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India suffered a dramatic top-order slump to set up a thrilling finale to the third Test against England at Lord’s on Sunday.The tourists had the upper hand after dismissing England for just 192 in their second innings, with off-spinner Washington Sundar taking 4-22, including the wickets of Joe Root, Jamie Smith and England captain Ben Stokes on the fourth day.That left India needing 193 to go 2-1 up in this five-match series after both teams made 387 in their first innings.India, however, collapsed to 58-4 at stumps, with the tourists requiring a further 135 runs to win on Monday’s final day.Yashasvi Jaiswal was out for a duck, skying a hook off fast bowler Jofra Archer to wicketkeeper Smith.Karun Nair was lbw to Brydon Carse with India captain Shubman Gill, who has already scored a double hundred and two centuries this series, falling in similar fashion.And with what became the last ball of the the day, Stokes bowled nightwatchman Akash Deep to raucous cheers from the home crowd at a sun-drenched Lord’s.But India opener KL Rahul, fresh from his first-innings score of exactly 100, was still there on 33 not out following several typically elegant boundaries.”India will win, probably just after lunch,” a bullish Sundar told Sky Sports after stumps.But England batting coach Marcus Trescothick, speaking to the BBC, said: “When the ball gets a little bit softer there are more runs to be had out there, but if you get it enough in the right place it’s very tricky.”We would have loved 250 and beyond but we would have taken 190 and our chance to bowl on that pitch and it’ll come down to who holds the pressure best tomorrow.”Earlier, Root and Stokes joined forces with England in trouble at 87-4.But a partnership worth 67 ended when Root, who made a hundred in the first innings, was bowled behind his legs trying to sweep Sundar. Root’s 40 was the top score of England’s second innings.Smith’s three previous scores this series had been 184 not out, 88 and 51, but he managed just eight before he was bowled by a Sundar delivery that kept a touch low.Sundar, on an increasingly helpful pitch, had now taken 2-3 in 11 balls, with England 164-6.All-rounder Stokes, without a Test hundred in over two years, showed plenty of discipline while batting throughout all of Sunday’s second session.But, in common with several England team-mates, he gave his wicket away when on 33 the left-handed batsman was bowled for 33 swinging himself off his feet trying to slog Sundar.Stokes banged his bat on the turf in anger, with England now 181-7.Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, removed Carse and Chris Woakes with Sundar ending the innings when he knocked over last man Shoaib Bashir’s stumps.”I’m always trying to hit the stumps,” said Sundar. “The fact Bumrah was bowling from the other end definitely helped, the fact we have him in our team is amazing.”- Stuttering England -England resumed on 2-0 with Zak Crawley, who had angered India late Saturday with his time-wasting tactics, alongside opening partner Ben Duckett.Duckett scooped a four off Mohammed Siraj but the fast bowler soon had his revenge when the left-hander, cramped for room, miscued a pull to Bumrah at mid-on to leave England 22-1.Siraj then risked disciplinary action after yelling in Duckett’s face, with both players facing possible punishment after making shoulder contact.Bumrah, who took 5-74 in England’s first innings after being rested from India’s win in the second Test at Edgbaston, bowled well but without much luck and it was Siraj who had Ollie Pope lbw on review for just four.And 42-2 was soon transformed into 50-3.Crawley (22) fell in familiar fashion when edging a drive off Nitish Kumar Reddy to Jaiswal — one of two gullies posted by India in the hope of such a dismissal.Harry Brook came in and struck three successive boundaries off Deep — two scooped fours followed by a thumping straight six over long-off.But fast bowler Deep bowled Brook for 23 as the world’s top-ranked Test batsman failed to make contact with an over-ambitious sweep.  

Mohammed Siraj struck twice as India reduced England to 98-4 at lunch on the fourth day of third Test at Lord’s on Sunday.With both teams having made 387 in their first innings, it meant England lead by 98 runs, with just six wickets standing, as India looked to take a 2-1 lead in this five-match series.Fired-up fast bowler Siraj had superb interval figures of 2-11 in seven overs, with the bulk of England’s top-order back in the pavilion.But Joe Root, who made a hundred in England’s first innings, was still there on 17 not out, with captain Ben Stokes — without a Test century in more than two years — unbeaten on two.  England resumed on 2-0 with Zak Crawley, who had angered India late Saturday with his time-wasting tactics, alongside opening partner Ben Duckett.Crawley was almost out for his overnight two when an 85 mph Jasprit Bumrah delivery lept off a length and hit his glove, with the world’s top-ranked Test bowler unable to take a sliding return catch.Siraj wasted an lbw review on Crawley, who was fortunate when an edged drive off Bumrah flew past third slip.Duckett scooped a four off Siraj but the paceman soon had his revenge when the left-hander, cramped for room, miscued a pull to Bumrah at mid-on to leave England 22-1.Siraj then risked disciplinary action after yelling in Duckett’s face and making shoulder contact with the batsman.Neither Crawley nor new batsman Ollie Pope are renowned for their defensive technique. They were both fortunate to survive probing deliveries from outstanding fast bowler Bumrah, who took 5-74 in England’s first innings after being rested from India’s series-levelling win at Edgbaston.But it was Siraj who struck next when he had Pope lbw after India’s review overturned former Australia quick Paul Reiffel’s original not out decision.And 42-2 was soon transformed into 50-3.Crawley (22) fell in all-too familiar fashion when edging a drive off a full-length delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy to Yashasvi Jaiswal — one of two gullies posted by India in the hope of such a dismissal.Unsurprisingly, given Saturday’s incident, Crawley received a verbal volley from Reddy as he left the field.New batsman Harry Brook struck three successive boundaries off Akash Deep — two scooped fours followed by a thumping straight six over long-off.But fast bowler Deep had the last laugh by knocking over Brook’s middle stump as the world’s top-ranked Test batsman failed to make contact with an ambitious sweep and fell for 23 as he became the latest England player to contribute to his own downfall.jdg/bsp 

KL Rahul made 100 and Ravindra Jadeja a third successive fifty as India exactly equalled England’s 387 in the third Test at Lord’s on Saturday before tempers flared as the match headed towards a second-innings shoot-out.India were in command while opener Rahul and dynamic left-hander Rishabh Pant (74) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 141.But both batsmen fell either side of lunch on the third day to leave India’s first innings in the balance at 254-5.Jadeja and fellow all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, however, kept England at bay with a stand of 72 in 27 overs.But India were unable to surpass England’s first-innings total in the latest sign of just how evenly matched the teams are in a five-match series currently level at 1-1.England should have had two overs to bat before stumps.Zak Crawley twice pulled away as Jasprit Bumrah ran into bowl, leading India to think he was time-wasting.And after Bumrah’s fifth delivery, the England opener further angered India by calling for the physio, although there would have been time for only one more delivery as the clock had already ticked round to the close time of 6:30 pm (1730 GMT).India players swarmed around Crawley, with captain Shubman Gill exchanging words with the England opener.The incident had been something of an accident waiting to happen given the umpires had allowed several unscheduled drinks breaks and other delays during India’s innings.The upshot was that England only faced one over before they reached stumps narrowly ahead at 2-0. – ‘Theatrics’ -“I understand from an opening batter’s point of view, it’s something that happens a lot, quite a lot of theatrics at the end,” Rahul told the BBC after stumps. India were poised to bat through the morning session without losing a wicket.But, in the last over before lunch, Pant was run-out by England captain Ben Stokes’ direct hit from cover-point as he tried to get Rahul, 98 not out at the interval, back on strike to complete his century before the break.Rahul did get to a hundred but was out edging off-spinner Shoaib Bashir to slip off the next ball he faced.On another hot and energy-sapping day at Lord’s, India resumed on 145-3.Rahul was 53 not out with wicketkeeper Pant, off the field for much of England’s innings following a finger injury, unbeaten on 19.There had been joyous scenes at Lord’s on Friday when Jofra Archer marked his return to Test cricket following more than four years of injury-induced exile with a third-ball dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal.But Archer’s first ball Saturday was glanced fine for four by Pant as the express fast bowler strayed in line.Rahul then drove Brydon Carse for four and later glanced, square-cut and clipped the fast bowler for three more elegant boundaries in successive deliveries.Pant who scored twin hundreds in India’s defeat in the first Test at Headingley and a quickfire 65 in a series-levelling win at Edgbaston, completed a 55-ball fifty in style by hooking all-rounder Stokes for six.After lunch, Rahul’s quick single saw him to a 176-ball hundred, including 13 fours — his 10th century in 61 Tests and second at Lord’s after the 33-year-old’s 129 in 2021.But Rahul’s next ball proved his undoing when, pushing forward to a well-flighted Bashir delivery, he edged to Harry Brook at slip.”It’s not been easy having to bat all around that top six, it’s nice to finally get a spot where I’ve batted a lot,” said Rahul, who also made a hundred at Headingley.Jadeja went to his half-century by driving part-time off-spinner Joe Root for four — the newly-promoted number six’s third consecutive 50-plus score after innings of 89 and 69 not out at Edgbaston. The all-rounder also lofted Root for six before he was ‘strangled’ down the legside by Chris Woakes. Tailender Akash Deep, who narrowly avoided twice being lbw in three balls to Woakes, whipped the first ball of Archer’s new spell for a six over long leg in the manner of a top-order batsman.Deep then fell as Brook took a blinding catch at slip off Carse, before Woakes saw off Bumrah immediately after India tied the scores and Washington Sundar (23) skied Archer to Brook at long stop as the tourists lost their last four wickets for just 11 runs in six overs.

Fuel control switches to the engines of an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 260 people, were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before impact, a preliminary investigation report said Saturday.The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), did not offer any conclusions or apportion blame for the June 12 disaster, but indicated that one pilot asked the other why he cut off fuel, and the second pilot responded that he had not.The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was headed from Ahmedabad in western India to London when it crashed, killing all but one of the 242 people on board as well as 19 people on the ground.In its 15-page report, the investigation bureau said that once the aircraft achieved its top recorded speed, “the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec”.”In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” it said.The aircraft quickly began to lose altitude.The switches then returned to the “RUN” position and the engines appeared to be gathering power, but “one of the pilots transmitted ‘MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY'”, the report said.Air traffic controllers asked the pilots what was wrong, but then saw the plane crashing and called emergency personnel to the scene.- Investigation ongoing -Civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told reporters that investigators probed in a “mature, transparent” way.”This is a preliminary report. We want the final report to come in, so let us wait for it,” he said.Earlier this week, specialist website The Air Current, citing multiple sources familiar with the probe, reported it had “narrowed its focus to the movement of the engine fuel switches”, while noting that full analysis will “take months — if not longer”.It added that “the focus of the investigators could change during that time”.The Indian agency’s report said the US Federal Aviation Administration had issued an information bulletin in 2018 about “the potential disengagement of the fuel control switch locking feature”.Though the concern was not considered an “unsafe condition” that would warrant a more serious directive, Air India told investigators it did not carry out suggested inspections as they were “advisory and not mandatory”.Air India was compliant with all airworthiness directives and alert service bulletins on the aircraft, the report said.The investigations bureau said there were “no recommended actions to B787-8 and/or GE GEnx-1B engine operators and manufacturers”, suggesting no technical issues with the engines (GE) or the aircraft (Boeing).The bureau said the investigation was ongoing, and that additional evidence and information had been “sought from the stakeholders”.Boeing said in a statement it would “continue to support the investigation and our customer”, adding “our thoughts remain” with those affected by the disaster.Air India said it was “working closely with stakeholders, including regulators.” “We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses,” it said in a statement on X. The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) stipulates that states heading an investigation must submit a preliminary report within 30 days of an accident.US and British air accident investigators have taken part in the probe.Suresh Mistry, who lost his daughter Kinal in the crash, told AFP his family was still coming to terms with the loss.”How is possible that there is an internal issue with the flight and nobody knew? Even cars these days indicate when there is a problem. How does it not happen on flights?” he said.Imtiyaz Ali, whose brother was killed along with his wife and two children, said the preliminary report took “nothing forward” for him.”And (it) is not even close to a closure,” he said. “It feels like we are at the same spot, where we were a month ago when the crash happened.”The plane was carrying 230 passengers — 169 Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian — and 12 crew.Dozens of people on the ground were injured. One passenger miraculously survived, a British citizen who was seen walking out of the wreckage of the crash, and who has since been discharged from hospital.Health officials in the Indian state of Gujarat initially said at least 279 people were killed, but forensic scientists reduced the figure after multiple scattered and badly burnt remains were identified.

Pakistan will not travel to India for upcoming hockey tournaments over “security” concerns, government sources told AFP on Saturday, potentially jeopardising their place in next year’s World Cup.The nuclear-armed neighbours traded the worst violence in decades during a four-day conflict in May that killed 70 people. Pakistan was due to participate in the Men’s Asia Cup for field hockey to be hosted by India in August and September, for which the federation had sought the government’s clearance.”After the recent war the security and safety of our hockey players will be at risk,” said a sports ministry source, who asked not to be identified.Pakistan will also not participate in the Junior World Cup in India in November, the source said.Once a force in international hockey, with three Olympic gold medals and four world titles, Pakistan has slumped to 15th in the rankings. Not featuring in the Asia Cup will likely cost Pakistan a place in next year’s senior World Cup to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium.A second government source also confirmed the decision to AFP.Pakistan’s foreign office has not responded to AFP’s request for comment.India stalled all bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which it blamed on militants based across the border.Cricket has been the most affected sport, with the two countries only meeting each other in multinational events abroad.India refused to visit Pakistan this year when it hosted the Champions Trophy, forcing the final to be staged on neutral ground in Dubai.In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan will also not send its women’s cricket team to India for the 50-over World Cup later this year and the T20 World Cup in 2026.They agreed instead to play their matches in Sri Lanka.Pakistan’s hockey team last toured India for the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy, finishing fifth amongst six teams.

England fast bowler Jofra Archer struck an early blow as he made a thrilling return to Test cricket at Lord’s on Friday before in-form India captain Shubman Gill fell cheaply.Archer removed Yashasvi Jaiswal with just his third ball after more than four years of injury-induced exile from Test cricket.Gill, who had previously made a mammoth 585 runs in four innings this series, including three hundreds, was later caught behind for a mere 16.India were 145-3 in reply to England’s first-innings 387 at stumps on the second day of the third Test, a deficit of 242 runs.KL Rahul was 53 not out alongside Rishabh Pant, unbeaten on 19. Express quick Archer shone at Lord’s during England’s 2019 50-over World Cup final win and also made his Test debut that season at the ground, where his bouncer concussed Australia’s Steve Smith.With just his third ball Friday, the 30-year-old unleashed a 90 mph full-length delivery that had a squared-up Jaiswal edging to Harry Brook at second slip.Archer roared in celebration, with the often restrained crowd at a sun-drenched Lord’s joining in.- ‘X-factor’ Archer -England’s backing for Archer, in the hope he can star in the 2025/26 Ashes in Australia, has often been questioned during his lengthy absence.But the way he several times topped 90 mph during a miserly return of 1-22 in 10 overs was a reminder of Archer’s quality.”The noise, the pure joy everyone has seeing him (Archer) back in whites, everyone’s genuine excitement to see him playing Test cricket again, it created a great atmosphere,” England’s Joe Root told Sky Sports after stumps.”He’s X-factor,” added Root, who completed a hundred on Friday before setting a new Test record of 211 catches by an outfielder.England captain Ben Stokes’s career has been blighted by injuries and there were fresh concerns when he suffered a groin strain batting on Thursday.But the lively seamer, in no obvious discomfort, reduced India to 74-2 when Karun Nair (40) edged him low to first slip where Root held a brilliant left-handed catch to take outright possession of a record he had shared with India great Rahul Dravid. Veteran all-rounder Chris Woakes’ three previous wickets this series had come at a hugely expensive average of nearly 97 apiece.But the 36-year-old still had Gill edging defensively to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who held a good catch standing up to the stumps, with India now 107-3.Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah gained a coveted place on the Lord’s honours boards with a five-wicket haul before England paceman Brydon Carse’s maiden Test fifty frustrated India.  Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, took 5-74 in 27 overs as England were dismissed after lunch.Bumrah’s haul included a sensational spell of 3-1 in seven balls Friday, with the fast bowler dismissing Stokes, century-maker Root and Woakes.”It’s really special,” the 31-year-old Bumrah told the BBC. “We don’t come here (to Lord’s) very often, maybe every four years… Being on the honours board feels good.”But Carse made 56 after he shared an eighth-wicket stand of 84 with Smith, out for 51 after Rahul dropped him in the slips on five.That followed Smith’s excellent 184 not out and 88 during India’s crushing 336-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston last week, where the tourists levelled this five-match series at 1-1 despite resting Bumrah.Root, 99 not out overnight, went to a hundred Friday with a first-ball boundary off Bumrah.His 37th Test century took Root into fifth place on an all-time list headed by India’s Sachin Tendulkar with 51 hundreds.”I don’t think I’ve been 99 not out overnight before,” said Root. “I woke up in the night and couldn’t get back to sleep.”Stokes had added just five runs to his overnight 39 when he was bowled by a Bumrah delivery that jagged back. Next ball, Woakes fell for a golden duck following a thin edge to reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, deputising for the injured Pant. Carse survived the hat-trick delivery but Bumrah later bowled Archer to complete his five-wicket haul.Carse was dropped either side of completing a 77-ball fifty in style by driving Mohammed Siraj for six before the paceman bowled him to end England’s innings.

Three million Afghans could return to their country this year, a UN refugee official said Friday, warning that the repatriation flow is placing intense pressure on an already major humanitarian crisis.Iran and Pakistan have introduced new policies affecting displaced Afghans, with Tehran already having given four million “illegal” Afghans until July 6 to leave Iranian territory.”What we are seeing is the undignified, disorganized and massive exodus of Afghans from both countries, which is generating enormous pressures on the homeland that is willing to receive them and yet utterly unprepared to do so,” the UNHCR representative in Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal, said during a video press conference from Kabul.”Of concern to us is this scale, the intensity and the manner in which returns are occurring.”Over 1.6 million Afghans have already returned from Pakistan and Iran this year, the large majority from Iran, Jamal added. The figure already exceeds the UNHCR’s initial forecasts of 1.4 million for 2025.The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees now estimates three million coming into Afghanistan this year, Jamal said.The UN agency said over 30,000 people per day have streamed across the Islam Qala border into Afghanistan, with 50,000 crossing on July 4 alone.”Many of these returnees are arriving having been abruptly uprooted and having undergone an arduous, exhausting and degrading journey. They arrive tired, disoriented, brutalized and often in despair,” Jamal said.The United Nations has taken emergency measures to reinforce water and sanitation systems intended to serve 7,000 to 10,000 people per day, as well as vaccinations and nutrition services.Many who have crossed the border have reported pressure from Iranian authorities, including arrests and expulsions.

Joe Root’s unbeaten 99 checked India’s progress on Thursday’s opening day of the third Test against England at Lord’s.England were 251-4 at stumps, with Root coming in when they were faltering at 44-2 after paceman Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in his first over to remove openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley.But not for the first time in his 156 Test-career, the 34-year-old Root bailed England out of trouble.England captain Ben Stokes, who won the toss at a sun-drenched Lord’s, was 39 not out after helping Root, his predecessor as skipper, add an unbroken 79 for the fifth wicket.Root also shared a grinding partnership of 109 in 35 overs with Ollie Pope, who made 44 after almost being out for a golden duck.Much of the pre-match talk had focused on the return of Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, after he was rested for India’s 336-run thrashing of England at Edgbaston last week that levelled the five-match series at 1-1.But it was Reddy, the fourth seamer deployed by India captain Shubman Gill on Thursday, who struck twice in four balls on the way to figures of 2-46 in 14 overs.With his third ball, the 22-year-old had left-hander Duckett (23) well caught down the legside by diving wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant off a gloved pull.Next ball, the often skittish Pope almost fell for a duck when he threw his bat at an outswinger, with Gill just unable to hold a tough chance low to his right in the gully.But with the last ball of the over, Reddy produced a superb full-length delivery that swung late and straightened off the pitch before taking Crawley’s outside edge to give Pant a simple catch as the Kent batsman fell for 18.- Root masterclass -Pope, following his first-ball reprieve, had several more nervy moments, chasing a wide delivery from Bumrah he could have left alone before a loose shot off Reddy fell just short of third slip.Root, second behind England team-mate Harry Brook in the Test batting rankings, was far more assured as he went to fifty with a glance through fine leg off Reddy — his seventh four in 102 balls faced. England were 153-2 at tea with Root unbeaten on 54 and Pope 44 not out.But the very first ball after the interval saw Pope drive loosely at left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, with reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, on the field after Pant suffered a finger injury in the second session, holding an excellent shoulder-high catch off a fast-travelling edge.New batsman Brook only managed 11 before he was bowled between bat and pad by Bumrah after failing to get forward to a nip-back ball. Bumrah ended the day with a miserly return of 1-35 in 18 overs.England were now 172-4 as Stokes, without a Test hundred since an Ashes century against Australia at Lord’s two years ago, walked out to bat.The left-hander had made 27 when Reddy had a tight lbw review turned down on umpire’s call. He then called for the England physio after suffering what appeared to be a groin injury. Root, however, continued to bat with his customary class, an on-driven four off Reddy taking the former England captain to 80. But with play held up by a swarm of flying ants, and Stokes unable to get off strike as he defended Akash Deep’s final two balls of the day, Root was left one run shy of what would be his 37th Test hundred and a record-extending eighth century at Lord’s.

Sri Lanka drew first blood in the three-match T20I series with a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Bangladesh at Pallekele on Thursday, coasting home with an over to spare.Chasing a modest target of 155, skipper Charith Asalanka fittingly put the seal on the game by launching Tanzim Hasan straight down the ground for six, much to the delight of a holiday crowd that turned up in numbers.The foundations for the win were laid early, with openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis cutting loose from the word go.The pair added a blistering 78 runs in just 28 deliveries, making full use of the powerplay as Sri Lanka raced to 83 for one, their highest ever score in the first six overs of a T20 International, eclipsing the previous best of 75 against India in 2018.Nissanka set the tone by dispatching the first ball of the innings to the fence, and he never looked back. The right-hander smashed five fours and three sixes in a whirlwind 42 off just 16 balls before perishing, but the damage had been done.Mendis, fresh off a match-winning hundred in the ODI series decider at the same venue, picked up where he left off. His 73 came off 51 deliveries and featured five boundaries and three sixes. The wicketkeeper played the anchor role to perfection, ensuring the chase stayed firmly on track without resorting to high-risk strokes.Kusal Perera added to the fireworks, reverse-sweeping Shamim Hossain into the stands and sharing a brisk 42-run stand with Mendis as Sri Lanka maintained the upper hand throughout.Earlier, Bangladesh flattered to deceive. After being sent into bat, openers Parvez Hossain and Tanzid Hasan gave the visitors a flying start, adding 46 runs off 30 balls. But once the first wicket fell, the wheels came off with the middle order struggling to shift gears and playing into Sri Lanka’s hands.Dasun Shanaka, recalled to side after almost a year, marked his return with a tidy spell of four overs for just 22 runs and a wicket, helping choke the flow of runs in the middle overs. Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, drafted in for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, also made his presence felt with a disciplined four-over spell that cost just 25 runs and included a wicket.On a flat deck that offered little for the bowlers, Bangladesh’s total of 155 always looked under par. Despite a few tidy spells, the visitors lacked the firepower to contain a rampant Sri Lankan batting line-up on a flat deck.The teams now move to Dambulla for the second game of the series on Sunday. 

Broken air conditioning? Afghan taxi drivers have cobbled together a creative solution to spare them and their passengers from the sweltering heat. In Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan where temperatures easily exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), blue taxis can be spotted with an air conditioning unit strapped to the roof with an exhaust hose delivering the cool air through the passenger window.”It started getting extremely hot three or four years ago. These cars’ AC systems didn’t work, and repairs were too expensive. So I went to a technician, (and) had a custom cooler made,” said driver Gul Mohammad.The 32-year-old spent 3,000 Afghanis ($43) for the system, which he connects to his taxi’s battery and regularly refills with water. “This works better than (built-in) AC. ACs only cool the front — this cooler spreads air throughout,” said fellow driver Abdul Bari.Other devices are connected to solar panels, also mounted on the taxi’s roof. Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, is also one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. It is particularly affected by heat waves and is suffering from increased drought. Murtaza, a 21-year-old technician, said that demand from taxi drivers has been growing over the past two or three years. “Many cars weren’t equipped with air conditioning anyway, which is why we’re installing these,” he told AFP in his small shop in central Kandahar. Afghan cities are often saturated with ageing vehicles, which are enjoying a last-ditch life after being transferred from neighbouring countries. “When there’s no cooler, it becomes very difficult,” said Norullah, a 19-year-old passenger who did not provide a last name, his face inches from the blast of cold air.”These drivers are helping solve the problem, and that’s great.”