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India were bowled out for 111 chasing 188-run target and must now win their next two games to qualify for the semifinals.

India have been handed a 76-run defeat by South Africa in their first cricket match of the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup and now must win their next two games to have a chance of reaching the semifinals.

The defending champions were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs while chasing a target of 188 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India on Sunday.

It was the cohosts’ first loss of the tournament and also ended their 12-match winning streak in the T20 World Cup that they had carried on from their title-winning run in 2024.

South Africa’s bowlers put on a near-perfect display against a strong Indian batting lineup, and were backed by their fielders to leave the pre-tournament favourites reeling.

India lost their in-form opener Ishan Kishan on the fourth ball of the innings to the offspin bowling of South Africa’s captain Aiden Markram while trying to hit against the spin.

One-down batter Tilak Varma was the next to fall as he was caught behind off the first ball of Marco Jansen’s over.

India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav and out-of-form star batter Abhishek Sharma tried to rebuild their innings until Sharma fell in the fifth over after scoring 15 runs off 12 deliveries.

Incoming batter Washington Sundar and Yadav were the next two wickets to fall as India failed to build a big partnership in front of a large home crowd.

A 35-run partnership between all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube lifted the Indian run chase briefly, but South Africa’s disciplined bowling and near-faultless fielding resulted in regular dismissals for the home side.

When Dube fell for 42 off 37, India’s fate was sealed.

Jansen’s superb bowling earned him four wickets for 22 runs off 3.5 overs , while left-arm spin bowler Keshav Maharaj took three for 24 in his four overs.

All of South Africa’s bowlers were economical, with Lungi Ngidi leading the way by conceding only 15 runs in his four wicketless overs.

Earlier, player of the match David Miller’s crucial innings of 63 runs off 35 balls stabilised South Africa’s innings after they were reduced to 20-3 in four overs.

He shared a 97-run partnership with Dewald Brevis, who scored 45 off 29 balls, as the pair resurrected the Proteas after Markram decided to bat first after winning the toss in the first Super Eight match in Group 1.

Despite Miller’s dismissal in the 16th over, South Africa were able to post a formidable total of 187-7, thanks to a 24-ball 44 not out by Tristan Stubbs at the end of the innings.

Jasprit Bumrah picked up 3-15 off his four overs.

The loss propels South Africa to the top of Group 1 in the Super Eight stage, with India at the bottom with a net run rate of -3.80.

The defending champions must win their remaining two games to have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals.

West Indies and Zimbabwe are the other two teams in their group and will face each other on Monday.

South Africa face the West Indies on Thursday, while India play Zimbabwe on Friday.

International commitments over the winter months have interrupted pre-season preparations and that was a common message from coaches as some teams coped better than others on the big stage.

In front of packed stands at one of the UK’s largest indoor arenas, Birmingham Panthers and Manchester Thunder both lost three from three.

“It’s been a tough day,” said Thunder coach Karen Greig, whose side lost their three games heavily to make an early exit.

Thunder will face NSL champions Pulse in the league’s opening match, with more than 5,000 tickets sold for that Copper Box encounter.

Greig has brought England goal shooter El Cardwell back to England after a successful stint in Australia while Thunder also have fellow Roses star Nat Metcalf back after she missed last season when pregnant and looking after baby son Miller.

But it was to no avail at the Super Cup.

“Today was about us understanding where we were actually at,” Greig said.

“The performances and the connections on the court definitely highlighted that.

“The quality that we’ve got in our group is undeniable and it’s about us now making sure we get everyone on the same page and connected.”

There was no such problem for Lightning while Pulse took consolation from being a whisker away from another major title.

As Pulse coach Sam Bird said: “I’m not too worried. I’m disappointed because I like winning everything available but I think we take a lot of positives from the day. It’s a nice rivalry to continue with.”

MILAN — A gold medal that seemed firmly in the grasp of the U.S. women’s hockey team nearly slipped through its fingers in the final of the Milan-Cortina Games on Thursday, but the Americans rallied to win 2-1 on Megan Keller’s goal just over four minutes into overtime.

Kristin O’Neill’s shorthanded goal less than a minute into the second period gave Canada its goal while Hilary Knight matched that for the U.S. with 2:04 to play, deflecting a Laila Edwards’ slap shot from the high slot through her legs and past Canadian goalie Ann-Renee Desbiens to send the game to the extra period.

The goal, Knight’s 15th in Olympic competition, broke the American record and came seconds after U.S. coach John Wroblewski had pulled his goalie for an extra attacker.

Keller then won it, taking a long Taylor Heise pass on the left wing, racing into the Canadian zone, stickhandling around defender Claire Thompson before beating goalie Desbiens cleanly.

The gold was the second in the last three Olympics for the Americans, who are ranked No. 1 in the world. Both have come against Canada while the victory was the eighth straight for the U.S. over their northern neighbor dating to last April’s world championship.

The overtime rules are unique for gold-medal games, with the teams playing three-on-three for 20-minute periods, with the first goal deciding the winner. Games cannot end in a shootout.

In the preliminary round, overtimes were limited to five minutes, followed by a five-round shootout. In the knockout stage, the overtime period was extended to 10 minutes, followed by a shootout.

None of that figured in Thursday’s result.

The young Americans, who had 12 women playing in their first Olympics, looked uncharacteristically rattled in a scoreless first period in which they took two penalties — one for too many players on the ice — and were outshot 8-6. It was just the third time in the tournament the U.S. went an entire period without a goal.

Things got worse 54 seconds into the second period when O’Neill outskated Edwards up the center of the ice on a breakaway, took a short centering pass from Laura Stacey, then deked U.S. goalie Aerin Frankel to the ice before beating her to her gloved side for the first goal of the game.

That snapped a 352-minute scoreless streak for the U.S. and marked the first time the Americans trailed in Milan.

For much of the game Canada was faster, smarter and more poised. And Desbiens was spectacular in goal. In Canada’s group-play loss to the U.S., she was pulled in the third period after giving up five goals. This time she came within two minutes of shutting out a team that had scored 31 times in its previous six games.

Alina Muller repeats history from Sochi in 2014, scoring an overtime winner as Switzerland beat Sweden 2-1 to claim bronze in the women’s ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Muller scored the winner 12 years ago as a 15-year-old against the same opponents in a 4-3 victory to win the bronze medal.

WATCH MORE: Winter Olympics Video

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Shivan Dube shines as India warm up for South Africa by beating Netherlands in final group game at T20 World Cup.

India completed their clean sweep of Group A at the T20 World Cup by beating Netherlands by 17 runs in Ahmedabad.

The tournament co-hosts, along with Sri Lanka, had already secured their place at the Super Eights stage with wins in each of their opening three matches, but Wednesday’s win confirmed their form against a Netherlands side that nearly shocked Pakistan in their opening game.

Having won the toss, India recorded 193-6 with Shivam Dube top scoring with 66 off 31, including hitting 19 off the 16th over.

“I try to hit boundaries, and I enjoy hitting sixes, but the bowling was good, and I had to prepare myself,” Dube reflected.

“I know all the bowlers will not bowl me yorkers or length balls; they will bowl slower, short balls, and I have prepared for that [as well].

“The captain and coaches have told me I have to keep the strike rate high, that wasn’t the case when I came in, but we got there.”

As Dube alluded to, it was not such a steady start, with India opener Abhishek Sharma dismissed for his third duck in a row at the competition.

The left-handed Abhishek, the world’s number one T20 international batsman in the ICC rankings, had his stumps splattered third ball by off-spinner Aryan Dutt, leaving the home fans at the world’s biggest cricket stadium stunned.

The 25-year-old Abhishek is yet to score a run in the tournament in three appearances, having missed the second group-stage match against Namibia with a stomach infection.

Tilak Varma (31 off 27) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (34 off 28) had earlier given impetus to the innings with cameos, after Sharma’s opening partner Ishan Kishan also fell relatively cheaply for 18, although he did score at a strike rate of 257.

Hardik Pandya also continued his fine run with a late onslaught, hitting 30 off 21 as part of the inning’s highest partnership of 76 (in 5.5 overs) with Dube.

Wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy’s 14-3 led the bowling performance as Netherlands were dismissed for 176-7. Dube was not to be left in the shadows in the field, however, as he claimed two wickets, including Netherlands top-scorer in the innings, Bas de Leede, for 33.

India’s next assignment is their first match in the Super Eights on Sunday against South Africa at the same Ahmedabad venue.

George Munsey – so often the man to provide impetus at the top of the order for Scotland – struggled to find the middle of the bat as he made 27 from 29 balls.

In contrast, Jones looked in magnificent touch as he found gaps in the off-side field and struck powerfully down the ground.

However, when Jones and Brandon McMullen (25) both fell in one Sompal Kami over, momentum evaporated.

Berrington (10) was the only other batter to reach double figures for Scotland as Tom Bruce, Matthew Cross and Leask all fell in quick succession.

Nepal’s bowlers used pace-off variations to great effect in the death overs with Kami (3-25) particularly impressive.

Mark Watt struck the final ball of the innings for six to boost Scottish hopes, but under lights on a good pitch it felt as though they were at least 10 runs short.

In reply, Nepal reached 56 without loss after a powerplay in which both openers were the beneficiaries of good fortune.

Brad Currie put down Kushal Bhurtel with a tough chance off his own bowling before Brad Wheal hit the stumps without dislodging the bails.

Wicketkeeper Cross also failed to cling on when Aasif Sheikh gloved one from Currie down the leg side.

Bhurtel (43) and Sheikh (33) were both dismissed by the ever-competitive Leask as Scotland fought back, and when the off-spinner also removed captain Rohit Paudel, Nepal were behind the eight ball.

That wicket brought Gulshan Jha to the middle with Airee in the 14th over and three sixes in consecutive balls off Olly Davidson and then Leask provided another twist.

Airee’s fast hands and faster running was the bedrock of the chase, as he rotated strike expertly and found the boundary when required to leave five required from six deliveries.

Having failed to take 10 from the final over in the defeat by England, Jha swiped Wheal for four through mid-wicket to seal a famous win for the team known as the Cardiac Kids.

England beat Scotland by five wickets in India to recover position in group at 2026 T20 World Cup.

Tom Banton’s unbeaten 63 led England to a five-wicket T20 World Cup victory over Scotland in Kolkata on Saturday that kept Harry Brook’s side on course for the Super Eights.

Victory in their final Group C match against Italy on Monday at the same Eden Gardens stadium will see England safely into the next round.

After bowling Scotland out for 152, England racked up 155-5 in 18.2 overs, with Jacob Bethell scoring 32, Sam Curran 28 and Will Jacks (16 off 10 balls) hitting a six and a four to finish the job.

England wobbled at the start of their chase as the new white ball swung under the floodlights with the sun going down.

Phil Salt fell third ball to Brandon McMullen for just two and when Jos Buttler picked out McMullen off Brad Currie, they were 13-2.

Scotland bowled tightly until Bethell broke the shackles by hitting McMullen for a six and two fours in the fifth over.

Spinner Mark Watt also came in for some punishment, conceding 22 off his first over as Banton took him for three huge sixes.

A 66-run partnership ended when the left-handed Bethell, on 32, helped a leg-side delivery from Oliver Davidson into the grateful hands of Brad Wheal at short fine leg.

Captain Brook did not last long, scooping Michael Leask over his shoulder to Wheal to make it 86-4, but England were always in control and got home with 10 balls to spare.

Earlier, England’s bowlers found their mojo and vindicated Brook’s decision to field on winning the toss.

After being smacked to all parts of Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in conceding 196 to the West Indies on Wednesday, England’s attack exerted much more control at Eden Gardens.

Captain Richie Berrington top-scored for Scotland with 49 off 32 balls with five fours and two sixes.

He and Tom Bruce put on 71 for the fourth wicket, but it was their only notable partnership.

Spinner Liam Dawson ended it in the 13th over when Bruce was caught for 24, Curran providing the safe hands at deep square leg.

When Adil Rashid trapped Berrington lbw in the next over, Scotland collapsed, losing their last seven wickets for 39 runs from 113-3.

Jofra Archer had been expensive in the two previous outings but made the early breakthroughs before finishing with a brilliant 2-24 off his four overs.

In his second over, he hurried George Munsey into top-edging to Banton and two balls later had McMullen caught by Salt in the deep.

Michael Jones (33) holed out to Bethell off Curran, and Scotland were 42-3 at the end of the six-over power play and never threatened a competitive total.

Rashid was the best of the England bowlers with 3-36 from his four overs, while Dawson took 2-34.

Rutherford’s 76 and spinners’ control help the two-time champions beat the 2022 winners at the Wankhede Stadium.

Sherfane Rutherford struck ‌a belligerent half-century and Gudakesh Motie produced a brilliant display of spin bowling ⁠as West Indies ⁠thumped England by 30 runs in T20 World Cup Group C.

Rutherford smacked seven sixes in his unbeaten 76 off 42 deliveries to provide ⁠the bedrock of his team’s imposing total of 196-6 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Twice champions West Indies returned to choke their opponents with spin and bundled out England for 166 in 19 overs ⁠to top the group with their second successive victory.

England slipped to third place, behind Scotland, after their first defeat in the tournament.

“Disappointing. It’s never nice to lose a game, but West Indies played outstanding,” England captain Harry Brook said.

“We thought it was a chaseable total for ‌sure but it didn’t dew up as much as we expected and didn’t skid onto the bat.”

Put into bat, West Indies lost both openers in the first seven deliveries of their innings.

Shimron Hetmyer (23) and Roston Chase (34) steadied the ship before Rutherford walked in to light up the Wankhede Stadium.

He shared a 61-run stand with Jason Holder, who struck four sixes in his 33 off 17 balls, to take West ⁠Indies close to 200.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid excelled for England, conceding only ⁠16 runs in his four overs and claiming the wickets of Chase and Rovman Powell.

England made a flying start before losing Phil Salt (30) in the fourth over.

Chase removed Jos Buttler for 21 and left-arm spinner Motie ⁠produced a double strike to turn the heat on England, who slumped to 93-4 at the halfway stage of their innings.

The ⁠situation demanded caution and Brook duly curbed his normal ⁠aggression but the West Indian spinners would not be denied.

Motie (3-33) caught Brook off his own bowling and Chase trapped Will Jacks lbw to further turn the screw.

Sam Curran made a valiant 43 not out down the order ‌but lacked support.

“I have put in a lot of work coming into the World Cup,” Rutherford said.

“I trust my process and I can score runs in the end when ‌I ‌play with a clear mind. We were maybe 10 runs behind what we wanted given England’s powerful batting but the guys bowled well.”

David Miller’s batting heroics in the second super over got South Africa over the line against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad.

South Africa edged Afghanistan in a second super over following a dramatic Group D game on Wednesday that was tied after regulation at cricket’s T20 World Cup.

Fazalhaq Farooqi’s runout ended Afghanistan’s chance to win it in regulation with a ball to spare, leaving both teams tied on 187.

Afghanistan posted 17 in the first super over, and Farooqi was in position to win it again, restricting South Africa to 11 runs with one ball remaining, until Tristan Stubbs plundered a six to level the scores again.

South Africa batted first in the second tiebreaker, posting 23 with David Miller and Stubbs combining for three sixes.

Keshav Maharaj gave South Africa control with a wicket and two dot balls to start the second super over, leaving Afghanistan needing 24 from four balls – or four sixes.

Enter Rahmanullah Gurbaz. With nothing to lose, the big-hitting opener – who earlier blazed 84 from 42 as Afghanistan chased South Africa’s target of 187-6 – hit three consecutive sixes to get the required runs down to six off one delivery.

A wide from Maharaj lowered the target to 5 from one delivery and raised the prospect of yet another tiebreaker, but the South Africa spinner rebounded by having Gurbaz caught at backward point on the next delivery. It was game over.

Lungi Ngidi, who took 3-26 during the match and then bowled the first of the super overs, was voted player of the match.

“I’ve lost so much weight today. I’ve never been that stressed in my life in a cricket game,” he said. “Being able to win two super overs with our hitters hitting like that … very happy.”

South Africa earlier beat Canada in their opening match. Afghanistan have lost both their group matches after an opening loss to New Zealand and are unlikely to progress to the Super Eights from a group containing three highly-ranked teams. Only the top two teams in each of the four groups will advance.

England’s men survived a fightback from Spain to secure a 4-2 win in Valencia and move level on points with leaders the Netherlands in the FIH Hockey Pro League table.

England went ahead after only three minutes through Jacob Payton before Sam Ward doubled their lead via a drag from a penalty corner.

A Jose Basterra brace either side of half-time pulled Spain level, before Stuart Rushmere edged England back in front.

Spain had a chance to equalise with two minutes to go but could not take advantage of a penalty corner, before England raced up the field on the counter to seal victory through Ward’s second goal.

England remain second in the table on goal difference behind the Netherlands, with both sides having secured 15 points from eight matches.

England’s women bounced back from defeat by the Netherlands on Monday with a 2-0 win against China.

Grace Balsdon put England ahead by dragging in from a penalty corner, before goalkeeper Miriam Pritchard kept out a flurry of attempts in the third quarter.

China piled on the pressure in the final quarter in search of an equaliser, but it was England who found the net again, this time via a Tessa Howard deflected strike.

The victory sees England remain fifth in the table on seven points.

After their shock defeat at the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pakistan exact revenge on USA with 32-run win at 2026 edition.

Opener Sahibzada Farhan hit a solid half-century while spinner Usman Tariq grabbed three wickets as Pakistan downed the United States by 32 runs in a T20 World Cup Group A game in Colombo.

The 29-year-old hit five sixes and six fours in his 41-ball 73 and was aided by a brilliant 32-ball 46 by Babar Azam (four fours, one six) to guide Pakistan to a strong 190-9 total on Tuesday at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground.

Their spinners then checked the inexperienced USA batting with Tariq taking 3-27 and Shadab Khan 2-26 to restrict their opponents to 158-8 in 20 overs.

The win avenged Pakistan’s shock defeat at the hands of the USA in the T20 World Cup two years ago and handed them a second win in as many games following their close three-wicket win over the Netherlands on Saturday.

For the USA, Shubham Ranjane top-scored with a valiant 30-ball 51, including three sixes and as many fours, before he fell to pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was playing his 100th T20 international.

Opener Shayan Jahangir muscled his way to an attractive 34-ball 49 studded with two sixes and five fours while Milind Kumar scored 29 before the United States were derailed from 123-3 to lose the match.

Earlier, Farhan and fellow opener Saim Ayub, who scored a 17-ball 19 with two sixes, put on 54 in five overs.

Pakistan then lost two wickets in the sixth over of their innings, bowled by Shadley van Schalkwyk.

Ayub was caught off a slower one while skipper Salman Agha holed out on the deep square-leg boundary for one.

Farhan and Azam took control with an 81-run third-wicket stand as Pakistan cut loose in the middle overs.

Farhan passed 1,000 T20 international runs in his 41st match before he was caught in the covers off spinner Harmeet Singh in the 16th over.

Shadab Khan launched an assault to score 30 off 12 balls before Pakistan lost five wickets for just 13 runs in the last two overs.

Schalkwyk was the best USA bowler with 4-25, following his four-wicket haul against India in the 29-run defeat on Saturday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A fight between the Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets in the third quarter of Monday night’s game, resulted in four player ejections.

Charlotte’s Moussa Diabate and Miles Bridges were tossed, along with Detroit’s Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. Hornets coach Charles Lee was ejected in the fourth quarter after he had to be restrained from going after an official while arguing a call.

The Pistons won the game 110-104.

Duren had the ball and was driving toward the basket with just over seven minutes left in the third period when he was fouled by Diabate. Duren turned around to get face-to-face with Diabate and the two appeared to butt heads. Duren then hit Diabate in the face with his open right hand, starting a confrontation that lasted more than 30 seconds and ultimately ended with a brief police presence on the floor.

While Pistons forward Tobias Harris was holding Diabate back, Diabate threw a punch at Duren. Duren walked away and Bridges charged at him, throwing a left-handed punch. Duren retaliated with a punch. Diabate attempted to charge again at Duren and had to be held back.

Stewart left the bench to confront Bridges, who responded with a punch, and the players tussled. At one point, Stewart got Bridges in a headlock and delivered mutiple left-handed blows to his head.

Duren called it an “overly competitive game.”

“Emotions were flaring,” Duren said. “At the end of the day, we would love to keep it basketball, but things happen. Everybody was just playing hard.”

Duren said that opposing NBA teams have been trying to “get in our head” all season.

“This isn’t the first time that people have tried to be like extra aggressive with us and talk to us, whatever the case may be,” Duren said. “But as a group we have done an OK job of handling that energy and intensity. At the end of the day, emotions got high with everybody being competitive. Things happen.”

Duren did not say how the fight started, referring reporters instead to the video replays.

The Hornets did not make Bridges and Diabate available for interviews after the game.

However, Bridges took to Instagram late Monday night to say: “Sorry Hornets nation! Sorry Hornets Organization! Always gonna protect my teammates forever.”

“It looked like two guys got into a heated conversation and it just kind of spiraled from there,” Lee said.

Crew chief John Goble said in a pool report after the game that the players were ejected because they “engaged in fighting activity during the dead ball. After review, we assessed fighting fouls and by rule they were ejected from the game.”

Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff defended his players after the game.

“Our guys deal with a lot, but they’re not the ones that initiated, they’re not the ones who crossed the line tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “It was clear, through frustration, because of what J.D. (Duren) was doing, that they crossed the line. I hate that it got as ugly as it got.

“That’s not something that you ever want to see,” Bickerstaff added, “but if a guy throws a punch at you, you have a responsibility to protect yourself. That’s what happened tonight. If you go back and watch the film, they’re the ones who initiated crossing the line and our guy had to defend himself.”

Tensions continued to mount at the Spectrum Center after the fight.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Lee was ejected and had to be restrained by Hornets guard Brandon Miller while yelling at officials for a no-call after Charlotte’s Grant Williams collided with Detroit’s Paul Reed.

“Grant was walking down the paint and barely touched somebody and the guy fell over and that is what we are going to call a foul,” Lee said. “They have a hard job to make these calls, but I don’t think that was the consistency with which that had been called the rest of the game.”

As for being ejected, Lee said he has to have more control of emotions moving forward.

Reed writes for the Associated Press.

The Seattle Seahawks defence put on a clinic to lead their team to a 29-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 60.

How does the saying go? Defence wins championships – and that’s exactly what happened at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.

Here are some of the best pictures from a memorable night as the Seahawks got their hands on the Lombardi trophy for the second time in franchise history.

The Seattle Seahawks produced a devastating defensive display to beat the New England Patriots and claim their second Super Bowl victory.

Two of the NFL’s strongest defences battled it out in Sunday’s showpiece and the Seahawks emphatically came out on top to win 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium.

It was a defensive performance for the ages and Briton Aden Durde played a pivotal role, becoming the first overseas coach to win America’s biggest game.

Seattle’s 46-year-old defensive coordinator has helped create the most-feared defence in the NFL, which has become known as ‘the Dark Side’, and they showed why on American football’s biggest stage in Santa Clara, California.

New England’s second-year quarterback Drake Maye narrowly missed out on this season’s Most Valuable Player award but was stifled by the Seahawks, who claimed six sacks, forced three turnovers and scored a defensive touchdown.

After Seattle led 9-0 at half-time, Maye’s first turnover resulted in the game’s opening touchdown for tight end AJ Barner early in the fourth quarter.

Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu then returned an interception for a 45-yard touchdown, while Jason Meyers kicked a record five field goals.

“We were the better team, we’re the best team. We loved each other, we believed in each other and now we’re champions,” said Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald.

“We went to the dark side tonight, we love our players, they made it happen. They made it come to life and we won the game.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Kawhi Leonard had 41 points and eight rebounds and the Clippers beat the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves 115-96 on Sunday.

John Collins had 15 points on six-of-nine shooting, and Yanic Konan Niederhauser also scored 15 points. The Clippers took command with a 17-3 run closing out the third quarter.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 23 points, and Julius Randle had 17. The Timberwolves have lost three of their last four, all to sub-.500 opponents. Minnesota made just eight of 33 three-point attempts and committed 20 turnovers while being held under 100 points for just the second time this season.

Ayo Dosunmu, making his Timberwolves debut after being acquired in a trade with Chicago, had 11 points and two steals.

The Timberwolves were coming off one of their most frustrating losses of the season, when they blew an 18-point third-quarter lead in a home loss to the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.

The first half was more of the same for Minnesota. Leonard scored 24 points and helped key an 18-2 run late in the second quarter that give the Clippers a 54-42 lead.

The Clippers played without their two key trade deadline acquisitions. Darius Garland, who arrived from Cleveland in the James Harden trade, remained sidelined with a sprained big toe on his right foot. The Clippers had already said wingman Bennedict Mathurin, picked up in a swap with the Pacers, wouldn’t join his new team until Tuesday in Houston.

Lokesh Bam’s late heroics with the bat are not enough as Nepal are beaten by two-time champions in their Group C match in Mumbai.

Nepal were left heartbroken after they came agonisingly close to pulling off a massive T20 World Cup upset against England but fell short by four runs as the two-time champions won the Group C match in Mumbai.

Lokesh Bam’s heroics with the bat – 39 runs off 20 balls – were not enough to see Nepal over the line at the Wankhede Stadium, which was packed with Nepalese fans on Sunday.

Nepal finished on 180-6, handing England a nervy win to kick off their campaign in the controversy-hit cricket tournament.

When England’s captain Harry Brook (53) and teammate Jacob Bethell (55) hit fifties to power England to 184-7, they seemingly did enough to take the match out of Nepal’s reach.

But Rohit Paudel produced a captain’s innings of his own as he, alongside star all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee, put Nepal on course for a shock win.

The pair’s departure slowed down Nepal’s progress, but Lokesh resumed the big hitting against some wayward bowling by England’s seamers.

Needing 10 off the last over, the Rhinos were unable to get Sam Curran’s accurate bowling over the boundary and could only score six runs.

The Rhinos’ fans, hundreds of whom had travelled from across the border, were left disheartened.

Earlier, electing to bat at the Wankhede Stadium, England slumped to 57-3 in the seventh over to find themselves in a spot of bother.

Sher Malla struck with the first ball on his World Cup debut, dismissing Phil Salt for one, and the pressure mounted on England after Jos Buttler and Tom Banton fell in quick succession.

Bethell had no problem adjusting to the nature of the track, where other batters found shot-making difficult. He and Brook combined in a 71-run partnership during their 45-ball collaboration to rebuild their innings.

Airee (44) and skipper Paudel (39) kept Nepal in the hunt with a stand of 82 from 54 balls.

Curran brought relief to the English camp when he had Airee caught in the deep and Paudel also departed soon afterwards.

Bam hit Jofra Archer for back-to-back sixes to turn the match on its head.

With Nepal needing 10 runs off the last over from Curran, Bam needed to hit the last ball for a six, but he managed only one as England heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes score for ‍United while Spurs captain Christian Romero sees red for a wild challenge.

Manchester United profited from Tottenham captain Cristian Romero’s red card to stretch their perfect start under Michael Carrick to four games, with a 2-0 win at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

Goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes on Saturday ended an eight-game winless run against Spurs for the Red Devils, who cemented their position in the Premier League’s top four.

United close to within two points of third-placed Aston Villa and open up a five-point cushion over Liverpool in sixth.

A place in the top five is likely to secure a spot in next season’s Champions League due to the strong performance of English sides in European competition.

Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for the Champions League through their league position have long since disappeared, as another damaging defeat for Thomas Frank leaves Tottenham in 14th.

But there could be lasting consequences for Romero after his ill-discipline cost his side just days after a social media outburst aimed at the club’s hierarchy.

Frank said the Argentinian international had been “dealt with internally” after he described Tottenham’s threadbare squad as “disgraceful” following the closure of the transfer window.

Romero’s future as skipper had already been called into question, and the 27-year-old will now be suspended for four matches after his second red card of the season and sixth of his Spurs career.

The centre-back lunged in to catch Casemiro on the ankle on 29 minutes after playing himself into trouble just outside the Tottenham box.

United had been the better side during the opening half hour, even against 11 men, and made their numerical advantage count.

Mbeumo stroked into the bottom corner for his third goal in four games since Carrick took charge, after a clever corner involving Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo freed the Cameroon international at the edge of the box.

Amad Diallo and Matheus Cunha had goals ruled out for offside as the home side dominated but had to wait until nine minutes from time to make the points safe.

Fernandes showed Romero how to lead from the front with another fine individual display.

The United captain prodded in Diogo Dalot’s cross at the back post for his 200th goal or assist in 314 games for the club.

Carrick said before the game that United cannot afford to rush their choice of a new permanent manager.

But the former midfielder, who enjoyed a stellar playing career at Old Trafford, is making his case for that job as he continues overseeing United’s stunning turnaround in fortunes since the departure of Ruben Amorim last month.

Fernandes had plenty of praise for Carrick in a post-match interview with TNT Sports.

“The energy ⁠is different because we are winning games and when you win games, everything is brighter,” Fernandes said.

“Michael came in with the right idea of giving the players more responsibility and freedom to make decisions on the pitch. I was always sure Michael could be a great manager, and he is showing that.”

Meanwhile, it is now two Premier League wins in 16 for Frank and his Spurs side.

“I think the first 30 minutes were a good away performance,” Frank told TNT Sports after the game.

“I’m very proud of the players, the resilience, staying in the game, mentality [to] still be a threat at times, to try to create something. Very proud of them.”

Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario told TNT Sports that Romero had apologised to his teammates for the sending off.

“Yeah, of course, he’s disappointed, because he knows that this card could have been avoidable, and so he apologised,” he said.

“He made his mistake, but we know the player he is, and he’ll be back for sure, stronger, and he’s going to help us massively.”

Elsewhere, Kirsty Muir enjoyed a confident start to her Olympic campaign, placing third in freeski slopestyle qualifying.

Muir, one of Team GB’s best medal hopes, scored a best of 64.98 from her two runs in Livigno.

That put the 21-year-old behind Switzerland’s Mathilde Gremaud and China’s Eileen Gu – the gold and silver medallists from Beijing 2022 respectively – in the standings.

“I am feeling really relieved. I was really nervous this morning. Putting a good run down in the qualifications was important for me because I wanted to be in that final,” Muir told BBC Sport.

“In the qualifying, it is sometimes more nerve-wracking, whereas, in the final you go all out and you either get it or you don’t. That’s what I am going to be ready for.”

Gu, a triple medallist from four years ago, is one of the biggest global stars at these Games but avoided an early shock after crashing off the first rail of her opening run.

After almost a year out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, Muir has won three World Cup golds in the past year, including two in slopestyle.

The Olympic final takes place on Monday from 11:30 GMT.

Chris McCormick couldn’t match Muir in reaching the men’s slopestyle final, missing out on a place in the top 12 with a best score of 33.90.

The 27-year-old, who learned to ski on Bearsden dry slope, came into his debut Olympics nursing an ankle injury.

“To even make it to the start gate is a small victory,” McCormick – who will also compete in big air – told BBC Sport.

“I really wanted to show my best skiing. But I’m super happy to be here, especially when I think of where I’ve come from, from the dry slope to here, that’s a big achievement. And I’ve had a lot of fun, despite all the pain I’ve been skiing through.”

In Tesero, Anna Pryce made history by becoming the first British athlete to compete in the women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon at an Olympic Games.

Pryce, who switched allegiance from Canada last year, came 42nd – finishing seven minutes and 24 seconds behind gold-medal winner Frida Karlsson of Sweden.

Pryce said she was so excited to make her Olympic debut that she was “giggling at the start”.

“Maybe I should have felt more nervous, I don’t know. But I feel pretty relaxed and maybe that translated into my skiing – which was great,” she said.