World Test Championship

Root made the most of the batter-friendly conditions in Rawalpindi when he faced up left-handed to Zahid Mahmood for the first two deliveries of the Pakistan spinner's sixth over. It happened in the 23rd over of England's second innings, shortly after the former England captain completed his half-century.

Thapa (63.5kg) was contesting the quarterfinals against Minsu Choi of South Korea and began the bout effectively, using his quick feet and powerful jabs to assert control over his opponent. The Indian boxer enhanced his attacking dominance as the game progressed and had Choi on the ropes for the majority of the match.

After a laboured first half, the visitors took the lead when Jude Bellingham stole in to head in Marco Reus' driven cross. City struggled to break the resilient visitors down, and it took a fine strike from John Stones from outside the box to level.

Barcelona started powerfully on the road and created the first opportunity as Pedri tested Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with a low shot from eight metres in the ninth minute. Former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski then had a great chance to break the deadlock, but the unmarked Pole pulled over the target with 18 minutes gone.

The growth of franchise T20 leagues has raised a serious question marks over the future of ODI cricket, and concerns for its future down the line, including Test cricket. The ODI retirement of England Test captain Ben Stokes due to a jam-packed unsustainable schedule has raised even further doubts about the future of 50-over game.

Sri Lanka recorded stunning innings and a 39-run victory over the visitors at the Galle International Stadium on Monday with Australia dismissed for a paltry 151 in the second innings. With the victory, the Dimuth Karunaratne-led side leveled the series at 1-1. Australia had won the opening Test at the same venue by 10 wickets. The win on Monday helped Sri Lanka jump ahead of a trio of rivals and up to third on the latest WTC standings.

Thanks to Root's unbeaten 163, embellished with 25 boundaries, and Ollie Pope's 145, England gave a befitting reply to New Zealand's first-innings total of 553, reaching 473/5 at stumps on Day 3 on Sunday. Root brought up his 27th Test century with the splendid unbeaten knock. The 31-year-old has 10 World Test Championship tons to his name and nearly 1,000 more WTC runs than his closest challenger in Australia's Marnus Labuschagne -- 2,180 runs --, according to ICC.

A win for Atletico Madrid in their visit to Elche would assure that Diego Simeone's side finishes at least in fourth place and assures a place in next season's Champions League.

Last week, on Thursday, Stokes was appointed as the Test captain after Joe Root stepped down from the role in April. His first assignment as the full-time Test captain will be a three-match home Test series against current World Test Championship (WTC) winners New Zealand, starting at Lord's from June 2.

Whoever becomes England's Test captain has got the tough job to get the side on track with collective performances in all departments of the game. In its last 17 Tests, England have emerged victorious just once and lost the Ashes 4-0 in Australia followed by 1-0 defeat in West Indies