CHINTHANA WASALA THE PENINSULA

Experienced Qatari rider Hamad Ali Al Attiyah yesterday cornered the Grand Prix glory with a flawless routine astride Clinton on the final day of the QNB Qatar International Show Jumping Championship.

At the Qatar Equestrian Feder-ation’s (QEF) Outdoor Arena, the 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist maneuvered his trusted gelding in the FEI World Cup qualifying event winning time of 53.29 seconds and won the top prize of €3,300.

Clinton, who was also the second fastest in Friday’s FEI World Cup Qualifying event, was the only horse in yesterday’s Grand Prix (160cm) to complete the two rounds with no errors as Al Attiyah, 24, completed a great week of riding in style.

In-form Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi, who was astride Vivaldi K, completed the decisive round in 50.55 seconds (he clocked 78.83 seconds in the opening round) but got stalled with four errors.

However, it couldn’t stop the 34-year-old Qatari rider from winning the second podium spot at the two-star event as he won the second place and got richer by €2,700.

It was Al Rumaihi’s seventh international win this month having annexed five titles including the Grand Prix class in the recently con-cluded Al Rayyan Championship at the same venue.

SIEC Lonnie, ridden by Hamad Nasser Al Qadi, clocked 80.42 and 50.94 (4) to secure the remaining podium spot in yesterday’s feature event to win a prize cheque for €2,100.

Anyway Ii, guided by Rashid Towaim Al Marri and Carport, with Faleh Suwead Al Ajami in the saddle, rounded up the top five.

Earlier, in the opening event of the day, the 120cm class, Al Qadi excelled on Hugo Z by winning the top prize of €1,500 following an

error-free routine. Hugo Z clocked a time of 37.88 secs in the first phase and 26.47 in the second.

Ali Mohammed Al Marri, on Fernhill Friendly Touch, finished runner up after spending 40.86 and 26.75 to complete the same task and won €1,200.

Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi completed the top three when his 15-year-old mare Dolce Vita M clocked 38.64 and 27.99 in the two phases respectively. He won €900.

The 135cm category saw Mohammed Saeed Haidan’s Apple Bee outsmarting other contenders to win the top prize of €2,240. Apple Bee spent 46.53 secs and 32.46 secs to complete the two phases.

Aslan 69, with Nasser Al Ghazali in the saddle, was the second fastest (47.13 and 34.03, four faults) as the 22-year-old rider won his second

podium finish in the three-day event and got richer by €1,800.

Ulano, guided by Faleh Suwead Al Ajami finished third, clocking 49.48 and 34.87 (4) and won a prize cheque worth €1,400.

The championship which was organised by the QEF and Al Shaqab, gave away an overall prize bag of €51,000 in addition to a host of prizes distributed among lucky fans following a raffle draw yesterday.

SPORTSunday 25 November 2018

PAGE | 08 PAGE | 09Mickelson

edges Woods in play-off to

earn $9m

IOC chief Bach wants to ensure clean 2020 Games

Al Sailiya stun Al Gharafa as Al Duhail maintain top spotTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Al Sailiya yesterday stunned former champions Al Gharafa 2-1 with a winning strike in injury time at Al Ahli Stadium.

Substitute Mohamad Rajeb produced a stunning header with a full-length forward dive to score Al Sailiya’s winning goal. Earlier Mashaal Qassim Al Shammari scored Al Sailiya’s first goal in the 73rd minute.

For Al Gharafa, the only goal was scored by Vladimir Weiss off a penalty in the 51st minute.

In the 15th minute of the fast-paced match, Al Gharafa’s Mehdi Taremi latched on to a loopy cross inside the Al Sailiya box. With only goalkeeper Saoud Al Khater to beat from close range, Taremi delayed his deflection allowing Al Khor defender Mau-ricio Donizeti Junior to block his shot near the goal.

In the 22nd minute, Al Gharafa’s Slovakian midfielder Weiss was brought down with a rough tackle by Mirgani Alzain and Swiss referee Urs Dominik Schnyder promptly penalised the Al Khor offender.

In the 37th minute, George Kwesi produced a neat tackle on

Weiss inside the Al Khor box but the latter was penalised by referee Schnyder with a yellow card for diving. Two minutes later, Al Khor’s Abdulkareem Al Ali was also shown a yellow card.

Three minutes from the first-half whistle, Al Gharafa’s Abdelaziz Mohammed aimed at the Al Khor goalmouth but his fast-paced shot missed its target narrowly.

Soon after the resumption of play in the fast-paced match, Al Gharafa grabbed the lead. Weiss was brought down by Al Sailiya keeper Al Khater. The referee

awarded a penalty and Weiss easily converted from the spot kick in the 51st minute.

Exactly at the hour mark, Al Sailiya coach benched Al Ali and brought in Rajeb who would go on to score the match-winning goal. A minute later, Al Gharafa’s Taremi broke free of his marker after receiving a cross from the centre but he ended up over-running the ball with only keeper Al Khater to beat.

In the 73rd minute, a keeper’s gaffe from Yousuf Ali, an U-23 player, allowed Al Sailiya to equalise. Ali, standing a couple of

feet outside his own box, failed to clear a loopy ball that flew in his direction. Ali’s shot bounced off substitute Al Shammari who drove the ball into an open net with a left-footed shot.

In injury time (90 + 3), Rajeb the substitute produced a deft header with a forward lunge on a loopy cross from the flank to score Al Sailiya’s winning strike.

Meanwhile, points leaders Al Duhail yesterday relied on a first-half strike by Youssef El Arabi to beat Al Khor 1-0 in their round 12 clash.

El Arabi, one of the top players

in the country, scored from penalty kick in the 35th minute to help coach Nabil Maaloul’s side pick up three points.

In just the 5th minute of the match at Al Khor Stadium, referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim penalised Luiz Martin Junior with a yellow card for a rough tackle in the early part of the round 11 clash.

After neither side managed to get the break, high-scoring Al Duhail striker El Arabi finally broked the deadlock and put his name on the scorer’s list when he converted an easy penalty.

El Arabi was brought down by

Khaled Radwan Hassan inside the Al Khor box and the referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim promptly pointed to the spot kick.

El Arabi, who takes rather long route before kicking the ball, slotted his spot kick to the left of keeper Mohammed Al-Bakri to put his side 1-0 ahead. It was the Moroccan’s 15th goal of the QNB Stars League season which is just into its fourth month.

Al Duhail walked off the pitch with a slender 1-0 lead at halftime but U-23 player Abdullah Al-Ahrak wasted a golden oppor-tunity to score from close seven minutes into the second half.

In the 83rd minute, Al Duhail’s Mohamed Moosa was penalised with a yellow for seemingly elbowing into Diogo Da Silva. A minute later, Luiz of Al Duhail once again went for a long-range left-footed shot that narrowly sailed above the Al Khor crossbar.

After a few quick exchanges, Al Duhail held on to their slender lead to post their 11th win of the season.

Elsewhere, goals from Baghdad Bounedjah (7 and 45+2) and Hassan Al Haydos (49) sealed an easy 3-0 win for Al Sadd against struggling Al Arabi at the Al Arabi Stadium.

The winners of Competition 7, Ali Mohammed Al Marri, Hamad Nasser Al Qadi and Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi on the podium.

The podium winners of competition No. 8, Nasser Al Ghazali, Mohammed Saeed Haidan and Faleh Suwead Al Ajami pose for a photograph with an official during the presentation ceremony.

The podium winners of the Grand Prix, Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi, Hamad Ali Al Attiyah and Hamad Nasser Al Qadi pose for a photograph with the Secretary-General of Qatar Equestrian Federation, Badr Al Darwish (front, centre) and Tournament Director Ali Al Rumaihi (front, left).

Al Attiyah guides Clinton to Grand Prix gloryHamad Ali Al Attiayah, winner of the Grand Prix, guides Clinton over an obstacle during the third and final day of the QNB Qatar International Show Jumping Championship 2018 at the Qatar Equestrian Federation’s (QEF) outdoor arena yesterday. PICTURES: LOTFI GARSI

QNB QATAR INTERNATIONAL SHOW JUMPING CHAMPIONSHIP: RESULTS

COMP. (7) TWO PHASES FEI ART. 274.5.3, MAX. 120CM, PRIZE MONEY €6,000

Rank/Horse Rider 1st phase 2nd phase Prize money

1: Hugo Z Hamad Nasser Al Qadi 37.88 26.47 €1,500 2: Fernhill Friendly Touch Ali Mohammed Al Marri 40.86 26.75 €1,2003: Dolce Vita M Khalid Mohammed Al Emadi 38.64 27.99 €9004: Arselina Mohammed Al Baker 42.40 28.72 €600

COMP. (8) TWO PHASES FEI ART. 274.5.3, MAX. 135CM, PRIZE MONEY €8,000

1: Apple Bee Mohammed Saeed Haidan 46.53 32.46 €2,2402: Aslan 69 Nasser Al Ghazali 47.13 34.03 (4) €1,8003: Ulano Faleh Suwead Al Ajami 49.48 34.87 (4) €1,4004: Dubaii Abdulrahman Adel Nassar 50.36 36.08 (4) €1,0005: Ferrari PH Mohammed Nasser Al Qadi 50.99 39.32 (8) €560

COMP. (9) GRAND PRIX - WORLD CUP COMPETITION, TWO ROUNDS FEI ART. 273.3.3.1 & 273.4.3 +

273.2.2, MIN 145CM - MAX. 160CM, PRIZE MONEY 12,000, LR (GROUP E)

1: Clinton Hamad Ali Al Attiyah 81.24 53.29 3,3002: Vivaldi K Mubarak Yousuf Al Rumaihi 78.83 50.55 (4) 2,7003: SIEC Lonnie Hamad Nasser Al Qadi 80.42 50.94 (4) 2,1004: Anyway Ii Rashid Towaim Al Marri 84.44 (1) 1,2005: Carport Faleh Suwead Al Ajami 78.85 (4) 840

Al Duhail’s Youssef El Arabi (left) scores their winning goal against Al Arabi yesterday.

NBA: Celtics snap three-game skid with Atlanta routREUTERS NEW YORK

Aron Baynes led six double-figure scorers with 16 points, and the visiting Boston Celtics broke their three-game losing streak with a 114-96 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

The loss was the 10th straight for Atlanta Hawks, who have the NBA’s worst record and haven’t won since November 3. Boston (10-9) won in Atlanta for the third straight time.

Baynes was 5 for 7 from the field and added nine rebounds and four assists.

The Celtics also got double-digit scoring from Jayson Tatum (14), Kyrie Irving (13), Terry Rozier (12), Gordon Hayward (11) and Jaylen Brown (10). Marcus Smart had a team-high seven assists and three steals.

Atlanta was led by reserve point guard Jeremy Lin with 19 points and 10 assists. Alex Len added 17 points, and forward John Collins scored a season-high 16 points.

Boston played without center Al Horford, who sat out the game with a sore left knee. Horford, who played nine seasons in Atlanta before joining the Celtics as a free agent last year, played 35 minutes with the ailment on Wednesday, but the team opted to give him the night off.

Boston set the pace early by outscoring the Hawks 45-23 in the first quarter, thanks to 11 points from Irving, who made three 3-pointers in the opening period. The Celtics had an 11-0 spurt and led by as many as 29.

Atlanta cut the lead to 61-45 at the half. The Hawks out-scored the Celtics 10-2 going into the break, with DeAndre’ Bemby’s slam dunk being part of the run.

Atlanta got Len back in the lineup after he missed Wednes-day’s game with a sore back.

Omari Spellman was limited to eight minutes with a right hip adductor injury.

The Celtics complete a back-to-back on Saturday at Dallas, the second game in the three-game road trip.

The Hawks finish a four-game homestand on Sunday against Charlotte before starting a three-game road swing.

Warriors 125, Trail Blazers 97

Meanwhile, Kevin Durant scored 14 of his game-high 32 points in a second-quarter run-away Friday night, as the Golden State Warriors snapped a four-game losing streak with a 125-97 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Oakland, California.

Klay Thompson was right behind with 31 points as the Warriors, who shot 56.5 percent overall and 53.1 percent on 3-pointers, beat the Trail Blazers for the eighth consec-utive time at home.

Suns 116, Bucks 114Jamal Crawford connected

on a free-throw line jumper with 0.8 seconds left to give Phoenix a victory over Mil-waukee for their first road win of the season in nine attempts.

Crawford’s clutch basket capped a game-ending 8-0 run for the Suns, who snapped a three-game overall losing streak. Devin Booker registered 29 points and seven assists as one of seven Phoenix players in double digits.

08 SUNDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT

The loss was the 10th

straight for Atlanta

Hawks, who have the

NBA’s worst record

and haven’t won since

November 3.

Boxing: India’s Kom wins record sixth world goldAFP NEW DELHI

India’s Mary Kom yesterday became the most successful female boxer in world cham-pionships history after clinching her sixth gold medal in New Delhi.

The 35 year-old beat Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota 5-0 in the final of the 48kg cat-egory contest in front of an electric home crowd.

Her sixth gold takes her past Ireland’s Katie Taylor, and level with the men’s record held by Cuban legend Felix Savon as the most successful pugilist ever a t t h e w o r l d championships.

The mother of three won a silver in the inaugural women’s edition in 2001 and then went on to win gold in each of the next five cham-pionships, with her most recent coming in Bridgetown, Barbados in 2010. Kom, who was the subject of a Bol-lywood film in 2014, won bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“Today, I was a little bit emotional because for the last few years, I was not able to fight in 48kg category,” an emotional Kom said after the bout.

“The effort was very challenging for me. Because of your love and support, I hope to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. I wasn’t able to qualify for Rio Games. I am still suffering,” she said to the cheering crowds.

Kom, charging from the blue corner, took control of the bout as soon as the starting bell rung.

She had beaten Okhota in a previous clash at the Silesian international boxing championships in Poland in September.

Kom defeated North Korea’s Mi Hyang Kim on Thursday 5-0 to reach the final.

Mary Kom of India gestures with her gold medal in New Delhi, yesterday.

AFP LOS ANGELES

Phil Mickelson sank a four-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole to pocket $9m and beat Tiger Woods in an exhibition clash on Friday between two of golf’s greatest rivals.

Mickelson and Woods sparred over 22 rounds of match-play golf in front of an invitation-only gallery of 700 people at the Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.

Mickelson clinched the victory with a short putt after Woods’ tee shot landed on the green but he left his six-foot birdie putt short.

“What a match it was,” Mickelson said.

“My heart can’t take much more.”

Mickelson had several putts to win earlier in the match that failed to drop, but he made no mistake on the final go at the par-three, 93-yard hole for the winner-take-all triumph.

The match lasted five hours and finished in darkness as organisers had to use flood lights to illu-minate the green on the final hole. While both the

48-year-old Mickelson and the 42-year-old Woods are past their prime, Friday’s meeting between the 19-time major winners still provided some enter-taining golf.

But since their heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s, however, both Woods and Mickelson have been in steady decline. While they both recorded victories on the PGA Tour in 2018, it has been five years since Mickelson won a major, while Woods hasn’t hoisted a major since 2008.

Woods had to console himself with making the shot of the match on the 17th when he nailed a long birdie chip shot from the back of the green to stay

alive in the match.“Just like old times,”

Woods said after cele-brating with a familiar fist pump.

“I needed it. He had a chance to close out so I needed something special to happen.”

Mickelson walked up the fairway knowing that if he made birdie and Woods made par the cash grab would be his.

With the invite-only gallery in attendance, golf fans were forced to watch the exhibition via a US$19.99 pay per view tel-evised format.

The duo both wore microphones and they filled time in the early going with plenty of verbal banter back and forth, but Mickelson admitted strug-gling to find enough to say as the match wore on.

“I am trying to be more talkative but I am just not on the back nine,” he told Woods as they left one of the Shadow Creek tee boxes.

“We got back into our old mode again trying to beat each other’s brains in,” Woods replied.

Phil Mickelson in action during ‘The Match’ in Las Vegas on Friday.

Mickelson clinched

the victory with

a short putt after

Woods’ tee shot

landed on the

green but he left

his six-foot birdie

putt short.

Belgium race to 5-shot lead at golf World CupAFP MELBOURNE

Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry zeroed in on Belgium’s first ever golf World Cup title yesterday, storming to a five stroke lead over the chasing pack with a peerless display of shot-making.

The pair began the third day level with An Byeong-hun and Kim Si-woo, but the South Koreans could only manage a 68 in the fourball format at Mel-bourne’s Metropolitan Golf Club, where both players have a ball but only the better score counts for each hole.

In contrast the young Bel-gians, former University of Illinois team-mates, sank seven birdies and an eagle in a sizzling nine-under-par 63 -- the best of the day -- to be 19-under for the championship.

Italy’s Andrea Pavan and Renato Paratore stayed in the hunt with a 66 to be joint second alongside Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Roberto Diaz (65) and the Koreans.

Pre-tournament favourites Australia -- Mark Leishman and Cameron Smith -- remained in touch, six off the pace, tied fifth with England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Ian Poulter and Sweden’s Alexander Bjork and Joakim Lagergren.

After battling icy winds and relentless rain on Friday in the foursomes, where teammates take it in turns to play the same ball, the weather was more benign on Saturday.

And Pieters, 26, and Detry, 25, turned on the style, bisecting fairways with their approach shots and holing superb putts, making light work of the difficult pin placements.

They charged through the front nine in five-under 31 after Detry eagled the 521-yard ninth, and made another four more birdies on the way home.

Belgium has never won a World Cup although Ryder Cup

player Flory Van Donck, widely-regarded as the country’s best ever, captured the individual title in 1960.

“A win would mean a lot for golf in a small country like Belgium,” said Detry, who has finished third three times on the European Tour, including the KLM Open in September.

“To put our name on the trophy alongside some of the greats of the game would be fantastic.

“I have drawn great confi-dence this week from playing with my good friend,” he added.

The more established Pieters, a three-time European Tour winner and Ryder Cup player, said he was hitting the ball “the best I have all year” after an indifferent season.

He said the team strategy would not change on Sunday.

Australia’s Leishman and Smith still hold out hope of reeling in the Belgians in front of their home crowd, but know a strong start is essential.

“It’s going to be really

important for us to get off to a good start, really get ourselves in it, give them something to think about,” said Leishman.

“Because if we’re not a few under through five or six holes, they can sort of cruise,” he added.

Thomas Pieters (left) and Thomas Detry of Belgium bump fists on the third day of the World Cup of Golf at the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, yesterday.

197 - Belgium (Thomas Pieters/Thomas Detry) 63-71-63 202 - Mexico (Abraham Ancer/Roberto Diaz) 67-70-65, Italy (Andrea Pavan/Renato Paratore)65-71-66, South Korea (An Byeong-Hun/Kim Si-woo) 62-72-68

203 - Sweden (Alexander Bjork/Joakim Lagergren) 65-74-64, Australia (Mark Leishman/ Cameron Smith) 62-76-65, England (Tyrrell Hatton/Ian Poulter) 62-74-67 205 - Canada (Adam Hadwin/Nick Taylor) 68-73-64, Ireland (Shane Lowry/Paul Dunne) 64-76-65, Scotland (Russell Knox/Martin Laird) 67-71-67

206 - Spain (Adrian Otaegui/Jorge Campillo) 68-74-64, Denmark (Thorbjorn Olesen/Soren Kjeldsen) 63-77-66, India (Anirban Lahiri/Gaganjeet Bhullar) 64-72-70 207 - France (Alexander Levy/Michael Lorenzo-Vera) 66-73-68 208 - South Africa (Dylan Frittelli/Erik van Rooyen) 66-76-66, Malaysia (Gavin Green/Ben Leong) 63-73-72 209 - Wales (Stuart Manley/Bradley Dredge) 70-73-66, Finland (Mikko Korhonen/Mikko Ilo-nen) 66-75-68 210 - China (Li Haotong/Wu Ashun) 66-76-68, New Zealand (Ryan Fox/Mark Brown) 65-76-69 211 - United States (Kyle Stanley/Matt Kuchar) 66-79-66 212 - Thailand (Kiradech Aphibarnrat/Prom Meesawat) 67-78-67 214 - Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas/Joseph Naffah) 65-82-67 215 - Japan (Satoshi Kodaira/Hideto Tanihara) 66-79-70 217 - Germany (Martin Kaymer/Maximilian Kieffer) 68-81-68 219 - Netherlands (Joost Luiten/Daan Huizing) 69-82-68 221 - Greece (Peter Karmis/Alexander Tranacher) 66-87-68 222 - Zimbabwe (Scott Vincent/Benjamin Follett-Smith) 72-84-66

WORLD CUP THIRD ROUND SCORES

Mickelson edges Woods in play-off to earn $9m

09SUNDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORT

Bach wants to ensure clean 2020 GamesREUTERS TOKYO

International Olympic Com-mittee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said he wanted closer co-operation from Japanese officials to ensure the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games were the cleanest on record in terms of doping.

“What is also important is that we want these Olympic Games to be absolutely clean

Olympic Games,” Bach said on Saturday during a visit to Tokyo 2020 venues in Fukushima with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“Therefore, we would appre-ciate if we could enjoy closer co-operation with your government, also in this respect in the future.” The IOC and the wider Olympic movement have been under pressure ever since Russia was banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics after the World

Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found evidence of huge, state-backed, systematic doping and cover-ups in Russian sport.

Bach, who was full of praise for preparations for the Olympics in 20 months’ time, said he wanted the Games to be a great success in every respect, stressing the needs of athletes and keeping to budget among the priorities. He said he was con-fident of a balanced budget, which is good news for

organisers who have been under pressure since cuts were made at the end of last year.

Last December, Tokyo organisers unveiled a budget of $12.6 bn for the Games, a $300

m reduction from projections earlier in 2017.

Bach made the trip to Fuku-shima to see the Azuma Baseball Stadium which will host the first events of the Tokyo Games on July 22, 2020.

The area was ravaged by a

2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed some 18,000 people and caused meltdowns at the nuclear power plant in Fuku-shima. “We are very much impressed about the great progress, the reconstruction and also the mental recovery that the population has made in Fuku-shima,” Bach told Abe.

“We are very happy that in this recovery, in this psycho-logical recovery in particular, sport has played an important

role. “We are convinced that the decision that we took some time ago to organise six baseball and softball games here in Fuku-shima was the right one,” he added.“It will be the culmination

of the contribution of sport to the reconstruction and recovery of this area.” Abe echoed Bach’s sentiments, saying: “Fukushima is the very place to prove the power of sports and the Olympics.”

Tickets for Qatar Open go on saleTHE PENINSULA DOHA

The online sales of tickets for the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2019 will go live today, the organisers informed here yesterday.

Fans can purchase tickets for the prestigious event by vis-iting www.qatartennis.org

Tickets will also be available onsite at the Khalifa Interna-tional Tennis & Squash Complex and in some malls from December 1.

Djokovic, the 2018 Wim-bledon and US Open champion, tops the entry list of star players billed to play at the tournament which will be held from December 31 to January 5, 2019.

Other players set to feature at the ATP World Tour 250 series event include world No. 8 Dominic Thiem, Nikolov Basi-lashvili, David Goffin, Karen Khachanov and this year’s French Open semifinalist Marco Cecchinato.

“We are extremely proud to host another edition of the pres-tigious Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The tournament has over the years continued to grow in leaps and bounds, attracting the world’s top players to Qatar. Once again, fans will have another opportunity of seeing the world’s best players at close quarters and enjoy their beloved sport during this week-long fes-tival of tennis. We are looking

forward to seeing the fans troop out in large numbers to enjoy this amazing experience,” Tareq Zainal, General Coordinator of the tournament, said.

Tournament Director Karim Alami said, “We are delighted to commence sales of tickets for this prestigeous tournament and we encourage people to book theirs as soon as possible. Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2019 promises to be the best so far and all hands are on the deck to make it a fun-filled week of tennis and fun for everyone. We look forward to welcoming eve-ryone at this year’s event.”

To purchase tickets and find all tournament information, visit www.qatartennis.org

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic tops the entry list of star players billed to play at the Qatar Open.

ITF chief says Davis Cup and ATP Cup could ‘work together’ REUTERS LILLE, FRANCE

International Tennis Federation (ITF) president David Haggerty is confident the revamped Davis Cup and the rival ATP Cup, unveiled last week in London, can eventually join forces to form one team competition.

This weekend’s Davis Cup final between France and Croatia in Lille is the last one in the 118-year-old competition’s current home-and-away format with next year’s event to cul-minate in an 18-nation, World Cup-style showdown in Madrid in November.

The new format, given the green light at the ITF’s con-ference in August, is being backed to the tune of $3 bn over 25 years by investment group Kosmos, headed by Barcelona soccer player Gerard Pique.

It has come under fire from traditionalists, however, while leading players such as Ger-many’s ATP Finals champion

Alexander Zverev have said they are unwilling to play in late November, which is when next year’s first event will be staged.

On top of that the ITF’s flagship competition is in danger of being overshadowed by the ATP Cup, a 24-nation event starting in January 2020 in Aus-tralia which boasts $15m in prize money and as many as 750 ranking points.

World number one Novak Djokovic, who was part of the launch of the ATP Cup, said last week there was a danger of “two average events” if they were held in such close proximity.

Haggerty sounded an opti-mistic note yesterday, however, saying “fruitful talks” had taken place with the various stake-holders to work “towards the greater good of the game”.

“We had very productive meetings in London with the ATP, Kosmos, the ITF, the Grand Slams and the players to talk about what is the best thing to do for tennis,” Haggerty said

inside Lille’s Stade Pierre Mauroy where France and Croatia are contesting the last Davis Cup final in the current format.

“We talked about two dif-ferent things. We know that at the heart of the problem is the calendar; no one owns the cal-endar. We are all responsible for making sure the players have a flow throughout the season, so they can start and finish strong.

“Then we also spoke about the possibility of having one event that we could all partic-ipate in together. Is there a way down the road to collaborate and work together?

“A lot of things need to happen to get us there but I can say it was the most productive meeting we have ever had. We will meet again in January to continue the dialogue.”

The new format will see a qualifying round using the existing home-and-away format in February then 12 nations will join this year’s semi-finalists and

two wildcards in Madrid for the new week-long World Cup-style event in November.

Despite some initial nega-tivity about the changes to such a tennis institution, Haggerty said it was not something that was keeping him up at night.

“It’s changed three times before,” Haggerty said. “Tennis tends to be traditional and for some people change is difficult.

“There is so much to honour for the Davis Cup but as we start a new chapter we are excited about where we can go.” Hag-gerty also said that the Fed Cup, the women’s version of the Davis Cup, could get a similar makeover with as many as 12 nations competing in a “finals week” as early as April 2020.

“Preliminarily we are looking at a first round home and away in February but expanding the World Group to 16 teams with between eight to 12 in the finals, possibly in April.”

France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut celebrate winning their doubles match of the Davis Cup against Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France, yesterday.

Davis Cup final: France stay alive after doubles winREUTERS LILLE, FRANCE

France kept their Davis Cup final hopes alive as Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Croatian pair Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 6-4 6-4 3-6 7-6(3) in a tense doubles battle in the Stade Pierre Mauroy yesterday.

Yannick Noah’s champions had their backs against the wall after losing both Friday’s singles but Herbert and Mahut began the fightback, reducing the deficit to 2-1 and ensuring the last Davis Cup in its present guise will stretch into today.

The odds are still stacked in Croatia’s favour as no team has recovered from 2-0 down to win the trophy since Australia beat the United States in 1939.

But with 26,000 mainly flag-waving French fans set to flock back into the cavernous home of Lille’s soccer club on Sunday, hope still remains.

It had looked like being a rel-atively comfortable win for the French duo when they had points for a double break in the third set, having won the first two in dominant fashion.

But Pavic and Dodig, who had partnered Marin Cilic to a crucial win over Mahut and Herbert when the sides met in the 2016 semi-finals in Zadar, hit back to set home nerves jangling.

Herbert faltered when serving at 3-4 allowing the Croats to break serve and then hold with ease to the delight of their noisy followers high in the upper tiers.

Alarm bells were ringing at the start of the fourth when France had to save three break points on the Herbert serve and he was again made to work hard at 2-2 as the momentum of the match began to swing Croatia’s way.

France kept their noses in

front though and the fans ratcheted up the decibel levels as Pavic served at 4-5.

The Croat, yet to win a Davis Cup tie, duly buckled with a double-fault at 0-30 and bedlam broke out in the stands with opposing fan clubs trying to out-sing each other.

With the umpire struggling to restore order, Pavic showed incredible composure as he and Dodig somehow dug themelves out of a seemingly impossible position to make it 5-5.

Boos rang out as Pavic ges-tured defiantly at the massed ranks of blue amid the suspicion that Croatia would be favourites to win the rubber if they could take the tiebreak.

Yet Mahut and Herbert jumped into a 4-1 lead and though the Croatians got it back to 4-3, the French pair then kept their cool with Mahut’s reflex volley sealing the win.

France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert (left) returns the ball flanked by team-mate Nicolas Mahut as they compete against Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and Croatia’s Mate Pavic during their doubles rubber for the Davis Cup final.

AFP ABU DHABI

New five-time champion Lewis Hamilton smashed the lap record as he secured pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and led team-mate Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes to another front-row lockout.

In a scintillating per-formance, the Englishman clocked a best lap in one minute and 34.794 seconds to outstrip Bottas by almost two-tenths of a second. It is his 11th pole of the season and the 83rd of his career.

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Sauber-bound Kimi Raikkonen, Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo and his

Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen.

Romain Grosjean was seventh for Haas ahead of Fer-rari-bound Charles Leclerc of Sauber, Esteban Ocon of Force India and Nico Hulkenberg of Renault.

Hamilton kissed his car after the session.

“I’m so grateful for all the support we’ve had here. It’s emo-tional for me because it’s the last lap I’ll do in this car. I’ve been so emotionally attached to it.

“I’m just happy that this car will be in the history museum at Mercedes in Germany so I can go visit whenever I can!

“I never say there’s a perfect lap, but the first lap wasn’t spec-tacular. That last one started off

kind of calm, but got more aggressive - and Valtteri did a great job, too!”

Bottas, still seeking his first win of the season back at the track where he last tasted victory, was again left frustrated by the imperious Hamilton’s unbeatable pace.

“For sure, I was aiming for pole - I had a good race here last year, but I couldn’t repeat that. It wasn’t what I expected, but is still good for us because - even though we have secured the championships - we can still be one-two for the final race.

“I was performing well, but I couldn’t beat his time. He did such a great job.”

The session began with the sun and the temperature descending rapidly after a hot day in the mid-thirties Celsius. These changing conditions posed a challenge for tyre-wear in par-ticular at the picturesque Yas Marina circuit.

Having been fastest in final practice, Hamilton was the initial benchmark, but Ferrari set the early pace before Q1 was con-cluded with the floodlights glowing.

Vettel was quickest ahead of Bottas and the top six were sep-arated by only three-tenths of a second as both Toro Rossos were

eliminated, unexpectedly, along with Stoffel Vandoorne of McLaren and the two Williams of Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll.

Gasly, involved in a clash with Grosjean in final practice, pulled up after his lap with a power failure that, he said, had cost him seven-tenths.

“I lost everything,” he complained.

Fernando Alonso. in his last race before retiring, proceeded to Q2 in 14th place.

“Still not fast enough, but a good effort,” he chuckled on team radio before Mercedes were swiftly out again on ultra-soft tyres, chosen to extract pace from the improved conditions with the falling track temperature.

Hamilton, stunningly

smashed the circuit record with a lap in one minute 35.693 - Bottas’ pole lap in 2017 was 1:36.231.

An unhappy Verstappen was only 10th after his first run.

For a second run, Hamilton switched to the ‘stickier’ hyper-softs, the rest following suit except for Vettel on ultras - sig-nificant because the tyres used in Q2 are used to start the race.

10 SUNDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton during the qualifying session at the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix today.

F1: Hamilton on pole for final race

Starting grid for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Front row: Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes), Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) Second row: Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari), Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) Third row: Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull-Renault), Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull-Renault)Fourth row: Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas-Ferrari), Charles Leclerc (MON/Sauber-Ferrari)

Fifth row: Esteban Ocon (FRA/Racing Point Force India-Mercedes), Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) Sixth row: Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Renault), Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber-Ferrari)Seventh row: Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas-Ferrari), Sergio Perez (MEX/Racing Point Force India-

Mercedes) Eighth row: Fernando Alonso (ESP/McLaren-Renault), Brendon Hartley (NZL/Toro Rosso-Honda) Ninth row: Pierre Gasly (FRA/Toro Rosso-Honda), Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren-Renault)Tenth row: Sergey Sirotkin (RUS/Williams-Mercedes) str/pb FERRARI NV Renault

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX

Qatar top at Arab Shooting ChampionshipTHE PENINSULA DOHA

Qatar finished on top in the 14th Arab Shooting Championship which concluded here at the Losail Shooting Range.

The hosts bagged a rich haul of medals to clinch the first place followed by Oman and Kuwait respectively.

The hosts, who dominated from day one of the eight-day championship, bagged 47 medals clinching first place in 18 events while collecting 14 silver and 15 bronze on the way.

Second place Oman bagged 13 gold, 18 silver and 13 bronze while Kuwait, clinched the third place with 13 gold, 11 silver and 8 bronze

The Omani delegation was crowned as the best fans for their support to the Gulf and Arab teams participating in the tournament.

On Friday, Qatar shooters won 12 medals in pistol mixed event.

Qatar shooters Ahmed Zayed Al Shammari and Riyad Rustom finished first and second in the 25m standard pistol men’s event.

Al Shammari with a total of 565-11x finished first. Khan scored 559-14x to finish ahead of the third-placed Omani Muad Al Balushi, who shot 558-14x.

In the mixed trap event, Qatari pair of Rashid Hamad Al Athba and Amna Al Abdulla shot 31 to finish third.

Lebanon’s Moussa and Ray Bassil scored 43 to win the event, while Kuwait’s Abdulrahman Al Faihan and Sarah Al Hawal came second with 39.

Qatar youth shooters also performed admirably as Al Maha

Al Ali with her dazzling per-formance won the 10m air rifle junior title. She fired 231.7. Second-placed Hadil Ahmed Al Harbi of Oman scored 227.5 and her compatriot Arwa Al Touqi came third with 203,2.

In the 10m air rifle men youth, Khalid Nasser Al-Naemi came third. Qatar’s Al Dana Al Mubarak and Osama Nasser Al Shaiba also won the 10m air pistol mixed team gold.

Qatar’s Shahd Al Darwish won 10m air rifle youth women silver.

More than 200 shooters from Qatar, Sudan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pal-estine and Morocco took part in the championship.

Hosts Qatar took part with over 35 shooters in pistol, air rifle and shotgun events.

The podium winners at the 14th Arab Shooting Championship pose for a picture with officials at Losail Shooting Range yesterday.

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton celebrates after taking the pole position.

AFP MADRID

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has dismissed anti-doping allegations against him as a “lie” and a deliberate attempt to tarnish his reputation.

According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Ramos failed to declare he had taken dexamethasone ahead of the 2017 Champions League final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in which Real beat Juventus 4-1.

The club denied the claims on Friday night and Ramos, speaking after Real lost 3-0 at Eibar yesterday, made a staunch defence of his record.

“I am calm,” Ramos said.

“It is true that it hurts, and obvi-ously I will come out with my legal team against these people, who try to stain my status and my professional career.

“After 15 years, I have never refused

an anti-doping test, I have never breached any procedure and I have passed around 250 to 300 tests. For this reason, I am calm.”

Ramos added: “When you know the truth, you can act with a lot of tran-quility. You can tell the lie many times over but it is still a lie.”

Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid on the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The substance can have anti-inflammatory effects and increase concentration.

WADA does not prohibit players taking dexamethasone before games, as long as it is declared during a doping test. Der Spiegel claims Ramos and the Real Madrid team doctor instead reg-

istered betamethasone, another glu-cocorticoid on WADA’s banned list.

However, the magazine also reports that UEFA were satisfied the mistake was an administrative error and took no disciplinary action.

In a statement, Real Madrid said that Ramos “has never breached the anti-doping control regulations” and that UEFA “closed the matter immedi-ately”, following the “verification of experts from the World Anti-Doping Agency, AMA, and UEFA itself”.

The club continued: “Regarding the rest of the content from the aforemen-tioned publication, the club will not pronounce on evidence that is so insubstantial.”

11SUNDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORT

After 15 years, I have never

refused an anti-doping

test, I have never breached

any procedure and I have

passed around 250 to 300

tests: Sergio Ramos

Minnows Eibar humiliate Solari’s dire Real MadridREUTERS MADRID

Rampant Eibar humiliated European champions Real Madrid with an emphatic 3-0 win in La Liga yesterday thanks to strikes from Gonzalo Escalante, Sergi Enrich and Kike Garcia.

Santiago Solari’s first game as permanent coach of Madrid ended in his first defeat, after four consecutive victories during his time as interim manager.

On-loan Barcelona defender Marc Cucurella played a part in each of Eibar’s goals as they tore apart Madrid’s fragile defence and the Basques would have added to their tally but for some fine saves by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Eibar’s first ever win over Real Madrid takes them provisionally

seventh on 18 points, two behind struggling Real in sixth.

“Eibar played their game, direct, taking advantage of the loose balls; we lost our battles,” said Madrid defender Raphael Varane.

“Collectively we weren’t well positioned, we were not com-fortable and we did not find solutions.”

A lively start at Ipurua saw Belgian Courtois tip Kike’s vicious effort on to the post, while Karim Benzema had a shot cleared off the line by Cote.

Eibar took the lead after 16 minutes at the end of a brilliant break, with Cucurella finding Kike, who was denied by Courtois but Escalante bundled home the rebound from close range.

Cucurella, deployed on the

left wing by Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar, is shining during his loan spell and was impossible for Madrid to handle.

The Catalan won back the ball from Alvaro Odriozola for the second goal, crossing to find Sergi Enrich who slotted home in the 52nd minute.

With Madrid on the ropes Eibar added a third goal five minutes later, Cucurella again crossing for Enrich who nudged the ball into Kike’s path and the striker gleefully slammed it home.

Eibar had chances to extend their lead and pile further misery on Madrid, with Fabian Orellana forcing a smart save from Courtois and Kike volleying nar-rowly wide.

Madrid have lost five games in La Liga this season.

Eibar’s Spanish midfielder Joan Jordan Moreno (left) celebrates after his team-mate Spanish forward Kike Garcia scored during the La Liga match against Real Madrid CF in Eibar, yesterday.

Dusseldorf stun Bayern with late equaliserREUTERS BERLIN

Dodi Lukebakio com-pleted a hat-trick in stoppage time to earn Fortuna Dusseldorf a remarkable 3-3 draw at champions Bayern Munich yesterday.

The result was a major success for pro-moted Dusseldorf but left Bayern in shock and without a win in three league games, after they had twice led by two goals.

It left the Bavarians fifth on 21 points, nine behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Niklas Suele put the hosts ahead in the 17th and Thomas Mueller added another goal three minutes later as Bayern looked to be cruising to an easy win.

But Dusseldorf managed a 44th minute goal through Lukebakio with their only real scoring chance in the first half. Mueller, strug-gling for form for a second consecutive season, restored their two-goal lead in the 58th with a low shot from a superb Robert Lewand-owski pass.

But Bayern again failed to kill off the game despite having about 75 percent of possession before Belgian Luke-bakio scored again to set up a nervous finale.

The 21-year-old then snatched the 93rd minute equaliser to pile more pressure on embattled Bayern coach Niko Kovac.

Meanwhile, Bun-desliga leaders Borussia Dortmund, yesterday got second-half goals from supersub Paco Alcacer and Lukasz Piszczek to edge past Mainz 05 2-1 and open up a seven-point gap at the top.

Their seventh win in the last eight league games lifted them to 30 points, seven ahead of second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. Champions Bayern Munich are fifth on 21 after a 3-3 draw against promoted Fortuna Duesseldorf.

Spaniard Alcacer, w h o m D o r t m u n d agreed to sign perma-nently from Barcelona on Friday, snatched his ninth goal of the cam-paign in the 66th minute, two minutes after coming on, to lead the scorers’ list.

Ramos brands anti-doping allegations a ‘lie’

Man City and Liverpool cruise as struggling United stumble againAFP LONDON

Manchester City stretched a relentless winning run to eight games by thrashing West Ham 4-0 yesterday but remain just two points clear at the top of the Premier League as Liverpool were also 3-0 victors at Watford.

Manchester United are now 14 points off the leaders as Paul Pogba was hauled off by Jose Mourinho as they failed to break down Crystal Palace in a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford.

Everton leapfrogged United to move up to sixth with a 1-0 victory over Cardiff, while Claudio Ranieri won his first match in charge of Fulham in a 3-2 thriller over fellow strugglers Southampton.

City have now won 12 of their last 13 games with the only dropped points coming in a cred-itable 0-0 draw at Liverpool last month.

Pep Guardiola’s men had scored 13 goals in their three pre-vious visits to the London Stadium and had another three before half-time in another dominant display.

David Silva scored for the fourth straight game when he

flicked home Raheem Sterling’s cross on 11 minutes.

Sterling’s own stunning form in front of goal continued when he tapped home Leroy Sane’s cross for his eighth goal of the season.

The roles were reversed from City’s flying wingers 11 minutes before half-time when this time Sane showed great composure to turn home the England international’s pass and Sane completed the rout in stoppage time.

In keeping with recent weeks, Liverpool were far less impressive but remain on City’s coat-tails as Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Roberto Firmino all struck in the final quarter at Vicarage Road.

Jurgen Klopp’s men rode their luck as Watford had an early goal disallowed and saw strong claims for a penalty just

after the break waived away.However, the visitors front

three finally clicked 23 minutes from time when Firmino fed Sadio Mane and his cut-back was prodded home by Salah for his ninth goal of the season.

Alexander-Arnold then bagged his first for the campaign at club level with a sumptuous free-kick after opening his account for England in the inter-national break.

And despite having captain Jordan Henderson sent-off, Liv-erpool added a third through Firmino a minute from time.

How United wish they had the same firepower as after a bright start they again faded and Palace held out for just a second point in seven Premier League games.

Pogba and Romelu Lukaku were fit enough to start after missing international duty for France and Belgium through

injury, but failed to spark the hosts and Pogba was even with-drawn for Alexis Sanchez in the search for a winner that never came. Mourinho’s men were even fortunate that Marouane Fellaini wasn’t shown a red card

for a horrendous challenge on Palace captain Luka Milivojevic that went unpunished.

Ranieri couldn’t stop Fulham leaking goals in his first match in charge at Craven Cottage, but did secure a first win in 10 league games as Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice to edge a five-goal thriller.

Stuart Armstrong also scored a double for Saints and opened the scoring before Mitrovic and Andre Schurrle turned the game around before half-time.

Another great strike from Armstrong levelled before Mitrovic volleyed home to spark wild scenes of celebration from Ranieri.

Glenn Murray opened the scoring and the visitors had James Maddison sent-off for two yellow cards in the opening 28 minutes, but Jamie Vardy’s penalty eight minutes from time secured a point.

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s solitary goal at Goodison Park was enough to see off Cardiff and continue Everton’s progress under Marco Silva.

Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson gestures during the match against Watford, yesterday.

Manchester City’s German midfielder Leroy Sane (left) scores their fourth goal during the English Premier League match against West Ham United at the London Stadium, in London, yesterday.

Brighton 1 (Murray 15) Leicester 1 (Vardy79-pen) Everton 1 (Sigurdsson 59) Cardiff 0

Fulham 3 (Mitrovic 33, 63, Schurrle 43)Southampton 2 (Armstrong 18, 53) Manchester United 0 Crystal Palace 0 Watford 0 Liverpool 3 (Salah 67, Alex-ander-Arnold 76, Firmino 89)

West Ham 0 Manchester City 4 (D.Silva11, Sterling 19, Sane 34, 90)

EPL RESULTS

Sergio Ramos

AFP CHITTAGONG

Taijul Islam claimed 6-33 as Bangladesh defeated West Indies by 64 runs yesterday in the first match of their two-Test series.

Chasing a target of 204 runs in Chittagong, West Indies stuttered from the start and were all out for 139 on the stroke of tea on the third day, suffering their first defeat in Bangladesh in seven Tests.

Sunil Ambris was the last man dismissed after top-scoring for the visitors with 43. He had put on a 63-run partnership with Jomel War-rican for the ninth wicket to lift West Indies from 75 for eight to revive an unlikely hope.

But Mehidy Hasan dis-missed Warrican for 41, and Taijul sealed the contest in the next over with the wicket of Ambris.

Left-arm spinner Taijul led Bangladesh’s attack with his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests, while Shakib al Hasan and Mehidy each picked up two wickets.

West Indies’ chase got off to a disastrous start, sinking to 11-4 at the lunch break before an attacking 27 off 19 by Shimron Hetmyer provided the visitors a brief respite.

Leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo earlier claimed three wickets in the morning to finish with 4-26 as West Indies bowled out Bangladesh for 125 runs in their second innings.

Bangladesh spinners responded almost immedi-ately when Shakib drew Kieran Powell forward for Mushfiqur Rahim to accom-plish a simple stumping, making Shakib the first

Bangladeshi cricketer to claim 200 wickets in Tests.

Shakib drew an edge from Shai Hope before a two-wicket burst by Taijul, who trapped Roston Chase for a duck and Kraigg Brathwaite in the same over, leaving the West Indies in dire straits.

The collapse dashed any West Indies satisfaction from wrapping up the Bangladesh innings, with the hosts only adding 70 runs to their over-night score after resuming play on 55-5. Mahmudullah Riyad top-scored for Bang-ladesh with 31 in the second innings, but not before he was dropped by Hope off Bishoo on 15. Gabriel bowled Mush-fiqur Rahim for 19.

Mehidy and Mahmudullah tried to rebuild the innings, putting on 37 for the seventh wicket before Mehidy was removed by Bishoo for 18.

Bishoo then dismissed Nayeem Hasan and Mah-mudullah in a quick suc-cession, while Chase wrapped up the Bangladesh innings by dismissing Taijul.

REUTERS DUBAI

Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail scored half-centuries as Pakistan overcame a shaky start to reach 207-4 against New Zealand on day one of the second Test in Dubai yesterday.

Sohail was unbeaten on a patient 81 while Babar Azam was batting on 14 after New Zealand hit back in the final session to leave the contest at the Dubai Interna-tional Cricket Stadium evenly balanced.

Pakistan found themselves in a spot of bother at 25-2 within the first 10 overs after captain Sarfraz Ahmed had won the toss and elected to bat first.

Azhar, who could not prevent a narrow defeat in the first Test despite a defiant 65 in the second innings, put on 126 runs with Sohail for the third wicket to leave Pakistan in control.

But his run-out in the 71st over

saw the New Zealanders spring to life and spinner Ajaz Patel, the hero of the first Test with a match haul of seven wickets, then sent back Asad Shafiq for 12.

Sohail, who smashed 10 boundaries in his 240-ball knock, helped Pakistan to see off the second new ball and guided them

to the close of play without any further hiccups.

Earlier, New Zealand pacer Colin de Grandhomme had openers Mohammad Hafeez (9) and Imam-ul-Haq (9) caught by Tom Latham in the slips with a fine spell on a helpful morning wicket.

While De Grandhomme made the early inroads, his pace col-league Trent Boult heaped the pressure on Pakistan’s top order with some incisive bowling and was unlucky not to be rewarded with a scalp of his own.

Azhar hit seven boundaries and sent one over the fence as he com-bined with Sohail to grind out the Kiwi bowling, but perished in a mix-up as he approached what would have been a well-deserved century.

New Zealand edged the first Test in Abu Dhabi by four runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series. The teams return to the same venue for the final match from Dec. 3-7.

REUTERRSCOLOMBBO

Adil Raashid and Ben Stokkes scriptedd a spectacular turrn-aroundd to earn Englandd a handy first-innings leeadafter skkittling out Sri Lannkafor 2400 on day two of tthethird and final Teest yesterdday.

Cruuising at 173 for ooneat one sstage, Sri Lanka hhadevery rreason to be oppti-mistic about a big firrst-innings total before tthe wheelss came off theirinningss in the final sessiionat the Siinhalese Sports Club.

Rasshid claimed a careerr-best 5-49, allso effectinng a run-out withh a direct tthrow, while Stokkesreturneed 3-30 in a lioon-hearted display of paacebowlinng on a spin-frienddlytrack tto earn Englandd afirst-innnings lead of 96..

Thee tourists were thrreefor no lloss in their secoondininniningngss when bad ligght stopped play.

Rory Burns was on twwoand Keaton Jennings on one with England pressiing for a 3-0 series sweep.

On a day when Englg ana ddcaptain Joe Roootot sspipilledtwo catches in theh slip, Jenen--nings pooucu hed four at shhoorttleg, thrreee of them absoolutee blindersrs..

BBen FoFoakakeses ttooookk ththreebehind stumps, includinga brilliant diving catch to send back k AnAngegelolo M Matathehewsws.

Earliier, England lost their lastst t thrhreeee w wickeketsts iin

lelessss t thah n 30 minuttesses t t to o be alall out foforr r 33336 6 ini their ffirirststs ininnninggss.

Srrii i Lanka a maaade aa cc cauu-tioouus s reply anand JeJeJ nninnngsstoookokok a stunnining g ccacatch h tooevevenntut allyly e endn tthhe oopepennningng stand.

Danushka Gunatathhilakka (1(18)8) s steteppppeded o outut t to hit a aJack Leach delivery and JeJennnniningsgs ffolo lol wewed d hihim mm toto

ononn t tt tooobbebe iiin n n pop sitiood catchtakekeke a bbatatt-p-p-padadll hhitt h hisi afaftter r ththe e babbal

mmim drrifi f.KKararununu arara aatneDiD mmuuthth K K

geedd aa 1142424 -rrrunu(8883)3) t tthehhen n fofoorgrgthth D Dhaah nananjjnjaayya a a papartrtnenersrsr hihih pp wiw t

o lleaead d aa ststroronngnggde Silva (((773377 ) ) totosoststs..reply byy ttheheeehehehee hh hootttttsmmms eennn wwwere e e Bothh bbb bbbbatttatatatatiiinnngg u up ppp thhhheeieir lul cky y to bbririippililleled d byby RRR Root ffififtftieess, ee eaca h spsppSStuttutuuart Broadat slip wiwiithhhttht S Sowwwwleler r on boththe lucklessssss bbboo

occasisionons.s.aaininn, , Jennnninngs OnOO cee a aaagagag

ccatatchchchhh tt to o eendtotot okkok aa aa s sssmmmartrtrtrt hihighggg essesttt pppaaapap rtrtrtrtSrSrSrS i i LLaLanknka’a’sss hhh -ee ssereriei s whhennnnershhip ofof t thhhhekeeded aaaa RRaasshidd dde Silva fliccckkhhimimim.bab ll towardsss h

ee RRRasashihih dd-JeJennThThee sasameme -mbibib need dd agaggaiainn ninggs pap ir comKarunnararrratatatatatnenenetoto s senend d backk nknknknkkaa aa sisimpmplyly anand d SrS i Laerer t thhat,, l losinnnnng g g g gimimplplp ododed aaaafftftftf es inin thehe ffininall eieiighghghght t wiwiwiicccckkeets

sesessssionnnn.chchchhch w wwwwhheree no OnOnnn aa pititc

bobowwllw er has ooototheheherr r qquicckk wwiwickkkckette in the emamamamananannaggegedd a a ww

kekesss geeg nnenneraraattetet ddd contesest,t SSStotttokkbouncee toawkwwward

batsmen and trtroublble ththe bded for hiswas rewardiie e e atatttititt tututudededede..nenenevevever-r-sasasay-y-yy didi

SPORT 07SUNDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2018

Just like old times. I needed

it. He had a chance to close

out so I needed something

special to happen.

Tiger Woods

After losing to Phil Mickelson in an exhibition clash on Friday.

PAKISTAN, First inningsImam-ul-Haq c Latham b de Grandhomme .. 9 M Hafeez c Latham b de Grandhomme ......... 9 Azhar Ali run out .............................................. 81Haris Sohail not out ......................................... 81Asad Shafiq c Wagner b Patel ....................... 12Babar Azam not out ........................................ 14Extras: (nb 1) ......................................................1Total: (for four wkts; 90 overs) ..........207Still to bat: Sarfraz Ahmed, Bilal Asif, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas Fall of wickets: 1-18 (Hafeez), 2-25 (Imam), 3-151 (Azhar), 4-174 (Shafiq)Bowling: Boult 18-5-50-0, Grandhomme 19-7-31-2, Wagner 22-7-44-0 (1nb), Patel 19-3-60-1, Sodhi 12-0-22-0

SCOREBOARD

ENGLAND, first innings R Burns b Perera ...............................................14K Jennings c Silva b Pushpakumara ............. 13 J Bairstow b Sandakan ..................................110 J Root c Gunathilaka b Sandakan .................46 B Stokes c de Silva b Sandakan .....................57 J Buttler c & b Sandakan ..................................16 M Ali c Mathews b Perera ................................33B Foakes c Dickwella b Pushpakumara ....... 13 A Rashid not out ...............................................21S Broad b Sandakan ........................................... 0M Leach c Mathews b Perera ............................2Extras (b7, lb3, nb1) ...........................................11Total (all out, 92.5 overs) ............................... 336Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Burns), 2-36 (Jennings), 3-136 (Root), 4-235 (Stokes), 5-254 (Bairstow), 6-265 (But-tler), 7-294 (Foakes), 8-328 (Ali), 9-329 (Broad), 10-336 (Leach)Bowling: Lakmal 11-2-33-0, Perera 32.5-1-113-3, Pushpakumara 20-3-64-2, Sandakan 22-0-95-5, de Silva 5-0-16-0, Gunathilaka 2-0-5-0 SRI LANKA, first inningsM Gunathilaka c Jennings b Leach ................18F Karunaratne c Jennings b Rashid ............. 83D de Silva c Jennings b Rashid .......................73

B Mendis c Stokes b Rashid ............................27A Mathews c Foakes b Stokes ..........................5 A Silva c Jennings b Rashid ...............................3 N Dickwella c Foakes b Stokes .........................5 M Perera c Foakes b Stokes ...............................0R Lakmal not out .................................................3P Sandakan run out ............................................2P Pushpakumara lbw b Rashid .....................13 Extras (lb7, w1) ....................................................8Total (all out, 65.5 overs) ...............................240Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Gunathilaka), 2-173 (de Silva), 3-187 (Karunaratne), 4-200 (Mathews), 5-205 (Silva), 6-222 (Dickwella), 7-222 (Mendis), 8-222 (Perera), 9-224 (Sandakan), 10-240 (Pushpaku-mara)Bowling: Broad 9-2-36-0, Leach 18-2-59-1, Ali 13-2-55-0, Rashid 13.5-2-49-5, Root 2-0-4-0, Stokes 10-1-30-3 ENGLAND, second inningsR Burns not out ...................................................2K Jennings not out .............................................. 1Extras .................................................................. 0Total (no wickets, 4 overs) ..................................3Bowling: Perera 2-1-1-0, Pushpakumara 1-0-2-0, de Silva 1-1-0-0

SCOREBOARD

BANGLADESH, first innings 324WEST INDIES, first innings 246 BANGLADESH, second innings ( overnight 55-5)Imrul Kayes b Warrican .....................................2Soumya Sarkar c Brathwaite b Chase ............11Mominul Haque lbw b Chase .........................12Mohammad Mithun b Bishoo ........................ 17Shakib Al Hasan c Gabriel b Warrican ............ 1Mushfiqur Rahim b Gabriel .............................19Mehidy Hasan c Dowrich b Bishoo ...............18Mahmudullah Riyad c Hope b Bishoo ..........31Nayeem Hasan c Hope b Bishoo .....................5Taijul Islam c Warrican b Chase ........................ 1Mustafizur Rahman not out .............................2Extras (b2, lb1, nb3) ............................................6Total (all out 35.5 overs) .................................125Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-13, 3-32, 4-35, 5-53, 6-69, 7-106, 8-122, 9-123, 10-125Bowling: Roach 1-0-11-0, Warrican 16-2-43-2, Chase 6.5-1-18-3, Bishoo 9-0-26-4, Gabriel 3-0-24-1

WEST INDIES, second inningsK. Brathwaite lbw b Taijul .................................8K. Powell st Mushfiqur b Shakib ......................0S. Hope c Mushfiqur b Shakib ...........................3S. Ambris c Mushfiqur b Taijul ....................... 43R. Chase lbw b Taijul ..........................................0S. Hetmyer c Nayeem b Mehidy .....................27S. Dowrich lbw b Taijul .......................................5D. Bishoo b Taijul .................................................2K. Roach lbw b Taijul .......................................... 1J. Warrican c Shakib b Mehidy ........................41S. Gabriel not out ................................................0Extras (b9) ............................................................9Total ( all out; 35.2 overs) ...............................139Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-11, 3-11, 4-11, 5-44, 6-51, 7-69, 8-75, 9-138, 10-139Bowling: Shakib 7-0-30-2, Nayeem 7-1-29-0, Taijul 11.2-2-33-6, Mehidy 8-1-27-2, Mustafizur 2-0-11-0

SCOREBOARD

England vs Sri Lanka3rd Test - Day 3

at SSC, Colombo

Pakistan vs New Zealand2nd Test - Day 2 in Dubai, UAE

CRICKET CRICKET

TO

DAY

’SA

CTIO

N

Five-star Rashid wrecks Sri Lanka as England rule

England’s Adil Rashid appeals for the wicket of Sri Lankan batsman Malinda Pushpakumara

during second day of their third Test cricket match in Colombo, Sri Lanka yesterday.

Azhar, Sohail shine on day one as Pakistan post 207-4 in Dubai

Pakistani batsman Azhar Ali plays a shot as New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling (left) and team-mate Henry Nicholls look on during the first day of the second Test cricket match at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai yesterday.

Taijul bowls Bangladesh to win against West Indies

Bangladeshi bowler Taijul Islam reacts after the dismissal of West Indies batsman Shane Dowrich during the first Test cricket

match in Chittagong, yesterday.

Paceman Starc gets T20 call-up for deciderAFP SYDNEY

Mitchell Starc was yesterday drafted into Australia’s squad for their final Twenty20 against India in what could be his first short-format international in two years.

The pace spearhead had been left out of the squad for their T20 games against South Africa and India so he could focus on the Sheffield Shield to be better prepared for the upcoming Test series against the Indians.

But fellow fast bowler Billy Stanlake turned his ankle in the warm-up for the second match against India on Friday and has now been ruled out of the third and final game in Sydney tomorrow.

Australia lead the series 1-0, with Friday’s game abandoned due to rain.

Starc last played a T20 for Australia in September 2016 against Sri Lanka in Colombo.

AUSTRALIA SQUAD: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D`Arcy Short, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.