Los Angeles, Friday: Norm Powell scored a career-high 37 points as the reigning NBA champion Toronto Raptors spoiled the return of Stephen Curry with a 121-113 win over Golden State on Thursday that clinched them a playoff spot for the seventh straight season.

After missing four months with a broken hand, Curry was back in the Warriors' lineup as they faced Toronto for the first time since the NBA finals.

"We knew Steph would be back so it would be a great night and a great atmosphere," said Raptors star Kyle Lowry. "He is one of the best players in the league so we had to be a little more focused and concentrate on him."

After a slow start, Curry finished with 23 points for the injury-hit Warriors, who have won just 14 games this season and have the worst record in the league.

'I felt great'

"I felt great. It was a cool moment with the excitement in the building. Toronto is a championship team so they got a lot of chemistry," said Curry, who missed 58 games.

This season they are also without Klay Thompson, who blew out his knee during a 30-point performance in the playoff-ending game six against Toronto.

The Warriors now have won two of their past four games after an eight-game losing skid. They have lost 10 consecutive home games and it remains to be seen if Curry can rescue them from their dismal season.

Pascal Siakam nailed a clutch basket while being fouled with 45 seconds left to give Toronto a four-point lead.

Golden State's Damion Lee scored 23 points he also missed two free throws and a wide open three pointer which ended any hope of the Warriors coming back in the final minute.

Lowry's double-double consisted of 26 points and a game-high 10 assists, while Serge Ibaka chipped in with 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Siakam finished with 17 points.

Curry shot six-for-16 overall and three-for-12 on three-pointers in the loss.

"We been together 11 years and I never been out this long in the middle of the season," Curry said.

Rockets routed

Elsewhere, reigning playoff MVP Kawhi Leonard scored a team high 25 points as the Los Angeles Clippers won their sixth straight game with a 120-105 rout of the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell finished with double doubles for the Clippers in a battle between the two Western Conference powerhouses.

They have played each other four times this season with both teams winning twice. But the Clippers would have the edge if they tie in the standings because they have a better record against the teams in their conference.

The Rockets trailed by as many as 30 points and led only once at 4-2.

Leonard also had six rebounds and five assists and Zubac finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Harrell tallied 19 points and 10 rebounds for the visiting Clippers at the Toyota Centre arena.

"We won two games in a row and now we are going back home so that is what I am happy about," said Leonard.

The crowd was announced at 18,055 but only about half that number remained for the fourth quarter as the smaller Rockets players couldn't keep pace with Los Angeles.

Paul George scored 13 points and Marcus Morris chipped in 11 points in the drubbing.

Russell Westbrook scored 29 points and had 15 rebounds while former league MVP James Harden scored just 16 points on dismal four-of-17 shooting for Houston.

Also, Jamal Murray drained a clutch jump shot with six seconds left to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 114-112 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Murray finished with a team-high 18 points as seven Denver players scored in double figures.

Charlotte's Terry Rozier missed a desperate three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Will Barton finished with 16 points, Monte Morris posted 15 points, Jokic and Gary Harris each had 14 points and Paul Millsap and Grant scored 11 apiece in the win.

Graham scored 24 points and PJ Washington had 20 for the Hornets. Rozier (19 points), Willy Hernangomez (14 points) and Zeller (10 points) helped give Charlotte a chance. - AFP

Wesley College proved too strong for Vidyartha College Kandy as they pulled off a 36 points (5 tries, 4 conversions, 1 penalty) to 6 (2 penalties) win in their Dialog inter-school rugby leagues match played at Longdon Place yesterday.

Wesley dominated the first half running away to a 22-0 lead. The double Blue Jersey marched their way and accounted for an early try in the fourth minute when Shehab Packeerally scored and the scoreline was further increased when Shaveen Jayawardena put over a penalty to make it 8-0. Eranda Harshana and vice-captain Thikshana Vithanage scored a try each and fly half Jayawardena added the extra points to swell to the total to 22-0 at the end of the first half. Vidyartha struggled with passing errors throughout the game that prevented them from scoring a single try. On resumption Vidyartha scored their first points through a penalty due to a Wesley error. C.B.Kalurachchi booted well in the 43rd minute of the game.

Three minutes later Wesley responded with their fourth try through prop Hafiz Thabeeth which was well converted by the Jayawardena to further extend the scoreline to 29-3.

Harshana scored his second try of the match in the 56th minute and Jayawardena added the extra points as Wesley increased their tally to 36-3.

In the latter stages of the game Vidyartha got their second penalty opportunity, which was well kicked by fly half Kaluarachchi but it was small compensation for them in a game they were well and truly outplayed.

Ashan Priyanjan will lead a Sri Lanka Cricket XI against the touring England team in their opening 3-day warm-up match starting at Katunayake today.

The 15-member squad selected for the match is: Lahiru Udara, Sangeeth Cooray, Lahiru Milantha, Ashan Priyanjan (captain), Milinda Siriwardana, Priyamal Perera, Pramod Maduwantha, Manoj Sarathchandra, Chamika Karunaratne, Nisala Tharaka, Tharindu Kaushal, Kavishka Anjula, Lahiru Samarakoon, Duvindu Tillakaratne, Malinda Pushpakumara.

Down 12-26 at the end of the first half Army SC staged a magnificent second half rally to turn tables on Navy SC by 45 points (7 tries, 5 conversions) to 26 (4 tries, 3 conversions) and record a dramatic win in their Dialog division second round rugby match played at Race course Stadium yesterday.

Having notched up 26 points in the first half Navy failed to continue their dominance in the second half and was left scoreless as the Army SC went on the attack.

Navy SC opened scoring through a try in the 7th minute through senior player Radeesha Seneviratne which Isuru Kongawaththa did well to boot. Army equalized through a try from Madushanka Chandrasekara that was converted. Navy scored their second try through Raveen Silva which was also converted to take a 14-7 lead. Army SC once again equalized through Sudaraka Dikumbara who touched down by the right corner flag. However their fly half failed to add the extra points and the score was 14-12. Navy scored two back to back tries through Charith Silva and Stefan Gregory with one of them being

converted by Kongahawaththa to end the first half comfortably placed at 26-12.

The second half was all Armys as they took full control. Madushanka Chandrasekara scored his second try and Danushka Talwaththa two tries in the second half as Army SC tore into the Navy defence. Apart from them Ashan Bandara, Fijian Tomasi Caqusau also contributed with a try each as Army romped home victorious with bonus points. Chamath Fernando successfully booted four conversions of the five tries scored in the half.

The opening day of the 86th Battle of the Saints Josephian-Peterite big match, starred a mix of appalling run-outs, butter-fingered fielding and a delightful 100 not out from Dineth Jayakody, propelling them to the driver’s seat at stumps at the P. Sara Oval yesterday.

In fact, the Jayakody-Sadeesh Jayawardena duo, sharing a record 148-run stand for the fifth-wicket, paused the procession and firmly anchored their innings. The latter, seizing the opportunity, notched his maiden big match half century on the stroke of stumps.

Joes, in their response, began briskly with their captain and opening batsman Johanne de Zilva scoring rapidly. He batted with the same fire he had during his athletic fielding, when he pulled off a one-handed air-borne stunner. Nevertheless, the short-burst fire was doused by the lanky left-armer Vinuda Liyanage, who trapped him leg before wicket for 21 off 18.

Sheran Fonseka, with 1000+ runs in the season, perished adding only one run. Spinners coming into the attack nearly worked only for Dineth gifted a new lease of life.

Josephians winning the toss and inviting their counterparts to take first lease of the wicket squandered an iota of opportunities very early in the innings.

However, skipper cum right-arm fast De Zilva, ensured they were compensated, when he made the first inroad, removing Rishika Santhush for a single digit.

In quick succession, his move of giving spinners the new ball was instantly rewarded with Ashian Daniel getting Peterite captain and wicket-keeper Shannon Fernando very cheaply. The situation only deteriorated from bad to worse with a major mix-up and lack of communication dismissing a fumingly mad, Nipunaka Fonseka.

The mini-collapse triggered shockwaves in the Peterite camp, however, though, culprit for the run out, Lahiru Chethaka took his side to lunch without making more misery to them. The post-lunch session started in auspicious fashion, losing Kanishka Maduwantha. At the other end, Chethaka, however, stuck in the middle, scoring slowly and steadily.

During that process, he brought up a fighting half-century, resurrecting a fallen Peterite batting. Wanuja Kumara batted provoked by the upper-order debacle, joining the attack.

With the partnership reading 80 runs and threatening to take control, Daniel was re-introduced again and as required delivered the goods by ending Chethaka’s superb knock of 64, inclusive of two bold sixes.

Dismal communication haunted them again in the running out of Wanuja Kumara two shy of a deserving half-ton.

With recognised batsmen, irresponsibly succumbing to the Joes, the lower-order was left with the Hobson’s choice of going for runs. Tail end batter Danal Hemananda entered and exited for a quick seven, inclusive of a six. In a coincidental finish, Peters were bowled out for 224, in exactly the last ball of the innings.

The match continues today on its second and final day.

St. John’s College Jaffna leading first inning against Jaffna Central College against on day two of the “114th Battle of the North” annual cricket encounter (3 day) played at the Jaffna Central College grounds yesterday.

St. John’s Jaffna won the toss and elected to field. Jaffna Central bowled out for150 runs in 57.3 overs.

St. John’s Jaffna made 291 runs in 106 overs. A. Sukethan scored 49 runs. T. Dinoshan scored 44 runs and K. Sabesan made 43 runs. T. Vinojan (27), A. Abishek (25), A. Saran (24*), S. Piraavan (18) and N. Sawmiyan (16) helped to build their innings. K. Sabesan and A. Abishek had a 55 run stand for 7th wicket T. Vithushan took 5 wickets for 79 runs and V. Viyaskahn took 3 wickets for 80 runs. Jaffna Central scored 51 runs for 3 wickets in 20 overs in their second innings at close in day two. T. Dinoshan took 2 wickets for 7 runs. St. John’s Jaffna leading 90 run so far.

Match will be continued today on day three.

Jaffna Central: 150 and 51/3 (20) (S. Sarangan 16, M. Sansajan 15 not out and B. Inthujan 13 n.o., T. Dinoshan 2/7)

St. John’s Jaffna: 291 (118/3 o/n) (106) (A. Sukethan 49, T. Dinoshan 44, K. Sabesan 43, T. Vinojan 27, A. Abishek 25, A. Saran 24 n.o., S. Piranavan 18, N. Sawmiyan 16, T. Vitushan 5/79, V. Viyaskanth 3/80)

Army CC scored 349 runs for 6 wickets against Moors SC on day one in their fixture of the 6th weekend of the SLC Major Tier ‘A’ - 3 days Inter Clubs Cricket tournament conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday.

Upul Indrasiri of Negombo CC took 7 wickets for 102 runs against BRC.

Matches will be continued today (7) on day two.

nAt Dombagoda. Army CC: 349/6 (90) (Lakshan Edirisinghe 86, Dinesh Chandimal 84, Ashan Randika 77, Dushan Vimukthi 54 n.o., Yashodha Mendis 26 n.o., Dhanushka Ranasinghe 4/67) Vs Moors SC

nAt CCC. Colts CC: 205 (53.2) (Santhush Gunathilake 67, Vishad De Silva 46, Dhananjaya Lakshan 29, Sonal Dinusha 6/55, Vishwa Fernando 3/40)

CCC: 128/3 (22) (Minod Bhanuka 53 n.o., Lasith Abeyratne 24 n.o., Dilruwan

Perera 2/36)

• At Maggona. NCC: 133/2 (41.3) (Pethum Nissanka 83 n.o., Hasitha Boyagoda

33, Thilakarathne Sampath 2/59) Badureliya CC

• At NCC Lankan CC: 205 (77) (Primosh Perera 57, Keshan Wijerathne 51, Sahan Nanayakkare 20*, Shashika Dulshan 5/26, Amila Aponso 2/42)

Ragama CC: 33/1 (12) (Lahiru Thirimanne 21 n.o.)

• At Galle. Saracens SC: 176 (83) (Saliya Jeewantha 35, Pethum Madusanka 29, Chamikara Edirisinghe 24 n.o., Nimesh Vimukthi 4/39, Chathuranga Kumara

3/25)

Chilaw Marians CC At Moors. BRC: 282/9 (91) (Shanuka Withanawasam 68, Lasith Lakshan 59, Lisula Lakshan 49, Deshan Dias 36, Upul Indrasiri 7/102) vsNegombo CC (YK)

Thenuka Liyanage hit a brilliant 157 off 204 balls (17 fours, 3 sixes) and shared a sixth wicket stand of 135 with Shehan Silva (39) to take S Thomas’ College to a powerful 273-8 declared on the first day of the Mini-Battle match played at Mt Lavinia yesterday.

By the close Royal had lost two wickets for 37 runs. The match continues today.

Scores:

S Thomas College 273/8 decl (75.2) (Thenuka Liyanage 157, Shehan Silva 39, Sonal Amarasekara 4/66, Dan Yabesh 2/41)

Royal College 37/2 (12) at close (Harindu Palihawadena 22 n.o., Nathan Caldera 1/19, Shamilka Wickramathilake 1/13)

Nalanda College with three Sri Lanka Under 19 youth players in their side will have the edge over Ananda College in the clash of 91st

Battle of the Maroons cricket encounter between the two leading Buddhist schools in the country which begins at the SSC grounds today.

The Nalandians have won three matches outright against Gurukula, Dharmasoka and St. Sylvester’s with a solitary outright defeat against Trinity College, Kandy in contrast to the Anandians who have recorded three first innings wins but have lost four games outright at the hands of S. Thomas’, Royal, Trinity and St. Joseph’s and will have to come up with a much better performance if they hope to match up to the Nalandians over the next two days.

Sri Lanka youth player Avishka Perera who was unfortunate to be left out of the Sri Lanka Under 19 squad for the Youth World Cup has been the key in Nalanda’s batting line up with a tally of 1161 runs inclusive of four centuries with a top score of 117 each against St. Sebastian’s and Dharmapala. Raveen de Silva also has done well with the bat with an aggregate of 650 runs with a top score of 103 not out against Maliyadeva while Mahima Weerakone has piled up 600 runs with a highest of 82 not out against Mahanama.

The others who should contribute with the bat are Rashan Dissanayake (with over 400 runs), Ranindu de Silva (350), Jithesh Wasala (over 350) and Moksha Sahan (300).

Paceman Chamindu Wijesinghe who was in the Sri Lanka Under 19 World Cup squad will spearhead their bowling attack with left arm paceman Dineth Samaraweera who has taken 35 wickets sharing the new ball with him. Right arm leg spinner and vice captain Raveen de Silva has troubled the opponents this season capturing 50 wickets with a match bag of 9 for 54 against St. Anthony’s, Wattala.

He has received invaluable support from off spinner Mahima Weerakoon who has taken 36 wickets with a match of 8 for 70 runs against Mahinda College, Galle and leg spinner Chamodhya Rajapaksha who has claimed 45 wickets with a best match bag of 9 for 50 versus Dharmasoka College, Ambalangoda.

Ananda’s batting strength lies on the shoulders of skipper Kanishka Ranthilakage, Nethma Karunaratne and Janindu Jayawardene, all three of whom have scored over 600 runs. Anuda Jayaweera (408), Saviru Bandara (369) and Kalana Wijesiri (361) are the others who have been amongst the runs.

Fifteen year old, left arm spinner Isuru Ayesh, who has captured 53 wickets with three five-wicket hauls will be the bowler Ananda will rely on heavily for wickets with support from Saviru Bandara (32 wickets) and Janindu Jayawardene (26). Their pace attack will consist of Shashika Umayanga, Deneth Nissanka and Dasun Tharaka.

Nalanda skipper Avishka Perera said that with a fine all round side including three Sri Lanka Youth players they are confident of overcoming Ananda which has performed below par this season and emerge victorious to end the 67-year wait. They last won way back in 1953 under Wimalaratne Silva.

Their coach Shanuka Dissanayake has taken great pains to mould them into a formidable outfit with the ability to triumph in the big match.

Ananda captain Kanishka Ranthilakage said that although they are the underdogs they are capable of rising to the occasion and give the Nalandians a run for their money.

They have been training hard during the last few days under the watchful eyes of their coach Asanka Hettiarachchi with the guidance of cricket consultant former Test player Sanjeeva Ranatunga and it won’t be a surprise if they turn tables on the high riding Nalandians. The Limited Over encounter for the P de S. Kularatne Memorial Trophy will take place on March 15 (Sunday) at the same venue.

Bloomfiled C & AC leading first inning against Kalutara TC in day one in their fixture of the 6th weekend of the SLC Major Tier ‘B’ - 3 days Inter Clubs Cricket tournament conduct by Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday.

Randeera Ranasinghe of Kurunegala YCC scored an unbeaten 138 runs in 150 balls with 12 boundaries and 7 sixes. Sri Lanka Ports Authrity CC made 302 runs for 4 wickets against Sebastianites CC. Gayan Sirisoma of Bloomfield took 7 wickets for 32 runs against Kalutara TC.

• At Bloomfield.* Kalutara TC: 120 (46.3) (Mothisham Ali 28, Eranga Rathnayake 25, Isuru Pradeep 23, Gayan Sirisoma 7/32, Chathura Obeyesekere 3/35)

Bloomfield C & AC: 212/5 (43) (Nipuna Gamage 90 n.o., Shameen Kandanearachchi 48 n.o., Chamara Silva 37, Eranga Rathnayake 2/67, Ishan Abeysekara 2/71)

• At Welagedara. Kurunegala YCC: 297/7 (81.5) (Randeera Ranasinghe 138 n.o., Lahiru Jayaratne 68 n.o, Anuradhdha Rajapaksha 24, Dilanka Auwardt 3/79, Shathik Nimalsha 3/80) Vs Navy SC
• At Colombo. Sri Lanka Ports Authority CC: 302/4 (90) (Yohan De Silva 99, Ramesh Nimantha 78, Adeesha Nanayakkara 75 n.o., Ishan Rangana 29) Vs Sebastianites C & AC
• At BRC. Nugegoda S & WC: 298 (82.3) (Jalat Khan 75, Mohommed Shilmi 64, Basit Ali 49, Pathum Wickramasinge 43, Irosh Amarasooriya 42, Sachintha Perera 6/106, Umega Chaturanga 2/64)

Kandy Customs SC: 22/1 (11)

• At Police park. Galle CC: 256 (81.3) (Damitha Hunukumbura 55, Ravishka Wijesiri 50, Vinura Dulsara 49, Nimesh Perera 24, Supun Madushanka 3/36, Asel Sigera 3/55, Mahesh Priyadarshana 2/55)

Police SC: 19/0 (6)

• At Panadura. Panadura SC: 234 (38.5) (Minhaj Jalill 90, Ranjika Ridma 51, Vishwa Chathuranga 23, Amitha Kaushalya 5/41, Aravinda Premaratne 4/51)

Air Force SC: 140/5 (43) (Aravinda Premaratne 44 n.o., Madhawa Nimesh 28, Ravindu Sembukuttige 20, Chalana De Silva 2/33) (YK)

Andre Russell hammered six sixes in a cameo innings of 40 not out off 14 balls to carry West Indies to an emphatic seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20 International played at the Pallekele International Stadium on Friday.

The win gave West Indies the two-match series 2-0 having won the first played at the same venue on Wednesday by 25 runs. West Indies made short work of Sri Lankas modest total of 155-6, scoring 158-3 to win with three overs to spare.

Russell and Shimron Hetmeyer (43 n.o.) shared an unbroken stand of 55 runs off 26 balls to carry West Indies over the line. Sri Lanka needed something special from Lasith Malinga their captain to defend a small total but he was taken to task by the powerful West Indies batting as he went for 46 runs in his three overs that included four sixes.

Sri Lanka invited to bat first failed to get any big partnerships going and their best effort with the bat came from Dasun Shanaka who scored 31 not out from 24 balls. West Indies opened the bowling with spinner Fabian Allen who picked up two wickets for 24.

Russell won the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.

Asuncion, Friday: Former Brazilian football star Ronaldinho and his brother were "deceived" and will not face prosecution for traveling to Paraguay on false documents, officials said Thursday.

Prosecutor Federico Delfino said he had recommended not pursuing Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto de Assis Moreira.

"But on the condition of admitting committing the crime of which they are accused, in this case the use of false documents," he said.

Ronaldinho's lawyer had earlier denied that he and his brother had used fake passports to enter Paraguay.

"We have proceeded to charge several people," Delfino told the press.

"Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto contributed relevant information to the investigation" and were then removed from the case.

The brothers were acting in "good faith" in receiving the falsified Paraguayan documents, he said.

"The information that they provided is very useful in disrupting a criminal organization dedicated to the production of false documents," he said.

Brazilian authorities withdrew Ronaldinho's passport in November 2018 after he failed to pay a $2.5 million fine for environmental damage incurred during the building of a property in Porto Alegre, in southern Brazil.

The World Cup winner and his brother were questioned for more than seven hours by the public prosecutor in Asuncion.

Ronaldinho had been invited to the Paraguayan capital by a foundation for needy children, and to promote his new book.

The 39-year-old and his brother went to the prosecutor's office in the morning alongside Paraguayan lawyer Adolfo Marin.

"They decided voluntarily to stay and submit themselves to the public prosecutor's investigations," said Marin.

According to the inspector leading the investigation Gilberto Fleitas, Ronaldinho was given a fake passport by Brazilian businessman Wilmondes Sousa Lira, who has been arrested.

Marin said Ronaldinho had told the public prosecutor that the documents in question were given to him a month ago in Brazil.

Former two-time world player of the year Ronaldinho and his brother were detained on Wednesday at their hotel.

Their fake documents were detected upon arrival at the Asuncion international airport, according to Delfino.

The former Barcelona, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain forward and his brother traveled using "doctored Paraguayan passports and fake identity cards," Delfino said.

- AFP

Trinity College managed to pull off a 17 points (1 goal, 2 tries) to 8 (1 try, 1 penalty) victory in a thrilling second half scuffle over S Thomas College, Mt Lavinia in their Dialog schools rugby match played at Pallekele yesterday. The Thomians who gave a superb display in the first 33 minutes were leading 8-7 at half time.

In the second half the lion hearted Trinitians managed to claw back into the game to retain the Canon R. S. De Saram Shield. It was the Thomian forwards who dominated the game in the first 30 minutes of play to hold onto a one point lead at the end of the half. The Thomians were good in their loose play, rucking and ball handling and tackling was excellent, they made the Trinitians look slow and laboured in contrast. It was the Trinity forwards who let them down in the first half playing in their own territory.

In the second half the Trinitians played a better game, and the Thomians had many scoring chances but lost it owing to the players not knowing what to do.

Former Trinity College ruggerite Prof. Kamal Deen presented the shield to the Trinity skipper Thehan Karunanayake. The junior game too was won by Trinity College.

Aaqil Jamaldeen refereed.

Thurstan College Colombo beat Dharmapala College Pannipitiya by innings and 60 runs at Thurstan ground. Match drawn between Tissa Central College Kalutara and Sri Dharmaloka Kelaniya.

Yohan Liyanage of Thurstan gave a fine all-round performance and Nipun Kanchana of Thurstan turned in a fine bowling performance. Hasindu Prabod of Sri Dharmaloka Kelaniya scored 189 runs against Tissa Central Kalutara. Prabath Sachin of St. Anthony’s Katugastota made a century against St. Benedict’s Kotahena.

*At Thurstan (Thurstan Colombo won by innings and 60 runs)

Dharmapala Pannipitiya: 56 and 132 (32/4 o/n) (32.2) (Sanchana Lanka 64, Yohan Liyanage 4/54, Nipun Kanchana 3/30)

Thurstan Colombo: 248

*At Kalutara (Match drawn)

Tissa Central Kalutara: 429

Sri Dharmaloka Kelaniya: 332 (88) (Hasindu Prabod 189, Uditha Shehan 50, Helanka Viduranga 20, Danuka Silva 4/66, Harsha Madushanka 2/44, Nikil Sashmika 2/45)

*In Day One

Match will be continued today on day two.

*At Kotahena. St. Anthony’s Katugastota: 242 (76) (Prabath Sachin 107, Lasitha Werallagama 81, Malinda Perera 5/82, Akindu Karunarathne 3/48)

St. Benedict’s Kotahena: 43/1 (17) (Vihanga Ruwanara 23 n.o.)(YK)

LONDON, Saturday - Liverpool moved to within nine points of claiming the Premier League title by coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 as Tottenham and Wolves missed the chance to put pressure on Chelsea for a top-four finish.

Sheffield United were the big winners in the race for a place in the Champions League next season with a 1-0 win over Norwich to move up to sixth, while Arsenal moved to within five points of the top four by beating West Ham 1-0.

Liverpool had suffered three defeats in four games in all competitions, including their first in the Premier League for 45 matches at Watford last weekend.

Callum Wilson's controversial early opener threatened another major upset. But all of Liverpool's setbacks of late have come away from Anfield and they set an English top-flight record for 22 consecutive home league wins as two quickfire goals from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane turned the game around. The runaway league leaders still needed a miraculous goal-line clearance from James Milner to deny Ryan Fraser an equaliser, but defeat keeps Bournemouth marooned in the bottom three.

“There's nothing good in losing football games but it makes you aware of how special it is to win football games. That's what we had in the last 10 days or two weeks when we lost games,” said Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. “I was absolutely happy about the result, the three points and the performance because I knew it would be tricky for different reasons.” The spread of the coronavirus could have a big impact on the Reds’ title celebrations in the weeks to come with the possibility of games being played behind closed doors. But the abandonment of the normal pre-match ritual of handshakes was the only disruption to the Premier League calendar this weekend.

Despite the coronavirus risk there was no halt to players celebrating wildly with each other and Arsenal players piled on top of Alexandre Lacazette after a long VAR review of the Frenchman's winner at the Emirates.

Mesut Ozil was originally flagged offside as he latched onto Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's deflected shot and headed down for Lacazette to sweep home. But the goal was finally given after a delay of several minutes to move Arsenal to within five points of the top four.

“They deserved more because of the chances they created. This is football, sometimes you don't get what you deserve,” said Lacazette.

Spurs halted a run of four straight defeats in all competitions with a 1-1 draw at Burnley to stay a point ahead of their north London rivals despite Jose Mourinho following through on his threat to rest players ahead of Tuesday's trip to Leipzig in the Champions League.

Tottenham got off to the worst possible start at Turf Moor when Chris Wood bundled home after Hugo Lloris spilled Jay Rodriguez's shot.

However, Mourinho introduced Giovani lo Celso and Lucas Moura at the break with club record Tanguy Ndombele hooked.

The visitors got an immediate reward when Dele Alli stroked home from the penalty spot after Ben Mee chopped down Erik Lamela and Mourinho was scathing of Ndombele's contribution.

“He is a player with a great talent and he has to know that he has to do much better,” said Mourinho. “I cannot keep giving him opportunities to play.”

Wolves missed the chance to move into the top four as a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to Brighton left them still two points adrift of Chelsea in fifth.

Sheffield United moved above Manchester United and Tottenham to further their dreams of Champions League football next season thanks to captain Billy Sharp's winner to beat bottom-of-the-table Norwich 1-0.

“The wheels haven't fallen off again today,” said Blades boss Chris Wilder. “They show no signs of (doing so) at the moment.”

Roy Hodgson celebrated his new contract as Crystal Palace boss with a 1-0 win over Watford as the Eagles moved into the top half of the table. Newcastle also secured the win that should guarantee their survival courtesy of Allan Saint-Maximin's strike to beat 10-man Southampton 1-0.

– AFP 

LONDON, Saturday - Leeds leapfrogged West Brom at the top of the Championship on Saturday after their 2-0 win against Huddersfield while the former leaders could only draw 0-0 at Swansea.

Brentford moved up to fourth in the table thanks to their 5-0 drubbing of Sheffield Wednesday while third-placed Fulham drew against Bristol City in the early kick-off and are now six points off the top two.

Right-back Luke Ayling set Leeds on their way at Elland Road with a fine volley after just 160 seconds before Patrick Bamford tapped home his 13th goal of the season six minutes after the restart.

The victory means Leeds have now won five consecutive league games without conceding for the first time since December 2009.

Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds, who were wobbling dangerously before their recent good run, are looking to return to the top-flight for the first time since 2004.

Asked whether the final stages of the season would again be the most difficult after missing out on promotion last season, Bielsa said: “Yes, but that depends on the results.”

“Of course there will be anxiety until we get what we are looking for, but this is the same for every team in the league,” he added.

“The most important now is what happens when the competition gets to the finish. A few months ago we had 11 points difference (to the play-off places) and we lost it.”

West Brom surrendered top spot after being held to a goalless draw away to Swansea.

Slaven Bilic's side failed to find a first-half breakthrough before being put on the back foot for large spells of the second period.

“It was a tough away game,” said the West Brom boss. “We have a clean sheet and one point. With the results from (Nottingham) Forest and Fulham, it's a good point, but we didn't deserve more. “We could've stolen it at the end but there simply weren't enough shots today.” Fulham failed to put maximum pressure on the top two. Tom Cairney's late goal could only secure a 1-1 draw with fellow Championship promotion-contenders Bristol City at Ashton Gate. Sixth-placed Preston lost 3-1 at home to QPR.

Middlesbrough won for the first time since January 1 to move out of the relegation zone, with defeated Charlton slipping into the bottom three after the 1-0 defeat at The Valley.

Hull slipped closer to the relegation zone after their 5-1 hammering by Stoke while Luton drew 0-0 at Wigan to move off the bottom, above Barnsley, who lost 2-0 to Cardiff. Reading beat Birmingham 3-1 while on Friday promotion-chasing Forest lost 3-0 to Millwall.

– Agencies 

POTCHEFSTROOM, Saturday - Australia's Marnus Labuschagne hit a maiden one-day international century on returning to his South African roots – but could not prevent South Africa from completing a series clean sweep in the third and final one-day clash at Senwes Park on Saturday.

Applauded by a large group of his South African family, Labuschagne made 108 in an Australian total of 254 for seven after they were sent in to bat.

South Africa were always ahead of the required rate and coasted to a six-wicket win with 4.3 overs to spare. Man of the match Jon-Jon Smuts (84), Kyle Verreynne (50) and man of the series Heinrich Klaasen (68 not out) made half-centuries.

Klaasen hit 242 runs in the series and was only dismissed once. “It's been a fantastic couple of weeks for me,” he said.

It was South Africa's third successive one-day series win against Australia and their 11th win in 12 matches against them, going back to September 2016.

“It's been disappointing but credit to South Africa, they put us under pressure with bat and ball,” said Australian captain Aaron Finch.

It was a bitter-sweet day for Labuschagne, who was born in Klerksdorp, 50km away, and started school in Potchefstroom before his family moved to Australia when he was nine years old. He said it was “very special” to score a century so close to the town where he was born. “I carried on like a bit of a goose,” he said on SuperSport television of his emotional celebration on reaching his hundred, “but it was amazing. I have 50 of my family members out there from all over South Africa.”

But he was quick to add there were no divided loyalties. “I left so young, I love Australia, it's my country,” he said. “Although I was born in South Africa and there's a little spot in my heart for the country, I'm Australian through and through.” Labuschagne, with help from D'Arcy Short (36), Mitchell Marsh (32) and Jhye Richardson (24 not out) had to rebuild the innings after the South African bowlers took advantage of early life in the pitch and reduced Australia to 55 for three after 15 overs. By contrast, Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock gave South Africa a fast start, putting on 47 for the first wicket off 49 balls before both were dismissed in quick succession by Josh Hazlewood, one of three changes among the Australian bowling attack. AFP

TWICKENHAM, Saturday- England coach Eddie Jones slammed referee Ben O'Keeffe for the “bizarre” sending off Manu Tuilagi late in a 33-30 win over Wales in the Six Nations at Twickenham on Saturday that clinched the Triple Crown.

The outspoken Australian boss, risking disciplinary action, even suggested the match had ended as a contest of “13 against 16”, implying New Zealand official O'Keeffe was biased in Wales’ favour, with England two men down after replacement Ellis Genge was sin-binned and Tuilagi shown a red card.

World Cup finalists England were 33-16 ahead on the hour mark when Tuilagi scored their third try, but he saw red with five minutes remaining when he was deemed to have committed an illegal “no arms” tackle that stopped Wales wing George North scoring a try in the corner.

“I find it bizarre, I usually don't comment but I don't see how you can tackle a guy, how else are you supposed to tackle him?,” Jones told reporters when asked about the powerhouse centre's challenge on North.

“It's absolute rubbish. I'm sorry, I've broken my rule. This bit about where your arms are -- what a load of rubbish. I think there's no common sense applied in that situation.”

The former Australia and Japan coach added: “Clearly the guy's falling, there's a good chop tackle, Manu's coming over the top to kill the tackle and doing everything he's supposed to be doing –- come on.”

With England two men down, Wales scored tries in the closing minutes through fly-half Dan Biggar and Justin Tipuric, the flanker crossing for a second time.

“When you have a three-man advantage, it's going to do some damage so I thought we were exceptional,” said Jones.

Returning wing Anthony Watson scored England's opening try as early as the fourth minute and full-back Elliot Daly crossed before half-time, with captain Owen Farrell landing all six of his goal-kicks in a match haul of 15 points.

Nalanda College captain Avishka Perera and Ananda College skipper Kanishka Ranthilakage receive the Dr. N M Perera Memorial Challenge Trophy from Supun Weerasinghe, Director/Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC after the 91st encounter ended in a draw at the SSC.

Ananda College’s savior Hansaja Jayasinghe goes down on his knees as he drives for runs during his plucky knock of 89 not out against Nalanda College at the SSC grounds yesterday.

Nalanda College failed in their bid to break the 67-year-old hoodoo of beating traditional rivals Ananda College as their attempt was foiled by little known Hansaja Jayasinghe who scored a defiant 89 not out to force a draw in the 91st Battle of the Maroons cricket encounter concluded at the SSC grounds yesterday.

Jayasinghe’s 133-ball knock consisted of 11 fours and a six as Ananda forced to follow-on after being dismissed for 150 in their first innings closed on 225-7 in their second innings. Nalanda scored 307-4 declared.

Ananda who had lost half their side for 79 at the end of the first day, added only a further 71 runs for their last five wickets before they were dismissed, 157 runs in arrears with fast bowler Jithesh Wasala who caused their top order collapse capturing a further two wickets yesterday to finish with figures of 5 for 63.

Nethma Karunaratne was the only batsman to resist the pace of Wasala scoring 59 off 131 balls inclusive of eight fours.

Nalanda did not hesitate to enforce the follow-on and were soon in trouble losing four wickets for 76 when Dasun Tharuka joined Jayasinghe and they set about defying the Nalanda bowling to stitch together a partnership of 111 for the fifth wicket.

Tharuka’s contribution was only 29 but it proved invaluable in the circumstances. However following his dismissal Nalanda captured two quick wickets but time was not on their side to force a win.

Wasala failed to repeat his first innings bowling performance in the second although he got the initial breakthrough for Nalanda by dismissing Anuda Jayaweera for six. It was left to Avishka Perera and Raveen de Silva with two wickets apiece to break into the Ananda defence. De Silva with four wickets in the match to go with his knock of 100 not out for Nalanda was adjudged the Man of the Match.

Nalanda also won two other individual awards for Best Bowler – Jithesh Wasala and Best Fielder – Ranindu de Silva. The Best Batsman’s award went to Ananda’s Hansaja Jayasinghe. YK

MELBOURNE, Sunday: A rampant Australia emphatically swept to their fifth women’s Twenty20 World Cup title Sunday, crushing India by 85 runs in front of more than 86,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Alyssa Healy smashed a quick-fire 75 and Beth Mooney an unbeaten 78 as the defending champions plundered an ominous 184 for four -- the highest score ever in a women’s T20 final.

India could only manage 99 all out in reply to end a 17-day tournament that reinforced Australia’s dominance, having now won five of the seven World Cups held.

“I’m just really proud of this group of players,” said Australian skipper Meg Lanning.

“There was a lot of expectation on us, inside and out. Definitely some tough times in there, but we stuck with each other, had each other’s backs.

“It’s been massive, 86,000 people at the MCG, I’ve never seen it before and didn’t think I’d be part of it in the middle,” she added.

The blockbuster showdown between the world’s top-ranked team and fast-improving India was billed as the biggest in women’s cricket history.

Australia came into their sixth successive final as heavy favourites, in contrast to India who were playing their first decider.

India had upset Lanning’s team in the opening game of the tournament, but they never got a look in on Sunday.

“I still have a lot of faith in my team,” said disappointed Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.

“We need to focus, especially in fielding. But I trust this team. It’s part of the game, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. You have to keep learning.”