final

World number 204 Valentin Vacherot upset his cousin Arthur Rinderknech to win his first ATP title at the Shanghai Masters.

Monaco’s Vacherot fought back from a set down to win 4-6 6-3 6-3 against the world number 54 to become the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion since the series began in 1990.

The 26-year-old sealed the success with a searing forehand down the line and, after hugging Rinderknech at the net, sprinted off court and up to one of the boxes to celebrate with his coach and family.

Vacherot then continued the winner’s tradition of writing a message on one of the courtside cameras, writing “Grandpa and Grandma would be proud”.

Both players struggled to hold back tears during their post-match speeches on court.

“It is unreal what just happened – I have no idea what is happening right now. I am not even dreaming, it is just crazy,” said Vacherot.

“There has to be one loser but I think there are two winners today. One family that won and I think for the sport of tennis, the story is unreal.

Frenchman Rinderknech added: “Valentin, you gave everything I am so happy for you. Two cousins are stronger than one.”

Whereas the 2024 final was a tense and a low scoring affair, Hull KR flipped that script on its head with this year’s war of attrition.

Gone was the caginess of last year. And nerves? What nerves? This was a side made for the occasion, that knew they were on the cusp of greatness and took their opportunity.

Yet it might not have been that way as they were off the pace in the opening stages, and were lucky not to fall behind when they failed to pick up French on the turnover prior to his score being chalked off.

Other than that if they seemed unnerved by the occasion, knowing they were 80 minutes from a history-making treble, they did not seem to show it.

Much had been said in the build-up to the game about Hull KR’s recent and distant past – whether that is relegation in the Million Pound Game in 2016 or finishing bottom of Super League in 2020.

Indeed, outside of some second-tier honours, you had to go back 40 years to the last time the Robins reigned supreme.

Bolstered by the retiring Waerea-Hargreaves – who almost missed the game through suspension prior to KR’s successful appeal this week – and Micky McIlorum, they soon carved open Wigan and never looked back.

Robins talisman Lewis has gone from strength to strength in recent seasons but, much like his team, this feels like the moment in his career where he truly came alive.

But this was a team performance. It was not won by individual moments of brilliance.

It was a display befitting a treble-winning side and masterminded by an elite coach in Willie Peters.

Hull KR have got better every season under Peters’ tutelage and, on this evidence, it makes you wonder if they could be even more formidable in 2026.

Monaco’s 204th-ranked Vacherot ousts Djokovic before his cousin beats Medvedev to set up a rare tennis masters final.

Cousins Valentin Vacherot and Arthur Rinderknech will meet in a dream final of the Shanghai Masters after pulling off stunning semifinal upsets of former champions Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev.

World number 204 Vacherot became the lowest ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 final after he defeated a struggling Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday.

Hours later, Rinderknech knocked out former US Open champion Medvedev 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 to complete an extraordinary family double.

“I can’t even say it’s a dream because I don’t think even one person in our family dreamt about it,” Rinderknech said about facing his cousin in Sunday’s final.

“It was a dream that came out of nowhere.”

Qualifier Vacherot troubled Djokovic with drop shots and punishing rallies, and the Serbian fourth seed, struggling to turn, took medical timeouts during both sets.

“This is just crazy. … Just to be on the other side of the court [from Djokovic] was an unbelievable experience,” said Vacherot, who became the first player from Monaco to reach an ATP Tour final in the open era.

Djokovic broke Vacherot in the first game of the match, but the 26-year-old immediately broke back and had built a 4-3 lead when the Serbian took his first medical timeout.

Vacherot won the next two games with ease to secure the first set and put Djokovic through a 12-minute battle for the first game of the second set, which the 38-year-old managed to win after saving two break points.

A double fault led to Djokovic losing his serve as Vacherot took a 5-4 lead that tipped the set in his favour.

“Such a pleasure to play at least once against you. Don’t retire,” Vacherot told Djokovic as both players shook hands at the net.

Four-time Shanghai Masters winner Djokovic congratulated Vacherot, who is set to break into the top 50 in the world rankings.

“Going from qualifications, it’s an amazing story. I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament but more so his attitude is very good and his game was amazing as well,” the world number five told reporters.

“So it’s all about him. I wish him all the best in the finals, and the better player won today.”

‘I’m going to fight like crazy’

World number 54 Rinderknech threw caution to the wind after losing the first set to Medvedev, getting an early break and saving five break points in a 12-minute game to go 3-0 up in the second.

Medvedev struggled with the 30-year-old Frenchman’s strong returns, finding the net from the baseline multiple times as Rinderknech won the second set 6-2 as Vacherot watched from the stands.

A decisive break secured the third set for Rinderknech as Medvedev saved the first match point with a 207km/h (129mph) serve down the middle but gave away the second with a double fault.

“I was like, ‘You know what? Maybe I’m going to lose, but I’m going to fight like crazy,’” Rinderknech said.

“‘I’m going to make him tired for tomorrow, and at least I’m going to help [Valentin] to at least try to start the match a little bit ahead physically.’

“Then somehow I got the break and then another one finished the set, and then I was like, ‘You know what? I’m just going to try everything and give it my best,’ and somehow it worked out.”

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a lovable, quick-witted nun who became a national phenomenon for her relentless support of the Loyola Chicago University basketball team during its magical Final Four run in 2018, died Thursday, the school said. She was 106.

Sister Jean, as she was known, was 98 during Loyola’s March Madness splash. Her ever-present smile and the sparkle in her eyes were trademarks as she cheered on an unheralded underdog team that notched upset after upset before falling in the semifinals.

After each victory, she was pushed onto the court in her wheelchair and Loyola players and coaches swarmed to her, believing Sister Jean had somehow authored divine intervention.

“Just to have her around and her presence and her aura, when you see her, it’s just like the world is just great because of her spirit and her faith in us and Loyola basketball,” Loyola guard Marques Townes said at the time.

For her part, the lifelong nun downplayed any celestial impact even when leading the Ramblers in pregame prayers in her role as team chaplain.

“At the end of the prayer I always ask God to be sure that the scoreboard indicates that the Ramblers have the big W,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “God always hears but maybe he thinks it’s better for us to do the ‘L’ instead of the ‘W,’ and we have to accept that.”

Sister Jean lived on the top floor of Regis Hall, a campus dormitory that housed mostly freshmen. She’d broken her left hip during a fall a few months before the March Madness run, necessitating the wheelchair. But once she recovered, the barely 5-foot-tall firebrand was plenty mobile in her Loyola maroon Nikes.

She compiled scouting reports on opponents and hand-delivered them to the coaching staff. She sent encouraging emails to players and coaches after games, celebrating or consoling them depending on the outcome.

“If I had a down game or didn’t help the team like I thought I could,” Loyola star forward Donte Ingram said at the time, “she’d be like, ‘Keep your head up. They were out to get you tonight, but you still found ways to pull through.’ Just stuff like that.”

Sister Jean could also be quick with a joke. And she was hardly self-effacing. Told that the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum sold a record number of Sister Jean statuettes, she cracked during a special media breakout session at the Final Four, “I’m not saying this in a proud fashion, but I think the company could retire when they’re finished making my bobbleheads.”

Even the Covid shutdown couldn’t dampen her spirit. In 2021 at age 102, Sister Jean traveled to Indianapolis and watched Loyola upset top-seeded Illinois 71-58 to earn a berth in that year’s Sweet 16. The Ramblers players waved to her in the stands after the game.

“It was a great moment,” Sister Jean told reporters. “We just held our own the whole time. At the end, to see the scoreboard said the W belonged to Loyola, that whole game was just so thrilling.”

Dolores Bertha Schmidt was born in San Francisco on Aug. 21, 1919, the oldest of three children. She felt a calling to become a nun in the third grade, and after high school joined a convent in Dubuque, Iowa.

After taking her vows, she returned to California and became an elementary school teacher, first at St. Bernard School in Glassell Park before moving in 1946 to St. Charles Borromeo School in North Hollywood, where she also coached several sports including basketball. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount St. Mary’s College in L.A. in 1949.

“At noon, during lunch on the playground, I would have the boys play the girls,” she told the Athletic. “I told them, ‘I know you have to hold back because you play full court, but we need to make our girls strong.’ And they did make them strong.”

Among her students were Cardinal Roger Mahony, who served as archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011, Father Thomas Rausch, chairman of the theology department at Loyola Marymount, and Sister Mary Milligan, who became the first U.S.-born general superior of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.

Sister Jean earned a master’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in L.A. in 1961 and took a teaching position in Chicago at Mundelein College, a school near Loyola that was all women at the time. She later served as dean.

Mundelein merged with Loyola in 1991 and within a few years Sister Jean became a team chaplain, a position she held until earlier this year.

“In many roles at Loyola over the course of more than 60 years, Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace for generations of students, faculty, and staff,” Loyola President Mark C. Reed said in a statement. “While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy. Her presence was a profound blessing for our entire community and her spirit abides in thousands of lives. In her honor, we can aspire to share with others the love and compassion Sister Jean shared with us.”

Asked about her legacy, Sister Jean told the Chicago Tribune she hoped to be remembered as someone who served others.

“The legacy I want is that I helped people and I was not afraid to give my time to people and teach them to be positive about what happens and that they can do good for other people,” she said. “And being willing to take a risk. People might say, ‘Why didn’t I do that?’ Well, just go ahead and try it — as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.”

For Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar, Tuesday’s NHL season-opener was the beginning of the end while for Ken Holland, the team’s first-year general manager, it was the end of the beginning.

For both it was also a night to forget, with the Colorado Avalanche skating through, over and around the Kings in a dominant 4-1 victory built on second-period goals from Martin Necas, Sam Malinski, Artturi Lehkonen and a second Necas score midway through the third.

Kevin Fiala got the Kings only goal on the team’s third power play of the final period, though the score, coming with less than five minutes to play, was little more than a murmur of protest. Kopitar picked up his 839^th career assist on the goal, padding his franchise record.

Kopitar, the Kings’ all-time leader in several other categories including games, announced last month that this season, his 20^th in the NHL, would be his last yet. And while those numbers will eventually take him to the Hall of Fame, first there will be a farewell tour around the league, one that got off to an uneven start Tuesday with the sellout crowd at Crypto.com Arena saluting him with a standing ovation pregame. Kopitar wasn’t much of a factor after that, however, taking just one shot in 18 minutes.

Meanwhile for Holland, hired last May to get the Kings beyond the opening round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014, the game marked the end of his summer restructuring with his new team. And the first impression wasn’t a good one, with the Kings losing their opener for the third time in four seasons.

Anze Kopitar is introduced before Tuesday’s season opener for the Kings.

(Kyusung Gong / Associated Press)

Both teams played cautiously in a first period that ended with the Kings skating shorthanded after Colorado’s Josh Manson took down the Kings’ Warren Foegele with an elbow, a hit Jeff Malott acknowledged by chasing Manson down the ice and dropping the gloves. Both players drew five-minute fighting penalties but Malott was also given two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The Kings killed the penalty, which spilled over into the second period, but seconds after both teams were back at full strength Necas gave the Avalanche the lead for good with a wrister from the right circle.

Malinski, a defenseman, doubled the advantage less than seven minutes later, blasting a shot from just inside the blue line through traffic and by goalie Darcy Kuemper. Lehkonen gave Colorado its third goal of the second period on a rebound with 5:18 left.

Necas then made it 4-0 on a power-play goal halfway through the final period. Fialla matched that with the Kings’ first goal of the year less than five minutes later.

The Kings, meanwhile, rarely challenged Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood, playing tentatively and creating little offense, putting just nine shots on goal through the first 36 minutes. After a big third period, they finished with 25.

As a result Holland’s first game with the Kings was an an uneven as his first summer with the team. Although he added forwards Corey Perry (who will miss the first month of the season with a knee injury) and Joel Armia, defensemen Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci and goalkeeper Anton Forsberg, and re-signed winger Andrei Kuzmenko to a club-friendly contract, defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, Holland’s main offseason target, left for the New York Rangers.

OZZY Osbourne joked that his final days may have been agonising but “at least I wasn’t Sting”.

The Black Sabbath rocker made the dig in his new documentary, set to be released nearly three months after he died aged 76 in July.

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Throughout their careers, Ozzy and The Police’s Sting, 74, were embroiled in a war of words.

During the filming of his hit reality series The Osbourne’s, Ozzy was filmed making a number of insults about the singer.

And at the Grammys in 2003, Sting asked to speak to Ozzy’s daughter, Kelly, to patch things up.

At the time, wife Sharon said: “We all bumped into each other on the red carpet and we all said how ridiculous it was and how words can hurt so many people.

“We’re all adults and all apologised and it was great.”

In the new doc, Ozzy speaks about his health, including battling sepsis and cracked vertebrae.

He said: “I am really f***ed up with this body of mine and as soon as I want to do anything.

“I went to the doctor and there’s a blood clot. My leg is about to fall off.

“But I can’t complain. 
I was actually rocking until I was 70 and then a trap door opened.

“I didn’t think I was going to live past 40. 


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“But if my life’s coming to an end, I really can’t complain, I’ve had a great life.

“But, hey, it could have been worse. I could be Sting.”

Despite being in pain, he travelled from LA for his final show on July 5 at Aston Villa’s stadium, in Birmingham.

Ozzy said: “The problem now is getting to England. But I’ve got to be there.

I used to take pills for fun. 
Now I take them to stay alive

“As I am getting on, 
it’s worse. It’s crippling me. I can’t walk, I can’t bend down. I’ll be sitting in a chair.”

“That’s the thing about getting older, I used to take pills for fun. Now I take them to stay alive.”

In a separate documentary for the BBC, called Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, the rocker posed with Sharon and his dogs.

He said: “LA is one thing but the English summer is fantastic.

“It’s a new thing for us both. I’m looking forward to getting this gig over, hanging my mic up and spending some time with you.”

Sharon added: “I just want to live a life. Find a little bubble somewhere and just live out our life together.”

Ozzy died on July 22, just weeks after his farewell gig.

• Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, will be released on Paramount+ on October 7.

Draper was modelling next summer’s collection for one of his sponsors last week and has been working out regularly at the National Tennis Centre in London this week.

The work is primarily physical at the moment, and when pre-season training begins in earnest later this month, the initial on-court drills are likely to be low in intensity.

The British number one first felt discomfort in his upper left serving arm during the clay court season in the spring, and following a scan after Wimbledon, did not hit any serves for a month.

But the period of rest proved insufficient. He won his first-round match at the US Open, but withdrew before the second, and the opportunity to make his debut at the season ending ATP Finals was gone.

”He’s top 10 and he played half of the year. Just to say how good he is…” Mouratoglou added.

“His only problem for the moment is the injuries: he has been through several injuries already in the past.

“I always thought he was going to be a top player, but for every player that is supposed to become a top player, there are things to solve.

“For him, it’s to find a way to be injury free as much as possible because that’s what made him lose a little bit of time otherwise he would be higher [in the rankings], I think.”

Gustavo Dudamel has begun his tale of two cities.

As Dickens prophetically reminds us, ours is hardly the first age of wisdom and of foolishness, the first epoch of belief and of incredulity. Dudamel’s great challenge is to make his 17th and final season as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic — and his prelude season before taking over the New York Philharmonic (in September he officially became designate music and artistic director) — the best of musical times for both cities.

The opening concerts for the two orchestras were two weeks apart, the Big Apple having come first. The main works on the New York-centric program were by two great 20th century composers, Bartók and Charles Ives, who were treated as outsiders by the city’s musical establishments during their lifetimes.

The performances were impressive. An orchestra that has a reputation for being difficult was responsive. If I read the room right, there was a genuine, if somewhat guarded, sense of optimism from a welcoming crowd.

Following a tradition he started with his first season in L.A., Dudamel opened with a newly commissioned work, Leilehua Lanzilotti’s “of light and stone.” He struck instant sonic gold with this mystical evocation of Hawaii, wondrous in sound, Lanzilotti, a hopeful good start.

Dudamel has a different look these days when he walks out on stage for an L.A. Phil concert after he’s been away for a while. Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, he again seemed ever so slightly hesitant, as if not knowing what to expect now that his leaving has become manifest. But greeted by a full house’s demonstratively embracing thankful enthusiasm, he beamed, the hesitant posture turning into ownership.

The conductor opened his farewell season with Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” a joint commission bridging his two orchestral families.

(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)

The new work this year is Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” and it is Dudamel’s first effort at bringing together what he calls his two families.

Reid, who is herself bicoastal between L.A. and New York, narrates, through astonishing orchestral properties and powers, an environmental tale of her two cities. The work is a joint commission with the New York Philharmonic; Dudamel will take it east in the spring.

Earth, air, water and fire are Reid’s subject matters, which she translates into four movements that cover a New York winter, an aerial approach to Manhattan’s noise and quiet, the Altadena and Pacific Palisades conflagrations, ending on a sort of surfboard ride over crashing blue waves. With the help of a wordless Los Angeles Master Chorale, Reid tells the story through ever-surprising instrumental evocation.

Nothing, however, sounds like you might expect in Reid’s massive orchestral soundscape capable of holding a listener in tight grip for 30 minutes. Is that percussive pounding in earth the ground moving under our feet and the cello solo snowy Central Park? I don’t know how she does it, but I immediately bought into weird sounds from the chorus indicating something words can’t express about what those New York skyscrapers are up to. The effect of what sounded like ticking clocks going astray felt like an inviting dip in the lake.

Dudamel ended the concert with Richard Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony,” 125 orchestral musicians schlepping up the mountain, finding spiritual ecstasy at the summit and getting drenched on the way down, a self-satisfied drinking in of nature with every step. It is an astonishing, so to speak, over-the-top score, which you either love or abhor for its instrumental vulgarity.

Love was in order Thursday. Dudamel first performed “Alpine Symphony” at Disney in 2008, a year before beginning as music director. He jogged up the mountain and back, full of beans, showing off but also sharing his enthusiasm and demonstrating a skill that gave confidence that this 20-something conductor had the chops.

Dudamel’s performance of Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony” demonstrated the L.A. Phil’s distinctive immediacy compared with his more formal European interpretations.

(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Last summer, I heard Dudamel conduct the “Alpine” with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival. The playing was sumptuous but formal and distant. These were the Alps as seen from a comfortable gondola taking in the view, and what a view, indeed.

The L.A. Phil sound, on the other hand, reveled in being-there, huffing-and-puffing immediacy. A rainstorm was a rainstorm: wet. The pastures replete with cowbells weren’t so much scenic as earthy, the real thing.

The orchestra sounded rapt and ready for ecstasy Thursday. There are two new first-chair players. A member of the orchestra’s second violin section, Melody Ye Yuan, has become her section’s principal. Ryan Roberts is the new principal oboe, and he had a luminous solo in the “Alpine.”

It was only after Roberts, who grew up in Santa Monica, won the L.A. Phil blind audition for principal oboe that Dudamel discovered he had just hired away a rising star in what is about to become his New York Philharmonic. But it’s all in the big new family.

Varma hits 69 not out as India chase 146 after coming into bat at 10-2 in a nervy end to the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai.

Tilak Varma held his nerve with an unbeaten innings of 69 runs as he steered India home in a five-wicket win over Pakistan in a gripping and controversial final of the Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai.

Coming into bat with India two wickets down for 10 runs in the third over, Varma weathered the storm while wickets fell at the other end as India chased 147 in the politically charged tournament decider on Sunday, where the champions refused to accept the winner’s trophy from the Asian Cricket Council’s (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

It was the third India vs Pakistan match of the tournament and once again, the fixture was marred by controversy as the post-match presentation ceremony was delayed by more than an hour due to unexplained reasons as players and tournament organisers waited on the ground.

Once the ceremony got under way, it was revealed by presenter Simon Doull that the Indian cricket team had refused to attend it and would not collect their winner’s medals and the Asia Cup trophy, ostensibly from Naqvi, who is also chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan’s Minister for Interior.

“Indian team refuses to accept Asia Cup winners’ trophy from Pakistan minister and ACC head Mohsin Naqvi,” the Press Trust of India reported after the ceremony concluded.

However, India’s player of the final Varma, top batter Abhishek Sharma and bowler Kuldeep Yadav did walk up to the presentation area to collect their cheques, albeit not from Naqvi.

Minutes later, India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav and his teammates cheered with a mock trophy as they celebrated their ninth Asia Cup title.

India’s win was built around their 22-year-old batter Varma’s measured innings , which came off 53 balls and included four sixes and three fours.

The run chase was dented in the second over when their star batter and the tournament’s leading run-scorer Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for five runs by Pakistan’s medium-pace bowler Faheem Ashraf on the first ball of India’s second over. He fell to a mistimed attempt at a six and was caught at mid-on.

Suryakumar Yadav followed soon after, when Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed him for one run as the Indian captain hit his fifth ball straight to mid-off, where his Pakistani counterpart Salman Agha took a diving catch.

It was then up to Varma and opener Gill to steady the ship for India, but Gill departed nine balls later to Ashraf. Wicketkeeper Sanju Samson chipped in with an innings of 24 off 21 before falling to leg-spin bowler Abrar Ahmed.

New batter Shivam Dube, who had earlier taken on the responsibility of opening the bowling for India in the absence of Hardik Pandya, played a supporting role to Varma’s innings.

While Pakistan bowled well, they were not fully supported by the fielders as two catches were dropped and a crucial run-out chance was missed by wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, who was slow to remove the bails as Varma dived in.

Varma made Pakistan pay as he and Dube took India on the verge of victory, only for Dube to fall with six balls and nine runs left.

Rinku Singh, who replaced Pandya in the final, faced one ball and hit the winning runs off it to spark celebrations in the Indian camp.

Earlier, Pakistan began their innings brightly as Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman gave them an opening stand of 84, before Farhan was dismissed for 57 off 38 in the 10th over.

Zaman (46 off 35) then formed a brief partnership with Saim Ayub, who scored 14 runs, but once they were dismissed, none of the Pakistan batters could post more than nine runs .

The team in green crashed from 113-2 to 146 all out in 38 balls as they finished their innings in 19.1 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for India as he picked four wickets for 30 runs in his four overs. Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy took a wicket apiece.

Yadav ended the tournament as its leading wicket – taker with 17, while Sharma was the top batter with 314 runs.

Follow our live build-up, with toss and team news coverage, before our full text commentary stream of the final.

Cricket players, fans, experts and officials must let the sport return to a “moment of sanity” when India and Pakistan meet in the final of the Asia Cup 2025 on Sunday, says former player and administrator Ramiz Raja.

Millions of fans – in both South Asian countries and across the world – will watch and follow the game with bated breath as the heated rivalry unfolds at Dubai International Cricket Stadium for the third time in 15 days.

“The temperature must be lowered and all eyes should be on the game of cricket,” Raja told Al Jazeera on the eve of the final.

“It is not only the responsibility of the cricket boards and players but also the fans, stakeholders, and social media commentators to demonstrate astuteness because the emotions are still raw. Everyone needs a moment of sanity.”

The fallout of mixing politics with cricket

The build-up to the final has been dominated by actions that have little to do with the sport itself – be it a no-handshake row, politically loaded statements, controversial gesturing or complaints lodged with the game’s governing body, which responded by giving both sides a slap on the wrist.

The match will be played in the aftermath of disciplinary hearings, which were carried out by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) lodged complaints over the rival players’ statements and gestures.

India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav was the first to appear for a hearing at the ICC headquarters in Dubai on Thursday. The PCB took objection to his mention of “Operation Sindoor” – the military operation carried out by India’s armed forces in Pakistan in May – during his post-match comments following India’s seven-wicket win on September 14.

Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf were also summoned to the ICC headquarters on Friday for their gestures during the second meeting between the two sides on September 21, when India won the Super Fours fixture by six wickets.

Farhan mimicked a gunshot to celebrate his maiden half-century against India, and Rauf was seen responding to the crowd’s heckling by gesturing the downing of aircraft and holding up his fingers to represent the number six, an alleged reference to Pakistan’s claims of downing six Indian air force planes during the four-day conflict.

ICC match referee Richie Richardson conducted the hearings.

Al Jazeera understands that Yadav and Rauf were handed a fine of 30 percent of their respective match fee, while Farhan was let off with a warning by Richardson.

The ICC has not officially announced the sanctions. Al Jazeera reached out to the ICC for a comment on the hearings, but has not received a response.

With the off-field theatrics dealt with, Raja believes the attention must return to the on-field action.

“The ICC’s decision to fine players on both sides must have reduced the pressure on them [players] and helped redefine the rules of engagement [for the final],” he explained.

Raja, who has also been at the helm of the PCB in the past, said the circumstances turned grave in the aftermath of Yadav’s comments and the Pakistani players’ gestures, and it was a turmoil that both parties could have avoided.

The match on Sunday will mark the first India vs Pakistan final in the Asia Cup – a fateful meeting that organisers, broadcasters and sponsors may have dreamt of in the 31 years since the tournament’s inception but were never able to pull off in its 15 iterations.

Bilateral cricket series and tours remain suspended between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, and any meeting at an ICC event or regional competition is a highly anticipated affair.

‘Attention must return to cricket’

Raja, also a former Pakistan captain, has called on the players to refrain from letting the political tensions boil over onto the cricket field.

“It [mixing politics with sport] takes away the innocence of cricketers, as they are not geared to engage in political rhetoric,” he said.

Raja played 38 international matches against India in a career spanning from 1984 to 1997.

“It is an unfamiliar territory for them [players]. They do not know how much and what needs to be said.”

Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha cut a picture of calm before the proverbial storm on Saturday, when he took questions from the media before the final.

He chose not to comment on the provocative questions about the Indian team and media, while reiterating his stance on playing “good cricket” in the final.

Meanwhile, India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel, who spoke to the media late on Friday, also anticipated a tough fight between bat and ball.

“Let’s look forward to the battle on Sunday.”

Raja agreed and said the conversation should move on.

“The debate should be whether Pakistan will lift their game [in the final] or if it will be a third-time malfunction [against India].”

India have remained unbeaten on their way to the final, while Pakistan’s only defeats in the tournament have come against India.

Pakistan have now lost seven international matches to India, whom they last beat in September 2022.

Despite the one-sided results in recent years, India vs Pakistan remains the hottest-selling item in international cricket, and Raja believes politics has a lot to do with it.

“The entire world waits for this contest not because of the skill levels of the players or the quality of contest, but due to the political needle between these two countries,” he said.

On Sunday, though, Raja hopes the attention will return to the sport when India and Pakistan meet to write yet another historic chapter in their bitter rivalry.

Another member of England’s pack, Hannah Botterman, nearly took a very different path before professional rugby arrived.

“I was a painter and decorator, proper van life,” she told the Barely Rugby podcast. “I was an apprentice for one of my mum’s friends. I was working from 7am until 4pm, then I’d do a night shift at the Harvester.

“The plan with the painting and decorating was that I would take the business on while the woman I worked for would have a baby. But then I got a contract from England and sacked it off, just as I was good enough to do it myself.”

Even the young, modern stars of women’s rugby felt the pinch of a working life when the coronavirus pandemic hit. Several players were made redundant during covid – while the RFU kept the XVs squad on furlough, those on sevens contracts were not.

Meg Jones’ speed, strength, industry and ability to be in the right place at the right time have made her arguably the best player at this World Cup.

But during Covid lockdown, she was contemplating a future working for Amazon.

“Toilet breaks are not really a thing. You’re in at 5am and then you probably leave about 4pm without having to wee,” said Jones, who by then had already been to a Rugby World Cup final. She had started the 2017 defeat by New Zealand at outside centre.

“It was scary. I’d never had another job in my life and suddenly my livelihood had gone. I just thought I was going to be an Amazon delivery driver for the rest of my life.”

On Saturday, Jones and co delivered a first World Cup title on home soil for England.

They all know just how hard they had to work for that achievement, on and off the field.

Who: India vs Pakistan
What: T20 Asia Cup 2025 final
When: Sunday, September 28 at 14:30 GMT
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

India and Pakistan will face off in a high-stakes Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday, with political and on-field friction overshadowing their first title clash in the regional tournament.

Pakistan secured their place in the decider after edging past Bangladesh by 11 runs on Thursday, setting the stage for a blockbuster meeting with their neighbours and archrivals India.

Defending champions India were the first team to book a place in the final following their win over Bangladesh on Wednesday.

Suryakumar Yadav’s team finished their Super Fours campaign in a thrilling Super Over win over Sri Lanka on Friday.

Here’s what you need to know about the Asia Cup 2025 final:

What has caused the recent tension between India and Pakistan?

The showdown comes months after an intense four-day conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours, who have not played a bilateral series in more than a decade.

What happened in the last India vs Pakistan match?

Their most recent meetings in the group stage and Super Four round of this Asia Cup saw India win both matches, but their skipper Suryakumar Yadav refused to shake hands with counterpart Salman Agha.

Players from both sides also skipped post-match handshakes after both fixtures.

What is India’s form at the Asia Cup?

They have won all six of their matches in this 17th edition of the Asia Cup, played in the T20 format, and are chasing a record-extending ninth title.

Opener Abhishek Sharma has been in scintillating form with successive half-centuries, while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav leads the bowling charts with 12 wickets.

But their fielding has been suspect, with 12 dropped catches in the tournament so far.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy blamed the “ring of fire” created by the stadium’s 350 floodlights for the butter-fingered display.

“We have to pick up our fielding, and definitely, the fielding coach has a lot to say,” Chakravarthy said.

What are Pakistan’s chances of beating India in the final?

Pakistan, two-time Asia Cup champions, will rely on their pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Rauf to provide early breakthroughs, while spinners Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz will aim to contain India’s powerful batting lineup.

Their batting, however, remains a concern after collapsing to 49-5 against Bangladesh before recovering to post 135-8, which proved to be a winning total.

Suryakumar downplayed the on-field rivalry after hammering Pakistan for the second time in the tournament, but coach Mike Hesson believes his team can throw up a challenge to the number one-ranked T20 side.

How many times have India and Pakistan won the Asia Cup?

Pakistan have lifted the trophy on two occasions – in 2000 and 2012 – and qualified for the final five times.

India are seven-time Asia Cup champions, with 11 appearances in the final.

When was the last time Pakistan beat India?

Pakistan’s last Asia Cup win over India came in the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup in the UAE. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 71 runs in the Super Four clash, but it was Mohammad Nawaz’s 20-ball 41 that saw Pakistan home.

India vs Pakistan: Head-to-head in T20Is

Since the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, the countries have met in 15 T20Is. India have won 12 times, including the first match in 2007, which was tied and then decided in a Super Over.

Two of Pakistan’s three wins came in Dubai.

Players to watch: India

Abhishek Sharma: The fact that the young top-order batter has managed to carve a spot in a highly competitive T20 Indian batting lineup marks Sharma as one to watch in the Asia Cup. The 24-year-old boasts the highest career strike rate of 198 among all batters in T20s, and backs it up with two centuries and five half-centuries in the format – three of those coming in his last three innings, including the Super Fours win against Pakistan.

Players to watch: Pakistan

Shaheen Shah Afridi: The former Pakistan captain has returned to form for his country and was the star turn in the crucial victory against Bangladesh. Although going wicketless in the two games against India at the tournament, the 25-year-old left-arm quick has taken eight wickets in the other three games, including his Player of the Match performance against the Tigers following figures of 3-17.

Form guide: India

India are unbeaten in the Asia Cup and have not lost a T20 series since winning the World Cup in June 2024.

Last five results (most recent first): W-W-W-W-W

Form guide: Pakistan

Pakistan’s form in T20s has been mixed for some time but at this edition of the Asia Cup, their only defeats have come against India, with four wins recorded overall at the tournament.

Last five results (most recent first): W-W-L-W-L

Team news: India

The holders are expected to go back to the same team that beat Pakistan in both the group and Super Fours stages.

Predicted India line-up:

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav.

Team news: Pakistan

Pakistan are expected to field the same XI that beat Sri Lanka.

Pakistan predicted line-up:

Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha (captain), Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

How can I follow and stream the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup final?

Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up ahead of our comprehensive photo and text commentary stream of the final from 09:30 GMT.

The match will be shown live on terrestrial and satellite channels, as well as live-streaming platforms across the world.

How can I buy tickets for the India vs Pakistan Asia Cup final?

While tickets for the general stands are sold out, some are still available in the hospitality sections of the stadium, starting at $991 and can be purchased at the tournament’s official ticketing website.

India take all the way by Sri Lanka in final Super Fours match before Sunday’s Asia Cup final against Pakistan.

Defending champions India survived Pathum Nissanka’s blistering hundred and some intense Super Over drama before beating Sri Lanka in a dead rubber to maintain their unbeaten run in the Asia Cup on Friday.

With India having already secured their place in Sunday’s final against Pakistan and Sri Lanka eliminated, the Super Fours clash was of merely academic interest, but it turned out to be the most exciting game of this year’s tournament.

Sri Lanka gave a good account of themselves and matched India’s 202-5 to force the Super Over after Nissanka (107) smashed the first individual hundred of this year’s tournament.

Sri Lanka, however, managed only two runs in the Super Over before losing both the wickets in five deliveries from Arshdeep Singh.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav took three runs from the first delivery from Wanindu Hasaranga to seal their victory matter-of-factly.

Earlier, put into bat, 20-overs world champions India racked up the tournament’s first 200-plus total riding opener Abhishek Sharma’s third consecutive fifty in the tournament.

Abhishek, the world’s top-ranked T20 batter, maintained his red-hot form with a sizzling 61 off 31 balls.

Opening partner Shubman Gill fell for four,

and skipper Suryakumar’s (12) slump in form continued, but India did not really suffer as Abhishek raced to a 22-ball fifty.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka removed Abhishek, but Tilak Varma, who made 49 not out, and Sanju Samson (39) maintained the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.

In their chase, Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis for a duck in the first over, but cruised to 72-1 after the six powerplay overs.

India rested pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, while Hardik Pandya bowled just one over before leaving the field.

Nissanka needed 25 balls to bring up his fifty, and Kusal Perera (58) could not be denied his half-century either.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy broke the 127-run stand when he dismissed Perera.

Nissanka raced to a 52-ball hundred, but fell in the first ball of the last over, which ended with Sri Lanka also on 202-5, forcing the Super Over.

Alphonsi: “England will win but it is going to be close. I am going to say by two points.”

Merchant: “England win. They’ve been dominant for so long. Last year they were putting in amazing performances and everything was clicking.

“Watching the WXV tournament, there wasn’t a single team in the world that could beat them on form. The more you’ve seen teams show up this World Cup – like Canada – the more you get worried.”

Orchard: “By hook or by crook it will be ugly, but England will scrap themselves over the line.

“John Mitchell has had this England team for a number of campaigns. This is also his fifth World Cup as a coach – four with different men’s sides.

“He was hired to help manage the occasion and if they don’t come out with the trophy at the end there has got to be a big review and questions asked about the approach.

“The amount of money the RFU (Rugby Football Union) have pumped into women’s rugby – they should be winning a World Cup.”

McKenzie: “Canada. We are aware of the speed and intensity Canada will bring and they will start strongly as they have done throughout the tournament.

“England have not started fast. That is going to be a telling first 20 minutes, but the back 20 minutes are going to be the most impactful.”

Monye: “It will be an open game. When it is 50-50, as an Englishman, I have to say the Red Roses win.”

Thomas: “Canada. They have played much better rugby than England for the past five weeks and I think they have got such a grounded coach in Kevin Rouet and a strong connection.

“I have been convinced by Canada and I haven’t been by England.”

Bangladesh crumble as Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf take three wickets each in Super Fours match in Dubai.

Pakistan have set up a blockbuster Asia Cup 2025 final against archrivals India after defeating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a thrilling Super Fours match in Dubai.

Chasing 136 to win in a winners-take-all match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Bangladesh’s batting collapsed dramatically in front of Pakistan’s pace bowling attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Once Pakistan took the field after posting a meagre total of 135-8 in 20 overs, Afridi put on an authoritative display of fast bowling by picking up two wickets in his first two overs and ended with match figures of 3-17 in four overs.

Fellow pacer Haris Rauf contributed with three wickets of his own, two of which helped wrap up Bangladesh’s innings, while part-time, left-armed slow bowler Saim Ayub bowled a tidy spell of 2-16 from four overs.

Bangladesh opener Saif Hasan (18) formed brief partnerships with Mahedi Hasan (11) and Nurul Hasan (16), but none of the batting stands lasted long enough to see the team through.

Some late resistance by lower middle order batter Shamim Hossain (30) briefly raised the hopes of Bangladeshi fans, but once Shamim became Afridi’s third victim in the 17th over, Pakistan became clear favourites to wrap up the win.

Rishad Hossain, who had an excellent outing with the ball and in the field, hit two fours and a six in his innings of 16 but kept losing batting partners as Bangladesh’s innings came to a close on 124-9 in 20 overs.

Earlier, when Pakistan were sent in to bat by Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Jaker Ali, the decision paid off almost instantly as the Pakistani openers struggled to score runs.

Taskin Ahmed’s disciplined opening spell led to the dismissal of Sahibzada Farhan on the fourth ball of Pakistan’s innings while one-down batter Ayub fell in the next over to Mahedi.

Fakhar Zaman (13) and captain Salman Agha (19) formed a brief and sluggish partnership but could not hit a single six.

Rishad, who took two catches before coming on to bowl, dismissed Zaman in the seventh over and then sent back Hussain Talat in the ninth. Agha fell to Mustafizur Rahman between the two Rishad wickets as Pakistan were reduced to 49-5.

A lower order flourish from Mohammad Haris (31 off 17), Muhammad Nawaz (25 off 15) and Afridi (19 off 13) took Pakistan to 135-8 on a tricky Dubai pitch.

Afridi was named player of the match for his all-round heroics.

Pakistan will be especially delighted to see their premier pace bowler return to wicket-taking form before the final against bitter rivals India on Sunday.

The South Asian neighbours have already met twice in the tournament, and India recorded thumping wins on both occasions.

Sunday’s match, also to be played in Dubai, will be the first India-Pakistan clash in the final of the Asia Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1984.

Tensions have run high, and political standoffs have spilled onto the cricket field in both of the previous two meetings between the teams this month.

Fans can expect another politically charged match, especially with the trophy on the line.

Pakistan will hope it will be a case of third time lucky while India will look to complete a 3-0 drubbing in the tournament.