Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday:
MOTOR RACING
Formula One
Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (26)
Hamilton fastest in first free practice in Australia
MELBOURNE - Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets ahead of new Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in the first free practice session at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday.
Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Friday:
MOTOR RACING
Formula One
Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (26)
Hamilton fastest in first free practice in Australia
MELBOURNE - Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets ahead of new Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas in the first free practice session at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday. (MOTOR-F1-AUSTRALIA/ (PIX), moved with updates to follow, by Ian Ransom, 400 words)
CRICKET
India v Australia, fourth test, Dharamsala (from 25)
India sweats on captain Kohli's fitness on eve of fourth test
DHARAMSALA, India - India is sweating on the fitness of captain Virat Kohli and millions of his compatriots will be waiting with baited breath for news of his injured shoulder on the eve of the winner-takes-all finale of the four-test series. (CRICKET-INDIA/ (PIX), expect by 1000 GMT/6 AM ET, by Amlan Chakraborty, 400 words)
Australia won't be happy with a draw - Gilchrist
MELBOURNE - Australia have defied expectations with their fight in India but with all to play for in the final test in Dharamsala, Steve Smith's team would not leave happy with a drawn series, according to former wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist. (CRICKET-AUSTRALIA/GILCHRIST (INTERVIEW), expect by 0700 GMT/3 AM ET, by Ian Ransom, 522 words)
AUSTRALIAN RULES
'Footy diplomacy' paves way for push into China
MELBOURNE - Grabbing a slice of China's huge market has proved elusive for an array of foreign sports but the full-contact game of Australian Rules is planning to tackle the nation head-on with a soft-power offensive backed by business and diplomacy. (AUSTRALIAN RULES-CHINA/ (FEATURE, PIX), moved, by Ian Ransom, 831 words)
SOCCER
World Cup 2018 qualifiers
South America qualifying
Paulinho hat-trick keeps Brazil on road to Russia
MONTEVIDEO - Brazil recovered from conceding an early goal to beat Uruguay 4-1 in Montevideo on Thursday, with Paulinho grabbing a hat-trick in a win that all but cemented their place at next year's World Cup finals. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-URY-BRA/, moved, 462 words)
Messi penalty lifts Argentina into qualifying berths
BUENOS AIRES - Lionel Messi converted a penalty as Argentina laboured to a 1-0 win over Chile in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday that put them back in the automatic qualifying spots for next year's finals in Russia. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-ARG-CHL/, by Rex Gowar, 429 words)
Europe qualifying (kickoff 1945 GMT unless stated)
Group D
Georgia v Serbia (1700)
Austria v Moldova
Ireland v Wales
Group G
Italy v Albania
Liechtenstein v Macedonia
Spain v Israel
Group I
Turkey v Finland (1700)
Croatia v Ukraine
Kosovo v Iceland
Italy and Spain vie for Group G supremacy
Italy and Spain will be looking to maintain their status as joint leaders in Group G when they host on Albania and Israel respectively.
(SOCCER-WORLDCUP-ESP-ISR/, expect by 2145 GMT/5:15PM ET, by Richard Martin, 400 words)
(SOCCER-WORLDCUP-ITA-ALB/, expect by 2145 GMT/5:15PM ET, 400 words)
We will also cover short match reports on other selected matches.
Football Talks event with FIFA and UEFA presidents
LISBON - Portuguese Football Federation organises the Football Talks event with participation of FIFA and UEFA presidents among other participants. (SOCCER-FOOTBALl-TALKS/
OLYMPICS
Tokyo 2020 Press Conference
TOKYO - News conference by organising committee spokeswoman Hikariko Ono after a regular meeting of the Tokyo 2020 Executive Board. (OLYMPICS-TOKYO/ (TV), expect by 1000 GMT/6 AM ET, by Christopher Gallagher, 400 words)
GOLF
PGA Tour: WGC-Dell Match Play, Austin (to 26)
Johnson stays perfect as McIlroy eliminated at Match Play
World number one Dustin Johnson continued his perfect record at the WGC-Dell Match Play on Friday while number two Rory McIlroy was eliminated without even setting foot on the course. (GOLF-MATCHPLAY/ (TV), moved, 400 words)
TENNIS
ATP/WTA: Miami Open (to 2)
Indian Wells champion Vesnina on ropes against world 594
Russian Elena Vesnina and Spaniard Garbine Muguruza were in big trouble in their second round matches when the weather came to their rescue at the Miami Open in Florida on Thursday. (TENNIS-MIAMI/WOMEN, moved, 368 words)
CYCLING
Tour of Catalonia
Van Garderen aims to hold on to overall lead
BARCELONA - American Tejay van Garderen defends his overall lead going into stage five, a 182-kilometre route from Valls to Lo Port (Tortosa). (CYCLING-CATALONIA/, expect by 1700 GMT/1 PM ET, 200 words)
RUGBY
Super Rugby - week five
Crusaders v Force (0635)
Rebels v Waratahs (0845)
Todd celebrates new contract against Force
Canterbury Crusaders flanker Matt Todd celebrates his contract extension with the team and New Zealand Rugby as the unbeaten Christchurch-based side play a Western Force team fighting for their very survival in the competition. (RUGBY UNION-SUPER/CRUSADERS, expect by 0900 GMT/5 AM ET, 300 words) (Asia desk editor: Sudipto Ganguly)
(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
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