Arsenal boosted their Premier League top-four hopes with a 3-2 win at Watford, as Bukayo Saka starred in a match containing five terrific goals.

Martin Odegaard opened the scoring when he capped a scintillating move on five minutes, before Watford's Cucho Hernandez went one better with a fantastic overhead kick after 11 minutes.

The lively Saka finished into the top corner after half an hour, before Gabriel Martinelli wrapped up the three points by finishing sweetly from outside the area after the break – although Moussa Sissoko's late response did keep the Gunners on their toes.

Prior to Manchester United's derby against Manchester City later on Sunday, Arsenal moved up to fourth in their pursuit of Champions League qualification for the first time since 2016.

Watford had the ball in the net after just 17 seconds in a frantic opening, but Emmanuel Dennis was narrowly offside and the visitors took an early lead instead, with Odegaard finishing neatly on his left foot after playing a superb give-and-go with Saka.

The Hornets needed just six minutes to respond, however, as Hernandez met Kiko Femenia's right-wing cross in acrobatic style to give Aaron Ramsdale little chance.

After Ramsdale almost spilled Dennis' shot to Joao Pedro, Arsenal reclaimed the lead when Saka bent a shot into the top corner from Alexandre Lacazette's backheel.

Manchester United stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Raphael Varane were all ruled out of Sunday's derby clash with Manchester City.

Ronaldo, who is United's top scorer with 15 goals in 30 appearances across all competitions, was absent for the trip to the Etihad Stadium, while Cavani was also not fit enough to make the squad.

While the Portugal star leads the scoring charts for the Red Devils, he has managed just one goal in 2022 – a second-half strike against Brighton and Hove Albion on February 15.

Earlier reports suggested injuries were behind the absences of Cavani and Ronaldo, and Ralf Rangnick confirmed the latter hurt his hip in training on Friday.

While that left Marcus Rashford as Rangnick's only recognised striker, the England international was named on the bench with Bruno Fernandes leading the line and flanked by Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga.

Rangnick also was again without Luke Shaw, with Alex Telles operating at left-back, while Scott McTominay replaced Nemanja Matic, and Harry Maguire came in for Varane from their last outing against Watford.

Shaw and Varane were missing due to testing positive for COVID-19.

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening game of the 2022 Indian Premier League.

KKR will be out for revenge at the Wankhede Stadium on March 26 after the Super Kings won the 2021 final by 27 runs in Dubai last October.

There will be a first double-header in the 15th edition of the tournament the following day, when Delhi Capital take on Mumbai Indians at Brabourne before Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore do battle at the DY Patil Stadium.

New franchises Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants meet in their first IPL match at Wankhede Stadium on March 28.

Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals contest the first game at the MCA Stadium in Pune on March 29.

There will be 70 matches in the regular season following by four play-off showdowns in a tournament that will be staged over 65 days, with the final taking place on May 29.

Ravindra Jadeja fed off the "positive vibes" at his "lucky ground" to star with bat and ball in India's crushing victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test.

India hammered the tourists at the PCA Stadium, wrapping up their fifth-biggest win in the longest format by an innings and 222 runs on day three.

Jadeja was outstanding in Mohali, making a Test-best 175 not out in India's 574-8 declared before tormenting Sri Lanka with his left-arm spin.

The all-rounder took 5-41 and 4-46 as Dimuth Karunaratne's side were bowled out for 174 and 178 in their first and second innings respectively on Sunday.

Jadeja's exploits earned him a third man-of-the-match award at a venue that has been such a happy hunting ground for him.

"This is my lucky ground," he said. "Whenever I come here, I always get positive vibes.

"When you perform like this, you feel very confident. I haven't done anything differently with my batting, just backing my instincts. I try to settle down and after that I play my shots. I try to keep it simple."

Rohit Sharma did not envisage India making such light work of winning his first Test as captain.

He said "It was a good start. I never thought it was going to be that kind of Test that gets over in three days. It was a good batting wicket with help for spinners and seamers.

"Credit to our bowlers who bowled in tandem and applied pressure. We knew it is a fast outfield and runs would be easier to come if you dig in. We were just waiting for an odd one to bounce differently and their batters to make mistakes."

Ravichandran Ashwin took 4-47 in the second innings to move second on the list of India's leading Test wicket-takers with 436 ahead of the great Kapil Dev.

It was the perfect response to India's series defeat in South Africa and a fitting way to mark former skipper Virat Kohli's 100th Test.

Rohit added: "Good signs for Indian cricket, a lot of performances and a landmark Test for Virat. We wanted to first win the game and such individual performances were heartening to see.

"It was the team's decision and Jadeja's decision on the declaration. It shows how selfless he is."

Ralf Rangnick has not spoken to Manchester United about his replacement, though the German has an opinion on who his successor should be.

The German takes charge of the Red Devils in his first derby against Manchester City on Sunday, after succeeding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December on a short-term deal through to the end of the season. 

Several names have been floated about as the next permanent occupant of the managerial hot seat at Old Trafford, including Paris Saint-Germain's Mauricio Pochettino and Ajax's Erik ten Hag.

But speaking ahead of his side's trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Pep Guardiola's Premier League leaders, Rangnick told Sky Sports: "So far, we've not spoken about that.

"Not with [sporting director] John Murtough or anyone else, we've not spoken about this topic over the last weeks and months since I've been here.

"I know my opinion but so far we've not spoken about that so it's all I can tell you."

On Ajax boss Ten Hag, the German had nothing but kind words, adding: "I don't know him to start with as a person, but I've seen how Ajax have developed since he's been there.

"I know about the work he did while he was at Bayern Munich and it's obvious he's one of the top coaches in Europe but there are a few others.

"We've not spoken about any new manager so far and therefore we've not spoken about him."

United face City in a contest that could seriously shake up both of their respective campaigns, with the former seeking to strengthen their top-four hopes and the latter needing to consolidate their spot at the summit.

Rangnick is under no illusions over the magnitude of the match, and drew comparisons to his own previous experience with local rivalries.

"One of the biggest derbies is Schalke against Dortmund and I managed in quite a few of them in the two times I was head coach at Schalke," he added.

"I'm fully aware of what that means for the supporters of both teams. Similarly, the Manchester derby is a game of high importance for both teams and we'll be ready.

"We want another good away performance as so far we are unbeaten in three months away from home. We're fully aware we will need a top performance to get anything out of this game."

Usman Khawaja fell three runs shy of a century as Australia produced a superb top-order performance on day three of the first Test against Pakistan.

Responding to Pakistan's first innings' 476-4 declared and resuming on five without loss, Khawaja's 97, along with half-centuries from David Warner (68) and Marnus Labuschagne (69 not out), took the tourists to 271-2 - trailing by 205 runs when bad light stopped play.

It means Australia, playing with heavy hearts following the sudden passing of legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne on Friday, are in an excellent position to at least claim a draw.

The Islamabad-born Khawaja and Warner laid the foundations, combining for a stand of 156, the second-highest opening partnership in Test history in Rawalpindi.

Both Khawaja and Warner played in attacking fashion, the former's half-century coming off just 67 balls. Warner's came in 86, but he was undone when he attempted to go square through the off side and missed a Sajid Khan delivery that careered into middle stump.

His exit did not open the floodgates as Pakistan might have hoped, but they did at least prevent Khawaja from recording an 11th Test hundred.

Khawaja contributed to his own downfall as he got a reverse sweep all wrong, gloving Nauman Ali to Imam-ul-Haq at foward short-leg, with Aleem Dar forced to overturn his original not out decision following a review.

Yet, with Labuschange and Steve Smith (24 not out) surviving until the fading light forced the players off, Australia have two batters who are among the most difficult in world cricket to dislodge set at the crease, a sign that is, for Pakistan, as ominous as the gloom that stopped proceedings.

Khawaja and Warner narrowly miss out on history

Only Mark Taylor and Michael Slater (176) have linked up for a higher first-wicket stand than Khawaja and Warner in Rawalpindi, that duo excelling in October 1994 in a match that ultimately ended in a draw. The same result looks likely again here after Khawaja and Warner narrowly missed out on surpassing their compatriots.

Labuschagne to let loose?

Pakistan will have painful memories of their previous two encounters against Labuschagne, which saw him score 185 at Brisbane and then 162 at Adelaide in 2019. He looks in the kind of form to deliver another massive score.

Schalke have sacked Dimitrios Grammozis ahead of the run-in to the 2. Bundesliga campaign, with the club citing a loss of confidence in the coach's ability to earn them promotion this term.

Grammozis originally arrived in March last year as the successor to Christian Gross, but he was unable to keep Schalke in the Bundesliga with an 18th-placed finish.

The former Darmstadt coach was tasked with ensuring a swift return to the top flight this season, yet the seven-time German champions slipped six points off the automatic promotion places with Saturday's 4-3 defeat at home to Hansa Rostock.

Nils Froling's 95th-minute winner for Hansa also left Schalke four points behind Werder Bremen, who occupy the play-off place in third and have a game in hand.

Simon Terodde had equalised three times in scoring a hat-trick but could not rescue Schalke from a fourth home league defeat of the season – their most in a single 2. Bundesliga campaign.

"We have come to a point in the season where big decisions need to be made," sporting director Rouven Schroder noted in a statement on Grammozis' dismissal.

"We no longer believed that we would have a high chance of achieving our goal of returning to the Bundesliga with the current set-up.

"We therefore decided that the team needed a fresh impulse for the end of the season."

Grammozis was the fifth different coach to lead Schalke since Domenico Tedesco's departure in 2019.

Ravindra Jadeja's remarkable performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka moved to another level on day three as India swiftly wrapped up their fifth-biggest win in the format.

India had led by 466 runs at the close of play on the second day, with Jadeja scoring an unbeaten 175 as the hosts declared on 574-8.

And Sri Lanka never threatened to make the all-rounder bat again – chiefly due to his brilliance with the ball.

The tourists, resuming on 108-4, were all out for 174 and forced to follow-on as Jadeja took 5-41.

An inspired Jadeja then claimed 4-46 in Sri Lanka's second innings, which concluded on 178 in the third session – India's victory by an innings and 222 runs illustrating the gulf between the teams.

Jadeja had already removed Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne on day two and soon accounted for Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Lahiru Kumara in a sublime spell.

Pathum Nissanka made 61 not out as his team-mates departed one by one.

And there was precious little improvement when Sri Lanka returned to the crease for their second innings, with Dickwella this time the man lacking support as he made an unbeaten 51.

There was no 10-wicket haul for Jadeja, as Ravichandran Ashwin (4-47) took the final wicket of Kumara with Sri Lanka all out in 60 overs.

Jadeja just too good with bat and ball

Having scored the highest total by an Indian number seven and then snared an early wicket, Jadeja must have thought day two was just about as good as it was going to get. He was wrong.

Jadeja took eight of the 16 wickets on Sunday, with four of them going for ducks to secure sensational match figures of 9-87.

Ashwin achievement overshadowed

Such was Jadeja's dominance, there was little chance of him sharing the spotlight. But this was a special day for Ashwin, too, even before his dismissal of Kumara clinched victory.

His previous wicket, of Charith Asalanka for 20, was his 435th in Test cricket, taking him clear of Kapil Dev into second on India's all-time list. Only Anil Kumble (619) is ahead of Ashwin.

Liga MX has suspended the remainder of this weekend's fixtures following a mass brawl between supporters in Saturday's game between Queretaro and Atlas.

Violence broke out just beyond the hour mark at Estadio Corregidora, with the visitors leading 1-0, forcing fans to stream onto the pitch to escape the melee.

Hopes of restarting the match were swiftly extinguished as the fracas spread around the upper bowl of the 34,000-plus seater stadium, bringing the game to a premature conclusion.

The Coordination of Civil Protection of the State of Queretaro later stated that there had been 22 supporters injured, with nine individuals taken to hospital, though there were no reported fatalities.

Now, the Mexican league has called off all remaining games for matchday nine, per a statement from federation president Mikel Arriola.

In a video posted to social media, the 45-year-old confirmed that the matches would be postponed in solidarity with those affected by the crowd trouble.

Mike Krzyzewski is still struggling to come to terms with the end of his coaching career at Duke after overseeing his final home game on Saturday.

After 42 years, 'Coach K' is leaving the Blue Devils at the end of this season.

A host of celebrities and 96 former players were in attendance for his farewell against rivals North Carolina, although a 94-81 defeat put a dampener on the occasion – at least in Krzyzewski's eyes.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon," he told the crowd in a post-game ceremony, although that apology was drowned out by cheers.

"Today was unacceptable, but the season has been very acceptable. And the season isn't over, all right?"

Indeed, Krzyzewski has already this year delivered Duke their 13th ACC regular season title of his tenure, the first since 2010 and first outright since 2006.

And attention now turns towards the ACC tournament before a tilt at Krzyzewski's sixth national title with the school.

"We're 0-0," the coach said. "We'll be that twice: now and next Sunday, we'll be that again.

"Hopefully, the lessons we learned from 31 games, including especially this last one, will help us in both situations."

However, this game – one of the biggest in basketball – was instead all about a celebration of Krzyzewski.

Reflecting on his long and successful stay at Duke, he said: "We have loved being a part of the Duke family.

"It's hard for me to believe this is over. I'm just going to say the regular season is over."

Stephen Curry acknowledges things are "rough right now" for the Golden State Warriors, with time running out to fix their form before the playoffs as rival superstars continue to capitalise.

LeBron James put up 56 points as the Los Angeles Lakers handed the Warriors their fourth straight loss and eighth in 10 games.

The Warriors had won nine in a row prior to that run but have now slipped to 43-21 and third place in the West.

Saturday's 124-116 defeat followed a familiar, frustrating theme, according to Curry, whose 30 points paled next to James' efforts.

His 56 were the most by any opposition player against the Warriors this season, meaning three of the top four such performances have come in their past three games.

Luka Doncic had 41 for the Dallas Mavericks against the Warriors, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 39 for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

"Obviously LeBron played amazing, he hit some tough shots and we've got to acknowledge that, for sure, but we still had some self-inflicted wounds," Curry said.

"That's tough when you're trying to get out of a hole. We're bringing the right energy, it's just IQ, effort plays, simple breakdowns and obviously boxing out.

"It's rough right now. Keeping it plain and simple: it's rough.

"We've got to figure out how to claw our way out, because as you've seen the last four games, it's self-inflicted wounds but also guys are playing with confidence on the other end and coming at us, having not career nights but performances that are unlike the previous five games or whatever.

"You're coming in and you're giving teams confidence as well. We've got to figure that out."

Two-time MVP Curry accepted: "Right now, if the playoffs started tomorrow, we'd be in some trouble."

He added: "We know we've shown who we are, in terms of how we started the season. I feel like we can get back to that – that's the confidence that has to remain – but we cannot give in to this losing spirit of just finding different ways to lose basketball games.

"The clock will tick out on you and you'll go into the summer thinking what could have been, should have been, have regrets. I don't want to let us get into that vibe.

"What are there, 18 games left? We have to figure out how to turn things around pretty quick."

"There's no words" for LeBron James' brilliance after his 56-point haul in the Los Angeles Lakers' 124-116 win over the Golden State Warriors, according to head coach Frank Vogel.

James almost single-handedly hauled the Lakers over the line, rallying from a half-time deficit with a 35-22 fourth quarter to end their four-game losing run.

The four-time NBA MVP's 56 points was his most as a Laker and tied for the third most in a single game in his storied 19-year career.

James labelled it a "desperation" win after the game, shooting 19-of-31 from the field along with six-of-11 from beyond the arc, with 10 rebounds and three assists.

“There’s no words for it," Vogel told reporters after the game. "An incredible performance by the best to ever do it in my opinion."

James' 56-point haul meant he became the fourth player aged 37 or older to score 50 or more points in a single game, alongside Michael Jordan (2001), Kobe Bryant (2016) and Jamal Crawford (2019).

"It's just remarkable, his will," Vogel added. "What he's done to transition his game to this stage of his career, in terms of his shooting, it's an example to every player to put the work into his craft.

"it's just remarkable to be doing it at this stage in his career."

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr added: “He was brilliant tonight. LeBron was amazing."

The win improves the Lakers' record to 28-35, sitting ninth in the Western Conference ahead of the final stretch of games before the playoffs.

"It feels like earlier in the season when we first lost Anthony [Davis], we lost five in a row, we were in an adjustment phase and trying to figure it out," Vogel said. "Hopefully this is the win that changes that momentum."

Colby Covington dominated former friend Jorge Masvidal with a unanimous decision victory in UFC 272's welterweight main event before calling out Dustin Poirier on Sunday.

Covington totally outpointed Masvidal to clinch a 49-46, 50-44, 50-45 over his former teammate in a grudge match at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The 34-year-old American controlled the majority of the fight, although Masvidal dropped him in the fourth round with a right hand.

The polarizing Covington took out his mouthguard immediately after the final bell, sticking his tongue out in Masvidal's direction, before blowing him kisses.

Covington went on to call out former UFC lightweight champion and his ex-training partner Poirier for his next bout, with the win improving his record to 17-3.

"Louisiana swamp trash," Covington labelled Poirier, before adding: "I'll see you soon. You're next!"

The fight was billed as a grudge match rather than anything significant for titles or rankings with a lot of animosity between Covington and Masvidal given their history.

Covington spent long periods of the fight on Masvidal's back, with his superiority grappling, attempting to secure a rear-naked choke in the first round.

The American landed elbows in the third round as 37-year-old Masvidal's pace started to slow in the latter rounds, with his best moment being his fourth round hit which dropped Covington.

"I should have had more moments like that, but I was off today," Masvidal said. "I didn't have it."

Meanwhile, former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos won a bloody stand-up battle against Renato Moicano by unanimous decision.

Bryce Mitchell was dominant in his featherweight bout with Edson Barboza, claiming victory by unanimous decision. 

Kevin Holland and Sergey Spivak both won by TKO in the earlier welterweight and heavyweight bouts against Alex Oliveira and Greg Hardy respectively.