TURIN: Juventus claimed a 2-1 win over Cagliari after a Kenan Yildiz double turned the match on its head and stopped the hosts slipping further behind the Serie A pacesetters on Saturday.
The victory brings some relief for Juve after two league draws, putting them in seventh place on 23 points. They are four points behind leaders AS Roma who host third-placed Napoli (25 points) on Sunday. Cagliari are 14th with 11 points.
Sebastiano Esposito gave Cagliari the lead after 26 minutes, tucking the ball home from close range after a low ball from the byline found him unmarked, with the Juventus defense reacting a fraction too late to block the effort.
But Yildiz refused to let the visitors enjoy their advantage for long. Barely a minute later, he levelled the match by bending a low shot from the edge of the box into the far corner.
Juve had seized the momentum, though their rhythm briefly stalled when forward Dusan Vlahovic saw a powerful effort saved and hurt himself in the process, hobbling off to be substituted.
In first-half stoppage time, Weston McKennie’s clever back-heel went to Pierre Kalulu, who found Yildiz at the edge of the area. With two deft touches, the Turkish forward slipped between two defenders and guided a precise finish into the far corner.
After the break, the intensity remained but both sides dug in defensively. Cagliari pushed hard but faced growing frustration as they found it difficult to find a way back with an equalizer and Juventus held on to secure the points.
Yildiz inspires Juventus to 2-1 comeback win over Cagliari
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Yildiz inspires Juventus to 2-1 comeback win over Cagliari
- The victory brings some relief for Juve after two league draws, putting them in seventh place
- Yildiz refused to let the visitors enjoy their advantage for long
T20 World Cup: England rout Sri Lanka for 95 to win Super Eights opener
- England were asked to bat first, scored what looked like below-par 146-9
- Archer, Will Jacks took five wickets to leave Sri Lanka top order in tatters
KANDY: England routed Sri Lanka for 95 to give captain Harry Brook a perfect birthday present as they opened the T20 World Cup Super Eights phase with a resounding 51-run win in Kandy on Sunday.
After England were asked to bat first and scored what looked like a below-par 146-9, Jofra Archer and Will Jacks took five wickets during the six-over power play to leave Sri Lanka’s top order in tatters at 34-5.
“That’s a beautiful birthday present,” said Brook, who turned 27 on Sunday.
“I thought we played exceptionally there. To get over the line and bowl them out for less than 100 is an awesome effort.
“I didn’t think there were really any demons on the pitch. I think the spinners on both sides used the pace really well, and that’s what brought a lot of wickets.”
It was England’s 12th win in a row against Sri Lanka and on a pitch that was sticky and slow after rain all week in Kandy.
The margin of victory gives them a healthy net run rate advantage in a Super Eights group that could be further affected by weather, after the New Zealand-Pakistan match was washed out on Saturday in Colombo.
“We’re buzzing with that,” said Jacks who was named player of the match for the third time in five matches in the tournament.
“At the halfway stage, we were pleased to get up to 146, but obviously we knew we were going to have to bowl well and work hard.”
The searing pace of Jofra Archer accounted for both openers, including the in-form Pathum Nissanka (9), who had scored a century and 62 in his last two knocks but failed to clear Jamie Overton at deep mid-wicket.
Archer finished with 2-20 and Jacks 3-22, the latter accounting for Kusal Mendis (4) and Pavan Rathnayake (0) in consecutive balls.
Dunith Wellalage staved off the hat-trick but lasted only 10 balls before also falling to Jacks, for 10.
LONE BATTLE
Dasun Shanaka fought a lone battle scoring 30 off 24 balls before falling to Adil Rashid.
The Sri Lanka captain took on the leg-spinner but Jacks took the catch and tossed the ball to Tom Banton before stepping over the boundary.
“It’s one bad game which is not affordable in a World Cup,” said Shanaka.
“But we need to bounce back in the next couple of games.”
Sri Lanka earlier restricted England to 146-9 with left-arm spinner Wellalage taking 3-26.
Phil Salt scored 62 at the top of the order but Sri Lanka, who are missing three of their frontline bowlers, contained the rest of the England batting line-up with regular wickets.
Wellalage was introduced during the power play and trapped the out-of-form Jos Buttler (7) and Brook (14), both lbw, as England limped to 68-4 at the halfway mark.
Salt was caught in the deep off Wellalage after facing 40 deliveries with six fours and two sixes.
Jacks, with 21, was the only other England batsman to score more than 20.
“Jacksie was pretty annoyed with the way he got out,” said Brook, who then explained why the new ball was tossed to the off-spinner.
“He said to me he always bowls better when he’s angry, and thankfully he got off to a cracking start.”
Left-arm seamer Dilshan Madushanka took 2-25 while Maheesh Theekshana took 2-21 with his offspin.
