WEEKLY SPORTS DIGEST: Pakistan hits Australia for six

WEEKLY SPORTS DIGEST: Pakistan dispatches Australia from Cricket World Cup

21/03/11 Executive sport summary– An overview of the major sporting events – Results, key moments and talking points – Everything you need to know to foot it at the water cooler this week.

By Jonathan McKeown

CRICKET WORLD CUP: The quarter-finalists have been found for the ICC Cricket World Cup. Group B winners South Africa take on the New Zealand Blackcaps after the latter were put in their place by Sri Lanka on Friday.

The West Indies will face Group A winners Pakistan in Dhaka. The enigma of world cricket trounced Australia, the defending champions, on Saturday night. A struggling England side will meet Sri Lanka in Colombo while the match of the round is certainly set to be co-hosts India against Australia.

END OF AN ERA: Australia suffered their first ICC Cricket World Cup loss since 1999. Pakistan broke the 34-match unbeaten streak with a four-wicket win in Colombo. Pakistan bowled Australia for 176 in the 47th over and the target was never enough. Australia finished in third while Pakistan topped Group A.

SUPER RUGBY: The Crusaders, Reds and Stormers top their respective conferences after round five. A resolute Chiefs side stopped the previously unbeaten Sharks in Hamilton. It was a game for the purists with no tries in wet conditions.

The Blues blew away the Hurricanes 41-17 in Auckland, although it was a much tighter match than the five tries to one score line suggests. The Hurricanes dominated long periods of the game but an opening blow and a knockout last 10 minutes gave the Blues a bonus point victory.

A rampant Crusader outfit schooled the Highlanders 44-13 in Dunedin, it was a tough ask for the Highlanders to return from South Africa and take on the star-laden red and blacks. It was certainly a bridge too far, but the highlanders now have a bye to regroup while the Crusaders are off to play the Sharks at Twickenham.

NRL: The Wests Tigers came from behind to beat the New Zealand Warriors who conceded three tries in the final quarter to lose 20-12. The Storm are tracking well with another big victory 40-12 over the Gold Coast. Newcastle also remain unbeaten after toppling North Queensland 34-22 in Townsville and the Bulldogs are two-from-two after coming from behind to beat South Sydney 28-19.

SIX NATIONS:England have won the Six Nations title despite losing to Ireland in Dublin. The champions missed out on a grand slam following the 24-8 loss. Italy claimed the wooden spoon after a 21-8 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield while France were able to save face following their embarrassing loss to Italy last weekend. The 2010 champions beat Wales 28-9 at the Stade de France.

TENNIS: Novak Djokovic has beaten Roger Federer at the Indian Wells Masters in California. Djokovic took the No.2 ranking with a three-set victory over the Swiss. The win set up a final showdown with the world No.1 Rafael Nadal. Top seed Caroline Wozniacki beat Marion Bartoli in 3 sets in the WTA final, the current world number one captured her second title of the year.

MOTOGP: Casey Stoner took out the opening round of the 2011 season in Qatar. Starting from pole position and racing for Honda the Australian beat edged world champion Jorge Lorenzoby 3.44 seconds. Lorenzo was second while Dani Pedrosa of Spain finished in third place. MotoGP is full of new partnerships with Stoner replaced by Valentino Rossi on the Ducati.

FOOTBALL: Manchester United move five points clear at the top of the Premiere League as the 10-man United side bolted with a late 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. In second place Arsenal could only draw 2-2 at West Bromwich Albion while Chelsea kept their faint hopes of retaining the title by beating Manchester City 2-0. Stoke City lashed Newcastle United 4-0 at the Britannia Stadium.

The super-clubs have all progressed to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Inter Milan claimed a dramatic 3-2 win at Bayern Munich in the last 16 second leg. Javier Hernandez struck twice as Manchester United clinched a 2-1 win over Marseille. Chelsea booked their place 2-0 on aggregate despite a 0-0 draw against Copenhagen. Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid also progressed with an impressive 3-0 victory over Lyon.

(A service provided by Content Ltd.)

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