Page 1151 - Sports
Lukaku, Hazard help Belgium hammer Scotland 4-0
World Cup semi-finalists Belgium capitalised on a series of Scotland mistakes with goals from Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and a Michy Batshuayi double to thrash the hosts 4-0 in a friendly at Hampden on Friday. Roberto Martinez's men showed their class and no hangover from their exertions in finishing third in Russia to warm-up for their Nations League opener against Iceland on Tuesday. However, the visitors were handed a series of gifts by a Scotland side that slumped to a fourth defeat in five games since manager Alex McLeish was appointed for a second spell in charge. "We were very clinical in front of goal," said Martinez. "The players were well focused overall and for us it was a good excercise for Tuesday." The contrasting fortunes of the two nations was summed up by Belgium playing to a crowd less than that which celebrated their return from Russia in July at a barely half-full Hampden. Martinez named a strong side with six of those that started the World Cup semi-final defeat ..
Del Potro, Djokovic in US Open final as Nadal quits with knee injury
Juan Martin del Potro set up a US Open final clash against Novak Djokovic on Friday after defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal quit his last-four clash against the giant Argentine with a knee injury. Third seed Del Potro, the champion in 2009, was 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 ahead when Nadal retired. Del Potro will now face Djokovic, the 2011 and 2015 winner, who reached his eighth final at the tournament and 23rd of his Grand Slam career with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 stroll past Japan's Kei Nishikori. Djokovic boasts a 14-4 lead over Del Potro in a 10-year rivalry, including two wins without dropping a set at the US Open in 2007 and 2012. "We have never met in a Grand Slam final. I have tremendous respect for him as a person and a player. He's a great guy," said Djokovic who missed the 2017 tournament through injury. "He's had lots of injury problems in the past but he's a big-match player." Nadal was devastated by having to pull out although he believes he hasn't suffered any long term ...
US Open: Djokovic beats Nishikori to enter final
A clinical performance by World No. 6 Novak Djokovic helped him ease past Japan's Kei Nishikori in the semi-finals of men's singles in the ongoing US Open and book his place in the final of the Grand Slam.The Serbian ace registered a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline to give him a chance to win his third US Open title and his second Grand Slam of the year after the Wimbledon win earlier this year.Holding a 14-2 win record against the Japanese, Djokovic was never in threat of an upset by the current World No. 21 as he raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. Although Nishikori managed to claw back three games to make it 5-3, Djokovic held him to love and sealed the first set with an ace.A better start for Nishikori in the second set saw him level with the holder of 13 Grand Slam Titles at 2-2. Djokovic broke Nishikori's next serve and, with Nishikori unable to break any of the Serbian's serves, the second set went to Djokovic's name at 6-4.Djokovic went into cruise control in the third set, winning
Del Potro enters US Open final
The 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina made his second US Open final as defending champion Rafael Nadal retired with two sets down in their semifinal here.
US Open: 'Injured' Nadal's retirement hands del Potro final berth
Defending US Open Champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal on Friday retired from the semi-final clash against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the men's singles of the ongoing US Open owing to a niggling knee injury.Nadal's dominant 11-5 win record over the Argentine counted for nothing as his lack of fitness, after the marathon, a five-set thriller in extreme heat and humid conditions on Wednesday against Austria's Dominic Thiem, was apparent in the losses in the first two sets against del Potro.The game started on an ominous note for Nadal as del Potro broke his serve in the first game of the first set. However, Nadal returned the favour in the following game and levelled the score at 1-1. After holding their serves for three games each, del Potro broke Nadal's serve to inch ahead at 5-4, with Nadal levelling the score again in the next game.The first set advanced to the tiebreaker after Argentina's World No. 3 drew back at 6-6. An array of unforced errors for the Spaniard ...
Oval Test: Indian bowlers dominate in Day 1 of Cook's final Test
England were on Friday restricted to 198 runs for the loss of seven wickets at stumps, Day 1, in the ongoing fifth and final Test match against India at the Oval cricket ground here.A strong showing by the Indian pacers pegged back the hosts after they started well in opener Alastair Cook's final match in the international stage.Having won the toss, the hosts elected to bat first, with 33-year-old Cook receiving a guard of honour from the visiting team and a standing ovation from the Oval crowd.Cook and Keaton Jennings fended off early threats from the Indian pacers and took England beyond the 50-run mark, just the second time in the series that the pair has amassed 50 runs between them.Ravindra Jadeja orchestrated the first breakthrough for India with England's score at 60 runs by dismissing Keaton Jennings (23 from 75), who flicked a ball down to K. L. Rahul at leg slip.Moeen Ali was sent at number 3 and partnered a 73-run stand with Cook and saw off the Indian pacers' threat till ..
Cook fails to get hundred in final Test as Ishant stars for India (Roundup)
Alastair Cook missed out on a century as England threw away a decent start to huff and puff their way to 198/7 and Indian bowlers came up with a captivating Day 1 performance in the fifth Test here on Friday.
Cook fails to get hundred in final Test as India reduce England to 198/7 on Day 1
Alastair Cook missed a century as England threw away a decent start to huff and puff their way to 198/7 and Indian bowlers came up with a captivating Day 1 performance in the fifth Test here on Friday.
Tottenham's Moura named EPL footballer for August
Tottenham Hotspur's Brazilian winger Lucas Moura was on Friday named English Premier League (EPL) footballer of the month for August.
Final Test: Ishant's three wicket triggers England collapse
Ishant Sharma struck thrice to lead India's sensational fightback as the visitors reduced England to 198 for 7 at stumps after Alastair Cook hit a memorable half-century in his career's final match on day one of the fifth Test on Friday. Ishant (3/28) picked up three wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah (2/41) and Ravindra Jadeja (2/57) struck twice each to trigger England's collapse in the final session of the opening day. The 33-year-old Cook, who will retire from international cricket after this Test, produced a 190-ball 71-run innings to give England a good start before the hosts lost six wickets for 58 runs post tea to collapse from 133-1 to 181-7. The hosts were going strong at 133-1 when Bumrah dismissed Cook and Joe Root (0) in successive balls in the 64th over and then Ishant removed Jonny Bairstow (0) in the next over to reduce the hosts to 134-4. Moeen Ali tried to resurrect England's innings with a patient 50 off 170 balls but Ishant returned to take two wickets in three balls in
Scoreboard on the opening day of the fifth and final Test between India and England at ...
Scoreboard on the opening day of the fifth and final Test between India and England at the Oval here on Friday. England 1st Innings Alastair Cook b Bumrah 71 Keaton Jennings c Rahul b Jadeja 23 Moeen Ali c Pant b Sharma 50 Joe Root lbw b Bumrah 0 Jonny Bairstow c Pant b Sharma 0 Ben Stokes lbw b Jadeja 11 Jos Buttler not out 11 SM Curran c Pant b Sharma 0 AU Rashid not out 4 Extras (B-25, LB-3) 28 Total (For 7 wicket, 90 overs) 198 Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-133, 3-133, 4-134, 5-171, 6-177, 7-181. Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 21-9-41-2, Ishant Sharma 22-10-28-3, Hanuma Vihari 1-0-1-0, Mohammed Shami 22-7-43-0, Ravindra Jadeja 24-0-57-2.
England were 198-7 at stump on day 1 of final Test against India
England were 198 for 7 at stump on the opening day of the fifth and final Test against India at Oval here on Friday. Opener Alastair Cook (71) and Moeen Ali (50) were the top-scorer for England. Jos Butler (11) and Adil Rashid (4) at the crease at stumps. England won the five-match series after taking a 3-1 lead following a win in the fourth Test. Brief Score: England 1st innings: 198 for 7 in 90 overs (Alastair Cook 71; Ishant Sharma 3/28).
Golden boy: Kane to face Spain in eye-catching boots
England captain Harry Kane will wear gold boots in Saturday's Nations League clash against Spain to celebrate finishing as the World Cup's top scorer. Kane will be making his first England appearance since winning the Golden Boot trophy awarded for finishing as the most prolific player in World Cup. Tottenham striker Kane scored six goals during the tournament in Russia, helping England reach the semi-finals. Kane tweeted a picture of the boots, provided by Nike, and wrote: "Buzzing to wear these tomorrow night. Gold boots." Kane was the second England player to win the Golden Boot at a World Cup after Gary Lineker at the 1986 tournament in Mexico.
S. Korea beat Costa Rica 2-0 in football friendly
South Korea defeated Costa Rica 2-0 in a men's football friendly match on Friday, giving their new coach Paulo Bento a victory in his debut before a sellout home crowd.
Ayyasamy, Arokia Rajiv focusing on improving timings
Ace 400 metres hurdler Dharun Ayyasamy Friday said his focus was on improving his timings and winning a medal at next year's Asian Championships. The athlete, who hails from Tirupur in the state, won a silver medal in the recently concluded Jakarta Asian Games. "I am looking forward to improving my timings now. Making it to the final at the Olympics in itself would be great. As one keeps bettering his timings, medal chances obviously increase," Ayyasamy said. He was speaking at a felicitation function organised by the Tamil Nadu Athletic Association here. Ayyasamy, who won a silver in 400m hurdles and a silver in 4X400m relay, was felicitated along with Arokia Rajiv, who claimed silver in the 4X400m relay and the mixed team relay. Ayyasamy had clocked 48.96 seconds in Jakarta. He said he had improved a lot after training with another athlete Santosh Kumar Tamilarasan. "I have improved a lot after training with him. He has been my partner for the past one year. We used to ..
South Zone TT: Top-seed Anargaya huffs and puffs her way to pre-quarters
Manjunath Anargaya survived a stern test to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the National Ranking (South Zone) Table Tennis Championships at the DRM Municipal Indoor Hall here on Friday.
5th Test: England reach 123/1 (Tea report)
England reached 123/1 in their first innings at tea on the opening day of the fifth and final cricket Test against India at the Oval here on Friday.
Swapna may undergo surgery: Coach
Heptathlete Swapna Barman may need a back surgery, her long-time coach Subhas Sarkar said on Friday.
Swapna urges Bengal government for accommodation in Kolkata
Swapna Barman, who recently became India's first-ever heptathlete to win a gold medal at the Asian Games, on Friday hoped the West Bengal government would help her get a house in the city as she does not have a permanent address here.
Sameer 6th; Srikanth, Prannoy way below in race for World Tour Finals
With big guns K Srikanth and HS Prannoy battling poor form, Sameer Verma emerged as the best-placed Indian in the race for a place in the BWF World Tour Finals with two-thirds of the season completed. Sameer, who had clinched the Swiss Open earlier this year, remained in the hunt to qualify for the USD 1,500,000 season-ending event as he is currently in the sixth place in Race to Guangzhou Rankings. However, Srikanth, who had an exceptional season last year, languished at 41st place as his best finish this season was a semi-final at the Malaysia Open. Prannoy, who had a topsy-turvy year with a series of injuries, was at the 42nd place. In women's singles, Olympic and World Championship silver medallist P V Sindhu was firmly at the second place, while Saina Nehwal was at 27th. The BWF World Tour Finals will be held from December 12 to 16 at Guangzhou, China and only the top eight players in each of the five disciplines of the HSBC Race to Guangzhou Rankings will qualify to compete in ..