Robin van Persie handed a UEFA Youth League debut to his son Shaqueel for Feyenoord on Tuesday.

Van Persie, the former Arsenal and Manchester United star, is now coaching Feyenoord's Under-18s team and the Under-19s team.

And while taking charge of the latter side in the Youth League, Van Persie handed his son Shaqueel his debut in the competition as a 56th-minute substitute against Atletico Madrid.

Van Persie junior could not help his father's team avoid defeat, however, with Iker Luque scoring the only goal of the game in the 81st minute.

Shaqueel the real deal?

Shaqueel van Persie made his European debut five years and 104 days after his father last played in a European match for Feyenoord, where he finished his career.

The 17-year-old, who was born during Van Persie's stint at Arsenal, began his youth career with Manchester City before moving to Feyenoord in 2017, a year before his father joined the same club.

He has already represented the Netherlands at Under-16 and Under-17 level.

No player in NBA history has spent more minutes on the court than LeBron James, but the latest record means nothing to the Los Angeles Lakers star.

That is because it came in what was James' heaviest career defeat – a 138-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

In his 21-year NBA career, James' previous worst loss came by 42 points in a 136-94 reverse to the Indiana Pacers in February 2019.

As Joel Embiid racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the Sixers' rout, James accumulated another 30 minutes on the court.

That took his career total, across both regular season and postseason games, to 66,319 minutes in his career, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 66,297 minutes.

But the record was of little solace to the 38-year-old, who told reporters: "That doesn't mean much to me."

Asked about what the Lakers need to do to ensure heavy defeats do not become a common occurrence, James said: "What needs to change in order for that not to happen again? Um, a lot.

"I don't know how a team [should respond]. I can only speak for myself, and I don't like it."

James' teammate Anthony Davis said: "Feel like we just weren't together. A lot of quick shots, one-pass shots, no-pass shots.

"They started making a lot of shots. And when their lead kind of opened up a little bit – 15, 20, 25 – I think we all tried to be the hero to make the team come back instead of just sticking with it.

"We've got to look at it, embrace it, own it. Guys don't take it personally for whatever's said in the film, and then move on from it."

It was a bad day for both Los Angeles teams, with the Clippers also losing. 

They went down 104-113 to a Denver Nuggets team that was shorn of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.

Former Laker Russell Westbrook became embroiled in a debate with a fan.

"I mean, it's unfortunate," Westbrook said.

"Fans think they can say whatever they want. I'm not going to say [what was said] now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself.

"It's just unfortunate fans think they can get away with saying anything and, personally, I won't allow it. I've [taken] a lot of people saying anything and getting away with it, but I won't stand for it."

Travis Kelce made NFL history as the Kansas City Chiefs recorded an entertaining victory in Week 12.

The Chiefs fought back from 14-0 behind to win 31-17 at the Las Vegas Raiders, improving their 2023 record to 8-3.

Kelce hauled in six catches for 91 yards to help launch the comeback, with Rashee Rice adding eight receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown.

Sunday's game saw Kelce become the fastest tight end to reach 11,000 receiving yards in NFL history, achieving the feat in 154 games.

The 34-year-old only needed 15 yards to reach the landmark and comfortably passed that in Las Vegas, taking his career total up to 11,076.

Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez held the previous fastest mark after hitting 11,000 after 191 games.

Kelce is only the fourth tight end ever to reach the total. He still has a while to go to catch Gonzalez (15,127) in yardage, but is moving ever closer to Jason Witten (13.036) and Antonio Gates (11,841) in the TE standings.

"We went down 14 points, and it's a tough thing to come back from that," said Chiefs coach Andy Reid.

"Our guys battled back, and I'm proud of them for that."

A prime-time matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field is up next for the Chiefs, who are top of the AFC West as they look to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Denver Broncos (6-5) are their closest challengers in the division.

Draymond Green was not surprised to be on the wrong end of a controversial call on Saturday as the Golden State Warriors forward was ejected from a 118-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Green was ejected in the third quarter of the game for two technical fouls, having been involved in a heated altercation with Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell with the Warriors already 10 points behind.

The four-time NBA champion forced Mitchell out of bounds with his shoulder, prompting the Cavs guard to chase him down and confront him moments later. 

The players were separated but Green was subsequently penalised for his second technical of the game, with a review showing he elbowed Mitchell a couple of plays earlier. 

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr questioned the decision after the game, being unaware that the officials could call such a foul retroactively. 

"I had never heard this rule, but apparently you can retroactively call a technical from two plays before upon review," Kerr said. 

"There's a lot of plays I'd like to go back to from three years ago. It was bizarre."

Green's dismissal was his first of the season and the 17th of his NBA career (including playoff games), the most of any active player.

The 33-year-old believes his reputation played a part in the call, saying: "I am the same person that got suspended from the NBA Finals for flagrant fouls that were all called from after the game.

"Nothing surprises me."

The Warriors briefly rallied after Green's exit, outscoring Cleveland 31-16 in the third, though they were unable to sustain their momentum and fell to back-to-back defeats.

It meant Stephen Curry ended on the losing side despite reaching the milestone of 22,000 career NBA points, becoming the 35th player – and fifth active player – to do so with his game-high return of 30 points.

The two-time NBA MVP lamented the Warriors' slow start after the loss, saying: "It's a small sample size, but [we're] starting to set a pattern of getting off slow, and it's a problem we have to correct.

"But we're competitors. Holding them to 16 in the third shows we have it in us. We just have to do it and execute and come up with a better edge to start games."

Curry and his team are back in action on Sunday as the Minnesota Timberwolves visit Chase Center, and he is determined for them to respond and make their home advantage count. 

"Just because we are home doesn't mean you just show up and win," Curry said. 

"We usually respond well to this type of feeling when you lose, understanding what it takes to execute the details of our game plan against a certain team. 

"That'll be the challenge for tomorrow, especially for that starting unit, to get off to a good start."

Girona came from behind to win 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, continuing their unlikely charge at the top of LaLiga.

Alvaro Garcia gave hosts Rayo a fifth-minute advantage that threatened to halt Girona's fine recent momentum.

But left-footed goals from Artem Dovbyk and Savio either side of half-time gave Michel's men a fifth straight victory.

After finishing 10th last season, Girona have now won 12, drawn one and lost just one of their first 14 matches in a fantastic start to the 2023-24 campaign, their only defeat coming against Real Madrid in September.

They have moved five points clear of second-placed Madrid – who have a game in hand against Valencia later on Saturday – and sit 10 points clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao in the race for Champions League qualification.

There could easily have been more goals in the contest at Estadio de Vallecas, as free-flowing Girona racked up a stunning expected goals total of 4.64, while Rayo generated 1.69 as the two teams combined for 41 shots during an end-to-end battle.

Girona's latest comeback means they have now won 16 points from losing positions in LaLiga this season, more than any other team. Their next game is at home to Athletic after the international break.

Fast fact: Girona posting elite numbers

With 11 league wins in LaLiga, Girona are the team with the most victories this season across Europe's big five leagues.

They have scored 31 goals in top-flight play, which is second only to Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich, who had 38 going into their own match with Heidenheim this weekend.

Ange Postecoglou has done a phenomenal job since taking over at Tottenham and was a natural choice to oversee the club's rebuild due to his charismatic personality.

That is the view of former England striker Emile Heskey, who came up against Postecoglou in the A-League during a two-year spell in Australia with Newcastle Jets between 2012 and 2014.

Postecoglou has had a remarkable impact on Spurs since taking charge, making the best start by any manager in Premier League history by overseeing a return of 26 points from his first 10 games in the competition.

Tottenham trail champions Manchester City by just a single point at the summit ahead of Saturday's trip to Wolves, having suffered their first league defeat under Postecoglou last time out.

Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were both sent off as Spurs fell to a 4-1 defeat to Chelsea on Monday, though Postecoglou still earned praise for implementing a daring high line with nine men.

Heskey thinks Postecoglou's openness and willingness to take inspiration from different cultures has helped him succeed, telling Stats Perform: "Ange has been fantastic. 

"I obviously played in Australia for two years, and I saw some of the stuff that the Aussie coaches can do, [it's] very, very technical. 

"A lot of them work off the Dutch philosophy, but with a bit of Aussie grit, they love that. But then he obviously went over to Japan in different places, so he probably learnt the discipline from them.

"Working with that and getting some of that stuff, bringing it over to Europe… what he did at Celtic was phenomenal. 

"Now taking that step into Spurs – and Spurs is a big club – we've got to give it to them. 

"The training ground, the stadium, they're building a squad, they're in London. They should be where they are right now. 

"He's probably the right manager to actually build that, the right manager to take a lot of the pressure away because he's approachable, he's charismatic, he's got everything. 

"He takes a lot of the pressure away from the place that so they can actually perform as well."

Tottenham's flying start to the season has come despite the loss of their all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane, who is in exceptional form for his new club Bayern Munich, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists in just 15 appearances for the Bundesliga champions.

Though Heskey accepts Kane's departure may have altered expectations at Spurs, he does not believe it can be seen as a positive for the club.

"I don't know if it [losing Kane] was a bonus," Heskey said. "You can't say getting rid of Harry Kane was a bonus because of what he's doing and what he's done. 

"But I think it's a different focal point now, isn't it? I think it's more of a team focal point. Not just one player. 

"You've got Son [Heung-min], he has to step up to the plate, you've got [James] Maddison, who will always step up to the plate, that's just his temperament. 

"You've got all these players that are now having to pull their weight because they're not just relying on one person."

Postecoglou is looking to avoid back-to-back defeats when Spurs visit Wolves on Saturday, having not lost consecutive league matches since he was in charge of Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan, losing three in a row between November 2020 and February 2021.

Manchester United have lost the air of "invincibility" which characterised Alex Ferguson's trophy-laden reign at Old Trafford.

That is the view of former England striker Emile Heskey, who sees Erik ten Hag's Red Devils as a group of expensively assembled individuals, rather than a coherent team. 

United have made an underwhelming start to their second season under Ten Hag, sitting eighth in the Premier League table after 11 matches despite Saturday's last-gasp 1-0 win at Fulham.

In Europe, the Red Devils began their Champions League group-stage campaign with back-to-back defeats to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray before needing Andre Onana to save a stoppage-time penalty in a hard-fought 1-0 win over Copenhagen.

With Ten Hag attracting criticism from supporters and pundits, Heskey believes his tenure shares many similarities with those of his predecessors Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho.

Asked why Ten Hag has failed to revive United's fortunes, Heskey told Stats Perform: "It's the million-dollar question, isn't it? You look at Ole… he never got [United into form], Jose never got that either. 

"There's a consistency with… I wouldn't say this bunch of players, but with the club bringing players in that they're not able to string together and gel. 

"I don't see them as a team, I don't see them as a team that's going to fight for each other. Look at Spurs, a team that's going to really dig down and fight for each other. 

"It happens with eras, you go through that. They've lost that invincibility. 

"[United] won the game before the actual game started in my era. Teams that would go there and you're already set up to lose. 

"[Now] teams are actually going to Old Trafford and saying, 'Well, we're going to win this, this is how we're going to set up'. They've lost that invincibility."

Forward Marcus Rashford is among the United players attracting scrutiny after failing to reach the heights he hit last term, when he scored 30 goals across all competitions. 

Rashford was criticised by Ten Hag for going out to celebrate his birthday just hours after 3-0 defeat to rivals Manchester City recently. Having missed Saturday's win at Fulham through injury, he then hit out at what he described as "malicious rumours" regarding his future on social media.

Rashford signed a new five-year contract with United in July, but Heskey does not believe that has impacted his form, saying: "I don't think it's anything to do with the contract. 

"As fans, we're looking for something. The reality is there's a lot of onus on him being a local lad, there's a lot of pressure on him. 

"He needs to figure out how to deal with that pressure again, like he did last season, because there was a lot of pressure on him but he managed to still get the goals. 

"The fascinating thing is he's probably giving the same sort of performance as last season, but he was finishing his chances. 

"Now, when you're not finishing your chances, everyone's looking at the money, everyone's looking at your lifestyle. Everyone's looking at what you do here, what you don't do there.

"You just want to concentrate on football. But if you just concentrate on football and it eats away at you and you have a mental breakdown, then you're saying, 'why didn't you go and do something else outside of football?'

"I think for Marcus, he just needs to figure out, 'what's good for me?'"

Rashford has only scored once in 14 appearances for United across all competitions this season, despite attempting 38 shots totalling 3.82 expected goals (xG) in those matches.

Emile Heskey cannot choose between Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski, as he claimed there are "parallels" between the duo.

Kane scored a hat-trick – his third for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga – in a 4-0 rout of Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday.

The England captain has now scored 15 league goals for Bayern, setting a new record for goals from a player in the first 10 games of their maiden Bundesliga season. He is only the fourth player to score at least three goals in three different games in his debut season in the Bundesliga.

Bayern had been in search of a focal point to lead their line since Robert Lewandowski's departure to Barcelona in 2022, with Sadio Mane having failed to fill the Poland forward's boots following his switch from Liverpool.

Asked if Kane has been the ideal replacement for Lewandowski, who holds the record for the number of Bundesliga goals from a foreign player (312), former England striker Heskey told Stats Perform: "They're similar sort of players. When you're when you're talking about goals, I think it's a parallel.

"You can't really say there's an upgrade or downgrade or whatever it is. They're parallel, they're giving you goals.

"They might give you a different style of play, though, because I think Lewandowski is more runs in behind, he's really, really special with his movement off the ball when trying to get in and trying to get a one on one.

"Whereas Harry is more of a player who will come in, link, turn, have his shot, score goals from halfway line."

Kane has also scored twice in three Champions League games. He is just two goals from surpassing Paul Scholes as the third-highest English goalscorer in the competition. 

Heskey is unsure if Kane will prove the "missing piece" for Bayern's Champions League hopes, though the 30-year-old will do their chances no harm.

He said: "He'll perform but yeah, definitely, when it comes to goals, he'll definitely perform in that sense. Whether he's the missing piece and will take you to the final and eventually win it, only God will know.

"But he will definitely get you goals in any form of competition that he plays in. I remember Owen Hargreaves talking about when he first went to [Manchester] City, and they were talking about them winning the Champions League, and he said they were miles off it.

"He was saying, well, defensively, you can't be so open.

"Now I think if Bayern can be like what they're usually like, when it's quite close, quite compact, it's hard to beat with a Kane up front. You're going to get goals, you're going to get results."

Novak Djokovic could still win three majors next year but Gilles Simon reminded tennis fans the world number one is not "eternal" as he heads towards the end of his career.

Djokovic triumphed in three of the four majors in 2023, with September's US Open success taking him level with Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam triumphs.

Defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final, Djokovic – aged 36 years and 111 days – became the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open, as well as winning a trio of majors in a year for the fourth time.

That saw him surpass Roger Federer – who won three grand slams in a year on three occasions.

Simon, though, warned that Djokovic cannot play on forever.

He told Stats Perform: "I think he can win some [majors, but] I think he's getting to an age where it is going to become difficult.

"Most of the observers want to believe that a player is eternal but none are more eternal than the others.

"I think he can win a lot next year; will he win one, two or three? Next year he can do one more big year, but I also think that it will be his last."

The 36-year-old Djokovic acknowledged the retirement speculation after his US Open victory, asking how long he can continue.

Simon likened the twilight of Djokovic's career to fellow great Federer, whose playing days were curtailed by injury and fitness issues.

"At one point like every player there's going to be a break, that was the case for Roger Federer, remember when he won in Australia at the age of 37 playing incredible tennis," Simon added.

"At Wimbledon, he could have won because he lost against Novak Djokovic on match point. Time never had a grip on him, he had never been injured, he played really well, and then all of a sudden he disappears."

Another of tennis' 'Big Three', Rafael Nadal has not played since January 18 at the Australian Open – again owing to injury problems as years of toiling on the court takes its toll on even the best.

"We have Rafael Nadal who we hope to see again next year, who got us accustomed to more traditional injuries, longer injuries and with doubts," Simon continued.

"Once again he wins the Australian Open, he wins at Roland Garros even with his history with his foot, he again has a semi-final at Wimbledon.

"We say no about Novak because he is more careful, but we said the same about Federer, he expends less energy, he has a more fluid game and technique, he preserved himself from injury.

"I think next year will be very interesting because it’s a year where he can again win, where he still has an advantage [ahead of the rest] but we saw him lose against [Carlos] Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

"I thought he would have more advantage on grass because of the experience he has compared to others and his game works so well on grass – but he is beatable."

Age has shown no sign of slowing Djokovic down yet after he lifted the Paris Masters trophy for a seventh time on Sunday, defeating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.

That victory marked his second hard-court ATP-1000 title of 2023, Djokovic managing multiple Masters titles in a single season for the ninth time in his career. Only Federer, having won multiple such events in a year six times in his time, can get near to that feat.

Yet Simon suggested 30 major triumphs may be out of Djokovic's reach due to the emergence of Alcaraz, who won at Wimbledon this year, and a gruelling schedule.

"He's so strong he knows how to prepare himself, but he can't do a series of tournaments," said the Frenchman, who won 14 career titles and reached a high of number six in the ATP rankings.

"If everything was going well he would be playing every week like when he was 25 years old, so that is what is missing.

"He looks after himself, ultra-professional and very strong. The US Open was important for him, I see him maybe doing one or two next year, but I am waiting to see for the next few years after that.

"I can't see him reaching 30 [majors] for example when Carlos Alcaraz could win two or three a year – I wish it for him but I don't see it like that."

The Rolex Paris Masters became the first Masters 1000 to broadcast its qualifying matches on Twitch, live on Rivenzi's channel.

Jan Vertonghen believes his former Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane could be the "missing link" that helps Bayern Munich back to Champions League glory.

Kane has enjoyed a superb start to his career with the Bavarian giants, scoring his third hat-trick of the season in Saturday's 4-0 Klassiker win over Borussia Dortmund, taking his Bundesliga tally to 15 after 10 matches. No player has ever scored more than 13 in their first 10 games in the competition.

He is already just one goal behind the number the 2022-23 top scorers managed (Christopher Nkunku and Niclas Fullkrug – 16), while he is halfway to the record for the most goals scored in a debut Bundesliga season, currently held by Uwe Seeler (30) in the 1963-1964 campaign.

His record-breaking form is giving Bayern fans hope that he can lead them to a seventh Champions League title and their first since the 2019-20 campaign, and Vertonghen, who reached the final of that competition alongside Kane with Spurs in the 2018-19 season, believes the England international can be the man to return Bayern to European success.

Asked if Kane could be the final puzzle piece to a Bayern Champions League win, Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform: "For sure.

"There's not a lot of great number nines at the moment – that's why Barcelona paid the money for [Robert] Lewandowski, that's why Bayern Munich paid the money for Harry.

"The young number nines are very rare – you have [Erling] Haaland, Gabriel Jesus. A lot of teams are looking for them.

"Harry was there, he's fit, he's got a lot of good years ahead of him and for sure he could be the missing link there."

Kane's Spurs exit in August saw him end a 19-year association with the club, leaving as the club's record goalscorer, having found the net 280 times in 435 appearances in all competitions.

Despite Kane's departure, Spurs have started the season very well under new head coach Ange Postecoglou and will return to the Premier League summit if they can beat Chelsea at home on Monday.

Vertonghen feels Kane would not have taken the decision to leave Spurs lightly, saying: "On his side it wasn't a no brainer, because Tottenham is in his heart – he's a legend there, everyone loves him, born and raised in London. It wasn't easy for him to leave, Tottenham really wanted to keep him as well.

"But I understand why he did it. He plays now for one of the biggest clubs in Europe, he probably thought he had more chance of adding some silverware.

"It's a shame for Tottenham, it's a shame for Harry – especially now you see the way they're performing now, but nobody would have predicted that.

"Everyone at Spurs wants him to do well; he's a legend, a great guy and he never put a foot wrong for Tottenham. He never complained, even in the bad times, he was always there as a leader, so everyone just wants him to do well."

Jarrod Bowen became the first player to net in his team's first six Premier League away games of the season with his goal against Brentford on Saturday.

With 26 minutes on the clock at the Gtech Community Stadium, Bowen poked home the rebound after Mohammed Kudus' shot hit the post to make it 2-1 to the Hammers, creating history in the process as he also became the first West Ham player to score in six in a row on the road in the competition.

The goal took him to seven on the season and separated him from the illustrious company of Thierry Henry and Mohamed Salah, who prior to this season were the only two players to net in their team's first five away games of the Premier League season.

Bowen has been a key player for West Ham since arriving from Hull City in January 2020 for an initial fee of £18 million, and his seven Premier League goals this campaign mean he has already beaten last term's disappointing tally of six after just 11 games.

Tottenham can go all the way in the Premier League title race after making a brilliant start to life under Ange Postecoglou, says former Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen.

Postecoglou has made the best-ever start by a Premier League manager across their first 10 games in charge, leading Spurs to eight wins and two draws while implementing a vibrant brand of possession-based football.

The former Celtic boss could become just the third manager to go unbeaten through his first 11 games in the competition when Spurs host London rivals Chelsea on Monday. 

Frank Clark (with Nottingham Forest in 1994) and Maurizio Sarri (with Chelsea in 2018) are the only men to previously achieve that feat, with the latter avoiding defeat in his first 12 matches.

With new arrivals including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Guglielmo Vicario requiring no bedding-in period, Tottenham have made their best start to a top-flight season since 1960-61.

On that occasion, they won their first 10 games in the old First Division before capturing what remains their most recent league title.  

With a lack of European football giving Postecoglou more time to work with his players, Vertonghen believes Tottenham can dream of replicating that success.

"He's doing an unbelievable job," Vertonghen, an Athlete Partner for APEX, told Stats Perform when asked about Postecoglou's impact.

"Lots of things have happened since I left Tottenham, but this year they made all the right decisions. 

"They signed the right players, the right coach with the right mentality that the club has missed for a while. 

"He's doing an unbelievable job. I'm really enjoying watching them and I don't see why they can't go for the highest things possible. 

"All the other clubs are playing in Europe or struggling with injuries, and besides that, Spurs have a great team and that's very important as well. 

"They have the crowd behind them. I can see them going all the way."

Spurs face a familiar face next time out as Vertonghen's former boss Mauricio Pochettino returns to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Chelsea on Monday.

Vertonghen's old club have won all four of their home league games under Postecoglou, with Manchester United and Liverpool among the teams to leave north London empty-handed in 2023-24.

Another victory would make Postecoglou the first coach to win his first five home games in the Premier League since May 2017, when Craig Shakespeare achieved the feat with Leicester City.

Pakistan are targeting a late push for the Cricket World Cup semi-finals after a convincing seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.

Faced with a target of 205 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Pakistan made light work of knocking it off, thanks in large part to opener Fakhar Zaman's 74-ball 81, which included seven sixes.

That victory moved Pakistan onto six points, with two pool matches - against third-placed New Zealand and lowly England - remaining.

Should they win both, then Babar Azam's side stand a strong chance of qualifying, though they will also rely on both the Black Caps and Australia, who both have a match in hand, slipping up.

"Credit to the boys, the way they played in all three departments," said captain Babar at the post-match presentation.

"We know how well Fakhar plays when he's going and it was good to see him do it.

"We are trying to win our remaining matches and see where we stand. This win hopefully gives confidence in the coming matches."

Bangladesh, meanwhile, have been eliminated, with their captain Shakib Al Hasan saying: "Not enough runs.

"We lost an early wicket, then we had partnerships but not big ones that would allow us to go big in the last ten overs."

Shakib put on 43 to complement a 45 from Litton Das and Mahmudullah's 56, but Bangladesh were bowled out for 204 after only 45.1 overs.

Fakhar's superb knock and Abdullah Shafique's 68 swiftly paved the way for Mohammad Rizwan (26 not out) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17no) to seal victory for Pakistan in the 33rd over.

It was just the fourth time Pakistan had defeated a team with at least 100 balls remaining in an ODI, having last done so against West Indies in 2011. The big win boosted their net run rate, which may still prove decisive in the battle to reach the semis.

"I practiced a lot after the Asia Cup," said Fakhar, who after hitting three successive ODI centuries earlier this year, had failed to score above 33 in his 11 innings since the start of May and lost his place in the side.

"Thankfully, I was feeling very good in the camp. I was looking forward to scoring for my team, but it's cricket, Today I got a chance. I had worked hard for this and it paid off.

"It doesn’t matter how the wicket will play, I know I can hit sixes, so I was just looking to play out the first four overs.

"My role is always to make it easy for my partner. I know my role, it was to see off the first four overs and then go for the ball. We were just looking to finish the game before the 30 overs.

"After too many failures I was always looking just to score the first 30 runs and I was struggling to get that. I’m very happy – hopefully I'll make it big in the next games."

Shaheen Afridi, meanwhile, joined Australia spinner Adam Zampa at the top of the wicket-taking charts for the tournament with figures of 3-23.

Zach LaVine knows the Chicago Bulls must swiftly discover a winning formula after Saturday's loss to the Detroit Pistons.

LaVine had a career-high 51 points but it was not enough for the Bulls to avoid a second defeat of the campaign.

Chicago lost 118-102 in Detroit, as they failed to build on their 104-103 defeat of the Toronto Raptors.

The Bulls have made the playoffs just once since the start of the 2017-18 season, and LaVine knows Chicago must expect better.

"It's our third year here together, and we know how this business is," said LaVine, who became the first Bulls player with 50 points and no assists since the legendary Michael Jordan against the Miami Heat in November 1996.

"We all love each other. DeMar [DeRozan] is one of my best friends, and we talk all the time, but we have to figure out how to make this work.

"I wasn't happy with the way I was performing and the way the offense was looking. It's upsetting you have a performance like that and lose. It sucks.

"We don't want this to snowball where we have our backs against the wall. We are working every day. We have to figure it out."

LaVine was a late pick for Saturday's game, having overcome back issues to play.

"You know me, I'm going to play," he added.

Andre Drummond believes reaching 10,000 career rebounds would cement his place as the best rebounder in NBA history, with the Chicago Bulls center closing in on the milestone.

Drummond has 9,968 total rebounds to his name following the Bulls' 124-104 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder in their 2023-24 season opener on Thursday.

Having led the NBA in rebounds four times in 11 seasons, Drummond looks certain to reach five figures in the coming weeks, with just 32 more required. 

A struggle for regular minutes has limited Drummond's chances of climbing the NBA's all-time rebounding charts, topped by legendary duo Wilt Chamberlain (23,924) and Bill Russell (21,620).

However, Drummond has previously claimed to be the best rebounder in league history, a belief he reiterated when asked about the importance of hitting the milestone. 

"It puts a lot in perspective for myself and just for the public," Drummond told Stats Perform. "I always tell everybody I feel like I'm the best ever to do it.

"Despite me having – or being about to have – 10,000 rebounds, I think my body of work and my percentages and numbers help prove that.

"Honestly, it just shows the amount of work I put in. Every year I set a goal to be the best rebounder, each and every season.

"To have the honour of reaching 10,000… not too many people have the chance to do that. So I am with a group of high-calibre guys."

Drummond led the league for rebounds in 2015-16 and in three successive seasons between 2017-18 and 2019-20. His 2017-18 average of 16 per game remains his best across a single regular season.

The 30-year-old – who finished Chicago's first game of the new season with five rebounds – has the highest total rebound percentage in NBA history (24.85%).

While Drummond believes his statistics put him right up there with the very best, he also feels honoured to simply be mentioned alongside the likes of Chamberlain and Russell.

"To be associated with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, it's a no-brainer not to feel good about yourself," he added.

"Those are the guys who paved the way for guys like myself; strong, brute-force players that do all the dirty work for teams. To be in the same breath as those guys is truly an honour."