Ajaz stars as New Zealand beat India 3-0 in historic Test sweep

New Zealand's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the three test match series against India at Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, India, on November 3, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 03 November 2024
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Ajaz stars as New Zealand beat India 3-0 in historic Test sweep

  • Spinner Ajaz Patel takes six wickets as New Zealand beat India by 25 runs 
  • It is the first time India has been swept in Test series at home since 1999-2000 

MUMBAI: New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel took six wickets as his side sealed a historic 3-0 Test sweep in India with a thrilling 25-run win in the third Test on Sunday.
Chasing 147 for victory, India were bowled out for 121 in 29.1 overs on day three, after Rishabh Pant hit a valiant 64 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Ajaz roared in delight as he bowled Washington Sundar to take the final wicket and the Black Caps celebrated a first Test series win on Indian soil in style.
It was the first time India had been swept in a Test series at home since South Africa’s 2-0 win in 1999-2000 and the first time they were beaten 3-0 at home.
“This will be a very low point in my career, having lost three games at home,” India skipper Rohit Sharma told reporters.
“I fully take responsibility for that. As a leader, I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series.
“With the bat as well, I have not been good enough.”
New Zealand did the unthinkable under new captain Tom Latham, and in the absence of senior batsman Kane Williamson, who was recovering from a groin injury back home.
The Black Caps turned around their fortunes from a 2-0 whitewash in Sri Lanka, and made India suffer their first Test series loss at home in 12 years.
“Very ecstatic,” said Latham. “Looking back at the start of the series, to now be in this position, the boys have done a fantastic job over the last three Test matches.”
Mumbai-born New Zealander Ajaz ended with a match-haul of 11 wickets at a venue where he created history by claiming all 10 wickets in a Test innings in 2021.
In a tricky chase on a turning pitch, New Zealand reduced India to 29-5, before the left-hander Pant made counter-attacked with his half-century.
Ajaz, after lunch, had Pant caught by wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, a decision denied by the on-field umpire but successfully reviewed by New Zealand. An unconvinced Pant trudged back.
“If we say something, it will not go down well. If the decision is not conclusive then the decision has to stand with what the on-field umpire calls,” said Rohit.
“I don’t know how that decision was overturned.”
Glenn Phillips then got two in two balls and Ajaz wrapped up the innings to be named player of the match.
India bowled out New Zealand quickly for 174 in the first session, with Ravindra Jadeja taking five wickets on a turning wicket for 10 in the match.
But the New Zealand bowlers led by Ajaz ripped into India’s top order.
Fast bowler Matt Henry dismissed Rohit Sharma in the third over, getting the captain to mis-hit to Phillips at midwicket for 11.
He extended his poor run with the bat in the series with scores of 2, 52, 0, 8 and 18 in his previous five innings.
Ajaz bowled Shubman Gill and then had Virat Kohli, on one, caught by Daryl Mitchell at slip to silence the home crowd.
Kohli has also struggled in the series, with just one half-century and four single-digit scores in the series.
Pant put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket to revive the chase, but Ajaz struck again to remove Jadeja for six.
Will Young’s 71 and 51 in the two New Zealand innings proved key and he was named player of the series for amassing 244 runs.


Celtics rout Knicks in Game 5, send series back to New York

Updated 15 May 2025
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Celtics rout Knicks in Game 5, send series back to New York

Derrick White scored a game-high 34 points and the Boston Celtics extended their season by beating the visiting New York Knicks 127-102 on Wednesday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks lead the best-of-seven series 3-2, and Game 6 will be played Friday in New York.
White shot 7-for-13 from 3-point territory and made 9 of his 11 free-throw attempts. Boston sank 22 of its 49 shots from behind the 3-point arc  and outscored New York 68-43 in the second half.
The Celtics received 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists from Jaylen Brown. Luke Kornet added 10 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Payton Pritchard came off the bench to make five 3-pointers and score 17 points.
It was Boston’s second playoff game without Jayson Tatum, who had surgery Tuesday to repair a ruptured right Achilles tendon. Tatum didn’t play in Game 2 of Boston’s first-round series against Orlando, and the Celtics won that game 109-100.
Josh Hart scored a team-high 24 points for New York, which shot 29-of-81 from the field . Jalen Brunson collected 22 points and six assists, but he fouled out with 7:19 to play. Brunson was called for his fifth foul with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.
The Knicks received 19 points and eight rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns.
Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis was limited to one point in 12 minutes and didn’t play in the second half.
New York led 32-30 after one quarter and the game was tied 59-59 at halftime. An 11-0 run capped by a Pritchard 3-pointer put the Celtics up 81-68 with 7:10 left in the third, and Boston had a 91-76 advantage entering the fourth.
The Celtics led by as many as 28 in the final 12 minutes.
It was Boston’s first victory at home in the series.


Real Madrid rallies to beat Mallorca 2-1 and delay Barcelona’s title celebrations

Updated 15 May 2025
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Real Madrid rallies to beat Mallorca 2-1 and delay Barcelona’s title celebrations

MADRID: It was a matter of pride for Real Madrid.
There is little hope of winning the Spanish league. But the last thing it wanted to do was hand Barcelona the title in advance.
And it needed a goal deep into stoppage time to achieve its objective Wednesday.
Jacobo Ramón scored five minutes into injury time and Madrid rallied to beat Mallorca 2-1 and delay Barcelona’s title celebrations.
Madrid needed the victory to keep Barcelona from clinching its 28th league title in advance. The Catalan club remains four points ahead and can still lift the trophy with a win at city rival Espanyol on Thursday.
Mallorca took the lead on Wednesday with a goal by Martin Valjent in the 11th minute and stayed ahead until Kylian Mbappé beat a couple of defenders to equalize in the 68th.
Ramón netted the go-ahead go from inside the area five minutes into injury time to keep Barcelona from winning the title.
Mbappé is still in the race to be the league’s leading scorer and reached 28 goals, three more than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski. Mbappé had a hat trick in Madrid’s loss to Barcelona on Sunday, when the Catalan club virtually secured the title by coming from behind to win 4-3 in the last “clasico” of the season.
Madrid has little chance of defending its league title. It must win its final two games and hope Barcelona fails to take two points from its three remaining matches.
“When we wear this shield we always must fight until the end,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “Even though there is still a big gap, we will keep fighting until it’s mathematically impossible.”
Madrid lost all four matches against Barcelona this season, being outscored 16-7. It was the first time Barcelona won every “clasico” in a season that had at least three matches between the rivals.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti received a mostly indifferent reaction from the fans at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday after taking over the Brazil job.
Ancelotti was announced as Brazil’s new coach on Monday, and some Madrid fans criticized the coach for negotiating with the five-time champions with the La Liga season still underway.
There were no significant jeers or cheers when Ancelotti’s name was announced by the loudspeakers at the Bernabeu before the match, with most fans applauding and saying his name along with the announcer, following the tradition at the stadium.
Madrid had not released any reaction or statement about its coach since Brazil’s announcement, and there were no farewell or congratulatory messages for Ancelotti, either, ahead of Wednesday’s match.
“There was nothing different,” Ancelotti said. “Every time I sit on the bench at the Bernabeu, it’s something special.”
During the match, part of the crowd chanted Ancelotti’s name.
The 65-year-old Italian is leaving after four mostly successful years in his second stint with Madrid, which won both the Champions League and the Spanish league last season. The club only won the UEFA Super Cup this season.
Ancelotti also coached the club from 2013-2015. He helped Madrid win three Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups, two Spanish leagues, two Copa del Reys, three UEFA Super Cups and two Spanish Super Cups.
Madrid still has one last game at the Bernabeu, against Real Sociedad in the final round.
Ancelotti said he wasn’t giving up on the league title just yet.
“In soccer anything can happen,” he said
Former Madrid player Xabi Alonso is widely expected to take over the coaching job after confirming he is leaving Bayer Leverkusen, but the Spanish club was yet to make any announcements about Ancelotti’s successor.
Madrid, still without a few regular starters because of injuries, struggled early against Mallorca but created several scoring chances throughout the match. It finished with nearly 40 attempts on goal.
Relegation fight
In a tight fight against relegation, Leganes moved closer to demotion after a 3-0 loss at fifth-place Villarreal. The club owned by former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow stayed in 18th place, four points from Alaves, the first team currently safe.
Alaves opened the gap to Leganes — which was one of the teams promoted last season — by beating Valencia 1-0 at home. Valencia was in 11th place.


FIA cuts controversial F1 driver swearing fines

Updated 14 May 2025
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FIA cuts controversial F1 driver swearing fines

  • Importantly the new guidelines given to race stewards now differentiates between swearing in “controlled” or “uncontrolled” circumstances.
  • This will give drivers more latitude for turning the air blue in the heat of the moment, for example on the team radio during races.

PARIS: Formula One’s governing body on Wednesday reduced the controversial penalties dished out to drivers for swearing after a backlash from the grid.

Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, the FIA has removed the risk of a race ban and cut the “base maximum penalty from EUR10,000 ($11,180) to EUR5,000.”

Importantly the new guidelines given to race stewards now differentiates between swearing in “controlled” or “uncontrolled” circumstances.

This will give drivers more latitude for turning the air blue in the heat of the moment, for example on the team radio during races.

“Controlled environments include settings such as press conferences, while uncontrolled environments refer to spontaneous comments made by drivers or teams when on track or during a rally stage,” a statement from the FIA explained.

It went on to describe the development as “major improvements” to appendix B of the sporting code.

The previous policy had come in for intense criticism from the likes of four-time world champion Max Verstappen, who was sanctioned for swearing at a press conference in Singapore.

The drivers will have a chance to give their reaction to the toned-down swearing policy at Imola on Thursday at the traditional pre-race round of press conferences.


The relaxation in the rules came after an open letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, up for re-election later this year, from the drivers who asked the FIA to treat them “like adults.”

In February, Williams driver Carlos Sainz questioned the FIA’s hard-line approach to the subject.

Sainz said while it was reasonable to expect drivers to avoid swearing while speaking in a public setting such as a news conference, it was a different matter while they were on the track.

“What we say on the (car) radio, I don’t agree with what is happening,” said the Spaniard.

“I think you cannot be too tough on these kinds of things because you cannot understand the pressure and adrenaline and the way we feel in the car when we open the radio.

“And I feel for F1 it is good to have those moments because you see the real driver.”


Kevin Durant wins NBA’s Magic Johnson Award

Updated 14 May 2025
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Kevin Durant wins NBA’s Magic Johnson Award

  • The Professional Basketball Writers Association gives the award annually
  • Durant also won the award in the 2010-11 season, his fourth in the league

OKLAHOMA, USA: Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant is the winner of the 2024-25 Magic Johnson Award.

The Professional Basketball Writers Association gives the award annually to the NBA player who excels on the court and displays “cooperation and grace in dealing with the media and fans.”

Durant also won the award in the 2010-11 season, his fourth in the league, with the Oklahoma City Thunder.


He becomes the fourth two-time honoree, joining Stephen Curry (2016, 2024), Damian Lillard (2017, 2020) and Shane Battier (2007, 2013).

“We’re really pleased to honor KD again,” association president Howard Beck said.

“Kevin has long been one of the NBA’s most thoughtful and accessible stars. He always makes time for reporters, whether for on-the-record interviews or just informal chit-chat, and he never shies away from any topic. He’s as eager to dive into the minutiae of a single play as he is to discuss broader issues facing the league.

“His passion for the game always comes through. Our members were also really appreciative of Kevin’s public advocacy for reopening locker rooms after the pandemic, recognizing how critical that access is for building trust and rapport between players and journalists,” added Beck.

Durant, 36, was named to his 15th All-Star team in the 2024-25 season. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers finished second in the balloting, with Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors the other finalists.

The award has been given annually since 2001.


Lewandowski back for Barca at Espanyol with LaLiga title in sight

Updated 14 May 2025
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Lewandowski back for Barca at Espanyol with LaLiga title in sight

  • The Polish striker missed Barca’s last three league games
  • The 36-year-old has scored 25 goals in 31 league games

BARCELONA: Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski is set to return to action in Thursday’s LaLiga clash at Espanyol, manager Hansi Flick said, as his side prepare to wrap up the title this week.

A victory in their city derby against Espanyol would clinch the championship for the Catalans. Barcelona, now seven points clear at the top with 82 points, could win the title as early as Wednesday if Real Madrid fail to win at Mallorca.

The Polish striker missed Barca’s last three league games and was also absent from their 3-2 Copa del Rey final win over Real Madrid on April 27 due to a muscle injury.

The 36-year-old has scored 25 goals in 31 league games, two behind Kylian Mbappe in the LaLiga Golden Boot race, with both having played the same number of matches.

“Lewandowski is doing good and of course he is ready to play,” Flick told reporters on Wednesday.

Lewandowski featured for only 30 minutes in their Champions League semifinal second leg defeat by Inter Milan last week and missed their 4-3 home win against Real Madrid on Sunday.

After their last Clasico win, Barcelona have defeated Real in all four encounters this season across all competitions, and Flick hailed his team’s performance as a source of immense pride.

“We played 24 minutes with no contact from Real in our half, so it has something to do with the pressing, it has something to do with the right structure we had,” he said.

“How we started to press them when they had the ball was unbelievable. When I heard this stat I thought it’s really great... we can be very proud of that. I’m happy for the fans, for the club, because I know that’s very important for them.”

Asked about Real manager Carlo Ancelotti joining the Brazil national team at the end of the season, Flick, who coached Germany from 2021 to 2023, said: “I think he (Ancelotti) did a fantastic job in Madrid. He’s a gentleman and one of the best and most successful coaches in the world.

“I wish him all the best for his new job. I think he will find a great team there, and he can follow success there.”