Naseem Shah was denied a first Test wicket by the calling of a no ball after the fact, but he had consolation in a generous assessment by David Warner, who made the most of the second chance to bat through day two of the Gabba Test for Australia.

"He's quite skiddy, got a nice fluent action, but he won't get a harder Test debut than out there and bowl at the Gabba," Warner said of 16-year-old Naseem. "To keep coming back in, having to back up the overs, that heat. You ask any Test fast bowler who's played here and had to keep coming back, it's very challenging out there, and our job as batsmen is to try and keep them coming back. I think he kept his speed up quite a lot throughout the whole day. The back end he cramped up a little bit, but that's obviously going to happen.

"He charged in, and there's a superstar there. Like when Mohammad Amir came on the scene, the first time, he was rapid and had us all in a pickle. He was a world class bowler, and if you add him to the Test lineup as well, their depth is ridiculous, and having these other young guys like Musa and Hasnain as well, who I faced in the T20s. If Waqar Younis can get a hold of them and get their lines and lengths and their engines going, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future."

Those words of encouragement were as good as it got for Pakistan on an otherwise barren day, as Warner, Joe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne were so supreme as to prevent the Ashes dominating Steven Smith from even getting a bat. Yasir Shah, who continued his own personal battle to try to find the right way to bowl in Australia, was blunt in assessing how the pace bowlers had used the new ball in the absence of Mohammad Abbas.

"The wicket played very differently to the way it did on day one. The kind of moisture we saw wasn't there," he said. "We bowled badly with the new-ball. We didn't use it well. That allowed them to get set and they played well.

"We'll have to see how tomorrow goes. There was a little bit of help later on. I didn't get too many breakthroughs but there was quite a bit of bounce on offer. Our bowlers have used the second new-ball well. So I hope that we come back tomorrow and bowl well."

Yasir, who may have been close to losing his place for the match, explained how he had tried to experiment with pace and line to find a way past Warner. "I changed and mixed my pace around quite a bit today," he said. "I bowled slow and also at times a bit fast. You have to do that on these pitches. Your ball can skid with the faster one and bring you a wicket. I tried my best to bowl at one spot, which I've done in the past and they played me well.

"Today I did the same, but also with some variations and they played me well again. There wasn't much support from the wicket. It's just the second day of the Test. You just need to find the right spot from where you can get the ball to jump and get you wickets at short-leg and at close-in positions. And if the ball breaks even a bit off the pitch, there's a chance of getting an edge to slip.

"That's what I tried but without much success since there wasn't much turn off the wicket. But I'll try to do the same tomorrow morning and hopefully it'll work out."

Breaches of anti-doping rules include failure to co-operate with an investigation and obstructing an investigation

The Russian Athletics Federation (RusAF) has been charged with serious breaches of the anti-doping rules, including a failure to co-operate with an investigation and obstructing an investigation, the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has said.

According to an AIU press release published on Thursday, the charges relate to the conduct of senior RusAF officials during an investigation into ‘whereabouts’ violations committed by Russian high jumper Danil Lysenko.

In June AW reported how Russian athletics officials had been accused of overseeing the forgery of documents in an attempt to cover up a breach of anti-doping rules by Lysenko.

The world indoor champion, who also claimed silver at the outdoor world championships in London in 2017, was provisionally suspended last year following a whereabouts rule violation.

According to an investigation report by The Sunday Times published at that time (June 1): “It is claimed that false paperwork was created to give Lysenko a medical excuse for failing to disclose his location.”

The AIU release states in part: “A number of senior federation officials, including the RusAF President, Dmitry Shlyakhtin, and Executive Director, Alexander Parkin, the Athlete and his coach, have also been charged with Tampering and/or Complicity under the Anti-Doping Rules and been provisionally suspended.

“This follows a 15-month AIU investigation (in co-operation with RUSADA) which concluded that RusAF officials had been involved in the provision of false explanations and forged documents to the AIU in order to explain whereabouts failures by the Athlete.”

The AIU added that RusAF has until December 12 to respond to the notice of charges.

More on individual charges for anti-doping rule violations and investigation details can be read in the AIU press release here.

“Each of these individuals has the right to respond to the charges against them, including to request that the charges and/or any consequences be determined by the World Athletics Disciplinary Tribunal,” said the AIU.

The Russian athletics federation has been suspended as an IAAF member since November 2015.

The 2020 edition of the Karnataka Premier League (KPL), including its player auctions, will not be held until the police completes its investigation of alleged match- and spot-fixing.

"We will definitely not conduct the KPL tournament matches till the investigation is completed and the final report from the police comes out," Vinay Mruthyunjaya, the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) treasurer, told IANS.

"The entire activity regarding the KPL will only start after the investigation is completed," Mruthyunjaya said. "The next edition of the tournament is around nine months away and hopefully, the investigation should be completed by then."

ALSO READ: KPL - Karnataka cricket's problem child?

Karnataka Police's Central Crime Branch (CCB) has, meanwhile, set up a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case, in which former Karnataka Ranji players CM Gautam and Abrar Kazi were arrested on November 7. The police are also looking at the possibility of the players being honeytrapped into breaking the law.

"Today there are many non-playing cricketers involved [other] than those playing on the field, and it has become a business for them as they travel to Dubai, West Indies and other foreign countries and stay at five-star hotels," Bhaskar Rao, the Bengaluru Police commissioner, said. "They have also indulged in blackmailing of players through honeytraps. The game has become insignificant and the activities of these betters have only increased."

The Bengaluru Police has also served a notice to the KSCA, seeking extensive information on the various aspects of day-to-day running of the league and the background of players participating in it.

ALSO READ: CM Gautam, Abrar Kazi arrested on spot-fixing charges

"The police asked for a lot of information pertaining to KPL tournament, teams, scorecards, video footage of all the matches, details of all the players, phone numbers," Mruthyunjaya said. "We will check up, we did not have any formidable information in this regard. Let me discuss with our officers also."

According to Mruthyunjaya, the KSCA is not privy to the recruitment procedure of cheerleaders, who are suspected to be involved in honey-trapping some of the players.

"We would not know; [the] police would be knowing. KSCA never employs cheer girls, the teams employ them," Mruthyunjaya said.

The 2019 edition of the KPL, the first state-run adaptation of the IPL format that began in 2009, was held from August 16-31. The tournament is hosted in the second half of the year, and typically lasts just over two weeks, but has been pushed to three weeks on occasion.

All the updates, chatter, stats and more from the historic India-Bangladesh day-night Test in Kolkata. You can also read our ball-by-ball commentary here. And refresh the page if it doesn't load automatically for you

Australia 1 for 312 (Warner 151*, Labuschagne 55*) lead Pakistan 240 by 72 runs

David Warner managed to eclipse his meager Ashes tally in less than two sessions of batting on the way to a cathartic 22nd Test hundred, putting on an opening stand of 222 with the recalled Joe Burns, as Australia enjoyed a dominant day at the Gabba to move into a position from where it's difficult to see how Pakistan can come back.

Warner and Burns, who fell three runs short of his fifth Test century, were not separated until the final session although debutant Naseem Shah was denied his maiden international wicket shortly after lunch when he overstepped having had Warner caught behind on 56.

He made the most of his reprieve, reaching his first Test hundred since the 2017 Melbourne Test against England off 180 balls. After a sedate single, he brought out the trademark leap and there was clear emotion as he was congratulated by Burns. It was his fourth hundred at the Gabba - where he also scored a Sheffield Shield century earlier this season - and took his average at the venue over 70.

Warner closed unbeaten on 151 albeit with another stroke of fortune when the ball grazed off stump but the bail did not dislodge as he shouldered arms at Imran Khan in the penultimate over. Alongside was Marnus Labuschagne who eased to 55 in a stand of 90 with the lead already at 72 and the prospect of them batting long enough to take the final innings largely out of equation. For the members of the Pakistan attack who were on the previous tour - Khan and Yasir Shah - it would have been a familiar feeling.

From the start, Australia set a positive tempo although Burns wasn't far from falling to his first delivery when he under-edged Khan but the ball did not carry to Mohammad Rizwan. There was a hint of nervousness from the opening pair for a few moments, but Burns' first boundary was a strong square cut and in the sixth over Warner leaned into a thumping cover drive.

Naseem was handed the ball in the seventh over, immediately pushing the speedgun into the high 140s, and in his fourth over registered the fastest ball of the match. There was plenty to get excited about with the smooth action and impressive pace although already a no-ball would come back to haunt him. He returned for a second burst before lunch and struck Burns a painful blow on the elbow with the penultimate ball of the session.

One of the curious tactics from Azhar Ali was the use of Iftikhar Ahmed's part-time offspin ahead of Yasir and the warning signs were flashing for Pakistan as Australia went to lunch on 0 for 100.

However, two overs after the break they should have had a huge lift. Warner drove a full delivery from Naseem, got an under edge and the celebrations started as Rizwan took the catch. A moment to savour for the 16-year-old. Then the third umpire was called in to check the no-ball and the image was painful: Naseem's foot comfortably over the line, no room for any doubt as with Pat Cummins on the opening day.

There were consoling pats on the back from team-mates and the incident, while ultimately the bowlers' fault, brought into the spotlight again the lack of on-field calls for overstepping. At tea, Channel 7 showed there had been 21 missed no-balls in the first two sessions.

Pakistan created precious few other chances during the afternoon as Burns joined Warner with a half-century in a rekindling of a productive opening partnership. Both players used their feet nicely to the spinners and the closest they came to being separated was Warner surviving a run out by a frame when Yasir hit direct completing a second on 93.

Warner had to take tea on 99 having tried to turn a single into a two on the last ball of the session and Pakistan strung together nine dots before the run to bring up three figures.

The opening stand reached 200 - this had been the previous opening pair to reach that mark for Australia, against New Zealand, also at the Gabba, in 2015 - and attention turned to Burns as he approached three figures, his absence from the Ashes looking even stranger.

He was within touching distance of centuries in back-to-back Test appearances, following his 180 against Sri Lanka in Canberra, when he missed a sweep at Yasir and was bowled round his legs. He could barely drag himself from the crease, but there would need to be an extraordinary turn of events for him not to have the whole summer to try, finally, to cement that opening role.

It has been a while since Australia's No. 3 has come in with a ball 60 overs old against a tired attack and though Naseem was brought back to Labuschagne there was not quite the life of earlier. At the end of his first day with the ball, Naseem was elevated to take the second new ball but there was no late success to lift him or Pakistan. There will need to be plenty in the morning, although this already feels like a game that has gone. Steven Smith is still to come.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Tom Blundell is on standby to come into the New Zealand team after Henry Nicholls sustained a heavy blow to the head while batting against England.

Nicholls had looked as untroubled as anyone in batting his team towards the close on day two in Mount Maunganui when Jofra Archer struck him with a sharp bouncer measured at 86 mph in the penultimate over of the day.

While Nicholls came through the initial, on-field concussion test and was able to continue batting, he will need to undergo further tests both overnight and before play on Saturday before he is cleared to resume his innings. If he is not, Blundell will take his place.

Delayed signs of concussion are not unusual. Hashim Amla returned to bat in South Africa's opening World Cup game against England at The Oval, having left the pitch for a while after being struck on the helmet by Archer, but was then ruled out of the next game against Bangladesh.

Hamish Rutherford was hit - again by Archer - early in his innings during the warm-up match between New Zealand A and England last week but, despite going on to make a half-century, was then forced out of the rest of the game due to concussion.

Steven Smith was famously struck on the head by an Archer bouncer during the second Ashes Test at Lord's in August but resumed his innings after a short time off the field, having passed initial concussion testing. He was ruled out of the remainder of the match the following day after his condition deteriorated overnight and missed the third Test at Headingley.

Smith's injury led Marnus Labuschagne to become the first concussion substitute in Test history under new ICC rules introduced on August 1 allowing teams to bring in a so-called "like-for-like" replacement for a concussed player during a match. Since then, Jermaine Blackwood has come into the West Indies' team as a concussion replacement for Darren Bravo, who was struck on the helmet by a Jasprit Bumrah bouncer, and South Africa's Dean Elgar was replaced by Theunis de Bruyn during last month's third Test against India after being hit on the helmet by a ball from quick Umesh Yadav.

Blundell has played only two Tests but made a century on debut against West Indies and scored 60 for New Zealand A against England a few days ago.

Nicholls was struck towards the back of the head as he ducked to avoid Archer's bouncer. There was no glancing element to the blow, with the ball bouncing in front of square into the leg side. He changed his helmet and fended off another couple of short balls pretty well in the remainder of the over.

HOUSTON -- Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton couldn't call NRG Stadium his second home after the way he played Thursday night against the Texans.

Instead, Hilton said the Colts' 20-17 loss was "100 percent" on him after he struggled in his return following a three-game absence because of a calf injury.

"I let the team down," said Hilton, who finished with three catches, none in the second half, for 18 yards in arguably his worst performance in eight career games in Houston. "Totally on me."

Hilton went into Thursday's contest averaging 133.3 receiving yards against the Texans in Houston. He joked in the past that NRG Stadium was a second home for him.

"When someone says this is their home, they're insulting me," said Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who had six catches for 94 yards and two scores. "T.Y. is a great player. That's my boy. But I take things like that personally. I didn't know that until you just said that, because I'm not really in the media. But he's played some amazing games here. [Thursday] wasn't their day."

That Hilton even played Thursday could be considered surprising. Since injuring his calf in practice on Oct. 30, he practiced just once, on Wednesday. Even then, the Colts only held a walk-through, because that's what they routinely do the day before games.

Colts coach Frank Reich said the plan was to play Hilton no more than 30 snaps because it was his first game since Oct. 27 against the Denver Broncos. Hilton, who admitted he was sore, ended up playing 25 snaps.

"I give him credit for wanting to be on the field," Reich said. "We knew even if we could get him on the field for 20, 30 plays, some of it was just as a decoy so hopefully [the Texans] would roll the coverage to him or do something like that and give us a chance to run it a little bit better. So that was part of the plan."

Hilton spent most of the game being a decoy, then failed to come through when the Colts needed him. He dropped a pass along Houston's sideline on third-and-4 late in the third quarter when the Colts were trying to hold on to a 17-13 lead. On the Colts' next possession, Hilton dropped another third-down pass deep along the sideline in the fourth quarter after the Texans had gone up 20-17.

"I have to make that," Hilton said. "That's what I get paid for. I have to make them. One hundred percent on me."

MILWAUKEE -- Triple-doubles are nothing new for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the one he posted Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers stood out.

Antetokounmpo had 24 points and 19 rebounds in the Bucks' 137-129 win, but his career-best 15 assists most caught the attention of coach Mike Budenholzer.

"I thought tonight was one of his best nights of just seeing the floor and really being a playmaker with 15 assists [and] in a lot of different ways he got the assists," Budenholzer said.

Antetokounmpo clinched his second triple-double of the season with 6 minutes, 43 seconds left in third off a layup by Bucks guard Donte DiVincenzo. He became the first Bucks player ever to have at least 20 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists in a game.

Milwaukee went 15-of-26 off Antetokounmpo's passes, creating 37 points off his assists -- the most in any game in his career, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

While Antetokounmpo can score and rebound with the best of them, with 15 straight double-doubles, his 6.6 assists per game would be a personal best if he could maintain it throughout the season. Decision-making, in addition to shooting, is something he has challenged himself to improve upon following his MVP campaign.

"That's what I tried to do, try to find my teammate," Antetokounmpo said. "My teammates were in the right spot. They were able to knock down shots."

Budenholzer has diversified the offense this season by using Antetokounmpo as a passer in different situations out of the point guard position, in the post and off pick-and-rolls. All of that was on display against the Bucks, which helped teammate Eric Bledsoe go off for a team-high 30 points.

DiVincenzo also added 16 points to extend his career-long streak of double-digit scoring to four games, while Wesley Matthews added 12 points.

"I think guys are starting to move better without the ball and cut and screen," Budenholzer said. "I think there's been a little bit of improvement there, and I think that's just going to make us hopefully harder to guard."

Antetokounmpo's 24-point, 19-rebound, 15-assist stat line has been matched only by Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird in league history. His teammates also feel he's capable of joining Robertson in another category if he wants.

"I think he could average a triple-double, honestly, especially if we make shots," said Bledsoe, adding that Bucks players have got to be ready because Antetokounmpo's passes "could come at you without even knowing sometimes."

Facing Carmelo Anthony in just his second game with the Trail Blazers brought back memories for Antetokounmpo, whose first career start in December 2013 came against Anthony and the New York Knicks.

"I remember that game like it was yesterday," Antetokounmpo said. "It was the first game that my family came and watched, so I was really excited. I was trash talking, I was getting into Melo."

Anthony ended Thursday's game with 18 points and seven rebounds, shooting 6-for-15 from the field.

"This is my seventh year now and the 17th year of Melo. ... Time flies," Antetokounmpo said. "I'm excited I could go against him. He's definitely an NBA player, definitely deserves to be on the team."

The Bucks (12-3) are on a six-game winning streak, but even with all the current success, Antetokounmpo said he sometimes is reminded of the earlier years when life was much different for him in Milwaukee. Either way, he can't complain.

Before speaking to the media scrum after his big night, Antetokounmpo jokingly told reporters, "I remember the good ol' days my rookie year when I could just walk out of here."

His latest career game was just another night at the office.

NEW YORK -- Center Nick Bjugstad has had core-muscle surgery and will miss at least eight weeks for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Coach Mike Sullivan addressed Bjugstad's status after a morning skate Thursday, prior to the Penguins' 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders.

Sullivan also said that defenseman Justin Schultz will be out "longer term" with a lower-body injury for the Penguins, who have now lost two straight and four of the past five.

Bjugstad was injured during a 2-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils last Friday. Acquired by Pittsburgh from the Florida Panthers last season, Bjugstad has one goal in 10 games.

Bjugstad joins captain Sidney Crosby as Pittsburgh centers who have undergone core-muscle surgery this season. Crosby had his surgery last Thursday and is expected to be out at least another five weeks.

As the injuries mount -- especially on defense with Schultz and Kris Letang (lower body) out of the lineup -- the Penguins have had to call on reinforcements from AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Zach Trotman, in fact, were recalled Thursday, and both made their season debuts, patrolling the blue line against the Islanders.

"I think we have capable guys, and that's how we look at it," Sullivan said after the loss. "Once again, it's just the adversity, it's the reality of the game, and we're just going to have to learn to deal with it and find ways to win."

The Penguins, at 11-7-4 with 26 points, are 10 behind the front-running Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division.

"We believe we've got capable people. We've got a deep organization; we feel as though we've got a deep roster," Sullivan said. "We've got capable guys that we can plug in, and it's a great opportunity for players to step up."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brisbane's inferior facilities may yet see it hosting Afghanistan under lights in the first Test match of next summer, before the better-equipped venues in Adelaide and Perth claim the first two of four matches against India who are expected to be open to a day-night fixture for the very first time.

Cricket Australia's negotiations with the BCCI for next season's Test fixtures will be aided by the fact that India will have finally played day-night matches by then, starting with a Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata on Friday.

However as the Indian board's administration makes numerous moves back towards more traditionally bullish postures - under the new presidency of Sourav Ganguly - there will be the question of how many concessions the BCCI will make to CA's tour schedule preferences, which will include at least one day-night Test.

The Test team will be eager for the advantage of hosting India at the Gabba, where they have been unbeaten against all comers since 1988, but this must be balanced with India's desires and also the fact that Adelaide Oval and Perth Stadium are a long way ahead of Brisbane in terms of amenities, likely crowds and capacity. Roberts admitted to the possibility of the Gabba hosting Afghanistan for the first Test of summer before the India matches are played elsewhere.

"If the Test summer proper did start that way, it's a possibility, but there's a lot to work through," Roberts told SEN Radio. "We don't have any preconceived ideas on that, we're in the middle of executing the season, making sure we can deliver a really good experience to fans at the ground and through our broadcasters, and then we'll get on to planning next season. We're really keen on making sure we can learn from each season before we approach the next one.

"From a playing perspective there's no doubt there's a very strong case for the Gabba to host the opening Test from a playing perspective, and that's consistent with the comments from Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan and others. There's a number of other perspectives though, we've seen governments around the country invest significantly in venues - a new stadium in Perth, the government's invested upwards of a billion dollars in that, and that adds another dimension.

"So you've got to consider the fan perspective, the players' perspective, government perspectives, and that's the beauty and complexity of sport, everyone has a piece of it, and it's never simple to balance things across all of those different groups."

The Gabba has long drawn complaints about both its issues of accessibility - being surrounded on two sides by two of Brisbane's major arterial roads - and also the lack of ambience within a concrete bowl suited far better to football than cricket.

An investment of some A$35 million has been pledged by the Queensland state government to improve these areas in concert with the construction of a cross-river rail service linking the Gabba to the Brisbane CBD, though this is not expected to be completed before 2024. In a five-Test Ashes series, the Gabba is guaranteed the first match, but India's preference for four matches makes things somewhat more complex for CA.

"That $35 million will go basically into better amenities for the fans and it all leads towards the cross-river rail opening in about 2024, so a very different experience for fans not only getting to the match but a better experience of the facilities," Roberts said. "So more contemporary spaces for fans to mingle rather than just coming along and sitting in a seat as you might've done 10 years ago."

Either way, the prospect of a day-night Test against India is growing by the day. "There's no question day-night Test cricket needs to play a stronger role in the Test landscape going forward," Roberts said. "We're having productive conversations with India about the prospect of us playing day-night tests against each other in the future. Let's hope this week's experience in Kolkata is a really powerful one for them and a good experience that gives them more confidence about more day-night Test cricket to keep going forward."