Page 1491 - Sports
Sri Lanka refuse to take field amid ball-tampering row
Sri Lanka refused to take the field on the third day of the second Test in the West Indies after an apparent ball-tampering row.Play started two hours later of the scheduled time at the Darren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia, reported ESPNcricinfo.Sri Lanka, who have been, charged with the allegation that they altered the condition of the ball during the St Lucia Test against West Indies, denied any wrongdoing.The team protested against the charge by refusing to take the field.Umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould had tabled issues about the condition of the ball towards the end of day two and the Sri Lankans were advised before the start of Saturday's play that they could not continue with the existing ball, according to several media reports.The West Indies have been awarded five penalty runs."The ICC can confirm the match officials in the second Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka changed the ball and awarded 5 penalty runs to West Indies. If there are any, Code of Conduct charges will ...
FIFA World Cup: Croatia beat Nigeria 2-0
Croatia went to the top of Group D in the FIFA World Cup following their 2-0 easy victory over Nigeria at the Kaliningrad Stadium here on Saturday.
Croatian master Modric schools Nigeria's young guns
A Luka Modric penalty and an own goal from Oghenekaro Etebo gave former semi-finalists Croatia an easy 2-0 win over Nigeria in their World Cup Group D opener. In Russia's sleepy European exclave of Kaliningrad -- perhaps best known for its nuclear missile sites -- the much-hyped youngsters of Nigeria struggled to ignite against Croatia's midfield technicians yesterday. With rivals Argentina and Iceland only managing a 1-1 draw earlier in the day in Saransk, both sides had a chance to take control of Group D. Nigeria, knowing they were always likely to struggle for possession against a central one-two of Modric and Ivan Rakitic, were content to sit back and allow Croatia to come to them. But they were rigid and well-organised, and largely restricted Modric's distribution to the flanks, where Croatia's final ball was poor. After 10 minutes, Juventus target man Mario Mandzukic teed up Ivan Perisic at the edge of the area only for the Inter Milan forward to blaze over. Croatia, ...
Roy and Buttler set up England win over Australia
Jason Roy returned to the scene of one of his greatest disappointments to score a century as England beat Australia by 38 runs to win the second one-day international at Cardiff on Saturday. Roy's 120 and stand-in captain Jos Buttler's 91 not out took England to a total of 342 for eight as the hosts went 2-0 up in this five-match series. Australia opener Shaun Marsh made 131 to became the first Glamorgan batsman to score an international century at the Welsh county's Sophia Gardens headquarters. But their 304 all out meant world champions Australia had suffered a seventh defeat in their last eight ODI matches. The Yorkshire duo of fast bowler Liam Plunkett (four for 53) and leg-spinner Adil Rashid (three for 70) shared seven wickets as England won with 17 balls to spare. It was just over a year ago in Cardiff that struggling Surrey opener Roy, 27, was dropped from the England side that suffered an eight-wicket defeat in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy by Pakistan, the ...
England beat Australia by 38 runs in 2nd ODI
England beat Australia by 38 runs to win the second one-day international in Cardiff today and so take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Australia, set an imposing 343 to win, remained in the hunt while opener Shaun Marsh was making 131 before being bowled out for 304 as the world champions suffered a seventh defeat in eight ODIs. Earlier, Jason Roy made 120 and stand-in captain Jos Buttler 91 not out in an England total of 342 for eight after Australia captain Tim Paine won the toss and fielded. The series continues at Nottingham's Trent Bridge on Tuesday.
Messi and Argentina miss the mark as Iceland claim historic draw
Group D of the FIFA World Cup 2018 got underway at the Spartak Stadium as two-time champions Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by a performance that personified the word 'dogged' by debutants Iceland.The early stages of the match were a bit frantic as Iceland got off on the front foot right from the kick off as they made their way to the Argentine penalty box for their star man Gylfi Sigurdsson to unleash a tame effort at Willy Caballero from 20 yards.Iceland, however, had a golden opportunity to score when an error from an Argentine goal kick conceded possession and left the goal at the mercy of Birkir Bjarnason, whose shot was pulled just wide of the post.The first goal came after a Marcos Rojo shot was collected by Sergio Aguero, who, on the swivel, rifled the ball into the top corner of the net beyond a hapless Hannes Halldorsson in goal.The celebrations were short-lived, however, as Gylfi Sigurdsson drilled in a low cross into the danger zone, with Caballero only managing to ...
Poulsen winner for Denmark ruins Peru's World Cup return
Yussuf Poulsen ruined Peru's first appearance at a World Cup finals for 36 years today with the winning goal for Denmark to seal a 1-0 victory in Saransk. Poulsen made amends for conceding a first-half penalty that was awarded after the referee consulted the VAR system, but which Peru midfielder Christian Cueva blasted over the crossbar. With France having beaten Australia 2-1 in Kazan earlier in Group C, RB Leipzig's Poulsen showed great finishing to hit the winner on 59 minutes to the dismay of the overwhelmingly Peruvian crowd in the 40,502-capacity stadium. The win extends Denmark's unbeaten run to 16 games without defeat and end Peru's 15-match unbeaten streak. Peru veteran Paolo Guerrero, who only made it to the tournamenbt after late reprieve for a drug ban, came on for the final 30 minutes but his efforts at the Mordovia Arena came to no avail. Authorities in Lima estimate around 25,000 fans flew to Russia to see their team's return to the World Cup and Saransk was a sea of ...
World Cup: Denmark beat Peru in Group C tie
Denmark defeated Peru 1-0 in a Group C match of the FIFA World Cup at the Mordovia Arena here on Saturday.
Sathiyan, Manika star in Smashers' big victory over Warriors in UTT
Indias highest-ranked mens player Gnanasekaran Sathiyan and 2018 Commonwealth Games double gold medallist Manika Batra came up with sterling performances to give Dabang Smashers an emphatic victory over Warriors in the CEAT Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) here on Saturday.
Federer into Stuttgart final, regains world number one ranking
Roger Federer staged a 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) comeback on Saturday over Nick Kyrgios to reach the Stuttgart Cup final and take back the world number one ranking. The 36-year-old Swiss will resume his place at the top of the ATP rankings for the sixth time in his career on Monday, beginning a record 310th week at the summit of the men's game. His upward move will leave Rafael Nadal on second as the countdown to Wimbledon intensifies with a fortnight left prior to the start of the grasscourt major. Top seed Federer will play for the 98th title of his career on Sunday against Milos Raonic. The Canadian hammered 19 aces to eliminate defending champion Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6 (7/3). Federer stands 10-3 over Raonic, Wimbledon finalist in 2016 against Andy Murray. The Swiss, who owns 20 Grand Slam singles titles, needed to fight all the way against Austraian threat Kyrgios, playing his first event in two months due to injury. Federer dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker but roared back .
Ultimate Table Tennis: Sathiyan, Manika star in Smashers win
Indias highest-ranked mens player G Sathiyan and Commonwealth Games double gold medallist Manika Batra piloted Dabang Smashers to an emphatic win over Warriors in the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) today. Smashers picked up 14 points while conceding only 7 in their 6-1 verdict to jump to the top of the six-team table. Manika began the charge against Achanta Sharath Kamals Warriors, scoring a tense 2-1 victory in the opening game by shocking World No. 18 Sofia Polcanova, who is ranked 62 spots higher than her, claiming two out of the three games on "golden point". Manika mixed her serves cleverly and used her backhand effectively to score a 11-10, 5-11, 11-10 victory. The other crowd favourite, Sharath Kamal, began confidently, winning the first game 11-10, before Japans Yoshida Masaki (World No. 27) recovered strongly in the next to score a facile 11-5 win. The Indian star battled hard in the decider but a handful of unforced errors saw him lose 8-11. Sathiyan, teaming up ..
Raina to replace Ambati Rayudu in India's ODI squad
Middle-order batsman Suresh Raina will replace Ambati Rayudu in India's One Day International (ODI) squad for their upcoming series against England.The decision was taken by the All-India Senior Selection Committee after Rayudu failed to clear his fitness test that was held at Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy (NCA) on Friday.For the upcoming series, the Indian side, led by Virat Kohli, will face England in three T20Is, three ODIs and a five-match Test series.The tour will begin on June 27 at the Old Trafford in Manchester.India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav.
Iceland's hero keeper did homework to psych out Messi
Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson revealed Saturday how he worked on psyching out Argentine superstar Lionel Messi to make a penalty save that sealed a 1-1 draw with the footballing superpower. Halldorsson was the hero when he palmed away Messi's spot kick in the 63rd minute, correctly gambling that the Barcelona talisman would shoot to his right. The man-of-the-match described the moment, which kept the score level at 1-1, as "a dream come true" but also said it was the result of painstaking research into the five-time world player of the year. "I did some homework because I knew this was a situation that could come up. It was a long shot but it happened," he said after the tie at Moscow's Spartak Stadium. "I looked at a lot of penalties from Messi and I also looked at how I've been behaving during the last couple of penalties. "I tried to get in their minds, so they'd be thinking about me. I had a good feeling he'd go this way today." He said the draw felt like a win for ...
France must and will do better in next game, says coach Deschamps
France head coach Didier Deschamps said on Saturday that his team must and will do better in the next game following their 2-1 hard-fought win over Australia in the World Cup Group C opener.
Messi misses penalty as Iceland earn first World Cup point
Argentina's Lionel Messi missed a second-half penalty as Iceland claimed their first ever World Cup point in a 1-1 draw here on Saturday.
Zambrano appointed new coach of Colombian club Independiente
Experienced Ecuadorian head coach Octavio Zambrano, the former manager of Canada's national football team, has taken the helm of Colombian-league club Independiente Medellin.
Portugal holds training after 3-3 draw against Spain
The Portuguese national team on Saturday held a light practice session in the Russian town of Kratovo, after holding Spain 3-3 in a FIFA World Cup thriller.
Sri Lanka take to field two hours late after Test 'ball-tamper' row
Play got underway two hours late on the third day of the second Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka after the tourists initially refused to take the field in the wake of an apparent ball-tampering controversy. Following concerns raised by umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould about the condition of the ball nearing the end of the second day, the Sri Lankans were advised before the start of Saturday's play that they could not continue with the existing ball. This resulted in Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal refusing to lead his team onto the field with the West Indies set to continue their innings at 118 for two in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings total of 253. Animated discussions then ensued involving match referee Javagal Srinath and the Sri Lankan pair of coach Chandika Hathurusingha and team manager Asanka Gurusinha and it appeared for some time that the day's play at least and possibly the rest of the match might be in doubt. However it was after these deliberations that ...
Messi penalty saved as Iceland hold Argentina
Lionel Messi fluffed his World Cup lines on Saturday, missing a penalty as tiny Iceland held Argentina to a 1-1 draw after France benefited from the first use of the Video Assistant Referee system in the tournament's history. Just a day after his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational hat-trick to secure a 3-3 draw for Portugal against Spain, Messi had a golden chance to write his own headlines. The Argentine stepped up to the spot with the teams locked at 1-1 in Moscow's Spartak Stadium after Rurik Gislason was adjudged to have brought down Maximiliano Meza in the 63rd minute. But Hannes Halldorsson guessed correctly and palmed away the Argentine skipper's side-footed effort and, despite intense pressure, Iceland held on for a famous draw. Sergio Aguero scored the opener for the two-time world champions in the 19th minute but his strike was almost immediately cancelled out by Alfred Finnbogaso. It was another extraordinary result in the history of Iceland, who famously .
Switzerland coach respects Brazil, but plans to beat Canarinho
Switzerland's coach Vladimir Petkovic said Saturday that he had deep respect for Brazil, but was looking forward to defeating the Brazilian football team in their 2018 World Cup opener in Russia.