Archive August 29, 2025

Harare’s first one-day international

Sri Lanka 298-6 (50 overs): Nissanka 76 (92), Ngarava 2-34

Zimbabwe 291-8 (50 overs): Raza 92 (87), Madushanka 4-62

Seven runs later, Sri Lanka won.

In the opening one-day international in Harare, Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe by seven runs in the final over of the match thanks to Dilshan Madushanka’s hat-trick.

The seamer bowled Sikandar Raza for 92 runs after Brad Evans was caught and Richard Ngarava’s stumps broke as the hosts needed 10 runs from their final six balls and the game in doubt.

Zimbabwe fell short of their 299-8 target with the 24-year-old giving up just two singles from his final three deliveries.

With a 128-run partnership with Tony Munyonga (43 not out), Raza had a chance to win the match and help his side recover from 161-5 in 30 overs.

Before Zimbabwe could score a run, Ben Curran (70) and captain Sean Williams (57) put on 118 for the third wicket, which was the second rebuild of the innings after Asitha Fernando, who took 3-50, had dismissed Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor.

In a third-wicket pairing, Pathum Nissanka (76) and Kusal Mendis (38), both scored exactly 100 in the innings of Sri Lanka.

The visitors then dropped to 161-5 as a result of successive deliveries by Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka, but Janith Liyanage (70 not out) and Kamindu Mendis (57) hammered 137 from the final 14 overs.

Ngarava’s final ball of the innings, which Mendis had taken, gave Zimbabwe a slightly overwhelming score of 298-6, but Madushanka’s heroics made it impossible for Zimbabwe to chase.

Owner of Nottingham Forest, Evangelos Marinakis, will speak with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and has resigned from any rifts.

Nuno acknowledged last week that his relationship with the owner had changed and that his position at City Ground is still unsure.

In response to rumors about his job, the 51-year-old said, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

He also made a surprise swipe at Forest before the season’s start by criticizing the club’s transfer business.

After West Ham’s Premier League game on Sunday, the pair are scheduled to sit down after speaking on the phone this week.

Marinakis has traveled to London on Friday after spending the Europa League draw with Forest, who will play former clubs Porto and Malmo, in a repeat of their 1979 European Cup triumph.

He continued, “Everything is sturdy. We all want the success of Nottingham. I don’t see a problem because we are here in the good times but also in the difficult ones.

We are “all together, united, and we will take some corrective steps,” and everything will go smoothly and quickly.

We have a trustworthy relationship, he says. We can occasionally feel anxious, say one thing, say another, but ultimately, what matters is the genuine connection between Nuno and the players, between the players and ourselves.

Former Wolves manager Nuno declared he would not leave after the 1-1 Premier League draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday.

It is absurd, I say. He continued, adding that he had previously claimed that his own exit attempt was “nonsense.”

Nuno, who has been in charge of the City Ground since December 2023, is confident he can resolve any problems and believes he will remain in charge after the international break.

“Yes, I believe so,” After leading Forest to seventh in the Premier League last year and earning its first European qualification in 30 years, he said, “I don’t know how to respond,” but I think so.

“In that regard, I feel completely at ease. We must talk about the club’s future and its commitment to it. We want the best for Forest, after all, and that’s for sure.

Nuno, however, reaffirmed that he had no regrets regarding his statements from the past two weeks.

The head coach only speaks up when he feels absolutely necessary because he is typically secretive.

He said, “I said it, and I don’t regret it,” and he continued. Because it was true, you won’t have to regret it because it was true to yourself.

I have a deep reflection about what is happening and speak frequently about it.

The club are making a great effort to finish the squad, but we are now seeing players entering the door.

Emma Raducanu, a British Open champion, was brutally defeated in the third round by fellow Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina.

The 22-year-old Raducanu was hoping to shock an elite player with a statement victory to highlight her recent progress, but she was defeated 6-1, 6-2.

Raducanu’s serve was repeatedly hammered by ninth-seeded Rybakina, who returned with devastating force four more times.

The tone for what followed was set by Raducanu’s slow start to her serve, which was broken at the first attempt after falling 0-40 at the match.

The world number 36 appeared hopeless after quickly falling behind and struggled to enter rallies before losing in 62 minutes.

Only three of her 18 professional matches against top-10 players have resulted in victories for Raducanu.

The 2021 US Open champion was the last Briton to lose in the women’s singles, but Cameron Norrie continues to fly the country’s flag in the men’s draw.

In the third round on Friday, Norrie, 29, will face 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

As a teenage qualifier for the 2021 title, Raducanu returned to New York this year on a high of optimism.

She has played some of her best tennis since that extraordinary triumph, and she is on the verge of regaining her composure.

However, this set off a fresh perspective.

With her enormous serve and perceptive returns, Raducanu warned of Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, having the ability to take the racquet of an opponent’s hand.

In a one-sided first set that only lasted 27 minutes, that is exactly what happened.

A stream of winners painted the baseline, leaving Raducanu looking rather helpless, with Rybakina’s groundstrokes being crisp and clean off both wings.

Rybakina, 26, who won 23 games, underlined her dominance from the backcourt.

In two decisive victories over Janice Tjen and Ena Shibahara from lowly ranked qualifiers, Raducanu had a solid foundation on the serve.

However, she did not receive nearly as many first serves as Rybakina, which immediately put her at odds with a classmate who was a significant improvement.

In the second set, Kazakhstan’s Rybakina continued to dominate with a top-notch baseline power.

Although it was believed that Raducanu had a chance to move Rybakina around the court based on her opponent’s ball’s speed, she was unable to do so.

Rybakina had never before advanced past the third round at Flushing Meadows despite winning numerous WTA titles on hard courts.