proteas on top against Bangladesh
Potchefstroom: Bangladesh had their best day in three Test series in South Africa but could not prevent the hosts from moving into a dominant position on the third day of the first Test at Senwes Park on Saturday. Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah hit half-centuries to enable Bangladesh to avoid the follow-on but their total of 320 was still 176 short of South Africa's first innings total of 496 for three declared. In contrast to the first day, Bangladesh dismissed both South African opening batsmen cheaply at the start of the second innings.
Pak pacer tries to immolate self
lahore: Fed up with constant selection rejections, a young cricketer in Pakistan tried to immolate himself during a first-class match at a stadium here, accusing selectors of demanding bribe to give him a chance. Ghulam Haider Abbas, a right-arm fast bowler, barged into the lahore City Cricket Association (lCCA) ground while a match was in progress and tried to pour petrol on himself. Some alert onlookers watching the match of the Quaid-e- Azam Trophy rushed and stopped the budding cricketer and raised an alarm after which some lCCA officials pacified him. "At the end, they finally told me that if I want to play for the lahore team, I should pay them money," the pacer said. Abbas warned that if his plea is not heard by the Pakistan Cricket Board, then he would set himself on fire at the main entrance of the Gaddafi stadium.
Hamilton takes malaysian pole
SEPANG: lewis Hamilton took pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix with another brilliant drive under pressure on Saturday, while title rival Sebastian Vettel's miserable luck continued as he quit early in qualifying after losing power on a straight. Having struggled in all three practice sessions, finishing no higher than fifth, Mercedes driver Hamilton suddenly found the pace he needed to take the 70th pole of his career ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.
Garcia triumphs in Wuhan Open
WUHAN: Unseeded Caroline Garcia of France won her first title of the year on Saturday, beating Ashleigh Barty 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the Wuhan Open Final. The 20th-ranked Garcia, playing her first final of 2017, struck first by breaking Barty's serve in the seventh game and holding the next to take a 5-3 lead. Barty easily held her serve and broke back for 5-5. Neither player could then hold their serve and Barty won the tiebreaker. In the second set, Barty's sliced backhand caused her Australian opponent some problems and she served twice for the set but was unable to close. It was Garcia's turn to win the tiebreaker. Garcia went 3-1 up in the decider and gained another break before taking the title with a stunning serve.
Saina, Sindhu get direct entry into q/f
Bengaluru: The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided that all players ranked in top 50 in the BWF World Rankings will get direct entry into quarter-finals of the upcoming National Championship, which for the first time will be Rs 1 crore prize money event. This will effectively mean that country's top shuttlers like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal will only be seen in action from the last eight stage. Ditto for the likes of Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, B Sai Praneeth, Sameer Verma and Ajay Jayaram among men.