Category: Top News

SYLHET: Mushfiqur Rahim etched his name deeper into Bangladesh cricket history after becoming the nation’s leading century-maker in Test cricket during the ongoing match against Pakistan at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

The veteran batter brought up his 14th Test century in style by hitting Mohammad Abbas for a boundary during Bangladesh’s second innings.

With the landmark knock, Mushfiqur moved past teammate Mominul Haque to register the most Test centuries by a Bangladesh batter. The pair had previously been level on 13 hundreds.

Mushfiqur reached the milestone in 178 deliveries, striking nine fours and a six in another composed innings that pushed Bangladesh’s lead beyond 370 runs.

Most Test centuries for Bangladesh

• Mushfiqur Rahim – 14
• Mominul Haque – 13
• Tamim Iqbal – 10
• Najmul Hossain Shanto – 9
• Litton Das – 6

The 39-year-old is already Bangladesh’s highest run-scorer in Test cricket and continued to strengthen that record with another marathon innings.

At the time of filing, Bangladesh were 340-6 with an overall lead of 386 runs, with Mushfiqur unbeaten on 108 alongside Taijul Islam on 21.

Earlier, Bangladesh had extended their dominance after reaching 307-6 at Tea with Mushfiqur batting on 90.

The experienced batter shared another crucial partnership with Litton Das, frustrating Pakistan’s bowlers throughout the second session.

The pair added 123 runs together, with Litton contributing a fluent 69 off 92 deliveries featuring five boundaries before being dismissed by Hasan Ali.

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Pakistan managed another breakthrough shortly afterwards when Khurram Shahzad bowled Mehidy Hasan Miraz for 19.

Despite losing partners at the other end, Mushfiqur remained composed and safely guided Bangladesh through the session with Taijul Islam.

Bangladesh had resumed Day Three on 110-3 but lost captain Najmul Hossain Shanto early after the skipper was dismissed by Khurram Shahzad for 15.

However, Mushfiqur and Litton once again absorbed the pressure with disciplined batting, first taking Bangladesh beyond 150 before steadily tightening their grip on the match through a series of valuable partnerships.

READ: Will Mohsin Naqvi attend IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad?

Lionel Messi struck a goal and a dazzling assist to finally earn Inter Miami a first win at their new stadium Sunday, beating the Portland Timbers 2-0.

The 38-year-old Argentine icon confounded the Timbers’ defence all night long in a timely reminder of the danger he still poses at the World Cup, which kicks off in less than a month.

Messi struck first, starting and finishing a slick team goal for the defending Major League Soccer champions on the half-hour mark.

Messi laid off the ball to Luis Suarez, who found Telasco Segovia with a through ball. Segovia’s instinctive backheel landed back at the feet of Messi, who swept it into the far corner from close range.

Ten minutes later, fellow Argentine Rodrigo De Paul romped up the right flank, finding Messi, who played a one-two with Suarez.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or-winner then slalomed his way into the box, through four defenders, before using the outside of his left foot to tee up German Berterame for a tap-in.

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Messi missed chances to add to his tally in a slower and goalless second half, curling a left-foot strike from outside the box just inches wide of the post.

And he nearly added a stunning free kick deep into stoppage time, denied by a superb James Pantemis save, who dove at full stretch and barely tipped the ball away from the top corner.

It was the fifth home game at the gleaming, purpose-built Nu Stadium, which was opened to great fanfare last month.

Until now, the 27,000-capacity arena had witnessed three frustrating draws and a humiliating Miami collapse from 3-0 up to lose 4-3 to Orlando City.

Despite their recent struggles at home, the win sends Inter Miami to the top of the Eastern Conference, one point clear of Nashville SC, who have two games in hand.

The World Cup, being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, kicks off June 11.

Along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, who lifted the trophy with Argentina at the last edition, in Qatar, is set to become the first player to appear in six different World Cups.

READ: Lille qualify for Champions League despite loss to Auxerre

Neymar was involved in a furious dispute with match officials after he was substituted by mistake as his Santos team lost 3-0 to visiting Cortiba on Sunday.

On the day before the announcement of the Brazilian squad for the World Cup, the oft-injured 34-year-old was receiving treatment in the 65th minute on the far side of the field from the team benches.

Neymar did not notice when the fourth official held up his number 10. By the time he was ready to return, play had restarted with Robinho Jr, the 18-year-old son of former Brazil star Robinho, on the pitch.

Neymar trotted back on and was told by the referee to leave.

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Furious, he demanded to see the handwritten substitution note that had been handed to the fourth official. It showed that Santos manager Cuca had wanted to take off number 31, Gonzalo Escobar, but apparently had not spotted the wrong number before the game resumed.

Santos were already three goals down. The defeat dropped them into the Brazilian Serie A relegation places.

It was a last chance for Neymar to impress Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti, who has so far ignored Brazil’s all-time leading international scorer.

Neymar, who missed the start of the season after knee surgery, has played in only half of his club’s 16 league games this season, but he has scored four goals while collecting five yellow cards.

READ: Jannik Sinner wins Italian Open, extends Masters tournament streak

Jannik Sinner won the Italian Open on Sunday after beating Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to claim a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament victory.

World number one Sinner has now completed the ‘Golden Masters’ by winning all of the ATP’s top-ranked events after becoming the first Italian champion at the Foro Italico since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.

Only Novak Djokovic had previously won all nine Masters 1000 events before Sunday, but there was little doubt about Sinner triumphing over the last 10 days.

Sinner heads into Roland Garros, which starts next weekend, on a 29-match winning streak after beating Ruud for a fifth time in as many meetings.

And his run of match wins is even longer, 34, in Masters 1000 tournaments, another record he has established in a season in which he has dominated the men’s tour.

Jannik Sinner can complete his collection of Grand Slams at Roland Garros, and with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz out of action, few would bet against him securing a first title on Paris clay.

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Ruud has won more matches and tournaments on clay than anyone else on the men’s tour since the start of 2020 — last winning a Masters 1000 event at Madrid last year, but he couldn’t beat Sinner for the first time.

Norwegian Ruud had never won a set against Sinner in any of their previous four meetings, but immediately improved on the fearful hammering he received here from the Italian last year by winning the first two games.

But Sinner broke straight back and took the lead in the match after an opening set in which world number 25 held his own against a player he’d previously said, “cannot lose”.

Sinner then broke Ruud again at the start of the second set, and from there it was just a matter of time before he won the championship, even though Ruud performed with credit in front of a packed centre court crowd.

It was a good day for Italian tennis as Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori also won the men’s doubles title, beating second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 10-3.

READ: Will Mohsin Naqvi attend IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad?

LAHORE: Mohsin Naqvi is unlikely to travel to India for the Indian Premier League 2026 final despite recent reports suggesting that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman had been invited to the event in Ahmedabad.

According to an international cricket news report, the invitation extended to Naqvi is primarily linked to the upcoming meetings of the International Cricket Council rather than the IPL final itself.

The clarification comes after speculation emerged regarding a possible visit by the PCB chairman to Ahmedabad, where the IPL 2026 final is scheduled to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on May 31.

Sources further indicated that Naqvi, who also serves as Pakistan’s interior minister, is expected to participate in ICC discussions virtually instead of travelling in person.

The ICC is set to conduct a series of meetings later this month, beginning with the Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) meeting on May 21, followed by Board meetings scheduled for May 30 and 31 in Ahmedabad.

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The timing of the meetings alongside the IPL final had fuelled speculation regarding possible high-level cricket diplomacy between the neighbouring countries.

However, reports suggest that the CEC meeting will be held virtually and is not expected to include discussions related to men’s cricket.

Instead, the agenda is likely to focus on women’s cricket along with commercial matters such as data monetisation and mobile gaming.

The proposed restructuring of the ICC World Test Championship is also reportedly not expected to be discussed during the CEC session, with major decisions likely to be taken later during the ICC Board meetings in Ahmedabad.

READ: Litton, Mushfiqur frustrate Pakistan as Bangladesh tighten grip

Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer struck half-centuries to help defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru become the first team to qualify for the IPL 2026 play-offs with a 23-run win over Punjab Kings on Sunday.

In-form Kohli struck 58 off 37 balls before Venkatesh hit an unbeaten 73 to steer the team to 222-4 after being invited to bat first in the Himalayan hill town of Dharamsala.

The bowlers, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, then restricted Punjab to 199-8 despite a late batting charge by Marcus Stoinis, who hit 37, and Shashank Singh, who made 56.

Bengaluru, who won their first IPL title in 18 attempts last year, consolidated top spot in the points table and secured their place in the play-offs.

Runners-up last year, Punjab, who started the season with six victories and one no-result, suffered their sixth successive defeat and are no longer in control of their fate.

The top four teams at the end of the league stage will make the playoffs in the 10-team tournament.

Virat Kohli, who blasted an unbeaten 105 in his team’s previous win, kept up his form as he hit four fours and three sixes to lay the foundation for Bengaluru’s total after losing his opening partner Jacob Bethell for 11.

He then put on 78 with the left-handed Devdutt Padikkal, who made 45, to rebuild the innings and hit back.

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Kohli raised his fourth fifty of the season and 67th in the IPL before he finally fell to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

Venkatesh kept up the pace to reach his fifty as he clobbered the bowlers and put on an attacking fourth-wicket stand with Tim David, who made 28.

In reply, Punjab lost openers Priyansh Arya, for a duck, and Prabhsimran Singh, for two — both falling to Kumar’s seam bowling.

Punjab slipped further to 93-5 after skipper Shreyas Iyer (1), Cooper Connolly (37) and Suryansh Shedge (37) departed.

Impact substitute Stoinis and Shashank attempted to raise Punjab’s hopes in their partnership of 67 but disciplined bowling ensured a ninth win in 13 matches for Bengaluru.

Rasikh Salam took two wickets in the final over to return figures of 3-36.

READ: Babar Azam calls on batters to ‘play with pain’ after collapse

SYLHET: Pakistan middle-order batter Babar Azam has urged the batters to take responsibility after another failure against Bangladesh in the second Test at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan were in deep trouble at 79-4 on day two. Salman Ali Agha and Babar Azam then resisted with a 63-run partnership that steadied the innings.

However, Babar’s soft dismissal off Nahid Rana’s bowling sparked a collapse that they could never recover from. The visitors then lost five wickets, adding only 65 runs.  As a result, they slumped from 142-5 to 207-9 and 232 all out.

Speaking to the media after the day’s play, Babar emphasized the lack of big partnerships as a vital factor behind the team’s shambolic batting display.

“The pitch is very good, and the ball is coming very nicely. We have not built a partnership.  When Agha [Salman Ali Agha] and I were playing in the middle, we were just trying to build a partnership, but unfortunately, we have not built a long partnership,” he lamented.

He praised Bangladesh fast bowler Nahid Rana, calling him the fastest bowler currently in red-ball cricket.

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“He [Nahid Rana] is a nice bowler, and I think he is one of the fastest bowlers right now in Red Ball cricket. Every second team has a 140-150 bowler, so you try to handle those things. I try to do my level best to play my natural game,” Babar explained.

The 31-year-old described his own dismissal and Agha’s wicket as a turning point that shifted the game’s momentum. He urged Pakistan batters to be more responsible after repeated batting collapses.

“I think the turning point is my and Salman Ali Agha’s wicket, because after that we have not built the partnership, so I think these two dismissals change the momentum.”

“The main thing is that as a batting unit we have to take some responsibility and we have to play with some pain, because our issue is that whenever a wicket falls, it falls back to back, so you are not able to handle that. We have to figure out this thing and the same thing has happened again,” Babar concluded.

READ: Babar Azam extends lead in decade run charts with special milestone

Bruno Fernandes equaled the Premier League record of 20 assists in a season as Manchester United secured third place with a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.

Fernandes, who was recently crowned the football writers’ player of the season, moved alongside Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne when his cross was turned in by Bryan Mbeumo for United’s third goal.

Mbeumo was also involved for the game’s most controversial moment when his handball in the build up to Matheus Cunha’s strike went unpunished despite a VAR review.

Both sides had secured their principal targets in recent weeks with United set to return to the Champions League, while Forest only guaranteed survival last weekend.

The low stakes made for a wide open contest that burst into life when Luke Shaw volleyed United in front after just five minutes.

Both sides wasted plenty of chances for more goals before the break, but Forest did level just seven minutes into the second period.

Elliot Anderson’s inviting delivery was headed in at the back post by defender Morato.

United raced down the other end and Cunha swept home after the ball rebounded off Mbuemo’s thigh onto his arm.

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In an extremely rare occurrence, Michael Salisbury stood by his original decision to award the goal despite being called by VAR to review the incident.

Morgan Gibbs-White almost immediately leveled once more for Forest but was denied by Senne Lammens racing off his line.

Fernandes’ record-equalling moment arrived 14 minutes from time when Mbeumo prodded in his drilled cross for his first goal since February.

Still Forest refused to go away as England internationals Anderson and Gibbs-White combined to reduce the arrears.

Gibbs-White, playing for the first time since suffering a horrendous facial injury in a clash with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez earlier this month, steered into the bottom corner from Anderson’s driven cross.

Casemiro was given a standing ovation on his final Old Trafford appearance when the Brazilian was replaced by Mason Mount nine minutes from time.

Fernandes was inches away from a record-breaking 21st assist of the campaign when Diogo Dalot hit the post from his pass deep into stoppage time.

United, though, held on to add another victory to their impressive run since Michael Carrick took charge in January.

The former midfielder is expected to sign a two-year deal to remain in charge at Old Trafford in the coming days.

READ: Xabi Alonso named Chelsea new manager

Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso as the club’s manager on Sunday on a four-year deal from next season with the Spaniard the latest coach tasked with turning around the club’s fortunes.

The Blues lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City on Saturday and lie ninth in the Premier League with two games of the campaign to go.

Alonso rose to prominence as one of Europe’s brightest coaches by guiding Bayer Leverkusen to an unbeaten German league and cup double in the 2023/24 season.

However, he lasted just seven months in the Real Madrid hotseat. Appointed last year, he departed the Spanish giants in January.

“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Xabi Alonso as manager of the men’s team,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“The Spaniard will begin his role on July 1, 2026, having agreed a four-year contract at Stamford Bridge.”

Alonso faces a huge task to get Chelsea back in the running for major honours.

Chelsea did win the Club World Cup and the UEFA Conference League last year but have little else to show for well over one billion pounds ($1.35 billion) of spending on players since US consortium BlueCo took over in 2022 following Roman Abramovich’s trophy-laden ownership of the club.

Defeat at Wembley on Saturday means they have now gone eight seasons without a domestic trophy.

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“Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club,” said Alonso.

“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition. We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.

“There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it. Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”

Fans have continuously protested against BlueCo, who have embarked on a scattergun approach to hoovering up young talent from across the globe.

That policy has secured some notable successes such as England international Cole Palmer.

But a lack of experience in both the playing squad and the coaching staff has been blamed for a lack of consistency.

Alonso becomes the sixth permanent manager to take charge at Stamford Bridge in the past four years after Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino, Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.

Rosenior was sacked after less than four months in charge in April after Chelsea lost five consecutive league games without scoring for the first time since 1912.

Interim boss Calum McFarlane guided them into the FA Cup final, but Chelsea are winless in seven league games and at risk of missing out on European football entirely next season.

Alonso has a point to prove after a turbulent short spell in Madrid, but his arrival is a coup for Chelsea’s much-criticised owners.

Many Liverpool fans were desperate for him to return to Anfield, where he starred for five years as a player between 2004 and 2009, to succeed the under-fire Arne Slot.

READ: Babar Azam extends lead in decade run charts with special milestone

SYLHET: Pakistan batter Babar Azam on Sunday crossed the 9000 international runs mark in this decade during the second Test against Bangladesh at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Babar’s fluent 68 off 84 deliveries, decorated with 10 boundaries, made him the only batter to breach the 9,000 runs milestone in international cricket in the 2020s.

The 31-year-old crossed the barrier in his 212th international appearance of the 2020s, showcasing his batting prowess across the formats.

Overall, Babar has now scored 9060 runs at an average of 42.53, including 17 centuries and 67 fifties. England ace batter Joe Root is on number two spot with 9060 runs to his name, while Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan sits third on the list with 7779 runs in the same period.

Most International Runs in Current Decade (2020s):

Babar Azam (Pakistan) – 9060 runs
Joe Root (England) – 8305 runs
Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan) – 7779 runs
Kusal Mendis (Sri Lanka) – 7046 runs
Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka) – 6873 runs
Virat Kohli (India) – 6771 runs
Litton Das (Bangladesh) – 6763 runs

It is worth mentioning that, since making his debut in 2015 against Zimbabwe, Babar has become one of the top performers for the national team across all three formats.

Overall, he has played 347 matches for Pakistan, amassing 15531 runs at an average of 45.27, including 32 centuries and 107 fifties. He is also on the verge of breaking the record for the most ODI centuries for Pakistan, currently tied with Saeed Anwar at 20.

READ: Babar Azam enters WTC record books during Bangladesh Test