Page 1818 - Sports

Isco scores hat-trick as Spain maul Argentina 6-1

Attacking midfielder Isco scored a hat-trick while half-time substitute Iago Aspas scored a goal and gave three assists as Spain thrashed Argentina 6-1 in a football friendly here.

Warner, Smith banned for 1 year; Bancroft suspended for 9 months: Reports

Steve Smith and David Warner have reportedly been banned for one year, ruling them out of the home series against India, while Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month suspension as Cricket Australia came down heavily on the errant trio which disgraced itself in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. "Steven Smith and David Warner, formerly captain and vice-captain of Australia, have been banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia for their roles in the pre-meditated plan to tamper with the ball on the third day of the Cape Town Test against South Africa," 'ESPNCricinfo' reported. Smith, Warner and Bancroft were sent back home midway into the Test series against South Africa after admitting that they plotted to tamper the ball with a sandpaper in the third Test in Cape Town. However, chief coach Darren Lehmann was surprisingly given a clean chit after CA concluded its preliminary investigations yesterday. Tim Paine will captain Australia in the final Test match in Johannesburg ...

Muskan bags gold in 25m women's Pistol event

Muskan Bhanwala delivered India's ninth gold medal at the Shooting Junior World Cup as she topped the women's 25 metres Pistol event here on Wednesday.

Indira Gandhi Academy beat India Rush 2-1 in women's I league

Indira Gandhi Academy SE (IGASE) notched up a 2-1 win over India Rush Soccer Club in a Hero Indian Women's League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here today. Forward Pradeepa opened the scoring in the 15th minute for IGASE with Dalima equalising for India Rush in the 28th before Sandhiya scored the winner in the 74th minute of the game. The win took Indira Gandhi Academy to 3 points from 2 matches. The teams began on an even footing with both matching each other in the midfield. Sandhiya had the first real chance but her free-kick went straight to keeper Aditi Chauhan. Nisha too had the same result on the other side as her shot was grabbed by Crystal. Rush also had a penalty claim in the 13th minute but the referee waved it away. The opening goal came when Pradeepa unleashed a left footer in the 15th minute. Her shot beat Aditi on her left and went into the left bottom corner to give Indira Gandhi Academy the lead. The goal seemed to revitalise Rush as they punched away at the ..

IPL 2018: Smith steps down from captaincy, may miss league as CA probe begins

India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will now lead Rajasthan Royals in IPL-11 starting April 7.

Australia women thrash England by 8 wickets

Australia women dished out a clinical performance to notch up a comprehensive eight-wicket win over England women in an inconsequential T20 game of the tri-series here today. The dead rubber turned out to be a one-sided affair with the Southern Starts chasing down a meagre 97-run target in 11.3 overs to avenge their previous game eight-wicket loss to England. Earlier, Kimmince (3-20) was the pick of the Australian bowlers and she was superbly aided by Jess Jonassen (2-21) and pacer Megan Schutt (2-13) as they bundled out England for 96 to set up the win. The two visiting teams had already booked a place in the final to be played on Saturday after India were knocked out following three losses. Chasing the target, Australia had a bad start with opener Alyssa Healy (6) falling cheaply. They also lost Elyse Villani (1) early in the third over and were struggling at 12/2. But then Ellyse Perry (47 not out in 32 balls) and skipper Meg Lanning (41 not out in 28 balls) not only steered the ..

IPL 2018: David Warner steps down as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain

In the aftermath of the massive ball-tampering scandal, Australia's David Warner has stepped down as the captain of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad.Confirming the news, Sunrisers Hyderabad said Warner would not be taking charge of the franchise in the upcoming 11th edition of the IPL and that they would shortly announce the new skipper."In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad. The new captain of the team will be announced shortly," the franchise said.Earlier, Cricket Australia had announced that it has found Steve Smith, Warner, and Cameron Bancroft guilty in the ball-tampering scandal, and suspended the trio for the fourth and final Test against South Africa in Johannesburg, beginning on Friday.After the CA investigation, all three players were found guilty of breaching article 2.3.5 of Cricket Australia's Code of Conduct and were sent back home from South Africa on Thursday.Following the fiasco, Smith and ..

Embattled Warner steps down as Sunrisers Hyderabad captain

Australian batsman David Warner today stepped down as captain of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal that has tainted his reputation and shaken international cricket to the core. "In light of recent events, David Warner has stepped down as captain of SunRisers Hyderabad. The new captain of the Team will be announced shortly," Sunrisers Hyderabad CEO K Shanmugam said in a tweet posted by the team's official handle. Warner's IPL participation itself would be jeopardised if Cricket Australia decides to impose a lengthy ban as has been speculated. According to reports, Warner might be banned for 12 months by Cricket Australia, forcing him out of not just the IPL but also the home series against India later this year. Warner, along with Australian skipper Steve Smith and opener Cameron Bancroft, is in the line of fire due to the scandal that broke out during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Bancroft was caught on camera using a .

Hard to reclaim reputations but can reclaim values: Hussey

It will be difficult for Australia's besmirched cricketers to reclaim their reputations when the dust settles on the ball-tampering scandal but the episode is nonetheless a chance for the team to reclaim some of its lost principles and values, feels former batsman Michael Hussey. "I feel like we've lost sight of some of these principles in recent years...there are some very good people representing Australia at the moment but the ball tampering issue isn't the first time the team as a collective has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons," Hussey wrote for 'playersvoice.com.au'. Australian captain Steve Smith, opener Cameron Bancroft and batsman David Warner have been sent home in disgrace after admitting to tampering with the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Bancroft was caught on camera using a sand paper to rough up the ball and Smith later admitted that it was a pre-meditated move thought through by the team's leadership group. Surprisingly, the .

IPL: Warner steps down as Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper

Disgraced Australian opener David Warner has decided to step down as captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL), starting April 4.

ISSF Junior WC: Muskan Bhanwala bags gold in 25m Pistol event

15-year-old Muskan Bhanwala, matched her brother Anish's feat two days earlier and erased memories of missing out on a Junior World Championship medal last year, winning the Women's 25m Pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun, which concluded at the Sydney International Shooting Centre in Australia on Wednesday.She beat a group of four Chinese shooters and compatriots Manu Bhaker, who was gunning for her seventh ISSF Gold of the month, and Arunima Gaur besides Bronze winning Thai Kanyakom Hirunphoem to emerge victorious with 35 hits out of 50 in the final.China's Sihang Qin, who was a finalist in the event at the senior world cup held earlier this month in Guadalajara, Mexico, won Silver, finishing one hit behind Muskan with 34.Earlier, Muskan and Manu, who had to be satisfied with a fourth place finish in the individual event, combined with Devanshi Rana to ensure the Team Gold in the event was also bagged by India. ...

Injured Messi watches Argentina crushed 6-1 by Spain

With Lionel Messi rested, Argentina was crushed 6-1 by Spain today as Francisco "Isco" Alarcon led the way by scoring a hat trick. Messi watched from the stands at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid as Spain dealt Argentina a humbling loss in the last match before their coaches pick their squads for this summer's World Cup. While Spain remained undefeated in 18 matches under Julen Lopetegui and strengthened its credentials as a favorite for the title in Russia, Jorge Sampaoli will face more doubts about Argentina's chances to finally win a World Cup title with Messi. Diego Costa, Thiago Alcantara and half-time substitute Iago Aspas also scored for Spain. A minor leg problem kept Messi from playing in Argentina's 2-0 win over Italy in Manchester, England, on Friday. Sampaoli had said on Monday that his star player was better and that he expected him to play against Spain, but he left him out of his squad come match time.

Sodhi replaces injured Astle for Christchurch Test

New Zealand leg-spinner Todd Astle has been ruled out of his side's second and final Test of the two-match series against England due to a side strain.The 31-year-old sustained the injury while bowling during the opening Test, which New Zealand went on to win by an innings and 49 runs over the Joe Root-led side at Auckland's Eden Park.Now, a subsequent scans has confirmed that he would not be ready to play in the final match, beginning at Hagley Oval on Friday.Reflecting on the same, New Zealand coach Mike Hesson said that Astle played a major role in helping the Black Caps win the opening Test and that it is quiet unfortunate to miss the services of the leg-spinner."Through some incredibly hard work, Todd's already overcome some injuries this summer, so for this to happen now is a cruel blow. Todd played a major role in helping us win the game at Eden Park, so it's disappointing for Todd and the team that he's forced to the sideline ahead of Friday," the New Zealand Cricket quoted ...

Rolling Out of Indigenous LHB Train Coaches

7601 LHB coaches have been rolled out upto February' 2018. The production target is 3025 LHB coaches for the year 2018-19.

Del Potro to face Raonic in Miami Open quarters

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina will face Milos Raonic of Canada in the Miami Open quarterfinals after both players beat their respective rivals in the fourth round.

Asian Cup Qualifiers: India's 12-match unbeaten streak ends

A late header from Jeje Lalpekhlua could not prevent the Indian football team's 12-match unbeaten streak from coming to an end as the side went down 1-2 to Kyrgyz Republic in their last Group A match of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers here at the Dolon Omurzakov Stadium last evening.The last time the two teams met, India rode on a sublime Sunil Chhetri strike to win by a solitary goal.India, thus, finished their engagements on 13 points having already qualified to the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 earlier.The hosts had the perfect start to the match as they surged ahead in the second minute itself, off their first attack down the right when Zemlianukhin Anton dug it into the top corner of the net.The second goal came in the 73rd minute - the tireless and talented Murzalev Mirlan managing to swerve it beyond Indian captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's reach, who otherwise had a notable outing under the bar pulling off a couple of blinders.Jeje reduced the margin in the 88th minute, Jeje Lalpekhlua ...

Vivo IPL 2018: Mumbai Indians begin training, foreign players to join Apr 1

It is learnt that the Mumbai Indians are training at the newly-developed cricketing facility inside Reliance Corporate Park in Ghansoli in neighbouring Navi Mumbai

Muskan wins gold as India pip China at top

Muskan clinched the gold medal in women's 25m pistol as India pipped China at the top of the pecking order in the ISSF Junior World Cup here today. The 16-year-old Indian bested China's Qin Sihang and Thailand's Kanyakorn Hirunphoem, who respectively took silver and bronze in the pistol event, the tournament's penultimate on the final day. The team gold was won by Muskan, Manu Bhaker and Devanshi Rana, adding to India's rich medal haul. India thus upstaged China with 22 medals, including nine gold to China's eight. India have also five silver and eight bronze medals. Muskan's medal was India's fourth individual gold in the prestigious tournament. Muskan who finished 4th at last year's ISSF Junior World Championship in Suhl, Germany -- took the lead at the end of the sixth round when she nailed a perfect 5-hit series and found herself sitting on a 3-point advantage over her closest rival, China's Qin Sihang (16). Muskan successfully defended that lead throughout the rest of the final,

Proposed innovations have players' interests at heart: Hyer

Shorter matches will sharpen badminton as a commercial product, feels BWF president Poul-Erik Hyer, who insists the proposed innovations to the sport have the players' interests at heart. The BWF Council will be seeking its membership's approval to change three specific elements: a new scoring system (5x11), a reduction in on-court coaching and a fixed-height service law during its Annual General Meeting in May. Shorter matches will sharpen badminton as a commercial product and make it a more attractive television product. That translates into higher revenues and the resulting effect of that is higher player income, Hyer said. Hyer listed shorter matches, less physical pressure, longer playing careers and increased earnings among the primary benefits, especially for those competing at elite level during his infographic presentation. As outlined in our Strategic Plan 2016-2020, players are at the centre of our decisions and a significant part of our mandate is to provide the optimal ...

'Brazil learning to win without Neymar'

Brazil coach Tite has praised his team's ability to cope without injured forward Neymar following a 1-0 victory over Germany here.