The balance of power in Taiwanese cricket continued its shift away from Taipei after the Pakistan Badshahs won the 10th Taiwan Annual Tournament in Pingtung on Sunday, beating the Taiwan Southerners (TSCC)
The win reversed their Top Four tournament final defeat in October, with the Badshah’s top order proving too resilient, chasing down 147 in 18 overs with eight wickets remaining.
They started with a bit of luck as opening bowler Jared Painter had a catch put down off Sabir Alishah’s first delivery. Ben Winmill was able to hold onto a similar chance on the point boundary in the next over from Jeff Black.
Hamid Khan went on the offensive with fours through the covers and a six over mid-wicket, but Black picked up his second wicket when he had Khan caught behind in the fourth over for 33.
That brought player of the final Danny Hussan out to join Kashif Mansoor. The batsmen worked hard and were aided by more dropped catches, none more costly than Justin Lambie’s miss off Hussan.
At drinks the Badshahs were 94-2 and well placed. Hussan hit the next two deliveries for six and four over cover and backward point to stamp his intentions on the match. TSCC captain Duane Christie bowled tidily, but no wickets came. Hussan cut Painter through point and heaved him over mid-wicket for fours to finish 72 not out. Mansoor (32 not out) hit the winning runs with 11 deliveries to spare.
Earlier in the day, TSCC had won the toss and elected to bat.
Openers Graham Terblanche and Christie started with some strong, square-of-the-wicket shots. Opening bowler Khan left the field after being struck by a return throw and Touseef Ashraf completed the over and Terblanche was caught from a top-edged pull next ball.
New batsman Black hit a big six off economical left-arm spinner Mansoor, but had to be content with mostly singles for a time. TSCC accelerated from 72-1 at the 11 over mark.
Black launched into the returning Khan with a cover drive for four and another big six over square-leg.
Alishah bowled a couple of tight overs and managed to break a 108-run partnership when Black went for 50, but with Painter able to immediately start hitting boundaries, TSCC were able to post 146-2. Christie remained unbeaten on 53.
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
India’s chess star Gukesh Dommaraju returned to a hero’s welcome in his home city yesterday after becoming the youngest world champion aged only 18. Hundreds of fans crowded the arrivals area of Chennai International Airport, cheering alongside banks of television cameras as Gukesh made his way out of the airport after victory in taking the World Chess Championship title. “It means a lot to bring back the trophy to India,” Gukesh told reporters, with garlands of flowers draped around his neck, brandishing the glittering trophy in his hand. “I can see the support and what it means to India, I
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier