Pakistan bowl against New Zealand in must-win World Cup clash
Pakistan bowl against New Zealand in must-win World Cup clash/node/2402991/sport
Pakistan bowl against New Zealand in must-win World Cup clash
New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson tosses a coin as Pakistan's captain Babar Azam watches before the start of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan in Bengaluru, India, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan have won the toss and chosen to bowl against New Zealand in their must-win World Cup match at Chinnaswamy Stadium in India’s Bangaluru city.
Pakistan, after losing four of their first five games, had their campaign sinking in the 50-over tournament. But their win over Bangladesh and South Africa’s massive victory over New Zealand have given the green shirts a much-needed boost.
As Pakistan’s run rate fails to paint a promising picture, Babar Azam’s side will need to win big in their next two matches.
“We will have bowling first because of little bit moisture on the pitch,” Azam said after winning the toss.
New Zealand won their first four matches, but then suffered three losses in as many games. The black caps also need two wins in their next two matches to seal a semifinal spot.
Both teams now meet at Chinnaswamy Stadium to keep their semifinal hopes alive.
New Zealand's Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra run between the wickets as Pakistan's Hasan Ali watches during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan in Bengaluru, India, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)
Pakistan players and the match officials gesture during the national anthems before the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match between New Zealand and Pakistan in Bengaluru, India, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (REUTERS)
Teams New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (capt), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wkt), Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Trent Boult Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf
Vonn crashes out of Winter Olympics in brutal end to medal dream
The 41-year-old was just 13 seconds into her run when she lost control
Skiing legend was aiming to win another medal despite competing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament
Updated 49 min 39 sec ago
AFP
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy: Lindsey Vonn crashed out of the Winter Olympics downhill on Sunday, brutally ending the American skiing great’s improbable dream of winning a medal despite competing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Vonn was just 13 seconds into her run in bright sunshine in Cortina d’Ampezzo when she lost control, twisted in the air and crumpled in the snow.
The 41-year-old’s cries of pain could be heard on the microphones as medical staff attended to the stricken skier on the piste.
Thousands of spectators at the bottom of the run fell silent as they watched the images of the crash on giant screens.
The United States' Lindsey Vonn crashing during an alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo. (AP)
Vonn was eventually strapped into a stretcher and winched into the air by helicopter to be flown to hospital.
Her US teammate Breezy Johnson went on to win the gold medal, but her first thoughts were for Vonn, saying: “My heart goes out to her. I hope it’s not as bad as it looked.”
Johnson finished in front of Germany’s Emma Aicher by just 0.04sec with Italy’s Sofia Goggia taking bronze in front of her home fans.
Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow, who watched the crash on giant screens at the course, said: “That definitely was the last thing we wanted to see.”
Hopes dashed
Just two weeks ago, Vonn, one of global sport’s most recognizable faces, looked in contention to cap a remarkable comeback from retirement by winning the second Olympic gold medal of her career — her last came 16 years ago in the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
She had retired in 2019 but returned to the slopes in 2024 after surgery to insert a titanium implant in her right knee to quell persistent pain.
But her Olympic plans were thrown into disarray when she crashed in a World Cup race at Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30.
In a press conference once she arrived in Italy, she admitted she had ruptured her ACL in the crash, but insisted she could still compete for medals.
Lindsey Vonn shows the gold medals of the Women's Downhill and super-g races, at the World Alpine Ski Championships, in Val d'Isere, France in 2009. (AP)
“This is not obviously what I had hoped for.... I know what my chances were before the crash and and I know my chances aren’t the same as it stands today,” she said then.
“But I know there’s still a chance, and as long as there’s a chance I will try.”
She even batted aside those who doubted her ability to perform with such an injury, taking to social media to fire back at a sports doctor for doubting her ACL tear was as bad as she claimed.
In other action on Sunday, the second full day of the Milan-Cortina Games, Czech snowboarder Zuzana Maderova won gold in the women’s parallel giant slalom after the shock exit of defending champion Ester Ledecka.
Ledecka crashed out in the quarter-finals as the Czech chased what would have been a historic snowboarding title in three consecutive Olympics.
Maderova enjoyed a comfortable victory over Ledecka’s conqueror Sabine Payer, cruising to victory by 0.83sec.
In Tesero, Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo racked up the sixth Olympic gold medal of his career by taking the skiathlon title.
Later, attention will switch the ice rink as the USA go into the final day of the figure skating team event seeking to resist a stiff challenge from Japan.
Ilia Malinin, the US sensation who was upstaged on his Olympic debut on Saturday by Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, skates again on Sunday in the free program.
