South Africa captain Faf du Plessis on Sunday hailed Imran Tahir as his team’s “biggest weapon” after the leg-spinner took three wickets against Sri Lanka, just two days after losing his Cricket South Africa contract.
Du Plessis hit an unbeaten 112 as South Africa cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the opening one-day international in Johannesburg.
The hosts won the toss at the Wanderers Stadium, asked Sri Lanka to bat and bowled them out for 231, a total South Africa overtook with more than 11 overs to spare.
Photo: AFP
Du Plessis praised veteran Tahir, who turns 40 later this month, for ensuring South Africa chased a modest total by making crucial breakthroughs with figures of 3-26.
“He is probably my biggest weapon as a captain over the years,” Du Plessis said of Tahir, who saw his contract for the 2019-2020 season not renewed on Friday last week.
The captain added that early strikes by Lungi Ngidi, playing in his first international match since suffering a knee injury in November last year, had also been important.
“Imran bowled brilliantly in the middle overs today, but it is really important to get wickets with the new ball,” Du Plessis said.
Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga rued the failure of his batsmen to capitalize on good starts.
“We lost wickets at crucial times,” he said, adding that on both occasions when a promising partnership was broken, the other “in” batsman had been dismissed almost immediately.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping