Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has challenged Marcus Rashford to be more ruthless in front of goal by following former United favourite Cristiano Ronaldo's example.
Rashford calmly converted the stoppage-time penalty that saw United complete an incredible comeback to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on away goals by beating Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 away on Wednesday.
However, that was the England international's first goal in six games.
The 21-year-old began Solskjaer's reign as United's main centre-forward but has moved back to a wide role, with Romelu Lukaku coming in to score six times in three matches, including twice in the French capital.
Ronaldo made his name in Manchester before going on to become Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer during nine seasons in Spain, leaving to join Italian giants Juventus last summer.
But Solskjaer wants Rashford to see out his entire career at United, as well as learning from the Portuguese's ...

Solskjaer urges Rashford to follow Ronaldo's example

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Rashid Khan maintained his two-shot lead after carding a flawless two-under 70 in round three of the Chittagong Open at the Bhatiary Golf & Country Club here Friday.
The 28-year-old Rashid (65-66-70), the halfway leader by two shots, kept hopes of his 11th title alive as his total score read 15-under-201 at the Rs 40 lakh event.
Indian rookie Kshitij Naveed Kaul (67-66-70) also returned a 70 to be on the leader's tail and continue in second place at 13-under-203.
Udayan Mane of India produced the day's best score of 65 and thus climbed from overnight tied 16th to third place at 12-under-204.
Md Sajib Ali was the highest-placed Bangladeshi golfer for the third day in a row. Sajib (71) was placed tied 10th at nine-under-207.
Rashid Khan, who won the last of his 10 titles in December 2018 to break a two-year title-drought, emerged as the prime contender to win in Chittagong after a determined effort of 70 in the penultimate round.
The Delhi-based golfer drove the green on the par-4 ...

Rashid maintains two-shot lead with 70 at Chittagong Open

Opener Usman Khawaja hit 104 off 113 balls to propel Australia to a challenging 313/5 against India in the third ODI here Friday.
Apart from Khawaja, who hit a six and 11 boundaries, skipper Aaron Finch smashed 93 off 99
balls with three sixes and 10 fours.
Glenn Maxwell also played his part with 47 off 31 balls including three fours and an equal number of maximums.

Khawaja scores 104 as Australia post 313/5 in 3rd ODI

Indian pacers covered up commendably for a rare off-day endured by the spinners as Australia were restricted to 313 despite a 193-run opening stand between skipper Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja in the third ODI here Friday.
Usman Khawaja (104, 113 balls) scored his maiden ODI ton while skipper Finch (93, 99 balls) chose this particular match to get back to form. Glenn Maxwell (47 off 31 balls) also contributed with lusty blows.
The Indian spinners -- Ravindra Jadeja (0/64 in 10 overs) and Kedar Jadhav (0/32 in 2 overs) -- were carted all around the park. Kuldeep Yadav (3/64 in 10 overs), however, redeemed himself at the back-end of the innings.
The trio gave away 160 runs in 22 overs and it was left to Jasprit Bumrah (0/53) and Mohammed Shami (1/52 in 10 overs) to maintain the discipline during the final overs as the total could have gone close to the 350-run mark.
In the final 10 overs, Australia could score only 69 runs, despite being 244 for 2 after 40 overs, courtesy Bumrah and ...

India restrict Australia to 313/5 despite Khawaja, Finch knocks

Gaurika Bishnoi held her nerve in the closing stages of the final round to emerge winner in the fifth leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour event here Friday.
Gaurika, who led by four shots after the second round, completed a start-to-finish win with a final round of 71 to become the fifth different winner this season.
Neha Tripathi made a late charge with an impressive four-under 68 to come within a shot of the winner.
Gaurika showed a lot of consistency with rounds of 72, 70 and 71.
While Gaurika and Neha were engaged in a big battle, Gursimar Badwal (73) was third while Ridhima Dilawari (73) was Tied-fourth with Smriti Mehra (74).
Afshan Fatima (70) was sixth, Siddhi Kapoor (77) slipped to seventh, Khushi Khanijau (71) was eighth while Jyotsna Singh (71) and Ananya Datar (74) were Tied-10th.
The final day produced five under-par rounds as the players went all out.
Gaurika did not have any birdies in the last six holes, but she was steady for six straight pars and logged her first ..

Steady Gaurika keeps nerve to win fifth leg of Hero WPG Tour

Saina Nehwal's dismal run against nemesis Tai Tzu-Ying continued as she suffered yet another defeat against the Taiwanese to crash out of the USD 1 million All England Championship, here Friday.
A former finalist, Saina couldn't find answers to the deceptive strokeplay of the World No 1 Taiwanese, going down 15-21 19-21 in the 37-minute quarterfinal clash.
Saina is now 5-15 in Head-to-Head career record with Tzu-Ying and it was her 13th straight defeat against the Taiwanese, who has not lost to the Indian since 2015.
Tzu-Ying, who had retired at the Hong Kong Open last year due to a waist injury, seemed to have recovered well as she went about her job with consummate ease at the Arena Birmingham.
Tzu-Ying's arsenal of strokes was in full display as she rushed to a 11-3 lead. Saina produced two superb drops and won nine of the next 12 points to narrow the equation to 12-14.
Tzu-Ying then came out with a flurry of her magical strokes to move to 20-13 and sealed it comfortably.
In the ...

Saina's run ends with loss to Tai Tzu Ying at All England

The Indian women's cricket team's stand-in T20 skipper Smriti Mandhana feels fearless batters have to step up in the domestic circuit for the side to improve at the international level and described the current gulf in quality as "huge".
The Indian women lost their sixth match on the trot in the T20 format after going down to England in the first two games of an ongoing series. The Women in Blue had lost an away series to New Zealand 0-3.
In both the outings against England, whether chasing or batting first, India managed less than 120 runs.
"There is a huge gap between international and domestic cricket. That gap needs to be lessened. The batters we get in domestic, they face very different bowling and fielding attack to international cricket," Mandhana, the ICC's Cricketer of the Year, said.
"Our domestic circuit needs to step up. There should be a bit of fearlessness in domestic circuit because if you start playing fearless cricket in the domestic circuit, you are going to play the 

Need more fearless batters in domestic circuit for improved international show: Mandhana

Manchester United sent the club's support to a fan stabbed by a taxi driver in Paris in the wake of the English giants remarkable Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
"We were shocked to hear about the incident with one of our fans who was stabbed while in Paris for the Champions League game," said United in a statement.
"Everyone at the club wishes him well during his recovery."
A French police source confirmed to AFP that a man had been wounded on Wednesday after an argument with a cab driver but that his condition was not believed to be life-threatening.
According to Sky Sports the fan, who is 44, was travelling to the centre of the French capital with three friends when the driver objected to their boisterous celebration of United's 3-1 win to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals.
A spokesman for Britain's foreign ministry said: "We are in touch with the French authorities following an incident involving a British man in Paris on March 6 and ..

Man Utd send support to stabbed fan in Paris

The auction for the seventh season  of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), set to commence in July, will  he held on April 8 and 9 here.
"The auction dates will be April 8 and 9 and it will  take place in Mumbai. And just to go on record, we will do  (conduct) season 8, 2020, starting in July (next year). It  will help everybody," League Commissioner Anupam Goswami told  reporters on Thursday.
In the seventh season, 12 teams will be in the fray  and it will begin on July 19.
The schedule will be announced later for the same.
According to the League Commissioner, the details for  retention of players for the upcoming season will be announced  in mid-March.
Last year, Jaipur Pink Panthers had played all their  home matches at Panchkula in Haryana. Goswami announced that  this year the team will return to its home city.
"Jaipur will be going (back) to Jaipur (to play their  home matches," he said.
PKL has so far conducted six seasons.
In the sixth season, there were 12 teams participating  and 

PKL season 7 auction in April

With pride at stake, India batswomen need to make amends for their below-par show as the hosts eye a consolation victory in the third and final T20 International against England here Saturday.
After winning the ODI series 2-1, Indian women lost momentum and subsequently conceded an unassailable 2-0 lead against England.
The hosts endured a comprehensive 41-run defeat in series-opener before losing the second game by five wickets. The defeat in the second T20 was India's sixth in a row in the shortest format.
India have been doing well in the 50-over format but they have plenty to ponder about with the T20 format with World Cup scheduled for early next year.
India have now suffered two back-to-back series defeats. Before losing to England at home India had lost their previous series in New Zealand 0-3.
In both games, whether chasing or batting first, India managed less than 120 runs, which is below-par against a top team like England.
Harmanpreet Kaur, the regular T20 captain, has not .

India women to play for pride in final T20 against England

Asian Games gold-medallist Indian heptathlete Swapna Burman has received a pair of customised shoes to fit her 12-toed feet.
German global sportswear company Adidas created and delivered customised footwear for Swapna, who has been struggled to fit in her feet into regular shoes.
"I'm so excited to finally have these pairs. I have already started training in these and I know from here on I can focus entirely on improving my performances without worrying about any pain," Swapna said.
"The journey from here should get easier. I would like to thank the adidas team in India and at the Athlete Services Lab for helping me with this solution.
"I shall continue to work hard and keep moving towards my goal of winning honours for the country."
Adidas took Swapna to their Athlete Services Lab in Herzogenaurach, Germany for a detailed footwear analysis.
"Taking into consideration the unique task we had at hand, we at adidas are proud to provide Swapna with unique pairs that shall help her across .

Swapna gets customised shoes for her 12-toed feet

Gaganjeet Bhullar made a fine start in difficult conditions with a three-under 69 that placed him Tied 10th after the first round of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, here.
The 30-year-old, who won his maiden European Tour title in Fiji, was Tied-10th with 18 others on a windswept first round.
Five years ago on his debut in Qatar,  Bhullar had started with a 67.
SSP Chowrasia's wretched run continued with a one-over 73 that put him a Tied-82nd.
"It was a good opening day. I started off well from the 10th and I was minus five in the first 10 holes. Then I was a bit unlucky and had a double bogey, losing the ball. That was the only blemish I had today and I parred the rest," said Bhullar.
The conditions were difficult as it was windy, just as it was in Oman last week. It was blowing from the morning so Bhullar did not have any advantage from a morning tee-off.
Adri Arnaus and Justin Walters topped the congested leaderboard as they carded first rounds of 67 each.
Arnaus, in his first ...

Bhullar lies Tied-10th after first round in Qatar

Diksha Dagar continued to grow in strenghth as the rookie shot a four-under 67 to leap to the Tied-12th place, up 21 places from T-33rd after her first round of 72.
Dagar had six birdies against two bogeys. Starting from the ninth as the course layout is different from others, she birdied ninth, 11th, 16th, third, sixth and seventh. She bogeyed 14th and first.
Giving a big boost to Indian women's golf were Amandeep Drall (73-70) and Astha Madan (74-69), who also made the cut. However, Tvesa Malik (79-68) and Vani Kapoor (80-80) missed the cut.
The event is a Pro-Am on the Australian Ladies Tour with a purse of AUD 150,000 for the professionals.
Iceland's Valdis Jonsdottir, who led by three shots after the first round, still leads by two with a second round of 70 which was preceded by a 63.
The 29-year-old, who played in better conditions, which took over after cold temperatures in the morning, took a two-shot lead over Germany's Karolin Lampert (70-65).
Frenchwoman Astrid Vayson De ...

Dikshaplaced T-12th in Australia

Anirban Lahiri was placed precariously at two-over 74 and in Tied-72nd position at the end of the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Lahiri, who has been struggling with consistency in his four starts in 2019, has missed the cut twice. In the first round, Lahiri hit nine of 18 greens in regulation as he shot 74, on Thursday.
Rafa Cabrera Bello making his Bay Hill debut shot seven-under 65 for a two-shot lead while playing with Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders (73).
Keegan Bradley played bogey-free for a 67 in the morning, as did Cabrera Bello.
Lahiri started from the 10th tee in the company of Ryan Moore (71) and China's Li Haotong (77), who has been in hot form this year. Lahiri reached the green in two, but from there three-putted for a bogey, including missing a par putt from five feet.
He got his first birdie on Par-4 13th hole after a good approach shot and this time he did not miss from four feet. He bogeyed Par-4 15th after going to the left rough and his ...

Lahiri placed precariously; Rafa leads

Nine-year-old Candidate Master  Kush Bhagat finished third in an open category chess meet in  Paris on Thursday.
The Mumbai schoolboy achieved the feat in the 4e Open  International de Noisiel category, which has a rating category  of 1400-2000 Elo points and concluded in Paris, according to a  release from his chess academy.
Leading the tournament at the end of the seventh  round, Bhagat narrowly missed out on the title after losing  the eighth round and securing a draw in the ninth.
In the competition that saw the participation of 12  countries, Bhagat scored a total of six points out of the nine  rounds and attained the third position.
Starting as the 18th seed, he got the better of top  seed Favre Mathieu in the second round.
In the third round he got the better of Toure Shanthi  who eventually went on to win the second place in the  competition, the release said.
Bhagat, from the South Mumbai Chess Academy, gained a  total of 118 ELO points to take his new rating tally to 1800  ..

Mumbai boy Kush Bhagat wins bronze in Paris Chess Meet

India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl against Australia in the third One-day International at the JSCA stadium here Friday.
The hosts have fielded an unchanged side while Australia have replaced pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile with Jhye Richardson.
India are leading the five-match series 2-0.
Teams:
India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia: Aaron Finch(capt), Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh Alex Carey, Jhye Richardson, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon.

Kohli wins toss, elects to bowl in 3rd ODI against Australia

Indian qualifier Prajnesh Gunneswaran knocked out world number 69 Benoit Paire for one of the biggest wins of his career and progressed to the second round of the Indian Wells ATP Masters event here.
Playing his maiden singles main draw at this level, the Indian left-hander shocked the fancied French player 7-6 (5) 6-4 in one hour and 29 minutes.
Before this, Prajnesh had taken out then world number 23 Denis Shapovalov for the biggest win of his career at the Stuttgart ATP 250 event last year.
The world number 97 Indian next faces world number 18 Nikoloz Basilashvili from Georgia.
Since Prajnesh is not defending too many points ahead and has already added 41 to his kitty, he is likely to jump to 80th, a new career-high.
"It's definitely one of the biggest wins of my career. It has come at a good time, I am close to making the cut for the Wimbledon (main draw) and I am going to go up in the rankings," Prajnesh told PTI.
"These kind of results, winning matches against quality opponents .

Prajnesh shocks Paire at Indian Wells

Indian boxer Dinesh Dagar (69kg) upstaged former Olympic bronze-medallist Evaldas Petrauskas to enter the quarterfinals of the 38th International GeeBee Tournament in Helsinki, Finland.
India were assured of two medals at the event after draws came out with Asian Championships silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and rookie Govind Sahani (49kg) getting byes into the semifinals.
In the opening-round bouts held on Thursday evening, the 23-year-old Dagar, a silver-medallist from last year's India Open, prevailed 3-2 against Petrauskas.
It was a big victory for Dagar as the Lithuanian is also a former Youth Olympics gold-medallist and a bronze-winner at the 2017 European Championships.
However, the campaign ended early for Ankit Khatana (64kg). Khatana lost 0-5 to England's Luke McCormack in the opening round.
Close to 100 boxers from 15 nations are competing in this European calendar event.
The participating countries include Australia, Canada, England, France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, ..

India off to good start at boxing tourney in Finland

Steve Smith and David Warner were Friday left out of Australia's squad for the one-day series against Pakistan despite being eligible for the final two games after their ball-tampering bans expire.
Injured fast bowler Mitchell Starc was also omitted after failing to recover sufficiently from a pectoral muscle injury picked up during the second Test against Sri Lanka in Canberra a month ago.
Smith and Warner's year-long suspensions for their part in attempting to alter the ball during a Test against South Africa expire on March 28, making them available for the fourth one-dayer in Dubai.
There had been much talk about them being rushed back into the side ahead of the World Cup in England this year, but selectors opted to stick with the same 15-man squad that is currently in India.
Selector Trevor Hohns said after consultation with head coach Justin Langer, it had been decided they would be better served playing their way back into contention at the Indian Premier League.
"While their ..

Smith, Warner left out of Australia's one-day squad for Pakistan

The PCB is hoping that presence of two key cricket officials during the PSL matches in Karachi should help in convincing at least sub-continent teams to play bilateral series in Pakistan and not in the neutral venue of the UAE.
According to an official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the President of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Nazimul Hasan and the chief executive of the Federation of International Players Association (FICA), Tony Irish will be in Karachi for the PSL matches.
"Nazimul who is also President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will be in Karachi from tomorrow till the final while Irish will come one day before the final on  March 17," the official told PTI.
The official said the board had invited them and other officials so that they could come and assess if it is safe for international teams to play in the country.
Eight matches of the Pakistan Super league (PSL) are being held in Karachi for the first time since its launch in 2016.
"We have invited Nazimul ...

PCB hopes presence of Hasan, Irish during PSL will break the ice

Acknowledging Rishabh Pant's consistent performance, the BCCI has rewarded the young wicketkeeper-batsman with a grade A retainership while demoting senior opener Shikhar Dhawan from the elite A plus category in the latest list of Central Contracts.
The Indian cricket Board (BCCI) announced the annual contracts late on Thursday night, handing retainership to 25 cricketers in four groups of A plus (Rs 7 crore), A (Rs 5 crore), B (Rs 3 crore) and C (Rs 1 crore).
Last year 26 players were handed contracts.
Not only Dhawan but pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar has also been dropped from the highest-paying category and now only three players -- skipper Virat Kohli, limited overs deputy Rohit Sharma and premier pacer in all formats speedster Jasprit Bumrah -- figure in the elite category.
While left arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batsman Hanuma Vihari are new entrants in the C group.
Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw and Vijay Shankar, who have made impression in Tests and limited overs respectively, have ...

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