Page 1522 - Sports
South Africa too strong for women's world champions England
South Africa's bowlers laid the platform for a comprehensive seven-wicket win over women's world champions England in the first one-day international at Worcester on Saturday. Last year, South Africa suffered a heart-breaking World Cup semi-final loss to tournament hosts England, who won by just two wickets with two balls left in Bristol before defeating India in a dramatic final at a packed-out Lord's. But there was no repeat on Saturday as England -- who won the toss -- slumped to 97 for eight. South Africa seamers Shabnim Ismail and Ayabonga Khaka took three wickets apiece. Katherine Brunt, however, ensured she and her fellow England bowlers would have some sort of target to defend by making 72 off 98 balls as the home side rallied to 189 for nine. But Lizelle Lee's unbeaten 92 sealed South Africa's victory in the first of this three-match series. South Africa also suffered a collapse at five for two. Brunt bowled Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus was sharply stumped by England ...
Head backs Australia's bowlers to surprise England
Australia batsman Travis Head is confident a new-look bowling attack will have the "firepower" to trouble England in an upcoming one-day international series. Head made a century as Australia completed their preparations with a 101-run win over Middlesex at Lord's on Saturday. Despite his 106, Australia were held to a total of 283 for six. It was the second time in two warm-up games they had failed to reach the benchmark score of 300, having made 277 for nine against Sussex at Hove in their tour-opener on Thursday. But they still beat Sussex by 57 runs and the bowlers were even more dominant against Middlesex, who slumped to 182 all out with nine overs to spare. Middlesex were, however, without star batsman Eoin Morgan as the England 50-over captain is leading the national side in a lone one-day international against Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday. World Cup-holders Australia suffered a 4-1 series loss at home to England, now top of the global ODI standings, earlier this year. The ...
Australia's Renshaw in the runs again for Somerset
Australia opener Matt Renshaw continued his excellent form for English side Somerset with a third County Championship hundred in eight innings on Saturday. The left-hander's 106 was the centrepiece of Somerset's 307 for seven on the opening day of their match at home to First Division leaders Nottinghamshire. Renshaw faced 171 balls, including 12 fours and two sixes. His innings ended when he was bowled by Matthew Carter trying to hit the off-spinner back over his head. Renshaw's time with Somerset will be cut short, with the 22-year-old set to leave Taunton in August, before the end of the English season, following an Australia A tour call-up. The Queensland cricketer, who was born in the Yorkshire town of Middlesbrough, only joined Somerset as an overseas player after the county effectively ripped up the contract of fellow Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft as a result of his role in the ball-tampering scandal during the third Test against South Africa in March. Bancroft, who ...
Katie Ledecky swims fastest 200 free of year in California
Katie Ledecky won the 200-meter freestyle at an outdoor meet in Northern California on Saturday with the world's fastest time this year. The five-time Olympic champion touched first in 1:54.56 min in the TYR Pro Swim Series, beating her closest rival by nearly 3 seconds at the George F. Haines International Swim Center. Ledecky is competing in her second meet since turning pro. Last month, she lowered her own world record by 5 seconds in the 1,500 free in Indianapolis. She attends nearby Stanford University.
Port of Spain, Jun 10 (AFP) Scoreboard at the close of play on the fourth day of the first Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday:
Scoreboard at the close of play on the fourth day of the first Test between the West Indies and Sri Lanka at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday: West Indies 1st Innings 414-8 declared Sri Lanka 1st Innings - 185 West Indies 2nd Innings (overnight 131/4) K Brathwaite c Dickwella b Kumara 16 D Smith b Lakmal 20 K Powell c sub b Perera 88 S Hope c Silva b Kumara 1 R Chase b Herath 12 S Dowrich lbw Kumara 13 J Holder lbw Herath 39 D Bishoo not out 16 K Roach not out 11 Extras (b-4, lb-2, nb-1) 7 Total (For 72 overs, 7 wkts declared) 223 Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-55, 3-75, 4-119, 4-149, 6-191, 7-203 Bowling: Lakmal 12-2-32-1 (1nb), Gamage 15-3-43-0, Herath 24-5-52-2, Kumara 9-0-40-3, Perera 12-1-50-1 Sri Lanka 2nd Innings K Mendis not out 94 K Perera c Smith b Gabriel 12 D Chandimal retd hurt 15 A Mathews c Dowrich b Holder 31 R Silva c&b Bishoo 14 L Gamage not out 0 Extras (b-3, lb-3, nb-4) 10 Total (For 53.4 overs, 3 wkts) 176 Fall of wicket: 1-21, 2-123, 3-175 Bowling: ...
Mendis nears century as Sri Lanka battle to save West Indies Test
Kusal Mendis led a strong Sri Lankan second innings effort but West Indies still held the advantage at stumps on day four of the first Test at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on Saturday. Set a daunting target of 453 when the hosts declared their second innings at 223 for seven just after lunch, the visitors reached 176 for three by the close with Mendis unbeaten on 94. They require another 277 runs on the final day and will be hoping their captain Dinesh Chandimal, who retired unwell on 15 in the afternoon session, can resume his innings to bolster a team that looked completely out of contention at the start of the day's play. Given that the world record for the highest successful run chase in the fourth innings of a Test match is 418 -- set by the West Indies against Australia in Antigua in 2003 -- the odds are very much stacked against the Sri Lankans, especially with the pitch offering more variable bounce that could prove increasingly hazardous on the final day. However, if ...
Asian Junior Athletics: Middle distance runner Anu Kumar bags gold
Middle distance runner Anu Kumar help India bag third gold medal in the men's 800m on the third day of the 2018 Junior Asian Athletics Championships here on Saturday.With a single day of competition remaining, Indian athletes have already won three gold medals, one silver and nine bronze medals.The Uttarakhand based runner, clocked 1:54.11 seconds to get the better of Iran's Abdolrahim Dorzadeh who clocked 1:54.23 seconds.The third step on the podium was claimed by Japan's Fuki Torii who clocked a time of 1:54.55 seconds.Kumar, who is one of the brightest prospects in middle distance running in India, had earlier won a silver medal in the 800m at the World School Games in France and had clocked 1:50.60 seconds to take gold at the Junior Federation Cup in April this year.While Kumar won gold much as he was expected to, there was a sense of relief for sprinter Gurvinder Singh who managed to secure a bronze medal in the men's 4x100m relay.Singh was expected to do well in the men's 100m, .
Shooter Priya Singh's brother thanks CM Yogi for aid
Aniket Gautam, brother of 19-year-old Indian shooter Priya Singh, on Saturday expressed his gratitude towards Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for Rs 4.5-lakh aid."I am very happy now. We didn't have the money to send her to Germany as we belong to a very poor family. We want to thank Yogi Adityanath, and also ANI News for being the medium through which our problem reached the CM," Aniket told ANI.Earlier yesterday, Yogi granted the aid in order to enable her to participate in the upcoming International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Germany."When I heard of this news, I immediately granted four-and-a-half-lakh rupees in support of her. I also directed the Meerut district magistrate to provide all arrangements to help her to go to Germany," Yogi told ANI.Sports Authority of India Director General Neelam Kapur also confirmed support for Priya.The daughter of a Dalit labourer from Meerut, Priya, was one of six candidates selected for the 50-meter rifle
Halep wins maiden Grand Slam title at French Open
Top-ranked Romanian Simona Halep beat Sloane Stephens in full sets to claim her first Grand Slam title at the French Open here on Saturday.
Golfer Vani finishes tied 33rd in Finland
Indian woman golfer Vani Kapoor struggled for a six-over 78 in the third and final round to finish tied 33rd in the Viaplay Ladies Finnish Open, the Ladies European Tour (LET) Access series event here on Saturday.
Salah-led Egypt squad received by President before heading to Russia
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday received superstar forward Mohamed Salah and the other members of the national football squad and its coaching staff before they head to Russia for the FIFA World Cup.
Colombia's Fabra to miss World Cup due to knee injury
Colombian defender Frank Fabra, who plays for Argentina's Boca Juniors, said on Saturday that his "heart is broken in 50 million pieces" because of a torn ligament in his left knee, which will prevent him from playing in the 2018 football World Cup in Russia.
Our primary target is to win the tournament: Constantine
A day prior to the much-awaited Hero Intercontinental Cup final against Kenya, Indian football national team head coach Stephen Constantine said that all that happened in the round robin stage earlier was "done and dusted" and the final is going to be a "new challenge.""What we did in the round robin stage is done and dusted but we cannot take anything for granted in the final. Kenya have shown what they are capable of, especially from set-piece positions. We totally respect them but at the same time our primary target is to win the tournament," Constantine said at the official pre-match press conference at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Saturday.Asked whether India's previous victory to Kenya in the round-robin stage was a psychological advantage, Constantine replied, "The round-robin stage is history now. We will start afresh tomorrow and try to win it. We had qualified after the first two games and it was important for us to give the other players an opportunity to play."The ...
West Indies stretch lead over Sri Lanka past 400
Kieran Powell missed out on a century but the West Indies further solidified an already dominant position at lunch on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Trinidad on Saturday. West Indies lost three wickets, including Powell for 88, in the morning session as they reached 209 for seven in their second innings at the Queen's Park Oval despite losing three wickets in the morning session in reaching The hosts, who declined to enforce the follow-on despite a 229-run first-innings lead, now have an overall advantage of 438 runs with three wickets in hand. The tail-enders have an opportunity to accelerate the scoring to set up a declaration by captain Jason Holder which would allow his frontline bowlers enough time to push for victory going into the final day on Sunday. Holder showed his positive intent when he was out just before the break, trapped leg-before for 39 attempting a reverse sweep against veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. Before that, the general ...
Wrestler Rana alleges discrimination in national selection, WFI denies
Double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar was at the epicentre of yet another controversy on Saturday with upcoming wrestler Parveen Rana crying foul over the selection process of the Indian squad for the Asian Games.
French Open: Halep eases past Stephens, wins first title
Top seed and Romanian tennis ace Simona Halep won her first ever grand slam title after surging past a fighting Sloane Stephens of the United States in the final of women's singles at the Roland Garros here on Saturday.Halep, who had lost the last three major finals, won the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in just over two hours.The Romanian was outclassed in the first set by Stephens, but recovered well to win the second set.In the second set, when both players were going neck and neck and were tied at 4-4, Halep re-discovered her red-hot form to win the next games and force the match to go into the next set.In the last set, Halep played a handful of excellent serves to leave Stephens in a spot of bother.She then continued her dominance, coupled with aggression and excellent footwork as she smashed her way to her first win of a major tournament.After winning her first grand slam title, Halep broke down and was later comforted by her coach Darren Cahill.On the other hand, top-ranked Spaniard ...
Ronaldo's Portugal arrive in Russia for World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal arrived Saturday in Russia to begin final preparations for a World Cup campaign that pits them against arch-rivals Spain. The European champions play their Iberian neighbours in the 2014 Winter Olympics host city Sochi in the opening match for both nations Friday. The winner will be in pole position to come out on top in a Group B that also includes Morocco and Iran. The top two teams from each group qualify for the last 16. The Spaniards arrived at their own base in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar on Thursday. Portugal are ranked fourth by FIFA and won nine of their 10 European qualifying group matches. It will be the team's seventh World Cup appearance and the 33-year-old Ronaldo's fourth and likely last campaign. Their best result saw them finish third in 1966. Portugal are based next door to the Zhukosvky Airport where they landed on the southeastern outskirts of Moscow.
Brazil national team trains in Vienna ahead of Austria's friendly
The Brazil national team on Saturday trained here ahead of their friendly match against Austria, their last test prior to the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on June 14.
How a 31-0 'farce' helped change Australian football
When the Socceroos defeated American Samoa 31-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 2001, the freak result not only rewrote the record books but also helped change the course of Australian football. The lop-sided scoreline, still football's biggest win at senior international level, was greeted with frustration rather than jubilation in Australian footballing circles. It renewed Australia's determination to shift from the Oceania Football Confederation to the stronger Asian grouping, offering the chance of direct qualification to the World Cup. The match itself, played before a crowd of 2,500 in Coffs Harbour, had the air of a ritual slaughter well before kick-off. Australia had beaten Tonga 22-0 to set a goal-scoring record days before, and American Samoa were rated the worst team in the world at 203 in the FIFA rankings. Worse still, the Pacific minnows could not field most of their senior players due to eligibility issues, and were forced to put out a team with an average age of just ...
Lalbiakkima settles for bronze in President's Cup
Indian boxer Nutlai Lalbiakkima (49kg), who upstaged Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the quarterfinals, settled for a bronze medal along with two others after a semifinal loss in the President's Cup in Astana, Kazakhstan today. The 22-year-old Lalbiakkima lost to local favourite Erzhan Zhomart to bow out in the semifinal stage. "For us, the bout belonged to Lalbiakkima. He turned in another exceptional performance but unfortunately this time, he ended on the losing side," coach Jai Singh Patil, who is travelling with the team, told PTI. Also ending with bronze medals were former world youth champion Sachin Siwach (52kg) and Priyanka in the women's draw. Sachin lost to Filipino Rogen Ladon in his semifinal clash. "The competition in this tournament is world class. The draws were big and featured A teams of countries like the USA and Uzbekistan. We can be proud of our our performance so far," Patil said.