Leander Paes betters Davis Cup record, India secure tie against Pakistan
Nur-Sultan: Veteran star Leander Paes bettered his own Davis Cup record by winning his 44th doubles match along with debutant Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan as India took an unassailable 3-0 lead against Pakistan with victory in the third rubber, here on Saturday.
Pakistani teenagers Mohammed Shoaib and Hufaiza Abdul Rehman were no match for the Indian combination of battle-hardened Paes and Jeevan, who needed just 53 minutes to win 6-1 6-3.
Paes last year had become the most successful doubles player in the history of Davis Cup when he won his 43rd doubles match, surpassing Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli during the tie against China.
Paes had taken 56 ties for his 43rd win while Pietrangeli competed in 66 ties and won 42 doubles matches. Paes' record of 44 wins is unlikely to be broken anytime soon as except him, none of the active doubles player feature in the top-10 list.
Belarusian Max Mirnyi, at number three, has 36 wins but has not played on Tour since 2018.
Hufaiza and Shoaib began with a hold of serve in the opening game of the match but the Indians broke the teenagers in the third game before holding their own for a 3-1 lead.
Paes and Jeevan then took control of the match with another break of serve in the fifth game. Jeevan served a double fault at 30-15 but the Pakistanis could not put pressure on their rivals as India zoomed to a 5-1 lead.
Serving to stay in the set, Shoaib was down 0-40, giving India three chances to close the opening set. Paes and Jeevan grabbed the second.
The Indians had a few chances to break their rivals early in the second set but the Pakistani duo held its nerves to save them. There was some fight in the second set, which was locked 3-3.
Paes and Jeevan got a break in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and the former served out the match in the next.
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Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs
New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Sent in to bat, Tilak Varma hit a 33-ball 59 to power Mumbai Indians to 205 for five.
Ryan Rickelton (41 off 25 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (40 off 28 balls) and Naman Dhir (38 off 17 balls) also made useful contributions.
In reply, DC were all out for 193 in 19 overs, despite Karun Nair's 40-ball 89.
Karn Sharma (3/36) claimed three wickets, while Mitchell Santner (2/43) took two wickets.
For DC, Vipraj Nigam (2/41) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/23) snapped two wickets each, while Mukesh Kumar (1/38) took one.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians: 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 59; Kuldeep Yadav 2/23, Vipraj Nigam 2/41).
Delhi Capitals: 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89; Karn Sharma 3/36).
