Pakistan won by five wickets with 12 balls remaining
Pakistan boosted their hopes of reaching the Asia Cup final by edging to a five-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.
After their disappointing and controversial defeats by rivals India, Pakistan slipped to 80-5 in pursuit of 134 before a partnership of 58 between Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz rescued them.
Needing 46 from 40 balls, Nawaz hit Wanindu Hasaranga, who had 2-5 after his first two overs, for back-to-back boundaries and when the leg-spinner returned to bowl the 17th over Talat struck another two fours.
That swung the equation from 26 runs needed from 24 balls, to 14 from 18, and left-hander Nawaz added three more sixes to seal victory with two overs to spare.
Nawaz finished 38 not out, with Talat unbeaten on 32.
While Pakistan would not have been eliminated with defeat, they would have needed a series of other results to go their way – the situation now facing Sri Lanka.
They had earlier done well to restrict Sri Lanka to 133-8, with left-armer Shaheen Afridi taking 3-28.
Sri Lanka took 53 runs from the powerplay but lost three wickets in doing so and were 58-5 when Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka fell in consecutive deliveries in the eighth over.
Kamindu Mendis led a recovery with 50 but he was pinned in front in the penultimate over by Shaheen – who had earlier dismissed Kusal Mendis with the second ball of the match – denying Sri Lanka a big finish.
India and Bangladesh, who both won their opening Super Four games, meet in Dubai on Wednesday.
In his statement to the UN General Assembly, Gaza’s qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani claimed that Israel had committed a genocide there. He continued, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “takes pride in preventing peace with the Palestinians.”
Venue: Bethpage Black, New York Dates: 26-28 September
The pairings for Friday’s opening Ryder Cup matches will be announced at 21:00 BST on Thursday despite the opening ceremony being moved to Wednesday because of the threat of inclement weather in New York.
Storms are forecast to hit Bethpage Black around the same time as the traditional curtain-raiser, so organisers are taking no chances of the event being interrupted.
An hour-long pre-show will now begin at 20:00 on Wednesday, with the ceremony, which will see both teams formally introduced, following that.
Usually, both captains reveal their pairings for Friday morning’s opening matches during the ceremony.
Strictly Come Dancing star Dani Dyer has withdrawn from the show after sustaining an injury and her father Danny Dyer has now reacted to the announcement on social media
The news that Dani Dyer has withdrawn from Strictly Come Dancing has since prompted reaction from her father Danny Dyer. It was announced this evening that she will no longer compete on the new series of the BBC show.
Dani, 29, was due to compete in the dance contest with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, but she’s now revealed in a statement that she’s dropped out due to an injury. It comes just days after the pre-recorded launch show, which unveiled this year’s couples, aired on Saturday night.
Love Island winner Dani’s departure from Strictly, which comes just days before the first live show this weekend, was shared on social media tonight. The show’s post on Instagram was met with reaction from fans, colleagues and Dani’s father Danny, 48, who expressed his disappointment over the news.
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Danny posted an emoji of a broken heart in the comments section of the post, which was shared on Strictly’s page as well as others, including on Dani’s page. Former EastEnders star Danny didn’t write anything beside the emoji.
He isn’t the only person disappointed by the situation. Some of Dani’s colleagues from Strictly also responded to the announcement on the platform. Fellow contestant Vicky Pattison commented: “Absolutely devastated for you Dani. I’m going to miss you so much … Love you loads.”
Several of the professional dancers also shared messages. Michelle Tsiakkas wrote: “I’m so sorry Dani and Nikita … Wishing you a speedy recovery.” Whilst Karen Hauer said: “Oh darling nooo. So sorry … wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Dianne Buswell reacted: “I’m so sorry Dani and Nikita. We will miss you so much.” Johannes Radebe said: “Gutted for you both, take care of yourself.” Luba Mushtuk said in her response: “Oh no, I’m so so sorry. Please get well soon.”
Motsi Mabuse wrote: “Oh so sorry. Get well soon. Health first.” Fellow judge Shirley Ballas also reacted to the news, with her writing in the comments section: “I’m so so sorry. But health is most important. Get well soon Angel.”
The reactions come after it was announced that Dani fractured her ankle amid rehearsals for Strictly. She said in a statement issued earlier: “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.
“Apparently doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance so l’ve had to pull out of the show. To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement. I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering all the couples on.”
Sarah James, executive producer at BBC Studios, said: “Dani has brought so much passion, joy and enthusiasm to Strictly, and her partnership with Nikita was off to the most sensational start. Everyone on the show is incredibly sad that she’s no longer able to compete in this year’s series.”
The statement concluded with Sarah hinting at a potential return for Dani in the future. Sarah wrote: “We send her all our love and best wishes for a swift recovery, and we very much hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues with the first live show of the new series on Saturday from 6.55pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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Ex-Liverpool player Natasha Dowie reflected on the influence her former manager had on her career and said Matt Beard “made you feel like the best football player in the world.”
Few players were as close to Dowie as they were to Beard, who passed away on Saturday at age 47.
Before eventually reuniting with the Reds again in a loan spell before calling it quits her career in September 2023, the former England striker joined the Beard on four separate occasions, moving from Charlton Athletic to Liverpool and the Boston Breakers.
He understood that I would run through a brick wall for him and that I would do the same. Because he was the kind of manager that made you feel that way, I would do anything for him.
Dowie was a member of Beard’s Liverpool team that won back-to-back Women’s Super League titles in 2013 and 2014, putting an end to Arsenal’s nine-year dominance of women’s soccer.
Anyone who had played under Beard would have said he was one of the best managers they had ever worked with and that those two years “were the best of my life.”
Dowie will remember him as a pioneer who “always did it for the love of the game.”
The 37-year-old continued, “It wasn’t long ago, three years ago, when I was playing at Liverpool that Beardy was watering the pitches at Tranmere.”
That’s what I admired most about him. He never attempted to fit in with the situation and try to be a different person. He never attempted to do so. He was referred to as old-fashioned. He was simply Beardy, not him.
Before each Sunday’s WSL and WSL2 games, there was a minute’s silence before kickoff.
Before Liverpool’s men’s side played Southampton on Tuesday in the third round of the Carabao Cup at Anfield and Burnley, where Beard had most recently been manager, other tributes were held.
Former Germany international Julia Simic, who now coaches the West Ham youth team and trains with Eintracht Frankfurt, wants to apply what she learned from Beard to her own methods.
According to Simic, “Matthew’s strongest arm was the player management,” the consideration he gave to everyone. There are many ways to become a good manager, including developing the best environment, managing effectively, and being tactically very strong.
Simic, 36, fondly recalls her time working for Beard, particularly when they reached the Women’s FA Cup final together in 2019.
She said, “I remember him saying he wanted us to reach the FA Cup final when we were sitting in front of our brand-new team.”
We ultimately made it to Wembley and faced Manchester City as the only underdogs. We lost the final, but after speaking with him, I asked, “Matt, why didn’t we win?” and he responded, “I made a mistake because I said we wanted to win the final, but I didn’t say we wanted to win the final.”
“The journey was finished or the goal was reached with us being in the final.” He was always trying to please himself by demanding everything from us and himself.
After the city council turned down their request for an essential permit on Tuesday, Barcelona’s return to the Nou Camp has been delayed even more.
Real Sociedad, the champions of La Liga, had a capacity of 27, 000 and was hoping to play them on Sunday.
Instead, Barca will play at Montjuic Hill’s 55, 000-seat Olympic Stadium, where they have played previously for two seasons while undergoing renovation work.
The club thanked staff members and supporters for their “complex and exciting support” and stated that they were working on the amendments the council gave.
Barcelona’s women’s team’s home ground, Johan Cryuff Stadium, has hosted two home games, with victories coming against Valencia and Getafe at the much smaller 6, 000-capacity facility.
According to the city’s fire department, there are issues with evacuation routes, among other safety concerns.
However, according to Joan Sentelles, the Barca’s operations director, “just because it’s not finished, doesn’t mean it’s not safe.”
Sentelles added that the stadium’s roof will be constructed in 2027, one year later than originally anticipated.
The Nou Camp has been undergoing renovations since it opened in June 2023, costing about £1.1 billion, with the aim of increasing capacity to 105, 000, making it one of the biggest grounds in the world.
The goal was to return to the venue in November 2024 to mark the club’s 125th anniversary, but that goal has since since come to an end.
