Rohit Sharma feels it's important for Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan to relax and enjoy being part of the Indian team rather than thinking too much and putting themselves under pressure ahead of the T20I series against England, which kicks off on March 12 in Ahmedabad.

For both Yadav and Kishan, it's their first call-up to the national side. In 2020, under Sharma, the two had played an important role in helping the Mumbai Indians lift their fifth IPL trophy. In 13 innings, Kishan smashed 516 runs at an average of 57.33 and a strike rate of 145.76, while Yadav had 480 runs in 15 innings with an average of 40.00 and a strike rate of 145.01.

Sharma was confident the duo will keep their form going when given an opportunity, but he also had a word of caution for them, saying things won't be that easy at the international level.

"I don't want them to be thinking about anything," Sharma, India's white-ball vice-captain, said on Wednesday. "That's how they bring their best performance out. Having watched them closely for a few years now, I have realised it's important for them to be part of this wonderful team, a great set-up, which the team has. So I just want them to have fun and understand what this team is all about.

"Keeping in mind that this is their first time in the squad, they will be a little nervous, they will be thinking about performance and all. But it's important for people like me, other senior members and the coaching staff to tell them that it's just another team that you got to be part of and they just have to enjoy that moment because thinking about performance and what they need to do when they get an opportunity will only put pressure on them.

"So [they should] just have fun, relax and be part of this wonderful set-up first and when the opportunity comes… These guys have done really well in the last few years, especially the last year, and it's just about carrying that form and putting it out there. It's not going to be that easy here. They will be challenged every now and then but that's what international cricket is all about. How you respond to those challenges is crucial. So you need to keep telling them about having the right mindset to counter those challenges."

The five-match T20I series will be a preparatory step for India for the 2021 T20 World Cup, for which they are the hosts as well. Till now, India's approach to T20I cricket hasn't been very different from their ODI approach, which is to settle down before playing their shots. Sharma, who is the leading century-maker in T20Is with four tons and has a strike rate of 138.78 in the format, said it's the match situation that dictates how he bats.

"I have played more than 100 T20Is, so you should know my approach by now, what my approach is, what I do," he said. "I don't need to talk about the approach I bring into the game because I have done for many years now but yeah, the situation changes every now and then. So based on the situation of the game, I have to change my game. The approach will always remain the same, which is to have that intent, to have that scoring mindset.

"The situation of the game is what I look forward to because that keeps changing every game that you play. So I think it's very important for me to understand that situation and play accordingly, whether we bat first or bowl first. The situation of the game demands the approach of your batting. So keeping that in mind, I play my game."

In order to have their best possible XI at the World Cup, a big factor will be how much bowling load Hardik Pandya can take. Pandya has hardly bowled after recovering from the back surgery. He was excellent with the bat at the 2020 IPL but didn't deliver a single ball in the whole tournament. In Australia, he rolled his arm over four overs in the second ODI but then didn't bowl in the next game, or the following three-match T20I series.

Sharma was tight-lipped on whether Pandya will play the first T20I on Friday but said the allrounder was doing "pretty much everything" to be fit and do what the team expected him to.

"I cannot reveal who starts and who doesn't start," Sharma said. "Of course, he has been with the squad and has been an integral part of the squad. He has been working on his bowling, he has been working on his batting and the particular skillset he has. He has been trying to sharpen those skillsets as well.

"It has been a good month-and-a-half that he has been with the team and has done pretty much everything he needed to do to get ready for this limited-overs series. It seems that the time has come for him to get ready and start doing what he does. He has worked hard on his bowling and hard on his batting in the last few weeks. I hope he is ready to do what the team expects him to."

'Challenge for me in Test cricket is how many balls I play, not how many runs I score'
Sharma has had a successful Test series in Australia and then against England at home, where the spin-friendly pitches made run-scoring difficult. Talking about his form in red-ball cricket, Sharma said he felt the challenge for him is to stay at the pitch for as long as possible, and the confidence he gained from scoring runs while curbing his natural instincts will help him in the shorter formats too.

"The benefit [of the red-ball success] is when you have to keep aside your natural and then play, I feel you have already won a battle," he said. "I feel whenever you have to go against your nature, and have to do those things you are not used to, that's a small victory for you. If you keep doing such things again and again, it will only boost your confidence.

"I feel in Australia and then in India especially, the way I batted, I really liked the way I batted, especially in the last Test. I made only 49 runs but I played 150 balls. So for me, personally, that was a big victory because I had to play against my natural game. They were bowling me well outside off and I felt like playing my shots but I curbed those instincts and batted. Like people say the batsman played a bad shot and got out, I didn't play that bad shot. I batted with the required disciplined. Unfortunately, I got out on 49, but I was really happy with my effort.

"Right now, the challenge for me in Test cricket is how many balls I play, not how many runs I score. The challenge for me is to play 100 balls, 150 balls, 200 balls, and even more. I think in terms of balls, runs will come automatically. The challenge for me is to play as many balls as possible. And that will be beneficial for me as well as the team."

THE UTAH JAZZ were moments away from tipping off against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 11, 2020. A positive COVID-19 test from center Rudy Gobert abruptly halted the game, and the official announcement that night said the league was going on hold "until further notice." At the time, league insiders expected play to be halted for at least two weeks.

Two weeks turned into 20 as the season resumed July 30 in a bubble environment at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. A year later, half the league's teams are still hosting games in empty arenas as the pandemic that has claimed more than 500,000 American lives persists across the country.

While some NBA players have personally battled the coronavirus, others cared for and lost loved ones. They shared their experiences with ESPN from a year that affected countless people in ways big and small.

"I FELT LIKE I was a step slow," Jrue Holiday said.

The Milwaukee Bucks guard had just played in his first game after a 10-game absence due to COVID-19. He scored just two points, his fewest in more than four years, and admitted after the Bucks' Feb. 28 win over the LA Clippers that his conditioning was "a little behind."

"With the symptoms, [coronavirus] was kind of miserable, just the body aches and chills," Holiday said. "That's not ever fun, but I guess I just really tried to keep my mind occupied."

Holiday spent more than two weeks quarantined away from the team, trying to remain supportive, and staying connected via calls, texts and FaceTime. The Bucks won the first game Holiday missed, then dropped five in a row. However, they rebounded to win the last four games before his return.

"This is gonna sound weird, but I think it was a good thing," Holiday said of the time away from the team. "I feel like it gives a chance for other people to step up. And that kind of shows the type of team we have."

Holiday said he followed all NBA protocols this season and has taken extra precautions off the court to keep his family safe, in part because his wife, Lauren, is a cancer survivor. He remains unsure of how he contracted the virus.

"Don't know how. Don't know where. Just thankful that nobody else got it on the team," Holiday said. "My family was safe and nobody got it. I quarantined by myself for like 11 days or something. So I had symptoms and it wasn't fun, but I'm glad that everybody's OK and I'm OK now."

IT TOOK SEVEN months, but Gary Payton II is finally experiencing bubble life in Orlando.

The 28-year-old had re-signed with the Washington Wizards in December 2019 and started 17 games before the NBA season was put on hold. In July 2020, Payton and Thomas Bryant were the first reported cases of coronavirus within the Wizards organization and instead of retaking his place in the starting lineup, Payton spent two weeks in quarantine in his Las Vegas home. He described feeling "flu-like symptoms" with a runny nose, chills for three days and a loss of appetite.

"My body is still healthy, but I did the right things by taking the precautions," he said. "It's an opportunity missed, but I'll just go out there and make another one."

With his NBA return over after the tumultuous 2019-20 season, Payton was selected 15th in the January 2021 G League draft by the Toronto Raptors' affiliate, Raptors 905. And once inside the G League bubble in Orlando, he averaged 10.8 points and 2.5 steals per game in 13 regular-season games, while getting advice from his Hall of Fame father on how to get back to the NBA.

"All his solutions is, 'Go get the ball and just score as many points,'" Payton said with a laugh. "I'm like, 'OK, Dad. Second pick out of the draft, you were able to do that when you wanted to.' We all didn't become the No. 2 pick, but he's always helping, [talking] with me after games and just talking basketball. So, he's always bringing good vibes."

INSTEAD OF COMPETING against the Wizards on New Year's Eve, Chicago Bulls teammates Lauri Markkanen, Tomas Satoransky and Ryan Arcidiacono were in a sprinter van en route to Chicago. The three players had been placed into the league's health and safety protocols and were forced to enter self-isolation upon arriving home.

"Throughout the time, I was just quarantined in my apartment," Arcidiacono said. "Two-bedroom, two-bath, a living room and a kitchen. So I couldn't really do too much. I had a little yoga mat, couple bands, kind of like prison workout stuff, foam roller here and there. Couldn't really get any cardio in, but I just tried to keep my mind as sharp as I could."

Meanwhile, Chandler Hutchison remained in Washington after learning he had tested positive for COVID-19. He spent 10 days at a local hotel, fighting the symptoms.

"Kind of just basically a rough flu, started with a fever, chills at night, things like that," Hutchison said. "You know, when you get hit by the flu pretty hard, it was kind of like that."

Satoransky found out that he and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 as well once they were back in Chicago. Satoransky had gone through a nine-day quarantine during the preseason after contact tracing put him near Noah Vonleh, who had tested positive. His concern was not for himself, but for his family, who all tested negative as he isolated.

"Obviously, when I knew that I'm positive, it was beyond frustration," he said. "It was a difficult moment."

In addition to Hutchison, Satoransky and Vonleh -- who was released at the end of the preseason -- Garrett Temple also tested positive in November.

Four members of the coaching staff missed a Dec. 26 game against the Indiana Pacers under the health and safety protocol. Chicago has had three games postponed so far this season.

"Without a bubble-type scenario, it was kind of an expected thing that this was going to be something that was going to circulate," Hutchison said. "You see kind of how the different teams are being affected with it now throughout the season. I think that it was never something that we were ... when they looked at the return to play, they said that it was just going to completely go away."

LIKE OTHERS WHO grew up in Flint, Michigan, Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges was close to Kevelin B. Jones Sr. The pastor at Bountiful Love Ministries Church of God was a well-respected figure in the community and mentor to Bridges, particularly through the college recruiting process.

Jones was among the first people in Michigan to contract the coronavirus, testing positive on March 25. He was quickly admitted to the hospital and died just a day later.

In his honor, Bridges partnered with Josh Jackson of the Detroit Pistons and Terry Armstrong, who played last season in Australia, to sponsor families from the church this past Christmas, giving clothes, toys and shoes.

"[Pastor Jones] was really a big inspiration to me because I grew up and I was living [with Jones' family] for a little while -- for like a whole summer I was staying there," Bridges said. "It was just a place for me to get away because he lived in the suburbs and I needed a getaway when I didn't want to be in the hood to go there. They just treated me like family."

Bridges shares a close bond with Jones' son, Timothy, who also coached against him during his middle school days at Woodland Park Academy in Grand Blanc, Michigan, where he made his first dunk.

"It was heartbreaking," Bridges said. "Every Christmas, I would see him giving out food, giving out presents and just the way he was as a family man, he made sure he took care of all his family members and they would all come together for the holiday. He just brought everybody together."

As the Hornets look to contend for a playoff spot, Bridges admits his focus is not entirely on basketball.

"It's definitely a lot of concerns," Bridges said, "but I just want people to continue to stay safe, wear their mask and practice good habits."

VICTOR OLADIPO WAS finally starting to feel like himself.

Six weeks earlier, he had returned from a ruptured quadriceps tendon. And after a slow start in his comeback (10.8 points per game in his first eight games of the 2019-20 season), Oladipo posted a season-high 27 points in a loss to the Boston Celtics on March 10. One day later, things were on hold again.

"I didn't have the resources or the tools to be able to maximize my time," Oladipo said. "We couldn't go anywhere. I had to do it from a garage."

When the NBA season finally resumed four months later, Oladipo was indecisive about returning. The coronavirus-induced hiatus had put his rehab and return process on hold, and the lack of access to team facilities during that break left him unsure about his readiness -- both physically and mentally.

"I was dealing with trying to figure out, 'Should I go? Shouldn't I go?' And it wasn't that I was indecisive, it was [that] I didn't know if I was ready," Oladipo said. "I didn't know if I was physically ready. ... So I didn't really know what to do because I wanted to help my team, but at the same time, I didn't want to hurt them by being out there or hurt myself even worse."

After first announcing in early July that he was opting out of the NBA's restart, Oladipo reconsidered and traveled with the Pacers to Orlando. Eventually, he made the decision to play the remainder of the season, averaging 16 points per game in six seeding games, then 17.8 points per game in the Pacers' four-game playoff loss to the Miami Heat.

"I was not even close to 100 percent playing out there and you could tell, you could see it," he said. "You could see it on my face, you could see it in my movements and everything I did, but I went out there and played, and I'm actually glad I did."

IN THE EARLY hours of March 24, 2020, David Turner, the father of Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, fainted inside the bathroom of his home in Colleyville, Texas.

"Hey, I need to go to the hospital," David told his family after regaining consciousness a couple of hours later.

On Myles Turner's 24th birthday, David entered Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford. Initially diagnosed with pneumonia, David tested positive for COVID-19 three days later.

"It was such an uncertain time because when he was affected with the virus I didn't know what to think," Myles Turner said. "I didn't know whether he was gonna make it or not. He had a situation where he fainted and wasn't sure if he was gonna get back up. It was rough.

"Obviously, hearing the stories about it, we all panicked as a family."

During his time in the hospital -- spent alone, as COVID restrictions prevented his family from visiting -- David Turner lost 40 pounds. At one point his oxygen levels dropped to around 82% (normal levels are 95% to 99%). Eventually he was well enough to return home, though still dealing with symptoms.

"He got to the point where if he wanted to walk from the kitchen to his bedroom, he was out of breath," Myles Turner said. "He had to build his respiratory system back up; he had to build his tolerance back up as far as eating."

Turner said his father has made a full recovery, and he thanked the hospital by donating $50,000 to their COVID-19 response fund.

After witnessing what his father went through, Turner was skeptical of entering the NBA bubble in Orlando. But after doing research and getting advice from close friends and family, he committed to the 2020 restart, as well as the modified 2020-21 season.

"We're not going out to restaurants. We're not at clubs, lounges and we're not out with a normal social life. So we take it very seriously," Turner said. "Because you don't want to be that one person that messes it up for everybody."

The February 24, 1997 issue of Sports Illustrated featured the young smiling faces of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on the cover, with the billing that the pair "head up the finest group of shortstops since World War II." The article highlighted an up-and-coming young class that included Jeter, Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra and Edgar Renteria. Miguel Tejada would also come up to the majors that season. Beyond the young stars, Barry Larkin was still around and Omar Vizquel was in his defensive prime.

Jeter and Larkin are Hall of Famers, Rodriguez had a Hall of Fame career, Vizquel might get there, Tejada won an MVP Award, Garciaparra won two batting titles and Renteria was a five-time All-Star. No doubt, it was an excellent era for shortstops. It's not the finest group we've ever seen, however.

No, we're in the golden age of shortstops right now.

One way to judge this is to compare the offensive production across the position to the major league-wide average. Via Baseball-Reference.com we can look at a statistic called tOPS+, which compares the OPS at each position relative to the overall OPS of the league. The best figure ever for shortstop is 2019 at 103, meaning shortstops hit 3% better than the league average, an impressive figure since shortstop is also a premium defensive position. The second highest figure is 2020.

With that baseline, I thought it would be fun to rank the strength of each position heading into the 2021 season and then see how each position ranks historically, including choosing a golden era at each position. We will list the tOPS+ for 2019 and 2020 for each position and give its ranking among the 101 seasons going back to 1920, so a ranking of 50th or so would mean the position rates about average. Obviously, tOPS+ is an offense statistic, so in picking a greatest season for each position, other factors include defense, single-season and career WAR, Hall of Famers and overall depth.

Two notes: In general, the offensive spread among positions has become more condensed in recent decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, for example, middle infielders were notoriously weak at the plate. The nadir for shortstops since 1920 came in 1973 when they had a tOPS+ of 69 - they hit .237/.291/.301 versus the MLB average of .257/.325/.379. Also, while tOPS+ considers the results of all plate appearances at the position, when I refer to a player as a "left fielder," for example, he must have played at least 50% of his games in that season at the position.

OK, on to the rankings!

Medallists from European Indoor Championships are among 29 athletes who will benefit from support this year

London Marathon Events will offer funding to 29 of Britain’s leading endurance athletes this year as part of its ongoing commitment to support distance running.

Among the athletes on the funding list are Amy-Eloise Markovc and Verity Ockenden, who won gold and bronze in the 3000m at the European Indoor Championships in Poland last weekend, plus Marc Scott, who went No.2 on the UK all-time 10,000m rankings last month.

This is the third year London Marathon Events has offered direct support to athletes who sit just outside British Athletics’ World Class programmes and Futures programme, but who still have the potential to star at major competitions.

When it comes to helping develop up-and-coming endurance athletes, London Marathon Events also helps support the two new talent hubs in Leeds and Birminingham, The Daily Mile for primary school children in London and of course the Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon.

The impact of this funded pathway is already showing results, as seen in Poland last weekend. Medallists Markovc and Ockenden are on the current elite athlete funding programme while two graduates from the programme, Piers Copeland and Neil Gourley, made the 1500m final.

Meanwhile, four athletes from the talent hubs were competing in Poland, led by Keely Hodgkinson plus Isabelle Boffey, Amelia Quirk and Phil Sesemann.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of London Marathon Events, said: “Since the London Marathon was founded in 1981, we have worked to improve endurance running in this country. We are committed to providing a pathway from the playground to the podium for athletes in this country, from The Daily Mile to our elite athlete funding programme and it is really encouraging that the Great Britain team at the European Athletics Indoor Championships included so many athletes who have been, or are part of, the London Marathon Events funding system.

“It was wonderful to see Amy-Eloise Markovc, one of our funded athletes, and Keely Hodgkinson, supported by one of the talent hubs, win gold medals over the weekend and we will continue to work to support the success of future British international athletes.”

All athletes who were on the 2020 programme have been offered funding for 2021, with the exception of Copeland and Jake Smith who have both graduated to British Athletics’ Futures Academy programme.

There has been one addition to the funding list for 2021 with US-based Sam Atkin, who 27:26:58 for 10,000m in December.

Brasher said: “Last year was an incredibly difficult year for everyone, including our elite athletes. With the lack of races and the difficulties they faced in accessing both training and support facilities, we believe it is right and fair that those who were on last year’s programme have the same opportunity in 2021.

“Even with all the challenges of last year, athletes on our funding programme had an extremely successful 2020, winning a total of 13 British Athletics championships medals and that has continued into 2021 with Marc Scott’s phenomenal run in California and the great performances at the European Athletics Indoor Championships.

“This shows that our plan to provide a bridge to British Athletics’ funding is working and we hope the class of 2021 continue that progression and we see as many of them as possible competing in the Tokyo Olympic Games.”

The full list of athletes to be offered London Marathon Events funding for 2021 is: Mohamud Aadan (Thames Valley Harriers); Charlotte Arter (Cardiff AAC); Sam Atkin (Lincoln Wellington); Alexandra Bell (Pudsley & Bramley AC); Elizabeth Bird (Shaftesbury Barnet AC); Emile Cairess (Leeds City AC); Hayley Carruthers (Birchfield Harriers); Rosie Clarke (Epsom & Ewell AC); Natasha Cockram (Micky Morris Racing Team); Jamaine Coleman (Preston Harriers); Ben Connor (Derby AC); Stephanie Davis (Clapham Chasers); Nick Goolab (Belgrave Harriers); Derek Hawkins (Kilbarchan AAC); Jake Heyward (Cardiff AAC); Sarah Inglis (Lothian Running Club); Tish Jones (Belgrave Harriers); Matt Leach (Bedford & County AC); Amy-Eloise Markovc (Wakefield District Harriers); Jonny Mellor (Liverpool Harriers); Jennifer Nesbitt (Cardiff AAC); Verity Ockenden (Swansea Harriers); Chris O’Hare (Edinburgh AC); Lily Partridge (Birchfield Harriers); Marc Scott (Cambridge & Coleridge AC); Zak Seddon (Bracknell AC); Jenny Spink (Bristol & West AC); Chris Thompson (Aldershot, Farnham & District); Alice Wright (Worcester AC)

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel will miss at least one week with an upper body injury, head coach Ralph Krueger said.

Eichel missed Tuesday night's 5-4 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. He returned to Buffalo to be evaluated, Krueger said.

Eichel favored his neck after being checked into the end boards by Casey Cizikas with about four minutes left in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday.

The injury is the latest to affect Eichel this season. He missed two games two weeks ago with a lower body injury, and he missed the first week of training camp with an upper body injury.

Having topped 20 goals in each of his first five seasons, including a career-best 36 last year, Eichel has scored just twice in 21 games this season and is in the midst of a 13-game scoring drought. With 16 assists, he still leads Buffalo with 18 points.

With a league-low six wins, Buffalo is in jeopardy of extending its playoff drought to an NHL-record-tying 10th season. The Sabres last won Feb. 23 against New Jersey.

TURIN, Italy -- Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo insists his project in Turin is still in its early days and will continue despite his side crashing out of the UEFA Champions League at the last-16 stage on away goals against 10-man Porto on Tuesday.

Juventus won 3-2 after extra-time on the night, but they were knocked out of the Champions League at the same stage as last season after a 4-4 aggregate draw. That was despite playing against 10 men for much of the game after Porto's Mehdi Taremi was sent off in the 54th minute.

Their failure to reach the quarterfinals was remarkably similar to last season's away-goals exit to Lyon, with manager Maurizio Sarri sacked at the end of the campaign despite winning a ninth straight Serie A title for Juve.

For all their domestic dominance, Juve have won just two European Cups compared with Italian rivals AC Milan's seven.

Champions League glory is what the club craves, but Pirlo is adamant his journey as coach is just beginning.

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"I don't know if Sarri was sacked for being eliminated from the Champions League," Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia.

"I am the Juventus manager at the moment and I will work for a larger project, which goes beyond this season.

"This season is only the beginning of this project. We have young players who are growing game after game. The young players have played with desire and self-denial. We cannot say anything to them, they have given their all."

After falling behind in the first half to a Sergio Oliveira strike, a double from Federico Chiesa, either side of Taremi's dismissal, seemed to set Juve on their way to victory but they could not find a crucial third goal, leaving the sides all square after normal time.

Pirlo's side continued to press in extra-time, but one free-kick, through the wall, from Oliveira condemned Juve to their fate, despite Adrien Rabiot scoring a third for the Italian side soon after.

The blow leaves Juve just Serie A glory to play for -- and they trail leaders Internazionale by 10 points.

"I'm not happy to have to work with full weeks without European games, I preferred to go on in the Champions League," Pirlo said.

"To forget this elimination will take a few days but then we will have to look forward and try to move up the [Serie A] rankings.

"We are still in March."

Tasmania 4 for 225 (Silk 69, Wright 66) beat Victoria 222 (Handscomb 95, Harper 51, Andrews 3-45) by six wickets

Jordan Silk and Mac Wright added 126 as Tasmania secured a comfortable victory against an inexperienced Victoria side that had earlier collapsed from a strong position.

A century stand between Sam Harper and captain Peter Handscomb had taken the home side to 1 for 128 in the 22nd over but they then lost 9 for 94 with the spin of Tom Andrews and Beau Webster taking five wickets.

Andrews, the left-arm spinner, struck twice in an over to start the major unravelling of Victoria's innings as Matt Short drove to cover then Jake Fraser-McGurk was given lbw second ball.

Handscomb's outstanding form continued as he tried to hold the innings together but he lost partners regularly. MacKenzie Harvey, another of the young players Victoria are given a chance to, lofted into the deep and Xavier Crone was run out by a direct hit.

Searching to bring up his century with a six, Handscomb was well held on the deep midwicket rope by Silk who parried the ball back in before he touched the rope and gathered the rebound.

Victoria managed an early breakthrough when Caleb Jewell pulled high into the leg side and when spinners Todd Murphy and Will Parker both picked their first wickets on one-day debut Tasmania were 3 for 90.

However, there were precious other alarms as Wright and Silk took charge of the chase against the young bowling attack on a docile surface. Another debutant, Brody Couch, who went at under three an over was able to claim his first wicket when Wright was caught at long leg from a top-edged hook but by then the game was done.

Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat vs Zimbabwe

Afghanistan welcomed back legspinner Rashid Khan to their Test XI, after he recovered from a finger injury sustained during the PSL, in a bid to square the series against Zimbabwe. Khan is one of five changes to the Afghanistan XI, which includes two debutants.

Allrounder Shahidullah Kamal, a former Under-19 player who has not been capped in any format internationally, was brought in to bowl left-arm spin and bat in the middle-order, while left-arm seamer Sayed Shirzad, who has played two ODIs and four T20Is, replaced Yamin Ahmadzai. Afghanistan have also added some experience to the batting with Javed Ahmadi replacing Abdul Malik, who bagged a pair in the first Test, which Zimbabwe won inside two days, and Nasir Jamal, who was brought into the middle order in place of Munir Ahmed. The wristspinning pair of Abdul Wasi and Zahir Khan have also been dropped from the XI that did duty in the first Test.

Shirzad is the only specialist seamer in the XI after Afghanistan chose to go spin-heavy again, on a surface that is not expected to offer as much assistance to the quicks as the first Test's strip did. There was significantly less grass on it than last week. That may mean a slightly easier time for Afghanistan's line-up, who were blown away by Zimbabwe's quicks, who shared 16 wickets between them in the first Test.

Zimbabwe were unchanged from the team that beat Afghanistan by ten wickets in the first fixture, with three quicks and no specialist spinner but several all-round options: Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Sean Williams and Wesley Madhevere can all chip in with a few overs.

Zimbabwe are chasing a first Test series win since 2004.

Afghanistan: 1 Ibrahim Zadran, 2 Javed Ahmadi, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 5 Nasir Jamal, 6 Afsar Zazai (wk) 7 Asghar Afghan (capt), 8 Shahidullah Kamal, 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Amir Hamza, 11 Sayed Shirzad

Zimbabwe: 1 Prince Masvaure, 2 Kevin Kasuza, 3 Tarisai Musakanda, 4 Sean Williams (capt), 5 Wesley Madhevere, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Ryan Burl, 8 Regis Chakabva (wk), 9 Donald Tiripano, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Victor Nyauchi

Following Tuesday's win over BYU, Gonzaga coach Mark Few was happy in his postgame news conference -- not just because the Bulldogs won the West Coast Conference tournament and improved to 26-0, but because they did it after their worst first-half performance of the season.

"We needed a game like that," Few said. "We had some adversity and got punched in the face."

Gonzaga trailed by as many as 14 points late in the first half but dominated the second half en route to an 88-78 win to secure the WCC tournament title and an unbeaten record entering the NCAA tournament.

BYU scored 53 points in the opening 20 minutes, shooting nearly 68% from the field and better than 69% from 3-point range.

"They really took the fight to us, especially in that first 20 minutes," Few said. "We couldn't stop them. They had us on roller skates. They were outcompeting us and beating us to balls, but also just executing their offense and making big shots."

The second half was a different story, as Gonzaga played with far more urgency on the defensive end of the floor, which in turn led to more efficient offense at the other end. Corey Kispert hit a couple of big shots early in the second half to cut the lead, and Jalen Suggs took over the game late.

Suggs hit a 3-pointer to cut BYU's lead to four after the Cougars had pushed it back out to nine with nine minutes left in the game. The star freshman then threw a 50-foot pass to Joel Ayayi for a fast-break layup before blocking a shot two possessions later. Down the stretch, he scored eight points in a 2-minute, 33-second span during which Gonzaga pushed its lead out to nine.

"When the lights are shining the brightest and more people are watching, I always want to go out and make plays," Suggs said. "More importantly, I wanted to come out with a win. I told Coach with like six, seven minutes left, we're not walking out of here without a championship. I'm gonna get it done. Coming down the stretch, guys had great confidence in me, they trusted in me. I kept screaming, 'It's March! It's March!' I've been waiting to play in these moments, in March, my entire life."

Despite trailing for two-thirds of the game, Gonzaga managed to continue its streak of double-digit wins. The streak is now at 23 games -- the longest such streak by any Division I team in the past 60 seasons, according to Elias Sports Bureau research.

Gonzaga becomes the fifth team to enter the NCAA tournament unbeaten since Indiana went undefeated and won the national championship in 1976. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Bulldogs are the 20th team ever to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated; of the previous 19, seven won the title.

Few said his team finally discussed the unbeaten record in the locker room following the win.

"We finally acknowledged this is a big deal," he said. "It puts us in some incredible company. ... It's a heck of an accomplishment."

Gonzaga will enter the NCAA tournament as the favorite to cut down the nets, but it will hope to use Tuesday's game as a wake-up call. BYU was dominant offensively in the first half, scoring at will, finishing easy baskets around the rim and consistently getting open shots. At the other end, Gonzaga's offense looked stagnant if Drew Timme wasn't in the game or getting consistent touches in the paint.

While Gonzaga will rarely have an issue scoring points -- even in a poor first half, the Zags put up 41 points -- the defense dramatically improved after halftime. BYU shot just 27.8% from the floor and made two 3-pointers after making nine in the first 20 minutes.

"Credit to Gonzaga for putting some pressure on us, and I felt like we were trying to manage a little bit of fatigue, a little bit of running out of gas," BYU coach Mark Pope said. "So it was a combination of those two things that I thought was significant. We got some really, really good looks we were really happy with, and the ball didn't bounce our way a little bit. That's something that we will improve on and grow on. I felt like our guys executed really, really well, took it upon themselves. ... We just couldn't get the ball to fall. Some really, really terrific looks from inches away and some open looks from 3. Sometimes the game treats you like that."

Gonzaga knows its Selection Sunday fate already -- the No. 1 overall seed -- and it won't see the court until at least the following Friday.

But after Tuesday night, complacency shouldn't be an issue moving forward.

"I think the best part about it is we're all excited for it and all happy to keep it going," Suggs said, "but we're all ready to get back to work and get ready for Indy."

The NHL and the NHL Players Association are not currently tracking which players, or how many, have received COVID-19 vaccinations.

"We have not sought player or club reporting to this point," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN on Tuesday.

Don Fehr, executive director of the NHLPA, said there is no chronicle of which players have received the vaccine. An NHL agent told ESPN that, to his knowledge, there's been no outreach from the NHLPA to generally tabulate how many players have been vaccinated, either.

"In general, are we aware there are players in all sports that have managed to get the vaccine? Yes. Do I know of it in specific individual cases? Not unless somebody tells me," Fehr said. "I assume that if a player somehow manages to be vaccinated, he will tell his own doctor and club doctor, but I don't have that information."

There is no mandatory vaccination for NHL players, which is something that would have to be collectively bargained with the NHLPA. While there has been some anecdotal evidence of players having received the vaccine, the NHL has been careful about "jumping the line" for things like COVID tests and vaccines.

"We and our players and our other personnel are going to get in line with everybody else, in whatever jurisdictions they reside in, and they're going to get vaccinated as is appropriate," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in January. "When it comes to health and safety, we want to take care of the appropriate personnel, but we also don't want to be a burden on the communities in which we play."

Fehr said the players understand that, and that those who have received the vaccine likely reside in areas where they're able to acquire it without superseding someone who needs it more.

"I have no reason to think [player vaccination] is widespread. The players know there's a priority order based on medical need. They're responsible adults," he said.

The NHL has been trending in the right direction on COVID testing for the last month, after enacting new protocols on Feb. 11. The day before those protocols, the league had 49 players on its COVID-Related Absences list. On Tuesday, it had just four.

"We take it a day at a time. We never take anything for granted," Daly said. "Last week and the week before were more difficult weeks than this past week. Whether I can attribute those to the protocol changes, I'm not really sure I can, because we started to see the spike go down before those protocol changes would have taken effect. But I do know, having followed up on those protocol changes, the players really want to play. They want to finish the season. They too were concerned with what we were seeing around the league."