ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 17, 2021 SPORTS 14 Root hits 4th Test century Italian skier Bassino captures Thirimanne helps Sri Lanka cut England’s ‘lead’ to 130 GALLE, Sri Lanka, Jan 16, (AP): score in his previous four test 3rd WCup GS win, Shiffrin 7th Lahiru Thirimanne led Sri Lanka’s innings, labored for 65 deliveries in gallant fightback to cut England’s scoring 15 runs, but added 54 runs lead to 130 after captain Joe Root hit with Thirimanne to defy England’s Feller wins men’s WC slalom, takes standings lead his fourth double Test century on the hopes of making inroads. third day of the first cricket Test on Leach finally struck in the penulti- Saturday. mate over of the day when he found KRANJSKA GORA, Slo- Root’s 228 had provided England the thin edge of Mendis’ bat to pro- venia, Jan 16, (AP): Marta a strong total of 421 and a meaning- vide England some relief. Bassino held on to her fi rst- ful first innings lead of 286, but Earlier, Root hit 18 fours and a six Thirimanne stood firm for two ses- in his well-composed double century run lead to win a women’s sions to remain unbeaten on 76 off off 321 balls before England was World Cup giant slalom by 189 balls and carried Sri Lanka to bowled out just before lunch. a big margin on Saturday, 156-2 at stumps. Dilruwan Perera ended Root’s earning her third victory Thirimanne’s patient knock which long vigil, which began in the last included six session on the first day, when he this season. boundaries was had England’s skipper caught at The Italian coped best with tough in sharp contrast deep mid-wicket off an extravagant course conditions as she held off a to Sri Lanka’s shot as the offspinner finished with challenge by Tessa Worley. first innings Worley, the former two-time GS effort when the world champion from France, was whole team was CRICKET fastest in the fi nal run but still came up rattled for 135 in eight-tenths of a second short of Bas- two sessions on sino. the first day. 4-109. Michelle Gisin was 1.46 behind in England had Resuming on 320-4, Root contin- third for the Swiss skier’s fi rst podium an opportunity ued to dominate spinners despite Sri in GS. to remove Thirimanne Lanka hitting back with three wick- Petra Vlhova was fourth and re- Thirimanne ets in 12 balls. mained in the lead of the overall stand- soon after the left-hander had com- Fast bowler Asitha Fernando ings. Mikaela Shiffrin, who was fourth pleted his half century, but Dom (2-44) had the overnight batsman Jos after the opening run, dropped to sev- Sibley spilled a two-handed catch at Buttler (30) caught behind and Sam enth. The Olympic champion trailed gully. Curran was clean bowled off the next Bassino by 2.18 seconds. Italy’s Marta Bassino speeds down the course of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup giant slalom, in Kranjska Gora, England also wasted one of its ball before Bess, who survived the The American is the only skier other Slovenia, on Jan 16. (AP) three reviews as it unsuccessfully hat-trick ball was run-out in a mix-up than Bassino to win a GS this season, went for an lbw decision against with Root. in Courchevel, France in December. Thirimanne when he was on 61. But in between those quick wick- Thirimanne and Kusal Perera ets, Root raised his double hundred Chock, Bates set world record in rhythm dance started a steady fightback with their off 291 balls with a slog-swept SKIING 101-run opening wicket stand as they boundary off Lasith Embuldeniya thwarted the spin threat of Jack (3-176) and became the fourth visit- Tennell claims 2nd US Figure Skating title Leach and Dom Bess on a turning ing player to score a double century That result marked the three-time LAS VEGAS, Jan 16, (AP): Bradie And while Liu was sharp on her fi rst wicket. at the picturesque Galle International overall champion’s fi rst win since re- Tennell is back on top of American jumping passes she shaky on her last Perera shelved his strokemaking in Stadium. turning from a 10-month break from fi gure skating. three, and the 15-year-old’s score of scoring 62 off 109 balls and even Chris Gayle (333) of the West racing in 2020. The 22-year-old Olympian, who had 213.39 points left her in fourth place. batted with a strapped hand after he Indies, India’s Virender Sehwag Shiffrin’s American teammate, fi nished second and third at the past Tennell was next on the ice and – was struck by Mark Wood’s short (201 not out) and Musfiqur Rahim Paula Moltzan, tested positive for two national championships, followed well, she left it all on the ice. pitch delivery in the middle session (200) of Bangladesh are the other COVID-19 on Friday and was ruled her rollicking short program with a The only bobbles during her per- before England struck twice after tea. batsmen to have achieved similar out for both races this weekend. rock-solid free skate at the US Figure formance came on Tennell’s opening Perera threw away his wicket early feats at Galle. No. 11 batsman Broad The US ski team said “ongoing test- Skating Championships. Tennell hit all triple lutz-triple toe combination and in the last session when he played a (11 not out) took back to back bound- ing” of its skiers and staff “resulted in seven of her triple jumps to fi nish with fi nishing spin, when she looked so rash shot off Sam Curran’s wayward aries off Fernando before Root was no other positive cases.” 232.61 points, well clear of her closest physically and mentally exhausted that delivery and holed out in the deep. the last man to be dismissed just at Moved from Maribor because of a she seemed to catch herself from col- Kusal Mendis, who had failed to the stroke of first session. lack of snow, the race took place at a lapsing. But she hopped right up and resort which is an annual stop on the FIGURE SKATING blew kisses to the cardboard cutouts in men’s circuit. Another GS on the same Podkoren the stands, knowing that she had risen to the occassion. course is scheduled for Sunday. rivals Amber Glenn and Karen Chen. In Flachau, Austria, Manuel Feller The only skater that could catch Glenn fi nished with 215.33 points Tennell was Mariah Bell, whose raced through driving snow to win a to edge 2017 champion Karen Chen World Cup slalom on Saturday after chances of winning her fi rst US ti- by 0.35 points for the silver medal, Bradie Tennell performs during tle were dashed when she fell on her Clement Noël let a fi rst-run lead slip the women’s free skate at the US away for the second straight race. while two-time and defending cham- opening jump pass. Bell also stepped pion Alysa Liu struggled late in her Figure Skating Championships, on out on a triple loop and wound up fi n- Feller rose from third fastest in the Jan 15, in Las Vegas. (AP) morning to edge Noël by 0.43 seconds program and fi nished in fourth. ishing fi fth. and regain the slalom standings lead Earlier in the day, Madison Chock Hubbell and Donohue, the two- and Evan Bates set a world record in down the score to beat when she fi n- time champions and reigning silver on a course named for Austrian great ished a sterling program to music from Hermann Maier. the rhythm dance, scoring 90.10 points medalists, set an American record to edge Madison Hubbell and Zachary Italian composer Ezio Bosso with a 89.66 points during their strong, sas- Marco Schwarz was third, trailing solid triple lutz-double toe-double his Austria team-mate by 0.70 – and a Donohue by less than a point in their sy rhythm dance set to music from fi rst competition in nearly a year. loop combination backed up by a tri- the fi lm “Burlesque.” But they were single point in the season-long stand- ple loop-triple toe. Her stunning score ings. The U.S. championships were eclipsed an hour later, when Chock moved from San Jose, California, due put the 21-year-old from Plano, Texas, and Bates earned Level 4 marks on Feller’s fi rst career win followed six briefl y into fi rst place. runner-up fi nishes, including in two to the COVID-19 pandemic. No fans every element but a twizzle sequence slaloms this season and a silver medal were allowed. Liu, who was second to Tennell to music from “Kiss Me, Kate.” at the 2017 world championships. They sure missed an edge-of-your after the short program, left her triple The previous world record of 90.03 Noël was a three-time winner last seat women’s free skate. axel and and quadruple lutz out of her points was set by Gabriella Papadakis Glenn, who had never been on the program as she continues to adjust to and Guillaume Cizeron at the 2019 In this Aug 12, 2019 fi le photo, Andy Murray, of Britain, hits a forehand season, but got his fi rst podium fi n- against Richard Gasquet, of France, during fi rst-round play at the Western ish Saturday in his fi fth race of this podium at senior nationals, threw a growth spurt and coaching change.