ISLAMABAD: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was crowned ICC Men’s Player of the Month on Tuesday following a scintillating series of scores last month that included notable run-scoring feats against Afghanistan and a glittering century against Nepal.
Azam was nominated for the prestigious award along with another team member and all-rounder Shadab Khan last week for their outstanding performances. The Pakistan captain’s accomplishment has made him the first men’s player to win the award on three separate occasions, after previous triumphs in April 2021 and March 2022.
Reacting to the development, Azam said he was delighted to be named ICC Player of the Month for August 2023.
“The past month has been extraordinary for my team and I as we have put some terrific performances,” an ICC statement quoted him as saying. “With the Asia Cup coming to Pakistan after such a long time, it was great to play in front of the passionate and cricket-loving crowds of Multan and Lahore. That I scored my second ODI score of 150-plus in front of my own people in Multan doubled the joy.”
“I am looking forward to making the most of the form as we head into an exciting phase of cricket with the backend of the Asia Cup nearing and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup around the corner,” he continued. “My team and I are eager to bring joy and happiness to the millions of Pakistan fans.”
The Pakistan skipper started the ODI series against Afghanistan quietly last month. However, his form returned in the last two fixtures, where scores of 53 and 60 helped secure the series sweep for Pakistan.
On the back of these strong displays, Azam then saved his best performance for his last August outing – the opening Asia Cup fixture against Nepal in Multan.
At one stage 25 for two, he displayed control and flair in stabilizing the Pakistan innings, before launching a wave of aggressive strokes to propel them to a mammoth 342 score, eventually ending with 151 from 131 balls.
In total, his 264 runs in the month came at an average of 66 and at a strike rate of 92.30.
Azam was also congratulated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for winning the coveted ICC award.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam secures ICC Player of the Month award for August
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Pakistan skipper Babar Azam secures ICC Player of the Month award for August
- The Pakistan captain has become the first male cricketer to win the award on three separate occasions
- Azam secured the accolade following last month’s dazzling performances, including 150-plus against Nepal
Saudi’s Abdullah Al-Qahtani, Hattan Alsaif shine at inaugural PFL MENA card in Riyadh
- Al-Qahtani heads to featherweight semifinals after stopping Yazeed Hasanain
- Ali Taleb dominates Nawras Abzakh to advance to bantamweight semifinals
RIYADH: The Professional Fighters League began its historic inaugural season of PFL MENA (Middle East and North Africa) at The Green Halls in Riyadh on Friday, with athletes in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions taking center stage and securing their spots in the playoffs.
In the main event, Abdullah Al-Qahtani put on a show for his hometown fans as he impressed against Yazeed Hasanain of Jordan en route to a verbal submission win, earning himself a spot in the PFL MENA featherweight semifinals.
In the co-main event, Iraq’s Ali Taleb was a force from start to finish as he dominated Jordanian Nawras Abzakh to earn a unanimous decision win and a spot in the bantamweight semifinals. Taleb improves to 11-1 in his career.
Morocco’s Rachid El Hazoume showed off his submission skills and forced countryman Xavier Alaoui to tap out to a rear-naked choke submission in the second round. As a result, El Hazoume advanced to the bantamweight semifinals and moved to 14-3 in his career.
Islam Reda of Egypt turned in a strong performance as he defeated Morocco’s Adam Meskini by a unanimous decision to advance to the PFL MENA featherweight semifinals. The win marked Reda’s fifth straight, and it improved his career record to 11-1.
Jordan’s Jalal Al Daaja punched his ticket to the PFL MENA playoffs after edging out Sudan’s Tariq Ismail by majority draw in their bantamweight matchup. The victory pushed Al Daaja’s career record to 12-7.
Algeria’s Elias Boudegzdame was the first fighter in the bantamweight division to advance to the PFL MENA playoffs after scoring a slick second-round guillotine submission win over Egypt’s Hassan Mandour. With the win, Boudegzdame improved to 19-8 in his MMA career.
Saudi Arabia’s own Hattan Alsaif turned in a spectacular MMA debut, knocking out Egypt’s Nada Faheem with a head kick in the second round of their women’s flyweight amateur showcase bout. Alsaif has made history by becoming the first female from Saudi Arabia to sign a contract with a major MMA promotion.
Featherweight division action saw Morocco’s Maraoune Bellagouit land a powerful left hook in the third round to knock out Egypt’s Mido Mohamed and move on to the semifinals. Bellagouit remains undefeated and moves to 5-0 in his career.
In the first featherweight bout of the PFL MENA season, Jordan’s Abdelrahman Alhyasat outworked Ahmed Tarek of Egypt to win by a unanimous decision and advance to the semifinals. Alhyasat improved to 4-0 in his professional career.
Kicking off the action, Saudi Arabia’s own Malik Basahel put on a dominant performance, defeating India’s Harsh Pandya by a unanimous decision in a flyweight amateur showcase bout.
COMPLETE PFL MENA: RIYADH RESULTS
Featherweight bout:
Abdullah Al-Qahtani def. Yazeed Hasanain by verbal submission (punches) at 4:59 of round 2.
Bantamweight bout:
Ali Taleb def. Nawras Abzakh by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Bantamweight bout:
Rachid El Hazoume def. Xavier Alaoui by submission (rear naked choke) at 2:55 of round 2.
Featherweight bout:
Islam Reda def. Adam Meskini by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28).
Bantamweight bout:
Jalal Al Daaja def. Tariq Ismail by majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28).
Bantamweight bout:
Elias Boudegzdame def. Hassan Mandour by submission (guillotine choke) at 0:53 of round 2.
Women’s atomweight bout, amateur:
Hattan Alsaif def. Nada Faheem by KO (head kick) at 0:41 of round 2.
Featherweight bout:
Maraoune Bellagouit def. Mido Mohamed by TKO (punch) at 4:12 of round 3.
Featherweight bout:
Abdelrahman Alhyasat def. Ahmed Tarek by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-27).
Flyweight bout, amateur:
Malik Basahel def. Harsh Pandya by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28).
BCCI hunting for new India cricket coach after T20 World Cup
- India have not won a global title since the 2013 Champions Trophy and will be looking to end the drought in the upcoming T20 World Cup
- Rohit Sharma’s team will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 followed by blockbuster clash with Pakistan in New York on June 9
NEW DELHI: India’s cricket board will hunt for a new coach to take charge after the T20 World Cup in June, but left the door open for Rahul Dravid to reapply.
Dravid, who became head coach of the men’s team in November 2021, was handed a short-term extension when his two-year contract expired after India’s loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup final last November.
“We will call for applications in the next few days,” Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), told reporters in Mumbai.
“Rahul Dravid’s tenure is coming to an end in June. If he wants to re-apply, he can.”
Shah said the next coach would be offered a contract through to the next ODI World Cup in 2027 and ruled out hiring different coaches for the three formats.
“We are looking for a long-term coach for three years,” Shah said, in comments reported by Indian media on Friday.
“There is no precedent of different coaches for different formats in Indian cricket. Besides, we have a number of all-format players. Ultimately, it will be the Cricket Advisory Committee’s (CAC) call. I have to implement what they decide.”
India have not won a global title since the 2013 Champions Trophy and will be looking to end the drought in the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States starting June 2.
Rohit Sharma’s team will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 followed by a blockbuster clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in New York on June 9.
Nuggets, Pacers claw back in NBA conference semifinals
- Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points as all five Nuggets starters scored in double figures against a T’Woves team
- The Pacers also avoided a 0-3 hole with a 111-106 victory over the Knicks
LOS ANGELES: The NBA champion Denver Nuggets roared back into their Western Conference semifinal series with Minnesota with a 117-90 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday as the Indiana Pacers clawed back a game against the New York Knicks.
NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray scored 24 points apiece, with Jokic adding 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets, who cut the deficit in their best-of-seven series to 2-1.
Denver dispelled any suggestion they would bow out quietly after they were humbled by the young Timberwolves in games one and two in Denver.
The Pacers, who dropped the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in New York, also avoided a 0-3 hole with a 111-106 victory over the Knicks in Indianapolis.
“Everybody knows what it looks like when you go down 3-0,” Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton said, a nod to the fact that no NBA team has rallied from that deficit to win a playoff series.
“We had to come out play desperate, play hard,” added Haliburton, whose Pacers will now try to level the series at home on Sunday.
Denver will try to pull level on Sunday in Minneapolis, where Jokic said the Nuggets went into the contest determined to “play like a champion.”
“I think we played much simpler,” Jokic told broadcaster ESPN. “We were aggressive, more aggressive than them, and I think that’s definitely the thing that changed the game.”
Murray, who scored just 25 points over the first two games and was fined $100,000 for letting his frustration boil over and throwing a heating pad onto the court during Game 2, connected on 11 of 21 shots and came up with three steals.
“Our guys answered the bell,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “They showed me that they still believe.”
Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points as all five Nuggets starters scored in double figures against a T’Woves team that coach Chris Finch called “sluggish” and “slow.”
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 19 points. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 14, but the Timberwolves didn’t play with the pace that overwhelmed the Nuggets in Denver.
They trailed by as many as 34 points, to the dismay of fans at the Target Center who were eager to see the kind of show the Timberwolves had put on in Denver.
“Not a lot of good things on either end of the floor, really,” Finch said.
In Indianapolis, Haliburton scored 35 points and Andrew Nembhard emerged as an unlikely hero, draining a three-pointer from deep as the shot clock was running down to put the Pacers ahead 109-106 with 17.8 seconds left to play.
It was just his second basket of the night, but it turned the tide for good in a physical, back-and-forth battle in which the Pacers surrendered an early 12-point lead and rallied from nine down in the fourth quarter.
“I put (Nembhard) in kind of a bad situation and he just made an unbelievable shot,” said Haliburton, who passed to Nembhard with just four seconds on the shot clock after finding himself unable to get a shot off in the face of a swarming Knicks defense.
“Big, big shot,” Haliburton said. “He really stepped up to the moment when we needed him most.”
Haliburton had six of Indiana’s 12 three-pointers. Pascal Siakam scored 26 points and Myles Turner added 21 and 10 rebounds for Indiana.
The banged-up Knicks, already missing Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bojan Bogdanovic, were also without OG Anunoby after he suffered a hamstring strain in game two.
Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who wasn’t confirmed to start until after pre-game warm-ups after hurting his right foot on Wednesday, got off to a slow start, but New York briefly pulled ahead in the second quarter — foreshadowing a third-quarter surge that saw them take a 90-85 lead into the final period.
Donte DiVincenzo led the Knicks scoring with 35 points, connecting on seven of 11 from three-point range.
Brunson finished with 26 points and six assists, hitting a game-tying three-pointer with 42.4 seconds left.
Xander Schauffele shoots 67, leads by 4 over Rory McIlroy, Jason Day at Wells Fargo Championship
- The 30-year-old Schauffele has seven top 10 finishes this season, but no wins
- McIlroy is the only three-time winner of the event, and said the course simply suits his game well
CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Xander Schauffele has been a mainstay near the top of the leaderboard most of the year. Now he’s hoping to close the door.
Schauffele shot a 4-under 67 on Friday after opening with a 64, leaving him at 11-under 131 and four shots ahead of Rory McIlroy and Jason Day heading into the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Taylor Moore and Sungjae Im were five strokes back at 6 under.
The 30-year-old Schauffele has seven top 10 finishes this season, but no wins. He’s looking to snap a winless streak that dates to July 2022 at the Genesis Scottish Open.
“I’ve had a few knocks on the door and I just tell myself to keep knocking,” Schauffele said.
Schauffele said the drought is something he’s always thinking about, but added that the toughest part is just to stay in the present.
“You just have to recognize the situation you are in, and realize that you are playing some good golf and just get out of your own way at times,” Schauffele said.
Schauffele’s was locked in most of the day.
He hit 15 greens and his only hiccup came when he made bogey on the 18th hole while he was trying to rush to finish his round and beat a storm that would suspend play for about an hour. Play eventually did resume, but Schauffele feared he would have to get up early to play a shot or two and then wait several hours to play his third round on Saturday.
“It’s stupid to say, but I’d rather take the 5 at this point after hitting such a bad chip versus waking up super early and having to reset your day,” Schauffele said. “It’s all good.”
McIlroy entered the day three shots behind Schauffele, but managed to lose ground despite not making a bogey. McIlroy finished with a 68. He had several opportunities to put the pressure on Schauffele, but missed a few makeable putts.
Still, the star from Northern Ireland walked away feeling good about his play.
“Felt like I probably could have squeezed a couple more out of the round, but anytime you can go around this golf course bogey free it’s always going to be a decent day,” said McIlroy, who teamed with Shane Lowry to win the Zurich Classic two weeks ago.
The world’s No. 2-ranked player has had some spectacular weekend performances before at Quail Hollow, including a club-record 61 in 2015. He closed with a 62 in 2010 to win his first PGA Tour title.
He said he will lean on those as he sets his sights on catching Schauffele.
“Anytime you’re playing a golf course where you’ve shot some really low scores, you know that it’s out there,” McIlroy said. “The golf course is playing a lot differently this week than it played in 2010 and 2015, but I know if I get it going around here I can make some birdies and chase him down.”
McIlroy is the only three-time winner of the event, and said the course simply suits his game well because it allows him to take advantage of his distance off the tee.
“I’ve had so many good memories here, I just feel positive vibes,” McIlroy said. “I feel good about myself when I’m walking around here.”
Day also had a 67. The Australian has struggled of late, with only one top-25 finish in his last six events.
“I’ve had a run over the last month and a half, two months where it’s just been kind of poor play, poor hitting,” Day said. “I’ve been losing a ton of strokes to the field approach to green, not necessarily on the driver. It’s weird, it’s kind of strange to drive it decently well and to hit it poor coming into the greens.”
Max Homa, the only player other than McIlroy with multiple wins at the Wells Fargo Championship, was eight shots behind after a 70. Justin Thomas also was 3 under after a 71.
Djokovic bottle strike overshadows his Rome Open cruise past Moutet
- Should Djokovic be OK as the FITP said, he will face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the third round with a great chance to add to his array of titles at the Foro Italico
- One of Djokovic’s potential threats, third seed Alexander Zverev, breezed into the third round with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic
ROME: Novak Djokovic’s fast start at the Rome Open was overshadowed on Friday after the tennis icon was struck with a hard plastic water bottle while greeting fans following his 6-3, 6-1 win over France’s Corentin Moutet.
World No. 1 Djokovic was left crouched on the ground in agony as the bottle hit him on the back of the head as he was signing autographs while he exited the center court at the Foro Italico.
Djokovic was then led from the arena on foot by security staff who covered the 24-time Grand Slam winner while he made his way into the bowels of the stands.
The ATP did not respond to AFP’s request for an update on Djokovic’s condition, only announcing that he would not speak to the media on Friday evening.
However, a spokesman for the Italian Tennis Federation (FITP) said that Djokovic had been taken back to his hotel with a lightly bleeding head and that there is no risk that he will withdraw from the tournament.
The spokesman said that Djokovic did not need stitches and that the bottle likely fell while a fan tried to get the player’s attention, adding that security camera footage is being consulted to help identify the culprit.
“His condition is not a cause for concern,” said organizers in a short statement before then sending media a video in which it appears that the bottle accidentally slipped from a spectator’s grasp before landing on Djokovic’s head.
Djokovic retiring would be a disaster for organizers of the last major tournament before the French Open as it is already missing two of its biggest stars with Italian world No. 2 Jannik Sinner and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz both withdrawing from the men’s draw before the start.
Home fans have also been deprived of cheering on Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Musetti who both pulled out, Musetti while losing to France’s Terence Atmane on Friday morning.
Should Djokovic be OK as the FITP said, he will face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo in the third round with a great chance to add to his array of titles at the Foro Italico, where only Rafael Nadal has won more with 10.
The Serbian has made no secret in the past that he loves playing in Italy and with a clutch of big names either out injured or struggling he will fancy his chances of a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 crown.
One of Djokovic’s potential threats, third seed Alexander Zverev, breezed into the third round with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic.
Both Casper Ruud and Zverev were put on Djokovic’s side of the draw and German Zverev could face the tournament favorite in the last four.
“I know I’m the sort of player who can lose to anyone, I’ve unfortunately done that in the past but I also know that I’m a player that once I do find my rhythm I can beat anyone and I hope this can be the week where I find it,” said Zverev after his win.
Ons Jabeur’s tough 2024 continued after being dumped out of the women’s tournament in the second round by Sofia Kenin 7-5, 2-6, 6-4.
World No. 9 Jabeur was beaten by unseeded American Kenin in a gruelling match which lasted two hours and 17 minutes in the hot Rome sunshine.
Tunisia’s Jabeur, who in 2022 became the first Arab player to win a WTA 1000 title, looked to be on the right track after reaching the quarterfinals in Madrid.
But she slumped to a poor defeat on Friday, continuing a dreadful season so far in which the 29-year-old has had to deal with a chronic knee injury resurfacing.
Jabeur has a losing record for the year, a far cry from the woman who looked like she had the world at her feet ahead of last year’s Wimbledon final, which she lost in straight sets to unfancied Marketa Vondrousova after blasting through a series of Grand Slam champions.
