Page 1798 - Sports
Dhoni will play more prominent role as batsman: Fleming
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming today said that skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni would play a 'more prominent' role as a batsman in the upcoming IPL by batting 'relatively high' in the order . "MS will be relatively high. The time that we choose may depend on the match situation as well. He would definitely play a more prominent role as a batter," Fleming said when asked about Dhoni's probable batting position. "Ahead of him there are some good picks, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu. Jadeja, Bravo, Harbhajan fits in there as well, Karn Sharma, they can all hit. So again, looking at our sides, there a lot of multi-skilled players. There is a lot of options there," he added. Fleming harped on the team's versatility and said there were a number of multi-skilled players. "One of the key things of the squad is the versatility.. combinations are important.. both Indian and overseas." Fleming said they had not decided on the opening combination yet adding there were quite a number of
Sevilla will fight to death against Bayern Munich, says coach
Sevilla FC's head coach Vincenzo Montella on Monday vowed that his team would fight to the death in their upcoming Champions League quarter-final clash against Bayern Munich.
Spain begins preparation for Davis Cup match vs Germany
The Spanish national tennis team began training on Monday in Valencia in preparation for the Davis Cup quarterfinals against Germany.
Daredevils fired up by coach Ponting's goosebump-inducing speech
India batsman Shreyas Iyer feels the great Ricking Ponting's "go for the kill" approach can help Delhi Daredevils immensely in their quest for a maiden IPL trophy. It has been just four days since head coach Ponting joined the Daredevils and the young Indian players seemed to be in awe of the two-time World Cup winning Australia captain. Daredevils is a team that has under performed consistently and the franchise is banking on Ponting to change the trend. The 43-year-old had earlier coached Mumbai Indians to an IPL title in 2015 and was with the team for two years. Iyer revealed how Ponting fired up the squad with his opening speech. "It has been really good with (Ponting so far). He has been pretty aggressive. He has got that positive frame of mind. When he came in and gave a speech to all of us, it really fired us, we almost had goose bumps," said Iyer, who was one of the three players retained by the team ahead of the auction. The Gautam Gambhir-led squad has a good mix of ...
Women's League: Bala strike sinks India Rush as KRYHPSA win 2-0
KRYHPSA continued their unbeaten run in the Indian Womens League with a 2-0 victory over India Rush SC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.
Basketball talent-hunt programme conducted
A two-day talent-search initiative - The Great Basketball Hunt - concluded today with over 300 players trying their best to impress and get picked for global exposure camps in USA, Australia, Italy and Finland. The talent-hunt was conducted by head coach Sam Vincent, a former NBA champion with Boston Celtics. After hanging up his boots, he had a stellar coaching career in several countries, winning the Afrobasket with the Nigerian women's national team. He has also coached several NBA teams including Dallas Mavericks and Charlotte Bobcats. The Great Basketball Hunt also achieved a significant milestone in becoming the country's first to have a fully automated Performance Testing System where players were monitored using advanced sensors for perfect results. "The raw energy, enthusiasm and talent in India really inspire me. At a sport which is finding its feet in the country, there is huge awareness and excitement. This is a brilliant initiative taken by Global Edu Sports to identify ..
SRK likely to be present at KKR's opening game at Eden
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) could be boosted by the presence of principal owner and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan cheering the team from the stands when they kickstart their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign against Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Competition tough in CWG but we are prepared: shuttler Chirag
Chirag Shetty knows the competition will be tough at the Commonwealth Games, starting Thursday, but the India shuttler and his men's doubles partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are prepared for the challenge, having formed a "winning combination". "The CWG this year will see the participation of two formidable doubles pairs, one from Malaysia and one from England. Players from Canada and other countries have also confirmed their participation. "The competition is tough but we are fully prepared to take on our opponents. If we continue to maintain our past form and play in the manner we have been playing for the past 2-3 months, we are hopeful of winning a medal," Shetty told PTI in an e-mail interaction. The 20-year-old Mumbai-born Shetty has been helped by the city-based Avashya Foundation. "I have been gelling pretty well with Rankireddy and we have a winning combination here. I have been controlling more at the nets and he has one of the most lethal smashes in world badminton ...
Busquets back for Barca ahead of Roma test
Barcelona have been boosted by the return of Sergio Busquets ahead of their Champions League quarter-final against Roma on Wednesday. Busquets trained with the first team on Monday after recovering from a broken bone in his foot, sustained against Chelsea three weeks ago. Ernesto Valverde must now decide whether Busquets is ready to start at the Nou Camp but the midfielder appeared to come through a training session without any problems. Barcelona are looking to reach the last four of the Champions League for the first time in three years, after falling at the quarter-final stage both in 2016 and 2017. A Barcelona statement read: "The key news was Sergio Busquets, who has trained with the group." The verdict was less positive, however, for Real Madrid and their defender Nacho, who was forced off injured during the first half of Saturday's win over Las Palmas. Real confirmed today that Nacho has a strain in his right thigh ahead of their own Champions League first leg away to Juventus .
McLaren can soon catch F1's big three: Alonso
Having made a fifth place finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Fernando Alonso has expressed confidence that his team would soon be able to catch Formula One's big three--Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull--with the help of their planned upgrade packages.Alonso's fifth-place finish in the opening race of the season at Albert Park not only helped him bag 10 points, but also saw him acquire 59 per cent of his total 2017 points in a single F1 race.The Spaniard's finish also equalled the best result McLaren managed to notch in the last three years with former engine supplier Honda.Satisfied with his performance, Alonso believes it wouldn't take too long for McLaren to change the top three into a big four."We saw the potential of the car, we understood we had a good machine in our hands. Now is the time for McLaren to come back to the top positions, and to do so you have to compete against the best teams in the world: Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes," Sport24 ...
Miami Open champ Sloane Stephens breaks into WTA top 10
American tennis star Sloane Stephens has broken into the top ten of the latest Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings after clinching a title at the Miami Open.Yesterday, the 25-year-old edged past fast-hitting Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 in the finals of the Miami Masters that lasted for an hour and 31 minutes.By claiming the prestigious Miami Open title for the first time, Stephens climbed up three places to the ninth spot, thus pushing down Petra Kvitova (10th), Angelique Kerber (11th) and Daria Kasatkina (12th) by one place each.Ostapenko, on the other hand, retained her fifth spot in the latest rankings, the WTA reported.Meanwhile, Romanian tennis star Simona Halep continues to remain at the top and maintains a comfortable lead of 1,350 points over Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki.The latest WTA top 10 are as follows:1. Simona Halep2. Caroline Wozniacki3. Garbine Muguruza4. Elina Svitolina5. Jelena Ostapenko6. Karolina Pliskova7. Caroline Garcia8. Venus Williams9. ...
Injuries prompt South Africa to bat on
Injuries emerged as a key factor as South Africa batted on despite holding a huge lead on the fourth day of the fourth Test against Australia at the Wanderers Stadium on Monday. South Africa were 344 for six at tea, a lead of 611. Captain Faf du Plessis hit 120 and Dean Elgar made 81. They shared a fourth wicket partnership of 170, the best for any wicket by either side during the series. All three of South Africa's fast bowlers had injury concerns, according to a message from the team media manager. Morne Morkel suffered a side strain on Sunday which means he is unlikely to bowl, while Kagiso Rabada has a stiff lower back and Vernon Philander has a strapped groin. With South Africa leading the series 2-1, their batting effort made sure they would secure their first home series win against Australia since 1969/70, whether or not their bowling options were limited. Du Plessis made his first major contribution of the series after making only 55 runs in his first seven innings. When he ..
Rousing welcome for Kerala football team
The Kerala football team, which bagged the Santosh Trophy after 14 years, today returned home to a rousing welcome. Kerala Minister K T Jaleel welcomed them at the Cochin International Airport Limited near here as football fans besides officials cheered the team which edged out Bengal via tie-breaker 4-2 after they were locked 2-2 at full time in the final held at Kolkata yesterday. The team later proceeded to the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium where they exhibited the trophy and posed for photos in the presence of the Minister and office-bearers of Kerala Football Association (KFA). Governor P Sathasivam and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had congratulated the team for winning the Santosh Trophyl. Sathasivam in a message had said the victory after a gap of 14 years had re-established Kerala's supremacy in Indian football.
IPL-2018: England all-rounder Curran replaces Starc at KKR
England all-rounder Tom Curran was on Monday roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as replacement for Mitchell Starc, the injured Australian pacer, ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), a statement from his county club Surrey said.
Super Cup: FC Goa, ATK look to outshine each other (Preview)
Indian Super League (ISL) sides ATK and FC Goa will look to outwit each other when they lock horns in a Super Cup pre-quarterfinal game here on Tuesday.
Nadal reclaims ATP top spot, Federer falls to second
Spain's Rafael Nadal returned to the top spot in the men's Association of Tennis Professionals world singles rankings, released on Monday, dethroning Switzerland's Roger Federer.
Eastern Sporting Union, Sethu FC, KRYHPSA win in Indian Women League
Eastern Sporting Union kept their 100 percent record intact with a 2-0 victory over Gokulam Kerala FC in the Hero Indian Women's League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today. In the day's other two games, Sethu FC defeated Rising Student Club 2-0 to register their second win, while KRYHPSA continued their unbeaten run following a 2-0 win over India Rush SC at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Captain Bala Devi struck first blood in the 21st minute with a header before she doubled the lead in the 61st minute. The win takes KRYHPSA to seven points from three matches while India Rush SC are yet to register a single point. Mandakini opened the scoring for Eastern Sporting Union in the first half with her strike in the 24th minute before Kamala Devi doubled the lead after the break in the 50th minute. The win took Eastern Sporting to 12 points from 4 matches. Eastern Sporting Union came into the match on the back of three victories while Gokulam Kerala FC thumped Indira Gandhi ASE 6-1 in .
Middlesex County Club signs Hilton Cartwright
Australian all-rounder Hilton Cartwright has been roped in by Middlesex for the first few games of the English county season.The 26-year-old will replace his former Western Australian captain Adam Voges in Middlesex and is set to play the first five games of the County Championship, ESPNcricinfo reported.Regarded as a player of promise in all three formats of the game by national selectors, Cartwright made his international debut for Australia during a Test against Pakistan in January last year before he played just his second match in the longest format of the game against Bangladesh in September 2017.Cartwright, who has also played in two ODIs last year, has been quite impressive in the 2017-18 Sheffield Shield season, notching up 83 and an unbeaten 111-run knock against South Australia at the WACA Ground in March.Middlesex will kick start their English county season against Northamptonshire on April 13.
KKR rope in Curran as Starc's replacement
Two-time Indian Premier League champions Kolkata Knight Riders have signed Surrey and England fast bowler Tom Curran as replacement for the injured Australian pacer Mitchell Starc. Starc was ruled out with a stress fracture, paving the way for the the 23-year-old Englishman to make his IPL debut. A yorker specialist, Curran also bowls a deceptive, back-of-the-hand slower ball, and his skills were on full display in a thrilling ODI against Australia in January. Curran claimed a wicket with his second ball in his T20I debut for England. An utility batsman with a strike-rate of 128.36, Curan has played over 51 T20s with a highest score of 51 not out. He also joins fellow Surrey player Jason Roy in this year's competition after the batsman was picked up by Delhi Daredevils during the January auction. Curran's selection comes after a breakthrough winter season in the international game. After making his Test debut in the Boxing Day Ashes Test, he starred for England's white ball sides ...
FC Goa confident of standing up to ATK challenge
Familiar foes FC Goa and ATK will cross swords in the Super Cup here tomorrow, aiming to improve on their showings in the Indian Super League. The mainstay of FC Goa defence, Bruno Pinheiro, see the the tournament as "an opportunity to repay the fans" who had backed the team throughout the season. "We have come here to win something and give our fans an opportunity to rejoice. The expectations were very high and we managed to go to semifinals of ISL. "Nevertheless, they backed us throughout and now we have to replay them", the Portuguese defender said. Coach Derrick Pereira summed up the ISL season well and stated that the players have synchronised well with gaffer Sergio Lobera, who helped them reach the semifinals. "We had a decent season having reached the top four, especially after last season when we finished with the wooden spoon. Sergio Lobera brought in his football acumen and a fantastic set of players gelled well with his style." He continued, "This is going to be an ...