Page 1618 - Sports
IPL-2018: RCB take on SRH in must-win game (Preview)
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on already-qualified table toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here on Thursday with their playoffs chances hanging by a thread.
IPL: Wanted to put up a good show in front of Warne, says Kuldeep
It was the presence of legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne in the Rajasthan Royals dug-out that inspired left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav to produce his career-best performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens here.
Allardyce, Everton part ways
English Premier League club Everton on Wednesday confirmed the departure of manager Sam Allardyce after less than a season at Goodison Park.
Messi alarmed by possible Neymar move to Real Madrid
FC Barcelona superstar and Argentina captain Lionel Messi has said that seeing his former Barca teammate Neymar end up with arch-rivals Real Madrid will be a "hard blow."
Uruguay sends gender-balanced delegation to South American Games
Uruguay has sent roughly 240 athletes to the 11th South American Games in Bolivia, a diverse delegation betting on gender equality in sports.
Maradona joins Belarus's Brest as chairman: club
Diego Maradona has signed a three-year contract to join top-flight Belarusian club Dinamo Brest as chairman, the club said. Argentine legend Maradona, a former World Cup winner recognised as one of the all-time greats, last month stepped down as coach of United Arab Emirates second division club Al-Fujairah. "Yes, Diego's with us!" the club wrote on its official Twitter account late Tuesday, following media rumours over the weekend. Maradona, one of football's most divisive figures off the field, will oversee the "strategic development" of the club when he takes over following the June14-July 15 World Cup in Russia, according to a tweet. Dinamo, based in the south-west of Belarus, are currently in eighth position in the country's Premier league.
Saudis suspend World Cup referee over bribery
The Saudi Football Federation have banned referee Fahad al-Mirdasi for life over bribery and urged FIFA to remove him from the pool of referees for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Mirdasi was suspended for offering to take a bribe to influence the outcome of a match, the federation's disciplinary and ethics committee said late Tuesday. The 32-year-old is one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent referees, having earned a FIFA badge in 2011 and officiating at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 and the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017. Mirdasi was chosen to referee Saudi Arabia's Kings Cup final between top clubs Al-Faisaly and Al-Ittihad on Saturday but was pulled from the roster just a few hours before the game. In a statement, the disciplinary and ethics committee said Mirdasi had approached the president of Al-Ittihad asking him for a bribe to enable his team to win. "The Ittihad president Hamad Al-Sanayeh called the Saudi Football Federation to state there was evidence that Fahad ...
Russia, biathlon saga head agenda at WADA meeting
The fallout from the Russia doping scandal and a corruption crisis in biathlon will dominate the agenda as World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chiefs gather in Montreal this week. The global anti-doping watchdog's executive committee meet on Wednesday to discuss the status of Russia's national anti-doping agency RUSADA before presenting an update to WADA's 38-member Foundation Board on Thursday. RUSADA has been at the centre of a standoff between WADA and Russia ever since the body's suspension in November 2015 following revelations of a vast doping scandal involving Moscow's main drug-testing laboratory. WADA is adamant that RUSADA will continue to be ruled non-compliant until Russia accepts the findings of its bombshell McLaren report and also allows WADA inspectors into the Moscow testing laboratory. WADA has set out a roadmap detailing the path RUSADA must take to regain "compliant" status and rejoin the ranks of recognised testing authorities. The agency has already been allowed to ..
Arjun Kapoor poses with Cristiano Ronaldo in Spain
Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor just lived a 'soccer dream' as he posted a selfie with Portuguese football star, Cristiano Ronaldo, in Madrid, Spain, on Monday.The Mubarakan actor wished him luck for Kiev & Russia as he tweeted, "Amazing feeling meeting & talking football with @Cristiano!!! Heck of a player, heck of a guy. All the best for Kiev & Russia.@AMTouristerIN #Curio #HardToLetGO."The star is currently shooting for Namste London.The film 'Namaste England' is a young and refreshing story that traces the journey of two individuals Jasmeet and Param.Co-produced and directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film is slated to release on October 19, 2018.
Optimistic Rahane says Rajasthan can still qualify for play-offs
Their fate hanging by a thread, Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane believes his side still can qualify for the play-offs even after a bitter six-wicket defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League here. After a great start by Jos Buttler and Rahul Tripathi, Rajasthan were bundled out for 142, which was chased down by KKR in 18 overs last night. Rajasthan are lying fourth in the standings with 12 points from 13 games and will now face a virtual shoot-out on May 19 against a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are also in contention in a dogfight with three other teams for the two available play-off berths. "We still have to believe in ourselves. Anything can happen in cricket, it's a funny game. We have to learn from our mistakes. We were too positive with our batting tonight. But, we have to learn as a team," Rahane said at the post-match news conference last night. Rahane admitted that they have not batted well this season as they should have posted ...
Rome Masters: Nadal eyes record-breaking eighth title
World number two Rafael Nadal will begin his quest for record-breaking eighth Rome Masters title, when he squares off with Bosnian tennis star Damir Dzumhur in their round-of-32 clash in Italy on Wednesday.The Spaniard tennis maestro, as the top seed in the tournament, was handed a bye into the second round and so he is yet to take to the court in Foro Italico.Nadal will look to return back to winning ways after 21-match winning streak on the clay court and 50-set winning streak was broken by Austria's Dominic Thiem in their last-eight clash of the Madrid Open.As a result, the 31-year-old lost his top rank to long-time rival Roger Federer in the updated ATP Rankings, but Nadal can retain his top spot with a win at the Rome Masters.The top-seed will now aim to kick start his campaign on a winning note when he locks horns with Dzumhur. They have split their two ATP Head-to-Head meetings, but Nadal clinched their most-recent meeting at the 2018 Australian Open in straight sets.In other ..
Messi, Iniesta named in Barca squad for Mamelodi Sundowns friendly
Star striker Lionel Messi and midfielder Andres Iniesta have been named in the 23-man Barcelona squad for a friendly match against Mamelodi Sundowns in the Mandela Centenary Cup.While young players Carles Alena, Ruiz de Galarreta and Jorge Cuenca have also been included in the Barca squad, injured defenders Samuel Umtiti and Thomas Vermaelen have been dropped from the touring side.Talking about the upcoming match, Masandawana head coach Pitso Mosimane said that he is looking forward to come up against one of the best football teams in world."The Barca game is for the guys to get experience, to see how far we are, what's the difference between us and Barca and what's the difference between the PSL and La Liga," Sport24 quoted Mosimane as saying.Barcelona will take on Sundowns at the FNB Stadium on Wednesday.The entire Barcelona squad is as follows:Ter Stegen‚ Jasper Cillessen‚ Nelson Semedo‚ Gerard Pique‚ Ivan Rakitic‚ Sergio Garcia ‚ Denis Suarez‚ Andres Iniesta‚ Luis Suarez‚ Lionel .
Maradona named president of Belarusian club Dynamo Brest
Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona has said that he accepted an offer to become chairman and sporting director of Belarusian club Dynamo Brest.
Panama trains for friendly against N. Ireland
The Panama national team has started training ahead of the May 29 friendly against Northern Ireland in preparation for next month's World Cup in Russia.
Warne's presence motivated Kuldeep to register career-best IPL figures
Young chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav said the presence of his idol, legendary Shane Warne in the Rajasthan Royals dug-out has motivated him to produce his career-best performance in the Indian Premier League. Till last night, Kuldeep was having a somewhat quiet time in the ongoing IPL with just nine wickets from 12 outings at an economy rate of around 8.5. But by his own admission, Kuldeep said he was determined to turn things around in front of the Australian spin legend, who is the mentor of Rajasthan Royals team. "I'm always a big fan of him (Warne). He has been my idol. I always get a different kind of motivation when I play in front of him. I wanted to put up a good show in front of him," Kuldeep said at the post-match news conference. Kuldeep grabbed 4-20 and earned Kolkata Knight Riders an important six-wicket victory over Rajasthan Kuldeep cleaned up the top order with a wicket in each of his four overs to bowl out Rajasthan for 142 in 19 overs. It was redemption time for ...
RCB aim to continue revival take on table-toppers SRH
Their chances of making the playoffs still hanging by a thread, Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on table-toppers Sunrisers Hyderabad in another must-win Indian Premier League encounter, here tomorrow. The consecutive victories over Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab have revived RCB's hopes, while SRH has been on a roll, having won nine matches out of 12. RCB are still languishing at the second last position on the table, while SRH are on top of the table with 18 points. Virat Kohli's RCB has endured a tough season, having lost seven of its 12 matches so far but the recent turnaround has rekindled hopes of a possible shot at the playoffs berth provided some other results go the team's way. The hosts are overtly dependant on Kohli and South African swashbuckler A B De Villiers. The two have combined to score nearly half of RCB's total runs this season but the side needs bigger contributions from the likes of Moeen Ali and Corey Anderson. In peerless form, Kohli has been a ...
'Uncapped' Dom Bess in England Test squad against Pakistan
Somerset spinner Dom Bess has earned a maiden call-up in the 12-man England squad for the opening Test of the two-match series against Pakistan, beginning at the Lord's on May 24.England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler, who made his last Test appearance during the fifth match against India in Chennai in December 2016, has been recalled to the national squad.20-year-old Bess seemed to have received call-up on the back of his impressive performance in the Champion County match for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against Essex in March, when he bagged eight wickets besides scoring a century to help his side come out victorious.Reflecting on Bess' inclusion, national selector Ed Smith said that the uncapped spinner has been roped in the squad as a replacement for left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who broke his thumb recently."Dom Bess has made an excellent start to his first-class career. He has impressed everyone with his performances for Somerset and when he has been given opportunities ..
Sarfraz proud of Imam and Babar as Pakistan survive Ireland scare
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed praised the character of young batsmen Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam after they ensured his decision to enforce the follow-on in Ireland's inaugural Test did not backfire. Only three times in the 141-year history of Test cricket have a side won after following-on but when Pakistan were 14 for three, chasing a modest 160 to win on yesterday's final day of this stand-alone match, it seemed Ireland might mark their entry into the format with a stunning success. But 22-year-old left-handed opener Imam, himself making a Test debut, responded to the pressure of the situation with a composed 74 not out -- his third fifty of the tour following half-centuries in warm-up matches against Kent and Northamptonshire. Together with the 23-year-old Babar, who made 59 after being dropped on nine shortly after lunch, he shared a stand of 126 that took Pakistan to the brink of an eventual five-wicket win over a competitive Ireland side. The way Imam in particular coped under .
Hart set to miss out on youthful England World Cup squad
England manager Gareth Southgate will name his 23-man World Cup squad today with some experienced figures such as goalkeeper Joe Hart expected to miss out. The BBC and Sky Sports reported yesterday that 75-times capped Hart won't be included among Southgate's three goalkeepers after a poor season on loan at West Ham from Manchester City. Hart, who has been England's first choice goalkeeper for the last three major tournaments, was backed by Southgate after being deemed surplus to requirements by Pep Guardiola at City as the 31-year-old remained first choice during England's unbeaten qualifying campaign. However, Hart started only half of West Ham's Premier League games this season and conceded 39 goals in his 19 league appearances. Hart's omission means the experienced trio of Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and the uncapped Nick Pope will be Southgate's options between the sticks. Pickford has also yet to feature in a competitive international, whilst Butland's only two competitive ...
Porterfield confident of Ireland's place at Test table
Ireland captain William Porterfield was in no doubt his side deserved their elevation to Test cricket after a thrilling debut ended in a five-wicket loss to Pakistan. Hopes of a miracle at Malahide weren't just the stuff of fantasy when Pakistan, set a modest 160 to win yesterday's final day, collapsed to 14 for three before lunch at the Dublin ground. Imam-ul-Haq (74 not out) and Babar Azam (59) then combined to dash dreams that Ireland, the 11th nation to play men's Test cricket, would record a remarkable win. But it was a testament to Ireland's skill and resolve that after they had been made to follow-on by visiting captain Sarfraz Ahmed, the game remained in the balance on the final day. For a while, it seemed Ireland might rewrite the record books on two fronts in becoming only the fourth side to win a Test after following-on and just the second in the 141-year history of the format, following Australia's defeat of England in the inaugural 1877 Test at Melbourne, to win their ...