Windies take series lead with easy win
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies were not at their best but still brushed aside South Africa by 17 runs here yesterday, as they began their final preparation for the defence of their Twenty20 World Cup title in November with a comfortable victory. Choosing to bat first at Kensington Oval, the hosts stumbled their way to 124 for six off their 20 overs but then restricted the Proteas to 107 for seven, to take an important 1-0 lead in the five-match T20 series which now moves to Trinidad for the remaining games.Natasha McLean top-scored with 38 off 41 balls to snatch the Player-of-the-Match award in her first appearance for West Indies in three years while all-rounder Deandra Dottin chipped in with 22, but the remainder of the batting flopped.West Indies lost 20-year-old Hayley Matthews cheaply for eight in the fourth over when she sliced seamer Zintle Mali (2-24) to Laura Wolvaardt running back at cover. 
First Published: 11th January, 2020 15:24 IST SUBSCRIBE TO US Last Updated: 11th January, 2020 15:24 IST Goncalves Registers Third Top 10 Stage Finish For Hero In Dakar Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider Goncalves continued his fine show & registered his third top 10 spot in a row by finishing stage 6 of the grueling Dakar rally WATCH US LIVE LIVE TV COMMENT
Press Trust Of India FOLLOW US Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider Paulo Goncalves continued his fine show and registered his third top 10 spot in a row by finishing stage 6 of the grueling Dakar Rally at the eighth position here. His teammate Sebastian Buhler, who has been impressive so far and was well poised to break into the top 15 in the overall rankings, suffered a technical issue with his bike and could not finish the stage on Friday. As a result he too is now out of the contention for the overall results, but like his teammate Joaquim Rodrigues, Buhler will opt to restart the race again in stage 7, and still compete for the stage results and gain valuable Dakar experience.READ | NFL Playoffs Divisional Round: Ravens’ Blitzkrieg, Chiefs’ Balance Likely To DominateGoncalves registers third top 10 stage finisAnother Hero rider C S Santosh continued to gain confidence as he too made a last dash for a better ranking on Friday to finish the stage in the 32nd place. Rodrigues too had a steady stage as he finished 27th in the stage rankings. In the overall rankings, now with only two riders in contention, Santosh leads the team at 36th position overall while Goncalves made further gains to climb up to the 46th place. READ | Conners Takes Hard, Rewarding Road To HawaiiIt has been a tough first week in the Dakar Rally for Hero MotoSports with some really good starts and impressive stage performances being undermined by a series of unfortunate technical snags. The team is looking forward to the rest day on Saturday here, as it will give everyone a chance to recover mentally and physically and also to re-organise their strategy for the even longer second week of the Dakar 2020. The stage 6 of the rally was the longest stage yet of the Dakar 2020 with a total of 830 kms to be done, including the 478 kms of the special. READ | Tua Tagovailoa Signs Up With 2018 NFL NVP Patrick Mahomes’ AgencyFrom Ha’il to Riyadh, the change of scenery was dramatic as the special stage was 100 per cent sand and entirely off-road. After a relatively fast first section, the competitors met with the dunes challenge. The second half of the Dakar 2020 will start on Sunday with the stage 7, the longest stage of the rally with 546 kms to be done on the clock. It will be followed by a series of really long stages, including a marathon stage, designed to put to test, the endurance and mettle of the competitors before the grand finish at Qiddiyah on January 17. READ | Packers Seek To Recruit 700 Snow Shovelers Ahead Of Playoff Game Against Seattle Seahawks Written By