Thursday after England defender JarellQuansah got a two-match suspension while U.S. striker Folarin Balogun avoided an immediate ban for a ​similar challenge. That has left former international…

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Can Messi keep delivering for Argentina?

Argentina forward Lionel Messi has scored eight goals at the 2026 World Cup. Photo: AFP/File MIAMI: Lionel Messi has scored in every World Cup match so far, but after two gruelling knockout ties, will age finally catch up with the 39-year-old in the quarter-final against Switzerland? Lionel Scaloni’s team sailed through the group stage but have been pushed to…

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France beat Morocco to reach World Cup semis

FOXBOROUGH: Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final showdown on Thursday. Mbappe’s weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but he made up for that by producing a…

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