NEW DELHI: Batting star Virat Kohli will pick up the Indian Premier League’s largest-ever salary — $2.7 million — in this year’s tournament, with a host of big foreign names including Australian captain Steve Smith also cashing in.
Kohli will stay with Royal Challengers Bangalore alongside South Africa’s AB de Villiers, who will earn $1.7 million in the cash-rich event started by the Indian cricket board in 2008.
The Indian captain’s salary for the eight-team, 20-over tournament spread over two months beats the $2.5 million earned by allrounder Yuvraj Singh with Delhi in 2015.
Delhi Daredevils announced Ricky Ponting as head coach for the 2018 season. The batting legend coached Mumbai Indians to the 2015 title during a two-year stint.
Australian batsmen Smith and David Warner were also retained by their teams for $1.9 million each, making them the highest-paid foreign stars.
Smith will play for the Rajasthan Royals, returning from a two-year ban over match-fixing, and Warner with Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Chennai Super Kings, also returning to IPL after a two-year suspension, have former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni back on board.
But Kohli — who recently married Indian Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma — remains the top draw for the extravaganza in April and May.
Nicknamed King Kohli, the 29-year-old batsman is already listed among the world’s highest-paid athletes after smashing numerous records in his career.
He recently became the first batsman to score six double Test centuries as a captain.
Each team was allowed to re-sign up to three of their 2017 squad before the players are subject to bids from other teams in the auctions slated for January 27 and 28.
Another star performer, Ben Stokes, will be looking to re-enter the IPL fray in the auctions after he was granted a “no objection” certificate by the England and Wales Cricket Board.
The England allrounder, who missed the ongoing Ashes after being suspended for a pub brawl, was signed for a record fee of $2.16 million by Rising Pune Supergiant last year.
Kohli earns record $2.7 million salary for 2018 IPL campaign
Kohli earns record $2.7 million salary for 2018 IPL campaign
Accident puts Saudi Rally driver Yazeed Al Rajhi out of contention in Baja Jordan 2025
- Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk were injured when their Toyota hit an obstacle at speed
JEDDAH: Saudi Rally driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk’s participation was ended in this week’s Baja Jordan 2025 following an accident during the second and final stage on Saturday.
Al-Rajhi had been in full control of the event for two days and was coasting to the finish to pick up his first win in Jordan when his Toyota hit an obstacle at speed.
The driving duo were airlifted out of the stage for a medical examination and were both fully conscious and in stable condition.
Speaking from the hospital, Al-Rajhi shared details of the rescue following the accident, which forced him out of the race.
In a video, Al-Rajhi revealed that medical tests conducted on him and his co-driver at a hospital in Jordan. He also revealed that he has fractured two vertebrae in his spine, while his co-driver has fractured four vertebrae.
He said that his private plane is currently at Aqaba Airport, which will transport him to Riyadh soon.
McIlroy leads Masters after electric start to third round
- A glittering leaderboard has fans buzzing about the possibility of a classic finish on Sunday and many patrons are pulling for McIlroy to finally win the Green Jacket
AUGUSTA, Georgia: Rory McIlroy reached the midway point of the third round at the Masters on Saturday with a two-shot cushion over Bryson DeChambeau after a blistering start that saw him leapfrog overnight leader Justin Rose after just two holes.
Grand Slam-chasing McIlroy started birdie-eagle-birdie en route to becoming the first player to begin a round at the Masters with six consecutive threes on a partly cloudy day that offered pristine scoring conditions.
Rose started the day atop a star-studded leaderboard but by the time he made the turn, he was looking up at McIlroy and DeChambeau after going one-over through his first nine holes.
Popular American DeChambeau started hot with back-to-back birdies but a narrowly missed par putt on the third forced him to settle for the first of two bogeys he collected on the front nine.
A glittering leaderboard has fans buzzing about the possibility of a classic finish on Sunday and many patrons are pulling for McIlroy to finally win the Green Jacket and become only the sixth player to claim all four of the sport’s majors.
Augusta National has been the site of painful collapses for McIlroy and that gut-wrenching run threatened to repeat itself when he stumbled late in his opening round with two double bogeys.
But the Northern Irishman bounced back admirably on Friday with a thrilling round of 66 to climb back into contention and that momentum appears to have carried over into Saturday’s round.
A heavyweight battle between McIlroy and defending champion Scottie Scheffler could still materialize after the world number one went even through his first nine on Saturday to sit four-back of McIlroy.
Bayern fail to make most of Leverkusen slip with Dortmund draw
- Dortmund took the lead through Maximilian Beier in the 48th minute but Bayern hit back with two goals in four minutes, before Waldemar Anton equalized for the visitors with 15 minutes remaining
LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 home draw with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, failing to take advantage of Bayer Leverkusen’s slip-up earlier in the day.
After defending champions Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw at home to Union Berlin, Bayern knew a win would have moved them eight points clear with five games to play.
Dortmund took the lead through Maximilian Beier in the 48th minute but Bayern hit back with two goals in four minutes, before Waldemar Anton equalized for the visitors with 15 minutes remaining.
“We’ve moved a step closer to the championship and we’ve shown we can create plenty of opportunities,” said Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller, who will leave the club after 25 years at the end of the season.
“That should help us in the Champions League on Wednesday,” Mueller added of next week’s Champions League quarter-final second leg at Inter Milan, with Bayern facing a 2-1 first-leg deficit,
“(We need) to be more clinical,” said Harry Kane. “We’ll have opportunities, it’s about taking them in the right moments.”
Usually the standout fixture on the German football calendar, the buzz around the match was comparatively muted.
The visitors, who trail Barcelona 4-0 in their Champions League quarter-final, arrived in Munich sitting nine spots and 27 points behind in the table.
Bayern, enduring an injury crisis, were camped out near Dortmund’s box for almost the entire first half.
Visiting goalkeeper Gregor Kobel needed to snuff out big chances for Kane and Michael Olize.
Seemingly on the ropes at half-time, Dortmund opened the scoring three minutes into the second period, Beier heading between Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig’s legs to finish off a counter-attack.
With Dortmund in the ascendancy and probing for a second, Kompany brought on Serge Gnabry and the move worked a treat.
The former Arsenal winger created the equalizer for former Dortmund midfielder Raphael Guerreiro on 65 minutes and then scored a goal of his own four minutes later, slaloming through the visiting defense before hammering home.
Dortmund hit back to level again when Anton knocked in a rebound from a Serhou Guirassy shot.
Bayern remain six points ahead of Leverkusen and closing in on regaining the title.
Nursing an ongoing Achilles injury, Bayern center-back Kim Min-jae was substituted in the second half, leaving the Bavarians with just one fit central defender.
Despite welcoming back star midfielder Florian Wirtz from a foot injury, Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen lacked fluency in attack, carving out few clear-cut opportunities against Union Berlin.
Wirtz came on after 57 minutes and despite giving his side an initial boost, was unable to break down Union’s defense.
Granit Xhaka had a free-kick from the edge of the box in stoppage time but blasted his shot well over the bar.
“We’re dropping too many points at home,” Leverkusen captain Hradecky said.
“Mathematically there’s a small chance (of defending the title), but the probability has decreased.”
The draw continues a poor April for last season’s unbeaten domestic double winners, who were eliminated from the German Cup semifinals by third-division Arminia Bielefeld.
The draw lifted Union to 34 points, 12 clear of the relegation play-off spot.
The Berliners have taken 11 points from an unbeaten five-game run against Leverkusen, Bayern, Eintracht Frankfurt, Freiburg and Wolfsburg.
Borussia Moenchengladbach’s hopes of returning to the Champions League took a hit with a 2-1 home loss to Freiburg.
Freiburg snatched all three points when Johan Manzambi scored a 90th-minute header, allowing the visitors to leapfrog their opponents into sixth.
Augsburg continued their strong 2025 with a 2-1 win at lowly Bochum, climbing past Dortmund into eighth. Augsburg have only lost one of their past 13 games.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim took a step toward beating the drop with a 2-0 home win over Champions League hopefuls Mainz, with Andrej Kramaric scoring a brace.
St. Pauli also boosted their hopes of top-division football next season with a 2-1 win over fellow promoted side Holstein Kiel.
Ukraine and Spain qualify for Billie Jean King Cup Finals
RADOM, Poland: Elina Svitolina sent Ukraine to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals for the first time with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann to level the countries’ qualifier 1-1 on Saturday.
It ensured Ukraine tops Group E to qualify for the tournament in Shenzhen in September. Switzerland needed a flawless record against Ukraine to progress. Ukraine went on to win 2-1.
Spain also secured its place in the finals after Jessica Bouzas Maneiro defeated Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-2 for an unassailable 2-0 lead in their meeting.
Bernarda Pera defeated Denmark’s Johanne Svendsen to give the United States a 2-0 lead in Group C. The US next faces host nation Slovakia on Sunday with the winner going through to the finals.
Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima saved two match points before beating Romania’s Anca Todoni 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to win their meeting in Group A. It set up a decider against Canada on Sunday to determine which team qualifies for the finals.
Ronaldo special keeps Al-Nassr’s SPL title hopes alive
- Brace from superstar keeps the Yellows in the hunt for an unlikely title
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Al-Nassr to a 2-1 win over Al-Riyadh on Saturday to move his team to within a point of second-placed Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League and eight behind leaders Al-Ittihad.
Those two goals from the megastar, 22 and 23 in the league season so far, not only keep the 40-year-old on top of the scoring standings but, more importantly, mean that the Yellows are, just, in the race for the title with seven games to go.
It was looking very different at the end of the first half however, as Al-Nassr fell a goal behind just before the break. Faiz Selemani made the breakthrough, reacting quickly to score a rebound after Nassr goalkeeper Bento had parried a long-range shot from Abdullah Al-Khaibari into his path.
While the home fans were stunned, a certain five-time Ballon d’Or winner sprung into action four minutes before the hour. Sadio Mane, on the left byline, sent a pass across the edge of the six-yard box for the former Real Madrid and Manchester United legend to score from close range.
Four minutes after then hour, Ronaldo produced a spectacular winner. A clearance looped up to the Portuguese star on the edge of the area and he then smashed an unstoppable volley into the top corner for what will surely be one of the goals of the season.
There was still time for Ronaldo and Jhon Duran to go close to sealing the win and Ibrahim Bayesh almost claimed a point for Riyadh before the woodwork intervened. A late red card for Ahmed Asiri ended the visitors' quest for a point however.
Al-Nassr also moved five points clear of the two teams in fourth and fifth. Al-Ahli won on Friday while Al-Qadsiah’s hopes of a top three finish were dented with a 2-1 defeat at Al-Fayha.
The hosts took the lead just after the half-hour through Renzo Lopez but the visitors, who would have moved to within three points of Al-Hilal with a win, dominated most of the possession and chances but just could not find the back of the net.
Their misery was complete as Lopez added a second just before the hour, which meant that a 93rd minute goal from Julian Quinones was just a consolation.
