A second-string England cricket team beat Pakistan by nine wickets in the first ODI of the three-match series on Thursday. ....

Ashleigh Barty became the first world No. 1 to reach Wimbledon Championships final in five years after she defeated 2018 champion Angelique Kerber 6-3, 7-6(3) in the semi-finals on Thursday. ....

The upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo will be held without spectators. All the stakeholders involved in organising the Games on Thursday came to this conclusion after the Japan government announced an emergency in and around Tokyo until the end of the Games that will be held from July 23-August 8. ....

Exactly four months after suspending its CEO Manu Sawhney, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday sacked him, the world body said in a terse 36-word statement. ....

Sri Lanka were dealt a blow ahead of the ODI series against India, that begins on July 13, when their batting coach Grant Flower tested positive for Covid-19. ....

Fans were left seething after a laser beam was pointed at the face and eyes of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel while he was trying to save a penalty from England striker Harry Kane in extra-time of their semi-final of Euro 2020 at the Wembley Stadium late Wednesday night. ....

England's 55-year wait to reach a major men's final is over at last after victory against Denmark at Euro 2020, on a night of nerve-shredding tension then unconfined joy at Wembley. ....

Eight-time champion Roger Federer crashed out of Wimbledon Championships, losing 3-6, 6-7(4), 0-6 to 14th seed Hubart Hurkacz of Poland in quarter-finals on Wednesday. But world No. 1 Novak Djokovic recorded his 100th win on grass courts as he beat Marton Fucsovics of Hungary 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to enter semi-finals. ....

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has said that filling Eoin Morgan's shoes for the ODI series against Pakistan will be "unbelievably big to fill". Stokes was announced as the captain for the three ODIs against Pakistan after the first-choice squad reported seven Covid-19 cases and is now in self-isolation. ....

Team India skipper Virat Kohli wished his former captain MS Dhoni on his 40th birthday on Wednesday (July 7). Kohli, who is currently in London ahead of India’s five-Test series against England, took to his Instagram handle to wish Dhoni his birth anniversary. The current captain shared a photo of the 2011 World Cup in which Kohli and Dhoni are enjoying the final win of the team. ....

All-rounder Rashid Khan has been appointed captain of the Afghanistan team for the T20 World Cup, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates in October-November. ....