Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 31 March 12:30 pm

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

# We begin with golf: South Africa’s Michael Hollick carded a final round 8-under 64 to win the season-ending DNi Tour Championship in Pretoria by one-shot over Jacques Kruyswijk and George Coetzee. Jonathan Broomhead finished fourth. Meanwhile, Daniel van Tonder was crowned the winner of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit for the 2024/’25 season, and Altin van der Merwe won the Fortress Rookie of the Year award. Hollick says it has been a special year:

# Tennis: Nineteen-year-old Jakub Mensik stunned six-time champion Novak Djokovic to win the Miami Open, his first ATP Tour title. The Czech, who is the second-youngest winner in the tournament’s history behind Carlos Alcaraz, defeated the Serb 7-6, 7-6. Thirty-seven-year-old Djokovic was aiming for the 100th tour-level title of his career. In Saturday’s women’s final, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus claimed her second title of the year by beating American Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2.

# Cricket: Australia’s Mitchell Starc starred with the ball as Delhi Capitals cruised to a seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. Starc took his first five-wicket haul in T20s to restrict Sunrisers to 163. In reply, South Africa’s Faf du Plessis scored 50 as Delhi reached the target with 30 balls to spare. Meanwhile, in Guwahati, Nitish Rana smashed 81 as Rajasthan Royals claimed their first victory of the campaign when they beat Chennai Super Kings by six runs.

# Soccer: Manchester City have set up an FA Cup semifinal clash against Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium. City, who last won the trophy in 2023, booked their spot in the last four for the seventh consecutive year, after coming from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1. Forest reached their first FA Cup semi-final since 1991 by overcoming Brighton in a penalty shootout. The other semifinal will see Crystal Palace, who beat Fulham 3-0, take on Aston Villa, who saw off Championship side Preston North End 3-0.

# And finally, motorsport: Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, his first victory of the season. The Italian took over the lead of the race after six-time world champion Marc Márquez crashed on lap nine and retired due to extensive damage to his bike. Gresini Racing’s Álex Márquez, Marc’s brother, finished second, moving him to the top of the riders’ championship, with Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 Racing finishing third. Bagnaia admitted that luck played a large part in his win:

Stay tuned for more news………….