Sports News Roundup: Cricket-Australia to launch World Cup defence against New Zealand; NBA roundup: Pacers stun Warriors in OT and more

The relay involving 1,200 torchbearers will begin on Feb. 2 and wind up just two days later, on Feb. 4, when the Games open in the capital, Beijing, and neighbouring Hebei province. Tennis-Azarenka aims to 'stay in the moment' after making Australian Open 4th round Victoria Azarenka dismantled 15th seed Elina Svitolina 6-0 6-2 on Friday to storm into the Australian Open fourth round showing glimpses of the form that earned her back-to-back Melbourne Park titles, but the 32-year-old said she will not get carried away.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Cricket-Australia to launch World Cup defence against New Zealand

Australia will begin the defense of their Twenty20 World Cup title against New Zealand in Sydney on Oct. 22 in a re-run of last year's final. The Australians will be hosting the tournament, which begins on Oct. 16 and runs until Nov. 13, for the first time.

NBA roundup: Pacers stun Warriors in OT

Keifer Sykes, getting an extended opportunity with Indiana's starting backcourt out of action, contributed five points to a 10-0 burst in overtime that allowed the short-handed Pacers to shock the Golden State Warriors 121-117 on Thursday night in San Francisco. After a Justin Holiday 3-pointer with six seconds remaining in regulation forced the extra session, the Pacers prevailed despite the absence of regular starters Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, and Myles Turner.

Tennis-Krejcikova fights back to book 4th round berth at Australian Open

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova fought back from going a set behind to hand Jelena Ostapenko a 2-6 6-4 6-4 defeat and advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday. The Czech, seeded number four, clawed her way back from a set and a break down midway through the second set to see off the 2017 French Open winner.

Soccer-Jota at the double as Liverpool beat Arsenal to reach League Cup final

Diogo Jota's double earned Liverpool a comfortable 2-0 win at Arsenal in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final on Thursday, setting up a Wembley showdown against Chelsea. Arsenal chiselled out a 0-0 draw at Anfield last week despite playing most of the first lead with 10 men after Granit Xhaka's early red card, but all that sweat and toil ultimately counted for nothing.

NHL roundup: Shea Theodore scores in OT as Knights end skid

Shea Theodore scored at 1:50 into overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night in Las Vegas. Theodore, who also had two assists, scooped up a loose puck near the right circle and then went around Christian Dvorak and flipped a shot past Samuel Montembeault's blocker side. It was his eighth goal of the season.

Olympics-Some athletes advised to use burner phones in Beijing

National Olympic Committees in some Western countries are advising their athletes to leave personal devices at home or use temporary phones due to cybersecurity concerns at next month's Winter Games in Beijing. Many NOCs said they will provide their athletes and staff with temporary devices to avert security risks and combat any surveillance during the Games taking place from Feb. 4-20 in China.

Beijing Games torch relay confined to closed venues due to COVID

The Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay will be cordoned off from the public because of concern about the spread of the coronavirus, organisers said on Friday. The relay involving 1,200 torchbearers will begin on Feb. 2 and wind up just two days later, on Feb. 4, when the Games open in the capital, Beijing, and neighbouring Hebei province.

Tennis-Azarenka aims to 'stay in the moment' after making Australian Open 4th round

Victoria Azarenka dismantled 15th seed Elina Svitolina 6-0 6-2 on Friday to storm into the Australian Open fourth round showing glimpses of the form that earned her back-to-back Melbourne Park titles, but the 32-year-old said she will not get carried away. Azarenka was hampered by a persistent foot injury in 2014 then had a year-long maternity break in 2016-17. A split with her partner and a custody battle over her son that was not settled until 2018 put her career on the back burner.

Tennis-Kecmanovic relishing second chance after Djokovic departure

Miomir Kecmanovic expected his Australian Open to be shortlived when he was drawn to face defending champion Novak Djokovic in the first round, but the world number one's troubles have seen his fellow Serb profit with an unexpected run to the last 16. Kecmanovic defeated 25th seed Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-7(8) 6-2 7-5 on Thursday to advance to the fourth round at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, where he will meet Gael Monfils after the Frenchman's win over Chile's Cristian Garin.

Brazil's Pele released from hospital after tumor treatment

Brazilian soccer great Pele was discharged from hospital on Thursday after undergoing two days of treatment for cancer, the Sao Paulo clinic that treated him said. Pele, who had a colon tumor removed last year, has been undergoing chemotherapy in the months since.