Category: Top Picks

GUWAHATI: Towering pacer Marco Jansen took six wickets to put South Africa in sight of a first Test series win in India in 25 years after bundling out the hosts for 201 in the second match on Monday.

Replying to South Africa’s 489, India were 288 behind in their first innings, but the tourists did not enforce the follow-on and decided to bat again on day three in Guwahati.

After winning the first Test in the two-match series in Kolkata, South Africa are closing on a first series win in India since Hansie Cronje’s team triumphed in 2000.

India are under massive pressure once more, having suffered their fourth defeat in six Tests at home in the first match.

A dominant South Africa reached 26-0 at stumps to extend their lead to 314 in the second innings.

Left-handed Ryan Rickelton, on 13, and Aiden Markram, on 12, were batting when bad light ended the day’s play in the northeastern city, where the sun sets early.

Jansen, a left-arm quick, claimed his fourth five-wicket Test haul before wrapping up the Indian innings with his sixth strike of the day in the final session.

India slumped to 122-7 despite Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 58 as wickets kept tumbling on what still seems like a good pitch to bat on.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Washington Sundar, who made 48, and fellow left-hander Kuldeep Yadav resisted in a partnership of 72 off 208 balls before off-spinner Simon Harmer struck to end Sundar’s defiance.

Jansen then dismissed Kuldeep for 19 and Jasprit Bumrah for two to pack a shell-shocked India off in under three sessions.

Earlier, the left-handed Jaiswal lost overnight partner KL Rahul for 22 in the first hour of play before reaching his 13th Test half-century.

Jaiswal used the sweep to good effect and took on the bowlers, hitting seven fours and one six until his departure off Harmer.

Harmer had Sai Sudharsan caught at mid-wicket for 15, and Jansen removed Dhruv Jurel for a duck to further put India on the back foot at the first break.

The 6ft 8 in (2.03 metres) tall Jansen, who made 93 in South Africa’s imposing first-innings total, used the bouncer to snare the Indian batters with Jurel falling to the pull off a short ball.

Skipper Rishabh Pant fell caught behind for seven to Jansen soon after in the second session, and the batting fell apart like nine pins.

Aiden Markram took a stunning catch as he ran from second slip to take a one-handed diving catch to his right to dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy off Jansen. Reddy made 10.

READ: Salman Ali Agha breaks world record, surpasses Dravid, Yousuf, Dhoni

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha has surpassed legends like Rahul Dravid, MS Dhoni, and Mohammad Yousuf to set a world record for playing the most international matches in a single calendar year.

Agha achieved the milestone during Pakistan’s 69-run victory over Zimbabwe in the T20I tri-series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Pakistan have played a total of 54 international matches in 2025 so far, the most by any team this year, with the West Indies being next–best with 45 matches.

Agha, who is Pakistan’s mainstay across formats, is the only player to feature in all of these games this year.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Remarkably, this tally also equals Pakistan’s record for most matches in a calendar year, first set in 2013.

Agha, by featuring in 54 matches, eclipsed the previous joint record of 53 appearances held by Dravid (1999), Yousuf (2000), and Dhoni (2007).

The feat of surpassing 50 international matches in a single year is rare, first achieved by Sachin Tendulkar in 1997, and more recently by New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell, who played 51 games in 2023.

Most international matches in a calendar year

• Salman Ali Agha (Pakistan) – 54, 2025

• Rahul Dravid (India) – 53, 1999

• Mohammad Yousuf (Pakistan) – 53, 2000

• MS Dhoni (India/Asia XI) – 53, 2007

• Lance Klusener (South Africa) – 52, 2000

• Paul Collingwood (England) – 52, 2007

• Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) – 52, 2014

• Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 51, 1997

• Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand) – 51, 2023

READ: PSB quashes lifetime ban on Arshad Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt

Ukrainian sumo wrestler Danylo Yavhusishyn said Monday that he had surprised even himself by becoming the first from his country to win a tournament in the ancient Japanese sport.

The 21-year-old, who fled the war in Ukraine three years ago, is set to be promoted to sumo’s second-highest rank this week after winning the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament.

The victory earned Yavhusishyn, who is known by his ring name Aonishiki, his first title in only his 14th tournament. He did it by beating Mongolian grand champion Hoshoryu on Sunday.

“To be quite honest, I wanted to win the tournament, but I didn’t really think that I could,” he told reporters in Fukuoka. “I’m really happy.”

Yavhusishyn was born in central Ukraine and took up sumo at the age of seven, becoming a national champion at 17.

His age meant he narrowly avoided Ukraine’s military draft for men aged 18 and older after Russia invaded, and he sought refuge in Germany before moving to Japan.

His parents stayed in Germany, and he arrived in Japan knowing nothing of the language.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Danylo Yavhusishyn said he spoke to his parents after winning the tournament and that he had also received messages from friends in Ukraine.

“I’ve had lots, but I haven’t been able to reply to them all yet,” he said. “It will take time to reply to them all, but I’ll start doing them one by one after this.”

Yavhusishyn became the second Ukraine-born professional sumo wrestler when he made his debut in July 2023, following in the footsteps of Serhii Sokolovskyi, better known as Shishi.

Yavhusishyn’s promotion to sumo’s upper divisions was the fifth fastest since the current system of six tournaments a year was introduced in 1958.

He kept his title hopes alive at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament by beating Hoshoryu on the penultimate day, then triumphed over the Mongolian again to clinch the title.

“It was the last tournament of the year, so I wanted to give a good account of myself so that I wouldn’t end the year with any regrets,” said Yavhusishyn.

READ: PSB quashes lifetime ban on Arshad Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt

The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has set aside the lifetime ban imposed on athletics coach Salman Iqbal Butt, restoring the career of the man credited with shaping Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem.

The decision, issued by Senator Pervaiz Rashid acting as PSB adjudicator, declared the ban enforced by the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) as “without lawful authority, unconstitutional, ultra vires and void ab initio.”

The AFP had sanctioned Butt on October 12, 2025, prompting him to challenge the ruling on grounds of flawed procedure and lack of jurisdiction.

After reviewing all submissions, the adjudicator overturned the sanction through a detailed order issued on November 13.

According to the judgment, the AFP failed to meet even the most basic requirements of due process.

Butt was never served a charge sheet, no inquiry report was shared with him, and he was not provided a meaningful opportunity to present a defense.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

The order emphasised that any penalty issued through such a defective process cannot stand in the eyes of the law.

Citing violations of Articles 4, 10-A and 25 of the Constitution, the adjudicator ruled that the lifetime ban was excessive, unsupported by AFP’s own regulations, and issued without constitutional authority.

The PSB also directed the AFP to immediately withdraw all adverse communications circulated to international bodies, including World Athletics and Asian Athletics, noting that the federation’s actions had harmed Butt’s global reputation.

It further restrained the AFP from issuing any defamatory or prejudicial communications against the coach in the future.

Interestingly, despite the AFP’s ban announcement last month, Salman Butt accompanied Arshad during his latest international outing, the Islamic Solidarity Games, one where Nadeem once again delivered gold with an 83.05m throw.

On the same stage, Yasir Sultan marked his debut with a remarkable 76.04m effort to secure silver, lifting Pakistan’s medal tally to four.

READ: Arsenal’s Eze revels in ‘special’ hat-trick after destroying Tottenham

Eberechi Eze hailed his “special” moment as the Arsenal star’s first-ever hat-trick inspired a 4-1 rout of north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Eze tore Tottenham to shreds with three clinical finishes after Leandro Trossard’s opener for the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

The 27-year-old had made a relatively slow start to life with Arsenal after his £60 million ($78 million) move from Crystal Palace in August.

But against the club he spurned to join Mikel Arteta’s team, the England midfielder produced a sublime display that fired them six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

“That’s a good one, man. Enjoyable day. Happy to help the team, and to win today was special,” Eze said. “It is special. Words can’t explain this one today.”

Rejected by Arsenal as a teenager, Eze has made it back to the top after a long and winding career that now sees him established as one of English football’s elite talents.

Devoutly religious, Eze attributed his man-of-the-match display to his faith. He had scored only twice in 15 previous appearances for Arsenal, but this stunning performance underlined what Tottenham missed out on.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“I prayed for it. This is what I pray for. I prayed for a hat-trick so I am grateful to God,” Eze said.

“That was the prayer today. God gave it to me, and that is faith, man. All my family is here, and that makes it even more special for me.”

Eze’s brilliance was a huge boost to Arsenal’s bid for a first English title since 2004 after three successive runners-up finishes.

It was the first hat-trick in a north London derby since 1978 and only the fourth in the long history of the bitter derby rivalry.

Asked which of the three goals was his best, Eze picked his second, which came with a clinical finish just 35 seconds after half-time.

“They are all good. Maybe the second one. That was my favourite,” he said.

“All of them are good for me because I have been working on the process to get in that position, so that’s good again.”

WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo scores stunning bicycle kick at 40 in Saudi league

Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years with a spectacular overhead bicycle kick for Saudi side Al Nassr on Sunday.

The 40-year-old superstar met a cross from the right wing with an acrobatic volley that was too fierce for the goalkeeper to keep out, with the goal crowning Al Nassr’s 4-1 win over Al Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League.

The emphatic victory in Riyadh left Ronaldo’s side four points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League after nine matches.

Fellow former Premier League stars Joao Felix and Sadio Mane were also on the scoresheet.

Former Real Madrid and Manchester United star Ronaldo has yet to win a title since moving to the Saudi club nearly three years ago.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Notably, Ronaldo has just returned from international duty with Portugal, during which he was sent off against Ireland but celebrated his country qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Portuguese star is set to appear in a record sixth World Cup during next year’s mega event in the United States of America (USA), Mexico and Canada.

READ: Sinner-less Italy see off Spain to complete Davis Cup hat-trick

Italy claimed a third Davis Cup in as many years on Sunday after beating Spain 2-0 in front of delighted home fans in Bologna and completing a treble without star player Jannik Sinner.

Flavio Cobolli sparked loud celebrations by coming back from a set down to beat Jaume Munar 1-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 and ensure that Italy retained their title.

Matteo Berrettini had earlier cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Pablo Carreno Busta, setting Filippo Volandri’s team up for victory without the doubles match needing to be played.

“This was my dream, we’re a really united team, and we tried to recreate the spirit of the Italy team that won the (football) World Cup in 2006,” said Cobolli.

“I’m really proud of everyone and our brilliant fans are also part of this team. I’ve been repeating for three days but it’s the best day of my life.”

Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori haven’t been employed in a doubles contest in northern Italy as the hosts won the Davis Cup without losing a match.

It’s an impressive feat by Italy who competed without their two highest-ranked players in superstar Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti.

Both players sit in the top 10 of the men’s world rankings and were major absences for the tournament, especially as they chose not to take part in the title defence on home soil.

“It doesn’t matter who goes out there for us, we have a deep squad and we have a lot of great lads who play great tennis,” said Berrettini.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Spain, too, were missing their top player in world number one Carlos Alcaraz, but the six-time Grand Slam winner would have played had he not suffered a hamstring injury during his ATP Finals showdown with Sinner a week ago.

Their bid for a seventh Davis Cup came up short after returning to the final for the first time since 2019.

“It was a very, very, very close tie,” said Spain captain David Ferrer. “We were really close.”

“Italy, in important moments, they play really good,” he added. “It’s not easy for us to play in Italy against Italy.”

Earlier on Sunday, the head of the International Tennis Federation insisted that top players were not snubbing the competition.

“There’s this false feeling out there that top players don’t represent their nation. That’s not true,” David Haggerty told reporters ahead of the final.

“Some of those top players that played in the qualifier round or the second qualifier round didn’t make it to the finals. And so we had many top players who have played.”

American Taylor Fritz, Australian Alex de Minaur, Dane Holger Rune and Norwegian Casper Ruud, all in the top 20 of the men’s rankings, featured in the early rounds of the competition without managing to reach the finals with their respective nations.

READ: Kane Williamson returns to New Zealand squad for West Indies Tests

AUCKLAND: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has named seasoned batter Kane Williamson in the 14-man Test squad on Monday to face the West Indies in a three-match series next month.

The 35-year-old former captain, New Zealand’s record Test run scorer, retired from T20 internationals earlier this year and sat out the two-Test series away to Zimbabwe in July-August.

“Kane’s ability on the field speaks for itself, and it will be great to have his skills as well as his leadership back in the Test group,” head coach Rob Walter said.

All-rounder Daryl Mitchell was included and is expected to be fit after suffering a minor groin injury in the first ODI against the West Indies eight days ago.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Pace bowler Zak Foulkes, who made his debut in the second Test against Zimbabwe with match figures of 9-75, is included in the pace attack with Jacob Duffy, who won his first Test cap in the same match.

Blair Tickner returns to the Test side for the first time since 2023, following back-to-back player of the match performances in the recent one-day international series against England.

The first Test begins in Christchurch on December 2. The series moves on to Wellington on December 10 with the final Test at Mount Maunganui on December 18.

New Zealand squad for West Indies Tests

Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young

READ: Pakistan-Australia ODI series likely to be postponed: reports

ABU DHABI: Khawaja Nafay and Ali Majid starred in Quetta Qavalry’s eight-run victory over Aspin Stallions here in the 16th fixture of the Abu Dhabi T10.

Chasing 101, Aspin Stallions fell short of the target and ended their innings on 92-8 at the end of their 10 overs.

With this, Qavalry have now won all five games and are at the top of the points table.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Avishka Fernando remained the notable contributors with 24 from 16 and 23 off 12, respectively. However, neither batter could take their team over the line.

For Quetta Qavalry, Ali Majid starred with the ball and picked up two wickets, whereas Mohammad Amir managed to pick one.

Earlier, after being put into bat, Quetta Qavalary made 100-7 in their allotted 10 overs.

Aspin Stallions did well to restrict Qavalry from going big in the early over; however, it was Khawaja Nafay’s whirlwind 35 from 17, laced with two sixes and four boundaries, that ensured that his side finished strong.

Zohair Iqbal remained impressive with the ball, taking three wickets in his two overs.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

In the 17th fixture, Vista Rider secured a five-wicket victory over Northern Warriors as skipper Faf du Plessis starred with an unbeaten 53* from 25 balls.

Chasing 112, Riders hit the winning runs on the second ball of the final over. Du Plessis hit six fours and two sixes.

Tabraiz Shamsi snared two wickets for Northern Warriors.

Earlier, after being put into bat first, Northern Warriors racked up 112-4 in their 10 overs.

Johnson Charles remained the top-scorer for them with 44 from 30 balls, striking four sixes and two fours.

For Riders, Dhananjaya Lakshan scalped two wickets.

Meanwhile, Ajman Titans also sealed their second win of the tournament with a victory over Royal Champs.

Titans chased down the 110-run target in 8.2 overs, losing just three wickets in the process.

Rilee Rossouw, who came in as an impact substitute, hit 37 from 20, laced with two sixes and four boundaries to help his side cross the finishing line.

Alex Hales remained the other notable contributor with 21 off 10, an innings featuring three fours and a six.

Chris Jordan, Rishi Dhawan, and Daniel Sams managed to take one wicket.

Earlier, Royal Champs scored 109-5 in their 10 overs, thanks to Brandon McMullen’s 43 off 26 balls. He hit four boundaries and a six in his knock.

For Chris Green and Wasim Akram remained impressive with the ball, scalping two wickets apiece.

READ: Shaheens Beat Bangladesh A in super over to win Asia Cup Rising Stars

DOHA: Pakistan Shaheens defeated Bangladesh A in a thrilling super over to lift the Asia Cup Rising Stars here at the West End Park International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. 

Chasing a stiff 126, Bangladesh crumbled under pressure and ended on a tie with 125-9 at the end of their innings.

Habibur Rahman Sohan and Jishan Alam added 22 for the opening wicket in 2.3 overs. Alam was trapped lbw for six off Arafat Minhas’ bowling, who sparked a collapse with his spin bowling.

Habibur Rahman (26 off 17 balls) was the second to go in the fourth over, followed by Mahidul Islam Ankon, who could not open his account.

Consequently, Bangladesh were reduced 36-3 in 4.2 overs.

Pakistan spinner continued to mount pressure with wickets at regular intervals as the Tigers slumped to 53-7 at the halfway stage of the innings.

However, it was Ripon Mondol’s and SM Meherob’s 37-run stand that took the score near the 100-run mark. Meherob departed after scoring 19 from 21 balls.

With this, the Tigers’ hopes falter not until Abdul Gaffar Saqlain, 16 from 12 balls. The right-hander tonked Shahid Aziz to three sixes to bring down the equation to seven from six balls.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Yet, the match went into the super over with Bangladesh setting Pakistan a seven-run target, which they chased on the fourth ball, courtesy of Saad Massod’s boundary.

A gritty partnership between Rakibul Hasan and SM Meherob revived Bangladesh’s hopes. The pair added 37 valuable runs, taking the score to 88-7 by the 15-over mark.

Earlier, Bangladesh right-arm pacer Ripon Mondol took a three-wicket haul to bundle out Pakistan Shaheens’ innings for a mere total.

Put into bat first, Bangladesh skittled Pakistan for 125 in 20 overs.

Pakistan’s innings started on a poor note as opener Yasir Khan was sent back for a golden duck.

The Green Shirts were pegged back with another wicket in the next over as Mohammad Faiq was cleaned for a second-ball duck, leaving the side reeling at 2-2 in just 1.1 overs.

Following the early hiccups, Ghazi Ghori and Maaz Sadaqat tried to stabilize the innings with a brief 23-run stand, but Ghori’s sluggish nine-run knock ended when he was dismissed by Rakibul Hasan.

The slide continued as Bangladesh tore through the middle-order and reduced them to 49-4 at the end of the seventh over.

Arafat Minhas and Captain Irfan Niazi tried to arrest the slide but could not, and hence lost their wickets. As a result, Pakistan were 75-6 in 14.2 overs. However, Saad Masood played a vital innings that lifted them to a fighting total.

Masood struck three sixes and three fours on his way to 38 from 26 balls.

For Bangladesh, Ripon Mondol picked up three wickets, whereas Rakibul Hasan bagged two.

READ: Babar Azam equals Virat Kohli’s T20I half-centuries record