Defending champions Abahani tasted their first defeat of the Premier League season as they went down to Biman by 29 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. Abahani's biggest rivals Mohammedan, though, kept their hundred per cent record alive with a comfortable 52-run victory over Surjo Torun at the Fatullah stadium.

The national football team made a frustrating start to their preparations for the SAFF Championships as they slipped to a lone-goal defeat to Sheikh Russel KC in the first of three warm-up games at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

Though Bangladesh Hockey Federation has promised to keep national players free this season, the game's governing body has failed to dissolve the 'pool system' in the face of firm stance from most Premier League clubs.

Chelsea strengthened their position at the top of the Premier League by cruising to a 4-0 win over struggling Wolves on Saturday.

Paul Collingwood, making a record 171st one-day appearance for England, took two wickets and held a superb catch as South Africa were restricted to 250 for nine in the second one-day international at SuperSport Park on Sunday.

The junior golfers will leave the country for Thailand on Tuesday to take part in the 2nd Singa Thailand Junior World Championship to be held at the Royal Hua Hin Golf Club from November 26 to 29.

Young Pegasus all-rounder Ijarul Islam played a brilliant knock of 146 not out off just 120 balls to help his side to a 5 wicket victory over Baridhara Dazzlers in a high-scoring match of the First Division Cricket at the Dhaka University Ground yesterday. Chasing a mammoth 295-run total from Baridhara which was built on Fahmid Ahmed's 93, Young Pegasus got home in 48 overs with five wickets in hand, courtesy of Ijarul's huge knock that consisted 7 sixes and 14 boundaries and an unbeaten fifty from Shahadat Hossain. There was another century on the day. A 117-run knock from Sadaf Sarker helped Agrani Bank to a 7-run victory over Dhaka Wanderers at the City Club Ground. Wanderers could muster 260 runs for nine wickets chasing a target of 268 posted by Agrani Bank.

West Indies cricket captain Chris Gayle, who abruptly quit the Tour of Australia to be with his sick mother, will head Down Under on Monday and hopes to play in the first Test, Jamaican media reported Saturday.

Barcelona dropped two costly points in a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to fall a point behind new leaders Real Madrid ahead of next Sunday's eagerly-anticipated 'El Clasico' at Camp Nou.

Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida netted twice as Werder Bremen went top of the Bundesliga on Saturday thanks to their 6-0 hammering of Freiburg.

Inter Milan got back to winning ways in Serie A on Saturday with a convincing 3-1 win over Bologna at the Dall'Ara stadium extending their lead at the top to eight points ahead of Sunday's games.

It is just as well football is the most popular and perhaps most lucrative sport in the world because the publicity it has had in the past fortnight could have killed lesser ones off.

Sri Lanka will renew efforts to win their first-ever Test in India when the second match begins here on Tuesday, after being frustrated by a flat wicket in the opening tie.

New Zealand and Pakistan start round two of their disrupted cricket series here Tuesday searching for respectability amid a background of upheaval.

South Africa's Kathryn Meaklim, American Peter Marshall and Swedish swim queen Therese Alshammar stormed to new world records on Sunday as the shortcourse World Cup season concluded in style.

Tareq Aziz Khan recorded a straight 2-0 win over Ershad Hossain in the Prestige Bengal Open Squash tournament at the Gulshan Club yesterday.

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Saturday said India should retain Amit Mishra notwithstanding the suggestions that the leg-spinner should be replaced in the second Test against Sri Lanka from November 24-28.