CRICKET
Australia thump England
A battling 94 from Steve Smith yesterday handed Australia a series win against England with a game to spare after a 72-run victory in the second one-day international in Sydney. Josh Hazelwood won the toss and elected to bat, but two early wickets brought Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (58) to the crease. The pair put on 101 before Labuschagne departed. Smith increased the pace soon after and was assisted by Mitchell Marsh (50). A six off Sam Curran over square-leg took Smith into the 90s, but he fell metres short of his century, holing out at long-off to Adil Rashid, who took 3-57. England lost two wickets without scoring a run in the first over by Mitchell Starc, but Josh Vince (60) and Sam Billings (71) steadied the tourists, However, their demise led to a collapse, with the visitors bowled out for 208.
CRICKET
Indian selectors sacked
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday sacked its entire selection committee, led by former fast bowler Chetan Sharma, and put out the call for replacements after the team’s T20 World Cup exit. Rohit Sharma’s men were thrashed by 10 wickets by England in their semi-final at the Adelaide Oval last week, prompting fresh soul-searching by a team who last won a global title at the 2013 Champions Trophy. Their exit prompted calls from commentators and the public for heads to roll. The BCCI issued a statement inviting fresh applications to fill all five positions on its selection panel.
BASKETBALL
Spain displace the US
Spain replaced the US men’s basketball team at the top of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world rankings, a spot the US have held for more than 12 years. Spain have enjoyed success in the past few years, including winning the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and this year’s FIBA EuroBasket. “It’s not exactly a new title and it probably can’t be maintained for too long, but it’s something so unique, prestigious and historic that I feel tremendously proud of everyone who ... has contributed to it,” Spain coach Sergio Scariolo wrote on Twitter. Spain top the rankings with 758.6 points followed by the US with 757.5 and Australia in third on 740.3.
HORSE RACING
US court says rules invalid
The US Congress unconstitutionally gave too much power to a nonprofit authority it created in 2020 to develop and enforce horseracing rules, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. The 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act is “facially unconstitutional.” The authority created by the act was meant to bring uniform policies and enforcement to horseracing amid doping scandals and racetrack horse deaths, but the 5th Circuit in two rulings ruled in favor of opponents of the act in lawsuits brought by horseracing associations and state officials in Texas, Louisiana and West Virginia. Three judges agreed with opponents of the act that the setup gave too much power to the nongovernmental authority and too little to the US Federal Trade Commission. “A cardinal constitutional principle is that federal power can be wielded only by the federal government,” Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote. “Private entities may do so only if they are subordinate to an agency.”
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
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