Part of our series on the standout athletic performances of the week sees cricket, tennis and some spirited badminton performances take centrestage:
Virat Kohli
The mercurial Indian batsman has on top of his game at the 2016 Indian Premier League, scoring tons in quick succession to add to his growing list of batting records.
Captaining the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kohli has enjoyed a fine run of form this year, recently taking his fourth T20 ton – also his fourth in the Indian Premier League.
The Delhi native led his team to second in the league as they won four successive games, personally contributing to each of those victories significantly with the bat and on the field.
Against the Kings XI Punjab last week, Kohli played a mammoth 113-run knock to take his side to 211 runs in a 15-over game truncated due to rain; the Kings were unable to match up, managing 120 runs in 14 overs and serving no match for a spirited knock from the Indian Test captain.
Lionel Messi
The 5-time Ballon d’Or winner frequently features in team FC Barcelona’s victories, and things were no different at the club’s Copa del Rey final against Sevilla last week.
The Argentine held a stellar track record against Sevilla – scoring against them a record 25 times.
FC Barcelona did not have the most ideal first half, with Javier Mascherano red-carded 35 minutes in. The team nearly managed to edge out Sevilla going into half-time with Gerard Pique almost taking his side up, but the first half remained a non-scoring one.
Both teams played an attacking game as the game remained goalless going into full-time, and teams saw five minutes of extra time added on to play.
It was then Lionel Messi who pulled off a long ball across the pitch, beautifully assisting Jordi Alba as Alba scored to take Barcelona up 1-0.
But he wasn’t done there. The Atomic Flea then proceeded to pitch in in the 122nd minute of the long-drawn-out, aggressive match as teammate Neymar scored to take Barcelona up 2-0 – and win them the Copa del Rey for the second year in a row.
Andy Murray
World No 2, World No 3 and back to World No. 2; the Scot has had a series of ups and downs this week. Following a loss at the finals of the Madrid Masters to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Murray parted ways with his longtime coach, former French tennis pro Amelie Mauresmo.
But it was a resurgent Andy Murray that fans saw play the finals of the Italian Open, the final clay court tournament before the French Open. The 28-year-old has recently found claycourt form, and defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets – 6-3, 6-3 in Rome, with the Serb unable to match his rival's steady momentum.
That win will stand the Scot in good stead going into the French Open. He has never progressed beyond the semi-finals at Roland-Garros, most recently losing out in the semi-finals last year to Djokovic. He taxed the top seed, however, taking him to five sets before Djokovic eventually won the decider.
With the French Open now underway, Murray will take heart from his form and his recent strong performance.
LeBron James
Cavaliers legend LeBron James has repeatedly, and consistently, starred in his team’s performances this week. Although they lost to the Toronto Raptors yesterday, the Cavs are leading the Eastern Conference 2-1, and James has been the team’s most consistent star.
The 32-year-old top-scored with 24 points despite his side's eventual loss to the Raptors yesterday.
In the sides' previous face-off, James was the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, with 23 points and a triple double, with his team taking a resounding 108-89 victory.
Viktor Axelsen
At last week’s Thomas and Uber Cup – the world’s premier badminton team event, it was team Denmark who came out on top in the former, the men’s tournament, with World No. 4 Viktor Axelsen starring in his team’s spirited performance, edging out Indonesia 3-2 for the title.
Although the country’s doubles players faltered, losing both ties, they put up a spirited performance in the singles, with Axelsen taking a spirited straight games victory over Indonesian top-10 player Tommy Sugiarto, beating him 21-17 21-18.
Sugiarto conceded the first game, but came back strongly in the second to take an 18-15 lead over the Dane, who then took six successive points to give Denmark the win and the lead.
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