NBA | Page 9 FOOTBALL | Page 5 Thompson’s Suarez To Advertise here 40 points strikes as Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 lead Warriors Uruguay to victory hold Brazil Sunday, March 27, 2016 CRICKET Jumada II 18, 1437 AH India to take on GULF TIMES Australia in must-win match SPORT Page 2 CRICKET Buttler treat serves up England win, Lankans out AFP He received crucial support from New Delhi Chamara Kapugedera who hit 30 while Thisara Perera (20) and Dasun Shanaka who struck 15 off nine balls ngland qualifi ed for the to take the contest down to the wire. World Twenty20 semi-fi - Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid were nals and knocked holders Sri on the receiving off some fi ercesome Lanka out after a nail-biting hitting from the Sri Lankans, with E10-run victory in their do-or-die both men conceding 21 in a single showdown in New Delhi yesterday. over. Jos Buttler smashed 66 in a 37- But Joe Root’s stunning catch at ball knock as England posted a com- mid-off to dismiss Shanaka off the manding total of 171 for four that bowling of Chris Jordan in the 19th ultimately proved too much for Sri over proved crucial as Mathews then Lanka despite a brave, undefeated began running out of partners. innings of 73 by injured skipper An- With Sri Lanka needing 15 from gelo Mathews. the last six balls, allrounder Ben England are now likely to face Stokes conceded just four runs to New Zealand in a semi-fi nal en- clinch the England victory. Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (R) and co-driver Matthieu Baumel celebrate their Kuwait Rally win yesterday. counter in New Delhi on Wednesday Sri Lanka eventually made 161 for having also defeated South Africa eight in their 20 overs. MOTORSPORT and Afghanistan in the group stages. England’s innings got off to a poor After the West Indies also quali- start when Alex Hales, back in the fi ed for the last four from Group 1 on team after a back injury, was given Friday, Sri Lanka have no chance of out lbw off the bowling of the vet- progressing further although they eran Rangana Herath with only four do have one fi nal match against on the board. South Africa. Rookie spinner Jeff rey Vandersay Buttler, who hit eight four and was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowl- two sixes, shared in a fourth-wicket ers, taking two for 26 in an economi- Qatar’s al-Attiyah partnership of 74 with skipper Eoin cal four-over spell in which he took Morgan (22) as Sri Lanka’s bowlers the wickets of both Jason Roy and struggled to contain a late England Root. onslaught at the Feroz Shah Kotla But powerful hitting from Roy, stadium. who made 42 off 39, and Root (25) But after having Sri Lanka on the began to turn the match in England’s ropes at 15 for four, they were then favour before Buttler then stepped made to sweat for their victory with on the accelerator. scores crushing Mathews hammering England’s spin Stokes fi nished the England in- bowlers to all corners despite strug- nings off with a six before then star- gling with a leg injury. ring with the ball. Mathews hit fi ve sixes and three He was the pick of the England boundaries in a 54-ball innings that bowlers, conceding just 19 runs in had England’s fans with their hearts his four overs. Liam Plunkett also victory in Kuwait in their mouths. impressed with fi gures of one for 23. England’s Jos Buttler raises his ‘It was important that I won here and collected the maximum points, but I wasn’t bat after reacing his half-century really pushed on this rally. I would like to see my rivals come back on the next rallies’ against Sri Lanka at the Feroz Shah By Our Correspondent The winner’s brother Khalifa al-Attiyah and Cypri- Kotla cricket Fintas, Kuwait ot navigator Savvas Laos fi nished the event in fourth, ground in New Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah on the while the Lebanese duo of Rodolphe Asmar and ex- Delhi yesterday. charge in Kuwait. perienced co-driver Joseph Matar dropped from fi fth record sixth victory in the Kuwait Inter- to seventh when they incurred a two-minute penalty national Rally was never really in doubt for after the fi nish. Qatar’s Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah. The 11-time Qatar’s Khaled al-Suwaidi and Italian co-driver FIA Middle East rally champion won all the Giovanni Bernacchini benefi ted from the Rally 2 rul- A13 timed special stages at the second round of the re- ing to start the second day in eighth overall in their gional series and reached the fi nish in Fintas yesterday Ford Fiesta R5. But the Qatari was too far behind to afternoon with a winning margin of 11min 24.9sec. make a real impression and, despite a string of sec- He and French navigator Matthieu Baumel control- ond fastest times, he could only fi nish sixth and then led their pace at the three-day rally from start-to-fi n- climbed to fi fth after Asmar’s penalty. ish to deliver yet another faultless team performance, Saudi rookie Rakan al-Rashed and Finnish naviga- a record 62nd MERC rally win for the driver and an tor Jarkko Kalliolepo held seventh overall before be- 11th for his navigator. ing overhauled by al-Suwaidi. Al-Rashed fi nished SCORECARD “It was important that I won here and collected the his second ever rally in sixth place, however, after al- maximum points, but I wasn’t really pushed on this Nuami retired. The Qatari pairing of Abdullah al-Ku- England: C. Kapugedera c Stokes b Plunkett .............30 rally,” said al-Attiyah. “I would like to see my rivals wari and Adel Hussein returned to action under Rally J. Roy lbw b Vandersay ..............................................42 T. Perera c Willey b Jordan .....................................20 come back on the next rallies. The car was fantastic 2 and completed the event in eighth. Turkey’s Vidat A. Hales lbw b Herath ....................................................0 D. Shanaka c Root b Jordan ...................................15 and we managed to win every stage on an event that Diker and the Kuwaiti duo of Saleh Ali and Elie Cha- J. Root c Thirimanne b Vandersay ...............25 R. Herath b Jordan.................................................................1 I enjoy very much.” chati rounded off the international fi nishers in ninth, J. Buttler not out ..............................................................66 J. Vandersay not out .........................................................0 Newly-crowned Kuwaiti national champion Me- 10th and 11th overall. E. Morgan run out (Perera) ...................................22 Extras (lb 2, w 7) ..................................................................9 shari al-Thefi ri, whose father Ahmed won the event The event was organised by the Basil Salem Al- B. Stokes not out .................................................................6 Total (for 8 wickets, 20 overs) .........................161 before it became a round of the series way back in Sabah Motor Racing Club (BMRC) under the chair- Extras (b 1, lb 5, w 3, nb 1) ......................................10 Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Dilshan), 2-4 (Chandi- 1981, capped a memorable weekend with second manship of Sheikh Athbi Nayef Jaber al-Ahmad al- Total (for 4 wickets, 20 overs) ...........................171 mal), 3-15 (Siriwardana), 4-15 (Thirimanne), overall and outright victory in the hard-fought MERC Sabah and in conjunction with the General Authority Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Hales), 2-65 (Root), 5-95 (Kapugedera), 6-137 (Perera), 7-155 2 category in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. His result for me and for motor sport in Kuwait.” for Sport. 3-88 (Roy), 4-162 (Morgan) (Shanaka), 8-157 (Herath) winning margin was 1min 28.2sec. Qatar’s Rashed al-Nuami and Italian navigator Rally positions (top 5) Bowling: Mathews 4-0-25-0, Herath Bowling: Willey 4-0-26-2, Jordan 4-0- Partnered by Qatar’s Nasser al-Kuwari on this oc- Nicola Arena struggled with the loss of third gear on 1. Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel 4-1-27-1, Vandersay 4-0-26-2, Siriwardana 28-4, Plunkett 4-0-23-1, Stokes 4-0-19-0, casion, he became only the second Kuwaiti in MERC their Subaru Impreza for two stages and retired from (FRA) Skoda Fabia R5 2hr 08min 06.1sec 1-0-9-0, Chameera 4-0-36-0, Perera 2-0-27- Rashid 2-0-31-0, Ali 2-0-32-0 history to reach the podium and the fi rst to record a third position with ongoing gearbox issues with one 2. Meshari al-Thefiri (KWT)/Nasser al-Kuwari (QAT) 0, Shanaka 1-0-15-0 Result: England won by 10 runs second-placed fi nish – the Kuwaiti duo of Mufeed stage to go, although they maintained the unoffi cial Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X 2hr 19min 31.0sec Sri Lanka: Toss: Sri Lanka Mubarak and Saad al-Melaifi fi nished third in the MERC 2 championship advantage after two rounds. 3. Yigit Timur (TUR)/Ufuk Uluocak (TUR) Mitsubishi D. Chandimal c Buttler b Jordan .........................1 Umpires: Paul Reiff el (AUS) and Rod MERC category at the Jordan WRC Rally in 2011. Yigit Timur lost his way in one stage for a time in a Lancer Evo X 2hr 20min 59.2sec T. Dilshan c Hales b Willey .........................................2 Tucker (AUS) “This is the icing on the cake of a fabulous weekend Tok Sport Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, but he and 4. Khalifa al-Attiyah (QAT)/Savvas Laos (CYP) Subaru M.