CAFA Nations Cup

Hisor (Tajikistan), Sep 3: Revenge for their shock loss last year will be on their minds when they face a tricky Afghanistan in their last group match of the CAFA Nations Cup here on Thursday.
India, then under Igor Stimac, had suffered an embarrassing 1-2 defeat against Afghanistan in Guwahati in a FIFA World Cup qualifying round match in March 2024, and the current team under Khalid Jamil would be eager to make amends of that loss.
The Blue Tigers have so far won one match (2-1 against Tajikistan) and lost one (0-3 against Iran). They are tied on three points with Tajikistan, but ahead by virtue of a better head-to-head record.
The top teams from each group will progress to the final, while the two second-placed teams will make it to the third-place match, both to take place on September 8.
As things stand, the Blue Tigers need a win against Afghanistan, and hope that Tajikistan do not win against Iran in Thursday’s second game, in order to progress further.
A draw against Afghanistan may also be enough for India to finish in top-2 in Group B, if Iran either win or draw against Tajikistan.
However, a defeat against Afghanistan will result in India’s elimination, as Tajikistan, in such a scenario, will have the better goal difference in the matches played among the three teams who would end up on three points each (Tajikistan, India and Afghanistan).
India head coach Khalid Jamil, however, is not thinking of such permutations and combinations ahead of the crucial tie.
“We are not thinking of all such scenarios at this point. There is no point to it. We will go into the game looking for a win. It’s as simple as that,” Jamil said.
India’s victory against co-hosts Tajikistan in their first match of the tournament was their first competitive win since November 2023.
Talking about the 0-3 loss to Iran on Monday, Jamil said, “We are all sad that we played so well in the first half, and then things did not click for us in the second..
“I’ll be the first one to accept that I made a mistake with the substitution at that point, and they managed to score after it,” the new head coach.
“But this is as much of a learning curve for the players as it is for the coach. We will take the learnings in our stride and move on.
“I must commend my players for doing everything I asked of them. They showed great attitude against a team that was of a much higher quality. At the end, I think the scoreline was not fair. We did not deserve to lose 0-3,” he said.
India (133rd in FIFA rankings) hold the upper hand against Afghanistan (161st) in the head-to-head records, having won 13 times. Afghanistan have emerged victorious against India only on two occasions, with seven matches between the two sides having ended in draws.
India’s last win against Afghanistan came three years ago, a 2-1 victory in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in Kolkata..
Despite the history, Jamil is approaching the match with an air of caution.
“Afghanistan are a good side, so we cannot take them lightly. They have a chance, and they will definitely play hard against us. Our last result was not up to the mark, so we need to respond likewise,” he said.
“We’ve had less time to recover, so we need to be at our best. Those who have not had much game time so far need to be ready, as we might need them to give their 100 per cent,” said the head coach.

Jhingan ruled out

India, however, will miss the services of centre-back Sandesh Jhingan, who sustained an injury during the match against Iran.
The Indian defender has been ruled out of the rest of the CAFA Nations Cup matches after sustaining an injury during the team’s 0-3 defeat to Iran here.
The injury to the 32-year-old stalwart is a big blow to India as they take on a strong Afghanistan side in their third and final Group B match on Thursday.
“Defender Sandesh Jhingan had sustained an injury during India’s CAFA Nations Cup 2025 match against Iran, and has been ruled out of the remaining matches. He will return to India today,” posted All India Football Federation (AIFF) on ‘X’.
“I’ve never seen a player as brave as Sandesh. Even with the injury, he kept playing in the last match. Not many players can do that,” said Jamil.
“We will definitely miss his presence. He’s a great motivator on and off the pitch for the others. It’s difficult to find a replacement for him, but this also allows the others to step up.” (PTI)

Bengaluru, Sep 3: The dynamic trio of Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shardul Thakur will be aiming to make a statement when a star-studded West Zone takes on Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal here on Thursday.
Iyer, who could not find a place in India’s Asia Cup squad, will be keen to begin the season on a bright note here, and keep himself in contention ahead of some crucial assignments such as the home series against the West Indies and the subsequent white ball tour of Australia.
This might be an incredibly frustrating phase for Iyer, whose 604 runs across 17 matches for Punjab Kings at an average of 50.33 and at a strike-rate in excess of 175 did not resonate with the selectors during the Asia Cup selection.
But if he can channelise that frustration and turn it into runs, West Zone may be benefitted.
Jaiswal offers a slightly different case. Having already secured his place in the Test side for the foreseeable future, the young left-hander would want to sustain his red ball game time ahead of the home series against the West Indies and world champions South Africa.
His last competitive outing was the fifth Test against England at the Oval, and since he is yet to crack the white ball code, Jaiswal might have to wait till the series against the West Indies in October for an international appearance.
On other hand, Thakur, who is set to lead West Zone, will try to push his stocks up after lukewarm outings against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to remain on the selectors’ radar.
Other prominent members of the West Zone team like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tanush Kotian will hope for a strong effort to get back into national reckoning.
On paper, West carries far too many guns but Central Zone are no mere pushovers.
Dhruv Jurel might come back to lead them if the India wicketkeeper batter has recovered from a groin niggle that kept him out of the quarterfinals against North East Zone.
Even without Jurel, their batting packed a punch as stand-in skipper Rajat Patidar, Danish Malewar and Shubham Sharma cracked big hundreds last week.
They also have a competent bowling unit in left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, and pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar.
They will nonetheless have a job at hand against a strong West Zone batting line-up, which will miss an injured Sarfaraz Khan, on a BCCI Centre of Excellence pitch that looked slow and smooth during the quarterfinals.
But they will miss the presence of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who is travelling to Dubai to join India’s Asia Cup squad.

North take on South

The absence of Tilak Varma, who has left for Dubai to start his preparations for Asia Cup, pacer Vysakh Vijayakumar and left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore, both of whom have been injured, will weaken South Zone.
Therefore they will require some healthy scores from the likes of N Jagadeesan, Devdutt Padikkal and Salman Nizar, who recently slammed 11 sixes in 13 balls in the Kerala Cricket League, to tide over North’s challenge.
North will also have to contend with the unavailability of pacers Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana, as they are part of the Asia Cup squad.
India pacer Anshul Kamboj is likely to step in for this match.
Hence, they will require an encore from the likes of Ayush Badoni, skipper Ankit Kumar and Yash Dhull, who were the centurions in the quarterfinals. (PTI)
Matches start at 9.30 AM.

New Delhi, Sep 3: The BCCI Annual General Meeting at the end of September will be an interesting affair with a few top posts, including that of president and IPL chairman, up for grabs.
The current IPL chairman Arun Dhumal in all likelihood is set to go for a mandatory cooling-off for three years, having completed a cumulative period of six years in office, with a host of names doing rounds as his potential successor. For now, Devajit Saikia, who has completed three years cumulatively as joint secretary (2 years and three months) and secretary (nine months), will continue in his position. So would joint secretary Rohan Gauns Desai and Prabhtej Bhatia, who are into their first year as office bearers.
For IPL chairman’s post, the name of former Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Sanjay Naik and current BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla’s names are doing the rounds although nothing has been finalized yet.
In case, Congressman Shukla once again becomes IPL chairman, Bihar Cricket Association president and BJP leader from the state Rakesh Tiwary could become a contender for BCCI vice-presidency.
The AGM is expected to be held in the last week of September. Only a couple of vacancies are expected since this year’s election will be held as per the association’s own rules. The coming into force of National Sports Governance Act may still be some time away and the BCCI wouldn’t be waiting that long.
Roger Binny, after completing his 70th birthday in July, also cannot be re-elected as per current constitution.
The most of interesting choice will be that of BCCI president as decision makers want an India player of stature to replace Binny.
The case of Shukla is also interesting one. His stint as vice-president started in 2020 and he still has one year left as per Lodha Constitution. But there is a catch. If the National Sports Governance Act comes into effect before next AGM in 2026, the Rajya Sabha MP wouldn’t need to go for a mandatory cooling off. (PTI)

Sydney, Sep 3: Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has said he would do “whatever it takes” to play the high-profile Ashes, even as he battles a back injury which he likely to have picked up due to an uptick in workload during the World Test Championship Final against South Africa earlier this year.
The 32-year-old quick, who will miss the upcoming white-ball games against New Zealand and India and also the Sheffield Shield matches in the run-up to the Ashes, is hopeful he would recover in time for the opening Test in Perth beginning November 21.
“I’m never going to go into a Test match unless you think you can finish the Test match,” Cummins told cricket.com.au on Wednesday.
“But when you’re 18 or 19, you’re like, ‘Let’s make sure this the perfect rehab whether it takes an extra six months’. Whereas, I’m happy to be a bit like, ‘Well, it’s an Ashes series, whatever it takes to play it’.
“Then, say, at the end, if you’re still not 100 per cent and you need to then have a bit of a break next year… there’s not another Ashes series,” said Cummins, amplifying the importance of the series against England.
Medical scans have revealed a lower-back issue that has continued to trouble the stalwart even weeks after the Test series against the West Indies.
Cummins is currently on a restricted regimen in the gym and will not be risked over the coming weeks to ensure the back issue gets resolved. He has a history of injuries, including persistent back issues and an ankle problem that made him miss the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
The pacer said the experts will “reassess” him in a month’s time.
Cummins said he would require little preparation time for the Ashes even if he misses the Shield games, adding that he was willing to take the risks.
“I think you’re willing to take a few risks and be a little bit aggressive to try and play as much Tests as you can. At this stage of my career, I feel like I can probably get up to speed a bit quicker than when I was 18 or 19.
“Back then you probably feel like you need to play a few Shield games or one-dayers. I’m pretty confident even if I don’t get a chance to play a Shield game, I can get up to speed pretty quickly.
“It’s (nearly) 12 weeks until the first Test, it feels a long way away, so we’ve got plenty of time.”
Cummins, who bowled 35.1 overs in the WTC Final defeat to South Africa at Lord’s in June in four days, saw his bowling workload increase drastically during the title clash soon after returning from the grind of the Indian Premier League.
“Sometimes you might just get unlucky and bowl a lot of overs in, say, the World Test Championship final and that’s enough to kind of start it (injury),” he said.
“Through the West Indies, I felt like maybe it was a little bit sore, but nothing abnormal for fast bowlers, you’ve always got some niggles. Once you get home and everything settles down, it just hung around a little bit.” He sent down another 49 overs in less that a fortnight in the first two Tests against the West Indies.
On his injury, Cummins, who has missed just one Test due to injury since taking charge of the Test side four years ago, said, “It’s similar (to previous injuries). But I’ve been really lucky, the last seven or eight years I haven’t really had much.” (PTI)

London, Sep 3: Former England captain Alastair Cook has suggested that teams in Test cricket should be allowed to take the new ball at any stage within 160 overs, instead of the current rule that mandates a fresh ball only after 80 overs.
Cook, who retired from international cricket in 2018, said the change would add flexibility and tactical depth to the longest format of the game.
“A new rule I would add would be, how about, in 160 overs, you can take the new ball whenever you want? You have got two new balls for those 160 overs, and you can take that second ball whenever you want. You could take one after 30 overs if you wanted to,” he said during the Stick to Cricket podcast.
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, who was also part of the same podcast, called for greater flexibility in substitutions.
Vaughan said cricket was lagging behind other sports by restricting replacements to concussion cases alone, citing the recent India-England series where Rishabh Pant batted with a fracture while Dhruv Jurel only kept wickets.
“In the first innings of a game, let’s say Rishabh Pant takes a knock to his hand. He can still bat but can’t keep wickets. Under current rules, India can’t bring on another keeper like Dhruv Jurel unless it’s a concussion case,” Vaughan said.
“We have concussion subs. So why don’t we have substitutes? All of the other sports have it – why are we allowing the game to be reduced in quality if someone gets a clip,” the former Ashes winning skipper added. (PTI)

Sharjah, Sep 3: Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal smashed successive half-centuries before Afghanistan spinners strangled Pakistan’s deep batting lineup to notch an 18-run win in the T20 tri-series Tuesday.
The spin trio of captain Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad, playing his first game of the tournament, snared six wickets between them to limit Pakistan to 151-9.
Zadran (65) and Atal (64) followed their half-centuries against United Arab Emirates a day ago with an impressive 113-run stand as Afghanistan posted 169-5 after Khan won the toss and elected field.
It was the fourth straight game in the tri-series in which teams successfully defended totals. UAE lost both its games while chasing against Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Haris Rauf’s four-wicket haul had led Pakistan to 39-run in the opening game of the tournament, but on Tuesday the No. 10 batter top-scored with 34 not out off 16 balls. Rauf’s blitz came too late as Afghanistan spinners had virtually sealed the game by squeezing Pakistan to 111-9 in 17 overs.
Fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi set the game for Afghanistan with two wickets inside the powerplay. The left-armer struck off his first ball when Saim Ayub feathered a catch off a mis-timed pull shot to wicketkeeper.
Sahibzada Farhan (18) was clean bowled by Farooqi off a delivery that nipped back into the right-handed batter.
Fakhar Zaman couldn’t convert a good start of 25 runs off 18 balls once the Afghan spinners bowled from both ends. Zaman sliced an easy catch to short third off Nabi and captain Salman Ali Agha was brilliantly run-out by Rashid at the non-striker’s end.
Hasan Nawaz couldn’t clear Ahmad’s first ball, a low leg side full toss and was caught at short fine leg before Mohammad Haris’ run of poor form continues and he holed out to deep square leg of Nabi as Pakistan stuttered to 82-6 in the 12th over.
Rashid then picked Mohammad Nawaz off another mistimed shot by a Pakistan batter and rattled the stumps of Shaheen Afridi before Rauf denied Rashid the hat-trick. Noor then capped a perfect day when he clean bowled Ashraf off his final ball. (AP)

RAJGIR, (Bihar) Sep 3: India wasted chances galore to settle for a 2-2 draw against defending champions Korea in their first Super4 match of the men’s Asia Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday.
The Indians were by far the better side on display in terms of possession and chances but the Koreans defended stoutly to earn a deserving draw.
Both teams got a point each.
Hardik Singh (8th minute) and Mandeep Singh (53rd) scored for India, while Korea’s goals were scored by Jihun Yang (12th) and Hyeonhong Kim (14th).
India will next play Malaysia, while Korea will be up against China on Thursday.
The India-Korea match was delayed by nearly 50 minutes because of a heavy downpour just before opening whistle.
From the onset, Hardik was a livewire for India in the midfield with his neat dribbles and solo runs.
India secured their first penalty corner in the second minute . The hosts earned back-to-back penalty corners in the seventh minute but they failed to breach the Korean defence.
But a minute later India deservedly took the lead through Hardik.
Sukhjeet Singh stole the ball in the halfline and passed it on Hardik, who dribbled past four to five Korean defenders and then put the ball in past the goalkeeper to give his team the lead.
But some sloppy defending from India allowed Korea to draw level in the 12th minute.
Two minutes later, Korea added salt to India’s wounds when Hyeonhong Kim converted their first penalty corner, flicking the ball past Indian custodian Krishan Bahadur Pathak’s extended left leg.
In the 24th minute, Jarmanpreet Singh’s slap shot from right after receiving a pass from skipper Harmanpreet Singh was saved by an alert Korean goalkeeper Jaehan Kim as India went into the halfway break trailing 1-2.
After the change of ends, Korea tried to slow down the game as much as possible and were content to hold on to possession as India pressed hard but without any sting.
In the 41st minute India had a golden chance to draw level but an unmarked Sukhjeet Singh pushed wide of the target after receiving an inch-perfect pass from Manpreet Singh.
Minutes later Abhishek reverse went inches wide of the goal.
The Indians had another great chance but with just goalkeeper to beat, Abhishek could not connect properly and shot wide.
Seconds from the end of third quarter, India secured their fourth penalty corner but Harmanpreet’s effort was saved by the Korean defence.
India high press resulted in another penalty corner in the 49th minute but Jugraj’s powerful flick was blocked by the Korean first runner.
Soon Mandeep Singh created another chance but his reverse hit was palmed away by custodian Kim.
The Korean defence finally buckled under relentless pressure when Mandeep found himself at the right place at the right time to push in Sukhjeet’s assist to level the scores.
India secured another penalty corner seconds later but Amit Rohidas shot wide.
The Indians continued to put pressure till the final whistle in search of the winner, which eluded them.
Meanwhile in the first Super4 match, Malaysia beat China 2-0 to open their points tally.
The opening half ended goalless before Syed Cholan broke the deadlokck for Malaysia by converting a penalty corner in the 45th minute.
Two minutes later, Akhimullah Anuar scored a fine field goal to double Malaysia’s lead.
The Chinese, thereafter, pressed hard for goals resultant in some onfield skirmishes between the two sides.
In fact, there was some shoving and pushing between the two sides when Fitri Saari unintentionally hit Xiaolong Guo of China in his leg, forcing the latter to limp out off the pitch.
The incident resulted in yellow cards (10 minutes suspension) for Yuanlin Lu of China and Malaysia captain Marhan Jalil.
Earlier, Ryosuke Shinohara scored a brace as Japan defeated Chinese Taipei 2-0 to progress to the 5-6th classification match. (PTI)

LIVERPOOL, Sep 3: Indian boxers brace for stern test at World Championships Liverpool, Sep 3 (PTI) Indian boxers will face a stern test against a top-notch field as they aspire to match or better their medal haul from the previous edition when the World Boxing Championships begins here on Thursday.
For the first time, the Championships will be staged under the aegis of the new governing body — World Boxing and will feature both men’s and women’s events together.
India enjoyed a successful run in 2023, with the women’s team bagging four gold medals in New Delhi and the men clinching three bronze in Tashkent.
But results dipped thereafter, with underwhelming performances at the Asian Games later that year and a disappointing campaign at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Although Indian pugilists returned with healthy hauls from the World Boxing Cups earlier this year, the scale of the Championships, featuring over 550 boxers from more than 65 nations, including as many as 17 Paris Olympic medallists, will present a far stiffer challenge.

NIKHAT, LOVLINA BACK IN ACTION

Two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain will mark their international return after over a year’s hiatus.
Both enter the tournament with limited preparation, having competed in only one domestic event since the Paris Games.
Nikhat begins a fresh campaign in the 51kg category, having previously won her world titles at 52kg (2022) and 50kg (2023). Weight management remains a concern, with the Telangana boxer struggling on that front during the Paris Olympics, where she made a second round exit after being out-punched by China’s Wu Yu.
Lovlina, already a three-time Worlds medallist, will look to defend her crown in the 75kg weight class. However, she too will have to navigate her way past several familiar rivals and new challengers. (PTI)

US OPEN

New York, Sep 3: Carlos Alcaraz finger-wagged the crowd, beat Jiri Lehecka to the net and cruised into the semifinals at the US Open.
The second-seeded Spaniard beat Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, making some highlight-reel shots and putting his hand to his ear afterward to encourage more cheers from fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It’s his first hard-court semifinal appearance at a major since winning his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2023.
“I kind of met the Grand Slam version of Carlos,” Lehecka said. “He just showed that he is one of the contenders, for sure. Everyone knew that, and he proved that.”
Alcaraz is just 22 years old and is in the semifinals at a major for the ninth time. Only Rafael Nadal with 10 has more before turning 23.
Next up for Alcaraz is Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion who knocked him out of the Australian Open quarterfinals in January and beat him for the gold medal at the Paris Olympics last year.
Djokovic got past Taylor Fritz 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 at night.
Alcaraz would supplant Jannik Sinner – whom he lost to in the Wimbledon final and beat in the French Open final – atop the rankings if he wins the US Open for a second time.
“It’s really difficult not to think about it,” Alcaraz said. “Every time that I step on the court, I am trying not to think about it. If I think about the No. 1 spot too much, I think I’m going to put pressure on myself and I just don’t want to do that. I just want to step on the court, try to do my things, try to follow my goals in the match and try to enjoy as much as I can. The No. 1 is there, but I’m trying not to think so much about it.”
Before facing Fritz or Djokovic on Friday night, Alcaraz plans to play golf Wednesday with 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia. He thinks his countryman owes him more than a few strokes.
“He has to give me at least between 10 and 15 shots,” Alcaraz said. “It’s going to be great. I’m not that good, Sergio, come on.”

Pegula makes semis again

On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula broke through her quarterfinal wall again at the US Open, defeating Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 6-3 to get to the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for just the second time in her career.
She failed to advance into the semis in her first 22 main draw appearances at a major before reaching the final at Flushing Meadows a year ago, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka. They’ll meet again in the semifinals on Thursday after Sabalenka advanced in a walkover when Marketa Vondrousova withdrew because of injury.
“My biggest accomplishment last year was just getting past the quarterfinals,” Pegula said. “Now I can say I’ve done it twice.”
Pegula, who was eliminated in the fourth round at the Australian Open, the third round at the French Open and the first round at Wimbledon, is the first woman to make back-to-back US Open semifinals without losing a set since Serena Williams from 2011-14.
“I’ve been able to kind of go into those matches and really take care of business,” Pegula said. “I’ve played good players but (gotten) convincing wins over those players.”
Pegula, 31, is seeded fourth at the US Open and aiming for her first Grand Slam championship. She and No. 8 Amanda Anisimova are the only Americans left in the women’s singles field.
Krejcikova knocked out one of them, Taylor Townsend, who failed to convert eight match points when they met in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Pegula was not perfect, but she played well enough to stay in control at all times and broke Krejcikova one final time to end the match in under 90 minutes – on her first match point attempt.
“She had a couple really good returns when I was serving at 4-1,” Pegula said. “We all saw what she did against Taylor, so I was happy that we’re done.”

Other matches

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez lost to the top-seeded pair of Townsend and Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-2 in the women’s doubles quarterfinals, ending the 45-year-old Williams’ first Grand Slam tournament in two years. (AP)