Indian judoka Harsh Tokas is aiming to script history at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow, with the 81kg competitor setting his sights on becoming the first Indian to win a judo gold at the Games. The 23-year-old, who will be making his Commonwealth Games debut, said he has left no stone unturned in his preparations and is looking forward to competing on one of the biggest stages of his career. "The preparation is going really well. It has been at a next-level intensity for the past 2-3 months. I have given it my absolute 100% effort. This is the first time I've played at this level; it's going to be a unique experience. I am competing in the 81kg category. As for the challenges, I'll only find out the specifics once I'm there, but the plan is to play freely. The goal is definitely gold. No one from our country has ever won gold in this event at the Commonwealth Games, so bringing back gold would create history and be a wonderful achievement for the nation,...
Babar Azam on Monday surpassed Virat Kohli to rise to the second spot in the list of highest run-scorers in T20Is. Virat Kohli has 4188 runs in 117 innings while Babar Azam has 4192 runs in 119 innings. India captain Rohit Sharma leads the list with 4231 runs in 151 innings. Babar Azam achieved the feat during a match against Australia. With Rohit having retired from T20Is, Babar Azam is expected to surpass him in the list very soon.
Marcus Stoinis slammed five huge sixes in an unbeaten 61 as Australia crushed Pakistan by seven wickets in Hobart on Monday to secure a 3-0 T20 series whitewash. Chasing a meagre 118, the hosts hit the target in the 12th over to hand Pakistan a reality check after the visitors won the preceding ODI series 2-1.
Stoinis was unstoppable once he got going, also blasting five fours in his 27-ball masterclass. "It's really nice to get another win and go 3-0 up," said Australia skipper Josh Inglis.
"When he's going like that, it's really hard to stop," he added of Stoinis. "One of those sixes was probably the biggest I've seen."
The match at Bellerive Oval was a dead rubber after Australia won a rain-hit match in Brisbane by 29 runs and then in Sydney by 13 runs. After opting to bat, Pakistan raced to 62-1 before crumbling to 117 all out in the 19th over with Babar Azam top-scoring on 41 and Aaron Hardie taking 3-21.
Jake Fraser-McGurk began the run chase with consecutive boundaries from Shaheen Shah Afridi before the speedster dismissed Matt Short for two, caught at mid-on by Irfan Khan.
Fraser-McGurk (18) followed next over, undone by the sheer pace of Jahandad Khan in another mis-fire by the 22-year-old.
But Inglis kept the scoreboard ticking over alongside Stoinis, who let rip in the ninth over, punishing Haris Rauf for 20, including a massive six that landed on the stadium roof.
Their 55-run partnership ended when Inglis scooped Abbas Afridi to Rauf on 27, which brought Tim David to the crease.
He was bystander to Stoinis, who brought up his fifth T20 half-century with another giant six before seeing them home. "There's lots of positives, the way some of the players batted and bowled, these youngsters will come good," said Salman Agha, Pakistan's skipper for the night with Mohammad Rizwan rested.
"It's a big achievement for us to win a one-day series here after 22 years, we could have done better in the T20 series but we'll come back stronger."
Sahibzada Farhan opened the Pakistan batting with Azam in the absence of Rizwan. But on a chilly evening, he lasted just seven balls before top-edging a short one from Spencer Johnson -- fresh from taking five wickets in Sydney -- to Xavier Bartlett.
Azam produced a series of elegant strokes as he and Haseebullah Khan put on a quickfire 44 for the second wicket. But Kahn was no match for Adam Zampa's spin, collecting an outside edge on 24 to Short.
Pakistan's woes mounted with Usman Khan (3) caught on the ropes after slogging Hardie and Agha trapped lbw by the same bowler for one. It left them reeling on 72-4 at the halfway mark and when Zampa bowled Azam and Khan (10) was needlessly run out they were in deep trouble.
Shaheen Shah Afridi blasted the only six of the innings, but didn't last as the tailenders were mopped up.
With AFP inputs
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