Author: Reuters

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India thrash Zimbabwe to revive T20 World Cup hopes and South Africa close on semis

  • Sharma and Pandya speed India towards 72-run win

  • Proteas’ Markram leads nine-wicket win over West Indies

A rampant India piled up a record total and handed Zimbabwe a 72-run shellacking in a Super 8s contest to revive their Twenty20 World Cup title defence. Sent in, the hosts blasted 256 for four, the tournament’s highest score this year, after Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya struck blistering half-centuries.

It rained 17 sixes and as many fours at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium as India’s top order feasted on a modest Zimbabwean attack made even blunter by their sloppy catching.

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Champions League: Bodø/Glimt send Inter crashing out, Sørloth seals Atlético’s spot

  • Norwegian side win 2-1 in Milan to seal giant-killing upset

  • Atlético defeat Club Brugge; Bayer Leverkusen progress

Bodø/Glimt dumped last season’s finalists Inter out of the Champions League with a remarkable 2-1 win at San Siro in their playoff second leg that sent the Norwegian minnows through to the last 16, 5-2 on aggregate.

Under sustained pressure, the visitors struck in the 58th minute when Ole Didrik Blomberg seized on a loose pass on the edge of the Inter area and drove at goal. Yann Sommer pushed his shot away but Jens Petter Hauge reacted quickest to convert the rebound from close range.

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Australia wrap up failed T20 World Cup campaign with rapid win over Oman

  • Oman 104; Australia 108-1. Australia won by nine wickets

  • Victory completed with more than 10 overs to spare

Australia demolished Oman by nine wickets to win the final Twenty20 World Cup group encounter in Pallekele on Friday in emphatic style, . Both teams were already eliminated from the tournament.

Chasing a modest target of 105, Mitchell Marsh was in no mood to hang around and ruthlessly dispatched Oman’s bowlers, bringing up his half-century off 26 balls inside the first powerplay.

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Champions League roundup: PSG recover from terrible start to edge Monaco

  • Désiré Doué helps Paris side fight back for 3-2 first-leg win

  • Galatasaray stun 10-man Juve; Dortmund beat Atalanta

The Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain overcame a terrible start and a two-goal deficit to beat 10-man Monaco 3-2 in the first leg of their playoff tie. Désiré Doué came off the bench to engineer an impressive turnaround for PSG, who conceded a goal in the opening minute and were 2-0 down after 18 minutes as Folarin Balogun grabbed a double for the hosts.

The 20-year-old Doué replaced the Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, who went off injured after 27 minutes, and proved decisive for the visitors as he struck two superb goals and set up one for Achraf Hakimi.

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Under-fire Australia left to rely on others to avoid humiliating exit at T20 World Cup

  • Selectors under fire after Steve Smith unused against Sri Lanka

  • Fate now rests with Ireland and Sri Lanka beating Zimbabwe

Australia’s aura as a white-ball heavyweight has all but petered out in the space of two disastrous defeats at the T20 World Cup where the absence of their champion fast bowlers has been ruthlessly exposed.

Following an abject 23-run defeat to world No 11 Zimbabwe, Australia crashed to an eight-wicket loss to co-hosts Sri Lanka in Kandy on Monday to be pushed to the brink of a humiliating exit.

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European football: Serie A referees’ chief apologises after controversial Kalulu red card

  • Juventus lost 3-2 in dramatic fashion away at Inter

  • Santos scores on debut to earn Napoli draw with Roma

Serie A’s referee designator Gianluca Rocchi said the match official Federico La Penna was “clearly wrong” in showing the Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu a second yellow card during Saturday’s loss at Inter, and apologised over the incident.

Kalulu was sent off after Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni tumbled to the ground and immediately gestured towards the referee demanding a card, indicating that Kalulu had grabbed his shirt to bring him down. Television footage suggested there was no contact between the players. Juventus, down to 10 men after the sending off, lost 3-2, meaning Inter are now eight points clear at the top.

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European football: PSG thrash Marseille and return to summit of Ligue 1

  • Dembélé doubles up in 5-0 mauling

  • Kane and Díaz on target in Bayern win

Ousmane Dembélé struck twice as Paris Saint-Germain blew away bitter rivals Marseille on Sunday, reclaiming top spot in Ligue 1 with a crushing 5-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.

Dembélé opened the scoring after just 12 minutes and added a second before half-time as PSG delivered a real statement of intent going into the crucial months of the season.

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Los Angeles 2028 Olympic soccer tournaments to use MLS venues nationwide

  • Six venues outside of LA will be used for games

  • Men’s and women’s gold medal games set for Rose Bowl

Organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on Tuesday named six stadiums across the United States set to host matches in the men’s and women’s Olympic soccer tournaments, expanding the competition footprint well beyond southern California.

LA28 said group stage and knockout games will be played in New York, Columbus, Nashville, St Louis, San Jose and San Diego.

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Pakistan to play Twenty20 World Cup but will boycott game against India

  • Government gives approval to compete in tournament

  • Pakistan will not play India in Colombo on 15 February

Pakistan will boycott their Twenty20 World Cup match against India on 15 February, the Pakistan government said on Sunday while approving the team’s participation in the tournament.

“The government … grants approval to the Pakistan cricket team to participate in the World T20, however, the Pakistan cricket team shall not take the field in the match against India,” the post on the government’s X account said.

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European football: Kane nets as Bayern held at Hamburg, Barça ease past Elche

  • Kane scores 36th goal of season in leaders’ 2-2 draw

  • Rashford caps Barcelona’s 3-1 victory to extend lead

Harry Kane scored his 36th goal of the season but Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich let a second-half lead slip to draw 2-2 at Hamburg.

Fábio Vieira put Hamburg in front from the penalty spot then Kane levelled before half-time. The substitute Luis Díaz put the visitors ahead within a minute of the restart, but Luka Vuskovic kept up his good scoring form to earn what could be a precious point for the struggling hosts.

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Champions League: Benfica keeper’s last-gasp header sends side into playoffs

  • Anatoliy Trubin scores dramatic goal against Real Madrid

  • Barça and Sporting in last 16, Bodø/Glimt make playoffs

Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored a 98th-minute header as Benfica defeated Real Madrid 4-2 to secure a Champions League knockout place on Wednesday and deny their opponents an automatic spot in the last 16.

Benfica were heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin met a free-kick to score the goal they needed to get into the playoff round on goal difference.

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European football: Augsburg fight back to end Bayern Munich’s unbeaten run

  • Massengo and Chaves strike late in Bavarian derby

  • Mbappé sends Real Madrid top; Nwaneri scores on debut

Strugglers Augsburg scored twice in six minutes late in the second half to come from a goal down and stun hosts Bayern Munich 2-1 in the Bavarian derby on Saturday, the league leaders’ first Bundesliga loss of the season.

The hosts, fresh from securing a Champions League knockout spot with Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, took a 23rd-minute lead thanks to Hiroki Ito’s header but lacked any spark up front as Augsburg struck in the 75th and 81st minutes through Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo to earn their first win in Munich for 11 years.

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Champions League roundup: PSG at risk of playoffs after stumbling at Sporting

  • Suárez hits late winner after Kvaratskhelia stunner

  • McTominay scores but Copenhagen peg back Napoli

Paris Saint-Germain slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Sporting in Lisbon, jeopardising their bid to qualify directly for the Champions League last 16 after Luis Suárez struck twice, scoring the winner in the final minute.

Sporting had gone ahead against the run of play in the second half through Suárez, despite sustained pressure from PSG. The French champions hit back quickly as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia levelled with a superb strike, appearing to salvage a point.

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Foul play? Seve Ballesteros statue vanishes from hometown in Spain

  • Life-size statue disappears in golf legend’s hometown

  • ‘Everything indicates that it was a theft,’ says council

Spanish authorities have launched an investigation into the disappearance of a statue commemorating Seve Ballesteros from his hometown of Pedrena, near Santander in northern Spain’s Cantabria region.

The Marina de Cudeyo Town Council confirmed the incident on Sunday through their social media accounts, describing the disappearance as “an unfortunate event” and suggesting foul play. “Everything indicates that it was a theft,” the council stated.

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