MUMBAI: India’s Rohit Sharma hit an unbeaten 105 but his Mumbai Indians fell 20 runs short as they tried to chase down a big target set by holders Chennai Super Kings in a battle of IPL heavyweights on Sunday.
Set 207 for victory, five-time winners Mumbai finished on 186-6 even though Rohit raised his ton in 61 balls at his home in Wankhede Stadium.
Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and the in-form Shivam Dube powered Chennai, who won their fifth title last year, to 206-4.
Gaikwad hit 69 and Dube smashed an unbeaten 66 before warhorse M.S. Dhoni smashed three successive sixes in the 20th over to take Chennai past 200.
Dhoni came in to bat with four balls left and scored 20. He smashed Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya for three sixes and finished with a two to end a 26-run over.
“Our young wicketkeeper scoring three sixes down the order helped a lot and I think that was the difference,” Gaikwad said of the 42-year-old Dhoni.
Sri Lanka quick Matheesha Pathirana then took four wickets to push Mumbai to their fourth loss of the season and Gaikwad said he bowled “exceptionally well and nailed those yorkers.”
The two teams are on contrasting runs after changes of guard this season.
Pandya replaced Rohit as Mumbai captain while Dhoni surprisingly handed over the Chennai leadership to Gaikwad.
Gaikwad had his fourth win as captain after he set the pace for his team with his 40-ball knock laced with five fours and five sixes.
He put on 90 runs with Dube before falling to Pandya, but Dube and then Dhoni’s cameo ensured Chennai finished strongly.
Mumbai started well with Rohit and Ishan Kishan putting on 70 runs for the first wicket before Pathirana hit back.
Pathirana, known “Baby Malinga” for his slinging action similar to former Sri Lankan quick Lasith Malinga, sent back Kishan and then Suryakumar Yadav, for his second duck this season, in the space of three balls.
He later dismissed Tilak Varma for 31 as Rohit attempted to keep up the charge in his 63-ball knock and his second IPL ton.
Pathirana was named man of the match and Pandya said the Sri Lankan “was the difference.”
Tushar Deshpande got Pandya out and the home crowd cheered in another sign of growing unpopularity of Mumbai’s choice of captain.
In the first match of the day, Phil Salt’s rapid 89 and three wickets for Mitchell Starc helped Kolkata Knight Riders race to a crushing eight-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants.
Starc’s 3-28 kept Lucknow down to 161-7 at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, with the other Knight Riders’ bowlers putting in disciplined performances after their side elected to field first.
The Australian left-arm quick became the most expensive buy in IPL history after Kolkata shelled out $2.98 million for his services.
Opener Salt then steered the two-time IPL winners to their target in 15.4 overs for their fourth victory in five matches this season.
The English wicketkeeper-batsman put on 120 runs with skipper Shreyas Iyer, who made 38, smashing 14 fours and three sixes in his 47-ball knock.
Rohit Sharma century in vain as Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL
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Rohit Sharma century in vain as Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians in IPL
- Set 207 for victory, five-time winners Mumbai finished on 186-6
Rahm leads by 2 after first round of LIV Golf UK
ROCESTER: Jon Rahm is accustomed to being in contention after most of his LIV Golf rounds this season. But for the first time since joining the league, he has the outright lead.
Thanks to a bogey-free 8-under 63, Rahm has a two-stroke lead over Abraham Ancer and Andy Ogletree after the first round at LIV Golf UK by JCB. Meanwhile, his Legion XIII is atop the team leaderboard by one stroke over Smash GC, HyFlyers GC and Fireballs GC.
Friday’s round was the 29th that Rahm has completed in LIV Golf. He has been inside the top 5 after 13 of those rounds, including a tie for the lead after the first round in Jeddah.
Six other times, Rahm has been inside the top 10. In each of his nine completed tournaments — he had to withdraw in Houston due to a foot infection — he has produced a top-10 result, and he is currently second behind Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann in the season-long points standings.
It is an impressive show of consistency that Rahm hopes will peak with his first individual LIV Golf title this week at JCB Golf & Country Club.
“Nothing much to say obviously but good things,” said Rahm, who entered the week off a tie for seventh at The Open Championship, his best major result of the year. “Played really good golf all day. With days like this, it almost feels effortless.”
Rahm played in the same group with his teammate and former Ryder Cup partner, Tyrrell Hatton, along with another Legion XIII player, Caleb Surratt, as the LIV Golf captains were grouped with their top-two teammates for the first round.
Not only did Rahm go low — the 8-under score matches his lowest LIV Golf round relative to par — but Hatton shot 66, bouncing back from an opening double bogey. The duo fueled Legion XIII’s 12-under total that also included a counting score of 72 from Kieran Vincent. Legion XIII has won three team titles during its inaugural season and is second in the points standings behind Crushers GC.
“It was the first time I played with any teammates in LIV Golf,” said Rahm, who had six birdies in his final nine holes to pull away from the pack. “I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. I was a little curious.”
Hatton said: “We’ve shared some pretty cool stages over the last few years, and we generally play well when we play together. So, it was nice for both of us to have a good round of golf and have some momentum going into the weekend.”
Ancer, the winner via playoff earlier this year in Hong Kong, finished with a flourish. The Fireballs star birdied four of his last five holes during a brilliant putting round in which he led the field.
Ogletree’s best finish during his first full LIV Golf season is a tie for third in Adelaide. He has battled a wrist injury that may require offseason surgery and forced him to make some swing adjustments to alleviate the pain.
“I’ve had a lot of days where I’ve played 13 and 14 really good holes and then kind of held myself back by a bad stretch,” said the HyFlyers member. “Today, I was in it all day and played some solid golf.”
Hatton and Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith are tied for fourth, while a group of seven players — including Smash GC Captain Brooks Koepka and local resident Sam Horsfield of Majesticks GC — are four strokes off the lead in a tie for sixth.
On a course that was unfamiliar to most players and expected to give up low scores grudgingly, 35 of the 54 players in the field broke par, with a stroke average of more than one shot under par.
It was not a surprise for Rahm. “You can’t really say surprising when the best players in the world show up at a course,” he said.
Standings and counting scores for Friday’s opening round:
The three best scores from each team count in the first two rounds while all four scores count in the final round. The team with the lowest cumulative score after three rounds wins the team title.
1. LEGION XIII -12 (Rahm 63, Hatton 66, Vincent 72)
T2. FIREBALLS GC -11 (Ancer 65, Garcia 68, Puig 69)
T2. SMASH GC -11 (Koepka 67, McDowell 67, Gooch 68)
T2. HYFLYERS GC -11 (Ogletree 65, Tringale 67, Mickelson 70)
T5. RIPPER GC -9 (Smith 66, Herbert 69, Jones 69)
T5. RANGEGOATS GC -9 (Wolff 67, Uihlein 68, Watson 69)
7. STINGER GC -8 (Oosthuizen 67, Burmester 68, Schwartzel 70)
8. TORQUE GC -6 (Munoz 68, Niemann 69, Pereira 70)
T9. CRUSHERS GC -5 (Casey 67, Lahiri 69, Catlin 72)
T9. CLEEKS GC -5 (Meronk 68, Bland 69, Samooja 71)
11. MAJESTICKS GC -4 (Horsfield 67, Stenson 70, Westwood 72)
12. 4ACES GC -1 (Varner 69, Johnson 71, Reed 72)
13. IRON HEADS GC Even (Na 70, Vincent 70, Kozuma 73)
Final four battle it out for MLBB Women’s Invitational title at Esports World Cup in Riyadh
- Hometown heroes Falcons Vega in the running for $180,000 first prize alongside Team Vitality, Victory Song Gamers and Omage Empress
RIYADH: Audiences are set to witness a monumental moment in professional women’s esports history as the Esports World Cup hosts the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women’s Invitational 2024 semifinals and Grand Final on Saturday.
One of the most highly anticipated competitions heading into the eight-week tournament at Boulevard Riyadh City, the MLBB Women’s Invitational debuted on Wednesday by welcoming 12 clubs on the world stage.
After three days of matchups, the last four standing are within touching distance of legacy status — with one assured of a place in the women’s esports hall of fame come Sunday morning.
The first semifinal between hometown heroes Falcons Vega and French club Team Vitality is at midday on Saturday. Saudi Arabia’s Falcons Vega head into the contest with confidence sky-high after whitewashing every opponent that they have faced — and many are tipping them to go all the way.
Awaiting the victors are the winners of the other semifinal featuring Victory Song Gamers of Russia and Filipino outfit Omega Empress. This showdown starts at 3 p.m. live from the SEF Arena where the grand final takes center stage hours later at 6 p.m.
The Esports World Cup is running from July 3–Aug. 25 with 22 tournaments across 21 titles during its eight-week duration.
Alongside the MLBB Women’s Invitational, audiences can also catch the Overwatch 2 quarter-finals and main tournament action from the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2024 on Saturday. Both these competitions end on Sunday before new tournaments headline Week 5, starting on Wednesday, July 31.
Emirati referee to officiate Dominican Republic vs Spain match at Paris 2024 Olympics
DUBAI: Emirati referee Adel Al Naqbi has been selected by FIFA to officiate an intriguing clash between Spain and the Dominican Republic at the Summer Olympic Games Paris 2024 on Saturday.
FIFA selected Al Naqbi to officiate the Dominican Republic vs Spain - Men's Group C Match 14 and he will be assisted by his countrymen Ahmed Al Rashidi (First Assistant) and Sabit Obeid (Second Assistant), according to WAM.
Al Naqbi has officiated matches in the UAE football league as well as continental championships, most notably the AFC Champions League.
He also officiated several friendly international matches since 2016.
The world football governing body has selected referees and assistant referees from 45 countries to officiate matches at the Olympic Football Tournaments Paris 2024.
Athletes from 184 countries will take stage to compete in various sports at the Paris Olympics over a two-week period between July 26 and Aug. 11.
South Korea expresses regret after its athletes introduced as North Korea at Olympics opening ceremony
- South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events
- North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes
SEOUL: South Korea expressed regret that its delegation of athletes at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday was introduced as from rival North Korea and has demanded assurances from organizers the mistake will not happen again.
As the boat carrying South Korean athletes passed on the Seine, the announcer introduced them as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” — the official name of North Korea — in French and English.
The announcer used the same introduction when the North Korean delegation passed.
South Korea’s vice minister for sports and culture, Jang Mi-ran, who was in Paris, had requested a meeting with International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach, the ministry said in a statement.
“We express regret that the country was introduced as North Korea at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games when the athletes of the Republic of Korea were entering,” it said.
South Korea’s National Olympic Committee immediately referred the incident to the Games’ organizers and requested that the error will not be repeated.
South Korea’s delegation includes 143 athletes competing in 21 events. North Korea, which is returning to the Games for the first time since Rio 2016, has sent 16 athletes.
‘Someone wake me up,’ says Habib ahead of Alcaraz clash at Olympics
- “I was in shock when I heard,” the Texas-born player told AFP
- “Hopefully I can inspire lots of people in Lebanon“
PARIS: When Carlos Alcaraz was winning $3.5 million for lifting the Wimbledon trophy, Hady Habib was more than 5,000km away, collecting a meagre $1,350 at a low-level tournament in Canada.
Two weeks on, the 25-year-old from Lebanon now finds himself taking on the world number three in the first round at the Olympics.
“I was in shock when I heard,” the Texas-born player told AFP.
“Hopefully I can inspire lots of people in Lebanon.”
Habib, ranked a lowly 275 in the world, was only scheduled to play doubles at the Olympics alongside Benjamin Hassan.
However, following a series of injury pullouts, he moved into the singles draw as an alternate.
“The day after that, I’m drawn to be playing Carlos Alcaraz. So this has been an interesting five days for me.”
He added: “I was at the practice courts when I got the email. All happened so fast. Life can just change in an instant. You could say it’s a fairytale.”
Habib’s career has been spent on the second-tier circuit since he turned pro in 2021 after studying at university in Texas.
Now he will be the first man from Lebanon to represent his country in tennis at the Olympic Games.
The whole experience has left him starstruck.
“The first day I arrived, I was walking around a little bit lost just opening a door and going in somewhere.
“When I walked in the gym the first day, I saw Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and I was just, ‘Wow, this has to be a dream. Someone wake me up’.”
