India beats New Zealand, Zverev wins ATP finals, Hamilton stays on top, and more!7 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutesAdithya G
The Big 2
Zverev wins ATP finals title
Alexander Zverev beat the top two players, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, in consecutive ties on his way to his second title at the ATP Finals.
He eliminated top seed Djokovic over three sets in the semi-finals and followed it with a dominant performance in the final to beat Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4.
With that victory, he finally broke his streak of five back-to-back defeats to the Russian.
India win T20I series against New Zealand
Following their unremarkable World Cup campaign, team India got off to a winning start in their first series after Rahul Dravid took charge as the head coach.
India won all three games in the series convincingly, chasing down targets with ease twice and defending a total with aplomb in the final game of the series.
Captain Rohit Sharma was named the Player of the Series.
The two teams will play in a 2-match Test series next. Ajinkya Rahane will lead team India in the long format after Virat Kohli stepped down as the Test captain earlier this year.
Cricket
Pakistan beat T20I series against Bangladesh
Pakistan thrashed Bangladesh thrice in succession at Dhaka to complete a whitewash in the T20I leg of their tour. Bangladesh posted below-par totals after batting first all three times and Pakistan chased successfully each time.
Pakistan keeper Mohammad Rizwan was awarded the Player of the Series award. He scored 90 runs in three games, effected one stumping and took three catches.
Football
A harrowing loss (4-1) to Watford turned out to be the last straw for Manchester United as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was asked to step down as the manager of the club following a poor run of results. The Red Devils are 12 points behind leaders Chelsea AT THE end of Matchday 12.
It was business as usual for pace setters, Chelsea, Manchester City & Liverpool with all teams winning by at least three goals. The Blues beat Leicester City 3-0, the defending champions humbled Everton in a 3-0 win and the Reds brought Arsenal’s unbeaten run to an end with a 4-0 thrashing.
Antonio Conte enjoyed his first Premier League win as a Spurs manager as Tottenham came back from behind to beat Leeds United 2-1.
Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus tapped in an 85th-minute goal to give his team a 2-1 win over visitors VfB Stuttgart. This timely win helped them close the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich to a point in the Bundesliga table. The defending champions were stunned by Augsburg in the Bavarian Derby. The 2-1 victory helped Augsburg climb out of the relegation zone.
Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the oldest player to score multiple goals in a Serie-A game. He scored a brace in AC Milan’s 4-3 defeat at Fiorentina. Napoli suffered their first league defeat of the season as they lost 3-2 to Inter Milan in a pulsating encounter.
Lionel Messi finally scored his first Ligue 1 goal after five appearances as PSG beat Nantes 3-1. Kyrian Mbappe slid the pass to Messi in the 87th minute of the game at the end of a counterattack and the Argentine made no mistake with the finish.
Barcelona won their first league game under new manager Xavi, beating neighbours Espanyol 1-0. Memphis Depay scored the decisive penalty. Real Madrid lead the Spanish league table following a comprehensive 4-1 win over Granada. Real Sociedad trail Madrid by 1 point.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus and Bayern Munich have all qualified to the knockout stages of the Champions League following the results of Matchday five in Europe’s elite competition.
NBA
Evan Fournier. Photo: Wikipedia
Evan Fournier scored 26 points as the Knicks beat a Los Angeles Lakers team missing suspended star LeBron James 106-100. LeBron was suspended for one game following his bloody clash with Detroit Pistons player Isaiah Stewart.
The 20-year-old Stewart had to be restrained repeatedly by team-mates and staff as he attempted to confront LeBron after the incident. He was duly given a two-game suspension for his part in the altercation.
The Phoenix Suns are in red-hot form as they have now won 13 straight games since their 1-3 start to the season. Their record currently reads 14-3, just one game shy of the league-best Golden State Warriors (15-2). Their 13th victory came against the in-form San Antonio Spurs. Deandre Ayton starred with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists on 10-16 shooting.
CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Portland handed the Denver Nuggets their fifth straight loss. Damian Lillard picked up 25 points and five assists to help the Trail Blazers to their fourth consecutive win and ninth in a row at home.
Golf
Collin Morikawa became the first American to win the Race to Dubai title. A late surge took him to victory in the DP World Tour Championship. Morikawa, who had earlier won the British Open finished with a flawless round 66 including six birdies to top the leaderboard at 17 under par and win by three shots.
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Sweden’s Alexander Bjork were tied for second.
F1
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton won the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix for Mercedes to cut Max Verstappen’s lead in the championship race to eight points with two races remaining.
Red Bull’s Verstappen finished second, after starting seventh but took a bonus point for fastest lap. Double world champion Fernando Alonso was third, claiming his first podium finish since 2014.
Kiplimo breaks half-marathon record in Lisbon
Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo set a new world half-marathon record last week. He clocked 57 minutes 31 seconds in the Lisbon Half Marathon road race, topping the previous best by one second.
Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie previously held the record after a race in Valencia in 2020. The 21-year-old Kiplimo won the race by more than two minutes with Ethiopia’s Esa Huseyidin Mohamed finishing second (59:39).
Out-Actioned is a weekly sports bulletin.
Author’s note: Adithya G is a freelance writer and sports enthusiast.
