AHMEDABAD: Mohit Sharma’s bowling figures of 3-25 and an unbeaten 44 by David Miller powered Gujarat Titans to their second IPL win with a thrashing of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.
Gujarat restricted Hyderabad to 162-8, a total they overhauled with seven wickets and five balls to spare at their home Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins came to the venue with happy memories after he led Australia to an ODI World Cup triumph at the 132,000-capacity stadium last year, but this time, the home team ruled.
“Winning two matches at home is great, two more to go and then we go on the road,” Gujarat skipper Shubman Gill said.
Gill added, “Credit to the bowlers to restrict them. Everyone knows their roles in terms of batting or bowling...Miller’s gotten in form too.”
Gill made 36 to add to his team’s attacking start after fellow opener Wriddhiman Saha smashed a 13-ball 25 and set up the chase.
Sai Sudarshan then came in as impact substitute in place of Mohit and put on a key 64-run third-wicket stand with fellow left-hander Miller, who struggled in the middle with his running and Gill said it was “just a cramp, I think.”
Sudarshan fell for 45 off Cummins but Miller stood firm to steer the team home with Vijay Shankar at the other end in an unbeaten stand of 30.
Gujarat needed 49 from the last 30 balls before Miller and Sudarshan smashed Mayank Markande in a 24-run 16th over to ease into the chase.
Mohit, 35, set up victory with his medium-pace bowling as he struck three times including the key wicket of Abhishek Sharma, who made 29 off 20 balls.
Afghanistan spin wizard Rashid Khan made his presence felt when he bowled Heinrich Klaasen, who trudged back to the pavilion after his 13-ball 24.
“Good match but we got 10-15 less,” said Cummins. “They bowled well. Losing a couple of wickets meant we couldn’t get a batter not making fifty plus.”
Hyderabad, who won their only title in 2016 under David Warner, suffered their second loss in three matches.
David Miller steers Gujarat Titans to IPL win over Sunrisers Hyderabad
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David Miller steers Gujarat Titans to IPL win over Sunrisers Hyderabad
- Hyderabad, who won their only title in 2016 under David Warner, suffered their second loss in three matches
Galeno returns to Al-Ahli squad ahead of season finale
- Key player available for selection in Monday’s crucial clash against Al-Riyad
- Forward had been out of action since injury in Elite AFC Champions League final
Brazilian winger Wanderson Galeno has rejoined Al-Ahli’s first team after a three-week absence due to injury, the club confirmed on Saturday.
Al-Ahli announced via its official X platform account that Galeno has returned to full training, making him available for selection in Monday’s crucial clash against Al-Riyadh — the 34th and final round of the Saudi Pro League (Roshn League).
Galeno had been out since sustaining a thigh muscle injury during the Elite AFC Champions League final against Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale on May 3. He scored in that match, helping Al-Ahli to secure a 2–0 victory and lift the continental title.
Since his arrival from Brazil in January, Galeno has made a strong impact with 18 appearances, netting seven goals and providing five assists for the Jeddah-based side.
Real Madrid ‘legend’ Alonso returns as new coach
MADRID: Real Madrid appointed Xabi Alonso to replace Carlo Ancelotti as coach on Sunday, with the Spaniard to take over from June 1 and lead the team at the Club World Cup.
“Xabi Alonso will be the Real Madrid coach for the next three seasons, from June 1, 2025 until June 30, 2028,” said Real Madrid in a statement.
With veteran Italian coach Ancelotti taking the reins of the Brazilian national team, Madrid secured a deal with former midfielder Alonso, whom they have been linked with for months.
Alonso, 43, leaves German side Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the Bundesliga season after finishing second.
“Alonso is one of the biggest legends at Real Madrid and in world football,” continued Los Blancos’ statement.
“He wore our shirt in 236 games between 2009 and 2014. During that time he won six trophies.”
Alonso will be officially presented on Monday at 1030 GMT.
The Spaniard coached Leverkusen to a league and German Cup double in the 2023-2024 campaign, with his team unbeaten in the top flight, making him a target for Europe’s top clubs.
Basque coach Alonso had an agreement with Leverkusen to allow him to depart if one of his former sides, including Madrid, Liverpool and Bayern Munich, wanted to hire him.
Ancelotti’s Madrid endured a disappointing campaign, winning the European Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup but suffering Champions League quarter-final elimination by Arsenal.
Barcelona beat Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey finals and then reclaimed the Liga throne from their arch-rivals, meaning they failed to win a major trophy.
Alonso will replace one of the most successful managers in Madrid’s history, despite their struggles this season.
Ancelotti, 65, took Los Blancos to 15 trophies during two spells at the club, spanning six years.
The Italian won three Champions League trophies at the club, including La Decima — Madrid’s 10th — in 2014, with Alonso as part of his squad, although he was suspended for the final.
Alonso was also coached by Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho and Vicente del Bosque among others and is considered tactically adroit and an excellent organizer, which could be ideal for a Madrid side that has lacked balance.
The midfielder won two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup with Spain as he helped La Roja dominate the international game.
After retiring from playing in 2017 he coached Real Madrid and Real Sociedad at youth level before being appointed by Bayer Leverkusen in 2022.
Real Madrid have already signed defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth this summer and Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to follow, with his contract coming to an end at Anfield.
Madrid are trying to bring in the England international before the Club World Cup this summer, which will be Alonso’s first chance to win silverware.
Real Madrid face Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in Miami on June 18 in their opening match at FIFA’s lucrative summer tournament, which will be the first look at Alonso’s side.
First batch of Bangladeshi players arrives in Pakistan to play three-match T20 series
- The series will be held in Lahore, with the first T20 scheduled for May 28
- Both squads will train at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Monday, the PCB says
ISLAMABAD: A group of Bangladeshi players arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to play three Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) against the ‘Men in Green,’ the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.
The three-match T20I series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be held in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, with the first match scheduled for May 28.
The first group of Bangladesh contingent arrived in Pakistan in wee hours of Sunday and two more groups will arrive on Monday, according to the PCB.
Members of Pakistan’s squad will assemble in Lahore on Sunday, while players participating in Sunday’s final of the Pakistan Super League will join on Monday.
“Both teams will train at 7:30pm at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore,” the PCB said in a statement.
Bangladesh were initially scheduled to play five T20Is, but the tour was put in jeopardy following a cross-border conflict between Pakistan and India this month.
Both neighbors clashed for four days before agreeing to a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement on May 10.
Pakistan was also forced to reschedule its Twenty20 league — the Pakistan Super League (PSL) — after a ten-day break.
The Indian Premier League — the world’s richest cricket tournament — was also interrupted.
Saad bin Munawar becomes first Pakistani to summit Mt Everest from northern side
- Munawwar was part of a team of nine climbers who summitted the world's tallest peak as part of an expedition organized by Imagine Nepal
- The route to Everest peak from the northern face starts in Tibet, which is different from the Nepalese route that most mountaineers take
ISLAMABAD: In a remarkable feat, Saad bin Munawar has become the first Pakistani to summit the world’s tallest mountain, 8,848-meter Mount Everest, from its northern face, his expedition organizer said on Saturday.
Munawwar was part of a team of nine climbers who summitted the world’s tallest peak as part of the Everest North Expedition organized by Imagine Nepal.
The route to Everest peak from the northern face starts in Tibet, which is different from the Nepalese side route that most mountaineers take to ascend the peak.
“Saad has become the only Pakistani climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest from the north side,” his expedition organizer said on Facebook.
“The other climbers include Justin Moore Walker, Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Ang Mingma Sherpa, Sonam Tashi Sherpa, Ngima Dorjee Sherpa, Lakpa Tenzing Sherpa, Dawa Kami Sherpa, and Thupten Topchen Sherpa.”
A renowned adventurer, mountaineer and author, Munawwar has long been a source of inspiration in Pakistan’s adventure community. Before this Everest ascent, he was the first Pakistani to summit 6,961-meter Mt.
Aconcagua, the highest peak outside Asia, according to Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), which arranges various expeditions in Munawwar’s home country.
“This remarkable achievement is not only a personal triumph for Saad but a proud milestone for Pakistan’s mountaineering community,” it said in a statement.
“His leadership in expeditions and mountaineering literature continues to motivate a new generation of climbers.”
Earlier this week, Pakistani woman mountaineer Naila Kiani scaled 8,586-meter Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest peak, to become the first Pakistani woman to scale 12 of the world’s 14 peaks above the height of 8,000 meters.
Kiani now stands on the threshold of joining a global elite of only 17 women who have conquered all 14 eight-thousanders, Imagine Nepal, which also organized Kiani’s expedition, said after Friday’s summit.
Rafael Nadal gets a farewell ceremony at a tournament he won a record 14 times
- There were plenty of active players on the program for Day 1 of the year’s second Grand Slam tennis tournament
PARIS: Rafael Nadal’s first French Open match in the tournament’s main stadium came on May 25, 2005 — a straight-set victory in the second round against Xavier Malisse. That made Nadal’s career record in the tournament 2-0, and he was just getting started on the way to what would end up as a 112-4 mark and 14 championships at Paris.
On Sunday, 20 years to the day after that win, Nadal was scheduled to be back at Court Philippe-Chatrier, only instead of competing, he was going to be feted by the French tennis federation for all that he accomplished on the red clay.
“Celebrating the King,” was the way the event was described on social media by the official Roland-Garros feed. There was no exact time for the start of the ceremony, only word that it would begin after the three day-session matches in Chatrier would finish — so perhaps somewhere around 5 or 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m or noon ET).
There were plenty of active players on the program for Day 1 of the year’s second Grand Slam tennis tournament, of course, from No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka to two-time major runnerup Jasmine Paolini, from US Open semifinalist Ben Shelton to Paris Olympics medalists Zheng Qinwen and Lorenzo Musetti.
None, though, was likely to draw as much attention and adulation as the 38-year-old former player with 22 total Grand Slam titles and known to all as “Rafa,” who played his final competitive match in the Davis Cup in November. Some folks did not think the tribute to him after a loss in his last appearance there lived up to what it should have been, and event director Feliciano Lopez had to defend it.
Other tournaments put off holding celebrations for Nadal this season, including Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.
It just seemed fitting to all that the next big show should come at the site of so many of those lefty uppercut forehands, so many sprints to reach seemingly unreachable shots by opponents, so many triumphs.
This is the way Nadal described the fans in Paris: “They give me the love and the support every single second I have been on court.”
They were expected to pack the house on Sunday and it sounded as if some players planned to take in the scene, too, although at least one, four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek, was going to need to make sure it wouldn’t interrupt her preparation for competition.
“I need to be aware that, for sure, I’m going to cry,” Swiatek said. “I would love to be there, because we should all kind of get together and celebrate Rafa and what he did for our sport and what kind of inspiration he was and still is.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas — twice a Slam finalist, including at the 2021 French Open — joked that Nadal won the trophy 29 times in Paris.
“It will be tough,” Tsitsipas said, “to see him go away.”
