Afif Double Seals Brilliant Win for Qatar CHINTHANA WASALA the PENINSULA
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SPORT Thursday 22 March 2018 PAGE | 30 PAGE | 31 PAGE | 32-33 NovakNo Djokovic Rabada decision Can anyone stop ppain free ‘first another source of champion Lewis ‘‘time in years conflict in SA Test series Hamilton? Afif double seals brilliant win for Qatar CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA DOHA: Akram Afif scored twice in the first half and Almoez Ali added a third as Qatar overcame hosts Iraq 3-2 at a packed Basra Stadium in the opening fixture of the Tri-nation Friendship Tournament yesterday. The brief football series is being organised by Iraq Football Association (IFA) to celebrate the return of football to Basra for the first time in three decades. Afif earned Al Annabi the lead in the 17th minute when he directed the ball to the bottom left corner of the net with a right footed shot from the centre of the box after receiving a cross from Yousef Hassan. In the very next minute, Afif almost doubled Qatar’s lead but the ball flew inches away from the goal post. The hosts found an equalizer when Ahmed Yasin scored from the right side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner in the 32nd minute. Afif once again put Qatar on top when he shot right into the net from 30 yards to beat Iraqi goal- Victory against Iraq a keeper in injury time to give his side a 2-1 lead just before the end of the first half. satisfying result: Al Rawi When the second half began, Qatar continued to dominate the proceedings despite more than THE PENINSULA 65,000 supporters cheering in support of the home team. BASRA: Qatar defender Bassam Al Rawi on Wednesday In the 63rd minute, Al Duhail forward Ali netted said Al Anabi’s fighting 3-2 win over hosts Iraq was a another goal from close range to the bottom left satisfying result. Iraq’s Mohanad Al corner of the net after picking up the ball from Yesterday, Akram Afifi scored a double as Qatar - coached Kadhim (left) vies skipper Hasan Al Haydos to give Qatar a 3-1 lead. by Felix Sanchez - powered to an impressive 3-2 win for the ball against Four minutes later, Iraqi midfielder Hussein Ali on day one of the Three-Nation International Friendly Qatar’s Pedro Miguel reduced the goal deficit with a right-footed shot Tournament. during the Tri-nation from close range to the top right corner as a Qatari The event is being hosted by Iraq Football Association Friendship Tournament player slipped and failed to stop the ball. (IFA) which is celebrating return of football to the country match at the Basra Qatari players were shown two yellow cards after more than three decades. Sports City Stadium in (Saad Al Sheeb - 83’ and Pedro Miguel 54’) during Qatar closed the first half at 2-1 and then added one Basra, Iraq yesterday. the course of the game. more at a packed Basra Stadium. Qatar won 3-2. The hosts were giving their best effort to find a “It is a great result for us. We wanted to win and we reached late equaliser, but coach Felix Sanchez’s boys were our target,” Al Rawi said. “It is a big day for football in Iraq the worthy winners of the opening fixture of the and we are happy to be here,” he added. tournament. Qatar take on Syria on March 24. QSL: Late revival reaps benefits as Al Gharafa hang onto fourth spot THE PENINSULA are the only teams in con- However, they were a gave back rich dividends for tention for the fourth spot that transformed lot in the second the huge investments by DOHA: Only one more round guarantees a place in the elite phase. They benefited much playing significant roles in is remaining in this season’s Qatar Cup. from the changes that they many a positive result for the QNB Stars League, but Al Al Gharafa are up against made before the start of second side. The other star who Gharafa have high hopes of Qatar SC, while Umm Salal phase, in the January transfer excelled for Al Gharafa is staying in the fourth position. play Al Markhiya in Week 22. window. They started doing Ahmed Alaaeldin, who is their Al Gharafa and Umm Salal Al Gharafa had mixed for- extremely well ever since joint top scorer with Sneijder both have 32 points, but the tunes in their campaign. Even Turkish coach Bulent Uygun on six goals. former are ahead on goal dif- though they lifted the QSL Cup, took over from Frenchman The team gelled very well ference. They have nine wins, The Cheetahs’ performance Jean Fernandez. and quickly made a turna- five draws and seven defeats. was not up to the mark in the They strengthened the round in their fortunes. They The Cheetahs scored 40 first phase as they languished squad by recruiting Dutch star won seven of the 10 games goals and conceded 34 to have at the seventh position with 11 Wesley Sneijder, Iranian ace they played so far in the second Al Gharafa players celebrate with Dutch star Wesley Sneijder (centre) after the a goal difference of +6. points with just two victories Mehdi Taremi and Asim phase, while losing the other latter scored during a QNB Stars League match in this file photo. Al Gharafa and Umm Salal to their credit after 11 rounds. Madbo. Sneijder and Taremi three. West Indies edge out Scotland Akmal blitz sees Peshawar Zalmi in PSL final to secure place in World Cup AGENCIES AFP proved key as Richie Berrington fell to The Scots rebuilt after being reduced LOHORE: Kamran Akmal (pictured) scored the fastest Windies spinner Ashley Nurse for 33, to 25-3 as Kemar Roach claimed two fifty in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) history as HARARE: The West Indies snatched a with no DRS in place for the qualifiers. early wickets, but were left high and dry Peshawar Zalmi booked a spot in Sunday’s final spot at next year’s World Cup by edging Had the rain come with Scotland on by Berrington’s dismissal and the rain. following an easy win against Karachi Kings yesterday. to a five-run victory over Scotland on the same score but four wickets down, Zimbabwe will claim the final place Akmal achieved the landmark in 17 balls and DLS method in Harare yesterday. they would have qualified instead. at the reduced 10-team World Cup if they went on to score 77 to post a total of 171 at the Gaddafi The two-time World Cup winners Earlier, the underdogs had a dream beat the United Arab Emirates tomorrow. Stadium yesterday. Karachi Kings were only able to were bowled out for just 198 batting first, start to the winner-takes-all clash, with Brief Scores: score 157 for 2 in the rain-reduced second elimi- but rain forced an early finish with the Safyaan Sharif dismissing star West West Indies: 198 all out in 49.4 overs nator. Peshawar Zalmi now meets Islamabad United game in the balance and Scotland on Indies opener Chris Gayle with the first (Evin Lewis 66, Marlon Samuels 51, in the final on Sunday. 125-5 with 14.4 overs remaining. ball of the match. Carlos Brathwaite 24; Safyaan Sharif 3 Brief Scores: Peshawar Zalmi: 170 for 7 in 16 overs Jason Holder’s Windies claimed the Sharif and Bradley Wheal each fin- for 27, Brad Wheal 3 for 34) (Kamran Akmal 77, Andre Fletcher 34, Darren Sammy penultimate place for the tournament in ished with three wickets, as Scotland Scotland: 125 for 5 in 35.2 Overs 23; Tymal Mills 2 for 23, Ravi Bopara 3 for 35) England and Wales, with Scotland restricted their opponents to under 200 (Richie Berrington 33, George Munsey Karachi Kings: 157 for 2 in 16 overs (JL Denly knocked out of contention. despite 66 from Evin Lewis and a gritty 32 not out; Kemar Roach 2 for 20, Ashley 79 not out, Babar Azam 63; Hasan Ali 1 for 41, Sameen A controversial lbw decision also half-century by Marlon Samuels. Nurse 2 for 35) Gul 1 for 20) 30 SPORT THURSDAY 22 MARCH 2018 American teen Djokovic pain free Anisimova stuns Wang in Miami ‘first time in years’ REUTERS Brazilian to run away with the match. Haddad Maia will next AFP INDIAN WELLS: American face No. 31 seed Zhang Shuai. Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks teenager Amanda Anisimova, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic MIAMI: Novak Djokovic insists to the press during Day 2 of the fresh off an impressive run at looked headed for an early exit he is playing pain free for the first Miami Open in Key Biscayne, Indian Wells, beat China’s Wang when she fell behind 4-0 in the time in “years” as he pursues his Florida on Tuesday. Qiang 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 at the Miami deciding set against Ukraine’s comeback at the Miami Masters. Open on Tuesday to set up a Lesia Tsurenko but the The former world number second round clash with Croatian-born world number one has been beset with an elbow Spanish third seed Garbine 90 reeled off seven of the next injury that sidelined him for six Muguruza. eight games to prevail 3-6 6-4 months after he was forced to The 16-year-old wild card, 7-5. retire at the quarter-finals of who had never won a WTA American wild card Ber- Wimbledon last year. main-draw match until this narda Pera advanced when she A return to action at the Aus- month’s BNP Paribas Open stunned Spanish world number tralian Open with a modified where she reached the fourth 68 Lara Arruabarrena 7-5 6-4 serving action resulted in a fourth round, broke the world number to set up a second-round match round defeat while a limp exit at 53 five times during a with Belgian 22rd seed Elise Indian Wells last week only 98-minute match in which she Mertens.