Sports

Shafali Verma made headlines by scoring the quickest fifty ever recorded in the tournament, achieving her milestone in a mere twenty-four balls against Sri Lanka. Her explosive performance of 68 runs off only 39 balls not only set a new record but also matched Chamari Athapaththu’s feats of multiple half-centuries. Together with Smriti Mandhana, they established a formidable 129-run opening partnership.

The national song Vande Mataram was sung before the India vs Afghanistan cricket match on Sunday. Parliament had recently passed a bill making insults to the national song a punishable offense. The full six-stanza version of Vande Mataram was sung during the recent match. This amendment extends legal protection to the national song, similar to the national anthem.

In a pivotal match for the Asia Cup title, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur opted to bat after winning the toss. With aspirations of securing their eighth title, India has displayed remarkable superiority throughout the tournament. Both teams are unbeaten, but Sri Lanka will count on strong performances from Athapaththu and Dilhari to challenge the dominant Indian squad.

India chose experience in the opening game, with Sanju Samson selected in the XI instead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Shreyas Iyer also confirmed that Washington Sundar and two other players were left out, making it clear that team combination was behind the decision.

A remarkable display of mental and physical resilience carried Rybakina to her first US Open crown, a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Aryna Sabalenka, the powerful Belarusian, and her third Grand Slam title.