T20I outscores a Test, US wins SHEBELIEVES trophy and more…6 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutesAdithya G
Here is the round-up of all the action from the world of sports last week.
The Top Two
Even Cricketers Need Their Weekends!
The maiden match at the world’s largest stadium was a day-night Test with a spot in the first ever final of the World Test Championship up for grabs. England won the first game and India came back to win the second. The stage was set.
What followed was almost an anti-climatic yet energetic Test that lasted all of two days. The Test started with England being bowled out for 112 and India ending Day 1 at 99/3. What followed on Day 2 was quite remarkable. India lost their remaining seven wickets for just 46 runs but once again restricted the visitors to a score of 81 in the second innings. The hosts chased down the target of 49 without any fuss to take a 2-1 lead going into the final match of the series.
Axar Patel picked up five wickets in the match and Ravichandran Ashwin became the second fastest to rach 400 career wickets.
A total of 357 runs were scored in the match. On the same day the Test ended, a T20I match between Australia and New Zealand saw the teams score 434 runs combined in forty overs!
USA Wins SheBelieves Cup
Megan Rapinoe scored twice and the United States won the SheBelieves Cup title with a 6-0 victory over Argentina in the final.
Other scorers included Carli Lloyd, Kristie Mewis, Alex Morgan and Christen Press.
The USWNT is undefeated in 37 games in a row overall and 53 on American soil. They are also the first team to have three straight shutouts in the six-year history of the SheBelieves Cup.
Cricket
The Big Shaw
In his first match as Mumbai skipper, Prithvi Shaw smashed 227* to become India’s eighth List A (domestic 50-over competition) double-centurion. This is now the highest List A score by a captain. The previous highest was 222* by Graeme Pollock in 1974. Mumbai scored 457/4 against Puducherry in that game courtesy of Shaw’s brilliance and thus set the record for the highest ever total in the Vijay Hazare trophy.
Football
Man City Extend Winning Run to 20
The Premier League title is slowly but surely heading to the Blue side of Manchester. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City extended its lead at the top after a 2-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday. This is their 20th straight win in all competitions.
Defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias scored the winners for the Blues. The centre-back pairing has now scored more goals than they have conceded in the past 16 games!
At second place, Manchester United played out a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge against Manchester City.
Goal of the week (or possibly the year)
Elisha Sam scores a remarkable scorpion kick for Notts county, a team in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system.
Basketball
LaBron strikes again!
In his 1,300th appearance in the NBA, LeBron James scored 19 points to help Los Angeles Lakers rout Golden State Warriors, 117-91.
The defending NBA champions scored 70 points in the first half and defended their lead comfortably in the third and fourth quarter to seal the victory. The defeat snapped a three-match winning run for the Warriors.
The Bucks Don’t Stop
The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Los Angeles Clippers 105-100 for their fifth consecutive victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo starred with 36 points
as he became the first Bucks player to score more than 35 points in four consecutive games since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1973.
Three Point Buddy
Sacramento Kings guard, Buddy Hield, scored his 100th career 3-pointer during his team’s harrowing defeat to the Charlotte Hornets. It has taken Hield just 350 games to reach that mark – the fastest in NBA history. Warriors’ Stephen Curry previously held the record at 369 games.
Golf
Woods Involved In Car Crash
Renowned golfer Tiger Woods was involved in a serious rollover car accident in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. He was rushed to the Harbor–UCLA Medical Center for medical attention. Woods’ agent later said that the golfer had sustained multiple leg injuries and had undergone surgery for non-life-threatening injuries.
The 82-time PGA winner is said to have a fractured right leg and a shattered ankle.
During the final round of the Workday Championship golf tournament, fellow golfers paid tribute by donning Woods’ signature Sunday red and black for the final round as a tribute.
Tennis
The Dioker Equals Federer’s Record
Novak Djokovic equalled Roger Federer’s all-time record for most weeks as ATP world number one on March 1, holding the top spot for the 310th week
Djokovic’s ninth Australian Open title last month guaranteed that he would surpass Federer’s record on March 8.
The Serbian has 18 grand slams to his name and is keen to equal and eclipse Federer’s tally of 20.
Well, that’s all for this week, folks. Let the games continue, until next week!
Author’s Note: Adithya G is a freelance writer who is passionate about sports.
(Out Actioned is a weekly sports bulletin)
