Chattogram: Pakistan won the first Test against Bangladesh by eight wickets after  brilliant opening stand of 151 runs from Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafiq placed Pakistan in a commanding position.

Pakistan comfortably chased a target of 202 runs on the final day of the match despite the threat of spin could have made it a tricky chase.

Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi earlier claimed 5-32 to help Pakistan bowl out Bangladesh for 157 runs in their second innings despite wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das making a fighting fifty.

Resuming Day 5 at 109 without loss, and just 93 runs away from the victory, Pakistan’s openers appeared to be in full control until off-spinner Mehidy Hasan struck.

Shafique followed his first-innings half-century to reach 73 before Mehidy (1-59) trapped him lbw.

Seven overs later, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam (1-89) had Abid out lbw, baffling him with a sharp turn to make Pakistan 171-2.

Azhar Ali then combined with captain Babar Azam to complete the inevitable, hitting consecutive boundaries off Mehidy to finish off the game. Azhar was unbeaten on 24 and Azam was not out on 13.

Liton Das’ maiden Test century helped Bangladesh post 330 in its first innings, then Taijul Islam claimed 7-116 to bowl out Pakistan for 286 — giving the hosts a 44-run first-innings lead.

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was instrumental in Pakistan’s rally, returned figures of 5-32 to wrap up Bangladesh’s second innings for 157.

The second Test starts Saturday in Dhaka.

Paris: Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has created history as he won the Ballon d'Or award for a record-extending seventh time late on Monday night.    

Argentine football great Lionel Messi defeated Robert Lewandowski of Polish (Bayern Munich Club) and Georginho (Chelsea) of Italy for this annual award for the best player in the world of football. 

By winning the award, Messi has gone several miles ahead of Portugal’s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of winning the most Ballons d’Or. 

The 34-year-old Messi now has 7 awards to his name, while 36-year-old Ronaldo has won this honor 5 times. 

Besides this, the star footballer claimed a maiden Copa America title with his country this year and was top scorer in La Liga for the 2020-21 season with 30 goals.

Messi ​​won the Best Player of the Year award for the first time in 2009. He won this title in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and now in 2021. 

Messi joined PSG on a free transfer from Barcelona during the off-season and collected 613 points to finish ahead of Lewandowski (580) and Chelsea's Italy midfielder Jorginho (460) at a star-studded ceremony in Paris. 

For the unversed, Messi and Ronaldo have won this award a total of 12 times since 2008. Thus, both players are dominating the world of football.

Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d'Or has been awarded since 1956.

Seoul: Renowned K-pop group BTS has once again given merit to their name in history books with their latest accomplishment as band’s on-going ‘Permission To Dance On Stage in LA’ became the first ever concert to sell out all four shows at SoFi stadium.  

Christy Butcher, the Senior Vice President of SoFi Stadium, announced that the tickets for BTS's four-day LA concert, "Permission to Dance on Stage" have been sold out.

Christy also said, "We are very pleased to hold BTS' historical first concert in America since 2019 at SoFi Stadium."

Commenting on the same, Butcher stated that “It’s also the first time that the live concert and YouTube Theater livestream are taking place simultaneously”.

Butcher continued that while numerous artists have performed at SoFi Stadium in the past, BTS is the first and only act to sell out four concerts.

Besides being the first artist to achieve this milestone, BTS became first-ever Korean group to set the record for the most ticket sales among bands and artists who performed at the stadium.

The SoFi Stadium can accommodate 70,000 to 100,000 people. However, roughly 50,000 fans were only allowed to attend per event.

It is pertinent to mention here that this is the first time that BTS held concerts at SoFi Stadium yet they already set another world record.

In addition to the main show, band’s sold-out concerts will be broadcast live through YouTube Theatre in Inglewood, California, which will be called "LIVE PLAY."

The livestream has been arranged for the fans who were unable to secure tickets for the live concert.

The "LIVE PLAY" will also comprise a series of programs including a Landmark Photo Zone and Photo Card Random Box where fans can participate in a giveaway to obtain BTS photocards.

Now that the November segment of their ‘Permission to Dance on stage’ concert is over, fans are eagerly awaiting their December 1 and 2 shows that are no doubt bound to be equally mesmerizing.