The day in sports: 30th March
1. City cruise, Chelsea slip, United close on title:
Manchester City pounced on a stumble from Chelsea to tighten their grip on second place in the Premier League on Saturday, after Manchester United took another stride towards the title.
United’s 1-0 win at Sunderland had given them an 18-point lead but City cut their advantage back to 15 points ahead of the forthcoming Manchester derby by crushing Newcastle United 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
2. Cricketer Ryder out of coma, no memory of attack:
New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder plays a shot during a training session in Colombo on March 29, 2011. Ryder has emerged from an induced coma but faces “a big battle” as he recovers from a vicious assault, his manager said.
Ryder required medical assistance to keep breathing when he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition early Thursday morning.
3. Serena Williams beats Sharapova to win sixth Miami title:
World No. 1 Serena Williams rallied to defeat world No. 2 Maria Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday in the WTA Miami final, winning the event for a record sixth time to claim her 48th career tour title.
4. Bayern in nine-goal rout, on brink of title:
Bayern Munich must wait another week before wrapping up the Bundesliga title, but even though the champagne remained on ice, the team were fizzing Saturday as a sparkling showing brought a 9-2 humbling of Hamburg.
5. Juve outclass Inter to move 12 points clear:
Fabio Quagliarella and Alessandro Matri scored one apiece for Juventus as the champions reinforced their Serie A title defence with a commanding 2-1 away win to Inter Milan here at the San Siro on Saturday.
6. Murray, Ferrer to clash in Miami Masters final:
Brit, Andy Murray and third seed Spaniard David Ferrer will meet in the final of the Miami Masters after both rallied from opening-set losses to win their semi-finals in three sets.
7. Depleted Rockets beat Clippers 98-81:
The Houston Rockets shrugged off the absence of leading scorer James Harden to post a 98-81 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Omer Asik had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds with point guard Jeremy Lin, forward Chandler Parsons and reserve guard Francisco Garcia chipping in 15 points apiece as Houston snapped a five-game skid against the Clippers.
8. Kobe Bryant reaches fourth on all-time scorers list as the Lakers beat the Kings:
Kobe Bryant scored 19 points and tied a season high with 14 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers kept pace for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot by defeating rivals Sacramento Kings 103-98. Dwight Howard added 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Bryant passed Lakers great Wilt Chamberlain (31,419 points) for fourth on the NBA‘s career scoring list, after starting four points shy of the mark.
9. Cink, Haas share PGA lead as McIlroy struggles:
Rory McIlroy struggled again Saturday, his chance to win and overtake Tiger Woods for World No. 1 dwindling as Americans Stewart Cink and Bill Haas shared the PGA Houston Open lead.
Haas fired a five-under par 67 while Cink, who has not won since defeating Tom Watson in a playoff at the 2009 British Open, shot a 68 to stand atop the leaderboard on 11-under 205, both nine strokes ahead of World No. 2 McIlroy.