SPORTS DIGEST
BASEBALL
Francisco Lindor’s ninth-inning grand slam powered the Cleveland Indians to a 9-6 victory over the Texas Rangers. Lindor’s first career grand slam made up for his throwing error in the fifth inning which allowed Texas to score two runs. Rangers closer Sam Dyson loaded the bases and walked in a run before Lindor’s decisive shot made it three wins out of three for the defending American League champions to start the season. MLB results: Arizona Diamondbacks 8 San Francisco Giants 6, Baltimore Orioles 3 Toronto Blue Jays 1, Boston Red Sox 3 Pittsburgh Pirates 0 (12 Innings), Chicago Whitesox Detroittigers-postponed, Cincinnati Reds 2 Philadelphia Phillies 0, Houston Astros 5 Seattle Mariners 3 (13 Innings), Milwaukee Brewers 6 Colorado Rockies 1, Minnesota Twins 9 Kansas City Royals 1, New York Mets 1 Atlanta Braves 3 (12 Innings), Oakland Athletics 0 LA Angels 5, San Diego Padres 1 Los Angeles Dodgers 3, St Louis Cardinals Chicago Cubs - Postponed, Tampa Bay Rays 4 New York Yankees 1, Texas Rangers 6 Cleveland Indians 9, Washington Nationals 6 Miami Marlins 4.
BASKETBALL
Lebron James turned in a vintage display to put the Cleveland Cavaliers in pole position in the Eastern Conference with a big 114-91 win over the Boston Celtics. James collected 36 points, ten rebounds and six assists as Cleveland took a onegame lead over Boston atop the East with four games left to play. Kyrie Irving added 19 points and five assists as Cleveland looked comfortable despite the absence of injured starting centre Tristan Thompson. Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 26 points.against the San Antonio Spurs. NBA results: Boston Celtics 91 Cleveland Cavaliers 114, Charlotte Hornets 99 Miami Heat 112, Detroit Pistons 102 Toronto Raptors 105, Houston Rockets 110 Denver Nuggets 104, LA Clippers 112 Dallas Mavericks 101, Memphis Grizzlies 100 Oklahoma City Thunder 103, Phoenix Suns 111 Golden State Warriors 120, San Antonio Spurs 95 LA Lakers 102.
CRICKET
Mustafizur Rahman’s four for 21 led Bangladesh to a 45-run success over Sri Lanka in their second T20 international, with Lasith Malinga ending up on the losing side in Colombo despite taking a hat-trick. The series ended 1-1 after the hosts failed to chase down Bangladesh’s 176 for nine as the tourists dismissed Sri Lanka with two overs to spare. An opening stand of 71 between Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar laid the foundations for Bangladesh and there was more than 150 on the board by the start of the 18th over thanks to Shakib Al Hasan’s top score of 38. Malinga’s treble in the penultimate set of six removed Mushfiqur Rahim, captain Mashrafe Mortaza and Mehedi Hasan Miraz in successive deliveries as Sri Lanka fought back to slow Bangladesh’s momentum somewhat. However, half of the Sri Lanka line-up was out with just 40 on the board in their reply and not even a half century by Chamara Kapugedera could prevent outgoing Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe from claiming a victorious send-off.