ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2021 SPORTS 14

Poms win by 8 wickets, lead series 2-1 Buttler’s unbeaten 83 helps England beat India in 3rd T20 AHMEDABAD, India, March 17, (AP): Jos and was dismissed for zero for the second successive (1-41). Buttler’s unbeaten 83 upstaged Virat Kohli’s second game on Tuesday. Buttler orchestrated England’s win with two solid successive half century and led England to an Rohit Sharma (15), playing his first game in the half century stands, adding 57 runs with Dawid emphatic eight-wicket victory in the third Twenty20 series after being rested, could have been out for 4 Malan (18) and then featuring in an unbroken 77-run against India on Tuesday. but Jofra Archer missed an easy return catch off his partnership with Jonny Bairstow, who remained Buttler counterpunched Kohli’s unbeaten 77 off first ball. However, Archer took a fine catch at unbeaten on 40 off 28 deliveries. 46 balls with a career-best unbeaten knock off 52 short fine leg after Sharma miscued a pull shot off Buttler used his feet well against spinners and also balls and anchored England to 158-2 with 10 balls to Wood. dominated Indian fast bowlers with his drives, hit- spare. ting five fours and four sixes. Buttler provided a late England leads the series 2-1 with the final two chance in his otherwise dominating knock but on 76 matches scheduled for Thursday and Saturday. CRICKET Kohli couldn’t get hold of a chance at point as India, after being put into bat, rode on Kohli’s late Buttler attempted an uppish reverse sweep against onslaught to reach 156-6 with the Indian captain Chahal. smashing his last 49 runs off 17 balls with five fours Kohli’s late charge against fast bowlers in the last The Board of Control for Cricket in India decided and four sixes. five overs saw India rattling 70 runs with Kohli hit- to organize the remaining three T20s without crowds The return of fit-again fast bowler Mark Wood ting Wood for two successive sixes and followed it in Ahmedabad due to rising coronavirus cases in (3-31) helped England made early inroads with India up with a sliced boundary over point against the fast Gujarat. getting reduced to 24-3 inside the first six overs. bowler. More than half of the 130,000-capacity stadium England’s Jonny Bairstow bats during the third Twenty20 cricket match Lokesh Rahul’s miserable run continued in the Buttler provided England a rollicking start by was filled with spectators in the first two matches. between India and England at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, series as Wood had him clean bowled for a duck. smashing 43 runs in the first six overs against both But the world’s largest cricket stadium will also be India, on March 16. (AP) The opener has scored just one run in three games pace and spin challenge of Yuzvendra Chahal without spectators for the remaining two games. Vlhova, Pinturault hold leads Team NZ defeat Luna Rossa Goggia & Feuz clinch WCup ‘downhill’ titles to retain the America’s Cup LENZERHEIDE, Switzerland, March 17, (AP): Sofia Goggia and Beat Feuz became the World Cup downhill Two UAE cricketer champions without needing to put on Defenders complete its defense of the famous Auld Mug their skis Wednesday, when the final handed 8-yr bans races of the season were canceled after heavy snowfall. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, AUCKLAND, New Zeal- It was a second career title in the March 17, (AP): Two United Arab and, March 17, (AP): Team fastest discipline for Goggia, who has Emirates cricket players were not raced since breaking a bone in her banned for eight years on Tuesday New Zealand has retained right knee seven weeks ago, and a for attempting to corrupt qualifying the America’s Cup, beat- fourth for Feuz. matches for the T20 World Cup. ing Italian challenger Luna The women’s UAE captain Mohammad and men’s con- Naveed and veteran batsman Rossa 7-3 in the 36th match tests in the over- Shaiman Anwar Butt received bans all World Cup that are backdated to Oct 16, 2019, for sailing’s oldest trophy. when they were provisionally sus- The defender came into the sixth standings also pended for breaching the day of racing Wednesday at match tilted away from International Cricket Council’s anti- point, with a 6-3 lead in the best-of-13 the Swiss chal- corruption code. race series. It won the 10th race by 46 lengers on their seconds in a shifty north-easterly home course at breeze to complete its defense of the Lenzerheide CRICKET famous Auld Mug. when organizers Team New Zealand crossed the fin- called off the Goggia ish line just after 5 p.m. local time in day’s program. The ICC said the two players Auckland to a cacophony of horns and The Swiss ski federation cited “con- were found guilty by a tribunal of sirens from more than 1,000 spectator tinuing snowfall and the present “being party to an agreement or boats and the cheers of tens of thou- weather situation.” effort to fix or contrive or otherwise sands of fans who watched from van- Petra Vlhova and Alexis Pinturault influence improperly the result, tage points ashore in COVID-free each hold small leads in their overall progress, conduct or other New Zealand. standings and their nearest challengers aspect(s) of a match or matches” in – Switzerland team-mates Lara Gut- T20 World Cup qualifying. Behrami and Marco Odermatt – are The governing body said they also “failed to disclose … full details SAILING stronger in downhill. of any approaches or invitations Organizers had aimed for an ambi- received to engage in corrupt con- tious program Wednesday with sepa- duct.” Spectators thronged the downtown rate training runs for men and women Naveed also breached two Viaduct Harbor to watch Team New in the morning ahead of races starting counts of the anti-corruption code Zealand return from the racecourse after midday. in the UAE’s T10 League in 2019. and later saw the crew lift the Emirates Team New Zealand crew, (from left), Dan Bernisconi, Peter Burling, Glen Ashby, Blair Tuke and Ray The 33-year-old Naveed has America’s Cup, the 170-year-old sil- Davies with the America’s Cup after defeating Italy’s Luna Rossa in race ten of the America’s Cup on Auckland’s taken 37 wickets in 31 T20s at an ver trophy which has long attracted the Waitemata Harbour, on March 17. (AP) SKIING average of 19.70. Shaiman, 42, world’s best sailors. has a batting average of 33 in “We’ve had messages from every- of shifts and pitfalls to win the match with a flat and aerodynamic hull and the wind. T20s. one from the Prime Minister to high at its first opportunity. smaller foils which create less drag. That changed in the seventh race The mandatory practice runs school kids,” helmsman Peter Burling Disadvantaged at the start by star- Luna Rossa had taken a different when Team New Zealand pulled off a required under World Cup safety rules said. “We’re just blown away by being had not been possible Tuesday because winner of each race is awarded 100 board entry, it sailed flawlessly in the approach, going for larger foils for pass for the first time in the series. points. able to achieve what we have as a pre-start to win the right side of the more stability and maneuverability. Luna Rossa had been expert in protect- of snowfall and strong winds on the group and win another America’s Silvano Beltrametti slope. The 2018 Olympic champion from course which was favored early as the Those contrasting design approach- ing its leads but in the seventh race it Italy won four straight downhills – a Cup.” wind tipped 15 degrees to the right. es were evident in the two races on gave Team New Zealand separation Men’s race director Markus The victory was New Zealand’s Waldner said the program was “only World Cup feat matched only by After twice crossing in front of each of the first three days of the and the defender, sailing free, was able American great Lindsey Vonn in the last fourth in an America’s Cup match Luna Rossa, the Kiwis headed to the match, when the teams traded wins to to bring its speed edge to bear. doable with really nice weather. We after triumphs in 1995, 2000 and 2017, knew that yesterday but anyway we 25 years – then crashed when skiing into left and rounded the first mark 7 sec- 3-3. The eighth race is the one for which the valley after a race was canceled in and its second successful defense. The onds ahead. Team New Zealand head- Observers began to doubt New this match will be long remembered. tried.” Kiwis had a 5-0 win over Luna Rossa Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. ed back to the left at the top of the first Zealand’s speed advantage but speed Again, it began close with Luna Rossa The finals week has no reserve on the same waters 20 years ago. Italy days and International Ski Federation Goggia also won the crystal globe is yet to win the America’s Cup. run but the race closed up in lighter on its own isn’t decisive. On the short in front and Team New Zealand trying rules do not allow races to be trophy in downhill in 2018. Luna Rossa was a gallant challenger wind at the bottom of the course. and narrow courses of this America’s to pass. The defender, quick down- rescheduled. Racing is set to begin Feuz now has four straight downhill and chivalrous runner-up. After con- Halfway through the six-leg race Cup, the races were being won by the wind, looked likely to roll past Luna Thursday with the men’s and wom- titles to match Didier Cuche, the previ- gratulating Team New Zealand, New Zealand was 27 seconds ahead. boat that won the start. Like a slow Rossa on the fourth leg. Instead, it en’s super-G. ous Swiss star in men’s downhill. helmsman Francesco Bruni said Luna Rounding the last mark it led by 49 person on an escalator, the leading boat gybed in Luna Rossa’s wind shadow, Waldner said he was confident for Cuche won four globes in five seasons Rossa had answered its doubters. seconds and, with no sign of tension could stick out its elbows and prevent lost speed and fell off its foils. Thursday’s races, though clearing the between 2006 and 2011. “I think we proved to the world that on the New Zealand boat, the race was the boat behind from overtaking. Luna Rossa sailed to a lead of more race surface of fresh snow was “a lot Franz Klammer of Austria topped we can do it,” he said. “It’s been hard all but over. That also was due in part to the wind than 4 minutes but, after trying to tack of work on the race track.” the downhill standings a record five luck the last couple of days but definitely In retrospect, the early reports that effects of the massive sails. When rac- in a dying breeze, also came off the Goggia was spared having to race times - four straight in the mid-1970s we’ve done a fantastic job as a team.” Team New Zealand had the faster boat ing in close proximity, the leading boat foils. Team New Zealand rose up, for the first time since her injury on and a fifth in 1983. With its nation on tenterhooks, seem to have been borne out. casts a huge wind shadow over the regained speed and sailed past, from a Jan 31 to protect her downhill stand- Feuz won two downhills this sea- Team New Zealand sailed a faultless The New Zealanders had stressed trailing boat: helsman Peter Burling four-minute deficit to a four-minute ings lead. She led defending champi- son, both on the toughest course at race Wednesday on a racecourse full speed in the design process, coming up described it as taking a chunk out of lead. on Corinne Suter by 70 points. The Kitzbühel, Austria, in January.