Australia win record-extending sixth Women’s T20 World Cup title, beat South Africa by 19 runs

get a lot of energy and a great atmosphere from the crowd," Murray was quoted by ATP Tour website. "Hopefully that continues the rest of the week, but I obviously enjoyed playing in that atmosphere tonight."

Cape Town, Feb 26 (IANS)

Australia are Women's T20 World Cup champions once again after beating South Africa by 19 runs in front of a packed crowd at Newlands, here on Sunday.

Beth Mooney top-scored with 74* as the world's top-ranked team posted 156/6, and a brilliant bowling display saw South Africa stifled in their chase, with the Proteas falling short of their target.

Their victory means Australia have now won six Women's T20 World Cup titles, and they have completed a 'three-peat' under the captaincy of Meg Lanning, winning in 2018, 2020 and now 2023, reports ICC.

Tasked with defending a target of 157, Australia's bowlers throttled the scoring rate of South Africa's openers at the start of the reply, conceding just 22 runs in the Powerplay and with in-form Tazmin Brits sent back to the dugout by the electric Darcie Brown.

A Brown catch saw Marizanne Kapp dismissed for a run-a-ball 11 off Ash Gardner as South Africa struggled to up the scoring rate, with 105 runs still required at drinks with ten overs remaining.

The brilliance of Laura Wolvaardt threatened to bring South Africa back into the game as she hit big shot after big shot to surge to 61 from 48 balls.

But Megan Schutt removed Wolvaardt and Jess Jonassen cleaned up the dangerous Chloe Tryon (25 from 23) as the required rate of scoring proved too much for South Africa in the death overs.

And Australia saw it out comfortably in the end, winning by 19 runs to add yet more silverware to the team's bulging trophy cabinet.

Doha,

Feb 23 (IANS) Former World No. 1 Andy Murray stormed into the quarterfinals of the Qatar

Open breezing past Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 after a gruelling three hours and three minutes encounter.

Murray, a two-time winner at this event, took a rollercoaster opening set in the tie-break before being blown away in the second, but he earned the only break of the decider at a crucial moment late on before serving out successfully for a win.

"It makes a big difference for the players when we come and

The Scot was also made to work hard in the first round to battle past Italian Lorenzo Sonego in a final-set tie-break. He will next play French qualifier Alexandre Muller, who upset eighth seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 6-4.

"Not so familiar, but he's obviously had a good week this week coming through qualifying. He will have played four matches now, so obviously likes these conditions," Murray said about his quarterfinal opponent.

"My coach will obviously watch video and stuff tonight to get a bit more familiar with his game, but it's an opportunity for me in the quarters tomorrow and time to rest up and get ready for that one," he added.

India finish Strandja Memorial International Boxing with 8 medals counterattack.

Sofia, Bulgaria, Feb 26 (IANS)

Indian pugilists Govind Kumar Sahani, Anamika and Anupama clinched silver medals on the final day as the Indian contingent finished with 8 medals at the 74th Strandja Memorial International Boxing Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria on Sunday.

The final between Govind Sahani (48kg) and Shodiyorjon

Melikuziev, the 2023 Asian U-22 Championships silver medallist, went down to the wire and in the end, it was the Uzbek boxer who registered a 4-1 victory.

Govind Sahani went toe to toe with Shodiyorjon Melikuziev from the very first minute and never gave any relief to his opponent. He used his speed and fast punches to disrupt the rhythm of the Uzbek boxer. However, it also gave his opponent a few opportunities to score points. The second round was also a thriller as both the boxers went all out. Melikuziev gained an upper hand in the last three minutes as he showed better decision-making during attack and defence.

Earlier, Anamika went down 1-4 against Hu Meiyi of China in the final of the women's Light Flyweight (50kg) division. The Indian boxer started the bout on a positive note with a flurry of punches, but Meiyi was strong with her defence and never missed any opportunity to

The second round also saw the Chinese pugilist making calculative moves as she gathered points at regular intervals which also helped her in the last round as she went into defensive mode on many occasions to register a victory despite Anamika's scintillating efforts in the last three minutes.

Anupama (81kg) lost 0-5 to Emma-sue Greentree of Australia in the final by a unanimous decision.

The crowd witnessed an explosive start as both the boxers tried to earn points early in the match. The Indian boxer landed some accurate punches in the first few minutes of the bout, but Greentree quickly regained her composure to end the first round on a high.

The Australian pugilist looked in her element in the second round and continued the good momentum to take the lead. She took an aggressive approach in the final minutes as well as she never gave any chance of a comeback to Anupama.

On the other hand, three female pugilists S Kalaivani (48kg), Shruti Yadav (70kg) and Monika (+81kg) clinched bronze medals in the tournament. Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) and The 2021 World Youth champion Sachin (54kg) also got bronze medals.