15-11-2021

the paris Saint-Germain star struck three times in the first half before rounding off a fine
evening as his team secured a place in the competition.
photo: Ap
Chelsea on-loan star
Gallagher set for
first England call-up
SportS DeSk
Chelsea midfielder Conor
Gallagher, who has starred
on loan at Crystal Palace
this term, is set to receive his
first senior England call-up,
GOAL understands, reports
AP. The 21-year-old will be
rewarded for a stellar
campaign with Palace thus
far, having scored four goals
and assisted two for Patrick
Vieira's side. Gallagher has
previously represented
England at the U-17 through
U-21 levels.
Gallagher established
himself as a bright prospect
in the Chelsea academy
before getting his first taste
of senior football with
Charlton Athletic and
Swansea City in 2019-20.
After impressing in the
Championship, Gallagher
made the step up to the
Premier League last season
when he became a regular
with West Brom.
Mbappe fires France to World
Cup with nation's first four-goal
display in 63 years
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Kylian Mbappe fired in four goals as France
beat Kazakhstan 8-0 on Saturday, with the
striker equalling a record that has stood for
63 years, reports AP.
The PSG star struck three times to give his
side a comfortable lead at half-time in the
World Cup qualifying match before adding
another in the late stages of the game to
round off a fine evening.
Karim Benzema got two of his own, while
Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann also
struck as Les Bleus confirmed their place as
group winners to ensure they will be at the
2022 World Cup.
Speaking to M6 after the game, Mbappe
said: "Yes, the match ball is in the locker
room. "The most important thing was really
the qualification. In addition, in the group, a
lot of players have not played at the World
Cup. And even for those who have played it is
a dream to play it a second time.
"Tonight I think people had fun and so did
we. We respected the opponent until the end
Daryl Mitchell added to
Test squad for India series
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New Zealand have added batting allrounder
Daryl Mitchell to the Test squad for the series
against India later this month as a
replacement player for Devon Conway. After
opting to not replace Conway in the T20I
squad, the call was made to extend Mitchell's
stay in India for the longer format, reports
AP.
Conway was earlier ruled out of the T20
WC final and the subsequent three-match
series in India after he broke his hand during
New Zealand's semifinal win against
England.
"It's a shame for Devon to miss out on the
first series of the new World Test
Championship cycle, but it also offers up an
opportunity for someone else," Coach Gary
Stead said.
"Daryl's versatility means he can cover a lot
of batting positions and he's certainly got
plenty of confidence at the moment.
He's proven he can perform in Test cricket
and I know he's excited to rejoin the Test
group." 30-year-old Mitchell has been in
great form off late and was also the man of
the match in the T20 WC semifinal.
He has scored 197 runs in the tournament
so far at the top of the order, averaging close
to 40.
He made his Test debut in late 2019 and
has played five games in the format with his
most recent appearance coming against
England this year right before the World Test
Championship final.
New Zealand will travel to India
immediately after the T20 WC final against
Australia and will kickstart the T20I series
on November 17 in Jaipur. The two-match
Test series commences on November 25 in
Kanpur.
and that's what made the score big.
"It's true that I don't have a great head
game, but this year I've improved and it's
starting to be what I want to be." Speaking
about the World Cup, Mbappe said of the
2018 champions: "We're going to go there to
win."
Mbappe's four-goal showing is the first
time a France player has scored as many
goals in 63 years.
The last player to score four or more for
Les Bleus was Just Fontaine, who put four
past West Germany in 1958.
The most recent France player to score
three or more in a competitive match was
Dominique Rocheteau, who scored three
against Luxembourg in 1985.
Saturday's result leaves France top of
Group D with 15 points from seven matches
and just one left to play.
They are four points clear of Finland, their
next and final opponents of the qualifying
stage, meaning Didier Deschamps' side have
won the group and will compete in the finals
in Qatar next year.
Clinical Strikers
crush Hurricanes
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Adelaide Strikers put on a
clinical show with both bat
and ball to pick up an easy
win overHobart Hurricanes
on Saturday (November 13).
The 48-run win keeps them
in the hunt for a playoff spot
in this year's WBBL.
Hurricanes initially made
the ideal start after opting to
bowl as Tayla Vlaeminck
breached Katie Mack's
defence but the South
African pair of Laura
Wolvaardt and Dane van
Niekerk steadied the
innings with a 49-run stand
which was then followed by
another crucial stand of 39,
reports AP.
However, Strikers were in
need of a powerful finish in
order to post a substantial
total which was provided by
Bridget Patterson.
She joined forces with
Tahlia McGrath after Van
Niekerk's dismissal as the
two batters added 54 runs
off just 35 balls. The strong
finish was then followed by
an excellent start to the
second innings as Darcie
Brown managed to remove
both the Hurricanes
openers. Mignon du Preez
consolidated for a while but
the moment she was
dismissed by McGrath,
Hurricanes collapsed.
Nicola Carey and Richa
Ghosh were dismissed off
successive deliveries and as
a result, the Hurricanes lost
half their side by the tenth
over. They never recovered
from that collapse and were
eventually bowled out for a
paltry 94 to succumb to
their eighth loss of the
season - the most for any
team this season.
Brief scores: Adelaide
Strikers Women 142/4 in 20
overs (Dane van Niekerk 44,
Tahlia McGrath 38*; Molly
Strano 2-23) beat Hobart
Hurricanes Women 94 in
18.2 overs (Mignon du
Preez 21; Darcie Brown 3-
19, Amanda Wellington 2-
15) by 48 runs.
MonDAY, noveMber 15, 2021
9
Scheffler grabs one-shot
lead at Houston Open
SportS DeSk
A pair of back-nine birdies got Scottie
Scheffler to one-under par 69 on Saturday and
to a one-shot lead in the US PGA Tour's
Houston Open, reports BSS.
Scheffler had thrust himself into contention
with an eight-under par 62 on Friday, a course
record on the recently renovated Memorial
Park Course. Low scores were hard to come by
in the third round, and Scheffler's effort that
included three birdies and two bogeys saw
him slip into the solo lead ahead of overnight
leader Martin Trainer, Kevin Tway, Kramer
Hickok, Matthew Wolff and Venezuelan
Jhonattan Vegas. "I'm fairly satisfied with my
round," said Scheffler, who was a captain's
pick on the victorious US Ryder Cup team in
September. "I kept myself in position."Things
were kind of getting a little iffy there for me for
a little bit," added Scheffler, who followed his
birdie at the fourth hole with bogeys at the
seventh and 11th. "I felt like I was playing good
golf and I was 1-over through 13 holes and I
felt like I was playing a lot better than that.
"Definitely nice to make a few birdies down
the stretch to get things back in the red."
Plenty of players found it heavy going on
Saturday. Trainer fell back with a bogey at the
fourth and a double-bogey at the sixth, but
found himself briefly back in the solo lead
after a 10-foot birdie at the eighth put him at
eight-under.
A birdie and three bogeys coming in gave
him a four-over 74 for six-under 204.
Tway, who started the day one off the pace,
also flirted with the lead, but he closed with
back-to-back bogeys in a three-over 73.
Hickock claimed his slice of second with an
even par 70 while Vegas carded a two-under
68 and Wolff signed for a 69. Scheffler, whose
resume includes a 59 shot at the 2020
Northern Trust, said he welcomed the
challenge of Memorial Park. "I think I always
prefer the harder courses because I feel like I
can take it deep on them still and get myself
back in the tournament, which I did this
week," Scheffler said.
Daryl Mitchell has played five tests so far.
photo: Ap