Sports
Pakistan and India fans flock to Colombo, windfall for tourism
Prices of flights and hotel bookings to Colombo, Sri Lanka, have soared as thousands of fans flock to the city to watch India play Pakistan on Sunday in cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup.
The neighbouring countries and cricket rivals are due to meet during the group stage of the tournament, which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after Pakistan reversed a decision to boycott the match earlier in the week.
The game at Sri Lanka’s largest stadium is sold out with roughly 35,000 tickets sold and ahead of the match, most hotels in Colombo have doubled their prices — the cost of a room has climbed as high as $660 a night from a typical price tag of about $100-$150 per night, multiple booking sites showed.
After the match was finalised this week, last-minute bookings led to fuller flights from major cities like Chennai and Delhi, according to three Colombo travel agencies.
Flights from Chennai, which is about one and a half hours away, have more than tripled to around $623 — $756 while flights from Delhi are up more than 50% to roughly $666.
Nalin Jayasundera, President of Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said hotels were booked out. “Most fans are coming on all-inclusive packages that could be $1,500-$2000 or even higher depending on ticket, hotel, and flight prices,” Jayasundera said.
Tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner for Sri Lanka, famous for its ancient temples, pristine beaches, and lush tea plantations.
It is hoped that hosting more sporting events could boost Sri Lanka’s economic growth, which is recovering from a severe financial crisis and a recent cyclone, which killed 650 people.
Buddhika Hewawasam, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, told Reuters that in the first 10 days of February, roughly 20% of the 100,000 visitors to Sri Lanka were there for the Pakistan-India cricket match.
The island nation is hoping to position itself as a neutral venue for matches between political rivals.
“This is clearly showing confidence in Sri Lanka as a neutral cricket venue. Whether it’s India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, this is a welcome message to all South Asian countries that they can play cricket in Sri Lanka,” he said.
Lahore local Mian Sultan is looking forward to his trip to Sri Lanka to watch the game.
“I think it’s going to be a great experience,” said Sultan, who spent $800 on a front-row seat to watch the game alongside a friend, who is flying in from New Zealand. “I’m really excited about this match.”
Sultan added he thought Pakistan “absolutely” could come out on top on Sunday.
Sports
WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella opens up about what she wants fans to remember her for when she retires
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One of the best things to debate amongst friends is where professional athletes of a particular sport rank all time. Some make top 10 lists, others go by the Mount Rushmore rule.
Pro wrestling fans are no different. Championships, legacy and impact on the sport matter to those who take the time to watch wrestling 3-6 times per week for decades. How pro wrestlers are remembered by their fans is important to them.
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Nikki Bella confronts Becky Lynch during Monday Night RAW at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Aug. 4, 2025. (Michael Marques/WWE)
For WWE Hall of Famer Nikki Bella, she suggested in an interview with Fox News Digital that her championship accolades should be put aside. Using her voice to have an effect on someone watching her in an arena or at home is more important.
“I would love definitely to be remembered as fearless, as someone who wasn’t scared to use her voice, someone who wasn’t scared to pave the ways, someone who wasn’t scared to stand up to all the hate, who can still be her even when people try to tear you down,” Bella said, who became the Chief Margarita Officer for Madam Paleta Tequila earlier in the week. “What I’ve realized, and this is in any industry and this is throughout time, it’s never easy to be first or be the loudest about something. And there’s so many people who helped pave the way before us but when you’re at the forefront or when you’re at the face of that, you take on everything that comes with it – hate, love, support, everything.
WWE STAR LIV MORGAN OPENS UP ABOUT HER LEGACY, WHAT SHE WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED FOR

Nikki Bella returns to Monday Night RAW at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Ariz., on June 9, 2025. (Craig Ambrosio/WWE)
“I think that’s where I truly live up to being ‘Fearless’ Nikki, I just don’t stop. Even when I’m not at my best or when I’m at my greatest. I hope at the end of the day, people can look back and respect that too – even the ones who can be so disrespectful. They see things in such a different way and they really just don’t know. I hope to be remembered as that over anything.”
Bella said she understood that fans will look at her titles and accolades overall when she eventually decides to step away from action for good.
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She was a two-time Divas champion, including holding the championship for a record 300 days, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with her sister, Brie Bella, in 2020.
She stressed, however, that the impact she made was held in high regard above everything else.
“I get some people get hooked on champion numbers, like 13 time, 10 time, five time, you know, for me, it’s always been about impact,” she told Fox News Digital. “And if the people tuning in, I was able to change some people’s lives. Maybe they were being raised in a not great home and I gave them the ability to be fearless and to use their voice to know they could be someone great one day, to me, that’s being a champion and that’s what I’d love to be more than anything. I look at my Bella Army and they are my true accomplishment.

Nikki Bella addresses the crowd during SmackDown at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on March 13, 2026. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
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“That is better than any championship I could ever win, ever.”
Sports
Australia cricket split over BBL future after selloff plan stalls
SYDNEY: As Twenty20 cricket competitions explode around the world, Australia’s Big Bash League is struggling to chart a vision for the future, after plans to privatise its franchises stalled.
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg is adamant that outside investment is necessary to shore up the game’s financial future and keep pace with a boom in other well-funded leagues played in a similar time slot.
They include the UAE’s ILT20, South Africa’s SA20, and New Zealand’s privately-backed NZ20 scheduled to start in December 2027, all bidding for the best local and overseas players.
“If those salary caps (of other leagues) are significantly higher than ours over the coming years, and players can earn more in those areas, then players will follow those. That’s a real risk to us,” Greenberg told local media.
“I want to make sure that for Australian cricket, our ambition is to have a league that runs at the key part of the year for us, which is the December-January window, and it’s the best T20 league in the world at that moment in time.
“To do that, we have to have a significant amount of money in our salary caps to attract not only the best players from overseas, but to retain and attract our own best players.”
He added: “The concept of bringing private capital to cricket is inevitable at some point.”
While not a direct competitor as it runs in a different window, the benchmark Indian Premier League has seen massive success thanks to wealthy benefactors, with England’s The Hundred also on a roll after an influx of private capital.
But it is a thorny issue in Australia with an initial proposal to sell stakes in each of BBL’s eight teams stalling last month amid concerns about a loss of control for the game’s local custodians.
While the Victorian, Western Australian and Tasmanian cricket associations voiced support and South Australia said it was open to the idea, New South Wales and Queensland rejected the move.
Queensland Cricket, which controls the Brisbane Heat, said it was worried about player payments skyrocketing to unsustainable levels, and that private owners may not be as invested in the grassroots game.
Cricket NSW, which operates the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder, was similarly concerned that it could be detrimental to how the sport is governed and how local players are produced.
‘Sugar hit’
There are also fears about an Indian takeover, with the most likely buyers seen as the rich IPL team owners who have invested in other short-form competitions around the globe.
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell is in the “No” camp, arguing that the BBL belongs to the states and communities that have built it into a successful and well-attended product.
While acknowledging the commercial realities, he said selling it off was not the answer.
“The moment you introduce private ownership at scale, you introduce a set of priorities that may not always align with the long-term health of the game,” he wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Private investors, however well-intentioned, answer to shareholders, not to Australian cricket.”
Andrew Jones, a former head of strategy at Cricket Australia who was instrumental in the launch of the BBL, is similarly unconvinced.
“A one-off sale is a sugar hit, not a solution,” he said in The Australian newspaper, arguing that revenues can be better grown through sponsorships, wagering, ticketing, and more focus on commercialising the women’s game.
Despite scepticism, Greenberg remains confident and is now eyeing a hybrid ownership model.
This would allow the BBL franchises keen to sell stakes to do so while allowing those against to maintain complete ownership.
“If we end up not going together at the same time, can we still extract the same level of revenue, and can we extract the same level of value?” he said.
“I think we can, but I’ve got to do the work to satisfy a recommendation that would ultimately go to the members and our board.”
Sports
Knicks take commanding 3-0 lead over Cavaliers in Eastern Conference Finals
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The New York Knicks took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday as the franchise eyes its first NBA Finals berth since 1999.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points to lead New York to a 121-108 win over Cleveland, while Mikal Bridges added 22 as the Knicks never trailed in Game 3.
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The New York Knicks bench reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the Eastern Conference finals at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 23, 2026. (David Richard/Imagn Images)
New York is the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 10 straight during a postseason run. The last team to do it was the Boston Celtics, who also went on a 10-game run on their way to the 2024 title.
All but one of the Knicks’ wins have been by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell finished with 23 points in 38 minutes, while teammate James Harden added 21. Cleveland shot 12 of 41 from 3-point range and 12 of 19 from the foul line.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) during the first quarter in Game Three of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on May 23, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Cleveland rallied and tied it at 50-all on a jumper by Harden before the Knicks countered with a 10-1 run. They went into halftime with a 60-54 advantage.
Music superstar Taylor Swift was courtside for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night alongside fiancé and Ohio native Travis Kelce.
Swift and Kelce, who recently signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, took their seats in Rocket Arena shortly before the opening tip.

Singer Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attend Game Three of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 23, 2026. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
With the Cavs trailing 91-82 at the end of the third quarter, Kelce and Swift were shown on the arena’s giant scoreboard. Fans cheered wildly as Kelce showed off his team cap and wine-and-gold shirt.
Game 4 is set for Monday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The series will return to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday, if necessary.
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Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs will host the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 on Sunday night. Oklahoma City enters the matchup with a 2-1 series lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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