Category Sports News

Second Rothesay Test, Edgbaston (day five of five)

India 587 & 427-6 dec: Gill 161, Jadeja 69*; Tongue 2-93

England 407 & 271: Smith 88; Deep 6-99

India won by 336 runs; series level at 1-1

Jamie Smith offered admirable final-day resistance but India’s superb bowlers completed a thumping 336-run victory over England in the second Test at Edgbaston to level the series at 1-1.

The hosts largely put aside their attacking instincts, ignoring their target of 608, but were bowled out for 271 with 27 overs left on day five as they attempted to salvage a draw.

In a fine spell of seam bowling after heavy morning rain, Akash Deep had Ollie Pope playing onto his stumps in the third over and then produced a wicked nipbacker to pin Harry Brook lbw for 23.

After Ben Stokes fell in the final over before lunch, ending a partnership lasting 115 balls with Smith, England’s wicketkeeper threw some counter-punches to follow his first-innings 184 not out with 88.

But, having hit four sixes, he holed out on the hook to give the irresistible Deep his first five-wicket haul in his eighth Test.

Amid a sea of Indian support, Deep took the final wicket of Brydon Carse to finish with 6-99 and 10 in the match.

India, whose chances were doubted after England’s fine win in Headingley last week, leave Birmingham with their first Test victory at Edgbaston at the ninth attempt.

Though Smith struck some blows, England were outplayed across this match, despite attempting to bat out for a draw for the first time under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

Doing so was always going to be tough. They have successfully survived a fifth day only once in the past 13 years and began three wickets down after Deep’s burst on the fourth evening.

The morning rain reduced the overs the hosts needed to survive by 10 to 80 but they were never likely to recover when Pope and Brook were dismissed inside the day’s first five overs and India chipped away.

Smith fell hitting out but the other batters were largely undone by India’s skill, particularly that of 28-year-old Deep, rather than any attempt to attack.

Mohammed Siraj capped India’s performance by taking a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Josh Tongue while captain Shubman Gill fittingly took the final catch to follow his 430 runs in the match.

India will recall star bowler Jasprit Bumrah after he was rested this week and are right in this series.

The day eventually began at 12:40 after rain. Within half an hour, Pope and Brook were back in the shed having been dismissed by Deep.

He was left out for the first Test but looks likely to play a major part in the series with his relentlessly accurate seam bowling.

Pope was slightly unfortunate to get a ball that bounced to hit his arm and deflect onto his stumps. Brook was helpless when Deep got the ball to jag back from outside off stump.

At one stage Stokes faced 23 dot balls in a row – the clearest sign of England’s intent. Had he reached lunch, England may have had an outside chance but off-spinner Washington Sundar snuck one onto his pad as the England captain’s struggles against spin – and poor run against India – continued.

Only after easing to 50 from 73 balls did Smith show any real intent. A partnership with Chris Woakes lasted 70 deliveries until Woakes top-edged trying to pat the ball into the leg side.

After that Smith, as he did in the first innings, took on the short-ball ploy. Deep was hit for two sixes but when Smith swung hard for a third time he was caught at deep-square leg, at which point England’s race was run.

Tongue was the victim of Siraj’s catch at mid-wicket while Carse and Shoaib Bashir had some fun in a 25-ball stand of 23 that included as many edges as boundaries from the middle.

Carse was eventually caught top-edging a swipe to cover, sealing a win for India that, given the margin and way they threw away a winning position at Leeds last week, must rank as one of India’s best wins on English soil.

India captain Shubman Gill, speaking after being named player of the match: “I think all of the things we spoke about after the first game, we were spot on with all of those things. The way we came back with our bowling and fielding was tremendous.

“We knew with 400 or 500 we would be in the game, especially if we he held our catches. Both our bowlers bowled brilliantly with the way we were able to get through [England’s] top order.

Oisin O’Donoghue’s 70th-minute goal proved decisive as Tipperary beat Kilkenny 4-21 to 0-30 in a semi-final thriller at Croke Park to reach the All-Ireland Hurling final for the first time since 2019.

Having lost Darragh McCarthy to a second yellow card in the 60th minute, it seemed Kilkenny were about to break for home when they led in the closing stages.

But Liam Cahill’s side showed resolve to get back into it and, with the game in the balance, substitute O’Donoghue cracked home a goal of the year contender.

It was a rollercoaster of a game with Kilkenny making the early running, only for Tipperary to storm into it as John McGrath hit the net early on, with further goals from McCarthy and Jason Forde helping them lead 3-11 to 0-16 at the break.

Kilkenny seemed to be winning the arm wrestle in the second period but the further twist came late with O’Donoghue’s goal and then, a match-saving block from Robert Doyle on the line as John Donnelly’s missile in the dying seconds prevented the Cats from snatching it back.

It means Tipperary will advance into the final against neighbours and Munster rivals Cork – the first time they will have met on hurling’s biggest day.

Betfred Super League

Hull KR (8) 8

Try: Martin Goals: Mourgue (2)

Leeds (0) 14

Leeds Rhinos came from behind to stun Super League leaders Hull KR with a sensational winning try from Lachie Miller.

The Australian full-back finished a brilliant passing move which he had begun deep in his own half to cap a marvellous second-half display and send Rhinos back into third place.

Leeds’ win ends the Robins’ 11-match winning streak in all competitions and opens up the chase for the League Leaders’ Shield after second-placed Wigan Warriors lost on Friday.

Willie Peters’ side seemed to be heading for yet another victory as they dominated the first half and opened up an 8-0 lead through Rhyse Martin’s try and Arthur Mourgue’s conversion and penalty.

Leeds stepped up a gear after the break, however, with Sam Lisone powering over, Jake Connor levelling with the boot and then Miller finishing a stylish move to make it seven wins from their past eight games for Brad Arthur’s side.

Leeds’ win also ended a sequence of six-straight defeats by Rovers stretching back to 2022, as the competition’s two in-form teams went head-to-head at Sewell Group Craven Park.

Both teams sprinted out of the blocks, Ryan Hall’s superb cover tackle forcing a forward pass from Mourgue as the Robins had a three-on-one attack, and then Alfie Edgell being tackled inches short as Leeds hit back.

The Robins scored first after 11 minutes after Connor’s forward pass had given them an attacking platform. Martin, a Rhinos player for five years before joining Rovers this season, side-stepped past Connor to go over and open the scoring.

A successful captain’s challenge to an apparent Mikey Lewis knock-on saw Harry Newman penalised for a high tackle and Mourgue extended the lead to eight points at half-time.

That incident proved costly for the Robins, however, as reigning Man of Steel Lewis failed the subsequent head injury assessment and failed to reappear.

The Robins then blew two clear try-scoring chances as Mourgue’s pass to set up a lovely diving finish from Tom Davies was inexplicably forward, and then Kelepi Tanginoa came up with an even more unnecessary forward pass on the other flank as Joe Burgess was poised to score.

Leeds took full advantage of those basic errors by moving up a gear in the second half, piling pressure on a Rovers defence which has been central to their success this season.

The home side’s discipline wobbled badly as Leeds forced the pace, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves being penalised for a high tackle and Leeds making use of the territory gained as Cameron Smith sent Lisone powering over the line and Connor kicked the extras.

The New Zealand prop was at fault again five minutes later, penalised for dissent with Rovers in possession in front of their own posts, with Connor slotting over the kick to level the scores.

Leeds were suddenly bristling with confidence and the Robins, without Lewis pulling the strings, looked fragile for the first time in weeks.

Hull KR coach Willie Peters told BBC Radio Humberside:

“We had a lot of opportunities in the first half and if we had executed a couple of those tries the score at half-time could have been a little bit more. I was happy with our first half apart from that execution.

“That hurt us, and we came out a little bit slow in the second half. They won a lot of field position, got on top and we obviously had some ill discipline and they came over the top of us at the back end.

“You might only get one or two opportunities in big games but we had three there to put ourselves in a stronger position.

“We fought our way back and then gave a penalty away with the ball and they have two points. There are some more bits and pieces among that, but that was the main one. “

Leeds head coach Brad Arthur told BBC Radio Leeds:

“I saw the belief in them during the week, the way we trained in a good long turnaround, and sensed an expectation that they were coming here to win.

“Even at half-time we were 8-0 down but we weren’t bad. I thought we were very good in the first half, but they were very, very good. I said that to beat them we had to be very, very good in the second half, and we were.

“Credit to both sides – the footy was hand to hand and there weren’t a lot of errors.

“Last time we played them we had them with 10 minutes to go, a game we should have won, but we lacked a little bit of composure in the last 10 minutes and they came up with some big plays. We learnt from it and went after it tonight. “

Hull KR: Mourgue; Davies, Hiku, Broadbent, Burgess; Lewis, May; Sue, McIlorum, Hadley, Whitbread, Martin, Minchella.

Interchanges: Litten, Waerea-Hargreaves, Luckley, Tanginoa.

Leeds: Miller; Edgell, Handley, Newman, Hall; Croft, Connor; Oledzki, O’Connor, Jenkins, Watkins, McDonnell, Palasia.

Interchanges: Lisone, Holroyd, Bentley, Smith

BMW International Open – final leaderboard

-22 D Brown (Eng); -20 J Smith (Eng); -18 K Kobori (NZ); -16 J Luiten (Ned), D Bryant (US), K Reitan (Nor)

Selected others: -15 L Canter (Eng) -14 M Penge (Eng) -11 S Jamieson (Sco) R Ramsay (Sco) -10 R Mansell (Eng) J Parry (Eng) M Armitage (Eng)

An emotional Dan Brown dedicated his victory at the BMW International Open to his late friend after he won his first European tour title since 2023.

The 30-year-old shot a bogey-free final round of 66 as he fought off fellow Briton Jordan Smith to win by two shots.

“I lost a friend at home last weekend,” said Brown. “I don’t know what to say really, but that was for him.

“The last two days I’ve been thinking about him to try and take my mind off it, obviously try not to get too emotional in the process.

“I’m not too sure what happened today. Like all day, it was an out-of-body experience. Obviously nerves, and then thinking about the importance of winning a golf tournament.

“It sort of played it down with what happened. I suppose he was there with me and it made it a lot easier.

Brown is now the eighth English winner of the tournament.

He began the day with a one-shot lead over Smith but extended his advantage with four birdies in his first six holes.

McLaren’s Lando Norris took his first home victory in a chaotic, dramatic, rain-affected British Grand Prix.

Norris benefited from a 10-second penalty handed to team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was found to have driven erratically during a restart after one of two safety-car periods at Silverstone.

Piastri had led the race calmly through a heavy shower of rain and series of incidents but was passed by Norris when he served his penalty at his final pit stop in the closing laps.

Norris appeared to be crying in his helmet on the slowing-down lap and described the win as “beautiful”.

It reduces his deficit to Piastri in the drivers’ championship to eight points.

“Apart from a championship, I think this is as good as it gets in terms of feelings and in terms of achievement, being proud, all of it,” Norris said.

“The last few laps, I was just looking into the crowd. I was just trying to take it all in, enjoy the moment, because it might never happen again. I hope it does. But these are memories that I’ll bring with me forever. “

Nico Hulkenberg, 37, took his first podium finish at the 239th attempt – setting a new record for the longest time before finishing in the top three – after a strong race for Sauber.

An all-time F1 record crowd – 168,000 on the day and 500,000 over the weekend – were treated to an action-packed race.

Perhaps the most extraordinary moment came when Verstappen spun before racing had resumed at the restart after the second safety-car period.

Verstappen appeared to have been distracted by what had happened a few seconds before in the incident that earned Piastri his penalty.

As Piastri prepared for the final restart on lap 22, he slowed on the Hangar Straight. Verstappen, partially unsighted in the wet conditions, briefly passed the Australian, and then complained over the radio that he had suddenly braked.

It carried echoes of an incident at the Canadian Grand Prix two races ago, when Red Bull protested against a similar action by race winner George Russell of Mercedes, but had it rejected.

Piastri was angry, but said he was “not going to say much because I’ll get myself into trouble” – a reference to rules that say drivers can be penalised for criticising officials.

“Apparently you can’t break behind the safety car any more. I did it for five laps before that,” he said.

As the field rounded Stowe, Verstappen lost control and spun, dropping down to 10th place.

He recovered to fifth but is now 69 points behind Piastri and his championship hopes are dimmer than ever, especially in the face of McLaren’s consistently strong form.

Hulkenberg, meanwhile, secured a hugely popular podium place from 19th on the grid.

“Coming from almost last it was pretty surreal, not sure how it happened,” he said.

The race started on a wet track after a soaking wet morning, but with the sun out and more rain heading towards Silverstone.

Verstappen held the lead through a brief challenge from Piastri off the line but he could not shake the McLarens, and Piastri was soon challenging him hard for the lead.

Before he could try a move, though, a virtual safety car was deployed after Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto crashed at Turn Two on lap four.

The race was restarted on lap seven, and Piastri was past Verstappen on the Hangar Straight before two laps were over, building a 2. 9-second lead after just one lap.

It was then Norris’ turn to challenge the Red Bull, but Verstappen gifted him the position when he slid off at Becketts on lap 11, just as heavy rain started.

That brought the drivers into the pits for fresh intermediates. By then, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll had gained time by an earlier change to soft tyres when the track was drying and emerged in fourth place, with Hulkenberg in fifth after stopping for inters on lap 10, so benefiting when others had to drive on a wet track on slick tyres and then pit.

The rain became heavier and a safety car was deployed on lap 14. The race restarted on lap 18, but a second safety car was sent out within a lap after Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar ran into the back of Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes at Copse because he could not see him in the spray.

When the race restarted for the last time on lap 22, Piastri started to try to build a lead but he was not able to get more than four seconds ahead before Norris came back at him – he was less than two seconds back by the time Piastri pitted to serve his penalty with nine laps to go.

Stroll was unable to hold on to his third place, soon being passed by Hulkenberg, then Hamilton, and eventually dropping down to seventh place.

Behind Verstappen, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, who was fifth at the restart, lost places to Hamilton and the Dutchman but was able to secure sixth place.

Williams’ Alex Albon was eighth, ahead of Fernando Alonso, who was frustrated by his team’s strategy costing him places in the topsy-turvy early part of the race, then pitted a couple of laps too early for slick tyres as the track dried in the closing stages.

1. Lando Norris (McLaren)

2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

3. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)

5. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

7. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

8. Alex Albon (Williams)

9. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

10. George Russell (Mercedes)

Wimbledon 2025

Dates: 30 June-13 July Venue: All England Club

An “extreme level” of superstition is aiding Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon as the world number five bids for a first major title.

The American matched his best run at the All England Club by reaching the quarter-finals on Sunday, after Australian opponent Jordan Thompson retired with injury when trailing 6-1 3-0.

After reaching his first major final at the US Open last year, Fritz hopes that sticking to a precise routine off the court can help him take the next step on it.

“I’m superstitious in a way that it just revolves [around] my routine. I don’t have superstitions on court but I take the saying ‘you don’t change a winning formula’ to an extreme,” Fritz said.

“Every single thing I’m doing, I do everything exactly the same. It’s like the second I get off the practice court, I eat, I organise my clothes, I go shower.

“Everything is in the same order to an extreme level.

“I’m a little bit superstitious, but when I repeat the same routines, it gives me confidence that I’m going to keep playing well. “

The 27-year-old was denied a first Grand Slam trophy by world number one Jannik Sinner in New York 10 months ago.

However he is in good form on the grass courts, having won titles at Stuttgart and Eastbourne in the build-up to Wimbledon.

Russian 17th seed Karen Khachanov now stands in his way of a first Wimbledon semi-final.