■CRICKET
Windies lead by 296
West Indies skipper Chris Gayle scored an unbeaten 155 in their second innings on the fourth day of the second Test against Australia in Adelaide as the tourists closed on 284-8, a lead of 296 over the hosts. Gayle held the West Indies innings together, with Shivnarine Chanderpaul the next highest scorer with 27. Mitchell Johnson took 4-85 in 19 overs for Australia, while Doug Bollinger took 2-36 from 14 overs. Australia lead the series 1-0.
■CRICKET
Gambhir named India’s best
Batsman Gautam Gambhir was named India’s top international cricketer for the 2008-2009 season and awarded the Polly Umrigar Trophy at an Indian cricket board function on Sunday. Left-handed opener Gambhir, who is also ICC’s test cricketer of the year, scored 1269 runs with five centuries in eight tests during the award period from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30 and was consistent in the shorter formats of the game.
■CRICKET
Pair set partnership record
Pakistani players Rafatullah Mohmand and Aamer Sajjad have set a world second wicket partnership record in first class cricket with a stand of 580. The pair accumulated the run glut playing for WAPDA against Sui Southern Gas Corporation in Pakistan’s oldest first class competition, the Quaid-e-Azam trophy on Sunday in Sheikhupura. Mohmand (302 not out) and Sajjad (289) bettered the previous second wicket best of 576 runs set by Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama against India in Colombo in 1997. Sri Lanka’s Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene hold the highest partnership record for any wicket with a 624-run stand against South Africa in Colombo in 2006.
■RUGBY UNION
Cooper faces charges
Australia center Quade Cooper has been charged with burglary and will appear in court next week, rugby officials said on Sunday. Police would not specifically name Cooper, 21, but a Queensland Rugby Union spokesman told reporters that the international had been charged with burglary. “We are still trying to establish the full facts of the matter but that is our understanding,” the spokesman said. “There is no running away from that. That is correct.” Queensland police said a 21-year-old man had been charged with one count of burglary following an alleged break-in at the resort of Surfers Paradise in the early hours of Sunday. The man was arrested near the scene, a police spokeswoman said, and was released later on bail. The man is due to appear at the local Southport Magistrates Court on Friday. Cooper was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when he was 15, making his home in Queensland state. He made his Test debut last year and featured in all of Australia’s November internationals against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
■MARATHON
Kenyans dominate Vegas
Kenyan runners Christopher Toroitich and Caroline Rotich won the Las Vegas Marathon on Sunday, topping a field of more than 27,600 on a frigid morning in the desert. Toroitich crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 15 seconds, holding off Terefe Yae of Ethiopia by 1:27. Assefa Tesfaye of Ethiopia was another second back in third place. The top American finisher was Stephen Haas in fifth with a time of 2:18:45. Rotich finished in 2:29:47 to win the women’s race ahead of Alevtina Ivanova or Russia, who had a time of 2:30:05. Serkalem Abrha of Ethiopia was third in 2:36:26.
■BASKETBALL
Net’s player splits lip
New Jersey Nets’ Chinese forward Yi Jianlian is expected to miss at least another week of NBA action after requiring 50 stitches to repair a cut upper lip. Yi, who has missed 15 games with a sprained right knee, had hoped to return on Sunday. But he was accidentally elbowed by teammate Sean Williams while playing 3-on-3 after practice on Saturday. “Sometimes these things work out for the best,” coach Kiki Vandeweghe said. “He really wanted to get back, was very anxious to get back, so maybe he was hurrying himself a little bit and he’ll be fully recovered when he gets back.” Yi hasn’t played since hurting his knee in a game against Charlotte last month. He has been been sidelined since injuring his knee in a game against Charlotte early last month. The Chinese Olympian is averaging 9.8 points and 7.5 rebounds this season.
■BADMINTON
Lee wins Masters Finals
World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia won his second consecutive Super Series Masters Finals title by beating South Korean Park Sung-hwan on Sunday. Lee claimed a 21-17, 21-17 success, collecting the US$40,000 winner’s check in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. There was further joy for Malaysia in the women’s singles with Wong Mew Choo defeating German Juliane Schenk 21-15, 21-7 in the final. The women’s event had been hit by the loss of the world’s two top players, Wang Yihan and Wang Lin, who both withdrew last month in order to represent China in the East Asian Games.
■SQUASH
Angry Gaultier crashes out
World No. 2 Gregory Gaultier of France crashed out in the first round of the US$152,500 PSA Masters squash on Sunday, losing to Daryl Selby of England. Gaultier, the top seed here after world No. 1 Karim Darwish of Egypt withdrew with a back injury, failed to hold on to a 2-1 lead and went out in a five-game thriller that lasted an hour-and-23 minutes. The 11th-ranked Selby won 12-10, 1-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-6 in the glass court erected on the lawns of the Bombay Gymkhana here. “This is my best win ever,” said a delighted Selby. “Greg is such an amazing player. When he gets confident, he gets on a roll. Gaultier, who lost his temper frequently during the long match, walked off in a huff after the loss without speaking to reporters.
■TENNIS
Henin returns with win
Belgium’s former world No. 1 Justine Henin began her return to tennis after an 18-month absence with victory over Italy’s Flavia Pennetta in the Women Tennis Trophy here on Sunday. And the 27-year-old is already dreaming of winning an elusive women’s crown at Wimbledon. “It is another Justine Henin who will try and go out there and achieve her dream of finally winning Wimbledon,” Henin said. Having beaten compatriot Kirsten Flipkens in the semi-final of this exhibition event on Saturday, Henin defeated Pennetta, currently 12th in the WTA rankings, 6-4, 6-4 to win the trophy. Although not part of the official circuit, the victory will have given Henin the belief she can once more compete at the top level. The 27-year-old Belgian announced her retirement from top-level tennis in May last year after winning seven Grand Slam titles and spending a total of 117 weeks at the top of the women’s rankings. Only months earlier, fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters made a stunning return to the sport by winning the US Open after a two-year absence to start a family.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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