Marquez seals sixth MotoGP title
Bangkok: Marc Marquez sealed his sixth MotoGP world title in Thailand on Sunday after storming to victory in a heart-pounding final corner duel with Fabio Quartararo at the Chang International Circuit, but said it had not been an “easy” year as the frontrunner. The win in Buriram gives him an insurmountable lead over closest rival Andrea Dovizioso with four races left in the season. Spain's Marquez finished in 39min 36.223sec just ahead of 20-year-old rookie Frenchman Quartararo with another Spaniard Maverick Vinales third.
Sandeep takes 7/19 in Punjab's win
Vadodara: Pacer Sandeep Sharma wrecked havoc with a career-best figures of 7 for 19 as Punjab beat Haryana by three wickets in a low scoring Elite Group B match of Vijay Hazare. Sharma alongisde Sidharth Kaul (3 wickets) saw Haryana get bundled out for a paltry 49 runs in 16 overs. Opener Nitin Saini top-scored for Haryana with 22 runs while Sumit Kumar chipped in with 13. In reply, Punjab made hard work of a simple task. They lost wickets at regular intervals with pacer Ajit Chahal getting early breakthroughs for Hayana. The duo of Chahal 4/32 and Harshal Patel 2/12 claimed six wickets but the total tuned out to be too low in the end. Opener Abhishek Sharma stood his ground and anchored his team to victory. He was the top scorer and remained unbeaten at 22.
Tn register 6th straight victory
Jaipur: Abhinav Mukund (84) and Baba Aparajith (87) shone as Tamil Nadu thrashed Tripura by 187 runs for its sixth straight win in Group 'C' of the Vijay Hazare. After posting an imposing 315 for 8 in 50 overs riding on impressive knocks by Mukund and Aparajith, Tamil Nadu shot out Tripura for 128 in 34.3 overs with left-arm pacer T Natarajan taking three wickets to pocket four points. Spinners R Sai Kishore and M Ashwin pick up 2 scalps each as Tamil Nadu made short work of Tripura to take its tally to 24 points. Chasing 316 for victory, Tripura never seemed to be in the hunt as it kept losing wickets at regular intervals and slid for 105 for 4 to 128 all out in the 35th over.
Pardeep stars in Patna Pirates' win
Greater Noida: Pardeep Narwal was at his scintillating best for Patna Pirates as his 36-point performance helped the three-time champions thrash semifinal-bound Bengal Warriors 69-41 in their final Pro Kabaddi League match of the season on Sunday. Pardeep Narwal's 36-point display in front of a packed audience at the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex also helped him cross the 300-point mark for the season (302) as Patna equalled their own record of highest points scored in a match. A total of 110 points, another Pro Kabaddi record, was scored in the free-flowing encounter between two sides who were playing with nothing to lose.
Atletico-valladoild play 0-0 draw
Madrid: Atletico Madrid lost ground on La Liga's early pace-setters Real Madrid after they were held to a 0-0 draw away at Real Valladolid on Sunday. Atletico will head into the international break three points behind their city rivals and with work to do after the stalemate means Diego Simeone's side have managed only two wins from their last seven games in all competitions. They could have lost if Valladolid's Sandro Ramirez had not missed a first-half penalty while Alvaro Morata squandered two good chances for the visitors and Angel Correa hit the post late on.
Kroos unavailable for Germany
Madrid: Toni Kroos has withdrawn from the Germany squad and faces a race to be fit for the Clasico later this month after Real Madrid confirmed on Sunday he has suffered a foot injury. Kroos will miss Germany's friendly against Argentina and their Euro 2020 qualifier away to Estonia. Madrid will hope to have the midfielder back for their crunch La Liga game against Barcelona on October 26 at Camp Nou. A club statement read: “After tests carried out today on the player Toni Kroos by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with an injury to the adductor in his left foot. His recovery will continue to be assessed.” Germany confirmed Kroos and FC Cologne's Jonas Hector have pulled out of the squad, with Schalke's Suat Serdar called up in their place.
M’bach go top of bundesliga table
Berlin: Borussia Moenchengladbach moved top of the Bundesliga while Wolfsburg climbed to second place on Sunday after taking advantage of their Bundesliga rivals faltering with respective wins over Augsburg and Union Berlin. Marco Rose's Gladbach are in first place for the first time since the 2011-12 season, a point clear of Wolfsburg in a congested top half of the table, after thumping Augsburg 5-1. Champions Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig are among five teams another point behind. Unbeaten Wolfsburg meanwhile are right behind the new leaders after a tight 1-0 win over newly-promoted Union earned thanks to Wout Weghorst's 69th-minute strike. Agencies