Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 1 April 12:30 pm

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

# We kick off with rugby: Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth has served his ban and is available for the Sharks for Friday’s Challenge Cup match against Connacht in Ireland. He was given a 12-week ban in November for eye-goaching in the Test against Wales. Although Etzebeth wasn’t allowed to play since, he had been heavily involved in the Sharks’ training sessions to stay in shape and also attended the Boks’ recent alignment camp. The Durban side won the Challenge Cup in 2024.

# Cricket: New Zealand Women pulled off a world record run chase to beat South Africa by two wickets in the second one-day match in Wellington to level the three-match series. The Proteas Women posted 346 for six with Anneke Bosch scoring 91 off 90 balls. The hostesses captain, Amelia Kerr, then scored an unbeaten 179 off 139 balls to guide the White Ferns to victory with two balls to spare. This is the highest successful run-chase in the history of women’s ODI cricket. The series decider will be played on Saturday.

More cricket news: Calls are growing for teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi to make his debut for India’s senior team following his heroics for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. The 15-year-old smashed a 15-ball half-century, helping his team to an eight-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings. This followed his debut season last year when he hit a century off just 35 balls. Former Indian spin bowler Anil Kumble compares Suryavanshi to legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar, who started playing for India when he was 16.

# Soccer: Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos says there are several areas they need to work on ahead of the World Cup. South Africa rued missed opportunities after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Panama in an international friendly in Cape Town yesterday evening. They played to a one-all draw in Durban last Friday. Broos says they had ten chances in the two games and only scored twice, which isn’t good enough:

Meanwhile, four-time champions Italy had failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, losing their play-off on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1. The Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Jamaica 1-0 in extra time to secure their first World Cup qualification since 1974. The Czech Republic qualified for the first time in 20-years after overcoming Denmark 3-1 on penalties following a 2-all draw after extra time. Sweden and the Czech Republic also qualified for the World Cup set to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico.

Stay tuned for more news………….