Gautam Gambhir leads Delhi to Vijay Hazare semifinals
BENGALURU: Captain Gautam Gambhir smashed 104 off 72 balls after left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya broke the backbone of Haryana batting to set-up a five-wicket win, sending Delhi into the semifinals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy here Sunday.Batting first, Haryana were all out for 229 with Khejroliya collecting six wickets for 31 runs in 10 overs, his career-best performance in List A cricket. Navdeep Saini, with figures of three for 39, was a good foil for Khejroliya. Birthday boy Gambhir then ensured his team cantered with a whirlwind knock comprising 16 fours. In the end, Delhi got home with 64 balls to spare and five wickets in hand. The other major contribution from the bat came from Dhruv Shorey (50 off 85). Chasing 230, Umukt Chand (15) and Gambhir gave a good start, putting on 54 runs for first wicket before the former was caught by C N Saini off Arun Chaprana. (PTI)
Paes wins Santo Domingo Open trophy
NEW DELHI: Old warhorse Leander Paes is still going great guns as the veteran tennis star won his second Challenger level title of the season, lifting the Santo Domingo Open trophy with partner Miguel Angel Reyyes-Varela. The second seeded Indo-Mexican pair, playing its second consecutive final, came from behind to beat Ariel Behar and Roberto Quiroz 4-6 6-3 10-5 in the summit clash, which lasted one hour and 26 minutes. Paes, who is ranked 69, added 110 ranking points to his kitty and shared a prize purse of USD 7750 with his partner. Last week, the 45-year-old Paes and Angel ended runners-up at Montrrey Challenger to Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Marcelo Arevalo. Paes also ended runner-up at Chicago, Dallas on the ATP Challenger circuit and won the Newport Beach event in January. Apart from these, Paes also reached the final of Winston-Salem Open and Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on the ATP World Tour, ending runner-up with Jamie Cerretani in both the tournaments. (PTI)
Hastings struggles with mystery lung condition
SYDNEY: Australian international John Hastings said his cricket career could be over after struggling with a mystery illness that causes him to cough up blood whenever he bowls.The 32-year-old all-rounder, who has represented his country in all three formats of the game and was due to play for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League this season, said the condition was getting worse. “Every time I’m bowling now it’s happening,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “It’s literally just bowling. It’s not running. I can do boxing, weight sessions, rowing, anything like that. “But as soon as the pressure (of bowling) at the crease at match intensity, when I step it up, literally I burst blood vessels in my lungs and I walk back to my mark and cough up some blood.” He first noticed the issue several years ago and despite a battery of tests and operations is no closer to knowing why it happens only when he bowls. (AFP)
Final South Africa-Zimbabwe T20 match abandoned
BENONI: Rain and a wet outfield caused the abandonment of the third and final Twenty20 international between South Africa and Zimbabwe at Willowmoore Park on Sunday.South Africa won the series 2-0 after winning an earlier one-day series 3-0. The matches were largely one-sided and South Africa used them to test the depth of their resources, using 22 players across the five matches. South Africa travel to Australia later this month to play three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international, while Zimbabwe depart later this week for Bangladesh for three ODI and two Tests. (AFP)