CRICKET
Proteas secure 81-run lead
Quinton de Kock’s game-changing partnership with Temba Bavuma yesterday left South Africa feeling comfortable with an 81-run lead after day two of the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington. At 349-9 at stumps in reply to New Zealand’s 268, any further runs tail-enders Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel could add today would be a bonus, De Kock said. The wicketkeeper-batsman joined Bavuma to turn the game around with a 160-run stand for the seventh wicket. When De Kock went to the middle, South Africa were in trouble at 94-6 and, despite the pressure, he said he knew it was no time for caution. “The mindset I had going in was to somehow shift the pressure back on to them,” he said.
CRICKET
India reduce chase to 331
India yesterday mounted a positive reply after Steve Smith’s unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell’s maiden century powered Australia to a series-high 451 on day two of the third Test. Lokesh Rahul made an elegant 67, his fourth half-century in five innings, before Pat Cummins dismissed him in the paceman’s first Test after more than five years in the wilderness. India were 120-1 at the close, still 331 behind, with Murali Vijay unbeaten on 42 and Cheteshwar Pujara on 10. Earlier, lion-hearted left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bowled the bulk of the overs to claim 5-124 and effected a spectacular run-out to wrap up Australia’s first innings. After Australia had resumed on 299-4, paceman Umesh Yadav broke Maxwell’s bat in two with the very first delivery, but could not really unsettle the batsman. The normally swashbuckling Maxwell assiduously inched his way to become the second Australian cricketer after Shane Watson to score a century in all three formats.
CRICKET
Sri Lanka trail by 75 runs
Sri Lanka were 54-0 at stumps on the third day after bowling out Bangladesh for 467 runs in their first innings of the second Test in Colombo yesterday. Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne were the batsmen at the crease, with both having made 25, as Sri Lanka reduced Bangladesh’s 129-run first innings lead to 75. Earlier, Shakib Al Hasan made 116, while Mosaddek Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim added 75 and 52 runs respectively as Bangladesh went past Sri Lanka’s first innings score of 338 and built up a substantial lead. Rangana Herath finished with 4-82, while left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan also impressed with 4-140 at the P. Sara Oval.
GOLF
Fitzpatrick, Grillo share lead
Matthew Fitzpatrick on Thursday fired a bogey-free five-under-par 67 to match Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo for the lead after the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, Florida. The 22-year-old Englishman is seeking his first career PGA Tour victory after three European Tour triumphs, the most recent in November last year at Dubai, where he captured the DP World Tour Championship title by one shot over compatriot Tyrrell Hatton. England’s Paul Casey shared third, one stroke off the pace, with former US Open winner Lucas Glover and fellow American Charley Hoffman, while Australians Greg Chalmers and Ryan Ruffels were in sixth on 69. Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung carded a three-over 75 to finish tied for 71st and was projected to miss the cut.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but