Page 108 - Sports
Riaz certain that Pakistan will qualify for World Cup final
Despite being the second last team on the points table, pacer Wahab Riaz is not losing confidence in his side as he said that his team will qualify for the World Cup finals and semi-finals."We have to lift ourselves. We are each other's strength. We are all good friends and know that only 15 of us can lift the team which not even our family members can do. Pakistan plays better under pressure and we will qualify for the finals and semi-finals," ICC quoted Riaz as saying.Pakistan, who is only above Afghanistan on the points table, have won just one match so far in the premier tournament.However, Riaz is focused to do well in their next game and beat their upcoming competitor, South Africa."As a bowling unit we are trying hard, we are all focused to do well in the South Africa match. You need wickets upfront in England but we were not getting that. Our focus is on beating South Africa, and we know we shouldn't get ahead or think about the future. We need to go one by one by what to do ..
Jehan Daruvala wins feature F3 race in France
India's F1 hopeful Jehan Daruvala on Saturday stormed to his back-to-back win in the FIA Formula 3 Championship after starting second on the grid. It was the first time that the Mumbai-based driver won the feature race of the Championship after qualifying behind Jake Hughes. Formula 3 is now a support series to Formula 1 with the French Grand Prix scheduled for Sunday. Daruvala, representing Prema Racing, had won the sprint race in Barcelona last month. There was heartbreak for polesitter Hughes, who lost P1 to the Indian, before making contact with Marcus Armstrong while battling for position and dropping to the back of the grid. Robert Shwartzman took advantage of the turmoil to claim P2, with Pedro Piquet completing the podium. Hughes made the perfect getaway when the lights went out, standing firm in first and setting the fastest lap. Shwartzman suffered contrasting fortunes and dropped back to 6th, behind his Prema teammates, as well as Piquet and Bent Viscaal. Daruvala had ...
Pak PM's assistant gets trolled for putting Tendulkar's pic in name of Imran Khan
Naeem ul Haque, the special assistant to Pakistan's PM Imran Khan on Thursday made a major goof up as he posted Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar's photo on Twitter and captioned it as 'PM Imran Khan 1969'.[{c3b5bd57-7a83-4bb1-b45c-bbff84f220a2:intradmin/naeem.JPG}]As soon as he posted the photo, ul Haque got massively trolled on Twitter.One fan posted the childhood picture of Virat Kohli and captioned the photo as "Inzamam-ul-Haq 1976".[{b3fbfa95-c08d-4e73-96e5-c25ada6403ff:intradmin/inzi.JPG}]Another fan posted a picture of a scene from Bollywood movie Lagaan and captioned the picture as "Jos butler & Ashwin in 1980".[{5d60d46d-6ae6-4ef5-9462-0e72f2c248c3:intradmin/ashwin_GIDdpMK.JPG}]One fan tweeted the picture of a yawning baby and termed the photo as "Sarfaraz 1987".[{b59fb297-9537-4361-bdcd-ec0e3de75169:intradmin/sarfaraz_LhYgWr4.JPG}]A Twitter user posted the picture of Indian wicket-keeper MS Dhoni and captioned the post as 'Kamran Akmal ...
Indian women's hockey team beats Chile, secures berth in Olympic Qualifiers final round
Drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur scored a brace as India secured its place in the final round of Tokyo Olympic qualifiers by beating Chile 4-2 in the semifinals of the women's FIH Series Finals hockey tournament here Saturday. The top two teams from the ongoing tournament have secured their berths in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers to be held later this year. Gurjit (22nd, 37th minutes) struck twice, while Navneet Kaur (31st) and skipper Rani Rampal (57th) were the other goal scorers for India. Carolina Garcia (18th) and Manuela Urroz (43rd) scored the goals for Chile at the Hiroshima Hockey Stadium. India will take on Japan in the summit clash on Saturday. The hosts beat Russia 3-1 in penalty shoot-out in the other semifinal after both the teams were locked 1-1 at the end of regulation 60 minutes. World no. 9 India started the match on the front foot as they made six circle entries inside the first 15 minutes but to no avail. Chile also made four circle penetrations but failed to get a shot on ...
I think Malinga is a legend: Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne
Sri Lanka caused a major upset in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup on Friday as they defeated tournament hosts England and after the win, Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunratne heaped praise on bowler Lasith Malinga, calling him a 'legend'.Malinga was the main destructor with the ball for Sri Lanka as he took four wickets and allowed the team to defend a modest total of 232, registering a win by 20 runs."I think he's a legend. He knows what he has to do. He just keeps doing what he knows, that is the main thing, the basic things. Those things we want to set an example for the youngsters," International Cricket Council quoted Karunaratne as saying."I think the performance. Mally has been around for a long time. Him coming in and bowling like that isn't surprising at all," he added.The 35-year-old Malinga also reached the milestone of 50 wickets in World Cups, making him the fourth bowler to achieve the feat after Glenn Mcgrath, Wasim Akram, and Muttiah Muralitharan.Malinga made his
Copa America: Chile defeat Equador 2-1, Alexis Sanchez suffers an ankle injury
Chile in their second match of Copa America defeated Equador 2-1 on Saturday. Chile suffered as their forward player Alexis Sanchez injured his ankle during the match.Chile opened the scoring as Pedro Fuenzalida netted the ball to a goal in the 8th minute. Giving Chile a lead of 1-0 early in the match.Equador bounced back 18 minutes after conceding a goal and scored the equalizer on spot kick. Enner Valencia scored the opener for his team in the 26th minute. No more goal was witnessed in the first half.Just six minute after the second half game started, Sanchez registered himself in the score sheet.He scored his 43rd international goal in his 126 appearances for Chile. Sanchez has scored two goals in the tournament so far.However, star striker suffered an injury on his ankle and coach Rueda stated that he can play in the next game hopefully."He was evaluated in the break and the doctor determined that he could continue," Rueda told to media."It was very important what he offered. ...
Fraser-Pryce, Thompson share first in 100m at Jamaica nationals
Elaine Thompson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce lit up the Jamaican National Championships as they tied for first place in the women's 100m final with a time of 10.73sec. The sprint event lived up to expectations as the women, who combine for eight World Championships and Olympic individual gold medals, put on a show crossing the line together with Briana Williams in third in 10.94sec. Williams, who turned 17 in March, dipped under the 11-second barrier for the first time with a new national junior record. An emotional Thompson said afterwards she was grateful to be able to rebound after a tough 2018 when she battled a series of injuries. Yohan Blake won the men's 100m in a season's best 9.96sec, holding off the challenge of Tyquendo Tracey (10.00sec). Rasheed Dwyer equalled his personal best of 10.10sec to place third. Rushell Clayton scored a massive upset, winning the women's 400m hurdles in a career best time of 54.73sec. Clayton, who led the qualifying from Thursday, took over the ...
World Cup in ASEAN's sights in '15 years': Thai FM
Southeast Asian nations could launch a joint bid to host the 2034 World Cup, Thailand's foreign minister said Saturday, a bold play to bring the biggest sporting show on earth to a football-mad region for the first time. The only Asian hosts of the World Cup so far have been Japan and South Korea, in 2002. China is widely seen as the next Asian frontrunner to hold the tournament, with its massive sporting market, wealth and infrastructure to match. But the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, meeting in Bangkok this weekend, is keen to steal a march on the regional superpower. "Government sectors think this can happen... 15 years from now," Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters after talks with his counterparts. A Thai Foreign ministry spokeswoman said "the idea will be proposed to the leaders" of ASEAN before the end of the summit on Sunday. Since the inaugural World Cup in 1930, 17 countries have hosted the event, many of them in Europe and South
CWC'19: India wins toss against Afghanistan, opt to bat first
India won the toss and elected to bat first in their fifth match in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup at Southampton on Saturday.India made one change in the team, Mohammad Shami replaces injured Bhavaneshwar Kumar.Out of four, the Virat Kohli-led team has won three matches in the World Cup so far. They defeated South Africa, Australia, and Pakistan while their match against New Zealand was abandoned due to rain.On the other hand, Afghanistan lost their all five matches in the tournament and stands at the last of the World Cup standings.Following are India's and Afghanistan's playing XI:India- Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar.Afghanistan- Gulbadin Naib (c), Hazaratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Pakistan, South Africa meet to restore pride
With both teams virtually out of the semifinal race, South Africa and Pakistan will be battling it out for a consolation win in their World Cup match at the Lord's here on Sunday. Having mustered just three points from six games, South Africa are all but out of the tournament while Pakistan might still sneak into the semifinals, provided they win their remaining four games and other results go in their favour. When Pakistan were pummelled by West Indies in their tournament opener, many of their loyal fans drew parallel to their triumphant campaign in 1992 when they scripted a sensational turnaround to win the title. However, following Pakistan's heavy loss against India on June 16, not many of their supporters have any hopes left from their struggling side. It is not a surprise that the fans have shown little restraint in their criticism of the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side and stories of factionalism have surfaced from nowhere. "It (severe criticism) is usual in Pakistan cricket after the .
CWC'19: Key players to watch in West Indies-New Zealand clash
Invincible New Zealand in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup will look to continue their winning streak against West Indies on Saturday.Kiwis in their five matches so far clinched victory in four games while their clash with India was washed out due to rain. They are currently at the number two position on tournaments standing with nine points.New Zealand has not won the World Cup ever but the current team have the potential to lift their maiden title. They are also the runner ups of the previous edition of the tournament.On the other hand, Windies are finding their way to the semi-finals as they are currently at the seventh position of the points table. The Carribean team is only able to register to win against Pakistan in their opening match. In their last match, Bangladesh outclassed them as they won by seven wickets.Although West Indies had defeated New Zealand earlier in the World Cup warm-up fixture when Windies scored the mammoth total of 421. It will be interesting to see who ..
Morgan rues England's poor run chase; promises fightback against Aussies
Eoin Morgan admits England forgot about the basics of a run chase in a shock defeat to Sri Lanka but has promised to bounce back against defending champions Australia in their next game on Tuesday. England suffered a shocking 20-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka here on Friday, failing to chase down what looked like a sub-par 232/9. "You look at the basics of a run chase, partnerships are very important. We struggled to get enough of them, or one substantial one, going. We had a couple of individual innings but that is not going to be enough to win the game," Morgan was quoted as saying by ICC website. Ben Stokes made an unbeaten 82 and Joe Root 57 for the hosts, but the two ran out of partners even as Lasith Malinga led a remarkable fightback. "Quite a few wickets were turning points, simply in the fact that you have got guys coming in at six, who average 40, seven who average 30, we bat all the way down. So every single wicket is quite important because every single one could ...
Felt team was playing with fear but England win should change that: Mahela
Sri Lankan's shock win over England should change things for the better, feels batting great Mahela Jayawardene, after a run of matches in which they seemed to have "played with a little bit of fear". Defending a relatively modest target of 233, Sri Lanka bowled out favourites England for 212 for a 20-run win at the Headingley on Friday. "I hope this game will give Sri Lanka a lot of confidence in this ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. They have beaten one of the best teams in the world, and they need to believe in themselves," Jayawardene wrote in his column for the ICC. "At times it feels like they have played with a little bit of fear and have not been able to really express themselves. This win should change that." The former skipper praised Lasith Malinga's match-winning spells, during which he picked up four big English wickets. "It's not about the six pack, it's about the skill and Lasith Malinga showed that in spades in Sri Lanka's win over England. "He has done it so many times ...
Sri Lanka celebrates shock victory over England
Streets in Sri Lanka were lit up by firecrackers and front pages celebrated victory after the national cricket team's stunning World Cup win over England. Residents in the capital Colombo and across the nation celebrated wildly after as low-ranking Sri Lanka unexpectedly beat England on their home soil by 20 runs to open up the race for a semi-final spot. "Battered and bruised Lions decimate empire," the local Daily Mirror said while the Island daily front-page the match report with a bold banner headline: "SRI LANKA BEAT ENGLAND." President Maithripala Sirisena welcomed the "competitive spirit" of the national team while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was among the first to congratulate the team. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne praised Lasith Malinga and fellow veteran Angelo Mathews -- whose painstaking 85 not out helped them recover from a collapse to three for two. Sri Lanka's 1996 World Cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga said earlier in the week that Karunaratne and ..
Panjak Advani wins Asian Snooker Championship to register career grand slam
India's ace cueist Pankaj Advani added another feather in his career cap by winning the Asian Snooker Championship on Friday. Advani also completes the career grand slam with the victory.In the final, Advani defeated current Asian 6Red champion, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon of Thailand 6 frames to 3. Just like the previous match, the final game was also not easy for Advani as he faced tough competition from Thanawat in initial frames.Thanawat obtained 2 frames lead having a quality break of 97 in second. He further made one more break of 75 in the fourth frame to take the lead to 3-1.From there, Advani showed his master class and delivered a complete package of snooker. He ruled out any kind of silly mistake, unforced errors and spent quality time on safety too. With all that he kept winning frames over a frame and finally knocked out Thanawat 6-3 to lift Asian Snooker trophy.The 33-year-old has now completed his trophy cabinet with all titles from Asia and the World. In his 16 years ...
Pakistani fan apologises after fat-shaming Sarfaraz
The Pakistani fan, who faced massive backlash, after he body-shamed Pakistan cricket team captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, apologised for his unacceptable behaviour.In a video message shared by a Pakistan-based sports reporter Zeeshan Ahmed on Twitter, the fan claimed that he had deleted the video after apologising to Sarfaraz and had no idea that it had gone viral on social media platforms."I saw my video when I was there (at the mall) and saying something to Pakistani captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. After I had shot the video, he met me and was annoyed. I apologised him and deleted the video," the fan said."But I genuinely don't know how the video got uploaded and became viral. I apologise from my side to those who have been offended," he contended.The fan claimed that he did not know that the infant which was on Sarfaraz's lap, was his child."Genuinely I never thought that such a thing would happen. I didn't know that kid was his child. I am extremely sorry," he said.In the viral video, the fan ...
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) suspended by government-run agency
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has been suspended with immediate effect by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC), the governing organisation of all registered sporting associations in the country. ZC acting managing director Givemore Makoni has also been suspended from his position, according to a press release issued on Friday. The move from the SRC came a week after it issued a directive that ZC's electoral process be suspended following alleged complaints about the nomination process and the violation of ZC's constitution, as well as "various other controversies". But the cricket board ignored the directive, and Mukuhlani was re-elected for another four-year term following the meeting. The SRC said it was forced to act after several complaints of violations of the constitution and other controversies. "It cannot be in national interest that a national sporting association continues to conduct itself in a manner that it suggests that it and its officials are a law unto ...
CWC'19: Partnerships are very important England skipper Eoin Morgan
Tournament's favourite, England faced the biggest upset of the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup from Sri Lanka on Friday. England's skipper Eoin Morgan expressed that partnerships were very important to win the game and we grappled with it."You know, partnerships are very important. We struggled to get enough partnerships going, or one substantial one. There were a couple of individual innings. But that is not good enough to win a game," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Morgan as saying.Sri Lanka displayed a team spirit in the match and outclassed England in the game. Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga showcased his recent best figures and bagged four wickets in his 10 overs quota. While all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva grabbed three wickets for his team."I would say there were quite a few wickets that were turning points, simply in the fact that you have got guys coming in at 6 who average 40, 7 averaging 30. We bat all the way down. So every single one is quite significant ...
Japan and Qatar not just making up Copa America numbers
Japan and Qatar's participation in the Copa America may have raised eyebrows in some quarters but the two Asian nations have already proved they didn't turn up in Brazil just to make up the numbers. Qatar began their Group B campaign by fighting back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Paraguay before a late Duvan Zapata goal denied them a point against Colombia in their next match. And while a youthful and inexperienced Japan side was taught a harsh lesson in clinical finishing by Chile in a 4-0 defeat, they were then on the wrong end of two controversial VAR decisions in their 2-2 draw with Uruguay. Both sides may only have one point from two group games so far but they know that victory in their final pool encounters will likely see them into the knock-out rounds. "We want to be protagonists on the pitch, our players have the quality to do that," said Qatar's Spanish coach Felix Sanchez. "We're a team that never gives up," he added about the Asian champions. On Sunday, Qatar face a ...
Egypt grind out win to launch Africa Cup of Nations
Mohamed Salah's Egypt started their bid for a record-extending eighth Africa Cup of Nations trophy on Friday with a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in Cairo in the opening game of a tournament expanded to 24 teams and played in June and July for the first time. Liverpool star Salah, on a redemption mission with Egypt after injury derailed a miserable World Cup campaign last year, looked sharp although the hosts needed a 41st-minute goal by Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan to get off to a winning start in Group A. Man of the match Mahmoud Alaa said after the victory: "I congratulate all the Egyptian people on the first win." The defender added: "We should be better in the upcoming matches. Our aim in this competition is to win the title." In keeping with April's spectacular tournament draw under the gaze of the Sphinx, a striking 30-minute opening ceremony preceded kick-off in Cairo, where a backdrop of pyramids and statues from Egyptian mythology mixed with elegant dancers set the stage for a ...