Page 1353 - Sports
Pant gets maiden call; Shami back for first 3 England Tests
Explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was on Wednesday picked as the second choice stumper as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recalled pacer Mohammed Shami in the 18-member squad for the first three Tests of the five-match rubber against England.
Hockey: India U-23 play out 1-1 draw vs Belgium
India's U-23 men's team were held to a 1-1 draw by Belgium in their third round robin match of the Five Nations Tournament here.
Hima Das to be Assam sports ambassador, confirms CM
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has confirmed that Indian Athlete Hima Das will be named as the first sports ambassador of the state.The announcement came after Hima Das recently became the first Indian woman to win gold at IAAF World U-20 Athletics Championships.The 18-year-old made the country proud as she scripted history by clinching the top spot in the women's 400 m final race at the Championships which was held in France.A pre-tournament favourite, Das clocked 51.46s to finish ahead of Andrea Miklos of Romania and USA's Taylor Manson.Earlier, the CM had congratulated Hima on her achievement and urged the women of the state to take all opportunities and lead the growth journey of Assam.
Team needs to work on 'quite a few' areas: Kohli
Indian captain Virat Kohli has said that the team needs to work on quite a few areas ahead of the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) cricket World Cup.His remark comes after India faced a crushing eight-wicket defeat by England in the final of the three-match one-day series here at the Headingley Cricket Ground on Tuesday."Well, quite a few. That is what every side is looking for: they are looking for the best balance they can have possibly. All these sorts of series and these sort of losses will tell us exactly what we need to work on and the things we need to rectify come World Cup time," ESPNcricinfo.com quoted Kohli, as saying.After registering a convincing win over England in the first ODI of the series, India could not replicate the same in the subsequent matches.In yesterday's final, Kohli was the highest scorer for the side who stitched a crucial 71-run partnership for the second wicket after the early dismissal of opener Rohit Sharma.In the bowling department, ...
Pant earns maiden call-up to Indian Test team
Young wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant was today named in the 18-member Indian squad for the first three Tests against England while pacer Mohammad Shami made an expected comeback to the side. Pant has been named as the specialist wicketkeeper-batsman alongside Dinesh Karthik, who had played the team's last Test against Afghanistan. Shami, who was dropped from the Afghanistan game after failing the fitness test, has made his way back. However, there is uncertainly over the participation of pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the five-match series as he has aggravated a lower back injury during the third ODI against England yesterday. Jasprit Bumrah, who was unfit for the ODI series, will be available for selection from the second Test onwards. The first Test starts in Birmingham on August 1. India's squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, M Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Karun Nair, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R ...
Fans cheer as Iniesta lands in Japan to join Vissel Kobe
Hundreds of football fans flocked to cheer Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta when he arrived in Japan on Wednesday to join his new club Vissel Kobe. The 34-year-old Spanish World Cup winner, who lifted 32 major trophies at Barca and made over 600 appearances for the Catalan giants, completed a big-money move to Japan in May. About 300 fans came to Kansai airport at Osaka in western Japan to greet Iniesta when he arrived in the early morning, according to a Vissel Kobe spokesman. "I was looking forward to coming to Japan. I want to play as soon as possible," Iniesta said, according to the spokesman. "I hope to get ready for Sunday and show the fans good play." Iniesta's choice of Kobe is arguably Japanese football's biggest transfer coup, with many top players now moving to cash-rich Chinese clubs in the twilight of their careers. Iniesta had said that moving to a Chinese club was also an option for him. His signing is a timely boost to the J-League, which attracted luminaries such as ...
My dad decided to put me into cricket: Mithali Raj
Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj, who wanted to be a dancer, says it was her fathers decision to put her into the cricket.
Liverpool lodges 62 mn pound bid for Alisson
Professional football club Liverpool has offered 62 million pounds to sign Roma and Brazil goalkeeper Alisson.The deal is not finalised yet, but Roma is reportedly considering the world-record bid, reported Sports24.The 25-year-old, who started his International career with sports club Internacional in Brazil, is with Roma for past two years and has played 37 Serie A games last season.The bid report came after current Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius failed to hold on to a free-kick in a friendly match against Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park. Liverpool, however, managed to defeat Tranmere Rovers 3-2 in a close contest.Karius is under scanner after he gave away two goals in a match against Real Madrid in this year's Champions League Final which Liverpool lost 1-3. It was found later that the miss was a result of a concussion.Alisson played for Brazil in the recently concluded 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup where he appeared in all the five matches of the team. The team was knocked
Tendulkar and Middlesex Cricket join hands to launch academy
Iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar today announced an association with Middlesex Cricket to launch Tendulkar Middlesex Global Academy (TMGA). The academy will provide young girls and boys between the age of nine and 14 an opportunity to learn from master blaster Tendulkar himself and Middlesex Cricket. TMGA, a joint venture between SRT Sports Management Ltd and Middlesex Cricket, will begin by launching its first cricket camp at Merchant Taylor's School in Northwood from August 6-9 followed by other locations in Mumbai and London. Middlesex Cricket has produced players such as Andrew Strauss, Mike Gatting, Denis Compton, John Emburey and Mike Brearley. The comprehensive training curriculum has been developed by the professional coaches at MCCC and Tendulkar himself. TMGA will also provide 100 percent scholarship to the talented underprivileged children. I am delighted to be partnering with Middlesex Cricket on this new venture. The objective is not only to produce good ...
Iniesta arrives in Japan to join Vissel Kobe
Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta on Wednesday joined his new team, Japan's Vissel Kobe, for a new football season after participating in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Rahul, Rahane not looked after properly; Dhoni must do more: Ganguly
Former captain Sourav Ganguly has slammed the Indian team management for not "looking after" two of its best batsmen, K L Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane, saying constant experimentation in the middle-order is hurting the "top-heavy" side. Ganguly, speaking after India's loss in the three-match series against England at Leeds yesterday, said India are over reliant on the top-three of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. "India are too top heavy at the moment. If your top-order doesn't get runs, then you are struggling. It is a big issue. You have to have quality like England have," said Ganguly in his post-match analysis on the official broadcaster. Ganguly said India is not giving enough chances to someone like Rahul, who was dropped for yesterday's match despite being in decent form. "Eyes closed, I will have Rahul at four. Your top four have to be the best players and you got to persist with them. Go and speak to Rahul and say 'we will give you 15 games'. Just go and play. "They .
De Villiers likely to be given role in CSA, says Moroe
Newly-appointed chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Thabang Moroe has said that former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers is likely to be inducted into the functioning of the national cricket board in the coming future.Moroe, however, added that this is not going to happen anytime soon."I have already put in a proposal to him. In fact, I asked him two days after his retirement, he indicated that it is something he'll be keen on but obviously we need to talk about the scale," Sports24 quoted Moroe, as saying."AB has just retired with the notion of him wanting to spend some time with his family. If I'm going to put him in the development or pipeline structures and he spends more time away than when he was in the national team then it's obviously not going to work for him. So we just need to sit and agree on how and when we're going to do it and the details around it. But it is something that he has indicated that he would be keen to do," he added.The 34-year-old, who recently
Javelin thrower Neeraj strikes gold at Sotteville athletics meet
India's star javelin-thrower Neeraj Chopra have clinched the gold at the Sotteville Athletics meet in France.
Nikhil Ramesh bags Rs. 25 lakhs in Spartan Poker's IOPC Millionaire Tournament
The Spartan Poker, India's leading and most trustworthy poker gaming platform, presented yet another millionaire this Sunday.The Millionaire tournament is a monthly activity, which gives players a chance to win a large sum, turning them into Millionaires. This July, a special edition of the Millionaire tournament took place during the flagship India Online Poker Championship (IOPC) where the prize-pool was Rs. 1 Crore.The buy in for the tournament was Rs. 7700 and began at 4:30 PM IST on Sunday, 15th July 2018.This Sunday saw Nikhil Ramesh emerging as the winner of the millionaire event. Nikhil won a sum of INR 25 Lakhs. Ramesh has been on a hot run in the last couple of days, having taken down IOPC Event #3 a couple of days back and becoming the second person to win two titles in this edition of the IOPC. Though, he had to struggle himself through the 1298 entries to be the star of the tournament. The tournament saw a neck-to-neck competition among players for the title of The ...
Javelin thrower Neeraj bags gold at Sotteville Athletics meet
India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in Sottevile Athletics meet here on Tuesday.The 20-year-old covered a distance of 85.17 meters to finish on top of the podium.Earlier, the Commonwealth Games gold-medalist had given a dazzling performance and finished at the fourth spot in the first edition of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League 2018 in Doha breaking the national record with a throw of 87.43 meters.However, he failed to conjure up the magic in the subsequent edition, which was held in the USA and finished at the sixth spot in the tournament.In the recently-concluded Rabat Diamond League, Chopra had finished fifth with an effort of 83.32 meters.The gold at Sottevile Athletics meet will surely give a boost to Chopra for the challenge in 2018 Asian Games as he is the top medal prospect from Indian athletics team.Meanwhile, Adrian Mardare of Moldova won silver with a throw of 81.48 meters and Edis Matusevicius of Lithuania
Indian juniors play out 1-1 draw with Belgium
The Indian junior hockey team was held to a 1-1 draw by Belgium in its third round robin match of the U-23 Five Nations Tournament. The Indian team had a mixed bag of results in its first two matches of the tournament as it beat Ireland 5-0 in the first match before losing 1-3 to Britain. However, a strong performance against the hosts was needed and the Indian forwards did not disappoint as they produced an attacking display in the first two quarters. The side was rewarded for its constant pressure on Belgium when striker Mohammad Umar found space in the striking circle and put the ball into the back of the net at the stroke of half-time. The third quarter, however, saw Syril Frying cancelling out India's lead in the 34th minute. Both the teams had their chances in the final quarter but neither could capitalise for the decisive lead. India will now need to win their last round robin match against the Netherlands on July 20 to have a chance of qualifying for the final.
Mbappe's goal in final generated most tweets during World Cup
When football's rising star Kylian Mbappe scored France's fourth goal in its World Cup final against Croatia to become the youngest player since Pele to score in a final, fans sent more tweets than at any other point during the tournament, data from Twitter shows.
It is not easy to play one-off games, says Shardul Thakur
India pacer Shardul Thakur feels it is never easy to come off the bench and perform straight away in high-pressure games, and he too felt the heat in the series-deciding third and final ODI against England here. Thakur came in for Siddarth Kaul as India went for a new-look pace attack in the series' decider against Leeds on Tuesday, but ended up losing the game by eight wickets, thanks to Joe Root's 13th ODI hundred. Thakur ended with figures of 51 for one in 10 overs. I played the last game in South Africa when we had won that series, and it wasn't a necessary win for us. Playing this game, I was obviously a bit nervous because it is the series' decider. When you are put under pressure, it's a player's responsibility to put forward your a-game. Sometimes the results go your way, sometimes they don't, Thakur said after the loss yesterday. When given opportunity in a one-off game my mindset is always to win the game for team when I step on the field. While playing this game, it was the
Indian junior women's hockey team beats Belgium in U-23 tourney
The Indian junior women's hockey Team defeated Belgium 2-0 to clinch its third consecutive victory at the Under-23 Six Nations Tournament here. Sangita Kumari (36th minute) and Salima Tete (42nd minute) scored to give India the win, Hockey India stated today. In their first match, the Indian team had a convincing win against Ireland 4-1, followed by a 1-0 triumph over Great Britain. Last night, the Preeti Dubey-led outfit put up a resilient performance to ensure they remained unbeaten in the tournament. After a goalless first and second quarter, India were finally able to breach the Belgian defence in the third quarter with Sangita Kumari's goal in the 36th minute. The 1-0 lead was doubled when Salima Tete scored through a penalty corner in the 42nd minute. India's defence held steady in the last quarter and ensured the team maintained the lead and eventually won the match 2-0. India will take on Canada in their fourth match.
We were clinical, says England captain Eoin Morgan
England captain Eoin Morgan says his team was simply "clinical" in the series-clinching win over India in the third and final ODI here, a feat that was achieved after quickly learning from the "mistakes" committed in the first two games. India lost by eight wickets as England rode on Joe Root's 13th ODI century to chase down a target of 257 in 44.3 overs last night. The series ended 2-1 in the home team's favour. "We started poorly. As the series has gone on we have improved. It is a benefit of playing a bilateral series," Morgan said in the post-match press conference. "That constant improvement has been brilliant since Trent Bridge. Today I thought it was clinical, right from the get go. Mark Wood got the ball swinging with David Willey for three or four overs and India never seemed to get away from us from there," he added. Root and Morgan were involved in an unbeaten 186-run partnership. It was the second consecutive hundred for Root after his effort at the Lord's, and it puts him