Firstpost Spodcast Episode 217: Bangladesh beat SA in Cricket World Cup, Stan Wawrinka enters quarter-final of French Open and more

Cricket news first. Bangladesh made the perfect start to their 2019 World Cup campaign, scoring their highest one-day international score and registering a 21-run win over a haggard South African team on Sunday. In a remarkably self-assured performance on the big stage, Mashrafe Mortaza’s men posted 330/6 in their 50 overs, with Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan leading the charge at the Oval. Rahim scored a brisk 78 runs, building a 142-run partnership with Shakib, who made 75. Towards the end of their innings, Mahmudullah’s boisterous 46 not out from 33 balls helped Bangladesh score 54 runs in the last 4 overs as they went past their previous highest ODI total of 329 against Pakistan in 2015. India captain Virat Kohli “is doing fine” despite being hit on his thumb in a training session on Saturday. Kohli hurt his right thumb during practice at the Ageas Bowl, prompting physiotherapist Patrick Farhat to attend to the Indian skipper. Farhat was first seen using magic spray on the thumb and then applied tape on it. Kohli was seen leaving the field with his thumb dipped in a glass of ice. In tennis news, Stan Wawrinka knocked Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas out of the French Open with a thrilling victory in the longest match of the tournament on Sunday, setting up a quarter-final against Roger Federer, while Rafael Nadal claimed his 90th Roland Garros win. A stunning winner from yards behind the baseline secured a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 fourth-round triumph for 2015 champion Wawrinka after five hours and nine minutes. Wawrinka, seeded 24th, saved 22 of the 27 break points he faced, including all eight in the final set as sixth seed Tsitsipas pushed for victory but fell short. He said after the match, “It’s incredible, lots of emotions. Thanks to all the fans for staying and (the) support. It’s for these kind of emotions that I live for after coming back from injury.” In MotoGP, Danilo Petrucci, an Italian rider for local team Ducati, held off defending world champion Marc Marquez to gain a first-ever MotoGP victory on Sunday in the Italian Grand Prix. Five-time MotoGP champion Marquez on a Honda briefly took the lead in the last lap but Petrucci recaptured first place and won. 28-year-old Petrucci said, “It’s amazing, I’m thrilled. In front of my home crowd and in my town, it’s incredible, I can’t describe how I feel. I’ve achieved my aim for this year which was to win a race, now we have to win the championship with Ducati.” Marquez - who has won three of the six races so far this season - started on pole but had to battle with the Ducati riders and Suzuki’s Alex Rins, who challenged hard despite starting back on the grid. The four riders overtook each other several times but Petrucci found the power to pull clear in the closing stages of the final lap of the fast Mugello circuit. The Italian finished 0.043sec ahead of Marquez with Dovizioso at 0.338. The second place finish allowed Spaniard Marquez to increase his lead in the world championship ahead of Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso who finished third on Sunday. Meanwhile, Italian star Valentino Rossi had a forgettable weekend - he finished 18th in qualifying, and crashed out of his home race where he has not won since 2008 after an impressive series of seven consecutive victories. In cycling, at the 2019 Giro d’Italia, Movistar rider Richard Carapaz held off local hero Vincenzo Nibali to become the first Ecuadorian Grand Tour winner. Carapaz emerged from the shadows of cycling’s big guns on Sunday, riding into Verona’s ancient Roman Arena to seal his first ever Grand Tour victory in the final-day time trial. His 36th place finish in the final stage, which was won by American Chad Haga, was enough for the 26-year-old to become the first Ecuadorian to win one of the sport’s three major tours. Carapaz dominated the second half of this year’s race, particularly in the mountains, claiming the coveted pink jersey in just his third full season as a professional rider after starting the race as a support rider for teammate Mikel Landa. However, Carapaz surged ahead of Landa as the race moved into the mountains. He had remained under the radar for much of the race, particularly after having lost time with mechanical problems on stage three. Second-placed Vincenzo Nibali of Italy conceded it had been a mistake to underestimate the Ecuadorian given his fourth-placed finish last year. Carapaz, who comes from Playa Alta, high in the mountains of northern Ecuador near the border with Colombia, said after his win, “This is the biggest moment of my sporting life. In this final time trial I just suffered from start to finish until I reached the arena of Verona. It’s fabulous to win the Giro d’Italia.”