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Home , Al Markhiya, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Murugan Ashwin, Shaheen Afridi, Wahab Riaz

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SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 2020 Raikkonen to remain with Alfa Romeo So many of the faces that were around me when I made my Formula One debut in 2001 are still here and the unique atmosphere of this team is what gives me that extra motivation to keep going in what will be my 19th season in the sport.

Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen Sport | 15 VS ZIMBABWE - 1ST ODI PAK 281/8 (Imam-ul-Haq 58) ZIM 255 in 49.4 overs (Shaheen 5/49) Pakistan win by 26 runs

Dominant Al Arabi blank Al Markhiya to reach Amir Cup final after 26 years

FAWAD HUSSAIN THE PENINSULA

Eight-time champions Al Arabi displayed a commanding performance to march into their first Amir Cup final since 1994, outclassing Al Markhiya 2-0 in the first semi-final of the prestigious tournament For sure it’s the best at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, yesterday. victory of my life. It is the 12th time that ‘The Dream Novak is the best in Team’ has reached the Amir Cup final, the world. Today I while the defeat ended second division side Al Markhiya’s dream run in the event played so, so good: after their memorable wins over Al Lorenzo Sonego Gharafa and Al Rayyan. Midfielder Aron Gunnarsson (17th minute) and striker Abdulaziz Al Ansari (59’) scored goals to put Al Arabi in the final, where they will face winners of Al Arabi's Djokovic today’s highly-anticipated semi-final Icelandic between defending champions Al midfielder suffers his and giants . Aron Al Arabi’s last title-win came in 2011 Gunnarsson in when they won the Sheikh Jassim Cup, action during heaviest with yesterday’s win giving them a golden yesterday's opportunity to end drought of trophies. semi-final. "We are proud to make a return to the defeat Amir Cup final. It is a step in the right direction for us. We are doing a good job Al Markhiya first scare with a hit from Mehrad Keshrazi, who was influential doubled their with a fiery hit from Al AFP – VIENNA but we still need to work hard as it is still a near the penalty spot, forcing their goal- in most of Al Arabi’s attacks yesterday, Ansari, who scored from just inside the long way to go for us," Al Arabi coach Heimir keeper Basel Samih to make a diving save. produced brilliant show inside the circle circle on right corner after being set up Novak Djokovic suffered his Hallgrimsson said after yesterday's win. After series of more attempts, Ice- dodging three defenders but was off the by Abdulmaged. Hallgrimsson made two heaviest defeat in a three-set "We deserved the victory and I want lander Gunnarsson, finally, opened mark in his try to score second goal for changes sending seasoned Sebastian Soria match yesterday when he was to congratulate Al Markhiya for their strong account following a free kick, which was his team. Despite their repeated attacks, and Yasir Abubakar in place of Keshrazi knocked out of the Vienna ATP performance and great spirit," Hall- taken by Iranian Mahdi Torabi. Gun- ‘The Dream Team’ went into the half-time and Fahad Obaid with more than 20 tournament by lucky loser grimsson said. narsson got Torabi’s ball while in perfect with a one-goal advantage. minutes to go. Lorenzo Sonego, stalling his bid Backed by a good number of fans, Al position at the centre and he made no Meanwhile, Al Markhiya’s Talal Ali In 73rd minute, Ibrahim Nasser got a to wrap up the year-end world Arabi dominated the entire match, giving mistake in netting the ball on a clinical and Al Arabi’s Abdulaziz Al Ansari had to chance to triple the lead for Al Arabi after number one ranking for a sixth no chance of an upset to Al Markhiya, strike, leaving no chance for a diving be treated after they collided while an error from defender but he failed to time. coached by Omar Naji. coach Felix Samih. Soon after conceding a goal, Al fighting for ball possession soon after the beat Samih, who was only left to defend Italian Sonego, ranked 42 Sanchez was also in the stands to watch Markhiya made their first attempt with second half started. the goal. and who had initially lost in the semi-final. Qatar U-23 player Mohammed Al Qahtani Talal was then cautioned for a rash Al Markhiya didn’t pose threat to Al qualifying last weekend, is the Al Arabi started making attacks right leading the attack from the right but challenge against Keshrazi, nevertheless, Arabi’s lead which they carried till the first lucky loser ever to beat from the beginning and enjoyed the lion’s Jameel Al Yahmadi missed the goal- Al Markhiya looked an improved side in final whistle to walk into the final of Djokovic. share of ball possession in the match. scoring opportunity as he failed to connect the second half. Qatar’s most popular football tournament His 6-2, 6-1 quarter-final Tunisian player Hamdi Amdulmaged gave Al Qahtani’s fine cross. However, it was Al Arabi, who after a long hiatus. stunner was 33-year-old Djok- ovic’s heaviest ever defeat. The only other time he had won just three games was at Al Sadd, Al Duhail ready for ‘tough’ semi-final clash the 2005 Australian Open at the hands of Marat Safin in a CHINTHANA WASALA best-of-five set encounter. THE PENINSULA Friday’s defeat means Djokovic will have to wait a Al Sadd, Amir Cup’s most successful little longer before he com- side, will be targeting their 25th pletes the formality of equalling appearance in the final of the pres- Pete Sampras’s all-time record tigious event when they will meet of ending the season top of the defending champions Al Duhail in rankings for a sixth time. the second semi-final at Abdullah “For sure it’s the best bin Khalifa Stadium, today. victory of my life. Novak is the Today’s winners will meet Al best in the world. Today I Arabi in the title-deciding match as played so, so good,” Sonego ‘The Dream Team’ defeated Al Al Sadd's Akram Afif with said. Markhiya in yesterday’s first semi- team-mates during a practice Sonego fired 26 winners final. The high-profile clash will kick session on the eve of their Amir past the Serb who lost for only off at 6:00pm with all available Cup semi-final against Al Duhail. the third time in 2020. tickets being already sold out, the BOTTOM: Al Duhail players Djokovic, a 17-time major organisers announced yesterday. during a practice session. champion, managed just seven Al Duhail, under the guidance of winners against 25 unforced their new coach Sabri Lamouchi, will errors. set their sights on a fourth Amir Cup “We learn important lessons last two matches against Al Ahli and Second seed and defending title, but 16-time champions Al Sadd from every match and we play Al Duhail, which are among our best champion Dominic Thiem also will not be an easy hurdle to cross as whether it ends up with our victory matches in the recent period.” lost Friday, going down 7-6 the Xavi Hernandez-coached side has or our loss. And I learnt many lessons “Our ambition is to win the title. (7/5), 6-2 to Russian world shown top form in their recent outings. from our match against Al Sadd and We are Al Sadd and we are one of number eight Andrey Rublev. Lamouchi, who is no stranger to I found many positive things.” the favourites to win the champi- Rublev hit 30 winners past Amir Cup, yesterday said he is happy Meanwhile, Xavi yesterday said onship and we are preparing to face the US Open champion and to be in Qatar again. he is aware of the capabilities of Al another favourite team, and we see goes on to face ’s “I have been with Al Duhail for Duhail and admitted that the this match as the final,” Xavi said. Kevin Anderson for a place in only two weeks but I know the encounter will be a difficult affair Meanwhile, Al Sadd yesterday the final. importance of this match well for for his side. announced that their ‘goal machine’, Anderson made the semi- the players, the club and the fans,” “The Amir Cup is a different Algerian striker Baghdad Bounedjah finals by accounting for Russian Lamouchi, the former El Jaish coach, competition. We are in the semi- will be available for today’s match fourth seed Daniil Medvedev who finished as runner-up of the finals and we consider this as a final after his recovery from a knee injury, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). Amir Cup in 2015, said. against a strong and difficult Al as Al Sadd will be looking to go full Al Duhail lost to Al Sadd 3-1 a Duhail team. We have faced them a strength against the hosts in the all VIENNA ATP RESULTS week ago in their QNB Stars League lot and we will give our best, espe- important semi-final. QUARTER-FINALS Round 3 match but Lamouch was cially as they will look for revenge Xavi has big guns in his arsenal, Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) bt Novak not concerned about the past result. after losing to us last week in the such as Pedro Miguel, Hassan Al Djokovic (SRB x1) 6-2, 6-1 “We are only focusing on the league.” Haydos, Nam Tae-hee, Tarek Kevin Anderson (RSA) bt Daniil semi-final now. Everyone knows the “Our goal is to repeat the per- Salman, Khoukhi Boualem, Guil- Medvedev (RUS x4) 6-4, 7-6 importance of the Amir Cup and we formance that we showed in the last herme Torres, Rodrigo Tabata, Santi (7/5) know our opponents well. The match ten days in the league. Our focus will Cazorla, Abdelkarim Hassan and Andrey Rublev (RUS x5) bt will be difficult, but I think that we be on attack and possession. We Akram Afif, but their reliable goal- Dominic Thiem (AUT x2) 7-6 have a good chance of winning the must play our way and I am happy keeper Saad Al Dosari remains (7/5), 6-2 match,” he stated. with what the team has shown in the unavailable. Sport SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER 2020 15 Stage set for Qatar National Baja Round 4 Raikkonen to remain Riders in action on the eve of the fourth round of the 2020 Qatar National Baja. with Alfa Romeo

REUTERS – LONDON

Formula One’s most experi- enced driver Kimi Raikkonen and Italian Antonio Giovinazzi will race on for Alfa Romeo next season, the Swiss-based team said yesterday. Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion who is now 41, holds the records for most races entered (327) and started (324) THE PENINSULA – by any driver in the history of The participants the sport and is the oldest on A total of 13 drivers and 26 riders will cover a distance of 142km attending a training the starting grid. in the fourth round of the Qatar National Baja which flags off of navigation systems The Finn showed in Portugal today. organised by the Qatar last weekend that he still has the The Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) held a prac- Motor & Motorcycle fighting spirit, overtaking 10 cars tical training of navigation systems for motorcycle racers ahead Federation, yesterday. on the opening lap. of the round in Al Khor yesterday. Today, the event will begin at “Alfa Romeo ... is more than 8am for bikes, while the car category will be flagged off at 11am. a team to me, it is like a second The fourth round will see drivers and riders in action in two family,” said Raikkonen, who stages. started out with the team when The event will be held with all the preventive measures put in they raced as Sauber and won place by the QMMF, and all safety protocols as per the Ministry of his world championship with Public Health (MoPH) will be strictly followed. Ferrari. “So many of the faces The winners in Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 will be awarded that were around me when I a QR5000 each beside a trophy. The runner-up and third placed made my Formula One debut will walk away with QR4000 and QR3000 respectively. in 2001 are still here and the unique atmosphere of this team is what gives me that extra motivation to keep going in what will be my 19th season in the sport." RR stay alive Taylor's ton in vain as Pakistan The announcement by the Ferrari-powered team ahead with 7- of this weekend’s Emilia down Zimbabwe in first ODI Romagna Grand Prix at Italy’s Imola circuit leaves Haas as the win over KXIP clear destination for Ferrari AP – RAWALPINDI SCOREBOARD Academy driver Mick Pakistan Schumacher. IANS — ABU DHABI Pakistan overcame Brendan Imam-ul-Haq run out ...... 58 Taylor’s century through fast lbw b Mumba ...... 21 Rajasthan Royals (RR) yesterday pulled bowler ’s 5-49 c Taylor b Muzarabani ...... 19 off a clinical run chase to beat Kings XI to record a 26-run victory in c Taylor b Raza ...... 71 Punjab (KXIP) by seven in the the first one-day interna- Mohammad Rizwan b Chisoro ...... 14 (IPL). tional against Zimbabwe Iftikhar Ahmed c Taylor b Chisoro ...... 12 KXIP put up 185/4 wickets due to a blis- yesterday. c Ervine b Muzarabani ...... 23 ...... 34 tering 99 off 63 balls , before The match also marked run out ...... 8 RR themselves got off to a quick start due the beginning of both nations’ Shaheen Shah Afridi not out ...... 8 to Ben Stokes’ 50 off 26 balls at the Sheikh 2023 World Cup qualification Extras: (lb1, nb1, w11) ...... 13 Zayed Stadium. RR finished at 186/3 campaigns. Total: (for eight wkts, 50 overs) ...... 281 wickets in 17.3 overs. Taylor’s 112 off 117 balls - Did not bat: The result takes RR up to fifth place on his 11th ODI hundred - ended Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-89, 3-119, 4-161, the points table with 12 points, and level in a losing cause as Zim- 5-194, 6-205, 7-247, 8-257 with KXIP, who remain fourth due to their babwe was bowled out for : Ngarava 10-0-49-0 (3w), Mumba superior net run rate. RR are also level on 255 in 49.4 overs. Afridi was 8-0-69-1 (3w), Muzarabani 9-0-39-2 (2w), Chib- points with Kolkata Knight Riders who supported by Wahab Riaz, habha 2-0-16-0 (1w), Madhevere 7-0-31-0 (1w), Tributes they replaced at sixth place. who claimed 4-41. Raza 9-0-45-1 (1nb), Chisoro 5-0-31-2 (1w), Gayle hit six fours and eight sixes on In Pakistan’s first home Zimbabwe pour in as his way to 99 off 63 balls. He surpassed international game with no Pakistan's B. Chari b Afridi ...... 2 1,000 sixes in the T20 format. fans because of COVID-19 C. Chibhabha b Afridi ...... 13 Brief Scores: Shaheen Afridi KXIP 185/4 wkts in 20 restrictions at the Pindi (left) celebrates C. Ervine c Rauf b Wasim ...... 41 Maradona overs (Chris Gayle 99, KL Rahul 46; Jofra Stadium, left-handed after taking a B. Taylor c Riaz b Afridi ...... 112 Archer 2/26) lost to RR 186/3 wkts in 17.3 batsmen Haris Sohail (71) and wicket during the S. Williams c Rizwan b Riaz ...... 4 turns 60 overs (Ben Stokes 50, Sanju Samson 48; Imam-ul-Haq (58) struck half first ODI against W. Madhevere b Riaz ...... 55 Murugan Ashwin 1/43) by seven wickets centuries in their team’s total Zimbabwe in Sikander Raza b Riaz ...... 8 REUTERS – BUENOS AIRES T. Chisoro b Afridi ...... 5 of 281-8. Rawalpindi, The three-match ODI C. Mumba c Riaz b Afridi ...... 1 Diego Maradona celebrated his yesterday. PIC: R Ngarava not out ...... 0 series is part of the Interna- 60th birthday yesterday with Lorgat named in / B Muzarabani b Riaz ...... 5 tional Cricket Council’s World @THEREALPCB Extras: (lb2, w7) ...... 9 tributes from around the world CSA interim board Cup Super League. Seven of Total: (all out; 49.4 overs) ...... 255 and a 100-metre long bill- the 13 teams in the league will Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-28, 3-99, 4-115, 5-234, board being erected in his directly qualify for the 2023 Taylor and swung the game Blessing Muzarabani (2-39), 6-240, 7-245, 8-246, 9-250 honour in the centre of Buenos AFP – JOHANNESBURG in . in Pakistan favor. who is making a comeback Bowling: Afridi 10-0-49-5 (w2), Rauf 10-1- Aires. Taylor had kept Zim- “He (Taylor) played an after two years, were the pick 57-0 (3w), Ashraf 10-1-57-0, Riaz 9.4-0-41-4 However, the Gimnasia y Former Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief babwe in the hunt by hitting outstanding innings, but I had of the Zimbabwe bowlers. (2w), Wasim 10-0-49-1 Esgrima coach is expected to executive Haroon Lorgat was included 11 fours and three sixes until confidence in Shaheen Afridi Babar, who won the toss spend a quiet day at home and yesterday in a nine-man interim board Afridi returned and had him and Wahab Riaz,” Babar and elected to bat, hit three the 42nd over after hitting six could miss the restart of the tasked with restoring the image of the caught at mid-off in the 47th Azam said after winning his crisp boundaries in his knock fours and two sixes when off- Argentine league due to fears scandal-tainted organisation. over. Zimbabwe lost their last first ODI as Pakistan . of 19 before he was caught spinner Sikander Raza (1-45) about COVID-19. The 60-year-old ex-International five wickets for only 15 runs “Once Shaheen had Taylor’s behind off Muzarabani while had him caught behind. The former Boca Juniors Cricket Council chief executive led South in space of 18 balls. wicket, I was sure we are attempting an expansive Sohail didn’t return on the and Napoli striker was African cricket for four years from 2013 Taylor and Wesley Mad- going to win the game.” drive away from his body. field during Zimbabwe’s reported to have come into before departing after a breakdown in his hevere (55) shared a 119-run Earlier, Zimbabwe’s Imam survived a tele- chase. contact with someone who relationship with the national body. fifth-wicket stand that put players didn’t show any rust- vision referral for an lbw All-rounder Imad Wasim displayed COVID-19 Administrative crises led to the entire Zimbabwe’s chase back on iness despite this being their when on 11 and went on to successfully overturned a symptoms and could miss his board resigning by this Monday and the track after Afridi and Riaz had first international game since hit six fours. However, soon caught behind decision side’s home match against nine replacements headed by a judge, Zak reduced Zimbabwe to 115-4 March as they tied down after completing his half against him early in his Patronato, the first in the Yaqoob, have been given a three-month in the 27th over. Pakistan’s much-fancied century he fell to a bizarre innings. Pakistan made 90 restarted top flight league tenure. But once Riaz broke the stroke-players through their run out when he and Sohail runs in the last 10 overs to campaign that was paused in South Africa will host for three partnership by clean bowling pace and spin early on. both ended up on a striker’s reach a reasonable total as March. ODIs and three T20s during November Madhevere, Afridi followed Left-arm spinner Tendai end. fast bowler Carl Mumba Nevertheless, friends sent and December behind closed doors. up with the key dismissal of Chisoro (2-31) and fast bowler Sohail finally departed in returned with 1-69. tributes to the iconic and flam- boyant player best known for leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title. Longines Hathab Tour Dressage competitions A billboard featuring Maradona’s face was unveiled Competitors in on Buenos Aires’ majestic central Avenida, alongside the action during obelisk where fans tradi- the Elementary tionally gather to celebrate (Level 1) and major victories. Preliminary Maradona is widely acknowledged to be one of the (Level 2) greatest footballers of all time. dressage He won the 1986 World competitions of Cup with Argentina and his two goals against England in Round 2 of the the quarter-final victory - one Longines Hathab the infamous Hand of God, the Qatar Equestrian second a brilliant solo goal - are unforgettable moments in Tour at the sporting history. Qatar Equestrian He also transformed Federation's Italian club Napoli, helping them to their first league title Indoor Arena in 1987, as well as to the UEFA yesterday. Cup in 1989 and another Serie A trophy a year later.