Australia mourned the loss of a cricket legend before they endured a frustrating time in the field against Pakistan on the opening day of the first Test.
Rod Marsh, a great of the Australian game, passed away at the age of 74 on Friday. The former wicketkeeper played 96 Tests for his country and famously teamed up for 95 dismissals with paceman Dennis Lillee.
Both teams observed a minute's silence in tribute to Marsh before the start of play in Rawalpindi, but Pakistan went on to impress in their first home Test against Australia in 24 years, with Imam-ul-Haq's unbeaten 132 from 271 balls leading the way.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam promised the tourists – who top the ICC Test Championship rankings after their Ashes thrashing of England – a stern challenge and so it turned out, with the hosts, who won the toss and elected to bat, reaching 245-1 at stumps.
Openers Abdullah Shafique (44) and Imam put on a 100 partnership in the first session, though Australia got a timely wicket when the former clipped to visiting skipper Pat Cummins off Nathan Lyon's bowling just before lunch.
Yet any Australian confidence was chipped away as the day wore on and Imam's maiden Test century arrived when the 26-year-old sent a Mitchell Starc delivery through the covers for four, with Azhar (64) moving to a 35th half-century in the longest format soon after.
Australia took the new ball with Pakistan on 235-1 from 82 overs, yet there was no late slip-up from the batsmen.
Imam marks his comeback in style
Imam had not featured in a Test for Pakistan since doing so against Australia in December 2019, when he scored two and then got out for a duck in a heavy defeat in Adelaide.
Yet the opener was sensational this time out, with his tally including 15 fours and two sixes, and he will go into day two looking to build on a fantastic first Test ton.
To make matters worse for Australia, Pakistan have Babar to come in next. He has scored two centuries and a half-century in his four Tests at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he averages 110 in the longest format.
Reliance on Lyon backfires
The onus was on Lyon to make the difference for Australia, given he was the sole full-time spinner selected for this Test, and that decision might prove a costly one.
Lyon was hit for 87 for his one wicket, and though Marnus Labuschagne (17-0), Steve Smith (5-0) and even Travis Head (13-0) were given a go, none could make the desired impact.
Marmoush makes Frankfurt history with 10th Bundesliga goal of season
Omar Marmoush made club history with his goal in Eintracht Frankfurt's 7-2 win over Bochum.
The forward was on target and provided two assists as Dino Toppmoller's side leapfrogged reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to third place in the table.
Marmoush notched up his 10th goal of the season, becoming the first Frankfurt player to achieve the feat in the opening nine matches of a Bundesliga season.
The Egypt international broke Tony Yeboah's record of nine goals in as many matchdays, set during the 1993-94 campaign.
With his two assists, Marmoush took his tally of direct goal contributions for this season to 16, the joint-most in the Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
In fact, Kane is the only player to have previously registered more direct goal contributions after the first nine games of a Bundesliga campaign, with 17 last term.
Southampton 1-0 Everton: Late Armstrong strike seals Saints' first win
Adam Armstrong's late goal gave Southampton their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.
Armstrong’s first league strike of the season came in the 85th minute of Saturday's tightly fought contest, while lifting the Saints off the foot of the table.
Aaron Ramsdale had earlier kept the scores level with a fine save from Michael Keane's close-range header, while substitute Beto nodded against the crossbar.
Southampton broke through five minutes from time when substitute Yukinari Sugawara's low centre was superbly swept home by Armstrong.
Everton thought they had an equaliser when Beto raced in behind and finished brilliantly beyond Ramsdale.
However, a VAR review showed that the Brazilian had strayed offside, and the goal was overturned, to the delight of the home fans, who celebrated a Premier League victory for the first time since March 2023.
Data Debrief: Saints off the mark
Southampton finally have their first victory on the board courtesy of Armstrong's strike which, timed at 84 minutes and 33 seconds, is their latest Premier League winning goal since Charlie Austin struck six seconds later against Arsenal in December 2018.
The Saints also recorded their 14th Premier League win against Everton at home, now their outright most against a single opponent in the competition.
As for the Toffees, their five-game unbeaten league run comes to an end, and they have now lost 11 of their last 15 league games in November.
Ipswich Town 1-1 Leicester City: Late Ayew strike denies hosts first win
Jordan Ayew's stoppage-time equaliser snatched a point for Leicester City, who held 10-man Ipswich Town to a 1-1 draw.
The Foxes substitute cancelled out Leif Davis' volley earlier in the second half to deny the hosts' the first win of the season at Portman Road.
Ipswich broke through 10 minutes after the restart when Davis marked his 100th appearance for the club with a superbly timed volley from Sam Morsy's crossfield pass.
However, they were forced to finish the final 13 minutes a man light after Kalvin Phillips' dismissal for a second bookable offence.
The hosts were given a scare when, within moments of his introduction, Ayew chipped Arijanet Muric, only to be thwarted on the line by Cameron Burgess.
However, the Ghanaian and Leicester were not to be denied. In the 94th minute, Ayew played a neat one-two with Jamie Vardy before slotting home to ensure a share of the spoils.
Data Debrief: Ipswich's wait goes on
Ipswich have now failed to win any of their first 10 Premier League games this season. Only in 2009-10 (14) and 2018-19 (11) have they begun a league campaign with a longer winless streak.
Having also let a two-goal lead slip at Brentford last time out, Kieran McKenna's side have now dropped a league-high 12 points from winning positions this term.
As for Leicester, they left it late once more, with Ayew's 98th-minute winner sealing a 3-2 victory over Southampton from 2-0 down in their last league game away from home.
The Foxes continue their record as one of only two sides - along with reigning champions Manchester City - to score in all 10 of their matches this season.
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