THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The world’s premier riders will be joined by three of Qatar’s top entries at this week’s final round of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) to be held at Al Shaqab Arena.

Last year’s champion Bassem Mohammed, Asian Games bronze medallist Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani and Hamad Nasser Al Qadi will be the home favourites as the battle for the second spot will be among a group of seven riders at the Nov 8-10 event.

Ali Al Rumaihi, the Event Director, yesterday said the wait for the star of the hugely popular three-day event ends tomorrow.

“I welcome riders from around the world for this final leg of the LGCT season. This event takes place in 15 cities but this week’s edition will be the 6th season for us here in Doha. We have the world’s best riders including Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani who will be competing for top honours,” Al Rumaihi said at a press conference yesterday.

He added: “This event is organised by Al Shaqab. We are working hard to keep the tra-dition of equestrian growing in this country. I had to say that the interest just keeps growing. We have another top event taking place in Qatar. The QOC Chairman H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani takes special interest in such events for young riders. We woul d l i k e t o encourage people to come

and enjoy top class events.” Sheikh Ali, Qatar’s premier

rider, yesterday said at a pre-event press conference: “This event like the Champions League of show jumping. The riding business in Qatar is in good health. We are hoping to have a good event. Last year a Qatari won the championship. Hopefully these events become more ben-eficial to home riders.”

He added: “I am using a horse with less experience. But I must say that my horse has a lot of potential. We had won the bronze at the Asian Games. It will a big test this week for us. We will be

putting a lot of pressure on this horse.”

The popular Qatari rider said riding was becoming popular with each passing day.

“We need a good foundation for riders and we are giving the

youngster exactly that. The local events have been special for them. We need such competi-tions. The organisation is of a high level as well. The media coverage has been very important too,” Sheikh Ali said.

“All in all, we have a great series of competition in Qatar.”

Jan Tops, founder of LGCT, yesterday said: “It feels great to be back for another high profile event Al Shaqab, This is a place where we see the world’s riders putting on special shows every time they compete here.”

Tops added: “The Qatari riders have become better over the years. They look in shape and promise much. I am sure with field open for riders to grab the second spot this week, we will see some exciting battles. Al Shaqab Arena will once again by the place to be this week.”

SPORT

Events such as the Longines Global Champions Tour go a long way towards fulfilling Al Shaqab’s vision of being a global and leading global center for equine excellence and providing an engaging experience for the community. It helps to promote horsemanship, inculcate passion as well as promoting Qatar’s equestrian heritage. As was done last year, we have also incorporated Hathab – Qatar Equestrian Tour as part of LGCT. As you are probably aware, Hathab is an initiative of H E Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Qatar Olympic Committee. It is aimed at improving the standard of horse riding among Qatari youths and to grow awareness of horsemanship as part of Qatar’s history and tradition: Ali Al Rumaihi

Wednesday 7 November 2018

PAGE | 27 PAGE | 29Japan’s ‘Ninja

Boy’ aims to stun Mayweather Jr.

Sharma’s record ton helps India clinch T20 series

Stage set for LGCT final round at Al Shaqab

Marco Danese, Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) Sports Director, Jan Tops, Founder and President of the LGCT, Ali Al Rumaihi, Event Director and Qatari rider Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani pose for a photograph during a press conference held in Doha, yesterday.

Al Shaqab has also organised activities for the whole family including pony rides, jumping castles, a variety of kids’ activities, outdoor cafes and much more. In addition, the organisers have set up a bazaar providing local entrepreneurs an opportunity to showcase and promote their products. The organising committee encourages equestrian fans and the general public who have never attended equestrian events before to experience this world-class event as well as enjoy fun-filled activities at Al Shaqab.

The state-of-the-art Al Shaqab Arena

Red Star stun Liverpool for first CL win in 26 yearsAFP

BELGRADE: Liverpool face the threat of crashing out at the Champions League group stage after a shock 2-0 defeat to Red Star Belgrade in the Serbian capital yesterday.

Milan Pavkov scored twice in seven first-half minutes to hand Red Star their first Champions League victory in 26 years.

Winners of the European Cup in 1991, Red Star hadn’t made it beyond the qualifying stages of the Champions League since the following year.

But roared on by a vociferous home support, the Serbian cham-pions were inspired to condemn Liverpool to a second defeat in the group after also losing at Napoli last month.

Last season’s Champions League finalists paid for a sloppy start and Jurgen Klopp’s decision to make three changes from the side that started a 1-1 draw at Arsenal on Saturday.

Klopp handed a rest to Roberto Firmino with Daniel

Sturridge starting up front and the English striker blazed over when it seemed easier to score with the goal at his mercy on 18 minutes.

That missed proved very costly as four minutes later Liv-erpool trailed.

Pavkov rose highest in a crowded penalty area to power home Marko Marin’s corner to spark wild scenes of celebration.

Moments later Red Star and their 55,000 fans packed into the Rajko Mitic stadium were in dreamland as Pavkov picked up possession midway inside the Liverpool half, strode forward and unleashed a powerful strike into Alisson Becker’s top right-hand corner.

Klopp recognised his initial error at half-time by throwing on Firmino and Joe Gomez at the break.

Sadio Mane had a great chance to give the visitors a lifeline, but failed to force the ball across the line from point-blank range.

Red Star had conceded 10 goals in being thrashed by PSG and Liverpool in their last two European encounters.

However, they are a different proposition at home and after

holding Napoli to a 0-0 draw in their group opener, they kept Liv-erpool at bay after the break.

The decision to leave Xherdan Shaqiri back in Britain due to political tensions will now be

questioned as the Swiss interna-tional’s guile to break down a defence was badly missed.

Kosovan-born Shaqiri caused outrage in Serbia with a pro-Kosovo “double eagle” gesture

that represents the Albanian flag during Switzerland’s World Cup win over Serbia in Russia.

Klopp’s men dominated pos-session but were largely restricted to efforts from range as Milan Borjan turned Mohamed Salah’s shot wide before the Egyptian struck the outside of the post from the resulting corner.

Liverpool are still unbeaten 11 games into the Premier League season, but have now lost their last four Champions League games away from Anfield.

Elsewhere, Thierry Henry’s Monaco crashed to an embar-rassing 4-0 home defeat by Club Brugge on Tuesday that left the French side tumbling towards an early Champions League exit.

Giant striker Hans Vanaken scored twice, the second from the penalty spot, while Brazilian forward Wesley banged in a third as Monaco fell three goals behind in just 24 minutes.

Ruud Vormer condemned Monaco to their heaviest ever home loss in Europe as he netted a fourth with five minutes left.

Red Star Belgrade’s Serbian forward Milan Pavkov (centre) heads the ball to score against

Liverpool during their UEFA Champions League Group C

second-leg match at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade

yesterday.

28 WEDNESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT

Warriors extend winning streakAFP

LOS ANGELES: Klay Thompson scored 27 points as the Golden State Warriors stretched their winning streak to eight games with a 117-101 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.

Thompson was one of five Warriors players in double-digits as the NBA champions overcame a sluggish start to wrap up a comfortable victory at Oracle Arena.

After an evenly contested first half finished at 58-58, the Warriors produced a breathless burst of scoring in the third quarter to pull clear.

They outscored the Grizzlies by 34 points to 15 in the third, effectively killing off the game going into the fourth.

The victory leaves the War-riors on top of the Western Con-ference with a 10-1 record.

Kevin Durant had 22 points for the Warriors while Stephen Curry had 19.

In Denver, the Nuggets main-tained their hot streak with Jamal Murray scoring 48 points in a 115-107 win over the Boston Celtics.

Point guard Murray drained five three-pointers in his points haul while laying on four assists and hauling down five rebounds.

The victory saw Denver improve to 9-1 to keep pace with the Warriors in the West.

Boston’s scoring was led by Kyrie Irving with 31 points while Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum chipped in with 15 points apiece.

Irving meanwhile was incensed by Murray’s late attempt at a three-pointer as the clock ran out in the fourth quarter, grabbing the ball and hurling it into the stands in disgust at the 21-year-old’s per-ceived lack of respect.

“The ball deserves to go in the crowd after a move like that,”

Irving said. “So I threw it in the crowd.”

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone denied Murray had been showing disrespect to the Celtics.

“He’s young, he’s still learning,” Malone said.

“You never want to disre-spect anyone. I think it wasn’t disrespect; he was trying to get

to 50 points, which you under-stand. But our veterans talked to him, and it’s something he’ll learn from.”

The Toronto Raptors main-tained their grip on the Eastern Conference standings with a 115-107 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

Raptors point guard Kyle

Lowry was the standout per-former for the visitors with 17 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists. Toronto star Kawhi Leonard did not play after failing to recover fully from a foot injury.

The Oklahoma City Thunder meanwhile notched their fifth consecutive win at home with a

victory over the New Orleans Pelicans but suffered an injury scare to star Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook needed to be helped off court after spraining ankle in the Thunder’s 122-116 victory.

The 2017 NBA MVP grimaced in pain after rolling over on his ankle as he landed on Pelicans player Anthony Davis’s foot after going up for a rebound in the third quarter.

Westbrook attempted to get up and hobble off on his own but eventually needed assistance as he limped straight to the locker room. The Thunder later said Westbrook appeared to have suf-fered a sprained left ankle.

Westbrook has only recently returned to action after missing the first two games of the season following knee surgery.

The 29-year-old, who has averaged a triple-double for the past two seasons, had scored 17 points when he left the game, with seven rebounds and nine assists.

Oklahoma City recovered from the loss of their talisman to secure their fifth straight victory and improve to 5-4 for the season.

Paul George scored 23 points and Dennis Schroder weighed in with 22 off the bench as the Thunder hung on for the victory. New Zealander Steven Adams had 18 points.

The Pelicans fell to 4-6 after the loss, with Julius Randle leading the scorers with 26 points.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) scores against Memphis Grizzlies during the third quarter of their NBA game at Oracle Arena on Sunday.

USOC moves to shut down USA Gymnastics bodyAFP

LOS ANGELES: The United States Olympic Committee said on Monday it had begun moves to disband the country’s governing body for gymnastics, accusing the sport’s rulers of failing to grapple with the aftermath of the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal.

USOC chief executive Sarah Hir-shland said in a statement Olympic chiefs had started formal proceedings to revoke USA Gymnastics’ status as the governing body for the sport in the United States.

In an open letter addressed to US gymnasts, Hirshland said USA Gym-nastics had failed to “change its culture, to rebuild its leadership, and to effectively serve its membership.” “You deserve better,” Hirshland told gymnasts in the letter.

USA Gymnastics has lurched from one self-inflicted debacle to the next as it has struggled to rebuild in the wake of the Nassar abuse case, the worst scandal in US Olympic history.

Former US team doctor Nassar was jailed for life earlier this year after abusing more than 250 athletes, including several stars of the United States’ gold medal-winning teams at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.

The beleaguered governing body, which had been accused of covering up Nassar’s crimes, has been in a state of perpetual crisis ever since the scandal erupted.

Last month, newly installed chief executive Mary Bono resigned after just four days following an outcry by Olympic stars Simone Biles and Alex-andra Raisman.

Bono had taken over from chief executive Kerry Perry, who had resigned after just nine months after criticism of her performance by USOC.

Perry’s departure came after the appointment and swift resignation of elite coach Mary Lee Tracy -- who had made comments supportive of Nassar in 2016 when allegations of abuse against him had begun to emerge.

USOC had warned it was prepared to take the ultimate sanction of revoking USA Gymnastics’ status as a governing body unless it put its house in order.

In January, USA Gymnastics board of directors resigned en masse at the

behest of USOC. In her letter to US gymnasts on Monday, Hirshland said Olympic chiefs had given up hoping that USA Gymnastics was capable of reforming itself in the post-Nassar era.

Hirshland said USOC had con-cluded that “the challenges facing the organization are simply more than it is capable of overcoming in its current form.”

“We have worked closely with the new USAG board over recent months to support them, but despite diligent effort, the NGB continues to struggle,” Hirshland said.

“And that’s not fair to gymnasts around the country. Even weeks ago, I hoped there was a different way forward. But we now believe that is no longer possible.”

USOC’s complaint seeking to dis-solve USA Gymnastics in its present form will now go before a review panel which will convene a hearing on the case.

The review panel will issue a report and give a recommendation

which will then go before the USOC board of directors, who will determine whether or not to formally strip USAG of its governing body status.

The move to decertify USA Gym-nastics was welcomed by Rachael Denhollander, the first gymnast to come forward with allegations of abuse against Nassar.

“After overseeing the abuse of 100’s of children by Larry, national coaches and club coaches, it is high time for this organization to end and a new one, truly dedicated to athlete safety, to begin,” Denhollander wrote on Twitter.

“A COMPLETE regimen change should start now. This is for every sur-vivor.” Hirshland meanwhile stressed that US gymnasts would continue to compete in events as normal, with the full support and backing of the Olympic committee.

“In the short-term, we have to work to ensure that USAG gymnasts have the support necessary to excel on and off the field of play.

Montreal Canadiens left wing Max Domi (13) shoots the puck into the New York Islanders zone during the third period of their NHL game at Barclays Center on Sunday.

Marchand powers Bruins to win over Stars in NHLAP

MIAMI: Brad Marchand scored a five-on-three power play goal with 31 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Boston Bruins to a 2-1 win over the visiting Dallas Stars on Monday.

The Stars were whistled for two pen-alties in an 11-second span during overtime, first for too many men on the ice and then on a crosscheck by Esa Lindell against Marchand, and Boston eventually made the play to win.

Marchand took a pass from David Krejci after an assist from Torey Klug and beat Dallas goaltender Anton Khudobin low on the glove side for the game-winner. The victory was the first in three overtime games for the Bruins this year.

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Stars, who are 3-1-1 so far on their six-game road trip.

Flyers 5, Coyotes 2 Claude Giroux scored two goals and

Sean Couturier had a goal and an assist as Philadelphia finished a four-game road trip without a regulation loss after a victory over Arizona in Glendale, Ariz.

Shayne Gostisbehere had a goal and an assist and Oskar Lindblom scored into an empty net late as the Flyers went 3-0-1 on a Western trip that began with victories in Anaheim and Los Angeles and included

an overtime loss to San Jose on Saturday.Alex Galchenyuk and Michael Grabner

scored for the Coyotes, who had a five-game winning streak broken.

Capitals 4, Oilers 2 Devante Smith-Pelly finished with one

goal and one assist, and Jakub Vrana, T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin added goals as Washington defeated visiting Edmonton.

Washington, which still is looking for consecutive victories this season, snapped a two-game losing streak.

Goalie Pheonix Copley earned his second win of the season and the second of his NHL career. The rookie finished with 31 saves, including 11 as he blanked Edmonton in the third period.

Devils 5, Penguins 1 Brian Boyle had a natural hat trick as

New Jersey broke a three-game losing streak by defeating host Pittsburgh, which lost its fourth straight.

Boyle, who recently announced he was in remission after being treated for leukemia, got his first career hat trick on Pittsburgh’s Hockey Fights Cancer night. He scored the final goal of the first period and the only two of the second.

Will Butcher had a goal and two assists, Travis Zajac scored, and Jean-Sebastien Dea had two assists for the Devils. Keith Kincaid stopped 35 of 36 Pittsburgh shots. Jamie Oleksiak scored for the Penguins.

Simons Biles of USA competes during the Gymnastics World Championships last week in Doha.

29WEDNESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORT

ENGLAND, First inningsR. Burns c Dickwella b Lakmal .........................................9K. Jennings b Perera .......................................................46 M. Ali b Lakmal .................................................................. 0 J. Root b Herath ................................................................35B. Stokes b Perera ..............................................................7J. Buttler c Dickwella b Perera ...................................... 38B. Foakes not out ............................................................ 87S. Curran c Chandimal b De Silva ..................................48A. Rashid c De Silva b Perera ..........................................35J. Leach not out ................................................................14Extras (b1, lb1) ....................................................................2Total (8 wickets, 91 overs) ............................................ 321To bat: J. AndersonFall of wickets: 1-10 (Burns), 2-10 (Ali), 3-72 (Root), 4-98 (Jennings, 21.1 ov), 5-103 (Stokes), 6-164 (Buttler), 7-252 (Curran), 8-306 (Rashid)Bowling: Lakmal 15-4-57-2, Perera 28-4-70-4, Dananjaya 20-2-96-1, Herath 25-4-78-1, De Silva 3-0-18-0

SCOREBOARDINDIAR. Sharma not out ..................................111S. Dhawan c Pooran b Allen .................43R. Pant c Hetmyer b Pierre ......................5L. Rahul not out ......................................26Extras (nb2, w8) ..................................... 10 Total (2 wickets, 20 overs) ................... 195Did not bat: M. Pandey, D. Karthik, K. Pan-dya, B. Kuma, K. Yadav, J. Bumrah, O. ThomasFall of wickets: 1-123 (Dhawan), 2-133 (Pant)Bowling: Thomas 4-1-27-0 (nb1), Paul 4-0-30-0 (nb1, w2), Pierre 4-0-49-1 (w4), Brathwaite 4-0-56-0 (w1), Allen 4-0-33-1 (w1)

WEST INDIESS. Hope b Ahmed ..................................... 6

S. Hetmyer c Dhawan b Ahmed ............15D. Bravo c Sharma b Yadav .................. 23D. Ramdin c Sharma b Kumar .............. 10N. Pooran b Yadav ................................... 4K. Pollard c and b Bumrah ...................... 6C. Brathwaite not out .............................15F. Allen run out (Pandya) ........................ 0K. Paul c Sharma b Kumar ....................20K. Pierre c and b Bumrah ......................... 1O. Thomas not out ................................... 8Extras (b4, lb3, w9) ..............................16Total (9 wickets, 20 overs) .........124 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Hope), 2-33 (Het-myer), 3-48 (bravo), 4-52 (Pooran), 5-68 (Pollard), 6-81 (Ramdin), 7-81 (Allen), 8-114 (Paul), 9-116 (Pierre)Bowling: Kumar 4-0-12-2, Ahmed 4-0-30-2 (w1), Bumrah 4-0-20-2 (w1), Pan-dya 4-0-23-0 (w7), Yadav 4-0-32-2

SCOREBOARD

ZIMBABWE, first innings 282

BANGLADESH, first innings 143

ZIMBABWE, second innings 181

BANGLADESH, second innings

(overnight 26-0)

Liton Das lbw b Raza ........................23Imrul Kayes b Raza ............................43Mominul Haque b Jarvis .....................9Mahmudullah c Sub b Raza .............. 16Nazmul Hossain c Raza b Mavuta ....13M Rahim c W. Masakadza b Mavuta .. 13A Haque c Chakabva b W. Masakadza 38Mehidy Hasan C Chakabva b Mavuta . 7Taijul Islam c Taylor b W. Masakadza ..0Nazmul Islam lbw b Mavuta ..............0Abu Jayed not out ...............................0Extras (lb5, lb2) .................................. 7Total (all out; 63.1 overs) ........169Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Liton), 2-67 (Mominul), 3-83 (Imrul), 4-102 (Mah-mudullah), 5-111 (Nazmul), 6-132 (Mushfiqur), 7-150 (Mehidy), 8-151 (Ta-ijul), 9-155 (Nazmul), 10-169 (Ariful)Bowling: Jarvis 14-5-29-1, Chatara 9-2-25-0, Raza 17-1-41-3, Williams 8-2-13-0, Mavuta 10-2-21-4, W. Masa-kadza 5.1-0-33-2Result: Zimbabwe won by 151 runs. Zimbabwe lead two-match series 1-0

SCOREBOARD

Zimbabwe thrash Bangladesh for rare Test winAFP

SYLHET, Bangladesh: Brandon Mavuta and Sikandar Raza shared seven wickets between them as Zimbabwe recorded their first Test win in five years with a thumping 151-run victory over Bangladesh yesterday.

Debutant leg-spinner Mavuta claimed 4-21 and off-spinner Raza’s 3-41 as hosts Bangladesh were left chasing 321 runs on the fourth day in the northeastern city of Sylhet.

Wellington Masakadza, another debutant, also shone with two wickets as Zimbabwe made quick work of Bangladesh’s lower order, dismissing the hosts for 169.

Left-arm spinner Maskadza took the final wicket of the innings, sending Ariful Haque for 38 as Zim-babwe notched their first Test win since beating Pakistan in Harare in 2013.

It is also the first time Zim-babwe has clinched an away Test victory since beating Bangladesh in Chittagong 17 years ago in 2001.

Zimbabwe sensed a win once Raza claimed three vital wickets in the opening session to reduce

Bangladesh’s innings to half. Kyle Jarvis and Mavuta joined

the act with Raza in the morning as they chipped in with a wicket apiece to leave Bangladesh 111-5 at the break.

Bangladesh resumed play on 26-0 but within half-an-hour had lost their first wicket, with others following quickly.

Play started 30 minutes early to make up for the lost time after bad light brought a premature end to day three, with Bangladesh still needing 295 runs on a wearing pitch. The home side -- whose best run chase was 217-6 against the West Indies in 2009 -- started to throw wickets once Raza reviewed a leg-before appeal against opener Liton Das.

The umpire gave Liton not out but a TV replay indicated the ball would have hit the stump after pitching outside off -- ending Liton’s innings on 23.

One down, Mominul Haque dragged a Jarvis delivery onto his stumps for nine before Raza bowled Imrul Kayes for 43 to leave Bangladesh at 83-3.

Skipper Mahmudullah

promoted himself to number four but could not rescue his side and perished for 16, giving a catch to substitute fielder Craig Ervine at short leg off Raza.

Raza then took a spectacular catch at cover on the stroke of lunch to hand debutant Mavuta his maiden Test wicket and send back Nazmul Hossain.

Mavuta dismissed Bangladesh’s last accomplished batsman Mush-fiqur Rahim soon after play resume before Zimbabwe wrapped things up.

Debutant Foakes crafts England’s recoveryREUTERS

GALLE, SRI LANKA: England’s Ben Foakes made a memorable debut to help the tourists recover from a terrible start and reach 321 for eight wickets on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka yesterday.

With England reeling at 10 for two and then 103 for five, even the 200-mark looked difficult but Foakes forged 50-plus stands with Jos Buttler and Sam Curran to drag them back into the contest.

Foakes, replacing the injured Jonny Bairstow in the side, was batting on 87 at stumps, having been impressive with his batting while his glovework remains to be seen.

Jack Leach was on 14 at the other end after quite a turnaround by the tourists in the last two sessions.

England had earlier made an unconvincing start to life following the retirement of stalwart Alastair Cook after captain Joe Root opted to bat first to avoid the prospect of having the final innings at a famously spin-friendly venue.

It was the early pace of Suranga Lakmal, however, that undid the top order of a side playing their first Test without England great Cook who left the international arena in September.

Opener Rory Burns (nine) disappointed on his test

debut and Moeen Ali failed to justify his promotion to number three as Lakmal claimed two wickets in two balls.

Root denied Lakmal a hat-trick and started the rebuilding job, initially at a run-a-ball rate, with Keaton Jennings.

Sri Lanka wasted both their reviews inside 12 overs but it was the golden arm of retiring 40-year-old Rangana Herath that ended Root’s 62-run stand with Jennings.

Herath, given a guard-of-honour by his team mates ahead of his 93rd and final test, yorked an advancing Root to claim his 100th wicket at the venue where he made his Test debut in 1999.

Root hit five boundaries in a fluent 35 before paying for his recklessness.

Dilruwan Perera (4-70) dismissed Jennings for 46 and Ben Stokes for seven in his second spell, clean bowl ing both the left-handers.

Buttler and Foakes sen-sibly abandoned the ultra-aggressive batting which had cost England dear in the morning session and com-bined in a 61-run stand for the sixth wicket.

Even after Perera dis-missed Buttler for 38, Foakes raised 88 runs with Curran, who hit three sixes before falling for 48, while Adil Rashid contributed a quickfire 35 down the order.

Zimbabwe cricketers celebrate after defeating

Banglandesh in their first Test cricket match in

Sylhet yesterday.

AFP

GALLE: Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath, the most successful left-arm spinner in history, claimed his 100th scalp at Galle yesterday in his farewell match.

Only two other bowlers have achieved 100 wickets at a single ground - Herath's compatriot Muttiah Muralitharan who achieved it at Galle, Kandy and SSC Colombo, and England paceman James Anderson at Lord's.

Herath notched up the milestone with none other than England captain Joe Root, who came down the wicket and missed after a breezy 35.

Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (centre) receives a guard of honour as he walks onto the ground in his final Test cricket match at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Herath becomes third bowler to take 100 scalps at a single venue

England’s Ben Foakes celebrates his half century.

Sharma’s record ton helps India clinch T20 seriesREUTERS

LUCKNOW, INDIA: India captain Rohit Sharma smashed a blistering century to help the team secure a series-clinching 71-run victory over West Indies in the second Twenty20 International in Lucknow yesterday.

The right-hander’s unbeaten 111 off 61 balls powered India to a commanding 195 for two wickets, and he returned to marshal his bowlers who restricted the tourists to 124-9 to earn an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Having elected to field, West Indies initially managed to restrain Rohit and his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, conceding only nine runs in the first four overs.

Rohit broke loose in the fifth over when he clobbered Oshane Thomas for the first of his seven sixes at the Ekana Stadium which debuted as an international venue with the match. Dhawan made a brisk 43 but found himself playing second fiddle to the rampaging Rohit in their 123-run stand for the opening partnership.

Rohit was particularly harsh on Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen and Khary Pierre, hitting each of them for a couple of sixes en route to his fourth century -- the most by any batsman in Twenty20 Internationals -- in just 58 balls.

The 31-year-old also became the second leading run scorer in Twenty20 Internationals, his aggregate of 2203 only behind New Zealander Martin Guptill’s 2271.

A one-handed shot off Pierre that ran to the third man boundary illustrated the form Rohit, who also took three catches, was in. After Dhawan and a promoted Rishabh Pant fell in quick succession, KL Rahul, who made 26 not out off 14 balls, combined with his captain to punish the West Indies attack. The tourists needed someone from their top order to try to match Rohit’s effort, but Khaleel Ahmed (2-30) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-32) nipped any such prospects in the bud.

Darren Bravo’s 23 was the top score in West Indies’ timid reply to the huge target set for them.

The teams now move to Chennai for Sunday’s dead rubber.

Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma raises his bat after

scoring his fourth T20 century yesterday.

Pakistan look to break New Zealand jinxAFP

ABU DHABI: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed insists his team can end an 11-match losing run to New Zealand when the two sides meet in the first one-day international in Abu Dhabi today.

Pakistan crushed New Zealand 3-0 in the preceding Twenty20 series on Sunday -- their second whitewash in a week following a romp over Australia, also in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

But Sarfraz, part of the team in the last 11 one-day internationals all of which Pakistan lost, want to finally win against New Zealand.

Pakistan lost the last two matches in a 3-2 series defeat in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2014, before losing 2-0 in 2015, 2-0 in 2016 and 5-0 in January 2018 -- all in New Zealand.

“If you look at our losses most of them were in New Zealand where con-ditions were different and we lost due to top order failure where we need to improve,” said Sarfraz.

Pakistan also failed to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup held in UAE two months ago, losing both their matches against arch-rivals India and going down to Bangladesh in a clash which decided the finalist.

India won the Asia Cup by beating Bangladesh.

Sarfraz said a tough opponent in New Zealand - ranked third to Paki-stan’s fifth in one-day standings -- will help the team build for next year’s World Cup in England.

“New Zealand is a good team of this format but we have momentum of the Twenty20 series so we must win this series and that will help towards building towards the World Cup,” said Sarfraz.

30 WEDNESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2018SPORT

QSL: Al Duhail aims to extend unbeaten run in second legTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Defending Champions Al Duhail will aim to maintain their unbeaten run as the QNB Stars League (QSL) heads into the second and crucial second leg this week.

Champions and table toppers Al Duhail and Al Shahania will open the action by facing off at the latter’s home turf.

Both teams go into the match on a confident note even though it has to be seen whether Al Sha-hania will be able to upset the applecart of a marauding Al Duhail side.

Al Duhail, who beat Al Arabi in Week 11, are on top of the QSL standings with 28 points, seven more than second-placed Al Rayyan.

Al Shahania are coming from back-to-back draws, against Umm Salal and Al Gharafa. The promoted team now occupies a creditable eight position with 12 points and will be hungry for more.

Al Duhail top the standings Defending champions Al Duhail topped the table with 28 points despite playing a game less. Their game against Al Sadd from Week 9 has been rescheduled for 11th December as Al Sadd had AFC Champions League commitment.

The Red Knights, who won nine matches and drew one, are going strong and are the only unbeaten team around in this season’s league competition so far.

Al Duhail have a good group of players who have been together for long. They are also

being benefited from the team’s technical staff.

They scored 27 goals, the second highest after Al Sadd’s 38, and have the best defence that conceded just six goals. Al Sadd’s was the next best defence, having conceded only nine times).

Other positions Al Rayyan came in second place with 21 points and Al Sadd third with 20 points with two postponed games, against Al Khor and Al Duhail.

Al Sailiya are fourth on 19 points and Al Ahli fifth with 18.

They are followed by Al

Gharafa (15 points), Umm Salal (15), Al Shahania (12), Al Arabi (12), Qatar SC (11), Al Khor (eight) and Al Kharaitiyat (three) in that order.

The first leg of QSL that con-cluded on November 4 wit-nessed many thrilling contests.

The 64 games saw many an exciting encounter, between the top, middle and bottom-placed, teams. They also included tac-tical battles between the coaches, as sub-plots.

A number of players starred in the first leg, including the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Akram Afif, Baghdad Bounedjah (all Al

Sadd), Nam Tae-Hee, Yousef El Arabi, Almoez Ali (Al Duhai), Rodrigo Tabata, Mohammed Alaaeldin, Abdulrahman Al Korbi (all Al Rayyan), Mouhcine Moutaouly (Al Ahli), Rashid Tiberkanine, Abdulqadir Ilyas and Abdulkarim Salem (all Al Sailiya).

Many young stars also emerged during the period. Among them were Abdelhadi Noman (Al Kharaitiyat), Mohammed Al Bakri (Al Khor), Muwafaq Awad (Al Rayyan), Abdullah Al Ahraq (Al Duhail), Rashid Mabkhout (Al Sailiya), Monkez Ali, Muad Yahya, Walid

Al Ali and Amro Seraj (all Al Gharafa). Those who excelled in the last season also included Almoez Ali, Bassam Al Rawi, Yousef Hassan, Salem Al Hajri.

Five coaches also parted ways with their teams either by mutual consent or after being dismissed. The teams that made changes at their helm were Al Kharaitiyat, Al Khor and Qatar SC, Al Arabi and Al Rayyan.

Al Kharitiyat were the first on the list. They replaced Tunisian Nassif Al Bayawi with Moroccan Abdelaziz El Amri after three matches.

Al Khor ended the contract with Tunisian Adel Sellimi after the fourth round and appointed Frenchman Bernard Casoni.

After Week 5, Qatar SC recruited Argentinian Sergio Batista in place of Abdulla Mubarak.

At the end of eighth round, Al Arabi replaced Croat Luka Bonacic with Tunisian Hatem Al Moaddeb, their Under-23 team coach.

Another Argentinian Rodolfo Aurrabarrena decided to leave Al Rayyan.

The total number of goals scored in 64 matches was 205, with an average of 3.20 goals per game. The highest margin of victory was 10-1 by which Al Sadd defeated Al Arabi in Week 2.

The number of penalties awarded across the 64 games was 29 strikes, of which 24 were converted.

235 yellow cards and 14 red cards The yellow card was issued 235 times and red card 14 times.

Bayern boss Kovac focused on AEK amidst off-field pressureAFP

MUNICH: Under-fire Niko Kovac insists he is shutting out this weekend’s crunch Bundesliga showdown to focus on steering Bayern Munich to the verge of a Champions League’s last 16 spot by beating AEK on Wednesday.

Bayern’s head coach kept cool when bluntly asked if this could be his last week in charge as defeat at Dortmund on Sat-urday could leave defending champions Bayern seven points behind in the Bundesliga.

“That is a hard question. Dortmund is on Saturday and perhaps we should talk about the games against (AEK) Athens,” said Kovac in Tuesday’s press conference in Munich.

“If we win, we have 10 points and we could be through.

“Sure, the game on Saturday is important, but for me only

tomorrow’s match (against AEK) is important.

“I hope the way we play will also be good and that we will win convincingly.” Bayern can reach the knockout stages with two games to spare if they beat Greek champions AEK at Munich’s Allianz Arena and Benfica lose

at Ajax in the other Group E match.

Bayern will be without winger Arjen Robben, who has a knee injury, and playmaker Thiago Alcantara, who has torn ankle ligaments, while they are waiting on the fitness of attacking midfielder James

Rodriguez. However, off the field Kovac is under pressure on all sides. Another lacklustre per-formance on Saturday saw his misfiring side draw 1-1 at home to Freiburg to sit third in the Bundesliga table -- four points behind leaders Dortmund.

His attack are simply not fin-ishing their chances while the defence is leaking goals.

On Monday, German mag-azine Kicker claimed Kovac has lost the support of stars Mats Hummels, Thomas Mueller, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, but midfielder Joshua Kimmich insisted the players are still behind Kovac.

“Absolutely! The coach can not help it, if we got into a spot of bother against Freiburg,” said the Germany defender.

“The statistic that the last eight shots (on Bayern’s goal) went in shows we haven’t had much luck. “That is not anything

against (Bayern goalkeeper) Manuel Neuer. “It’s about how we defend and how we use our goal chances, we have to be more aware. “At the end of the day, it’s us on the pitch - not the coach.” Despite winning 2-0 at AEK two weeks ago, when Javi Martinez and Robert Lewand-owski scored the goals, Kovac expects a hard test against the Greek champions.

“It was a hotly contested game in Athens, we could have scored one or two in the first half and it was decided late on, so I am expecting a tough game tomorrow,” said Kovac.

He desperately needs a big win to boost confidence in Bay-ern’s ranks.

“You can not always justify everything, the fun and the joy are there, but we need another game, which we win by three or four goals, and the tension will release,” said Kovac.

Pulisic set for return to US teamAP

CHICAGO: Christian Pulisic is scheduled to return to the US national team after playing in just one match for the Americans in a 13-month span, but captain Michael Bradley was dropped after his first two appearances in a year.

Entering what are likely his final matches in charge of the Americans, interim coach Dave Sarachan announced a 28-man roster Tuesday for exhibitions at England on Nov. 15 and against Italy five days later at Genk, Belgium.

Sarachan has given debuts to 22 players in 10 matches since taking over when Bruce Arena quit after the loss at Trinidad and Tobago in October 2017 that ended the Americans’ streak of seven straight World Cup appearances. Earnie Stewart, the new men’s team general manager, has said a new coach will be hired by the end of the year. Romain Gall, a 23-year-old midfielder with Sweden’s Malmo, is the lone player on the roster with no international experience.

Pulisic’s only appearance since the loss at Trinidad was a May 28 exhibition against Bolivia at Chester, Pennsyl-vania, near his home in Hershey. The 20-year-old midfielder has missed games because of injury and wanting at times to concentrate on his career at Borussia Dortmund in Germany. Midfielders Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams also are returning from injuries. Adams, a New York Red Bulls star, is among seven players still involved in Major League Soccer’s playoffs

Proposed Super League opposedAFP

LAUSANNE: The body repre-senting football clubs in Europe -- European Leagues -- said yesterday it strongly opposed the creation of a Super League for a select group of elite clubs.

According to documents published as part of the Football Leaks allegations, a group of European clubs have discussed the idea of estab-lishing a closed competition without relegation or pro-motion which would replace the Champions League.

These revelations show a tournament of 16 clubs -- the founding 11 would be Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liv-erpool and Arsenal.

Atletico Madrid, Roma, Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Marseille have reportedly also been invited to join. European Leagues, which consists of more than 900 clubs across 25 countries, said it recognised the “ongoing rumours and speculations around the possible creation of a European Super League”.

But it “voiced its strong opposition to the creation of any ‘closed and franchised style’ Super League.” European Leagues, which represents teams from 23 professional leagues including England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga and Spain’s La Liga, said it supports a pyramid structure where “relegation and the sporting merits of clubs are the core of any competition”.

Hoffenheim hope to keep Lyon guessingAFP

BERLIN: Hoffenheim expect “a cauldron” atmosphere at Lyon-today in their make-or-break Champions League tie with head coach Julian Nagelsmann (pictured) hoping to keep the French side guessing.

Hoffenheim must win in France to draw level on five points with Lyon, who can qualify for the last 16 with a victory, and enjoyed a confidence-boosting 4-1 thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen away in the Bun-desliga on Saturday.

“In Lyon, we have to bring the

same passion to the pitch as in Leverkusen - then we can get a victory. It’s going to be a cauldron, so we have to fight as a unit,” said Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.

Hoffenheim’s England Under-21 winger Reiss Nelson, 18, was just as adamant before the team’s short flight to France on Tuesday.

“If we play like we did at Leverkusen, we can win,” insisted Nelson, who has scored five goals in six league games since joining on loan from Arsenal and has been outstanding in recent weeks.

Nagelsmann’s Hoffenheim

know they will be unable to finish in the top two if they lose at the Groupama Stadium and Man-chester City win at home to Sha-khtar Donetsk in the other Group F tie.

While the French are unbeaten in Group F, Nagels-mann’s team are still chasing their first win, but the Germans out-played Bruno Genesio’s side for long periods when the teams drew 3-3 in Sinsheim a fortnight ago.

Despite the Ligue 1 club leading twice, Hoffenheim sub-stitute Joelinton rescued a point in added time with the equaliser.

The 22-year-old Brazilian, who has scored four goals in as many games, also scored twice in the romp at Leverkusen and Nagelsmann insists their away performance on Saturday would have kept Lyon guessing.

“They will certainly have looked at the game at Leverkusen - and still do not know exactly how we play,” said Nagelsmann.

“That was very important for the self-confidence - the guys realised that we can be successful in different ways.

“We are able to defend high up - but we can also counter and defend more deeply,” he added.

Al Sadd striker Baghdad Bounedjah in action during the QNB Stars League in this file picture.

QNB STARS LEAGUE The top 10 scorers in QNB Stars league after first leg Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd) — 16 goals from nine matches

Yousef El Arabi (Al Duhail) — 11 goals from 10 matches

Akram Afif (Al Sadd) — 10 goals from nine matches

Rachid Tiberkanine (Al Sailiya) — 10 goals from 11 matches

Abdulqadir Ilyas (Al Sailiya) — 9 goals from 11 matches

Yannick Sagbo (Umm Salal) — 8 goals from 11 matches

Nam Tae-Hee (Al Duhail) — 6 goals from 10 matches

Mehdi Taremi (Al Gharafa) — 5 goals from 11 matches

Rodrigo Tabata (Al Rayyan) — 5 goals from 11 matches

Vladimir Weiss (Al Gharafa) — 5 goals from 11 matches

31WEDNESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2018 SPORT

Real Madrid coach Solari wants to debut with a winAP

BERLIN: The last time a former Real Madrid great took over as coach, he led the club to three straight Champions League titles.

Santiago Solari still has a long way to go to emulate former teammate Zinedine Zidane, but he can help his case for more time in charge when he makes his coaching debut in the com-petition at Viktoria Plzen today.

Solari is already following in Zidane’s footsteps. The 42-year-old Argentine had been coaching Real Madrid’s reserve team since 2016, taking over not long after Zidane left for the job with the main squad.

Solari, who took over as interim coach following Julen Lopetegui’s dismissal last month, has stabilized the team and won both games since taking charge. Two more victories in games against Viktoria Plzen and then Celta Vigo in the Spanish League could end talk of Antonio Conte or Roberto Martinez being brought in.

Madrid was in crisis when Solari arrived, enduring a run that included five losses in seven matches in all competitions, cul-minating in the 5-1 humbling by Barcelona.

Solari’s first job was to get the side winning again - so far, so good - and to put the team within sight of the Champions League knockout stages, which it can reach for the 22nd year in a row.

Solari has turned to youth to invigorate his demoralized side, and has pleased fans by bringing in Brazilian teenager Vinicius Junior, who had been relegated to the “B’’ team under Lopetegui.

Solari also didn’t hesitate to use young fullbacks Alvaro Odri-ozola and Sergio Reguilon in defense while the regular starters were injured. Both are expected to start in Plzen.

Madrid’s defense has already improved, with two consecutive clean sheets. The team had con-ceded 10 goals in its last seven matches under Lopetegui.

Group leader Roma visits CSKA Roma earlier.

A look at the four Champions

League groups today: GROUP E Bayern Munich is hoping it

fares better in November than October, when it failed to impress despite bouncing back from a four-game winless run with four wins in a row.

That was ended by modest Freiburg in a 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga on Saturday, again shining a light on what has been a long series of poor performances.

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is also under scrutiny after conceding in each of his last four games in the Bundesliga. The Germany goalkeeper has only saved half the shots on goal he has faced so far in the league.

Bayern can quell talk of a crisis with a commanding per-formance against AEK Athens and can even reach the knockout stages with a win if Benfica loses to visiting Ajax in the other group game.

Ajax, which leads Group E with seven points from three games, needs to win to ensure progress, while Bayern, which is level on points, is looking for more than just a result against the group’s last-place team.

GROUP F

Lyon striker Memphis Depay has been making headlines ahead of a rematch with Hof-fenheim. Depay, who joined from Manchester United last year, said last week he did not feel like a respected player after being left out of the starting lineup for the league game against Angers.

Depay sulked on the sidelines during warmups and was used as a second-half sub-stitute, setting up Lyon’s opening goal before scoring three minutes from time for a 2-1 win.

“I think I deserve more respect. I deserve better than that and I should play every game,” Depay said.

Lyon coach Bruno Genesio had left Depay out after he criticized team-mates following the 3-3 draw at H o f f e n h e i m . Genesio has yet to decide whether to field Depay or Moussa Dembele up front today.

Group leader Manchester City will advance with a win at Shakhtar Donetsk if Hof-fenheim loses.

GROUP G Roma, like

Real Madrid, aims to make its progress all but clear with a win at CSKA Moscow,

which it defeated 3-0 in Rome. Both Roma and Madrid have six points from three games.

But CSKA is only two points behind and will be hoping to rep-licate the home form that took it to a 1-0 win over Madrid last

month. Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez returned from injury last week but promptly hurt his thigh in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Dynamo Moscow.

CSKA fans are expected to honor their fellow supporters who were injured when an esca-lator in Rome malfunctioned as they traveled to the first Roma game. Viktoria Plzen, with one point, will be knocked out if it loses and Roma wins its game.

GROUP H Juventus can progress with

another win over Manchester United after its 1-0 win in England. The Italian champions have three wins from three games and are enjoying their best ever start to a Serie A season. Manchester midfielder Paul Pogba will be facing his former team.

“It’s where I developed as a player so I’ve huge respect for this team and this club,” Pogba said.

“I’m delighted to be going back and playing there.” Valencia hosts Young Boys in the other group game and will be hoping for a favor from Juventus. The Spanish side has two points, two behind United.

Real Madrid interim coach Santiago Solari during a press conference on the eve of the Champions League match in Doosan Arena, Plzen in Czech Republic.

Today fixtures (Doha time)

CSKA Moskva vs Roma (8.55pm)

Valencia vs Young Boys (8.55pm)

Olympique Lyonnais vs Hoffenheim (11.00pm)

Manchester City vs Shakhtar Donetsk (11.00pm)

Viktoria Plzeň vs Real Madrid (11.00pm)

Juventus vs Manchester United (11.00pm)

Bayern München vs AEK Athens (11.00pm)

Benfica vs Ajax (11.00pm)

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

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Sanchez gives Man United options at JuventusAFP

LONDON: Alexis Sanchez (pictured) has endured a torrid start to his Manchester United career but hinted at better things to come with an impressive display in a central role ahead of the Champions League match against Juventus.

The injured Romelu Lukaku missed the 2-1 win at Bourne-mouth on Saturday and Marcus Rashford started on the bench as Jose Mourinho opted for a three-man forward line, with Anthony Martial and Juan Mata deployed either side of Sanchez.

The former Arsenal man was instrumental in United’s first-half equaliser, setting up Martial, and will be disappointed to have been substituted towards the end of the game.

The match, won by substitute

Rashford in injury time, was a rare high point for the Chile international, who has struggled to find his feet since arriving at Old Trafford in January -- it was his first league start since Sep-tember 22.

Following the much-needed win against Bournemouth, Mourinho praised Sanchez and spelt out his preferred system, saying he did not need a tradi-tional centre-forward to lead his attack.

“The way I like to play is with three attacking players where there is not a clear definition of the winger as a winger,” he said, adding that he likes wide men with a striker’s appetite.

“And I always had that in my team, with the wingers scoring a lot of goals, sometimes even more goals than the striker,” he said.

“So it’s not impossible at all to have in the same team at the same time Rashford, Lukaku, Alexis for example. But today Romelu was not available and we thought that Alexis could do what he did.

“What he did, he had a good assist, he had some mobility, he created some problems but then in the second half I knew that by having the two brothers on the bench, Rashford and (Jesse) Lingard, I knew that the brothers could come in and also make an impact.” - Ronaldo challenge - United now travel to Juventus for another date with former favourite son Cristiano Ronaldo, two weeks after they were out-played during a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford that left them five points adrift of the Italian champions in Group H.

Despite Mourinho’s stated

preference for a multi-dimen-sional attack, keeping Lukaku out of the starting line-up will be tricky, with the manager proving loyal to his muscular front man.

The Belgium international, who has not found the net for the club since mid-September, is not

the only United forward who has gone off the boil, with Rashford also struggling despite his goal at the weekend.

Martial’s goals have been papering over the cracks during United’s recent mini-recovery, with the Frenchman earning the

manager’s trust at last.Former United defender Rio

Ferdinand believes Rashford should be given a run in the starting line-up, even though he said it is not clear what his best position is yet.

“You look at Lukaku. Lukaku’s goalscoring record is up there, it’s fantastic, he scores goals,” added the TV pundit. “But in the best teams you need more than that.

“You need to be able to bring other people into play, you need to be able to complement other players in your team, things have to be set up off you.

“At the moment, I see in a Man Utd shirt that some things break down in Lukaku. And that affects other players in the team, like (Paul) Pogba and Lingard, who want to play off people.”

Scotland recall Fletcher for Nations League decider

AFP

G L A S G O W : Scot land manager Alex McLeish recalled Sheffield Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher for the first time in over a year yesterday for a crucial Nations League double header against Albania and Israel.

Injuries to Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths and Hearts forward Steven Naismith have left McLeish short on options up front.

On-form Celtic play-maker Ryan Christie and West Brom’s Matt Phillips also earn recalls as forward options.

Scotland travel to Albania on November 17 with Israel headed to Hampden three days later.

Israel lead the group on six points to Scotland and Albania’s three, but McLeish’s men have a game in hand.

Topping the three-team section would give Scotland an extra shot at qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in 22 years at Euro 2020.

The group winners would be guaranteed a place in a four-team playoff should fail to qualify through the tradi-tional qualifying groups, the draw for which will be made next month in Dublin.

“Yes, (topping the group) is the minimum requirement and it’s something I believe we’re capable of and some-thing that’s achievable,” said McLeish.

Despite being appointed for his second spell in charge of the national team just nine months ago, it has been reported McLeish’s job could be at risk if Scotland fail to win their Nations League group.

“That’s not something I’d want to discuss,” he added.

“I don’t even think about that. I’m just concentrating on the players getting the right result to take Scotland forward and to inspire the Tartan Army again to come in their hordes.”

Meanwhile, Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s first-half own goal gave Huddersfield a 1-0 home win against fulham and their first Premier League victory of the season on Monday.

Fosu-Mensah headed into his own net, under pressure from Town’s Christopher Schindler as Huddersfield halted an eight-game home run without a top-flight goal and moved above fulham and Cardiff at the foot of the table.

The Terriers’ winless league run stretched back to April - 14 league games in total,

SPORT 27WEDNESDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2018

The (QMMF) team has worked hard to encourage as many entries as we can for the final round of the Middle East Championship and we are very pleased with the outcome, especially after each of the major three categories were decided in Kuwait.

Abdulrahman Al MannaiQMMF President

Benfica vs AjaxBayern Munich vs AEK Athens

Lyon vs 1899 HoffenheimManchester City vs Shakhtar Donetsk

CSKA Moscow vs RomaViktoria Plzen vs Real MadridValencia vs Young BoysJuventus vs Manchester United

FOOTBALL: UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

TO

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CTIO

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Al Attiyah leads stellar line-up for Manateq International Rally of QatarTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) yesterday announced that 19 teams (subject to FIA approval) will be in action during next week’s Manateq International Rally of Qatar.

The event, which is the final round of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC), will be held from November 15 to 17.

The three MERC, MERC 2 and MERC 3 titles were all decided at last weekend’s thrilling penultimate round in Kuwait.

Many of the teams that took part in that event at the new Kuwait Motor Town racing facility loaded their cars and equipment on a ship bound for Doha and they will be joined by a host of other drivers, including several teams making their MERC debut on the three-day Qatar event.

While the likes of 14-time regional champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah and his season-long Czech rival Vojtech Stajf will clash again in the overall rankings with their Ford Fiesta and Skoda Fabia R5s respec-tively, as competition in the MERC 2 or showroom category will be intense.

Further Qatari entries come from Khaled Al Suwaidi (the former winner of the Kuwait

International Rally), a returning Abdullah Al Kuwari and the likes of 1993 regional champion Sheikh Hamed bin Eid Al Thani, Mohammed Al Meer and Rashid Al Mohannadi.

MERC 2 champion Meshari

Al Thefiri and Essam Al Nejadi represent the State of Kuwait. Khaled Juma, Ihab Al Shorafa and Ahmed Shaban are entered under the flag of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the new MERC 3 champion Henry Kahy

represents Lebanon with his Jor-danian navigator Musa Djiyerian.

The surprise on the list is the impressive six-car entry from the Sultanate of Oman.

Abdullah Al Rawahi has

been a regular in the regional series this year, but the Top Team Oman Subaru Impreza driver will be joined in Qatar by five other crews.

Three Mitsubishi Lancers are listed for Humaid Al Waili, Jarah

Al Tauqi and Saif Abdullah Al Harthy and a further two Subaru Imprezas for Zakariya Al Shanfari and Oman-based Shaun McGonigal.

QMMF President Abdul-rahman Al Mannai said: “The team has worked hard to encourage as many entries as we can for the final round of the Middle East Championship and we are very pleased with the outcome, especially after each of the major three categories were decided in Kuwait.

“We have a date clash with Rally Australia, as we were hoping to encourage even more competitors to come to Qatar from Europe, but it bodes well for the future strength of the championship,” Al Mannai said.

The event will start and finish at Souq Waqif in downtown Doha with the cer-emonial start planned for 7.00pm on November 15.

Qatar’s 14-time regional champion Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah driving his Ford Fiesta during an earlier stage of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship (MERC) in this file photo. RIGHT: Al Attiyah gestures during a break.

Tuilagi set for Englandreturn against All BlacksREUTERS

LONDON: The probable return of Manu Tuilagi for Saturday’s clash with New Zealand has got England fans dreaming of 2012 when the mighty centre delivered the performance of a lifetime to inspire a 38-12 victory that sent Twickenham into delirium.

Eight months into Stuart Lan-caster’s reign, England had just lost back-to-back home Tests against Australia and South Africa while the world champion All Blacks were unbeaten in 20 matches and had not lost a November European game for a decade.

In an amazing match Tuilagi’s devastating running earned him a try and set up two more, but that day was to prove the high water mark of his and Lancaster’s careers to date.

Since then England have lost

five matches against the All Blacks - Tuilagi playing in four of them including his last England start in 2014 - and the 2012 win remains their only success in their last 15 meetings.

The last of those was in November 2014 when England lost 24-21 at Twickenham and since then, and the subsequent World Cup failure, their stock under Eddie Jones has risen and fallen.

Two years ago the world was desperate to see the two top-ranked teams meet but since Eng-land’s slide into five successive defeats it is next week’s Ireland versus New Zealand encounter that pits numbers one and two against each other.

England, however, go into the game on a positive note after a second successive victory over South Africa where the absence of a host of first-choice players

was a blessing in disguise for Jones as several of the stand-ins showed they had what it takes.

Tuilagi was named among the replacements but withdrew due to a groin strain.

He is expected to return on Saturday when Jones knows a massive step up in quality will be needed if England are to claim what would be their eighth victory in 41 meetings.

The challenge facing England is underlined by the fact that the All Blacks’ crushing 69-31 win over Japan, achieved by a second/third string team, on Saturday completed a run of 100 tests from the start of the 2011 World Cup in which they have won an aston-ishing 90, drawn three and lost seven.

In the same period the next best record belongs to England, with a 70 percent win rate from 82 games.

Japan’s ‘Ninja Boy’ aimsto stun Mayweather Jr.AFP

TOKYO: Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, who aims to make history by defeating boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr, claims his left-hook is like a “bolt of lightning” that will “change the world”.

The baby-faced southpaw with a blond quiff, who is only a few months out of his teens, was barely known outside his home country before the shock announcement of his New Year’s Eve fight with the unbeaten Mayweather.

But the 20-year-old from Chiba near Tokyo is con-sidered something of a prodigy in Japanese fighting circles and began learning karate at the tender age of five.

Like Mayweather, he has never been beaten, boasting a 27-0 record as a pro-fessional kickboxer with 20 wins by knockout. He has four wins out of four in mixed martial arts.

Nasukawa won the world junior karate c h a m p i -o n s h i p when he was a fifth grader and shifted to kick-boxing a year later, according to his official website.

He made his pro-fessional kickboxing debut at the age of 16 a n d b e c a m e

bantamweight oriental rules world champion a year later.

Promoters RIZIN said that Nasukawa -- or “Ninja Boy” as they dubbed him -- had “become one of the most popular fighters in Japan, and perhaps the best combat sports prospect the country has ever seen.”

There are still no details as to under what rules the fight will be held -- whether kicks will be allowed, for example -- but

Nasukawa claimed after the bout was announced he had “a punch that boxers don’t have”.

“I don’t care what the rules are. I want to be the man who changes history. I’ll do that with these fists, with one punch -- just watch,” said Nasukawa.

Even Mayweather acknowledged that Nas-ukawa was “an unbelievable talent”, praising his lithe, “gym rat” physique.

“He’s very special, he’s fast, he’s strong. I’m older now and when it comes to experience, I have it on my side. He has youth on his side and he’s going to bring a lot of excitement,” said the 41-year-old American.

Nasukawa now weighs 56.8 kilogrammes and is also giving four inches away in height to Mayweather, who won world titles in five dif-ferent weight classes.

“Our weight class is dif-ferent, but it means nothing

to me,” said Nasukawa.

According to his official site, Nasukawa is good with his hands in other areas than punching, saying he is a fan of

knitting and sewing -- as well as

indulging in tradi-tional Japanese “sento”

baths.Despite his tender

age, he published a biog-raphy last year entitled “Kakusei”, meaning “Awakening”.

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England’s Manu Tuilagi