1.Proteas victorious at the Wanderers Stadium against West Indies

South Africa's bowlers ripped through the West Indies batting order as the Proteas completed a 284-run win on the fourth day of the second Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.

 

Chasing a mammoth 391 for victory, the West Indies were restricted to 106 runs as Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj and spinner Simon Harmer were all at hand to terrorise the West Indies batsmen.

 

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada struck twice in three balls and sparked the collapse of the West Indies innings after claiming the wicket of opening batsmen Kraigg Brathwaite for the seventh time in successive innings when he trapped the West Indian captain leg before wicket for 18 with a ball which kept low.

 

Two balls later Raymon Reifer gloved a catch down the leg side to wicket keeper Heinrich Klaasen.

 

Captain Temba Bavuma then brought on spinners, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj who also took wickets each as the West Indies tumbled to 34/6 at lunch.

 

Just before lunch, the Proteas suffered a major blow after Maharaj injured himself by collapsing during the celebration of a wicket and was stretchered off the field with a left ankle tendon injury.

 

However, the injury of Maharaj proved to be of little effect as the Proteas continued where they left off before lunch picking up the remaining four wickets in quick succession to clinch the two-match series 2-0.

 

Top run-scorer in the series with 276 runs, including a century in Centurion and 96 in Johannesburg, Aiden Markram was named player of the series while Temba Bavuma was awarded the Player of match accolade for his 172 runs in the second innings.

 

The two sides will now turn their attention to the ODI series that starts on Thursday the 16th of March at Buffalo Park in East London.

 

Defending DSTV Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns thrashed Egyptian giants Al Ahly 5-2 in the CAF Champions League group B encounter at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

 

Starting the encounter on the front foot from the first whistle, Sundowns went ahead through Marcelo Allende in the 4th minute of the match when the Chilean international striked in a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner to give Sundowns the lead.

 

However, that joy was short-lived as Al Ahly responded nine minutes later as Mohamed Sheriff equalised for Al Ahly much to the disappointment of the 50 000 crowd that had filled the Loftus Versfeld Stadium.

 

With Sundowns' intention's on the day being to win the encounter, Themba Zwane scored in the 24th minute of the match to restore the lead for Rhulani Mokwena's men before a moment of brilliance by Bafana Bafana international Teboho Mokoena had the whole country to their feet as the midfielder scored a thunderous goal just before halftime to conclude a dominant display for Sundowns in the first half.

 

The second half started with Sundowns on the back foot and they were punished for their lack of concentration when Percy Tau pulled a goal back for Al Ahly just after the hour mark to make matters tense heading into the last 20 minutes with the score on 3-2.

 

Namibian Peter Shalulile then took the game away from the visitors, scoring twice in the closing stages of the Group B showdown much to the delight of Mokwena and the rest of the Sundowns' technical team.

 

The victory secures Sundowns' place in the quarter-finals of the competition after leading group B with 10 points after 4 matches and two more rounds to be played.

 

A late extra-time winner by Thembinkosi Lorch against Venda Football Academy was enough to see Orlando Pirates progress to the quarter-finals of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday evening at the Orlando Stadium.

 

Kermit Erasmus broke the deadlock for Pirates  in the 24th minute of the encounter after heading a neatly delivered Deon Hotto's cross into the back of the net for his first Nedbank Cup goal of the season.

 

The goal seemed to have spurred Pirates on as they dominated the first half but lack of composure in front of goal was the ultimate blow for the Soweto giants.

 

With the two sides heading to halftime with Pirates still leading the encounter, Venda Football Academy started the second half with a bit of urgency and they were dually rewarded as Edmore Chirambadare took advantage of some bad decision making by Pirates' Deon Hotto in his own box to restore parity in the 49th minute.

 

With no team finding a winner in the second half, the encounter then went to extra-time as Pirates still continued to dominate matters.

 

Just as the match seemed like it was heading to a lottery of penalties, Thembinkosi Lorch pounced on Evidence Makgopa's header and with only the keeper to beat, he comfortably guided the ball into the back of the net to restore the lead for Pirates.

 

Meanwhile at the FNB Stadium on Sunday night, Kaizer Chiefs booked their spot in the last 8 of the Nedbank Cup after defeating Casric Stars 2-1.

Chiefs exerted pressure on the visitors in the opening exchanges and they were awarded a penalty after Mumuni Abubakar was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.

 

Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana then stepped up and converted the resultant penalty to hand the home side the lead 11 minutes into the encounter.

 

After taking the lead, Chiefs then found it difficult to move the ball up field and played most of the ball in the middle of the park however, the Glamour Boys looked comfortable after 30 minutes on the clock.

 

In a cagey affair during the first half, the two sides continued to have a go at each other but some poor decision making in front of goal on either side saw the teams head into halftime with Chiefs still leading.

 

In 62nd minute of the match Casric Stars pounced on Zitha Kwinika's poor pass in the box only for Kgomotso Mosadi to intercept tbe ball and restore parity for the Motsepe Foundation Championship side.

 

However, Amakhosi replied almost immediately as Ashley Du Preez restored their lead, tapping home a square-ball from Keagan Dolly in the 64th minute of the encounter.

 

The 64th minute goal sealed Chiefs' 2-1 win over Casric Stars as the victory also meant Arthur Zwane's men have reached the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2019.

 

Week 4 of the Six Nations saw some astonishing results as France hammered England 53-10 at Twickenham on Saturday to move up to the second spot in the Six Nations standings.

 

With the French head coach Fabien Galthie holding back his tears after the victory, France scored seven tries in the historic victory as it was the first time since 2005 that Les Bluues have claimed a win over the Red Rose at Twickenham in the Championship.

 

Meanwhile at the Stadio Olimpico Wales defeated Italy 29-17 in another clash on Saturday and Ireland hammered Scotland 22-7 in Sunday's only fixture.

 

The win catapulted Ireland to the summit of the table on 19 points after 4 matches while Italy are yet to register a win in this season's Six Nations campaign.

 

5.Carlos Alcaraz starts strong at the Indian Wells Masters

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-3 to make a strong start in the 2023 tournament of the Indian Wells Masters on Saturday.

 

Alcaraz who is also the US Open champion needed just one hour and 16 minutes to get past Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.

 

Alcaraz lost just one point on his serve in the first set and did not face a break point in the match as he lined up a meeting with Tallon Griekspoor, a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) winner over Argentina's Guido Pella.

 

With Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the tournament, Alcaraz might return to the number one spot in the latest ATP rankings should he win the third Masters 1000 crown.

 

Djokovic withdrew from the tournament because he is unable to enter the United States due to not being vaccinated against Covid-19, but he had petitioned US authorities for special permission to enter and it is yet to be confirmed if he will be successful in his petition.