SPORT Sunday 13 May 2018 PAGE | 26 PAGE | 27 Hamilton ends Belmadi eyes Amir Vettel’s pole run in Cup glory after Barcelona Al Sadd win Tabata shines as Al Rayyan storm into Amir Cup final CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA DOHA: Former champions Al Rayyan rode on a brilliant double by star midfielder and captain Rodrigo Tabata (2 and 88) and a second-half strike by South Korean import Koh Myong-Jin (47) to crush Al Gharafa 3-0 to reach the Amir Cup final yesterday. In the final to be played on May 19 at the Khalifa Interna- tional Stadium, Al Rayyan will take on unbeaten QSL Cham- pions Al Duhail in what will be the final football match this season. Tabata, the former Qatar national team player, was declared the Man-of-the-Match for his two goals. At the Al Sadd Stadium yes- terday, captain Tabata inter- Rayyan - coached by Michael completed his brace in thee 88th88th poweredpowered hhomeome by a brilliantbrilliant cepted an excellent cross by Laudrup - retained their 1-0 minute. goalgoal byby AlmoezAlmoez AliAli against veteran striker Sebastian Soria cushion when the referee blew Al Gharafa were tryingg hardhard 10-man10-man AlAl Sadd. and powered it past goalkeeper the whistle for the half-time to open scoring but theirtheir CoachCoach DjamelDjamel Qasem Burhan to score his 18th break. popular stars Wesley Sneijdereijder Belmadi’sBelmadi’s menmen goal of the season just two Al Rayyan made it 2-0 in and Ahmed Alaaeldin missedmissed areare eyeingeyeing minutes after the kick-off. the 47th minute when mid- the net on multiple occasions.sions. thetheirir ththirdird Midfielder Daniel Goumou fielder Myong-Jin cleverly The two failed to live up to titltitlee almost doubled Al Rayyan’s directed the ball into the net expectations as Laudrup’ss memenn afteafterr lead two minutes later when he over the goalkeeper’s head marched into the final withwith a shot from just outside the from outside of the box after 3-0 win. penalty arc after avoiding two receiving a long pass from Soria Al Rayyan, who lostt last Al Gharafa players, but Bhuran who was at the other end of the year’s Amir Cup final to Al Sadd,Sadd, succeeded this time as he pitch. will now take on Al Duhailhail in in managed to push the ball over The Tabata-Soria combi- next Saturday’s title clash but enjoying the silverware in the cross bar. nation reaped big benefits to Al yesterday’s game was the end the QNB Stars League as well Al Rayyan’s Rodrigo Tabata celebrates Bhuran went on to prevent Rayyan again when the two of of the road for the season for Al as Qatar Cup, while Al Rayyan after scoring their first goal against Al several other attempts over the them dribbled and exchanged Gharafa. will seek their seventh Amir Gharafa during the Amir Cup semi-final course of the first half as Al passes before the 37-year old On Friday, Al Duhail were Cup trophy. yesterday. INSET: Tabata vies for the ball during yesterday’s Semi-final. IPL: Kohli, De Faheem, Shadab put Pakistan back on track Villiers take after early stutter in rain-hit Test in Dublin RCB to victory AFP IANS Azhar Ali dug out a Pakistan’s SCOREBOARD Murtagh delivery and Shadab Khan DUBLIN: Shadab Khan and called for a quick legside plays a shot to PAKISTAN 1st Innings NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli and debutant Faheem Ashraf both single. reach his half Azhar Ali c Porterfield b Rankin ...........................4 AB de Villiers produced a Imam-ul-Haq lbw b Murtagh ............................... 7 scored maiden Test fifties as Non-striker Imam- century on day batting masterclass as Royal Haris Sohail c Porterfield b Thompson .............31 Pakistan fought back in Ireland’s ul-Haq, like Faheem Challengers Bangalore (RCB) two of Ireland’s Asad Shafiq c Balbirnie b Rankin .......................62 inaugural Test match in Dublin making his Test debut, inaugural Test Babar Azam c Stirling b Murtagh ......................14 defeated Delhi Daredevils by yesterday. found himself sand- match in Dublin Sarfraz Ahmed c Stirling b Thompson .............20 five wickets in their Indian Pakistan were 268 for six wiched between wicket- yesterday. Shadab Khan not out ............................................52 Premier League (IPL) when bad light and then rain keeper Niall O’Brien and Faheem Ashraf not out ........................................61 encounter yesterday. brought the second day at Kane in a heavy collision Extras (b1, lb10, nb4, w2) .................................17 Chasing a challenging Malahide to a premature close. as he scrambled to com- Total (6 wkts, 76 overs, 327 mins) .. 268 target of 182 runs, RCB lost Shadab, in just his second plete the run. To bat: Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas, openers Parthiv Patel and Test, was 52 not out and left- The 22-year-old was Rahat Ali Moeen Ali within the first three hander Faheem 61 not out, with left flat on the ground and Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Azhar), 2-13 (Imam), overs. their unbroken seventh-wicket needed several minutes’ 3-71 (Haris), 4-104 (Babar), 5-153 (Shafiq), Kohli amassed 70 runs in stand so far worth 109 runs after treatment on the field, but 6-159 (Sarfraz) a 40-ball hurricane knock Bowling: Murtagh 17-4-33-2; Rankin 17-3-58- they had come together at 159 for he recovered to face the which included seven bound- 2 (1nb); Kane 18-2-84-0 (1nb); Thompson 16-2- six. second ball of the match, 51-2 (2nb, 1w); K O’Brien 6-1-20-0 (1w); Stirling aries and three massive hits Pakistan, sent into bat by with Imam playing and missing. subsided, then Pakistan were 13 at a Murtagh delivery that left him 2-0-11-0; into the stands. Ireland captain William Porter- It did not take long for Ireland for two off the very next ball, with off the pitch, was well-held by Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Ed Joyce, Earlier, asked to bat first, field, lost two wickets in suc- to make a stunning double strike Imam lbw for seven to a Murtagh Paul Stirling at second slip. Andrew Balbirnie, Niall O’Brien (wkt), Paul Stir- Delhi rode some power cessive balls to be 13 for two, but on a pitch offering some sideways delivery that came back into him. Shafiq went on to complete a ling, Kevin O’Brien, Gary Wilson, Stuart Thomp- packed batting by Pant and concerns that Ireland would pay movement. After a few near run-outs, 107-ball fifty when he pulled son, Tyrone Kane, Boyd Rankin, Tim Murtagh talented teenager Abhishek for doing without a specialist Rankin, the 15th man ever, Pakistan’s third-wicket duo Rankin for a single. Toss: Ireland Sharma to post a challenging spinner were eventually proved and the first since Kepler Wessels settled in. But with the towering Rankin, total of 181/4. to be well-founded. (Australia and South Africa) 25 Shafiq square-cut Kane for bowling from around the wicket, break when, on 36, he edged Middlesex paceman Tim years ago, to play Test cricket for four, with left-hander Haris Sohail a similar shot proved Shafiq’s Rankin only for a diving Niall Brief Scores: Murtagh led Ireland’s attack with two nations after making a lone glancing Stuart Thompson for a undoing when he found Andrew O’Brien to miss the catch and give Delhi Daredevils: 181/4 in two wickets for 33 runs from 17 appearance for England in 2014, legside boundary. Balbirnie at square leg. the obscured Gary Wilson at first 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 61, overs, with Boyd Rankin taking had an uncertain Azhar (four) Pakistan, 67 for two at lunch, And when Pakistan captain slip no chance of taking the ball. Abhishek Sharma 46 not out; two for 58 in 17 overs. edging to Porterfield at second lost their third wicket soon after- Sarfraz Ahmed (20) was caught Duly reprieved, he went to Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28) There was drama at an ini- slip. wards when Haris was caught in by Stirling in the slips off fifty in just 52 balls, including Royal Challengers Ban- tially sun-drenched Malahide That left Pakistan 13 for one the gully by Porterfield off Thompson, the tourists were 159 seven fours, with Shadab fol- galore: 187/5 in 19 overs ((Virat right from yesterday’s first ball of off the last ball of the eighth over. Thompson. for six. lowing him to the landmark in 89 Kohli 70, AB de Villiers 72 not this stand-alone match. Barely had the crowd’s cheers Babar Azam (14), pushing hard Faheem, however, did have a balls. out; Trent Boult 2/40) 26 SPORT SUNDAY 13 MAY 2018 Prescod shocks Gatlin in Shanghai; Qatar’s Haroun third in 400m AGENCIES SHANGHAI: British sprinter Reece Prescod foiled the local challengers and overcame world champion Justin Gatlin to win the men’s 100 metres at a rainy Shanghai Stadium to claim his maiden Diamond League victory yesterday. Running in the outside lane, the 22-year-old came through to win in 10.04 seconds, edging out local favourite Su Bingtian (10.05). China’s Xie Zhenye came third in 10.17 with Gatlin trailing in seventh (10.20). “When I saw the rain tonight I thought ‘yes’. I train in these conditions all the time in the East Midlands. It suits me,” said Prescod who was 0.01 seconds shy of his personal best. “My expectation going in was I knew I had it in me as long as I executed my race. It is definitely the happiest moment in my time FROM LEFT: Botswana’s Isaac Makwala, Qatar’s Abdalelah Haroun, Bahamas’ on the Diamond League circuit,” Steven Gardiner and Fred Kerley of the US in action during the men’s 400m he said.