Bayern Munich cruised to a 4–1 win over a struggling Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday, barely missing the injured Harry Kane as they continued their relentless march towards another Bundesliga title. Kane was ruled out with a calf strain on Thursday, having scored 45 goals in 37 games in all competitions this campaign. The hosts barely felt the England captain’s absence however, with Bayern winning thanks to goals from Luis Diaz, Konrad Laimer, Jamal Musiala and Nicolas Jackson. Musiala’s 57th-minute spot kick was his first league goal this season after he missed the first six months with a broken leg suffered at last year’s Club World Cup.

“I’m still a couple behind him,” Musiala said to Sky Germany of Kane, Bayern’s regular penalty taker. “It’s also a responsibility to take penalties now and then. 

“It gives me a bit of confidence in myself. I’m happy I took the opportunity.”

With Manuel Neuer replaced at half-time as a precautionary measure and Joshua Kimmich taken off late, the 23-year-old Musiala was handed the captain’s armband for the first time in his career in the closing stages. 

“It’s a great honour for such a big club. I’m embracing it and I’m really happy,” Musiala said. 

Atalanta up next

The victory sent Bayern 14 points clear of Borussia Dortmund with nine games remaining and served as the ideal tune-up for next week’s first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Atalanta in Italy.

Bayern already have 92 goals, nine shy of their own Bundesliga record set in 1971-72, while Kane still needs 12 goals to beat Robert Lewandowski’s league record of 41 in a 34-game season. 

Gladbach were reduced to 10 men when Rocco Reitz was sent off after conceding a penalty on 55 minutes, with Musiala scoring from the spot.

Five-time Bundesliga winners Gladbach have spent just one season this century in the second division but now sit just three points clear of Werder Bremen in the relegation play-off spot. 

Gladbach midfielder Wael Mohya, 17, scored in the 89th minute to become the club’s youngest ever goalscorer.

Kane’s double in Bayern’s 3-2 win at Dortmund last weekend all but sealed another Bundesliga title for the German giants, who have won 12 of the past 13 league crowns. 

With Kane out and Michael Olise on the bench, Gladbach may have hoped for better but were behind just after the half-hour mark when Diaz volleyed in a Leon Goretzka pass. 

Bayern dealt Gladbach another blow just before half-time when Diaz fed Laimer, who hammered in a second. 

Any hopes the visitors had were dashed when their captain Reitz held back Jackson in the box, giving away a penalty and seeing red.

With Kane watching on from the VIP suite, Musiala stepped up to convert the penalty.

Jackson tapped in a Lennart Karl cross to make it four before Mohya pulled one back in the final minute for Gladbach.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

MUMBAI: Sanju Samson was quick with his response when reminded that he had missed out on two centuries. “Missed out? I haven’t missed two centuries. One of the best moments of my life is happening, so I’m grateful,” he said.This has been Samson’s World Cup so far. His unbeaten 97 off 50 balls helped India chase down 196 against West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal in Kolkata. That was followed by a fearless 89 against England in the semifinal.Against England, Samson stitched a 97-run stand with Ishan Kishan and then added 43 with Shivam Dube. It’s clear his decade-long experience has given him clarity about his role.

“I was timing the ball well and making good decisions. I’ve played 300-400 T20s, batted from No. 1-6 and captained an IPL franchise. I understand what the team needs and my role in the XI. That clarity helps you score runs the way you want to,” he said.For a player who spent years grappling with inconsistent opportunities, scrutiny and selfdoubt, Samson finally seems to have arrived with a bang. Asked if he felt lighter, the 31-year-old quipped, “One more match. Then I’ll feel very light.“I waited with patience, worked hard, trained a lot. But we still have one more step to go. If we do that, then everything will be worth it,” he said.From being dropped after the series against New Zealand to playing hero in a World Cup semifinal, the Kerala batter has risen like the phoenix. “That phase was very challenging,” he admitted. “I was trying a bit too hard to make an impact and get into the World Cup XI. In T20, even the best struggle to score runs.”Samson among 8 nominees for player of the tournamentSanju Samson’s name figures in the ICC’s eight-man shortlist for the T20 World Cup player of the tournament.The others are England’s Will Jacks, Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan, South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi and Aiden Markram, New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra and Tim Seifert and American bowler Shadley van Schalkwyk.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah (ANI Photo)

Two evenings before the Super-8 match against South Africa in Ahmedabad a fortnight ago, Jasprit Bumrah opted to bowl in an empty net, with two boots placed on either side of the batting crease. He kept hurling yorkers for a good 45 minutes. It was a drill he had started in Dharamshala during the T20I series against South Africa last December.Mohammed Siraj arrived at the practice area to bat in the adjacent nets, walked up to Bumrah and said, “ Aapko kya zarurat hain yorker practice karne ka? Aap toh beech raat ko neend se uthke bhi yorker maar sakte ho (Why do you need to practice bowling yorkers? You can get up from sleep in the middle of the night and land those yorkers)!” Bumrah smiled, nailed another perfect yorker which displaced one of the boots, and said, “ Bahut zarurat hain bhai (it’s very important).”

At 32, after multiple injuries and many match-winning performances across formats for over a decade, Bumrah still puts himself through drills that a 16-year-old would do at academy level. It just speaks of his constant hunger to be the best and remain at the top.Bumrah has been bowling up to the stumps and the boots in the nets throughout this World Cup campaign. One of his yorkers even landed on the left toe of Ishan Kishan ahead of the match against Namibia last month in Delhi.

Match by match

On Thursday night, in a tense semifinal against England in Mumbai, every yorker sent down by Bumrah was on point, helping to choke England’s chase.Finding another gear in tense situations, on the biggest stage, is nothing new for Bumrah. His spell of 2/20 in the last T20 World Cup final against South Africa was T20 bowling perfection. In this edition, he has shown he can improve on it.Thursday’s spell of 1/33 in a match that saw a match aggregate of 499 runs, and that too with a lot of dew present at the Wankhede Stadium, was the performance of a bowler in supreme control of his craft. That captain Suryakumar Yadav chose to bowl Bumrah out in the 18th over, when Jacob Bethell was on a rampage, proved he is still the No. 1 option when the Indian team is under pressure.

Bumrah in T20Is

Bumrah usually wears a coy smile after the perfect execution of his deliveries, be it the dipping slower balls, the zippy bouncers or the toe-crushing yorkers. He has also mastered the art of mentally distancing himself from ‘outside’ chatter and remains detached from any possible criticism. He has looked cold-blooded in the way he has gone about his job in this World Cup.India came into the tournament flaunting Varun Chakravarthy’s mystery spin as the trump card, but it is Bumrah who has covered up for him and risen to the occasion. It didn’t come as a surprise when England captain Harry Brook said, “Bumrah is a very good bowler, arguably the best of all time at the minute. He’s been a very good bowler for a long time.”Bumrah knows he is the most complete pacer going around. He also knows that to maintain that, he has to train like a rookie every day.

The weights are not in Baraqiel’s corner for his shot at one of Australia’s elite sprint features, the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington.

Only three horses have won the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) since metric weights began in 1973 while carrying above 57.5kg; the event occurs Saturday.

Hay List bore 58.5kg when victorious in 2012, with Black Caviar carrying 58kg the previous year in her perfect record, same as Shaftesbury Avenue back in 1991.

Redkirk Warrior also carried Baraqiel’s 57.5kg to a second success in 2018, after his lighter 52.5kg win prior.

Baraqiel carries a heavy load, but trainers Leon and Troy Corstens and Will Larkin believe it’s conquerable.

Baraqiel dons blinkers initially to chase a follow-up Group 1 after his Moir Stakes (1000m) conquest at Moonee Valley last spring.

On Saturday, it will be Baraqiel’s second run this prep, following fourth to Tentyris in the Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington February 14.

Go down 1.6 lengths then, Baraqiel receives a 3kg allowance now.

“I reckon he’s improved a lot out of that first-up run,” Larkin said.

“We trialled him last Friday just to tick him over and he’s going there in good order.

“We weren’t there to give him a real good test in the trial. We put the blinkers on him for the first time, and we wanted to get him out the back and see if he would settle.

“He managed that really well, so the blinkers will go on him on Saturday.”

Saturday’s Flemington straight may aid those finishing strongly, though Larkin sticks with barrier three over wider gates.

He feels it fits Baraqiel, considering the gelding lays in, and being trapped for a late burst is beneficial.

“I prefer the inside draw to one outside,” Larkin said.

“We’re going to try and ride him like we did in the Moir. Smother him in there and leave it all late as his turn of foot is his asset and hopefully that gets him to the line.”

Next is the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield March 21 after this weekend, plans adaptable thereafter.

“The William Reid has always been his Grand Final,” Larkin said.

“He’ll spin around the bend, third-up, which looks like it will shape up as a good race.

“After that we have got plenty of options for good prize money. There have been some talks about The Quokka or may be going up to Sydney as well.”

Discover competitive racing betting markets ahead of the Newmarket Handicap.

For a moment, Ireland threatened to run off into the night.

After Jacob Stockdale ended his five-year wait for an international try, Ireland celebrated a second try against Wales just 10 minutes into Friday’s Six Nations game when Jack Conan crashed over.

But the home support’s excitement at the possibility of a thumping turned to frustration when the try was ruled out for Tom O’Toole’s knock on.

It set up a nervy night for Ireland when their post-England euphoria was quickly forgotten as they set about keeping a stubborn and spirited Wales side quiet.

In their record away win over England, Ireland ruthlessly built up a 22-0 lead before the hosts replied.

On Friday, though, a hard-hitting Welsh defence stopped the hosts from building an insurmountable advantage.

And when asked for his observations, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was quick to both praise Wales after they provided his side a more uncomfortable examination than England last time out.

“I actually thought Wales did fantastically well to stay in the game,” he said.

“Like Caelan [Doris, Ireland captain] said, if it goes to 14 points, it’s a different game you’re looking at, but they played tough, they hung on in there and kept it close on the scoreboard. I thought they were tremendous tonight.

“It was a proper Test match and for us to come away with a bonus-point win, we’d certainly take that with how the game unfolded, because it was a different game to the game that we played last time round.

“In regards to, we weren’t playing rugby on the front foot because of how well they defended, I thought they were excellent in contact and set-piece.”

With Pride Of Jenni lined up for the All-Star Mile, it complicates matters for the Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr stable’s Sabaj.

The All-Star Mile (1600m) at Flemington scheduled for Saturday acts as Sabaj’s alternative after blood problems prevented his run in the Blamey Stakes (1600m) at Flemington last weekend.

Prior plans had Sabaj building towards the Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 28, via the Blamey Stakes and the Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield a fortnight from now, factoring in Pride Of Jenni’s All-Star Mile nomination.

“Originally, we wanted to go Blamey, Peter Young, Australian Cup,” Price said.

“We thought that was the best option because if Pride Of Jenni is at her best, she is unbeatable.

“I don’t know if she is, but whenever she is a race, they can be upset races.

“Who is the horse that carts up?

“Those races are so unusual when Pride Of Jenni is blasting away, but because we had a bad blood count, we’ve ended up in the All-Star Mile, and I’m not sure whether we end up in the Australian Cup after that or not.”

Sabaj registered an inflammatory signal in his blood, which Price cited as reason to hold him back from racing.

The gelding is now in top shape, and Price looks for a solid effort from his draw, without positioning as the lone trailer behind Pride Of Jenni.

“He’ll be around there somewhere at the finish, but everyone needs her to have an off day,” Price said.

“If you have horses behind you and only Pride Of Jenni in front of you, it’s a tough gig, but I don’t think that will be us.

“I’m not sure who it is, and that is why it can be an upset race. You can only ride the race you are in, not Pride Of Jenni’s race.

“If she capitulates, you’re on, if not, no-one beats her.”

Price was eager to trial Sabaj at the 2000m distance, pinpointing the Australian Cup as suitable.

The interruption clouds whether he’ll make it there, with the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick the following month as a fallback.

The Doncaster Mile (1600m) presents another possibility beforehand.

“He’s a good miler on a big track but plans are up in the air because we had to divert,” Price said.

“I’ve been keen to try him at 2000 metres because I think he’s got that tempo about him and if they do get 2000 metres, it opens up more options.

“He could end up in the Queen Elzabeth, or he could go to Queensland, but we were going to find out a but in the Australian Cup.”

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