India boosted their hopes of avoiding a series whitewash by taking control on day two of the third Test against New Zealand in Mumbai.

Ravindra Jadeja (4-52) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-63) led the hosts' charge, as they reduced the tourists to 171-9 at the close.

Following their late 10-minute collapse on Friday, which left them at 84-4, Rishabh Pant (60 off 59 balls) and Shubnam Gill (90 from 146 deliveries) ensured India made a progressive start to the second day. 

Washington Sundar also chipped in with 38 from 36 balls, but Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan went in quick succession as New Zealand claimed three wickets in the space of 10 overs after lunch.

The Black Caps trailed by 28 after bowling their opponents out for 263, but lost Tom Latham in the opening over, with Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra following soon after to leave them at 44-3.

Will Young (51 off 100) chalked up his second 50 of the Test, though it proved a false down for the tourists, as Jadeja and Ashwin took a combined seven wickets to keep their side's deficit down to just 143 with one wicket remaining.

Data Debrief:

India are desperately trying to prevent New Zealand from inflicting their first-ever home whitewash in a series of three or more Tests.

Pant certainly did his bit by taking just 36 balls to notch up India's fastest Test 50 against the Black Caps, for whom Patel (5-103) took his second five-wicket haul in the city of his birth, as well as his sixth overall in Test cricket.

Jadeja was also inspired in the field, though, as he took his wicket tally for the Test to nine.

Formula 1 team Haas have announced that driver Kevin Magnussen will miss the remainder of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend with illness, meaning Brit Oliver Bearman will race on Sunday.

The news of Magnussen feeling unwell came before Friday's action got under way and the decision was taken for Bearman to step in for free practice, Sprint Qualifying and Saturday's Sprint.

But soon after Sprint Qualifying, in which Bearman placed 10th, it was confirmed that Magnussen would not return to take any part of the weekend's running order.

Bearman was delighted with his showing, especially having had such little notice that he was going to be called into action.

"The car was feeling good all day honestly. From the first lap I did in P1, I had a great feeling. So, happy to be in SQ3 and finally make it to the third stage of a qualifying session," he told the official Formula 1 website.

"Ayao [Komatsu] woke me up this morning at like 6:30 with the call, but when I saw his name I wasn't so mad.

"If it was my mum or something, not realising the time, I would have been a bit more angry."

This is not the first time 19-year-old Bearman has stood with little preparation time, having previously raced for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia after Carlos Sainz was forced to withdraw through injury.

He has also come in for Magnussen before as well, replacing him in Azerbaijan when the driver was hit with a one-race ban.

The opportunity comes ahead of his full-time Formula 1 debut next year, in which he will take a seat for Haas.

Formula 1 team Haas have announced that driver Kevin Magnussen will miss the remainder of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend with illness, meaning Brit Oliver Bearman will race on Sunday.

The news of Magnussen feeling unwell came before Friday's action got under way and the decision was taken for Bearman to step in for free practice, Sprint Qualifying and Saturday's Sprint.

But soon after Sprint Qualifying, in which Bearman placed 10th, it was confirmed that Magnussen would not return to take any part of the weekend's running order.

Bearman was delighted with his showing, especially having had such little notice that he was going to be called into action.

"The car was feeling good all day honestly. From the first lap I did in P1, I had a great feeling. So, happy to be in SQ3 and finally make it to the third stage of a qualifying session," he told the official Formula 1 website.

"Ayao [Komatsu] woke me up this morning at like 6:30 with the call, but when I saw his name I wasn't so mad.

"If it was my mum or something, not realising the time, I would have been a bit more angry."

This is not the first time 19-year-old Bearman has stood with little preparation time, having previously raced for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia after Carlos Sainz was forced to withdraw through injury.

He has also come in for Magnussen before as well, replacing him in Azerbaijan when the driver was hit with a one-race ban.

The opportunity comes ahead of his full-time Formula 1 debut next year, in which he will take a seat for Haas.

Ruben Amorim's impending appointment as Manchester United boss will benefit skipper Bruno Fernandes, former Red Devils coach Rene Meulensteen believes.

United confirmed on Friday, four days after they sacked Ten Hag, that Amorim would be coming in as their new head coach.

The 39-year-old, who has won the Portuguese title twice in the space of three years, will join the Red Devils officially from November 11, after serving a notice period with Sporting CP.

United have agreed to pay Sporting around £9.2million (€11m) in compensation, with Amorim signing a contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2027.

He will link up with compatriot Fernandes, who also swapped the Portuguese capital for Manchester back in January 2020.

The skipper has been directly involved in 151 goals since his debut, the most of any midfielder across Europe's top five leagues during that time.

And Meulensteen, who spent 12 years on the coaching staff at Old Trafford, thinks Fernandes will thrive under Amorim, and hopefully cut out some bad habits.

"It's always important, but all managers expect certain things, have certain expectations from Bruno," he told Stats Perform. 

"I do think Bruno is an exceptional player. He's been so important in so many goals, in terms of his assists and contributing goals himself. 

"Although, there's also another side that we've seen in Bruno - which you don't like to see as a club captain - a little bit of petulant behaviour, like throwing the toys out of the pram if things are not going well. 

"Obviously, they're both Portuguese, so that helps them in terms of speaking in their native language. 

"It's going to be interesting. The way that he sets up his teams, he doesn't play with out-and-out wingers. He plays far more with people in between the pockets, which [the likes of Bruno] are suited to. 

"As soon as he steps over that line and steps through the door, we will see very, very quickly how he's going to shape up the team."

The mutual respect shared between the dugouts in west London belies the desire both managers feel to deliver a “special” derby win in west London as Brentford visit Fulham on Monday night.

It is a derby unlikely to disappoint with Brentford’s affinity for goals setting up a potential thriller. There have been a league-high 36 goals scored in Brentford’s nine league matches, while three of the last five league meetings between these two sides have finished 3-2.

Both clubs have established themselves in the English top flight over the past few seasons, with their managers also securing stable tenures, leading to a shared admiration in west London.

Though, with just one point separating the sides in ninth and tenth, both Thomas Frank and Marco Silva will be just as intent on delivering a memorable result for their fans under the lights on Monday.

“A London derby, local derby, is always more special, probably more intense, and it’s always a tough game. Away or at home against them, it’s always a tough game, like it’s always the same for them to play against us,” said Fulham’s Silva.

“We want to give a great feeling to our fans, that is to win a local derby. We know what we are going to face, we know that it’s a little bit more special to the fans, and what we want to give what they deserve from the Monday Night Football.”

Silva can see parallels between his own journey in west London and that of Brentford, who have fared well despite facing their first season without former talisman Ivan Toney.

“You can compare the same story to us as well, losing important players, selling important players, [but] being able to rebuild again,” he explained.

“There are similar things between both sides in that aspect, to sometimes sell their best players and to go again, to try to rebuild, to try to put some young players and fresh players inside. [Frank] is a top person, his job speaks for itself.”

While their similarity in mindset might lead to a shared story, it also means both are just as determined to deliver the three points to their borough of west London.

“In recent years, it has been very tight between the two teams - we have had some fantastic games against each other,” added Frank.

“Now, we're going to play Monday night, under the floodlights, Craven Cottage - a historic stadium - we're bringing 3,000 fans, and we'll do everything we can for them to get the win. I'm really looking forward to it."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fulham – Andreas Pereira

Only Bukayo Saka (27) has created more chances in the Premier League this season than Fulham’s Andreas Pereira (26), although none of those chances have been converted by his teammates yet.

He’s set up 11 different players, with only Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski creating a chance for more different team-mates (12).

Brentford – Bryan Mbeumo

Mbeumo has netted eight goals in the Premier League this season, with only Erling Haaland scoring more (11). He has scored 11 goals in his last 13 London derbies, including two goals at Craven Cottage in a 3-0 win last campaign.

He has been integral to Brentford’s attacking efforts, having taken the most shots (16) and provided the joint-most key passes (17) in the squad.

MATCH PREDICTION: FULHAM WIN

Fulham are unbeaten in their last five Premier League London derbies (W2 D3), last having a longer unbeaten run against fellow sides from the capital during the 2006-07 season (seven in a row).

They will also be looking to punish the Bees' leaky defence. Brentford have conceded 18 goals in their opening nine Premier League games this season, their most after nine league matches since 1961-62 (19). It’s the first time they haven’t kept a clean sheet at this stage since 2015-16.

Only West Ham (275) have seen more shots in the league than Brentford’s nine games this term (268). The Bees have faced 56 more shots than they’ve had themselves (106 for, 162 against), the third-worst differential behind only Leicester City (-81) and Southampton (-67).

That being said, Brentford have still managed to secure wins despite such a worrying defensive record. While they have shipped eight goals in their last three Premier League games, they have won both of the matches in which they’ve conceded three goals in that time.

Brentford have only lost one of their last 11 away league games against Fulham (W5 D5), failing to score just once at Craven Cottage in that run.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Fulham – 46%

Draw – 24.3%

Brentford – 29.7%

Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury and will be out of action for Tottenham until after the international break, head coach Ange Postecoglou has revealed.

Van de Ven left the pitch in tears while clutching the back of his right leg 14 minutes into Tottenham’s EFL Cup victory over Manchester City on Wednesday.

While Postecoglou confirmed the fears of Spurs fans, he was optimistic about the prognosis with the defender not expected to be out for a long stretch.

"Micky has strained a hamstring. It's not too serious, but it will probably be after the international break for him [to return]," the Spurs boss told reporters ahead of his side's clash with Aston Villa on Sunday.

"He was disappointed. Obviously, he was really looking forward to the game, so he was a bit emotional, but it is definitely not a bad one like last time that kept him out for quite a while.

"He will work hard, and the good thing is we've got the international break, which is an extra two weeks. Hopefully, it means he won't miss too much football."

Van de Ven has featured in eight of Tottenham's nine Premier League games this season and has been a reassuring presence in defence.

Indeed, he has made the second most clearances (23) and blocks (four) in the squad, only second to Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro respectively.

There was, however, positive news about skipper Heung-min Son, who was absent during Spurs' defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend.

"Sonny trained [on Friday], so if he gets through training [on Saturday], he should be OK," Postecoglou added.

Aryna Sabalenka says she will "do everything I can" to end the year as world number one for the first time in her career.

The winner of this season's Australian Open and US Open, Sabalenka sits top of the WTA summit ahead of Iga Swiatek, with the pair battling it out to be there come the conclusion of the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

Sabalenka, who has also triumphed in Cincinnati and Wuhan this term, will hold onto top spot by winning all three of her group-stage matches or reaching the final of the event.

The 26-year-old was in a similar position last season when she arrived at the WTA Finals in Cancun, but was subsequently displaced by Swiatek.

And she is desperate not to miss out this time around.

"That's definitely one of the goals," she said. "I've always been saying that, for me, it's about finishing the year as the world number one. I'll do everything I can to finish the year as world number one.

"Any time we come to the tournament, we want to win. That's the first goal. I'm trying to be focused on the first part. Then, if I am able to finish the year as number one, it'll be amazing, and I'll be super happy."

Meanwhile, reigning champion Swiatek must successfully defend the WTA Finals crown - and land her sixth silverware of the campaign - if she is to enter 2025 as world number one.

Following an impressive start to the season, the French Open champion has tailed off and skipped the recent Asian swing due to fatigue, but is determined to seal her return to the summit.

"Obviously, we're both fighting for this spot," she said. "It's been us basically, over the past few years.

"I'm in the tournament. I want to play my best and win. I'm going to focus on my first match and do everything step by step.

"She's a great player. She also deserves to be number one. For sure, I'm going to fight for me to be in that place."

Dorival Junior feels Vinicius Junior suffered an "injustice" by not winning the Ballon d'Or, as the Brazil head coach slammed the "unfair situation".

The Real Madrid winger failed to scoop the accolade despite scoring 24 goals and providing 11 assists last season, as Los Blancos won a LaLiga and Champions League double.

The club opted to skip the ceremony after hearing Vinicius Junior would miss out on the top award, which was won by Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri.

Madrid's decision not to attend generated mixed reviews. City head coach Pep Guardiola empathised with Carlo Ancelotti's side, but LaLiga president Javier Tebas accused them of "exaggerated victimhood".

Dorival acknowledges Rodri was deserving of the award, having helped City to an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title before starring Spain's victorious Euro 2024 squad.

However, the Selecao boss believes Vinicius has every right to feel aggrieved at missing out.

"In my opinion, [it's] an unfair situation, especially because it is an individual award," Dorival told reporters during a press conference.

"Nothing against whoever won the award, quite the opposite. It is the recognition of one of the great players of Spanish football, but Vinicius - for the work he did - should have received different attention.

"But the greatest prize that Vinícius won was the recognition and respect of his people. The vast majority of the Brazilian people realised the injustice that was done to the player who could have deservedly received the award."

Rene Meulensteen believes Manchester United must do everything in their power to keep Ruud van Nistelrooy at the club, amid Ruben Amorim's impending arrival. 

United confirmed the appointment of Sporting CP boss Amorim on Friday, four days after announcing they had parted ways with Erik ten Hag following a dismal run of form. 

The Red Devils currently sit 14th in the Premier League after their first nine games of the season, and welcome Chelsea to Old Trafford this Sunday. 

Van Nistelrooy, who joined Ten Hag's coaching staff in July, oversaw his first game as interim boss in midweek, earning a 5-2 win over Leicester City in the EFL Cup. 

Amorim will officially take charge on November 11, meaning the Dutchman will remain at the helm for United's fixtures against Chelsea, PAOK and Leicester. 

The Portuguese arrives at Old Trafford with an impressive resume, having guided Sporting to their first league title in 19 years, and winning the Primeira Liga again in 2023-24.

His 120 victories in the league give him a 76.92% win ratio, which is the best of any Sporting coach on record. 

But former United coach Meulensteen believes it is crucial Van Nistelrooy remains at the club, with his experience vital in helping Amorim understand the pressures of the job. 

"I think the club will have to manufacture something. It's very clear that Amorim wants to bring his own staff, which I think is very understandable," Meulensteen told Stats Perform. 

"He can look at it and say: 'OK, Ruud has got some experience with the players, and he might be able to help me to tell me this and that and the other'.

"That's the conversation he needs to have. If he doesn't see a place for him in and around the first team, then he has to be clear about that as well.

"Because at the end of the day, if you see a little bit of what happened with Erik, let's assume if Amorim had said: 'listen I'm staying in Sporting, I'm not doing it, forget it', then obviously we wouldn't have these conversations. 

"Then, it would have been a little bit more quiet, and I would have said to Ruud: 'listen Ruud, you take over for now, right, and see how we go and see how you get on with it'.

"And if that, for instance, started to come off, Ruud would have given the board and Ineos and all those people enough confidence to say: 'listen, I'll be more than capable of carrying on with it'.

"Now they haven't gone that way, so I can also understand if the manager says: 'no, I don't want anybody that I don't know in that setup, because I really want to do my own thing'.

"Ruud made it clear he wants to stay and be part of it, so at least that's a positive for the incoming manager. If the incoming manager has other plans, then the club has to find something different."

Amorim will be United's youngest boss since 33-year-old Wilf McGuinness took charge of them on Boxing Day 1970 against Derby County.

Since March 2020, when Amorim took charge, Sporting have the highest win percentage of any team across Europe's top 10 leagues (77% - 120 wins out of 156 games).

His first game at the helm comes against Ipswich Town after the international break, but it remains to be seen whether Van Nistelrooy will remain alongside him. 

Darius Garland scored 25 points, Donovan Mitchell added 22 and the Cleveland Cavaliers improved to 6-0 with a 120-109 victory Friday night over the Orlando Magic, who played their first game without injured All-Star Paolo Banchero.

The Cavs are the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference. The last time Cleveland started 6-0 was in 2016 with LeBron James when it lost to Golden State in the NBA Finals. The club's best start was 8-0 in 1976.

The early meeting between Orlando and Cleveland was a rematch of last season's tense opening-round playoff series won by the Cavs in seven games.

Banchero is expected to miss at least a month - and maybe longer - with a torn right oblique. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 draft was on an early tear, averaging 29 points with 8.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists before getting hurt Wednesday.

Orlando's Jalen Suggs scored a career-high 28 points and had eight rebounds and seven assists. Franz Wagner had 17 points.

The Magic hung around and were still within 10 late in the third quarter, when Cavs reserves Caris LeVert, Sam Merrill and Georges Niang all made 3-pointers in the final 2:17 to give Cleveland a 17-point lead going to the fourth.

Cleveland improved to 30-7 in Mitchell's last 37 regular-season games since January.

Thunder roll past Blazers to stay unbeaten

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points in 28 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder remained perfect with a 137-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jalen Williams added 22 points for the Thunder and Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each had 13 off the bench as Oklahoma City improved to 5-0.

Jerami Grant led Portland with 17 points and Deandre Ayton added 14.

After the Blazers came back from down 17 to tie the game at 68 at the half, Oklahoma City outscored the Blazers 38-17 in the third quarter and Portland was never able to get back in it.

Wolves edge Nuggets in thriller

Anthony Edwards hit a go-ahead 7-foot floater with 25.7 seconds left, and Rudy Gobert iced the game with two free throws to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the Denver Nuggets 119-116.

Edwards scored 29 points, Gobert had 17 points and 14 rebounds and Julius Randle added 23 points and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who recovered from a 25-3 fourth-quarter run by the Nuggets.

Nikola Jokić had 26 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds and hit two free throws with 2:30 left to put Denver up 116-109, before Minnesota roared back. Jokic had a chance to tie the game at 119, but Gobert forced an errant corner 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds to go.

Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 31 points and 11 rebounds in a rematch of last season's Western Conference semifinal.

Michael Porter Jr. added 26 points for the Nuggets, who lost point guard Jamal Murray to the concussion protocol in the third quarter after colliding with Randle.

Christian Braun dunked over the 7-foot-1 Gobert with 5:14 left and got even closer to his face with a taunting scream that egged Gobert into grabbing Braun by the neck. The benches cleared, shouts were exchanged, and both players got a technical.

 

Xabi Alonso believes Bayer Leverkusen delivered their most complete performance in the Bundesliga despite being held to a goalless draw against Stuttgart on Friday. 

Leverkusen missed the chance to close the gap at the summit of the league table, despite dominating proceedings at the BayArena throughout. 

The hosts twice struck the woodwork in either half through Edmond Tapsoba and Victor Boniface, while Florian Wirtz was denied by a wonderful stop from Alexander Nubel late on.

Leverkusen ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.19 compared to Stuttgart's 0.28, further emphasising the superiority they had over their opponents. 

The result saw Alonso's side produce their second-highest underperformance in terms of their xG since the Spaniard took over the club in 2022, though the Leverkusen boss was happy with his side's display. 

"We are unhappy. We thought we had done enough to win it," Alonso said. "We pressed well. Our players showed a lot of energy to press a lot.

"We created a lot of chances in the first half. But we also had chances in the second half."

"Maybe the most complete performance from us even though we did not score. It was a top game.

"From Monday we focus on Liverpool. A big game, to play in Anfield," said the former Liverpool player.

But Leverkusen's struggles away from home continued. Alonso's side have now just won one of their last five league games, drawing the other four. 

They remained third in the Bundesliga table, but are now four points behind RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, who now both have a game in hand.

"It is still early in the season," Alonso said when asked about the growing gap with the league leaders. "There are enough games. We want to keep going."

Carlton Morris is confident that Luton Town's "ruthless streak" will return after they came from a goal down to secure a 1-1 draw with West Brom on Friday. 

Having dominated the first half at Kenilworth Road, the Hatters found themselves behind when Josh Maja neatly flicked Karlan Grant's cross beyond Thomas Kaminski. 

But Luton drew level on the hour-mark when Tahith Chong picked off Alex Mowatt's loose pass before driving a low strike into the far corner. 

The visitors did, however, have a chance to snatch all three points two minutes from time, but substitute Devante Cole saw his acrobatic effort brilliantly saved by Kaminsiki. 

Luton remain just outside the relegation zone on goal difference, and have now just picked up five points from an available 21 in their last seven games. 

Rob Edwards' side have also scored just 15 times this term, but Morris, who scored eight times in the Premier League last season, believes it is only a matter of time before they put their chances away. 

"I think it's another excellent performance from us at home. It's three on the bounce now for performances we can be proud of," Morris told Sky Sports.

"It would just be nice to bring the points as well.

"We're getting the balls in the right areas so much, it's just that bit of quality, that ruthless streak at the end that we're missing at the moment. But it will come."

For West Brom, it is now five consecutive draws in the Championship, with their fine start to the campaign briefly halted. 

The Baggies remain in the play-off picture, but could drop out of the top six over the weekend if Blackburn Rovers, Watford and Norwich City win their games. 

Carlos Corberan's side managed just three shots on target from the 10 attempts they had, accumulating an expected goals (xG) total of 0.73, but the West Brom boss said mistakes ultimately cost his side. 

"I think in general it was difficult to impose our identity today. We knew that they would be aggressive in the press when we had the ball in our half," Corberan said. 

"But for me, we didn't find a way in the first-half to create the game we wanted to create. That was to play the game in the attacking half.

"In the second-half, the team went on the pitch with the idea to see if we could correct it and play better.

"We tried to play from the back but we lost the ball and they scored the goal. They created the mistake with aggressiveness.

"And then in the end, the reaction of the team, we tried to go for the result we wanted to achieve. But in general, it's a game we didn't do many things to get more than a point.

"We didn't manage the game well enough to achieve a positive result."

Bayer Leverkusen missed the chance to close the gap at the Bundesliga summit after a wasteful display saw them draw 0-0 with Stuttgart.

Leverkusen remain third in the standings, four points behind RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, who play Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin respectively on Saturday.

Xabi Alonso's side dominated proceedings from the first whistle, registering 10 attempts in the first half, though only three were on Alexander Nubel's goal. 

They came closest to breaking the deadlock five minutes before the break when Edmond Tapsoba rattled the crossbar with a thumping header. 

Leverkusen struck the woodwork again shortly after the restart, this time through Victor Boniface, as the Stuttgart net continued to live a charmed life at the BayArena. 

Boniface was then denied by a miraculous save by Nubel in the 73rd minute, before the visiting goalkeeper denied Florian Wirtz to seal a share of the spoils for Stuttgart. 

Data Debrief: All bark, no bite

Leverkusen lacked the attacking spark that helped them romp to the Bundesliga title, and this result could prove pivotal in their attempts of reclaiming their league crown. 

The goalless draw saw the hosts underperform their expected goals (xG) value by 2.19. Only in a 0-0 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach last season have they underperformed their xG value more in a league game under Alonso (3.0). 

Boniface was arguably the biggest culprit for wasting those golden opportunities. He had four shots, with two of those on target, while he also missed three big chances. 

After a commanding match-winning 94 in the first ODI against England, West Indies opener Evin Lewis is riding high on momentum and aiming to carry his form into Saturday’s second game in North Sound, Antigua.

Lewis’ knock, punctuated by blistering drives and calculated power hitting, laid the foundation for the Caribbean side’s eight-wicket victory, which handed them a valuable 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Reflecting on his performance, Lewis credited his partnership with fellow opener Brandon King (30) as crucial to setting the tone for the chase after the West Indies bowlers did their part in dismissing England for 209.

The pair’s composed 118-run opening stand gave the West Indies early control over the game, leaving captain Shai Hope and Keacy Carty, who were unbeaten on six and 19, respectively, with a relatively straightforward path to victory, as they easily got to their revised target of 157 with 55 balls to spare.

“With the new ball, [Brandon] King and I always say once we see what the new ball does, it becomes so much easier scoring deep into the innings. So I just tried to be positive after the powerplay and bat as deep as possible,” Lewis said in an interview with CWI media.

“It is very nice to bat with Brandon King; he is also a positive player like me, and we feed off each other. We have some good partnerships going so far and are looking forward to continuing that going forward,” he added.

Lewis, known for his aggressive style, struck 94 off just 69 balls, including eight sixes and five fours, giving the Antiguan crowd much to celebrate as the rain failed to dampen their spirits.

Now looking to the second ODI, Lewis emphasized the importance of carrying their positive energy forward as they aim to seal the series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead.

“I think we just have to keep playing the cricket we are playing and be positive in what we are doing. It is important to try and win the second game so that we can close out the series. We have the support from the coaching staff, so we just have to go out there and execute,” the aggressive left-handed batsman noted.

With his confidence high and his approach focused, the Trinidad and Tobago stalwart remains one to watch as West Indies continue to progress as a team.

Knowing his role is pivotal in guiding the West Indies to victory once again, much like he did with a well-played century in the last game of their Sri Lankan tour, Lewis’ sights are set on keeping his form intact.

“I was pretty confident coming into this series after that century against Sri Lanka, and I am even more confident after getting off the mark in the series, and it is important that I keep scoring runs,” he ended.

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