Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders occupy the bottom two positions on the IPL table, with both teams having won just won of their opening four games. With Ben Stokes sidelined and Liam Livingstone citing bubble fatigue, the Royals' prospects for the season took another blow when their key fast bowler Jofra Archer was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. The team has now called on South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen as cover.

The Knight Riders will be wary of the fact that they have won just one of their last nine games at the Wankhede stadium. The team has tended to open their attack with spinners, but against a Royals side that has struggled against pace in the powerplay, the Knight Riders could be tempted to give Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna the ball.

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders is available to view in India on Disney+ Hotstar, Jio TV and Airtel TV.

When does the RR vs KKR live streaming start?
The RR vs KKR live streaming will start at 7:00 PM India Time April 24, 2021.

Where is the RR vs KKR match being played?
The RR vs KKR match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

On which TV channels will RR vs KKR live coverage be available?
In India, Star Sports 1 and 1HD, Star Sports Select 1 and 1HD and SS1 Hindi and 1 Hindi HD will telecast the match live.

Where can one find RR vs KKR live score and commentary online?
The fastest and most comprehensive live score and details will be available here: RR vs KKR live

What are the likely playing XIs for today's RR vs KKR game?

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Nitish Rana, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Sunil Narine, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Shivam Mavi, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Jos Buttler (wk), 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal/Anuj Rawat, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Shivam Dube, 5 David Miller, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Jaydev Unadkat, 10 Chetan Sakariya, 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Andrew Tye

Who are the captains for today's RR vs KKR game?
The captains for today's game will be Sanju Samson (RR) and Eoin Morgan (KKR).

Who are the umpires for RR vs KKR game?
The on-field umpires for today's game will be Navdeep Singh and S Ravi. The third umpire will be Paul Reiffel.

Who will be the match referee for RR vs KKR game?
The match referee for today's game will be Abhishek Nayar.

Seamer Lahiru Kumara will not bowl again in the ongoing series against Bangladesh after picking up a hamstring injury while fielding on day three, in Pallekele. MRI scans on Friday evening confirmed the presence of the injury. He had bowled 28 overs in the first innings, claiming figures of 1 for 88.

This is the second time in five months Kumara will be unable to complete a Test due to injury, having also been pulled out midway through the Boxing Day Test in Centurion late last year, due to a groin complaint. In fact, this was his first Test outing since that Centurion game.

Kumara's exit leaves Sri Lanka with only three frontline bowlers for the second innings - seamers Suranga Lakmal and Vishwa Fernando, and legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga the only others picked primarily for their bowling in this innings. Dhananjaya de Silva is also on hand to provide part-time offspin.

For the second Test, Sri Lanka also have Asitha Fernando and the uncapped Dilshan Madushanka in the squad, should they require more fast-bowling cover for Kumara. If they go down the spin route, they have uncapped left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama in reserve as well.

Kumara's batting is unlikely to be required in the ongoing game. The second Test starts on Thursday.

Big picture

After two weeks - barring their most passionate fans - very few people would've imagined that Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings would be at the summit of the IPL 2021 points table. Definitely not after last season. But that's the beauty of the tournament - you come to expect the unexpected.

New purchases Glenn Maxwell and Moeen Ali have been revelations. Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have found their IPL 2020 form again. Two unfancied bowling units are punching above their weight. Simply put, it's a contest between the two most in-form teams of the season.

After a defeat first up, the Super Kings are hunting for their fourth straight win. The Royal Challengers are still unbeaten, and are one victory away to become the first side since Rajasthan Royals in 2015 to start their season 5-0. It's the perfect position for both sides to be in, but form and confidence are fickle things. One loss can swiftly become two, and when teams start to slide, it can often be a freefall. That's what captains MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli will be looking to avoid in the afternoon contest.

One team has the fireworks to go big, the other has the best batting depth in the tournament. And it's a contest at the Wankhede, where - bowlers, look away now - both teams scored at over 10 per over in their previous matches. It's captain cool coming up against captain aggressive. Which one will prevail, fire or ice?

Team news

The Super Kings will still be without the services of the quarantining Jason Behrendorff, who will be available after April 26. The Royal Challengers have their full squad at their disposal.

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Deepak Chahar

Royal Challengers Bangalore 1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Shahbaz Ahmed, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Kane Richardson, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Mohammad Siraj

Strategy punt

• Dhoni could pit Ravindra Jadeja against Maxwell, the Royal Challengers' X-factor batter. In 11 T20s, Jadeja has dismissed Maxwell five times at an average of 11.6.
• Kohli could use his two tall overseas pacers Kane Richardson and Kyle Jamieson against the middle order of Moeen, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayudu for two reasons. One, none of them like the short ball, and secondly, they have feasted on spinners this season. Rayudu's strike rate against spinners is 170, Moeen's is 183, Raina's 189 - the three highest among all IPL 2021 batsmen. It may need Kohli to rethink his death-overs strategy, however.

Stats that matter

The UFC will take another big step toward normalcy this weekend, with a UFC 261 pay-per-view event in Jacksonville, Florida, in front of a full capacity crowd.

It's pretty interesting this landmark event will feature a welterweight title fight main event between Kamaru Usman (18-1) and Jorge Masvidal. (35-14). That's the exact same matchup that headlined another landmark moment last July -- when the UFC made its debut in the now-famous Fight Island over in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Why did the UFC go back to this matchup to serve as headliner in such a major spot? Especially because the first meeting was very one-sided in Usman's favor?

The answer lies in Usman's record. He has already beaten the UFC's official No. 1-ranked contender in Colby Covington. He has beaten the No. 2-ranked Gilbert Burns, as well as the No. 3-ranked Leon Edwards. And oh, would you look at that, there's Masvidal at No. 4, whom he has obviously taken out as well.

When you're as dominant as Usman has been -- 13 consecutive wins -- you get a strong say in the direction of your career. Usman probably could have chosen any of these four to fight next, and he specifically requested Masvidal.

How come?

Some, including Masvidal, would say it's for the money. This matchup offers Usman the highest upside in a PPV split, because Masvidal is the most popular man in the division. The champ hasn't denied that was a factor, but he has also said his win over Masvidal is the only one against these top contenders that doesn't sit well with him.

"Honestly, I don't think I broke him, the way I wanted to break him," Usman told ESPN. "When you're in there with that opponent, there's such an intimate moment where only you and that guy know what's going on. Only you and that guy know how hard he hits you. Only you and that guy know how hard I'm going at home. And with Masvidal, I don't think I fully broke him the way I wanted to. With everyone else, I know when I broke them."

It's a tale of two wildly different perspectives on the same July fight. Usman wasn't happy because he believes he can finish Masvidal, while Masvidal believes he felt everything Usman had to offer and cannot lose to the man if he's given a full camp to prepare. Masvidal took the first matchup on six days' notice, due to a late withdrawal by Burns.

Who's correct? That's the beauty of the fight game. We'll find out. But either way, the fact the UFC is revisiting this matchup again, in a premier spot, shouldn't surprise us. There's good reason to believe, even if the result is another win for Usman, it will look completely different.

In addition to the main event, Zhang Weili will return for the first time since her 2020 Fight of the Year candidate against Joanna Jedrzejczyk to defend her strawweight title against former champ Rose Namajunas, who also has a history of delivering on big nights. And Valentina Shevchenko, one of the most dominant women in MMA, will defend her flyweight title against ex-strawweight champ Jessica Andrade.

Buy UFC 261 on ESPN+ PPV

Welterweight championship:
Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal 2

By the numbers

15,000+: Fans are back at UFC 261 with more than 15,000 fans expected to be in attendance.

13: Usman's current win streak, which is tied for the second-longest streak ever

50: Number of professional fights for Masvidal, as of Saturday night. It will also be Masvidal's 20th UFC fight

47: Takedowns for Usman, third-most among active welterweights

5: Takedowns for Usman against Masvidal in their previous fight

Sources: ESPN Stats & Information and UFC Stats

Five vs. five

Kamaru Usman's most recent results
Win: Gilbert Burns (TKO3, Feb. 13, 2021; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Jorge Masvidal (UD, July 12, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Colby Covington (TKO5, Dec. 14, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Tyron Woodley (UD, March 2, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Rafael Dos Anjos (UD, Nov. 30, 2018)

Jorge Masvidal's most recent results
Loss: Kamaru Usman (UD, July 12, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Nate Diaz (TKO3, Nov. 2, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Ben Askren (KO1, July 6, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Darren Till (KO2, March 16, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Loss: Stephen Thompson (UD, Nov. 4, 2017)

A look back: Usman beats Masvidal at UFC 251 but doesn't finish him

Film study: Gilbert Melendez on Jorge Masvidal

And the winner is ...

"I really think it's going to go a lot like the first time. I'm a big fan of how Usman is able to come up with the perfect game plan for everyone he fights -- he never fights the same way twice. He's really good at figuring out what his opponents' weaknesses are. I think that's actually why it's really bad for Masvidal, because now Usman's been able to prepare for him." -- Angela Hill, UFC strawweight

More expert picks on Usman-Masvidal

Strawweight championship:
Zhang Weili (c) vs. Rose Namajunas

By the numbers

81: Percentage of Zhang's fights in which she got a finish, which includes 10 wins by knockout and seven by submission

4: Strawweight finishes for Namajunas, tied for the most in UFC division history

6.38: Zhang's significant strikes per minute, the fourth-highest rate in strawweight history

1: Namajunas hopes to become the first woman to hold the same title on multiple occasions.

Five vs. five

Zhang Weili's most recent results
Win: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (SD, March 7, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Jessica Andrade (TKO1, Aug. 31, 2019; Watch on ESPN+)
Win: Tecia Torres (UD, March 2, 2019; Watch on ESPN+)
Win: Jessica Aguilar (SUB2, Nov. 24, 2018)
Win: Danielle Taylor (UD, Aug. 4, 2018)

Rose Namajunas' most recent results
Win: Jessica Andrade (SD, July 11, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Loss: Jessica Andrade (KO2, May 11, 2019)
Win: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (UD, April 7, 2018)
Win: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (TKO1, Nov. 4, 2017)
Win: Michelle Waterson (SUB2, April 15, 2017)

Film study: Gilbert Melendez on Zhang Weili

And the winner is ...

"I think Weili will win, but Rose has a lot of strong weapons. Rose has good power for the weight. She's long. She seems to be improving all the time, so it's kind of like, what Rose will we see? What has she improved? I would put my money on Weili, but Rose has the tools to make this competitive. Weili is as game as they come, mentally strong, and will put the pressure on her." -- Mike Brown, coach at American Top Team

More expert picks on Zhang-Namajunas

Women's flyweight championship:
Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Jessica Andrade

By the numbers

6: Flyweight wins for Shevchenko, tied for the most in division history

1: Andrade is the only woman in MMA history to have a win in three divisions

15: Finishes for Andrade out of her 21 victories. Eight have come by knockout, seven by submission.

5: This will be the fifth title defense for Shevchenko.

Five vs. five

Valentina Shevchenko's most recent results
Win: Jennifer Maia (UD, Nov. 21, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Katlyn Chookagian (TKO3, Feb. 8, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Liz Carmouche (UD, Aug. 10, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Jessica Eye (KO2, June 8, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Joanna Jedrzejczyk (UD, Dec. 8, 2018; watch on ESPN+)

Jessica Andrade's most recent results
Win: Katlyn Chookagian (KO1, Oct. 17, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Loss: Rose Namajunas (SD, July 11, 2020; watch on ESPN+)
Loss: Zhang Weili (TKO1, Aug. 31, 2019; watch on ESPN+)
Win: Rose Namajunas (KO2, May 11, 2019)
Win: Karolina Kowalkiewicz (KO1, Sept. 8, 2018)

Film study: Dominick Cruz on Valentina Shevchenko

And the winner is ...

"Valentina is one of the most complete fighters and truest martial artists in the game. If you had to coin a martial artist, Valentina is so high on that list. She leaves no stone unturned. I think she's going to be more than prepared for Andrade's strength and close-quarter fighting. I think Valentina will win wherever the fight goes, because Valentina has shown she's a great grappler, too. The way Andrade beat Rose Namajunas, I don't see her doing that to Valentina." -- Sayif Saud, coach at Fortis MMA

More expert picks on Shevchenko-Andrade

How to watch the fights

Watch the PPV and all other fights on ESPN+. Get ESPN+ here.
Watch the prelims on ESPN, ESPN Deportes or ESPN+. Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV
Don't have ESPN or ESPN Deportes? Get instant access.
Purchased the fight on your phone and want to stream on your TV? Find out how here.
There's also FightCenter, which offers live updates for every UFC card.

Saturday's fight card

ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET
Welterweight title fight: Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal
Strawweight title fight: Zhang Weili (c) vs. Rose Namajunas
Women's flyweight title fight: Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs. Jessica Andrade
Middleweight: Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
Light heavyweight: Anthony Smith vs. Jimmy Crute
ESPN/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET
Welterweight: Alex Oliveira vs. Randy Brown
Welterweight: Dwight Grant vs. Stefan Sekulic
Middleweight: Karl Roberson vs. Brendan Allen
Men's featherweight: Patrick Sabatini vs. Tristan Connelly
ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN+, 6 p.m. ET
Men's bantamweight: Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad
Lightweight: Kazula Vargas vs. Rong Zhu
Women's flyweight: Aori Qileng vs. Jeffrey Molina
Strawweight: Liang Na vs. Ariane Carnelossi

Three more things to know (from ESPN Stats & Information)

1. UFC 261 is the eighth fight card in the promotion's history in which three title belts are on the line, and the fifth in which there is a reigning champion in all three title bouts. Only once did all three championships change hands -- at UFC 217 in November 2017. That night in New York, Georges St-Pierre took the middleweight title away from Michael Bisping, TJ Dillashaw dethroned Cody Garbrandt at men's bantamweight and Rose Namajunas won the strawweight crown from Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

2. Before the title fights, there will be a rematch more than 10 years in the making, when middleweights Uriah Hall and former champ Chris Weidman meet again. The two competed against each other in the Ring of Combat organization in September 2010, with Weidman winning by first-round TKO. Hall is riding a three-fight winning streak, while Weidman has lost five of his past seven fights.

3. The PPV opener is a light heavyweight matchup between former title challenger Anthony Smith and the No. 1 fighter in ESPN's ranking of top fighters under age 25, Jimmy Crute. Smith is 2-3 in past five fights but nonetheless represents a step up in competition for Crute, whose past three wins have come in the first round.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry paid Draymond Green the ultimate compliment after watching the forward tie a career high with 19 assists in Friday's 118-97 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, calling him the "smartest basketball player I've played with."

"When he gets in a groove like that where he's getting everybody involved, and having a Draymond-type night where scoring's not really the difference-maker, it's the way that he does the intangibles," Curry said. "And then makes everybody better by getting the ball on time, can finish off plays. He's the smartest basketball player I've played with, and it shows in moments and games like tonight where he just finds a way to impact winning in his own way."

On a night in which Chase Center hosted fans for the first time in more than a year, Curry and Green led the way as they have so many times through the years. Curry scored 32 points, and Green added 12 rebounds to his career-best assist total.

Green, who scored just two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field, said he believes that passers can get into the same kind of zone that Curry and other great shooters can.

"Absolutely," Green said. "You definitely can find that zone and feel like you can make any pass. Some of those crazy-ass passes you see me make, it's like a heat check. You see a guy coming down from 35 feet and heat-checking that thing -- I feel like that with my passes sometimes.

"I'm trying to heat check that thing and see if I can get it through a tight gap, but it's fun. But when you've got guys hitting shots at that rate that guys were hitting shots today -- timely cuts, backdoor cuts, making all the right reads and taking what the defense is giving them."

Curry, who has heat-checked plenty of shots during his career, agreed with Green's assessment.

"The same way you feel like the game slows down and the rim looks huge," Curry said, "Same way I guess if you're at the top of the key or you're making those decisions with the ball in your hands and you get somebody open. On-time and on-target passes, you kind of just seeing everything a little bit better, a little bit quicker. Execute the angle of the pass, speed of the pass, timing of the pass, whatever it is -- he's a master at it."

Aside from Curry and Green's play, the Warriors received an added jolt by having almost 2,000 fans cheering them on. Fans chanted "MVP! MVP!" for Curry throughout the night, and a couple of hundred waited in their seats after the game to give both players another ovation as they finished their respective postgame interviews and made their way off the floor.

"It was really nice for sure," Curry said. "Considering what we've all been through the last 409 days. That was awesome. Even pulling up, driving around the arena when I got here three hours early, you see all the ushers outside waiting to get in, understanding that they're excited to get back to work.

"Just a little bit different of a buzz inside and outside the arena. I know you got to take it slow and obviously keep everybody safe but ramp up how many people can get in the building and slowly but surely get back to a full, packed house where that energy is second to none. Us on the floor, we live off of that. You try to bring it when it's an empty arena. You do your best, but it makes such a difference with fans."

BRISTOL, Tenn. – David Gravel completed a clean sweep of the Bristol Throwdown opener for the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, but it wasn’t without pressure in the closing laps.

Gravel fended off a furious charge in lapped traffic by ninth-starting Aaron Reutzel, then jetted away on a restart with five laps to go following the night’s only caution flag to secure the $10,000 victory.

Before that, he set a new track record in qualifying, won his heat race and dominated the DIRTvision Fast Pass Dash. The feature triumph served as “the icing on the cake” for the 28-year-old veteran.

It marked the second win of the year for the Watertown, Conn., native and the 60th of his World of Outlaws career.

Gravel became the fourth different World of Outlaws sprint car winner at Bristol, joining Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser and Donny Schatz in that exclusive club.

“It’s pretty cool to be here [at Bristol] after so long,” said Gravel, whose win came 20 years after the last World of Outlaws sprint car appearance at Bristol. “It’s an iconic place that everybody talked about as a sprint car driver. I can’t thank Bristol Motor Speedway and World Racing Group enough for making this happen … and NASCAR for putting dirt on it and going dirt racing. I think it’s great for everybody in motorsports.

“We had a great car, pretty much ever since we unloaded yesterday. After the heat race and the dash, I told them not to change a damn thing because the car was really, really good,” Gravel added. “I’m sure in traffic that guys got close there. I was somewhat conservative. Sunshine (Tyler Courtney) had pretty good pace there [on the outside]. I was just kind of following him.

“I knew after that caution that Reutzel must have been doing well to pass those guys and get there.”

Though Gravel led the majority of the 25-lap feature at the .526-mile, dirt-covered high banks, he wasn’t the man that got the jump on the initial start. Gravel’s Big Game Motorsports No. 2 stumbled coming to the green flag, allowing outside polesitter Sam Hafertepe Jr. to pace the opening two circuits.

However, coming off the fourth corner on lap three, Gravel moved to the far outside and ripped around the cushion to take command from Hafertepe. By lap seven, Gravel held a 2.3-second advantage.

But as Gravel got deeper and deeper into lapped traffic past the halfway point, Reutzel’s Roth Motorsports No. 83 got better and better. He found the podium with nine laps left and moved past Hafertepe for second coming to the conclusion of lap 18.

From there, Reutzel decimated the second-and-a-half deficit between himself and Gravel, closing on Gravel’s rear nerf bar with five laps left just before Logan Schuchart slowed with a collapsed top wing to bring out the only caution flag of the feature.

That set up a five-lap shootout to the checkered flag, with Gravel darting away on a single-file restart and opening up a 1.871-second margin of victory by the finish.

“Those last five laps, I was wide open on top. I didn’t conserve a damn thing,” Gravel tipped. “I was conserving earlier, but I put together five qualifying laps [down the stretch]. I’m sure they were my best laps of the race. Hopefully, he [Reutzel] wasn’t too close.”

Without the late yellow, Reutzel believed he had the race-winning car, but once traffic was out of the equation the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender knew Gravel was better in clean air.

“To go from ninth to second to two laps away from taking the lead there … he couldn’t lap cars and my car was so good, I could go anywhere,” said Reutzel, who was also the night’s KSE Hard Charger after advancing seven positions. “Once he had the clean track, he could go anywhere. He was back to being good again. He was the fastest car all night until lapped traffic came along—then I felt like we were the car to beat.

“You’ve got to be good to win these races but you also have to be lucky, and we didn’t have the luck tonight.”

Carson Macedo filled out the podium in the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41, followed by Hafertepe’s familiar No. 15h and the No. 15 Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports sprinter of Donny Schatz.

NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson, Gio Scelzi, two-time defending series champion Brad Sweet, Paul McMahan and rookie Brock Zearfoss closed the top 10.

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series is scheduled to return to Bristol on Saturday evening for a $25,000-to-win finale at The Last Great Colosseum.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

BRISTOL, Tenn. – After Aaron Reutzel found the top lane during Friday’s World of Outlaws sprint car feature at Bristol Motor Speedway, Stewart Friesen mastered it in the Super DIRTcar Series nightcap.

Friesen raced forward from eighth on the grid in a 40-lap battle around the .526-mile, dirt-covered high banks, steadily moving up the race track and picking off cars one at a time en route to victory.

He made the winning pass around the outside of Mike Mahaney on lap 18 and dominated the remaining distance, roaring out to a 7.739-second victory over runner-up Tyler Dippel.

The victory was Friesen’s second in two races to open the points-paying portion of the Super DIRTcar Series season and the 27th of his career, tying him with Steve Paine for eighth on the all-time wins list.

“Reality definitely matches the dream. This is unbelievable,” said Friesen of winning at Bristol. “For our cars to be on this stage … it’s amazing. I’ve wanted one of these [swords] for five years now.

“I always thought I’d get a (NASCAR Camping World) Truck Series win before a modified win here!”

A long green-flag run punctuated the final two-thirds of the modified main event, with the final caution waving on lap 13 after Demetrios Drellos slowed back in the pack.

From there, once Friesen got to the point, he never gave it up again and navigated slower traffic to perfection.

Dippel showed no shame in a second-place finish, not when Friesen’s No. 44 was as dominant as it was.

“We were one spot short tonight, but Stew’s been so good … you can’t be disappointed with that,” the 21-year-old noted afterward.

Mat Williamson, the 2019 Super DIRTcar Series champion, crossed third ahead of Tim Sears Jr., while Mahaney faded to fifth in the final results after leading the first 17 laps.

Gary Tomkins, Chad Brachmann, Erick Rudolph, Peter Britten and Max McLaughlin closed the top 10.

The finish:

1. 44-Stewart Friesen, 2. 1d-Tyler Dippel, 3. 88-Mat Williamson, 4. 83jr-Tim Sears Jr., 5. 35-Mike Mahaney, 6. 84-Gary Tomkins, 7. 3b-Chad Brachmann, 8. 25-Erick Rudolph, 9. 21a-Peter Britten, 10. 32c-Max McLaughlin, 11. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 12. 91-Billy Decker, 13. 99L-Larry Wight, 14. 42p-Pat Ward, 15. 5h-Chris Hile, 16. 2-Jack Lehner, 17. 2a-Mike Gular, 18. 14w-Ryan Watt, 19. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 20. 83-Brian Swartzlander, 21. 28-Jordan McCreadie, 22. 3-Justin Haers, 23. 19m-Jessey Mueller, 24. 20-Brett Hearn, 25. 111-Demetrios Drellos, 26. 22-Brandon Walters, 27. 17d-Marcus Dinkins, 28. 4r-Kevin Root, 29. 3j-Marc Johnson, 30. 43f-Keith Flach.

Sri Lanka 331 for 3 (Karunaratne 139*, Thirimanne 74*) trail Bangladesh 541 for 7 by 210 runs

Dimuth Karunaratne reached his 11th Test century as Sri Lanka had a near-perfect session on the fourth morning. They are now just 12 runs short of avoiding the follow-on, and are set up to challenge Bangladesh's total of 541 for 7.

Karunaratne had solid support from Dhananjaya de Silva, who was unbeaten on 74, as the pair put on 141 for the unbroken fourth wicket. The pair mainly blunted the Bangladesh attack, who by the end of the session, were reduced to waiting for the batters to make a mistake.

The day started with Karunaratne in search of his century, as he spent 30 balls in his nineties before reaching the three-figure mark. Shortly afterwards, he struck Taskin Ahmed for three fours in an over - a pull shot, an edge and a whip through midwicket.

Spin was brought on after seven overs of seam with the second new ball, but neither Taijul Islam nor Mehidy Hasan Miraz created any chances.

The Karunaratne-de Silva pair ran hard, taking plenty of twos and threes, as they blunted the bowling attack. Karunaratne struck 14 fours in his 290-ball stay, while de Silva collected nine boundaries.

On the third day, Sri Lanka had confidently reached 229 for 3 in 73 overs. Karunaratne and Thirimanne had added 114, their second successive 100-plus opening stand. Thirimanne played positively to make 58, falling lbw to Miraz at the stroke of tea.

Karunaratne remained solid at the other end, but saw Oshada Fernando and Angelo Mathews fall in the twenties after looking aggressive during their stay. Taskin Ahmed, in the middle of an impressive spell, strangled Fernando down the leg-side for 20, before Islam's over-the-wicket angle foxed Mathews who missed an attempted late-cut.

Karunaratne and de Silva had then survived despite edging through the slips and close lbw shouts in the last 45 minutes of the third day.

It was March 16, 2019, and London's O2 Arena was packed for a UFC Fight Night. Darren Till, a popular local fighter from Liverpool, was facing Jorge Masvidal in the main event. Till was favored to beat Masvidal and then face Ben Askren, who was in attendance, for a shot at the welterweight title.

But plans -- and Masvidal's career -- took a dramatic turn that night. It was a turn that eventually led Masvidal to Saturday's UFC 261 main event in Jacksonville, Florida, where he will get his second crack at champion Kamaru Usman.

There was nothing about how that fight started in London that suggested Masvidal was destined for stardom. Masvidal raced across the Octagon and delivered an illegal kick to Till's groin in the opening seconds, pausing the bout almost immediately after it started. A few seconds after action resumed, the powerful Till floored Masvidal with a straight left hand.

To many, this was just how the fight was expected to unfold. Till, ranked No. 3 by the UFC, was coming off his only professional loss, to champion Tyron Woodley six months earlier. Masvidal, ranked No. 11, was coming off two consecutive losses and was 4-5 in his previous nine. He hadn't fought in 16 months, during which time he participated in a reality TV show and reevaluated his career. Masvidal was generally viewed as a stepping stone for Till to get another title shot.

But by the time Masvidal left the arena that night, his losing streak and relative anonymity would be cast aside. He would take the first steps toward becoming one of the UFC's biggest draws and one of its most recognizable personalities. And it wasn't just because he came back to knock Till out in the second round.

People who were there tell the story of a fighter who displayed grit inside the cage and street cred -- or reckless behavior, depending on who's asked -- after the bout when emotions boiled over into an altercation with Leon Edwards, a Birmingham, England, resident who won on the undercard. It was a night that produced a new star, a video that is the fourth-most watched in the history of ESPN's MMA YouTube channel and a phrase coined by Masvidal that has taken root in MMA pop culture.

Editor's note: The following quotes were gathered from interviews conducted recently and some dating back closer to the event. Some quotes were edited for brevity and clarity.

Till tried to get Masvidal's back after knocking him down, but Masvidal was able to scramble to his feet and land some solid shots later in the round.

Mark Goddard, referee: Darren came out super quick. I think it was a straight left initially that more caught Jorge off balance and going backwards. But he put him down really early. And again, true to form, what's the first thing Jorge does? Smile and stick his tongue out. As if to say, "Thanks for that, you reminded me I'm in a fight."

Masvidal: I wasn't hurt at all. He turned the lights off, and then turned them back on just as quick. It was one of those flash knockdowns, where it gets you woken up. I felt good when I got back up to my feet. I wasn't wobbled or anything, so I was able to get right after it.

Dan Hardy, commentator and fighter: It was a really hyperactive fight that was going back and forth. The tension in the arena was pretty high. It was an environment that had you hanging on the edge of your seat with every punch.

Forty seconds into the second round, Till accidentally poked Masvidal in his left eye. The fight once again was paused and the doctor came in to examine the eye, but Masvidal didn't complain about not being able to see, so the action was allowed to continue. With two minutes left in the round, Masvidal switched to southpaw, floated a right jab and then came over the top with a huge left hand that landed on Till's jaw. Till might have lost consciousness at that moment and began to fall backwards as Masvidal landed a couple more shots during a chaotic rush. Till's head violently bounced off the mat, and he laid there unconscious while Masvidal walked around the cage looking at the stunned crowd.

Goddard: I already knew that Darren was out. You can tell by his arm. He goes stiff as a board while still standing.

Obviously, I'm closing the difference very quickly because I already knew. I'll try to catch him if I can. I could tell just by the body shape and the way he was falling that you're not bouncing back from this. I'm glad I did, because Jorge was on top of him, too, super quick. He's just doing his job, right? It's the referee's job to get in there and separate them in the heat of the moment.

Hardy: Darren's family was over my left shoulder. I remember the arena just falling silent at the knockout. When Masvidal's punch landed, he actually walked toward the commentary booth and pointed at Paul Felder and I, and said, "You knew I could do it."

After Hardy interviewed Masvidal in the Octagon, it was time for Masvidal's postfight television interview. Usually, fighters walk to a desk on the television set to talk with analysts. But on this night, one of the analysts was Michael Bisping, who had a verbal confrontation with Masvidal two years earlier in the fighters hotel before UFC 217.

Laura Sanko, UFC reporter: At the time, there was a little bit of concern that might not be the best dynamic to have there. They said, "We're going to have Jorge go to you instead, Laura, and we'll throw to you live." I was kind of secretly excited, because in those specific situations, I don't usually get the main-event winner.

As Masvidal was doing his interview, his eyes locked on Edwards, who was walking behind the cameraperson.

Sanko: Normally, the interview area is positioned where we're out of the main flow of traffic. There's usually about 30 to 40 feet between where I stand and where people would be walking in any sort of corridor or hallway situation. But for whatever reason, the way the O2 Arena was set up, I had the shallowest set I've ever had in my life. I was right on top of the backdrop, and the camera was right on top of me. And so, when Leon walked past and said something to him, normally that person would be really far away, but he was right up on us. I would say maybe 8 feet to 10 feet, maximum.

Jorge for sure heard him. And I thought, this might get interesting. They might chirp back and forth a little bit. I saw Jorge's eyes move away from me and start moving past me.

I never entirely heard what Leon said. He didn't say anything crazy at first. The first thing he said was some sort of question, like, "How about us next?" "How about us in July?" Then Jorge is like, "Maybe, maybe not." Immediately after that, Leon called him a p---y. Leon kept walking.

Then you see what happened. I immediately was like, OK, they're going to go over there and yell at each other. But it's not going to be what it was, because I saw Jorge walking with his hands behind his back. That, to me, was a less threatening posture. In retrospect, it's kind of not.

Masvidal: So I'm doing my interview, and this hooligan comes by, saying some stuff, "July, get your ass kicked, July." And I go, "Maybe, whatever," maybe I want to kick your ass in April, maybe I don't want to wait till July, maybe I don't even want to fight you because you're not worth a training camp. I'll just fight you here, because you're a scrub. So I tell him, "Just say it to my face, like a man. You're saying it walking away."

As I'm walking to him, I've got my hands behind my back to signal I'm not coming here for problems. But he puts his hands up and walks towards me. Well, where I'm from, if you do that, you're going to punch me in the face. And that's not going to happen.

Edwards: We were both doing media. I was walking past. He was staring at me. I said, "Are we fighting in July?" He walked out of his interview. I walked towards him as well.

Abe Kawa, Masvidal's manager: I was actually on the phone with Jon Jones, and I'm watching as all this is happening. Leon was coming my way, so ok, they're going to start yapping at each other, or he was going to start yapping at Jorge. So when I saw Leon start yapping, I was like, "here we go."

What people don't understand is the way Leon was walking, there were double doors, and he was supposed to go through the double doors. He decided not to and turned to go towards Jorge. If Leon was absolutely not trying to start anything, he could have walked through the double doors.

Knowing Jorge, you can't do that. If he keeps walking, nothing happens. The second I knew they were going to get face to face, I knew at that moment, Jorge was going to go.

The cameraperson who was shooting Sanko's interview stayed on Masvidal as he and Edwards met near a metal guard rail. When they got within striking distance, Masvidal threw a quick combination and the two were quickly separated. Edwards suffered a cut and swelling under his left eye. He later disputed Masvidal's version of how he approached the encounter.

Edwards: Why would I walk towards him with my hands up? If I did do that, he wouldn't be able to land nothing on me. He threw a few shots, and the security grabbed us back, and that was it. That was the whole situation. He got away this time, but it will never happen again.

Sanko: It all happened pretty quickly. But Leon definitely did take a step toward him aggressively, and his hands were not behind his back. Jorge for sure swung first.

Tim Simpson, Edwards' manager: It was effectively a cheap shot, and then they were separated by security. There's been no chance for him to redeem that, on the night of or any time since. Anyone can land a few shots on someone by surprise, and then Leon has been robbed of the chance to retaliate.

"So I give him the three-piece with a soda, and then just glide out of there."

Jorge Masvidal

Goddard: Leon's there with his friends and family. There's a lot of people. It could have gotten ugly. It could have gotten really ugly. Fortunately, it didn't.

Dana White, UFC president (to Yahoo Sports): I do blame my staff. There's never a scenario where you let guys walk up to each other like that backstage. We have enough people backstage that that shouldn't happen, including security. I'm super disappointed in my whole crew for that one.

These guys are fighters, they're in the heat of the moment, he just won, he's got the adrenaline pumping and [Edwards] comes by, plus Masvidal is 'that guy.'

As soon as he walked up the stage with his hands behind his back, 10 people from the UFC should have jumped in there. That stuff shouldn't happen.

The thought of potential legal trouble for Masvidal surfaced, but ultimately he didn't face any repercussions from law enforcement or the UFC.

Dave Lovell, Edwards' coach: To me, it was a case of assault. If we had reported it as an assault, which it was because Leon sustained a nasty cut under his eye, technically he would have been charged.

But we just said, "OK, he got away with it. His time will come." We're not dwelling on it. If that fight happens, it happens. God willing, Leon wins the title and [Masvidal is] still on the scene, but personally, I think he's on the tail end of his career.

Kawa: I called Hunter [Campbell, the UFC's executive VP] right away. I said "Hunter, Jorge is not in the wrong here." Hunter told me, "Dude, I saw the video." I said, "You can call your security and let them explain to you what actually happened. Because what you're seeing on camera is Jorge approaching him, but you aren't seeing that the doors where Leon was supposed to go through, he didn't go through."

So the initial thing was 'Jorge did this, Jorge did that,' and then once security and everybody said exactly what happened, the parts the camera didn't catch, everything was ok.

Masvidal: It's just stupid. It's just something that happened. In some ways I wish I can control myself, but at the same time, I can't if someone disrespects me on the constant. This guy's been attacking me on social media, talking crap. I wish it didn't get more attention than what I love to do, which is to fight.

Kawa: I'm so happy that nothing really bad came out of it. People can say what they want, I'm not happy that it went down that way. It's not professional. But people have to defend themselves. If he feels threatened, he's going to defend himself. I would encourage everybody to do that.

Masvidal: It's on video, me defending myself. This hooligan threatened my well-being, my life. I was scared, maybe I didn't look like it because I'm cold-blooded, but I was scared out of my mind.

The video of the skirmish has over 6 million views. According to Kawa, Masvidal's team told Sanko "We owe you one," for not finishing the interview, then they went back to the locker room.

Kawa: He actually didn't want to do any media at that point. He was like, "Let's get the f--- out of here." I said, "It's better if we say our side of the story," because talking to Hunter, talking to everybody, I'm already getting the impression that everybody is thinking he went up to Leon and just struck him. And that's not what happened. I said, "If we don't tell our side, they have the right to go with their narrative the way they see fit, and I don't want that to be the case." What I wanted was to say our side, and whatever they take, they take. I wanted to make sure to put our version up there as well.

Masvidal just started a fight backstage with Leon Edwards so he doesn't have to fight me next ?

— Funky (@Benaskren) March 16, 2019

Brett Okamoto, ESPN reporter: After the scuffle or altercation or whatever you want to call it, I was in a press area in the back of the arena, and I remember UFC PR telling me Jorge wasn't going to talk to any more press because of what happened. And I told UFC PR, who are very helpful both at and between fights, "Man, we have to talk to Jorge. He just upset Darren Till in London! This is a big deal." I think the obvious initial thought by those on the ground was to let the dust settle, and it's not as if Jorge wouldn't give an interview at a later date -- but of course, I wanted to talk to him when it was still fresh, when the adrenaline was still there.

So, I texted Abe Kawa, and asked if Jorge would talk to me, and Abe was like, "Oh yeah, he's chilling. He's in a great mood. Come on back." UFC PR still wasn't keen on the idea -- again, I think they just wanted to diffuse the situation and keep Jorge and his team isolated -- so, I texted UFC president Dana White, who was in the U.S., I believe, and basically said the same thing I'd said to PR, "This is a big result. We need to talk to the man who just won by knockout in the main event." White agreed. So, it was actually White and Kawa who helped get me in front of Jorge.

We went back to his locker room, and he comes out and sits down in this folding chair, wearing a full white tracksuit -- the most relaxed a human could possibly be -- and does the interview.

While describing the incident with Edwards, Masvidal coined a phrase that remains popular over two years later.

Masvidal: So I give him the (throws a quick air combination) three-piece with a soda, and then just glide out of there.

Okamoto: We thanked him and walked out, and when we got to the hallway, I turned to the cameraman who had filmed it and said, "Did you hear when he said, 'Three-piece and a soda and glide on outta there?'' The cameraman had heard it, and had found it as funny as I did.

Honestly, the best part of the line to me was the, "Glide on outta there" part, for some reason. Such a visual. Anyway, I knew the interview was going to do well, that a lot of people would see it, and I knew that line was going to get attention, but I didn't realize "three-piece and a soda" would become such a staple of MMA lexicon.

The YouTube video of the interview has over 1.2 million views, and T-shirts were made featuring the slogan. Masvidal lamented the idea that more people remember the altercation than the win over Till, but it's unlikely Masvidal's star would have ascended as rapidly without the entirety of that evening. Instead of Till facing Askren, it was Masvidal who went on to knock out Askren in a UFC-record five seconds on July 6, 2019. Masvidal then won the mythical BMF title by stopping Nate Diaz on Nov. 2, 2019. He lost a unanimous decision in his first shot at Usman's belt on July 11, 2020, but that was on six days notice. Usman is giving him another opportunity, and the champ admitted one of the reasons he called out Masvidal for a rematch was because of Masvidal's popularity, which translates into more pay-per-view buys and bigger purses. As far as Edwards, he fights Diaz on May 15. He's hoping a win lands him a title shot. It's possible Masvidal and Edwards will fight -- officially -- at some point.

Kawa: Playing Captain Hindsight, [the whole night] was fantastic. I'd be dumb to say it wasn't good.

Okamoto: When I look back on 'the rise of Jorge Masvidal' it definitely started in London. It started even before the fight. The way he carried himself ... it was like Jorge Masvidal had decided he was a superstar before he was a superstar. It's like someone had shown him the future -- 'This is what's going to happen for you in 2019' -- and he was just there to enjoy living it.

Sanko: I think really what made him a star was less about the fact that he was throwing punches and more about the fact of how authentic he was and is and always will be, every time he's on camera. He's not coming up with these quips beforehand. This is how he talks, how he is. And given his background, I don't mean to say, 'What do you expect?,' but it's his authentic response. I think people are drawn to that.

You get the sense that he lives and breathes this. This is not a guy who likes to compete -- it's a guy who likes to fight. There's something kind of dangerous and cool and interesting about a real-life gangster.

ESPN reporters Ariel Helwani, Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi contributed to this report.

Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton suffered a right hamstring injury less than a minute into Friday night's 118-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco and did not return.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told ESPN during the game broadcast that Barton told him he felt something pop in the hamstring. Barton will undergo further evaluation on Saturday.

Barton pulled up awkwardly after driving to the basket, grimacing as he passed the ball to a teammate. He hobbled his way over near the Nuggets' bench and went down on the baseline.

Malone was the first to check on Barton as the veteran guard grabbed at his leg and writhed in pain. He exited the court, and shortly thereafter, Denver ruled him out for the game.

Without key players, the Warriors snapped Denver's four-game winning streak.

"I think all you guys are fishing for we lost this game because of Will's injury," Malone said in his postgame media session. "Don't make that excuse for us. Will Barton went down. He's hurt, and we feel for him. But we all get paid on the 1st and 15th. Do your job. We didn't do our job tonight."

The Nuggets have been hit hard by injuries in recent weeks, losing three key players in the past six games. Star guard Jamal Murray recently suffered a season-ending ACL surgery, and backup point guard Monte Morris strained his hamstring earlier this week.

Barton is an important part of Denver's offense with his slashing and scoring ability, adding a dynamic isolation option to Nikola Jokic's floor game.

Barton, 30, is averaging 12.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 55 games this season.