CRICKET
Bangladesh win in NZ
Bangladesh yesterday needed only 15 overs with the bat to complete a nine-wicket win over New Zealand in the third ODI, ending New Zealand’s winning streak in ODIs at home at 17 matches. After rolling New Zealand for 98 in 31.4 overs, captain Najmul Hossain Shanto made an unbeaten 51 from 42 balls and Amanul Haque 37 from 33 to lead Bangladesh to their first ODI win over the Kiwis in New Zealand in 19 attempts. New Zealand won the three-match series 2-1, but the visitors gained a measure of revenge by bowling New Zealand out for their lowest-ever total in ODIs between the teams. “The ball was nipping, the ball was swinging and I knew how we started would set the tone for my team,” said Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who took 3-14. “I tried to bowl wicket to wicket and hold my line and length. This wicket is good for pace bowlers and the wicket really helped me.”
CRICKET
Dean Elgar retires
Former South Africa captain Dean Elgar has announced his retirement from international cricket after a Test series against India concludes early next month. Elgar, who has scored more than 5,000 runs with 13 centuries in his 84 Tests, is to play his final Test at Newlands in Cape Town starting on Jan. 3. “As they say: ‘All good things come to an end,’ and the Indian home series will be my last, as I have made the decision to retire from our beautiful game,” the 36-year-old Elgar said. “The Cape Town Test will be my last. My favorite stadium in the world. A place I scored my first Test run against New Zealand and hopefully my last too.” Elgar has a high score of 199 against Bangladesh in 2017. He is South Africa’s eighth-highest scorer in Tests.
DRAG RACING
Paula Murphy dies
Paula Murphy, a Hall of Fame racer and the first woman licensed to drive a funny car, died on Thursday. She was 95. The National Hot Rod Association announced Murphy’s death on Friday. It did not provide any details. Murphy was a pioneer for women in racing. She had set a women’s land-speed record of 161mph (259.1kph) at the Bonneville Salt Flats for Andy Granatelli in 1963. It was Granatelli who sponsored a new funny car drag racing entry for Murphy, who became known as “Miss STP.” Murphy once said: “I was a real oddity, and I think a lot of strip operators thought it was pretty good to sell tickets,” according to the association’s Web site. “I didn’t have problems getting booking dates. I was very well accepted not only by the tracks, but by my fellow racers. Back then, there was a lot of camaraderie between the teams helping one another out. We were a big family.” Murphy drove at Talladega Superspeedway in 1971 in the STP Dodge of Freddie Lorenzen, going 171.499mph. She powered a dragster to a 258mph run at the Winternationals in 1973. She sustained a broken neck in a crash in early 1974 at Sears Point Raceway when her car would not shut down and flipped over and over after landing. She returned to drag racing in 1976 and toured the country before retiring. Murphy was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2017. “I got really, really lucky,” she said, according to the Web site. “I don’t think many people have gotten the opportunity to do some of the things that I did.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
As sporting celebrations go, it does not quite have the charm of Roger Milla’s hip-wiggling shimmy with a corner flag at the 1990 World Cup or the imperious swagger of Usain Bolt’s iconic lightning pose. However, a dance move inspired by US president-elect Donald Trump’s stilted on-stage boogieing has rapidly become the celebration of choice across the US sporting world. From the blood-soaked UFC to the hard-hitting NFL and the reliably decorous world of the LPGA Tour, athletes across North America have succumbed to the viral Trump dance craze in the past week. On Monday, US soccer star Christian Pulisic became the latest
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