Exactly a year ago when India were playing the 50-over World Cup, it was difficult to imagine Yuvraj Singh making a comeback into the team that was brimming with youthful exuberance.
     Even more difficult was entertaining thoughts of Ashish Nehra, forced into international exile post the 2011 World Cup triumph, donning the blue jersey once again.
     Cut to 2016, with a cumulative age of 70, the 36-year-old Nehra and 34-year-old Yuvraj have become important to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's World T20 title aspirations.
     So much so that Dhoni is ready to let Nehra maintain his own "disciplined routine" and "remain fit" till the end of the World T20. With Yuvraj, he likes his "approach" and wants to be "patient" as contributions like "12 or 15" from the southpaw are "equally important".
     When he was quizzed about Yuvraj's approach during his brief innings of 15 against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener, Dhoni said: "I think the approach was good. All of a sudden, you don't want to ..

Skipper Dhoni hails Nehra's "discipline", Yuvi's "approach"

PTI Automatic

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza chose not to be harsh on senior player Shakib Al Hasan, who dropped Rohit Sharma's catch which proved costly in the final context of the Asia Cup opener as the hosts lost to India by a comprehensive margin of 45 runs.
     Rohit was batting on 21 when Shakib dropped a straight forward chance at point off Taskin Ahmed's bowling. The Indian then took the game away with 83 off 55 balls.
     "Obviously Rohit's catch was the turning point. But these are part and parcel of a match. There will be dropped catches. Shakib is one of our best fielders. The reaction time was less. May be if Rohit got out earlier, we could have defended them around 135-140. Hardik batted well but it was Rohit who was the key as he batted till the 20th over," a dejected Mashrafe said at the post-match press conference.
     Bangladesh's wonder boy Mustafizur Rahaman was off-colour and Mashrafe blamed it on dew, which made it difficult for the left-arm seamers to grip the ball ...

Mortaza goes easy on Shakib, says dropped catches part of game

Impressed with Hardik Pandya's ability to hit big shots from the first ball, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni says the youngster has proved to be a "game changer" for India with his all-round talent.
     Pandya hit a quick-fire 18-ball-31 and then bowled four tight overs with figures of 1/23 in India's 45-run win over hosts Bangladesh in the Asia Cup T20 opener.
     "Good to see him bowl four overs. It will give us a lot of strength -- three fast bowlers and two proper spinners. You don't need to change your team as every base is covered. People may feel that having seven proper batsman is a luxury but what's the harm, if we have someone like him (Hardik).
     "If he gets going, he gets you those 15 runs extra. If 160 is par-score, he can give you 165-175. It is good for bowlers. We wanted somebody like him. He is a game-changer," Dhoni said at the post match press conference.
    "We don't need to tell Hardik anything. He knows only one thing - that is to hit the ball, that's what he .

Hardik is a game-changer for India in T20s: Dhoni

Manchester City may be toiling domestically at the moment but they produced a superb European away performance to beat Dynamo Kiev 3-1 in Ukraine in their Champions League last 16, first leg.
     Manuel Pellegrini's side did enough to win the game in the first half with Sergio Aguero and David Silva both scoring to underline their importance to City.
     Dynamo pulled a goal back in the second half through midfielder Vitaliy Buyalskiy, but Yaya Toure's late beauty ensured that City are very much on course to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
     "It was an exceptional result away from home. We couldn't have hoped for better," City captain Vincent Kompany told BT Sport.
     "The performance was good and 3-1 is a good result. We're happy with it, we just don't want to get carried away with it.
     "We could have scored many more goals. It was a Man City performance that we'd like to see more often."
     They have been eliminated by Barcelona at this ...

Superb City have quarter-finals in sight

Kenya's sports minister blasted the country's national track and field federation over its doping crisis on Wednesday, calling for elections to choose a new leadership and claiming that IAAF President Sebastian Coe "alluded" to him that the world governing body had also lost faith in Kenyan athletics officials.
     Sports minister Hassan Wario launched his stinging criticism during a Kenyan television show on which the acting president of Athletics Kenya, the track federation, was also appearing.
     The sport in Kenya is in a mess, with more than 40 athletes failing doping tests since 2012 and four high-ranking federation officials under investigation for doping cover-ups and other alleged wrongdoing.
     The country is also under threat of a ban from international competition, including the Olympics, for being in breach of world anti-doping rules.
     "Probably the way out of this is a very free and fair election so that we get a new team of people on board and we engage with ...

Kenya sports minister blasts country's track officials

A former Bahrain international has claimed in a German documentary that FIFA presidential candidate Sheikh Salman is lying about his knowledge of players being tortured in the Middle Eastern state.
     Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa is the front-runner to replace disgraced Sepp Blatter as president of world football's governing body in Friday's vote in Zurich.
     The 50-year-old is a senior member of the Bahrain royal family and has substantial support amongst football's powermongers.
     But human rights groups have accused him of being involved in the arrest and torture of footballers involved in the 2011 civil protests when he was head of the Bahrain Football Association.
     Sheikh Salman says the accusations against him are "false, nasty lies" and has signed a pledge to end rights abuses and corruption in sport.
     But ex-Bahrain international Hakeem Al Oraibi claims Sheikh Salman headed a committee which persecuted him and his team-mates, amongst others, for their ..

Sheikh Salman 'knew about player beatings': ex-Bahrain player

A FIFA appeal committee on Wednesday reduced bans against Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini to six years but maintained they were still guilty of ethics breaches.
     The appeal result was announced as UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino and Asian football leader Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al Khalifa stepped up their rivalry in the campaign to take over as head of football's scandal-tainted world body in a vote on Friday.
     The bans against Blatter, FIFA president for 17 years, and UEFA president Platini were reduced from eight years to six by the appeal committee.
     Both were found guilty of conflicts of interest when Blatter approved a $2 million payment to Platini in 2011 for consultancy work done without a contract a decade earlier.
     French football legend Platini had been favourite to take over from Blatter but the ban demolished his hopes.
     He and Blatter said they would take their cases to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in an attempt to have their bans 

FIFA reduces Blatter, Platini bans to six years

The head of the Tennis Integrity Unit told a panel of British lawmakers on Wednesday that his under-fire organisation was doing all it could to weed out corruption from the sport.
     Nigel Willerton found himself in front of the Culture, Media and Sport committee of the House of Commons where MPs, following the lead of an investigation by the BBC and BuzzFeed made public before the recent Australian Open, grilled him on tennis's fight against cheats.
     Tennis's various governing bodies have set up an independent inquiry into its anti-corruption practices.
     Willerton said the TIU had received 246 alerts of suspicious betting patterns surrounding matches in 2015, up from 91 in 2014.
     Figures released by sports betting watchdog ESSA last week showed 73 percent of the alerts they issued in 2015 were for tennis.
     However, Willerton insisted an alert is not of itself evidence of corruption and that the figures had to be seen against a backdrop of some 120,000 professional ..

Integrity Unit head defends work

Formula One qualifying is to undergo a major overhaul this season after F1 bosses unanimously agreed to change to a knockout format.
     The changes are expected to be passed in time for the first race of the season in Australia on March 20 in a bid to introduce more excitement after two years of domination by Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes.
     "Upon the recommendation of the Strategy Group, the F1 Commission passed a series of new measures designed to deliver a faster, more spectacular FIA Formula One World Championship," the FIA said in a statement.
     Hamilton, though, doesn't believe his supremacy is likely to be affected much by the change.
     "I don't really feel like it is going to change much," said the Englishman.
     "I hope it is a surprise for us all, I hope it does generate excitement.
     "I think performance will be the same, it just puts more focus on making sure you get your laps in and keeping people out on the track at all times, so hopefully it is good for the .

New knockout qualifying system set for F1

Defending Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has hit out at plans for a revolution in the sport's regulations in 2017 and claimed drivers' opinions should be more valued.
     Changes to the regulations hope to add more speed to the cars in a bid to liven up the sport after Hamilton romped to the title in the dominant Mercedes for the past two years.
     However, he claimed the change to heavier hybrid cars in recent years is the real problem with the sport rather than the lack of competition.
     "I don't think the regulations are fine, even if there were five teams battling at the front of the grid, but I like a different kind of car," said the Englishman.
     The deadline on when agreement must be reached for changes to be implemented for the 2017 season was pushed back to April 30 by a meeting of the F1 strategy group and commission on Tuesday.
     However, a new knockout format for qualifying will be introduced ahead of the start of this season on March 20 to try and ..

Hamilton lashes out at rules change plans

In a rarest of rare instance in international cricket, four of the five Indian bowlers used in the opening Asia Cup Twenty20 encounter against Bangladesh, finished with the same economy rate here tonight.
     And had it not been for the two wides left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja bowled in the final over, all the five bowlers would have finished with the same economy rate, a rarity in any form of international cricket.
     Favourites India launched their campaign in style as they thrashed Bangladesh by 45 runs riding on a brilliant 83 by Rohit Sharma and a cameo by young Hardik Pandya. India put up 166 for six in the stipulated 20 overs.
     The bowlers then completed the job with ease, restricting the home team to 121 for seven.
     Veteran seamer Ashish Nehra was the pick of the Indian bowling attack, picking up three wickets for 23 runs in his quota of four overs.
     The other bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Pandya and Ashwin picked - were not as successful as Nehra but conceded ...

Four Indian bowlers return same economy rate in big win

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was today impressed by Hardik Pandya's cameo in India's convincing win in the Asia Cup T20 opener against Bangladesh and called the young all-rounder an "overall package" who could be promoted in the batting order in the coming days.
     India launched their campaign in style as they thrashed Bangladesh by 45 runs riding on a brilliant 83 by Rohit Sharma. Pandya's 18-ball 31 and Ashish Nehra's 3/23 played a big role in India's 45-run win at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
     "Batting fearlessly is Hardik's strength and that's why we want to give him more matches, he's a good fielder too and a useful third seamer," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
     He added, "He is an overall package we can promote him often," as that gives them the option of "playing an extra batsman".
     Put into bat on a pacer-friendly wicket, India scored a challenging 166 for six with Rohit scoring his runs under pressure after they were reduced to 42 for 

Dhoni wants to give 'fearless' Hardik more matches

Favourites India launched their campaign in style as they thrashed Bangladesh by 45 runs riding on a brilliant 83 by Rohit Sharma in the opening encounter of the Asia Cup T20 tournament here today.
     Put into bat on a pacer-friendly wicket, India scored a challenging 166 for six with Rohit scoring his runs under pressure after they were reduced to 42 for three at one stage. Hardik Pandya (31 off 18 balls) was the other notable contributor.
     In reply, Bangladesh were never in the game being restricted to 121 for seven in the stipulated 20 overs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
     Their decision to prepare a greenish wicket and unleash four pacers boomeranged badly as the home team's batsmen could neither handle spin or pace and were virtually decimated on the day.
     Veteran Ashish Nehra (3/23) was literally unplayable with his variations as well as brisk pace that he generated. He was on a hat-trick in his final over.
     Jasprit Bumrah (1/23 in 4 overs) also dealt an 

India crush Bangladesh by 45 runs in Asia Cup Opener

India defeated Bangladesh by 45 runs in the opening match of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament here today.
     Sent into bat, India scored 166 for six in the stipulated 20 overs and then restricted Bangladesh to 121 for seven at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
     Brief scores:
     India: 166/6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 83, Hardik Pandya 31; Al-Amin Hossain 3/37)
     Bangladesh: 121/7 in 20 overs (Sabbir Rahman 44; Ashish Nehra 3/23).

India beat Bangladesh by 45 runs in Asia Cup opener

Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan kicked off their AFC Cup football campaign with a commanding 5-2 victory over Maziya Sports and Recreation Club of the Maldives here today.
     Mohun Bagan scored through Sony Norde, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Glen Cornell in their Group G 'home' leg match at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium.
     Norde struck the opening goal for Mohun Bagan when he sent his powerful freekick into the back of the net in the 19th minute.
     The Kolkata giants, having failed to make the grade at the top tier Asian Champions League, scored their second goal through a Jeje Lalpekhlua strike in the 33rd minute.
     Mohun Bagan went 3-0 up two minutes later as Glen Cornell found the back of the net with a lovely strike to leave the visitors staring at embarrassment.
     After the change of ends, luck smiled on Maziya as Imaaz Ahmed reduced the margin with a tap-in.
     However, Mohun Bagan continued their good run of form with another goal, again through Jeje in the 69th ...

Mohun Bagan drub Maldivian club 5-2 in AFC Cup

Rahul Chaudhari produced a sizzling performance to lead Telugu Titans' to a 44-35 win over hosts Dabang Delhi at the Indira Thyagraj Sports Complex here today.
     Rahul, who was substituted towards the end, had a dream rally of 17 points for the match. He had three tackle points in that to show his all-round prowess. He was supported well by Rohit Baliyan, who had a super raid of three to his credit.
     For Dabang Delhi, who were shot out three times in the match by their rivals, scored through lead raiders Surjeet Singh and Kashiling Adake who excelled with 13 and 10 points respectively in a high-scoring match which was dominated by the attackers.
     After their sixth win in 11 match, Telugu Titans have thus improved their chances of making it to the last four. They have 33 points. Dabang Delhi have 7 points in 10 matches with just one win.

Rahul gives Telugu Titans a 44-35 win over Dabang Delhi

Tiger Woods has posted a video of him swinging a 9-iron in a golf simulator. His agent says the video was posted to rebut rumors on social media that he had taken a turn for the worse following two back surgeries last fall.
     Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management said Monday that the rumors were ridiculous.
     The video has a time stamp of today. It shows Woods, in shorts and golf shoes, taking one smooth swing accompanied by the words, "Progressing nicely."
     The rumors began with a Twitter account called "Secret Tour Pro" saying Sunday that Woods could no longer sit in a chair and spends most of the day lying down.
     Steinberg says there's still no timetable for his return. Woods has had three back surgeries in roughly 18 months.

Tiger Woods posts video to rebut rumors of his demise

Formula One may have a new qualifying system for the upcoming season, with drivers being eliminated every few minutes.
     Governing body FIA said the proposal was unanimously approved in a meeting between series stakeholders in Geneva yesterday.
     The new system will be evaluated for introduction at the first grand prix of the year in Australia on March 20.
     The F1 commission also approved "new measures designed to deliver a faster, more spectacular" F1 championship in 2017.
     New bodywork regulations have been adopted "to create more exciting cars."
     The F1 commission also confirmed the intention of introducing "some form of cockpit protection" next season.
     The new qualifying system would have three separate sessions, like now, but instead of having the slowest drivers eliminated at the end, they would be dropped one by one every minute-and-a-half.
     All cars would have seven minutes to set their times in the beginning of the session, and seven drivers would ..

F1 approves new qualifying for 2016, faster car for 2017

The Indian challenge at the USD 2.2 million Dubai Tennis Championships ended with Rohan Bopanna and his partner suffering a shock first round exit in the men's doubles here today.
     Second seeds Bopanna and Romanian Florin Mergea lost to the unseeded Canadian-Czech pairing of Daniel Nestor and Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-7(6), 4-10 in an hour and 24 minutes on Court No.3 at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre.
     Yuki Bhambri and Mahesh Bhupathi had lost their respective opening matches yesterday.
     The Indo-Romanian pair dominated the first set, winning 29 of the 49 points played. Though the unseeded combine earned three breakpoint chances, they wasted them all.
     The Canadian-Czech pair won the next two sets to come out winners.

Bopanna-Mergea knocked out of Dubai tennis

Scorboard of the opening match of
Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament between India and Bangladesh here today:
     India:
     Rohit c Sarkar b Al-Amin Hossain 83
     Dhawan b Al-Amin Hossain 2
     Kohli c Mahmudullah b Mashrafe Mortaza 8
     Raina b Mahmudullah 13
     Yuvraj c Soumya Sarkar b Shakib Al Hasan 15
     Pandya c Mahmudullah b Al-Amin Hossain 31
     Dhoni not out 8
     Jadeja not out 0
     Extras: (B-1, LB-2, W-3) 6
     Total: (for 6 wickets in 20 overs) 166
     Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-22, 3-42, 4-97, 5-158, 6-158
     Bowling: Taskin Ahmed 3-0-22-0, Al-Amin Hossain 4-0-37-3, Mustafizur Rahman 4-0-40-0, Mashrafe Mortaza 4-0-40-1, Mahmudullah 2-0-9-1, Shakib Al Hasan 3-0-15-1.

 Scorboard of the opening match of

Rohit Sharma struck a scintillating 83 off 55 balls under pressure to propel India to a challenging 166 for six against Bangladesh in the opening encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament here today.
     His team sent into bat, Rohit built his innings to perfection amidst a top-order collapse, hitting seven fours and three sixes as the 25,000 strong partisan Bangladeshi fans were stunned into silence.
     He was complemented well by young Hardik Pandya, who smashed a quickfire 18-ball 31, including a huge six off home team's 'wonder boy' Mustafizur Rahaman, and four boundaries at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.
     The Rohit-Pandya stand yielded 61 runs for the fifth wicket in only 4.3overs. Their 50 run stand came off just 17 balls.
     While India got into trouble at 52 for three after first 10 overs, the next half saw them score a whopping 114 runs, primarily due to Rohit, who enthralled one and all with his dazzling stroke play.
     When he was finally out to ..

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