A sound middle-order partnership by Colin de Grandhomme and Ross Taylor pushed New Zealand to 180 for seven batting first against England in the third Twenty20 international in Nelson on Tuesday.
De Grandhomme smacked 55 off 35 while Taylor anchored the innings with a more sedate 27 from 24 in a 66-run stand after New Zealand were three down in the eighth over.
It was a better performance by England in the field with a much-improved catching effort which accounted for four of the seven wickets.
But the bowling discipline dropped as New Zealand benefited from eight wides and two no balls.
Martin Guptill gave New Zealand a flying start with seven boundaries on his way to 33 before he was well caught by Tom Curran who had to turn and run back from wide mid-off to claim the catch.
Fellow opener Colin Munro went four balls later, with Curran the bowler and Saqib Mahmood the catcher.
Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson needed only five balls on debut to claim his first international wicket when he ..

De Grandhomme helps New Zealand to 180 against England

PTI Automatic

Bayern Munich's stars have been told to knuckle down under interim coach Hansi Flick ahead of their Champions League clash with Olympiakos following Niko Kovac's sacking.
Former Bayern and West Germany defender Andreas Brehme says the Bayern squad "let Kovac down" with a series of lacklustre recent performances that led to the coach's dismissal, while the club's director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic has demanded more effort from his off-form players.
"I now expect a positive development from our players and absolute motivation to achieve our goals for this season," he said.
Group B leaders Bayern host bottom side Olympiakos at the Allianz Arena with a fourth straight Champions League win in their sights after beating the Greek side 3-2 in Athens a fortnight ago.
Bayern already have one foot in the knock-out phase as they currently sit five-points clear of second-placed Tottenham, who they host in December having routed them 7-2 in north London last month.
However, all is not well ...

Bayern ordered to improve after Kovac exit

French cyclist Jacques Dupont, who won a gold medal at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, has died at the age of 91, his family announced.
Dupont, who was born and died in the village of Lezat sur Leze in the south-west of France, achieved his gold medal at the Herne Hill Velodrome on August 11, 1948.
The aged 20, Dupont eclipsed the field in the 1000 metre time trial, beating Belgian Pierre Nihant by one second. The Briton Tommy Godwin took the bronze.
Two days later Dupont was back in the saddle for the road race which doubled as an individual and team event.
Dupont could only manage 17th in the individual but helped the French take bronze in the team event alongside Jose Beyaert and Alain Moineau.
The Belgians took gold without realising it and only received their medals in 2010 -- 62 years later.
Dupont turned professional, winning the French championship in 1954 and the prestigious Paris-Tours in 1951 and 1955.

1948 Olympics cycling champion Jacques Dupont dies aged 91

American 100m hurdler Dawn Harper Nelson, the 2008 Olympic champion and 2012 Olympic runner-up who retired to have a baby, said she is training for next year's Tokyo Olympics.
The 35-year-old from suburban St. Louis was second to Australia's Sally Pearson at the 2017 World Championships but missed this year's meet after giving birth to a baby girl last April.
Harper Nelson stepped away from the sport in September 2018 but worked out during her pregnancy and returned to the track a month after giving birth.
"I still think I have it and I can kill it," Harper Nelson said in a posting on the US Olympic website.
"All the women in my life had said when they were moms they stopped their dream. Once I had my daughter, I looked at her and I remember thinking, 'I still have this yearn to run.'
"And I refuse for her to say, when she looked at my career, 'My mom always said she wanted to keep running, but she stopped because she had me.'"
Harper Nelson overtook teammate Lolo Jones late to ...

Past Olympic hurdles champ Harper Nelson aims for Tokyo

Neymar will escape prosecution for an altercation with an opposition supporter after Paris Saint-Germain's surprise defeat in the French Cup final in April, sources told AFP.
Prosecutors have decided the Brazilian star will receive a written warning and no further action will be taken.
A 29-year-old Rennes fan who had been filming Neymar as he climbed the stairs to collect his loser's medal at the Stade de France appeared to cajole the disconsolate player after the French league champions were defeated in a penalty shootout.
Neymar stopped, used his hand to lower the phone and then tapped the fan on the chin.
"I shouldn't have done it but sometimes it's hard to remain calm," Neymar said on Instagram at the time.
A lawyer for the fan who filed a complaint against Neymar for violent behaviour said the warning was unacceptable.
"It's a justification of violence," said lawyer Philippe Ohayon.
"If that had been a fan hitting a player he would have been brought to justice and maybe even ...

Neymar escapes with warning over Cup final fan slap

In a big relief for India's national tennis federation, world governing body ITF on Monday decided to shift country's Davis Cup tie against Pakistan from Islamabad to a neutral venue, hours after Rohit Rajpal was named captain for the upcoming matches.
The November 29-30 contest has already been rescheduled once owing to security concerns raised by India.
The tie was scheduled to be held in September but was delayed when India expressed concerns about the safety of their players due to the prevailing diplomatic tensions between the two nations after the revocation of Article 370.
"Following a review of the latest advice given by the ITF's independent security advisors, the Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision that the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India on 29-30 November, 2019 must be played at a neutral venue," the ITF said in a statement.
"The ITF and Davis Cup Committee's first priority has always been the safety of athletes, officials and spectators 

ITF shifts Pakistan tie to neutral venue, Rohit Rajpal is India's non-playing captain

Ending weeks of speculation, the International Tenis Federation (ITF) on Monday decided to shift India's Davis Cup tie from Islamabad to a neutral venue, saying safety of players and officials was its priority.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) had made repeated requests to the world governing body to shift the November 29-30 tie to a neutral venue, citing safety concerns.
"Following a review of the latest advice given by the ITF's independent security advisors, the Davis Cup Committee has taken the decision that the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie between Pakistan and India on 29-30 November 2019, must be played at a neutral venue," the ITF said in a statement.
"The ITF and Davis Cup Committee's first priority has always been the safety of athletes, officials and spectators and the decision was made on this basis," it added.
According to Davis Cup regulations, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) now has  five working days to choose and confirm their proposed venue.
India's .

ITF shifts Davis Cup tie to neutral venue

Everton midfielder Andre Gomes is expected to make a "full recovery" after undergoing surgery to repair a fracture dislocation of his ankle, the Premier League club said on Monday.
The Portugal international suffered the shocking injury when he fell awkwardly following a challenge from Tottenham's Son Heung-min in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
"Everton Football Club can confirm Andre Gomes underwent surgery to repair a fracture dislocation to his right ankle earlier today and the procedure went extremely well," a club statement said.
It added: "The 26-year-old is expected to make a full recovery."
Tottenham's players were also affected by the incident, with Son -- who was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson for his challenge -- in tears and Serge Aurier, who collided with Gomes, substituted.
The Premier League said in a statement that Son's red card was for "endangering the safety of a player", but Spurs are expected to lodge an appeal against Atkinson's decision.
Tottenham ...

Everton's Gomes expected to make full recovery after ankle surgery

Haryana's Parshant Singh Kanhaiya broke the 33-year-old national under-20 pole vault record at the 35th National Junior Athletics Championships here on Monday.
The defending champion set the new mark at 5.05m in the same venue where he set under-18 records of 4.75m two years ago. It was the third best effort by an Indian pole vaulter this year behind Siva Subramaniam (5.16m) and KG Jessan (5.10).
Kanhaiya went past Vijay Pal Singh's national under-20 mark of 5.00m set in the World Junior Athletics Championships in Athens in 1986. He was pushed hard by Rakesh Gond (Maharashtra) whose clearance at 4.90m was his personal best.
There were also national records for Tamil Nadu's PM Thabitha (girls under-18 100m hurdles) and Haryana's Amit (boys under-16 5000m race walk) on the third day of competitions.
Meet records were rewritten by Kerala's Aparna Roy (girls under-20 100m hurdles), Delhi's Chanda (Girls under-20 3000m), Haryana's Anisha Dahiya (girls under-20 hammer throw), Tejas Ashok ...

Parshant Kanhaiya rewrites 33-year-old junior pole vault record

India's 16-year-old Harsimran Kaur will take part in a multi-week training camp at The NBA Global Academy in Canberra, beginning Thursday, making her the first prospect from the Academies Women's Program and the first female prospect from outside of Australia to visit the facility.
The teenager will train at Basketball Australia's Centre of Excellence from November 7-24. Harsimran was named MVP at the third NBA Academies Women's Program camp held in Mumbai last month.
The youth player from Punjab has represented India at multiple events, including 3x3 Asian Championships held in Jakarta in August. Harsimran was also one of the four Indian girls invited to the first Next Generation program at the NCAA Women's Final Four in Tampa in April, competing against top USA Basketball Women's Junior National Team members.
This was followed by her participation in Basketball Without Borders Asia in Tokyo this summer.
During her time in Canberra, Harsimran will participate in practices, ...

16-year-old Harsimran invited to train in NBA Global Academy

A sporting event named 'Sikh Football Cup' will be organised in Punjab from November 23 to December 7 as part of the Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev's 550th birth anniversary celebrations.
The event will be organised by Khalsa Football Club, a non-profit sports organisation, in association with the Global Sikh Sports Federation, said club's president Harjeet Singh Grewal.
It will be held under FIFA rules in various districts of Punjab, he added.
"Our prime motive is to encourage Punjabi youths to engage in sports, he said in a release here.
Grewal said the Khalsa Fotball Club, affiliated with Punjab Football Association, would act as launching pad for promising players.

Football sporting event to be held as part of 550th Gurupurb celebrations in Punjab

The Indian men's table tennis team on Monday achieved its best ever ranking by moving up to the ninth spot in the ITTF rankings.
The Indian team comprising World No. 30 G Sathiyan and World No. 36 Sharath Kamal, is tied with 10th-placed Austria on 272 points but is ranked ninth. They are the only two Indians in the top-100. India number three Harmeet Desai is ranked 104.
China are the expected number one in the team rankings, followed by Japan and Germany.

Indian men's TT team achieves best ever ranking

Batsman Suryakumar Yadav will lead  the 15-member Mumbai squad in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the  national T20 tournament, beginning here from November 8.
The squad was announced by the Mumbai Cricket  Association (MCA) on its website on Monday.
It does not feature young prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal as  he is likely to participate in an age-group tournament.
One of the major omissions from the squad was pacer  Tushar Deshpande.
Other regulars, including batsmen Jay Bista, Aditya  Tare, Sarfaraz Khan and Siddhesh Lad, have made it to the  squad.
Pacers Dhaval Kulkarni, spinners Shams Mulani, Dhurmil  Matkar have also found a place in the team.
Mumbai, coached by Vinayak Samant, start their  campaign in the 2019-20 prestigious domestic tournament on  Friday itself.
The squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Jay Bista,  Aditya Tare, Sarfaraz Khan, Jaideep Pardeshi, Siddhesh Lad,  Shubham Ranjane, Shams Mulani, Parikshit Valsangkar, Raunaq  Sharma, Dhaval Kulkarni, Kruthik Hangewadi, Deepak ...

Mushtaq Ali T20: Suryakumar Yadav named Mumbai captain

Ravi Rathi (97kg) suffered a 0-8 loss against Belarus' Dzmitry Kaminski in the bronze medal play-off in Greco-Roman category as Indian grapplers ended their campaign with two silver medals at the UWW Under-23 World Championships here.
Ravi had emerged victorious in the repechage bout when he edged Uzur Dzhuzupbekov of Kyrgyzstan 3-1 on Sunday but he couldn't bring his best to the fore during the bronze medal play-off.
With this, India's campaign at the tournament came to an end with Ravinder (61kg) and Pooja Gehlot (53kg) returning with silver medals.
India earned its best position in men's freestyle team rankings, where 48 points gave the contingent an 11th place finish.
In women's wrestling, India finished at 12th and 15th spots in freestyle and Greco-Roman respectively.
India produced an improved performance in this edition with nine wrestlers making it to the quarter-finals: three each in freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's wrestling.
India's best performance in this competition, ..

U-23 World Wrestling C'ships: Ravi loses in bronze play-off, India finish with 2 silvers

Sebastian Vettel said on Monday that he told Lewis Hamilton 'he deserved it all' after the British Mercedes driver clinched his sixth world title at the United States Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished second behind Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in Austin on Sunday and was cooling down after the race when, unexpectedly, Ferrari's four-time champion Vettel dropped in to whisper in his ear.
Vettel, for several years Hamilton's fiercest on-track rival, had retired early in the race after his car's suspension had failed on the bumpy Circuit of the Americas.
"I think now is the time for you to write as many good things as you can," Vettel informed reporters, referring to what he said to Hamilton.
"If somebody wins the title six times, he deserves all of it. That's what I told him as well."
"Obviously I'm happy for him," he added.
"I'm not happy that we are not in contention this year and we were so far back, but you need to respect what he achieved these last years and, also, this year, ...

You deserve it all, Vettel tells Hamilton

The Indian team will undergo a 10-day camp here later this month as part of preparations for the 2020 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup to be hosted by the country.
The India U-17 women's team has already been in the camp for the last four months and after a brief break, the players will once again assemble here on November 9.
The probables in the camp will be divided into four different teams to play each other in the round-robin format on November 11, 13, and 15.
Coach Alex Ambrose, who recently led India to the SAFF U-15 Women's Championship 2019 title last month, believes that these matches will help the coaching staff gauge the talent pool that they have at their disposal.
"The tournament in Kalyani will open up a lot of avenues for us. We have already had a set bunch of players for four months now but this will allow us to take a look at other players as well," said Ambrose.
"This is the future of women's football in India, and we need to build them up in the best possible manner, in .

Indian women's U-17 team to undergo camp in Kalyani

Former India batsman Yuvraj Singh on Monday slammed the MSK Prasad-led national selection panel, saying there is a definite need for having better selectors as the current committee's "thinking in terms of modern-day cricket" is not up to the mark.
"We do need better selectors, for sure. Selectors' job is not easy. Whenever they select 15 players, there will be talks that what will happen to the other 15. It's a difficult job but their thinking in terms of modern-day cricket is not up to the mark. It's my opinion," Yuvraj told reporters here.
"I am always in favour of protecting the players and being positive about them. By talking negative about your players and team doesn't show you in true light. The character only shows when things are going wrong and you motivate the players. In bad times, everyone talks bad. We definitely need better selectors," he said.
It is not the first time that Yuvraj has criticised the selection panel. The southpaw had earlier claimed that the selectors ..

Yuvraj says "definite need" for better national selectors

Former India batsman Yuvraj Singh on Monday claimed that the country's cricketers feel compelled to play even when they are not in a condition to for the fear of losing their place, a situation he hopes will change with Sourav Ganguly as BCCI President.
The swashbuckling left-hander, who has retired from international cricket to play in private leagues, batted for having a players association, something that has already been done with the institution of the Indian Cricketers' Association as mandated by the Supreme Court-appointed Lodha committee.
"We deserve it. Because there are a lot of times we have been asked to play cricket that we don't want to. We have to play with the pressure that if we don't play we will be thrown out," Yuvraj told reporters here.
"That pressure has to go off the players that even if they are tired or fatigued or carrying injuries, they have to play," he said.
Yuvraj cited the example of Australian Glenn Maxwell, who has taken a break from international ...

Lot of times, India players avoid breaks fearing they'll be thrown out: Yuvraj

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted the club may appeal against Son Heung-min's red card following the horrific injury suffered by Everton's Andre Gomes in the 1-1 draw.
Pochettino -- whose side were denied a first away win in the league since January with a late stoppage time equaliser from Cenk Tosun -- blamed VAR for the red card as Son had been initially just booked on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Portuguese international's injury -- a fracture dislocation to his right ankle which he will have surgery on Monday -- occurred as his momentum from Son's trip saw him crash into Spurs defender Serge Aurier.
Pochettino -- whose side remain in the bottom half in 11th place with 13 points from their first 11 games -- expressed his sorrow for Gomes but said a visibly distressed Son had not intended to provoke such an injury.
"It was clear it was never the intention of Son to create the problem that happened afterwards," said Pochettino.
"It is unbelievable to see a red card. In that ...

Spurs consider appeal over Son's red card in Gomes incident

Indian shooters will look to grab as many quota places as possible when the 14th Asian Shooting Championship begins on Tuesday at the Lusail Shooting Complex here.
An Indian team of 63 men and 45 women will take part in the senior, junior and youth categories across rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines in the 10-day continental championship which offers 38 Tokyo Olympic quota places across 12 of the 15 Olympic shooting events.
The three mixed team events do not carry quota places while the men's 25m rapid fire pistol competition will give out a maximum of four quotas in an event.
India has already secured nine Tokyo quotas in rifle and pistol and lies behind China (25 quotas) and Korea (12) in the Asian region, besides the host-country Japan (12 allotted slots), in terms of quotas won.
"The team is raring to go and confident of a good show. While quotas are high on priority, we should not forget that a good show at the region's top competition is by itself no mean feat. The aim is ...

Indian shooters look to maximise Olympic quota places in Asian Shooting C'ship

The national tennis federation on Monday named former India player and chairman of the its selection panel, Rohit Rajpal as India's non-playing captain for the upcoming away Davis Cup tie against Pakistan, signalling end of Mahesh Bhupathi's era.
There was speculation that veteran Leander Paes could be considered for the job after the 46-year-old made himself available following pull-outs from top players and skipper Bhupathi.
The November 29-30 contest in Islamabad has already been rescheduled once owing to security concerns raised by India.
The All India Tennis Association (AITA) decided to appoint Rajpal at its Executive Committee (EC) meeting which was followed by Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Chandigarh.
"Former President Anil Khanna and incumbent Praveen Mahajan proposed Rohit Rajpal's name and everyone agreed. Rajpal will go to Pakistan as non-playing captain and this arrangement is only for this tie, as of now," an AITA source said.
The source added that Bhupathi, whose term 

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