1. Pakistan Knocked out of World T20, West Indies Enter Semi-Final
Australia on Friday knocked Pakistan out of the ICC World Twenty20 with a convincing 21-run victory, setting up a virtual quarterfinal against hosts India to be played here on Sunday.
Captain Steven Smith (61 not out off 43) and Shane Watson (44 not out off 21) hammered 74 off the last 38 balls to take Australia to 193 for four. Pakistani batsmen faltered once again barring a decent effort from Khalid Latif (46 off 41) and Shoaib Malik (40 off 20) to end at 172 for eight.
West Indies beat South Africa by three wickets in a low-scoring thriller in Mohali to become the first team from group 1 to qualify for the semi-finals.
Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bowl first on a slow pitch offering help, and his bowlers responded by restricting South Africa to 122/8 in 20 overs.
The 2012 champions looked comfortable for most of their run chase but leg-spinner Imran Tahir struck twice in consecutive deliveries in his last over to haul his side back into the game.
Marlon Samuels, named man of the match for his 44, was then removed by paceman Chris Morris in the penultimate over.
Carlos Brathwaite calmed West Indian jitters, however, when he hit a six off paceman Kagiso Rabada as West Indies clinched a third successive victory, with two balls to spare.
2. Stomach Virus Delays Federer’s Return to Action
Roger Federer pulled out shortly before the match at the Miami Open because of a stomach virus. Federer was scheduled to play on Friday for the first time in nearly two months.
I feel bad for the tournament and the fans, as I have rarely ever had to withdraw at such short notice. I have not felt great for a few days, and unfortunately, it got worse in the last 24 hours. I was really excited to have my comeback in Miami but I am in no condition to play. I tried to warm up this morning, but it was clear that I could not compete.Roger Federer
Federer has been sidelined since undergoing an arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn cartilage in his left knee. The 2005-06 Key Biscayne champion hasn’t played in the tournament since 2014.
3. Sreesanth “Strong Enough to Face it”, Gets BJP Ticket for Kerala
The BJP, on Friday, fielded former India pacer S Sreesanth from the Thiruvananthapuram seat even as it declared 50 other candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Kerala.
After a nearly four-hour-long meeting, the Central Election Committee (CEC) of BJP announced that Sreesanth has formally joined the party and would contest from Thiruvananthapuram.
Whenever I wanted to join politics, it was always BJP. So, it’s a great honour to be a part of this party. It’s a great honour to meet Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah sir, Arun Jaitley sir and all the party legends, especially from the Kerala side. I will try my best to change the face of Kerala.S Sreesanth
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4. Anand Loses to Nakamura and Slips From Joint Lead in Candidates
Former world champion Viswanathan Anand lost to Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the 12th round and needs a Herculean effort to stage a comeback in the Candidates Chess tournament.
Nakamura has been Anand’s nemesis for some time and another meeting between the two again brought out the best in the American who has otherwise had a forgettable Candidates.
For the first 11 games, Nakamura had just scored a single victory, seven draws and three losses. The victory against Anand made his record slightly better but the American has no chance whatsoever of winning the Candidates.
With just two rounds remaining in his biggest challenge of the year, Anand has a tough task on hand. In all probability, the Indian will have to win his last two games to be in with a chance to challenge Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the next world championship match later this year.
5. Sania Moves Ahead, Bopanna Ousted from Miami Open
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis clinched a facile opening win in the women’s doubles draw but Rohan Bopanna was ousted of the men’s doubles event in the Miami Open tennis tournament. Top seeds Sania and Hingis took merely an hour to dispatch Lara Arruabarrena of Spain and Raluca Olaru of Romania 6-0, 6- 4.
However, Bopanna and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea were knocked out after squandering a position of strength to go down 6-2, 4-6, 4-10 the Uruguayan-Spanish combination of Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers.
The sixth seeded Indo-Romanian pair slogged for an hour and nine minutes before eventually losing the match.
6. Afridi Backtracks Again! Says He Hasn’t Made Decision to Retire
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said that he is yet to make up his mind on retirement post the ongoing ICC World T20 cricket tournament.
“I have not taken any decision. I will do it in front of my nation,” said Afridi at toss of the crucial game against Australia.
Afridi has done flip-flops on his retirement in the past. Earlier in the competition, he had said that today’s game Australia could be his last.
7. Gutta and Ponnappa Lose, India’s Campaign Ends in New Zealand Open
It turned out to be a dismal day for India on Friday at the New Zealand Open badminton tournament after all three Indian pairs, including Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, lost straight games to bow out of the USD 120,000 Grand Prix Gold event at Auckland.
2011 World Championship bronze-medallists, Jwala and Ashwini, gave a tough fight in the opening game but lost steam in the second game, who went down 22-24, 8-21 to the local combo of Setyana Mapasa and Gronya Somerville in the women’s doubles competition.
In men’s doubles, sixth seeds Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, who had won the Mexico Open last December, lost 10-21, 20-22 to second seeded Korean pair of Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Cheol.
Shin Baek Cheol also paired up with Chae Yoo Jung to defeat Indian mixed doubles combo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy 21-14, 21-18 in another quarterfinal match.
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