Page 1572 - Sports

Afghan pacer Zadran out of India Test due to knee injury

Afghanistan pacer Dawlat Zadran has been ruled out of the one-off Test against India owing to a knee injury. "Fast bowler @dawlat_zadarn suffered a knee injury during the training camp in India. He has been advised one month's rest by doctors. Therefore, he will not be available for the T20I series against Bangladesh as well as Afghanistan's one-off Test against India," Afghan Cricket Board tweeted today. Zadran will also miss the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh starting June 3 in Dehradun. The Afghanistan team is also training in Dehradun where the pacer suffered the injury. From the Uttarakhand capital, the team will head to Bengaluru to play its inaugural Test from June 14.

Shami replaces Pandya in World XI squad for Lord's T20

India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has replaced an indisposed Hardik Pandya in the ICC World XI squad for the May 31 T20 International against the West Indies at Lord's. England wrist-spinner Adil Rashid has also been added to the World XI squad. All the proceeds from this match will be used to redevelop the stadia in the Caribbean, which were damaged due to hurricanes last year. Shami has replaced all-rounder Pandya, who has pulled out due to a viral inflection, and will join Dinesh Karthik as the second India player in the side which also includes one player each from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and two players each from New Zealand and Pakistan. Rashid is the second England player in the star-studded line-up after Eoin Morgan was named as the captain. The 30-year-old Rashid has played 28 T20Is in which he has taken 23 wickets. He was also a member of the England side for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, where the home side reached the semi-final. Shami has represented

Kenya's Tirop targets Africa C'ships gold despite road race supremacy

World 10,000 metre bronze medallist Agnes Tirop said despite her dominance in road races, she remains a track athlete and is focused on winning gold at the Africa Championships, which will be held in Nigeria in August.

'Uncapped' Zakir doesn't want to give up on his dream of representing Pak

Pakistan uncapped player Asif Zakir, who is currently playing in the Lancashire League in England, is in no mood to give up on his dream of representing his country one day and is keen to continue working hard towards achieving this ultimate goal.The 34-year-old has an impressive first-class record to his name, having finished the 2016-2017 edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as the second highest run-getter with a total score of 853 runs at an excellent average of 85.3.Zakir has played in a total of 130 first-class matches notching 7, 557 runs while he has also gathered 2,940 runs in 78 List-A matches he played.Despite the same, Zakir is yet to earn a call-up in the national squad. The batsman came close to the selection in the Pakistan squad when he was named in the fitness camp in 2016 organised by the Pakistan Army for players who were later going to participate in the tour of England in the same year.Not being selected in the national squad in 2016 came as a major setback for ...

Back injury forces Hazlewood out of England tour

In a major blow to Australia, seamer Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the upcoming limited-overs tour of England due to a bone stress injury on his back.Confirming the news, team physio David Beakley said the Cricket Australia has decided to take a conservative approach with the 27-year-old, who has been managing some low-level bone stress for quite some time now."Josh has been managing some low-level bone stress in his lumbar spine for a short period. He had a repeat scan today and although it has not progressed to a fracture he is starting to experience some lower-back pain. As such, we are taking a conservative approach and he will not travel to England for the one-day series," ESPNcricinfo quoted Beakley, as saying.As a result, Queensland seam bowler Michael Neser has been named in the Australian squad as Hazlewood's replacement for the upcoming limited-over series against England.Hazlewood has now joined Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the injury list. Cummins is currently .

Shubhankar finishes tied 20th; Lahiri 58th at Colonial golf

India's Shubhankar Sharma carded three-under 67 on the final round to finish a creditable tied 20th, but his senior compatriot Anriban Lahiri ended far behind at tied 58th spot at the Fort Worth Invitational golf tournament at the Colonial here. The 21-year-old Subhankar had two three-putts on front nine and missed three putts, two of them for pars and one for a bogey, inside seven feet to finish six-under 274 for the week. Lahiri endured a disappointing weekend here, with rounds of 68-69 to register a total of two-under 268. Justin Rose continued his fine run as he closed with a six-under 64 and finished at 20-under for a three-stroke victory over defending US Open champion Brooks Koepka. It was the ninth career PGA win for 37-year-old Rose. He also rose from world no. 5 to world no. 3 and if he wins at the Memorial, he could reach the no. 1 position. The finish at Fort Worth was Shubhankar's second best finish on the PGA Tour after his tied 9th in WGC-Mexico. It also broke a series .

Jennings replaces Stoneman in England Test squad

England opener Keaton Jennings has been called up in the 12-member national squad as a replacement for Mark Stoneman for the second Test of the two-match series against Pakistan, beginning Friday at the Headingley Stadium.The 25-year-old, who has been included in the Test squad for the first time since featuring in the series win over South Africa in August last year, has accumulated 314 runs and scored two centuries in the Specsavers County Championship Division One.Reflecting on Jennings' inclusion, national selector Ed Smith said that the Lancashire opener has got a call-up in the wake of his impressive form in county cricket."Keaton Jennings showed a strong temperament in scoring a hundred on his Test match debut against India in December 2016. Keaton has found good form in county cricket this season, including three centuries in his last seven innings (two in the First Division of the County Championship, one in the Royal London One-Day Cup)," Jennings said.Meanwhile, Stoneman ...

Suarez Navarro sails through French Open 1st round

Spanish tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro, world No. 23, on Monday sailed through the first round of the French Open with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Croatia's Ana Konjuh in just 42 minutes.

Sri Lanka says pitch-fixing claims 'difficult to believe'

Sri Lanka's cricket board on Monday described allegations of pitch-tampering at Galle International Stadium as "difficult to believe" but agreed to cooperate fully with an international investigation. TV news channel Al Jazeera broadcast a documentary Sunday showing a groundsman and a player allegedly discussing altering the pitch at Galle during Australia's 229-run loss in the second Test against Sri Lanka in 2016. Australia lost all their 20 wickets and were beaten inside three days. Galle groundsman Tharanga Indika and professional cricketer Tharindu Mendis also allegedly speculated about fixing the pitch to ensure a result in under four days in the Test against England in November. Both men have been suspended by Sri Lanka Cricket pending the outcome of an investigation by the International Cricket Council. A third man, provincial coach Jeevantha Kulathunga, was also suspended. But the board's vice president Mohan de Silva said there had been no complaints about the Galle pitch ..

Sao Paulo jump to 4th in Brazil's Serie A

Former Paris Saint-Germain winger Nene scored two second-half goals as Sao Paulo rose to fourth in Brazil's Serie A standings with a 3-1 victory over America Mineiro.

Knee injury rules Afghan pacer Zadran out of inaugural Test

Ahead of their inaugural Test against India from June 14-18 in Bengaluru, Afghanistan were dealt a major blow after paceman Dalwat Zadran was ruled out with a knee injury.

UTT ropes in Kellogg's as sponsoring partner

Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) on Monday roped in breakfast cereal brand Kelloggs as its sponsoring partner ahead of the second season of the league.

Pak's Mohammad Abbas surges to career-best in Test Rankings

Mohammad Abbas leads a trio of Pakistan fast bowlers who have moved up in the ICC Test Player Rankings after contributing in a memorable nine-wicket victory over England in the opening Test of the two-match series that ended at the Lord's on Sunday.The 28-year-old's player of the match haul of eight for 64 has helped him gain nine spots and reach a career-best 20th position after only seven Tests while Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali have also moved up following creditable shows in the first of two Tests.Left-arm bowler Amir's five wickets in the match have lifted him five places to 32nd position while Hasan Ali has gained 26 slots to reach 61st position after taking four first innings wickets.This is the career-best in Test matches for Hasan, who is currently ranked fourth in ODIs after having attained top rank in the format in October last year.Among their batsmen, Asad Shafiq has risen six slots to 26th place after slamming 59 in his only innings of the match, while Harris Sohail has ..

Pakistan fined for slow over-rate in Lord's Test

Pakistan have been fined for maintaining a slow over-rate during their nine-wicket win over England in the opening Test of the two-match series at the Lord's on Sunday.Jeff Crowe of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the fine after the Sarfraz Ahmed-led side was ruled to be three overs short of their target when time allowances were taken into consideration.In accordance with Article 2.5.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Players Support Personnel, which relates to minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.As such, Sarfraz has been fined 60 per cent of his match fee, while his players have received 30 per cent fines.If Pakistan commit another minor over-rate breach in a Test within 12 months of this offence with Sarfraz as captain, it will be deemed a second offence by Sarfraz and he will face a suspension.Sarfraz ...

Despite lukewarm response for women's T20, Edulji promises more for next IPL

The experimental women's T20 ahead of IPL play-offs did not attract a sizeable crowd but CoA member Diana Edulji insists the one-off game was a positive step and will lead to "something substantial" next season. There was not much crowd support for the match played on a sultry Mumbai afternoon ahead of the IPL Qualifier 1 between eventual IPL champions Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 22. Top Indian and overseas players including Harmanpreet Kaur, Mithali Raj, Suzie Bates and Meg Lanning were part of the game which went down to the wire. "In my view, the match was a success and many followed it on television. Yes, there were not many spectators but that was also the case during the 2016 Women's World T20 (when the event was held simultaneously with the men's competition)," Edulji told PTI. "So, I am not so sure if the BCCI could have scheduled the game better but considering it was accommodated during the IPL, the board did the best it could. I am sure more games ...

Online ticket sales for Men's Hockey WC begin

The online sale of general tickets for the Men's Hockey World Cup, scheduled to be held from November 28-December 16 here, was launched by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday.

'Chief of Command' wins the Governor's Gold Cup

'Chief of Command' won the Governor's Gold Cup, the main event of the races here today. The winner, owned by Dr MAM Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Charitable Trust, was ridden by Akshay Kumar and trained R Foley. Foley trained four winners while jockeys Akshay Kumar and Ajit Kumar rode two winners each. Four favourites obliged in a card of seven races.

Australia blow as Hazlewood ruled out of England ODI series

Australia have been further weakened for next month's one-day international series in England following the withdrawal of leading paceman Josh Hazlewood, Cricket Australia said Monday. Hazlewood, who was the most experienced fast bowler in the one-day squad after injuries to Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, has been replaced by uncapped Michael Neser. Hazlewood was ruled out of the touring party with back trouble. "Josh has been managing some low-level bone stress in his lumbar spine for a short period," CA physiotherapist David Beakley said in a statement. "He had a repeat scan today and although it has not progressed to a fracture he is starting to experience some lower back pain. "As such, we are taking a conservative approach and he will not travel to England for the one-day series." Neser was a key player in Queensland's Sheffield Shield title earlier this year and has earned a reputation as a skilful swing bowler on the domestic scene. The right-armer has 41 List A wickets at ...

England recall Jennings for Pakistan finale

England have recalled Keaton Jennings in place of struggling opener Mark Stoneman for the second Test against Pakistan at Headingley starting on Friday. That was the only change to a 12-man squad announced by England on Monday after Pakistan went 1-0 up in this two-match series with an emphatic nine-wicket win completed inside four days at Lord's. Stoneman, who has been short of runs for Surrey so far this season, managed just 13 in total across two innings during the first Test. England squad to play Pakistan in the second Test at Headingley on June 1-5: Alastair Cook (Essex), Keaton Jennings (Lancashire), Joe Root (Yorkshire, capt), Dawid Malan (Middlesex), Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire, wkt), Ben Stokes (Durham), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Dominic Bess (Somerset), Mark Wood (Durham), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire).

Back injury rules Hazlewood out of England tour

Australia were dealt a major blow ahead of their limited-overs tour to England after pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood was ruled out with a back injury.