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Drivers Al-Attiyah, Alvarez go head-to-head for FIA World Cup glory in Saudi desert

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah during a test-drive session ahead of the Hail Cross-Country Rally. Al-Attiyah leads the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies driver standings. (Supplied)
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Updated 08 December 2021
Arab News
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Drivers Al-Attiyah, Alvarez go head-to-head for FIA World Cup glory in Saudi desert

  • Saudi ace Yazeed Al-Rajhi eyes a top finish in bid to overhaul Alvarez and snatch second place
Updated 08 December 2021
Arab News

HAIL: Competitive action gets underway on Wednesday at the Hail Cross-Country Rally, the final round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Argentina’s Lucio Alvarez both drive V8-engined Toyota Hiluxes, built in conjunction with Toyota Gazoo Racing and Overdrive Racing, and they will go head-to-head to decide the outcome of the 2021 FIA World Cup Drivers’ Championship.

To win his first FIA World Cup title, Alvarez needs to overturn a 28-point deficit. The Argentine will need to win the rally outright and score at least three additional bonus points for daily stage performances and, even then, the outcome will depend on whether Al-Attiyah finishes lower than eighth overall and fails to secure a single bonus point.

Al-Attiyah said: “I won in Hail back in 2008 and 2011 and with Matthieu (Baumel), my current co-driver, we won the first of the Bajas last December. We will do our best to take the win again and seal the championship. We have a good car. The rally is also very useful experience for us before the Dakar Rally in January.”

It will be a big ask for Alvarez, but the battle has at least confirmed that Overdrive Toyotas should fill the top two places in the points’ standings unless Russia’s Denis Krotov can seal a top-four result and Alvarez fails to finish. Krotov drives an X-raid Mini and starts the rally four points adrift of local hero Yazeed Al-Rajhi. The Saudi knows that a top finish could also see him overhaul Alvarez and snatch second place in the series.

Hoping to upset the applecart and challenge for honors in their own right are the Orlen Team’s Jakub Przygonski and Argentina’s Sebastian Halpern in their X-raid Minis and Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal in a Ford F-150. Former Spanish enduro rider Laia Sanz also joins the German X-raid team to drive a Mini John Cooper Works Rally in readiness for the Dakar challenge that awaits.

With the FIA T3 and T4 championships already settled in favor of Spain’s Cristina Gutierrez and America’s Austin Jones, pride and pre-Dakar experience are at stake in both the hotly contested categories.

Eight teams line up in the T3 section, with Russian Pavel Lebedev leading the way in his Can-Am and facing competition from local favorite Saleh Al-Saif, fellow Saudis Mashael Al-Obaidan, Dania Akeel, Esra Aldkheil, and Hamed Al-Harbi, Germany’s Annett Fischer, and Uzbekistan’s Anvar Ergashev.

Al-Obaidan said: “This is a great opportunity for me to test for Dakar. This is my third race after Sharqiya and Aragon in Spain. It’s the first time that Jacopo (Cerutti), my co-driver, and I have participated together. I’ve been here a couple of times but never in an official race. There are three Saudi females, including myself. The sport is really booming here. I believe there is a really bright future in the Kingdom for everyone.”

Six crews will battle it out over the next four days for T4 honors. South Racing Middle East’s Thomas Bell tops the field and faces competition from Poland’s Marek and Michal Goczal, Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri, Australia’s Molly Taylor, and Ukraine’s Levgen Kovalevych.

There is also a National Rally running behind the main FIA rally, a separate event for motorcycles and quads, a truck category, and dispensation for several 2022 specification machines to compete with teams carrying out pre-Dakar testing.

Czech WRC star Martin Prokop wheels out the latest Ford Raptor Cross-Country, running under the Benzina Orlen Team banner, both Frenchman Ronan Chabot and Argentina’s Juan Cruz Yacopini try out Overdrive Racing’s latest Toyota Hilux T1+, and Sweden’s Sebastian Eriksson gets his hands on the latest T3-2022 South Racing Can-Am Maverick.

The Hail Cross-Country Rally is being organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation under the supervision of the Hail Regional Development Authority in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Sports.

On Wednesday, competitors will tackle the first of four selective sections through the Al-Nafud desert. The competitive stage starts 82.59 kilometers from Rally HQ, includes a passage control and refueling point after 173 km, and runs for 258.14 km. A liaison of 47.31 km guides competitors back to the bivouac.

FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies – driver standings:

1.Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) 92.5 pts

2.Lucio Alvarez (ARG) 64.5 pts

3.Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) 57 pts

4.Denis Krotov (RUS) 53 pts

5.Mattias Ekstrom (SWE) 27 pts

FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies – co-driver standings:

1. Matthieu Baumel (FRA) 92.5 pts

2. Armand Monleon (ESP) 64.5 pts

3. Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS) 53 pts

4. Michael Orr (GBR) 35.5 pts

5. Emil Bergkvist (SWE) 27 pts

Topics: Hail Cross-Country Rally 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies

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History maker Maphaka removes Babar as Pakistan battle at Newlands

Updated 05 January 2025
Reuters
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History maker Maphaka removes Babar as Pakistan battle at Newlands

  • Pakistan reach 155-7 at lunch trailing by 460 runs
  • Pakistan are a batter short after Saim Ayub’s injury
Updated 05 January 2025
Reuters

CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s youngest test debutant Kwena Maphaka took the key wicket of Babar Azam as Pakistan reached 155 for an effective seven wickets at lunch on day three of the second and final test at Newlands on Sunday, trailing their hosts by 460 runs.

Fast bowler Maphaka, 18, induced an edge down the leg side from Babar, who was caught by wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne having looked in control with a well-played 58.

Aamer Jamal will resume after the interval on five along with Khurram Shahzad, who has yet to score, as Pakistan seek to reduce their first innings deficit on a wicket that is still good for batting, but likely to deteriorate on days four and five.

Pakistan are a batter short after opener Saim Ayub fractured his ankle while fielding on the opening day and will take no further part in the game.

Maphaka (1-43) set off on a wild celebration when he captured the prized scalp of Babar, his first test wicket having taken over from former spinner Paul Adams as South Africa’s youngest test player.

Mohammad Rizwan made 46 before he inexplicably charged down the wicket at seamer Wiaan Mulder and was the second wicket to fall in the session with a wild swipe that resulted in him playing the ball onto his own stumps.

Salman Agha made 19 but was the third man out, stumped by Verreynne off the bowling of spinner Keshav Maharaj.

The home side posted a massive 615 in their first innings thanks to centuries from Ryan Rickelton (259), Temba Bavuma (106) and Verreynne (100).

South Africa have already claimed their place in June’s World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord’s from June 11-15, and are looking to win this series 2-0 after claiming a tense first test by two wickets in Pretoria.

Topics: Pakistan vs South Africa Pakistan cricket Babar Azam Kwena Maphaka

Pakistan to fly injured Ayub to London for treatment as Champions Trophy looms

Updated 05 January 2025
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Pakistan to fly injured Ayub to London for treatment as Champions Trophy looms

  • Saim Ayub has been ruled out of cricket for six weeks after he sustained ankle injury on Friday 
  • Pakistan are scheduled to play Champions Trophy 2025 opener against New Zealand on Feb. 19
Updated 05 January 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has decided to send injured left-handed opening batter Saim Ayub to London for immediate medical treatment, the board said on Sunday, with the important Champions Trophy tournament just weeks away. 

Ayub has been ruled out of competitive cricket for up to six weeks due to a right ankle fracture that he sustained while fielding against South Africa at Newlands on Friday.

Ayub, one of Pakistan’s in-form batters who has performed well in white-ball matches against Australia and South Africa in recent weeks, is in danger of missing Pakistan’s Champions Trophy opener against New Zealand at Karachi on Feb. 19.

“Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi has decided to send Saim Ayub to London for immediate treatment and the decision was made after consulting the doctors,” the board said in a statement. 

The PCB said that Ayub, who was supposed to return to Pakistan with the squad, will now head to England. It said Naqvi spoke to Ayub over the phone and inquired about his well-being. 

Naqvi said the Pakistani batter will be checked by sports ortho specialist doctors in England, adding that an immediate appointment has been made by the PCB. 

“The medical team is looking into the entire case and Dr. Mumraiz has shared Saim’s medical reports with specialists in England,” Naqvi said. 

He described Ayub as a “brilliant stylish batsman and asset of Pakistan cricket.”

“Saim’s treatment will be done in the best hospital in the world and in this regard all resources will be used for his treatment,” Naqvi said. “We hope that the left-handed batter will make a full recovery before the ICC Champions Trophy.”

Saim will travel to London from Cape Town on the first available flight, with assistant coach Azhar Mahmood accompanying him.

Topics: Pakistan Cricket Saim Ayub Champions Trophy 2025

Pistons top Timberwolves despite Edwards’s 53 points

Updated 05 January 2025
AFP
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Pistons top Timberwolves despite Edwards’s 53 points

  • In San Antonio, Nikola Jokic scored 46 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets to beat the Spurs
  • The Golden State Warriors shook off the absence of superstar Stephen Curry to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-113
Updated 05 January 2025
AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States: Cade Cunningham scored 40 points to lead the Detroit Pistons, who withstood a career-high 53 points by Anthony Edwards to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 119-105 on Saturday.
Edwards, who had voiced frustration after averaging just 16.3 points over the last three games in the face of strong double team defense, found plenty of ways to score.
He connected on 16 of his 31 shots from the field, including 10 of 15 from three-point range, and made 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts.
But he had little scoring support and the Timberwolves trailed virtually all the way against a Pistons team powered by Cunningham, who notched his season high in points and added six rebounds and nine assists.
Unlike Edwards, Cunningham had plenty of support. Malik Beasley added 23 points off the bench for the Pistons, Tobias Harris scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Ausar Thompson finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
In San Antonio, Nikola Jokic scored 46 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets, who spoiled Victor Wembanyama’s 21st birthday with a 122-111 overtime victory over the Spurs.
Wembanyama scored 20 points and grabbed 23 rebounds with three assists and four blocked shots.
But the French star — whose late-game heroics sealed the Spurs’ win over the Nuggets in Denver on Friday — was scoreless in overtime.
Harrison Barnes scored 22 points for San Antonio and Devin Vassell added 19. Vassell tied it at 108-108 with a put-back basket with 14 seconds left in regulation.
Jokic missed a potential game-winner but dominated with nine points in the extra session, when the Nuggets out-scored the Spurs 14-3 to pull away.
The Serbian star, who claimed a third NBA Most Valuable Player award last season, added 10 assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.
In Brooklyn, Joel Embiid scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to power the Philadelphia 76ers in a 123-94 victory over the short-handed Nets.
Tyrese Maxey finished with 18 points while Paul George and Caleb Martin scored 17 apiece for the Sixers, who led by 64-47 at halftime.
The Portland Trail Blazers, led by 28 points from Anfernee Simons, snatched a 105-102 victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Simons came through in the clutch, converting a three-point play with 23.5 seconds left to put the Trail Blazers up by one.
After former Blazer Damian Lillard turned the ball over Simons made a pair of free-throws with 5.4 to play to seal the win.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Lillard scored 16 but missed a potential game-tying three-pointer in the final second.
The Golden State Warriors, fueled by 24 points from Andrew Wiggins and 17 from Dennis Schroder, shook off the absence of superstar Stephen Curry to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-113.
With Curry resting because of knee tendinitis, the Warriors saw Jonathan Kuminga depart with a sprained right ankle late in the first half.
The close game got testy late, with Golden State star Draymond Green assessed a flagrant foul and a technical foul in the fourth quarter.
In Chicago, Coby White made nine three-pointers on the way to 33 points and Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulls in a 139-126 victory over the New York Knicks.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 44 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Jalen Brunson added 33 for the Knicks, but New York dropped their second straight a day after the Oklahoma City Thunder halted their nine-game winning streak.
It was an emotional night for the Bulls, who honored Derrick Rose at halftime — three months after the former NBA MVP and Bulls star announced his retirement.

Topics: basketball NBA Detroit Pistons Minnesota Timberwolves

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Naomi Osaka retires injured from Auckland Classic final

Updated 05 January 2025
AFP
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Naomi Osaka retires injured from Auckland Classic final

  • Four-time Grand Slam champion called for the physio after taking the opening set 6-4
  • Osaka did not divulge details of what forced her withdrawal in a short courtside interview
Updated 05 January 2025
AFP

AUCKLAND: Naomi Osaka retired from the final of the Auckland Classic with an abdominal injury Sunday, a blow to the Japanese star just a week before the start of the Australian Open.
Playing in her first WTA final for three years, against Denmark’s Clara Tauson, the four-time Grand Slam champion called for the physio after taking the opening set 6-4 and pulled out shortly afterwards.
Osaka’s sudden withdrawal came as a shock after playing with no apparent problem in the 35-minute opening set, unleashing some powerful groundstrokes to break her opponent in the third and fifth games.
At the changeover, the 27-year-old stood and performed a series of stretches during a medical timeout.
After consulting with the trainer she shook the hand of Tauson, who picked up a third career title and her first since 2021.
Osaka didn’t divulge details of what forced her withdrawal in a short courtside interview.
However, in a statement, the WTA said she retired “due to an abdominal injury.”
“I just want to thank everyone for welcoming me to such a beautiful city and I had a lot of fun playing here and I’m really sorry about how it ended,” Osaka said.
“I hope you did enjoy the tennis that we did play and I’m just really grateful to be here.”
It was an anti-climactic finish to the week for Osaka, who was chasing her first title since winning the 2021 Australian Open.
Her most recent final appearance was at the Miami Open the following year, before taking a 15-month break and giving birth to her first child midway through 2023.
She returned to tennis 12 months ago and has climbed to 57th in the world rankings.

Topics: tennis Naomi Osaka

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Australia win riveting fifth India Test to take series 3-1

Updated 05 January 2025
AFP
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Australia win riveting fifth India Test to take series 3-1

  • Australia win Border-Gavaskar series, book place in World Test Championship final
  • Scott Boland takes 10 wickets in match to ensure India’s collapse in both innings 
Updated 05 January 2025
AFP

SYDNEY: Australia clinched a knife-edge fifth Test against India in Sydney by six wickets to seal a riveting series 3-1 Sunday and book their place in the World Test Championship final.

India were dismissed 45 minutes into the morning session of day three for 157, adding just 16 to their overnight 141-6 with the irrepressible Scott Boland ending with 6-45 and 10 wickets for the match.

Set 162 to win, the hosts reached the target before tea against an attack missing injured strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15.

Australia lost three wickets before lunch to leave the Test finely-poised, including Steve Smith who agonizingly fell just one short of becoming only the 15th player and fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs.

But Usman Khawaja hit a composed 41 before Travis Head (34 not out) and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) steered them home.

Victory was enough to ensure they will defend their World Test Championship title in the June final at Lord’s against South Africa.

It culminated a thrilling tour full of twists and turns that saw record crowds and some spectacular individual performances.

The five-Test series witnessed the emergence of exciting young talent in the form of Australian opener Sam Konstas and Indian all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

At the same time, aging veterans, notably Rohit Sharma, showed that the clock is ticking on their careers.

India won the first match in Perth convincingly before Australia bounced back in the day-night affair at Adelaide.

The rain-hit Brisbane clash ended in a draw before the hosts took all the momentum into Sydney with a pulsating day-five win in Melbourne.

Indian pace spearhead and skipper Bumrah, who has been dealing with a back issue, batted briefly when his team resumed after bowling just one over and leaving the field on Saturday.

But in a huge setback the 31-year-old did not appear again, leaving Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to lead the bowling attack, with Virat Kohli in charge.

It appeared to be a difficult run chase on a deteriorating surface offering plenty for the bowlers, but Konstas and Khawaja had other ideas.

They raced to 35 off the first three overs, with teenager Konstas hitting out.

It proved his downfall, unnecessarily lashing at a good length ball from Prasidh only to sky it to Washington Sundar at mid-off, out for 22.

Prasidh then knocked over Marnus Labuschagne for six, caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal at slip, with the same pair removing Smith on four, fending off a rising ball.

Veteran Khawaja, who had a poor series, produced some cracking boundaries on his way to 41, but he mistimed a pull shot off Siraj with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant collecting the edge.

It gave India a glimmer of hope before Head and Webster took the game away.

India resumed after a counter-attacking 61 from Pant helped build their second-innings lead.

Ravindra Jadeja began on eight and Sundar on six after they dismissed Australia for 181 in reply to their first-innings 185.

Jadeja crunched an early boundary off Pat Cummins, but he was out two balls later, getting a faint nick to wicketkeeper Alex Carey, adding just five to his overnight score.

The Australian skipper struck again to bowl Sundar for 12.

That brought Bumrah to the crease and he could only watch as Siraj edged Boland to Khawaja at slip to give the big Australian his fifth wicket.

Boland, whose line and length were impeccable all series, then bowled Bumrah to end the innings.

Topics: Australia India Test Match Cricket

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