VISAKHAPATNAM, India: Rishabh Pant led from the front with his first IPL fifty since his comeback from a horror car crash as Delhi Capitals beat Chennai Super Kings by 20 runs on Sunday.
Captain Pant hit 51 off 32 balls after fellow left-hander David Warner smashed 52 and helped Delhi to 191-5 in Visakhapatnam — the adopted homeground for the Capitals due to the upcoming general elections.
But the fans in the south Indian city largely represented Chennai as they chanted (M.S. Dhoni) “Dhoni, Dhoni” — the former skipper obliging with an unbeaten 37 off 16 balls, including four fours and three sixes.
Delhi restricted Chennai to 171-6 for their first win of the season and hand their opponents a loss after two opening victories.
Khaleel Ahmed returned bowling figures of 2-21 to be named man of the match and Mukesh Kumar took three wickets.
“Bowlers have been clinical today,” said Pant. “We’ve learnt from our mistake. He’s been working hard for the last two weeks.”
Warner and Prithvi Shaw, who hit 43, put on an opening stand of 93 before Chennai’s bowlers hit back with wickets including Matheesha Pathirana’s two strikes in an over.
Pathirana also played a part in Warner’s dismissal after he took a stunning one-handed catch behind the stumps off an attempted reverse scoop from the left-handed Australian.
Pant, who returned to the T20 tournament after 14 months away from top level cricket, came in on the back of two innings of 18 and 28 and took time to settle in.
He started slowly but gained momentum at the backend as he smashed Pathirana for two fours and a six on successive balls, but the bowler had his revenge on the fourth.
“Took my time initially because I haven’t played much cricket, but I kept believing I could change the match,” Pant said of his hits — including a vintage one-handed flick for six.
Pathirana, known as “Baby Malinga” for his slinging action and trademark yorkers similar to the former Sri Lankan pace ace Lasith Malinga, returned figures of 3-31.
Pant walked off to a standing ovation after his first IPL fifty since 2021 and after he crashed his Mercedes north of New Delhi before dawn in December 2022.
Suffering multiple injuries when the car rammed into a crash barrier, flipped over and caught fire, Pant was rushed to hospital before being airlifted to Mumbai for further treatment and surgery.
Chennai, who witnessed a captaincy change at the start of the season when the 42-year-old Dhoni handed over the leadership to Ruturaj Gaikwad, lost two early wickets including Rachin Ravindra for two.
Ajinkya Rahane (45) and Daryl Mitchell (34) put on 68 runs in their attempt to revive the chase but the duo’s departure saw wickets fall in clusters.
In the first match of the day, Mohit Sharma’s bowling figures of 3-25 and an unbeaten 44 by David Miller powered Gujarat Titans to their second IPL win with a thrashing of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Gujarat restricted Hyderabad to 162-8, a total they overhauled with seven wickets and five balls to spare at their home Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins came to the venue with happy memories after he led Australia to the World Cup title at the 132,000-capacity stadium last year, but this time, the home team ruled.
Standing ovation as Rishabh Pant’s fifty helps Delhi Capitals down Chennai Super Kings in IPL
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Standing ovation as Rishabh Pant’s fifty helps Delhi Capitals down Chennai Super Kings in IPL
- First IPL fifty for Pant since his comeback from horror car crash
- Captain Pant hit 51 off 32 balls after fellow left-hander David Warner smashed 52 and helped Delhi to 191-5
Nuggets fire coach Michael Malone and oust GM Calvin Booth in stunning move as postseason looms
- Josh Kroenke, the vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said “it is with no pleasure” that the Nuggets made the change at coach
- The Nuggets are 47-32 this season with three games left but have dropped four consecutive games and are in a logjam of teams fighting for home-court advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs
NEW YORK: Michael Malone, who coached the Denver Nuggets to the NBA title in 2023 and has led the team to eight consecutive winning seasons, was fired Tuesday in a stunning move that comes with less than a week in the regular season.
Also out: general manager Calvin Booth, whose contract will not be renewed. The Nuggets said David Adelman will become the coach for the remainder of the season.
Josh Kroenke, the vice chairman of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, said “it is with no pleasure” that the Nuggets made the change at coach.
“This decision was not made lightly and was evaluated very carefully, and we do it only with the intention of giving our group the best chance at competing for the 2025 NBA Championship and delivering another title to Denver and our fans everywhere,” Kroenke said.
The Nuggets are 47-32 this season with three games left but have dropped four consecutive games and are in a logjam of teams fighting for home-court advantage in Round 1 of the playoffs. Denver won the title in 2023 and lost a Game 7 at home in the Western Conference semifinals a year ago to Minnesota.
Malone had the fourth-longest tenure of any active NBA coach, behind San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Golden State’s Steve Kerr.
Malone won 471 regular-season games in Denver, 39 more than Doug Moe for the franchise’s all-time coaching lead.
“While the timing of this decision is unfortunate, as Coach Malone helped build the foundation of our now championship level program, it is a necessary step to allow us to compete at the highest level right now. Championship level standards and expectations remain in place for the current season, and as we look to the future, we look forward to building on the foundations laid by Coach Malone over his record-breaking 10-year career in Denver,” Kroenke said.
Malone had consistent success in Denver. The Nuggets finished with losing records in his first two seasons and posted winning records in his next eight years with the club.
This season’s postseason appearance will be the team’s seventh in a row; it has not clinched a playoff berth yet this season but is assured of finishing no worse than in the play-in tournament.
Starting with the first playoff appearance under Malone in 2019, the Nuggets got out of the first round six times in seven chances. They made the Western Conference finals in the Walt Disney World bubble in 2020 and then rolled to the championship by winning 16 of 20 playoff games in 2023.
Zverev crashes as Tsitsipas, Draper advance in Monte Carlo
- World No. 2 Zverev has struggled for any kind of form since his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final
- Berrettini has won 17 of his past 18 matches on clay
MONTE CARLO, Principality of Monaco: Top seed Alexander Zverev crashed out in his opening match of the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday falling to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini as defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and Britain’s Jack Draper both advanced.
World No. 2 Zverev has struggled for any kind of form since his defeat by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final at the end of January, winning just six of 12 matches.
But with a first-round bye in the absence of world No. 1 Sinner, who is suspended for a doping violation until May 4, Zverev was among the favorites.
After a controlled start to the game, the German slumped to a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat to 34th-ranked Berrettini, at the end of a high-flying match, which had included an impressive 48-stroke rally won by the Italian.
“It’s been the worst period since my injury (the) last few months,” said Zverev who has suffered a string of early exits of late, including at Indian Wells.
“I played a great first set, and once I got broken in the second set I play ten levels down. My ball is much slower. I stop hitting the ball.
“The same story the last few months. Nothing changes. So it’s me who lost the match, once again.
“I thought my level was terrible, but that’s just my opinion.”
Defending champion and three-time Monte Carlo winner Tsitsipas advanced past 38th-ranked Australian Jordan Thompson. After a lacklustre US tour, the Dubai winner won through 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in his second round tie.
Indian Wells champion Draper, seeded fifth, eased past 45th-ranked American Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-1.
Novak Djokovic — the winner in 2013 and 2015 — and Carlos Alcaraz start their campaigns on Wednesday.
Zverev won the first set against former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini but a break of serve in the sixth game of the second set allowed the Italian to level the match.
Berrettini broke at 3-all in the final set before blowing a chance to close out victory on his own serve, but he broke again for a 6-5 lead after an astonishing 48-shot rally.
The 34th-ranked Berrettini made no mistake with his second opportunity though, advancing to a last-16 meeting with Lorenzo Musetti or Jiri Lehecka.
“The game plan was the same but I changed my attitude and the way I was believing in my strokes,” Berrettini said.
“I told myself to be more aggressive and if I am going to lose this match, I am going to do the right things and luckily it worked.”
Berrettini has won 17 of his past 18 matches on clay. Last season, he captured clay-court titles in Marrakech, Gstaad and Kitzbuehel. However, he hasn’t played at the French Open since 2021 due to injuries.
“I have missed the biggest tournament on clay for the past three years and that was tough and now I want to enjoy it. I feel really comfortable on clay,” said the former world number six.
For Zverev, last year’s Roland Garros runner-up, it was another disappointing outcome on clay after quarter-final exits in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. His next tournament will be on home soil in Munich.
Meanwhile Tsitsipas let a 5-2 lead slip in the second set, before getting past Thompson to set up a third round meeting with either Portugal’s Nuno Borges or Spaniard Pedro Martinez.
“I really didn’t know what to expect, you don’t know what your opponent is capable of,” said Tsitsipas.
“He showed a good first set, he seemed to be playing quite reserved and wasn’t giving me much to work with. I was just trying to find something to reignite that consistency within my game.”
Dane Holger Rune, the 10th seed, retired due to illness against Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Rune, the Monte Carlo runner-up in 2023, called for the doctor after losing the opening set before shaking hands with his opponent while trailing 6-2, 3-0.
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a two-time Monte Carlo semifinalist, defeated Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4, on his seventh match point.
Arsenal stun Real Madrid as Rice delivers free-kick masterclass
- Incredibly, Rice had never scored a free-kick in his career before the first of his missiles hit the back of the Real net
LONDON: Arsenal stormed to a stunning 3-0 win over Champions League holders Real Madrid as Declan Rice’s free-kick masterclass left the Gunners within touching distance of a place in the semifinals.
Rice scored two majestic free-kicks in the second half of the quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Merino added Arsenal’s third goal before Real’s Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for kicking the ball away in the closing minutes to leave the Spanish giants in disarray.
The brilliance of Rice’s brace cannot be understated, with even Real keeper Thibaut Courtois — usually so inspired on Champions League nights — unable to get anywhere near the England midfielder’s thunderbolts.
Incredibly, Rice had never scored a free-kick in his career before the first of his missiles hit the back of the Real net.
It was no more than Arsenal deserved for a mature performance that exposed injury-hit Real in ruthless style.
Mikel Arteta’s men will travel to the Bernabeu for the second leg on April 16 as firm favorites to advance to a semifinal tie against Paris Saint-Germain or Aston Villa, who meet in their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
The Gunners have not reached the Champions League semifinals since 2009, but that target is now within their grasp after an evening that will go down as one of the most memorable in the club’s storied history.
Arteta had labelled the clash with Real as the “biggest night” of his career as he urged his players to write their own history by winning Arsenal’s first Champions League crown.
They rose to the challenge so successfully that even Arteta might have been surprised.
Arsenal trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 11 points and look destined to finish as runners-up for a third successive season.
But the Champions League now offers Arteta genuine hope of a first major trophy since the 2020 FA Cup, providing they can finish the job in Madrid next week.
Beaten by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals last season, Arsenal’s only Champions League final appearance ended in defeat against Barcelona in 2006 — a run that included a last 16 victory over Real.
For Real, it was a chastening defeat as the 15-time European champions were punished for the flaws that had already seen them beaten 10 times in all competitions this term as they lag four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Jude Bellingham was largely anonymous and Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior posed only sporadic threats after a promising start.
Vinicius Junior threatened in the opening stages, curling wide after Mbappe picked him out inside the Arsenal area.
Mbappe’s electric pace took him clear of the Arsenal defense in another lightning raid, but the France star shot straight at David Raya.
Arsenal showed no signs of being cowed by Real’s star-studded attack and Rice’s towering header from Jurrien Timber’s cross forced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, who scrambed across to keep out Gabriel Martinelli’s effort from the rebound.
Mbappe lashed into the side-netting from an acute angle, but Real were unable to match Arsenal’s intensity in the second half and the Gunners deservedly took the lead in the 58th minute.
Rice stepped up 25 yards from goal and whipped a sublime free-kick around the Real wall and into the far corner.
It was a stunning strike that even former Real defender and set-piece maestro Roberto Carlos, watching from the Emirates stands, would have been proud of.
Arsenal almost struck again in a remarkable sequence that saw Courtois save Martinelli’s blast before Merino’s shot from the rebound was hacked off the line by David Alaba and Courtois again denied Merino.
Real were on the ropes and Rice landed another devastating blow in the 70th minute, lashing an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner from 20 yards as Courtois grasped at thin air.
As the ecstatic Arsenal fans roared “Declan Rice, we got him half praise,” that reference to his £105 million fee didn’t seem like hyperbole for once.
Arsenal weren’t finished yet and Merino put Arsenal in dreamland five minutes later with a clinical finish from 12 yards as the Emirates turned into a roiling red sea of celebration.
Late Frattesi strike gives Inter edge over Bayern in Champions League
- The late goal consigned Bayern to their first home defeat in the Champions League since 2021, a run of 22 matches
MUNICH, Germany: An 88th-minute Davide Frattesi goal took Inter Milan to a 2-1 win at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, giving the Italians the edge after the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
Undermanned Bayern, nursing a bulging casualty ward, set the tone in the first half-hour, with Michael Olize and Harry Kane narrowly failing to break through.
Inter opened the scoring on the 38-minute mark when Marcus Thuram’s clever back-heel found Lautaro Martinez who blasted home.
The Italians maintained control until Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller, days after announcing a summer departure after 25 years at the club, scored the equalizer with a typical poacher’s finish with five minutes remaining.
Not content to be spectators to a Bayern fairytale ending, Inter broke on the counter just three minutes later, with Carlos Augusto finding Frattesi, who scored Inter’s second.
Inter, defeated in the final by Manchester City two seasons ago, have their noses in front in their bid to make the last four of the competition.
The late goal consigned Bayern to their first home defeat in the Champions League since 2021, a run of 22 matches.
Semi-finalists last season, Bayern’s preparation for the game was hampered by an injury crisis. The German giants were particularly hard hit in defense, with England veteran Eric Dier and Kim Min-jae the only two fit center-backs.
Inter had their own injury woes in the rematch of the 2010 Champions League final but welcomed the news that Alessandro Bastoni, subbed off at halftime in Serie A on Saturday, was fit to start.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany replaced the injured Jamal Musiala by moving left-back Raphael Guerreiro to the number 10 position behind Kane, leaving veteran Mueller on the bench.
The hosts dominated the opening half hour, with Olize carving up the Inter defense at pace, but without finding the breakthrough.
Olize flashed just wide with seven minutes gone, hit a shot straight at Yann Sommer on the quarter-hour mark and found Kane to head at the ‘keeper shortly after.
The English-born France international dribbled through Inter’s defense to create Bayern’s best chance of the opening half, finding an unmarked Kane but the England captain hit his effort against the far post.
Inter’s forays into Bayern territory were brief but their confidence grew.
The Italians were ahead shortly before half-time, Thuram backheeled blind to Martinez who blasted into the top of the net.
Once ahead, Inter found the control which had eluded them earlier, managing the tempo and the tone of the match.
With 56 minutes gone, Bayern’s rookie goalkeeper Jonas Urbig kept Martinez out with a superb reflex save at the near post.
Kompany brought Mueller on with 15 minutes remaining and the Bayern veteran seemed to have given the match a fairytale ending in typical fashion, catching the Inter defense napping to tap in at the far post.
The goal was just the third Inter have conceded in 11 games in Europe this season.
Three minutes later however, Inter broke on the counter, Augusto finding Frattesi to guide home.
Al-Taawoun edge close to Asian final with narrow win over Sharjah
- An early strike from Abdelhamid Sabiri was enough to settle the clash
- All to play for in the second leg in UAE next week
BURAIDAH: Al-Taawoun took a big step towards the final of the AFC Champions League Two on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Sharjah in the first leg of their last four clash.
An early strike from Abdelhamid Sabiri was enough to settle the clash in Saudi Arabia but there is still much work to do in the United Arab Emirates next week in the return match.
The home fans in Buraidah were celebrating, waving their yellow flags and dreaming of a first ever continental trophy inside two minutes. Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi’s cross caused problems for the visiting defence, it was headed out to the edge of the area and there was Sabiri to fire home with a fierce shot.
The visitors were rattled and after giving the ball away in defence two minutes later, were relieved as Al-Kuwaykibi’s shot from long range went just over the bar with the goalkeeper struggling.
Sharjah came close to the equaliser after 19 minutes but while Guiherme Biro was found in a good position in the area, the Brazilian slightly slipped as he sent the shot over.
It seemed to get better for the UAE team seven minutes into the second half as they were awarded a penalty as Ousmane Camara went down in the box under a challenge from Mohammed Mahzari. Yet, after a VAR intervention, the decision was reversed, much to the relief of the home fans.
Yet it was the away team who were happier with 18 minutes remaining as Al-Taawoun came within millimetres of extending their lead.Musa Barrow broke free down the right, cut inside and, with just the goalkeeper to beat, the Gambian goalgetter fired his shot against the inside of the post.
It means that there is all to play for in the second leg in Sharjah next week. It should be quite the battle.
