Title for Sania Mirza on comeback in Hobart
Hobart: In a dream start to her second innings after a two-year break, Sania Mirza lifted the WTA Hobart International trophy with partner Nadiia Kichenok after edging out Shaui Peng and Shuai Zhang in the final, here on Saturday.
The unseeded Indo-Ukrainian pair pipped the second seed Chinese team 6-4 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes.
Playing her first tournament after giving birth to son Izhaan, the 33-year-old Sania has begun well in the Olympic year as she warmed up for the Australian Open in style.
It is Sania's 42nd WTA doubles title and first since Brisbane International trophy in 2007 with American partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Sania did not compete on the WTA circuit in the entire 2018 and 2019 seasons to start a family with Pakistani cricketer husband Shoaib Malik.
Sania and Nadiia began by breaking the Chinese players in the very first game of the match but only to drop serve in the next.
The two pairs played close games towards the end and at 4-4, 40-all, Sania and Nadiia got the crucial break, earning the opportunity to serve out the set.
There was no twist in 10th game with Sania and Nadiia comfortably pocketing the first set.
The second set could not have started better for them as they broke the Chinese rivals to take early lead and consolidated the break with an easy hold.
The game of the Chinese was falling apart as they dropped serve again in the third but broke back immediately to repair some damage.
Sania and Nadiia were now feeling the heat at 0-30 in the sixth game but Peng and Zhang let them hold serve for a 4-2 lead. The Chinese though kept fighting and made it 4-4 with another break in the eighth game.
The Indo-Ukraine team raised its game when it mattered as it broke Peng and Zhang for one final time in the ninth and served out the match in the next game.
Sania and Nadiia split USD 13580 as prize money and eared 280 ranking points each for their winning effort.
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Jasprit Bumrah set for comeback in Mumbai Indians’ IPL clash against RCB
Mumbai, Apr 6 (PTI): Ace Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah is set for a comeback here on Monday after he joined the Mumbai Indians’ camp ahead of their IPL clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Bumrah had been sidelined with a back-related issue since early January during the fifth and final Test of the Australian tour and missed key assignments such as the Champions Trophy last month.
Mumbai Indians’ head coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed on the eve of their IPL clash against RCB that Bumrah is set for a comeback.
“Yeah, he is available. He is training today, so he should be available tomorrow,” Jayawardene said.
Rohit Sharma, who had missed the last game against Lucknow Super Giants due to a blow to his knee, batted in the nets here at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday and could be fit for the RCB clash as well.
“Ro (Rohit) looks good. He is going to bat today. It was just an unfortunate impact on his leg while batting so, it was not comfortable. We were travelling yesterday. He will have a hit today and then we will do an assessment on that,” Jayawardene said.
Asked if there were no injury concerns in the MI camp, the head coach replied, “Not that I know of.”
