PAKISTAN - Pakistan captain Shan Masood smashed 153 and forged a 253-run partnership with fellow centurion Abdullah Shafique to put the hosts on course for a massive first innings total in the opening test against England on Monday. England's tired bowling attack managed to get rid of both the batters in the final session of the day but Pakistan reached 328-4 at stumps, vindicating Masood's decision to bat after winning the toss.
Saud Shakeel was batting on a fluent 35 at stumps with nightwatchman Naseem Shah yet to open his account at the other end at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Atkinson claimed two wickets but it was toil with little success on an unresponsive pitch for England's inexperienced seam attack led by Chris Woakes. Pakistan did not start well though and opener Saim Ayub tickled a Gus Atkinson delivery down the leg side to be caught behind in the fourth over of the day. Masood, then on 16, was given lbw to Brydon Carse in the debutant seamer's second over. The decision, however, was overturned on review allowing Masood to race to a 43-ball fifty.
Shafique got a reprieve on 35 when he went for a risky single and England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope's direct throw narrowly missed the stumps. The batter stepped out and hit spinner Shoaib Bashir for a six to bring up his fifty. Masood took a single off Woakes to race to a 102-ball hundred, his first since August 2020. Shafique reached the 100-mark in style hitting spinner Jack Leach for a six before Atkinson broke the stand. A tired-looking Shafique played away from his body to spoon a catch to Pope at cover point.
His 102 included 10 fours and two sixes. Masood had crossed the 150-mark by then and he too returned soon giving Leach a return catch. The left-hander hit 13 fours and two sixes in his stellar knock. It was a great opportunity for Babar Azam (30) to end his run drought and Pakistan's batting mainstay got a decent start too before Woakes, armed with the new ball, returned to trap him lbw. Babar, who raised 61 runs with Saud, reviewed the decision but could not get it reversed. England's regular captain Ben Stokes missed the test with a hamstring injury.
UNCASVILLE --Tyasha Harris' 20 points led five players in double figures Sunday as the Connecticut Sun rallied in the second half to force a decisive fifth game in their WNBA semifinal series with the Minnesota Lynx, earning a 92-82 win in Uncasville, Conn. The winner of Tuesday night's contest in Minneapolis will advance to the WNBA Finals against top-seeded New York. The Liberty closed out two-time champion Las Vegas 76-62 to win their best-of-five series 3-1 earlier in the day.
Connecticut tied this series at 2-2 by shutting down Minnesota's potent offense in the second half. The Lynx missed their first 10 3-point attempts after hitting nine in the first half. And the Sun controlled the lane, earning a 50-30 advantage in paint points. DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas each added 18 points for Connecticut, with Thomas chipping in 11 assists and eight rebounds. DiJonai Carrington scored 15 points and Marina Mabrey came off the bench to tally 10. Napheesa Collier put up game highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, while Natisha Hiedeman came off the bench to add 16 points.
Courtney Williams contributed 11. Connecticut outscored the Lynx 24-19 in the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 15 points down the stretch. It hit 53.7 percent of its field goal attempts. Looking to close out the series, Minnesota got off to a good start behind Collier. She scored nine points in a span of about 4 1/2 minutes as the Lynx established a 22-12 lead before settling for a 22-15 advantage after one quarter. Minnesota kept converting in the second quarter, restoring 10-point margins on three different occasions.
When Connecticut got within four points, Hiedeman quieted the crowd by swishing a running 30-footer from the left wing as time expired for a 50-43 halftime cushion. The Sun made their move in the third quarter. They took the lead for good with 2:40 left when Bonner turned Carrington's pass into an alley-oop layup, and Thomas drove for a layup with 1.2 seconds remaining for a 68-63 lead going to the fourth period.
LOS ANGELES --Dodgers will start Jack Flaherty in Game 1 of the National League Division Series and fellow right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2, but have no plans for Shohei Ohtani to make his franchise pitching debut in the series that begins Saturday in Los Angeles.
Manchester United's Harry Maguire in action against FC Porto during their Europa League match at Estadio do Dragao, Porto, Portugal.
PORTO, Portugal- - Harry Maguire's dramatic stoppage-time header earned Manchester United a 3-3 draw at Porto in a roller-coaster Europa League group match on Thursday. Goals by Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund inside 20 minutes set United on course for victory but Pepe quickly pulled one back for the Portuguese side and Samu Omorodion equalised before halftime before striking again soon after the interval. United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the second game in a row after receiving a second yellow card but Maguire powered home a header from a corner to earn his side a point and slightly ease the pressure on his beleaguered manager Erik ten Hag
BARCELONA, Spain - Italy recovered from a high-speed nosedive intheir first race against Britain on Tuesday, bouncing back in strong winds in the second to level the series in what both teams are framing as a "fight"to become the America's Cup challenger.
