Sports world daily: NZ in strong position on Day 2; Rybakina meets Sabalenka in Indian Wells final

Elena Rybakina came up with a strong straight-sets win over defending champion Iga Swiatek to set up the Indian Wells final against Aryna Sabalenka.

In the Premier League, Newcastle United took another step closer to a Champions League spot after beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Here’s a look at the key stories from international sporting events through the day for 18 March, 2023:

Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls score double hundreds

Aggressive double centuries for Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls powered New Zealand’s dominance in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Wellington on Saturday.

The Black Caps declared their first innings at an imposing 580-4 before reducing Sri Lanka to 26-2 at stumps on day two, leaving the tourists with a very slim prospect of squaring the two-match series.

The in-form Williamson scored 215 and Nicholls posted a career-best 200 not out, with the pair’s third-wicket stand of 363 virtually batting Sri Lanka out of the contest.

Their partnership was the fifth-highest by any New Zealand pair and they became the country’s first batters to reach 200 in the same innings.

Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne will resume on 16 on Sunday and nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya remains on four, with the deficit a daunting 554 runs.

Williamson and Nicholls batted at a lively clip from the outset, advancing quickly from a 155-2 overnight score and barely looking troubled as they unleashed an array of attacking strokes through the first two sessions.

Williamson was impenetrable as he reached three figures for the third time in successive Tests, becoming the first New Zealander to pass 8,000 runs in the process.

It was a sixth double-century for the 32-year-old – whose unbeaten 121 was pivotal in a final-ball first Test in Christchurch earlier this week.

Nicholls marched on from his overnight 18 to reach three figures before pushing past his previous best score of 174.

Sri Lanka’s batting response lurched through 17 overs.

Matt Henry removed opener Oshada Fernando for six before fellow-seamer Doug Bracewell dismissed Kusal Mendis without scoring via a spectacular catch at point from Devon Conway.

Rybakina to face Sabalenka in final

Elena Rybakina again proved too much for world number one Iga Swiatek, denying the defending champion a return to the Indian Wells final with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 semi-final victory on Friday.

Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion who stunned top-seeded Swiatek in the fourth round of the Australian Open on the way to the final, will now get a chance to turn the tables on Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her in Melbourne to capture a first Grand Slam title.

World number two Sabalenka advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over seventh-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Elena Rybakina again proved too much for world number one Iga Swiatek, denying the defending champion a return to the Indian Wells final with an emphatic 6-2, 6-2 semi-final victory on Friday.

Moscow-born Kazakh Rybakina, the reigning Wimbledon champion who stunned top-seeded Swiatek in the fourth round of the Australian Open on the way to the final, will now get a chance to turn the tables on Aryna Sabalenka, who beat her in Melbourne to capture a first Grand Slam title.

World number two Sabalenka advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over seventh-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Rybakina, ranked 10th in the world, was all over Swiatek from the opening game, painting the lines with her punishing ground strokes and serving with pinpoint precision.

Swiatek, winner of the French and US Opens last year in a campaign that included eight titles in all, simply had no answer and surrendered the first set with a double-fault on the first set point.

It was more of the same in the second as Rybakina raced to a 5-0 lead. Swiatek, who revealed after the match she was dealing with “discomfort” in her ribcage, finally managed a hold for 5-1, and pounced to break as Rybakina suddenly struggled with her first serve in the next game.

Rybakina still managed to muster two match points at 40-15, but Swiatek saved one with an overhead and another with a blistering return of a second serve, winning two more points to complete the break for 5-2.

But there would be no comeback. A mis-hit as Swiatek appeared to trip chasing a ball back to the baseline gave Rybakina another match point and she converted it with confidence.

Newcastle United beat Nottingham Forest

Alexander Isak said Newcastle believe they will seal a place in next season’s Champions League after the Swede scored twice, including a stoppage time penalty, to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 on Friday.

Victory lifts the Magpies to within one point of fourth-placed Tottenham and with a game in hand to come on Spurs.

“We believe and we know that we have it in our own hands and have a good chance,” said Isak after Newcastle signed off for the international break with back-to-back wins.

“It is important we have gone into this break with a good feeling with two wins from two games.”

Defeat was Forest’s first at home in the league since September and leaves Steve Cooper’s men still two points above the relegation zone.

“It’s always the worst way to lose, in the last couple of minutes, having fought in the game,” said Cooper. “We made some poor football decisions around the build-up to the goals and that’s something we can only blame ourselves for.”

Newcastle ended a near two-month wait for a Premier League win last weekend in beating Wolves and came flying out the blocks at the City Ground. But it was Forest who scored first through Emmanuel Dennis after a defensive error. Isak then equalised in first half stoppage time before finding the winner in the 93rd minute.

Video: Did Palace do the right thing by sacking Patrick Vieira?

With text inputs from AFP

Updated through the day