World No. 1 Simona Halep crashed out of the WTA Indian Wells tournament on Friday as she suffered a shocking 6-3, 6-0 upset loss to world No. 44 Naomi Osaka of Japan.
The 26-year-old Halep dropped to 18-2 on the season as she lasted just 64 minutes on the court with the unseeded Osaka.
Osaka punched her ticket to Sunday`s final where she will face fellow 20-year-old Daria Kasatkina, who stunned seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in an earlier semi-final.
New Delhi, May 14: Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an unconventional and unique leader, whose biggest strength is his incredible gut feeling, says his Chennai Super Kings teammate Faf du Plessis.
The former South Africa skipper has spent considerable time with Dhoni after joining the Indian Premier League (IPL) side in 2011 and has been an integral part of its successful journey.
"He reads the others player really well and he uses that to make instinctive decisions on the field. He's got an incredible gut feeling on the game and I think that's his biggest strength," du Plessis said in a Facebook live session with Bangladesh ODI skipper Tamim Iqbal.
The 35-year-old said Dhoni changed his perception of how a captain should be.
"It was amazing for me to see how different M S was as a captain. I used to think a captain must speak all the time in team meetings etc but M S was completely different.
"He doesn't believe a lot in team meetings. He's a very instinctive captain he's got such a good cricket brain that he relies on it to make the right decisions on the field," du Plessis said of former India skipper.
Dhoni last played for India in World Cup semifinal last year and was expected to be back to playing competitive cricket at now-postponed IPL.
Calling Dhoni the best finisher he has played with, Du Plessis said no one can emulate what the dasher from Ranchi can do with the bat.
"He's extremely calm. I haven't played with someone who is a better finisher than him. It's just remarkable to watch him from the side of the field."
"If someone else tries to do it like him they won't be able to. He's just so unique like he times the ball so late he's got an incredible calmness. He knows his game and he picks a bowler and goes for it."
Du Plessis said that playing for CSK alongside Dhoni and under the guidance head coach Stephen Fleming has taught him a lot about leadership.
"I'm lucky to have started my journey there at CSK because I have really learned a lot from a leadership point of view. I tried to learn as much as possible from Dhoni and Stephen Fleming because both are great captains."
New York, May 30: Cricket superstar Virat Kohli remains the only Indian in the Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of USD 26 million, jumping to the 66th spot from 100 in the 2020 standings.
Kohli's earnings from endorsement stand at USD 24 million and USD 2 million from salary/winnings. The 31-year-old is also the only cricketer in the top-100 list.
With earnings of USD 25 million, Kohli was ranked 100th in 2019 and 83rd in 2018 with USD 24 million.
Tennis legend Roger Federer has toped the list for the first time with earnings of USD 106.3 million, rising from fifth place last year.
Football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are second and third respectively with earnings of USD 105 and USD 104 million.
The others in the top-10 are Neymar (football), LeBron James (basketball), Stephen Curry (basketball), Kevin Durrant (basketball), Tigers Woods (golf), Kirk Cousins (American football) and Carson Wentz (American football).
The athletes' earnings have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which led to suspension of sporting activities all around the world.
Saina Nehwal is the only Indian to feature in the world’s 20 most charitable athletes, as per a list compiled by the US based website in Athletes Gone Good.
Manchester, Aug 9: Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler played knocks of 84 and 75 respectively as England gained an improbable three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series here at the Emirates Old Trafford.
England chased down a total of 277 on the fourth day of the first Test.
Chasing 277, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley put on 22 runs for the first wicket, but Mohammad Abbas finally provided the breakthrough to Pakistan as he had Burns (10) adjudged leg-before wicket in the 12th over.
Skipper Joe Root came to the crease next, and he along with Sibley ensured that the side does not lose any more wickets before the lunch break, and England went into the lunch break at 55/1.
Sibley and Root eventually put up a 64-run stand, but their partnership was finally brought to an end by Yasir Shah as he dismissed Sibley (36) in the 36th over. Soon after, skipper Root (42) was also sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, reducing England to 96/3 in the 39th over.
All eyes were on all-rounder Ben Stokes (9), but Pakistan's Yasir Shah sent him back to the pavilion in the 42nd over, and England was left in a spot of bother. Shaheen Shah Afridi, then also got among the wicket-taking charts as he scalped the wicket of Ollie Pope (7), reducing England to 117/5 in the 45th over.
Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler then got together at the crease, and the duo played in an aggressive manner to retrieve the innings for England. The hosts went into the tea break at 167/5, still, 110 runs away from the target with five wickets in hand.
Buttler and Woakes continued their march to frustrate the Pakistan bowling attack and the duo brought the target within the grasp of England. Both batsmen put up a stand of 139 runs, however, with just 21 runs away from the target, England lost the key wicket of Buttler (75) as Yasir Shah had him trapped in front of the wicket.
With England just needing four more runs for the win, Yasir Shah dismissed Stuart Broad (4), but in the end, Woakes and Dom Bess ensured England's win by three wickets.
For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets.
Earlier, resuming day four at 137/8, Yasir Shah (33) along with Mohammad Abbas (3*) and Naseem Shah (4) added 32 more runs to the overnight score to give England a target of 277 to win the first Test.
Stuart Broad was the pick of England bowlers as he scalped three wickets.
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