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Sunday, April 9, 2017 FOOTBALL Rajab 12, 1438 AH Alonso supplies GULF TIMES art as Chelsea respond to Spurs SPORT Page 3 VOLLEYBALL FORMULA ONE Al Arabi prevail Hamilton blazes to over Rayyan to pole position win Qatar Cup in Shanghai ‘It is a very big won for us after a disappointing league and GCC Championship’

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain reacts after setting pole position in qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit yesterday.

Al Arabi players pose with volleyball off icials after winning the Qatar Cup title yesterday. AFP QUALIFYING RESULTS Shanghai By Yash Mudgal Doha Qualifying Q3: ewis Hamilton roared to pole 1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:31.678 Al Rayyan’s Victor Caceres position in yesterday’s quali- 2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) 1:31.864 l Arabi completed a treble of and Al Sadd’s Hamza Sahnaji (bottom). fying for the Chinese Grand 3. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1:31.865 domestic titles as they won LPrix as Mercedes look to 4. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) 1:32.140 the Qatar Cup yesterday. avenge a stunning defeat by Ferrari in 5. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 1:33.033 At the Qatar Women’s the Formula One season opener. 6. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1:33.507 ASports Committee Indoor Hall in The Briton, stung by Sebastian 7. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Renault) 1:33.580 Aspire Zone, Al Arabi came on top Vettel in Melbourne two weeks ago, 8. Sergio Perez (MEX/Force India) 1:33.706 against arch-rivals Al Rayyan in the pipped his German rival by two tenths 9. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 1:33.719 two-hour long battle for supremacy, of a second in Shanghai with Mercedes 10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1:34.220 winning 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22 to teammate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s pick their third title of the season. Al Kimi Raikkonen fi lling row two for to- Eliminated in Q2: Arabi had won the Federation Cup and day’s race. Hamilton jumped onto the 11. Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Toro Rosso) Super Cup at the start of the season. pit wall to soak up the adulation of the 12. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas) “It is a very big won for us af- crowd after clocking the fastest lap 13. Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren) ter a disappointing league and GCC of one minute, 31.678 seconds to give 14. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) Championship. We played well today the former world champion his fourth 15. Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA/Sauber) except in the second set where we Chinese pole in fi ve years. were no match for Al Rayyan,” said Al “We knew it was going to be close Eliminated in Q1: Arabi coach Patrick Dufl os. and we had to pull out all the stops,” 16. Stoff el Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) This is Arabi’s 11th victory against Al Rayyan, the runners-up, pose after the final. said Hamilton, forced to play second 17. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) Al Rayyan in the Qatar Cup fi nals and fi ddle to Vettel in the third practice 18. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) fi rst under Dufl os. tle which Al Rayyan won by an identi- No wonder, there was a big shake- ing an upper hand for a brief period session earlier in the day. 19. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) “I am very happy. We needed some- cal score. However, Al Arabi bounced up within the team for the Qatar Cup only to surrender the initiative to their “The Ferraris have looked so fast but 20. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) thing like that and I am sure this win is back to win the third and fourth to as they brought in two profession- rivals. In the end Al Rayyan pocketed I managed to just chip away. It’s excit- going act as a catalyst for this squad in pocket the title. For Arabi, it has been als — America’s outside hitter Taylor the second set at 25-21. In the third, ing for me because we really fi ght with But all eyes will be on the front two the Emir Cup,” the delighted French- a roller-coaster season so far. After Sander and Germany’s star spiker Gy- Al Arabi determined to fi nish off pro- these guys,” added Hamilton, who has rows after an absorbing tussle which man said. the highs of the twin titles, they suf- orgy Grozer. ceedings, took a fi ve point lead at 8-3. won the Shanghai race on four previ- suggested Vettel’s Melbourne was no Al Arabi took the keenly contested fered a loss in form and could only “It is a big victory for us, although Al Rayyan clawed back to narrow ous occasions. “That’s what racing is fl uke and that Ferrari are ready to end fi rst set at 25-21, while the second set fi nish third in the league and a dismal we did not play that well. The second the lead at 12-9. Al Arabi put up an all all about. It really pushes you to raise the stranglehold Mercedes have ex- again turned out to be a see saw bat- fi fth in the GCC Clubs Championship. set was a strange one, somehow noth- round display to increase their lead to the bar each time you go out there.” erted over the sport for the past three ing was going our way. I also played seven points at 23-16. Vettel was left shaking his head in years. bad in the set, but we bounced back in Arabi then took the next two points disbelief. “We will see tomorrow how impor- the subsequent ones to win the title,” to wrap the third at 25-17. Arabi con- “I don’t believe that, it was the per- tant being on front row is,” shrugged said Sander, who was member of the tinued where from they left off in the fect lap,” said the four-time world Vettel, whose only victory in China bronze medal winner US team of the fourth set, taking an early 5-3 lead in champion, who looked unstoppable in came in heavy rain in 2009. “Our car is Rio Olympics. the fi fth. yesterday’s practice run, continuing strong, no matter what.” In the fi rst, the initial proceedings The defending champions had oth- in the rich vein that saw him draw fi rst Ricciardo, whose home race ended saw both teams neck-and- neck un- er thoughts as they came back strong- blood in Australia. prematurely, will start alongside Felipe til Arabi broke free to take a two point ly to tie the score at eight-all. From “Maybe I chickened on the brakes Massa on the third row after the Bra- lead at 9-7. But Al Rayyan fought back that stage the both teams fought hard slightly on the last lap. But I think we zilian clocked the sixth fastest time for to tie the score at 11-all. for each point with the scores tied at can still improve, so let’s see what the Williams. Al Arabi, however, once took the 11-all, 14-all, until Al Arabi broke free race looks like tomorrow. Conditions Behind them, Renault’s Nico upper hand to take a 14-11 lead. to make it 15-13 and extended the lead will be diff erent.” Hulkenberg edged out Sergio Perez’s Thereafter, Dufl os’ side held the grip to three points at 17-14. The signs point to another furious Force India for seventh with Daniil over the rallies and maintained a con- Carlos Schwanke’s side tried to battle between Mercedes and Ferrari Kvyat’s Toro Rosso and Lance Stroll’s sistent two-point lead which they make a fi ght and took a timeout with but with rain forecast for race day, Red Williams rounding out the top 10 plac- carried to the end to win the fi rst set. score reading 20-18 to stop their ri- Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo could fancy his es on the grid. In the second set, Al Rayyan were vals in their tracks. However, Al Arabi chances after qualifying fi fth. Very much in the shop window determined to bounce back and took a were in no mood to allow any room to Teammate Max Verstappen gets an for 2018, Fernando Alonso appeared runaway lead at 8- 3. Al Arabi, how- heir rivals. In the end, Al Arabi won unwanted opportunity to test the the- pleased enough after steering his un- ever, made a splendid recovery to tie 25-22 to win the title for 16th time and ory that overtaking has become harder derperforming McLaren to 13th as the the score at 11-all. From thereon, for- set off wild celebrations among their in the new wider Formula One cars af- former world champion told his team A piece of action from the match. tunes fl uctuated with Al Rayyan hav- supporters. ter only qualifying in 19th. radio: “I pushed like an animal!” Gulf Times 2 Sunday, April 9, 2017 FOOTBALL

LA LIGA SPOTLIGHT Zidane casts Griezmann halts Real doubt on future

AFP boss Carlo Ancelotti was relieved Madrid of his duties at the Bernabeu in 2015 just a year after winning the Champions League and Copa del Madrid’s title charge eal Madrid coach Zin- Rey double. edine Zidane accepted Zidane will be tasked with yesterday his future outfoxing his former mentor 'We know we are a strong team with an incredible mentality' could be out of his hands Ancelotti on Wednesday. And ifR the European champions fail he lamented missing the chance AFP to deliver a major trophy this to take a huge step towards the Madrid season. Zidane’s side lost their title at the start of a huge two- grip on the La Liga title race as week stretch that will end with Antoine Griezmann’s late equal- Barca’s visit to the Bernabeu. ntoine Griezmann’s classy fi n- iser handed Atletico Madrid a 1-1 “It is a draw but we’ve lost two ish fi ve minutes from time draw at the Santiago Bernabeu. points,” said Zidane. “Clearly we dealt Real Madrid’s La Liga title Real lead Barcelona by three deserved all three points today.” chances a huge blow as Atletico points with eight games remain- Pepe’s towering header had MadridA rescued a 1-1 draw at the Santiago ing, but the two face each other put Real in front seven minutes Bernabeu. in a potential title decider at the into the second half. Pepe’s towering header early in the Bernabeu on April 23. “You have But there was further bad news second half looked to have Madrid head- to ask someone else about that, for the European champions as ing fi ve points clear at the top. not me,” said Zidane in reference Pepe then hobbled off with two However, Barcelona now have a third to president Florentino Perez broken ribs that will keep him straight title back in their own hands when asked if he could survive out of the clashes against Bayern after Griezmann rounded Keylor Navas without winning either La Liga and Barca. to slot home at the near post. “We know or the Champions League. Griezmann’s late interven- we are a strong team with an incredible Madrid travel to Bayern Mu- tion ensured some measure of mentality,” Griezmann said. “I could see nich for the fi rst leg of their revenge for Atletico after losing my teammates had confi dence, desire and Champions League quarter-fi nal out to Real on penalties in last the truth is we played a great game.” on Wednesday. “I am the coach year’s Champions League fi nal. Real lead Barcelona by three points and I dedicate myself to coach- The Frenchman kept his head to with eight games left, but the two face ing every day with strength and coolly slot past Keylor Navas for each other at the Bernabeu on April 23. the desire that this shirt and this his 23rd goal of the season, Barca can move top as with victory at Ma- club demands,” added Zidane. “I And Atletico boss Diego Sime- laga late last night. “It is a draw but we’ve can’t speculate about the rest.” one hailed Griezmann’s trans- lost two points. Clearly we deserved all Zidane has an excellent record formation into the complete three points today,” said Madrid boss since taking over at Real in Janu- all-round player. “Words aren’t Zinedine Zidane. “We played very well, ary 2015. The Frenchman led enough to describe a player that but we lacked the second goal that would Madrid to their 11th Champions has so much desire on top of have allowed us to relax.” League last season and has added what he has technically and how Atletico had won their three previous the UEFA Super Cup and Club he fi nishes,” said Simeone. league visits to the Bernabeu and enjoyed World Cup this season. “He is a player who runs, the brighter start as Saul Niguez was However, Perez, who is ex- works hard, plays in and outside pected to win a third consecutive the area and runs in behind. All election to remain as club presi- these things excite me on top of POINTS TABLE dent this summer, has a habit of the talent he had. “When such a (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, sacking coaches despite previ- talented player works so hard it is goals against, points): ous successes. Current Bayern doubly nice to see.” Real Madrid 30 22 6 2 79 31 72 Barcelona 30 21 6 3 88 26 69 Atletico Madrid’s forward Antoine Griezmann (right) scores during the Spanish La Liga match against Real Madrid at the Santiago A Madrid 31 18 8 5 56 24 62 Bernabeu stadium in Madrid yesterday. (AFP) Sevilla 31 18 7 6 56 39 61 Villarreal 31 15 9 7 45 24 54 inches away from opening the scoring and bore down on goal. But Griezmann outrageous overhead kick attempt. Athletic Bilbao 31 15 5 11 40 36 50 inside fi ve minutes when his header from narrowed his own angle by verging left The French international wasn’t to be Real Sociedad 30 15 4 11 43 41 49 Koke’s cross fl ew just wide. onto his favoured foot and his low eff ort denied from an excellent through ball Eibar 30 13 8 9 50 42 47 Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick sepa- was turned behind by Keylor Navas. from Angel Correa with fi ve minutes re- Espanyol 31 12 10 9 43 42 46 rated the sides in a 3-0 Real win earlier Real started the second half with intent maining, however, as he coolly fi red past Celta Vigo 29 12 5 12 45 49 41 this season and the World Player of the as Ronaldo headed just wide before Oblak the advancing Navas at the near post for Alaves 31 10 10 11 29 38 40 Year was fi rst to threaten for the hosts as had to rush from his goal to block Benze- his 23rd goal of the season. Valencia 30 10 6 14 44 53 36 his near post drive was beaten away by Jan ma’s volley from point-blank range. Las Palmas 30 9 8 13 46 51 35 Oblak. Real took control of the game as The European champions fi nally made RESULTS Real Betis 30 8 7 15 32 47 31 the fi rst half wore on and only two stun- the breakthrough seven minutes into the Espanyol 1 (Piatti 56) Alaves 0l Real Madrid 1 Malaga 30 7 9 14 34 47 30 ning stops prevented Zinedine Zidane’s second period when Pepe rose highest in (Pepe 52) Atletico Madrid 1 (Griezmann 85); D La Coruna 31 6 10 15 33 50 28 men from taking a half-time lead. a crowded penalty area from Toni Kroos’s Sevilla 4 (Jovetic 1, Sarabia 9, Correa 32, Ben Leganes 30 6 9 15 25 46 27 Firstly, Oblak tipped over Karim Ben- free-kick to power a header into the far Yedder 88) Deportivo la Coruna 2 (Kakuta Sporting Gijon 30 5 7 18 31 58 22 zema’s eff ort after a neat one-two with corner. However, Atletico responded to 4, 25) Granada 30 4 8 18 26 62 20 Ronaldo had freed the Frenchman inside falling behind and should have been level Playing Today (GMT): Granada v Valencia Osasuna 30 2 8 20 30 69 14 the box. Moments later Ronaldo couldn’t on the hour mark when Yannick Carrasco (1000), Celta Vigo v Eibar (1415), Osasuna Note: believe his eyes when his fi erce goal- played in Fernando Torres clear on goal. v Leganes (1630), Las Palmas v Real Betis 1st-3rd: Automatic Champions League bound eff ort was turned to safety by Ste- The former Spanish international (1845) qualification fan Savic’s incredible headed clearance failed to fi nish, though, as he fi red straight Tomorrow: Real Sociedad v Sporting Gijon 4th: Champions League qualifying round from under his own crossbar. at the onrushing Navas. (1845) 5th & 6th: Europa League qualification Griezmann was nearly gifted the open- Navas has faced a barrage of criticism Played Friday: Villarreal 3 (Ruiz 17, Bakambu 18th-20th: Relegated er just before half-time as he intercepted this season, but he made another smart 47, Adrian Lopez 58) Athletic Bilbao 1 Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane looks on during the match Sergio Ramos’s wayward crossfi eld pass stop to deny Griezmann levelling with an (Laporte 20) against Atletico Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. (Reuters)

BUNDESLIGA Majestic Bayern fl oor Dortmund in Real warm-up

AFP Berlin POINTS TABLE

(played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals obert Lewandowski overtook Pierre- against, points): Emerick Aubameyang in the race to be Bayern Munich 28 21 5 2 71 15 68 the Bundesliga’s top-scorer this season RB Leipzig 28 18 4 6 51 30 58 after netting twice in Bayern Munich’s Hoff enheim 28 13 12 3 51 28 51 4-1R thrashing of Borussia Dortmund yesterday. Borussia Dortmund 28 14 8 6 59 32 50 Runaway league leaders Bayern dominated Freiburg 28 12 5 11 36 47 41 the clash of Germany’s giants and the win leaves Cologne 28 10 10 8 41 34 40 them 10 points clear with six games left as Mu- Hertha Berlin 27 12 4 11 35 34 40 nich edge closer to a fi fth straight league title. Moenchengladbach 28 11 6 11 34 36 39 Lewandowski netted either side of half-time at Eintracht Frankfurt 28 10 8 10 28 30 38 the Allianz Arena to leave him with 26 league Schalke 04 28 10 7 11 37 32 37 goals this season — one more than main rival Werder Bremen 28 10 6 12 44 48 36 Aubameyang who failed to fi nd the net yester- Bayer Leverkusen 28 10 5 13 42 44 35 day. Veteran wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Hamburg 28 9 6 13 28 51 33 Ribery also netted in Bayern’s morale-boosting VfL Wolfsburg 28 8 6 14 27 42 30 win before Wednesday’s crunch Champions Mainz 05 28 8 5 15 36 47 29 League quarter-fi nal, fi rst-leg, tie against Real Augsburg 27 7 8 12 26 43 29 Madrid. Bayern took the lead after just four Ingolstadt 27 7 4 16 28 45 25 minutes when Thiago Alcantara’s deft pass Darmstadt 98 27 4 3 20 17 53 15 found Philipp Lahm on the right for Bayern’s Note: Top three qualify directly for the captain to fi re in a cross and Ribery drilled his Champions League group stage; fourth-placed shot home. side goes into play-off round. The Bavarians doubled their lead on 10 min- Teams ranked fifth and sixth qualify for the utes when Lewandowski launched a free-kick Europa League. from outside the area, but Dortmund’s Ous- Teams finishing 17th & 18th are relegated, but the mane Dembele ducked to allow the ball to fl y Borussia Dortmund’s goalkeeper Roman side in 16th plays a two-legged play-off with the over the wall and hit the net. In a frantic opening Buerki (left) fouls Bayern Munich striker club which finishes third in the second division. half, Dortmund pulled a goal back when Raphael Robert Lewandowski during the Bundesliga Guerreiro unleashed a thunderbolt of a shot on match in Munich yesterday. (AFP) time for Gladbach after Cologne had twice come 20 minutes as it stayed 2-1 at the break. from behind to equalise. Robben extended their lead with a great shot RESULTS off his left foot just after the break. Lewandowski Schalke 4 (Burgstaller 6, 77, Goretzka 23, Caligiuri then added his second, and Bayern’s fourth goal, 49) Wolfsburg 1 (Gomez 79-pen); Cologne 2 (Clem- when he was brought down by Dortmund goal- Despite the numerical disadvantage, Leipzig rect Champions League qualifi cation next sea- Mario Gomez scored his seventh goal in six ens 18, Modeste 58) Borussia Moenchengladbach keeper Roman Burki and converted the resulting claimed the winner through their Scandinavian son and they are now seven points ahead of games with a late consolation penalty for Wolfs- 3 (Vestergaard 13, Traore 55, Stindl 81); Hamburg penalty on 68 minutes. The defeat leaves Dort- combination as Swedish playmaker Emil Fors- third-placed Hoff enheim, who crashed to a 2-1 burg. 2 (Hunt 25, 75) Hoff enheim 1 (Kramaric 35-pen); mund, who host Monaco in the last eight of the berg put in the cross — his 16th assist of the sea- defeat at Hamburg. Aaron Hunt stole the show Mainz are only outside the relegation plac- Freiburg 1 (Petersen 70) Mainz 0; RB Leipzig 1 Champions League on Tuesday, fourth in the son — for Denmark’s Poulsen. for Hamburg — who are unbeaten in their last es on goal diff erence after their 1-0 defeat at (Poulsen 90+3) Bayer Leverkusen 0; Bayern Munich table and 18 points behind Bayern. “We would have been happy with a point, but nine home league games — with both goals as Freiburg, whose striker Nils Petersen scored the 4 (Ribery 4, Lewandowski 10, 68-pen, Robben 49) Earlier, Yussuf Poulsen’s goal deep in added it was very impressive how the team showed the Hoff enheim suff ered only their third defeat this second-half winner off the bench. Borussia Dortmund 1 (Guerreiro 20) time gave 10-man RB Leipzig a 1-0 victory over will to win in added time,” said RB coach Ralph season. The victory lifted Freiburg into the Europa Playing today: Hertha Berlin v Augsburg (1330), Bayer Leverkusen. Second-placed Leipzig had Hasenhuettl. “Now we’re in a great position for Wolfsburg, the 2009 champions, are just one League places in fi fth above Cologne, who lost Ingolstadt v Darmstadt (1530) captain Willi Orban sent off for a second yellow our next game,” he added with RB at home to point above the bottom three after a 4-1 ham- 3-2 at home to local rivals and fellow European Played Friday: Eintracht Frankfurt 2 (Gacinovic card on 88 minutes for a foul on Leverkusen’s fi fth-placed Freiburg next Saturday. mering away to mid-table Schalke, for whom hopefuls Borussia Moenchengladbach. Captain 48, Fabian 73-pen) Werder Bremen 2 (Junuzovic 37, Germany forward Kevin Volland. Leipzig’s victory was a big step towards di- Guido Burgstaller netted twice. Germany striker Lars Stindl scored the winner nine minutes from Bartels 43) Gulf Times Sunday, April 9, 2017 3 FOOTBALL

PREMIER LEAGUE IN BRIEF Pepe Alonso supplies art as suff ers broken ribs Chelsea respond to Spurs Real Madrid face a defensive cri- sis ahead of huge clashes against Bayern Munich and Barcelona Liverpool remain third after Coutinho and Firmino inspired a 2-1 comeback win at Stoke City after Pepe suff ered a double rib fracture in yesterday’s 1-1 draw AFP with Atletico Madrid. Pepe London opened the scoring with a tow- ering header seven minutes into the second half but then had to arcos Alonso netted a picture-perfect be replaced after clashing with free-kick as Chelsea triumphed 3-1 teammate Toni Kroos. at Bournemouth yesterday to restore “He has been diagnosed with their seven-point advantage at the top a fracture in the seventh and Mof the Premier League. Tottenham Hotspur had cut eighth left ribs,” Madrid said Chelsea’s lead to four points by crushing Watford in a statement. The Portu- 4-0, but Antonio Conte’s men responded to take guese defender is expected to another step towards the title. be sidelined for up to a month. Liverpool remain third after Brazilian substi- Madrid are already set to miss tutes Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino in- central defender Raphael Varane spired a 2-1 comeback win at Stoke City, while for the rest of the month due to a fourth-place Manchester City beat Hull City 3-1. hamstring injury. Chelsea went 2-0 up inside the fi rst 20 minutes at The European champions face Bournemouth, Diego Costa’s mishit shot balloon- Bayern in the fi rst leg of their ing in off Adam Smith for an own goal before Eden Champions League quarter- Hazard added a second. fi nal on Wednesday. Bayern then Freed by N’Golo Kante’s pass, the Belgian travel to the Spanish capital for sprinted in on goal, rounded goalkeeper Artur the second leg on April 18 before Boruc and slipped in his 14th goal of the campaign. Real host Barca in a potential La Benik Afobe volleyed against the post for Bourne- Liga title decider on April 23. mouth before Josh King reduced the arrears in the 42nd minute with an eff ort that fi zzed past Thibaut KANE IS SPURS’ MESSI, Courtois via a defl ection off David Luiz. SAYS POCHETTINO But Alonso settled the visitors’ nerves with 22 Tottenham Hotspur manager minutes to go, the Spanish wing-back arcing a Mauricio Pochettino has hailed sumptuous free-kick over the wall and into the striker Harry Kane as his club’s top-right corner, leaving Boruc rooted to the spot. answer to Barcelona superstar Earlier, South Korean forward Son Heung-Min Lionel Messi. Kane, Spurs’ top scored twice as Tottenham overpowered Watford scorer this season with 19 goals, at a sun-soaked White Hart Lane, with Dele Alli was named on the bench for and Eric Dier also on target. “The message for us his side’s home game against is to keep pushing, winning games,” said Spurs Watford yesterday after miss- manager Mauricio Pochettino, who also welcomed ing three games with an ankle back top scorer Harry Kane after an ankle injury. injury. Spurs, second behind “The team deserve full credit because the energy Chelsea in the Premier League and the way they played was fantastic.” table, won all three of the games Alli opened the deadlock with a sublime eff ort Kane missed, but Pochettino in the 33rd minute, arcing a shot into the top-right says that does not refl ect the corner from 25 yards, before his England team- England international’s im- mate Dier battered in Spurs’ second. Son struck ei- portance. “In Barcelona, Messi ther side of half time — a left-foot curler followed was injured for a month, but by an adroit right-foot volley — to seal Spurs’ 11th Barcelona were still winning,” consecutive home win in the league. Pochettino said.. “And then when Messi’s available again, you don’t say, POINTS TABLE ‘Hmm, I don’t know.’ Diff er- ent names, I can’t tell you. But (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals there’s no doubt Harry’s one of against, points): the best players that we have.” Chelsea 31 24 3 4 65 25 75 Tottenham 31 20 8 3 64 22 68 Chelsea’s Marcos Alonso (left) celebrates with Cesar Azpilicueta after scoring against Bournemouth yesterday. (Reuters) TUNISIA SACK COACH Liverpool 32 18 9 5 68 40 63 KASPERCZAK Man City 31 18 7 6 60 35 61 Liverpool sit fi ve points below Spurs, hav- without victory. City manager Pep Guardiola, who as Cheikhou Kouyate’s low drive secured a 1-0 Tunisia, aiming to qualify for Arsenal 29 16 6 7 61 36 54 ing played a game more, after Firmino’s stunning recalled goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, saw his side home win over third-bottom Swansea City, who their fi rst World Cup fi nals Man Utd 29 14 12 3 43 24 54 strike secured victory at Stoke. Jonathan Walters’s take a 31st-minute lead when Ahmed Elmohamady trail Hull by two points. Second-bottom Middles- since 2006, have sacked their Everton 31 14 9 8 53 34 51 header — his seventh league goal against Liverpool turned in Jesus Navas’s cross for an own goal. brough squandered an opportunity to claim a pre- coach Henryk Kasperczak, West Brom 32 12 8 12 39 41 44 — put Stoke ahead shortly before half time. Sergio Aguero made it 2-0 early in the second cious win in a 0-0 draw at home to Burnley. Jordie the country’s football federa- Southampton 30 11 7 12 37 37 40 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp made a dou- half, polishing off Raheem Sterling’s cross after a Clasie struck from Dusan Tadic’s lay-off as ninth- tion announced yesterday. The Watford 31 10 7 14 36 52 37 ble change at the break, sending on Coutinho and sweeping team move, and Fabian Delph lashed in place Southampton won 1-0 at eighth-place West 70-year-old Pole, who guided Leicester 30 10 6 14 37 47 36 Firmino for teenagers Trent Alexander-Arnold the hosts’ third. Andrea Ranocchia replied for Hull, Bromwich Albion. Tunisia to the fi nal of the 1996 Burnley 32 10 6 16 32 44 36 and Ben Woodburn, and it proved a winning move. who remain two points above the bottom three in Africa Cup of Nations, returned Stoke 32 9 9 14 34 47 36 Coutinho, a pre-match doubt due to illness, lev- 17th place. RESULTS for a second spell in charge in West Ham 32 10 6 16 42 57 36 elled in the 70th minute and two minutes later City now have a seven-point cushion in the Bournemouth 1 (King 42) Chelsea 3 (Smith 17-og, Haz- 2015. Tunisia were beaten quar- Bournemouth 32 9 8 15 45 59 35 Georginio Wijnaldum freed Firmino to thump in a fourth and fi nal Champions League qualifying ard 20, Alonso 68); Manchester City 3 (Elmohamady ter-fi nalists at the 2017 edition Crystal Palace 30 9 4 17 39 50 31 glorious, dipping winner from 20 yards. spot, although fi fth-place Arsenal and sixth-place 31-og, Aguero 48, Delph 64) Hull 1 (Ranocchia 85); Mid- in Gabon, and friendly defeats Hull 32 8 6 18 33 64 30 “Second half was really good, but we played a big Manchester United each have two games in hand. dlesbrough 0 Burnley 0; Stoke 1 (Walters 44) Liverpool since to Cameroon and Morocco Swansea 32 8 4 20 37 67 28 gamble on a low battery bringing on Firmino and “It was important for us to win after many days 2 (Coutinho 70, Firmino 72); Tottenham 4 (Alli 33, Dier spelt the end of the road for the Middlesbrough 31 4 12 15 22 37 24 Coutinho,” said Klopp. “No team in the world wins without a win,” said Guardiola, whose side lost 39, Son 44, 55) Watford 0; West Brom 0 Southampton 1 well travelled manager. “The Sunderland 30 5 5 20 24 53 20 only the very, very good games. You need to win 2-1 at Chelsea in mid-week after three successive (Clasie 25); West Ham 1 (Kouyate 44) Swansea 0 decision was made yesterday Note: Top four qualify for Champions League; games like this.” draws. “We could have scored many more goals. It Playing today: Everton v Leicester (1500 GMT), Sun- (Friday),” federation spokesman teams finishing fifth to seventh qualify for Europa Manchester City trail Liverpool by two points, is frustrating not to get a clean sheet, but we de- derland v Manchester United (1330 GMT) Kais Reuez said.A successor will League; bottom three relegated to Championship but have a game in hand, after seeing off Hull at the fended poorly at set-pieces.” Playing tomorrow: Crystal Palace v Arsenal (1900 be named “by the end of the Etihad Stadium to end a run of four league games West Ham United eased their relegation fears GMT) month,” he added.

LIGUE 1 Newcastle stumble at Wednesday, Norwich hit Falcao keeps Monaco on title track seven against Reading London: Newcastle wasted a At Carrow Road, Norwich’s AFP Karl Toko Ekambi pounced on a loose ball chance to seize pole position in Nelson Oliveira opened the Paris just outside the Monaco box only to fi re the race to the Premier League floodgates with a third minute wide, while goalkeeper Danijel Subasic as Sheff ield Wednesday beat penalty and Wes Hoolahan, made a crucial intervention in front of the Championship promotion Russell Martin and Alex Pritch- adamel Falcao marked his fi rst Famara Diedhiou. chasers 2-1, while Norwich ard, who netted twice, were all start in six weeks with the only The goal arrived in the 61st minute, crushed play-off hopefuls Read- on the scoresheet before half- goal of the game as Monaco ce- Nabil Dirar setting up Falcao for a low ing 7-1 yesterday. time. Yann Kermorgant got one mented their position at the top right-foot fi nish from 12 yards for his 17th Rafael Benitez’s side had back for fourth placed Reading, ofR Ligue 1 with a 1-0 win at Angers. of the season in the league and his 25th all been knocked off top spot by but Hoolahan added his second Falcao’s goal came just after the hour told. Angers did not deserve to fi nd them- Brighton’s 2-1 win at QPR on after the interval and Cam- mark and against the run of play, and selves behind but they passed up a glori- Friday and they were unable to eron Jerome made it seven to Monaco were holding on at the end ous chance to level late on when Thomas reclaim first place after a limp complete the visitors’ humilia- against in-form opponents at the Stade Mangani’s free-kick was headed on by display at Hillsborough. Jonjo tion. Huddersfield’s pursuit of Raymond Kopa. The result extended the Nicolas Pepe for Ismael Traore to turn the Shelvey almost gave Newcastle automatic promotion suff ered principality side’s run without defeat in ball against the far post. the lead with an audacious a major blow as they lost 2-0 at the league to 13 matches and moved them Subasic prevented Diedhiou from eff ort on the stroke of half-time, lowly Nottingham Forest. four points clear at the top of the table scoring the follow-up. “There is no team the former Liverpool midfielder Eric Lichaj put Mark War- with a game in hand on Nice, who won 2-1 in the Champions League that plays like striking the crossbar from burton’s side ahead and Jamie at Lille on Friday. that,” added Jardim looking ahead to the inside his own half. Ward sealed the win to leave Defending champions Paris Saint- Dortmund trip. But Tom Lees broke the third placed Huddersfield 10 Germain — who hammered Monaco 4-1 “Against Dortmund the problem will deadlock in the 59th minute points adrift of the top two. in last weekend’s League Cup fi nal — can not be possession, it will be having only as the defender headed home Fifth placed Leeds consolidated cut their lead back down to three points two days to recover before we play in an from a Ross Wallace free-kick their position in the play-off s if they win at home to Guingamp today international competition.” for his first goal since March with a 3-0 win against Preston evening. For Monaco it was the perfect Mario Balotelli scored both goals for 2016. Wednesday striker Steven at Elland Road. Kemar Roofe preparation for their Champions League Nice in their win at Lille as they came Fletcher made amends for two struck first and Pablo Hernan- quarter-fi nal fi rst leg away to Borus- from behind for the fourth game running earlier misses when he struck dez and Souleymane Doukara sia Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday and extended their unbeaten run to nine with a looping header from a also netted. as they stay on course to win their fi rst Monaco’s Radamel Falcao celebrates after scoring against Angers yesterday. (Reuters) games. Lucien Favre’s side are now guar- 68th minute long throw. Fulham remain seventh, two French title since Claude Puel’s 2000 anteed European football next season and Shelvey got one back in the points behind Wednesday, after vintage. a bit more aggressive, so that we could go line-up for the fi rst time since late Febru- Champions League football is a probabil- 88th minute, but it was too late a 3-1 win against Ipswich at Cra- “It is always diffi cult to play away from to war.” ary with the Colombian looking to prove ity with Lyon — who host Lorient later — for a Newcastle escape act. ven Cottage. Derby still have an home in the French league and more so This always looked likely to be an awk- his fi tness before the Dortmund clash. 16 points behind them in fourth. Newcastle remain in second outside chance of making the in Angers. It is not by chance that we ward trip for Monaco against their fellow Teen sensation Kylian Mbappe made way place, two points behind Bright- play-off s after their manager lost 3-0 here last year,” said Monaco French Cup semi-fi nalists, with Angers but Falcao and Monaco off ered little go- RESULTS on with five games remaining, Gary Rowett enjoyed a 2-1 win coach Leonardo Jardim. “We made some a big, strong and physical side who had ing forward in the fi rst half. Angers 0 Monaco 1 (Falcao 61) while sixth placed Wednesday on his return to his old club changes to the team, brought in tougher been unbeaten at home since December. Indeed they were lucky not to be be- Played Friday: Lille 1 (Amadou 14) Nice 2 hold onto the final play-off spot. Birmingham. players, players who are better in the air, Jardim named Falcao in his starting hind at the interval. Cameroon forward (Balotelli 17, 45) Gulf Times 4 Sunday, April 9, 2017 SPORT

PREMIER LEAGUE SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP Celtic’s Rodgers Mourinho’s top four celebrates new deal with Killie win AFP put 10 men behind the ball. Glasgow The champions needed a mo- ment of inspiration and it came bid in jeopardy from Armstrong in the 22nd reshly anointed Scottish minute. Callum McGregor won Premiership champions the ball back after a Celtic attack A failure to convert chances is a factor in United’s inability to close on the top four Celtic got back to win- broke down and rolled the ball to ning ways as they defeat- Armstrong, who let fl y from 25 edF Kilmarnock 3-1 at Parkhead yards with a sizzling low strike AFP Sunderland, United Kingdom Manchester United’s yesterday. Stuart Armstrong that fl ew into the bottom corner. manager Jose Mourinho. (AFP) fi red the Hoops into a half-time Celtic started the second half lead before Jordan Jones equal- in the same dominant manner, ose Mourinho suggested last ised in the second half. but it was Killie who equalised weekend that he had considered Scott Sinclair quickly restored against the run of play in the abandoning a push for the Pre- Celtic’s advantage before James 65th minute. Connor Sammon’s mier League’s top four to focus on Forrest headed in to seal victory. strike was defl ected into the path EuropeanJ competition and failure to beat It ended a run of two consecutive of Jones, whose eff ort took a nick Sunderland today may see that pledge draws at Celtic Park as manager off a Celtic player on its way past become a reality. Brendan Rodgers celebrated sign- goalkeeper Craig Gordon. United’s best hope of qualifying for ing his new four-year contract Kilmarnock were only on level next season’s Champions League increas- on Friday with his side’s 29th terms for six minutes as Sinclair ingly appears to be by winning the Europa win from 32 league games. “I re- fi red Celtic in front again. A Celtic League, with the fi rst leg of their quarter- ally enjoyed watching the team free-kick was headed back across fi nal against Anderlecht in Belgium on today and I thought collectively the six-yard box by Dedryck Boy- Thursday. Mourinho’s team face a con- they were outstanding,” Rodgers ata and Patrick Roberts was alert gested fi xture list — the visit to Sunderland said. “We were playing against a enough to cut the ball back for the will be their third of nine matches during team that sat in, but we showed English winger to tap home from April. patience in the game, we showed close range. The fi rst two ended in disappointing quality and then we got the goals.” Australian international Tom home draws against West Bromwich Albi- Kilmarnock’s interim man- Rogic replaced McGregor and the on and Everton, leaving United four points ager Lee McCulloch had no com- midfi elder had an instant impact adrift of the top four with a game in hand. plaints. “I thought in the fi rst half as he set up Sinclair for a shot that At least, Mourinho has his leading scorer we were aff ected by a fear factor was cleared off the line. Fellow Zlatan Ibrahimovic back. as individuals and as a team,” he substitute Moussa Dembele, back The former Paris Saint-Germain striker said. “Celtic are a very good team after two weeks out with injury, was not at his best against Everton on his and we didn’t deserve to win, but had a hand in Celtic’s third as his return from a three-match domestic ban, maybe on another day we could defl ected shot came back off the but showed the calmness required to con- have stolen a point.” post to Forrest, who headed home vert the 94th-minute penalty that secured Celtic made fi ve changes for from close range. Elsewhere, United a point. Ibrahimovic, with 27 goals the visit of Kilmarnock as Rodg- Partick Thistle sealed their place in all competitions for United this season, ers restored his strongest starting in the top six with a 1-0 win over is a reassuring presence in an attack that is XI following the mid-week draw Motherwell. St Johnstone closed otherwise struggling. with Partick Thistle. The Hoops to within three points of Rangers, Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan looked in the mood as they domi- who visit Aberdeen on today, with and Marcus Rashford have scored 21 goals nated possession, but struggled to a 3-0 win over bottom-of-the- between them this season, but only nine of create clear-cut chances as Killie table Inverness. those have come in the league. Rashford’s last league goal was on September 24, and he has looked desperately short of confi - dence lately. A failure to convert chances is certainly a factor in United’s inability to close on the top four. In the two matches against West a hamstring problem, hit the bar after to safety with eight games remaining. Under-21 goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who Brom and Everton, they managed a total of coming on at half-time against Everton, Despite imminent relegation, Moyes is a target for several Premier League clubs. 36 eff orts on goal, yet scored only once. and is likely to start at Sunderland. Luke has been backed to remain at the helm in Record signing Didier N’Dong, Lam- “Looking to next season, I think it’s a Shaw, who also returned as a substitute on the hope the former Manchester United ine Kone, Wahbi Khazri and Jan Kirchhoff good feeling to know we haven’t lost many Wednesday after a long spell out of favour, manager can lead a successful promotion are also set to leave if the Wearsiders’ 10- matches,” Mourinho said. “It’s good to is set to be on the bench again. campaign next season. The 53-year-old year stay in the top-fl ight comes to an end know we’re 20 matches undefeated in the Sunderland manager David Moyes has concedes that will involve another massive in May. “There will be a change around Premier League. Ten draws in 10 matches is predicted a major summer upheaval as the shake-up in personnel at a club that has of players again. Lots of players came in 10 points; fi ve victories and fi ve defeats in Wearside club prepare for life in the Cham- become accustomed to huge changes in the on loan or free transfers last summer and 10 matches is 15 points. But the points are pionship. The Scot insists the fi ght to re- wake of fi ghting four successive successful there will be a big turn around of play- the reality.” main in the Premier League will go on until relegation battles. ers again,” Moyes said. “We were short of Mourinho is hopeful that Paul Pogba’s survival is mathematically impossible, but Top scorer Jermain Defoe is set to leave players at the start of last season so I’d be return to fi tness will help in that respect. concedes his rock bottom side require a on a free, and Sunderland will part-fi nance surprised if it was much diff erent going Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers celebrated signing his new The France midfi elder, recovered from miracle in order to bridge the 10-point gap their spending by cashing-in on England into the next season.” four-year contract with his side’s 29th win from 32 league games.

Lauda loses money aft er FORMULA ONE betting against own team Shanghai: It is hard to imagine to spend it all tonight,” Wolff Alonso ‘like an animal’ in Shanghai Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda joked. Hamilton’s lap handed being too happy about losing Mercedes their 58th pole in 61 AFP ly nineties. Instead, Honda has been un- money, but there is one wager races and sixth in succession in Shanghai able to deliver an engine capable of com- he must have been delighted to Shanghai. It was also the 75th peting at the front of the grid. lose at the Chinese Grand Prix time the team had qualified Lewis Hamilton secured pole position yesterday. Lauda, a three-times ahead of the rest of the field, ormer world champion Fernando in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix as Formula One champion in the with Mercedes reaching the Alonso credited divine interven- Mercedes look to avenge a surprise defeat 1970s and 80s, bet the German milestone in their 150th race. tion after driving “like an ani- by Ferrari in the season opener in Mel- team’s boss Toto Wolff 10 euros Mercedes have set the bench- mal” in yesterday’s qualifying in bourne two weeks ago. One of the fast- ChinaF amid rumours of a possible switch est drivers in F1, Alonso’s contract with that Mercedes would be beaten mark in Formula One, sweeping to pole by Ferrari’s Sebastian to a hat-trick of drivers and to Mercedes. The Spaniard’s beleaguered McLaren expires at the end of the season Vettel. constructors’ titles over the last McLaren has been beset by reliability is- and he is very much in the shop window When Lewis Hamilton pulled three years. sues but he squeezed the most out of it this year. “We really pushed the maxi- out a sensational lap, the fast- But the Brackley-based outfit with a 13th-place fi nish in qualifying at mum,” he said after narrowly missing out est ever clocked at the Shang- is facing a challenge from a the Shanghai circuit. on the top-10 qualifying shootout in Chi- hai circuit, to edge out Vettel resurgent Ferrari this season. “I’m driving like an animal!” he growled na. “I did the lap fl at-out in some corners, and seize pole for today’s race, Vettel, who won last month’s over the radio to his team early in the qual- not caring too much about the risks over Lauda was happy to honour season-opening race in Aus- ifying session. Just 17th in practice earlier the limit. Now we need to capitalise on this his bet. “Ten euros! He bet that tralia, looked close to securing in the day, Alonso declared his qualifying position and hopefully bring some points.” we would be losing today and I Ferrari their first pole position performance as “one of the best laps I’ve Alonso recently declined to rule out a said, no,” Wolff told reporters as since September 2015 — until done in my life”. switch to Mercedes, who saw Nico Rosberg he pulled out the 10-euro note Hamilton pulled out his late The two-time Formula One champ add- McLaren’s Fernando Alonso drives during the qualifying session in Shanghai. (AFP) sensationally walk away from the sport from his pocket and held it up stunner. ed: “This morning we tried a few new piec- after winning the world championship for for everyone to see. “I made a bet with Toto, 10 es and everything worked as expected, but 2005 and 2006, has expressed frustration ing to cause friction between McLaren and the German carmaker last year. Joining “I think he thought, ‘either I euros on Vettel because he we were 17th and 19th with all the power with not having a car that is up to chal- their suppliers Honda. Mercedes would mean an intriguing reun- win money or I am happy about really looked quick in the car, available, and we faced qualifying thinking lenging the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari. The pairing had hoped to bring back a ion with Hamilton, the British triple world being on pole’. So it was a win- everything was right,” Lauda of fi ghting Sauber for the fi nal places. In He famously yelled “GP2 engine!” down glory period when they reunited in 2015 champion with whom Alonso had a stormy win situation for him. I’m going told TV reporters. the end, 13th is the divine present.” the team radio in disgust at the car’s Hon- after they won eight world championships relationship when they were McLaren Alonso, world champion with Renault in da power unit in Japan last year, threaten- together between the late eighties and ear- teammates in 2007.

BADMINTON Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. (AFP) Lee to face Lin in Malaysia Open fi nal AFP Championship title in August. “Eleven years Lee, but the Malaysian triumphed in their last Kuching, Malaysia on, I’m back in the same stadium where I tri- encounter at the Rio Olympics semifi nals. Lin umphed against Lin,” he told the reporters. is regarded as the greatest badminton player in “The whole world has been waiting for an- history owing to his fi ve World championships alaysia’s Lee Chong Wei and two- other match between us after the (Rio) Olym- and two Olympic gold medals. time Olympic champion Lin Dan pics. I will give it my best, especially playing But the Chinese star has never been able to of China, the two greatest bad- here in my home ground.” win in Malaysia. Lin reached the fi nal three minton stars of this era, yesterday The Malaysia Open began Tuesday in Kuch- times but was defeated by Lee in 2005 and Mstormed into the fi nals of the Malaysia Open ing, the capital of Sarawak state on Borneo 2006 and by Chen Long in 2015. In 2006, Lin for an epic showdown. island. Earlier, Lin, overcame stiff resistance was one point away from the title as he led 20- Lee, the world No.1, infl icted a crushing 21- from South Korea’s Son Wan Ho to triumph 27- 13 in the deciding game, but Lee staged a phe- 12, 21-9 defeat on helpless Hong Kong’s Wong 25, 19-21, 21-16 in 84 minutes. nomenal comeback to win 23-21 in Kuching. Wing Ki in 39 minutes of play in his drive to As the crowd cheered the 33-year-old Ol- On the women’s side, former champions Tai win the tournament for the 12th time. Despite ympic champion’s magical court craft, Lin in Tzu Ying and Carolina Marin set up quite an a bandaged left knee, the 34-year-old Lee return removed his T-shirt to reveal his mus- enthralling fi nal. The World No. 1 Tai will be deployed a combination of drop shots, killer cular torso, delighting spectators. “The crowd aiming to continue her mastery after reigning smashes and accurate baseline hits to win the support has been so warm here,” Lin, who will supreme at the All England Championships semi-fi nals game. play Lee for the 36th time, told reporters. “I am this year. After making a phenomenal start this year really happy to have a player like Lee to com- The Olympic champion Marin, meanwhile, by winning last month’s All England Open, the pete (against). I am sure we will both put on a reached her second Superseries fi nal in as ageing Lee on Monday said he still has plenty good show.” many weeks as she looks to climb her way back of fi repower as he aims for the elusive World Lin has a 24-11 head-to-head advantage over to the top echelons. Gulf Times Sunday, April 9, 2017 5 SPORT

GOLF: MASTERS McIlroy rues cruel, secure the Green Jacket on unlucky ricochet Sunday, and with it the career grand slam, with bookmakers A shockingly unlucky break installing him as a 10/1 fifth cost Rory McIlroy probably favourite going into the final two strokes at the final hole on two rounds. Friday, leaving him five strokes “I know I have to get off to a from the halfway lead at the pretty fast start tomorrow,” he Garcia, Fowler US Masters. said. “A good, solid front nine If there was any justice, and I’ll be right there in the McIlroy would only be three tournament.” strokes off the pace at Au- gusta National after he almost Rose looking forward literally knocked down the pin to faster course at the par-four 18th. His approach shot from 140 Justin Rose said a couple of among leaders in yards looked perfect, but key mistakes kept him from it was almost too perfect, having a run at the lead at the clattering against the pin and US Masters and expected calm ricocheting all the way off the weather and faster greens green, stopping 22 yards away. to play to his strengths this What would most likely have weekend. been a tap-in birdie, or even a The 36-year-old Olympic gold hole-out eagle, instead turned medallist was lurking just four-way gridlock into a bogey, after the North- three strokes behind the lead- ern Irishman chipped to four ers after shooting an even-par feet and then missed the par 72 in gusting winds for a one- ‘I’m excited about the challenges that this weekend is going to bring, and hopefully I’ll putt for a one-over 73. under-par 143 total heading “I thought it was perfect,” he into Saturday’s third round. step up and I’ll be able to be up there on Sunday with a solid chance at winning’ said of his approach shot. “I “The course is going to play hit a really good shot, just a bit incredibly fast tomorrow, AFP unfortunate. which is exactly how you want Augusta “It’s frustrating. It’s tough to play this golf course,” 2013 because you grind all day US Open champion Rose told and you battle hard and then reporters. “We have actu- pain’s Sergio Garcia, winless in 73 something like that happens ally been quite lucky with the major starts, joined Rickie Fowler, at the last… but I’m still in weather, with all the storms Charley Hoff man and Thomas decent position going into the of Monday and Wednesday to Pieters in the biggest 36-hole weekend.” have the course playing some- MastersS leader logjam since 1973 at blus- There are plenty who fancy what firm and fast is going to tery Augusta National on Friday. the world number two to be a lot of fun.” A second day of high winds left the top pack — all seeking a fi rst major win — level on four-under par 140 through two rounds. TENNIS: DAVIS CUP “It was going to be try and hang on and make sure you didn’t play yourself out of the tournament with scoring conditions coming this weekend,” Fowler said. Serbia, France set up A host of big names — including second- ranked Rory McIlroy, reigning Olympic champion Justin Rose and past Masters semi-fi nal clash winners Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth — lurk within fi ve strokes, setting up a mouth-watering weekend showdown in calmer conditions. “I’m excited about the challenges that this weekend is going to bring, and hope- fully I’ll step up to them and I’ll be able to be up there on Sunday with a solid chance at winning,” Garcia said. Not since a storm-struck Masters 44 years ago ended in a Monday fi nish had so many people shared the midway lead. Garcia, who hopes to end his major drought Sunday on what would have been the 60th birthday of the late icon Seve Ballesteros, opened with three bird- ies and played even from there to stake his claim to the top. “These fi rst two rounds are probably the best I’ve ever played at Augusta,” Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic (R) and Viktor Troicki celebrate their victory Garcia said. “I feel like I played great. I after the Davis Cup quarter-final doubles. made a lot of great putts.” America’s eighth-ranked Fowler AFP a great job,” said Troicki. eagled the par-5 second, sinking a bun- Paris France reached their fi fth ker shot, and added four birdies against a semi-fi nal in eight years when lone bogey to fi re the day’s low round of Sergio Garcia of Spain reacts after putting out on the 18th hole during the second round of the 2017 Masters. Nicolas Mahut and Julien Ben- fi ve-under par 67. erbia and France set up neteau defeated Britain’s Jamie Belgium’s Pieters, trying to become the at, which is all you can ask for.” jacket. “I’m in a good spot heading into 72 holes. a Davis Cup semi-fi nal Murray and Dominic Inglot 7-6 fi rst Masters debutante since 1979 to win American William McGirt stood two the weekend. I’m playing well,” Mick- “If I’m healthy enough to swing hard showdown yesterday (9/7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5. the green jacket, eagled the par-5 13th adrift in fi fth on 142 with Spain’s Jon elson said. “And I’m very optimistic I’m at it, I can play this course well,” Couples while 32-time winners “We had a great weekend, and opened with his lone bogey, shot 68. Rahm, England’s Rose and Americans going to make a good run.” said. “I have to play incredibly well. If I do UnitedS States and Italy, who it gave me goosebumps,” said “People talk about Augusta so much. Fred Couples and Ryan Moore on 143. Northern Irishman McIlroy, a four- that, I think I have a shot.” stunned defending champions France captain Yannick Noah. It is special but it’s also just another “Gusts bounced all over the place,” time major champion trying to complete Rahm, 22, won at Torrey Pines to reach Argentina in the fi rst round, In Brisbane, Steve Johnson course,” Pieters said. “You have to play McGirt said. “There were a couple times a career grand slam by winning the Mas- Augusta and could become the fi rst Mas- stayed alive with marathon wins. and Jack Sock kept American the wind gusts and be careful where you when it literally fl ipped 180 degrees.” ters, close with a bogey to shoot 73 Friday. ters debutante winner since 1979. In Belgrade, Serbia’s Viktor hopes alive with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, hit it.” “Disappointed to fi nish like that, but “First timers don’t usually have a great Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic de- 2-6, 6-3 win over Australia’s Hoff man, who opened with a 65 to MCILROY ‘RIGHT IN THIS’ I’m still within fi ve of the lead with bet- history at Torrey Pines either and I was feated Pablo Carreno-Busta and John Peers and Sam Groth. claim the biggest 18-hole Masters edge Americans Mickelson and Spieth and ter conditions on the way,” McIlroy said. able to win that,” Rahm said. Marc Lopez 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, The win sets up an intrigu- since 1955, made fi ve bogeys in six holes Australia’s Scott were on level par 144. “I still feel like I’m right in this tourna- In all, 53 players made the cut at 150, 4-6, 6-2 to seal victory over ing fi nal day, with Nick Kyrgios but the American birdied 13 and parred in Five-time major champion Phil Mick- ment.” the ousted including England’s Danny Spain while, in Rouen, France taking on Sock in the fi rst of the from there to cling to a share of fi rst. elson would become the oldest winner in Couples, the 1992 Masters winner, Willett, the fi rst defending champion to also took an unassailable 3-0 reverse singles. “I made a few errors,” Hoff man said. Masters history two months before his could become the oldest major winner in miss the Masters weekend since Cana- lead against Great Britain. “All in all it’s not that bad. I like where I’m 47th birthday by taking his fourth green history at age 57 if his balky back can last da’s Mike Weir in 2004. France, the nine-time champi- KEY QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS ons, will host 2010 winners Serbia FROM YESTERDAY in the semi-fi nals in September. BOTTOMLINE However, the identity of the Belgium 2 Italy 1 other semi-fi nalists will not Andreas Seppi/Simone Bolelli be known until today after the (ITA) bt Ruben Bemelmans/Joris United States pulled back to 2-1 De Loore (BEL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, down against Australia in Bris- 7-6 (8/6) bane while Italy battled to trail Belgium 2-1 at Charleroi. Australia 2 USA 1 Mickelson confi dent while Novak Djokovic and Troicki Steve Johnson/Jack Sock (USA) had won Friday’s singles to give bt Sam Groth/John Peers (AUS) Serbia a 2-0 lead over Spain be- 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 fore the hosts took an unassail- able advantage yesterday against France 3 Great Britain 0 Couples turns back the clock the fi ve-time champions who Nicolas Mahut/Julien Benneteau AFP of course, but it still plays where were missing 14-time Grand (FRA) bt Jamie Murray/Dominic Augusta, United States I can reach a lot of these greens Slam winner Rafael Nadal. Inglot (GBR) 7-6 (9/7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 with shorter clubs to make the Victory gave 40-year-old ball stop around the hole. I’ve playing-captain Zimonjic, who Serbia 3 Spain 0 ormer Masters cham- been hitting the ball very solid.” has not missed a Davis Cup tie Nenad Zimonjic/Viktor Troicki pions Fred Couples and for a decade, a 30th win in the (SRB) bt Marc Lopez/Pablo Phil Mickelson are con- ‘GOAL IS TO KEEP FIGHTING’ tournament. “He had pressure, Carreno-Busta (ESP) 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), Ftenders for historic age- Couples missed last year and he put himself into play and did 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 mark triumphs this weekend at struggled in 2015 due to back Augusta National if they turn problems, but before that had back the clock to their green been in the top 10 fi ve years in a jacket prime. row after 36 holes, leading in 2012. Bopanna, Balaji seal Davis Cup tie for Couples, the 1992 Masters But his best fi nish in any of India with doubles win winner, fi red a two-under par 70 those outings was sixth in 2010. Friday in a windy second round “I’m a competitor, so I like to Rohan Bopanna and Sriram tie on Friday. of the 81st Masters to share sixth believe in myself. I’ve had a lot of Balaji defeated Farrukh Ramkumar had defeated on one-under par 143 after 36 good fi nishes here and my goal is Dustov and Sanjar Fayziev in Temur Ismailov 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, holes, three shots off the mid- to keep fi ghting with these guys,” straight sets in the doubles 7-5 in the opening match of way lead. Couples said. “I’m not thinking match to hand India an unas- the tie before Prajnesh en- “I’m not going to be thinking winning this tournament, but sailable 3-0 lead in their Davis joyed an excellent Davis Cup about winning the tournament Former Masters champions Phil Mickelson (left) and Fred Couples. I’m thinking continuing to play Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie debut with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 until the back nine on Sunday, well and see what happens.” against Uzbekistan here yes- win over Fayziev. but I’ve got a long way to go be- champion vying for a fourth Au- his 47th birthday, would break tions I’ll get that thing dialled Couples birdied three of the terday. The Indians scripted an “Ramkumar and Prajnesh had fore I worry about that,” Couples gusta win, struggled late to shoot the Masters age record set by 18- in because I’ve been putting re- fi rst fi ve holes Friday and an- easy 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win in around won the singles to hand us said. “Someone’s going to win 73 and was another stroke adrift time major winner Jack Nick- ally well. And if I can have a good swered bogeys at 16 and 17 with 80 minutes. the 2-0 lead. That took a lot Sunday and if I play well enough sharing 10th on 144 but confi dent laus, who won the 1986 Masters putting weekend I’m going to a closing birdie. The Indians have now ad- of the pressure away from maybe I’ll have a shot.” he could claim his fi rst victory at age 46 for his sixth green jack- have a good chance.” “I fought hard. It was a hard, vanced to the World Group us. We now have to maintain Couples, 57, could become since winning the British Open. et and last major crown. Rahm was born two years and diffi cult day,” Mickelson said. Play-off stage. our form and enter the World the oldest major winner in his- “I’m very optimistic I’m going “I struggled a little bit with seven months after Couples “I look at every hole as a tough Ramkumar Ramanathan and Group,” Balaji said after yester- tory, eclipsing the age mark set to make a good run,” Mickelson the putter,” said Mickelson, who captured his green jacket. par. When we have some good Prajnesh Gunneswaran had day’s match. by compatriot Julius Boros, who said. “I’m in a good spot head- complained wind blew putts “I feel like my age is still birdie opportunities, I try to take won their respective singles Today’s reverse singles will was 48 when he won the 1968 ing into the weekend, just feel I off course in the fi rst two days OK because I can drive it far advantage. I had some easy pars matches to hand India a 2-0 have no bearing on the result PGA Championship. should be a few more ahead.” before moving out late Friday. enough,” Couples said. “I’m not that I made bogeys on. And you lead on the opening day of the of the tie. Mickelson, a fi ve-time major Mickelson, two months shy of “Hopefully with calm condi- long like I used to be on this kind just can’t do that.” Gulf Times 6 Sunday, April 9, 2017 SPORT

SPOTLIGHT UPSET Depleted Hawks shock Cavaliers Sun takes sting AFP spot in the Eastern Conference Los Angeles standings. James also had eight rebounds and seven assists for the Cavs, tlanta’s Tim Hardaway whose lead over the Boston Celtics Jr. scored 22 points as for fi rst place in the East is now at the Hawks stunned the one game with three to play. NBA champion Cleve- Kyrie Irving added 18 points out of Westbrook’s landA Cavaliers 114-100 on Friday and Kevin Love contributed 15 despite sitting their starters. points and 15 rebounds, but the The Hawks didn’t use any of Cavs made just nine of 36 three- their fi ve starters against LeBron point attempts, and trailed by 20 James’s Cavaliers who had their points with just under two min- four game win streak snapped. utes remaining. James fi nished with 27 points Irving left the game in the third but it wasn’t enough for the quarter and went to the locker quest for record Cavaliers as Mike Dunleavy came room because of soreness in his off the Atlanta bench to score 20 surgically repaired left knee. points and the depleted Hawks He returned in the fourth It marked the second game Russell Westbrook failed to break the record as he had a half dozen players in dou- quarter, but took just one shot in ble fi gures. the fi nal period. remains stuck on 41 triple-doubles with Oscar Robertson who did it in 1961-62 “Obviously a bad perform- “I did everything possible just ance,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to recover and just come in to- AFP said. “There’s really no other ex- day and felt good. And then af- Los Angeles planation.” ter halftime just coming in and Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore, sitting down for 15 minutes and Dwight Howard and Dennis trying to get back going, started klahoma City Thunder star Schroder all sat out for rest af- feeling it. But I’ll be all right,” Russell Westbrook is still chas- ter a 123-116 win over the Boston said Irving. ing history after fi nishing just Celtics on Thursday. The two teams play again on shy on Friday of his 42nd triple Thabo Sefolosha (right groin Sunday in Atlanta. doubleO of the NBA season. strain) has been out and Atlanta “It was a great feeling but we Westbrook missed his fi rst 12 shots and didn’t want to play Millsap or have to do it again on Sunday,” fi nished with eight assists to go with 23 Bazemore on consecutive nights Hardaway said. “We’re not going points and 12 rebounds in a lopsided 120- after recent injury woes. to be happy about this. We know 99 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The win vaulted Atlanta past we have to see them on Sunday. It marked the second straight game the Milwaukee Bucks for fi fth They’re going to come after us.” Westbrook failed to break the record as he remains stuck on 41 triple-doubles with Oscar Robertson who did it with the NHL Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62. He can fi nd solace in Friday’s assist to- tal as his sixth helper of the game ensured he would average a triple-double for the Bolts beat Canadiens season, joining Hall of Famer Robertson as the only players to do so. Westbrook’s chance at history was to stay in playoff hunt hampered by a miserable fi rst half. He had fi ve turnovers in the fi rst quarter, Agencies ing at 11:42 of the fi rst period. including three in the fi rst three minutes. Montreal Kucherov skated down the ice When it came down to crunch time before cutting into the slot. late in the fourth quarter his teammates His shot hit the crossbar and either missed shots or the Suns inten- anni Gourde scored bounced out to Gourde in the tionally fouled, sending a message that twice to help the Tampa right circle, who quickly wired it the record wasn’t going to be broken in Bay Lightning stay alive into an open net. their building. in the playoff race with Kucherov put Tampa Bay up Westbrook made just six-of-25 shots aY 4-2 victory over the Montreal by two with 10 seconds remain- from the fi eld, his worst shooting night Canadiens on Friday at the Bell ing in the period. of the season. Centre. Ondrej Palat sent a Hail Mary After the game, Westbrook went im- Nikita Kucherov and Alex Kil- pass through from inside his own mediately to the Suns’ practice court lorn also scored for Tampa Bay end to Kucherov at the Cana- where he worked out instead of meeting (41-30-10), which sits one point diens’ blue line, who then sniped with reporters. behind the Toronto Maple Leafs his 40th goal of the season from Westbrook came within one rebound for the second wild-card spot the bottom of the left circle. of breaking the record Wednesday night and fi nal postseason berth in the King notched his fi rst goal in in Memphis in a 103-100 win in which he Eastern Conference. a Canadiens uniform to cut the contributed 45 points and 10 assists. Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder sits on the court after being fouled during the second half of the game. The Lightning have one game lead in half at 9:59 of the second. His triple-double quest began on remaining and the Maple Leafs Lehkonen took advantage of a opening week, when he posted 51 points, had a half dozen players in double fi gures. Love contributed 15 points and 15 re- points and the host Toronto Raptors held play twice. slow change by the Lightning for 13 rebounds and 10 assists against the “Obviously a bad performance,” Cavs bounds, but the Cavs made just nine of off the Miami Heat 96-94 after erasing a Dwight King and Artturi Le- a stretch pass out to King, who Suns on October 28. coach Tyronn Lue said. “There’s really no 36 three-point attempts, and trailed by double-digit defi cit to tie the game late. hkonen scored for Montreal (46- was coming on the ice, and the Until Friday, the Suns had put up lit- other explanation.” 20 points with just under two minutes The Heat, who are out of a playoff spot 26-9), which closes out its regu- winger skated in alone to beat tle resistance as Westbrook averaged Paul Millsap, Kent Bazemore, Dwight remaining. in the Eastern Conference, dropped one lar season on Saturday in Detroit. Vasilevskiy fi ve-hole. 41 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists in Howard and Dennis Schroder all sat out Irving left the game in the third quar- game behind both the Chicago Bulls and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 Killorn restored the two-goal three previous contests against Phoe- for rest after a 123-116 win over the Bos- ter and went to the locker room because the Indiana Pacers, who occupy the fi nal shots for Tampa Bay. lead less than fi ve minutes later nix this season. ton Celtics on Thursday. of soreness in his surgically repaired left two playoff berths. Carey Price made 18 saves for when he outskated Brandon Elsewhere, Atlanta’s Tim Hardaway Thabo Sefolosha (right groin strain) knee. Montreal. Davidson before lifting the puck scored 22 points as the Hawks stunned has been out and Atlanta didn’t want to He returned in the fourth quarter, but RESULTS Tampa Bay’s desperation was upstairs. the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers play Millsap or Bazemore on consecutive took just one shot in the fi nal period. (home team in CAPS) on full display early. Lehkonen brought Montreal 114-100 despite sitting their starters. nights after recent injury woes. “Just after halftime my left knee just LA LAKERS ...... 98 Sacramento...... 94 The Lightning jumped out to within one at 4:36 of the third The Hawks didn’t use any of their fi ve The win vaulted Atlanta past the Mil- started kind of fl aring up,” Irving said. PHOENIX ...... 120 Oklahoma City ...99 a 6-0 shot advantage before the with a shorthanded strike from starters against LeBron James’s Cava- waukee Bucks for fi fth spot in the Eastern “Yesterday just was a terrible day for me DENVER ...... 122 New Orleans .....106 game was four minutes old. the goal line that went top shelf liers who had their four game win streak Conference standings. and my knee. But I did everything possi- UTAH ...... 120 Minnesota ...... 113 But Price was ready, coming up into the net. snapped. James also had eight rebounds and seven ble just to recover and just come in today San Antonio ...... 102 DALLAS ...... 89 with several big stops, including But Gourde once again put James fi nished with 27 points but it assists for the Cavs, whose lead over the and felt good. I’ll be all right.” MEMPHIS ...... 101 NY Knicks ...... 88 back-to-back saves on Kucherov Tampa Bay ahead by two just 21 wasn’t enough for the Cavaliers as Mike Boston Celtics for fi rst place in the East is The two teams play again on Sunday in Detroit ...... 114 HOUSTON ...... 109 and Michael Bournival. seconds later when he was un- Dunleavy came off the Atlanta bench to now at one game with three to play. Atlanta. Atlanta ...... 114 CLEVELAND ..... 100 A fortunate bounce set the table covered in the left circle to con- score 20 points and the depleted Hawks Kyrie Irving added 18 points and Kevin Meanwhile, DeMar DeRozan scored 38 TORONTO ...... 96 Miami ...... 94 for the Lightning to open the scor- vert a Cory Conacher feed.

MLB US top Canada in OT is a pretty good feeling.” for women’s world Canada had taken a 1-0 lead championship gold on Meghan Acosta’s goal a minute into the game, but Hilary Knight’s overtime goal Kacey Bellamy tied it a little gave the United States a 3-2 more than three minutes later. Cubs fall to Brewers in 11 innings win over Canada in the final of Bellamy scored again 42 MCT most in a game since May 24. the women’s world ice hockey seconds into the third period Milwaukee Nos. 3-5 starters Nelson, An- championship at USA Hockey to put the United States ahead derson and Wily Peralta have Arena 1 in Plymouth, Michigan before Canada tied it 2-2 on combined to post a 1.06 ERA over on Friday. Brianne Jenner’s power-play espite their rebuilding the last three games while limiting It was the fourth successive goal with just over 10 minutes status, the Milwau- opposing hitters to a .175 average. world title for the U.S. women’s left. kee Brewers played the The Brewers tied the game in team, who had threatened to In the bronze medal match, Chicago Cubs tough the bottom of the sixth. Shaw boycott the event over a wage Finland defeated Germany downD the stretch in 2016. started the rally with a two-out dispute with USA Hockey that 8-0. Getting strong pitching like single, then advanced to second was settled just days before they did Friday night from Jim- on a wild pitch by starter Brett the start of the tournament. Ducks’ Ritchie banned my Nelson will go a long way Anderson. The gold medal-winning goal two games for punch toward helping them hang with That brought up Aguilar, who came after Knight blocked to head the defending World Series singled in Shaw to make it 1-1. a shot in the defensive zone champions in 2017. It was Aguilar’s second hit of and trailed Kendall Coyne up The National Hockey League The right-hander was excellent the game and left him 7 for 10 the ice. slapped Anaheim Ducks in his six-inning outing, limiting with two RBI to that point. He Coyne then made a drop pass forward Nick Ritchie with a Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo & Co. also showed he’s more than just to Knight, who put the puck two-game suspension after to a lone run in a game the Brewers a hitter in the seventh, when he past Canada goalie Shannon he sucker-punched Chicago eventually won, 2-1, in 11 innings turned a nifty 3-6-3 double play Szabados. Blackhawks defenceman at Miller Park. to close out the frame for re- “I was just trying to make a D- Michal Rozsival in a game on Nelson allowed four hits and liever Jacob Barnes. Aguilar also zone play, found Kendall, and Thursday night. The 21-year- two walks while striking out eight, turned a 3-6-3 double play in she dished it back to me and old Canadian will miss the giving the Brewers a third con- the 11th, stabbing a hot shot by it found the net,” Knight told Ducks’ final regular season secutive strong start after Junior Jason Heyward to start it. NHL Network. game on Sunday against the Guerra was injured early on open- Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (9) and center fielder Jason Heyward (22) collide trying to It was the first women’s world Los Angeles Kings and the ing day and Zach Davies struggled catch ball hit for a double by Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Hernan Perez (not pictured). RESULTS ice hockey title claimed on first game of the playoff s. through his season debut. Giants ...... 6 Padres ...... 7 home ice by the United States, Ritchie was handed a match Reliever Jared Hughes in- gomery. Jett Bandy was then hit 10, 2015. They’ve now beaten a solo homer -- this one by Ben Yankees ...... 5 Orioles...... 6 who have battled northern penalty in the third period of a duced double-play grounders in by a pitch, loading the bases for the Cubs in six of the teams’ last Zobrist two pitches into the sec- Marlins ...... 7 Mets ...... 2 neighbours Canada for the 4-0 win over Chicago after he both the 10th and 11th innings to Manny Piña. seven meetings. ond inning that staked the Cubs Blue Jays ...... 8 Rays ...... 10 gold in all 19 world champion- delivered a punch to the head keep the score tied and set the Piña fell behind, 1-2, before It was also Milwaukee’s fi rst to a quick 1-0 lead. Athletics ...... 5 Rangers ...... 10 ship finals. of an unsuspecting Rozsival of stage for Milwaukee’s walk-off . Montgomery bounced a change- walk-off victory since last July Chicago got runners on base Twins ...... 3 White Sox ...... 1 “It’s amazing to do it in front of the Czech Republic. Ryan Braun started the Brew- up that got past catcher Willson 8, when they beat the St. Louis every inning after that, but each Cubs ...... 1 Brewers ...... 2 our fans,” Knight said. “We’re Ritchie was also fined $5,000 ers’ 11th with a single to right, Contreras and to the backstop. Cardinals, 4-3. time Nelson was able to get him- Royals ...... 5 Astros ...... 1 usually up in Canada or in for the blow. In 77 games this and after Travis Shaw fl ied Braun slid into home, giving the Just as was the case with Chase self out of trouble. He struck out Reds ...... 2 Cardinals ...... 0 Europe and get a lot of boos. season Ritchie has 14 goals out, Jesús Aguilar drew a walk Brewers their fi rst walk-off vic- Anderson on Thursday, Nelson’s Contreras with his 93rd pitch, and Indians ...... 3 Diamondbacks 7 So to have the cheers tonight and 28 points. from Cubs reliever Mike Mont- tory against the Cubs since May lone mistake was surrendering his eight total punchouts were his Mariners ...... 1 Angels ...... 5 Gulf Times Sunday, April 9, 2017 7 CRICKET

SPOTLIGHT INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE Jadhav, Negi exploits help RCB beat Pakistan’s Younis DD by 15 runs; Pant’s eff ort in vain Khan to retire

Kedar Jadhav’s fiery half joined hands and they resur- century helped Royal Challeng- rected the RCB innings before ers Bangalore (RCB) beat Delhi Zaheer broke the partnership aft er Windies Tests Daredevils (DD) by 15 runs in when Binny carted one to the an Indian Premier League (IPL) hands of Sam Billings at deep match at the M. Chinnaswamy mid-wicket. ‘I will be retiring... with my head held high. I think this is the right time as every Stadium here yesterday. Jadhav’s knock was laced with The Maharashtra batsman not five fours and as many sixes sportsman has to take this decision in his career. I was planning this for few months’ only blasted a quick-fire 37- and reached his fifty in 26 ball 69, but more importantly deliveries. shared a 66-run partnership for Jadhav also chipped in with 21 the fourth wicket with Stuart runs for the fifth wicket with Binny (16) to help the hosts rookie Vishnu Vinod (9) before post a fighting total of 157/7. Delhi skipper Zaheer Khan put Delhi fumbled in the chase, the brakes on the scoring rate being restricted to 142/9 as with two quick wickets. they lost by 15 runs. Young left- Delhi, too had their story of handed batsman Rishabh Pant, struggle in their innings. Aditya whose father died on Wednes- Tare (18) and Sam Billings (25) day, showed a lot of composure gave them a quickfire 33-run as he waged a lone battle for opening stand until the former Delhi with a cracking 57 off 36 was removed by Tymal Mills. deliveries. Sam Billings (25) was Delhi continued to lose Delhi’s second highest scorer. more wickets as all-rounders RCB, who lost the opening Chris Morris (4) and Carlos match to defending champions Brathwaite (1) found it tough Sunrisers Hyderabad, were under pressure with the under pressure from the begin- required run rate mounting to ning. Delhi pacers — Zaheer more than nine per over. Khan (2/31), Chris Morris (3/21) But 19-year-old Pant put Delhi and Pat Cummins (1/29) — kept in contention as his elegant it tight at the beginning, keep- stroke-making, which fetched ing the runs in check. him three fours and four sixes, Morris accounted for the explo- pressurised RCB. sive Jamaican Chris Gayle (6), But with no support from with the left-handed batsman other end, it was tough for him. mistiming a full toss delivery He fell in the 20th over, from and was caught by Sanju Sam- which 19 runs were required son at mid-wicket. for Delhi. Pawan Negi had his Their problems increased as stumps dismantled, ending the stand-in captain Shane Watson hopes of Delhi. (24) missed the line of a deliv- ery from left-arm spinner Shah- BRIEF SCORES: Royal Chal- baz Nadeem and was stumped lengers Bangalore 157 for 8 by wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant (Jadhav 69, Morris 3-21) beat in the ninth over. Delhi Daredevils 142 for 9 (Pant At 55/3, Jadhav and Binny 57, Negi 2-3) by 15 runs

Maxwell’s fireworks help Punjab beat Pune by six wickets

This file photo shows Pakistan’s batsman Younis Khan playing a shot against Australia past pigeons during the second day of the third cricket Test match at the SCG in Sydney.

AFP in Pakistan’s series-levelling win against Woolmer coached Pakistan from 2004 on the England tour after which Pakistan Karachi India at Bangalore in 2005. to 2007 but died in mysterious circum- briefl y rose to number one in Test rank- He needs only 23 runs to reach 10,000 stances in Jamaica. ings for the fi rst time. Test runs, a milestone he missed out on After lengthy investigations that even Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram eteran Pakistan batsman and after his team’s disastrous tour of Aus- included the possibility of murder, Ja- paid rich tribute to Younis. former captain Younis Khan tralia in January this year, when Pakistan maican police on June 12 announced that “He is still fi t but there is always a time announced on Saturday he will lost all three Tests. Woolmer had died of natural causes. when you have to decide about leaving,” retire from international crick- He has so far scored 34 Test centuries “Those were very sad days for me,” said Wasim. Vet after the upcoming Test series in the in 115 matches — the most by any Paki- Younis recalled. “He has set many records which prove West Indies. stani batsman — and is set to become the his greatness. Whenever he played he The 39 year-old has captained Paki- fi rst Pakistani and 13th batsman in the ‘TOUGH TO REPLACE’ played with his heart and commitment. stan in all three formats, and in 2009 led world to score 10,000 or more. Younis is the second high-profi le player “It will be tough to replace players like them to their only World Twenty20 title India’s Sachin Tendulkar currently to retire this month after his team mate Younis and Misbah, so Pakistan will have in England. tops the charts with 15,921 runs in 200 Misbah-ul-Haq also announced his de- to work hard in Tests without them.” Skipper Glenn Maxwell’s Thereafter, Pune skipper Steve “I will be retiring... with my head held matches. cision to quit on Thursday following Younis said he will remain associated belligerent 20-ball unbeaten Smith immediately brought high,” he told a press conference in Kara- “I was planning this for few months,” months of speculation. with cricket following his retirement. 44 helped Kings XI Punjab back his strike bowler Tahir for chi. “I think this is the right time as every he said of his decision to quit, but added The pair have formed the nucleus of “Even though I will be retired from start their 2017 Indian Premier a second spell and the South sportsman has to take this decision in his that he “always tried to play for my team Pakistan’s batting in the last seven years playing, my services will still be available League (IPL) campaign with a African delivered in his very first career.” and for my country”. One of the worst and helped their team square a crucial for cricket,” he said. six-wicket win over Rising Pune delivery, picking the wicket of Younis hit a hundred in his fi rst Test moments of Younis’ career was when Pa- Test series 2-2 in England last year. The West Indies series which starts Supergiant a Holkar Stadium Patel off his own bowling. Patel’s against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi in 2000, kistan lost their coach Bob Woolmer dur- On Wednesday the two stalwarts were in Jamaica from April 21 followed by here yesterday. 22-ball 24 had a boundary and a which started a glorious career during ing the 2007 World Cup in West Indies, named in Wisden’s best cricketers of the Tests in Barbados and Dominica, end- Maxwell, along with South six as Punjab found themselves which he also scored a double hundred he said. year 2017, following their performances ing on May 14. African David Miller (30 from at a precarious 85/4. 27 balls), raised an unbeaten With Miller and Maxwell at the 79-run fifth wicket stand to crease, Punjab’s hopes for a turn- WEST INDIES VS PAKISTAN, 1ST ODI guide Punjab to safety with six around could never be written balls to spare. off and the duo ensured their Chasing a decent 164, medium side got those two vital points. pacer Ashoke Dinda, guilty While Maxwell belted two for leaking 30 runs in the final boundaries and four massive over against Mumbai Indians, sixes, Miller dispatched the ball mended his ways and provided once to the fence and twice Windies register historic win the early breakthrough for Pune over it. AFP Scoreboard with the wicket of opener Manan Earlier, riding on a disciplined Providence, Guyana Vohra, who smacked him for a bowling eff ort, Kings XI Scoreboard in the first ODI WEST INDIES massive six, four balls earlier. restricted Pune to 163/6 in the between West Indies and Paki- E. Lewis b Hafeez 47 South African veteran Hashim afternoon match of the double- ason Mohammed played stan in Guyana. C. Walton c Riaz b Amir 7 Amla held firm at one end, header. Pune were rescued by the fi nest innings of his K. Powell c Akmal b Riaz 61 scoring almost at a run-a-ball the late order heroics of their brief international career to PAKISTAN S. Hope stpd Ahmed b Khan 24 rate and managing to clear the English import Ben Stokes, pace the West Indies to an A. Shehzad b Nurse 67 J. Mohammed not out 91 fence on three occasions. He who brought up his maiden historicJ four-wicket victory over K. Akmal c Walton b Holder 47 J. Carter c Riaz b Amir 14 along with stumper Wriddhi- half century, 50 off 32 balls, Pakistan in the opening one-day M. Hafeez c Walton b Nurse 88 J. Holder c Azam b Khan 11 man Saha (13) put on 22 runs along with Manoj Tiwary, who international at the National Sta- B. Azam c Joseph b Nurse 13 A. Nurse not out 34 for the second wicket. remained unbeaten on 40 off dium in Guyana on Friday. S. Malik c Holder b Nurse 53 Extras (lb6, w13, nb1) 20 Saha failed to take advantage 23 deliveries. Set a daunting target after the S. Ahmed not out 20 Total (6 wkts, 49 overs) 309 of the life, he got on 5 when he Joined by the in-form Manoj visitors rattled up a formidable I. Wasim not out 6 Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Walton), was dropped by Daniel Chris- Tiwary (40 not out), Stokes 308 for fi ve batting fi rst, Mo- Extras (b3, lb3, w7, nb1) 14 2-91 (Lewis), 3-156 (Powell), tian off Ben Stokes, before a brought up a 61-run fifth wicket hammed’s blistering unbeaten 91 Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 308 4-158 (Hope), 5-228 (Carter), googly from leg-spinner Imran stand, as he completed his off just 58 deliveries, aided by an Fall of wickets: 1-85 (Akmal), 6-259 (Holder) Tahir crashes into his middle maiden IPL half ton with a deaf explosive cameo at the end from 2-149 (Shehzad), 3-177 (Azam), Bowling: M. Amir 9-0-59-2 and off -stump. touch to long on off Stonis. Ashley Nurse (34 off 15 balls), saw 4-266 (Hafeez), 5-284 (Malik) (4w), H. Ali 5-0-43-0, M. Hafeez Tottering at 49/2, Punjab were In the very next over, Patel the home side successfully chas- Wahab Riaz (R) of Pakistan walks off the field as Ashley Nurse (L) Bowling: A. Joseph 10-1-49-0, 8-0-35-1(1w), S. Malik 6-0-24- in need of a partnership and ended Stokes’ resistance with a ing a target of 300 or more in an and Jason Mohammed (C) of West Indies celebrate the victory. S. Gabriel 10-0-69-0 (1nb, 1w), J. 0 (1w), W. Riaz 9-0-69-1 (1nb, Amla provided it with south- simple return catch off his own ODI for the fi rst time ever follow- Mohammed 4-1-28-0, J. Holder 3w), S. Khan 9-0-52-2, I. Wasim paw Axar Patel, who was sur- ball but could not stop Daniel ing 31 previous failed attempts Nurse enjoyed success amid climbing all the time. 10-0-58-1 (4w), A. Nurse 10-0-62- 3-0-21-0 prisingly promoted above the Christian (17) and Tiwary to over a 44-year period. the carnage, the off -spinning Hafeez and Shadab Khan, 4 (1w), D. Bishoo 6-0-36-0 (1w) Windies won by four wickets likes of skipper Glenn Maxwell throw their bats around in the With that weight of history all-rounder fi nishing with his making his ODI debut after an and David Miller. last couple of overs as Pune against them, Pakistan looked to best ODI fi gures of four for 62. outstanding T20 series, pro- The right-left combination of milked 30 runs to take their have put the West Indies out of West Indies’ chase started vided what seemed the criti- and 11 fours coming off them. the way we bowled at the end,” Amla and Patel hung on for score to 163. the match on a relaid pitch that badly with the early loss of cal breakthroughs but Pakistan “I knew it was going to be dif- said Ahmed, refl ecting on the the next four overs, milking encouraged attacking strokeplay. Chadwick Walton to Moham- captain Sarfraz Ahmed paid a fi cult against Shadab,” he said fi rst time Pakistan have failed the easy singles and an odd six BRIEF SCORES: Kings XI Mohammed Hafeez led the mad Amir but left-handers Evin heavy price for relying on his after receiving the man of the to defend a total in excess of to gather 34 runs for the third Punjab 164 for 4 (Maxwell 44*, tourists’ batting eff ort to tem- Lewis (47) and Kieran Powell (61) faster bowlers. match award. “I decided to go 300 outside of the Indian sub- wicket before the Protea was Tahir 2-29) beat Rising Pune porarily quell the rising tide of kept their team in with an out- Recognising the threat posed after the fast bowlers and and continent. “Jason batted bril- undone by debutant leggie Ra- Supergiant 163 for 6 (Stokes criticism at his position in the side chance even if their com- by leg-spinner Khan, Moham- where to hit them. That clear liantly but we need to come back hul Chahar to be safely caught 50, Tiwary 41, Sandeep 2-33) by batting line-up ahead of prolifi c paratively pedestrian progress med targeted the pacers to great thinking paid off today.” stronger for the second match by Stokes at long-off . six wickets youngster Babar Azam. meant the required run-rate was eff ect, most of his three sixes “I was disappointed with on Sunday.”

Sunday, April 9, 2017 GULF TIMES SPORT

LOCAL MOTORSPORT MOTORCYCLING Marquez takes rainy Argentina Saeed al-Sulaiti pole as Vinales, grabs lead aft er Lorenzo slip up dramatic weekend Al-Sulaiti now leads al-Naimi by five points with two rounds remaining

Honda’s Marc Marquez (L) rides his Honda ahead of Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, yesterday.

AFP The Spaniard was only sixth Termas de Río Hondo, Argentina fastest at 1.706sec behind three- time world champion Marquez. Vinales’s teammate Valentino orld champion Rossi, who won at the Argentine Marc Marquez track in 2015, was seventh fastest claimed pole posi- and will start today’s race from Wtion for the Grand the third row. Prix of Argentina yesterday as Triple world champion Jorge the Spaniard dominated in the Lorenzo, who was a poor 11th in pouring rain of Termas de Rio Qatar, was only 16th on yester- Hondo. day on his under-performing The Honda pilot edged Karel Ducati. Abraham of the Czech Republic In Moto 2, Portugal’s Miguel in a Ducati, who took a shock Oliveira took pole on a KTM second spot on the front row for ahead of the Kalex machines of a career best performance, with series leader Franco Morbidelli Cal Crutchlow, on another Hon- and Alex Marquez. da, in third spot. Britain’s John McPhee, on a But it was a session to forget Honda, took front row honours for world championship leader in Moto3, two weeks after fi n- Maverick Vinales who won the ishing second in Qatar. season-opener in Qatar on his Italy’s Nicolo Bulega on a KTM Yamaha debut after a winter of and Honda rider Jorge Martin fi ll domination in testing. out the front row.

Saeed al-Sulaiti and Mashel al-Naimi were engaged in another close battle during the two races of the QSTK yesterday at the Losail International Circuit.

By Sports Reporter race and get valuable points. Sadly for Doha al-Naimi, his bike was damaged and he couldn’t continue. With the top duo crashing, al-Malki, he Qatar Superstock 600 se- who was in third at that moment, got the ries has seen some fi erce battles win. Al-Qubaisi fi nished second and Ali between Saeed al-Sulaiti and al-Shammari third. Mashel al-Naimi and Round four The 17-year-old al-Qubaisi was very Twas no diff erent. In the fi rst race yes- happy with his fi rst podium. “I am very terday at the Losail International Cir- happy with my fi rst podium of this sea- cuit, al-Naimi trumphed over al-Sulaiti. son as I didn’t expect to have such a good But in the second race the battling duo result because of gear problems in the crashed into each other on the last lap last fi ve laps. I managed to step onto the and al-Sulaiti managed to remount and podium due to the crash of Saeed and fi nish the race in sixth place. This saw Mishal, but this is racing. Many thanks him leapfrog al-Naimi in the champion- to QMMF, LCSC and Saeed for their con- ship standings and now has a lead of fi ve tinuous support,” said al-Qubasi after points with two rounds remaining. the second race. In the fi rst race yesterday, al-Naimi, Al-Shammari was happy to be back on starting from pole, was leading for the Nasser al-Malki ended up winning Race 2 yesterday after the leading duo of al-Sulaiti the podium. “I am very happy to be back fi rst two laps. But then his familiar foe, and al-Naimi crashed out. on the podium. My start of the race was al-Sulaiti, over took him. But al-Sulaiti good but after some laps, I had engine wasn’t able to shake off al-Naimi and enough to accommodate my riding style. was leading for the initial laps but then problem and I never thought I would get the latter regained the lead in the middle I need to adjust my riding style to adjust al-Sulaiti overtook him and was ahead this good result. Bad luck for Mishal and of the race. But then al-Naimi suff ered to these 600cc bikes as compared to the for the rest of the race. In the last lap al- Saeed and hope that in the next round I a problem with his brake pads and al- 1000cc ones that I’m used to racing,” said Naimi wrestled back the lead but at turn can improve my rhythm and be faster,” he Sulaiti was able to pass him and win the al-Malki yesterday. 12, al-Sulaiti entered the turn too fast, said. race. Finishing in third place was Nasser Teenager Abdullah al-Qubaisi fi n- lost his front and crashed. And unfortu- Trophies were presented by Sultan al-Malki who was unhappy with the set- ished fourth and Fahad al-Sowaidi in nately his bike touched al-Naimi’s and Zaher al-Morraikhi, QMMF Executive up of his bike. “I didn’t get a good start fi fth position. The second race saw even both went down. Director. and after fi ve laps it was diffi cult for me to more drama and this time it resulted in a Luckily for al-Sulaiti, he was able to The next round will take place on 5th & ride the bike. I think the setup is not good crash. Just like in the fi rst race, al-Naimi rejoin the race and went on to fi nish the 6th May. El Jaish top-scorer Leon Macklin goes for the basket against Al Ahli yesterday.

SPOTLIGHT BASKETBALL Aspetar marks 10 years of excellence El Jaish

spetar, the orthopaedic and sports medicine hospital, cel- ebrated ten years of innovation Aand excellence since opening power to its doors in 2007 as the fi rst specialised hospital operating in this fi eld in the Gulf region. A special tenth anniversary celebration was held at The Torch Ballroom at Aspire big victory Ladies’ Club in the presence of Dr Mo- clubs and federations throughout Qatar planning, execution, and dissemination of the daily activity in the country’s Clubs, hamed bin Ghanim al-Ali al-Maadheed as well as regularly treating international research papers. Aspetar integrates cut- Federations, at Aspire Academy and by By Sports Reporter they had taken an unassailable and Dr Mohamed Ghaith al-Kuwari, Act- athletes and professional sportspeople. ting edge research into daily clinical prac- other stakeholders together with that un- Doha 70-32 advantage. For Al Ahli, ing Director General of Aspetar, along Thanks to the commitment of its em- tice both in the hospital and on the playing dertaken by Aspetar. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored 17 with a number of Aspire Zone Foundation ployees, eff ective collaboration and con- fi eld. Aspetar’s researchers are regularly •Achieving widespread industry recog- while Branko Ereminov and Ab- and Aspetar’s heads of departments and tinual pursuit of excellence, Aspetar has invited as guest speakers to both regional nition. Aspetar has achieved considerable eague champions El dulrahman al-Muftah had 16 staff . made enormous in-roads in establishing and international events. In 2014, Aspetar industry recognition for the quality of its Jaish sent out a warning and 14 points respectively. In his opening remarks, Dr al-Kuwari itself as one of the leading sports medi- was accepted as a member of the Interna- medical care and services. These include to their Emir Cup rivals In the second match of the thanked all the staff present for their com- cine hospitals in the world. Key highlights tional Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical being offi cially accredited as a FIFA Medi- Lwith a crushing 92-60 day, Al Rayyan eased to a 72-57 mitment and dedication and spent time from the hospital’s many achievements Research Network in recognition of the cal Centre of Excellence by F-MARC in win over Al Ahli at the Al Ghara- win over Al Sadd with Addison talking to a number who have played a key during its fi rst ten years include: quality of its research. 2009; being selected by the Executive fa Sports Club yesterday. Spruill and Hassan Mohamed role in supporting the hospital’s progress. •Expanding its state-of-the art facili- •Leading the industry in knowledge Committee of the GCC Council of Health El Jaish raced to a 20-12 scoring 23 and 20 respectively. He said: “We should all be extremely ties and services signifi cantly. In addition sharing. Aspetar has organised more than Ministers as a Reference Collaborator first quarter lead and kept on Al Sadd had made a promising proud of what has been achieved over the to the North wing expansion in 2015, Asp- 80 conferences featuring leading experts Centre in 2013; being invited by the In- putting more distance between start by winning the fi rst quarter last ten years – from receiving interna- etar built a West Wing expansion in 2016 and sports medicine providers to facilitate ternational Handball Federation (IHF) to the two teams as the match 20-18 but were gradually overtak- tional sports medicine and healthcare ac- to increase the capacity of the hospital’s the exchange of scientifi c knowledge and become the fi rst IHF Reference Centre for progressed with Leon Macklin en by Rayyan who took the second creditation to the continual advancement rehabilitation and physiotherapy serv- practical theory. Experts from Aspetar Athlete and Referee Health worldwide in (21) and James Davon (20) do- 39-36 and had opened up a nine- of our healthcare system.” ices, increase the services off ered by its regularly participate in industry confer- 2015; and being awarded “Platinum Lev- ing the bulk of the scoring. point lead after the third (56-47). During the last ten years, Aspetar has exercise medicine and physiology clinics, ences around the world to share their ex- el” status by Accreditation Canada Inter- Yousuf Mohamed with 10 In the fourth quarter a strong focused its strategy on supporting ath- and improve the performance of athletes pertise and experience. national (ACI) in 2015. was the third player for El Jaish Al Rayyan defence restricted Al letes in fulfi lling their sporting potential treated there. •Providing Medical and Sports Sci- During the anniversary celebration, Dr to score in double figures, while Sadd to just 10 points as they and achieving elite performance through •Conducting extensive world-leading ence Services to local clubs and federa- Mohamed Ghaith al-Kuwari honoured Dr Saeed Erfan Ali and Ndoye Al- clinched a comfortable win. delivering world-class sports medicine, research. Aspetar published more than tions through the National Sport Medi- Mohammed bin Ghanim al-Ali al-Maad- ioune scored eight apiece. Today, Al Gharafa play Qatar physiotherapy, sports science, orthopae- 143 peer reviewed scientifi c publications cine Programme (NSMP). All local sports heed and Dr Khalifa Jeham al-Kuwari for El Jaish led 40-21 at the end SC at 5pm followed by a match dic surgery and rehabilitation services. in 2016 alone with more than 100 Asp- activities are supported by a 300-strong all their constructive and fruitful eff orts of the second quarter and by between Al Arabi and Shamal at The hospital supports athletes, sports etar staff members actively involved in the NSMP team that seeks to eff ectively link with Aspetar. the time the third quarter ended 7pm.