SPORT Saturday 12 May 2018 PAGE | 18 PAGE | 19 McLeod vows to This is ‘just do Shanghai hurdle the start’, hero Liu proud says Salah Al Duhail edge 10-man Four uncapped players in Sri Al Sadd 1-0 to reach final Lankan squad CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA for Windies tour REUTERS DOHA: Al Duhail rode on a brilliant goal by Almoez Ali against 10-man Al Sadd to make it to the final of the Amir Cup. COLOMBO: Sri Lanka opening batsman In a thrilling semi-final which took place at the Al Mahela Udawatte has been called into Sadd Stadium yesterday, Ali scored the winner in the a 17-man test squad for next month’s 68th minute when he beat Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad tour to West Indies, along with three Abdulla Al Dosari from close range inside the box. other uncapped players, Kasun Rajitha, The semi-final saw the Qatar Cup finalists con- Jeffrey Vandersay and Asitha Fernando. fronting each other in an aggressive manner and several The 31-year-old Udawatte will hope incidents of unwanted confrontations and provoca- to get his first opportunity in the longest tions during the match. format, more than 10 years after his In the 28th minute, Al Sadd’s forward Hassan Al one-day international debut in West Haydos went down in what appeared to be a foul play Indies. by Dami Terawari, and the referee opted to go for the Regular opener Dimuth Karu- Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and the appeal was naratne remains on the sidelines with denied. a fractured finger, and fast bowlers Seconds before the half-time break, Al Sadd suf- Dushmantha Chameera and Nuwan fered a huge blow when their feared defender Pradeep are out with back and ham- Abdelkerem Hassan was shown the red card by the string issues respectively. referee following a rough tackle on a rival player. The national selectors have also The teams were locked goalless at the end of half included senior players Angelo Mathews time. and Suranga Lakmal but their partici- Al Duhail took the advantage of the extra man and pation in the tour is subject to fitness. made several attempts to score in the second half. “Mathews and Lakmal are not unfit Just after Ali scored, Al Duhail almost doubled the as such,” Sri Lanka’s chief selector lead when skipper Luiz Martin Jr. struck from outside Graeme Labrooy told ESPNcricinfo. the box with a brilliant kick in the 70th minute, only “In fact they are fit, but we wanted to see the ball bounce off the goal post. to see if they were match-fit. The team Al Duhail will now eye their third domestic title is at a training camp in Pallekele, so after enjoying the silverware in the QNB Stars League we’ll give them until May 14 before we The referee shows the red card to Al Sadd’s Abdelkerem as well as Qatar Cup. make a final decision on those two Hassan (right) during the Amir Cup semi-final played They will confront the winners of today’s second players.” semi-final between Al Gharafa and Al Rayyan on May at the Al Sadd Stadium yesterday. RIGHT: Al Duhail’s The first of three tests begins on 19. Almoez Ali in action. Pictures: Mohamed Farag June 6 at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain. Full squad: Dinesh Chandimal (captain), Mahela Udawatte, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Ambitious Al Gharafa eye Amir Cup final Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dick- ARMSTRONG VAS are fully focused on reaching winning their respective Sadd Stadium because this during the QNB Stars League, wella, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan THE PENINSULA the final. All my players are last-16 matches. stadium is air condi-condi LaudrupLaudru pointed out that this Perera, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey ready to give their best and Al Rayyan coach MichaelMichael tionedtioned andand matchmatch is completely different Vandersay, Lahiru Gamage, Kasun DOHA: Al Gharafa want to end they are ready for the chal- Laudrup said all the playersplayers makesmakes playingplaying fromfrom the League meeting Rajitha, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru the Amir Cup final drought lenge of Al Gharafa,” he added. are focused in reachingng thethe conditionsconditions becausebecaus of the circumstances Kumara, Asitha Fernando. when they take on Al Rayyan Al GharafaGharafa alongalong finalfinal ofof AmirAmir CupCuup byby betterbetter atat thisthis in whichwhic the game was played, in the semi-final of the pres- withwith AlAl Rayyan,Rayyan, winningwinning overover AlAl time,”time,” hehe alongalong with the motivation for tigious championship here at Al Sadd and Al Gharafa. ssaidaid dduringuring thethe playerspla to reach the final Al Sadd Stadium today. Duhail,Duhail, the “We“We are lookinglooking to a press game.game. IPL: Buttler Coach Bulent Uygun’s side firstfirst fourfour fin-fin- qualifyqualify for the final,final, andand conference.conference. AskedAs as to whether the finished fourth in the QNB ishersishers ofof thethe I am happyhappy thatthat the OnOn thethe lacklack of silverware for the club leads Rajasthan Stars League and the Turkish QSLQSL were semi-finalsemi-final willwilll bebe loss againstagainst Al is causecau of concern, he said: tactician is looking forward to direcltydireclty seededseeded playplayeded at AAll GharafaGharafa “Not winningw the champi- a fierce and competitive semi- into thethe Amir CuCupp onshiponship is not a matter (of to thrilling win final match. pre-quarters. AllAll concern)concer for me alone, the idea AGENCIES “We seek to qualify for our the four sidsideses of a footballfo team game is not first Amir Cup final in seven livedlived up to the relatedrelated to only one person, and years. We are fully focused. top billinbillingg bbyy the official.off It is the team as a JAIPUR: Rajasthan Royals rode a heroic The players are ready to play adadvancingvancing whole,who consisting of the batting effort by Jos Buttler to edge out well and attain the goal of iintonto tthehe tettechnical and adminis- Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by four qualifying for the final,” Uygun qquarter-uarter- Al Rayyan coach Al Gharafa coach trative staff and wickets in a nail-biting Indian Premier said while speaking on the eve finalsfinals afterafter Michael Laudrup Bulent Uygun players.” League (IPL) encounter at the Sawai of the match. Mansingh Stadium yesterday. “We promise to give our Buttler batted through the innings best and hope the crowds to help Rajasthan overhaul a stiff come in large numbers to 177-run target with just one ball to go. support and we will not dis- Having opened the Rajasthan along appoint them. The support of with England star Ben Stokes, Buttler the fans is an important part,” continued to defy the CSK bowlers even stressed Uygun. as wickets fell at the other end. He “The competition will be remained unbeaten on 95 runs off just fierce and competitive, and we 60 balls, hitting 11 boundaries and a couple of sixes along the way. Despite the defeat, CSK continue to hold on to the second spot with 14 points from 11 matches. They trail league leaders Sunrisers Hyderabad by four We seek to qualify points. Rajasthan are eighth in the for our first Amir 10-team table with 10 points from 11 Cup final in 10 matches. Earlier, a decent batting effort years. We are fully helped Chennai post a fighting total of focused. The players 176/4 against Rajasthan Royals, but it was not enough to prevent Rajasthan are ready to play from winning well and attain the Brief Scores: goal of qualifying Chennai Super Kings: 176/4 (Suresh Raina 52, Shane Watson 39; Jofra Archer Al Gharafa players in action during a training session for the final: Al 2/42) ahead of their Amir Cup semi-final against Al Rayyan Gharafa coach Rajasthan Royals: 177/6 in 19.5 which will be played at the Al Sadd Stadium today. Bulent Uygun overs (Jos Buttler 95 not out, Stuart Binny 22). 18 SPORT SATURDAY 12 MAY 2018 Volleyball: Al Ahli aim surprise win over Al Rayyan in Amir Cup final ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA DOHA: A big volleyball feast is on the cards when Al Ahli and Al Rayyan clash in the final of the Amir Cup today at Qatar Volleyball Association Indoor Hall court at 7pm. For Slovenian star Tine Urnaut of Al Ahli Club and Al Rayyan Club’s French player Earvin N’Gapeth, it willbe strange situation as they will be pitted against each other in Qatar but in Italy are team-mates of Modena Volley. Urnaut said of the upcoming final: “It’s the first time that we are playing against each other as Modena teammates. It is a really strange situation. The The players, captains and coaches of Al Rayyan and Al Ahli pose for a picture on the eve of the Amir Cup Volleyball final at Qatar Volleyball Association Indoor Hall today rules are changed in Qatar, at 7 pm. allowing only one pro in a team.” This is the first time that Al had played for Al Rayyan Club N’Gapeth, playing in Qatar Club are hot choice for the title. and keen to finish the season on helped us reach the final. Also Ahli have made it to any final, but they lost the semi-finals to for the first time, said: “I’m happy Al Rayyan Club have ruled a high. coach Igor has prepared all of the last one was in the 2012-13 El Jaish said: “I already knew to be part of the Al Rayyan team the season with an iron fist. They “In every tournament, I set a us for each match well.