Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam was in a defiant mood on debut as he frustrated England on day one of the second Test.

After their collapse in the second innings following England's show of force with the bat in Multan last week, Pakistan were looking for a response on Tuesday.

And on the same pitch as the first Test, which offered even less for the seamers but some joy for the spinners, Ghulam starred with a sublime knock of 118 as Pakistan reached stumps on 259-5.

Abdullah Shafique went for seven in the eighth over before Ghulam put on a third-wicket partnership of 149 with Saim Ayub, who made 77 before he was sent packing by Matthew Potts.

Shan Masood fell to Jack Leach (2-92), while Brydon Carse (1-14) picked up the wicket of Saud Shakeel before Ghulam was eventually bowled by Shoaib Bashir (1-66).

England captain Ben Stokes bowled five overs on his return but will be hoping for more luck on day two, with Mohammad Rizwan (37 not out) and Salman Agha (five not out) at the crease.

Data Debrief: Pakistan bounce back

England are undefeated in eight Tests against Pakistan (W6 D2), while the hosts have lost their last six matches in the longest format.

Another loss would be their longest losing run in Tests, but with Ghulam leading the way, they have made a great start in avoiding that fate.

There is plenty of time to go for England, who are hunting their first back-to-back victories in away Test matches since February 2023.

An own goal at either end saw Japan and Australia draw 1-1 in the third round of World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Australia's stuttering start to qualifying continued, as Cameron Burgess bundled into his own net as the visitors failed to hold onto their lead.

It was all Japan in the opening stages, but despite their first-half dominance, they struggled to create an opening, with only Ritsu Doan testing Joe Gauci.

Australia, whose only shot came in the seventh minute, took the lead against the run of play – Lewis Miller's low cross was turned into the back of the net by Shogo Taniguchi, who should have done better with the clearance.

Japan got their own slice of luck in the 76th minute though, as Keito Nakamura weaved his way down the left to the byline before pulling it back into the middle, and Gauci could not keep out Burgess' attempted block.

The hosts attempted to push for a late winner, but Australia sat deep to protect what could prove a crucial point against another of Asia's best teams.

Data Debrief: Firing blanks

It was far from a classic, with both teams offering little in terms of attacking threat. In fact, Australia did not manage a single shot on target, only logging one overall. 

Indeed, their expected goals (xG) tells the story, with Australia mustering just 0.01, in contrast to Japan's 0.76, which came from 12 shots, and only three of those were on target.

Taniguchi's own goal is the fourth that Australia have benefitted from in 2024, while only in 2018 have they ever recorded more such goals (five).

Kawhi Leonard has been ruled out for the rest of the Los Angeles Clippers’ preseason due to an ongoing knee issue.

The inflammation in his right knee has prevented him from playing any of their four preseason matches so far, including Monday's 110-96 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

The injury also saw him miss the final eight games of the last regular season, while he was limited to just two appearances in their six-game, first-round loss to Dallas in the postseason.

Clippers coach Ty Lue confirmed that Leonard will not play in their final warm-up game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, and he is a doubt for their NBA season opener against the Phoenix Suns on October 23.

Meanwhile, former Clippers star Paul George suffered a hyperextended left knee injury in Monday's preseason 104-89 win against the Atlanta Hawks.

George was playing just his second game since joining the 76ers as a free agent on a four-year max contract, but planted his left leg awkwardly, jarring his knee.

He did not play the rest of the game, but when asked about the injury, he was not too worried.

"I felt that it hyperextended, and immediately it was, all right, I need to get taken out and [looked at], but if you ask me, I'm not too concerned about it," George told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The 76ers begin their NBA season against the Milwaukee Bucks on October 23.

Daniel Maldini, son of Italy great Paolo, made his international debut in their 4-1 win over Israel, becoming the third generation of his family to play for the Azzurri.

Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mateo Retegui and Davide Frattesi scored the goals, ensuring they remained top of their Nations League group after four games.

Maldini came on as a 74th-minute substitute to replace Giacomo Raspadori on Monday, with his father, who earned 126 caps for the national team, watching from the stands.

It is the first time three generations of a family have played for Italy's national team, with Paolo Maldini's final match coming 22 years and 118 days ago, while Cesare Maldini, Daniel's grandfather, played for the last time 61 years and one day ago.

"I'm happy that my parents came here, we'll talk when I get home," Daniel Maldini, who also played for Milan like his father and grandfather, said after the match.

"It was a strong, positive emotion, I am very happy to have played and that the match went well.

"I hope to bring some quality, even if there is already too much. I try to help as much as I can."

Julian Nagelsmann hailed Germany's first-half display against the Netherlands as their best performance of 2024.

And Nagelsmann said his "supercharged" team have big ambitions after Monday's 1-0 win in Munich, which came a year to the day since he took charge of his first game—a 3-1 friendly win over the United States.

Germany are unbeaten in the Nations League after four games, and sit five points clear at the top of their group.

The Dutch did not manage a single shot in the first half, with Germany having eight themselves, albeit Nagelsmann's team had to wait until the 64th minute to make the breakthrough as Jamie Leweling marked his senior bow with the decisive goal.

"The first half tonight was the best we’ve played this year," said Nagelsmann.

"The greed that the team embodied was a huge step [forward].

"We did well and let very little in. We absolutely deserved to win.

"We've got the ambition to keep going. There's a supercharged atmosphere in the dressing room—they want to win."

An ecstatic Leweling told ZDF network: "We won as a team, I scored the 1-0, we won 1-0, but we did well and I'm just happy I could help out.

"The Dutch are a top nation, but we played a good game."

Leweling is the first debutant under Nagelsmann to score in his first appearance for Germany. Niclas Fullkrug was the last player to net on his senior debut, in 2022.

At the other end of the pitch, Nagelsmann handed a debut to goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.

Aged 34 years and 131 days, Baumann is the second-oldest Germany debutant (after Matthias Mauritz) in the post-war era and the oldest goalkeeper to make his debut for the national team.

Not that Baumann had much to do. Indeed, he had only one save to make, with the Netherlands mustering only one attempt on target and a meagre 0.13 expected goals.

Didier Deschamps hailed a "radiant" Randal Kolo Muani after the forward's double helped France see off Belgium 2-1.

France made it three wins in a row in the Nations League on Monday, with Kolo Muani's goals doing the damage at Stade Roi Baudouin.

Kolo Muani converted a first-half penalty before heading home what proved to be the winner in the 62nd minute, after Lois Openda had restored parity.

Having also netted in the reverse fixture against Belgium last month, the Paris Saint-Germain forward is France's leading scorer in their Nations League campaign.

And with Kylian Mbappe absent, head coach Deschamps, who was handed an early birthday present by France's win, has been impressed by Kolo Muani's attitude and application.

Speaking to TF1, Deschamps said: "He's interesting, he's radiant.

"He is confident and has a very specific profile where in his runs with the ball has a presence. He is a good header [of the ball] and with us he is very often successful."

France have now won their last five matches against Belgium. Only against the Faroe Islands have Les Bleus had a longer winning streak (six games).

They had to do it the hard way, though, with stand-in captain Aurelien Tchouameni seeing red in the 76th minute.

Tchouameni became the first France player to be sent off since Jules Kounde in September 2021 (v Bosnia-Herzegovina), and the first as captain (from when the match kicked off) since Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final.

Belgium finished with 20 shots to France's 14 and more expected goals (2.64xG to 1.49xG), yet the visitors got the job done to move onto nine points from their four matches.

"We were shaken for the first 20 to 25 minutes," explained Deschamps, who turned 56 on Tuesday.

"Belgium put in a lot of intensity, while we made a lot of technical errors.

"When we were able to find solutions going forward, it was better for us.

"We had to shake the players up. It was mostly the mistakes, we had to calm down.

"We had to go forward and press well. Of course, they had chances, but so did we in the second half. We're happy to win this match, especially with 10 men."

Michael Chang is confident men's tennis is in good hands with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, following confirmation of Rafael Nadal's retirement.

Nadal will feature at the Davis Cup Finals for Spain before ending his glittering career next month, becoming the latest of the "Big Four" to walk away from the court. 

Roger Federer called time on his career in 2022, while Andy Murray retired after the Paris Olympics earlier this year. 

While Novak Djokovic – who is one win away from claiming a 100th Tour-level title – remains the last active player from that iconic quartet, Chang is delighted with the next generation.

"I think it's pretty clear at this point, if you look at the matches of both Alcaraz and Sinner, their games are dominating," 1989 French Open winner Chang told Stats Perform. 

"Novak is still playing great tennis and to be able to win the Olympic Games is huge. You know he will still continue to fight for grand slam titles, but the games of these younger players and their confidence on court suggest they will be around for a while, barring any injuries.

"Jannik and Carlos have learned from the previous generation, they learned what it takes to go out and play unbelievable tennis.

"Carlos talks about how he watched these players growing up, how he has learned from them and taken their best qualities to improve his own game, which is very evident.

"They've inspired the younger generation and are well-liked off the court as well.

"Fans can relate to them, they're very humble in nature yet competitive on the court, which is a continuation of that kind of atmosphere and attitude that is really wonderful for our sport of tennis."

Sinner's triumph at the Shanghai Masters on Sunday saw him claim his place at the top of the ATP year-end world rankings, with only Djokovic and Nadal doing so quicker in a season since the modification of those rankings in 2009.

The Italian has won 65 of his 71 Tour-level matches this year, claiming seven trophies, including the Australian Open and US Open.

Alcaraz, meanwhile, won the other two grand slams. 

The Spaniard has won all three of his meetings with Sinner this season, and Chang believes this is only the start of a blossoming rivalry that will go beyond the sport as a whole.

"I think they've already begun to do that. Carlos, in particular, is involved in many non-tennis-related activities and I think that will be pretty commonplace for them," Chang added.

"They're young and vibrant, with interests outside tennis, which is great to see.

"I don't think they'll get side-tracked like some players who have done really well in tennis, and then all of a sudden have this modelling contract over here or this and that over there and then all of a sudden, where did their tennis go?

"I don't see that happening with Alcaraz and Sinner. They seem disciplined, focused, and one-track-minded, but they won't shy away from being involved in other pursuits.

"I think they will keep that focus and will be good for our sport."

Francisco Lindor ended the Los Angeles Dodgers' streak of 33 consecutive scoreless innings with a lead-off home run, and Mark Vientos had a grand slam later on as the New York Mets evened the National League Championship Series with Monday's 7-3 Game 2 victory.

New York, the sixth and lowest seed in the NL play-offs, also received five-plus effective innings from Sean Manaea to bounce back from a 9-0 loss to the top-seeded Dodgers in Sunday's series opener.

Los Angeles entered Game 2 off three straight shutout victories to tie the 1966 Baltimore Orioles for the longest run of consecutive scoreless innings in a post-season in MLB history.

Lindor quickly prevented the streak from going any further, however, as he blasted a pitch from opener Ryan Brasier into the right field seats to begin the contest. The Mets then broke the game open with five runs off Landon Knack in the second inning.

Starling Marte started the second with a single for his first of three hits on the day, and Knack walked Jesse Winker before surrendering Tyrone Taylor's one-out double that plated Marte for a 2-0 lead.

After Lindor was intentionally walked to load the bases with two out, Vientos extended the margin to 6-0 with his third homer of this post-season.

Manaea kept the Dodgers off the board until Max Muncy's solo homer in the fifth, though the left-hander departed after issuing back-to-back walks to Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez to start the bottom of the sixth.

After an error by Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias loaded the bases, Tommy Edman drove in Betts and Hernandez with a single off Phil Maton to bring Los Angeles within 6-3.

The Dodgers threatened again in the eighth by putting two on with two out, but New York closer Edwin Diaz got Enrique Hernandez to fly out and protect the Mets' three-run cushion.

After Marte singled in Pete Alonso in the top of the ninth for the Mets' final run, Diaz worked out of another jam in the bottom of the inning by striking out Betts, Teoscar Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in succession with two runners on.

The Mets will now host the next three games of this best-of-seven series, with Game 3 to take place Wednesday.

Rodon pitches Yankees to 1-0 lead over Guardians in ALCS

New York's other team also came out a winner on Monday, as the Yankees opened the American League Championship Series with a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians behind six sharp innings from Carlos Rodon.

Rodon struck out nine without a walk and held Cleveland to one run on three hits to help give the Yankees the early upper hand in this clash between the AL's two best teams of the regular season. The left-hander did not permit a run until Brayan Rocchio led off the top of the sixth with a solo homer.

Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton backed Rodon's gem with solo homers, and the Yankees also capitalised on seven walks and five wild pitches thrown by Cleveland hurlers.

Top-seeded New York will attempt to take a 2-0 lead behind ace Gerrit Cole on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium, with the Guardians slated to throw 12-game winner Tanner Bibee.

Soto started the scoring with a lead-off homer off Alex Cobb that ignited a three-run third inning for the Yankees. Cobb would issue three walks before departing with two out in favour of Joey Cantillo, who uncorked a pair of wild pitches that enabled Aaron Judge and Stanton to score.

Cantillo threw two more wild pitches after walking Gleyber Torres in the fourth, which set up Judge's sacrifice fly that brought in Torres for a 4-0 lead.

Rocchio's homer in the sixth got Cleveland on the board, but the Yankees countered in the seventh on Stanton's 13th career post-season homer.

The Guardians made a bid to get back in it in the eighth with three singles off reliever Tim Hill, including Steven Kwan's hit that knocked in Andres Gimenez and trimmed the deficit to 5-2.

New York then summoned closer Luke Weaver, who struck out pinch-hitter Will Brennan and retired All-Star Jose Ramirez on an inning-ending groundout to strand two runners.

Weaver recorded three more strikeouts in the ninth to end the game and earn his fourth save of the post-season.

Josh Allen threw two touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown, and the Buffalo Bills intercepted Aaron Rodgers with under two minutes left to hold on for a 23-20 win over the turmoil-laden New York Jets on Monday.

Tyler Bass' 22-yard field goal with 3:43 remaining snapped a 20-20 tie and helped send New York (2-4) to its third straight loss in its first game since firing head coach Robert Saleh last week and replacing him with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. 

The Jets also stripped offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett of play-calling duties during their shake-up, with passing game coordinator Todd Downing taking over that role for Monday's game.

The switch allowed Rodgers to throw for a season-high 294 yards and two touchdowns, including a 52-yard Hail Mary heave to Allen Lazard to end the first half. However, the four-time NFL MVP's final pass of the night, a deep ball intended for Mike Williams, was picked off by Taron Johnson with 1:52 left to play before the Bills ran out the clock.

Allen had a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then connected with Mack Hollins and Dawson Knox on touchdown passes in the second as the Bills built a 20-10 lead prior to Lazard's leaping grab in the end zone just before half-time.

The Jets tied the game at 20-20 on Greg Zuerlein's 22-yard field goal with 6:13 left in the third quarter, but the veteran kicker missed two other attempts later on that would have put New York ahead.

Allen finished with 215 yards on 19-of-25 passing as Buffalo (4-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and extended its lead atop the AFC East to 1 1/2 games. Rookie Ray Davis rushed for a career-high 97 yards in place of Bills' top running back James Cook, who was inactive with a toe injury.

Lazard racked up 114 yards on six catches in the loss, while the Jets also got 107 yards and a touchdown on eight catches from Garrett Wilson and 113 rushing yards from Breece Hall.

Ronald Koeman believed his Netherlands side fell short in "all facets of football" after they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Germany in the Nations League on Monday.

Jamie Leweling netted the only goal of the encounter at the Allianz Arena, marking his senior international debut in style to put his nation on the brink of qualification. 

The Netherlands struggled during the contest, ending the game with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.13, with Donyell Malen's 89th minute effort their only attempt on target.

Koeman's side also managed just eight touches in the opposition box compared to Germany's 26, despite edging the possession at the full-time whistle. 

"If you go back too far, you bring that on yourself," Koeman said.

"We came up short on all sides, perhaps in all facets of football. We did things differently at half-time and then we got a bit more rest. But they were much better today.

"I am not satisfied by our performance. The Germans were the better, faster and physically stronger. They created more chances.

"We lost too many balls in the midfield. We went too far back. That was not the plan. The plan was to put pressure forward on the right side. But it did not happen."

The result leaves the Netherlands in second in Group A3, level on points with Hungary after Dominik Szoboszlai's double handed them a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Stand-in captain Stefan de Vrij echoed Koeman's thoughts after the encounter, saying his side deserved to lose against Germany.

"It seems clear to me that it was a deserved defeat," said De Vrij.

"The first half was very mediocre. We were very sloppy and gave away a number of balls just like that, which allowed them to become dangerous.

"In the second half it was a bit better, but it's hard to create chances."

The Lazio defender took the armband in place of Virgil van Dijk, who was suspended following his red card against Hungary.

Though the Netherlands did not do enough in attack, De Vrij said that Van Dijk's absence from the team had an impact. 

"Yes, of course you miss him. He's a very important player and he's our captain. And he's a great defender, so it makes sense that he's missed," De Vrij concluded.

Kylian Mbappe was pictured by Real Madrid during an individual recovery programme amid growing questions over his France absence.

Madrid released a statement on Monday to update on the forward's recovery from a muscle issue that kept him out of France's October internationals squad.

Questions had persisted from reports in France after Mbappe was spotted in a Swedish nightclub on Thursday, when Didier Deschamps' side hammered Israel.

Deschamps insisted the matter was not an issue to discuss, though speculation remains over Mbappe's commitment to France, with reports suggesting he is prioritising Madrid and a potential Ballon d'Or.

Los Blancos seemingly sought to quash any growing murmurs of discontent by confirming Mbappe's appearance at the club before France's 2-1 win over Belgium in Brussels.

"Kylian Mbappe continues to work on his individual fitness plan," a short club statement read. 

"The forward is working on his own as he tries to recover fully from the discomfort in the biceps femoris of his left leg.

"He trained on his own in the gym and out on the pitch at Real Madrid City, under the guidance of Antonio Pintus, who is in charge of the club's physical preparation."

Mbappe subsequently posted a picture on Instagram of him in the Madrid gym, captioned "back to work" as the former Paris Saint-Germain forward continues his recovery.

The 25-year-old was joined by goalkeeping pair Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin before more of Carlo Ancelotti's squad return from international football on Tuesday.

Deschamps' men did not feel Mbappe's absence, however, as Randal Kolo Muani's brace secured the vital victory over Belgium to boost their top-two hopes in the Nations League.