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• IPL: Gaikwad helps CSK strengthen playoff hopes with victory over Royals

  The Chennai Super Kings boosted their Indian Premier League playoff chances as captain Ruturaj Gaikwad top-scored to clinch a five-wicket victory against the Rajasthan Royals.

  Off the back of two defeats in their last three outings, the Super Kings needed a victory, and an impressive bowling display allowed them to easily chase down the Royals' total with 10 balls to spare on Sunday.

  After the Royals won the toss and opted to bat first, openers Jos Buttler and Yashavi Jaiswal got Rajasthan off to a solid start before the latter was dismissed in the seventh over with 43 runs on the board.

  Buttler lost his wicket less than two overs later, and though Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag somewhat steadied the ship, Chennai's bowlers continued to make runs difficult to come by.

  Parag top-scored for Rajasthan as he finished unbeaten on 47, but the Royals could only muster 141-5 from their 20-over allocation.

  Chennai overcame the loss of opener Rachin Ravindra in the fourth over to set themselves up for victory, despite all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja being dismissed for obstructing the field having added just five runs.

  Captain Gaikwad guided his team over the line, finishing with 42 not out from 41 deliveries as Chennai wrapped up the win without needing MS Dhoni, who could have played his last IPL game at Chepauk.

  The victory leaves Chennai third with one game remaining against Royal Challengers Bangalore, while Rajasthan miss the chance to go level on points with IPL leaders Kolkata Knight Riders, though their playoff place should still be safe with a four-point gap between them and the fifth-placed Delhi Capitals, who face RCB later on Sunday.

  Data debrief: Chennai bowlers shine

  The Super Kings had previously come out on the wrong end of the result in their last four meetings with the Royals, but a strong performance from their bowlers allowed them to end that losing streak.

  Simarjeet Singh was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of 3-26, while Tushar Deshpande (2-30) also impressed. While Jadeja did not get a wicket, his four overs only amounted to 24 Rajasthan runs.

• Sabalenka dominates Yastremska to reach Italian Open fourth round

  Aryna Sabalenka dominated Dayana Yastremska to reach the fourth round of the Italian Open on Sunday.

  Sabalenka, who claimed Australian Open glory for the second time earlier this year without dropping a set, eased to a 6-4 6-2 victory over Yastremska.

  Yastremska headed into the third-round contest having beaten Sabalenka in all three of their previous meetings, but the world number two found a crucial break of serve in the seventh game of the opening set before going on to hold twice more to take the ascendancy.

  Yastremska's resolve was broken further in an epic third game of the second set, surviving six break points before Sabalenka finally got over the line to tighten her grip on the match.

  Sabalenka didn't look back from there, breaking Yastremska again before going on to seal her place in the fourth round.

  Sabalenka will take on either Sara Errani or Anna Kalinskaya in the fourth round as she looks to win the Italian Open for the first time ahead of the French Open later this month, where she will bid to improve on her semi-final appearance last year.

  Data debrief

  Since 2018, when Sabalenka achieved her first WTA 1000 win, she is now the player with the joint-most wins in such events (90, equalling Iga Swiatek).

  Sabalenka may have lost her three previous games against Yastremska, but the last meeting between the pair was in 2020, and the two-time grand slam champion showed how much her game has progressed since then as she won all nine of her service games while breaking her Ukrainian opponent three times on her way to victory.

• 'The best winger on the planet' – Guardiola lauds defender Gvardiol after Fulham rout

  Pep Guardiola joked Manchester City have signed "the best winger on the planet" after defender Josko Gvardiol scored twice in Saturday's 4-0 thrashing of Fulham.

  Centre-back Gvardiol once again operated at full-back on the left of City's four-man defence, finding the net in either half at Craven Cottage as Guardiola's side moved back to the Premier League summit.

  His first came from a dancing run inside from Kevin De Bruyne's dinked pass before curling a well-taken right-footed finish into the bottom-left corner.

  That passage of play may have been expected from City's attacking riches of Phil Foden, Erling Haaland or Bernardo Silva, though Gvardiol is becoming accustomed to starring at the other end of the pitch.

  The Croatia international has netted five goals in his last seven games for City after not scoring in his first 32 matches across all competitions – but Guardiola is not surprised.

  "The first goal, we signed the best winger on the planet," Guardiola jested with BBC Radio Manchester. "He's an incredible guy, can play in different positions.

  "After Wolves I gave [the players] three days off, he was the only one who went to the training centre for his recovery.

  "He lives for his profession. We have made an incredible signing for many, many years to come."

  Foden also scored his 25th goal of the season for City, becoming just the second English player to score 25+ in a season for the club in the Premier League era (across all competitions), after Raheem Sterling in 2018-19 (25) and 2019-20 (31).

  Julian Alvarez then wrapped up proceedings with a last-gasp penalty, taking the spot-kick from Gvardiol, who passed up the chance to score a hat-trick out of respect for his team-mate.

  That domination ensured City will end the day in first place for just the eighth time in 2024 – overall, this will be the 72nd day they have ended in top spot this season, behind Liverpool (87) and Arsenal (74).

  Guardiola's side are two points clear of Arsenal, who play Manchester United on Sunday, and still have a game in hand to come when visiting Tottenham on Tuesday.

  The City manager told his post-match press conference: "Our dream is as we said a few weeks ago when [Arsenal] lost against Aston Villa was to arrive in the last games with it in our hands.

  "We wanted to play West Ham at home with the destiny belonging to us."

  Destiny remains in City's hands as they search for a sixth Premier League title in the last seven seasons.