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Yash Rathod missed out on his maiden first-class double ton, but his 194 was enough to give Central Zone a firm hold on the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru.Resuming the third day on 384 for 5, ahead by 235 runs, Central Zone stretched their lead to 362, with useful contributions from Saransh Jain (69) and Deepak Chahar (37) alongside Rathod’s ton. Left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh and left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma took four wickets apiece, but Central Zone racked up 511 in 145.1 overs.In reply, R Smaran and Ricky Bhui maintained a positive approach as they took South Zone to 129 for 2 at stumps, still trailing by 233 runs.Related

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The morning session on both days of the final had plenty for the fast bowlers. That wasn’t the case on day three, though, with the pitch flattening out. Rathod clipped Gurjapneet through midwicket early before Jain reached his second successive fifty with a cut through point. Rathod, too, reached his 150 after the lead crossed the 250-mark.South Zone missed a chance to send back Jain on 61 when he seemingly played and missed a flatter delivery from Ankit. Replays confirmed Jain had got a thin nick through to the wicketkeeper but none of the fielders appealed. The miss didn’t cost South Zone much with Jain missing a reverse sweep off Ankit and getting bowled for 69.Deepak Chahar cracks a cut•PTI

Rathod, meanwhile, picked up pace. He drove V Koushik past mid-off and lifted Bhui over long-on. South Zone burnt their final review when Ankit pinned Deepak Chahar on the back foot with a quicker delivery, but the ball was sliding down leg.Having defended and prodded enough, Chahar took on Ankit, depositing him over long-on and then slashing him through point before going after Gurjapneet through mid-off and cover in an over.Rathod looked fidgety after lunch, and his luck ran out when Gurjapneet got a length ball to nip back sharply into the batter, breaching his defence to end a 286-ball knock. Central Zone lost their last four wickets in 11 runs as Ankit wrapped up the innings. He toiled 44.1 overs and took 4 for 180, while Gurjpaneet picked up 4 for 124 in 28 overs.With no major alarms in the pitch, South Zone started their second innings confidently. Chahar and Aditya Thakare got a hint of movement, but Tanmay Agarwal and Mohit Kale kept things steady. Kale was circumspect initially, but back-to-back flicks for four against Chahar got him going. He reeled off four fours in the next three overs as South Zone went into tea on 57 for 0, trailing Central Zone by 305 runs.Jain got Central Zone the first breakthrough after tea, trapping Kale lbw with a quicker delivery. Smaran, in at No. 3, pulled and drove Kuldeep Sen twice in three balls, but the fast bowler struck at the other end. Agarwal shouldered arms to Sen, only to find the off bail getting dislodged.With the ball gripping and turning, Bhui and Smaran counterattacked against the spinners and found the boundaries regularly. Smaran had a close shave when he was given out lbw to Jain, but a tiny inside edge onto the pad saved him. The duo added an unbroken 53-run stand for the third wicket before bad light ended the third day 25 minutes early.

Twenty-four hours after battling through a Test match in England, Zimbabwean lands decisive blow in Pakistan

Danyal Rasool25-May-2025On Saturday evening, Sikandar Raza lunged at one from Shoaib Bashir in Trent Bridge and got out. While the rest of his team-mates reflected on the result following an innings defeat in their one-off Test against England, Raza’s journey – quite literally – had only just begun.In less than 24 hours, his PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars would play the league final in Lahore. Raza’s commitment to Qalandars this year has not been in question; a week earlier, he flew in from England to help secure their place in the knockouts, before flying back the following day to rejoin his national side for Zimbabwe’s first Test in England in over two decades.Now that the Test was over, Qalandars began to work on a surreal plan.He jumped into a friend’s car and was driven to Birmingham, the nearest airport, for the speediest flight to Lahore. With no business-class seats available, he was happy to fly economy to Dubai. A six-hour layover and another change of airport later, he jumped on a flight in Abu Dhabi bound for Lahore; he was still on his way from the airport when Shaheen Afridi announced at the toss that Raza was part of the starting XI.

“I was so mentally and physically drained. All I was saying to myself was ‘just watch the ball’. I was blank out there. I wasn’t predicting or thinking where the ball’s going to be and what I’m going to do. All I said was wherever the ball is hit the best shot”Sikandar Raza

“I am here to do a job, and god forbid, if we happened to lose the game then at least in my heart I knew I was with my brothers,” Raza said following the game, having hit the winning runs in a tense finish. “I know the team truly wanted me here, given the efforts the owners and the captains went through over the last 24-36 hours to get me here. If I tell you, it’s unbelievable.”Bowled 25 overs [in the Test] the day before yesterday, batted for 20 overs yesterday. Had dinner in Birmingham, breakfast in Dubai, drove to Abu Dhabi for lunch, took a flight and had dinner in Pakistan. I guess this is the life of a professional cricketer and I’m truly humbled and blessed to have that life.”Two balls into his spell, Raza took the crucial wicket of Rilee Rossouw, but it wouldn’t be until three hours later that it became clear why Qalandars had moved heaven and earth to have him in their side. At no point all game did Qalandars look as out of the game as at the moment Raza came out to bat. Mohammad Amir was bowling a characteristically clutch death-over which had two balls left to run; he had just sent Bhanuka Rajapaksa packing. Qalandars needed 57 off 20, and Amir had another over to go after that one.Amir dropped the first one short, and Raza got low, smearing it to the midwicket boundary. Beginner’s luck, maybe? Amir went around the wicket to angle a short ball into his body, but Raza’s connection was even cleaner this time, and it flew all the way over that boundary for six more.Related

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“I tried to take the emotions out,” he said. “I think all the journey and the Test match helped me because I was so mentally and physically drained. All I was saying to myself was ‘just watch the ball’. I was blank out there. I wasn’t predicting or thinking where the ball’s going to be and what I’m going to do. All I said was wherever the ball is hit the best shot.”He wouldn’t get much of the strike for the next couple of overs, but Kusal Perera was doing a superb job at the other end. Even so, in the decisive final over, Gladiators had marginally inched ahead once more, and with Raza facing, his side needed a further eight off three.Faheem Ashraf attempted a wide yorker, and didn’t miss the mark by much. But he was bowling to a man who had spent the previous day somehow doing what needed to be done. So Raza found a way to get underneath it, generating phenomenal power at the end of his range to scythe it to, and over, cover point for six. Faheem missed the yorker next delivery and by now, destiny appeared to have laid out the red carpet for Raza. He whipped it to the midwicket boundary, smoke from the ensuing fireworks engulfing the Gaddafi Stadium as the Qalandars’ squad poured in and hoisted the Zimbabwean on their shoulders.”This is what it’s all about,” Raza said. “We played three knockout games. Which team’s going to be more prepared than us? We had a final we won off the last ball two years ago. If I had to pick one, [it’d be this one] just because of the story of how we got here. There was so much drama going on in this game, and to get a victory like this is unbelievable. I’ve got no words at the moment.”His actions, you would think, have spoken loud enough for him not to need any.

علق وائل جمعة، نجم المنتخب السابق، على تعادل منتخب مصر مع الكويت بهدف لكل فريق في اللقاء الذي أقيم ببطولة كأس العرب 2025.

وأقيمت مباراة مصر والكويت، على أرضية استاد لوسيل ضمن لقاءات الجولة الأولى من المجموعة الثالثة بـ كأس العرب.

طالع|فيديو | منتخب مصر يبدأ مشواره في كأس العرب بالتعادل مع الكويت

وقال وائل جمعة، في تصريحات لقناة بي إن سبورتس: “للأسف تعادل بطعم الخسارة للمنتخب المصري، بعد السيطرة لمصر والفرص الكثيرة المهدرة خاصة في الشوط الأول، ونقطة الضعف الأزلية الركنيات، منتخب الكويت مميز بها استطاع أن يسجل هدفا وصنع خطورة منها في الشوط الأول ولم نتعلم منها”.

وتابع: “المنتخب في الشوط الثاني تأخر في التبديلات، وطالبت بخروج محمد شريف ونزول مروان حمدي وعمل إضافة وصنع ضربة الجزاء وكان من الممكن أن يسجل الهدف الأول لمنتخبنا”.

وأضاف: “مع إهدار الفرص والأهداف، الفريق المنافس قدر يسجل وهذا ما حدث، ويعتمد على التحولات والمرتدات وبعد الهدف كان ممكن أن يسجل هدفا ثانيا وينهي المباراة، المنتخب المصري حظه كان جيدا أنه قدر يسجل من ضربة جزاء”.

واختتم: “مباراة اليوم درس للاعبين أن الكرة دائمًا أهداف وأن تسجل الفرص المتاحة لك”.

تغلب فريق أستون فيلا على خصمه ولفرهامبتون بهدف دون رد، خلال مباراة الفريقين مساء اليوم الأحد، بالدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وحل ولفرهامبتون ضيفًا على أستون فيلا، بملعب “فيلا بارك”، في إطار مباريات الجولة الثالثة عشر لبطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”.

وسجل أبو بكر كامارا هدف المباراة الوحيد، حيث وضع أستون فيلا في المقدمة بهدف في شباك ولفرهامبتون بالدقيقة 67 من عمر المباراة.

وبفوزه اليوم، يرفع أستون فيلا رصيده للنقطة 24 في المركز الثالث خلف مانشستر سيتي بفارق نقطة واحدة، ويتراجع تشيلسي للمركز الرابع بـ 23 نقطة، وتجمد رصيد وليفرهامبتون عند النقطة 2 في المركز الأخير.

اقرأ أيضًا | ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي بعد فوز ليفربول ومانشستر سيتي

ويستعد تشيلسي لمواجهة متصدر الترتيب آرسنال، في تمام الساعة السادسة والنصف مساء اليوم الأحد، بتوقيت القاهرة، حيث يستضيف خصمه على ملعب “ستامفورد بريدج”.

وحال فوز تشيلسي سيرفع رصيده للنقطة 26 ويرتقي لوصافة الترتيب، والجدير بالذكر أن آرسنال يملك 29 نقطة في الصدارة.

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