Sports
Women’s World Cup: South Africa beat India in nail-biting fixture
South Africa downed India in a thrilling ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 match at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium on Thursday.
Skipper Laura Wolvaardt’s anchoring half-century, coupled with Nadine de Klerk’s unbeaten 84, powered South Africa to an enthralling victory over the hosts.
Set to chase 252, the Proteas knocked the winning runs on the fifth delivery of the penultimate over, when de Klerk smashed Amanjot Kaur for a massive six over deep mid-wicket, powering her side to their second consecutive victory in the mega event.
South Africa, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as they Kaur and Kranti Gaud made early inroads with the ball, reducing them to 18/2 inside six overs.
Following the twin setback, experienced all-rounder Marizanne Kapp (20) joined skipper Wolvaardt for an anchoring 39-run partnership for the third wicket before being outfoxed by Sneh Rana in the 14th over.
The Proteas then lost two more wickets at regular intervals and were consequently reduced to 81/5 in 19.4 overs.
Meanwhile, Wolvaardt remained firm during the collapse and eventually found subtle support at the other end in the form of Chloe Tryon.
Wolvaardt and Tryon led the recovery by putting together 61 runs for the sixth-wicket partnership, which culminated with the opener’s dismissal in the 36th over.
The captain remained the top-scorer with 70 off 111 deliveries, featuring eight fours.
Walking out to bat at number eight, de Klerk launched a counterattack on the Indian bowlers with a swashbuckling half-century and ultimately led South Africa to a hard-earned three-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.
The right-handed batter top-scored with an unbeaten 84 off just 54 deliveries, studded with eight fours and five sixes. She was adequately supported by Tryon, who made a handy contribution with a 66-ball 49, featuring five boundaries.
For India, Rana and Gaud took two wickets each, while Shree Charani, Deepti Sharma and Kaur could pick up one apiece.
Put into bat first, the home side accumulated 251 runs before getting bowled out in 49.1 overs.
India got off to a decent start to their innings, with their opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal yielding 55 runs before the former was dismissed by Nonkululeko Mlaba in the 11th over.
Mandhana scored 23 off 32 deliveries with the help of one six and a four.
Her dismissal sparked a middle-order collapse which saw India lose six more wickets for just 98 runs in 178 deliveries and consequently slipped to 153/7 in 40 overs.
Following the slump, wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh launched an astounding recovery with a blistering half-century, top-scoring with a 77-ball 94, laced with 11 fours and four sixes.
She also shared a crucial 88-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Sneh Rana, who made a handy contribution with a brisk 33 off 24 deliveries until falling victim to Marizanne Kapp in the 48th over.
Chloe Tryon led the bowling charge for South Africa with 3/32 in her 10 overs, followed by Nonkululeko Mlaba, Nadine de Klerk and Kapp with two each, while Tumi Sekhukhune made one strike.
The three-wicket victory lifted South Africa to the fourth position in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 standings as they now have four points in three matches, while India remained third due to superior net run rate.
Twenty men have been charged in a point-shaving scheme involving more than 39 college basketball players on more than 17 NCAA Division I teams, leading to more than 29 games being fixed, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Fifteen of the defendants played college basketball during the 2023-24 and/or 2024-25 seasons, according to the indictment. Some have played this season. Two of the players named in the indictment, Cedquavious Hunter and Dyquavian Short, were sanctioned in November by the NCAA for fixing New Orleans games.
At least two of the defendants, Shane Hennen and Marves Fairley, were also charged in a federal indictment in the Eastern District of New York centered on gambling schemes in the NBA.
Former NBA player Antonio Blakeney was named but not charged in the indictment. The indictment describes Blakeney as being “charged elsewhere.”
The scheme, according to the indictment, began around September 2022 and initially was focused on fixing games in the Chinese Basketball Association. The group later targeted college basketball games, offering bribes to college players ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 to compromise games for betting purposes, according to the indictment.
“In placing these wagers on games they had fixed, the defendants defrauded sportsbooks, as well as individual sports bettors, who were all unaware that the defendants had corruptly manipulated the outcome of these games that should have been decided fairly, based on genuine competition and the best efforts of the players,” the indictment said.
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USAA on Thursday announced the three finalists for the NFL’s Salute to Service Award, and a dynasty in San Francisco could be on the rise.
After 49ers star George Kittle took home the award last year, Christian McCaffrey is among three finalists for the league’s award, along with Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson and Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones as the finalists — Jones was a finalist last year, as well.
“The finalists for the 15th Annual Salute to Service Award presented by USAA have used their platforms to be exceptional advocates for the military community, reminding us that service doesn’t stop when the uniform comes off,” Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Bob Whittle, Senior Vice President and Head of Military Affairs at USAA, said in a release.
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Christian McCaffrey, Jake Ferguson and Aaron Jones are this year’s Salute to Service Award finalists. (, G Fiume, and John Fisher/Getty Images)
“The NFL and USAA applaud Jake Ferguson, Aaron Jones, and Christian McCaffrey as deserving finalists who have demonstrated exactly what the award stands for — using the power of football to connect with, empower, appreciate and uplift our service members, veterans and their families.”
McCaffrey launched 23 and Troops in 2021 to focus on post-traumatic stress and athlete-level care for veterans. The foundation has raised $700,000 for military support and paid off holiday layaway for 515 military families.
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) celebrates his touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, in Santa Clara, California. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Ferguson has partnered with USAA to visit local military bases and supported the National Medal of Honor Museum, including an event in 2024 in which 900 students joined in person and thousands more virtually.
Jones grew up in a military household. His father, Alvin, served 29 years in the Army, while his mother, Vurgess, served for 27. Jones’ older brother, Xavier, serves in the Air Force. Jones and his twin brother, Alvin Jr., founded the A&A All the Way Foundation in 2020 to support the youth of military families.
The winner will be announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on Feb. 5, the same night the MVP, Offensive and Defensive Players and Rookies, and Coach of the Year will be crowned.
George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a touchdown with Christian McCaffrey of the San Francisco 49ers during the fourth quarter in the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 10, 2023, in Santa Clara, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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Whittle and Kittle will be among those on the judging panel for the award.
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Monday night’s game featuring hometown Miami and championship-starved Indiana is one of the toughest tickets in sports.
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