CAPE TOWN: For 84.1 overs, the teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the world went at each other like bareknuckle prizefighters. At the end of it, South Africa — who had stumbled to 12 for three inside the first five overs — were undoubtedly the happier side, riding on half-centuries from AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, once classmates at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria, to get to 286, and then reducing India to 28 for three by stumps. Morne Morkel claimed the biggest scalp with his very first delivery, getting Virat Kohli to fend one behind.
“Luckily our phones get taken away, otherwise I would have been looking for an Uber to get back to the hotel,” joked Dale Benkenstein, South Africa’s batting coach, as he spoke of the nightmare start. “They are a quality bowling attack and at that stage (12 for three), I was sitting there wondering how we were going to score a run. The genius of AB de Villiers and the tenacity of the captain (Du Plessis). That partnership got us back in the game and got that belief back in the changing room. I think it was just one over (from Bhuvneshwar) where AB just changed the game (with four boundaries). He made the bowlers have to worry about their lengths.”
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had played only five of 16 home Tests over the past two seasons, was India’s bowling hero, finishing with four for 87, including the first three wickets. Dean Elgar nibbled at a ball outside his off stump, Aidan Markram was beaten by inswing, and Hashim Amla slashed at one to leave South Africa in disarray after they had chosen to bat, despite selecting four fast bowlers to accompany the lone spinner.
But instead of steady consolidation, De Villiers and Du Plessis counterattacked, thrillingly in the case of De Villiers. He struck 11 fours in an 84-ball 65, and added 114 with Du Plessis before Jasprit Bumrah, a surprise debutant, sneaked one through his bat and pad.
Du Plessis fell soon after for 62, flailing loosely at a Hardik Pandya delivery well outside his off stump. Pandya wheeled away past gully to celebrate, while Kohli was spoken to by the umpires for whispering sweet nothings to the departing batsmen. Indian temperatures had risen moments earlier when a LBW shout was turned down, and their review was unsuccessful on the basis of umpire’s call.
Quinton de Kock played a sublime 40-ball cameo for 43 before edging Bhuvneshwar to Wriddhiman Saha, and South Africa would have been in even greater strife if Shikhar Dhawan, at third slip, hadn’t dropped Keshav Maharaj before he had scored. Maharaj went on to make 35, and the last three wickets added 65 as India’s bowlers overdid the short stuff.
In reply, Murali Vijay edged to gully, and Dhawan top-edged an injudicious pull off the returning Dale Steyn. But it was Kohli’s wicket that left South Africa with the feeling that the match was now firmly in their control.
“That’s how Test cricket is,” said a subdued Bhuvneshwar.
“We started really well and lost our way in between. We could have bowled a little better, but we gave away 25 to 30 runs extra. AB is best in the world. His counter-attack hurt us. It’s going to be tough. We knew this is a kind of situation we’d have to tackle.”
India’s progress checked on first day of South Africa Test in Cape Town
India’s progress checked on first day of South Africa Test in Cape Town
Nadal ready for emotional French Open farewell
- The great Spaniard, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, won his first title at Roland Garros as a teenager in 2005
- As well as 14 titles in Paris, Nadal can boast a record of 112 wins and just three losses, two of which came against career-long rival Novak Djokovic
PARIS: Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his 19-year French Open career with the likelihood of adding to his 14 titles greatly diminished before he leaves behind a record and reputation unlikely ever to be matched.
The great Spaniard, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, won his first title at Roland Garros as a teenager in 2005. A week on Monday, he will celebrate his 38th birthday.
A former world No. 1, who is now at 276 in the world, Nadal has only played 15 matches since January last year as a hip injury and then a muscle tear were added to a depressing history of physical ailments which have forced him to miss 12 Grand Slam tournaments in his career.
Whether or not the 2024 French Open becomes No. 13 will soon become apparent as the draw for the event takes place on Thursday afternoon.
“I’m going to play the tournament thinking that I can give my all, 100 percent,” explained Nadal after a second round exit in Rome last week.
“And if 100 percent is not enough to win a match, I’ll accept that. But I don’t want to step onto court knowing that I have no chance. If there’s a 0.01 percent chance, I want to explore that and give it a go.”
As well as 14 titles in Paris, Nadal can boast a record of 112 wins and just three losses, two of which came against career-long rival Novak Djokovic.
He is also held in remarkably high esteem.
At his first training session on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros on Monday an estimated 6,000 people turned up to watch, many chanting his name.
“We have to enjoy the time he has left on court, evaluate it, and be aware that it’s very unlikely that something like that will happen again,” said coach Carlos Moya during the recent Madrid Open.
“Personally, I’m never on court when he enters or leaves, but I am this year because I like seeing the love he gets from the people when he steps on court.
“He’s one of the great stars of this sport, he’s about to retire, and it’s really amazing to see that.”
Nadal isn’t the only A-list talent under a Paris cloud ahead of the tournament start on Sunday.
Defending champion and record 24-time Grand Slam title winner Djokovic, whose three titles in Paris put him alongside Gustavo Kuerten, Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl, is enduring a title dry spell unseen since 2018.
Back then, he also reached May without a trophy before crashing to a shock last-16 defeat at the French Open to unheralded Marco Cecchinato of Italy.
This season, Djokovic has lost his Australian Open title and has yet to make a final on tour.
Adding injury to insult, he was hit on the head by a falling water bottle in Rome, a freak accident which he claimed caused nausea and dizziness.
In an attempt to gather a degree of clay-court confidence ahead of the French Open, Djokovic, who turns 37 on Wednesday, grabbed a late wild card in the ongoing Geneva tournament.
Between them, Nadal and Djokovic have carved up the last eight French Open titles while 2009 was the last time a final at Roland Garros did not feature at least one of them.
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, the man who succeeded Djokovic as Australian Open champion, has been laid low by a hip injury which caused him to skip the Rome Open.
The 22-year-old Italian reached the quarterfinals of the French Open on his debut in 2020 where he was defeated by Nadal in straight sets.
Sinner has an extra incentive to progress deep in Paris as he could depose Djokovic as world No. 1.
Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, also skipped Rome to nurse an arm injury.
The world No. 3 took the first set off Djokovic in their semifinal last year before body cramps saw his slip to defeat.
The Spanish crowd-pleaser admitted that his sudden and dramatic diminished physical state was caused by the fear of facing Djokovic.
Swiatek eyes place among greats with fourth French Open crown
- The world No. 1 could also become the first player to lift three successive women’s titles in Paris since Justine Henin in 2007
- Swiatek is a strong favorite after dominating on clay again this season, arriving in Paris off the back of WTA 1000 victories in Madrid and Rome
PARIS: Iga Swiatek admits she is the favorite and “confident” ahead of her bid to become only the fourth woman to win four Roland Garros singles titles in the Open era.
The world No. 1 could also become the first player to lift three successive women’s titles in Paris since Justine Henin in 2007.
Swiatek is a strong favorite after dominating on clay again this season, arriving in Paris off the back of WTA 1000 victories in Madrid and Rome.
The only female player in history to complete a Madrid-Rome-Roland Garros treble in the same season is Serena Williams.
But Swiatek is not daunted by what she could achieve.
“I’m No. 1 so I’m the favorite everywhere if you look at rankings,” she told reporters after swatting aside second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the Rome Open final last weekend.
“But rankings don’t play, so... I’ll do everything step by step and we’ll see.
“Obviously I am confident. I feel like I’m playing great tennis. But it doesn’t change the fact that I really want to stay humble and really focused.”
The 22-year-old Pole has plenty of years ahead of her to chase records but is wasting little time — her four WTA 1000 titles this season have taken her career total to 10.
That is already only 13 short of Serena Williams’ all-time record.
With four Grand Slam titles, Swiatek has not struggled to translate that form to the major tournaments in the past, but insists it is tougher to lift the sport’s biggest trophies.
“Grand Slams are different. There is different pressure on the court and off the court,” she added.
“I love to come to Paris again and be there. It’s a great place for me to be. I really enjoy my time there anyway. These are hard seven matches that you need to win, so I don’t take anything for granted.”
Swiatek is aiming to join Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Henin in lifting the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen four times in the Open era.
The biggest obstacle standing in her way is Sabalenka.
The Belarusian missed three match points before losing to Swiatek in a thrilling Madrid final and will be hoping to get another crack at her rival after a one-sided loss in Rome.
Sabalenka, the two-time reigning Australian Open champion, has reached at least the semifinals in each of the past six Grand Slam events.
She is also the only woman to beat Swiatek in a final on clay — in Madrid last year — since the Pole lost her first WTA title decider as a teenager in 2019 at a low-key event in Switzerland.
Sabalenka has an 8-3 losing record against Swiatek, but insisted after Rome that she wanted to face her again in Paris.
“Even though I lost these two finals, I mean, I never focus on the past,” she said.
“No matter how many times I lose to the player, I know anyway if I’ll be there, if I’ll be fighting, I’ll be focusing on myself, I know that I can get that win.
“I mean, I’m going there with the confidence that I can do well there.”
Sabalenka had never even reached the second week at Roland Garros until last year, when she was knocked out by Karolina Muchova in the semis.
“I’m definitely not the favorite probably there,” she said.
“But at the same time I do feel that I can actually go for it.
“It’s 50/50, you know? But I prefer to be underdog. I really hope I’m going to make it to the final and I really hope I’ll be able to get that win, if it’s Iga or not.”
Elena Rybakina, the only player to defeat Swiatek on clay this year, was being touted as part of a new ‘big three’ 12 months ago.
But the Kazakh has failed to make the last four at a Slam since losing the 2023 Australian Open final to Sabalenka and has been passed in the rankings by US Open champion Coco Gauff.
American Gauff, playing in a major for the first time since turning 20, will be hoping to go one better than when she lost the 2022 French Open showpiece to Swiatek.
Al-Hilal face new Saudi season without sidelined Neymar
- The injury-prone player left the French club for Al-Hilal in 2023, the latest world-famous footballer snapped up by the big-spending Saudi Pro League
RIYADH: Neymar remains sidelined from knee surgery and will miss his Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal’s pre-season training, coach Jorge Jesus said on Tuesday.
“All I know now is that the time given to Neymar to recover and during similar injuries is approximately from 10 to 11 months.
“If we calculate mathematically, he will not be ready at the beginning of the pre-season training,” Jesus told reporters in Riyadh.
Neymar underwent surgery in his native Brazil last November to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus damage suffered during a national team match the month before.
The 32-year-old was stretchered off in tears during Brazil’s 2-0 loss to Uruguay in a World Cup qualifying match on October 17, after colliding with opposing midfielder Nicolas de la Cruz.
Whilst he may have been absent from the pitch Neymar has been busy off it recently.
He was ringside to witness Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury to win the world’s first undisputed heavyweight championship in 25 years in Riyadh on Sunday.
Last month a Brazilian court suspended a $3 million fine imposed on the player for building a lake at his mansion on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro without an environmental license.
In March he performed a ceremonial first pitch before the Marlins’ home MLB opener in Miami against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was on the grid before the Formula One season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir.
In January the French finance and economy ministry was searched as part of a probe into the 2017 transfer of the Brazil football superstar to Paris Saint-Germain.
Officers with anti-corruption units carried out the searches amid suspicions that PSG may have received favorable tax treatment as part of the transfer.
Neymar joined Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a world-record fee of 222 million euros ($242 million), scoring 118 goals in 173 matches despite a series of injuries.
The injury-prone player left the French club for Al-Hilal in 2023, the latest world-famous footballer snapped up by the big-spending Saudi Pro League.
He earns 100 million euros a season in Saudi Arabia, according to a source close to the negotiations, while PSG pocketed 100 million euros in the deal.
This month he was omitted from Brazil’s Copa America squad by national coach Dorival Junior.
His club coach in Saudi, Jesus, conceded his absence was an issue, but added Tuesday that “the solution was Malcolm” referring to the Brazilian winger who scored 22 goals in 46 games.
Pochettino leaves Chelsea after just one season in charge
- “Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways,” Chelsea said in a statement
- “Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history,” said Pochettino
LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino has left Chelsea after just one season in charge by mutual consent, the English club announced on Tuesday.
The Blues finished sixth in the Premier League thanks to a fine run toward the end of the season but missed out on Champions League qualification and a trophy.
“Chelsea FC can confirm that the club and Mauricio Pochettino have mutually agreed to part ways,” Chelsea said in a statement.
In just two years under the ownership of an American consortium fronted by LA Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly and private equity group Clearlake Capital, Chelsea have spent over £1 billion ($1.3 billion) on new players.
The vast majority of that was spent on rising stars and Pochettino pointed to a lack of experience and a lengthy injury list for failing to achieve consistent results.
Chelsea lost the League Cup final 1-0 to Liverpool after extra-time and pushed Manchester City all the way before losing in the FA Cup semifinals by the same score.
But there had been signs that Pochettino’s project was coming together in a run of five consecutive wins to end the campaign that ensured Chelsea will be in Europe next season.
They will qualify for the Europa League if Manchester United lose to City in the FA Cup final and the Conference League if the Red Devils shock the English champions.
“Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and sporting directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club’s history,” said Pochettino.
“The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come.”
Chelsea sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season.
“He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career.”
Pochettino is the fourth manager to depart under Boehly’s regime after Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Pochettino met Boehly for dinner on Friday before his departure was confirmed after an end-of-season review with Stewart and Winstanley.
The 52-year-old arrived in west London with the task of getting Chelsea back on track after they finished 12th in the 2022/23 Premier League season.
The Argentine had to bed in another influx of new signings as Chelsea broke the British transfer record to buy Moises Caicedo for £115 million.
He suffered a difficult start as they won just three of their opening 10 Premier League games.
But led by the stunning form of Cole Palmer, only City, Arsenal and Liverpool picked up more points than Chelsea in the second half of the season.
According to reports Stuttgart’s Sebastian Hoeness, Girona boss Michel, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Enzo Maresca of Leicester are among those in contention to be next in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.
Pochettino began his coaching career at Espanyol before shining in a short spell at Southampton.
That earned him a move to Tottenham, where he established Spurs as regulars at the top end of the Premier League and took the club to a first ever Champions League final in 2019.
Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham just months later before joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, where we won one Ligue 1 title and French Cup in 18 months in charge.
Man United’s Rashford left out of England’s provisional Euro 2024 squad after disappointing season
- “These are difficult calls, you are talking about players who are very good players who have been an important part of what we have done,” Southgate said
- Rashford was arguably the biggest name to be omitted
BURTON, England: Marcus Rashford was left out of England’s provisional squad for the European Championship on Tuesday.
The Manchester United striker has paid the price for a disappointing season at club level and failed to make the cut for Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man selection.
Jordan Henderson and Reece James were also left out.
“These are difficult calls, you are talking about players who are very good players who have been an important part of what we have done,” Southgate said. “With Marcus, I feel players in the same area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that.”
Rashford was arguably the biggest name to be omitted — especially after enjoying a career-best campaign two seasons ago when he scored 34 goals for club and country.
It has been a different story over the past year when he has managed just eight goals for a United team that suffered their lowest-ever Premier League finish — eighth.
He responded later on Instagram to say he was “Wishing Gareth and the boys all the best” for the Euros.
The squad will eventually be reduced to 26 players on June 8, with the Euros kicking off in Germany on June 14.
Rashford’s United teammate Kobbie Mainoo was selected after an outstanding breakthrough season and Chelsea forward Cole Palmer was also included.
Palmer was likely one of the forward options Southgate referred to when explaining Rashford’s omission after he scored 22 Premier League goals in his first season at Chelsea — a record only bettered by Erling Haaland.
Henderson and James were also notable omissions.
Former Liverpool captain Henderson misses out after his decision to leave Anfield for the Saudi Arabian league last year, while James’ absence comes on the back of an injury-plagued campaign for Chelsea.
Henderson has remained a part of England’s set up despite his controversial decision to join Al-Ettifaq. He left after just six months and completed a move to Dutch giant Ajax, but a muscle injury late in the season convinced Southgate to leave him out.
“Hendo has given himself every chance. The determining factor is the injury he picked up around the last camp. He’s missed five weeks,” Southgate said. “He hasn’t been able to get to the intensity in the games since then.”
James, who missed the Qatar World Cup because of a knee injury, has struggled with his fitness for much of the past season and played only 11 games.
Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah and Curtis Jones were called up for the first time, as well as Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton.
Southgate said United defender Luke Shaw is “up against it” to prove his fitness after an injury-disrupted season.
“This has been as complicated a group as I can remember picking, and we’ve had quite a few complicated ones,” the England manager said.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), James Trafford (Burnley)
Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)
