Page 178 - Sports

KP's golden words for right-handers to tackle Bumrah

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has offered a piece of advice to all batters, especially right-handers -- to help tackle Indian fast bowling spearhead and ICC world no 1. Jasprit Bumrah during the ongoing edition of the World Cup.

Need to address soft dismissals, says Williamson

Captain Kane Williamson urged his batsmen to play more responsibly after a string of soft dismissals pushed New Zealand on the brink of defeat against Bangladesh. The Kiwis though got their act together to eke out a two-wicket victory. Opting to field, the Black Caps bowled beautifully to restrict Bangladesh to 244 in 49.2 overs at the Kennington Oval. While chasing, New Zealand lost two early wickets but looked comfortable at 160 for two. However, the wickets of Williamson (40) and Tom Latham (0) in the same over threw the Black Caps a little off track. Ross Taylor steadied the ship with a 91-ball 82 before Mosaddek Hossain dismissed him. Cruising again, at 218 for five, the loss of all-rounders Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham in consecutive overs left tail-enders Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry with a tricky task. "Nice to get across the line, I thought the first innings was outstanding. The fielding was brilliant throughout by both teams. We thought 250 could be a competitive

Dhoni sports 'Balidaan Badge' on gloves in WC

Indias opening game in the ongoing World Cup saw former skipper M.S. Dhoni once again profess his love for the security forces after he was spotted with regimental dagger insignia of the Indian Para Special Forces on his wicket-keeping gloves.

Proteas hurting, making mistakes all the time: Faf du Plessis

Under-fire South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis said his "hurting" team is trying to fight but is just not able to avoid mistakes in what is turning out to be a horror World Cup campaign. South Africa lost by six wickets to India for their third successive loss in the ongoing showpiece. "Ours is a change room that is hurting, trying to make sure we keep fighting but we are making mistakes all the time," Du Plessis said in the post-match presentation on Wednesday. Reflecting on the team's performance against India, du Plessis said Virat Kohli's men put up a professional performance and the absence of injured pacers like Dale Steyn and Lungi Ngidi hurt his side. "Their bowling was magnificent, they have got good fast bowlers and spinners. We did well to pull it back with the bat before their spinners ran through our middle order. "Rohit (dropped twice) had a bit of luck but he did what we didn't do - get a hundred and win the game." On electing to bat under overcast conditions and ...

We're in a bad situation: Hashim Amla after Proteas' third WC defeat

Continuing their winless run after losing to India by six wickets on Wednesday, South African batsmen Hashim Amla has admitted that the team is in a "bad situation"."We're in a bad situation. We've played pretty average cricket and we need to turn it around by playing our best cricket," Sport24.co.za quoted Amla as saying.It was the third match for Proteas in the World Cup, they lost the earlier two at the hands of England and Bangladesh. Against hosts England, they faced a massive 104-run defeat, while Bangladesh beat them by 21 runs.Despite losing all the three matches, Amla stated that there is no lack of motivation and they are doing everything they can."I don't think there is a lack of motivation. Body language will always come up when you lose a game or two, or three. I certainly don't think anyone could fault body language today (Wednesday)... we fought. Everybody wants to perform ... there is no doubt about that. We're out there practising and doing everything we can to put ...

Boom, Boom, Bumrah staying true to pace spearhead tag

"Jasprit Bumrah was special"...these were the words legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar used while praising the young pacer who demolished the South African top-order in Indias opening game of the ongoing World Cup at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.

Minnows USA stun South Africa 2-0 in FIH Series Finals opener

United States of America (USA) stunned higher-ranked South Africa 2-0 in the opening match of FIH Hockey Series Finals here Thursday. After barren first three quarters, world no. 25 USA scored both their goals in the final 15 minutes to surprise the 16th ranked South Africans in a Pool B encounter at the Kalinga Stadium. Christian de Angelis converted a penalty corner for the Americans in the 47th minute to break the deadlock before Paul Singh scored a field goal just three minutes from the final hooter to mark a positive start to their campaign here. It was a major surprise as the Americans hardly have any experience of playing against top hockey playing nations in world level competitions as compared to their South African counterparts. South Africa had the better share of match statistics but the Americans got the all-important goals that count. By virtue of this win, USA now enjoy 1-1 head-to-head record against South Africa. USA will take on Mexico in their next match on ...

What has gone wrong? I would be head coach if I knew, says Morris

A frustrated Chris Morris said he would have been the head coach had he known the reason for South Africa's string of defeats in the ongoing World Cup. South Africa have already lost three successive games against hosts England, Bangladesh and now India, needing to win at least five of the six remaining games in order to be in contention for a semi-final spot. Asked to pinpoint a reason for the defeats, Morris sarcastically replied: "Well, if I had the answer I would be the head coach of the national side. On a more serious note, he said: "The guys are very disappointed and a bit angry, which they are allowed to be. We will sort that out in our heads tonight and when the sun comes up tomorrow we will go back to the drawing board and take on our next opponent. "It is pretty simple the next game. Win the next six and crack on." Electing to bat under overcast conditions, South Africa managed 227 for nine, a target which was overhauled by India in 47.3 overs for a convincing six-wicket ...

Change-room is hurting, guys are down: du Plessis

After conceding their third consecutive defeat in the ongoing World Cup, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis has admitted that the environment in the dressing room is not great and his team is low on confidence.

We need to address soft dismissals: Kane Williamson

After registering a narrow-win over Bangladesh in their second game of the ongoing World Cup, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson called on his batters to bat with more responsibility and avoid soft dismissals.

Anand loses to Carlsen in Armageddon

Viswanthan Anand put up a good show in the classical game but lost to world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the Armageddon game to score half a point out of a possible two in the first game of Altibox Norway chess tournament here. It turned out to be a difficult day at office as Anand survived an inferior middle game and then a subsequent endgame against Carlsen for a long time in what was the most exciting classical game of the day but then fell prey to some finely disguised manoeuvres in the Armageddon game where the Indian played another black. As a result of the Armageddon rule invented for a super tournament for the first time the event had five decisive results coming in the shorter format of the game. Interestingly, the elite chess players were probably drawn to the idea of fighting it out in the shorter format as the Classical games saw only brief spells of fighting chess and Carlsen was the only one seriously pushing for a win against Anand. Chinese Ding Liren was the ..

Woman who accuses Brazil's Neymar of rape gives details in TV interview

Brazilians for the first time late Wednesday heard from the woman who says that football superstar Neymar sexually assaulted her at a Paris hotel. Extracts of a televised interview with Najila Trindade Mendes de Souza, the alleged victim, aired just one hour before Neymar was about to enter the pitch for a friendly game between Brazil's national team and Qatar in the capital Brasilia. "It was aggression together with rape," said the woman in an interview broadcast on the SBT network. The full interview is scheduled to air on Monday. Trindade, who says she works as a model, acknowledged that she initially liked Neymar -- full name Neymar da Silva Santos Junior -- and wanted to have sex with him. The football megastar paid for a plane ticket to bring her from Brazil and put her up in a Paris hotel. Things changed dramatically at their first encounter, Trindade said. "He was aggressive, totally different than the boy that I got to know on the messages. "Since I really wanted to be with .

Hamilton seeks magnificent seven for himself and Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton will seek to complete a magnificent seven for himself and his record-breaking Mercedes team with another victory at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. The defending five-time world champion can equal Michael Schumacher's record total of triumphs at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and extend his team's record season-opening run to seven straight wins with his 78th career success. But even with the likely boost of an upgraded Mercedes power-unit, he and his team are wary of any hint of over-confidence after the Briton's stirring triumph under severe pressure at last month's Monaco Grand Prix. "We need to learn from that," said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff, referring to a strategic error that left Hamilton defending grimly on worn 'medium' tyres, not 'hard'. Hamilton's individual brilliance salvaged victory in Monte Carlo, but Wolff is aware that he cannot do the same again in Montreal. "If we have this situation again, in Montreal, we lose the race," he added. "It will ..

Australia buckled-up for West Indies' bumpers

Australia are all set to face West Indies for their second ICC Men's Cricket World Cup match and their skipper Aaron Finch revealed that they are 'well prepared' for West Indies' bouncer tactics."It is obviously going to be a tactic of theirs and a plan. We will be as well prepared as we can be. We're well and truly prepared, no doubt," Cricket.com.au quoted Finch as saying.Australia played a practice match with West Indies in which they witnessed brutal bouncer attack from West Indies and Andre Russell's bouncer even forced Usman Khawaja to retire hurt in the match. However, Australia overpowered West Indies to win the match by seven wickets.Finch stated that keeping the practice match in mind, they have practiced similar bowling attack in the nets."We played them in a practice game down in Southampton and they bowled very similar. They had a lot of success with it last game and got off to a really good start, so I expect that they will come with a similar type plan. Over the last ...

Two England fans arrested after Nations League clashes

Two England supporters were arrested Wednesday in Porto's city centre after clashing with Portuguese fans watching the Nations League semi-final against Switzerland, according to police. "There was a scuffle between English and Portuguese supporters, with bottles thrown, and the police had to intervene," Portuguese police spokesman Alexandre Coimbra told AFP. "The English supporters turned against the police who arrested two of them and identified a third," he said. Video on social networks showed police holding batons and riot shields breaking up dozens of supporters in a fan zone in Porto. Portugal qualified for Sunday's final after a hat-trick by Cristiano Ronaldo gave them a 3-1 win over Switzerland. England play the Netherlands in the second semi-final on Thursday in Guimaraes.

Time to start winning tournaments, Sterling tells England

Fresh from winning a historic domestic treble with Manchester City, Raheem Sterling wants to end a stellar season by winning England's first trophy for 53 years at the Nations League. Sterling will win his 50th England cap in Thursday's semi-final against the Netherlands and may even captain his country for the first time should Gareth Southgate decide to leave out Harry Kane. The 24-year-old endured plenty of criticism for his performances on the international stage early in his career, but that has all changed of late as six of his eight international goals have come in his last four outings. And after reaching the semi-finals of last year's World Cup, Sterling believes it is time for England to finally turn that momentum into silverware. "It's a massive achievement," said Sterling on reaching a half-century of international appearances. "But with the national team now it's time to try and challenge for some trophies. "It's remarkable how far we've come and we've still got a long ...

'Genius' Ronaldo hat-trick sends Portugal into Nations League final

Portugal manager Fernando Santos hailed Cristiano Ronaldo a "football genius" after his 53rd career hat-trick sent Portugal into the final of the Nations League on home soil in Porto with a 3-1 win over Switzerland. The hosts had to withstand a huge moment of VAR controversy as after Ronaldo's free-kick opened the scoring, Portugal thought they had the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot. Instead German referee Felix Brych reversed his initial decision and awarded a spot-kick at the other end for an earlier incident, which Ricardo Rodriguez converted to seemingly send the game to extra-time. However, Ronaldo predictably took centre stage as he struck twice in the final two minutes to set up a clash with England or the Netherlands, who meet in the second semi-final on Thursday, in Sunday's final. "I was his coach in 2003 and I could see where he'd go," said Santos. "He's a genius. There's genius paintings and sculptures and he's a football genius!" Portugal made it to the

Pakistan urged to stay 'ruthless' in Sri Lanka World Cup clash

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has urged his team to "stay ruthless" at the World Cup as they train their sights on Sri Lanka after shocking England. The notoriously unpredictable Pakistan side held their nerve to beat the hosts by 14 runs at Trent Bridge on Monday, just three days after crashing to a seven-wicket defeat against the West Indies at the same venue. That ended a sequence of 11 consecutive defeats in completed one-day internationals. Arthur praised his team's resolve after a "shocking" defeat in their tournament opener. "It was just so good to see us go out and play with the belief and intensity that we had spoken about," Arthur told AFP. "When we put all three disciplines together we know we can beat anybody. We now need to stay consistent and ruthless." Pakistan posted an impressive 348-8 against a potent England bowling attack, with fifties from veteran Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam and Sarfaraz Ahmed. Pacemen Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir, and leg-spinner Shadab Khan, took

Neymar injury woe as Brazil beat Qatar

Brazil's Copa America preparations suffered a huge injury scare on Wednesday after striker Neymar limped off the field as the Selecao beat Qatar 2-0 in a friendly. A distraught-looking Neymar was seen covering his face with his hands as he sat on the bench after hobbling from the field in the 20th minute at Brasilia's Mane Garrincha Stadium. A large icepack had been strapped to the Paris Saint-Germain striker's lower right leg while two members of Brazil's support staff carried him from the pitch. The injury comes just nine days away from Brazil's opening game in the 2019 Copa America, which the South American powerhouses are hosting. Minutes after Richarlison had just opened the scoring in the 17th minute Neymar departed with pain in his right ankle. Gabriel Jesus added a second goal in the 23rd, but all the attention was focused on the injury to Neymar, which the Brazilian Football Confederation described as a sprain. Any serious injury to Neymar would be a massive blow to the host .

It was a professional win: Virat Kohli

Following a resounding victory over South Africa, India skipper Virat Kohli praised his team for coming out with a highly professional performance in their World Cup opener at the Ageas Bowl.