Sports

Johannesburg, Feb 5 (IANS) South Africa's white-ball specialist Faf du Plessis took centre stage at the Wanderers here to power the Joburg Super Kings into the semifinals of SA20, hitting a masterful 92 to help his team beat Sunrisers EasterCape by 24 runs on Sunday.

Du Plessis delivered a consecutive masterful T20 inning to follow up the tournament's maiden century in his last outing. The former Proteas skipper struck 92 from 61 balls (7×4, 4×6) that formed the bedrock of the Super Kings' total of 160/6 in 20 overs.

Reeza Hendricks (40 off 36 balls) also played his supporting role to perfection again with the opening partnership yielding 119 in 14.2 overs. The Sunrisers fought back at the backend as they picked up five wickets while restricting the Super Kings to a further 41 runs.

However, the total proved sufficient throughout the day as the Joburg Super Kings bowling unit delivered a fine overall performance.

In reply, Maheesh Theekshana set it in motion with the early dismissal of Adam Rossington before the pace of Gerald Coetzee accounted for Jordan Hermann and JJ Smuts.

The Sunrisers needed to rebuild their innings and it was done by new recruit Temba Bavuma. The Proteas' limited-overs skipper timed the ball sweetly in his 50 off just 34 balls, but besides Aiden Markram's 34 he did not have any worthwhile support.

This was due to a brilliant spell of left-arm spin bowling from Super Kings' debutant Kyle Simmons, who tore the heart out of the Sunrisers' middle order with figures of 3-23 from his four overs. In the end, the Sunrisers Cape Town eventually finished at 136/9 in 20 overs, losing the match by 24 runs

The Sunrisers Eastern Cape have now completed their league fixtures on 19 points. They will await the result of the final match of Durban's Super Giants against league-leaders Pretoria Capitals later on Sunday afternoon at Centurion to determine their semi-final fate.

Brief scores:

Joburg Super Kings 160/6 in 20 overs (Fa du Plessis 92, REeza Hendricks 40; Aiden Markram 2-7, Sisanda Magala 2-24) beat Sunrisers Eastern Cape 136/9 in 20 overs (Temba Bavuma 50, Aiden Markram 34; Kyle Simmonds 3-23, Gerald Coetzee 2-13, Maheesh Theekshana 2-31, Romario Shepherd 2-24)) by 24 runs.

--IANS

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Imphal, Feb 5 (IANS) Despite not playing any match, Sreenidi Deccan were the biggest winner on a Sunday when their two closest rivals dropped valuable points away from home in the I-League 2022-23 season as Gokulam Kerala suffered a 2-1 defeat to NEROCA FC here on Sunday.

After RoundGlass Punjab FC's wobble in Delhi, Gokulam Kerala's defeat kept the hopes alive for Sreenidi Deccan.

NEROCA went into this game with back-to-back wins at home and yet were unfancied against an opposition that has been on an upward curve at the business end of the season. Unaffected by the pregame expectations, the home side started much stronger, their midfield asserting dominance in a way that Gokulam had previously not been subjected to.

In the 11th minute, the reward for their early exuberance arrived, Bayi Kamo's cutback inside the box, collected and slotted into the bottom corner by Sweden Fernades. Gokulam protested that the ball had crossed the byline before Kamo cut it back, but their pleas were in vain. The goal was given, and where the visitors' heads dropped, NEROCA soared.

Slowly Gokulam found their way back into the game, Mendigutxia and Thahir Zaman exploiting space on NEROCA's right. The former crashed a header against the crossbar from a Sreekuttan cross in the 20th minute. It was the visitors' best chance at a goal from a half that offered little else, said a report on the official website.

The second half drifted by in a blur of inaction, NEROCA happy to let Gokulam pass the ball as long as they did it without causing trouble. Mirjalol Kasimov ensured that the crowd were given their evening's worth with a goal for NEROCA in the 63rd minute that will go straight into the season's highlights reel.

Picking up the ball near the halfway line the Uzbek shimmied past two Gokulam defenders, cut back to his right foot outside the box and curled the ball towards the far corner of Shibinraj's goal. The goalkeeper's full-length dive was wasted as the ball hit the inside of the post and went in. The celebrations were raucous.

Gokulam got one back in the 77th minute when Bouba Aminou volleyed in a Noufal cross. It set up a grandstand finish, and a chance for Gokulam to capitalise on NEROCA's nerves. The home team resorted to and relied on, some old-school time-wasting tricks to ensure they took the three points.

--IANS

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Mumbai, Feb 5 (IANS) Bengaluru FC striker Sivasakthi Narayanan has been awarded the Emerging Player of the Month for January 2023 for his spectacular performances across his sides four wins in January.

The youngster was a pivotal figure in each of the Blues' four wins, registering four goals and one assist in the process. Sivasakthi fought his way into the starting lineup under head coach Simon Grayson and since then, has been reaping rewards with his goal contributions.

Currently, on a four-game winning streak, his side has leapfrogged into the sixth position, in contention for the playoffs berth alongside Odisha FC who share the same number of points.

Nine out of 15 experts chose Sivasakthi as the top pick. In second position was Chennaiyin FC's Vincy Barretto who was picked out by one expert as their first choice, the Indian Super League (ISL) informed in a tweet on Sunday.

The forward has caused a stir in the Bengaluru FC attack ever since he made it into the starting eleven, becoming the joint-top scorer for the club with four goals, alongside midfielder Javier Hernandez, said a report on the ISL website.

Rising through the ranks from the 'B' division of Bengaluru FC, the 21-year-old was the top scorer for Bengaluru FC in their Durand Cup title triumph and has become a central asset in the attacking lineup alongside veterans Sunil Chhetri and Roy Krishna.

Narayanan has become the fourth recipient of this award after Mumbai City FC's Mehtab Singh (October), East Bengal FC's Naorem Mahesh Singh (November), and Mumbai City FC's Apuia (December).

--IANS

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New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) Former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Ian Healy has admitted to being a little worried over Australia not playing any tour games ahead of their four-match Test series against India starting from February 9 in Nagpur.

In 2017, Australia prepared for the India Test tour with a ten-day stint on specifically prepared pitches at the ICC Academy in Dubai. Before playing in the first Test at Pune, which they won by 333 runs, they also played a three-day tour match against the Hardik Pandya-led India 'A' at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

But, India, then led by Virat Kohli, bounced back from the loss in Pune to win the series 2-1, thanks to victories in Bengaluru and Dharamshala apart from a draw in Ranchi. But ahead of the series in 2023, Australia will enter without playing a tour game, something which they did when touring Pakistan last year.

Healy was speaking in response to opener Usman Khawaja's comments over no tour matches harming their chances of doing good in the series against India. "That's an in-form natural batsman talking."

"I think the spinners would like a 'bowl-off' into it and so the non-natural players who need some repetition and to grind before getting back into it. It's not for everyone practice matches, but it is for some," he said on SEN radio.

Also, Australia won't play any tour games in the week-long gap between Tests in New Delhi and Dharamshala, which Healy thinks could come back to bite Pat Cummins and Co as players in the squad need time in the middle.

"How do we get players back into form? There'll be no games in between the Tests either. Someone who is going to be sitting on the bench for three matches might get dragged in, we've got to be careful."

"I am a little bit worried, not so much for a Usman (Khawaja) and that sort of personality that he's got with great natural flair. But a Lance Morris, I want to keep him revving, I would be looking to find games for a few of those (players)."

"We want them to play games, see if there's a club game if there is such a thing in India. I don't need him (Morris) getting stale or bored without form behind him."

After the first Test in Nagpur ends on February 13, India and Australia will play Test matches in New Delhi (from February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).

--IANS

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Melbourne, Jan 19 (IANS) World No. 2 Rafael Nadal is expected to be out of action for six to eight weeks after sustaining a grade 2 injury during his second loss at the Australian Open.

In Wednesday's match at 3-4 in the second set against Mackenzie McDonald, the Spaniard chased a forehand wide and aggravated the injury that he admitted he had felt for a couple of days.

"Good afternoon. I have carried out medical tests after the defeat yesterday. The MRI shows a grade 2 lesion in the Iliacus Psoas of the left leg. Now it's sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time 6 to 8 weeks," Nadal tweeted.

The iliopsoas muscle is located in the hip. Nadal was trailing 4-6, 3-5 when he took a medical time-out after moving to his left to chase a forehand and pulled up in pain with an apparent upper left leg injury.

The 36-year-old Spaniard returned to play out the match but he was clearly not 100 per cent physically fit for the rest of the match and the McDonald wrapped up the win 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 32 minutes.

The six to eight weeks timeframe means Nadal could be fit to play by the start of the clay court season that includes a French Open, where Nadal is seeking his record 15th title.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, Jan 19 (IANS) India wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan was slammed when he appeared to get the umpires into believing New Zealand captain Tom Latham had been out hit wicket during the first ODI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

The incident happened on the fourth ball of the 16th over when Latham, playing his first ball of the match, went deep in his crease and tapped off left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav through the leg side.

Kishan suddenly went up in appeal and was joined in the same by captain Rohit Sharma. The square-leg umpire instantly took the decision upstairs, mainly unclear as to what exactly had happened.

Kishan and the Indian team appealed for Latham's dismissal, indicating that the batter had disturbed the bails by stepping on his stumps. But replays checked by TV umpire K. Ananthapadmanabhan showed Kishan had deliberately knocked a bail off with his glove - at his second attempt - long after Latham had hit the ball.

It took little time for him to declare Latham "Not Out" on the big screen. On-air commentators Sunil Gavaskar and Murali Kartik weren't impressed by Kishan's moves, even as the wicketkeeper-batter continued laughing.

"The cheeky grin is fine, but don't think that was the right thing to do," said Kartik, the former India left-arm spinner. Gavaskar, the legendary India batter, also said in same vein.

"As a joke, it was okay, but then to go on to appeal, don't think that's the right thing to do. As a joke to maybe say, suggest to Tom Latham what had happened earlier when India was batting, that is understandable. But to appeal, that is not on. That is not cricket."

The incident Gavaskar referred to also involving Latham occurred in the 40th over of India's innings, when all-rounder Hardik Pandya was dismissed in freakish circumstances. Hardik tried to cut a Daryl Mitchell delivery through the third man but saw his off-stump bail being dislodged as the ball passed extremely close to the stumps and the on-field umpires referred the call to Ananthapadmanabhan.

Replays showed that Latham was standing up to the stumps and had his gloves very close to the bails, which looked to light up just after the ball had passed over the top of the stumps and was cleanly collected by the keeper.

Viewing a series of replays, the TV umpire tried to check whether Latham's gloves were behind the stumps before he collected the ball, which was the case, so it was a legal delivery. He was eventually satisfied that there was no conclusive evidence that the bail had been dislodged by the wicketkeeper's gloves, which left many dissatisfied as Pandya was dismissed for 38-ball 28.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, Jan 19 (IANS) In Indias 12-run victory over New Zealand in the ODI series opener at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday, 31,187 fans were treated to 208 from Shubman Gill and 140 from Michael Bracewell.

But India all-rounder Hardik Pandya's freak clean bowled dismissal off Daryl Mitchell also became a huge talking point even after the match was over.

The dismissal occurred in the 40th over of India's innings, when Hardik tried to cut a delivery through the third man but saw his off-stump bail being dislodged as the ball passed extremely close to the stumps and the on-field umpires referred the call to the TV umpire K Ananthapadmanabhan.

Replays showed that wicketkeeper and New Zealand skipper Tom Latham was standing up to the stumps. He also had his gloves very close to the bails, which looked to light up just after the ball had passed over the top of the stumps and was cleanly collected by the keeper.

Viewing a series of replays, the TV umpire tried to check whether Latham's gloves were behind the stumps before he collected the ball, which was the case, so it was a legal delivery. He was eventually satisfied that there was no conclusive evidence that the bail had been dislodged by the wicketkeeper's gloves, which left many dissatisfied.

Now, Shubman Gill, who made a magnificent 208 in India's victory, said he didn't agree with the decision of Hardik being adjudged clean bowled off Mitchell.

"As a non-striker batsman, I didn't think that the ball hit the stumps, even when I was watching the replay. Sometimes there's a blind spot -- you can't really tell like what happened."

"I thought with the bail falling towards the crease, it's a bit weird if the ball is hitting like that and the bail falling towards the crease instead of the other side. These bails are different. It's a heavy bail and the stumps are a bit different. But, at the end of the day, you have to go with the third umpire and respect his decision," he said in the post-match press conference.

During the match, when the dismissal unfolded, former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on English commentary duties at that time, wasn't entirely convinced about the decision.

"Oh, it's been given out! Daryl Mitchell should be happy. Should really be happy, because, if you take a look again as to where the keeper's gloves are, where the ball is as it passes the stumps, it looked as if the ball was at least an inch, inch-and-a-half above the stumps."

"Ball clearly looks to be above the bail. You can see as it goes past into the gloves, there's no red light, it's only after that. There you go. From that angle, you can see that the gloves are closer to the bails than the ball."

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer immediately tweeted, "1. Clear gap between ball and bails. 2. Ball is inside gloves, bails (are) not lit yet. 3. Bails lit after brush from gloves. Hardik robbed there."

Hardik had to walk back after making 28 off 38 balls, ending a partnership of 74 for the fifth wicket with Gill, who went on to score his maiden double-century in ODIs through a 149-ball 208 and power India to a massive total of 349/8 in 50 overs.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, Jan 19 (IANS) Shubman Gill's brilliant double hundred against New Zealand has ended the debate about who will open the innings with skipper Rohit Sharma in One-Day Internationals, said Aakash Chopra as many former India cricketers lavished praise on the opener.

Gill has become the youngest player to score a double century in ODIs in the first match of the three-match series against New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here on Wednesday.

The fifth Indian player to get a double century in ODIs, Gill was a dominating force in the hosts' innings. Be it in the first power-play or the death overs, he was smashing boundaries against pacers and spinners in a pristine show of batsmanship.

But more than the double hundred, it was his success as an opener that impressed many as India had been looking for a partner for Rohit Sharma.

Aakash Chopra said Gill's knock in the first ODI has settled the debate about the opening slot in ODIs in a year in which India will be hosting the 50-overs World Cup in October-November.

"He (Gill) has put that debate to rest about who should open. There were some discussions after Ishan Kishan's double century and there were some discussions about Shikhar Dhawan before that. It was even felt at times whether KL Rahul was batting at the right number but it is quite apparent now that Shubman Gill. should open," said Chopra while reviewing this game in a video on his YouTube channel.

Though wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan has also scored a double hundred recently, Chopra feels the Punjab batter is destined to bat at the top of the order.

"He is meant to play ODI cricket right at the top. India has got two double centurions in the last one-and-a-half to two months. Ishan Kishan had struck a double century against Bangladesh and here Shubman Gill has struck it against New Zealand. He has done an amazing job, how well the kid bats," Chopra added.

Besides becoming the fifth Indian to score a double hundred, Gill has also become the fastest Indian to reach 1000 runs in ODIs. He has now scored 1102 runs at an outstanding average of 68.87 and an impressive strike rate of 109.00 in 19 ODIs. He has an even better record as an opener, having smashed 923 runs at an average of 76.91 and a strike rate of 108.84 in 15 innings.

--IANS

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Melbourne, Jan 19 (IANS) World No. 5 Aryna Sabalenka's winning start to the year continued on Thursday, as she defeated dangerous floater Shelby Rogers to reach the third round of the 2023 Australian Open.

Sabalenka registered a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Rogers to reach the third round in Melbourne for the third straight year at Rod Laver Arena. She hit 32 winners, nearly doubling Rogers' 17 in the match that lasted for 1 hour and 27 minutes.

The 24-year-old has started this year 6-0, having won the Adelaide International 1 title earlier this month. It is the second time in the last three years that Sabalenka has won her first six matches of the season, having also done so in 2021.

Sabalenka had saved nearly 80 per cent of break points she had faced during her hot start to the year, but Rogers was still able to draw first blood, taking a 3-1 lead in an opening set filled with lengthy games. But, Sabalenka charged back from a breakdown and reeled off five games in a row to snatch the one-set lead.

In the second set, Sabalenka slammed a backhand winner to save a break point and hold for 1-1. She was untroubled from there, cracking a backhand crosscourt winner to seal the match.

Sabalenka will face her former regular doubles partner, No.26 seed Elise Mertens, in the third round. At their peak, Sabalenka and Mertens were a formidable duo who won Grand Slam doubles titles at the 2019 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open.

Mertens of Belgium set up the meeting by defeating American Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-3 in 1 hour and 12 minutes. She ended the eight-match winning streak of Davis, who won the Hobart title as a qualifier last week.

Mertens has thrived at the Australian Open, reaching the 2018 semifinals in her main-draw debut at the event. The Belgian has made the third round or better in all six of her main-draw appearances in Melbourne.

However, Sabalenka holds a 6-2 advantage in their singles rivalry. In their most recent meeting, Sabalenka beat Mertens 6-4, 6-1 in the Round of 16 at the 2021 US Open.

--IANS

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London, Jan 19 (IANS) South Africa opener Hashim Amla, who has joined MI Cape Town as a batting coach for SA20, has announced his retirement as player from all forms of cricket.

The 39-year-old South African batting legend has informed Surrey Country Club that he will not play for them in the County Championship 2023. Amla had played a key role in helping Surrey win the Championship in 2022, the last season of his contract with the county club.

In his two-decade-long career, Amla has scored 34,104 runs across all formats -- 9,282 of them in 124 Tests, the second highest for his country behind Jacques Kallis for his country. This included 28 hundreds and a best of 311 not out against England at The Oval in 2012, which was also South Africa's first triple-century in Tests.

Amla was also quite successful in white-ball cricket, scoring 8113 runs including 27 hundreds in 181 ODIs, and 1,277 runs in 44 T20Is.

A few months back he embarked on a coaching career, joining MI Cape Town as a batting coach in the ongoing SA20.

Amla quit international cricket after South Africa's campaign ended in the 2019 ODI World Cup. He had bowed out of Test cricket earlier in the same year after a match against Sri Lanka at Gqeberha in February ending a two-decade career that stretched from 200 4o 2019.

On Wednesday he officially informed Surrey that he would not return to help them defend the title they won in 2022. He rejoined Surrey in 2019, having also represented the county as an overseas player in 2013 and 2014. He had earlier had stints with Derbyshire, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire and Essex. He also represented Kings XI Punjab in the IPL and Kwa-Zulu Natal, Dolphins and Cape Cobras in South Africa's domestic competitions.

--IANS

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