India clinched the series against England with a 19-run victory in the rain-hit fourth one-day international on Sunday, despite an explosive 72 from Owais Shah.
The tourists finished at 178-8 in the day-night match after their target was revised to a stiff 198 off 22 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method. They now trail 4-0 in the seven-match series.
Shah posed the main threat to India with a magnificent display of hard and clean hitting, hammering three sixes and nine fours in his 48-ball knock for his eighth half-century in one-day internationals.
He put on 82 off just eight overs for the fourth wicket with all-rounder Andrew Flintoff (41) after three wickets had fallen for 52 in the opening nine overs. Flintoff smashed one six and three fours in his 30-ball innings.
England’s chances receded sharply when Shah and Flintoff fell in the space of seven runs in a bid to force the pace. The asking-rate kept climbing as the tourists needed 37 off the last two overs with four wickets in hand.
They could manage only 17, with Paul Collingwood scoring a 14-ball 22.
“We were beaten by an Indian side which is playing fantastic cricket at the moment,” England captain Kevin Pietersen said. “We came here after a 4-0 win against South Africa back home and I guess we have to adjust to this series defeat now. We have to make sure the series stays competitive. So we have to make sure we win a few games at least.”
Virender Sehwag earlier hit three sixes and nine fours in his 57-ball 69 to help the hosts reach 166-4 off 22 overs.
India, put in to bat, were 82-1 off 14 overs before the first rain break and then 106-1 in 17 overs at the second when the overs were reduced again.
Sehwag received valuable support from Gautam Gambhir, who made a 37-ball 40 with the help of seven fours. The pair added 79 for the second wicket after the fall of star batsman Sachin Tendulkar in the eighth over.
India suffered a setback when Tendulkar was bowled by fast bowler Stuart Broad after contributing just 11 runs in his first one-day match in eight months.
But there was no stopping Sehwag, who flayed the England attack with a wide range of attacking shots.
Sehwag fell playing shots, caught by Anderson at long-on while attempting a big shot off spinner Graeme Swann after the second rain interruption. He also completed 6,000 runs during his 32nd half-century in one-day internationals.
Yuvraj Singh made an 11-ball 25 not out with three sixes, including two in one over off Pietersen, as India plundered 60 in the last five overs.
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