Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma both hit unbeaten centuries – the latter recording his second in as many matches – as India eased to a 3-1 T20I series win over South Africa.
Leading 2-1 after Tilak's best-ever T20I knock of 107 not out led them to victory in Wednesday's third match, the tourists produced another magnificent batting display to wrap up the series in Johannesburg.
Samson and Abhishek Sharma put on a partnership of 73 to get the ball rolling after India captain Suryakumar Yadav chose to bat, but they really picked up the pace after the latter feathered Lutho Sipamla's ball through to Heinrich Klaasen for 36.
Tilak came in and smashed 120 runs off just 47 balls faced – including nine fours and 10 sixes – in a brilliant stand with Samson, who scored 109 off 56 deliveries.
South Africa's bowlers had no answer to the duo's big hitting, with the highlight of the innings coming when Tilak slogged 20 runs off four successive balls in the 14th over.
Finishing 283-1, India fell just 14 runs short of their record total in T20Is, a score of 297-6 versus Bangladesh set last month, and the Proteas' slim hopes of making it competitive were soon dashed.
Arshdeep Singh (3-20) dismissed Reeza Hendricks (0), Aiden Markram (8) and Klaasen (0) within the first three overs of their innings as the hosts were dropped to 10-4.
Varun Chakravarthy got in on the act with two wickets as India continued to rip through the South Africa batting order, Tristan Stubbs (43) top-scoring for the hosts as they fell 135 runs short of victory.
Data Debrief: Records fall for India pair
South Africa's bowlers were smashed around the Wanderers Stadium by Samson and Tilak, both of whom brought up notable milestones.
Samson became the first cricketer in T20I history to hit three centuries within a single year, having also scored tons against Bangladesh last month and South Africa eight days ago.
Tilak, meanwhile, managed a strike rate of 255.3, the highest ever recorded by an India player in a single T20I innings.
Carlos Sainz will team up with Williams early to drive their FW46 car in next month's post-season test in Abu Dhabi, the constructor has announced.
Sainz agreed to join Williams in July after losing his Ferrari seat to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who stunned the Formula One world by exercising a break clause in his contract with Mercedes earlier this year.
The Spaniard is currently fifth in the drivers' championship standings, with his two race wins for the year coming in Australia and Mexico.
On Friday, Williams confirmed he will join the team for post-season testing on December 10, two days after the campaign ends with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
"This early opportunity will allow both Carlos and Williams to begin building their relationship," a team statement read.
"The test session will provide a valuable chance for Carlos to begin integrating into his new team environment, and he will drive the FW46 for the first time."
Hamilton is not expected to take part in Ferrari's post-season tests, due to his ongoing commitments with Mercedes.
West Indies all-rounders Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers have been announced as marquee signings for the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders ahead of the 2025 season of the International League T20 (ILT20), set to bowl off in January.
The franchise confirmed the signings on social media, igniting excitement among fans. Holder and Mayers, known for their explosive talent and match-winning abilities, are expected to bolster the Knight Riders’ campaign as they aim for glory in the six-team tournament.
Mayers expressed his enthusiasm about joining the Knight Riders via Instagram, stating, "I am very excited to be part of the Knight Riders family in this coming season of the ILT20." His powerful batting and impactful seam bowling have made him a sought-after player in T20 leagues worldwide.
Holder, a former West Indies captain, brings a wealth of experience and versatility to the team. Renowned for his ability to deliver in clutch situations with both bat and ball, his leadership qualities will also add immense value to the Knight Riders' dressing room.
The Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, a franchise known for its association with the globally recognized Knight Riders brand, are aiming to improve on past performances and establish themselves as a dominant force in the ILT20. With the addition of Holder and Mayers, the team’s chances of success in the competitive league have significantly increased.
The ILT20, which continues to attract some of the world’s top cricketing talent, promises to deliver thrilling action when the 2025 season gets underway. Fans can expect Holder and Mayers to light up the tournament with their dynamic performances as they represent the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on the big stage.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi insists the world champions will not be lacking in motivation for Saturday's clash with England at Twickenham, saying the teams' meetings are "always personal".
The Springboks are aiming to inflict a fifth straight defeat on Steve Borthwick's troubled hosts, who suffered a dramatic 42-37 defeat to Australia last week.
England's most recent meeting with South Africa – in the semi-finals of last year's World Cup – was overshadowed by Tom Curry accusing Bongi Mbonambi of directing a racist slur towards him, an allegation the Springboks hooker denied.
South Africa won that match 16-15 thanks to a late Handre Pollard penalty before beating New Zealand in the final, and Kolisi knows they now have a target on their backs.
"It's always personal. That's just how we prepare ourselves for games," Kolisi said on Friday.
"It's got to be personal. It's another man trying to run through you in-game, it doesn't get more personal than that. So every game for us is personal.
"This one, in Twickenham, is a big game and we know what England have been going through. We've been in their position before.
"We know we've got a target on our back at all times. Every single team that plays against us... we've got to make it as personal as possible because we want to stay where we are."
England have recalled full-back Freddie Steward for the match, after he lost his place to George Furbank during the Six Nations earlier this year.
The 23-year-old is delighted to be back in the fold and is determined to make the most of his opportunity.
"It was one of the hardest things I've had to deal with," Steward told BBC Radio 5 Live. "When you have something for a while and then you lose it, it puts into perspective how important that thing is to you.
"Not having that over the last couple of months has been really challenging. Emotionally, it has been tough, but I've had to use that as fuel to keep pushing and wanting to get better and win that place back.
"It can be a kick in the teeth but you have to use those experiences, and I'm sat here now as a better rugby player and a stronger person."
The Jamaica Badminton Association (JBA) is set to stage the All-Jamaica National Junior Badminton Championships, set for Saturday, November 16, and Sunday, November 17, 2024, at the Kingston YMCA.
This highly anticipated event will showcase the country’s most promising junior badminton talent, with a strong focus on the Under-19 category. The following weekend, on November 23 and 24, Jamaica’s top senior players will take to the court for the All-Jamaica National Open Championships, where they will vie for national titles in an intense knockout competition.
JBA President Vishwanauth Tolan expressed excitement about the event and shared details on ts special highlights.
“The tournament will be held at the Kingston YMCA. National champions will be crowned in each age group and category, and special prizes will be designated for some of the top performances for the year. We will also recognize our honourees Audley Astwood and Marcia Williams, for their long-term support of badminton, and particularly their leadership of the schools’ league competition for the past three decades,” Tolan said.
The JBA president also revealed that there will be a new category will be added to the championship.
“The first weekend will feature the inaugural ‘Rising Shuttler’ category, which will be open to players in the C and D divisions. We will crown the first ever Rising Shuttler Champions.”
The junior championships will feature rising stars in the Under-19 category. On the boys' side, 14-year-old Amir McBean, the reigning Under-15 and Under-17 champion, enters as the top seed. His brother, 17-year-old Jorie McBean, follows as the second seed. Both Amir and Jorie were semifinalists in last year’s Under-19 singles and are poised for a strong showing this year. Among the girls, top seed Jade Ranger, last year’s Under-17 champion and Under-19 finalist, will face Amelia Dawkins in what promises to be a thrilling matchup.
In the doubles events, Daniel Ford and Joseph Morrison are seeded number one in the boys' division, while Jade Ranger pairs with Cassandra Russell as the top seed for the girls. The mixed doubles will see the formidable team of Samuel Smith and Jade Ranger leading the bracket.
For the senior championships on November 23-24, Jamaica’s best badminton talent will compete for national titles. Leading the women’s singles, Tahlia Richardson is anticipated to dominate, while the men’s singles event is set for an exciting showdown between top-ranked Joel Angus and second-ranked Craig Allison, who recently defeated Angus in a tournament final. With a knockout format, the stakes are high as the nation’s elite players battle for top honours.
Looking Ahead to 2025 In addition to the national championships, the JBA is excited to announce plans for an active 2025 season, with the full tournament schedule to be finalized in December. Key events slated for the first quarter include the Schools League Final, Schools Knockout Final, the Tournament of Kings and Queens, and Doubles Mania. Moving into thesecond quarter, the JBA will host the Junior Classics and the Prep/Primary Championship. The summer months will see the association prepare a junior team to represent Jamaica at the CAREBACO Championships and Pan Am Junior Championships.
Jofra Archer has been omitted from the shortlist for the Indian Premier League auction for 2025, with Joe Root and Mark Wood also absent.
Former England bowler James Anderson, however, is among the players listed for the auction, which will take place on November 24 and 25.
A total of 1,574 initial entries were cut to 574 following consultation with IPL franchises this week, with all centrally-contracted England players free to enter.
Archer, who represented the Rajasthan Royals between 2018 and 2021 before being bought by the Mumbai Indians for the 2022 competition, was not among those included.
The paceman has outlined his desire to return to Test cricket after recovering from a series of back and elbow injuries, and his absence from the IPL could open the door for him to play red-ball cricket for Sussex next year.
Under new tournament rules, any player who has previously played in the IPL but is not listed for the auction will also be banned from the 2026 edition, ruling out Archer, Root, Wood and England Test captain Ben Stokes, who had already opted to skip the competition.
Captain Hayley Matthews and Deandra Dottin both had significant contributions with the ball to help the Melbourne Renegades secure their third win in a row in the Women’s Big Bash League on Friday.
Matthews took 2-27 from four overs while Dottin took 2-32 from her four overs to help restrict the Melbourne Stars to 161-8 from their 20 overs in pursuit of their target of 171 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Sarah Coyte also bowled well with 2-13 from her two overs.
Rhys McKenna and Marizanne Kapp were the top scorers for the Stars with 34 and 32.
Earlier, the Renegades made 170-6 from their 20 overs after winning the toss.
Nicole Faltum made a career best 66* off 42 balls while Georgia Wareham and Georgia Prestwidge provided support with 34 and 23* off nine balls, respectively.
Matthews made 11 while Dottin made nine.
Kim Garth took 2-32 from her four overs for the Stars.
The win moves the Renegades level on points with the Sydney Thunder on 10 at the top of the table with the latter having a game in hand.
Yann Bisseck has signed a new contract extension with Inter until 2029.
The defender joined the club in July 2023 from AGF for around €7million and has since made 32 appearances in all competitions.
His initial deal would keep him at Inter until 2028, but the 23-year-old has signed a one-year contract extension.
Bisseck has played 11 times for Inter so far this term, including all four of their Champions League matches, making the second-most blocks (four) and the most interceptions (five) among his team-mates in the competition.
"I feel that the club has confidence in me, as does the coach: everyone has contributed to this renewal, and I'm happy with the progress I've made. I think this deal is a positive moment for everyone," he told InterTV.
"There are many things I can still improve. I'm not a perfect player, but I'm still young and there are many aspects that I still need to work on, especially from a tactical and mental point of view.
"Technically and physically, I've reached a good level. I think my mentality will be key to my future growth."
Alexander Zverev has booked his place in the ATP Finals semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Carlos Alcaraz, who is now facing elimination.
The German secured the year-end number two spot in the ATP rankings after triumphing 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in just under two hours to set up a meeting with Taylor Fritz in the final four.
Zverev has now won each of his last eight matches and topped the John Newcombe Group but had to work hard for it, with Alcaraz successfully defending a set point to force a tie-break.
The Spaniard struggled to match the pace in the second set though, losing his serve in the opening game, giving Zverev the control he needed to register his sixth career win against Alcaraz.
Zverev avenged his French Open final loss to Alcaraz earlier this year, racking up his 69th win of 2024 in the process, but played down talk he is playing the best tennis of his life.
"You guys need to relax a little bit," he said. "It has been three fantastic matches. I'm happy to be 3-0 in the group for sure, but the semi-finals now are going to be very difficult - no matter who I am against.
"Taylor beat me the last few times we've played at the slams, but I'm looking forward to that match.
"Carlos has beaten me too many times this year in important matches, so I'm happy I got this one. We have a pretty good rivalry, but a great friendship as well. It's always great to share the court with him."
Alcaraz's chances of qualifying for the final four are slim, but he could progress based on the percentage of games won if Andrey Rublev beats Casper Ruud in straight sets later on Friday.
Data Debrief: Out in front
Zverev is looking to cap 2024 on a high by continuing his impressive run, and he is the first player to register 69+ wins in a single season since Andy Murray (78) in 2016.
Since he made his first semi-final at the ATP Finals in 2018, only Novak Djokovic (five) has reached the semis of this event more often than the German (four).
Claudio Ranieri revealed he has turned down offers from other clubs since his retirement before answering Roma's call to be their new manager.
Ranieri announced his retirement at the end of last season after guiding Cagliari to Serie A safety, but after Roma sacked their second manager this season, the 73-year-old agreed on Thursday to take charge until the end of the campaign.
It is Ranieri's third spell as manager of Roma, the club where he began his playing career, and the Rome native will remain in a senior management role once his coaching term ends.
Across his previous two spells, Ranieri managed 96 games in all competitions, registering 53 wins, with a win percentage of 55.21%.
"I had stopped coaching, I have had more requests in recent months than when I won the league title with Leicester City," Ranieri told a press conference.
"I have always said no. I said only in two cases can I return to coaching, either for Roma or Cagliari, if something went wrong.
"I was convinced to have gone my own way, but fate wanted me to return home. I began at Roma as a player and I will finish there as an executive."
Ranieri has no interest in what has gone wrong for Roma this season, in which Daniele De Rossi and Ivan Juric have been dismissed.
"There are a thousand reasons, and honestly I don't care," he said.
"If I go looking at what happened yesterday, I won't achieve anything. I was given carte blanche and I have to do my best with these players. From now on, I am the one in charge.
"Changing two managers by November isn't easy for anyone, one wants to play in a certain manner, one wants to play another way, so there is a bit of an electroshock. That's normal."
Paulo Dybala's absence against Bologna led to speculation that it had more to do with his contract's automatic renewal clause on reaching a certain percentage of appearances than with the Argentine forward's physical fitness.
The Argentinian has made 12 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring twice in Serie A, including the only goal in their last win at the end of October.
Ranieri showed he means business when he revealed the conversation he had with Roma President Dan Friedkin.
"It's the first thing I asked the president," Ranieri said.
"I told him 'I do as I please, I don't want to know if he has clauses or not'.
"You can see that when Dybala is well he makes the difference. I wish he could always play, but he won't."
Ranieri's first game comes after the international break when Roma take on league leaders Napoli.
Ruud van Nistelrooy says Manchester United deserve to be successful under new head coach Ruben Amorim, having left the club after the Portuguese's arrival this week.
Amorim officially left Sporting CP for United on Monday, with Van Nistelrooy having overseen four matches as interim coach after Erik ten Hag was sacked last month.
United won three and drew one of those matches, beating Leicester City twice and overcoming PAOK in the Europa League while drawing 1-1 with Chelsea in the Premier League.
At 39 years old, new boss Amorim will become the youngest man to lead United since a 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge of them on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County.
Van Nistelrooy, who had initially hoped to stay on in a backroom role under Amorim but departed earlier this week, is backing the Red Devils to be successful.
In a farewell post on Instagram, the former striker wrote: "To everyone at Manchester United football club, in particular the backroom staff, the players and the fans.
"I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible efforts and support. It has been a privilege and honour to represent the club as a player, coach and manager, and I will always cherish the memories we have shared together.
"M.U.F.C will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope there are many more glory days at Old Trafford very soon - not only because I want the club to do well, but because you all deserve it!"
Amorim's first assignment as United boss will be a Premier League trip to Ipswich Town next week, before Bodo/Glimt visit Old Trafford in the Europa League on November 28.
Between his March 2020 appointment and his departure this month, Sporting won 77% of their Primeira Liga matches, the best win ratio in Europe's top 10 leagues in that span.
Antoine Rozner has the halfway lead at the DP World Tour Championship, one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy, after an impressive second round.
The Frenchman took advantage of McIlroy's mid-round slip-up and carded a round-of-the-day 65 to hold a lead of nine under on Friday.
McIlroy had surged into what looked like a comfortable lead with four birdies in the first seven holes in Dubai but bogeyed two of the next three as the chasing pack caught up with him once more.
The Northern Irishman, who needs to place 11th or higher to secure the Race to Dubai title, sits joint-second with Tyrrell Hatton, who had also shared the lead after round one.
"I got off to a great start, four under through seven. I was feeling like I was in total control of what I was doing, and then I just started to miss a few fairways around the turn," McIlroy said.
"When you start missing fairways the way the course is set up this week, you're going to start to struggle.
"So I made two bogeys in the next three holes, I steadied the ship a little bit, but felt like I let a couple of chances slip by on 14 and 15, but played the last three holes well.
"It was nice to finish with a birdie and at least shoot something in the sixties."
Joaquin Niemann sits two strokes back in fourth, while Shane Lowry and Rasmus Hojgaard are in the group tied for sixth on six under.
Meanwhile, Thriston Lawrence, who is the only player capable of snatching the season-long title from McIlroy if he wins in Dubai, is nine adrift of the leader, and currently tied-34th after carding a second-round 71 thanks to a bogey on the final hole.
Nick Kyrgios confirmed he is returning to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International at the end of December.
The Australian announced in October that he was planning to return at the World Tennis League event in Abu Dhabi.
Kyrgios has played just one ATP Tour singles match in the last two years, having suffered with wrist, knee and foot injuries that have kept him off the court.
That lone outing came in Stuttgart in June 2023, where he suffered a straight-sets defeat to Wu Yibing.
"Honestly, this is probably the best I've felt in two years," Kyrgios told Australian television channel 9News.
"I played that amazing year in 2022. Then, at the finals in Wimbledon and the US Open, that's when I started feeling some issues in my wrist. I had that wrist reconstruction, and now I'm feeling amazing.
"It was a 15% miracle chance that I was going to get back to playing at this level and here we are.
"To get back out there in front of the home fans is going to be sick."
Kyrgios previously won the Brisbane International in 2018 and will be making his fourth appearance at the tournament as he steps up his preparation for the Australian Open.
He previously said he was aiming for a grand slam title when he returns, having lost his only previous such final to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2022.
"I am feeling fit and healthy, and I am excited for my return to tennis following some time out of the sport," Kyrgios added.
Scott McTominay says he has no regrets about leaving Manchester United to join Napoli after a lightning-quick start to life in Italy.
He has scored three goals in 10 appearances for the Italian club in all competitions, netting twice in Serie A to help them sit top of the table after 12 games.
Only Romelu Lukaku has scored more league goals for Napoli than him this season, while McTominay has also had the second-most big chances (four) among his team-mates, scoring two of them.
Before his transfer deadline day move, McTominay had spent 22 years at United, joining their academy aged five before making his debut in May 2017.
The Scotland international made 255 appearances for the senior team, scoring 29 goals, including 10 during his most prolific season in 2023-24, and providing eight assists.
While McTominay admitted leaving his boyhood club was not an easy choice, he is pleased with the outcome of the choice.
"Obviously, it's a big decision, there's no denying that. It was a huge decision for me and my family and my friends," he told The Times.
"At times like that in your life, you just have to say, 'Do I want to do it? Absolutely,' and go for it. There's no looking back. I've never had any regrets in my life, or my career and I continue that way to this day.
"I want my career to be successful, and I'm going to go out of my way to try and push myself to be the best football player and best person that I can possibly be."
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