Sports-On this day... March 31

ON THIS DAY -- March 31 March 31, 1995

SOCCER - Manchester United's Eric Cantona arrives at Croydon Crown Court to appeal against his two-week jail sentence for a 'kung-fu' kick on a Crystal Palace fan who had shouted abuse at him when the Frenchman was sent off in a league match in January. Cantona was sentenced to two weeks in jail but freed on bail pending the appeal, where he was sentenced to 120 hours of community service, which involved coaching children at United's training ground.

The forward was later banned for eight months and United lost out in the title race as Blackburn Rovers wrapped up the league. Cantona considered leaving England after the incident but was convinced to stay by United boss Alex Ferguson. March 31, 1998

NBA - Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning scores in a 121-95 victory over the Boston Celtics. Mourning was one of the Heat's first superstars and he teamed up with point guard Tim Hardaway to fuel optimism among fans as they finished in the top three in the Eastern Conference for five straight seasons.

Despite their regular season dominance, they failed to capitalise in the playoffs, never moving past the Conference Finals. However, Mourning eventually got his Championship ring when the Heat, led by Dwayne Wade, won their first title in 2006. Mourning was also the first Heat player to have his jersey number (33) retired by the franchise.

March 31, 1998 SOCCER - An aircraft chartered by Leeds United to return home from London is forced to land moments after takeoff from London Stansted Airport when the starboard engine exploded into flames.

The plane had reached a height of 150 feet when the pilot decided to abort the flight, overshooting the runway when it landed which caused the nose wheel to buckle and collapse. Although 40 passengers -- including 18 members of the squad -- and four crew were shaken by the ordeal, they managed to evacuate the aircraft and walked away relatively unscathed save for some minor injuries.

March 31, 2000 RALLYING - Finnish driver Tommi Makinen drives his Mitsubishi WRC during the first leg of the Catalonia rally in Vic, northeast Spain.

After winning four successive championships from 1996-1999, Makinen was unable to replicate his form in the 2000 season despite winning the first event at Monte Carlo. That would be his only win that season as the Mitsubishi driver relinquished his crown to fellow Finn Marcus Gronholm in a Peugeot.

March 31, 2003 BUZKASHI - Afghans on horseback battle for a headless goat carcass during a game of buzkashi (which roughly translates to 'goat grabbing') at a stadium in Kabul.

Buzkashi is Afghanistan's national sport which is often violent but designed to showcase the riders' horsemanship and warrior spirit as they wrestle over the carcass and drop it on a target on the ground. The sport has been depicted in a number of movies, including 'Rambo III' starring Sylvester Stallone.

March 31, 2008 TENNIS - Spain's Rafa Nadal serves against Nicolas Kiefer at the Sony Ericsson Open tennis tournament in Florida, on his way to a straight sets victory over the German.

Second seed Nadal -- ranked second in the world for a record 140 weeks in a row -- was highly-favoured to win the tournament after top seed Roger Federer and American favourite Andy Roddick were eliminated in the quarters and semis, respectively. However, Nadal was beaten in straight sets in the final by Russian underdog Nikolay Davydenko, who had also knocked out Roddick without dropping a set.

March 31, 2010 SOCCER - England and Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney leaves a hotel on crutches in Munich after he was injured during the Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich.

United lost 2-1 on the night but all of England held its breath when Rooney -- who was in imperious form that season with 34 goals in all competitions -- injured his right ankle 72 days before the 2010 World Cup. Rooney escaped with ligament damage and even made a comeback before the season ended but he went goalless at the World Cup, even courting controversy when he criticised the England fans on camera for booing the team after a 0-0 draw with Algeria.

March 31, 2012 BASKETBALL - Kentucky Wildcats forward Terrence Jones falls into Louisville Cardinals cheerleaders during the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Final Four semi-final college basketball game in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Final Four (two semi-finals and final) is held in one city and always draws large crowds. The 2012 championship had Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas Jayhawks and Ohio State Buckeyes vying for the trophy. Kentucky, led by current Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis, would win their eighth national championship that year after beating Kansas in the final in front of over 70,000 fans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

March 31, 2018 SOCCER - Paris St Germain celebrate their record eighth French League Cup title after beating AS Monaco 3-0 in the final at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux.

In what was a rematch of the previous season's final, PSG won their fifth successive title thanks to a brace from striker Edinson Cavani and a goal from winger Angel Di Maria. PSG, who signed Neymar for a record 222 million euros ($247.31 million) that season, won the 'domestic quadruple' by also winning the league title, the French Cup and the Trophee des Champions but fell in the Champions League in the last-16.

March 31, 2019 FORMULA ONE - Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel's Bahrain Grand Prix unravels in spectacular fashion despite leading the race in the early stages.

After his team mate Charles Leclerc overtook him on the sixth lap and pulled away, Vettel then spun on track at a turn when he was overtaken by Lewis Hamilton a few laps later. Vettel's car suffered front wing damage and intense vibrations caused the wing to dislodge completely and go under his car on a straight. The German driver eventually finished fifth despite starting on the front row of the grid.

($1 = 0.8977 euros) (Compiled by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Toby Davis)