POTCHEFSTROOM, South Africa: The pace of Kagiso Rabada and the spin of Keshav Maharaj sent Bangladesh crashing to a 333-run defeat on the fifth day of the first Test against South Africa at Senwes Park on Monday.
Bangladesh lost seven wickets for 41 runs in less than an hour and a half as they were bowled out for 90 after being set 424 to win.
South Africa’s victory was overshadowed by an injury to fast bowler Morne Morkel, who is expected to be out for six weeks.
Rabada started the destruction by taking the first three wickets of the morning. He finished with three for 33, while left-arm spinner Maharaj took four for 25.
Resuming on 49 for three, Bangladesh lost their captain, Mushfiqur Rahim, to the 12th ball of the morning when he pushed at a lifting delivery from Rabada and was well caught above his head by Hashim Amla at first slip for 16.
Mahmudullah was bowled off an inside edge when he played a tentative defensive shot against the fast bowler and Liton Das offered no shot and was leg before wicket to a ball which slanted into him.
Sabbir Rahman and Taskin Ahmed were both leg before to Maharaj before Shafiul Islam was run out when he and Mehedy Hasan attempted a third run against the strong fielding arm of Rabada after a relay throw from twelfth man Wayne Parnell, who chased a ball to long-off.
Hasan and last batsman Mustafizur Rahman shared the best partnership of the morning, putting on 15 before Mustafizur pushed back a return catch to Maharaj.
Bangladesh’s rapid demise meant that South Africa were hardly hampered by the absence of Morkel, who suffered a side strain after taking the first two wickets on Sunday.
Team manager Mohammed Moosajee said Morkel required around six weeks rest, ruling him out of the second Test in Bloemfontein, starting on Friday.
South Africa dominated the match after Rahm’s surprising decision to send them in to bat on an easy-paced pitch, with Dean Elgar (199), new cap Aiden Markram (97) and Hashim Amla (137) enabling them to score 496 for three declared in the first innings.
South Africa beat Bangladesh by 333 runs in 1st Test
South Africa beat Bangladesh by 333 runs in 1st Test
Inter beats Barcelona 4-3 after extra time to reach another Champions League final
- Substitute Davide Frattesi is the extra-time hero for Inter, firing home in the 99th minute to leave the Barcelona players slumped to the ground
MILAN: Inter Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 after extra time in another rollercoaster encounter Tuesday to reach a second Champions League final in three years.
In the end it took extra time, two astonishing Barcelona fightbacks and 13 goals — some of them mesmerizing — to separate the two sides and see Inter prevail 7-6 on aggregate.
Substitute Davide Frattesi was the extra-time hero for Inter, firing home in the 99th minute to leave the Barcelona players slumped to the ground and all his Nerazzurri teammates — including those on the bench — racing to celebrate with him.
Moments earlier, Frattesi had been encouraging the already loud San Siro crowd to make more noise and the atmosphere grew even more feverish after his strike.
Inter, which lost the final to Manchester City in 2023, will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London last week in their first match.
There was little sign of the drama to come at halftime, with Inter comfortably leading 2-0 after Lautaro Martínez scored and earned a penalty, which was converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu.
But Barcelona had been in that position before, having gone 2-0 down early in the first leg last week before securing a thrilling 3-3 draw.
And Eric García scored nine minutes after the break before Dani Olmo headed in the equalizer six minutes later.
Raphina appeared to have secured the win for Barcelona when he put the Spanish side ahead two minutes before full time, tucking away the rebound after Yann Sommer had saved his initial shot.
However, 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi astonishingly leveled in stoppage time — with his first goal in European competition — to add another 30 minutes onto the tantalizing encounter.
Frattesi had proved crucial off the substitutes’ bench before, both for Italy and Inter, and so he was again, controlling Mehdi Taremi’s pass and dummying round Pau Cubarsí before curling past Wojciech Szczęsny.
Barcelona almost leveled again but Sommer made a fingertip save to push Lamine Yamal’s shot past his post.
Report: PIF’s LIV Golf investments nearing $5 billion
- Money in Sport had previously projected an increase in the PIF investment of $5 billion by the end of 2025
NEW YORK: LIV Golf’s investors are reaching into their pockets again for funding, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund nearing $5 billion in spending on the three-year-old league.
LIV Golf Investments, the parent company for worldwide LIV Golf operations, has increased its authorized share capital twice this year, once in mid-January and once late in April, for a total of $674.3 million, according to the Money in Sport newsletter on Monday.
This brings the total spend to $4.58 billion, with $1.9 billion of that coming since January 2024.
Money in Sport had previously projected an increase in the PIF investment of $5 billion by the end of 2025.
With a reference to $82 million in revenue from January to October 2024, PIF’s filing included the first time a consolidated revenue figure for LIV Golf has been publicly disclosed.
The filing shows the latest authorizations come with three conditions: a minimum number of events this season, a minimum revenue and a finalized TV deal with Fox Sports.
LIV Golf has made significant changes this year, including Scott O’Neill replacing Greg Norman as CEO in addition to altering its team format to make all players’ scores count in every round.
LIV Golf’s first event in the US of 2025 brought record viewership for the league, with 484,000 people tuning in to watch Marc Leishman’s triumph in Miami on April 8.
Unfortunately for the Saudi-backed league, that was still less than a third of the number of people who opted to watch a standard PGA Tour event the same day.
“I think we all hoped it would have been a little bit further along, and that’s no secret,” American golfer Brooks Koepka said ahead of the LIV Golf Miami tournament at Trump National Doral on April 2.
“No matter where you’re at, you always hope everything is further along. But they’re making progress, and it seems to be going in the right direction.”
Zhao’s title success at world championships shines light on snooker’s growth in China
TAIPEI: Once considered a saloon or rec-room past-time by many, snooker has long been serious business in the UK and much of the rest of the world. Now, it seems, it’s China’s turn in the spotlight.
Zhao Xintong’s crowning as Asia’s first world snooker champion has put the focus on the growth of the sport in China in a relatively short time.
“There’s a new superstar of the game,” said Mark Williams, 50, the three-time world champion from Wales who lost to Zhao in the final of the World Snooker Championship, held in Sheffield, north England, on Sunday. “It could be huge for the sport.”
Brought to China by foreign traders in the 19th century, snooker suffered during the early Communist period, when all pastimes seen as individualistic, bourgeois and foreign were frowned upon. The first ranking event to be held in Asia was the Hong Kong Open in 1989. The following year China hosted the Asian Open.
The death in 1976 of Mao Zedong, opened the doors for the sport and snooker has now moved from smoky backstreet parlors and outdoor shopfront street-side tables — amazingly kept level by the bricks they sat on — to swanky halls and practice venues.
Former world No. 1 Ding Junhui blazed the trail for Zhao and others like him, even as enthusiasm for the sport may be waning somewhat among a younger generation infatuated with e-sports and smartphone games.
Zhao himself may be the best thing to happen to China-British relations in recent years, with ties under pressure over trade and China’s curtailment of democracy in the former British colony of Hong Kong. The 28-year-old now lives and trains in Sheffield, and enjoyed strong support from the British fans at Sunday’s final.
Raised in the bustling industrial center of Shenzhen, Zhao picked up a cue at age eight and, somewhat surprisingly for education-obsessed Chinese parents, received strong support from his parents, who built him a practice room at home.
That didn’t fully shield him from the shadier side of the sport, however. He was banned for 20 months as one of 10 Chinese players implicated in a match-fixing scandal. Zhao owned up to knowledge of what was happening, although he said he wasn’t directly involved. He returned to the sport in September 2024 as an amateur. requiring him to battle his way back up the ranks.
Boost for the game in China
Dubbed “The Cyclone,” Zhao now stands at 11th in the world rankings and his combination of youth and talent is being celebrated across the country.
His expressions of disbelief at his world title was witnessed by millions of television viewers in China, with many praising him in online posts as the “pride of China” who “brought tears to one’s eyes.”
“It’s worth celebrating in China,” said Tong Jianfeng, 29 and long-time fan of the game. “Through the whole process, Zhao Xintong played smoothly. His precision is impressive.”
Huang Siyuan, also 29, agreed, “It didn’t come easy. I feel proud for Chinese billiards.”
Wang Heng, the manager and founder of Beijing Xinrui Billiard Academy, located in Tongzhou, just outside the capital, said Zhao’s success will be positive for the domestic game.
“I believe this will make Chinese players very confident because they would realize the world championship is no longer something difficult to break,” he said. “They will be more and more sure of themselves.”
‘On a pedestal’
There may already be more Zhao’s in the works. At this year’s world championships, 10 Chinese players qualified for the main draw and six made it into the final 16 — the highest ever.
“Now this will give them (children in China) power and in the future many Chinese players can do this,” said Zhao covered in confetti and a Chinese flag after taking the title.
International recognition will be crucial to the sport’s continued growth, according to Jason Ferguson, chairman of the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association.
“The one thing we do know about China is that snooker is treated like any other major Olympic sport, it is on a pedestal, it does get major broadcast hours and it really is supported by government and education systems,” Ferguson told The Associated Press.
“The sport is extremely well-respected. To have a world champion is really just incredible.”
Bayern keeper Urbig eyes another title after winning Bundesliga
- The 21-year-old could end up collecting a second title with second-tier club Cologne
- Urbig made 10 appearances for them this season
BERLIN: Bayern Munich keeper Jonas Urbig celebrated his first Bundesliga title on Sunday with his team sitting eight points clear at the top with two games left to play.
But the 21-year-old, who is first choice at Bayern with Manuel Neuer injured, could end up collecting a second title with second-tier club Cologne.
Urbig made 10 appearances for them this season before his January transfer to Bayern. Cologne are second in the standings, a point behind leaders Hamburg SV with two matches remaining.
“I am in very good contact with the lads and I would be extremely happy if Cologne win the second division title,” Urbig said.
Only two players have previously achieved this feat, Pasi Rautiainen with Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen in the 1980/81 season and Frank Hartmann in 1986/87, with Bayern Munich and Hannover 96.
Saudi Arabia to host Youth National Teams Championship during summer
- Eight Gulf football national teams will be divided into two groups
- The tournament marks the first age-category competition held under the supervision of GCFF
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will host the first Youth National Teams Championship between Aug. 28 and Sept. 9 with the participation of eight Gulf teams, the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation announced on Tuesday.
The new tournament will see participating teams divided into two groups, each consisting of four teams.
Each group’s top two teams will advance to the semifinals, according to a media statement, which added that the details regarding the draw dates will be announced soon.
The tournament marks the first age-category competition held under the supervision of the AGCFF.
It is also a step aimed at supporting and progressing the base of youth tournaments and reinforcing the focus on promising young players as the core foundation of the future of Gulf football.
The AGCFF is a regional sports organization dedicated to organizing and developing football in the Arabian Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Oman and Yemen. It has been best known for organizing the Arabian Gulf Cup, one of the region’s most prominent sporting events.
The idea of establishing the federation began with preparatory meetings held in 2015 under the name Gulf Football Federation. In May 2016, it was officially founded under the name Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation, reflecting its close connection to the oldest sports tournament in the region, the Gulf Cup.
