Joe Root on the verge of history, Ricky Ponting’s all-time record in …

Joe Root, the captain of England, is set to take on Pakistan at Headingley beginning Wednesday. He requires seventy-nine runs to eclipse Ricky Ponting's esteemed home Test record and is striving to become England's highest run-scorer at Headingley. With just a stone's throw from twelve thousand international runs accumulated on English grounds, this series signifies an important evolution in English cricket.

Rishabh Pant has encountered significant hurdles in his cricketing journey, notably following a challenging IPL season and subsequent exclusion from the ODI squad. Despite these setbacks, he continues to shine as a formidable Test cricketer, recently smashing his 100th Test six. His remarkable ability to shift the game's dynamics was on full display in a recent Test match, sparking discussions about his prospects for the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Lakshya Sen, India’s only top-10 player in men’s singles, had to overcome nerves to seal his place in the second round of the BWF World Championships.

Up against the 128th-ranked Austrian Collins Valentine Filimon, the 14th seed Indian was blown away in the opening game as he struggled to counter the aggressive game of his opponent. Looking sluggish from the start, Sen, who won a bronze medal in 2021, was overwhelmed by the power game of the Austrian. Filimon’s crosscourt smashes and deceptive net-play had the Indian in all sorts of difficulty. From 11-9, Filimon quickly wrapped up the game at 21-16 to stun the capacity crowd rooting for the home favourite.

However, Sen looked a different player in the next two games and put the Austrian to the sword, winning the next two games 21-8 21-4 and sealing the match in 45 minutes. truewildslot.com

Playing from the difficult side in the opening game, Sen was tentative with his lifts and line calls. But once he hit his stride, Sen rattled off winners, clinching 11 straight points from 10-8 to win the second game. Sen then simply blew away his opponent in the third game.

“I was tentative in the first game because I was playing from the difficult side and was struggling to get used to the conditions. But in the second game, I knew that I would be playing from the better side and once I found the range of my shots it was easy," said Sen, who will play American Garret Tan in the second round.

In women’s singles, Unnati Hooda initially trailed Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar 13-16 in the opening game before going on to win 22-20 21-16 to set up a second round clash against 13th seed Canadian Michelle Li.

India’s top women’s doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly beat 16th seeds Allison Lee and Lauren Lam 21-15 21-12 to advance to the Round of 16.

However, the Indian mixed doubles pair of Ashith Surya and Amrutha Pramuthesh failed to advance after losing 16-21 30-29 24-22 against Turkey’s Emre Sonmez and Yasemen Bektas.

Dar es Salaam [Tanzania], August 19 (ANI): Italy have finished top of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League Group B thanks to a calm eight-wicket win over Tanzania in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday.

The side had fate in their own hands to claim league honours come the last day of their 15-match campaign across three legs, and closed out the tournament with a four-point gap over Uganda after the Cricket Cranes fell to a final-over defeat to Bahrain, as per ICC.

It was a double success for the Italians, who alongside Uganda move forward on the road to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. The pair enter the Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off later this year, an eight-team tournament which will also include the top two teams from the Challenge League A group, and the bottom four finishers from Cricket World Cup League 2, the competition above Challenge League on the 50-over pyramid.

Having toured Hong Kong and Uganda as part of the cycle, the Italians travelled to Tanzania behind Uganda with five matchdays remaining in the competition.

A victory for the Italians over Uganda early in the final leg opened the door for the Azzurri to make a late charge, with Uganda’s defeat to Hong Kong swinging momentum further.

The Italians pounced on the opportunity, and closed out the tour undefeated, underlined with a dominant performance against the Tanzanians.

Again losing the toss like they did in their victory over Hong Kong on Monday, The Italians at one point were behind in the match after Tanzania galloped to 87/1 inside 15 overs, only for the hosts to fall to 142 all out.

It was the spin trio of Rakibul Hasan, Akash Waduwalage and Crishan Kalugamage to do the damage for Italy, taking all ten wickets for just 87 runs between them.

Waduwalage (5/21) claimed the key wicket of Dhrumit Mehta (39), and was joined by T20 World Cup hero Crishan Kalugamage (3/28) in ripping through Tanzania’s middle order.

The Italians were ruthless in reply, with brothers Justin and AJ Mosca both raising the bat for half-centuries in a partnership of 121.

Justin fell for 52, though AJ powered on to finish on 75 not out from just 71 balls, joined by skipped Harry Manenti (8 not out) to reach the target inside 26 overs.

It is now a waiting game for Italy and Uganda as they learn of their opponents in the Qualifier Play-off.

As it stands, Jersey and Kuwait hold top two spots over in the other Challenge League group with one leg to play, while in League 2, Namibia, Canada, Nepal and United Arab Emirates sit in the bottom four, with Oman (fourth) the only team that could mathematically be overtaken by the chasing pack.

Up in League 2, Scotland, USA and Netherlands are guaranteed a top four finish and will progress to the Cricket World Cup Qualifier.

The Qualifier Play-off will determine the final four spots of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, and carries One Day International status, meaning the pair will play their first official ODIs. (ANI)

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