A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Delhi lifted its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy after trouncing Rajasthan by 41 runs as comeback man Unmukt Chand hit a half-century and bowlers put up a united show in the final, in Kolkata.
Chand, playing his second match of the tournament, produced the timey knock after in-form Rishabh Pant (13) and veteran Gautam Gambhir (27) got out cheaply as Delhi put on board 153 for six.
In reply, Rajasthan were bundled out for 112 in 19.1 overs as their batting crumbled after opener Aditya Garhwal departed for 52 in 36 balls in the 12th over.
Left-arm pacer Sangwan bowled a tidy 2 for 14, while Kulwant Khejoriya (2/24) and Pawan Negi (2/21) also chipped in with two wickets each.
Earlier, openers Gambhir and Pant gave the team brisk start as Rajasthan sorely missed their ace pacer Deepak Chahar who's missed the final with a hamstring injury.
Gambhir, who had a miserable tournament so far, showed glimpses of his vintage form with four elegant boundaries and a six before being foxed by leg-spinner Rahul Chahar.
Brief Scores:
Delhi 153 for 6 in 20 overs (Unmukt Chand 53, Gautam Gambhir 27; Khaleel Ahmed 2/23, Rahul Chahar 2/31) beat Rajasthan 112 in 19.1 overs (Aditya Garhwal 52; Pradeep Sangwan 2/14, Pawan Negi 2/21, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/24) by 41 runs.
Paes-Cerretani in semis of Newport Beach Challenger
Veteran Leander Paes and his American partner James Cerretani did not have to move a sinew in reaching the semi-finals of the Newport Beach Challenger even as Vishnu Vardhan and N Sriram Babalji were ousted from the Rennes event in France.
Paes and Cerretani, seeded second, advanced in the $ 150,000 event after receiving a walkover from the local pair of Frances Tiafoe and Michael Mmoh, who encountered a shoulder problem.
They are now up against Marcelo Arevalo and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, who knocked out Aliaksandr Bury and Hsien-Yin Peng 7-5, 7-5 in their quarter-final.
Meanwhile at the Euro 64,000 USA tournament in France, unseeded Vardhan and Balaji suffered a close 4-6, 4-6 semi-final defeat at the hands of second seeded Sander Arends and Antonio Sancic.
Woods shoots even-par 72 in PGA Tour comeback at Torrey Pines
Tiger Woods made a respectable return to the PGA Tour on Thursday, shooting even-par 72 in the first round at the Farmers Insurance Open.
In his first official start since this time last year, Woods took a while to dust off the rust, but the quality of his shotmaking improved as the round progressed on the South course at Torrey Pines.
He trails American leader Tony Finau by seven strokes and expressed mild satisfaction with his performance, while at the same time adding that there was plenty of room for improvement.
"I still feel the same excitement, the same nerves," said the 42-year-old, who underwent spinal fusion surgery on his lower back last April. "It was fun to feel the competitive rush again.
"I didn't hit anything close, didn't give myself a lot of looks (for) and consequently didn't have a lot of chances for birdies."
A gallery of about 2000 people lined the first fairway to watch the 14-times major champion tee off at 10.40 AM local time (1840 GMT) on a course where he has won eight times.
Woods pulled his opening drive and ran up a bogey on the first but was in a relaxed mood on the fourth tee where he wandered over to the nearby cliff to watch a pod of dolphins playing in the Pacific Ocean below.
The fourth, which follows the cliff high above the crashing waves, also afforded a perfect opportunity for a couple of hang gliders to gatecrash the event.
The hang gliders had gone when Woods showed the first glimpse of his old magic with a perfect drive at the par-five sixth, where he split the fairway, nonchalantly picked up his tee and strode off without even bothering to watch his ball.
From there he found the putting surface with a four-iron to set up his first birdie of the day.
Later, he hit his best shot of the day at the par-three 16th, a six-iron that launched high and landed soft, almost going in for an ace, before settling eight inches away for a tap-in birdie.
© 2024 Rediff.com -