MANCHESTER: Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was at pains on Sunday to dismiss suggestions that Mohammad Amir’s agitated gesticulation after the defeat against India was a result of his frustration at his team mates.
Even if it was, Pakistan’s pace spearhead could hardly be faulted.
The 27-year-old left-arm quick has found himself saddled with the burden of a misfiring bowling unit, which simply refuses to complement his effort.
Pacers hunt in pairs but Amir has been Pakistan’s lone ranger with the ball with no significant assistance from the other end.
Figures from Pakistan’s last two matches, against Australia and India, prove how toothless the attack is without Amir.
In those two defeats, Amir returned a combined figure of 20-3-77-8 while others put together managed an embarrassing 79-0-554-7.
With 13 wickets from four matches, Amir shares the top wicket-taker’s position with Australian Mitchell Starc.
The next Pakistani on the list is Wahab Riaz, way behind with five wickets from four matches.
“He’s got 13 wickets in four games. Other bowlers should also chip in,” spinner Imad Wasim said after the defeat by India.
Riaz, whose hostile spell to Australian Shane Watson in the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup was one of the highlights of the tournament, has struggled for success.
The left-arm quick had vowed to prove coach Mickey Arthur wrong after being left out of the original squad but has done little to justify his late inclusion.
Fellow quick Hasan Ali, who bled 84 runs in his nine overs against India, has not done any better with two wickets from four matches.
Against a bowling attack of such nature, the opposition strategy has been fairly simple — to treat Amir with respect and others with disdain.
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma did exactly that on Sunday during their 136-run opening stand, even allowing Amir to begin with a maiden over.
As conditions demand, Amir has bowled a fuller length and kept it tight at both ends of the innings but his pace colleagues have bowled noticeably short.
Rohit, whose 140 helped secure India’s comprehensive victory, was asked if he was pleasantly surprised by the short length which allowed him to cut and pull with impunity.
“I really can’t read into what was going in their mind, whether to bowl up or to bowl short,” the right-hander said.
“As a batsman, you’re ready to just pounce on it when given or bowled to your strength. It’s my strength when someone bowls short to me.”
Pakistan paying price for over-reliance on lone ranger Amir
Pakistan paying price for over-reliance on lone ranger Amir
- In this world cup Amir shares the top wicket-taker’s position with Australian Mitchell Starc
- Left-arm quick saddled with burden of misfiring bowling unit which refuses to complement his effort
Iga Swiatek reaches Madrid Open quarterfinals after ‘relaxed’ day during blackout
- Swiatek said she took away food from the tournament site and relaxed at the hotel until the power came back on
- “I just chilled and used that time to not think about what I should do”
MADRID: Power was restored at the Caja Magica tennis complex Tuesday and the Madrid Open resumed with a packed schedule that included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals after a “more relaxed” day because of the blackout.
Following the major blackout that prompted 22 matches to be postponed on Monday, Swiatek returned to the center court and defeated Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to stay on track to defend her title in the Spanish capital.
“I liked yesterday. I think the whole world was just more relaxed, kind of, obviously the people who didn’t lose because of this,” she said. “I enjoyed the time off, and I tried to just recover, because we need to savor these free days, for sure.”
Swiatek said she took away food from the tournament site and relaxed at the hotel until the power came back on.
“I just chilled and used that time to not think about what I should do,” she said. “There was no signal, so basically no one used their phones. It was nice, I liked it.”
Most parts of Madrid regained power overnight, but the Caja Magica was still without electricity early Tuesday, causing a delay in the opening of the gates for fans.
The power came back quickly, though, and organizers did not have to alter the day’s schedule of matches, although there was the possibility of the night session being delayed because of the high number of matches during the day.
Swiatek to face Keys
Swiatek cruised in the first set but had to save 11 of 13 break points to seal a hard-fought victory against the 13th-seeded Shnaider.
Swiatek has not lost before the quarterfinals in seven tournaments this season but hasn’t gone past the semifinals since Roland Garros last year. She will next face Madison Keys, who defeated Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3.
It will be Swiatek’s first meeting with Keys since she lost despite having match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.
“We played last year here, but I think it was a night session or something,” Swiatek said. “I don’t know, I think it was like colder or a little bit different, so for sure we’ll watch that match.”
Berrettini out with injury
In the men’s side, 31st-ranked Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an apparent abdominal injury after losing the first set 7-6 (2) to sixth-ranked Jack Draper.
“I think he said his abs were pulling,” Draper said. “I’ve had injuries in the past. I believe he might have done it in his last match, so credit to him for coming out here and putting on a good first set. I saw his energy was a bit low in general.”
Sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur tied Carlos Alcaraz with a tour-leading 24th win this season by getting past Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (3).
The seventh-ranked De Minaur will next face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat 2019 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe both won their matches. The 11th-seeded Paul defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while the 16th-seeded Tiafoe beat Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-3.
Paul was among the players having to play doubles on the same day as their singles matches. Another was 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, who defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-2 before having to play his doubles match on the same court a bit later.
Tuesday’s schedule included second-ranked Alexander Zverev facing Francisco Cerundolo. On the women’s side, the remaining six fourth-round matches were scheduled, including top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka facing Peyton Stearns.
Refunds for ticket holders
There were huge lines outside the complex, and people with tickets for Monday’s matches were not allowed back in on Tuesday.
“Nobody said anything yet,” said Juan Duato, who was denied entry when he arrived on Monday during the power outage. “They said we couldn’t come in and asked us to contact customer support. Apparently they will send us an email.”
Organizers said later Tuesday that anyone who purchased tickets for Monday would receive a full refund for the purchase. That process would be carried out automatically over the next few days.
Fans already inside were asked to leave the Caja Magica a few hours after the outage happened shortly after 12:30 p.m. local time (1030 GMT) on Monday. Two ATP singles matches and one doubles match were underway at the time.
There were longer-than-usual wait times for players to be transported back to the hotel on Monday.
Napoli’s Buongiorno out with adductor injury
- Napoli reclaimed the sole lead in the Serie A standings on Sunday
- The 25-year-old has already begun his rehabilitation process
NAPLES: Napoli defender Alessandro Buongiorno is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering an adductor injury in his right thigh, the Serie A leaders said on Tuesday.
Napoli reclaimed the sole lead in the Serie A standings on Sunday with a 2-0 home win against Torino but the 2023 champions lost Italy center back Buongiorno and midfielder Frank Anguissa to injuries around the hour mark.
“Alessandro Buongiorno underwent instrumental tests today at the Pineta Grande Hospital, which revealed a destructive lesion of the long adductor muscle of the right thigh,” Napoli said in a statement.
The club added that the 25-year-old has already begun his rehabilitation process.
Italian media reported that the injury puts an end to Buongiorno’s season and manager Antonio Conte will not have him available for the last four games in the title race.
Napoli travel to relegation-threatened Lecce on Saturday before facing Genoa, Parma and Cagliari in their final matches. Conte’s side top the league standings on 74 points, three ahead of second-placed Inter Milan.
Boca Juniors fire coach Fernando Gago after loss to rival River Plate
- “We found that there is no way for him to be our coach,” Serna said
- It was the first time in club history that Boca were eliminated by a Peruvian team
BUENOS AIRES: Argentine club Boca Juniors fired coach Fernando Gago on Tuesday after losing to crosstown rival River Plate over the weekend.
Mauricio Serna, a member of Boca Juniors’ Football Council, announced Gago’s departure following the 2-1 defeat in the Argentine clasico played on Sunday.
“We’re here to make decisions, and late last night, we found that there is no way for him to be our coach,” Serna said. “We’re very grateful because he’s put in all his effort, but there are situations that have led us to make a final decision.”
The loss to River Plate was another blow to a team were eliminated in the early stages of Copa Libertadores, losing to Alianza Lima. It was the first time in club history that Boca were eliminated by a Peruvian team in the competition.
Gago, a former Real Madrid player, took over as coach of Boca Juniors last October after stepping down from his role at Mexico’s Chivas in the middle of the season to replace Diego Martínez. He coached 30 games, won 17 with five draws and eight losses.
Inter looking to power back up ahead of Champions League match at Barcelona
- Inter is hoping it won’t have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain to a standstill
- Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate
MILAN: Strange things happen when Inter Milan plays Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.
The last time the two teams met in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition, in 2010, Barcelona had to make a 15-hour journey by bus to Milan after an ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull shut down air space.
Barcelona lost that first leg 3-1 and a stout defensive performance by Inter in the return match saw it advance to the final 3-2 on aggregate — where it beat Bayern Munich to clinch a historic treble under Jose Mourinho.
Inter is hoping it won’t have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday.
Power had almost fully returned to Spain early Tuesday morning and Inter’s charter flight was still scheduled to take off for Barcelona at 5 p.m. local time ahead of the first leg of their semifinal on Wednesday.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will be hoping his team can power back up for the game as well.
Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate.
For the first time in more than 13 years, Inter has lost three straight matches without scoring a goal.
Since a 2-2 draw against Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, the Nerazzurri have lost to Bologna and Roma in Serie A and AC Milan in the Italian Cup — all by the same 1-0 scoreline.
That has also seen them been leapfrogged at the top of the Serie A table by Napoli, slipping three points behind the new league leader.
“The three defeats hurt and we’re not used to this, we have to look at ourselves and try to recover our physical and mental energy,” Inzaghi said.
Those three games, however, had something in common: Marcus Thuram was missing.
Thuram, who has been out with a left thigh issue, has scored 17 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions for Inter this season.
Without the France forward, Lautaro Martinez has appeared fatigued attempting to carry Inter’s attack. And Marko Arnautovic, Thuram’s replacement, has been ineffective.
Thuram has returned to training and could even start on Wednesday.
“We’ll head to Barcelona and we will play them with respect, not fear,” Inzaghi added.
Real Madrid defender Rüdiger expected to miss the rest of the season after knee surgery
- The club did not give a timeline for his return. Rüdiger had to be replaced in extra time of Madrid 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday
- He made headlines for shouting at the referee from the bench and for apparently throwing a small bag of ice onto the field
MADRID: Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Madrid said Rüdiger successfully underwent surgery on a meniscus tear in his left knee and will begin “his recovery process shortly.” The club did not give a timeline for his return.
Rüdiger had to be replaced in extra time of Madrid 3-2 loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday.
He made headlines for shouting at the referee from the bench and for apparently throwing a small bag of ice onto the field.
Rüdiger apologized for his behavior but the incident prompted former Germany player Dietmar Hamann to call for the defender to be left out of Germany’s squad for the Nations League final four in June.
German national team sporting director Rudi Völler also criticized Rüdiger, saying he needed to show “class” and respect for others.
Germany plays Portugal in the Nations League semifinals in Munich on June 4.
