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Cal Raleigh's incredible season continues as he smashed home runs No. 55 and 56 on Tuesday night. And both home runs were historic in their own rights.

With his first homer of the night in the Mariners–Royals game, Raleigh wrote his name in the history books. Raleigh officially passed MLB legend Mickey Mantle by notching the most home runs hit by a switch hitter in a single season. Mantle set the record with 54 homers hit in 1961. Raleigh became just the second switch hitter in MLB history after Mantle to hit at least 50 home runs in a single season.

The Mariners catcher's second home run of the night put him in conversation with Seattle legend Ken Griffey Jr. Raleigh tied Griffey with the most home runs hit in a single season in Mariners history with 56. Griffey notched 56 homers in both the 1997 and '98 seasons while playing for Seattle.

The season isn't over yet. Raleigh can continue breaking records and making history as the Mariners finish out the regular season. Seattle currently leads the AL West with a 82–68 record and are on pace to make the playoffs.

Bayern Munich are preparing to appeal the red card picked up by Luis Diaz after he received a 'very harsh' Champions League ban for the foul that injured Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi earlier this month. Diaz was slapped with a three-game ban by UEFA, which came as a huge blow for the German giants ahead of their key Champions League clash against Arsenal.

• Diaz handed ban after Hakimi challenge

  Former Liverpool star Diaz picked up a red card in Bayern's 2-1 win at PSG in a Champions League clash. The Colombia international scored twice in the first half but was then dismissed following a poor tackle on Moroccan right-back Hakimi at the stroke of half-time. The full-back went off with a sprained ankle and is still injured to this day. The challenge was described as "serious rough play" by UEFA, who handed the forward a three-game suspension.

  Bayern held on to secure a precious win and now sit joint-top of the Champions League standings.

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  Bayern set to appeal Diaz suspension

  On Saturday, Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told : "We've requested the written justification of the verdict from UEFA in order to lodge an appeal. We will see if we can manage to reduce the ban. We assumed it would only be one game after an initial letter from UEFA. So the three-match ban surprised us just as much as everyone else; we couldn't have expected it at all. It was obviously a serious foul, but it wasn't an act of violence, nor was it directed at the referee, nor was there any further offence after the foul. In the past, only such things have resulted in a three-match ban. We believe there shouldn’t be a three-match ban – but realistically, we have to say that such an appeal only succeeds in rare cases."

  Sporting director Max Eberl then added: "I’m not so naive as to say it will only be one match. If we reduce it to two matches, that would be fantastic. Three matches, in my opinion, is very harsh."

• Kroos slammed referee for Diaz red card

  While the foul did look dangerous at that moment, former Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos came to Diaz's defence, while slamming the referee as the legendary player felt that the decision was too harsh.

  Speaking on his podcast, Kroos was emphatic in his belief that the referee made the wrong call as he said: "For me, it’s clear: it wasn’t a red card," Kroos said, insisting that the referee "let Hakimi’s injury have too much of an influence on his assessment of the play."

  The German argued that the challenge itself, while forceful, did not indicate malicious intent from Diaz. He added: "If Hakimi had gotten up after the challenge, nobody would have reviewed the play." 

  Kroos also turned his attention toward the role of the VAR team, suggesting that replaying slow-motion angles can distort reality. "In situations like these, the referee should judge the action itself, not the consequences," he concluded.

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  Up next: Bayern face Arsenal in top of the table contest

  Vincent Kompany's side returned to action after the international break on Saturday as they faced Freiburg in a Bundesliga clash. Bayern secured a thumping 6-2 win riding on Michael Olise's brace, while Kane and Nicolas Jackson were also on target.

  They will now aim to build on the dominating performance ahead of facing Premier League leaders Arsenal next in the Champions League in a top-of-the-table contest. Both teams are on a four-game winning streak in Europe. 

Shanaka’s unbeaten 64 had taken Sri Lanka to 168 but it wasn’t enough

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Sep-20251:49

Chopra: You look at Saif and go ‘there’s some serious talent there’

Three top order stands, one after the other, led by Saif Hassan, then Towhid Hridoy, propelled Bangladesh to overhaul Sri Lanka’s 168, on a dry Dubai track.Saif’s 59-run stand with Litton Das came off 34 balls. It saw Bangladesh set the platform. Then Saif joined Hridoy for a 54-run stand off 45 balls, that consolidated their innings through the middle overs. Hridoy then took charge in a 45-run partnership off 27 balls with Shamim Hossain that put Bangladesh on the cusp of victory. There were some wobbles very late in the game, but those batters had done enough. Bangladesh only needed five to win going into the final over, and they got there with a ball to spare, even if they’d lost two wickets and almost a third scoring the winning run.Sri Lanka struggled for wickets right through the innings, with Saif especially good at keeping the seamers at bay in the powerplay. By the end of the 15th over, Bangladesh had still only lost three wickets, and needed only 39 more to win. It seemed highly unlikely they would lose from there. In fact, they had looked good for the majority of this chase.In Sri Lanka’s innings, Dasun Shanaka’s promotion to No. 5 had yielded results, as he struck 64 not out off 37 balls, to give Sri Lanka a decent – if not spectacular – finish. But two Bangladesh bowlers had also shone: Mustafizur Rahman took 3 for 20, and Mahedi Hasan claimed 2 for 25.2:07

Maharoof: Shanaka showed up when the chips were down

Saif neutralises Nuwan Thushara

When Nuwan Thushara dismissed Tanzid Hasan in the first over, you wondered if this would be another match which his first spell goes some distance to winning. He has tended to have rich hauls against this opposition. But in Saif, Bangladesh had a beautiful counter to Thushara. Saif was outstanding down the ground as Thushara kept going full (as he often does in the powerplay). Saif hit a four over the bowler’s head first ball of the second over, before running at Thushara next ball and depositing him over the rope. Thushara’s second and third overs would cost 14 runs each, Saif doing the majority of that damage.

Hridoy takes down Kamindu Mendis

Sri Lanka’s general strategy is to have Shanaka and one of the spin-bowling allrounders share four overs between them. Usually Charith Asalanka bowls himself. But in this game he chose not to bowl, and gave the 15th over of the innings to Kamindu Mendis. It would be the one in which the match would swing definitively in Bangladesh’s direction.Hridoy crashed him over cover for four second ball, then when Kamindu fired a shortish ball at the stumps, Hridoy got inside the line and launched it high over the deep square leg boundary. Later in the over, he slashed one between cover point and backward point to fetch another four. At the start of that over Bangladesh had needed 55 off 36 balls. Hridoy’s 16 runs off that over made the equation much simpler.1:55

Chopra impressed with Hridoy’s cricketing smarts

Shanaka’s blitz

Unlike Sri Lanka’s bowlers, Bangladesh kept striking regularly after Sri Lanka’s openers had put on 44 runs together. Shanaka was the only one to make a substantial score through the middle and later overs, crashing six sixes and three fours. He’d been dropped off the bowling of Mustafizur on 38, in a period in which Bangladesh gave at least three batters reprieves. Shanaka’s most productive over was against the spin of Nasum Ahmed, whom he clobbered for two sixes and a four in the 15th over.

Mustafizur and Taskin close well

Arguably the best over Bangladesh bowled was delivered by Mustafizur, who had both Kamindu and Asalanka caught in the 19th over, in which he conceded only five runs. Taskin Ahmed then bowled four dots to a mid-blitz Shanaka in the next over, delivering a clutch of good slower balls. He was hit for a six and a four too, but between them Bangladesh’s senior quicks had conceded only 15 in the last two overs, which Sri Lanka had been well-set to exploit.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been handed a positive injury update on new signing Benjamin Sesko after the Slovenia international hobbled off during their thrilling 2-2 draw with Tottenham. Amorim had expressed concerns for his striker after the match, but initial investigations have offered hope Sesko won't be sidelined for an extended spell.

• Worrying end to match for Sesko

  It was an afternoon of high drama in north London after United secured a vital point against Spurs. The visitors took the lead courtesy of Bryan Mbeumo's header in the 32nd minute, but the hosts staged a late comeback with goals from substitute Mathys Tel in the 84th minute and Richarlison in the first minute of stoppage time, which put them in front and, seemingly, on course to earn the hosts all three points. But the match ended in chaos, as United defender Matthijs de Ligt headed home an equaliser from a corner in the 96th minute, salvaging a draw for his side.

  The closing stages saw Sesko pick up an injury. He entered the match in the 58th minute but was forced off late with a knee problem, casting a shadow over United’s hard-fought draw. His performance featured a couple of missed chances and came before he was taken off following a robust challenge from Micky van de Ven. The forward has scored two goals in 12 appearances and has struggled for form and confidence.

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• Amorim fears for Sesko

  The United boss was asked after the match if he thought the injury was serious, he said: "I have no idea. Because it's the knee, we never know. I'm concerned with the injury because it's in the knee. We need Ben to be a better team. We have to check everything, we have to check what has happened with him."

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  Encouraging Sesko update offered from home country

  But in the hours after the match there was an update coming from Sesko's native Slovenia, where local media reports say the initial tests show that the injury was not serious and shouldn’t rule him out for a lengthy spell. There was the additional detail from , which says the full extent of the injury will only be revealed after an MRI scan, which will take place in the coming days. 

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  Missed opportunity for Red Devils

  Speaking after the match, Amorim offered a mixed review of his team's performance also revealed his plan for the players who aren’t heading off on international duty. 

  Amorim said: "In the end, I think if you see the game you feel that the three points were there to take home, but then with everything that happened – Harry (Maguire) has to come out, Casemiro has to come out, (so does) Ben. We suffered two goals again in a short period of time, but managed to score again, so it's a point. When you cannot win, you don’t lose and once again we managed to do that. If you look to the game and if you feel the environment, we have so much to grow as a team, because today was our day to win this game.

  "I think it's more we need to look at ourselves. We were not pressing with the same intensity, because we felt comfortable. We need to understand that but to feel also that if we have a little bit more bravery, we can kill this game. Sometimes it's like that: you have a first half better than the second."

  He added: "It’s a little bit frustrating but also a little bit pride of the response of the players after the second goal of Tottenham. Then to look at the team. I understand that this is just the tip of the iceberg. So we are just in the beginning of becoming a very strong team. We have a lot to do and we are going to work with the guys that are not going to the national team, and we are going to evaluate everything, trying to see also games from the kids. So try to use this space on evolution of our club, not just the first team."

Numbers show us that Pakistan has served up some of the flattest pitches in the world since Test cricket returned to the country

Shiva Jayaraman12-Oct-20241:45

What can Pakistan change to avoid another mauling?

Pakistan’s capitulation with the bat on the fourth day in Multan and England’s massive win at the end of it shouldn’t obscure the fact that, as a host nation, Pakistan has produced some of the flattest pitches in Test cricket in recent times. England’s record-breaking total of 823 in Multan and the 1379 runs scored in the first two innings of the Test stand testimony to that.Since December 2019, when Test cricket returned to Pakistan, bowlers have averaged nearly 40 runs per wicket there. This is comfortably the poorest in the world and five runs more than Sri Lanka, the second-poorest where bowlers have averaged 34.25.However, things have taken a turn for the worse for bowlers since Pakistan’s home series against Australia in early 2022. Wickets have come at 42.13 runs apiece since then. Again, the worst that bowlers have averaged in any country, but the gap between them and Sri Lanka has increased. While, Pakistan has added two runs to the bowlers’ average, Sri Lanka has moved fractionally from 34.25 to 34.76.Related

• Pakistan drop Shaheen, Naseem alongside Babar for next two Tests

• Multan marvel strengthens England belief in Bazball brand

• Shan Masood scathing in criticism of bowlers but not batters

• England ready for 'result wickets' after dishing out Multan mauling

It emerged that, in that series against Australia, Pakistan had wanted to prepare pitches that offered little to no help for the Australia fast bowlers. But the juggernaut hasn’t come to a stop yet.Since March 2022, Pakistan has hosted 14 totals of 400 or more in just 42 Test innings – he highest in any country in this period. The second most – 12 – have come in England, but that’s over 76 innings. While in England, one 400-plus total has come every 6.3 innings, in Pakistan it’s happened once every three innings.In the same period, teams have scored 500-plus runs seven times in Pakistan – also the most in any country. Out of the five 600-plus totals since March 2022, three have come in Pakistan. Sri Lanka is the only other country where teams have scored in excess of 600 runs.