Veteran seamer Peter Siddle was included in Australia's revamped 14-member squad for the three-match ODI series against India starting here on January 12.
The 34-year-old pacer on Friday made a comeback to the ODI squad for the first time since 2010, while Usman Khawaja and Nathan Lyon were also recalled to the team, led by Aaron Finch.
Off-spinner Lyon had missed the ODI series against South Africa at home earlier in the season, while Khawaja too is making the ODI squad after almost two years.
Mitchell Marsh and keeper Alex Carey will be the two vice-captains in keeping with Cricket Australia's new policy after the ball-tampering saga.
The trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, however, have been rested keeping the Test series against Sri Lanka in mind.
Batsmen Travis Head, Darcy Short and Chris Lynn have been left out owing to recent poor form in ODIs, while fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has been rested owing to lower back issues.
Australia's selection panel ...

Australia announce 14-man squad for ODI series against India

PTI Automatic

Manchester City won a "final" according to manager Pep Guardiola to remain in the title race by inflicting Liverpool's first Premier League defeat of the season with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad.
City's recent shock back-to-back defeats to Crystal Palace and Leicester had allowed Liverpool to amass a commanding lead in their quest to win a first title since 1990.
But the champions now trail Jurgen Klopp's men by just four points thanks to Leroy Sane's winner 18 minutes from time after Roberto Firmino had cancelled out Sergio Aguero's first-half opener for the hosts.
"It was a final for us, because losing today it was almost over," said Guardiola on Thursday.
"We are four points behind them and they are the leaders. We have to fight a lot, but this gives us a lot of confidence.
"I am proud of them (the players), but not just today. We lost two games in four days but you can't forget what they have done for 16 months."
With no more league meetings between the sides to come, Liverpool's ..

Man City snap Liverpool's unbeaten run to reignite title race

While street-wise South Korea pack a harder punch, former Japan coach Philippe Troussier has tipped the Blue Samurai to push their fierce rivals all the way at the Asian Cup.
"Japan have one of the best teams in the competition on paper," the Frenchman told AFP before hosts United Arab Emirates meet Bahrain in Saturday's opening match.
"Of course teams like South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia have the same ambition, but Japan has the potential to win the title."
A South Korea side led by free-scoring Tottenham forward Son Heung-min start as favourites to end more than 50 years of Asian Cup hurt.
Iran, Asia's top-ranked side, also pose a threat to Japan's hopes, along with holders Australia.
But a new-look Japan side are capable of springing an upset, as they proved by reaching the knockout stages of last year's World Cup in Russia after controversially sacking coach Vahid Halilhodzic in the run-up.
Only a stunning comeback by Belgium prevented Japan from reaching the quarter-finals ...

Son-spurred Koreans face Samurai threat at Asian Cup

Former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla scored twice as Villarreal drew 2-2 with Real Madrid in La Liga with the pint-sized midfielder producing a late header for a share of the spoils.
This was Madrid's first game since winning the World Club Cup in Doha in December and the draw leaves Santiago Solari's outfit seven points off top placed Barcelona, four behind Atletico Madrid and two adrift of Seville.
The home side gave Madrid a guard of honour as they ran out but that was where the welcome ended as the 34-year-old Cazorla opened the scores on four minutes with a snap shot from 18-yards out that caught Thibaut Coutois cold.
It was the first Liga goal of 2019 and Cazorla's first ligue goal since 2012.
But the Frenchmen Karim Benzema and Raphael Varane both bagged flashing headers as Real swept back into the lead with Brazilian midfielder Casemiro and Ballon d'Or Luka Modric pulling the strings in midfield.
Benzema latched on to an inch perfect Lucas Vasquez cross to head home unmarked from 

Villarreal's Cazorla spoils Real Madrid Liga return

World number one Novak Djokovic won another gruelling battle in Doha to continue his unbeaten start to the year and progress to the Qatar Open semi-finals.
The Serb came from a set down, just like in his previous match, to beat Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a match lasting almost two hours.
Djokovic will play Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in Friday's semi-final, who beat three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka in straight sets 6-4, 6-4.
And, ominously, for his opponents said he still plenty of room for improvement.
"I feel I have a gear or two (to go) up still," said Djokovic.
"Under the circumstances I managed to find a way to win against a player that is hitting the ball very fast and just being very aggressive and it's hard to predict where the ball is going to go with a player like him."
It was the first time Djokovic has won back-to-back matches from a set down since Cincinnati in August last year, a tournament he went on to win.
As on the previous evening, ..

Djokovic battles through to Qatar semi-finals

Cheteshwar Pujara continued to pile on the runs, taking India to 389 for 5 at lunch on the second day of the fourth and final Test against Australia here Friday.
Pujara recorded his highest overseas score as he was batting on 181 not out while Rishabh Pant was unbeaten on 27 runs with the duo putting on 60 runs for the sixth wicket at the break.
Starting from overnight 303-4, Pujara brought up his seventh 150 plus innings in Test cricket and took his fifth-wicket partnership with Hanuma Vihari (42) to 101 runs.
The duo came out with the intent to grind down the Australian bowling attack and looked content with batting for time.
It backfired as Vihari's hard work went to waste when he was caught at short leg off Nathan Lyon (2-116) in the 102nd over.
There was the faintest blip on snickometer and the decision stayed in Australia's favour despite Vihari's quick DRS review.
Pant, on 8, had a loud shot for caught behind turned down in the 106th over as Tim Paine called for a DRS ...

Pujara crosses 150-mark, India reaches 389-5 on day 2 of 4th Test

Scoreboard at lunch on the second day of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia here Friday.
India 1st Innings:
Mayank Agarwal c Starc b Lyon
77
Lokesh Rahul c Marsh b Hazlewood
9
Cheteshwar Pujara batting
181
Virat Kohli c Paine b Hazlewood
23
Ajinkya Rahane c Paine b Starc
18
Hanuma Vihari  c Labuschagne b Lyon  42
Rishabh Pant
batting
27
Extras: (LB-7, W-5)
12
Total: (for 5 wickets in 117 overs)
389
Fall of Wickets: 10-1, 126-2, 180-3, 228-4, 329-5.
Bowler: Mitchell Starc 23-0-105-1, Josh Hazlewood 27-10-65-2, Pat Cummins 23-5-65-0, Nathan Lyon 38-7-116-2, Marnus Labuschagne 6-0-31-0.

 Scoreboard at lunch on the second day of the fourth and final Test between India and ...

Last year's finalists Gilles Simon and Kevin Anderson set up a semifinal clash against each other after recording contrasting victories in the quarterfinals of the Tata Open Maharashtra, here Thursday.
Defending champion Simon had to work hard to tame Benoit Paire as he came from behind to beat fifth seed 3-6 7-6(2) 64 in an all-French clash.
Paire at one stage was serving for the match but got broken, allowing the fellow Frenchman to stretch the match to the decisive third set.
An early break handed Simon advantage even as Paire had four opportunities to break back in the sixth game but fluffed all chances. Simon's effortless hitting, deft touch and variation in pace has stood out in his run this far.
The break remained with Simon and he served out the match at love in the 10th game with a forehand winner after two hours and 19 minutes.
Top-seed and world number six Anderson did not struggle much in taking out seventh-seed Jaume Munar from Spain 6-3 6-3 as he fired 14 aces to stroll .

Simon, Anderson to clash in semis this year at Tata Open

Ace cueist Pankaj Advani on Thursday won the 15th Inter-Unit PSPB Billiards Tournament, defeating Dhwaj Haria in the final.
Advani dominated Haria, beating him convincingly 3-0, with scores of 102-29, 100-0 and 101-35.
Before entering the final, Advani outclassed Rupesh Shah 3-0 in semifinals.
Earlier, the Bengaluru-based cueist displayed his class in league stages by outwitting Manan Chandra and Ishpreet Chaddha 3-0 each.
On the other hand, Haria had outwitted Alok Kumar 100-76, 102-92 and 102-69 in second semifinals. Kumar gave Haria a good fight with a break of 65 in the second set.
He also had a break of 77 in the third set which helped him clinch the match.

Advani wins Inter-Unit billiards title

Maharashtra Sports Minister Vinod  Tawde said Thursday that the state government was thinking of  setting up an institute in the memory of renowned cricket  coach Ramakant Achrekar.
Achrekar, 87, whose students included Sachin  Tendulkar, Pravin Amre and Vinod Kambli, died of age-related  ailments Wednesday.
His funeral sans state honours Thursday morning raised  eyebrows. Housing minister Prakash Mehta expressed regret over  the same.
Speaking to the reporters later, Tawde said the  government was thinking of setting up an institute in  Achrekar's name.
"We will be contacting his family soon," he said.

Government mulls setting up institute in Achrekar's memory

Former World No. 2 Sung Ji Hyun held her nerves to stave off a spirited comeback from Olympic champion Carolina Marin as Chennai Smashers beat Pune 7 Aces at the Vodafone Premier Badminton League Season 4 here on Thursday.
This was the second win on the trot for the Season 2 champions following their huge 6-1 win over the Ahmedabad Smash Masters. As for Sung, this was her second big upset this season, having accounted for PV Sindhu in an earlier match.
Pune captain and icon player Carolina Marin couldn't find her sharpness in the initial stages of the match. Too many unforced errors bothered the Olympic champion as the Chennai shuttler raced ahead to 10-5.
The southpaw remained unfazed by that start and steadily got into the groove to draw level at 13-13. However, her efforts were in vain as the Korean managed to squeeze out the tight first game 15-14.
Having lost the opener closely, a resilient Marin looked lethal in the second game, racing ahead to 8-0. Continuing her brutal form, ..

Sung humbles Marin in dramatic finish to ensure Chennai Smashers' second win

Duanne Olivier led another fast bowling assault on Pakistan's batsmen as South Africa took control on the first day of the second Test at Newlands on Thursday.
Olivier took four for 48 as Pakistan were bowled out for 177 after being sent in on a hard, green-tinged pitch.
Aiden Markram struck an assured 78 as South Africa reached 123 for two at the close.
Olivier followed up a match-winning performance in the first Test in Centurion, while Dale Steyn took three for 48.
Captain Sarfraz Ahmed hit 56 and Shan Masood made 44 to lift an otherwise poor Pakistan batting performance.
South Africa's decision to pick an all-pace attack paid dividends with all four fast bowlers picking up wickets, with most of the Pakistan batsmen looking vulnerable against fast, short-pitched deliveries.
As at Centurion, where he had match figures of 11 for 96, Olivier lived up to the "enforcer" tag given him by captain Faf du Plessis, regularly landing the ball in his own half of the pitch and making it rear up 

South African on top as bowlers, Markram hurt Pakistan

Powerhouse Railways defeated Andhra  Pradesh 3-0 in the men's section of the 67th Senior Volleyball  Championship here Thursday.
Railwaysmen were in control throughout though the rival  offered a stiff challenge in the third set.
The institutional team registered a 25-17, 25-19 , 25-21  win in the group D first-round league match.
In a group A tie, Kerala put it across southern rival  Karnataka in straight sets, romping home 25-18, 25-20, 25-21.
In the women's section, West Bengal beat Tamil Nadu  25-23, 24-26, 25-14, 25-11 in Group 'A'.
In a group B match, Maharashtra women beat Karnataka  25-13, 25-18, 25-18.

Railways defeats AP 3-0 in national volleyball

Gujarat Fortunegiants on Thursday held their nerve to defeat  a resurgent UP Yoddha 38-31 in a thrilling Qualifier 2 here on Thursday to enter the final of Pro Kabaddi League season six.
Gujarat Fortunegiants will clash against Bengaluru Bulls in the summit clash scheduled to take place on January 5 at the NSCI in Worli.
In the second Qualifier, where the pendulum swung till the end, Gujarat emerged on top courtesy their breath-taking raids and equally stunning tackles.
For Gujarat Fortunegiants, Sachin Tanwar (10 points) was the most successful raider. While K Prapanjan (5 points) and Rohit Gulia (5 points) also contributed to Gujarats win. Sunil Kumar, Iranian Hadi Oshtorak and Sachin Vittala grabbed three points each for Gujarat.
While the first half was closely contested, there was no stopping Gujarat in the initial part of second half as they did not allow UP to even fetch a single point in the eight minutes and also inflicted another all-out raid to double their lead to ...

Gujarat Fortunegiants beat UP Yoddha 38-31 in Qualifier 2

Their eyes trained at an elusive Olympic medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games, India's top two tennis players, Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan, strongly feel they could go on to become a "tough team to beat" on the Tour.
Bopanna and Sharan moved to the semifinals of the Tata Open Maharashtra after a nail-biting 6-7(4) 6-4 17-15 win over Leander Paes and his Mexican partner Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela.
Bopanna, ranked 37, and Sharan (39) joined forces at the beginning of the year and have committed to play together on the Tour for the first time.
Bopanna said playing with a fellow Indian and that too a left-hander is something he has not done before and it has lots of advantages.
"I had had a lot of partners but I am playing with a left-hander first time. Playing with somebody from India is always better. Even when I played with Mahesh in 2012, we had great time, irrespective of results. We enjoyed the sport, so it's a bonus," said Bopanna.
Sharan, who had to change about 14 partners in the 2018 

We will be tough team to beat in future: Bopanna and Sharan

Disgraced Australian cricketer David Warner said Thursday that his one-year suspension for ball-tampering allowed him to "grow as a human being" and spend more time with family.
"Life has been good for me. I have been spending time with the family. I wouldn't be able to do that if I wasn't sitting in the sidelines," Warner told reporters in Dhaka after he was unveiled as captain of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Sylhet Sixers.
"It is about getting the best out of myself and growing as a human being. My most important thing was being a father and husband at home.
"Now it is down to playing cricket again and making sure I get Sylhet Sixers on top of the table."
The former Test vice-captain of Australia is currently serving a 12-month ban from international and state cricket for his role in a ball-tampering scandal during the third Test in South Africa in March last year.
He was blamed as the instigator of an incident in which fielder Cameron Bancroft attempted to alter ...

Cricket ban helped me 'grow', allowed more family time: Warner

Roger Federer ensured Switzerland would have the chance to defend their Hopman Cup title with a straight-sets win over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas at the mixed teams tournament in Perth Thursday.
The 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) win by the 20-time Grand Slam champion in his men's singles match gave the Swiss a 1-0 lead in their Group B encounter, but also meant they were guaranteed a spot in Saturday's final despite eventually losing the tie.
In the women's singles, Maria Sakkari levelled the tie with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Belinda Bencic, before the Greeks won the deciding mixed doubles in three sets.
Bencic and Federer beat the German pairing of Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev in last year's decider, and there is a strong likelihood it will be the exact same pairing on Saturday, which would be a first for the tournament in what is expected to be its last year.
The 37-year-old Federer kept his unbeaten record this week intact against the 15th-ranked Tsitsipas, but there was little between 

Federer takes Swiss into Hopman Cup final

Former international carrom player  and administrator Prakash Rele passed away following a cardiac  arrest here late Wednesday evening.
He was 78 and is survived by his wife Leena and two  sons, a media release issued here said Thursday.
Rele had represented India in a test series against  Sri Lanka in 1960.
He was also the joint secretary of the Maharashtra  Carrom Association and was one of the members who was  instrumental in redrafting the Laws of Carrom.
Rele was also an international carrom umpire.
His funeral took place in suburban Borivali, added the  release.

Ex-India carrom player Prakash Rele dies at 78

Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan saved six match points in an edge-of-the-seat thriller against Leander Paes and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela to move to the semifinals of the Tata Open Maharashtra, here Thursday.
After splitting the two sets, the Super Tie Breaker turned out to be a cliffhanger in which Paes and his Mexican partner had as many as six chances to close the match but the Asian Games gold medallists held their nerves to remain alive.
At 8-8, Paes appeared to have served a double fault but the chair umpire and the linesman did not call and a livid Bopanna began an argument with the match official but to no avail.
The match had all the ingredients of a thriller in which the top seeds eventually prevailed 6-7(4) 6-4 17-15 after one hour and 45 minutes.
Immediately after saving their sixth match point to make it 15-15, Bopanna smashed a volley winner to earn their second match point and finished it with a lob, which landed near the baseline, sailing over their opponents. 

Bopanna, Sharan pull off cliffhanger to move to semis; Paes/Miguel ousted

Lovlina Borgohain, who won a bronze at the World Championships in November, entered the quarterfinals owing to a walkover as pugilists from Haryana and Kerala impressed in the Women's National Boxing Championships here Thursday.
Though the most interesting aspect of the Nationals was four of Kerala boxers  Divya Ganesh (69 kg), Indira K A (75kg), Anaswara P M (81+kg) and Fousiya A T  (81kg)  entered the quarterfinals along with four boxers from Haryana while three pugilists from Railways, two each from Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh and All India Police and one from Rajasthan, made it a worthwhile event for themselves.
Fousiya got a walkover from AIP's Neha Jhadav, Divya beat Tamil Nadu's S Preethi 5:0, Indira achieved an RSC-1 decision against Gujrat's Riya Upadhyay and Anaswara won on points (5:0) against Maharashtra's Shayaan Pathan to move up for Kerala.
As Haryana's quarterfinal entrants  2017 World Youth Championship bronze medallist Anupama was the lone boxer who benefited from a ...

Lovlina gets walkover as Haryana, Kerala pugilists impress

: India's ace goalkeeper P R  Sreejesh will turn out for Tamil Nadu in the 9th Hockey India  Senior National Hockey Championship for Men 'B' Division here  from January 7 to 20 and will be the star attraction.
Sreejesh, who is currently employed with the Kerala  government, is registered as a player in Tamil Nadu and is  available to play for the host.
Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUT) general secretary M  Renukalakshmi said it was a privilege to have Sreejesh play  for the state team and expressed hope that he could motivate  the squad and ensure qualification for the 'A' division.
Former India captain V Baskaran told reporters here  that there was a lot of talent in Tamil Nadu and Sreejesh was  the right man to mentor the young players.
"Sreejesh is a wonderful player and Tamil Nadu is  blessed that he is part of the team. He can help the young  team secure a spot in the A Division," he added.
Sreejesh on his part said he was happy to be back  representing Tamil Nadu again and hoped ..

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