Theekshana, 21, who missed the win against Bangladesh due to a side strain, made his international debut only last month but has quickly established himself as a much-feared mystery bowler, drawing comparisons with former Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis. "Maheesh will be playing tomorrow, if everything goes well. We've rested him from training yesterday. He's improved tremendously," Arthur told reporters. Spin proved to be Australia's undoing in the 4-1 series defeat by Bangladesh in August, with the tourists struggling on pitches not too dissimilar from the ones seen in the United Arab Emirates so far. "He (Theekshana) is a quality bowler. I think we've also got to -- he's a mystery bowler... tactically we do study our opposition. We obviously have studied Australia," said Arthur. "We had a series not so long ago when I was with Pakistan here against them where we did use spin quite successfully. So hopefully that works. If you haven't seen Maheesh, he certainly poses some questions." Twitter on Tuesday during which the off-spinner reminded the former Pakistan cricketer about the 2010 spot-fixing saga in England, which tainted Amir's cricket career for half a decade.
"Who is Amir I want to know, what credentials does he have? He is someone who betrayed his own country and fixed the game in Lord's. He's been talking too much about the India-Pakistan match and I gave him a befitting reply. The third seed saved a break point at 5-all in the second set and won a lengthy following game on Hercog's serve to force a decider.
Raducanu, born in Canada to parents from Romania and China, dominated the third set to secure her first victory in a WTA event and advance to a meeting with Romania's 106th-ranked Ana Bogdan.
"It means a lot to play in my dad's country," said Raducanu, who delighted the crowd by conducting most of her post-match interview in Romanian. The Chinese capital in February will become the first host of a Summer and Winter Games and last week welcomed the Olympic flame with a low-key ceremony as the main event swings into view.
There was no sign of dissent in strictly controlled China, but the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece was disrupted by a small number of activists who brandished a Tibetan flag and a banner saying "no genocide".
Days after activists targeted the flame-lighting ceremony in Greece, NBA player Enes Kanter branded President Xi Jinping a "brutal dictator" and condemned China's policies in Tibet, underlining how sports stars increasingly use their clout to speak out on sensitive issues. The Kalinga Stadium will only be open to accredited personnel and the participants of the tournament.
Sixteen teams – hosts India, Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Egypt, France, Germany, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Netherlands and the United States – will compete in the tournament. Verratti was replaced late in the first half of Sunday's game and is set for another spell on the sidelines, having already missed a month of the season with a knee injury.
He was also granted extra time to recover at the start of the campaign following Italy's Euro 2020 triumph.
The 28-year-old will be unavailable for Ligue 1 games against Lille and Bordeaux and the Champions League match at RB Leipzig on November 3.
He faces a race against time to be fit for the trip to Manchester City on November 24 after the international break.
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