AHMEDABAD: England’s Will Jacks on Sunday served a timely reminder for his inclusion in the T20 World Cup with a match-winning 41-ball 100 for IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Jacks chalked up 10 sixes in his blitz as he put on an unbeaten stand of 166 with Virat Kohli, who hit 70.
Bengaluru chased down their victory target of 201 against Gujarat Titans with four overs and nine wickets to spare as Jacks hit the winning six, which also brought up his century.
In the second match of the day, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad hit 98 to help holders Chennai Super Kings jump to third in the table with a 78-run hammering of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The innings from Jacks and Gaikwad came just two days ahead of the International Cricket Council deadline of May 1 to announce teams for the T20 World Cup in June.
Bengaluru got their third win — and second in a row — in 10 matches so far this season, keeping their slim hopes of reaching the play-offs alive.
Jacks was on 16 when the in-form Kohli reached his fifty in 32 balls with a four off Rashid Khan, but soon the 25-year-old Englishman smashed three sixes and two fours in a 29-run 15th over from Mohit Sharma.
“Phenomenal. Initially when he came to bat, he was annoyed that he wasn’t able to strike the ball as he wanted to,” Kohli said after the win.
“The only talk was for him to stay calm; we know how explosive he can be when he gets going. The over from Mohit was the game changer, I was just happy to stay around and watch him go.”
Jacks then took on Rashid with four sixes and a four in the winning over.
The 35-year-old Kohli, who hit the first ton of this edition, reached 500 runs and was quick to slam critics who said the veteran batsman has struggled to meet modern T20 standards of power hitting.
“There’s a reason why you do it for 15 years. For me, it’s only about doing the work. People can talk anything they want to, they can talk about me not able to push on, not playing spin well, but you yourself know the game better,” Kohli said.
Kohli — who played the spinners with aplomb, including by using the sweep shot to good effect — and Bengaluru are still waiting for their first IPL title.
Bengaluru, who remain bottom of the 10-team table, elected to field first and Gujarat reached 200-3 in their 20 overs.
Sai Sudharsan hit an unbeaten 84 and put on key partnerships, including putting together 86 runs with Shahrukh Khan, who hit 58, and an unbeaten 69-run stand with David Miller, who made 26.
Glenn Maxwell returned to the Bengaluru line-up after a short “mental and physical break” of three matches, taking a wicket in his first over to return figures of 1-28 with his off-spin.
In match two, Chennai posted 212-3 courtesy of Gaikwad’s 54-ball knock and his key partnerships including a 107-run second-wicket stand with Daryl Mitchell, who hit 52.
Medium-pace bowler Tushar Deshpande led the bowling charge with four wickets as he helped bowl out Hyderabad for 134 in 18.5 overs.
England’s Jacks makes case for T20 World Cup inclusion with IPL ton for Bengaluru as Chennai win
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England’s Jacks makes case for T20 World Cup inclusion with IPL ton for Bengaluru as Chennai win
- Jacks chalked up 10 sixes in his blitz as he put on an unbeaten stand of 166 with Virat Kohli
Saudi-owned Field of Gold sparkles on opening day of Royal Ascot
- Colin Keane made light of the pressure of being recently appointed first jockey for the Saudi owners Juddmonte Farms
LONDON: Field of Gold put to bed who is the best three-year-old colt over a mile as the Irish 2000 Guineas winner eased to victory in the St. James’s Palace Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot on Tuesday.
Colin Keane made light of the pressure of being recently appointed first jockey for the Saudi owners Juddmonte as he surged clear halfway down the straight on the favorite in front of packed stands on a baking hot day.
Keane’s predecessor Kieran Shoemark had lost the job after what was judged, by the father and son training duo John and Thady Gosden, to be a poor ride in finishing second behind Ruling Court in the English 2000 Guineas in May.
This time round Keane made no mistake and had four lengths to spare over French 2000 Guineas winner Henri Matisse with another four lengths back to Ruling Court.
“Good horses make it easy,” said Keane.
“I do not know when three Guineas winners last clashed in this but my word he was good.”
His impressive performance came a few hours after the day’s traditional opening Royal Procession, celebrating its 200th anniversary, with King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the lead carriage.
One of those in the carriages, the Duke of Wellington, was a nod to the first one as his ancestor Napoleon Bonaparte’s nemesis accompanied George IV in 1825.
Green Falcons resume training before facing US in Texas
- Saudi national team are part of the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup
- Squad is split into two groups for training
SAN DIEGO: Saudi Arabia’s national football team resumed training in San Diego on Monday ahead of Thursday’s match against the USA in Austin, Texas.
The Green Falcons arrived in Los Angeles last week to take part in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, hosted by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
Coach Herve Renard divided the squad into two groups. The first was made up of squad members who played in the match against Haiti on Sunday, with training including recovery exercises in the hotel gym. The remaining players took part in a warm-up followed by passing training, games and stretching exercises at the San Diego Performance Center.
An MRI scan revealed that Hassan Kadesh has sustained a hamstring injury. He is currently undergoing treatment under the supervision of medical staff. Teammate Muhannad Al-Saad is also continuing his rehabilitation program.
The Green Falcons leave San Diego on Tuesday afternoon local time to travel to Austin, where they will continue match preparations with a closed training session at St Edward’s University.
Saudi Arabia are riding on a wave of success after their victory against Haiti, when Saleh Al-Shehri’s 21st-minute penalty kick gave his team a 1-0 win in CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A.
Samsonova downs Osaka in Berlin WTA first round
- Samsonova’s victory sets up a last 16 clash with American world number three Jessica Pegula on Wednesday
- Osaka broke her opponent twice in the opening set
BERLIN: Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova came from a set down to beat Naomi Osaka 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 in the first round of the Berlin Open WTA event on Tuesday.
The world number 20, who won the tournament in 2021, took two hours and 36 minutes to get past the four-time Grand Slam winner.
Samsonova’s victory sets up a last 16 clash with American world number three Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.
Osaka broke her opponent twice in the opening set but Samsonova held her serve in the second before winning a tie break, winning the final four points.
Both exchanged breaks in the final set before the Russian 26-year-old broke a second time, putting her on track for victory.
Osaka’s defeat is the latest setback in the former world number one’s comeback since returning from maternity leave last year.
Osaka was also defeated in the first round of the French Open.
This is the fourth meeting between the two since Osaka returned to the circuit at the beginning of 2024, with the ledger standing at two wins each.
One of the oldest women’s tournaments in the world, the Berlin Open switched from clay to grass courts in 2021 and has since become a popular warm-up event for Wimbledon, which starts at the end of the month.
Later on Tuesday, world number four Qinwen Zheng faces 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
The top four seeds at the tournament, including French Open finalists Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, along with Pegula and Jasmine Paolini, all enter at the last 16 stage on Wednesday.
Flamengo’s impressive Club World Cup start sets up mouth-watering Chelsea showdown
- The Brazilian Cup champions next face Chelsea, who beat MLS side LAFC 2-0 earlier in the day, in a mouth-watering clash at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Friday
Flamengo’s dominant 2-0 victory over Esperance de Tunis on Monday will have caught the attention of Group D favorites Chelsea, and suggests the Brazilian side could have a significant impact at FIFA’s revamped tournament.
The Brazilian Cup champions next face Chelsea, who beat MLS side LAFC 2-0 earlier in the day, in a mouth-watering clash at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Friday that should determine the group winner.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:
It has been over a decade since a European team lost at the Club World Cup but the ease with which Flamengo dispensed with Esperance will give them confidence they can end that run when they face Chelsea on Friday.
The London side were the last European team to taste defeat at the tournament, losing to Corinthians in the 2012 final, but since then the continent’s clubs are undefeated in 27 matches.
Palmeiras and Boca Juniors came close to wins over Porto and Benfica in their openers at the current edition, and South American sides have six games left against European opposition in the group stage to break their stranglehold.
Flamengo are unbeaten in over a month and lead the Brazilian league playing a solid brand of football under the calm guidance of former Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis.
KEY QUOTES:
Flamengo midfielder Jorginho: “We enjoyed the goal, and the fans were amazing, as I’ve seen before but now I’m living it. The most important thing is the performance that we did. I think we controlled the game, we played well and we deserved the win, I think that was the most important thing for us.
“It felt really good, because we have great players who understand the game, I feel that we can understand each other very quickly, and it’s going to be a good bond with the group and everything, so we just need to keep working together and move forward.”
Flamengo manager Filipe Luis: “At the beginning we managed to control the game with possession, then after the first goal we slowed down a bit and that cost us a bit of time with the ball. But in the second half we managed to score the second goal and a great win, three points. Now we have to face the next chapter for this group, Chelsea is a difficult team, but very happy with the win.” (Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Peter Rutherford )
Williams scores 40 points and Thunder win 120-109 for a 3-2 NBA Finals lead over Pacers
- Williams was 14 of 24 from the field, and Gilgeous-Alexander added 10 assists
- Teams that win Game 5 of an NBA Finals that was tied at 2-2 have gone on to win the series 23 times in 31 previous opportunities, or 74 percent
OKLAHOMA CITY: Jalen Williams scored a career playoff-high 40 points, MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 and the Oklahoma City Thunder moved one win from a title by beating the Indiana Pacers 120-109 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
It was the 10th — and by far, the biggest — time the Thunder stars combined for more than 70 points in a game. Williams was 14 of 24 from the field, and Gilgeous-Alexander added 10 assists.
Pascal Siakam had 28 points for Indiana, who now trail the series 3-2 and will host Game 6 on Thursday night. TJ McConnell added 18 for the Pacers, who whittled an 18-point deficit down to two in the fourth — then watched the Thunder pull away again, and for good.
“That’s a really good team over there,” Williams said. “You just don’t trip into the finals.”
True. But now, everything favors the Thunder.
Teams that win Game 5 of an NBA Finals that was tied at 2-2 have gone on to win the series 23 times in 31 previous opportunities, or 74 percent. And teams with a 3-2 lead in the finals have won 40 times in 49 previous opportunities, or 82 percent.
But Game 5 was not easy. Far from it.
Down by 18 late in the second quarter, the Pacers — the comeback kings of these playoffs, with as many wins in this postseason from 15 points down or more (five) than the rest of the league has combined, including in Game 1 of this series — did what they do, chipping away. And they did it with Tyrese Haliburton reduced to basically playing decoy on offense because of a leg issue that he aggravated in the first quarter.
Led by McConnell, who scored 13 points in just under seven minutes of the third, the Pacers got within five late in that quarter.
Then, Siakam went to work — a pair of free throws with 9:19 left got Indiana within four, then a 3-pointer about a minute later made it 95-93. In the play-by-play era of the NBA, starting with the 1997 playoffs, teams with leads of 15 points or more in the finals were 80-9.
Make that 81-9 now, and the Thunder are one win away.
“That was honestly the same exact game as Game 1,” Williams said. “Learning through these finals, that’s what makes a team good.”
One more win, and his team will be certified as great.
