Category: 6. Sports

Edgbaston: Former India skipper Virat Kohli has showered praise on current captain Shubman Gill, who produced yet another masterclass with the bat in the second Test against England at Edgbaston on Saturday.

The 25-year-old Gill, fresh from a monumental 269 in the first innings, followed it up with a blistering 161 off just 162 balls in the second. His century powered India to a commanding declaration at 427/6 in 83 overs, setting England a daunting target of 608 runs in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.

Taking to Instagram, Kohli — who recently announced his retirement from Test cricket ahead of the England tour — lauded Gill’s heroics.

“Well played, star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this,” wrote Kohli, sharing a photo of Gill celebrating his century. Photo: Instagram@virat.kohli

“Well played, star boy. Rewriting history. Onwards and upwards from here. You deserve all of this,” wrote Kohli, sharing a photo of Gill celebrating his century.

Gill began the series in style with a sublime 147 in the first Test at Headingley, Leeds. Despite centuries from Gill, Rishabh Pant (who made hundreds in both innings), and additional tons by Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, India fell short in Leeds, losing by five wickets.

In Edgbaston, Gill’s brilliance was complemented by crucial contributions from KL Rahul (55), Rishabh Pant (65), and an unbeaten 69 from Ravindra Jadeja, putting India firmly in control.

With Kohli and Rohit Sharma stepping away from the longest format, Gill’s sensational form as captain has offered Indian fans fresh hope — and a glimpse of a new era built on fearless, attacking cricket.

India’s new Test captain Shubman Gill has turned the iconic No. 4 spot — once the stronghold of Virat Kohli — into his own stage for history-making heroics.

Batting at the same position once occupied by the recently retired Kohli, the 25-year-old Gill has delivered a phenomenal performance in the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series against England.

After starting the series with a sublime 147 in the first innings of the opening Test at Headingley, Leeds — a match India ultimately lost by five wickets despite centuries from Gill, Rishabh Pant (who made hundreds in both innings), Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul — Gill elevated his game even further in the second Test at Edgbaston.

Gill smashed a monumental 268 in the first innings, then followed it up with a blistering 161 in the second, studded with 13 fours and eight sixes. It was his eighth Test century overall, his fifth against England, and incredibly, his third century in just his fourth innings as India’s Test captain.

This extraordinary run has placed Gill among cricket’s elite: with a combined total of 430 runs in the match, he now stands as the second-highest run-scorer in a single Test, behind only England legend Graham Gooch’s 456, and he is the first player ever to score 200 and 150 in the same Test.

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Sabina Park’s preparations to host its first day-night Test when Australia visit next week are being pushed to the last minute.

There had been initial delays to installing the new floodlights – originally they were due to be completed early this year, and then by May, but have only recently gone in – and during recent test events there was one area of the playing area, in front of the Kingston Cricket Club stand, that was found to not be sufficiently lit.

The Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) remains confident that the ground will be ready for the third Test on July 12, but the facilities will need final ICC sign-off when officials arrive next week. The upgrading of the scoreboard and replay screen, funded by the Indian government, has also hit delays after further work was found to be needed when the older structure was removed.

“I’m pretty sure about that [being ready],” JCA president Dr Donovan Bennett told the Jamaica Observer last week. “I’m a little bit uneasy because I would have hoped that everything would have been completed by now but when you’re doing construction, as you go along there are a lot of unforeseen circumstances that you’re challenged with which will push you back and that’s exactly what has happened with the lights and the scoreboard.

“But we’re on target, I’m confident that we’ll be okay with both the lighting and the scoreboard for the 12th, when the games are scheduled, I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

Bennett added: “Certain areas of the field are way above the international requirements but there’s one area that we need to work on to get it up…the English, who supplied the lights, they will be coming in on the seventh [Monday] with a laser beam to do the final fine-tuning.”

ESPNcricinfo understands that Cricket West Indies are confident the match will be able to take place as a day-night Test. The venue is also due to host the first two matches of the T20I series under lights.

The Caribbean has only hosted one previous day-night Test, when Sri Lanka played in Barbados in 2018. Australia have won 12 of their 13 day-night Tests, the only defeat being against West Indies at the Gabba last year, and have played comfortably the most given that every home summer features a pink-ball game.

EUGENE:

Faith Kipyegon’s return to the 1,500m, Armand Duplantis’s bid for a 13th pole vault world record and 100m fields featuring Kishane Thompson, Julien Alfred and Sha’Carri Richardson promise fireworks at the Eugene Diamond League meeting on the Fourth of July weekend.

Kipyegon will be back on track in the 1,500m in the wake of her unsuccessful bid to become the first woman to break the four-minute barrier in the Mile in Paris last week. The 31-year-old Kenyan is slated to compete for the first time this season over 1,500m — the event in which she is a three-time Olympic gold medallist and triple world champion.

She’s undefeated in finals at the distance for 20 races — a streak stretching back to June 2021 in Rome.

In Oregon, she’ll take on a loaded field that includes the top-four finishers from the 2024 Paris Olympics — Kipyegon herself, Jessica Hull, Georgia Bell and Diribe Welteji.

Sweden’s Duplantis, meanwhile, will target another world record three weeks after lowering the pole vault world mark for the 12th time with a clearance of 6.28m in Stockholm. Duplantis has set two world records at Eugene’s Hayward Field, claiming his first outdoor world title there in 2022 (6.21m) and again at the 2023 Diamond League Finals (6.23m)

“It would mean a lot, for sure,” he said. “It’s going to be pretty stacked, like it usually is, super historic meet, super historic track, special meet for me and my family — my father won the Prefontaine Classic back in 1992.” The women’s 100m will see the first reunion of the Paris Olympic podium featuring gold medallist Alfred of Saint Lucia, silver medallist Richardson and bronze medallist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

The showdown will help gauge the progress of Jefferson-Wooden, who clocked a world-leading 10.73sec at a Grand Slam Track meeting in New York in June. Alfred was a convincing winner in Stockholm in 10.75 while Richardson has raced just once this season, posting an 11.47 in Tokyo in May, and will be aiming to sharpen up before the US trials for the World Championships — which will be held in Tokyo on September 13-21.

England winger Tom Roebuck scored two tries and veteran flyhalf George Ford delivered a virtuoso performance in a 35-12 win over Argentina in the first test in La Plata on Saturday.

Freddie Steward and substitute Cadan Murley also touched down as 32-year-old Ford, celebrating his 100th cap, kicked two penalties, a drop goal and three conversions.

With 14 internationals away on British & Irish Lions duty in Australia, a depleted England side started as underdogs against the Pumas, who beat the Lions in Dublin two weeks ago.

A gutsy defensive display, however, was complimented by Ford’s astute leadership in a performance that will add to the debate over whether he, rather than Owen Farrell, should been called up as a Lions’ injury replacement.

England showed resolute defence in the first half, three times holding up the ball to deny Argentina tries as the hosts crossed the visitors’ goal line but could not dot down.

Yellow cards for lock Alex Coles and debutant Seb Atkinson within six minutes left England down to 13 men but despite this disadvantage, they took the lead from their first foray into Argentina territory when Ford sent over a 20th-minute drop kick for the only points of the first half.

After the break, England went on the attack and scored three tries in the first 10 minutes of the second half to build a commanding 22-0 lead, to a cacophony of jeers for the home side from their supporters.

Roebuck, in only his second international, went over in the corner one minute into the second half, followed four minutes later by a try for Steward on his return to the England line-up as Ford’s pass allowed him to burst through a gap in the home defence.

Roebuck strolled in for his second try after Ford again pulled the strings in a simple move down the line.

The jeers turned to cheers of hope as Argentina attempted a fightback with a 53rd-minute try for veteran flanker Pablo Matera, marking a record-equalling 110th appearance for the Pumas, and a forward inspired break finished off by lock Pedro Rubiolo.

That reduced the deficit to 10 points but Argentine mistakes handed England penalties at key moments and Ford slotted over two penalties to keep the tourists’ comfortably ahead before Murley’s late try made sure of victory.

The second test is next Saturday in San Juan.

In a dazzling display of batting mastery, India captain Shubman Gill rewrote the Test record books during the second Test at Edgbaston, delivering twin innings that have etched his name into the pantheon of the game’s greats. Gill’s innings bookended India’s commanding performance. In the fourth innings, following India’s declaration at 427/6, England were left facing a daunting 608-run chase.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!India’s monumental batting, buoyed by Gill’s twin centuries, has firmly placed them in control – and Gill’s historical feats have become the defining narrative of Edgbaston 2025.

All the records Shubman Gill set in Birmingham:* Gill’s aggregate of 430 runs at Edgbaston is the second-highest by any batter in a single Test match, only behind Graham Gooch’s iconic 456 against India in 1990.* Gill’s tally of 585 runs is the second-highest aggregate in the first two matches of a series, behind Graeme Smith’s 621 in England in 2003.

Masterstroke No.1: 269 in First Innings269 runs: Gill’s colossal innings marked his first-record – the highest score by an Indian captain in Tests, surpassing Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 254 vs South Africa in Pune (2019).Highest by an Indian abroad: He bettered Sachin Tendulkar’s 241* at Sydney (2004) and stands third in away Tests behind Sehwag (309 in Multan) and Dravid (270 in Rawalpindi, 2004).Rarity in England Tests: He now joins only Sunil Gavaskar (221 in 1979) and Rahul Dravid (217 in 2002) as Indian double-centurions in England.A record among Indians: Gill’s 269 is the seventh-highest by any Indian in Tests and the eighth-highest by a visiting batter in an England Test, ahead of legends like Zaheer Abbas and Graeme Smith.Captaincy milestones: Gill became the seventh batter to score centuries in his first two Tests as captain – joining a list that includes Kohli, Gavaskar, Cook, Smith, Hazare, and McGlew.

Masterstroke No. 2: 161 in Second InningsDual tonnes legend: Gill became only the second batter ever (after Allan Border’s 150* and 153 vs Pakistan in 1980) with two 150-plus scores in a Test.Century combo feats: One of just nine players globally to record both a century and a double-century in the same Test; only Sunil Gavaskar had previously achieved this among Indians.Hundreds in both innings – elite club: He joined Gavaskar (Eden Gardens 1978) and Kohli (Adelaide 2014) as captains to score centuries in both innings of a Test. Notably, he’s just the second Indian batter to achieve twin centuries in England Tests, after Pant at Headingley.Record partnerships: Shared four century stands in the match – the most by any Indian batter and only the fifth player globally to do so (joining Hanif Mohammad, Gooch, Taylor, Root). He and Jadeja also became the first Indian pair to record a 100 and a 200+ run partnership in the same Test.

SANTIAGO (Chile) – The United States will once again make an appearance in the FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2025 Final as it defeated Canada 65-53 on Saturday evening at Centro de Deportes Colevtivos.

This is USA’s eighth win against Canada in nine AmeriCup matches. The team has won their last seven matches.

Turning point

Canada was hot on United States’ heels, even taking the lead back in the third quarter 48-45, but quickly, with the work of Hannah Hidalgo on a driving layup, cut the lead to a single point before she and Kennedy Smith each scored to take a 51-48 lead.

Holding onto that lead, the United States defensively held Canada to just five points in the final quarter while scoring 14 of its own, securing victory by double digits.

TCL player of the game

Hannah Hidalgo led her team with 19 points, including going 8-of-15 from two-point range, as well as tallying 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals in the win.

Stats don’t lie

The U.S. was stealthy defensively, grabbing 17 steals and blocking 10 shots against Canada, while forcing its North American rival to commit 19 fouls to its 10. The fast break, however is where the United States excelled, scoring 29 points in transition compared to nine for Canada.

Using their size, the U.S. team also dominated in the paint, scoring 38 points down low compared to Canada’s 22, and scored 16 second-chance points while Canada tallied just eight. Despite the win, the USA’s eight assists are its second-fewest in an AmeriCup game.

Bottom line

The Canadians struggled to shoot from deep, making just 14.3 of their three-point attempts, which the United States used to its advantage to grab the ball and score in transition using speed. Canada’s 2 three-pointers match its second-fewest in an AmeriCup game.

While Canada may have won the rebound battle and moved the ball well, United States used their size, speed, and athleticism to triumph in the fourth quarter and will now make its return to the Women’s AmeriCup Final once again.

They said

“All it’s about is just making sure we take care of business tomorrow. I don’t really care about any awards as long as we win gold, that’s going to make me happy,” said U.S.’s Gianna Kneepkens, the current MVP fan poll leader, displacing Kamilla Cardoso. “I’m just ready to compete for tomorrow, and we’ll be ready!”

“We’re excited, we’re all going to come locked in… We were really locked in today, so I’m excited for what comes tomorrow,” said Hidalgo.

FIBA

Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovac has called on FIFA to prioritize the welfare of players at the World Cup in 2026 by making kickoff times later than they have been during the Club World Cup in the United States — while also criticizing the quality of the pitch at World Cup final host venue MetLife Stadium.

Kovac was magnanimous as his team lost 3-2 against Real Madrid in the quarterfinal of the Club World Cup on Saturday, conceding that the better team won the game, but also made important reflections about the conditions his players have endured during this tournament.

Dortmund was scheduled for a lunchtime and an afternoon kickoff in Cincinnati during the group stage, where the recorded temperatures approached 100F, while temperatures for the Real Madrid clash in New Jersey were a little kinder but still hot at pitch level.

“The tournament needs some adaptations in some areas,” Kovac said. “One important point, in my opinion, is the start time of the match. The players should not have to work in the midday sun when it is (so hot) you should not even leave your house. In these conditions, these players had to bring their top performance. We will see next year (how they do it) in the World Cup. We really have to consider the players.

“We played two times in Cincinnati — the first time at 12 p.m. and the second time at 3 p.m. We had temperatures on the pitch that were around 45 C (113 F). So you can imagine, when you are running, it’s not amazing. Today it was 35 C (95 F) — not much better. I would suggest later kick off times. As a supporter, you want to see exciting, up-and-down football. When it is too hot, it is hard to play this football.”

Kovac also had frustrations over the quality of the playing surface at MetLife, which he said was not up to the standard of other pitches in the competition or the quality his players are accustomed to in Germany. He even joked that the grass was of the kind of length you would get on a golf putting green.

He said: “I can compare this pitch with two pitches in Cincinnati and Atlanta. The grass quality is different than the other stadiums. You can putt here. It’s very short. This is not the (type of) grass we are used to playing in the Bundesliga. The watering wasn’t good enough. Overall, for high speed football, you need the right weather conditions but also when (the pitch) is too dry … it’s unbelievable, it’s sticking, I can’t explain it. If you go out and test it, you will see.”

During the first match at MetLife in the tournament, the head coaches of both FC Porto and Palmeiras, as well as the Brazilian forward Estevao, criticized the turf following the draw between the two teams.

MetLife Stadium is hosting eight Club World Cup matches this summer, including both semifinals and the final, before hosting the men’s World Cup final next summer in a tournament which the United States, Canada and Mexico will co-host.

After the Porto-Palmeiras game, Estevao said: “I think the pitch should have been watered a little more as the ball was a little slow which interferes with the pace of the game. It was both for ourselves and for Porto. As the game went on, it rained which made it roll a bit faster.”

The stadium, shared by the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets, usually has a synthetic turf but the FIFA competitions this year and next summer require natural grass.

Abel Ferreira, the Palmeiras coach, said: “In the beginning, the pitch was dry. I don’t know who is the patron saint for rain but after it rained it then enabled us to play our game.”

(Top photo: Carl Recine / FIFA / FIFA via Getty Images)

Three disallowed All Blacks tries, relentless French defence, and TMO interventions throughout all combined to continue the special rivalry between the two sides before New Zealand achieved its 500th Test victory in the first Lipovitan-D series clash in Dunedin on Saturday.

The unfancied French belied all the controversy surrounding their selection for the tour with a gutsy display that was not quelled until the final moments of the game.

It was a reminder that the French in the mood can cause problems for any All Blacks side, and they took advantage of the home side’s first Test of the year to unsettle their chances of making combinations. And they gave the All Blacks a reminder of their need for better execution in the air.

There was satisfaction in the introduction of new players, with lock Fabian Holland making his mark as the All Blacks dominated the lineouts 19-5. No8 Christian Lio-Willie made some powerful runs with ball in hand, while prop Ollie Norris and flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi got a taste of how torrid Test matches can be during the final quarter especially.

France had their heroes with fullback Theo Attissogbe who under pressure, especially from the All Blacks kicking, pulled off some remarkable saves that contributed to the effectiveness of the French defence, who made 224 tackles to 121 by the All Blacks, while captain and second five-eighths Gael Fickou was a constant presence in the backline.

There was disappointment for the All Blacks 15 minutes into the game when they appeared to have scored after a break by halfback Cameron Roigard and a link with second five-eighths Jordie Barrett, who crossed. But the TMO ruled the ball had been knocked on earlier when prop Fraser Newell appeared to have completed a catch.

From the scrum, France moved the ball when Attissogbe made ground on the outside before the ball was moved inside to centre Emilien Gailleton and Fickou, who went close to scoring before No8 Mickael Guillard picked it up to cross in the 17th minute.

The response was immediate. In attempting to clear their line from the restart, French halfback Nolann Le Garrec had his kick charged down by lock Scott Barrett. The ball was moved to the left before it came back right, where Beauden Barrett threw a long ball to Will Jordan on the wing, and he crossed for his 39th try.

He was moved to the wing after Sevu Reece failed an HIA after a first-minute head knock when attempting a tackle.

The All Blacks got back into the French 22m area and built pressure before the ball emerged for replacement Damian McKenzie, who tap-danced his way through five tackles and, while finally put down, quick ball was moved by Roigard to flanker Tupou Vaa’i, who scored under the crossbar.

Capping their improved second quarter, the All Blacks made the most of some burrowing, bullocking running by flanker Ardie Savea, who gave the attack momentum. The ball was released, and while the French defence affected the fluidity, the combination of Beauden Barrett and Jordan got the ball to Jordie Barrett, who had to take a low pass and work his way around a tackle attempt to ground the ball in the corner for a 21-13 lead at the break.

A mistake at the restart by the All Blacks gave France a sniff, which they took, with Fickou taking the ball to the line before it was released to wing Gabil Villiere to score to get France back within a point.

However, the All Blacks burst back after Roigard broke to the line to create a 46th-minute chance, which saw Beauden Barrett feed the ball to Jordan running from depth to break through two tackles to score his second.

The French struck back when they made five changes for immediate effect, with Jacobus van Tonder breaking into space and only being pulled down by Roigard’s chasing tackle. However, in the goalmouth assault, it was fellow replacement Cameron Woki who scored.

After Villiere was sin-binned for a deliberate knockdown, the All Blacks looked to have scored when Billy Proctor touched down, but a knock-on was ruled and the try scrubbed.

However, within five minutes, the pain increased when the obstruction was ruled against Pasilio Tosi, which resulted in a third try being denied to Jordan.

The win broke the run of three consecutive losses to France, while their 500th win lifted their overall Test percentage success rate of 76.80

New Zealand 31 ( Will Jordan 2, Tupou Vaa’i, Jordie Barrett tries; Beauden Barrett 4 con, pen) France 27 (Michael Guillard, Gabil Villiere, Cameron Woki tries;     Joris Segonds pen; Nolann Le Garrec 3 con, pen). [HT: 21-13]

New Zealand: 15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Scott Barrett (captain), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.

Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Samipeni Finau, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Damian McKenzie.

France: 15 Theo Attissogbe, 14 Tom Spring, 13 Emilien Gailleton, 12 Gael Fickou (captain), 11 Gabin Villière, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Mickael Guillard, 7 Killian Tixeront, 6 Alexandre Fischer, 5 Tyler Duguid, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Giorgi Beria.

Replacements: 16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Paul Mallez, 18 Regis Montagne, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Jacobus van Tonder, 22 Baptiste Jauneau, 23 Antoine Hastoy.

Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)

Assistant referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Takehito Namekawa (Japan)

TMO: Damon Murphy (Australia)

The bulk of England’s issues seemed to stem from midfield as Georgia Stanway and Walsh were overrun and their opponents were devastating on the break.

Wiegman admitted sloppiness in possession played into France’s hands as they pressed hard and took advantage of individual errors.

Captain Leah Williamson was visibly frustrated at full-time and described the errors as “some cheap sort of emotional defending”.

France winger Sandy Baltimore won her individual battles with her Chelsea team-mate Lucy Bronze – the England defender losing six duels, the most by any player.

And until Walsh’s 87th-minute strike, the Lionesses had not achieved a shot on target.

“I think we played like we were a little bit scared,” said Carter.

“Maybe we weren’t aggressive enough, maybe we were worrying about their threats in behind and what they can do rather than doing what we can do.

“We didn’t do as well on the ball, or off the ball. The only positive to take is the last 10 minutes. I really believed we would get a [second] goal.”

England’s level seemed to surprise French media, who had largely written off their side’s chances when key centre-back Griedge Mbock was ruled out through injury.

“I didn’t think the French could play at this level already and I didn’t think England could be so disappointing like they were for an hour,” French journalist Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live.

France manager Laurent Bonadei admitted England’s explosive start, that saw Lauren James create a handful of chances, took them by surprise. But he felt his side controlled proceedings after that and “physically it was not easy for England”.

James’ apparent free role certainly looked exciting at the start – but did it leave her side exposed in midfield?

Wiegman’s response to that question was emphatic.

“[James] didn’t have a total free role. We got exposed by losing balls in moments where we didn’t want to lose the ball,” she said. “That was the main topic we wanted to find a solution for.”

Following the introductions of Chloe Kelly, Grace Clinton and Michelle Agyemang, the Lionesses responded, but too late to change the outcome, and former midfielder Karen Carney was far from impressed.

“It wasn’t good enough. We were bullied all over the pitch. We didn’t win enough duels. We looked like we’ve never played together,” she told ITV.

“This is our trophy and that wasn’t good enough. We played into their hands a little bit too much.”