Sports Monday, April 15, 2019 19 Jordan Rally from April 25 to 27 Tahir and Raina steer CSK closer to IPL playoffs

IANS in the sixth over. Kolkata Ambati Rayudu (5) failed to impress the selectors on and Suresh the eve of World Cup selection Raina helped Chennai Super while Kedar Jadhav (20) also Kings (CSK) put one foot in got out to leave CSK on 81/4. the playoffs as they got past Dhoni and Raina com- (KKR) bined for a 40-run fifth by five in their Indian stand before the former was Premier League (IPL) return trapped by Narine, with re- leg fixture at the Eden Gar- views not going in the former dens on Sunday. India skipper’s favour. CSK, who had defeated Earlier, recording his best KKR in their first meeting figures (4/27) in the competi- also, consolidated their spot tion, Tahir bowled a game- Nasser bin Khalifa al Attiyah (left) in action at the Qatar Rally in March and Abdulaziz al Kuwari, another Qatari rallyist, adds depth to the field of the Jordan Rally. at the top of the table with 14 changing 15th over to account points from eight matches. for Chris Lynn (82; 51 balls; KKR, on the other hand, 7x4 6x6) and slumped to their third straight (10) to dent the KKR’s surge as defeat, remaining on eight they could only manage 161/8. points from eight matches. Tahir was introduced in the Attiyah tops impressive Tahir (4/27) first played a ninth over and the 40-year-old pivotal role in restricting KKR removed (21) and to 161/8. Robin Uthappa (0) in the 11th Chasing a modest 162 for over to start KKR’s slide and victory, Raina struck an un- then did the major damage entry for Jordan Rally beaten 58 off 42 balls (7x4; in the 15th over by removing 1x6), his 36th IPL fifty, adding Lynn and Russell in the space 41 runs with Ravindra Jadeja of four balls. Tribune News Network and he tops the entry list in a al Thefiri returns to defend headed by Abdullah al Ruwa- changes to the route and spe- (31 off 17 balls ; 4x5) for Lynn was caught at deep DOHA Volkswagen Polo GTI R5. the MERC 2 title he won so hi, fellow Kuwaiti Saleh bin cial stages that teams will the sixth wicket. square leg by Shardul Thakur Attiyah and his French co- convincingly in 2018. He has Eidan, Saudi Arabia’s Saeed tackle on the second round of Chennai needed 24 in the while substitute Dhruv Shorey The resurgence of interest driver Matthieu Baumel face already claimed maximum al Mouri and Lebanese rookie the regional series. The rally last two overs, but Jadeja hit took an excellent catch at long in the FIA Middle East Rally competition from a further points for his win in Qatar last Alex Feghali. will now be fought out over Harry Gurney for a hat-trick of on. Championship continues to three R5 cars in the hands of The Jordanian quintet of 22 special stages and 247.20 fours in the 19th over to bring In the last five overs, the gather pace with the news that fellow Qataris Abdulaziz al Salameh al Gammaz, Tareq competitive kilometres in a the equation down to eight hosts could muster only 28 the Jordan Rally has attracted Kuwari (Škoda) and Nasser Jordan Motorsport official- al Taher, Ziad Miqdad, Amjad route of 563.38km. runs off six balls. runs with only one four at the 18 entries and an additional Khalifa al Attiyah (Ford) and ly announced on Sunday Anasweh and Sami Fleifel will Teams will face 11 spe- The India all-rounder then cost of three wickets. Shar- five crews for a national rally. Jordan’s Marouf Abu Samra that competitors from 10 take part in a national rally cial stages on April 26 and creamed Piyush Chawla for a dul (2/18), who along with Jordan Motorsport offi- (Ford). nations will take part in category running behind the a further 11 on April 27. The boundary to hit the winning Tahir was the other architect cially announced on Sunday The MERC 2 (formerly the second round of the main FIA event. Dead Sea super special stage runs as the defending cham- of Chennai’s choke, removed that competitors from 10 na- Group N) category has at- regional rally series on The 2019 Jordan Rally will of 2.59km will now round off pions won with two balls to (15) and Piyush tions will take part in the sec- tracted a further 12 entries April 25-27. be based at the Crowne Plaza the competitive action on both spare. Chawla (0) in the final over. ond round of the regional rally and defending champion Hen- Jordan Dead Sea Resort and days after two loops of five Chennai lost Shane Wat- series on April 25-27. ry Kahy of Lebanon and local gets underway with a ceremo- gravel specials each day. son (6) early with Gurney Brief scores Qatar’s Nasser bin Saleh al driver Asem Aref will do bat- month. Competition is likely nial start at Abdali Boulevard Support for the event trapping him in front of the Chennai Super Kings: 162 for 5 (Raina 58*, du Attiyah is the defending cham- tle in MERC 3 for two-wheel to come from Jordanian driv- in Amman from 19.00hrs on comes from Abdali Boulevard, wicket. Faf du Plessis (24) was Plessis 24, Narine 2-19) beat Kolkata Knight Riders: 161 for 8 (Lynn 82, Tahir 4-27) by five pion and a winner of the Jor- drive vehicles. ers Khaled Juma and Ihab al Thursday (April 25). Mountain Dew, Hala and Bliss castled by (2/19), wickets dan Rally on a dozen occasions Kuwaiti driver Meshari Shorafi, four Omani entrants Rally officials have made FM. who bowled a wicket maiden

Djokovic Qubaisi gets creditable result, finishes 11th confident for Sheikh Jassim, Monte Carlo AFP Hamad determined Monte Carlo to improve in next Novak Djokovic said on round Sunday he is working to en- sure that last month’s sub-par hardcourt performances do Tribune News Network not affect his seasonal bow on DOHA clay in Monte Carlo. The world number one Qatar’s Abdulla al Qubaisi kicks off at his home event secured a creditable 11th spot starting in the second round in the prestigious and tough against either Philipp Kohls- Spanish Supersport 600 chreiber or a qualifier. Championship in Jerez on Sat- Hamad al Sahooti before the start of the Moto4 race in Jerez, Spain Djokovic, winner of the urday, giving a good boost to on Saturday. last three Grand Slam titles the QMMF Racing Team for and dreaming of completing the rest of the season. the weather was good and we best and Abdulla al Qubaisi his personal sweep with an- Sheikh Jassem al Thani thank the organisers to provide produced a fine result. Saeed other trophy at Roland Garros, also contested in the same race, Abdulla al Qubaisi during the Spanish Supersport 600 race in Jerez on Saturday. good atmosphere for our riders al Sulaiti was unfortunate be- was stopped in the third round while Hamad al Sahooti con- to make the most of this par- cause of his crash. at Indian Wells last month. tested in the Moto 4 category. rez clinched the race for An- after a crash. Luckily, he es- isfaction at the achievements in ticipation.” “We hope that Saeed will He was then unable to hold In the Supersport 600 dotrans Team Torr, while his caped unhurt. The Spanish rid- the first round of the Spanish QMMF President Abdul- recover fast and return to the onto a 6-1 lead in the opening class, 34 riders from 12 coun- compatriot Joan Uvina (Mo- ers swept the race with Angel championship. “The start was rahman al Mannai praised track. Also I’m confident that set of his fourth-rounder in tries competed with total inten- tos Y Max-Hospitali) clinched Piquiras emerging the winner. good for our champion riders the level of the Qatar Team in our riders will get better results Miami, going out in three to sity and commitment. While the second spot and French- He was followed by Alberto in this strong championship. the first round of the Spanish in the next round. We should Robert Bautista Agut. Qubaisi clocked his best lap of man Loic Arbel (Emperador Fernandez in the second place This is very important assign- championship and said: “For be patient right now. We “I can’t wait to step on 1:46.575 in his 14 round of the Racing Team) completed the and Brian O’Rearty managing ment and it will help us prepare us, their first participation should not rush for the results. court, I’ve been training hard,” track, Sheikh Jassim, contest- podium. the third spot. a strong Qatari team for inter- was important. We wanted to Our prime goal is to improve he said on a rainy opening day ing in his first international In the Moto 4 category, Khalid al Remaihi, Vice- national events. see how our riders respond to and our riders will certainly of the Masters 1000. “I had a event, managed a 27th spot. Hamad al Sahooti had to pull President of the Lusail Circuit He also added, “The organ- such a big race. Sheikh Jassim, get better,” added the QMMF great last six months of the sea- Spain’s Oscar Gutier- out of the race in the ninth lap Sports Club, expressed his sat- isation was at the highest level, Hamad al Sahooti tried their president. son, the 31-year-old Serb said. Qatari riders get experience in MTB racing Ruud, Garin to clash in Tribune News Network Houston tennis final DOHA AFP US 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in the other Four Qatari riders had gone Houston semi-final on Saturday. to the 4 Islands MTB Stage Ruud had to battle back Race in Croatia for experience Casper Ruud punched his from an 2-5 deficit in the and got some valuable lessons ticket to the US Men’s Clay opening set to dispatch the after five grueling days of rac- Court Championship final on Colombian Galan. ing there. Saturday, holding off a stiff Galan finished his rain- The five stages offered challenge from qualifier Dan- delayed quarter-final earlier practically everything to Ab- iel Elahi Galan to win their in the day over seventh seed dullah al Jaaidi, Fahad al Su- semi-final match 7-5, 6-2. Jordan Thompson of Austral- waidi, Marwan al Jalham and Ruud, 20, is seeking to ia, winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Abdullah al Khater that an become the first Norwegian Ruud has been impres- MTB race can offer. Extreme- to win an ATP Tour title and sive on clay this season. He ly steep climbs, huge drops, will take on Christian Garin of reached the quarter-finals in twisted roads, long stages, Chile in Sunday’s final. February at the Rio Open and loose gravel, massive stones Ruud’s father, Christian, then advanced to the semi- were not the only obstacle. was the last player from Nor- finals at the Brazil Open. The biggest obstacle was the Qatari riders and officials during the 4 Islands MTB Stage Race in Croatia recently. way to reach an ATP Tour Garin is also looking for cold (8C), rainy and windy finishing runner-up in 1995 his first ATP title after ad- weather which was pushing theless, the Qatari riders man- stage four. and gaining very important tar. We will go through re- at Bastad, Sweden. Christian vancing to his second clay riders to their limits. aged to overcome and finish Head coach Szymon Wa- experience for us in this covery process and then start Ruud competed on the Tour court final of the season. Six hours on the bike in all the stages except Khater siak said after the race: “We stage of development. Our next season preparation with for a decade. Garin won their only pre- this condition will make the who had a knee injury on stage are very happy with achieve- plan at the moment is to fin- MTB stage race in Poland in The 22-year-old Garin vious career meeting last toughest people suffer. Never- three and could not start on ment of finishing the race ish the racing season in Qa- end of June.” defeated Sam Querrey of the month.