CRICKET
England wipe out deficit
Joe Root and Dom Sibley were holding England’s second innings together in the first Test at Trent Bridge yesterday. Root was undefeated on 56, while Sibley had 27 not out after India picked up two wickets in the first session as the hosts reached 119-2 at lunch, a lead of 24. Rory Burns and Zak Crawley were the wickets to fall on Day 4. Burns made 18 before he was first out, caught behind off the bowling of Mohammed Siraj while Crawley fell in similar fashion off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah for 6. Rain cut play short on Day 3 on Friday. India opener K.L. Rahul top-scored with 84 as India made 278 in reply to England’s first-innings 183. Rahul was helped by two dropped slip catches that underlined England’s status as the worst-performing cordon in Test cricket. At stumps on Friday, England were 25-0 in their second innings after rain meant only 50 overs out of the 98 scheduled for the day were bowled. Earlier, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja scored a dashing 56 that featured eight fours and a six, while tailender Bumrah made a Test-best 28.
CRICKET
Ellis hat-trick in vain
Nathan Ellis on Friday became the first male player to secure a Twenty20 hat-trick on debut, but Bangladesh won the match and the series. Ellis claimed three wickets with the final three balls of Bangladesh’s innings in Dhaka to set Australia a target of 128 runs to win the third match in the five-game series. “It was a surreal moment,” Ellis said of his feat, which had only previously been achieved in the women’s game by Nepal’s Anjali Chand. “To come out of the other end of it with a hat-trick — it’s not something I planned to happen or thought about happening, but pretty amazing. Ellis had struggled for much of his four-over spell, conceding 34 runs before making his mark at the close. Captain Mahmudullah saw his off-stump clattered by Ellis before Mustafizur Rahman was caught in the outfield by Mitchell Marsh. The hat-trick was completed when Mahedi Hasan pulled his attempt into the hands of Ashton Agar at deep square-leg.
BASKETBALL
Jeremy Lin tests positive
Jeremy Lin has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving treatment in Shanghai, he wrote on social media yesterday. Lin in June announced that he was rejoining the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beijing Ducks after a failed NBA comeback. He tested positive on his third day in quarantine after flying to Shanghai from San Francisco, he wrote. “I was shocked and a little bewildered,” he wrote of his initial reaction to the diagnosis. Lin, who said he had been vaccinated in the US and tested negative multiple times before traveling to China, was unsure when he had contracted COVID-19. He said he was receiving treatment in Shanghai, and was showing light symptoms.
SOCCER
Guardiola chases Kane
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is “very interested” in signing striker Harry Kane, but he needs Tottenham Hotspur to come to the negotiation table. The England captain wants out of Tottenham and has indicated that City is his preferred destination. “Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker, no doubts about that,” Guardiola said on Friday. “Of course we are very interested in him, but he’s a Tottenham player and if they don’t want to negotiate, nothing more to say. If they want to, we will try. That’s all.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
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