A night of firsts at the World Aquatics Championships in Doha

Mumbai: India’s Abhishek Sharma hit a brutal 135 to set up a crushing 150-run win over England in the fifth T20 international and seal the series 4-1 on Sunday.
Opener Abhishek’s incredible 54-ball knock, laced with 13 sixes, fired India, who clinched the series in the fourth T20, to 247-9 after being invited to bat first at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
The tourists were never in the chase despite Phil Salt’s 23-ball 55 as India bowled out the tourists for 97 for their second biggest T20 victory by runs.
Abhishek also two wickets in the only over he bowled with left-arm spin.
“It’s a special one, coming for the country, always a great feeling,” said the 24-year-old Abhishek.
“When I see it’s my day, I always try to go from the first ball. And the way the coach and the captain have treated me from the first day. They’ve always wanted this intent, they’ve always backed me.”
England slipped to 68-4 as Jos Buttler (7), Harry Brook (2) and Liam Livingstone (9) all failed to make an impact.
Shivam Dube, a batting all-rounder who bowls medium pace, removed Salt with the first ball he bowled after he was controversially replaced by fast bowler Harshit Rana as a concussion substitute in the previous match.
The rest of the England batting fell quickly with Jacob Bethell, who made 10, the only batter to reach double figures other than Salt.
Wrist spinner Varun Chakravarthy and Dube also took two each.
Chakravarthy was named player of the series for his 14 wickets in the five matches.
Pace bowler Mohammed Shami finished with three wickets as he wrapped up the England innings in 10.3 overs.
Abhishek dominated a partnership of 115 for the second wicket with Tilak Varma following England’s decision to bowl first.
He raced to his fifty in 17 balls with a six and then reached his second T20 century for India in 37 deliveries. Dube was the next highest scorer with 30.
Speedster Mark Wood dismissed Hardik Pandya for nine after earlier removing opener Sanju Samson.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid had Abhishek caught out in the 18th over as India lost four wickets in the final five overs.
“I’ve seen a lot of cricket, and I thought Abhishek’s innings today was one of the best,” said England captain Buttler.
Fast bowler Brydon Carse took three wickets including Suryakumar for two, with the Indian captain’s batting woes showing no signs of ending — 28 runs in five matches.
“Some of the guys’ bowling performances — even today, Brydon Carse and Mark Wood were outstanding,” Buttler said of his team’s positives.
India won the opening two matches before England came back to keep the series alive in the third game.
India took an unassailable 3-1 lead in the fourth T20 after Rana’s inclusion in place of Dube — not a like-for-like replacement — angered England.
The two teams now head into three one-day internationals starting February 6 in Nagpur.
The series is a warm-up for the 50-over Champions Trophy starting February 19 in Pakistan and Dubai.

DUBAI: L’Etape Dubai by Tour de France made its grand debut in the UAE this weekend, bringing together over 1,000 cycling enthusiasts, from hobby riders and amateurs to elite athletes, and recording the highest number of participants for the first edition of any amateur cycling event in the history of the UAE.

The main race, held on Sunday, Feb. 2, saw hundreds of competitors set off from Dubai Design District (D3) on a thrilling 101-km route, navigating Dubai-Al Ain Road (E66) before a decisive push by Syrian national and UAE resident Ibrahiem Alrefai, along Zayed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan Street (D54), delivered a first-place finish at Expo Village Park.

In total, the event featured the highest number of international competitors to have participated in the first edition of an amateur cycling race in Dubai, including over 250 Emiratis.

Alrefai secured the first-ever L’Etape Dubai title in a time of 02:17:24, followed closely by Ivan Kormshchikov, with Danil Konotop rounding out the podium.

Alrefai said: “Winning the inaugural L’Etape Dubai is an incredible honor. The course was both challenging and rewarding, and the atmosphere was fantastic with all the new cyclists, whether they were professionals or trying cycling for the first time. It was a true test of endurance, and I couldn’t be prouder to stand on the podium as the first winner of L’Etape Dubai by Tour de France.”

The female winner in the overall race was Olha Shekel with a time of 02:20:20, with Ebtissam Zayed in second position and Olivuja Balesisyte finishing third. One of the youngest female finishers was 15-year-old UAE resident Darcey Minton who took first place in the 50-km ride and was supported by race sponsor Skoda.

The event was backed by the Dubai Sports Council. The organization’s Secretary-General Saeed Hareb said: “We are pleased with the wide participation of cyclists, especially those who have come from outside the country to participate in this famous race that combines the luxury, splendor and beauty of the city of Dubai with the history, traditions and name of the most famous Tour de France race.

Hareb thanked the UAE’s leaders, attributing the success of cycling in Dubai to their continuous support.

“Dubai has become one of the most important cities in the world that supports sports in general and cycling in particular,” he said, adding that Dubai hosts international and local cycling championships throughout the year.

“February happens to be the most exciting month for cyclists as Dubai organizes a total of six cycling competitions, which (draw) the participation of thousands of cyclists of all nationalities, ages and abilities. All are keen to come to Dubai and participate in these events and benefit from the sports facilities designed according to the highest standards. These facilities include the more than 544 km (of) cycling tracks that connect most of the areas and neighborhoods of Dubai,” Hareb added.