Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich took a second off the women-only half-marathon world record on Sunday when she won the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, stopping the clock at one hour, five minutes, and 15 seconds.

Ngetich, who also broke the women-only 10km (6.2-mile) world record last year, pushed to the front from the outset on a sunny morning in the Danish capital and led until the end, finishing 50 seconds ahead of compatriot Veronica Loleo, who came in second.

The previous record was set by Peres Jepchirchir, another Kenyan, when she won the World Half Marathon title in Poland in 2020.

The overall women’s half-marathon world record is held by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, who clocked 1:02:52 in 2021 at the mixed-gender Valencia Half Marathon in Spain.

Sunday’s win was the latest major title this year for the 25-year-old Ngetich, who also won the team half marathon in Copenhagen and the World Cross Country Championships in Florida in the US in January.

(Aljazeera)

The bizarre dismissal of Wanindu Hasaranga in the third T20I against England at Old Trafford on Saturday has raised eyebrows among Sri Lankan cricket followers, with several former captains also expressing surprise at the manner in which the all-rounder departed.

Hasaranga was dismissed hit wicket after being deceived by a Jofra Archer slower ball. What made the dismissal all the more unusual was Hasaranga’s reaction. He immediately began walking back to the pavilion, while even Archer appeared surprised at what had happened.

It was another forgettable night in what turned out to be a miserable series for Sri Lanka. The tourists were swept 3-0 and more worryingly, hardly landed a punch throughout the three matches.

Questions are also being asked about the fitness levels within the squad, with several players, including Hasaranga, appearing overweight and short of peak physical condition.

The establishment, too, has come under scrutiny over its preparation for the tour. Several players were permitted to fly directly to London after completing commitments in the Caribbean Premier League, raising questions over whether sufficient emphasis had been placed on preparation and conditioning ahead of a demanding international assignment.

Captain Chamari Athapaththu hit six sixes in an unbeaten 50 ball 83 to lead Sri Lanka into the final of the Asian Games Women’s Cricket Competition in Japan yesterday. Her innings helped Sri Lanka equal their highest total in a successful chase, after fifties from Shawaal Zulfiqar and Ayesha Zafar had helped Pakistan set them a target of 178.

Chamari was quiet at the start of her innings and she could afford it because her opening partner Imesha Dulani gave Sri Lanka immediate impetus in their chase, hitting five fours in the first four overs before falling for a tone setting 21 ball 27. At that point, Chamari was batting on four off nine deliveries. By the end of the powerplay, she had moved to seven off 12and hadn’t hit a single boundary.

The change of gear took place in a 20 run eighth over, in which she tonked Momina Riasat for 6, 4, 6, 4. The second six was a fortuitous one, a slog-sweep that Fatima Sana caught at deep midwicket only to step on the rope while attempting to toss the ball back into the field of play. A clean catch would have sent Chamariu back for 18 off 19 balls.

Instead, the left-handed Chamari continued to take full toll of her match up against left-arm spin, hitting two fours and a six off Nashra Sandhu in the tenth over to bring the equation down to 90 off 60 balls.

It was still far from straightforward, but Sri Lanka were unstoppable, with Hasini Perera catching up with her captain’s rate of scoring by hitting Tuba Hassan for two sixes and a four in the 13th over. Hasini fell at the end of the 14th over for a 26 ball 42, having put on 95 with Chamari in 56 balls.

When Hasini fell, Sri Lanka needed 47 off 36 balls; Chamari and Harshitha Samarawickrama needed just 23 of those balls to finish the job.

Sent in to bat, Pakistan posted their highest ever T20I total against Sri Lanka, but they may have ended their innings feeling they had left a few runs out in the middle. Zulfiqar scored her second T20I half-century, but her 54 consumed as many as 50 balls. The impetus for Pakistan’s total came from Zafar, who came in at No. 4 and smacked 71 off just 40 balls, hitting nine fours and two sixes.

Zafar and Zulfiqar put on 115 for the third wicket in 70 balls, and nearly all the heavy hitting came from one end, with Zulfiqar contributing 37 off 30 to the partnership.