CRICKET
Malwade blazes in Taipei
Ninad Malwade blazed a 21-ball 47 as the Taipei-based PCCT hammered the Hsinchu Titans by 43 runs at the T10 Annual Taiwan Cricket tournament at Taipei’s Yingfeng Cricket Ground yesterday. PCCT had already qualified for today’s semi-finals, but were not to be denied an undefeated run through their four matches in Group B. Today they are to play the Taipei Indians, who yesterday beat Super 11 to deny the Taipei-based side that semi-final spot. In the first match yesterday, the Raging Bulls beat the Titans by 35 runs to seal second place in Group B and a semi-final against Group A’s top team, the undefeated Formosa Cricket Club. The other teams to be eliminated were the Taipei-based Dragons and ICC in Group A, and the Taichung Warriors and the Taiwan Stars in Group B.
OLYMPICS
Russia ban might be eased
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering a return to competition of Russian athletes who do not support the country’s invasion of Ukraine, IOC president Thomas Bach said on Friday. The IOC in February issued guidance to sports governing bodies to remove Russian and Belorussian athletes from competition. Belarus has been used as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion. “It is not about necessarily having Russia back. It’s about having athletes with a Russian passport who do not support the war back in competition,” Bach told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. “Here comes our dilemma: This war has not been started by the Russian athletes, but we saw that some governments did not want to respect anymore the autonomy of international sports,” he said. “This is why we’ve had to take these protective measures to be at least still a little bit in the driving seat and not lose all autonomy,” Bach said. “And this is why, on the other hand, we also have to see, and to study, to monitor, how and when we can come back to accomplish our mission to have everybody back again, under which format whatsoever.”
CRICKET
Azam equals T20 record
Babar Azam equaled India star Virat Kohli’s record of the fastest man to 3,000 runs in cricket’s shortest format as Pakistan scored 169-6 in the sixth Twenty20 international against England in Lahore on Friday. The Pakistan skipper, who hit an unbeaten 59-ball 87 for his 27th half century, reached 3,000 T20 international runs in 81 innings as he anchored the home team’s total after they were sent in to bat. Azam hit Richard Gleeson for a six to join Indian duo of Rohit Sharma (3,694 runs in 140 matches) and Kohli (3,663 in 108), New Zealand’s Martin Guptill (3,497 in 112) and Ireland’s Paul Stirling (3,011 in 114) in the milestone. Azam hit three sixes and seven boundaries and added 48 for the fourth wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (31) and 47 for the third with Haider Ali (18). However Azam’s milestone was overshadowed when England’s Phil Salt smashed a robust career-best 41-ball 88 not out to help his team thrash Pakistan by eight wickets. The England opener clobbered three sixes and 13 fours in the third fastest half century by an England batter in the shorter format to help his team chase down a target of 170 in just 14.3 overs.
STILL IN THE HUNT: Rasmus Hojlund took his goal tally for SSC Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a win at US Cremonese and stayed two points behind the leaders Inter on Sunday stayed at the Serie A summit after beating Atalanta BC 1-0 to maintain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter, who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Hellas Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a single point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky year in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain... I kept going during the Club World Cup and international
Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh. Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca. Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on
Stan Wawrinka’s 40-year-old legs did not let him down over three-plus hours in his first singles match of a farewell tour yesterday. Three-time Grand Slam singles champion Wawrinka beat Arthur Rinderknech of France, who is ranked 29th to Wawrinka’s 157th, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). The match went 3 hours, 16 minutes. Wawrinka last month announced that this year would be his last on the ATP tour. “Today was a tough battle ... it’s amazing to come here for the first time, to have so much support,” Wawrinka said yesterday. “Twenty years on tour, you kind of always play in the same place
BOUNCING BACK: Antetokounmpo had just returned from an eight-game injury absence last month, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to their third win in four games Giannis Antetokounmpo threw down the game-winning dunk with 4.7 seconds remaining to lift the Milwaukee Bucks to a 122-121 victory over the Charlotte Hornets and grab a slice of NBA history on Friday. The Bucks trailed by as many as 16 on their home floor, but Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 30 points in the final quarter to help seal the win in a frantic finish that saw five lead changes in the final 45.7 seconds. The two-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) added 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his 158th regular-season game with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and
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