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Real Madrid out of Copa del Rey
Madrid, Jan 25 (IANS) Leganes are headed for the Copa del Rey semi-finals for the first time in their history after upsetting mighty Real Madrid 2-1 in the second leg of the quarter-final tie here.
Though the aggregate was 2-2 after the Blancos won the first leg 1-0, their suburban neighbours on Wednesday advanced by virtue of a 2-1 advantage in away goals, reports Efe.
Real Madrid has never before lost a Copa tie in the Bernabeu after winning the first leg away.
While the Blancos showed little sense of urgency, the determined visiting side pressed from the opening whistle and got their reward in the 31st minute when Javier Eraso stole the ball from Nacho and lobbed a shot from a distance that found the net to make it 1-0.
The hosts were better at the start of the second half and pulled level in the 47th minute on a goal by Karim Benzema, his first since November 25.
Eight minutes later, however, Gabriel got his head to an Eraso corner kick to bring the aggregate score to 2-2.
As the match entered the final 20 minutes, coach Zinedine Zidane turned to his bench, first by sending in Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric.
Minutes later, Zidane yanked Isco Alarcon in favour of Borja Mayoral, who grazed the post after taking a cross from Lucas Vazquez, who led Real Madrid’s desperate quest for a goal.
Leganes keeper Nereo Champagne sealed the upset by stopping a thunderous Sergio Ramos header.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.