Joe Root treated his England team-mates to an education in how to play spin bowling following his domination of the Sri Lanka attack, says Jos Buttler.
Captain Root backed up his 228 in the first Test victory with a monumental 186 in Galle on Sunday, falling cruelly to a run out from the final ball of the day.
Oshada Fernando's quick thinking at short leg meant England closed day three on 339-9 - a first-innings deficit of 42.
Despite that giving Sri Lanka a slight edge in their bid to secure a series-levelling win, attention afterwards understandably focused upon Root, who passed Geoffrey Boycott, Kevin Pietersen and David Gower to go fourth on England's all-time list of Test run scorers over the course of a fabulous knock.
"It was quite an amazing innings," Buttler said. "To back up his double hundred in the first Test, to show the mental and physical application to go again.
"It's been a masterclass in batting against spin. It's been a great education for all of us watching from the sidelines.
"We've thoroughly enjoyed watching him and we're gutted for him getting out in that fashion at the end of the day."
Buttler, who was the only other England batsman to pass 50, shared a 97-run stand with Root for the fifth wicket and also marvelled at his skipper's powers of endurance.
The 30-year-old Root motored on during the evening session despite cramps and back pain demonstrating the toll taken.
"For all eight days of the series so far he's been out on the field," Buttler said. "This game feels a lot hotter and lot more draining than the first game, [which had] rain breaks.
"We have to praise not only the tactical and technical aspect of his game, but the physicality and concentration to apply himself for so long.
"Once again, to back up the first Test is quite amazing really."
Lasith Embuldeniya carried the fight for Sri Lanka with superb figures of 7-132, but even the in-form slow left-armer could not escape punishment from Root, who swept with authority and even unfurled an audacious switch hit to fine effect.
"There were some quite amazing shots, really," added Buttler, who is consistently England's most innovative strokemaker across all formats. "It show the confidence and the skill level is amazing.
"He even played a little late cut left-handed. It's been great to watch. His skill level is second to none."
Kepa Arrizabalaga made another blunder and Timo Werner missed a penalty but Tammy Abraham's hat-trick got Chelsea past Luton Town with a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Abraham's quickfire double put Chelsea in control early in the FA Cup fourth-round tie on Sunday, as last season's runners up seemed to be heading for a comfortable success.
Yet Kepa, brought in as one of seven changes made by Frank Lampard from Tuesday's defeat at Leicester City, enabled Luton to haul themselves into the contest when he failed to keep out Jordan Clark's effort.
Abraham's third goal 16 minutes from time ultimately set up a fifth-round trip to Barnsley, though Werner's woeful run in front of goal continued when his late spot-kick was saved.
Three-time national shotgun champion Christian Sasso and four-time national female champion Wendy McMaster are eager to take to the course their respective rivals today at the David East Memorial Shoot at the picturesque Murphy Hill Estate which overlooks the town of Ocho Rios in St Ann.
Sasso, however confident, will have to look out for his rivals, who include six-time national champion Shaun Barnes as well as Ray McMaster, Craig Simpson and Robert Yap Foo.
The Ladies section also promises to be competitive with McMaster expecting to be challenged by her daughter Aliana, Marguerite Harris and Renee Rickhi.
Mention must be made of the Juniors who have been posting wins against some of the island’s top shooters. Juniors such as Danzell Knight, Mark Desnoes, JJ Ralston and David Wong are expected to be engaged in heated battle throughout the day.
The shooters will compete in various classes including A-E, Junior A-D, Sub-Junior, Ladies and Hunters or beginners.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, there will be a number of changes to the 2021 staging of the tournament. The usual two-day event will now be held in one day in order to reduce the contact time among the shooters.
There will be no hospitality on the course and no after-shoot prize-giving lyme. The wearing of masks will be mandatory and shooters will be subjected to temperature checks on entering the venue.
There will also be no shooters briefings and fewer shooters will be allowed on the course at any one time. This means that there will be two start times (9:30 am and 1:30 pm), which will lead to a longer day overall but makes for easier social distancing with fewer shooters on the course.
Hertha Berlin have sacked head coach Bruno Labbadia and general manager Michael Preetz following a poor run of form.
Saturday's 4-1 home loss to fellow strugglers Werder Bremen proved to be the final game in charge for Labbadia, who was only appointed nine months ago.
Labbadia guided Hertha from 13th to 10th upon taking over from Jurgen Klinsmann last season but the Old Lady have failed to push on this term.
They have lost three of their previous four games and have won just four of their 18 league matches all season.
With the capital club only two points above the relegation play-off spot having played a game more than 16th-place Cologne, the board has now taken action.
Hertha confirmed the news on their official website on Sunday, with chairman Carsten Schmidt concerned about his side's slide down the division.
"Week in, week out, Bruno and his coaching staff have invested a lot of hard work into the team's development and we would like to thank him greatly for that," Schmidt said.
"Ultimately, however, the return of 17 points from 18 games leaves us in a very precarious situation.
"After much deliberation, we feel that a change of head coach can give the team fresh impetus. We will clarify his successor as head coach in the coming days."
Preetz has spent close to a quarter of a century at Hertha, including the past 12 years as part of the management staff.
Sporting director Arne Friedrich will take over Preetz's duties until the end of the campaign, when a permanent replacement will be announced.
President Werner Gegenbauer said: "Hertha have a lot to thank Michael Preetz for. During his time here, he has established Hertha as a Bundesliga club.
"But looking at the development both in the last campaign and the current one, we have decided to take a different direction for his role in the future.
"Nevertheless, I want to express my sincerest thanks to Michael Preetz for his fine work for so many years."
Hertha were among the biggest spenders in European football in 2020, bringing in the likes of Krzysztof Piatek, Matheus Cunha and Lucas Tousart.
Piatek and Cunha have scored a combined 19 goals in 60 Bundesliga appearances since arriving in January last year, with the latter responsible for 11 of those goals.
While their big-name forwards have failed to fire, Hertha have also struggled defensively. Only bottom-two sides Mainz (38) and Schalke (44) have conceded more than their 32 goals in 2020-21.
Hertha's next permanent head coach will be their fifth in the past two years with Pal Dardai, Ante Covic, Klinsmann and now Labbadia having departed since June 2019.
Arthur scored his first goal for Juventus as the defending champions beat Bologna 2-0 to go fourth in Serie A.
Juve claimed their first trophy under boss Andrea Pirlo with a Supercoppa Italiana victory over Napoli in midweek and got their title bid back on track at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
Arthur's deflected first-half strike and a Weston McKennie header moved the Turin giants seven points adrift of leaders Milan with a game in hand.
Juve, beaten by Inter last weekend, were not at their best but although Bologna had their chances, they are now without a win over the Bianconeri in 19 attempts.
Pirlo's side took the lead in fortuitous fashion after 15 minutes, when Arthur's long-range drive struck Jerdy Schouten and gave wrongfooted goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski no chance.
Skorupski produced a fine double save to prevent Juve from increasing their advantage, using his feet to deny Federico Bernardeschi from close range after palming away a strike from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Juan Cuadrado fired wastefully off target before Roberto Soriano went close to equalising late in the first half with a shot from inside the penalty area that flashed wide.
A fine reflex save from Wojciech Szczesny prevented Cuadrado's header from gifting Bologna an own goal early in the second half and the Juve keeper once again had to be alert keep out Riccardo Orsolini's left-footed strike.
Bologna were made to pay for their profligacy when an unmarked McKennie nodded in Cuadrado's corner 19 minutes from time.
Skorupski denied McKennie a quickfire double with a great reaction save before preventing Alvaro Morata from adding a third goal at his near post.
The busy Skorupski beat away Adrien Rabiot's left-footed shot and saved a powerful Ronaldo strike as Juve saw out a comfortable win.
Kyrie Irving revelled in a hard-fought victory for the Brooklyn Nets over the Miami Heat after he went into a "winning" zone in the fourth quarter.
The Nets got back on track after consecutive defeats to the Cleveland Cavaliers by overcoming the Heat 128-124 on Saturday.
Up against an inspired Bam Adebayo, who scored a career-best 41 points, Brooklyn relied on the star power of Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden to get them over the line.
"It's not every day you see this collection of guys playing together in NBA history, so we want to take full advantage of that," Irving told reporters.
Irving proved decisive, with 18 of his 28 points coming in the fourth quarter, including three three-pointers.
"It's winning time," Irving told reporters while explaining his mentality in the final quarter.
"I've always said that throughout my career. When it gets down to that point, obviously you just want to buckle down on the defensive end, get stops, and I felt like we did that.
"We had two losses where we had to learn a lot very quickly and we just moved on to the next night. I feel like we gave the effort in spurts, and obviously we want to have more consistency in that, and that'll take time. I'm happy with the effort."
While Durant topped the Nets' scoring with 31 points, Harden also stepped up to the plate, posting 12 points and 11 assists with seven rebounds.
"It feels good not to have to score so much to give ourselves a chance to win a game," eight-time All-Star Harden said.
"I can go out there and just be a playmaker and shoot my shot when it's available and still get guys involved, and still have a chance to win the game.
"That's a change. But for me just being the player that I am, impacting the game in other ways other than scoring."
Durant, meanwhile, hailed Irving as the difference-maker.
"You've seen how special and talented and hard-working Kyrie is," Durant told reporters. "He works on all of those shots every day and he comes in with that mentality that especially late in the games he'll have to knock those down for us.
"He's an all-world player, he's a great team-mate but when the ball is in his hands late in the game, our team is just so unpredictable because he can make the pass, he can score in the mid-range, score in the three-point area, get to the basket and we've got weapons around him that makes it tough to guard.
"We're going to need that from him going forward and he was phenomenal in the fourth."
Though the Nets' star trio ultimately claimed the win, Miami's Adebayo was at his best, finishing with five rebounds and nine assists in addition to his 41 points.
"It was about time Bam had 40 in terms of getting a lot of those moves that he's been working on in the offseason," said Irving, who – against coronavirus protocols – attempted to swap jerseys with Adebayo on the court before a Heat official intervened.
"Just watching him grow since high school, be able to take over at this point for kind of an undermanned Miami team, it's good to see."
England captain Joe Root was denied a second consecutive double century when he was run out for 186 from the final ball of day three in a gripping second Test against Sri Lanka.
The great Wally Hammond remains the only Englishman in history to have passed 200 in consecutive matches, although Root looked certain to join him as he took the fight to the hosts in majestic fashion
Root is now fourth in England's list of all-time Test runs scorers, having surpassed Geoffrey Boycott, Kevin Pietersen and David Gower over the course of a truly magnificent knock, which accounts for the bulk of England's 339-9 – a first-innings deficit of 42.
Before Oshada Fernando collected sharply at short leg to catch the visiting skipper out of his ground, this was another England innings that pitted two supreme performers at the top of their game against one another, with Sri Lanka left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya taking 7-132 in a near lone response to Root's brilliance.
Embuldeniya's wide angle on the crease and ability to find biting turn accounted for openers Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley on day two, and he saw off Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence in similar fashion on Sunday.
Bairstow could only add four to his overnight 24 after a review showed a faint inside edge onto pad that was pouched by Oshada, while Lawrence nicked a beauty to Lahiru Thirimanne at first slip.
Root's immaculate sweep shot meant he was able to largely avoid such problems, even punishing the excellent Embuldeniya with his audacious switch hit.
Substantial support for the captain finally arrived in the form of Jos Buttler, whose crunching off-side drive and reverse sweep were in good order during a fifth-wicket partnership of 97.
Somewhat unfortunately, the latter shot would prove Buttler's downfall after lunch when, on 55, he struck a delivery from debutant Ramesh Mendis (1-48) into his boot and it looped up for the ever-alert Osada to catch.
The Thirimanne-Embuldeniya combination accounted for Sam Curran, Dom Bess and Mark Wood, although Bess played tidily for an important 32 in a stand of 81 as Root motored on despite beginning to struggle with cramps and back pain.
It was a monumental effort over the course of 309 deliveries that did not deserve its cruel sting in the tail.
Reggie Miller hailed Stephen Curry as an inspiration after the Golden State Warriors guard went past him on the NBA's all-time three-pointers list.
The Warriors lost 127-108 to the Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena on Sunday but Curry had a moment to savour when he sunk his 2,561st effort from deep.
It leaves only Ray Allen ahead of Curry on 2,973 and Miller joined the Warriors' postgame media call via Zoom to pass on some warm words.
"Congratulations, this is an unbelievable achievement," he said, accompanied on the call by his son - a self-confessed huge fan of Curry.
"I know the work is not done, I know you're chasing Ray, but you are an inspiration to so many little ones, like mine.
"I'm so proud of all the work because I know what goes into that.
"I know the countless hours, when it's easy to go hang with your boys, hit the clubs, sleep, do other things.
"But you're in the lab getting your work done."
Curry said going past Miller was "pretty special" and "something I've been looking forward to for a very long time".
"That means a lot, Reg. I appreciate it," he replied.
"Like you said, I know I have a lot more to take.
"That competitive juice, the work that goes in, the appreciation of every game I get to play - to shoot the ball at this level and follow your footsteps in that regard means a lot.
"You and Ray, to have two guys to have reached back and encouraged me the way you have means a lot. I appreciate you, man."
Even though he still needs more than 400 three-pointers to make up the ground on Allen, Curry's rate of scoring means his move to the top of the pile should only be a matter of time.
Over the course of a 715-game NBA career, he averages 3.6 per game and boasts a 43.3 per cent success rate from beyond the arc.
Dustin Poirier declared "I'm the champ" after defeating Conor McGregor by technical knockout at UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
A string of punches to McGregor's head in the second round made Poirier a leading contender for the UFC lightweight title, which is still held by Khabib Nurmagomedov despite the Russian having retired.
Poirier said he would be open to a rematch with McGregor or a bout with Nate Diaz but ruled out a fight against Michael Chandler, who defeated Dan Hooker on his UFC debut in the co-main event.
Asked if a fight with former Bellator lightweight champion Chandler interested him, Porier said: "No, it does not. Respect to Chandler, great win over a guy, but to come in and beat a guy I just beat and get a title shot?
"Dude, I've been 27, 28 fights in the UFC, trying everything, fighting the toughest of the toughest guys to get my hands on gold. He should fight Charles Oliveira or something, let them go at it.
"That doesn't really interest me at this point. I'll go and sell hot sauce if that's the case.
"It's not even my position, I've just been putting in the work, that's why I can sit here and talk about it because I've been in the division and the UFC for a long time fighting the best of the best to him.
"No disrespect to him … it's just my feelings towards the division and the sport. I feel like I lost to Khabib, I came out and put on a fight of the year for you guys, got my hand raised against a top-five opponent after that, then I come in here and Khabib doesn't want to come back, and one of the biggest fights you can get I knock this guy out too.
"Khabib reiterates he doesn't want to fight anymore. Dude, I'm the champ.
"Fighting a new guy to the UFC who just beat a guy whose coming off a loss that I just beat for the belt, that's not exciting to me."
Poirier ranked the victory over McGregor as one of his best, particularly because the Irishman won their first meeting in 2014 and had never been knocked out before.
"It's up there, especially finishing a guy who's never been finished like that, it's up there man," he said.
"Touching that UFC interim belt was so important to me, and putting my hands on the undisputed world title before this is all said and done is what I want to absolutely do, but this is a big one."
Poirier lost his first and only shot at the title when he was submitted at UFC 242 by Nurmagomedov, who bowed out after making Justin Gaethje tap at UFC 254 last October.
Asked whether Gaethje or Oliveira was more deserving of a chance to fight him for the lightweight belt, he replied: "Oliveira, because he's never had the opportunity.
"Gaethje just came out here and got beat. As I did. Not a knock on Gaethje, but he lost. Oliveira probably, or let them fight to see who gets it. There are so many tough fighters in the 155-pound division."
Newcastle Jets claimed their first victory of the A-League season at the fifth time of asking with a 2-1 triumph at Wellington Phoenix.
Wellington are still without a win this term and now sit a place below Newcastle in 11th, although they have two games in hand.
The Jets came into the match on a run of four defeats from four but at least boasted a man in form in Valentino Yuel, and the forward was played through by strike partner Roy O'Donovan in the eighth minute to clip home a fine finish off the left post for a third goal in three outings.
O'Donovan got in on the act six minutes into the second period, keeping his composure to net a 50th A-League goal after Wellington goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic charged out of his area.
Marinovic's opposite number Jack Duncan excelled throughout the contest, making seven saves, although he was beaten from the penalty spot in the 85th minute - Phoenix captain Ulises Davila sending him the wrong way after substitute Blake Archbold made a rash sliding challenge on Cameron Devlin.
Conor McGregor called out Khabib Nurmagomedov after the retired UFC lightweight champion criticised him following his defeat to Dustin Poirier at UFC 257.
Poirier became the first man to knockout former featherweight and lightweight champion McGregor following a flurry of punches to the head in the second round in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Nurmagomedov was in attendance and Dana White said the Russian told him he was "so many levels above these guys" after informing the UFC president he needed to see "something spectacular" to be tempted out of retirement.
Following McGregor's defeat, Nurmagomedov tweeted: "This is what happened [sic], when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality."
McGregor was submitted by Khabib at UFC 229 in October 2018, a fight that was overshadowed by a post-bout brawl outside the Octagon. The fight with Poirier was just the Irishman's second since then.
Asked if he had a response to Nurmagomedov's remarks, McGregor said: "My team has been the team since day one, I've not changed anything. It is what it is, respect the athletes. That's the character for the man for sure, behind the mask.
"What's he wanna do? Does he wanna come back or no? Because he's not throwing any leg kicks. I got up off the ground against Dustin, I turned Dustin. Look at little pockets of that sequence.
"Styles make fights, every fight is a different fight. That's why all this prestige people try and hold onto, I don't hold onto that. Whether someone has multiple wins or multiple losses, every fight between every man is different. That's it.
"Dustin's style played into it today. He has the durability, he has the experience and he has that leg kick in his arsenal now. I'll adjust and keep going.
"But if he [Nurmagomedov] wants to have his disrespectful comments, come back and let's go again my man. I'm ready for it. That's fighting talk. If you're coming back, come back."
McGregor has lost two of his past three fights in UFC and White predicted the 32-year-old will either become hungrier for more success or leave the sport behind.
"There's two ways this goes, hungrier or 'I'm done.' He's got the money," said White.
"It's like 'Rocky III', when you get off a 310-foot yacht, you're living that good life, it's tough to be a savage when you're living like he lives and has the money that he has. On his way up he was a young, hungry kid and he wanted nice things … he's got everything he ever wanted now, so I don't know."
McGregor, however, suggested there are still a number of battles that interest him.
"I'll certainly regroup and pick myself up, get up off the floor and go again and that's it. Styles make fight and there's many great stylistic matches out there," he said.
"Myself and Dustin are 1-1, myself and Nate [Diaz] are 1-1. There's many good matchups for me and I'll adopt a different approach for the trilogy with Dustin because those leg kicks are not to be messed with – the low calf kick I've never experienced that and it was a good one."
He added: "It's heartbreaking [to lose]. It's hard to take. The highest highs and the lowest lows in this game. My leg is completely dead and even though I thought I was checking them it was just sinking into the muscle at the front of the leg and it was badly compromised. It's like an American football in my shoe at the minute. It is what it is. Dustin fought a hell of a fight.
"I have no excuses here. It was a phenomenal performance from Dustin. I'll go back and watch the full fight and get a better grasp on it, but the leg was compromised, and I was rushing the shots a little bit and I didn't adjust. That's that. It's a bitter pill to swallow.
"Me and Dustin now are 1-1. For sure we'll go again."
Dana White revealed Khabib Nurmagomedov told him he was "so many levels above" his rivals, making it unlikely the undefeated star will come out of retirement.
Khabib (29-0) sensationally retired after beating Justin Gaethje in October last year.
White has been pushing for the Russian to return for a 30th fight, but that seems unlikely to happen.
After Dustin Poirier stunned Conor McGregor, the UFC president revealed he had a conversation with Khabib.
"I did talk to Khabib," White said.
"He said to me, 'Dana, be honest with yourself, you know I'm so many levels above these guys, I beat these guys.'
"I don't know, I don't know, but it doesn't sound very positive so we'll see.
"I told you guys before he won't hold the division up. He already retired, he's basically retired, I'm the one that's been trying to get him to do one more."
White confirmed McGregor and Poirier would likely fight for the lightweight title if Khabib did not return.
Conor McGregor lamented his inactivity after being stunned by Dustin Poirier at UFC 257 on Sunday.
The Irishman was knocked out in the second round by Poirier, the man he beat in September 2014, in Abu Dhabi.
But it was McGregor's first fight in 12 months and just his third since the start of 2018.
The former lightweight champion said his lack of competitive action was the difference.
"You know, it's hard to overcome inactivity over long periods of time and that's just it," McGregor said.
"The leg kicks were good, that low calf kick was good, the leg was dead and just wasn't as comfortable as I needed to be.
"It's the inactivity, but Dustin is some fighter and if you're in here, if you put in the time in here, you're going to get cosy in here and that's it.
"I have to dust it off and come back and that's what I will do."
McGregor said he was "gutted" and was keen to fight again this year.
Poirier, meanwhile, believes he is the lightweight champion – if Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) is unwilling to come out of retirement.
"I felt like this was a title fight," the American said.
"If Khabib's not coming back, me and Conor are the two best guys, I think this was a title fight. I'm the champion."
Dustin Poirier stunned Conor McGregor with a second-round knockout at UFC 257 on Sunday.
The American landed a flurry of head punches on McGregor for an incredible victory in Abu Dhabi.
Fighting for the first time in 12 months, McGregor had made a decent start before Poirier responded with several blows for the knockout.
In what was a rematch of their fight from 2014, when McGregor was victorious, Poirier delivered a stunning result to gain some revenge.
WHERE WAS THE FIGHT WON?
Poirier landed a huge left hand that rattled McGregor in the second round. He backed that up with several shots that sent the Irishman to the canvas, ending the fight.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Will Khabib Nurmagomedov (29-0) come out of retirement? Poirier claimed he was the champion after his win over McGregor, if Khabib was not returning, but the American should be lining up a shot at the UFC lightweight holder.
THEY SAID WHAT?
"I'm happy but I'm not surprised. I put in the work. Conor took this result very professionally, he's a pro and nothing but respect. We're 1-1, maybe we have to do it again," Poirier said after his win.
NEW RECORDS (W-L-D):
Poirier: 27-6-0
McGregor: 22-5-0
REST OF THE CARD
Michael Chandler made quite the impression on his UFC debut. He made quick work of Dan Hooker with a first-round knockout.
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