SPORT Monday 25 February 2019 PAGE | 06 PAGE | 07 Australia’s Bancroft Tsitsipas overcomes defends ball-tampering Kukushkin interview, says no to win second Warner rift career title Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally: Home hero grabs third consecutive stage win Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah driving his Toyota Hilux during the third selective section of the Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally, Action during the third selective section yesterday. of the Manateq Qatar Cross-Country Rally yesterday. Al Attiyah tightens grip on overall lead THE PENINSULA MINIs. Czech driver MANATEQ QATAR CROSS-COUNTRY RALLY 2019– POSITIONS ON SS3 (TOP 3) LUSAIL Miroslav Zapletal 1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA)Toyota Hilux Overdrive 3hrs 27min 33sec stayed out of serious 2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 3hrs 28min 44sec A third successive stage victory trouble in his Ford 3. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) MINI John Cooper Works Rally 3hrs 30min 16sec for Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah F-150 Evo to hold and French co-driver Matthieu sixth place, despite POSITIONS AFTER SS3 (TOP 3) Baumel enabled the Toyota Hilux one puncture and 1. Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 7hrs 12min 42sec crew to extend their overall lead four small naviga- 2. Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 7hrs 22min 34sec in the Manateq Qatar Cross- tional errors. 3. Jakub Przygonski (POL)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) MINI John Cooper Works Rally 7hrs 23min 28sec Country Rally to 9min 52sec Bernhard Ten yesterday. Brinke struggled to QATAR MANATEQ BAJA 2019 – ROUND 2 (TOP 4) The five-time event winner make headway on 1. Ahmed Al Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Lucchese (ITA) Can-Am Maverick X3 1hr 54min 21sec opened the road on the longest the third stage in the Qatar’s Ahmed Al Kuwari driving his 2. Khalid Al Mohannadi (QAT)/Loic Minaudier (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 T3 2hrs 04min 49sec stage of the entire event last of the Overdrive Can-Am Maverick X3 yesterday on their way to win 3. Saleh Al Saif (SAU)/Ziad Al Arbi (SAU) Can Am Maverick X3 2hrs 05min 02sec (351.98km) and overcame the Toyotas. He lost time the second round of Qatar Manateq Bajas. tricky navigation and a series of with navigational 4. Adel Abdulla (QAT)/Marc Serra (ESP) Can-Am Maverick T3 2hrs 19min 16sec unforgiving sand dunes to card woes before the the target time of 3hrs 27min second passage control, although T3 after turbo-related issues. 33sec. he was able to climb from 11th to Al Zubair’s Qatari co-driver Team-mates Yazeed Al Rajhi seventh in the overall rankings. Nasser Al Kuwari explained: “It and Dirk von Zitzewitz pushed the Monster Energy Can-Am was around 70km in the stage and Qatari hard from the outset and driver Reinaldo Varela was the we were leading the T3. We felt the second fastest time enabled main beneficiary of numerous there was no power in the car. We the Toyota driver to edge in front stoppages and issues for rival T3 try to move again. Varela caught of Polish rival Jakub Przygonski competitors. The Brazilian set the us, but there was white smoke. and his German navigator Timo second fastest time in the cat- We knew it was the turbo. We Gottschalk in the overall egory behind Ahmed Al Kuwari, called the team and we took the standings. The two are now sep- holds eighth overall and now has decision to come back to Lusail.” arated by just 54 seconds in the a T3 advantage of 1hrs 49min Russian driver Fedor fight for second place. 15sec over ninth-placed Fedor Vorobeyev lost considerable time Al Attiyah said: “Another good Yorobeyev. Qatari Khalid Al digging his way out of a sandy day, but it was not easy at all. We Mohannadi and Italian female hole in the dunes and Qatar’s Adel started from the sand dunes and rider Camelia Liparoti rounded Abdulla suffered his own time- the navigation was a little bit dif- off a decimated top 11. consuming delays and was ficult. We didn’t make any mis- Mohammed Al Attiyah running well behind the leading takes. We try to push in some ground to a halt north of the group. places where I felt good, but I also Inland Sea and fell out of con- Mohammed Al Harqan’s goal tried to save our car because that tention for overall T3 honours of winning the T2 category for is important. We had a problem with huge delays, while Omani series production cross-country with one tyre (delaminating), but driver Abdullah Al Zubair also vehicles was dealt a bitter blow we managed.” ruined his chance of winning when he suffered technical issues The Russian crew of Vladimir on the eastern coast, north of the Vasilyev and Konstantin Zhiltsov Inland Sea. But rival Qatari stopped short of the second Today's action Mohammed Al Meer was also passage control for a short time, delayed in the sand, as both T2 There will be two selective but finished the stage with the cars struggled to cross the fourth fastest time to hold a sections today, split by demanding terrain. Al Meer even- similar place in the overall a road liaison section of tually snatched the T2 advantage standings. 56.39km where service and 12th overall. Italian Eugenio Amos felt is not permitted. The first The day’s stage of 351.98km unwell and was forced to stop his timed section of 227.99km included passage control points Ford 2WD Buggy before the starts 37.71km from the after 15.42km, 140.72km, dunes, north of the Inland Sea, 198.15km and 249.95km and also and his demise lifted Yasir Lusail Sport Centre and the acted as the second of the Qatar Seaidan and French navigator second of 121.41km finishes Manateq Baja, with national com- Laurent Lichtleuchter to fifth 95.75km from the bivouac. petitors finishing their action at overall in the second of the X–raid PC2. Qatar’s Ahmed Al Kuwari and Yazeed Al Rajhi in action during yesterday’s stage. his Italian navigator Manuel Luc- chese claimed victory in the second round of the Qatar Manateq Bajas with a time of 1hr 54min 21sec at PC2. The Can-Am driver had lost his chance of pushing for T3 honours in the FIA event on the opening day, but the Baja win was some consolation for the former motorcycle rider. Khalid Al Mohannadi and his French co-driver Loic Minaudier were second in a Polaris and Saleh Al Saif and Ziad Al Arbi rounded off the top three. Abdulaziz Al Dhafeeri, Hussain Al Mahdi, Abdulaziz Al Basheer, Jahman Jaralla and Nicholas Pacheco all suffered mechanical issues early in the stage. 06 SPORT MONDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2019 Shock Sri Lanka loss major jolt Sri Lanka savours rare cricket win for ‘home giants’ South Africa after ‘unthinkable’ AFP PORT ELIZABETH Test results in SA South Africa’s shock Test series defeat against Sri Lanka came as a major jolt to a team which AFP had become accustomed to dominating Test COLOMBO matches at home. The unheralded Sri Lankans exposed Sri Lankan politicians, cricket legends and newspaper were flaws in both South Africa’s top-order batting gushing praise yesterday after the national team’s “unthinkable” and their much-vaunted fast bowling attack series triumph against South Africa. in winning both Tests in a two-match series. The depleted Sri Lankan side led by interim captain Dimuth Coach Ottis Gibson was asked after the Karunaratne won the two-Test series at St George’s Park in second Test in Port Elizabeth whether South Port Elizabeth on Saturday in a stunning performance. Africa’s policy of playing on pace-friendly “First Asian nation to win a series in South Africa,” said the pitches had affected the form and confidence Sunday Island in banner headlines. “Sri Lanka pull off the of the home team’s batsmen, who struggled unthinkable in South Africa.” to totals of 235, 259, 222 and 128 against Sri The Sunday Times of Colombo called the national team “con- Lanka. querors” for snatching an unexpected series win. “No,” he said. “We’ve got runs on these “Rookie Lankans silence critics,” said the Sunday Morning pitches before. We just haven’t batted well weekly in its edition yesterday. Sri Lanka’s Oshada Fernando (left) and Kusal Mendis walk back to the pavilion after enough in this series.” Both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister victory in the second Test cricket match against South Africa at St George’s Park The reality, though, is that batting Ranil Wickremesinghe were quick to hail the team’s rare success. Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday. struggles have become a trend, with none of Former skipper Kumar Sangakkara noted they had been the current top six batsmen averaging above under pressure both on and off field. 40 since the start of 2018. Du Plessis, though, said changes were and Kasun Rajitha had hampered South “Congratulations... for achieving what no other Sri Lankan Successive series wins against India, Aus- not inevitable. Africa’s preparation. team has ever come close to. Huge character shown by all con- tralia and Pakistan were achieved when mod- “You’re talking about a top-order that is That claim was deried by veteran West cerned with The team, coaching staff and management having erate totals proved enough because of South experienced. Talking about them to be Indian commentator Michael Holding, who been under tremendous pressure,” Sangakkara said on Twitter.