CRICKET
Pakistan beat Zimbabwe
Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez with 139 runs and Imran Farhat with 75 formed a record-breaking opening partnership of 228 runs against Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe, on Sunday to secure an overwhelming win in the second one-day international (ODI) to take the three-match series. Their combination beat the previous mark set by Saeed Anwar and Ramiz Rajah of 204 against Sri Lanka. The Pakistani pair stayed together for the entire 42.1 overs necessary to record a 10-wicket victory over a hapless home side who had scraped together 225-6 in their 50 overs. Hafeez, who recorded his third ODI century and was later named man of the match for the second time on this tour, needed only 147 balls while Farhat’s 75 required 106 balls.
CYCLING
Da Costa wins Montreal GP
Portugal’s Rui Faria da Costa launched a timely attack in the finale of the Montreal Grand Prix to upset the favorites and win the 205.7km Canadian World Tour race on Sunday. Hyperactive in the last two of 17 laps around the Mount Royal park, the Movistar team rider, 24, broke with Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo and Austria’s Stefan Denifl and kept enough strength to hold the peloton at bay until the finish line. On the line, the winner of the eighth stage of the Tour de France in Super Besse in July narrowly beat Fedrigo while world No. 1 Philippe Gilbert managed to dislodge Denifl from third place thanks to a blistering finishing sprint.
CYCLING
Cavendish wins first stage
Mark Cavendish made a winning start to the Tour of Britain with a classy sprint finish victory in the opening stage in Scotland on Sunday. Cavendish, who has won 20 stages of the Tour de France and took the green jersey this year, was the star attraction in Dumfries and treated fans who braved some nasty weather to a powerful finish as he came out on top in a bunch sprint. In high winds and driving rain, Cavendish was helped home by his HTC-Highroad lead-out man Mark Renshaw to make a perfect start to a race he last contested in 2007. Cavendish, one of the big favorites for the world road race title in Copenhagen at the end of the month, led the pack home in a time of four hours, 41 minutes and six seconds, with Australian Renshaw in second and Dutchman Theo Bos in third.
BASKETBALL
Argentina beat Brazil
Argentina defeated Brazil 80-75 on Sunday to win the championship game of the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament for the Americas. Luis Scola led Argentina with 32 points and Carlos Delfino added 16. Marcus Vinicuis had 17 for Brazil. The game was mostly for pride, since both teams had already won their semi-final matches on Saturday, which gave them two automatic berths in next year’s London Olympics. The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico 103-89 in Sunday’s third-place game.
ATHLETICS
Blake sets 100m meet record
World champion Yohan Blake equaled his personal best of 9.82 seconds on Sunday to set a new 100m meet record at the ISTAF event. The 21-year-old Jamaican, who clocked the same time at the Weltklasse in Zurich on Thursday, comfortably beat Kim Collins of Saint Kitts and Nevis, who finished in 10.01 seconds. “That’s why they call me the beast,” Blake said. “There were some very good guys in this field, so it wasn’t easy to win. I pushed myself to run faster. It’s a wonderful feeling to win here ... Life changed a bit after the world championship.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
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