Anaheim Ducks rally from 4 down, edge Capitals 6-5
Jets escape 3-goal hole, top Rangers in shootout
WASHINGTON: Pontus Aberg scored the tiebreaker with 5:05 remaining and finished with two goals and one assist as the Anaheim Ducks rallied from a four-goal, second-period deficit and stunned the host Washington Capitals 6-5 on Sunday. Aberg scored his second goal of the game after a pass from Ryan Getzlaf (one goal, two assists). With Washington goalie Braden Holtby pulled away from the net, Aberg scored easily from the left side and completed the Ducks’ comeback from a 5-1 deficit. The Ducks scored twice in the second period and added three more in the third to end Washington’s seven-game winning streak. For the Ducks, Ryan Miller earned the win in relief of John Gibson, who gave up three goals in the first 13:19. Miller stopped 19 of the 21 shots he faced.
JETS 4, RANGERS 3 (SO)
Mark Scheifele scored the game-winning goal in the third round of a shootout as visiting Winnipeg rallied from a three-goal deficit in the third period to edge New York. Scheifele gave the Jets their second win in seven games when trailing through 40 minutes when he slowed down and put a wrist shot under Henrik Lundqvist’s pads. Patrik Laine also scored in the second round of the shootout for Winnipeg, which outshot the Rangers by a 42-19 margin through regulation and overtime. Mika Zibanejad scored in the second round of the shootout but the Rangers lost for the fifth time in six games and also dropped to 5-0-2 when leading through two periods.
AVALANCHE 2, RED WINGS 0
Semyon Varlamov had 24 saves for his first shutout of the season, and Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog each had a goal and an assist as Colorado beat host Detroit. Mikko Rantanen, the leading scorer in the NHL, had assists on both goals. The Avalanche MUMBAI: Having proved his credentials as a batsman in Australia four years ago, Virat Kohli returns for a series Down Under that could well define his legacy as India captain.
Pundits once bracketed Kohli alongside Australia’s Steve Smith, Joe Root from England and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson as the batsmen who would go on to dominate world cricket but the India skipper’s prolific run-scoring form and consistency has set him apart from the rest.
Kohli, who turned 30 last month, is the world’s top-ranked batsman in both Tests and one-day internationals, with over 1,000 runs in both formats in the calendar year. Despite his achievements with the bat, Kohli has failed to achieve the success he craves as captain. India’s home form remains strong, they last lost a test series at home in 2012, but Kohli’s hopes of winning more series on foreign soil have been dashed with defeats in South Africa and England this year due to a lack of batting support.
He was the top scorer between both sides in South Africa with a hundred and a half century in a 2-1 series defeat, while in England he fared even better with two centuries and three fifties but still the tourists were beaten, 4-1.
The last time India toured Australia in 2014-15 Kohli scored four centuries in as many tests and notched 692 runs at a jaw-dropping average of 86.25. India ended up losing 2-0.
Kohli took over India’s test captaincy during that series after Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired from the longest format and this time around he will be looking to achieve something no India captain has managed before - a series win in Australia.
With their opponents struggling to recover from a ball-tampering scandal that led to long bans for former captain Steve Smith, opener David Warner and batsman Cameron Bancroft, India may never have had a better chance to claim victory.
CURRENT FORM
Not since Sachin Tendulkar retired in 2013 has an Indian cricketer commanded the adulation Kohli enjoys. He became the fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs in his 205th innings in October, eclipsing Tendulkar’s record by an astounding 54 innings, and his performances have earned him rock star status in the cricket-mad country of 1.3 billion.
Kohli’s single-minded drive for excellence mirrors that of Tendulkar, who accumulated over 34,000 runs and 100 centuries in a 24-year career. Like Tendulkar, Kohli has a near-flawless technique which helps him tackle pace and spin with equal ease, and India look to him every time they hit choppy waters, as they did for two decades with the retired batting great. In the run-up to the four-test series, which starts in Adelaide on Thursday, Australian pundits have been asking how the hosts can go about stopping Kohli but few have been able to provide a satisfactory answer.
Before arriving on Australian shores, Kohli hit a test hundred and three consecutive ODI centuries against the West Indies at home. He hit a sparkling 61 late last month to help his side to a series-levelling win in the three-match Twenty20 series against Australia. It will be no cakewalk for Kohli though.
Australia’s bowling attack, comprising pace trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon, is still something to be feared and the hosts believe they are good enough to beat any side in their home conditions.— Reuters have gone 9-0-2 since losing five in a row. Colorado’s top line accounted for all the points, and the shutout is the first this season for the team. MacKinnon, who led the league in scoring in November and was named the NHL’s second star for the month, kept up his strong play with his 19th goal of the season, on a second-period power play. Landeskog’s empty-net goal sealed the win in the last minute.
SHARKS 3, CANADIENS 1
Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns each had a goal and an assist, and Martin Jones made 40 saves as visiting San Jose snapped a four-game losing streak with a victory over Montreal. Justin Braun also scored a goal for the Sharks, which won the final game of a five-game road trip (1-3-1). Jeff Petry scored for Montreal, which lost for the sixth time in seven games (1-4-2). Jones snapped a personal four-game losing streak and was brilliant in the third period when he recorded 21 saves. It was the first road victory for the Sharks dating back to a 4-3 overtime win at Anaheim on Oct. 28.
KINGS 2, HURRICANES 0
Alec Martinez scored the winning goal with 2:13 remaining, and Jonathan Quick delivered a sensational 34-save shutout as host Los Angeles beat Carolina and gave Quick his first win of the year and 50th career shutout. Going into the day’s action, the Kings were the lowest-scoring team in the league and the Hurricanes were tied with the Arizona Coyotes for the second-least-productive offense. With overtime looming and the contest still scoreless, Martinez delivered the clutch goal-just his second of the season. Martinez drove to the net and neatly redirected Jake Muzzin’s crossing pass into the cage. Kyle Clifford added an ABU DHABI: New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson hit a fighting half century while BJ Watling batted with patience to delay leg-spinner Yasir Shah’s bid to become the fastest to 200 wickets on the first day of the third and final Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Williamson missed out on a 19th Test century but Watling was unbeaten on 42 as New Zealand closed on 2297, a measured recovery after being reduced to 72-4 by a triple strike from Yasir in the first session. Yasir began his 33rd Test needing five wickets to become the fastest man to reach the milestone of 200 Test wickets. The record is currently 36 Tests, set 82 years ago by Australian legspinner Clarrie Grimmett.
Yasir managed 3-62 but was then thwarted by the fifth wicket stand of 104 in 249 balls between Williamson and Watling. He failed to take any more wickets in the last two sessions and still needs another two wickets to hit the 200-mark and claim the record.
Williamson struck seven boundaries but these were the bright points in a day when defence came first. The normally robust and aggressive Kiwi captain curbed his attacking instinct as he attmpted to carve out a first innings that might give his side some leverage in the match. The scoring rarely got above two an over.
Watling also dug in and the pair batted right through the middle session. Williamson passed 50 in a Test for the 46th time but he was not able
empty-net goal with 53 seconds left.
FLAMES 3, BLACKHAWKS 2
Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan each scored on the power play, and Calgary held on for a win at Chicago. Sean Monahan also scored for the Flames, who won to convert his innings into another hundred. Having reached 89 off 176 balls, he mistimed a clip off Hasan Ali shortly after tea and found a gleeful Asad Shafiq oouching the catch at short midwicket.
Off-spinner Bilal Asif took over from Yasir, claiming Colin de Grandhomme for 20 and Tim Southee for two to finish with 2-57. But Watling kept one end intact through his patient nearfour hour batting, hitting only one boundary in his 180-ball display of self-denial.
With both teams needing a win to seal a series which is currently tied at 1-1, Yasir was the key and the leg-spinner induced a mini-collapse in the morning as the Kiwis slipped from 701 to 73-4 at lunch.
Yasir trapped opener Jeet Raval leg before with a faster one for 45. Raval reviewed but ball-tracking showed it would have hit leg stump. With his next ball, Yasir clean-bowled Ross Taylor as the batsman went back but completely missed the ball.
Henry Nicholls saved the hat-trick but shortly after he attempted to sweep and Yasir flicking the ball as it went through to bowl him around his legs. Yasir, whose 14 wickets helped Pakistan level the series in Dubai, has 25 wickets in the series so far.
It was teenage left-arm paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi, making his Test debut as a replacement for injured medium pacer Mohammad Abbas, who gave Pakistan their initial breakthrough and claim his first Test victim. The 18year-old nipped one back sharply to rap opener Tom Latham on the pads. Pakistan reviewed the on-field not out decision and were rewarded when ball-tracking showed the ball would have cannoned into the stumps.
New Zealand, who won the first Test by four runs in Abu Dhabi, brought in fast bowler Tim Southee and off-spinner Will Somerville in place of Neil Wagner and Ish Sodhi. — AFP for the sixth time in the past eight games (6-1-1). Jonathan Toews and Dylan Strome scored in a losing effort for the Blackhawks, who have lost four straight and six of seven. Flames goaltender Mike Smith made 22 saves while the Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford turned aside 38 shots. — Reuters
‘King Kohli’ spearheads India’s charge to end drought Down Under
Williamson, Watling dig in after Yasir shines in final Test
Scoreboard on day one of the third and final Test between Pakistan and New Zealand played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium yesterday:
New Zealand Ist innings
J. Raval lbw b Yasir
T. Latham lbw b Shaheen K. Williamson c Shafiq b Hasan R. Taylor b Yasir
H. Nicholls b Yasir
BJ Watling not out
C. de Grandhomme c Shafiq b Asif T. Southee c Azam b Asif W. Somerville not out
45 4 89 0 1 42 20 2 12
Extras: (b 8, lb 6)
Total: (for seven wkts; 90 overs)
Stil to bat: Ajaz Patel, T. Boult
Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Latham), 2-70 (Raval), 370 (Taylor), 4-72 (Nicholls), 5-176 (Williamson), 6-203 (Grandhomme), 7-209 (Southee)
Bowling: Hasan 16-5-46-1, Shaheen 17-443-1, Yasir 31-9-62-3,Asif 24-2-57-2, Haris 2-0-7-0.
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