Ricky Ponting struck an unbeaten century yesterday as Australia stumbled to a three-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first test.
The visitors reached the victory target of 307 runs just after lunch on the fifth and final day, with Ponting playing a captain's knock to finish the match unbeaten on 118. He smashed 13 boundaries in his 253-ball innings.
Tailender Jason Gillespie brought up the win with a single to finish four not out.
Australia resumed on the overnight score of 212-4, but were forced to endure a nerve wracking first session that saw the loss of Adam Gilchrist (12), Shane Warne (5) and Brett Lee (29).
Ponting, who survived a dropped catch when on 97, got vital support from in-form Lee, who helped steady the innings before being dismissed by paceman Mashrafee Bin Mortaza.
Bangladesh had a dream start to the match after it piled up a massive 427 runs in the first innings and then bowled star-studded Australia out for 269 to secure a hefty 158-run lead.
Australia's bowlers struck back to dismiss inexperienced Bangladesh for a paltry 148 in the second innings to ensure the visitors an achievable victory target.
Meanwhile, in India, England's stand-in skipper Andrew Strauss limped his way to 74 as the tourists finally tasted victory in the sixth one-day match match against India on Wednesday.
The Middlesex opener, leading England for the first time in place of the rested Andrew Flintoff, retired hurt with leg cramps in the 31st over before the tourists surpassed India's modest 223 with 44 deliveries to spare.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite