7 Aces stay in contention for s/f
Ahmedabad: Olympic Gold medallist Carolina Marin and Asian junior champion Lakshya Sen powered Pune 7 Aces to a 5-0 win over struggling Delhi Dashers in the Premier Badminton League here on Sunday. 2012 Olympic Silver medallist Mathias Boe also made a comeback and gave his team a crucial win in men's doubles alongside Chirag Shetty in what was a dominant performance by the Aces. Pune moved up to the third position with 17 points from six matches and five trumps wins. However, with the fourth-placed Awadhe Warriors and the fifth-placed Bengaluru Raptors having played two ties less than Pune, the Aces' fate depends on the outcome of the Warriors and the Raptors matches.
Kiprono wins Vadodara marathon
Vadodara: Wesley Kiprono of Kenya won the eighth Vadodara International Marathon (VIM) here on Sunday. While Kiprono finished the race in 2 hours, 21 minutes and 17 seconds, Yibgeta Mulugeta of Ethiopia stood second with the time of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 35 seconds. Another runner from Ethiopia, Kidane Mowgetatek, clocked 2 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a message to Tejal Amin, chairperson of the VIM, said every person should take up at least one physical sport as a daily activity. "Let us all encourage and inspire each other to higher level of physical fitness, which will lead to a Rs fit India'," Modi's message read. The marathon, flagged off by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, saw participation of 60 international athletes.
Warner and Smith make BPL debut
Dhaka: Banned Australian cricketers David Warner and Steve Smith made a low-scoring debut in the Bangladesh Premier League on Sunday, amassing just 30 runs between them as newly-minted skippers in the Twenty20 league. The duo, who are serving international bans for ball tampering, faced off in the BPL opener in Dhaka, with Smith's Comilla Victorians edging Warner's Sylhet Sixers by four wickets. Warner hit off-spinner Mahedi Hasan for two sixes in one over at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium before a mix-up saw him run out for 14 off 13 balls. Smith meanwhile was declared caught from behind for 16 off 17 balls after the Sixers reviewed a not-out decision given by the on-field umpire. Smith had Shahid Afridi to thank for his side's win after the Pakistani batsman struck 39 off 25 balls to elevate Comilla to 130-6 in the penultimate delivery of their innings.
Du Plessis suspended for third Test
Cape Town: South Africa captain Faf du Plessis was on Sunday suspended for one Test because of his team's slow over rate as they beat Pakistan in Cape Town. The ICC announced the punishment in a statement after South Africa won the second Test by nine wickets. Du Plessis and his players were also fined a percentage of their match fees. South Africa picked an all-pace attack for the match. Their four bowlers shared just under 122 overs as they twice bowled Pakistan out. Half an hour was added to play the first three days because of the slow over rate. After the three umpires charged the home team, match referee David Boon, the former Australia batsman, ruled South Africa were one over short of the minimum target and imposed the punishments.
manisha settles for silver in ntn’l
Vijayanagara: Most of the fancied finalists, sans world championships quarterfinalist Manisha Moun, kept their date with destiny to win Gold at the JSW Sports 3rd Elite Women's National Boxing Championships. Only upset in the Championship was the Haryana boxer, failed to show the kind of form she displayed against World Bronze medallist Christina Cruz and Dina Zholaman on the world stage at New Delhi in November and had to settle for a Silver medal when she went down to Meenakumari Devi in 54 kg class.