India Makes 196 and Beats Bangladesh by 50 at Twenty20 World Cup

Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5. (The AP)
Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5. (The AP)
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India Makes 196 and Beats Bangladesh by 50 at Twenty20 World Cup

Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5. (The AP)
Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5. (The AP)

Hardik Pandya blasted Bangladesh with a 27-ball half-century and Kuldeep Yadav's three wickets finished off India's win at the Twenty20 World Cup on Saturday.

Pandya struck four boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 50 to lead India to 196-5.

Yadav then took 3-19 in four overs to limit Bangladesh to 146-8.

India moved to the top of Group 1 in the Super Eight with two wins from two matches. Bangladesh was winless.

Put into bat, India started quick as captain Rohit Sharma scored 23 off 11 balls. Virat Kohli added 37 off 28, hitting three sixes. The duo put on 39 off 22 balls for India’s best opening stand in the tournament, The AP reported.

Sharma was caught in the fourth over off Shakib al Hasan, while Kohli put on another 32 off 27 balls with Rishabh Pant for the second wicket.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib struck twice in the ninth over, getting Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav for 6 as India slumped to 77-3.

But Rishabh Pant anchored one end with 36 off 24, including four fours and two sixes, putting on 31 off 19 balls with Shivam Dube.

Despite Pant’s dismissal in the 12th over, Dube’s prowess against spin came in handy — he hit three sixes, scoring 34 off 24 balls.

But it was Pandya who took charge in the death overs. India scored 62 runs in the last five overs.

Pandya was named player of the match.

“We have played some really good cricket (to win five straight games),” he said. "We have executed our plans well, but as a group we can still improve. We sometimes lose wickets in a bunch, but apart from that things are looking good.”

Bangladesh's reply made a steady start. Openers Litton Das (13) and Tanzid Hasan (29) added 35 off 27 until Pandya got the breakthrough in the fifth over.

The Tigers were at 66-2 in the 10th over and scoring slower. The chase unravelled when Yadav came on to bowl. He trapped Hasan lbw, and dismissed Towhid Hridoy for 4 and claimed the big wicket of Shakib for 11.

Bangladesh lost three wickets for 32 runs across 24 balls and didn't recover.

Pace bowlers Jasprit Bumrah (2-13) and Arshdeep Singh (2-30) helped to seal India’s fifth win over Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup.

Australia wins toss, sends Afghanistan in to bat At Kingstown, St. Vincent, Australia captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and chose to bowl against Afghanistan in their Super Eight Group 1 match.

Australia is unbeaten at the tournament thus far and another victory against Afghanistan will see it advance along with India, which beat Bangladesh earlier Saturday, into the semifinals.

Australia beat Bangladesh by 28 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis system due to rain delays in its opening Super Eight game on Thursday, with Pat Cummins taking the first hat-trick of the tournament.

Afghanistan lost its opening Super Eight match to India by 47 runs and now must beat Australia to stay in contention for the semifinals.

With the pitch at the Arnos Vale Ground expected to help spinners, Australia made one change to its side with Ashton Agar coming in for pace bowler Mitchell Starc.

Afghanistan made two changes with Guldabin Naib and Karim Janat coming in for Najibullah Zadran and Hazratullah Zazai.

The last time these two countries met was at the ODI World Cup in India where Glenn Maxwell smashed an astonishing 201 not out to guide Australia to what appeared a most unlikely victory at Mumbai.

Australia is attempting to add the T20 World Cup to its previous successes in the 50-over World Cup and World Test Championship.



Man City Boss Guardiola Backs Marmoush to Play Big Role in Run-in

Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Brentford - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - May 9, 2026 Manchester City's Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring their third goal. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Brentford - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - May 9, 2026 Manchester City's Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring their third goal. (Action Images via Reuters)
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Man City Boss Guardiola Backs Marmoush to Play Big Role in Run-in

Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Brentford - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - May 9, 2026 Manchester City's Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring their third goal. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Brentford - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - May 9, 2026 Manchester City's Omar Marmoush celebrates scoring their third goal. (Action Images via Reuters)

Pep Guardiola expects Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush to have a key role in the closing stages of the English season.

City have four games left this campaign, including the FA Cup final, in a busy 12-day spell that could yet see them finish with a domestic treble following their League Cup success.

Such is City's squad strength, Egypt forward Marmoush has made just seven Premier League starts this season, but he proved his worth with a goal off the bench in Saturday's 3-0 defeat of Brentford.

City manager Guardiola now hopes Marmoush and other fringe players can step up when called upon as his side, who have a game in hand, look to overhaul a five-point gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal with three matches to play.

"We've talked many times," said Guardiola. "I know it's not easy for them, but I'm pretty sure in the next games they're going to play.

"I want to rotate the team because otherwise we cannot arrive in the final or Bournemouth a little bit (fresh).

"Especially Omar. It's not easy because normally you just want one striker. He's a proper striker but Erling (Haaland) is there.

"Erling is so important for us but the contribution of Omar -- the amount of goals for the minutes played -- is so high."

The prolific form of Haaland has been largely responsible for Marmoush's prolonged spell on the sidelines, with the Norway international Haaland scoring his 50th goal of the season for club and country at the weekend.

"It's incredible, and there was a period when he was so tired in November when he came back from Norway qualification," said Guardiola.

"It was a struggle."


Argentine Plazas Buzz with World Cup Sticker Trading Fever

This photograph taken in Namur on May 6, 2026, shows Panini collectible stickers featuring Belgian football players for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Namur on May 6, 2026, shows Panini collectible stickers featuring Belgian football players for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. (AFP)
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Argentine Plazas Buzz with World Cup Sticker Trading Fever

This photograph taken in Namur on May 6, 2026, shows Panini collectible stickers featuring Belgian football players for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Namur on May 6, 2026, shows Panini collectible stickers featuring Belgian football players for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico. (AFP)

With just under a month until the FIFA World Cup kicks off, thousands of people are filling Argentine plazas strategizing to win a different game that has become a beloved part of the quadrennial competition: collecting and trading stickers to complete the official World Cup stickerbook.

For more than half a century, Panini stickerbooks have been a treasured part of the World Cup experience, with schools, plazas and even offices becoming zones to barter for coveted rare stickers and duplicates laid out ready to be discarded.

In South America, swapping stickers is even more important than simply collecting them, with WhatsApp groups, apps and websites popping up to facilitate the trades.

On Sunday, throngs of people gathered in the heart of Buenos Aires exchanging multicolored decks of stickers with the faces of some of the world’s most famous football players.

Children cradle books where they carefully paste the stickers.

“This connects you with the world. Everyone does it,” said Juan Valora, a fan who was collecting stickers with his girlfriend. “And if this was virtual, you wouldn’t be face to face looking at the cards and trading them. I think you’d miss out a bit on the human touch.”

Panini launched its largest sticker collection ever for this World Cup, coinciding with the increase in participating countries from 32 to 48. Each pack contains seven stickers, and the price in both Argentina and Uruguay is around $1.50. The legendary stickerbooks, which can sell online for thousands of dollars, will come to an end after the 2030 World Cup when Fanatics takes over as FIFA’s exclusive sticker partner.

Some sticker collectors now avoid trading by buying boxes of up to 104 sticker packs for $180, payable in installments, and bundled packages with albums. Even the so-called “rare” stickers, like those of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappé, are available.

“It’s a way to avoid spending extra money to finally complete it,” said Matías Inglesi, a software developer and father of 9-year-old Lucas, who spends about $20 a week on the hobby.

For many children, completing the album is an even more cherished goal than their national team winning the World Cup, and parents, eager to please them, take over to help them meet their goal.

Child psychologist Agustina Zerbinatti says that more than just a fun challenge, the activity helps children develop fine motor skills and learn, “from geography, knowing which languages are spoken in each country, number sequencing and notions of cardinality and ordinality.”


West Ham’s Bowen Questions VAR Consistency After Wilson’s Equalizer Rule Out

Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Arsenal - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 10, 2026 General view of the big screen after West Ham United's Callum Wilson goal that was later disallowed. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Arsenal - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 10, 2026 General view of the big screen after West Ham United's Callum Wilson goal that was later disallowed. (Action Images via Reuters)
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West Ham’s Bowen Questions VAR Consistency After Wilson’s Equalizer Rule Out

Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Arsenal - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 10, 2026 General view of the big screen after West Ham United's Callum Wilson goal that was later disallowed. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Premier League - West Ham United v Arsenal - London Stadium, London, Britain - May 10, 2026 General view of the big screen after West Ham United's Callum Wilson goal that was later disallowed. (Action Images via Reuters)

West Ham United captain ‌Jarrod Bowen questioned the consistency of VAR reviews after Callum Wilson’s stoppage-time equalizer against Arsenal on Sunday was controversially ruled out.

Wilson fired home in a goalmouth scramble following a corner, but his effort was disallowed for a foul on Arsenal keeper David Raya after a lengthy VAR check.

"When you look at the screen for five minutes, you'll find something - a lot of grappling and a lot of holding," ‌Bowen told ‌the BBC. "I'm sure if you look ‌long ⁠enough, you'll find ⁠something. Do I think it's the right decision? No.

"Where's the consistency? As a fan you don't want to celebrate a goal and then wait eight minutes and it's taken off you."

Arsenal have previously faced criticism for crowding goalkeepers at corners, while Bowen ⁠also pointed to a decision earlier this ‌month when West Ham ‌were denied a penalty during a 3-0 loss at ‌Brentford after Tomas Soucek was held in the ‌box.

"Corners are physical. The Premier League is physical. That's why everyone loves it," Bowen added.

"You have to expect contact at corners. If you give that you have to ‌give all the holding calls in the world and that's not the way ⁠people want ⁠the game to go down."

The defeat left West Ham 18th in the league, one point from safety, while Arsenal extended their lead to five points over Manchester City.

VAR has come under intense scrutiny this season, with a survey by a football supporters group in March showing 75% of Premier League fans do not support the continued use of the system.

The Premier League says VAR has led to more accurate outcomes while remaining less disruptive than in other European competitions.