ABU DHABI: Rajasthan Royals upset Indian Premier League leader Chennai Super Kings with a seven-wicket victory on Saturday to keep its playoff hopes alive, despite a rapid-fire century by Chennai opener Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Chennai had already secured its place in the playoffs, along with Delhi Capitals which beat Mumbai Indians by four wickets in Sharjah. Rajasthan are in a four-way battle for the final playoff spot with two games to play.
Put into bat, Chennai scored 189-4 thanks to a 60-ball 101 not out from Gaikwad. The opener hit nine fours and five sixes, sharing a rapid 55 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (32 not out off 15) after the pair came together in the 17th over. Spinner Rahul Tewatia took 3-39.
Gaikwad’s reached his hundred with a hit over the fence off Mustafizur Rahman on the final ball of Chennai’s innings to for his maiden IPL ton. It was the first century of the revived IPL in the United Arab Emirates and fourth of the Covid-hit season that was halted in May due to the pandemic in India.
Gaikwad put on key partnerships including an unbeaten stand of 55 with Ravindra Jadeja, who made 32, to become the tournament’s leading batsman with 508 runs in 12 matches.
“Unbelievable batting by Gaikwad, we’re afraid of a batsman like him. Really a lot of respect to him,” Royals skipper Sanju Samson said of Gaikwad, who was named man of the match.
Rajasthan reached 190-3 with 15 balls to spare after openers Evin Lewis (27 off 12) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (50 off 21) propelled the side to 77-1 after only 5.2 overs. Shivam Dube top-scored with 64 not out off 42 deliveries. Shardul Thakar ended with 2-30.
After 12 games, Chennai and second-placed Delhi both have 18 points, while Rajasthan and Mumbai are on 10 points.
Earlier, in a low-scoring game, Mumbai reached 129-8 off 20 overs after being asked to bat, with Suryakumar Yadav hitting 33 runs off 26. Pacer Avesh Khan impressed with the ball to take 3-15 in his four overs.
In reply, Delhi finished on 132-6 with five deliveries to spare thanks to a 33-ball 33 not out from Shreyas Iyer.
Rajasthan upsets Chennai in Indian Premier League
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Rajasthan upsets Chennai in Indian Premier League
- Put into bat, Chennai scored 189-4 thanks to a 60-ball 101 not out from Gaikwad
- It was the first century of the revived IPL in the UAE and fourth of the Covid-hit season that was halted in May
Gauff holds nerve to join Sabalenka in Italian Open third round
- Reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev also strolled into the next round, beating Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in the last match of the day on center court
- Sinner will make his comeback from a three-month doping ban on Saturday when he takes on Mariano Navone in front of what will be a partisan crowd
ROME: Coco Gauff survived a scare at this year’s Italian Open, coming back from a set down to beat qualifier Victoria Mboko 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 as Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz both cruised through their opening matches.
World No.3 Gauff will play Magda Linette in the third round in Rome after prevailing despite being far from her best in a match which signalled more progress from her up-and-coming opponent.
Canadian Mboko played with a maturity which defied the 153 places separating her from Gauff in the world rankings in a prime-time clash on center court.
The 18-year-old has risen from 333 to 156 since the start of the year and the Foro Italico crowd quickly took to her confident, and powerful play.
Mboko had Gauff on the ropes in the first set, breaking the former US Open winner four times, but eventually gave way to her more experienced opponent who is one of the favorites for overall victory after losing to Sabalenka in the recent Madrid final.
“It was a tough match, Victoria came out playing some tough tennis, I knew she was going to do from watching some of her previous matches,” said Gauff.
“But overall I’m just happy that I was able to step up my game.”
Current world No. 1 Sabalenka swept past Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.
Sabalenka will play Sofia Kenin in the next round after the American beat another Russian in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka has reached the final of her last four tournaments, winning both in Madrid and in another 1000 series in Miami.
“I know that if I bring my best game and my fight spirit on court, I know that I can win this tournament,” Sabalenka told reporters.
Emma Raducanu got off to a flying start with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann, a lucky loser who replaced Ekaterina Alexandrova following the Russian’s withdrawal with a shoulder injury.
Alcaraz got past Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes in his first match since suffering a thigh injury in his Barcelona Open final defeat to Holger Rune last month.
The Spaniard showed some signs of ring rustiness with 22 unforced errors but saw off Serbian qualifier Lajovic and was positive about his comeback display.
“It was a great performance, a great level, which was surprising for me a little bit but I’m just really happy,” said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz will now face Laslo Djere, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Alex Michelsen, in the third round as he eyes a potential final with world number one Jannik Sinner in the Italian capital.
Sinner will make his comeback from a three-month doping ban on Saturday when he takes on Mariano Navone in front of what will be a partisan crowd.
Alcaraz later told reporters that he would take it easy on his day off, keep an eye on Sinner’s match and go to watch his friend Patric play for Serie A football club Lazio against Juventus at the nearby Stadio Olimpico.
Reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev also strolled into the next round, beating Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in the last match of the day on center court.
Home hope Lorenzo Musetti opened his week, his first in the top 10 of the men’s world rankings, with a 6-3, 6-2 win over qualifier Otto Virtanen.
Musetti, losing finalist in Monte Carlo last month, has the USA’s Brandon Nakashima next and could face Daniil Medvedev in the last 16 after the 2023 Rome champion easily saw off Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with Alexei Popyrin.
Ninth-seed Rune will play Corentin Moutet, who went through after fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert withdrew injured, in the third round after winning a thrilling match with Francisco Comesana 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda grabs share of lead at Mizuho Americas Open
- Similar to Scottie Scheffler on the men’s side, Korda had a white-hot 2024 but is still searching for her best play this year
- Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson, a two-time major champion and a former top-10 player in the world rankings, missed the cut by one shot after a tough closing nine
REUTERS JERSEY CITY, N.J.: Nelly Korda used a late birdie spurt to claw her way into a tie for the lead at the Mizuho Americas Open on Friday in Jersey City, N.J.
The world No. 1 shot her second straight round of 68 at Liberty National Golf Club to move to 8-under-par 136 for the event, tied with South Korean Somi Lee, who shot a 67 Friday, and Andrea Lee, who also carded a 68.
The trio is a stroke ahead of six players tied at 7 under: Stephanie Kyriacou of Australia (69 Friday), Spaniards Julia Lopez Ramirez and Carlota Ciganda (both 70), Jenny Bae (70), France’s Celine Boutier (71) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (73).
Similar to Scottie Scheffler on the men’s side, Korda had a white-hot 2024 but is still searching for her best play this year. Scheffler did not win on the PGA Tour until last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson; Korda is looking for her first title of 2025.
She started her day on the back nine and erased two birdies on par-3 holes with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18. After a birdie at the first, Korda made three more over her last five (Nos. 5, 6 and 8) to make a late move up the leaderboard.
“After making two bogeys in a row you (need) to reset and just know that you have nine more holes to go and there is some opportunities out there even with the tricky conditions,” Korda said. “So just had a little bit of a mental reset and it worked.”
Somi Lee was 7 under through her first 15 holes to get as low as 10 under for the event, but she made consecutive missteps at Nos. 7 and 8 to come back to the pack.
She and Korda are tied with Andrea Lee, who played earlier in the day and posted a simple, bogey-free round with four birdies to set the clubhouse lead at 8 under.
“I was kind of mentally preparing for the worst today,” Andrea Lee said. “The radar didn’t look great for the rain and it was dumping on us pretty hard for probably about 12, 13 holes honestly.
“So I knew that I just had to stay really patient out there, know that fairways and greens and pars were a good score, and stay really positive.”
Thitikul, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, led after the first round and had three birdies in her first four holes Friday to move to 11 under. She came undone the rest of the way with four bogeys and no additional birdies, including a water ball as her day wound down.
Tied for 10th just two back at 6 under are Kristen Gillman (69), Yealimi Noh (71) and Australia’s Hira Naveed (69).
Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson, a two-time major champion and a former top-10 player in the world rankings, missed the cut by one shot after a tough closing nine. She made four birdies through her first nine holes to get to 3 under, then had just one birdie and four bogeys — including on her finishing hole, the ninth — the rest of the way to drop to even par, one below the cut line.
Other notables to miss the cut included Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom (2 over) and 2023 champion Rose Zhang (4 over).
Donovan Mitchell scores 43 and Cavaliers beat the Pacers 126-104 to cut series deficit to 2-1
INDIANAPOLIS: Donovan Mitchell had 43 points and nine rebounds, and the finally full-strength Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana 126-104 on Friday night to cut the Pacers’ lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The road team has won all three games in the series, and the Pacers will have another chance to break that trend Sunday in Game 4.
Cleveland was desperate to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole and used everything in its arsenal to hold on this time — making 14 3-pointers, holding a 56-37 rebounding edge, even relying on zone defense to slow down the high-scoring Pacers.
And with NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, All-Star guard Darius Garland and key backup De’Andre Hunter all suited up after missing Game 2, Mitchell got the support he needed.
Max Strus made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Three other Cleveland players also scored in double figures on a night the Cavs led by as much 26, never trailed and managed to protect their late lead when the Pacers cut the deficit to 11 early in the fourth.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 23 points. Pascal Siakam had 18 and Tyrese Haliburton finished with four points and five assists in his first career home loss in a postseason game he’s appeared.
The most physical of the three games resulted in players routinely sprawled on the floor. Hunter turned into a hard shoulder after making a basket early in the second quarter, a collision that nearly knocked him down, and Mitchell took a nasty spill into the front-row seats while being called for an offensive foul.
Tempers also flared at times with the Pacers drawing five technical fouls, one for a delay of game.
On the court, though, Cleveland controlled most of the game after breaking a 36-36 tie with a 25-4 run that helped push the Cavs to a 66-45 halftime cushion.
Indiana cut it to 80-65 midway through the third quarter and looked ready to pull off another fourth-quarter rally when Siakam’s 3 with 8:24 to play made it 104-93. But Mitchell and Strus answered with back-to-back 3s to lead a game-sealing charge.
Iraq hire former Australia boss Graham Arnold as head coach
- Arnold left Australia in September
- Iraq are third in Group B of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup
BAGHDAD: Iraq hired former Australia boss Graham Arnold as head coach of their national team on Friday.
Arnold left Australia in September after six years in charge during which he took the Socceroos to the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, where they lost to eventual winners Argentina.
Iraq are third in Group B of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and Arnold will start with two crucial games against leader South Korea in Basra on June 5 and second-placed Jordan in Amman five days later.
Six points from these two matches would seal Iraq’s place at the tournament for the first time since their 1986 debut.
Lebanon welcomes Saudi basketball delegation
- The arrival of Al-Ittihad marks significant step following Beirut’s efforts to rebuild international trust
- Lebanese PM Salam welcomes Saudi team ‘to your second home’ after travel ban lifted
BEIRUT: Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad Jeddah Basketball Club landed in Beirut on Friday afternoon, arriving from the Red Sea city on a Middle East Airlines flight.
This marks the first time Saudi nationals have visited Lebanon since the Kingdom’s authorities imposed a travel ban on citizens heading to the country in 2019.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the Saudi team.
“This is a visit filled with hope for increased cooperation in various fields, and an opportunity to strengthen the fraternal relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“Welcome to your second home, and among your people.”
Lebanon’s Youth and Sports Minister Nora Bayrakdarian was at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport to receive the Saudi sports delegation.
Al-Ittihad is participating in the FIBA West Asia Super League final eight, alongside teams from Kuwait, the UAE, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, and two teams from Lebanon —Al-Riyadi and Sagesse SC — in matches from May 10-18.
The UAE lifted its travel ban on its citizens visiting Lebanon, and Emirati travelers began arriving in the Mediterranean country at the beginning of this week.
Lebanon is eagerly anticipating the return of other Gulf nationals, particularly in light of President Joseph Aoun’s recent visits to Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, aimed at restoring international trust in the country.
On May 7, an Emirates plane landed at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, and the passengers from the UAE were welcomed with flowers.
At the time, the Lebanese ambassador to the UAE, Fouad Chehab Dandan, posted pictures of the warm reception on his Facebook account.
The ambassador commented: “A step that brings hope for the return of our Arab brothers to their second home, Lebanon, which will welcome and receive them with flowers, warmth, and love.”
