As Mohammed Shami ran in to deliver the hat-trick ball in the final over against Afghanistan, he had MS Dhoni's words in mind. Afghanistan had begun that over needing 16 with three wickets in hand, and were now nine down, needing 12. Only one Indian - Chetan Sharma - had taken a World Cup hat-trick earlier, in 1987. This was Shami's chance to join an elite club. And he did it by nailing a perfect yorker on the base of leg stump. Mujeeb Ur Rahman backed away and swung blindly, only to miss it, and saw the stumps flattened.

"The fewer you have to defend, the more issues you face in executing, but knowing I had Jasprit Bumrah bowling [the 49th over] from the other end was good," Shami said soon after the match. "The hat-trick feels very special, that too getting it in a World Cup is a big deal. Before I bowled the last ball, I had MS Dhoni's advice in my mind. He told me, 'World Cup hat-tricks are rare, just bowl a yorker. This is your chance.' That's what I did."

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) - Fall of wickets

It was a moment Shami may have not envisaged a year ago. In June 2018, his central contract was withheld amid allegations of domestic violence by his wife. Then, there was a battle with his own body owing to niggles, even in the aftermath of an ankle surgery that saw him spend nearly a year on the sidelines.

When he finally regained fitness, he had put on a few kilos and even failed the mandatory yo-yo test. His pace dropped and he wasn't on the selectors' radar as far as one-day selection was concerned. There were question marks over his immediate future.

Shami hit the gym and focused on his diet in an effort to reduce weight. Gradually over time, the selectors brought him back into the mix for the ODIs against West Indies at home in October. Since then, there has been no looking back.

In March this year, Shami's improved fitness and work ethic even had Kohli awe-struck. "The way Shami has come back into the white-ball set-up after his Test performances, have never seen him so lean before. He has lost five-six kilos. He's running in and bowling so well," he said at the time. "He's hungry for wickets."

Looking back, Shami reflected on his improved diet as a big factor in his bowling rejuvenation. "This journey towards fitness has taken me two years," he said on Sunday after taking the hat-trick. "I was heavy after the injury, I used to feel tightness in my knee after long spells, so I knew I had to do something extra if I had to play for a longer time.

"I have cut down on my food, I follow a diet and people laugh about it when I tell them that. It's not strict but I avoid stuff doctors tell me to. I don't eat sweets or bread, it has helped me a lot."

On Saturday, his four-wicket haul and his bowling partnership with Bumrah was pivotal in India's 11-run win over Afghanistan that helped them remain unbeaten in the competition.

"I had 16 to defend thanks to your efforts," he told interviewer Bumrah in a chat on BCCI.tv. "I knew it gave me a chance to do something. It was also after a long time that we were bowling in tandem."

The start of Shami's final over seemed nervy as Mohammad Nabi clubbed him to the long-on boundary. Then with 12 to defend off five balls, he first had half-centurion Nabi, whose innings he described as "irritating", hole out to long-on before nailing two perfect yorkers to get rid of Aftab Alam and Mujeeb to seal victory.

"I felt the irritation when Nabi was batting, but we knew if we got him out, the match was ours," Shami said. "He was the only one capable [of winning it in the final over]. We didn't want to show our weakness in the face of his irritation. We just wanted to be aggressive and show intent."

Shami later revealed that bowling short to Afghanistan in the middle-overs had been part of India's plan, one that fetched them the key wickets of Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi, who fell to Bumrah. "It was a much better wicket in the first innings compared to the second," he observed. "The plan was to not bowl too full. They were a little doubtful with the bouncers, so the plan was to mix up our lengths with bouncers."

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's live updates and analysis on Pakistan v South Africa. If the blog doesn't load for you, please refresh your page.

After a meandering first 45 minutes, the United States made it two wins from two in the Gold Cup group stage, defeating Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 on Saturday night in Cleveland.

It had been 620 days since the U.S. was denied a place at the 2018 World Cup by the Caribbean nation, when the Americans were defeated 2-1 on the final day of qualifying for the competition. U.S. players this week played down the notion that they'd be seeking revenge for that loss, but their victory was physical throughout and occasionally tempers flared.

"Every time we step on the field we want to make a statement," said U.S. forward Gyasi Zardes, who scored twice and barely missed a third. "We're trying to change the way the world views American soccer."

- Berhalter says 'diversity' key for USMNT's attack
- U.S. Player Ratings: Pulisic aggressive, intelligent, influential
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: All you need to know
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

Zack Steffen was the first goalkeeper to be seriously tested, when he was forced to punch away a rasping drive from Trinidad's Khaleem Hyland nine minutes into the contest. But it was Hyland who came off worst, pulling up lame after his shot and would be unable to continue, subbed off for Kevin Molino barely a quarter hour into the game.

The two sides exchanged chances throughout the first 40 minutes, though neither truly had an edge before Aaron Long broke the deadlock with four minutes to go in the first half. He got his head on the end of a whipped cross from Christian Pulisic, sneaking his effort underneath goalkeeper Marvin Phillip in his first of two goals on the night.

And much like the the group-stage win over Guyana on Tuesday, Gregg Berhalter's men struggled to dictate the terms of the contest in the first half, only to gain momentum after the interval.

Twenty-one minutes into the second half, Zardes scored his second goal of the Gold Cup, when Nick Lima's header across the box fell to the Columbus Crew forward to tap in. He added his second of the night three minutes later, shaping a shot past the outstretched arms of Phillip and into the top corner.

Barely three minutes later, he was denied his hat trick twice in quick succession, first striking the woodwork and then having a header kept out by a point-blank save from Phillip.

Pulisic made it 4-0 on 73 minutes, passing the ball into the far corner after substitute Jordan Morris picked him out in acres of space inside the area. Morris added another assist five minutes later, sending a ball across the six-yard box that Paul Arriola tapped in to make it a 5-0 lead.

Long wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute, beating Phillip to a loose ball in the six-yard box and chesting into a gaping net.

"For us, we advance to the next round," Berhalter said. "That's important. Our focus was to prepare for this game knowing that if we'd be able to go to the next round. That was the focus of the group. Trinidad was in our way."

The agent for center Willie Cauley-Stein has encouraged the Sacramento Kings to allow his client to become an unrestricted free agent.

"I'm hopeful they will not even give Willie his qualifying offer," Roger Montgomery of Roc Nation Sports told the Sacramento Bee.

A former Kentucky star, Cauley-Stein has played all four of his NBA seasons in Sacramento since it took him sixth overall in the 2015 draft. With his rookie contract expiring this month, he would become a restricted free agent -- giving Sacramento the ability to match offers from other teams -- if the Kings first extend a $6,265,631 million qualifying offer by June 30.

"I really think Willie needs a fresh start," Montgomery told the Bee. "Based on how things have gone for him there in Sacramento, I just think it's time for Willie to move on and we'd really like him to move on."

Cauley-Stein, 25, holds career per-game averages of 10.1 points on 53.4 percent shooting to go with 6.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. He excels running the floor for a Kings team that likes to play at pace, giving Sacramento an athletic 7-foot center who can take some of the focus away from defenses, can pass the ball and can finish at the rim.

But consistency has been a trouble spot for Cauley-Stein. He started this past season by averaging 17.4 points in October, but his numbers dipped after that, including two months (February and April) in which he failed to average double figures in scoring.

The Kings issued a brief statement to the Sacramento Bee, saying, "Willie is a great player who has shown he can fit our style of play."

But Montgomery said the pieces were not fitting together for his client and cited turnover in both the Kings' roster and coaching staff. The Kings hired Luke Walton as head coach in April to replace Dave Joerger.

"We haven't felt that he's been able to get what has been necessary for him to be able to lead the franchise the way he wants to," Montgomery said. "We are very, very thankful for the opportunity that was presented to him, but we just think it's not working. It's not going to work. It's just time for a fresh start. We need a fresh start and maybe the Kings do, too."

The Minnesota Twins have agreed to a minor league deal with right-handed reliever Cody Allen.

Allen was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Angels one day after he gave up four runs over 2/3 of an inning in a 9-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on June 14.

Allen had a 6.26 ERA over 23 innings in 25 appearances with the Angels and lost his closer role in his first season with the club.

Allen came to Los Angeles in free agency on a one-year, $8.5 million deal. He spent the previous seven seasons with the Cleveland Indians.

The 30-year-old righty had a run of five straight seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA before last year, when he had a 4.70 ERA for the Indians.

ST. LOUIS -- One of the amazing things about the return of Albert Pujols to St. Louis this weekend isn't about him at all. Before Friday, Redbird Nation had never gotten a first-hand look at the game's greatest player: Pujols' Angels teammate Mike Trout. Yet Trout's St. Lou debut barely caused a ripple in the flood of Albert love the past couple of days. You know it's a big deal when no one is paying attention to Mike Trout.

Maybe there is a good reason for that. St. Louis fans may never have seen Trout in person before, but they've certainly heard of his exploits and seen his unmatched career-to-date numbers. In fact, Trout may remind them of a certain former Cardinal, the one drawing more adulation along the banks of the Mississippi than Mark Twain.

Consider this an exercise in "you better appreciate what you got before it's gone." If Pujols were the same age as Trout right now, and you had to pick one or the other, whom would you take? It's Trout, right? You're probably on the money, but it's not as much of an open-and-shut case as you might think. To weight it objectively, you have to do your best to wipe away the Angels version of Pujols that we've seen the past few years from your consciousness. Try, if you can, to zero in on Pujols, circa 2007, when -- like Trout is now -- he was 27 years old.

First, consider this. Yes, Trout is considered baseball's best player right now by mass acclamation and he has held that unofficial title for several years. Earlier this year, I looked at the "best in the game" issue objectively, awarding the title to the top-ranked player by five-year win shares totals. The idea is that you don't lose your title because of an off-year, or a career season by someone else. It takes prolonged excellence to be considered baseball's king, and using rolling averages is a good way to model that effect.

By that method, Trout has been baseball's best player at the conclusion of each of the past five seasons, from 2014 to 2018. He leads the majors in most bottom-line value metrics so far in 2019, so it seems all but certain he'll retain his crown through this season.

There was a bit of anarchy at the top in the three seasons before Trout's ascension, with Andrew McCutchen, Robinson Cano and Miguel Cabrera each stealing the belt for a brief spell. Before that, Pujols was the titleholder, leading the way after each season from 2004 to 2010. In terms of king-fish status, Trout still has a couple more years to match the length of Pujols' reign.

As mentioned, Pujols' age-27 season was 2007, so when he was done with that campaign, he had been the game's top player for four years, and he had three more to go. We know that Trout will almost certainly still be considered the top player after this season. And it seems unfathomable that he'll relinquish the title any time soon. But you never know, right? Still, you would take your chances with a guy like that.

That's where Pujols was in terms of acclaim when he was Trout's age. He had been the game's best player for years and his performance record was virtually spotless. He was good at everything -- hitting for average and power, with discipline and in situations. He was the best in the game defensively at first base and was a tremendous baserunner. And he was right in the middle of his prime, one that seemed as if it would never end. Every great season looked a lot like the previous one. Kind of like with Trout.

Let's consider value metrics. Trout is at 69.4 WAR but has a little over half this season to go. Let's go with his having 75 WAR by the end of 2019. Pujols was at 54.9 WAR through his age-27 season. This is the essence of why you'd go with Trout. He had more than a season's head start on Pujols because he broke in at 19, and that narrows the gap because -- remember -- we're trying to figure out whom we'd take going forward. Still, while both players stood alone as MLB's top performer at age 27, there are degrees to greatness, and Trout has been a greater shade of great than Pujols was at the same age. You can quibble about a handful of WAR, but you can't really quibble about a 20-win gap in value.

The more traditional stats are not so clear-cut, especially since some might want to dismiss the positional adjustments in WAR and some of the park effects when arguing this choice. (They'd be mostly wrong to do so, but these measurements are kind of touchy with some fans because of the abstract nature of contextualization.)

Pujols was hitting .332/.420/.620 through his age-27 season. Trout is at .307/.420/.578. Pujols had 282 homers; Trout has 262 and will likely end up around 282 by the end of the season. Pujols had 861 RBIs; Trout has 704 and even with another half season of RBIs will be at a major deficit. Trout already has more runs and stolen bases at 27 than Pujols, even with rest of 2019 remaining. Still, anyone arguing for Pujols on the basis of traditional measures might be hard-pressed to take his future greatness over Trout's.

There is one final factor in this: durability. Trout has been mostly healthy this season, but he missed 71 games combined in 2017 and 2018. He's a rambunctious player, running into outfield walls, diving into bases with unthinking abandon, and even seems to have an unusual ability to foul balls off himself. If these things worry you in regard to Trout's future, and you have age-27 Pujols as a standby option, is the choice really as easy as all that?

Actually, yes. Pujols is among the greatest of the great, but nevertheless, if you were to put Hall of Famers into tiers, he'd probably be on the second tier. And that's pretty damned good. But Trout appears to be headed to the pantheon -- the Mays-Ruth-Aaron-Bonds-Mantle-Wagner class living somewhere on the upstate New York version of Mount Olympus.

Yet, maybe we thought Pujols could have eventually resided there as well. We can slot his career more accurately because we've seen how it has turned out. He proved to be human, not the machine to which he was initially likened for his consistency. With Trout, we can continue to dream of heights never before scaled.

And that's the moral of all this. Appreciate Pujols for what he was and what he is. But don't put off admiring what Mike Trout has done so far in his career and continues to do. The best, even the best of the best, don't stay the best forever. It doesn't matter whether or not you'd take the 27-year-old Pujols or the 27-year-old Trout. You can't go wrong with either, and whomever you end up with, soak up every magic moment while you can.

Andy Murray says he "didn't expect to be playing in the Queen's final" on his return to tennis, five months after career-saving hip surgery.

Murray, 32, and Feliciano Lopez, 37, beat John Peers and Henri Kontinen 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 10-7 in the semi-final.

The pair have dropped one set and beaten top seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal en route to the final.

"I didn't have high expectations at all," said two-time Wimbledon singles champion Murray.

"I had a tough, tough draw, playing the top seeds in the first match and I've never played with Feli [Lopez] before.

"I think things have probably got a little bit better maybe with each match as well."

In Sunday's final, Murray and Lopez will play Britain's Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram after they claimed a shock victory over fourth-seeded US brothers Bob and Mike Bryan.

Spaniard Lopez will take on 34-year-old Frenchman Gilles Simon in the singles final at 13:30 BST before returning to the court for the doubles final.

'Zero pain in my hip'

Before his surgery in January, Murray limped and grimaced between points and his suffering culminated in a tearful news conference at the Australian Open, when he revealed retirement plans.

But the Scot, who has won the singles title at Queen's five times, has looked sharp on court all week and his body language reveals how much he is enjoying playing again.

Murray said there was "no pain at all" in his hip after the semi-final, although he admitted he was feeling the effects of the three matches he has played.

"My back's a bit stiff," he said. "You're sort of getting down low for a lot of balls and you're always kind of in a crouched-over position in doubles a bit more than when you're in singles.

"I'm not used to that as much, so my back has been a little bit stiff after some of the matches. My arm is a little bit tired from serving and stuff. But my hip's been brilliant so far. I don't feel anything at all. It's amazing."

'I wanted to play every tournament with one partner'

Murray won his last doubles title with brother Jamie in Tokyo eight years ago, but has not announced any plans to team back up with his sibling.

Instead, the former world number one will play with Brazilian Marcelo Melo at Eastbourne next week before partnering France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the men's doubles at Wimbledon.

"I ideally would have liked to have played with the same partner every single week," Murray said.

"I have got three brilliant partners, so hopefully we can do OK. But I have to do a few things differently each week."

The Scot's mixed doubles partner is yet to be decided for his return to Grand Slam tennis at the All England Club in July.

After revealing in his BBC Sport column that French Open champion Ashleigh Barty had turned him down, many players took to Twitter to offer to play with Murray.

But the three-time Grand Slam winner said he had not spoken to anyone personally about it yet.

"My coach had a few messages from players," he explained. "A few people have said stuff online, but I haven't actually spoken to anyone since."

Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber fell to a shock defeat as Belinda Bencic reached the Mallorca Open final.

Germany's Kerber, 31, was the top seed left in the event and took control early on, winning the opening set.

But she won only three of 13 break points and world number 13 Bencic reached the final of the grass court event with a 2-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win.

Bencic, 22, will now play 20-year-old American Sofia Kenin after she saw off Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova.

Kenin won her first WTA title at the Hobart International in January and the world-number-30 upset an Sevastova - who is ranked 18 places higher - in a 6-4 4-6 6-2 win.

After Sunday's final, the focus turns to the Nature Valley International tournament in Eastbourne before Kerber defends her Wimbledon title when the championships begin on 1 July.

Kerber has endured a difficult 2019, losing to the unheralded Danielle Collins at the Australian Open in January.

She was also beaten in her only final of the year by Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu at Indian Wells and suffered a first-round exit against Anastasia Potapova at the French Open.

Andy Murray reached the doubles final at Queen's as the Briton's dream return to tennis continued five months after career-saving hip surgery.

He and Feliciano Lopez beat third seeds John Peers and Henri Kontinen 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 10-7.

It was a third match of the day for Lopez, who reached the singles final before heading straight out to resume their suspended doubles quarter-final.

They play Britain's Joe Salisbury and American Rajeev Ram in Sunday's final.

After completing a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) win over Britons Dan Evans and Ken Skupski in a quarter-final that had been suspended on Friday for bad light, they stayed on court to play the semi-final.

"I'm very happy to be in the final," Murray said.

"It was a good match. It was an unbelievable effort from Feliciano. He's played a lot of tennis in the last couple of games. He's not young any more!"

Lopez, 37, takes on 34-year-old Gilles Simon in Sunday's singles final (13:30 BST) before returning to the court for the doubles final with Murray.

More Murray magic

In his three matches at his first tournament since having his hip resurfaced in January, Murray has looked sharp.

Gone is the limp and the grimace that accompanied his obvious discomfort at times pre-surgery.

Instead a relaxed and smiling Murray has returned - and while it is clear he is enjoying simply being back on court, it is also clear that his competitive desire is as great as ever.

A fist pump and roar greeted the ace that sealed the opening set, while in the sixth game of the second set, where he and Lopez were 15-40 down at 1-4, he unleashed a fantastic forehand return that was key to them eventually holding serve.

They broke in the following game and took it into a tie-break, where they were just edged out.

With questions over when fatigue might creep in for Lopez - and when a lack of match fitness might begin to show for Murray against two doubles specialists - they drew enough strength to push themselves over the finishing line, sealing victory when the Spaniard's serve was not returned.

Murray, who has won the singles title at Queen's five times, will now have the chance to add the doubles crown - five months after a tearful news conference in Australia where he was revealing his retirement plans.

Murray, whose last doubles title was eight years ago in Tokyo alongside brother Jamie, is playing at Eastbourne next week, where he is swapping Lopez for Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo.

The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam singles champion is then scheduled to partner France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the doubles at Wimbledon next month.

But the Scot's mixed doubles partner is yet to be decided for his return to Grand Slam tennis at the All England Club.

Salisbury & Ram upset Bryan brothers

While all the attention has been on Murray's return, compatriot Joe Salisbury has flown under the radar and into the final.

The 27-year-old and American Ram claimed a shock 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (10-8) victory against fourth-seeded American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in their semi-final.

Bob Bryan, who has won 16 men's doubles Grand Slams, returned to tennis at the beginning of this year after having the same hip surgery as Murray in 2018.

Salisbury has three doubles titles to his name, winning the most recent one with Ram in Dubai in March.

The pair also reached the Brisbane International final in January.

They are doubles specialists but since Murray and Lopez knocked out top seeds Robert Farah and Juan Sebastien Cabal in the opening round here, that is unlikely to bother the Scot and the Spaniard.

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

There were understandable signs of fatigue in Lopez after his three-set singles semi-final win, but with Murray alongside - bursting with energy and intent - he was able to rouse himself to win a third match of the day.

It was a chilly evening and Lopez had eaten very little for several hours. The pair lost their way at times in the second set, but were not to be denied in the match tie-break.

What a week this has been for Murray, who on Sunday has the chance to win his first doubles title for eight years.

And what a week for Lopez: a 37-year-old wildcard, with a chance on Sunday to do the double.