Page 370 - Sports
Tiger tees off as dramatic Masters final round begins
Tiger Woods teed off in Sunday's final round of the Masters chasing his 15th major title, trying to capture his fifth green jacket to end an 11-year major drought. The 43-year-old American superstar, back on form after 2017 spinal fusion surgery following years of nagging back pain, played alongside compatriot Tony Finau and Italy's Francesco Molinari in the last group at Augusta National Golf Club. Reigning British Open champion Molinari seized the 54-hole lead on 13-under par 203 with Woods and Finau two strokes behind. Brooks Koepka, last year's US Open and PGA Championship winner, began three adrift with fellow American Webb Simpson, the 2012 US Open, and England's Ian Poulter four off the pace. "It's golf, so the favorite is probably the golf course out there waiting for us," Molinari said. "We're all very close. It's nice to be a little bit ahead, but you might just need one hole to change. You never know how it's going to go, especially around a course like here." Augusta ...
Tahir, Raina help CSK put foot in playoffs
Imran Tahir and Suresh Raina helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) put one foot in the playoffs as they got past Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by five wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) return leg fixture at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.
Sunrisers Hyderabad win toss, ask Delhi Capitals to bat
Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to field against Delhi Capitals in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, here on Sunday.
Tahir, Raina ensure easy win for Chennai Super Kings vs KKR
Imran Tahir spun a web before Suresh Raina found his mojo back with a half century as Chennai Super Kings inched closer towards another Play off qualification with a five-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match on Sunday. After Tahir's career-best 4 for 27 restricted KKR to 161 for 8, CSK coasted to the target in 19.4 overs as Raina anchored the chase with an unbeaten 58 off 42 balls with seven fours and a six. Ravindra Jadeja also played an important cameo hitting 31 off 17 balls to pave the way for the team's seventh win in eight games. Needing 24 runs off the last two overs, Jadeja smashed Harry Gurney for three successive fours to make it just a formality in the last over. This was the defending champions fourth win on the trot as they consolidated their position atop the table with 14 points and one more win will virtually seal their spot in play-offs whose cut-off over the ears has been 16 points. This was also their first win at the Eden Gardens since 2013 as .
Tahir snares four wickets to restrict KKR to 161/8
Imran Tahir snared four wickets as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) restricted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 161/8 in 20 overs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) return leg fixture at the Eden Gardens, here on Sunday.
Sensational Tahir four-for derails KKR to 161/8
Imran Tahir gatecrashed Chris Lynn's party with a figures of four for 27 as Chennai Super Kings bounced back to restrict Kolkata Knight Riders to a below-par 161 for 8 in their IPL fixture here Sunday. On an Eden Gardens track where spinners had struggled so far, Tahir spun the match in favour of Chennai with his twin double blows in the 11th and 15th overs en route his career-best IPL figures that took him past Kagiso Rabada in the leading wicket-takers' tally. Tahir removed an ominous-looking Chris Lynn (82 off 51 balls; 7x4, 6x6) and in a space of five balls removed the dangerous Andre Russell (10) for the first time under a score of 40 this season to put brakes on their scoring. Tahir's bowling had such devastating effect that KKR managed just 29 runs from last five overs and went on to lose three more wickets and end up with a below-par total. But it was a different script for KKR early on with a fit-again Lynn giving them a flying start en route to his second fifty this season ..
Squash: Abhishek and Sanya emerge victorious
Abhishek Agarwal and Sanya Vats won the Men's and the Women's titles respectively of the Otters Club Vedanta Squash Open held here. Meanwhile, Veer Chotrani defeated Saksham Choudhary to take the U-19 Trophy. Abhishek, who had an easy victory over Sandeep Jangra on his way to the finals, faced his toughest competition in unseeded Tushar Shahani. Tushar started the game on a high scoring back-to-back winners to race to a 6-1 lead in the first game, but Abhishek who had a little trouble picking up the drop shots did not let the game slip away and came back strongly to level the scores at 8-8. Tushar managed to hold off Abhishek by blocking him just enough to avoid a replay and restricting his moment to take the first game 11-9. The second game was in complete control of Abhishek, who made Tushar work all corners of the court before taking it 11-4. Tushar made unforced errors at crucial moments, which helped Abhishek take the third and fourth games by 11-6, 11-6 and the ...
Ethiopia sweeps Paris marathon, Calvin smashes French record
Ethiopian Abrha Milaw upstaged two-time defending champion Paul Lonyangata to win the Paris Marathon on Sunday. Milaw clocked 2hr 07min 05sec, with Kenyan rival Lonyangata coming in third as 49,155 runners took to the streets of the French capital in cold, clear conditions. Gelete Burka produced a spurt of extra gas in the final kilometre to ensure an Ethiopian winner in the women's race with a time of 2:22:48. France's Clemence Calvin, who was only cleared to race on Friday after the last-minute lifting of a temporary ban for evading a doping test last month in Morocco, smashed the French women's record. Calvin finished fourth in 2:23:41, bettering by 41 seconds the previous national record set by Christelle Daunay in 2010. It also bettered by almost three minutes her own previous best of 2:26:28 which she set when finishing second in the European championships in Berlin last year. "I stuck with it right to the end, I don't care what my detractors think," said Calvin. "There was only
Huesca hold Barcelona to scoreless draw in La Liga
Huesca held first-place FC Barcelona to a scoreless draw, earning a rare moral victory in an otherwise disappointing season.
Hamilton wins record-extending 6th Chinese GP
Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton secured a record-extending sixth Chinese Grand Prix (GP) victory on Sunday, snatching the world championship lead from his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Kush Maini finishes on the podium on debut
Debuting as a Rookie at the Formula Renault Eurocup Championship, Kush Maini finished third overall in the season opener at the historic Monza circuit here.
CSK win toss, put KKR in to bat
Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match here on Sunday. Chennai are playing an unchanged side. For Kolkata, Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine and Harry Gurney are back into the playing XI. Teams: Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney. Chennai Super Kings: Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mitchell Santner, Imran Tahir, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar.
CSK win toss, ask KKR to bat first
Chennai Super Kings skipper M.S. Dhoni won the toss and opted to field first against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League game at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.
IPL performance should not be the parameter to select WC squad: Raj Kumar Sharma
Raj Kumar Sharma, the childhood coach of Indian skipper Virat Kohli, on Sunday said that Indian Premier League (IPL) performances should not affect the final squad of the Indian team for the World Cup."IPL performance should not be the parameter to select the 15 players for the World Cup. IPL and World Cup are completely different formats. I agree with the chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad that IPL performances should not affect the squad of 15 for the World Cup," Sharma told ANI.The Men in Blue have the biggest conundrum of selecting number four batsmen in the final squad of fifteen. The team has been struggling to give one player a consistent run at the number four position. Sharma believes that either KL Rahul or Ambati Rayudu should make the cut to the final fifteen and one of these players will start in the playing XI."As far as number four batting position is concerned, I think KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu will make the squad of fifteen and one of these players will make the ...
WC selection dilemma: 1 slot and 3 possible combinations
The debate will centre around the second wicketkeeper, number four slot and the need for an additional pacer when the selectors meet to pick one of India's most predictable World Cup squads ever in Mumbai on Monday. At the end of the home series against Australia, skipper Virat Kohli had indicated that only one slot was up for grabs, as the core had been set for the past one year. With 14 members all but decided for the marquee event in England starting May 30, the discussion on combination is likely to take precedence over any out-of-the-box name or a left-field selection. Young Rishabh Pant's competition for the second keeper's slot with veteran Dinesh Karthik will be the highlight of the discussion. Pant, who has so far scored 222 runs in the IPL compared to a mere 93 by Karthik, looks favourite on paper as his inclusion comes with certain advantages. He can bat at any slot between Nos 1 and 7, is a left-hander, who can be a designated finisher plus the second keeper. Pant's ...
Ruud and Garin to clash in Houston tennis final
Casper Ruud punched his ticket to the US Men's Clay Court Championship final, holding off a stiff challenge from qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan to win their semi-final match 7-5, 6-2. Ruud, 20, is seeking to become the first Norwegian to win an ATP Tour title and will take on Christian Garin of Chile in Sunday's final. Ruud's father, Christian, was the last player from Norway to reach an ATP Tour finishing runner-up in 1995 at Bastad, Sweden. Christian Ruud competed on the Tour for a decade. "It's an amazing feeling to be in your first final. It's what we work hard for," said Ruud. "But even though it's been an amazing week, I'm hungry to win the last match." The 22-year-old Garin defeated Sam Querrey of the US 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in the other semi-final on Saturday. Ruud had to battle back from an 2-5 deficit in the opening set to dispatch the Colombian Galan. Galan finished his rain-delayed quarter-final earlier in the day over seventh seed Jordan Thompson of Australia, winning 6-1, 4-6, ..
We were 15-20 runs short: KXIP bowling coach Ryan Harris
Kings XI Punjab bowling coach Ryan Harris felt his team was 15-20 runs short against Royal Challengers Bangalore who won the game by eight wickets for their maiden win of the IPL season. The hosts lost despite an unbeaten 99 from Chris Gayle, who anchored the innings after his side lost a flurry of wickets in the middle overs, taking his side to 173 for four. The wicket slowed up a bit through the middle and the RCB bowlers adapted pretty well and changed the pace on the ball, Harris told a post-match press conference here. "Personally, I think we were 15-20 runs short after the kind of start we had. Obviously, the wicket slowed down later..we got ourselves into position where we should have been able to launch, but we either lost wickets.. RCB bowled pretty well in the middle overs," he said. Harris, however, praised the way Gayle played. "He tried to control through the middle, but we lost wickets during the middle, which doesn't help. He probably takes three overs and then gets to .
Suspect in custody over racist abuse at Ligue 1 game
A suspect is being held in custody after Amiens captain Prince Gouano complained of suffering racial abuse during Friday's Ligue 1 game at Dijon. The goalless draw in Dijon was halted in the 78th minute as players from both sides stopped playing and headed towards the touchline after monkey chants were directed towards Gouano. "An inquiry is ongoing and a person is currently in custody in the wake of these events. His custody will be extended tonight, to allow further investigation," Dijon prosecutor Eric Mathais said in a statement. It was the latest in a string of incidents of racist abuse that have blighted football this season, and prompted FIFA president Gianni Infantino to urge football authorities across the world to take a "zero tolerance" stance on racism. "It's over," Gouano said after the game was interrupted. "We're not playing on. I'm taking off my team-mates. We're going to the changing room." Following discussions between players, coaches and officials Gouano approached
Dominant Hamilton wins 1,000th race in Mercedes one-two
Lewis Hamilton won the 1,000th Formula One grand prix Sunday after grabbing the lead from Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas at the first corner and powering to victory in blustery Shanghai. Hamilton, who started from second on the grid, took the world championship lead after romping home to win the Chinese Grand Prix by more than 6.5 seconds from Bottas, with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel third. Max Verstappen of Red Bull was fourth and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari was fifth. This was world champion Hamilton's sixth victory at the Chinese Grand Prix and second in a row this season. "To have a one-two (for Mercedes) is really special in the 1,000th grand prix but the start was where it made the difference and the rest is history," said the Briton. Hamilton was pipped for pole position by Bottas by just 0.023 seconds in qualifying and had said that he was "struggling with the car". But the Finn laboured out of the blocks, allowing Hamilton to nip in and grab the lead at the first
After maiden win, RCB look to spoil Mumbai's party
Fresh from a much awaited victory, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming to maintain winning momentum and spoil Mumbai Indians' party when the two sides face-off in the Indian Premier League here Monday. After a string of losses where nothing worked in their favour, fifties by skipper Virat Kohli and ever-reliable Ab de Villiers, helped RCB register their maiden win of the season on Saturday night. The team is heavily reliant on Kohli and de Villiers and both would be keen to recreate their magic in front of a capacity crowd in Mumbai, on a day when the Indian team for the upcoming World Cup is scheduled to be picked. Despite the win against KXIP, RCB remain at the bottom of the points table and remain to win all their remaining league games to have any hopes of progressing in the tournament. Apart from Kohli (270 runs from 7 matches) and ABD (232 runs from 7 matches), RCB's other strength has been the pint-sized wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel. Despite his father being in ...