Sports from Wednesday, February 18th, 2026

Pakistan became the final team to qualify for the Super Eight of the Twenty20 World Cup after Sahibzada Farhan's maiden international century powered them to a 102-run victory over Namibia in Colombo on Wednesday.

Defending champion Mirra Andreeva was among a raft of top seeds that moved into striking position at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, with a star-studded quarterfinal line-up setting up a thrilling climax to the WTA1000 event.

Italy’s Antonio Tiberi powered to victory in the UAE Tour's 183 km stage three in Ras Al Khaimah, conquering the new Jebel Mobrah climb to take both the stage win and the overall race lead.

South Africa made four changes yet scarcely missed a beat as they trounced the United Arab Emirates by six wickets in the Group D round of the Twenty20 World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.

Manny Pacquiao confirmed he will face former junior welterweight world champion Ruslan Provodnikov in Las Vegas on April 18, marking his second outing since returning from a four‑year retirement last year.

Filipino sensation Alexandra Eala overpowered world No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, 6-1, 7-6(5) at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday night to secure her third career win against a Top-10 player and set up a last-16 clash with Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea.

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe has said Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni should be banned from the Champions League after the Argentine was accused of directing a racist slur at Vinicius Jr during the Spanish side's 1-0 playoff first-leg win on Tuesday.