ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021 SPORTS 14

Skelton shines Zubcic wins men’s , Southern pips Alabama State MONTGOMERY, Alabama, Feb 27, (AP): Ladarius Skelton passed for a touchdown and ran for another, Chase Foster scored on a 14-yard intercep- closes gap on leader Pinturault tion return and Southern held on to beat Alabama State 24-21 in the opener for both teams in a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Skelton was 10-of-22 passing for 135 yards and had 72 yards rushing. On a play- action pass, Skelton hit a wide-open Gregory Perkins who raced 40 more yards for a 59-yard score to make it 21-all on the second play of the fourth Skelton quarter. Ala- bama State then went three-and-out and Cesar Barajas made a 41-yard fi eld goal to cap the scoring with 12:29 to play. The Hornets missed a 44-yard fi eld- goal attempt with four seconds left. Ryan Nettles was 16-of-27 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns the Hornets. He threw one interception and was sacked six times. It was the fi rst matchup between the teams since the Jaguars beat Alabama State 64-6 in 2016.

FOOTBALL

Foster’s pick-6 opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game and neither team led by more than sev- en points. A strip sack of Skelton deep in Southern territory led to a 1-yard touchdown run by Jacory Merritt that gave the Hornets their fi rst lead at 21-14 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Big Ten is adding a 16th trophy game in football to honor the fi rst Black man to play in the con- ference. Northwestern and Michigan will meet for the George Jewett Trophy beginning in October, the schools an- nounced. Jewett played football at both schools in the 1890s. Jewett was a standout high school athlete in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and went on to play for the Wolverines in the 1890 and 1892 seasons. He starred as a fullback and halfback and also was Croatia’s Filip Zubcic speeds down the slope during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup giant slalom, in , on Feb 27. (AP) the team’s main kicker.

Gut-Behrami claims 2nd straight downhill victory Kings beat Sultans by 7 wickets BANSKO, Bulgaria, Feb 27, (AP): Fil- Gut-Behrami led Corinne Suter, the downhill world ip Zubcic won the fi rst men’s World champion, by 0.32 seconds for a Swiss 1-2 fi nish. Kira Weidle of Germany fi nished 0.68 behind in Babar leads Karachi to Cup race after the skiing world cham- third, as the podium included the same three ski- pionships Saturday to give new impe- ers who won the medals at the world champion- ships downhill in another Italian resort, Cortina tus to the battle for the season-long d’Ampezzo, two weeks ago. win over Multan in PSL giant slalom title. Gut-Behrami won gold in super-G and giant slalom The Croatian skier overtook fi rst-run leader as well as bronze in downhill at the worlds, and she KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 27, (AP): Earlier, Multan failed to cash in on Mathieu Faivre, who won the world title last drew praise from Suter for her recent successes. Babar Azam hit his second succes- Chris Lynn’s robust start (32 off 14 Gut-Behrami and Suter are the only racers left who sive half century in the Pakistan Super balls) and were cruising along at 72-1 week, to win by 0.40 seconds. Unheralded Ste- League and anchored Karachi Kings to in the fi rst six overs of batting power- fan Brennsteiner was 0.93 behind in third for the can overtake discipline leader Sofi a Goggia in the season-ending downhill at next month’s World Cup a seven-wicket win over Multan Sul- play. Austrian’s fi rst career podium. tans on Saturday. James Vince (45) and skipper Mo- Zubcic closed the gap on discipline leader Alexis Finals in Swiss resort Lenzerheide. Babar’s unbeaten 90 off 60 balls - in- hammad Rizwan (43) both fell in suc- Pinturault to just 22 points with three giant slaloms Goggia is out with a knee injury but the Italian still cluding 13 fours and a six - led Karachi cessive overs of fast bowler Arshad remaining. The next race is Sunday. tops the standings, having won four straight races in to 198-3 with seven balls to spare in yet Iqbal (2-36) as Multan slipped to 133-3 “It was an incredible race, incredible skiing. I am December and January. Suter is 70 points behind and another successful chase in Pakistan’s in the 14th over. so happy and so proud of myself, of my team,” Zub- Gut-Behrami trails by 97, with a race win worth 100 premier Twenty20 league. Karachi came back strongly in the cic said after his second win of the season and third points. All nine league matches in this sea- last fi ve overs with their fast bowlers overall. Suter would need a top-two fi nish to win the title. son’s PSL have been won by the teams leaking only one boundary. Left-arm Zubcic has fi nished on the podium eight times in Breezy Johnson lost sight of the downhill title after chasing, including four successful chas- fast bowler Mohammad Amir, who the last 11 giant slaloms dating to last season. the American crashed in Saturday’s race, which left es of 190-plus runs. earlier started with a maiden over, Pinturault dropped from third in the opening run to her 150 points behind Goggia. Multan had earlier spoiled a blister- bowled seven wide balls in his next fourth, after the Frenchman skied most of his fi nal run Johnson lost grip on her outside ski in a right turn ing start and three overs but got the dangerman with just one pole. and slid off the course. Her skis came off when she were restricted Shahid Afridi (3) in the 19th over to went through two rows of safety nets, though she got to 195-6 as Ka- fi nish with 1-34. up and seemed unhurt. rachi skipper After its third loss, Multan slipped SKIING Her American teammate Laurenne Ross, who re- Imad Wasim to fi fth in six-team event with a soli- turned in January from a two-year injury break, also followed a fa- tary win against Lahore Qalandars. He lost the pole after hitting a gate with his right crashed into the nets, losing her balance after her right miliar script of hand early in his run. He was obviously slowed but ski caught a bump and went up in the air. captains putting CRICKET did remarkably well to navigate his way down through The winner, Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami, Isabella Wright, however, placed 14th for the the opposition the remaining gates and fi nished 1.06 off the lead. celebrates on podium after an alpine ski, wom- American’s career best result on the World Cup cir- into bat after Pinturault won the previous three giant slaloms en’s World Cup downhill, in Val di Fassa, Italy, cuit. winning the toss. Meanwhile, the Court of Arbitration on the World Cup circuit and seemed on his way to on Feb 27. (AP) With clouds throwing a shadow over most of the “Credit goes for Sport has reduced the ban on in- gold at the worlds eight days ago before skiing out in course and reducing visibility for the racers, condi- to the bowlers Azam ternational cricketer Umar Akmal to his fi nal run, handing victory to his French teammate tria in October 2019. tions were vastly different from Friday’s race, which fi rst,” Wasim 12 months and fi ned him 4.25 million Faivre. Faivre won the world titles in GS and the paral- took place in sunshine. said. “The way we fi nished at the end rupees ($27,000) for breaching the Pa- Henrik Kristoffersen was fourth going into the sec- lel event but has not triumphed in a World Cup race It didn’t affect Gut-Behrami, who took advantage was fantastic. We saved almost 15-20 kistan Cricket Board’s anti-corruption ond leg but fi nished 17th. The Norwegian just avoid- since 2016. of her outstanding technical skills to win time on her runs at the death.” code. ed skiing out early in his run, forced to brake to make “After the world champs, I just wanted to keep the rivals in the turning middle section. Englishman Joe Clarke (54 off 26 Akmal was suspended in February the next gate after sliding off the line. pace and to keep the momentum,” Faivre said after Her 32nd career victory, and 11th in downhill, also balls) took the game away from Multan 2020 for failing to report details of cor- Kristoffersen won the GS title last year but has only the fi rst run. “I feel really good on my skis and I have strengthened her lead in the overall World Cup stand- by combining in an electrifying stand of rupt approaches made to him just be- two top-10 results in seven races so far this season. a lot of pleasure to be on skis and to push hard.” ings, a day after she overtook Petra Vlhova. Gut-Beh- 97 runs with Babar. fore the start of the fi fth Pakistan Super Zubcic trailed Faivre by 0.11 after the opening run Pinturault extended his lead in the overall standings rami is chasing a second overall title after winning it Clarke smashed four sixes against League. and put pressure on the Frenchman by posting the to 230 points over Marco Odermatt. The Swiss skier in 2016. spinners Shahid Afridi and Khushdil The PCB’s disciplinary panel last 10th-fastest time in the second leg. fi nished Saturday’s race in fi fth. Vlhova, was had held the top spot since November, Shah and also hit three boundaries in April found Akmal guilty on two “That was the best thing, that I attacked from the In Moena, Italy, Lara Gut-Behrami let out a brief fi nished Saturday’s race in 12th. his robust half century before he was charges of separate breaches and start,” Zubcic said. “I knew it was going to be really, scream of joy and held up her right arm after crossing The Slovakian skier dropped 107 points behind caught at short fi ne leg while attempting handed him a three-year suspension – really, really tough, because it was really turny and the fi nish, then nodded her head moments later. Gut-Behrami, who could even increase her lead as she to ramp a slow bouncer from Shanawaz with the periods of ineligibility to run bumpy.” The Swiss skier won her second World Cup down- will start as the favorite in Sunday’s super-G. Dhani (2-28). concurrently. Faivre soon lost the advantage in his fi nal run but hill in two days at Val di Fassa on Saturday to main- However, the next two weekends of World Cup Babar led Karachi to its second win That ban was halved after Akmal ap- settled for second place, his best result on the World tain her chance of winning the discipline title this skiing only include Vlhova’s strongest events: slalom in three games with a six and two fours pealed to an independent adjudicator, Cup circuit since fi nishing runner-up in a GS in Aus- season. and GS. in succession against fast bowler Sohail before both Akmal and the PCB took Khan in the penultimate over. the matter to the CAS. Agut and Goffi n ease into Open Sud semis Swiatek beats Bencic in Adelaide fi nal ADELAIDE, Australia, Feb 27, (AP): French Open champion Iga Swiatek beat Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-2 on Satur- day to win the Adelaide International at Memorial Drive. The 19-year-old Polish player did not drop a set in fi ve matches and lost just 22 games all week. Swiatek seized momentum midway through the fi rst set. Leading 3-2, she broke Bencic’s serve when the Swiss player double-faulted three times. In Montpellier, France, Top-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut was clinical in TENNIS beating sixth-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Open Sud de France semifi nals. Second-seeded David Goffi n of Belgium converted three of his break points in beating seventh-seeded Lor- enzo Sonego of Italy 6-4, 6-4. Seeking Poland’s Iga Swiatek, (left), poses with her trophy after defeating Switzer- a fi rst ATP title since 2017 and fi fth Karachi Kings’ Joe Clarke, center, plays a shot while Multan Sultans’ Mohammad Rizwan watches during a Pa- land’s Belinda Bencic, in the fi nal of Adelaide International tennis tourna- overall, Goffi n next plays Egor Ger- kistan Super League T20 cricket match between Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans at the National Stadium, in ment in Adelaide, Australia, on Feb 27. (AP) asimov. Karachi, Pakistan, on Feb 27. (AP)