CRICKET
Shipley sinks Sri Lanka
Harry Shipley took 5-31 yesterday as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 76 to lose the first one-day international against New Zealand by 198 runs. New Zealand made 274 batting first on a drop-in pitch at Eden Park and Sri Lanka were dismissed for their fifth-lowest ODI total. “It was pretty cool, not what I was expecting to do when I came to the ground,” Shipley said. “The batters said there was enough there and the score we had on the board was going to be tricky so that gave us confidence to go out there and do that.”
CRICKET
Afghanistan beat Pakistan
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan on Friday hailed his team’s maiden T20 victory against Pakistan, but said their frontline batters need to improve ahead of the ODI World Cup in India later this year. Khan and his teammates humbled a new-look Pakistan by six wickets in the opening T20 International in Sharjah. They restricted Pakistan to 92-9 and chased down the target with 13 deliveries to spare with Mohammad Nabi making an unbeaten 38. “It’s a pleasure to win as we’ve always lost against them, sometimes with small margins,” Khan said. “Happy for the win, and we hope to continue the momentum.”
RUGBY UNION
Highlanders trounce Drua
The Otago Highlanders yesterday conceded the first try of the match, but scored five of their own in the first half on their way to a 57-24 win over the Fijian Drua in Super Rugby Pacific. Scrumhalf Frank Lomani scored the opening try for the Drua after 14 minutes, but the Highlanders responded with four tries in the space of 16 minutes through the middle of the first half then added another just before the break to take a 33-12 lead to halftime. All Blacks scrumhalf Aaron Smith scored a sixth try in the fourth minute of the second half before Jonah Lowe crossed. Lomani scored his second try and Tevita Ikaniveri touched down as the Drua stayed in touch, but two more tries gave the Highlanders a bonus point. In yesterday’s other games, the Wellington Hurricanes blanked Moana Pasifika 59-0 and the Melbourne Rebels beat the Queensland Reds 40-34. On Friday, the NSW Waratahs slumped to a 24-14 defeat against the Waikato Chiefs in Sydney, while the Canterbury Crusaders defeated the ACT Brumbies 35-17.
OLYMPICS
Mexico submits 2036 bid
Mexico on Friday submitted a formal bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympics at the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee. The bid coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Olympic Committee. Mexico City hosted the 1968 Games.
MOTORSPORTS
Pol Espargaro hospitalized
Spanish MotoGP rider Pol Espargaro was taken to hospital on Friday after a big crash in practice for the season-opening race in Portugal. His KTM-backed GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 team said that Espargaro was conscious, but had sustained back and chest trauma, and had been transferred to a hospital in Faro for further examination. The 31-year-old was thrown off his bike, bouncing over the gravel into the barrier in the second session at the Portimao circuit.
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
Two-time Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek on Thursday avenged her shock Paris Olympics loss to Zheng Qinwen with a 6-3, 6-3 win over the Chinese eighth seed, setting up a semi-final against 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva in the California desert. In the men’s singles, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz put on a show with his acrobatic shotmaking under the lights to close out the day’s action, overcoming a 4-1 second-set deficit to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei crashed out of the women’s doubles. Swiatek, one of the gold medal favorites when she lost to eventual champion Zheng in the
UNDERDOG STORY: Lee said that he did not expect to do this well, overcoming French favorite Alex Lanier to advance to his first BWF World Tour Super 1000 final Taiwan’s Lee Chia-hao on Saturday continued his fairytale run at the All England Open, dispatching France’s Alex Lanier to set up a final against world No. 1 Shi Yuqi of China after press time last night. Lee, staged a comeback after losing the first game to overcome in-form Lanier, the last remaining European in the competition, 19-21 21-14 21-17, as the Taiwanese shuttler advanced to his first BWF World Tour Super 1000 final. “The victory hasn’t sunk in yet. I didn’t expect that I would do this well,” the world No. 22 said. “I’m so surprised by the result myself.” “I was really
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