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Duckett, Crawley, Pope tons seal England’s day of dominance

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Ben Duckett reached his fifth Test hundred from exactly 100 balls [Cricinfo]

Ben Duckett brought up his fifth Test hundred and first at his home ground at exactly a run ball. Zak Crawley got a first Test century since July 2023, 28 innings ago. Between them, they shared in England’s highest-opening stand at home since 1960. Ollie Pope added the trimmings with his third hundred in as many Tests at Trent Bridge and eighth against as many different oppositions and England scored the most runs on the first day of a Test in England.  If that reads like all-out dominance, it was.

It was also a rude welcome for Zimbabwe’s XI, none of whom had played a Test in England before, and many of whom will not remember the last time their team were in the country 22 years ago. The warning signs were there after Zimbabwe lost to a Professional County Club Select XI last week but the true magnitude of the gulf between them and those who play Tests more regularly was laid bare on a bruising first day.

After Craig Ervine chose to bowl first under cloudy skies, Zimbabwe’s four-seam, single-spinner attack struggled for consistency and were hurt by the loss of one of their cogs for most of the day. Opening bowler Richard Ngaraya left the field ten minutes into the second session with what was later confirmed to be a back spasm. He returned an hour and five minutes into the third, with a ginger step. He fielded for a few minutes but was soon back in the dressing room, which limited his day’s work to nine overs in the morning.

Premier seamer Blessing Muzarabani,  who was also the most threatening of the quicks, bowled 20 overs while Sikandar Raza delivered 24 overs but little Zimbabwe tried hurt England. The hosts’ top-order batted with exactly the right mix of caution and aggression, though the scoring rate of 5.66 would suggest only the latter.

Duckett and Crawley started with some circumspection and the first six overs brought just 19 runs. But that was as good as it got for Zimbabwe as boundaries came soon after, and regularly. Crawley announced himself with a cracking drive through the covers, which was followed by Duckett taking on Muzarabani off the front and back foot. After 10 overs, Ervine made his first change and introduced Tanaka Chivanga, whose opening over cost 12.

Chivanga was the only one to find some swing and Duckett had a nervy moment when he miscued a drive into the off side but there was no fielder close enough to attempt a catch. Duckett lashed the next ball over the slips and to the boundary to bring up fifty off 47 balls. Crawley’s fifty came in Victor Nyauchi’s first over, when he whipped the ball through square leg and ran a comfortable two, and England went to lunch on 130 for 0.

Zimbabwe thought they had some luck in the over after the break when Nyauchi, from around the wicket, believed he had found Duckett’s edge. It turned out to be a flick of his jumper. At the end of that over, Duckett edged Nyauchi between wide slip and gully and moved into the 80s. He reverse-swept and cut Raza to enter the 90s and then worked him square for a single to bring up his century.

Still, Zimbabwe’s hopes of seeing the back of Duckett were kept alive. On 104, he popped Nyauchi a return chance but the ball fell short. And then Duckett went full throttle. He cut Chivanga over cover point and pulled him over deep backward square for the first six of the match, and seemed unstoppable. With Duckett on 130 and Zimbabwe all but out of options, Wessly Madhevere was brought on and immediately hit for four through the covers and then launched over midwicket for six. Against the run of play, Duckett hit Madhevere’s next ball straight to Ben Curran at cover and could not believe what he had done. He trudged off as Zimbabwe enjoyed their first smiles of the day, only to look up and see Pope.

In the first 18 balls he faced, Pope hit six fours, a sign of what was to come. By tea, Pope was on 49 off 46 balls. Crawley, content with the supporting act, had worked his way to 93.

Pope’s fifty came two balls into the third session and he had reached 61 when Crawley got a leading edge off Nyauchi and ran the single that took him to three figures. His sedate celebration seemed to spell relief, not jubilation, and could quieten criticism ahead of sterner challenges to follow. He added 24 more runs before missing a sweep against Raza, to be given out lbw. Crawley reviewed but replays showed it was hitting leg stump.

Pope’s charge continued undeterred with an array of strokes all around the ground and his hundred came up with a cut. It marked the eighth different opponent he had scored a century against. The milestones kept coming as Joe Root became the fifth player to score 13,000 Test runs and the numbers may have made Zimbabwe giddy.

They took the second new-ball as soon as it became available and it only gave England more scoring opportunities. Root hit the first delivery for four, then Pope took two more fours off a tiring Muzarabani’s 17th over (and ensured he conceded 100) to reach 150. To add insult to injury he followed an Nyauchi inswinger and helped it over fine leg, which meant England had scored 22 runs off seven deliveries. It did not all go their way, however. Muzarabani finally had some reward when he sent down a surprise bouncer and Root top-edged to Sean Williams at fine leg.

That was as much reward as Zimbabwe got as Pope and Harry Brook batted out the rest of the day to finish two short of 500. Pope was unbeaten on 169 off 163 balls.

Brief scores:

England 498 for 3 in 88 overs (Ollie Pope 169*, Ben Duckett 140, Zak Crawley 124, Joe Root 34; Wessley Madhevere 1-34) vs Zimbabwe

[Cricinfo]


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Everest record holder warns of Nepal danger as two Indian mountaineers die

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Mountaineers practise walking on a ladder during a training session at Everest Base Camp in Nepal [Aljazeera]

Two Indian climbers have died on Mount Everest during a record-breaking period of ascents via Nepal’s southern route, as experts warn of overcrowding on the world’s highest peak.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring.

At least five climbers have died during this Everest season, including the two Indians and three Nepalis. A United States and a Czech climber died on Mount Makalu earlier this month.

Nivesh Karki, director at Pioneer Adventures, named the latest victims as Sandeep Are, who he said summited on May 20, and Arun Kumar Tiwari, who reached the peak on May 21.

“They fell ill while descending at high altitude. We are working out how to retrieve the bodies,” Karki told the AFP news agency.

Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa, who scaled Everest for a record 32nd time earlier this month, returned to the capital, Kathmandu, on Friday, where he expressed concern about the experience of some climbers.

Pictures posted by climbers show a long line of people climbing up fixed ropes, queueing in the icy, low-oxygen high-altitude zones.

“The expedition this time felt a bit crowded,” said Kami Rita Sherpa, dubbed the “Everest Man”.

“The government should regulate this a bit … They should let in only climbers of quality – there should be a limit,” he told AFP.

On Thursday, a record number of climbers reached the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) Himalayan peak from the Nepali side, according to tourism officials, who gave a preliminary total of 275 pending final confirmation.

The peak can be tackled from both Nepal and the northern face in Tibet, but Chinese authorities have closed the latter route this year.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the highest number to climb Everest in a single day as 354, in May 2019.

Nepali tourism officials said the final number will be tallied after the climbs are verified, which require photographs and statements from the climber’s expedition company and guides.

Among the successful climbers on Friday was British guide Kenton Cool, who reached the top for the 20th time – extending his own record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak by a non-Nepali.

The high number of climbers has rekindled concerns about overcrowding on the mountain – especially if poor weather shortens the climbing window.

The country has issued a record 492 Everest permits for foreigners this season, with a city of tents set up at the foot of the mountain for climbers and support staff.

Approximately 600 people – including guides – have summited Everest since the start of this year’s spring climbing season in April.

[Aljazeera]

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Sunrisers Hyderabad win big but Royal Challengers Bengaaluru, Gujarat Titans seal top two spots

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Eshan Malinga had Devdutt Padikkal holing out to deep midwicket [Cricinfo]

Sunrisers Hyderabad [SRH] won, and yet it didn’t feel like a win.  Royal Challengers Bengaluru [RCB] lost, but it didn’t feel like that either. In a nutshell, that’s how Friday night went in Hyderabad as RCB secured a top-two finish – they finished No 1 – despite a 55-run defeat, while SRH remained third.

On the back of half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klassen and Ishan Kishan,  SRH posted a monster total of 255, but had to restrict RCB to 166 or below for a chance to move into the top two. Rajat Patidar’s 56, Venkatesh Iyer’s 44 and Krunal Pandya’s unbeaten 41 ensured there were no blushes for RCB even as they finished the league stage with a defeat.

That left the top three teams all on 18 points, with Gujarat Titans sandwiched between the two teams at No. 1 and No. 3. Eventually, it came down to net run-rate to decide which team would go to Qualifier 1, and which team would play the Eliminator.

Going into the game, RCB wanted to win but also wanted to ensure they didn’t slip outside the top two should they lose. After SRH pumped 255 for 4 in 20 overs, the equation became clear – RCB had to avoid losing by 90 or more runs.

The start given by their new opener, Venkatesh, calmed the nerves. He gave Pat Cummins a four-six jab in the first over, and saved his best for the fourth over delivered by left-arm wristspinner Shivang Kumar. He punished Shivang for two sixes in one over, with a boundary sandwiched in between. Venkatesh fell for a 19-ball 44 but by then RCB had already scored 60 in 4.3 overs.

Even though Virat Kohli (15) failed to leave a mark in the game with the bat, a spunky 21 from No. 3 Devdutt Padikkal ensured RCB stayed on course for 166 even if the chase looked to get out of hand. Sakib Hussain,  who delivered 1 for 31 in four overs, was a major reason why RCB could not push on.

Patidar scored his fourth half-century of the season, staying in from the sixth over to the 19th. His 39-ball 56 included crisp boundaries off Eshan Malinga, Cummins and Harshal Patel, but fell to part-timer Travis Head. Krunal stayed till the end with an unbeaten 41 in 31 balls as RCB finished on a commendable 200 for 4 by the end.

Dropped in the sixth, seventh and eighth overs, Abhishek made full use of the chances RCB’s fielders offered him. On a flat surface with no grass, he did not let purple-cap holder Bhuvneshwar Kumar settle. His early boundaries over the off-side against Bhuvneshwar’s awayswingers moved into his takedown of Suyash Sharma’s googly and Romario Shepherd’s seam-up balls.

Abhishek was finally out in the ninth over, but by then his turbo-charged innings had SRH almost touching triple-digits.

Kishan had three fifties against RCB in his last three outings, and on Friday, he made it four in a row with a 46-ball 79. While Abhishek was going, Kishan took his time to score nine off his first ten balls, but then found his groove.

His best shot of the night was probably the leg-side slog towards the bigger boundary against Krunal in the 11th over, a sign that timing and form continued to be on his side. A sixth 50-plus score for Kishan this season also made IPL 2026 his most prolific as a batter. His sweeps, cuts and pulls allowed SRH to pump 73 runs across overs 11 to 15.

Klaasen’s story was similar, starting off with only five runs in nine balls, but one that was unlocked with his takedown of Josh Hazlewood in the 13th over. One six over cow corner and two more over long-on made Hazlewood leak 27. His effortless loft of Bhuvneshwar over extra cover took him close to yet another landmark, and he brought up his sixth half-century of the season in the 16th over. He fell in the 17th over to a low-arm slinger from Krunal for 52, but not before becoming the first player to cross 600 runs while batting at No. 4 or lower in a T20 tournament.

Nitish Kumar Reddy scored a blazing unbeaten 29 in 12 balls to give SRH a late push. He hit Krunal for two sixes in his first three balls in the crease and then deposited Hazlewood for another.

The late flourish took SRH past 250 while also leaving RCB’s senior seam-bowling pair of Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood ducking for cover. Hazlewood conceded 55 on the night while Bhuvneshwar leaked 51. They both finished the evening wicketless.

Brief scores:
Sunrisers Hyderabad 255 for 4 in 20 overs (Abhishek  Sharma 56, Travis Head 26,  Ishan Kishan 79, Heinrich  Klaasen 51, Nitish Kumar Reddy 29*; Rasikh Salam 2-52, SuyashSharma 1-36, Krunal Pandya 1-24) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 200 for 4 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer 44, Virat Kohli 15, Devdutt Padikkal 21, Rajat Patidar 56,  Krunal Pandya 41*, Tim David 15*; Eshan Malinga 2-33, Sakib Hussain 1-31, Travis Head 1-07) by 55 runs

[Cricinfo]

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Flood warning issued to the Aththanagalu Oya basin extended until 0600AM on Monday [25]

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The warning mentioned in the flood warning message No. 01 issued for the Aththanagalu Oya basin on 22.05.2026 at about 5.30 am will be extended for the next 48 hours.

It is requested that residents in the area and vehicle drivers running through those areas  pay high attention in this regard by the . Disaster Management Authorities are requested to take adequate precautions in this regard

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