India paceman Pankaj Singh claimed his long-awaited first wicket in Test cricket yesterday as hosts England extended their first innings lead to 173 runs at lunch on the third day of their fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Singh, who made his debut in the third Test at Southampton, removed Joe Root (77) and Jos Buttler (70) as England progressed to 325 for eight, thanks to the robust 134-run partnership between the pair.
It was Singh’s maiden Test wicket after toiling through 69 overs and two balls in vain. Chris Woakes (6) and Stuart Broad (0) were unbeaten at the crease at the interval.
Both Root and Buttler were caught as Singh varied his pace to good effect, India having taken the new ball at 257-6 after England had resumed at 237-6 following Friday’s rain-curtailed action.
Root, who looked set for a century after playing with confidence and flair, was dismissed when he gloved a rising delivery off his pads down the leg side to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Root earlier completed his seventh Test half-century with a tickled shot off his pads as England seemed to be settling in to build a substantial total without much discomfort.
Buttler survived when he was dropped by Virat Kohli in the gully at 34, off the bowling of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and hit some powerful boundaries before lofting a drive to Cheteshwar Pujara at mid-off from a disguised slower ball in the final over before the interval. The five-match series is level at 1-1.
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