Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 27 June 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We start with Cricket:  The Proteas are through to the final of the T20 World Cup for the first time ever after they beat Afghanistan with 9 wickets. Afghanistan won the toss at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, and opted to bat first, but was bowled out for 56 runs in 11 overs and 5 balls.  This is the lowest total by any team in a T20 World Cup semifinal and the lowest total against South Africa.  South Africa replied with 60 runs for the loss of one wicket in the eighth over. The second semifinal between India and England takes place this afternoon, with the final scheduled for Saturday.

# And on to Rugby: Two-time Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi will retain the captain’s armband when the world champions return to the field against Ireland in Pretoria next Saturday. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed Kolisi will again lead the team, ending speculation that he could be replaced by a locally-based Bok captain. Cheslin Kolbe has been cleared to play and Edwill van der Merwe, Faf de Klerk and Makazole Mapimpi should also recover from injuries before the first Ireland Test. The Boks have not beaten them since 2016.

# Soccer: Georgia secured a historic place in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 after a stunning two-nil victory over Portugal on Wednesday, while Turkey, Belgium, Romania, and Slovakia all advanced to the last 16.  Turkey will play Austria in the last 16 in Leipzig next Tuesday, while 2016 champions Portugal go to Frankfurt for a game against Slovenia on Monday. Earlier, in a dramatic finish to Group E, war-torn Ukraine were left heartbroken as they went out despite picking up four points. Romania will take on the Netherlands in the last 16.

# Cycling: Two-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar [Ta-day Po-gha-char] issued a warning to his rivals saying he has never felt this good.  The Slovenian hopes to become the first cyclist since the great Marco Pantani in 1998 to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season. The Tour starts on Saturday in Florence and Pogacar hopes to add another victory to his 2020 and 2021 Tour triumphs. The 25-year-old was runner-up to Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard the past two years.

# And finally: more cricket news: Sri Lanka head coach Chris Silverwood has resigned from his position to spend more time with his family.  The 49-year-old Englishman took charge of Sri Lanka in 2022 and guided them to the Twenty20 Asia Cup title and the final of the 50-overs Asia Cup the following year. But they had a disappointing run in the 50-overs World Cup last year and also failed to progress to the Super Eight stage of the ongoing T20 World Cup. Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene resigned as consultant coach earlier, following the country’s World Cup exit.

Stay tuned for more news………….