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Lionel Messi made a Hollywood start to his American adventure, scoring a last-second winner with a curling free-kick in his debut game for Inter Miami on Friday. Deep in the fourth minute of stoppage time, with the Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Cruz Azul standing at 1-1, Lionel Messi won a free-kick just outside the box, in perfect range for his famous left foot. The script had been written and Messi delivered his line perfectly. The seven-times Ballon d’Or winner took a glance at the position of Cruz Azul goalkeeper Andres Gudino, then put his head down before curling his shot high to the keeper’s right and into the top corner to deliver the 2-1 triumph. The capacity 20,000 crowd at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium went wild, with some fans running onto the field before being apprehended by security. Smoke bombs in Miami’s trademark pink went off in the area behind the goal, occupied by the team’s most passionate supporters. “We wanted to start like this by giving these people a ...

HARARE: Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez on Friday, scripted history as he returned the best bowling figures 4/6 in the shortest format in the first match of the Zim Afro T10 League. Mohammad Hafeez, who is representing Joburg Buffaloes in the inaugural Zim Afro T10 League, made headlines in his first match with his astounding bowling performance. The right-arm spinner took six wickets and conceded just four runs in his quota of two overs. Hafeez had a flying start to his spell as he dismissed in-form Sikandar Raza (1) on his first delivery. He then removed Thisara Perera and Timycen Maruma — both for ducks — in the same over to complete a triple-wicket maiden. Buffaloes’ captain Hafeez then returned to bowl his second when the Braves were 64-6 in seven overs while chasing 106. Hard-hitting batter Ryan Burl looked to counterattack Mohammad Hafeez by smashing him for a boundary first up but the spinner, fancying his superior record against the left-handed batters, dismis...

MORRISVILLE: South African pacer Wayne Parnell dismantled Texas Super Kings with an economical five-wicket haul and led Seattle Orcas to a dominant eight-wicket victory in the Major League Cricket (MLC). Put into bat first in the top-table MLC clash, Texas Super Kings endured Wayne Parnell’s attack, who returned figures of 5/20 to book them for a paltry total of 127. The Super Kings had a dismal start as they lost in-form Devon Conway, who fell for a golden duck on the very first delivery of the innings. Skipper Faf du Plessis (13 off 10) and Cody Chetty then put on an anchoring 36-run partnership for the second wicket before both perished in successive overs. Chetty scored 22 off 18 deliveries, laced with two boundaries and a six before falling to Parnell. Following Chetty’s dismissal, the Super Kings ran into a frustrating collapse and soon slipped to 48/6 in the ninth over. Experienced all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, alongside Daniel Sams, tried to anchor the innings with a vital 56...

PORT OF SPAIN: Star batter Virat Kohli broke the shackles as he brought up his much-awaited away century in Tests on the second day of the ongoing second Test against West Indies. Virat Kohli made his 500th international match memorable as he ended his away Test century drought with a sensible knock on a challenging surface against West Indies. The right-handed batter resumed India’s first innings at 288/4 and was just 13 away from a much-awaited ton. Kohli continued to bat with utmost caution and soon achieved the landmark when he drove one off Shanon Gabriel in the 91st over of India’s first innings. When this story was filed, Virat Kohli was unbeaten on 112 off 191 deliveries with the help of 11 boundaries. Notably, Virat Kohli’s last away Test century came against Australia in Perth when he scored a magnificent 123. He then scored two more in the next year – 254* against South Africa and 136 against Bangladesh – before enduring a nerve-testing all-format century drought . V...

COLOMBO: Arshad Iqbal’s five-wicket haul and half-centuries by Omair Bin Yousuf and Mohammad Haris led Pakistan Shaheens to a 60-run win over Sri Lanka A in the first semi-final of the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Defending champions Shaheens will now play against the winners of the second semi-final of the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup which is taking place between Bangladesh A and India A today at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Chasing 323 to win, Sri Lanka A lost three wickets in quick succession with 33 runs on the board. Opening batter Avishka Fernando and Sahan Arachchige got together and added 128 runs for the fourth wicket. After the departure of Fernando (97, 85b, 12x4s, 2x6s), Sri Lanka A lost wickets at regular intervals which included the prized scalp of Arachchige (97, 109b, 12x4s, 1×6) and were bundled out for 262 in 45.4 overs. Arshad ended up with match figures of 7.4-0-37-5 – his maiden List A five-wicket haul. Mubasir Khan and Sufiyan Muqeem grabb...

Pakistani boxing sensation Muhammad Waseem’s International Boxing Organization (IBO) Bantamweight world title fight against Philippines’s Donnie Nietes got postponed due to the former’s non-issuance of visa. According to the details, Waseem was denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) due to an error, made by his team in the application process. Mohammad Waseem is currently in Scotland and was due to reach Dubai on Friday, where he was supposed to take on Nietes for the IBO Bantamweight title on July 22. However, the non-issuance of the visa barred Muhammad Waseem from making it to Dubai in time. It is important to note that following the error, Waseem himself applied for the Visa, which is likely to be processed after a month-long gap. Consequently, his title fight against Nietes was postponed until further notice. To address the issue, Muhammad Waseem released a video message and expressed his disappointment on the matter. “Unfortunately, my fight was scheduled today bu...

BRAMPTON: Logan van Beek returned scintillating figures of 4/12 before Aaron Johnson’s unbeaten 48 led Brampton Wolves to a dominant 52-run victory over Mississauga Panthers in the rain-affected opening match of GT20 Canada. Wolves were a massive 52 runs ahead of the target as per the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method when the downpour started. The home side, set to chase a meagre 122, showcased brilliance with the bat as they raised 99/1 in nine overs. Wolves’ opener Johnson was their hero with the bat as he scored an unbeaten 48. He conceded just 26 balls and smashed five boundaries and three sixes. New Zealand international Mark Chapman played a supportive role with an unbeaten 30 off 22 deliveries. His knock featured three boundaries and a six. The hosts had a contrasting start to their pursuit when their opener Usman Khan (12 off six) perished in the second over with just 23 runs on the scoreboard. Zahoor Khan could pick a lone wicket for the Mississauga Panthers. Put into...