Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna broke the longest standing men’s world record, throwing an incredible 74.35m* to smash the discus mark at the Oklahoma Throws Series meeting in Ramona on Sunday (14).

That throw improves the world record of 74.08m set by Jurgen Schult in 1986 – 16 years before Alekna was born – and it formed part of a series of six 70m-plus throws by the 21-year-old.

Competing on a weekend when discus throwers were blessed with perfect conditions, Alekna showed he meant business from the start, opening with 72.21m. That improved on the 71.39m PB that had moved him up to No.10 on the world all-time list on 6 April, but still he looked frustrated.

The two-time world medallist followed that with 70.32m in the gusty conditions, but seemed much happier with his third-round attempt. It measured at 72.89m – a mark that strengthened his place at fourth all time.

Despite that huge performance, Alekna maintained his composure to throw 70.51m in round four and the best was yet to come.

Returning to the throwing circle for the fifth time, he launched the implement and pointed at it as it flew through the air. It landed at 74.35m – initially measured as 74.41m but later revised – and Alekna made history, going on to complete his series with 70.50m from his final attempt.

The Alekna family now has two of the three best men’s discus throwers in history, with two-time Olympic champion Virgilijus Alekna – the father of Mykolas – now placed third on the world all-time list with his 73.88m from 2000.

Mykolas Alekna’s performance came the day after Cuba’s Yaime Perez threw 73.09m in Ramona for the longest women’s discus throw in the world since 1989.

(World Athletics)

Chennai Super Kings overcame Mumbai Indians in a hard fought contest that saw a number of remarkable individual contributions on either side. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube hit fifties for CSK while MS Dhoni marked his presence at the end. For Mumbai Rohit Sharma smashed a ton but it was Matheesha Pathirana’s four-wicket haul that turned out to be a big difference-maker.

Pathirana delivers the body blows

Up against a power-packed batting line-up, CSK’s chance of a comeback lay in picking up wickets. Their best bet was slinger Pathirana, who had replaced Maheesh Theekshana for this game. Pathirana made immediate impact coming in in the eighth over first getting Ishan Kishan to clip to the midwicket fielder. A ball later, he had Suryakumar Yadav caught at third man where Mustafizur Rahman did exceptionally well to keep his balance and the ball in the play. The wickets, particularly the first one, came at a much-needed juncture after Rohit and Kishan had put on 70 in the first-seven overs. But Pathirana wasn’t done with just that. He came back at the death and bagged both of MI’s big-hitters – Tim David and Romario Shepherd – which robbed them off crucial boundaries at the back-end.

Rohit’s ton goes in vain

Rohit had seen through the innings from the first ball, first setting the ball rolling inside the powerplay with some innovative batting that put pressure on the likes of Mustafizur and Ravindra Jadeja. Through the middle overs, he managed to stitch together a crucial 60-run stand with Tilak Varma after that wobble. But with Pathirana striking once again through the end overs, MI fell behind even as Rohit collected a hundred in the final over.

A middle-overs choke

With MI needing 77 off the last six overs, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande found the cutters into the pitch highly effective. The duo bowled two overs for just five runs even with Rohit Sharma batting in the 70s. Thakur also accounted for the wicket of Hardik Pandya in the period, making the equation even tougher and putting pressure on the batters to follow with CSK managing the follow-up overs adeptly.

For CSK, the batting innings progressed on a more even course with a final take-off elevating them further

A mixed bag in the powerplay

CSK opted to throw up a surprise by changing up their batting order. Ajinkya Rahane came up to open instead of Ruturaj Gaikwad. Rahane, a designated pace-hitter, threw a spade in the works for MI who then opted to open with the offspin of Mohammad Nabi. The change-up however did not bring about the desired impact for CSK. Rahane lasted just eight balls before he chipped a catch off Gerald Coetzee. However Ruturaj came in next and got going straightaway hitting Coetzee for two fours and a six. The powerplay saw CSK get 48 but lose a wicket.

Dube, Gaikwad take charge

Rachin Ravindra’s promise did not last long as he was out caught behind on review against Shreyas Gopal. But this brought in Shivam Dube alongside Gaikwad who was finding his feet. With spin now being taken out of the attack given Dube’s reputation as a spin hitter, the middle-order batter unleashed other skills. He started off by picking three boundaries off Pandya and then two more off Romario Shepherd. Gaikwad, meanwhile, worked his way to his 16th IPL fifty and set up the innings for a big finish. Dube carted Shepherd for back-to-back sixes and a four as the duo picked up 22 in an over to up the ante before Akash Madhwal was meted out similar treatment as Dube raced to a 28-ball fifty.

A roaring finish

The 90-run stand from the duo helped CSK maintain a good run-rate through the middle overs but it threatened to come undone at the death when they lost a couple of wickets. Gaikwad holed out against his counterpart Pandya after a 40-ball 69 while Daryl Mitchell struggled to match the tempo from the get-go, hitting only one boundary in a 14-ball 17. As he became Pandya’s second wicket in the final over, CSK were in danger of finishing well before 200. However, MS Dhoni walked in and turned back the clock smashing a hat-trick of sixes as Pandya missed his lengths woefully. His four-ball 20* powered CSK past 200 and eventually proved to be the decisive margin of victory.

Mumbai Indians will travel to Mullanpur to take on Punjab Kings on April 18 while the Chennai Super Kings will be in Lucknow on April 19 for their next fixture against the Super Giants

Brief Scores:

Chennai Super Kings

206/4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 69, Shivam Dube 66*)

Mumbai Indians

186/6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 105*; Matheesha Pathirana 4-28)

The 28th edition of the ‘Fox Hill Super Cross’ organized by the Sri Lanka Military Academy Diyatalawa with the support of Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) is set to take place at Diyatalawa this Sunday (21),

The main sponsor for this year’s event is Asian Paints Causeway and hence the 2024 edition has been named ‘Asian Paints Causeway Fox Hill super Cross 2024’.

It was on 21st April 2019 that Fox Hill Super Cross was held last and Sri Lanka Automobile Sports has played a major role in reviving the event. President of SLAS Ashhar Hameem said that the governing body provided the Sri Lanka Military Academy an interest free loan of Rs 4 million to get the preparations off the ground and in addition obtained Rs 20.1 million in direct sponsorships, Rs 7.5 million in indirect sponsorships, machinery to prepare the track at no cost and other services at concessional rates.

Hameem said that Fox Hill 2024 has attracted 150 motor car entries and 120 motorbike entries, the highest number in the event’s history. He also said that all ten affiliated clubs namely, Ceylon Motor Sports Club (CMSC), Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club (SLMCC), Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLADAR), Southern Motor Sports Club (SMSC), Motor Racing Association(MRA), Negombo Motor Sports Club (NMSC), Asian Motor Racing Club (AMRC), Colombo Motor Sports Club (CMSC), Sri Lanka Autosports Drivers Association (SLADA)and the Army Motor Sports Committee (SLAMSC) supported SLAS at all times.

Major General Thushara Mahalekam Commandant of the Sri Lanka Military Academy Diyatalawa, acknowledged the support extended by SLAS to revive Fox Hill Super Cross and thanked all sponsors for contributing to make ‘Fox Hill 2024’ a reality.