Cricket

New Delhi: India and Japan will face off this month in their first-ever Twenty20 men's international cricket match against each other, India's cricket board announced Friday. The match will be held at Japan's Sano International Cricket Ground on September 22, celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations between the two Asian nations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement. BCCI Honorary Secretary Devajit Saikia called it "a significant moment for cricket", taking reigning world champions India to "new territory" and introducing the sport to a wider audience in Japan and East Asia. Japan Cricket Association chief executive Naoki Miyaji said he hopes that the match will encourage Japanese curious about cricket to come and cheer. Taking note of India's ambition to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, the BCCI said the initiative aims to promote human exchanges and cooperation between India and Japan in the field of sports.

Formula One

Monza, Italy: Charles Leclerc topped the times ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton as Ferrari registered a clear 1-2 to dominate Friday's opening practice on home soil at the Italian Grand Prix. Leclerc, sporting a special livery to celebrate Michael Schumacher's first Monza win 30 years ago, clocked a fastest lap of one minute and 23.008 seconds to outpace the seven-time champion by 0.173sec with Mercedes' George Russell adrift by three-tenths of a second in third. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was fifth for Mercedes ahead of McLaren's world champion Lando Norris, but the Briton's team-mate Oscar Piastri came in 11th in the second McLaren. Ferrari's performance, using upgraded engines, delighted their fans at the historic high-speed circuit with Hamilton hoping to take advantage of Antonelli's engine penalties that will see him start from the back of the grid. Hamilton and Russell trail the 20-year-old Italian by 59 points in the title race and can trim his lead substantially if he is unable to gain a high points-scoring finish. Four rookies were in action -- Ayuma Iwasa deputising for Max Verstappen at Red Bull, Luke Browning for Alex Albon at Williams, Paul Aron for Pierre Gasly at Alpine and Colton Herta for Sergio Perez at Cadillac. As the drivers settled in, the result of the International Court of Appeal relating to the Monaco Grand Prix was announced with McLaren and Red Bull succeeding in overturning the outcome. This meant that Gasly, who had finished third after an appeal by Alpine, had his post-race penalties reinstated and was replaced in third position by Hadjar and a reshuffled result saw him drop to his original seventh place.

Qatar Sport

DOHA: Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan advanced to the Round of 16 of the Asian Beach Volleyball Championship 2026 in Shangluo, China, after topping Group B with a perfect three-win record. The Qatari duo sealed their third victory by defeating Thailand’s Netitorn and T. Poravid 21-18, 21-11 in straight sets. Younousse and Tijan opened their campaign with a straight-sets win over Malaysia’s Teh and Yong Jian before overcoming New Zealand’s Sam and Ben Odia in a three-set encounter, 21-14, 19-21, 21-15. The Group B winners now advance to the Round of 16 as they continue their bid for the title and qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Meanwhile, Qatar’s Moussa Al-Khair and Mohamed Ehab Zaki ended their group-stage campaign with their first victory, beating Hong Kong’s pair 21-12, 21-12 in straight sets. Al-Khair and Zaki had opened the tournament with a 0-2 defeat to China’s Wang and Du Hongjun before losing 2-0 to Thailand’s Pitak and Watchrawit, 21-19, 21-18. The championships feature 24 pairs divided into six groups of four, with teams playing a single round-robin format.