Day two of the second Test between West Indies and Pakistan on Saturday was washed out due to persistent rain.No action was possible due to the wet outfield and rain forced the umpires to abandoned second day of the second Test. The start was day two was first delayed and early lunch was taken after the first session of day two was washed out due to rain.

The Match official eventually called for the stumps just after 4 pm (local time) here at Sabina Park as rain played a spoilsport. According to ICC, the play on Sunday will now commence half an hour earlier and 98 overs are slated for the third day.

On Friday, Kemar Roach continued up an exemplary bowling form with a telling three-wicket haul but half-centuries from Fawad Alam and captain Babar Azam inspired a strong Pakistan response, on opening day of second Test at Sabina Park.

On a humidity day in Jamaica’s capital, Pakistan ended on 212-4 with Fawad top-scoring with 76 before being forced to retire with heat exhaustion, while Babar stroked 75 before becoming Roach’s third victim midway through the final session.

The pair was instrumental in pulling the innings around from the ruins of two runs for three wickets in the morning’s fourth over, as they put on a magnificent 158 for the fourth wicket.

When Babar departed, West Indies had hoped they could make inroads into the visitors lower-order. However, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Rizwan calmly added 44 in an unbroken fifth stand to deny West Indies any further success.

Brief scores: Pakistan 212/4 (Babar Azam 75, Fawad Alam 76*; Kemar Roach 3-49) vs West Indies

Ace sprinter Hima Das lavished praise on Priya Mohan after the Indian athlete came up with a personal best time of 52.77 seconds in the women’s 400m final in the World Athletics U20 Championships.

However, Priya was beaten to the podium by Kenya’s Sylvia Chelangat by 0.54 seconds on Saturday. Priya’s time was an improvement on her previous best of 53.29 seconds she registered in winning the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Patiala on June 28. Hima termed it as a “great start” and said this is just a beginning and Priya has a long way to go.

“Amazing finish by Priya Mohan with 52.77s time with 4th position in the Women’s 400m finals of #WorldAthleticsU20 Great start Priya, this is just a beginning and long way to go,” Hima Das tweeted.

Also, India’s Amit Khatri bravely overcame breathing difficulties to claim a silver medal in the men’s 10000m Race Walk in the World Athletics U20 Championships.

It was India’s second medal in the Championships after the bronze won by the 4x400m Mixed Relay team on Wednesday. Amit Khatri, who kept pace in the leading group much of the time and took the lead at the 9000m mark, clocked 42:17.94 to finish behind Kenya’s Heristone Wanyoni (41:10.84).

His frequent visits to the refreshment table to get water – especially the last one with just a lap and a half to go for the finish – could have led him to covering more distance and missing gold.

Amit, who split the leader including Dmitri Durand (France) and Dmitry Wanyonyi (Authorised Neutral Athlete) with a strong move, was content with silver, having found the cool conditions and Nairobi’s thin air rather challenging. “At some point in the race I couldn’t breathe properly but I am happy,” the AFI quoted Amit as saying.

FC Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman on Saturday admitted that the Blaugrana club is less feared without Lionel Messi. Barcelona manager stated that the rivals were “more scared” when the Argentine was leading the attack for their side.

This statement by Koeman came after his side struggled against Athletic Club and managed to just retrieve a point in their second La Liga match of the season. “I don’t like to always talk about the same thing, but we’re talking about the best in the world,” the Dutchman told in his post-match press conference, as per Goal.com.”Our opponents were more scared when Messi was here. For us as well, if you pass the ball to Leo, usually he won’t lose it. You can tell [Messi] isn’t there. We know that and we can’t change it.”

The six-times Ballon d’Or winner left the Catalan side as a free agent after the Spanish club announced that “financial and structural obstacles” meant the deal between them and Messi could not be completed.

San Mames is never an easy place to win as Barca have struggled there in recent seasons and the Saturday clash was no exception. Indeed, for much of the ninety minutes, they had their backs against the wall, and Athletic were good value for their 1-0 lead.

A flash of inspired brilliance was needed, and it came from the left foot of Memphis. The Dutchman was able to salvage a point from one of the most difficult road trips in La Liga, and in doing so celebrate his first official goal in an FC Barcelona jersey. Next Sunday, Barca will be back at Camp Nou, where Getafe will be their visitors.

As many as 54 athletes from India will be competing in 9 sports disciplines including Archery, Athletics (Track and Field), Badminton, Swimming, Weightlifting among others.

This is the biggest-ever contingent India has sent to any Paralympics. All 54 athletes are part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) scheme, as per the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Bhavina Patel and Sonalben Patel, both belonging to the State of Gujarat, are looking at putting their best foot forward at the Paralympic Games. The duo is participating in the Para Table Tennis Women’s singles Wheelchair Class 4 category and the Women’s singles Wheelchair Class 3 category respectively. They are pairing up for the Women’s Doubles event as well.

Bhavina and Sonalben start their qualification rounds in Tokyo on an opening day, i.e, August 25. The qualifying rounds are scheduled for August 25, 26, and 27, while the semi-final and the final are scheduled for August 28 and 29 respectively.

The duo has been training under Coach Lalan Doshi at the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad. While Bhavina is ranked 8 in the World currently in her category, Sonalben is ranked 19th. Both have been recipients of the Sardar Patel Award and the Eklavya Awards and have been a medallist at the Asian Games.

Aruna Tanwar, the 21-year-old will be the sole Para-Taekwondo representative at the Paralympic Games from India. Haryana-based Aruna will participate in the Women’s under 49kg K44 category. She will be in action on September 2 from the round-of-16 rounds.

In Para Powerlifting, India is sending two of the best in Jai Deep and Sakina Khatun. While Sakina, born in West Bengal, has been training at the SAI National Center of Excellence in Bangalore, Haryana-based Jai Deep has been training at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Rohtak.

Virat Kohli-led Indian team on Sunday arrived here at Headingley Stadium to begin practice for the third Test against England. The third Test between the two sides will get underway from Wednesday. The first Test had ended in a draw but India staged an incredible comeback to take the second game. “Hello and welcome to the Headingley Stadium, Leeds. Our venue for the 3rd Test against England,” the BCCI tweeted.

After the win in the second Test, India opening batsman KL Rahul said that if the opposition chooses to engage in verbals with his side, then they very well know how to give it back. India and England provided an intense spectacle on day five as players from both sides engaged in verbals and in the end, it was Kohli’s team who emerged triumphant in an engaging match.

“Look, personally, it shows how badly both teams want to win. When both teams go at each other, it shows how badly both teams want to win and that is how Test cricket is played. We as a team are never shy to say a word or two, if someone goes at one of our players and the rest of 10 guys get pumped, that is the kind of team we are,” said Rahul during a virtual press conference.“If you go after one of our guys, you are going after the whole team. That is why bowlers were really keen to go out there. This is what people come to watch and this highly speaks about how badly each team wants to win. We are looking forward to the next three games, both teams are going to come hard,” he added.

Meanwhile, the England Test squad will also report to its Leeds base on Sunday. England men’s head coach Chris Silverwood has named a 15-player squad for the third Test.

Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan returned to the Test squad for the first time in three years. Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood has also been included.He has yet to make his Test debut but will be aiming to add to his England credentials, having already been capped by the senior side in ODIs and IT20s.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns has been taken off life support and is recovering in hospital in Sydney.

The 51-year-old had suffered an aortic dissection in his heart in Canberra earlier this month and has undergone several operations since then. He was transferred to a specialist hospital in Sydney. According to stuff.co.nz, Cairns is “serious but stable” as per the latest update provided by the hospital post his surgery. The former Kiwi all-rounder is communicating with his family.

“I’m pleased to advise that Chris is off life support and has been able to communicate with his family from hospital in Sydney,” stuff.co.nz quoted Cairns’ lawyer, Aaron Lloyd as saying in a statement on Friday morning.“He and his family are thankful for all of the support and well wishes from everyone, and for the privacy they have been afforded. They request that this continues as they focus on his recovery moving forward,” the lawyer added.Cairns played 62 Tests, 215 ODIs, and two T20Is for New Zealand between 1989 and 2006. The veteran all-rounder amassed 3,320 Test runs at an average of over 33 and took 218 wickets at an average of just over 29.

In ODIs, Cairns gathered 4,950 runs at 29.46 and took 201 wickets at 32.80. Cairns was named as one of five Wisden Cricketers of the year in 2000 and is the son of former New Zealand all-rounder Lance Cairns.