Page 1383 - Sports

Brooks' unbeaten ton guides WI 'A' to 301/9 against India 'A'

Shamarh Brooks led from the front with an unbeaten ton as West Indies 'A' reached 301 for nine against India A on the opening day of the second four-day unofficial Test, here today. Brooks turned out to be the lone bright spot in West Indies 'A' innings, scoring unbeaten 121 to help his side cross 300-run mark at stumps on day one. Besides Brooks, opener John Campbell made 41 off 57 balls, while Devon Thomas scored 27 off 33 deliveries. Brooks single-handedly held West Indies A's innings together, scoring his runs off 224 balls with the help of 15 boundaries. While wickets kept on tumbling from one end, Brooks was rock solid from the other end to take West Indies 'A' to a respectable total. At the close of play, Oshane Thomas (2 not out) was giving Brooks company at the crease. For India A, Pacer Mohammed Siraj (3/67) and left-arm spinner Shabaz Nadeem (3/42) picked up three wickets apiece. The first unofficial Test between the two sides ended in a tame draw.

World Cup: Croatia, England aim to create history (Preview)

Croatia's compact side will combat England's fast and direct football when they meet in the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup with both teams aiming to recreate their own history by progressing to the title decider.

Ronaldo: Football legend takes his talents to Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo has opted to leave Spanish giants Real Madrid for Italian champions Juventus for the next -- and possibly final -- chapter of one of the greatest careers the game has seen. The shock move by the 33-year-old superstar comes shortly after losing what is likely his last chance to collect the only honour missing from his glittering resume -- a World Cup for Portugal. Speculation that one of the game's greatest players could be up for grabs began when he hinted he was considering leaving the Santiago Bernabeu following May's Champions League final victory. Then the transfer rumour mill went into overdrive after Italian media said Juventus had put in a bid and Spanish sports daily Marca cited reports of Ronaldo looking for a home in Turin. There was little left for Ronaldo, Real's all-time record goalscorer with 450, to prove in Madrid. He said he had spent nine fantastic years at the Spanish giants. "But I think the time has come to open a new stage in my life and that's .

Serena survives scare to make 11th Wimbledon semi-final

Serena Williams survived a major scare before sealing her 11th Wimbledon semi-final appearance as the seven-time champion hit back to beat Italy's Camila Giorgi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 today. Williams was in danger of a stunning quarter-final exit after world number 52 Giorgi became the first player in this year's tournament to take a set off the former world number one. But Serena bludgeoned her way out of trouble over the final two sets to stay on course for an eighth All England Club triumph. It was Serena's 100th career main draw victory on grass. The 36-year-old will play German 13th seed Julia Goerges on Thursday for a place in Saturday's final boasting a 3-0 career record. "I knew after the first set, 'all right, let's go three sets'. I'll just keep fighting," Williams said. "I'm ok, I feel good, I feel like I did better today, I had to. "This is only my fourth tournament back so I don't feel pressure, I don't feel I have to win this. "I still have a long way to go to be where I ...

Real Madrid announce Ronaldo transfer to Juventus

Real Madrid today announced the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Italy's Juventus, with the Portuguese superstar saying the time had come "for a new stage" in his life. "Today Real Madrid wants to give thanks to a player who has demonstrated he is the best in the world and who marked one of the most brilliant periods in the history of our club and world football," the club said in a statement. It did not give any details as to the amount of the transfer but Spanish media reports have said it could reach 105 million euros ($120 million), with the 33-year-old signing a four-year contract worth 30 million euros per season. In a letter posted on Real Madrid's website, the multiple Ballon d'Or winner said his time in Madrid had been one of the happiest in his life. "I only have feelings of huge thanks for this club, for the fans and for this city," he said. "But I think the time has come to open a new stage in my life and that's why I asked the club to accept to transfer me. "I ask ...

Thai cave rescue: Parents will see their sons tonight

Parents of all 12 boys and their coach who were rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai will get to see their sons through a glass at a hospital tonight."The remaining children along with the coach have left the cave safely. All parents will get to see their sons through a glass at the hospital by tonight," The Straits Times quoted Head of Thai cave rescue mission Narongsak Osotthanakorn while addressing media on Tuesday.The Army medic and three other Navy Seals will be out of cave soon, the report said.At least 19 divers, armed with oxygen tanks, entered into the Tham Luang cave near the Thai-Myanmar border at 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday."Today is 10 July 2018. It will be longer than previous ones. We will celebrate together finally. Hooyah!" The Thai Navy Seals posted on its Facebook wall.The rescue operation, which commenced on Sunday, was carried out in three phases.On Sunday, it took 11 hours to bring out four persons. On Monday, a second rescue operation .

Hima, Jisna in 400m semis, long-jumper Sreeshankar in final

India's long jumper M. Sreeshankar qualified for the final, while quarter-milers Hima Das and Jisna Mathew advanced to the womens 400 metres semi-finals at the IAAF Under-20 World Championships here on Tuesday.

Real Madrid confirms Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus

Reigning European champions Real Madrid announced on Tuesday that they have accepted the request from super star forward Cristiano Ronaldo for a transfer to record Serie A winners Juventus FC.

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic face Wimbledon Centre Court dilemma

Novak Djokovic insists it's only fair that he should play his Wimbledon quarter-final on Centre Court tomorrow, handing the All England Club a dilemma over relegating Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to Court One. Despite being a three-time champion, Djokovic has featured just once on Centre Court -- against British home favourite Kyle Edmund in the last 32 -- in the opening four rounds. By contrast, eight-time champion Federer, and Nadal, the title winner on two occasions, have played exclusively on the 15,000-seater Centre Court. So, with two quarter-finals being played on Centre Court and two on Court One, something has got to give. "We'll see. Hopefully," said Djokovic when asked if he expected to face Japan's Kei Nishikori on the most famous arena in tennis. The Serb went on to tell Serbian media that he "deserved" to be on Centre Court. Djokovic has played twice on the 11,000-capacity Court One this year but was shunted off to the 4,000-seater Court Two for his second round clash ..

England dreaming but Croatia set to provide biggest World Cup test

England are dreaming of a first World Cup final since 1966 but first they must come through tomorrow's semi-final at the Luzhniki Stadium against Croatia in what looks like their toughest test yet in Russia. Excitement has reached fever-pitch levels back in England, with Gareth Southgate's young team making it to the last four of a major tournament for the first time since Euro '96, and for the first time at a World Cup since Italy in 1990. Both of those runs ended in defeats on penalties, but there is a belief that something could be different this time. England have already won a shootout in Russia, against Colombia in the last 16. And a young, likeable side with an eminently sensible and humble manager in Southgate have captured the hearts of a nation. Can Southgate now become the first manager to win a World Cup semi-final with England on foreign soil as he bids ultimately to match the achievement of Alf Ramsey's side? "We were not certain what this team might be capable of," ...

FIFA says rescued Thai boys won't attend World Cup final

Football's governing body FIFA welcomed the rescue of 12 Thai boys from a cave but said they were too weak to attend Sunday's World Cup final in Moscow. Elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs saved the final batch of four boys on Tuesday after an 18-day ordeal that captivated the world. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino had invited the boys' Wild Boars football team to the final "as our guests" last week. But FIFA said it had been informed "that due to medical reasons, the boys will not be in a position to travel to Moscow". "FIFA's priority remains the health of everyone involved in the operation and we will look into finding a new opportunity to invite the boys to a FIFA event to share with them a moment of communion and celebration," a spokesman said. The Thai footballers, aged from 11 to 16, had been stuck deep underground after setting off to explore the cave with their 25-year-old coach after training on June 23. FIFA also expressed condolences to the family of a Thai Navy SEAL who ..

Ostapenko first Latvian woman in Wimbledon semis

Jelena Ostapenko became the first Latvian woman to reach a Wimbledon semi-final as the former French Open champion beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-5, 6-4 today. Just four years ago, Ostapenko was winning the junior Wimbledon title and now the youngest player left in the women's singles is only one win away from the final. Ostapenko hasn't dropped a set in her first five matches after the 12th seed battled past Slovakian world number 33 Cibulkova on Court One. Ostapenko's second Grand Slam semi-final appearance will be against former Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber on Thursday. Speaking after her win, Ostapenko revealed she is playing with more freedom now she no longer has the pressure of defending the title in Paris, where she was knocked out in the first round last month. "It's really great to be in the semis. I'm just enjoying being here," Ostapenko said. "Dominika was playing great, but I'm fighting until the end and I'm gaining more confidence." Ostapenko also admitted she needed ..

Kohli will not get a ton in Australia, predicts Pat Cummins

Paceman Pat Cummins has asserted that star batsman Virat Kohli won't be able to slam a ton when India tour Australia for a four-Test Border-Gavaskar series.

Satwik-Ashwini advance at Thailand Open badminton

India's mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa advanced to the second round of the Thailand Open badminton tournament here on Tuesday.

Powar, Samant, Sundaram in running for Mumbai Ranji coach job

Former off-spinner Ramesh Powar, stumper Vinayak Samant and pacer Pradeep Sundaram are front-runners as the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will hold interviews to select the new coach for its Ranji team. Interviews for the posts of the coaches of Ranji and U-19 teams will be held at 11 AM tomorrow, an MCA source told PTI. After former India stumper Sameer Dighe and Satish Samant quit as the coach of the Ranji and U-19 team, respectively, the MCA sought applications to fill the two posts. Former India stumper Ajay Ratra, former first class players Nandan Phadnis and Pradeep Gandhe had also applied for the position of Ranji team coach. Sources said that after the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC) decided to extend the deadline for submitting the applications till yesterday, former first class pacer Pradeep Sundaram also jumped into the fray for the Ranji coach's post. It is also learnt that so far Ratra has not been invited by the cricket body for an ...

Home grief for Djokovic for backing for Croatia

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic has come under fire for voicing support for neighbours Croatia at the World Cup, with one centre right lawmaker dubbing his stance "idiotic". "Only idiots can support Croatia. Aren't you ashamed Novak?", tweeted Vladimir Djukanovic of President Aleksandar Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party. "I am backing Croatia... I know who I would like to lift the trophy," Serbian media quoted Djokovic as saying from Wimbledon. Several weeks before the World Cup started Djokovic posted pictures of himself with Croatian players including midfield stars Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic to his Instagram account. When the Croatians faced off against hosts Russia in their quarter-final many Serbs who gathered to watch in cafes in central Belgrade were backing the Russians rather than their neighbours from the former Yugoslavia. Djukanovic, on holiday in Greece, posted a video to social media in which he indicated that "those who say 'Nole' (Djokovic) has called for ..

Pakistan cricketer Ahmad Shahzad fails dope test

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed that the country's international cricketer Ahmad Shahzad has failed a dope test and is likely to face suspension, an official statement said.

Hima Das makes it to 400m semifinals as fastest runner in heats

Indian sprinter Hima Das made it to the semifinals of the women's 400m as the fastest runner in the heats on the opening day of the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships here today. The 18-year-old Das, a favourite to win gold, clocked 52.25 seconds to win heat number four and lead the time charts. Running at lane number three, Das beat Stacey-Ann Williams of Jamaica (52.71) in the fastest of the five heats. Another Indian, Jisna Mathew also qualified for the semifinals by winning the fifth heat in 54.32 seconds. American Taylor Manson, a medal contender, finished overall second with a time of 52.68 seconds. She won heat number one. The first four finishers in each heat and the next four fastest qualify for the semifinals which will be run tomorrow. Das is a favourite to win gold as she is the U-20 season leader in this quartermile event. If the Assam girl happens to win gold, she will become the first Indian athlete to do so in a track event in an U-20 World Championships. Das .

All 12 boys, football coach rescued from flooded Thailand cave

All the 12 boys and their football coach have been rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand after being trapped for 18 days, bringing an end to the ordeal that prompted a huge international rescue effort.

Wild Boars youngsters get Manchester United invite

English Premier League side Manchester United have invited the Wild Boars football team, like the Chilean miners rescued in 2010, to visit Old Trafford following their dramatic rescue today. The final five members of the young football team - four youngsters and their 25-year-old coach - were rescued from a flooded Thai cave after spending 18 harrowing days trapped deep inside, completing an astonishing against-the-odds rescue mission that captivated the world. The dozen players - aged 11 to 16 - and the coach had already received an invitation from FIFA chief Gianni Infantino last week to attend the World Cup final on Sunday in Moscow - although after their traumatic experience they may not be up to the trip physically or mentally. Manchester United, though, tweeted an invitation just after the news that all had been rescued and with the Premier League season lasting from August through to May there will be plenty of time for them to recuperate and opportunity for them to take the ..