Sports News: New Zealand Beat Pakistan By 7 Wickets In 3rd T20I, Level Series 1-1 - As It Happened

It was a typically busy Sunday for sports fans. Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen claimed yet another dominant Formula One victory, clinching the Chinese Grand Prix main event in Shanghai. In football, Manchester United beat Coventry FC 4-3 in penalties (3-3 at full time) in the second semi-final of the FA Cup. IPL witnessed a double-header, with Kolkata Knight Riders edging Royal Challengers Bengaluru out in a dramatic one-run win at Eden Gardens, and Gujarat Titans convincingly beating Punjab Kings in Mullanpur. New Zealand levelled the T20I series 1-1 against Pakistan with a seven-wicket victory in the third T20I in Rawalpindi. In tennis, Casper Ruud claimed the Barcelona Open title, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. Check all the highlights from the sports world on April 21, 2024 here

Indian GM D Gukesh heads into the final round of the FIDE Candidates as the sole leader. Check the full standings below:

Napoli's troublesome Serie A title defense took another hit in a 1-0 loss at relegation-threatened Empoli on Saturday. The defeat left Napoli in eighth place, a whopping 34 points behind leader Inter Milan, and at risk of failing to qualify for Europe. Alberto Cerri scored four minutes in with a header for Empoli, which moved four points clear of the drop zone. (AP)

City boss Pep Guardiola was not a happy man despite his side sealing a spot in the final of the FA Cup.

Hockey India on Sunday announced a 28-member core probable group for the men's national coaching camp to iron out the flaws ahead of the Paris Olympics. The camp commenced on Sunday and will last till May 13 at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru.

The core group of the national coaching camp includes goalkeepers Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera and defenders Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, and Amir Ali.

The midfielders called up to the camp include Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Vishnukant Singh.

While the list of forwards comprises Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Boby Singh Dhami, and Araijeet Singh Hundal.

Starting from the pole at the Shanghai International Circuit, Red Bull's hero Max Verstappen is leading the race ahead of 19 cars. Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso is chasing him, trailing by +4.386, in the lap 5.

McLaren's Lando Norris starting on P4, has overtaken Fernando Alonso who was wheels to wheels with Red Bull's Sergio Perez on P3.

After Max Verstappen's pit stop, Lando Norris has taken the lead first time in the 2024 season, ahead of Charles Leclerc. It is McLaren Vs Ferrari now!

The Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton, back on the track placed 14 currently has complained about the W15 on the radio, "Can't even take over, the car is so slow".

Lando Norris, on medium tyre with no pit stop, after leading the race for 5 laps has been taken over by the flying man, Max Verstappen who is on hard tyres now.

Back from P10, after the safety car, on hard tyres, the Australian GP winner, Carlos Sainz is back in form. He is on P6 battling with Fernando Alonso en route to maintaining his stunning podium finish streak.

The RB driver suffered an attack from Lance Stroll from the back that damaged his car and forced him to retire prematurely in lap 33 at the Shanghai International Circuit.

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The battle for the first continues between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.

Meanwhile, Sergio Perez went inside Charles Leclerc in lap 40 to take the podium run.

Carlos Sainz secures fifth position after Fernando Alonso's pit stop.

And Hamilton with his beautiful moves, back from P18 has managed to overtake 10 cars to drive on P8 now behind Oscar Piastri, and George Russell on P6.

Max Verstappen leading the race from the start, wins the 2024 Chinese Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Perez. This is his first win in China.

Lando Norris' brilliant driving once allowed him to take the lead of the Chinese Grand Prix for five laps at the Shanghai International Circuit, but after the pit stop, Max Verstappen went back to where he belonged, near the victory. Sergio Perez surpassed Charles Leclerc to finish on the podium. Despite, Red Bull's dominance this is not a 1-2 victory for the Austrian team.

RCB captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the 36th IPL match of the season.

Riding on explosive starts, Sunrisers Hyderabad may have won four games on the bounce this IPL season, but their swashbuckling opener Travis Head says "We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves."

SRH crushed Delhi Capitals by 67 runs in their most recent match here on Saturday, following sensational knocks from their in-form openers Travis Head (89) and Abhishek Sharma (46).

SRH have made a habit of posting big totals this season, going past 260 for the third time on Saturday.

"It is very enjoyable. It is nice to be here and play well, and it is hard not to smile and enjoy yourself with the batting order that we have got, and the order is working well through the first seven, so it is very enjoyable," Head told JioCinema. (PTI)

Tottenham have confirmed left-back Destiny Udogie will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his left thigh.

Udogie has flourished in his first campaign in the Premier League and made 30 appearances in all competitions for Spurs.

The Italian defender has caught the eye with his ventures into midfield under Ange Postecoglou but he revealed on Saturday night his 2023-24 campaign was over. (Stats Perform)

Former First-Class cricketer Abhay Sharma is set to be named as head coach of Uganda national team ahead of its debut in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

Sharma has the experience of donning the fielding coach's role of India A and India-19s and also worked with the Indian women's cricket team. The 54-year-old's last coaching stint came with the Delhi Ranji team.

In November, Uganda had become the last team to qualify for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies in June. Namibia were the other outfit which qualified for the ICC event from the Africa Qualifier.

"Abhay Sharma has been offered the head coach position with the Uganda national team. He is expected to take charge soon," a source told PTI.

Unhappy and concerned at Indian men's team's below par show at the Asian Olympic Qualifiers, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) on Sunday decided to conduct fresh trials to pick Indian team for World Qualifiers which will be the last chance to secure quota places for the Paris Olympic Games.

Out of 18 possible quota places, India have earned only four and all through women wrestlers, including Vinesh Phogat. The others who have earned quotas for the quadrennial extravaganza are Antim Panghal (53kg) Anshu Malik (57kg), Reetika (76kg).

There are still 14 categories left and winning at World Qualifiers, starting May 9 in Turkey, will be a tougher task compared Asian Qualifiers held in Bishkek. (PTI)

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is confident Lewis Hamilton’s morale will not plummet despite his continued worst start to a Formula One season.

Hamilton fought back from his lowly 18th grid slot to finish ninth in Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

But the British driver, in his final season with Mercedes before his blockbuster transfer to Ferrari, leaves Shanghai only ninth in the standings after failing to finish inside the top six at either of the opening five rounds. (Stats Perform)

Fast half-centuries by Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar were not enough for Royal Challengers Bengaluru as they succumbed to an agonising one-run defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match here on Sunday.

Jacks (55, 32b, 4x5, 5x6) and Patidar (52, 23b, 3x4, 5x6) kept RCB in hunt for but they could not chase down a daunting 223 target set by the KKR. (PTI)

India's Tarun beat compatriot Sukant Kadam to win gold in the SL 4 category at the Spanish Para Badminton tournament in Vitoria, Spain.

Tarun beat Kadam 21-13, 16-21, 21-16. In the semi-finals, Sukant defeated world champion Suhas Yathiraj.

In SL3 category, Kumar Nitesh, Manoj Sarkar and Jagadesh Dilli secured gold, silver and bronze for India. (PTI)

Elena Rybakina eased to her third title of the season on Sunday with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the final of the Porsche Grand Prix.

Rybakina, the world No. 4-ranked player who defeated top-ranked Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, saved the three break points she faced and took four from six opportunities to win in an hour, 9 minutes.

It's Rybakina's tour-leading 26th win of the year. The Stuttgart title comes after wins in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi this season. The Kazakh player's previous clay-court wins were in Rome in 2023 and Bucharest in 2019. (PTI)

UAE have lifted the 2024 ACC Men's T20I Premier Cup title after defeating the Oman cricket team in the final match by 55 runs.

UAE captain Muhammad Waseem's ton powered a 205-run target, which was not chaseable for the opponents, who fell short at just 144/9 in 20 overs.

Diksha Dagar has fired four birdies on a splendid back nine and rocketed to a third-place finish in the Joburg Ladies Open in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Diksha, who finished the third round in tied fifth place, carded a 3-under 70 on the Par-73 Modderfontein Golf Club and totaled 9-under 283 to finish tied-third alongside Spaniard Luna Sobron Galmes (71). Her earlier rounds were 73-71-69-70.

Chasing Pakistan's 179-run target in the third T20I in Rawalpindi, New Zealand have rattled off 40 runs for no loss after 4.3 overs. Openers Tim Seifert and Tim Robinson are at the crease and going great guns. The hosts lead the five-match series 1-0.

New Zealand have only lost two wickets, but the asking rate has crept up in their chase of a 179-run target set by Pakistan in the third T20I in Rawalpindi. The visitors need 61 runs in 6 overs to win the game and draw level in the five-match series. This game could go either way. Stay tuned.

What seemed like a tricky chase has been pulled off with clinical ease. Mark Chapman stays unbeaten on 87 off just 42 balls as New Zealand chase down Pakistan's target of 179 runs with seven wickets and eight balls to spare in the third T20I at Rawalpindi. With that, the BlackCaps have levelled the five-match series 1-1.

Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore stars on a dominant day for the tweakers as Gujarat Titans defeat Punjab Kings by three wickets for their fourth win in Indian Premier League 2024, in Mullanpur. The spin trio of Sai Kishore (4/33), Rashid Khan (1/15) and Noor Ahmed (2/20) exposed an ill-equipped Punjab Kings with their guile to dismiss them for a below-par 142.

Titans eventually record a comfortable win in 19.1 overs, courtesy a pressure-releasing cameo from Rahul Tewatia (36 not out off 16).

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