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Theekshana in as Sri Lanka opt to bowl in 44-over contest
Toss Sri Lanka chose to bowl vs West Indies
Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first in the rain-shortened second ODI. The toss was delayed by two hours and 15 minutes, and the match curtailed to a 44-overs-a-side affair by drizzle.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said his decision at the toss was influenced by his team's preference to chase, in what could be a match in which Duckworth-Lewis-Stern calculations play a role. West Indies captain Shai Hope said he would have bowled first as well.
West Indies are 1-0 down in the series, but have made no changes to the side that lost on Sunday, also in a rain-affected match. Sri Lanka have left out legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay, and brought back the mysery spin of Maheesh Theekshana.
Sri Lanka: 1 Nishan Madushka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Wanindu Hasranga, 9 Dunith Wellalage, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Maheesh Theekshana
West Indies: 1 Alick Athanaze, 2 Brandon King, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt, wk), 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Hayden Walsh, 9 Gudakesh Motie, 10 Jayden Seales, 11 Alzarri Joseph
Sources: Chiefs finalizing deal for Titans' Hopkins
The Titans and Chiefs are working to finalize a trade that would send wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to Kansas City, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The trade is expected to be completed Wednesday.
The Chiefs have had a need at wide receiver since Rashee Rice suffered a right knee injury in Week 4 that required season-ending surgery. The team also lost Marquise "Hollywood" Brown to a shoulder injury in the preseason, and JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered a hamstring injury last week.
Hopkins, a 12-year veteran, is in the final season of a two-year deal he signed with the Titans in July 2013. He suffered a torn MCL during the offseason but recovered in time for the season opener.
He has 15 receptions for 173 yards and a touchdown in six games this season. The five-time Pro Bowler has also played for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals in his career.
The addition gives quarterback Patrick Mahomes another target. Mahomes had said last week that he had "extreme confidence" in the Chiefs' receivers following the marquee trades of Davante Adams and Amari Cooper.
But Kansas City's two remaining healthy wideouts, rookie Xavier Worthy and Justin Watson, have a combined 22 receptions this season through Week 7.
NEWARK, N.J. -- Brandon Hagel produced his first career natural hat trick, Victor Hedman scored twice and the Tampa Bay Lightning outlasted the New Jersey Devils 8-5 on Tuesday night in an offensive tussle between two teams that are trying to be more defense-minded this season.
Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and Janis Moser also scored to help the Lightning end a two-game skid. Anthony Cirelli had four assists and Jonas Johansson stopped 28 shots for the Lightning, who were on the back end of back-to-back games.
A natural hat trick -- when a player scores three consecutive goals -- is rare, especially for Hagel, who had only one hat trick, the traditional kind, in his career. But he's off to a solid start this season, and how has five goals this season.
"I think I've got to give credit to everyone playing the right way," Hagel said on the game broadcast aired on the FanDuel Sports Network. "We're just doing the right things out there, making the right plays."
Timo Meier scored two goals and Jack Hughes, Nathan Bastian and Stefan Noesen each had one for the Devils, who have lost three of four (1-2-1) after winning four of their first five. Jake Allen finished with 29 saves.
New Jersey led 2-1 early in the second period before Tampa Bay scored five straight goals later in the period, three from Hagel.
"Everyone's coming together as a team here," Hagel said, "and I'm just happy that some of them ended on my stick."
Hagel worked quick, too, scoring at 9:27, 13:01 and 15:52 of the second period.
"We need to continue to grow as a team," Hagel said. "This is our sixth game here, it's still just the little details, and teaching points."
Moser's third period short-handed goal carried 136 feet, ricocheting off the side boards past Allen to push the Lightning's lead to 8-4.
New Jersey is now 1-2-1 at home, getting outscored 18-15 in those four games. New Jersey has given up 14 goals in the past two games, both home losses.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After a 5-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night, his team's fifth to open the season, Steven Stamkos, the headline addition in a summer full of them for the Nashville Predators, tried to keep it all in perspective.
"We're going to have to watch some film and do some work," he said. "By no means is the season lost."
If the season is to turn around, Tuesday was a good start, as Juuse Saros made 33 saves and the Predators ended their losing streak with a 4-0 victory over the Boston Bruins.
Ryan O'Reilly and Luke Evangelista had a goal and an assist each while Tommy Novak and Gustav Nyquist also scored for the Predators, who entered the game as the only team in the NHL without a win.
"I've been trying, I mean, I've hit a couple of posts, and a bar, so far," Nyquist said on the FanDuel Sports Network, after scoring his first of his season. "So, I tried to switch it up and do something different."
The shutout was the 25th of Saros' career, while across the ice, Jeremy Swayman made 38 saves for Boston. In his only two previous starts in Nashville, Swayman posted shutouts, stopping all 70 combined shots he'd faced in those games.
O'Reilly scored the game's first goal with 2:44 left in the opening period, ending Swayman's Bridgestone Arena shutout streak at 136:34.
With the Predators on a power play, Roman Josi fired a slap shot from above the right faceoff circle and O'Reilly tipped it past Swayman on the short side.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Atlanta survives shootout, advances to face Miami
Atlanta United FC eliminated CF Montréal 5-4 in a penalty-kick shootout on Tuesday night in the opening game of the MLS Cup playoffs after the two clubs played to a 2-2 draw.
Atlanta won its second road playoff game in club history and the first since Nov. 4, 2018 at New York City FC.
United will start a best-of-three series on Friday against Supporters' Shield winner Inter Miami CF, which is hosting a playoff game for the first time in club history.
Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan denied Tom Pearce on Montreal's second attempt in the shootout. Saba Lobjanidze sealed it for United.
Atlanta led 2-0 at halftime before former United star Josef Martínez scored two second-half goals to tie it.
Brooks Lennon scored his first goal of the season when he headed in a beautiful cross from Pedro Amador in the 29th minute. Atlanta defender Stian Gregersen made it 2-0 in the 44th by heading in Alexey Miranchuk's free kick.
Martínez pulled Montreal within 2-1 in the 63rd with an easy tap-in after Guzan spilled a long shot.
Montreal was awarded a penalty kick in the 87th and Martínez converted for his eighth goal in the last six games. Martínez and his former goalkeeper Guzan exchanged a few words after the goal.
Ancelotti hails Vini Jr.'s 'energy' in comeback win
Carlo Ancelotti praised Vinícius Júnior's "extraordinary character" and "energy" after the Ballon d'Or contender scored a second-half hat trick in Real Madrid's 5-2 Champions League comeback win over Borussia Dortmund.
Madrid trailed 0-2 at halftime at Santiago Bernabeu -- after Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens scored for the visitors -- before goals from Antonio Rüdiger, Vinícius and Lucas Vázquez put the European champions in front.
Brazil international Vinicius scored two more goals to complete his hat trick and leave Madrid in a positive mood ahead of Saturday's Clásico against Barcelona.
"It's unusual for a player to have a second half like he did," Ancelotti said in his post-match news conference. "He played with energy and intensity, with extraordinary character."
Vinicius' hat trick came less than a week before the winner of the 2024 men's Ballon d'Or will be confirmed at a ceremony in Paris.
"I think [Vinicius] will win it, but not because of what he did tonight," Ancelotti said. "It will be because of what he did last season. The three goals tonight will help him win the next Ballon d'Or!"
"We know that at home, with our fans, anything can happen," Vinicius told Movistar. "When we got to the dressing room [at halftime] we were very quiet, we just listened to the boss.. And he said one thing: if we score the first goal, we're going to come back. And we did it."
"It's something you feel sometimes on the pitch," goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois -- who made five saves in the game -- said. "I don't want to say that you feel the opponent's fear, but you feel that after the first goal, with the stadium, we'll score goals."
Ancelotti criticised his team's attitude in the first half, but said they had delivered "our best second half this season."
"We started the first half without much intensity," he said. "We were too timid. We can play with more energy, taking risks."
Real Madrid forward Rodrygo exited the match in the 85th minute with a muscle injury and he is doubtful to face Barcelona next Saturday.
Vinícius Júnior's hat trick showcases Ballon d'Or credentials in comeback win
MADRID -- "Our crown, our trophy," read the banner, held up by fans behind the Santiago Bernabeu's south goal before kickoff.
Real Madrid are the reigning European champions, the 15-time UEFA Champions League winners, and, of course, the comeback kings, as they showed once again in this unpredictable, wildly entertaining 5-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.
This is a strange Madrid team, full of elite players, but often malfunctioning as a unit. They flirted with embarrassment against Dortmund before they decided to play the hits, and turn the game around, roared on by the Bernabeu crowd.
In the first half, they were poor: fragile in defence, non-existent in midfield and hesitant in attack. In the second half, they looked like an unstoppable force of nature, led by the irrepressible Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian scored a hat trick, in what's a contender for his career-best performance to date. This was Ballon d'Or-worthy. By the end of this month, he might have one.
In the old Champions League format, Madrid never failed to qualify from the group stage, ever. Here, they faced a real risk of starting the new league phase with two defeats in three games. Their 1-0 loss at Lille on matchday two could have been dismissed as an anomaly -- Madrid created nine chances there, with an xG (expected goals) of 2.18, but lost 1-0 -- but Tuesday's first-half performance, going 2-0 down to Dortmund and conceding twice in four minutes, made it look more like a trend.
Madrid have not been playing well this season, but they've still been winning games, and are unbeaten in LaLiga. There was optimism, excitement and expectation ahead of kickoff here, the feeling of a big European tie, and a repeat of last season's Wembley final. The atmosphere generated by Dortmund's thousands of travelling fans helped. Midway through the first half, their coordinated, mass bouncing had the desks in the Bernabeu press box moving gently up and down, all the way across the stadium. On the pitch, their team gave them every reason to jump up and down.
Donyell Malen's opening goal after 31 minutes was well worked, a team move that ended with Malen on the ball, in space, in front of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Three minutes later, Malen crossed for Jamie Bynoe-Gittens to score Dortmund's second, sprinting past a dozing Lucas Vázquez at the far post.
It didn't take long for Madrid to spark into life, Rodrygo -- back in the XI here in his favourite competition after three consecutive games on the bench -- and Jude Bellingham both hitting the woodwork within seconds of each other. But then it was Dortmund who again came closest to adding a third before the break, Courtois saving at full stretch from Julian Brandt.
The Bernabeu crowd whistled their team off the pitch at halftime, their pride stung. In the second half, a reaction felt almost inevitable. It arrived in the 60th minute when Antonio Rüdiger's powerful header from Kylian Mbappé's cross made it 2-1, before Vinícius made it 2-2 minutes later, after a nervous wait for an on-field offside call to be overturned.
Then, Madrid had to wait. They pushed for a winner, as Dortmund tried to hang on, and occasionally threaten, if they could, on the break. When it came, Madrid's third goal arrived from Vazquez, before a breathtaking late double from Vinícius left the result in no doubt. By the final whistle, Madrid's poor first half felt like a distant memory, the win ultimately so comfortable, so overwhelming, that what came before it could almost be dismissed as an irrelevance.
Vinícius carried the match ball off the pitch and will take the headlines as the game's outstanding player. As preparation for Saturday's El Clásico against Barcelona in LaLiga, it doesn't get much better, even if Madrid's first-half shortcomings suggest there are still plenty of reasons for concern.
The nature of this new Champions League format, with only 12 of the 36 teams being eliminated after the league phase, means that even with a defeat, Madrid might well have qualified for the knockout phase anyway. And it's worth remembering that they weren't immune to the occasional group stage slip-up -- remember Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol winning 2-1 at the Bernabeu in 2021? Madrid went on to lift the Champions League that season.
But in the end, there was no slip-up here. There was business as usual. After this second half, Madrid will be talked about as being among the favourites to win the competition again in 2025. And with Vinicius in this kind of unplayable form, it's hard to argue.
Victoria steamroll New South Wales but Starc primed for India
Victoria 272 and 246 (Harper 72, Rogers 59, Starc 6-81) beat New South Wales 136 & 241 (Philippe 88, Konstas 43, Elliott 4-44) by 141 runs
Elliott broke a stubborn 63-run stand between Philippe and Starc when the wicketkeeper got a thin edge trying to thrash a cut behind point to fall 12 short of a deserved century. Philippe finished with scores of 45 not and 88 for the match. Starc fell for 18 top edging an attempted pull shot. Nathan Lyon also fell to the pull shot, miscuing to a catching man who was placed not far behind the square leg umpire. Elliott cleaned bowled Jackson Bird shortly after to finish the game.
While all eyes had been on the performances of two Test hopefuls in Marcus Harris and Sam Konstas, the buzz from both rooms post-match was how well Starc had bowled after taking 1 for 35 and 6 for 81 in 36.5 overs across the match, including Harris in both innings. NSW coach Greg Shipperd believes India will face a stiff challenge from Starc if conditions are similar to the pitch that was offered at the MCG.
"His pace, his rhythm, all of those things that go to engineering the sort of pace he was dealing with," Shipperd said. "He did change the game once he decided to go short and really change the dynamic of the match. And second innings again, we thought perhaps he'd done enough, but he kept coming. And so that's a good sign for Australia and troubles ahead, perhaps, on the right wicket for India."
"Against a very good bowling attack for a 21-year-old kid [Kellaway] to get 50, along with Pete, I said to Pete, that's right up there with some of the best batting I've seen him do," Rogers said. "To put on that 100, if you look back now, you probably say that that was pretty critical in us winning the game and having a first innings lead.
"And in the second innings, when they had us four for not many and Mitch Starc's got his tail up, we needed a couple of people to stand up, and two guys who were making names for themselves in Sammy Harper and Tommy Rogers played absolutely out of their skins, and that 130-run partnership, that was as good as I've seen from a partnership for a long time. Just absolutely fantastic."
'A right-handed version of Warner': Josh Inglis launched into opening debate
Shipperd suggested Inglis should be a legitimate candidate to open the batting against India in the first Test at Optus Stadium in Perth, even if it cost his young NSW opening batter Konstas the chance to make a Test debut.
"Let's not forget Josh Inglis as well, who I think is probably a smokey in terms of the opening batting spot," Shipperd said. "I'd have Inglis and Konstas in the conversation as one-two, two-one, and let the Australian selectors mull over those two.
"His performances for Australia have been first-class, and I think they're looking for a style of player at the top of the order, and Inglis may fit that brief.
"He's a right-handed version of David Warner, in terms of someone who wants to get on with the play and he's got strokes all around the wicket. He's played at the level internationally, and I think he's a well-respected player."
Shipperd's opinion is highly valued within Australian cricket and he has been a coaching mentor to current coach and selector Andrew McDonald.
However, Inglis has never opened in first-class cricket. He has batted at No. 3 six times and averaged 12.66, at No.4 once and No. 5 six times but has only passed 50 in one of those seven innings. All of his seven first-class centuries, including his two this season, have come at No. 6 or below. He has opened for Australia in six limited-overs internationals for one half-century. His two T20I centuries, including one against India in India, have come at No.3.
Inglis' state captain, Sam Whiteman, endorsed him being in the selection mix. "I think if you're looking to pick guys off form...absolutely [should be considered]," he said. "He's seeing the ball as [well] anyone in the country. He's so versatile with his game, the way he transfers from white ball to red ball. He just looks in great nick. I'm all for him playing for Australia in some capacity, absolutely."
Shipperd still believes Konstas deserves to be in the frame after an indifferent match at the MCG where he copped a rough lbw in the first innings and made a patchy 43 in the second that included a life and a loose dismissal trying to launch offspinner Todd Murphy into the Shane Warne stand.
"I thought he was a bit stiff in the first innings and in the second innings, I think he started to show everybody again what he's got," Shipperd said. "He was really poised and balanced. Anytime you get through the first 25 overs of a Victorian attack with a new ball that shows you've got something and, but for a sad error in terms of judgment in that particular ball, I think he showed that he should be in a conversation at least."
Shipperd added Konstas is not letting the intense sudden media and public interest get to him.
"He's really relaxed and just focused on learning and focused on what his game is all about, in terms of what is working, and where the challenges may be," Shipperd said.
"And he had a couple of them in this innings where he did a couple of strange things in terms of his choices, but he's reflecting on those as he is and we're really confident that he's got the game, if picked.
"The next couple of matches for the Australian A team I reckon will tell the story in terms of what the Australian selectors will do."
Shipperd is in a unique position to comment on Konstas. He has compared him to a young Ricky Ponting already and Shipperd was Ponting's coach at Tasmania back in 1993 when he made twin centuries in a Shield game as an 18-year-old. Konstas became the third youngest behind Ponting to achieve the feat against South Australia two weeks ago.
Ponting was made to wait two-and-a-half years between achieving the feat and making his Test debut. Shipperd was asked whether Ponting had benefitted from spending extra time in Shield cricket before being elevated, and whether Konstas should be handled in a similar manner.
"I'm not sure. That's a very good question, though," Shipperd said. "Yes, he was made to wait. So whether that made him or he was already made anyway, because he was scoring multiple hundreds across the course of that journey between him not being selected and then finally selected, I think at around 21.
"But Sam, I do see a lot of that skill level and that poise at the crease, shots on both sides of the wicket, in front of the wicket, behind the wicket. I think he's got what it takes. And again, Ricky was trying to break into a super Australian side at that moment with probably no gaps. But there is a gap in the Australian team in the position Sam bats in at the moment. So he's worth being heavily in the conversation."
Meanwhile, Victoria coach Chris Rogers said Harris would be frustrated with his returns against NSW. But the former Test opener believes Harris is still batting well enough to be in the frame.
"I think he'd be disappointed he didn't get the results," Rogers said. "I think facing Mitch Starc, there's always a chance you can get out. He's a world-class bowler obviously. He got caught down the leg side twice. It can happen. He'll be disappointed. But he still fought hard, he still moved well, he just didn't have a lot of luck."
Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
Bancroft fails again but Western Australia survive scare to take victory
Western Australia 332 (Inglis 101, Cartwright 65, Connolly 55) and 83 for 4 (Cartwright 39*) beat Tasmania 277 (Owen 69, Doran 66, Rocchiccioli 4-70) and 137 (Couch 4-50) by six wickets
With WA chasing just 83 runs under sunny conditions early on the final day, Bancroft had a golden opportunity for a confidence boosting innings having scored just eight runs in his first three Shield innings.
But he looked uncomfortable from the get go against probing new ball bowling from quicks Riley Meredith and Kieran Elliott. With the pressure building having scored just two runs from his first 15 deliveries, Bancroft decided to attack but miscued a pull shot off Meredith to fine leg and trudged off with his Test hopes to fill the vacant opener's slot having seemingly nosedived.
"He's pretty good to be honest...keeping things really simple," WA captain Sam Whiteman said of Bancroft. "I think it's a matter of time. Each fail...he's one closer to a big score. He's a pretty positive guy."
The low target proved tricky for WA and the tension heightened among the sprinkling of fans when they slumped to 18 for 4 after Whiteman, Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Hardie fell to Elliott, who conjured movement from the grassy wicket.
It was a quiet match for Marsh, who had scores of 9 and 6 as a specialist batter at No. 4. He had stated ahead of the match that he would build up his bowling loads, but a return with the ball has been put on hold.
Inglis and Cartwright steadied the ship with a quick half-century partnership to guide WA over the line. Having scored two game-changing centuries to start the season, Inglis again looked at ease to finish 26 not out from 36 balls.
Cartwright remained unbeaten on 39 from 50 balls to cap a remarkable match after he had to dash from the ground at tea on day two when his wife went into labour. He returned on day three to resume his innings on 52 after the birth of his second child in the early hours. Cartwright needed Tasmania to agree for him to return to the crease.
There appeared to be tension on the field on day four with Cartwright engaged in a war of words with Tasmania opener Jake Weatherald. They had a lengthy exchange while shaking hands after the match.
Tasmania started day four in a forlorn position with a lead of just 80 runs and one wicket in hand. They only added two runs before quick Brody Couch claimed his fourth wicket of the innings after trapping Meredith in front of the crease
After a patchy performance in his WA debut against Queensland, Couch was outstanding throughout to finish with match figures of 7 for 83 and touching speeds of 143kph.
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