Donovan Mitchell's performance "looked like a video game" as he made a spectacular return to the court after missing eight straight games due to a concussion.
That was the view of his Utah Jazz teammate Udoka Azubuike after Mitchell made up for lost time as the Jazz, fourth in the Western Conference, outclassed the out-of-form Brooklyn Nets 125-102 on Friday.
Mitchell ended the game with 27 points in just under 22 minutes, draining six of his seven three-point attempts and adding six assists.
He set a franchise record for most points scored in under 22 minutes, while Bojan Bogdanovic was a valuable ally with 19 points and 11 rebounds, ensuring the Nets were consigned to a seventh consecutive defeat.
Azubuike found himself in disbelief at Mitchell's heroics.
"He was unbelievable," Azubuike said about Mitchell. "It looked like a video game. There was one time I had to catch myself in the moment because I was just watching him.
"Every shot was going in. Don is a star."
For Mitchell, who has reached three straight All-Star Games, getting back to action was the most important factor after the Jazz went 2-6 in his absence.
"I was just happy to be playing basketball," he said, per ESPN. "I was joking before the game that I didn't care if the ball went in.
"I was just happy to be out there running around, guarding, thinking the game and playing with my teammates.
"I'd rather be out there playing, but I just told someone my legs haven't felt that fresh in a long time."
With Quin Snyder in the COVID-19 health and safety protocols, it was Alex Jensen who acted as interim coach for the Jazz, with Mitchell's return making his task more straightforward.
"There's so much focus other teams have on him that it frees up other guys offensively," said Jensen.
"He's Donovan Mitchell and makes life a lot easier for everybody."
James Harden (hamstring), Kevin Durant (knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) and Joe Harris (ankle) were all again absent for a Nets team who have plummeted to sixth in the East.
The Nets' Kyrie Irving acknowledged they had come up against one of the NBA's biggest stars in Mitchell.
"We have a lot of special guys in our league," said Irving, who ended the game with 15 points after going just six for 20 from the field.
"But there are a few special guys that even separate from that group of just being special and he's one of those people."
The Jazz host the New York Knicks on Monday in the third contest of a six-game run at home that has so far produced two victories from two.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, will be in Denver to face the Nuggets on Sunday.
Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho should be fit to face Burnley after his goal against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
Sancho scored his first goal at Old Trafford since his lucrative move from Borussia Dortmund seven months ago, but Championship side Boro controversially equalised through Matt Crooks on Friday.
The match then ended level at 1-1 and, after no goals in extra-time, it was the visitors who reached the fifth round in a huge upset, winning 8-7 on penalties.
United are straight back to action against Burnley in the Premier League on Tuesday, the second of a hectic seven-match run of fixtures up until February 26.
Despite being replaced by Juan Mata after appearing to have a hamstring issue against Boro, Sancho should be fit to play his part at Turf Moor.
The man who assisted his goal, Bruno Fernandes, is also set to be available as United look to bounce back.
"Jadon didn't get a knock," United boss Ralf Rangnick told MUTV. "He was just feeling tired.
"He had no injury, he was just feeling some fatigue and had some cramp so that was the reason why we decided to take him off.
"Bruno had a knock on his back but could play through the whole game.
"With Paul Pogba having been out for two and a half months, it was normal that he was substituted after 65, 70 minutes.
"Physically, I don't think we need to lift the squad. Hopefully, for Tuesday, we will have all of those players available again."
United were punished for missing a hatful of chances as they failed to win a home FA Cup match against a lower-league side for just the fourth time in the past 32 such meetings.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed an early penalty, Sancho hit the crossbar and Fernandes squandered a glorious chance when he hit the post.
Overall, United had 30 shots, the most of any team in a single FA Cup match since the start of last season, finishing with 4.32 expected goals to Middlesbrough's 1.43.
United have now lost six of their past seven shoot-outs in all competitions and the Champions League is their remaining faint hope of silverware.
Despite the damaging loss, Rangnick felt there was not much to criticise in terms of the overall performance.
"We have played well in the last couple of weeks, in the league and also in the first half [against Boro]," added the German.
"I don't think we could have done a lot of things a lot better, apart from scoring more goals in the first half. We have to take our chances better with more quality than we did.
"The chance that Bruno had, if he had 10 chances like that in a game, he would score nine of them. He hit the post and I think he tried to place that ball almost too accurately into the corner of the goal.
"In the end things like that can happen. Of course he didn’t do that on purpose and for now our full focus must go on the other two competitions [the Premier League and Champions League].
"Of course the players are disappointed like we all are but again this is football, this can happen."
Nikola Vucevic was tasked with dominating the middle against the depleted Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls center was up to the task.
Vucevic earned a 29th double-double of the season, scoring a season-high 36 points and adding 17 rebounds as the Bulls earned a 122-115 triumph on Friday.
DeMar DeRozan contributed 31 points to the cause against a Pacers side devoid of Goga Bitadze, Malcolm Brogdon, Isaiah Jackson, T.J. McConnell, Myles Turner and T.J. Warren due to injuries, while Domantas Sabonis is unavailable due to health and safety protocols.
The Bulls consequently remain top of the Eastern Conference after winning for the fourth time in six outings, with Vucevic going 16 of 21 from the field.
In credit to the Pacers, they were only trailing 65-62 at halftime and briefly led when Lance Stephenson landed a three-pointer with a little under three minutes of the third quarter remaining, but a 10-0 stretch in the fourth ensured the Bulls were in control.
Mitchell return inspires Jazz against out-of-sorts Nets
Donovan Mitchell missed eight straight games as a result of a concussion but made up for lost time as the Utah Jazz, fourth in the West, outclassed the out-of-form Brooklyn Nets 125-102.
Mitchell ended the game with 27 points on the back of eight-for-10 shooting, while he drained six three-pointers and added six assists in 22 minutes of action. His tally was a franchise record for most points scored under 22 minutes.
Bojan Bogdanovic was a valuable ally with 19 points and 11 rebounds, as the Nets were consigned to a seventh consecutive defeat.
James Harden (hamstring), Kevin Durant (knee), LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle) and Joe Harris (ankle) were all again absent for a Nets team who have plummeted to sixth in the East.
Doncic triple-double sparks Mavs comeback
Not for the first time in his career, Luka Doncic was the hero for the Dallas Mavericks as they overturned a 16-point second-quarter deficit to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-98.
Doncic earned a 44th career triple-double, finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds and 15 assists in a game that was paused for 44 minutes during the opening period after it was ruled one of the rims was crooked.
Reggie Bullock made a pair of big three-pointers down the stretch in a 20-point showing, while Jalen Brunson put up 19.
The Mavs snapped a two-game losing streak, while the 76ers - for who Joel Embiid had 27 points and 13 rebounds - have lost two on the spin for the first time since the middle of December.
Diego Schwartzman survived a scare from lucky loser Daniel Elahi Galan to reach the semi-finals of the Cordoba Open.
Top seed Schwartzman lost the first set to this Colombian opponent, but recovered to prevail 3-6 6-0 7-5.
Yet the Argentine still had to battle to clinch the decisive set, dropping serve when attempting to wrap up the match at 5-3.
He recovered from that setback and is just two wins away from his second title on home soil, having won in Buenos Aires last year.
Schwartzman will face qualifier Alejandro Tabilo in the last four.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas, seeded sixth, beat fourth seed Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets to book his place in the semis, where he will face Juan Ignacio Londero.
Ralf Rangnick said it was "incredible" that Middlesbrough's goal was allowed to stand as they knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup on Friday.
The Championship side triumphed on penalties at Old Trafford after holding United to a 1-1 draw, Matt Crooks cancelling out Jadon Sancho's opener despite the ball striking Duncan Watmore's hand in the build-up.
The Red Devils were punished for missing a hatful of chances as they failed to win a home FA Cup match against a lower-league side for just the fourth time in the past 32 such meetings.
After Cristiano Ronaldo had missed an earlier penalty, a deflected Sancho strike put United in front, but they failed to build on that advantage despite dominating proceedings in the first half especially.
Overall, United had 30 shots, the most of any team in a single FA Cup match since the start of last season, finishing with 4.32 expected goals to Middlesbrough's 1.43.
Yet they found themselves level when Crooks turned in Watmore's lob, the goal allowed to stand after Watmore's clear handball was deemed to be accidental.
United continued to be profligate, Bruno Fernandes somehow hitting the post with the goal at his mercy and Anthony Elanga heading a clear chance straight at goalkeeper Joe Lumley.
It was teenager Elanga who missed the crucial kick in the shoot-out, firing his effort over the bar after the first 15 penalties had been scored.
United have now lost six of their past seven shoot-outs in all competitions and the Champions League is now their remaining faint hope of silverware for this season given they are 19 points off the Premier League pace set by Manchester City.
"In the end, the goal should never have been given. It's incredible that it stood," Rangnick told MUTV.
"It was a clear handball. I would not have needed VAR, it should have been seen by the referee himself but the VAR should not have given the goal.
"As far as I know, the referee and the VAR said it was not intentional, it was coincidental, how can it be coincidental if the hand is up there and he controlled the ball with his hand?"
Despite his frustration with the equaliser, Rangnick admitted United only had themselves to blame for their cup exit.
"We're really disappointed," he said. "The players, the staff, everybody. This was completely unnecessary. We should have killed off the game in the first half. We could easily have been 3-0 or 4-0 [up].
"We started well and played extremely well in the whole first half. Our movement and tempo of the game were exactly what we intended to do. But it was only 1-0 and a goal like this can always happen, although it shouldn't have happened from our perspective because we didn't defend well, we were too open in that counter-attack situation."
Boro boss Chris Wilder conceded he had expected Crooks' goal to be disallowed at first.
"We rode our luck and took our chances," he told ITV. "The decisions that are made through VAR have changed since I left the Premier League. I thought straight away it was handball. I thought it would be chalked off and [I am] delighted it wasn't.
"The FA Cup is alive and kicking, especially in Middlesbrough. I told the players it was all about making memories."
Alexander Zverev breezed into the semi-finals of the Open Sud de France by beating home favourite Adrian Mannarino for the loss of just one game.
The world number three needed just 50 minutes to swat aside Mannarino 6-1 6-0 to set up a last-four match with Mikael Ymer.
Champion at this event in 2017, Zverev's record in Montpellier moved to 9-1 and he has now won seven matches in a row against Mannarino.
Ymer, the world number 83, squandered one match point in his contest with Richard Gasquet but eventually came through 7-5 6-7 (6-8) 6-1.
The best entertainment came in the earlier match between Alexander Bublik and Roberto Bautista Agut, sixth seed Bublik eventually coming through 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) after just over two hours on court.
He will face Filip Krajinovic for a place in the final, the Serbian having beaten Damir Dzumhur in straight sets.
At the Tata Open Maharashtra, rising Italian star Lorenzo Musetti was surprised by world number 95 Kamil Majchrzak.
The Pole, who defeated Musetti's compatriot Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open in straight sets, won 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to set up a semi-final against Emil Ruusuvuori.
The other semi-final sees Joao Sousa, into the last four at Tour level for the first time since St Petersburg in 2019, face Elias Ymer.
"I think I played a great match," said Sousa after beating Daniel Altmaier in straight sets. "I was very solid. I knew it was going to be a tough match, so I was prepared to run a lot."
Manchester United exited the FA Cup on penalties after a contentious 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough in the fourth round at Old Trafford.
Anthony Elanga blazed over to send Boro through 8-7 following United's seventh spot-kick defeat in eight contests, although they would no doubt argue the tie should not have advanced to that stage.
Ralf Rangnick might point to generous officiating from Anthony Taylor that did not punish Duncan Watmore's handball in the build-up to Matt Crooks' second-half equaliser for Boro.
But United's inability to add to a lead secured by Jadon Sancho was equally damaging, their 30 shots worth a combined 4.32 expected goals – an early Cristiano Ronaldo penalty among the misses as the Red Devils crashed out.
By the time Sancho made the most of Boro's latest piece of haphazard defending to break the deadlock with a deflected shot across Joe Lumley, United could have been two or three up.
Sancho clipped a delicate attempt onto the crossbar after Lumley spilled a long ball, then Anfernee Dijksteel clumsily brought down Paul Pogba in the box, only for Ronaldo to drag his spot-kick wide. Bruno Fernandes volleyed wildly over when played onside, too.
Chances continued to come and go after the 25th-minute opener, with Marcus Rashford letting Boro off the hook again early in the second half.
And that profligacy came back to bite United in bizarre circumstances when Watmore blatantly controlled Isaiah Jones' cross with his hand but directed a lob across the face of goal, allowing Crooks to steal in and net a leveller that the VAR did not overturn.
Fernandes pulled a straightforward finish against the foot of the post soon afterwards, failing to prevent an extra time period in which Dean Henderson was required to make a close-range stop from Aaron Connolly to reach the shoot-out.
Each of the first 15 kicks were scored, before Elanga finally failed, stunning the home support.
Simone Inzaghi scoffed at the idea Inter might kill off Milan's title hopes in Saturday's derby, as he claimed even Juventus remain in the Scudetto hunt.
A victory for Inter would move them seven points clear of Milan, while also having the advantage of a game in hand.
Inzaghi's Inter will be the home side at the San Siro stadium the teams share, and the Nerazzurri lead the way at the top of Serie A after losing just one of their opening 22 games.
It would be hard to see Milan coming back from defeat to their great rivals, but Inzaghi is not discounting the prospect.
Asked if three points for Inter would count out Milan, Inzaghi said: "I don't think so. There are another 15 matches to go and we all saw what happened in the first half of the season. We were seven points behind and drew the derby and still managed to close the gap."
Milan made a flying start to the season but were reeled in, with 2021-22 carrying distinct echoes of how the 2020-21 campaign panned out.
Then, it was Antonio Conte pulling the strings as Inter charged through to capture the title, and now it is Inzaghi's turn, with a first Scudetto of his coaching career beckoning.
He triumphed in Serie A as a player with Sven-Goran Eriksson's double-winning Lazio in 1999-2000, and is not getting ahead of himself this time.
"It's an important game and we know how much it means to the fans," Inzaghi said of derby day. "But there are 45 points and a lot of football to play before we can draw any conclusions.
"I played in lots of derbies and there's never a favourite. Tomorrow will be no different: it's a game that will be won by fine margins. It will come down to our motivation."
Inter have lost only one of their last 11 Serie A meetings against Milan. That defeat was a 2-1 setback in October 2020, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic scoring twice in the opening 16 minutes. Inter have won six and drawn four of those 11 games, with Milan keeping a clean sheet just once.
Most signs point to Inter giving up no ground to their city rivals this weekend. Their last Serie A home defeat was that 2020 loss to Milan, and they are undefeated in 28 games since in the competition when hosting.
Inzaghi won just three of 10 Serie A games against Milan while serving as head coach at Lazio, and his Inter side drew 1-1 with Stefano Pioli's Rossoneri earlier this season.
For obvious reasons, Inzaghi would dearly love a win this time. Napoli and Milan both enter the weekend as Inter's closest challengers, four points back and having played one game more than Inzaghi's men.
Despite this position of strength, Inzaghi said the title race was "all still open".
"Besides Milan and Napoli, there's Atalanta and Juventus, who are very good teams," Inzaghi told a news conference, according to Inter's website.
"Juventus have been doing really well in the last two months and they've made some great signings. All of the teams down to Juventus could win the Scudetto."
Juventus raided Fiorentina last week to sign Dusan Vlahovic, the exciting Serbian forward who hit 33 goals in Serie A in 2021, and that should fortify Massimiliano Allegri's fifth-placed Bianconeri for a push into the Champions League places.
Juve are 11 points off the top, also having played 23 games to Inter's 22. Atalanta are a point better off than Juve, occupying fourth spot.
Australia secured a two-wicket win over Afghanistan at the Coolidge Cricket Ground to finish third at the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup Friday.
Afghanistan won the toss, chose to bat first and posted a relatively modest 201 all out off 49.2 overs.
Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai was the chief run-getter for Afghanistan with 81 off 79 balls including five fours and five sixes.
He was supported by captain Suliman Safi (37) and Mohammad Ishaq (34).
Nivethan Radhakrishnan was the pick of the Australian bowlers with 3-31 from 10 overs while William Salzmann supported well with 3-43 from his 10 overs.
Radhakrishnan completed a fine all-round performance with a top score of 66 off 96 balls including seven fours to lead Australia in their chase.
Campbell Kellaway also got a half-century (51) in the Australian reply.
After seeming to have it all under control at 118-3 in the 29th over, timely wickets made the journey a lot harder than the Aussies would have liked.
Some tight bowling and unsure batting led to Afghanistan being on the cusp of an unlikely comeback victory with Australia reeling at 196-8 with two overs remaining before Joshua Garner and Jack Sinfield held their nerves to get Australia over the line, reaching 202-8 off 49.1 overs to secure the win.
Nangeyalia Kharote took 3-35 off 9.1 overs while Shahidullah Hasani and Noor Ahmad took two wickets each for Afghanistan.
As Serie A returns this weekend, the standout fixture is the Milan derby. And this isn't just any Milan derby.
Champions Inter are setting the pace, with 16 wins and just one defeat in 22 games. They are the top scorers in the division, with 53; they have the most points, with 53. The league's second-best goalscorers are their city rivals, who are only four points behind, albeit having played a game more.
With Juventus having slipped from their perch, Milan and Inter have become Italy's trendsetters once more. They are the leading exponents of Serie A's modern trend: that of shunning catenaccio in favour of front-foot, attacking football. And, with all due respect to second-place Napoli, they are undoubtedly the favourites to occupy the top two places come the end of the season.
All this means Saturday's clash at San Siro should be one to savour...
'BORING, BORING SERIE A...'
Matchday 21 of Serie A saw 39 goals scored across only 10 matches. In Europe's top five leagues in 2021-22, only matchday 14 of the Bundesliga (41 goals) and matchday nine of the Premier League (40) produced more goals across a set of fixtures.
That was no aberration, either. Of the 10 highest-scoring matchdays in Europe's big five leagues this term, five have come from Italy. Indeed, Serie A has been averaging over three goals a game for the past three seasons, a rate last seen 70 years ago.
It follows that the two teams best embracing that trend are competing for the Scudetto. Not only have Inter (53) and Milan (47) scored the most Serie A goals in 2021-22, but they have embraced a style that lends itself to creating as many opportunities as possible.
Milan (eight) and Inter (seven) are the teams with the most goals after an open-play sequence of 10 or more passes. When it comes to open-play shots, the Nerazzurri are second (274) and the Rossoneri fourth (265) in the division.
Interestingly, while Inter are top for expected goals (excluding penalties) with 40.9, Milan are down in eighth on 31.3. That means Stefano Pioli's men are outperforming their non-penalty xG total by almost 11 goals (when own goals are included), a tally bettered only by Lazio (16.6). There's a ruthlessness about them this season that's keeping them on Inter's coattails.
RELEASE THE HAKAN
Speaking of ruthless... boy, would Zlatan love to be involved in this.
A Scudetto winner with each club, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has great history in this fixture, with eight goals in league derbies (six for Milan and two for Inter). In the history of the fixture, only Giuseppe Meazza (12), Gunnar Nordahl (11) and Stefano Nyers (11) have scored more.
The 40-year-old scored twice in Milan's 2-1 derby victory in October 2020, the only one of the past 11 in the league in which the Rossoneri have come out on top. Unfortunately for them, injury has denied Ibrahimovic the chance of dealing further damage to his old employers.
Instead, the sub-plot burden falls on Hakan Calhanoglu, who made an acrimonious free transfer to Inter from Milan at the end of last season. His 32 goals and 42 assists in 174 appearances for Milan – he was top of the charts for both in his time at the club – made his move particularly painful to bear for supporters.
It was Calhanoglu who scored Inter's goal in the 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture this season, meaning Milan could become the third side, after Chievo and Fiorentina, against whom the Turkey star has scored in his first two Serie A meetings.
Among Serie A midfielders this season, only Antonio Candreva (59) has created more chances than Calhanoglu (50), while his 13 direct goal involvements are second only to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (15). Not that Milan needed any reminders about his threat.
DERBY DAZE
Inter have won more games (67) and scored more goals (247) against Milan than any other team in Serie A history. They are also enjoying a run of six wins and only one defeat in the past 11 derbies, in which time their rivals have kept just a single clean sheet.
Since that loss to Milan in October 2020, Simone Inzaghi's side have gone 28 home league matches without defeat. This is their longest such run in the competition since a 46-match streak between April 2008 and November 2010, which was ended by a defeat in the derby courtesy of a goal from, yep, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Form, as well as recent history, is on Inter's side. Since the beginning of last season, they have lost only four of 60 Serie A matches – fewer than half the number of any other team (Atalanta are next best, with nine). In a league table of that time frame, Inter would sit top on 144 points, 16 clear of Milan in second.
HALF-MEASURES
Each of these teams is averaging more than two goals per game this season, they have both scored in 21 different league matches and they have each won by two goals on six different occasions. Again, it's safe to expect some attacking football.
If you want specifics, we would suggest not going anywhere midway through the first half. The average times at which Inter and Milan have scored and conceded the first goal in a game this season are between the 27th and 38th minutes. Best wait until the break before grabbing that espresso.
Dani Alves is urging Barcelona to make the most of Ousmane Dembele while they can, but he also reminded the France forward he has a duty to "defend the shirt" as long as he remains at Camp Nou.
Dembele was strongly linked with a move away from Barca in January after his agent and the club came to an impasse in contract negotiations.
His current deal expires in June, meaning Dembele is already eligible to discuss free transfers with other clubs, though Barca have made no secret of their desire to keep him.
Nevertheless, Joan Laporta claimed Dembele ultimately rejected a transfer to an English club on deadline day, a decision that left the club president somewhat baffled and assuming he already had an agreement with another team for next season.
Laporta accepted it would be up to head coach Xavi whether Dembele was selected for the rest of the season, though Alves seems to think Barca should make use of his talents while they can.
Speaking on Movistar's #Vamos show, Alves said: "This kind of thing happens in football, but as long as he stays at Barca, he has to defend the shirt.
"If he goes at the end of the season, then so be it, but there are still five months left. You have to take advantage of being here.
"One has to be smarter than the situation. We have to think intelligently and take advantage of the fact that we have the player.
"We need unity in the entire locker room. You have to create a healthy environment of positivity, in which there are no bad vibes. If everyone contributes their own, Barca will come back, that is everyone's goal."
Alves returned to Camp Nou in November after leaving Sao Paulo and was eventually able to be registered at the start of 2022.
Three more new signings arrived in January as Ferran Torres, Adama Traore and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined the club.
But due to UEFA regulations only permitting three squad alterations ahead of the knockout phases of its club competitions, one of the new arrivals had to be left off their Europa League list.
Alves was the unfortunate one and, while he acknowledged a degree of frustration at the decision, he insisted he was not about to make a big deal of it.
"The coach knows what I think," he said. "I am always focused on trying to contribute as much as I can.
"We are employees. The club decides. I came to help, to add things, to bring a degree of competitiveness and winning spirit.
"If helping means staying out [of the squad], fine. They are phases of life that one has to accept.
"I would've liked to be in the squad, but unfortunately there were four players for three spots. I'm not going to catch bad vibes, I will continue trying to help."
After the bright lights, the pageantry and the controversy of the opening ceremony, the first medals of Beijing's Winter Olympics will be won on Saturday.
There is gold, silver and bronze glory up for grabs across a range of skiing and skating events.
Here, Stats Perform provides a rundown of the medal events taking place in Beijing on Saturday.
Biathlon
The mixed relay is the first medal event at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre, with the 4 x 6km getting under way late in the day.
Norway, Belarus, France, Sweden and Russian Olympic Committee are among the titans in this discipline, so one of those would appear likely to strike gold, with 20 teams entered for the event that mixes cross-country skiing with rifle shooting.
Cross-country skiing
The women's skiathlon at Zhangjiakou sees competitors complete 7.5 kilometres in the classic cross-country format before switching to skate skis for the final 7.5km stretch.
Russian Olympic Committee's Natalia Nepryaeva and Sweden's Frida Karlsson are likely gold medal contenders here, with Norway's Therese Johaug and another Swede, Ebba Andersson, also in the mix.
Freestyle skiing
Canada's Mikael Kingsbury is favourite to top the podium in the men's moguls, one of the most eye-catching sports at the Games. The defending champion began his Beijing 2022 campaign with a flawless run in qualifying for Saturday's final, and is the one to beat.
Kingsbury broke two vertebrae in his back in 2020, but he rebounded to win double gold at the 2021 World Championships, his speed over the bumps and mastery of the aerials an effective combination.
Short track speed skating
The mixed team relay could be where China secure a first gold medal of the Beijing Games. Netherlands and Russian Olympic Committee will likely be in with a shout too, but China led the recent World Cup standings with two wins from four races, plus podium finishes when they missed out on first place.
There are quarter-finals and semi-finals to negotiate, however, as the event makes its debut on the Olympic programme.
Ski jumping
Austria's Marita Kramer was expected to be a leading contender for gold in Saturday's women's normal hill event, but testing positive for COVID-19 has kept her out of the Games.
Calling a likely champion in her absence is a tough call, but Japan's Sara Takanashi, who has won 61 World Cup events, has to be in the conversation. This is her third Olympics, with Takanashi looking to improve on her bronze from Pyeongchang. Slovenian Ursa Bogataj and Germany's Katharina Althaus are in form, and both will fancy their chances.
Speed skating
The women's 3,000 metres features five-time gold medallist Claudia Pechstein, the 49-year-old German who has nine Olympic medals in all. Don't expect her to land a podium finish this time, given that last happened in 2006.
Czech world record holder and three-time Olympic champion Martina Sablikova is in the field, while Netherlands' Irene Schouten has strong credentials, along with her countrywoman Antoinette de Jong and Canada's Isabelle Weidemann.
West Indian batsman Sherfane Rutherford’s Peshawar Zalmi got their second win in the 2022 Pakistan Super League (PSL) with a nine-run victory over the Karachi Kings in Karachi Friday.
The Kings, led by the number-one-ranked T20 batsman in the world Babar Azam, won the toss and chose to field.
Peshawar posted 173-4 off their 20 overs thanks to a top score of 52 not out off 28 balls from Captain Shoaib Malik that included five fours and two sixes.
Afghanistan power hitter Hazratullah Zazai contributed a 27-ball 41 at the top of the innings while Rutherford ended not out on nine from four balls with one six.
Umaid Asif was the best bowler for the Kings with 3-36 from four overs.
Despite a well-compiled 90 not out off 63 balls from Azam, the Kings ended agonizingly short of their target finishing 164-6 off their 20 overs.
Babar’s knock included 12 fours and one six while Englishman Ian Cockbain was the next best contributor with 31 from 19 balls.
Mohammad Umar was the pick of the Zalmi bowlers with 3-22 from his four overs.
Peshawar Zalmi are now fourth in the points table with four points while the Karachi Kings have yet to register a point after registering their fourth loss in as many games.
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