Page 1295 - Sports
Sri Lanka cricket scraps plans to emulate IPL tournament
Sri Lanka's cricket authorities today shelved long-delayed plans for a Twenty20 competition akin to the massively lucrative Indian Premier League, instead announcing a local tournament with no foreign players. With an eye on the billions of dollars and millions of viewers drawn to the IPL, the island nation launched its own premier league in 2012 but the competition was a flop, lasting just one edition. Sri Lanka Cricket had hoped to revive the tournament, modelled on the short-format competition that has lured international stars like England's Ben Stokes and the West Indies' Chris Gayle to India. But a board official said the plans had been scrapped and replaced by the Sri Lanka Cricket T20 League, which would feature exclusively local players. "There will be no foreign players, but our own international cricketers will play in the four teams that will take part," a board official told AFP. The new league will nurture emerging local talent by giving young players the opportunity to .
India U-19 captain under scanner for playing unsanctioned league in Mauritius
Delhi's wicketkeeper-batsman Anuj Rawat, who recently captained India U-19 in four-day matches in Sri Lanka, is under the scanner for playing an unsanctioned T20 league in Mauritius last year along with a host of Pakistani cricketers. The tournament was held in June last year and Anuj played in it alongside some lesser-known first-class players like Asad Pathan. Normally for playing in leagues in UK or Bangladesh, a cricketer needs (No Objection Certificate) NOC from BCCI to apply for visa. However, for travelling to Mauritius, Indian nationals don't need a visa if the intended stay is for not more than 60 days. The visa policy states: "You don't need a visa to enter Mauritius. On arrival, your passport will be stamped allowing entry to the country for 60 days. You'll need to be able to provide evidence of onward or return travel." The rule allowed the cricketers to bypass BCCI and play in the tournament, which featured a lot of questionable names. It is learnt that India's U-19 World
PSPB men meet Railways in final; AAI women take on PSPB
Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) men joined their women paddlers in the team finals of the AAI 48th All India Inter-Institutional Championships, blanking out Dena Bank 3-0 here today. The summit clash tomorrow will see PSPB clashing with Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), who beat AAI 3-1. Petroleum win was a foregone conclusion against Dena Bank but what surprised everyone was the way Anirban Ghosh emerged as the saviour for RSPB, winning both his singles and before that Anirban Nandi providing the impetus through a hard-fought win over young Ronit Bhanja. Earlier, PSPB women cleaned up Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) 3-1 in the first semi-finals while hosts Airports Authority of India (AAI) downed Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also by a similar margin.
Stokes, Curran destroy India's middle order
Captain Virat Kohli got two reprieves before recording his first Test fifty in England as India struggled to 160 for six following a middle-order collapse in the opening Test here today. Ben Stokes and Sam Curran shared six wickets as the visitors found themselves in a precarious situation at tea on day two. At Edgbaston, only Kohli (53 not out) stood among the ruins, benefitting from a dropped catch at second slip when on 21. He got another life when on 51. At the break, R Ashwin (6) was giving Kohli company, while India trail by another 127 runs after England were bowled out for 287 runs in 89.4 overs in their first innings. Post lunch, Stokes (2-40) took two wickets in the space of five balls as India's middle order was completely rocked. He had started proceedings with James Anderson (0-27) at the other end. Anderson bowled a five-over spell during which he tied down Kohli, while Stokes did the damage. Despite India crossing 100 in the 28th over as the fourth wicket partnership ...
Kohli's half-ton takes India to 160/6 at tea
Skipper Virat Kohli kept India afloat with a patient half-century even as rookie quick Sam Curran continued to torment the visitors, who reached 160/6 at tea on the second day of the opening Test at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground here on Thursday.
Rookie boss Lampard targets promotion for Derby
Frank Lampard is targeting promotion to the Premier League for Derby County in his first season as a manager. Lampard's first competitive game in charge sees the Rams kick off the new Championship season against Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Friday. After a glittering playing career that included three Premier League titles and the 2011-12 Champions League with Chelsea, Lampard hopes to build on a promising pre-season campaign by ending Derby's decade-long absence from the top flight. "It's a difficult question, but of course promotion is the target -- every club in the Championship has the same target," said the 40-year-old. "But we will go step by step. We want to finish as high as we can, we want to get promoted, because this is a Premier League club. "We must start with those intentions, the players know that. We all want it together here, the staff, the whole building, want to get this club into the Premier League." Lampard promised his team would be hard-working. "I want ...
Football Delhi to celebrate Sunil Chhetri's birthday with exhibition game
Football Delhi will celebrate talismanic striker Sunil Chhetri's birthday, which is now called Delhi Football Day, with an exhibition match in the capital tomorrow. To mark the occasion, an exhibition game will be played among the Under-19 junior girls at the Ambedkar Stadium. "The soccer fraternity is cordially invited to grace the occasion and join us for the cake cutting ceremony after the match," Football Delhi, earlier known as Delhi Soccer Association, said in a release. Earlier, Football Delhi honoured Indian captain Chhetri by declaring his birthday as Delhi Football Day. Football Delhi took the decision during its first executive meeting of the year in January, chaired by president Shaji Prabhakaran. Under Chhetri's leadership, India swept aside Kenya to lift the Intercontinental Cup in June. The All India football Federation (AIFF) 'Player of the Year' award recipient for this year was recently in the spotlight for requesting his country mates to attend the national team's ..
Scoreboard at tea on the second day of the first cricket Test between India and England ...
Scoreboard at tea on the second day of the first cricket Test between India and England here. England 1st Innings: Alastair Cook b Ashwin 13 Keaton Jennings b Shami 42 Joe Root run out 80 Dawid Malan lbw b Shami 8 Jonny Bairstow b Umesh 70 Ben Stokes c & b Ashwin 21 Jos Buttler lbw b Ashwin 0 Sam Curran c Karthik b Shami 24 Adil Rashid lbw b Ishant 13 Stuart Broad lbw b Ashwin 1 James Anderson not out 2 Extras: (B-9, LB-4) Total 287 all out in 89.4 overs Fall of wickets: 26-1, 98-2, 112-3, 216-4, 223-5, 224-6, 243-7, 278-8, 283-9 Bowler: Umesh Yadav 17-2-56-1, Ishant Sharma 17-1-46-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 26-7-62-4, Mohammed Shami 19.4-2-64-3, Hardik Pandya 10-1-46-0. India 1st Innings: Murali Vijay lbw b Curran 20 Shikhar Dhawan c Malan b Curran 26 KL Rahul b Curran 4 Virat Kohli not out 53 Ajinkya Rahane c Jennings b Stokes 15 Dinesh Karthik b Stokes 0 Hardik Pandya lbw b Curran 22 Ravichandran Ashwin not out 6 Extras: (LB-10, NB-4) 14 Total: (for 6 wkts in 48 overs) 160 Fall of .
Kohli scores half century but India struggle to 160/6 at tea
India were 160 for six in their first innings at tea on day two of the first Test against England here. Captain Virat Kohli was batting on 53 off 102 balls and Ravichandran Ashwin on six off seven balls. Brief scores: England 287 all out in 89.4 overs (Root 80, Bairstow 70; Ashwin 4/62, Shami 3/64). India 160/6 in 48 overs (Kohli batting 53, Dhawan 26; Curran 4/38).
Messi trains with FC Barcelona ahead of La Liga season
FC Barcelona's Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi continued to hit his rhythm during his first week back at training with the Catalan football giants on Thursday following a disappointing showing at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Arias excited to follow in Colombians' footsteps at Atletico
Colombia right-back Santiago Arias said on Thursday that he was excited to join Atletico Madrid where his compatriots, like Radamel Falcao and Luis Amaranto Perea, had left their mark.
India lose 2nd Youth ODI against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka U-19 rode on Nipun Dananjaya Perera's unbeaten 92 to beat India by five wickets in the second Youth ODI and draw level the five-match series 1-1 here today. Opting to bat, India were bowled out for 193 in 47 overs at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground. In reply, the home team chased the target with 26 balls to spare. Opener Pawan Shah top-scored for India U-19 with 49 off 64 balls, hitting six boundaries. Ayush Badoni contributed 36 off 50 balls, Sameer Choudhary made 32 while Ajay Dev Goud struck 24. Left-arm spinner Shashika Dulshan was the pick of Sri Lanka bowlers with figures of 3/27 from his 10 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Naveen Fernando, Lakshitha Manasinghe and Navod Paranavithana. The Sri Lankans were off to a poor start with the bat, losing Paranavithana cheaply, but Perera along with Pasindu Sooriyabandara (52 off 71 balls) batted well to see their team home. Perera struck seven boundaries during his 112-ball knock, while Sooriyabandara found the .
Badminton World C'ship: Srikanth crashes out, Saina, Sindhu enter quarters
While ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth failed to reserve his seat in the quarter-final of the ongoing Badminton World championship on Thursday, former world number one Saina Nehwal and Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu cemented their spot in the last 16 of the tournament.Srikanth lost to world number 8 Daren Liew of Malaysia 21-18, 21-18 in the pre-quarters clash. The Indian shuttler started on a convincing note but could not get past his Malaysian opponent who gave him no chance to make a comeback.After failing to dominate in the first game, Srikanth had his chances in the second game but he could not capitalise on the chances and conceded the game to crash out of the tournament.On the other hand, Nehwal cemented her spot in the quarter-final of the tournament after defeating Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-16, 21-19 in the third round clash.After the initial restlessness, the Indian shuttler completely took over the first game and did not break much sweat to get past her Thai
Saina credits Gopichand for her pre-quarters victory
Former world number one Saina Nehwal has credited Coach Pullela Gopichand for her convincing win victory over Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the pre-quarter clash of the ongoing Badminton Championship."Everywhere she was playing all those difficult shots that I have seen Ratchanok playing. After the scoreline read 19-19, I collected two points and credit for that goes to Gopi sir. He played a big role there," Saina said."I followed his instructions and the game turned to my favour. The last two points were all about strategy," she added.Reflecting on her quarter-final clash with Carolina Marin of Spain, Saina said that she is an aggressive player and it would be a challenging task for her to get over the Olympic gold medalist."She is very quick and an aggressive player. I will be playing her after a long time. It will be a challenging match for me, definitely not an easy one. She is a champion player and I would like to give my best against her," she said.The Indian shuttler ...
Striker Vietto leaves Atletico's training after muscle pain
Atletico Madrid Argentine striker Luciano Vietto on Thursday left the squad's training session due to muscular pain.
3BL's 5th round on August 11, 12
The fifth round of the 3x3 Basketball League (3BL) will take place here on August 11 and 12.
Ter Stegen looks forward to Barcelona captaincy
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen has said that he is proud to be considered for the role of the captain of the club."The team, in general, will decide on the captaincy. It's not the most important thing but I'm proud my name is being mentioned. I'd be proud to be one of Barcelona's captains, but for me, it's not that important. We don't need four captains because there are more captains than just four," Goal.com quoted Stegen, as saying.The Spanish club is exploring their leadership options following the exit of midfielder and former skipper of the team Andres Iniesta.The 26-year-old, who is associated with the club for the past four years, has established himself as one of the mature players in the team increasing his chances of being appointed for the job.Ter Stegen, who joined Barcelona in 2014, has made 52 appearances for the team in the 2017-18 season.He was also the part of the German team that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016 and won the 2017 FIFA ...
India prepares to welcome Webb Ellis Cup as Part of Rugby World Cup 2019 trophy tour
Rugby's greatest prize, the Webb Ellis Cup, will be welcomed to India by Hon'ble Sports Minister of India, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore next week as the Rugby World Cup 2019 Trophy Tour arrives in Delhi.With just over one year to go until Rugby World Cup 2019 takes place in Japan - the first time the tournament will be hosted in Asia - the Webb Ellis Cup will also visit Mumbai and Bhubaneswar as part of an international celebration of rugby ahead of next year's tournament.Hosted once every four years, the Rugby World Cup is the game's centrepiece event and the third largest sports event in the world after the summer Olympics and the Football World Cup. Rugby World Cup 2019 takes place in Japan from 20 September - 2 November 2019 and will see the best 20 teams in the world compete for rugby's greatest prize. Rugby World Cup 2019 is also supported by six worldwide partners: DHL, Emirates, Heineken, Land Rover, Master Card and SocieteGenerale.Ahead of Japan 2019, a two-year Rugby ...
Saina, Sindhu sail into quarters; Srikanth loses in World Championship
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu sailed into the women's singles quarterfinals with straight-game wins but it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth at the BWF Badminton World Championships here today. Saina, who had clinched a silver and a bronze at the 2015 and 2017 editions, downed 2013 champion Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand 21-16 21-19 to set up a meeting with Olympic champion and two-time world champion, Carolina Marin of Spain. Later in the day, last edition's silver medallist Sindhu, seeded third, eased past ninth seed Ji Hyun Sung of Korea 21-10 21-18 in another third round clash. Sindhu will next play eight seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, a rival against whom she lost in the summit clash of the tournament last year. B Sai Praneeth also eased into the men's singles quarterfinals with a comfortable 21-13 21-11 win over Denmark's Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus. He will next take on sixth seed Kento Momoto. The Indian mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and ...
Curran's triple blows reduce India to 76/3 at lunch
India squandered a watchful start to slip to 76/3 at lunch on the second day of the opening Test at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground here on Thursday.