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Nepal defeated Qatar by 79 runs in the ICC U-19 Women T-20 World Cup Asia Qualifier. 

Chasing the target of 118 runs set by Nepal, Qatar managed to collect 38 runs losing all the wickets in 15.4 overs. The match was played at UKM Oval in Malaysia today. 

Qatari skipper Sachi Dhadwal and Shrutiben Kamaleshbhai Rana made 14 runs each. 

Nepal's Shrishti Jaishi took three wickets. Likewise, Anu Kadayat, Kritika Marasini and Sneha Mahara claimed two wickets each.

Earlier, Nepal accumulated 117 runs in 20 overs losing at the cost of three wickets. Ashma Pulami Magar scored not out 32 runs, Shristi Jaishi made not out 23 runs while Sanu Rajbanshi and Anjali Bishwokarma made 21 and 11 runs respectively. 

Likewise, Sachi Dhadwal and Alina Khan took one wicket each.  

Along with Nepal, hosts Malaysia, UAE, Thailand, Bhutan and Qatar are playing the Qualifier. Nepal will meet UAE in the second match on Saturday.

Lionel Messi and Angel di Maria shone as Argentina beat Italy at Wembley in the Finalissima - a renewal of the contest between the champions of Europe and South America, BBC reported.

Messi's run and cross set up the opener for Lautaro Martinez, who then turned provider for Di Maria to chip a second.

Substitute Paulo Dybala rounded off a handsome win in injury time.

Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini played the first half of what was his 118th and final international match.

The contest is the first between the two continental champions in 29 years, according to BBC.

It is a revival of the Artemio Franchi Cup, competed for twice before - in 1985, when France beat Uruguay and in 1993, when Argentina beat Denmark on penalties.

Rafael Nadal insists he can’t know for sure whether any match at Roland Garros might be his very last at a place he loves, a place he is loved, Associated Press reported.

For now, if he keeps winning and keeps performing the way he did during his monumental quarterfinal victory over longtime rival Novak Djokovic that began in May and ended in June, Nadal will have more chances to play.

With a mix of brilliant shot-making and his trademark resilience, Nadal got past the top-seeded defending French Open champion Djokovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to move a step closer to his 14th championship at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament and what would be a 22nd major trophy overall, adding to records that he already owns.

“One of those magic nights for me,” Nadal said.

For anyone lucky enough to be there, too — provided they were able to stay awake — or even anyone watching from afar. The match began a little past 9 p.m. Tuesday and concluded more than four hours later, after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

“TV decides,” Djokovic said about the late start. “That’s the world we are living in.” 

The bracket said this was a quarterfinal, yes, but it felt like a final, from the quality of play to the quality of effort, from the anticipation that preceded it to the atmosphere that enveloped it, according to Associated Press.

The only missing ingredient: There was no trophy handed to the winner. 

Nadal turns 36 on Friday, when he will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. When the subject of Nadal’s future was brought up during his on-court interview, he smiled.

“See you, by the way, in two days,” Nadal said. “That’s the only thing that I can say.”

It’ll be difficult for any match the rest of the way to live up to this one.

Nary a game, a point, a stroke or, indeed, a step came with a hint of insouciance. Both men gave their all. Nothing came easily. 

Nadal’s 3-0 lead in the second set did him no good; Djokovic ended up taking it and would say later, “I thought, ‘OK, I’m back in the game.’”

But Djokovic’s 3-0 lead in the fourth did him no good, even though he served for it at 5-3, even standing one point from forcing a fifth twice. Nadal saved those set points and broke there, then ran away with the closing tiebreaker, seizing a 6-1 edge and and never losing focus after his first three match points went awry, Associated Press reported.

“I lost to a better player today,” said Djokovic, who had won 22 sets in a row until the 49-minute opener against Nadal. “Had my chances. Didn’t use them. That’s it.”

This showdown was their 59th, more than any other two men have played each other in the Open era. Nadal narrowed Djokovic’s series lead to 30-29 while improving to 8-2 against his rival at Roland Garros.

Nadal is now 110-3 for his career at the place. Two of those losses came against Djokovic, including in last year’s semifinals. This time, Nadal made sure Djokovic remains behind him in the Slam count with 20. Nadal broke their three-way tie with Roger Federer at that number by capturing the Australian Open in January, when Djokovic was not able to play because he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Before Nadal advanced to his 15th semifinal in Paris, Zverev reached his second in a row by holding off 19-year-old rising star Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7).

“Not really getting easier from here,” Zverev said after putting an end to Alcaraz’s 14-match winning streak.

“I told him at the net, ‘You’re going to win this tournament a lot of times, not just once,’” said Zverev, the runner-up at the US Open in 2020 and the gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. “I hope I can win it before he starts ... beating us all.”

In women’s action Tuesday, 18-year-old American Coco Gauff and 28-year-old Martina Trevisan of Italy reached their first Grand Slam semifinals. The 18th-seeded Gauff beat 2017 U.S. Open champion and 2018 French Open runner-up Sloane Stephens 7-5, 6-2, while the 59th-ranked Trevisan eliminated U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3, according to Associated Press.

The nightcap was saved for two players who know each other so well. The tendencies and tactics. The mannerisms and moods. 

So it should come as no surprise they engaged in points so involved, so lengthy — 57 of at least nine strokes, with one that went 25 — that before some were concluded, folks in the stands would let out a gasp or an “Aaaah!” or “Awwww!”, drawing rebuking hisses of “Shhhhh!” in response.

Debutants Gujarat Titans were crowned the Indian Premier League (IPL) champions on Sunday after they beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final in Ahmedabad, The Indian Express reported.

Opting to bat first, Rajasthan never got going and posted a below-par 130-9 with Jos Buttler, this IPL’s leading scorer, topscoring for them with a rather subdued 39.

Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya (3-17) led by example with the ball. Pandya shone with the bat too, scoring 34 and forging a 63-run stand with Shubman Gill to help Gujarat overcome a slow start to their chase, according to the Indian Express.

Opener Gill remained unbeaten on 45, sealing Gujarat’s victory with a six and with 11 balls to spare.