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Hardik Pandya scored an unbeaten 87 while Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal picked up three wickets each as Gujarat Titans beat Rajasthan Royals to go top of the points table, Hindustan Times reported.

Jos Buttler scored a quick-fire half-century but Rajasthan Royals lost regular wickets with their risk-taking approach against Gujarat Titans in 193 chase at the DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai.

Devdutt Padikkal perished on duck, and Ashwin (8) and Sanju Samson (11) also fell cheaply. Buttler also walked back after scoring a 24-ball 54 and Rajasthan eventually managed to score just 155 in 20 overs.

Earlier, Hardik's unbeaten knock of 87 helped Gujarat Titans post 192/4. He scored his second consecutive fifty while Abhinav Manohar scored 43 as the duo stitched an 86-run partnership to guide the team to a challenging total, according to Hindustan Times.

While Hardik’s 52-ball knock was studded with eight fours and four sixes, Manohar struck four fours and two maximums.

David Miller (31 not out off 14) also provided a late flourish to power the IPL debutants to their highest score of the tournament, Hindustan Times reported.

A place in the Champions League semifinals secured. The dream of an unprecedented quadruple of trophies still intact. Key players rested amid a hectic schedule, Associated Press reported.

Liverpool is in a good place entering the home straight of what could turn out to be the club’s greatest ever season.

Even conceding two late goals to draw 3-3 at home to Benfica couldn’t take the smile of Jurgen Klopp’s face.

“The day we qualify for the semifinals of the Champions League and I’m not happy, please come here and knock me out,” the Liverpool manager said Wednesday after seeing his team advance from the quarterfinals 6-4 on aggregate.

With Liverpool inflicting significant damage by winning the first leg 3-1 in Lisbon last week, Klopp was confident enough to rest stars like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold for a return match against Benfica that turned into a wild, end-to-end contest at Anfield, according to the Associated Press.

Roberto Firmino’s second-half double put Liverpool 3-1 ahead on the night and 6-2 ahead on aggregate, only for Klopp’s team to ease off the pace. Benfica took advantage by getting behind Liverpool’s makeshift defense to score through substitute Roman Yaremchuk and rising star Darwin Núñez, but the gap was too much to make up.

“It was pretty comfortable,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson said, “but we’re disappointed with the goals we conceded.”

Ultimately, Liverpool has coasted into the last four of Europe’s top club competition and is there for the 12th time — tying the record for an English team with Manchester United — and the first since the last of its six title triumphs in 2019.

Villarreal awaits Liverpool in the last four. Despite the Spanish team eliminating both Juventus and Bayern Munich and its coach, Unai Emery, being a master strategist of European competitions, it’s pretty much a dream scenario for Klopp and his team, Associated Press reported.

The quadruple of major trophies might really be on for Liverpool, already the winner of the English League Cup, currently in second place in Premier League — just a point behind Manchester City — and into the semifinals of the FA Cup.

That Klopp was able to rotate so heavily against Benfica — even Andrew Robertson and Fabinho had the night off — should enable Liverpool to field a full-strength team against Man City in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

City wasn’t in such a luxurious position Wednesday, taken all the way by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital where a 0-0 draw sealed a 1-0 aggregate victory. City, which will face Real Madrid in the semifinals, saw Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker go off with injuries in an often brutal game against Atletico, on the same night Klopp kept his best players fresh and relied on his backups.

Ibrahima Konaté was one of them and he followed up his goal in the first leg — his first both for Liverpool and in the Champions League — with another header to open the scoring off Kostas Tsimikas’ outswinging corner, according to the Associated Press.

Gonçalo Ramos made it 1-1 in the 32nd minute — keeping Benfica in with the unlikeliest of chances — with a goal that had a hint of fortune about it. The ball ricocheted to the 20-year-old forward from a tackle by Liverpool midfielder James Milner and his finish from the edge of the area was emphatic past Alisson.

Firmino is no longer first choice for Liverpool following the arrivals of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz but the Brazil striker staked his claim for a starting spot in the team’s big upcoming games with a double in the space of 10 minutes.

His first goal came after mistakes from goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos, who fumbled as he attempted to gather a through-ball, and center back Jan Vertonghen, who hurried his resulting clearance. Jota drove the ball back into the middle of the area and Firmino applied the finish in the 55th.

The Brazilian volleyed in Tsimikas’ free kick to make it 3-1 but Liverpool let Benfica back into the match.

“We were 6-2 up on aggregate and maybe we relaxed,” Jota said, Associated Press reported.

In the end, it was Pep Guardiola getting the better of Diego Simeone in the battle of contrasting styles in the Champions League, Associated Press reported.

Atlético Madrid couldn’t find a spark for its struggling attack and was held to a 0-0 draw by Guardiola’s Manchester City on Wednesday in a game that featured more heated exchanges and rough fouls than clear-cut chances and fluid play. 

The result put City through to the semifinals thanks to its 1-0 win in the first leg at home, and kept alive its hopes of winning Europe’s top club competition for the first time. 

But the game was marred by ugly scenes as the teams left the pitch. A scuffle had broken out between players during the final minutes as Atlético accused City of time wasting, and the animosity spilled over into the tunnel as the teams walked off after the game. Extra security had to be called in to keep players and officials from the two camps separate. Some players had to be restrained as police officers intervened, according to the Associated Press.

“We have to congratulate our rivals, they played a great match with the type of soccer that we are used to seeing,” Simeone said. “It hurts to be eliminated but I’m proud of what we are and of how we compete.”

Simeone started smiling and applauding when City resorted to time-wasting in stoppage time, though he later said he was only pushing his fans to keep supporting their team. He also appeared to take a shot at Guardiola when asked after the match if he felt the City coach had disrespected him by saying it was hard to play against overly defensive teams like Atlético.

“Many times, those who have a great lexicon, are very intelligent and are capable or praising you with a contempt,” Simeone said. But we are not fools, even though we may have a smaller lexicon.” 

Atlético tried to leave behind its more defensive-minded approach and created some danger, but it still managed only three attempts on target after having none in the first leg, Associated Press reported.

“In the second half, they were better than us and we were lucky that we didn’t concede,” said Guardiola, who became the first coach to reach nine Champions League semifinals. “Overall, though, we are in the semifinals and it’s deserved.”

The hosts played the final minutes a man down after defender Felipe was sent off for kicking an opponent. The benches had been cleared a few moments earlier as Atlético’s players appeared upset with City’s attempt to waste time.

The match ended with more than 12 minutes of stoppage time and Atlético had a couple of goods chances to break the deadlock but couldn’t capitalize on them. 

Runner-up last year, City will next face Real Madrid, which eliminated defending champion Chelsea on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

In the other quarterfinal on Wednesday, Liverpool advanced past Benfica to set up a semifinal against Villarreal, the modest Spanish club that eliminated Bayern Munich on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.

Mumbai Indians inched closer towards elimination after setting themselves up for their first win, only to slump to their fifth defeat on trot as Punjab Kings won a high-scoring IPL thriller by 12 runs, The Indian Express reported.

A target of 199 looked imminently chaseable when teenagers Dewald Brevis (49 off 25 balls) and Tilak Varma (36 off 20 balls) were at the crease but Punjab bowlers did well enough to restrict MI to 186 for nine at the end of 20 overs.