SYLHET, Bangladesh: Kusal Mendis joked about how Kusal Perera will get back into the Sri Lanka side after he made the most of an injury to his teammate to win the man of the match and the man of the series award against Bangladesh.
Perera was ruled out of the two Twenty20 internationals with a side strain, presenting an opportunity for Mendis to shine. He only had a top score of 22 from eight previous innings in the format but he scored 53 in Dhaka and then 70 on Sunday as Sri Lanka thrashed Bangladesh by 75 runs to complete a 2-0 series sweep on Sunday.
“Although I got only 83 runs in the ODIs, I trained very hard and worked very hard with the coaches to continue with my normal game,” Mendis said. “Bowlers and batsmen both worked hard and executed their plans. Personally, I’m very happy to win this for the team. Not sure how Kusal Perera will come back, but I’m sure he’ll find a way back.”
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal said he would welcome the selection headache. “It’s a tough call, how Kusal Perera comes back,” Chandimal said. “Mendis batted really well, we thought he can carry the bat through his innings, and he did. It’s been a really good series as a team. We lost the first two ODIs (to Zimbabwe and Bangladesh), really badly. We picked ourselves up after that. We didn’t play like a team, we played like a family. So finally results came through. 2017 was tough, so this is a really good start. Hope the boys do their best moving forward — we have a good combo of young and old.”
Sri Lanka looked a cohesive unit on Sunday. They rode on Mendis’ 70 off 42 deliveries to post 210-4 and then bowled out the hosts for 135 in Sylhet.
Skipper Mahmudullah Riyad top-scored for Bangladesh with 41 before being run out, with opener Tamim Iqbal making the only other meaningful contribution with 29.
Sri Lanka paceman Shehan Madushanka, who left the field with an injured hamstring after bowling just 2.1 overs, and off-spinner Danushka Gunathilaka claimed two wickets each.
But it was Mendis who once again stood out for the visitors with his second successive fifty of the series, as his 98-run stand with fellow opener Gunathilaka gave Sri Lanka a solid start after being put into bat first.
Mendis, who was named both man of the match and series, hit six fours and three sixes in reaching his T20 international career-best score, taking the attack to the opposition while Gunathilaka at the other end made a brisk 42.
Bangladesh dropped Gunathilaka twice on 15 and 28 and had to wait until the 11th over for their first success in the game.
Number three Thisara Perera chipped in with a quickfire 31. Upul Tharanga then hit 25, and Dasun Shanaka smashed an unbeaten 30 off 11 balls, to lift the score past the 200-run mark.
In reply, Bangladesh lost three early wickets for just 22 runs and never caught up with the ever-increasing required run-rate.
Apart from Tamim and Mahmudullah, Mohammad Saifuddin and Mahedi Hasan were the only other batsmen to manage double figures for the hosts, who were all out after 18.4 overs.
“It was a score that I felt we could chase, but for that we needed a good start,” said captain Mahmudullah. “But we kept losing wickets, didn’t get any momentum. And guess we didn’t bowl well too. The wicket was good to bat on — when the dew came in the batting was good too. Not much for the spinners either. If we would’ve stopped them at 180-odd, then we could’ve chased it down. We need to sit together ahead of the Nidahas trophy and figure out how we can chase 180, and how our bowlers can keep the damage low. Shakib [Al-Hasan] is a champion player, so yeah, we missed him with both ball and bat. Special congratulations to the SL team for how they played.”
‘We played like a family’ says Sri Lanka captain after T20 win over Bangladesh
‘We played like a family’ says Sri Lanka captain after T20 win over Bangladesh
Real Madrid rest starters in 4-0 rout of relegated Granada with focus on Champions League final
- Brahim Diaz made his case for some playing time in the title game against Dortmund after the creative forward scored two second-half goals
- Ancelotti and Madrid players will celebrate their league title with supporters in central Madrid on Sunday
BARCELONA, Spain: Real Madrid’s backups eased to 4-0 win at the relegated Granada on Saturday as Carlo Ancelotti rested most of his top players to avoid costly injures before the Champions League final.
Defender Antonio Rudiger was the only first-choice player who Ancelotti started for a Spanish league game that was inconsequential for either side.
Madrid clinched their 36th Spanish league title last weekend. They are now fully focused on the European final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 in London after eliminating Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Granada didn’t have much to play for either after Mallorca’s 1-0 win at Las Palmas meant the team from southern Spain was relegated. Granada are in 19th place and join bottom side Almeria in going to the second division. Cadiz are in danger of becoming the third team to drop.
Little used left back Fran Garcia scored and assisted Turkish teenager Arda Guler in the first half. Brahim Diaz made his case for some playing time in the title game against Dortmund after the creative forward scored two second-half goals.
Thibaut Courtois was back in goal for his second appearance of the season after he recovered from an ACL tear and a knee injury. Ancelotti said on Friday he has yet to decide if Courtois or Andriy Lunin, who has played most of the season, will be his pick against Dortmund.
Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga, players with real chances to see minutes in the Champions League final, also started.
“My goal is to arrive to the final with the entire team in peak form, and I think we will do that,” Ancelotti said.
Ancelotti and Madrid players will celebrate their league title with supporters in central Madrid on Sunday.
Atheletic held
Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao needed an added-time goal against visiting Osasuna to salvage a 2-2 draw, dropping points in their fight for a top-four finish and Champions League berth.
The Copa del Rey champions were five points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid before they host Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Asier Villalibre equalized for Athletic on one of the last kicks of the game when Osasuna goakeeper Sergio Herrera spilled a cross after colliding with a teammate.
Sorloth double
Alexander Sorloth scored his second goal with a stoppage-time header to snatch Villarreal a 3-2 comeback win over Sevilla.
The victory kept alive Villarreal’s chances of catching Real Betis in seventh place and the Europa Conference League spot.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi romps to comfortable victory in Tabuk Toyota Rally
- The Saudi Toyota Championship continues with the Qassim Rally on October 23 to 26
TABUK: Saudi driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi and his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk cruised to an emphatic victory in the Tabuk Toyota Rally and the Saudi extended his lead in the 2024 Saudi Toyota Championship on Saturday.
The Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux drivers suffered no issues on the final 168km selective section and secured a winning margin of 16 minutes 37 seconds.
“It was good for us,” said Al-Rajhi. “It was not easy, very tricky actually. We have good stages in Saudi now. Before it was flat, flat and now it is more technical with good navigation and you need to focus all the time. Now we look ahead to Baja Greece.”
Dania Akeel and Stephane Duple continued to flourish in the Ultimate category with the second of the Toyota Hiluxes and finished second overall, despite getting lost on the stage for several minutes.
“We had a good day except we lost around four minutes in navigation, that is part of the game,” Akeel said. “Other than that, we had a good day. The stage was narrow and quite twisty and that was good for me to get used to the car, I would love to race this car every day. We will see, I want to develop as a driver as much as I can.”
Saleh Al-Saif and Qatari co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari rounded off the podium places and topped the Challenger standings in their Dark Horse OT3.
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi continued his superb run of form in Middle East regional events with the fastest time on the final stage that confirmed another victory for the Emirati on his Husqvarna.
He beat local KTM rider Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera by nearly 15 minutes on the final stage to snatch the win by 27 minutes 45 seconds, his cause helped still further when the Saudi incurred a time penalty.
“I’m really happy, so pumped with this win. I know the task was to open and full attack. The task was difficult and not impossible,” Al-Balooshi said. “I really put my head down, stayed focused and I needed more than two minutes, I got a lot more that that. I am really happy to defend this title in Tabuk, I really like all the races in Saudi Arabia. Abdulhalim (Mogheera) really kept me on my toes. He is progressing well.”
There was a nail-biting finish to the battle in the quads with Haitham Al-Tuwaijri managing to snatch the victory on his Yamaha Raptor from rivals Hani Al-Noumesi and Abdulaziz Al-Shayban. The Saudi’s winning margin was just 25 seconds.
The Saudi Toyota Championship continues with the Qassim Rally on October 23 to 26.
Al-Hilal crowned Roshn Saudi League champions after Al-Hazem rout
- The 4-1 win at Kingdom Arena means the Riyadh giants have now extended their Saudi Pro League record to 19 championships
RIYADH: Al-Hilal wrapped up the Roshn Saudi League title with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Al-Hazem on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The victory means that Al-Hilal have now extended their Saudi Pro League record to 19 championships.
Al-Nassr’s 3-2 win over Al-Okhdood on Thursday had delayed Al-Hilal’s coronation for two days at least, but Jorge Jesus and his men knew a win or draw against Al-Hazem would be enough to clinch the title.
Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, one of the signings of the season, got the party underway with a penalty after 15 minutes but, with nine minutes of the first half left, an unscripted moment saw Faiz Selemani score with a fine left-foot strike after being put through on goal.
Al-Hazem’s joy did not last long however, with Ahmed Al-Juwaid gifting Al-Hilal the lead five minutes later with a bizarre own goal that sailed over goalkeeper Zaid Al-Malki’s head.
The home team scented blood and proceeded to put the result, and the title race, to bed with two goals in first-half added time.
Mitrovic side-footed home from countryman Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s cross from the left in the 48th minute of the half, and the assister turned goalscorer three minutes later to give Al-Hilal a 4-1 lead at the break.
With Al-Hilal fans already in celebratory mood and the title all but confirmed by the break, the second period inevitably saw the home team take their foot off the pedal.
VAR ruled out what would have been Al-Hazem’s second goal in added time and moments later the final whistle went to confirm the championship for Al-Hilal.
Their fans could finally celebrate a title win that had been on the cards for several weeks.
Chinese duo Wang Chuqin, Chen Meng take men’s, women’s singles titles at Saudi Smash
- Wang claims triple crown with success on 24th birthday
JEDDAH: World No. 1 Wang Chuqin and No. 4 seed Chen Meng from China were crowned the winners of the men’s and women’s singles respectively at the 2024 World Tour Saudi Smash table tennis event in Jeddah on Saturday.
Chen took home the women’s crown with a 4-2 win over big-time rival Sun Yingsha in an epic final (6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8).
Speaking on the stage after the match, Chen told her fans: “I’m very excited, very happy and still find it unbelievable as it exceeded my expectations. Throughout my Saudi Smash journey, each match was a big hurdle.
“I gave my best to make it here and ultimately won the finals. Facing the match against ‘Shasha,’ I hoped that luck would be on my side to clinch the title.
“Despite a few times reaching the finals, I haven’t claimed a title since Singapore Smash 2022. It’s far from easy to turn an opportunity into a victory. I’m really happy.”
Thanks to her victory, Chen also leaves Jeddah with 2,000 International Table Tennis Federation World Ranking points, enough to secure her return to World No. 2.
Meanwhile, in the men’s competition, World Champion Wang proved that he is still the dominant leader, pulling off an impressive victory over the World No. 10 Patrick Franziska from Germany, winning 4-2 (11-2, 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 10-12 and 11-6) in a thrilling final.
Having already taken the mixed doubles title with Sun Yingsha and the men’s doubles with Ma Long, the men’s singles trophy added the final feather in Wang’s cap in Jeddah as he achieved the Saudi Smash triple crown.
With the win also falling on his 24th birthday, the title provided a perfect celebration.
He said: “I could have taken all three titles in the last Grand Smash; unfortunately, I didn’t. Thanks to the birthday blessings, I’m able to win three titles this time, which I’m happy about.
“It seems like some of these trophies were easier than others to get, but in reality the entire Saudi Smash journey has been long and tough for me, which is also the biggest gain.”
Japan defeat Pakistan in dramatic shootout to win 2024 Azlan Shah Hockey Cup final
- Japan seized an early lead with a field goal in the 12th minute, igniting a fierce contest that ended in a 2-2 draw
- The electrifying shootout phase led to Japan’s convincing 4-1 victory, helping the team clinch the Azlan Shah cup
ISLAMABAD: In a dramatic conclusion to the 2024 Azlan Shah Hockey Cup on Saturday, Japan defeated Pakistan in a penalty shootout after a tense 2-2 draw, dashing the Pakistan team’s hopes that had reached the tournament final for the first time since 2011 following a series of stellar performances.
Six teams participated in the event, including the tournament Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Canada. Pakistan won the Azlan Shah Cup title three times in the past and was the second runners-up in the last edition which was also held in Malaysia two years ago.
Prior to facing Japan the second time in the tournament, Pakistan played against New Zealand on Friday in a match that ended in a tie.
“Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for,” the Pakistan Hockey Federation exclaimed in a social media post prior to the match. “The FINAL showdown of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is here, and our beloved Green Shirts are ready to take on Japan ... Let’s rally behind our team with all our support and cheers as they aim for glory on the field!”
In a riveting showdown, Japan seized an early lead with a field goal in the 12th minute, igniting a fierce contest that saw both teams neck and neck until the final whistle.
As regular time expired with the score deadlocked, the match escalated into an electrifying shootout phase.
When the dust settled, however, Japan had triumphed with a convincing 4-1 victory, clinching the cup and retaining their top position on the leaderboard where they already stood tall with 13 points right ahead of the final.
Pakistan, despite a valiant effort, were on the second place with two draws.
