Karim Sadiq was the unlikely hero on Wednesday as giantkillers Afghanistan nudged closer to a first Cricket World Cup appearance.
Forced by a finger injury to abandon wicketkeeping at Vaal University south of Johannesburg, Sadiq turned to bowling and instead snatched four Denmark wickets for the loss of 27 runs in a five-wicket 2011 World Cup qualifier triumph.
Sadiq proved useful with the bat, too, hitting 39 runs as the Afghans reached their 205-run target in 46.2 overs after Denmark amassed 204-9 in their 50 overs.
“It was bad luck for Denmark that I injured my finger, which meant I stopped keeping wicket. My captain trusted me with the ball and I bowled wicket to wicket and ended with four and a run out,” man-of-the-match Sadiq said.
“My coach was very happy with my bowling today and I am hoping he will let me bowl in other games during this tournament,” Sadiq said. “Bermuda is a big game for us on Thursday as they have played one-day international cricket, but if we win my country will be close to qualification for the Super Eights phase of the competition.”
In other Group B matches, a Ryan ten Doeschate century steered the Netherlands to a surprisingly easy seven-wicket victory over Kenya and the United Arab Emirates overcame Bermuda by four wickets.
Ireland won by seven wickets against Scotland in the feature Group A match and avenged a loss to their old rivals in the 2005 final of the competition, then called the ICC Trophy.
An unbeaten 121 from Neil McCullum lifted the Scots to 232-7, but the title holders could not contain William Porterfield, who hit an 87-ball century, including three sixes and 12 fours.
Uganda upset Namibia by six runs in the closest contest of the opening series of matches and an unbeaten 100 from Sunil Dhaniram helped Cananda to a 103-run win over Oman.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB