Runs against one in sprint (4)
I believe the answer is:
race
'sprint' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'runs against one' is the wordplay.
'runs' becomes 'r' (cricket abbreviation).
'against' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'one' becomes 'ace' ('ace' can be a synonym of 'one').
'r'+'ace'='RACE'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for race that I've seen before include "Run, dash" , "Stock" , "Run swiftly" , "Run quickly" , "Career - people" .)