CRICKET
Embuldeniya limits India
Sri Lanka spinner Lasith Embuldeniya had three wickets as the visitors made a strong start to the second Test in Bengaluru yesterday, bowling India out for 252 in the day-night match. Sri Lanka’s openers were walking out for their first innings at press time last night.
CRICKET
Khawaja powers Australia
Australia opener Usman Khawaja’s 127 not out powered the visitors on day 1 of the second Test against Pakistan in Karachi yesterday. The hosts claimed only three wickets as Australia reached to 251-3 at stumps.
BASKETBALL
Popovich gets 1,336th win
Gregg Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA regular-season history, getting his 1,336th victory when the San Antonio Spurs rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 104-102 on Friday. Popovich broke a tie with Don Nelson, the friend and mentor he served as an assistant under while with the Golden State Warriors for two seasons beginning in 1992. The milestone came in the 73-year-old Popovich’s 2,030th game and 26th season with the Spurs, the only franchise he has served as head coach for.
TENNIS
Murray outlasts Daniel
Andy Murray on Friday outlasted qualifier Taro Daniel 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open for his 700th career victory. “It does mean a lot to me because I know how difficult it’s been, certainly the last few years,” Murray said, referring to injuries and a COVID-19 infection. “When you look at the players that have done it, most of the players that are up there and have won that many matches are certainly the best players of the last sort of 30, 40 years.” In the women’ singles, Emma Raducanu beat Caroline Garcia 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and partner Magda Linette of Poland are to play Chinese duo Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan at about 6:45am today Taiwan time.
RUGBY UNION
Pohipi seals Chiefs win
Rameka Pohipi yesterday dived over in the left corner three minutes after the fulltime siren to give the Waikato Chiefs a 24-21 win over the Canterbury Crusaders in Super Rugby Pacific. The Crusaders led 21-10 with a try to Braydon Ennor in the 46th minute, but the Chiefs monopolized possession for the remainder of the match and gradually wore down the resolute defense of the Crusaders to achieve their first win in Christchurch in six years. In Australia, the Queensland Reds needed a late score to hold off the Fijian Drua 33-28 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
EUROPEAN SOCCER
Lille draw, lose Sanches
Defending champions Lille OSC on Friday drew 0-0 at home against AS Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 and lost key midfielder Renato Sanches to injury. The Portugal international went off midway through the first half with a left thigh injury. He is doubtful for the Champions League match at home against Chelsea on Wednesday, with Lille trailing 2-0 from the first leg in the round of 16. In La Liga, Atletico Madrid edged Cadiz 2-1 to move into third place and earn a morale boost ahead of their Champions League trip to play Manchester United.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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