Page 152 - Sports
Factoring in reserve days could be logistical nightmare: ICC
Despite rain playing spoilsport for the second consecutive day at the ongoing World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday that factoring in reserve days would make the tournament a "logistical nightmare".
Abhinandan spoof: WC match ad by Pakistani channel draws ire on Twitter
A cricket Wold Cup advertisement by a Pakistani channel featuring a spoof using IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman lookalike as a prop has not gone down well with the Twitterati back home, many of whom have termed the "mocking" act "cheap" and "shameful". The advertisement latches on to the conversation the IAF pilot had with the Pakistani side in captivity after his MiG-21 Bison was downed during an aerial dogfight on February 27 after the Balakot airstrike. The video released by Pakistan had gone viral in which Varthaman could be seen replying -- 'I'm sorry, I am not supposed to tell you this' to the questions asked to him during captivity. The match between India and Pakistan is slated to take place on June 16 as part of the ICC World Cup 2019 being hosted by England. In the advertisement, Varthaman lookalike character, sporting his trademark gunsliger moustache style, can be seen repeating 'I'm sorry, I am not supposed to tell you this' in response to questions asked about ...
Sachin Tendulkar thanks PM Modi for promoting cricket
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promoting cricket during the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019."Thank you for promoting cricket, @narendramodi Ji. A good example of cricket diplomacy during the @cricketworldcup. Hoping to see Maldives on the map soon," Tendulkar tweeted.[{76f927fe-2847-43e9-86cc-ef679fb7f26a:intradmin/sachin.PNG}]His remarks come after PM's gesture of gifting a cricket bat signed by the Indian team to "ardent cricket fan" and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday."Connected by cricket! My friend, President @ibusolih is an ardent cricket fan, so I presented him a cricket bat that has been signed by #TeamIndia playing at the #CWC19," Modi had tweeted on Saturday.[{421cd446-748e-4620-a43c-3b4916da4a01:intradmin/modi.PNG}]This gesture came after Modi held delegation-level talks with Solih after touching down in the island-nation on Saturday afternoon. This trip to the Maldives was the ...
Hyderabad to host 2nd edition of India Open International Taekwondo Championship
The India Open International Taekwondo Championship was inaugurated by the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs V. Srinivas Goud in Hyderabad on Tuesday. The event had been conducted by the Taekwondo Federation of India (TFI)."It's a very proud moment for Hyderabad to host such a great international Championship. In the upcoming days Hyderabad is going to be a sports hub for all kind of sports," Goud told ANI.The motive of such a championship is to promote taekwondo in the country and to nourish young talents around the country."The main motive behind conducting this Championship is to promote taekwondo in our country and to encourage many more students to take part in the Taekwondo. Also to provide an international platform for the ones who deserve but could not afford and to upgrade their rank," Prabhat Kumar, General Secretary of Taekwondo Federation of India, told ANI."We would like to provide training to all the youth in Taekwondo, one of the 7 deadly martial arts so that at time
Lockie Ferguson hopes Shikar Dhawan is not out of World Cup
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson on Tuesday said that he hopes that the injury to Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan is not grave and hopes that the batsman is not the out of World Cup for too long.His remarks come after severe speculations regarding Dhawan's injury. Amidst the left-hander's knock of 117 runs against Australia, he got hit on the thumb by Pat Cummins."Dhawan is one of the top batsman in the world and hopefully he is not out of the World Cup for too long. As a player, we don't want to miss matches from injuries. Although it is the part of the game and players get injured and others get an opportunity. I like bowling against lefties but have to wait a couple of months to bowl against him," Ferguson said at the pre-match conference.Prior to the match against India, the pacer opined that it is essential for the team to pick up early wickets upfront to apply pressure on the opponent. He also acknowledged that the team has an experienced bowling lineup which makes his job ...
Jemimah to play in KSL
Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues has been named in the Yorkshire Diamonds squad for the fourth and final edition of the Kia Super League (KSL). Rodrigues, who made her international debut in February last year, will join Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur who are also set to feature in the tournament once again. The official Twitter handle of Yorkshire Diamonds posted the squad which included Jemimah's name. "BREAKING: The Diamonds have announced their squad for the fourth and final edition of the KSL, which will be replaced by the Hundred from 2020. This summer's competition kicks off in early August," the tweet read along with the squad photo which has Jemimah's name. Mumbai-based Jemimah has represented India in 10 ODIs and 25 T20Is so far. KSL will feature six teams beginning August 6.
Kohli among world's highest-paid athletes: Forbes
India cricket captain Virat Kohli has once again become the sole Indian in the Forbes 2019 list of world's highest-paid athletes, ranked 100th in the table. Kohli is last on the list of top-100 athletes, headed by Barcelona and Argentina football superstar Lionel Messi, announced on Tuesday. According to the Forbes list, Kohli estimated earnings is USD 21m from endorsements and USD 4m from salary and winnings, taking his total tally to USD25m for the last 12 months. Ranked 83rd on last year's list, Kohli has climbed down to the 100th spot despite an increase of USD 1m in endorsements. Meanwhile, Messi has dethroned retired boxer Floyd Mayweather as the sports world's highest earner, raking in USD 127 million via salary and endorsement deals. Messi is now ahead of long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, the Juventus and Portugal star is was second with earnings of USD 109 million.
Batters have got to step up: Benkenstein
Batting coach Dale Benkenstein believes South Africa need to adjust to the World Cup pressure and put up an improved performance with the bat to bring their campaign back on track following three successive defeats. South Africa suffered losses against England, Bangladesh and India before getting their first point of the World Cup following a washed out match against the West Indies on Monday. "The message is that the batters have got to step up and we haven't. I feel like we are batting well but we just haven't done it long enough. Everyone has got in. We have had opportunities to have hundred partnerships and win matches but we haven't done it," Benkenstein was quoted as saying by ICC website. "We try and play quite an aggressive form of cricket. Scores are much higher than they used to be. Teams are scoring big totals so when you are in and you are dominating, you've got to try and make the most of it. "Sometimes we don't get that balance right. We try and accelerate maybe a bit ...
Yuvraj would have broken all records if not for an injury: Father
Had it not been for a knee injury he picked up while playing kho-kho, Yuvraj Singh would have shattered all records in white ball cricket, feels his father Yograj Singh.
We put men on the moon, so why can't we have a reserve day in WC: Bangla coach
Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes Tuesday called for the inclusion of reserve days in the World Cup schedule after Bangladesh were forced to split points with Sri Lanka following the abandonment of their match due to persistent rain here. "We put men on the moon, so why can't we have a reserve day, when actually this tournament is a long tournament," Rhodes said at the press conference. This was the third match to be washed out in the last five days, the most in the history of World Cup, exceeding the two games at the 1992 edition in Australia and New Zealand, and the 2003 event which was co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Rhodes said there is enough gap to fit in reserve days as most teams at least have "two to three days" between matches. "I know logistically it would have been a big headache for the tournament organisers. I know that it would have been difficult, but we have got quite a lot of time in between games, and if we have got to travel a day later, then so be it," .
India will dominate this WC like Aussies did in 2003, 2007: Ashwin
Out-of-favour India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Tuesday said that Virat Kohli-led team would dominate the ongoing World Cup like Australia did in 2003 and 2007. India have posted impressive wins in both their World Cup matches so far, against South Africa and Australia. "...India will go on to dominate this World Cup like Australia did in 2003 and 2007," the bowler said after launching the 'Ashwin Foundation', which aims to help young cricketers at his Gen-Next Cricket Institute. The lanky Tamil Nadu cricketer said India's spinning duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been doing well for a while now. "Chahal and Kuldeep have been doing well for a while now. Chahal has performed well in the World Cup also," he added. On off-spinners not being preferred in the playing XI these days, Ashwin said that things would soon change. "I think off spin is not very much (seen these days). The commodity in the game has changed. A lot of cricketers are right handers and requirement of .
Why can't we have reserve days in CWC'19: B'desh coach Steve Rhodes
The match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup got abandoned due to rain on Tuesday and the Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes was seen pretty upset about the lack of reserve days in the tournament.The reserve days just exist for the semi-finals and finals of the World Cup. If the match in the round-robin stage gets washed out, then the team's are awarded one point each."We put men on the moon, so why can't we have a reserve day, when actually this tournament is a long tournament. "I know logistically it would have been a big headache for the tournament organisers. I know that it would have been difficult, but we have got quite a lot of time in between games, and if we have got to travel a day later, then so be it," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Rhodes as saying."The games are spread out. I would say that it's disappointing for the crowd, as well. They have got tickets to see a game of cricket, and you know it would be up to them if they can get there the day .
ICC provides World Cup playing cricketers with Sky Sports subscriptions
It's not always that a marquee event held in the country is not watched by the majority but blame it on Sky Sports' costly subscription plans, the World Cup is off TV limits in most of the residential facilities be it apartments or hotels. The crisis has forced International Cricket Council (ICC) to provide every cricketer of the 10 participating nations with Sky Sports subscription vouchers, which they can use on their smart phones, tablets or laptops. Since paid channel Sky Sports won the broadcast rights from England and Wales Cricket Board, cricket coverage has been mostly out of bounds for the fans due to the high subscription rates. In fact, a lot of hotels, which are hosting teams, have been told by the ICC to recharge their DTH subscriptions with Sky Sports so that the players can watch the matches. "Every player has been given a Sky Sports subscription so they can watch every game. This is because some hotels don't carry premium subscription channels and we wanted to ensure .
Roord heads late Dutch winner to beat brave Kiwis
Jill Roord came off the bench and headed home from close range in added time on Tuesday to give the Netherlands a 1-0 women's World Cup victory over New Zealand in Le Havre. The victory lifts the European champions into a tie with Canada atop Group E. The Football Ferns, stout in defence and sharp on the counter attack, were left with nothing but disappointment. "The players will be absolutely devastated but we're a resilient group and I'm pretty confident we'll bounce back," said New Zealand coach Tom Sermanni. The stars of a lively match were the two goalkeepers, Sari van Veenendaal for the Netherlands and New Zealand's Erin Nayler. Both were busy and both, at different stages, underwent on-field treatment after brave saves. The Dutch had almost 70% of possession and almost three times as many goal attempts but New Zealand went painfully close three times. "The Dutch were the dominant team but we created some great chances," said Sermanni. In the first half, Olivia Chance hit the ..
Thiem offers Serena doubles match after Roland-Garros row
Austrian tennis ace Dominic Thiem on Tuesday offered Serena Williams a mixed doubles jaunt in an attempt to put their French Open press room dispute behind them. Thiem reacted with disbelief when officials asked him, mid-post match interview, to leave the main interview room at Roland Garros so that the American superstar, who had just been knocked out, would not be kept waiting. He accused the 23-time Grand Slam winner, who had just suffered her earliest exit at a major tournament in almost five years, of having a "bad personality" and said he would have waited even for a junior player to finish. But on Tuesday Thiem was more conciliatory, saying he'd already forgotten about the incident before half-heartedly suggesting a match-up. "As a way of putting it behind us, I could play mixed doubles with Serena at Wimbledon or New York," he said. Thiem was beaten by Nadal in straight sets in last year's French Open final, but pushed his illustrious Spanish opponent all the way in the first .
Kohli's reunion with Viru and Master blaster
Indian skipper Virat Kohli on Twitter shared a picture of himself with legendary cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and former aggressive opener Virender Sehwag on Tuesday."Some pictures indeed are special @sachin_rt @virendersehwag," Kohli wrote a caption tagging Tendulkar and Sehwag on Twitter.[{cc494123-5e4b-4daf-bb5e-0c964cfec82a:intradmin/Virat.JPG}]Kohli shared the dressing room with both the Indian batsman in the 2011 winning World Cup journey. Kohli after winning the World Cup title said that the team has won the cup for the legend Tendulkar and as he carried the burden of a nation on his shoulders for 28 years.Kohli has been making headlines recently due to his gesture towards Australian cricketer Steve Smith.As India and Australia locked horns at The Oval in London today, Indian batsmen, including Kohli, were smashing the Australian bowlers for runs. In between the overs, Smith was sent to the boundary line. It was at that time some Indian fans started booing at him and chanted ...
Dhawan likely to be out of action for at least a week
Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan, who suffered a blow to his thumb in the match against Australia on June 9, may be ruled out for at least a week following a fracture of his thumb.There are speculations that young opening batsman Rishab Pant may be flown in as Dhawan's replacement.Accordinvg to ESPN cricinfo, Dhawan, who is believed to have suffered a hairline on his left thumb, has gone to Leeds to undergo scans and a final word on the status of the injury is likely to emerge later today. Dhawan scored a century against Australia on Sunday at the Oval in London. He is likely to be out of action for the matches against New Zealand and Pakistan.According to a BCCI official, the Indian selectors have not yet named any replacement. It is understood they want to wait for the full diagnosis and results of Dhawan's medical tests, including the likely recovery time, before they take a decision on whether to retain him or ask for a replacement.BCCI said Dhawan will be under observation.At ...
Dhawan likely to be out of action for at least a week
BCCI said Dhawan will be under observation. The team management has decided that Dhawan will continue to be in England and his progress will be monitored
Ajay goes down to Gokulraj at Mayor's Cup chess meet
Second-seeded Mushini Ajay (Elo 1977) went down to Gokulraj K (Elo 1648) in the seventh round category B clash of the Mumbai Mayor's Cup International Open Chess Tournament here Tuesday. Andhra Pradesh's Ajay went down to Tamil Nadu rival Gokulraj in a marathon duel lasting 60 moves. Playing against the Pelikan variation of the Sicilian Defense, Ajay obtained a comfortable winning position early on in the middle game, but lost his way later on in the top board clash. On the second board, in an all-Kerala encounter, Mansoor CM (Elo 1777), playing the white side of a French Exchange, surprisingly split the point against 12th-seeded Sooraj MR (Elo 1923) in 22 moves. At the end of he eighth roun five players - Mansoor C M (Ker), Koustav Chakraborthy (WB), Gokulraj (TN), Patil Harshal (Mah), Sooraj M R (Ker) - were fighting hard on top boards to clinch the title. Local favourite Nubairshah Shaikh was leading with 10 foreign Grand Masters and International Masters in Category .
Dhawan sustains hand injury, set to miss minimum three games
In-form senior India opener Shikhar Dhawan was Tuesday ruled out of at least three World Cup matches after sustaining a hairline fracture on his left hand. While it is blow to the team ahead of India's third game against New Zealand, the good news is there is a chance that he will recover and therefore, the team management has not sought for any replacement. "Team India opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan is presently under the observation of the BCCI medical team. The team management has decided that Dhawan will continue to be in England and his progress will be monitored," Indian team media manager Moulin Parikh posted on official Whats App group. While earlier it was learnt that Dhwan had suffered a thumb fracture, it has been clarified that the injury is on the back of his left hand. "Dhawan sustained an injury on the back of his left hand in the region between the index finger and thumb during the CWC 2019 league match against Australia," the media manager further stated. The ...