Motera pitch for two-day Test given average rating

New delhi

The pitch for the Day-Night Test between India and England in Ahmedabad has been given an “average” rating by the ICC, escaping sanctions after the game got over inside two days on that controversial surface. The pitch at Motera for the final Test was rated “good”.

Abu Dhabi

Rashid’s 11 in Afghan win over Zimbabwe

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan picked up his second 10-wicket haul in Test cricket to help his side beat Zimbabwe by six wickets for a series-levelling win in the second Test here on Sunday. Afghanistan chased down a target of 108 against the African nation in the final session of the match to square the two-match series at 1-1. The 22-year-old Rashid picked up 7-137 in the second innings against Zimbabwe for a match haul of 11-325.

Brief scores: Afghanistan 545/4 decl & 108/4 (Rahmat Shah 58); Zimbabwe 287 & 365 (Williams 151*, Tiripano 95; Rashid 7/137)

Barcelona

Benzema brace gives Madrid 2-1 win, Atletico held

For the second time in a week, Karim Benzema scored in the final minutes as Real Madrid gained ground on Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league title race. Benzema’s late brace earned Madrid a 2-1 win over Elche on Saturday, cutting into Atletico’s lead at the top after they were held 0-0 at 10-man Getafe.

London

Manchester City move closer to EPL title

Manchester City only need to win five of their remaining eight games to secure the Premier League trophy. A 3-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday moved Pep Guardiola’s side 17 points ahead of second-place Manchester United, but having played two games more. Everton were lost 2-1 to Burnley. Chelsea held on to the fourth Champions League spot even after a 0-0 draw with Leeds. Agencies

Doha

Olympics qualifiers: Manika, Sutirtha win; Sharath, Sathiyan bow out

Manika Batra and Sutirtha Mukherjee began their quest for the Tokyo Olympics berth on winning note as the duo registered comfortable straight-game victories in their respective women’s singles knockout stage-I opening round matches at the World Singles Qualification Tournament here today. Batra beat Maria Yovkova 11-5 11-7 11-4 11-0. Mukherjee beat Lisa Lung 11-3 11-5 11-7 12-10. Meanwhile, Achanta Sharath Kamal and G Sathiyan suffered defeats in men’s singles. While Sathiyan lost to Mihai Bobocica 11-7 11-6 11-8 11-5, Sharath lost to Niagol Stoyanov 11-9 6-11 8-11 4-11 11-8 10-12. PTI