SPORTS

Pakistan captain Babar Azam won the toss and opted to bat against Sri Lanka in a must-win Asia Cup Super 4 match on Thursday. Both teams made changes with Pakistan drafting in Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique for Imam-ul-Haq and Saud Shakeel while Sri Lanka brought in Pramodh Madushan for Kasun Rajitha and Kusal Janith comes in for Dimuth Karunaratne.

Pakistan have few headaches with pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah doubtful with respective injuries. They were forced to add Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan, a 22-year-old slinger pacer who can hit 150 kmph clicks, as back-ups for the remainder of Asia Cup.

The Afghanistan cricket board has announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023 in India. Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Rashid Khan, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are a few of the team's major players.

The Afghanistan cricket team will be captained by Hashmatullah Shahidi. Despite his talk about his recent form Najeebullah Zadran has retained his spot in the World Cup 2023 squad. The Afghans will also have three reserve players in the squad along with them which features the veteran all-rounder Gulbadin Naib in the squad.

Rohit Sharma is back. After battling indifferent form, the India captain's return to form could not have come at a better time than 22 days before the World Cup. Gearing up for the biggest cricketing extravaganza, Rohit helped himself to another batting record – one he will fondly look back upon long after he is retired. The only man to score three double centuries in ODIs, Rohit cemented his legacy even further as an all-time one-day great on Tuesday when he became the 6th Indian and the 15th overall to complete 10000 runs in the format.

Normally, the consequence of an India-Pakistan match doesn’t stretch beyond the absoluteness of its result. But this was no ordinary India-Pakistan tie. Played across two days, on a heavily repaired but visibly sodden Colombo turf in front of largely empty stands, this Asia Cup Super Four game not only gave India a 228-run win but also provided valuable insight into their World Cup readiness.

Jasprit Bumrah’s transition from T20 to ODI mode was seamless and spectacular. Two absolute peach of deliveries drove home the significance of Hardik Pandya the third seamer. Openers setting up a solid foundation was a box already checked on Sunday. But the top aspect definitely was how Virat Kohli and KL Rahul churned out centuries in tandem.

Novak Djokovic stormed to his fourth title at Flushing Meadows after beating a resurgent Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the final of the US Open men's singles on Sunday, September 10. After three hours and 16 minutes, the Serbian legend racked up his 24th Grand Slam singles title in his 36th career final.

He also equaled the legendary Margaret Court's record of most major singles titles. Moreover, Djokovic also became the oldest Grand Slam singles champion in the Open Era.