Paceman Kagiso Rabada yesterday took 5-92 as South Africa completed an emphatic 177-run victory over Australia in the first Test at the WACA after dismissing the hosts for 361 just before tea on the final day.
The tourists claimed a third successive victory at the WACA after 2008 and 2012 triumphs and a 1-0 lead in the series, which continues in Hobart, Australia, on Saturday and concludes with a day-nighter at Adelaide Oval.
Australia’s batsmen were unable to cope with Rabada’s pace and swing as the 21-year-old took his fourth five-wicket haul in his ninth Test, making light of the absence of South Africa’s injured pace spearhead Dale Steyn.
South Africa declared on 540-8 after lunch on Sunday, leaving Australia with an imposing 539-run victory target or more realistically almost five sessions to bat out for a draw.
The hosts had looked in a strong position on day two when, having dismissed South Africa for 242, they were 158 without loss before collapsing to 244 all out.
Australia had resumed 169-4 and Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Starc were dismissed before lunch with Peter Siddle following after the break.
Peter Nevill, who finished on 60 not out, and Josh Hazlewood stalled the march to victory with a dogged partnership of 65 before Australia’s No. 10 batsman was caught at short cover for 29 to give Temba Bavuma his maiden Test wicket.
Nathan Lyon extended the tail further with a 21-ball eight before he was trapped in front by debutant spinner Keshav Maharaj to conclude the match.
Khawaja had provided the most spirited resistance for much of the innings and after he fell LBW to J.P. Duminy’s part-time spin three runs shy of his fifth Test century, Australia’s already tough task looked all but impossible.
Rabada accounted for Mitchell Marsh (26) and Starc (13), both LBW, to take his match tally to seven wickets.
Bavuma, whose brilliant run out accounted for opener David Warner on Sunday, almost claimed another key victim with his first delivery in Test cricket.
Khawaja, on 84, was plumb LBW after the ball hit a crack and thudded into his front pad, but the 26-year-old had overstepped the mark and umpire Nigel Llong called a no-ball.
Left-hander Khawaja had started the morning on 58 and continued to display the same grit and determination that got him through to the close on day four, hitting 11 fours and three sixes in his 182-ball knock.
However, Duminy’s first delivery skidded into Khawaja’s back pad and the 29-year-old became the second Australian batsman to perish on 97 after Warner in the first innings, the wicket that triggered the collapse.
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