Cricket
Second Test match
India v New Zealand
Mumbai (third day of five): New Zealand, with
five second-innings wickets in hand, need
400 runs to beat India
India First Innings 325 (M A Agarwal 150,
A R Patel 52; A Y Patel 10-119)
Second Innings (overnight 69-0)
M A Agarwal c Young b Patel 62
C A Pujara c Taylor b Patel 47
S Gill c Latham b Ravindra 47
*V Kohli b Ravindra 36
S S Iyer st Blundell b Patel 14
†W P Saha c Jamieson b Ravindra 13
A R Patel not out 41
J Yadav c and b Patel 6
Extras (b 6, lb 3, nb 1) 10
Total (7 wkts dec, 70 overs) 276
Fall of wickets 1-107, 2-115, 3-197, 4-211, 5-217,
6-238, 7-276.
Bowling Southee 13-2-31-0; Patel 26-3-106-4;
Jamieson 8-2-15-0; Somerville 10-0-59-0;
Ravindra 13-2-56-3.
New Zealand First Innings 62 (R Ashwin 4-8)
Second Innings
*T W M Latham lbw b Ashwin 6
W A Young c sub b Ashwin 20
D J Mitchell c J Yadav b Patel 60
L R P L Taylor c Pujara b Ashwin 6
H M Nicholls not out 36
†T A Blundell run out 0
R Ravindra not out 2
Extras (b 8, lb 1, nb 1) 10
Total (5 wkts, 45 overs) 140
Fall of wickets 1-13, 2-45, 3-55, 4-128, 5-129.
Bowling Siraj 5-2-13-0; Ashwin 17-7-27-3; Patel
10-2-42-1; Yadav 8-2-30-0; Yadav 5-1-19-0.
Umpires: A K Chaudhary and N N Menon.
Second Test match
Bangladesh v Pakistan
Dhaka (second day of five): Pakistan have
scored 188 for two wickets against
BangladeshPakistan First Innings (overnight 161-2)
Azhar Ali not out 52
*Babar Azam not out 71
Extras (lb 1) 1
Total (2 wkts, 63.2 overs) 188
Fawad Alam, †Mohammad Rizwan, Faheem
Ashraf, Nauman Ali, Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan and
Shaheen Shah Afridi Afridi to bat.
Fall of wickets 1-59, 2-70.
Bowling Hossain 12-1-48-0; Ahmed 7.2-1-26-
0; Al Hasan 15-6-33-0; Taijul Islam 17-5-49-2;
Miraz 12-2-31-0.
Bangladesh Shadman Islam, Mahmudul
Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto, *Mominul
Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, †Liton Das, Shakib
Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam,
Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain.
Umpires M A Gough (England) and S I S Saikat
(Bangladesh).
Golf
US PGA Tour Hero World Challenge,
Albany, New Providence, Bahamas: Final
scores (United States unless stated): 270V Hovland (Nor) 68, 69, 67, 66. 271 S Scheffler
71, 68, 66, 66. 273 S Burns 71, 65, 68, 69; P Reed
68, 69, 67, 69. 274 C Morikawa 68, 66, 64, 76;
J Thomas 67, 72, 71, 64. 275 D Berger 66, 69,
69, 71; T Finau 68, 66, 70, 71. 277 T Hatton
(Eng) 69, 67, 71, 70; B Koepka 67, 67, 69, 74; J
Rose (Eng) 71, 70, 70, 66. 278 M Fitzpatrick
(Eng) 71, 70, 68, 69; X Schauffele 70, 70, 70,- 280 A Ancer (Mex) 66, 73, 72, 69; B
DeChambeau 69, 64, 73, 74; H English 75, 70,
63, 72. 281 W Simpson 67, 72, 71, 71. 282 R
McIlroy (N Ire) 66, 71, 75, 70. 289 H Stenson
(Swe) 72, 75, 70, 72. 294 J Spieth 71, 72, 75, 76.
Netball
Third Vitality international match
Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham England 53
Jamaica 63.
6 England win three-match series 2-1
Rugby union
Gallagher Premiership Leicester Tigers 16
Harlequins 14. Saturday Exeter 18 Saracens
15; London Irish 43 Newcastle Falcons 21;
Northampton Saints 40 Bath 19; Worcester
Warriors 32 Wasps 31.
Greene King IPA Championship Cornish
Pirates 29 Doncaster 7. Saturday Coventry 15
Bedford 14; Ealing Trailfinders 54 Ampthill 17;
Hartpury 38 Richmond 20.
National League One Bishop’s Stortford 20
Caldy 31; Leeds Tykes 21 Tonbridge Juddians
19; Plymouth Albion 49 Darlington Mowden
Park 22; Rams 13 Blackheath 17; Rosslyn
Park 28 Chinnor 27; Sale 24 Birmingham
Moseley 0; Taunton Titans 26 Cambridge 26.
League Two: North Blaydon 19 Hull 38;
Bournville 22 Chester 14; Fylde 15
Stourbridge 10; Harrogate 7 Sheffield
Tigers 27; Hull Ionians 18 Luctonians 7;
Rotherham Titans 26 Huddersfield 12;
Sedgley Park 41 Tynedale 7; Wharfedale 15
Loughborough Students 14. South
Barnstaple 5 Henley 26; Bury St Edmunds 36
Esher 40; Canterbury 52 Westcliff 15; Dings
Crusaders 32 Hinckley 22; Guernsey 7 Old
Albanians 38; Rochford Hundred 28 Redruth
34; Worthing 23 Clifton 24.United Rugby Championship Glasgow
Warriors 33 Dragons 14; Ospreys 19 Ulster 13;
Stormers 19 Lions 37.
Women’s Allianz Premier 15’s Gloucester-
Hartpury 31 Loughborough Lightning 33;
Harlequins 69 DMP Sharks 7; Saracens 17
Bristol Bears 12; Wasps 22 Sale Sharks 8;
Worcester Warriors 12 Exeter 29.
Snooker
Cazoo UK Championship
York Barbican: Final (best-of-19 frames):
Zhao Xintong (China) beat L Brecel (Bel) 10-5
(frame scores; Zhao first): 79-4 (79 break),
0-133 (133), 90-25 (61), 19-80, 92-12, 67-40,
47-60, 85-17 (78), 87-0 (87), 120-9 (120), 31-71
(64), 69-6 (56), 13-97 (81), 71-19, 99-0 (99).
Tennis
Davis Cup final
Madrid: Russia beat Croatia 2-0 (Russia
names first): A Rublev bt B Gojo 6-4, 7-6 (7-5);
D Medvedev bt M Cilic 7-6 (9-7), 6-2.Results
You would think after all the world
has been through that players earning
thousands of pounds for hitting a ball
over a net would have more
perspective, but clearly not.controversy
naomi osaka’s media boycott
Osaka’s decision to avoid press
conferences during the French Open
because of the impact on her mental
health became a huge talking point
beyond tennis. Some felt she was
ducking questions about matches on
her weakest surface, others believed
she was right to stand up against
mandatory media requirements for
her wellbeing. It was a shame for thebest male player
novak djokovic
There may be a tinge of
disappointment for Djokovic and his
fans that he failed to become the first
man since Rod Laver in 1969 to
complete the calendar grand slam,
falling at the last hurdle with a tame
defeat by Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in
the US Open final, but this remains
one of the great seasons by any
player. Success at the Australian
Open, French Open and Wimbledon
led to the Serbian drawing level with
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on
20 major titles — a mark he will
inevitably pass — and he has spent a
record total of 350 weeks as the world
No 1.
best female player
ashleigh barty
When Barty started her season as the
world No 1 despite an absence of 11
months — a result of the temporary
two-year ranking system put in place
because of the pandemic — she faced
some disparaging put-downs from
those who believed she did not
deserve to be considered the world’s
best player. Her emphatic response
was to remain there all year by
winning an unrivalled five titles, most
notably at Wimbledon, where she
became the first Australian woman
since Evonne Goolagong in 1980 to
claim the Venus Rosewater Dish.
best match
french open semi-final,
djokovic beats rafael nadal
3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
This will be remembered as one of
the most significant matches in the
era of the “big three”. At the time
Djokovic was two grand-slam titles
behind Nadal, who had lost two of 107
matches on his beloved Parisian clay
courts. The long baseline rallies over
the course of four hours and 11
Sport
Zhao claims
debut victory
with UK title
Snooker
Hector NunnsZhao Xintong brought the house down
in York to win the UK Championship
— having almost been on the streets
the night before his breakthrough
success.
The 24-year-old from China claimed
a debut tournament victory last night
by beating Belgium’s Luca Brecel 10-5.
But hours before emerging for the first
session, the world No 26 known as “The
Cyclone” found himself in desperate
need of a good night’s sleep, having
been turned away by six hotels. A
World Snooker official came to the res-
cue, Zhao found a bed and was wide
awake to claim the £200,000 first prize.
Brecel rattled in an early break of 133
in between breaks of 79 and 61 from
Zhao. The pace then slowed before
Zhao made it 5-3 with a run of 78.
In the evening breaks of 87, 120 and
56 put Zhao 8-4 up — and there was no
way back for the 26-year-old Belgian.
“I am so happy,” Zhao said. “It is the
biggest match of my life and my first
final, I knew I had to try and play my
best. I don’t know what else to say, really
except winning the UK Championship
is the biggest dream come true for me.”
Brecel said: “Zhao played unbelieva-
bly well.”Raducanu’s rise
was joyous – but
Norrie shone too
minutes were enthralling, both
players pushing each other to their
limits under the lights on Court
Philippe Chatrier. Even the French
prime minister, Jean Castex, became
involved, issuing a late exemption
from the 11pm Covid curfew to allow
Djokovic to complete a dramatic win.rookie of the year
emma raducanu
When the wild card, then aged 18,
stepped on to Wimbledon’s No 18
Court for her first-round match on
June 30, she was ranked No 338 in the
world. A joyous run to the last 16
brought her into the consciousness of
the British public, but it was in New
York where she became a global
superstar. The likes of Martina
Navratilova and Chris Evert were left
dumbfounded by Raducanu’s
captivating run through the US Open
draw, winning ten consecutive
matches in straight sets and becoming
the first qualifier, male or female, to
claim a grand-slam title.best briton
cameron norrie
Since Raducanu’s remarkable
achievement has already been
acknowledged here, a nod must be
given to Norrie’s consistency. With 50
wins on the tour this year, he joined
Andy Murray and Tim Henman as
the only British players to reach the
half-century mark this century. He
claimed a first ATP title, at the Los
Cabos Open in July, before becoming
the first Briton to win the prestigious
Indian Wells Open in October. At a
year-end world ranking of No 12, the
26-year-old is well positioned to push
into the top ten next year.biggest disappointment
abusive players
By the end of this year’s Australian
Open, Craig Tiley, the tournament
director, looked a broken man. Such
was the amount of work involved in
organising the first major of the
season during a pandemic that he had
been sleeping for only three to four
hours a night. Unfathomably, he
received abuse from some players
because of quarantine issues, and the
pressure became so intense that his
wife and children had to leave home.sport that one of its best players felt
the need to eventually withdraw from
the tournament, and lessons can be
learnt on both sides.comeback
carla suárez navarro
One of the most heartwarming tales
was provided by the Spaniard, who
returned to action at the French
Open eight months after she was
diagnosed with cancer. The 33-year-
old contested five tournaments before
retiring on her own terms. She will for
ever have the memory of receiving a
standing ovation from the Centre
Court crowd after pushing Barty to
three sets at Wimbledon.Raducanu became the first qualifier to win a grand-slam title, at the US OpenSUSAN MULLANE/ALAMYGlasgow among the contenders to host the Davis Cup
Glasgow is in the
running to become one
of the five host cities of
the Davis Cup finals
after it was confirmed
that Great Britain will
receive a wild card for
next year’s event (writes
Stuart Fraser).
Organisers yesterday
revealed a change to
the format of the
international men’s
team event billed as the
“World Cup of Tennis”.
Four separate locationswill host matches in the
round-robin stage, with
eight teams then
travelling to a neutral
venue for the quarter-
finals onwards.
Britain had faced the
prospect of a qualifier in
March after losing in the
last eight of this year’s
competition, but this
has been averted after a
request for a wild card
was granted alongside
Serbia. Sources have
told The Times that theLTA is preparing a bid to
become one of the
hosts, with Glasgow the
most likely city after
hosting ten ties from
2006 to 2018.
6 The Russian Tennis
Federation are this
year’s champions after
defeating Croatia 2-0 in
yesterday’s final. Andrey
Rublev beat Borna Gojo
before Daniil Medvedev
sealed victory with a
straight-sets win against
Marin Cilic.Tennis Correspondent
Stuart Fraser hands out
his end-of-year awards,
as a season full of
drama draws to a close
Hovland wins
in Bahamas
Golf
Collin Morikawa squandered a five-
shot lead and the chance to become
world No 1 as Viktor Hovland carved
through the field to win the Hero World
Challenge at Albany, Bahamas.
Hovland began the day six shots off
the pace but produced a final-round 66,
highlighted by successive eagles on the
14th and 15th. He bogeyed the last two
holes but finished 18 under par, a shot
ahead of American Scottie Scheffler.
The Norwegian had made a hat-trick
of birdies from the 6th and also birdied
the 11th before dropping his first shot of
the day on the next, but then holed a
bunker shot on the short par-four 14th
and followed it with another eagle on
the par-five 15th to take control.
Morikawa, the Open champion, who
would have replaced Jon Rahm at the
top of the world rankings with a win,
double-bogeyed the 4th and 6th after
losing a ball in dense bushes on each
hole.the times | Monday December 6 2021 53