Skipper Stafanie Taylor picked four wickets before hitting 43 runs as West Indies women defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the third and final T20I on Sunday.

With this victory, West Indies completed a 3-0 series win over Pakistan at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. West Indies bundled Pakistan out for 102 inside 20 overs then chased out the total with five balls to spare to clean sweep the series. Chasing 103, West Indies got off to a bad start as they lost the opener, Hayley Matthews, in the second over thanks to Diana Baig’s athleticism and excellent bowling.

Diana took a scintillating catch in the second over off Anam Amin’s bowling as she dived to her right to send Matthews back to the pavilion. She followed up that effort with an incredible caught and bowled in the next over. Deandra Dottin looked in promising touch having struck Diana for a six and a four earlier in the over, but the right-arm pacer had the last laugh as she cleanly caught a strong punch off the front foot to end Dottin’s stay at the crease on the penultimate ball.On the last ball of the third over, Diana pitched the white kookaburra on the good length which induced an edge of Kyshona Knight’s bat to be safely caught by Sidra Nawaz. West Indies were now three down for 17.An unbeaten 48-run partnership between Stafanie Taylor (43*) and Kycia Knight (24*) helped hosts chase down the target with five balls spare.Earlier, West Indies captain Taylor recorded a hat-trick in the last over of the Pakistan innings as the tourists were bowled out for 102, after opting to bat first.

Taylor accounted for Aliya Riaz, who top-scored for Pakistan with 29 off 34, Diana (5 off 10), and Anam Amin (0 off 1), and finished with four for 17 from 3.4 overs. Pakistan lost their openers – Javeria Khan (six off eight) and Muneeba Ali (18 off 15) – in 4.4 overs and had their half of the batters back in the hut by 12.5 overs with 66 runs on board.It was a 22-run partnership between Aliya and Diana that ensured Pakistan crossed the 100-run mark after Anisa Mohammed, the most successful bowler in women’s T20Is, dismissed Sidra Nawaz and Ayesha Naseem in successive overs. Her first wicket was Nida Dar, who got bowled after scoring 17 off 19, in the 11th over. Pakistan were provided a 21-run start – with Muneeba playing a lead role in the partnership with her 18 off 15 at the back of three boundaries. It was Shamilia Connell who accounted for both openers. The right-arm pacer dismissed Javeria in the third over and picked up the wicket of Muneeba in the fifth.

Brief Scores: Pakistan Women 102/10 (Aliya Riaz 29; Stafanie Taylor 4-17); West Indies Women 106/4 (Stafanie Taylor 43; Diana Baig 2-17)

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Monday confirmed that boxer Mary Kom and men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh would be the flagbearers for the Indian contingent at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Wrestler Bajrang Punia will be the flagbearer at the closing ceremony.

“The flagbearers for the Indian contingent of Tokyo 2020 for the opening ceremony on July 23rd are Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh.” IOA President Narinder Batra said in an official letter. “The flagbearer for the Indian contingent at the closing ceremony on August 8 will be Bajrang Punia,” he further stated.Batra also confirmed that the total contingent for the Olympics would be around 126 athletes and 75 officials, and as a result, the total contingent would be around 201.

The contingent comprises 56 per cent of men and 44 per cent of women. It has 76 quota places and will compete in about 85 medal positions.The Tokyo Olympics would be held from July 23 to August 8. The event was slated to be held last year, but it had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on Monday announced a 26-member team to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. The athletics events at the Olympics start on July 31 and it will run through August 9. AFI President Adille J. Sumariwalla said that the federation is looking forward to a good show by the team. “We are happy that it is a well-prepared team, physically and emotionally, for the Olympic Games. The world has been through a lot and athletes have been challenged to stay in good shape, retain form and in good spirits,” Sumariwalla said in an official release.“We are pleased that our athletes have remained in training ever since lockdown was lifted,” he added. Sumariwalla said it was significant that as many as 12 individual athletes and our 4x400m mixed relay team had attained entry standards, laid down by World Athletics, to secure automatic berths.Dutee Chand (women’s 100m and 200m), MP Jabir (men’s 400m Hurdles), Gurpreet Singh (men’s 50km race walk) and Annu Rani (women’s Javelin Throw) are assured of entries on the strength of their rankings.

The squad: Men: Avinash Sable (3000m Steeplechase); MP Jabir (400m Hurdles): M Sreeshankar (Long Jump); Tajinderpal Singh Toor (Shot Put); Neeraj Chopra and Shivpal Singh (Javelin Throw); KT Irfan, Sandeep Kumar and Rahul Rohilla (20km Walk) and Gurpreet Singh (50km Walk); 4x400m Relay: Amoj Jacob, Arokia Rajiv, Muhammed Anas, Naganathan Pandi, Noah Nirmal Tom; 4x400m Mixed Relay: Sarthak Bhambri, Alex Antony

Women: Dutee Chand (100m and 200m); Kamalpreet Kaur and Seema Antil-Punia (Discus Throw) and Annu Rani (Javelin Throw); Bhawna Jat and Priyanka Goswami (20km Walk) and (Mixed 4x400m Relay): Revathi Veeramani, Subha Venkatesan & Dhanlakshmi Sekhar.

Czech Republic’s Petr Korda and his family can be a role model for sporting talent around the world. Petr Korda won the men’s singles title at the Australian Open 23 years ago. He had only one heartfelt wish that he should prepare talent of his level in his house. His wish was fulfilled. Today one of his daughters, Nelly, is the world’s number one golfer and his second daughter Jessica is the world›s number 13 player of the same sport. Patr’s son Sebestian has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon tennis and is the rank 50 player in the world.

Mankad, Amritraj, Phogat, Milkha Singh and P.V. Sindhu family has done a lot for the country. Vinoo Mankad, who made a world record opening partnership of 414 runs with Pankaj Rai, played 44 Tests for the country. One of his sons, Ashok Mankad, played 22 Tests. Second son Rahul played for Mumbai and Atul for Saurashtra in first-class cricket.

Ashok Mankad’s wife Nirupama was once an Asian champion in tennis. She became the first woman player of the country to play in an open draw of a Grand Slam, while her father Vasant played for India in tennis and both sons Harsh and Mihir have also followed the footsteps of his mother to play for the country in tennis. Harsh was a member of Davis Cup team for a long time.

Former India captain and chief selector Lala Amarnath proved his all-round skill in 24 Test matches. His eldest son Surendra Amarnath played ten Tests and three ODIs while Mohinder Amarnath played 69 Tests and 85 ODIs and was Man of the Tournament in addition to the Man of the Match in the semi-finals and final of the 1983 World Cup. His younger brother Rajendra Amarnath played for four different teams in the Ranji Trophy.

Flying Sikh Milkha Singh won four golds in Asian Games and also won a gold in Commonwealth Games and has proved to be an inspiration for many generations. His wife Nirmal was the captain of the Indian volleyball team while his son Jeev was a professional golfer. Vijay, Anand and Ashok were Davis Cup players in the Amritraj family. Vijay’s son Anand carried on his father›s footsteps, while Anand’s son Stephen Amritraj also played in the professional circuit and his wife Alison Riske reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon by defeating world number one and French Open champion Ashleigh Barty two years ago.

Badminton star PV Sindhu’s father P.V. Ramana and mother P. Vijaya, who won silver medal in the Rio Olympics, have played volleyball for the country. Ramana was a member of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the 1986 Asian Games and has been awarded the Arjuna Award. The Phogat family also contributed a lot. While Mahavir Phogat received the Dronacharya Award in wrestling, he did a great job by making total six daughters of himself and his brother international wrestlers. In which Geeta was the country’s first female Olympian wrestler, while Babita and Vinesh also participated in the Olympics. Similarly, Dr Vaes Paes was a member of the team that won the bronze in the 1972 Olympics, while his son Leander Paes ended years-long Olympic medal era by winning bronze in the singles of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic tennis event. There are countless examples of two members playing for the country from one family, but only those playing for the country of three people from one family are mentioned here.

Former India batsman VVS Laxman reckons Shikhar Dhawan’s focus should be on scoring runs in the upcoming Sri Lanka tour to cement his place in the squad for the T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka and India will square off in three ODIs and three T20Is, beginning July 13. While Bhuvneshwar has been named vice-captain, Dhawan will lead the team which will be coached by former India skipper Rahul Dravid. Laxman said Dhawan might be leading the side but he has to be amongst runs in the Sri Lanka series considering the stiff competition for the opening spot in T20 World Cup squad.“First thing, I think he is being rewarded for his consistent performance for the Indian Team, – especially in white-ball cricket – and he is the most experienced player in this squad,” said Laxman on Star Sports’ show Game Plan.“But Shikhar Dhawan will be very clear that he has to use this opportunity – especially keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, there is so much stiff competition. There is Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul – who are established opening batsmen. Virat Kohli, very clearly mentioned that he wants to open in T20 formats.“So, Shikhar Dhawan has to be amongst runs. So, while he is excited being the captain of the Indian team – and anyone will be proud to lead their country – but his focus will be to score runs and put his spot in a secure position,” he added.Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels Dhawan will have a point to prove to himself in the Sri Lanka tour and at the same time, the opening batsman will be excited to lead the side for the first time in his career.

“He is a very fun-loving guy. Whenever you meet him, he is always laughing, very cheerful. The youngsters will be very comfortable around him. And I think, as a leader, he will have a point to prove – not to anyone, but for himself,” said Irfan.“Because last time he was leading an IPL side, that was not a very fruitful move for him, but that was so many years ago. So, if any senior guy wants to do something, he needs to convince himself – more than trying to prove a point to anyone else.

“So, he will be really excited for leadership, but at the same time, he will be looking forward to not only perform but also sharing his experience with all the youngsters,” he added. The likes of Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav are also in the white-ball squad and many more youngsters are eyeing a debut for India in the Sri Lanka series.

Harry Kane scored a brace while Harry Maguire and Jordon Henderson registered one goal each as England thrashed Ukraine 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Euro 2020 here at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday (local time).

With this win, the Three Lions have set up a semifinal clash against Denmark at the Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. England got off the blocks quickly as Harry Kane made no mistake in converting a lovely cross from Raheem Sterling into a goal in just the 4th minute of the game. After that, no more goals were scored in the first half, and as a result, the Three Lions went into the interval with a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, England displayed its A-game and managed to score three more goals to eventually win the match 4-0. First, Jordon Henderson netted the ball into the goalpost in the 46th minute and four minutes later, Kane scored again to give England a 3-0 lead, leaving Ukraine search for all kinds of answers.

The final nail in the coffin for Ukraine came in the 63rd minute as Henderson got among the goal-scoring charts and in the end, England walked away with a 4-0 win.

Earlier on Saturday, Denmark defeated the Czech Republic 2-1 to enter the semifinals of the ongoing Euro 2020.