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George Russell praised his Mercedes as a “joy to drive” as he took pole for the sprint race at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday to continue his team’s dominant start to the new era of Formula 1. Russell is the driver to beat in Shanghai after his dominant win in Australia last week. With teammate Kimi Antonelli qualifying second, 0.289 of a second down, and no other team close, Mercedes is on target for another 1-2 finish in Saturday’s sprint, which is followed by qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix. Lando Norris was .621 adrift, a vast gap in F1 terms, in third for McLaren. Only Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari in fourth and Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri in fifth got within a second of Russell’s time. Antonelli held on to second despite an investigation for impeding Norris during qualifying. He wasn’t penalized because Norris said he wasn’t trying to set a “meaningful lap time,” so didn’t lose out.

BY Photo Webdesk 13 March 2026

Find today's news in pics from India and around the world for March 13, 2026

BY Photo Webdesk 13 March 2026

Luka Doncic had 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, LeBron James added 18 points in his return after missing three games because of injuries and the Los Angeles Lakers used a strong third quarter to defeat the Chicago Bulls 142-130 on Thursday night. Doncic scored 50 points for the first time as a Laker following the blockbuster trade that sent him from Dallas to Los Angeles in February 2025. It was Doncic’s 13th 40-point game in 82 appearances for Los Angeles, moving into ninth in franchise history. Austin Reaves chipped in with 30 points, Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the season, and the Lakers’ four-game winning streak is their longest since running off seven in a row Nov. 14-30.

BY Photo Webdesk 13 March 2026

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive games with 20 points or more, extending his streak to 127 on Thursday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard hit two free throws in the third quarter against the Boston Celtics to reach 19 points. With the crowd on its feet, Gilgeous-Alexander pump-faked several times and drilled a jumper over Baylor Scheierman from beyond the free-throw line with 7:04 left in the period to push his total to 21. He finished with 35 points and nine assists as the Thunder beat the Celtics 104-102.

BY Photo Webdesk 13 March 2026

Ollie Watkins’ second-half header gave Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Lille in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie on Thursday. Just past the hour mark, Ezri Konsa sent a deep pass that Emi Buendía headed to Watkins in the home team’s box. The England forward noticed goalkeeper Berke Özer was off his line before sending a looping header over him and into the net. Minutes later, Watkins wasted a chance to double the advantage when he failed to score in a one-on-one with the ‘keeper. Nottingham Forest was stunned 1-0 by Danish club Midtjylland.

BY Photo Webdesk 13 March 2026

Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points and the Los Angeles Clippers routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 153-128 in the NBA on Thursday (March 12, 2026), pushing their win-loss ratio above 0.500 with their third straight victory and sixth in seven games. Eighth in the Western Conference at 33-32 after opening 6-21, the Clippers had their highest points total of the season. Leonard was 15 of 20 from the field, 6 of 9 on 3s and made 9 of 10 free throws. Los Angeles made 19 of 37 3s. Bennedict Mathurin scored 22 points for Los Angeles. Clippers newcomer Darius Garland had 21, hitting five 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 36 points and Naz Reid had 18.

BY Photo Webdesk 12 March 2026

Il Etait Temps surged to triumph in the Queen Mother Champion Chase to earn trainer Willie Mullins his third win of day two at the Cheltenham Festival in England on Wednesday (March 11, 2026). Majborough was the favourite to claim victory in the big race of the day but a poor jumping display botched it up. A mistake at the final fence almost cost Il Etait Temps the win, but jockey Paul Townend steered him over the line at the Festival's first Ladies Day in five years. The first winner of the day for Mullins came in the opening race with King Rasko Grey zooming past the finish line. It was a Mullins one-two in the Novices' Chase with a superb jumping display from Kitzbuhel, allowing him to hold off the challenge of Final Demand.

BY Photo Webdesk 12 March 2026

Find today's news in pics from India and around the world for March 12, 2026

BY Photo Webdesk 12 March 2026

Desmond Bane had a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final 17.4 seconds to cap a 35-point night and help the Orlando Magic hold off the Cleveland Cavaliers 128-122 in the NBA on Thursday (March 12, 2026) for their fifth straight victory. Paolo Banchero added 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic. Tristan da Silva scored nine of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. James Harden had 30 points and eights assists for Cleveland. Donovan Mitchell added 25 points, hitting a 3-pointer that brought the Cavaliers within two after Orlando led by 13 midway through the fourth quarter. Bane countered with a 3-pointer as he was falling out of bounds with 17.4 seconds left, then added two free throws with eight seconds remaining.

BY Photo Webdesk 12 March 2026

Lionel Messi was held scoreless and Inter Miami and Nashville SC played to a scoreless draw in the teams’ first game in the CONCACAF Champions Cup round of 16 on Wednesday night. The teams will meet again on March 18 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to decide which squad advances to the quarterfinal round. Entering the contest, Messi had scored in six straight games against Nashville, dating to April 20, 2024, posting 12 goals and five assists in that stretch. Messi was held without a point for the second time in four games after being held off the scoresheet in a 3-0 loss to Los Angeles FC on Feb. 21.

BY Photo Webdesk 12 March 2026