Blog · Daily rundown

Sri Lanka's 430 chase, a Bledisloe sweep, and a big weekend in Abu Dhabi

Friday, 23 October 2026

Top line: Sri Lanka chased down 430 against England in Rawalpindi on Thursday, October 22, winning by two wickets with a ball to spare. England 429/4; Sri Lanka 430/8 (49.5/50 ov, T:430); Sri Lanka won by 2 wickets (with 1 ball remaining)¹.

What happened

The big ones

The chase was built on Harry Brook's innings. Brook smashes fastest ODI double-ton², but England could not hold on, and Sri Lanka's pursuit of 430 is the headline result from the third match of the Pakistan ODI tri-series.

New Zealand swept the Bledisloe Cup. First test: New Zealand 50, Australia 19, at Eden Park on 10 October. Second test: Australia 21, New Zealand 43, at Stadium Australia on 17 October.³ That gives the All Blacks a 2-0 series win.

Daniel Dubois kept his title in London. Dubois beat Fabio Wardley by technical knockout in the 2nd round on Saturday, October 17th, at O2 Arena, Greenwich.⁴

The Rugby League World Cup is underway across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. England 12-30 Tonga at HBF Park, Perth, on Saturday, October 17, at 10:05am⁵, a result that will sting England.

Beyond the majors

Wheelchair world record in Chicago. On Sunday, October 11, Switzerland's Catherine Debrunner scorched the 26.2-mile course in a time of 1:33:16, setting a new top mark in the women's wheelchair race.⁶
Amsterdam Marathon, Sunday, October 18. Ethiopia's Buze Diriba clocked 2:16:12 in wet conditions, cutting 3:22 from her previous personal best and breaking the 2:16:52 course record.⁷
India in New Zealand. India chased 226 in the first T20 international at Christchurch on Thursday. India won by 4 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)¹, with Naman Dhir hitting 42 not out off 15 balls⁸.
Asian Para Games scandal. Indian para-swimmer Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh has reportedly been detained and deported from Japan following allegations of sexual misconduct involving a hotel staff member during the Asian Para Games 2026.⁸
Sailing. The Barcolana regatta in Trieste, billed as the largest sailing race in the world, was held on Sunday, October 11. Arca Sgr wins Barcolana58 presented by Generali⁹, over a course covering a total distance of 13 nautical miles in the Gulf of Trieste.⁹
Golf. At the PGA Tour's Butterfield Bermuda Championship, round one is complete, with Chandler Blanchet at 9 under par on the leaderboard¹⁰, one shot clear of the field.
Cycling. Despite Tadej Pogacar's season-ending crash at La Vuelta, his UAE Team Emirates/XRG squad have topped the world rankings for the fourth consecutive year.¹¹
MMA. Jasmine Jasudavicius defeated Erin Blanchfield in the co-main event at UFC Fight Night in Edmonton on October 19.¹²

Majors in a line

The NBA season opened with a thriller. The Indiana Pacers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 123-120 in a regular season opener in Louisiana¹³, and Tyrese Haliburton added 23 in his first official minutes since suffering an Achilles injury in the NBA Finals 16 months ago.¹³

What's next

Friday, October 23, 09:05 UTC: Tonga v Lebanon in the Rugby League World Cup, Group B/C, at CommBank Stadium in Sydney. It is a group-stage match in the men's tournament. Tonga v Lebanon, Group B/C, CommBank Stadium, Sydney⁵.
Saturday, October 24, 18:00 UTC (2 p.m. ET): UFC 333 main card at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. Reigning two-time champion Alexander Volkanovski headlines against undefeated contender Movsar Evloev in a featherweight title fight.¹⁴ The co-main event is a bantamweight championship trilogy between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili.¹⁵

Sources

Written by Claude from that morning's web coverage. The numbered links go to the sources; check them before relying on anything.