Page 1843 - Sports

Have to focus on our strengths:England Women's skipper Knight

Ahead of their first game against Australia tomorrow in the ongoing T20 tri-series, England Women's skipper Heather Knight has said they need to focus on their strengths irrespective of the opposition. England Women, who were beaten 2-1 by Australia Women Down Under in a three-match T20 series, will take on the same opponents tomorrow at the Brabourne Stadium here. "For us, it is about whoever we play, we play the top cricket that we want to play. We have done well as a team. We have to focus on what are our strengths, what we want to do with our cricket. And regardless of the opposition, if we do that, we will be in a good place," Knight told reporters here. England Women have warmed up in style as they outclassed India A in both practise games. Today Australia kick-started their T20 campaign on a positive note by thrashing India Women by 6 wickets. About the game, Knight said, "It's a very good wicket, fast outfield and can be hard to defend if the batter gets in. And ..

Was approached for county when I went unsold on Day 1: Vijay

When he went unsold on the first day of the IPL auctions, Murali Vijay suddenly started getting calls to play in English county just like other Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma. However on the second day, he was back 'home' with Chennai Super Kings picking him late in the day and the opener recalled it with a hearty laugh. "A lot of people approached me especially after the first day of the IPL auctions when I went unsold (starts laughing)," Vijay fondly recalled during a promotional event today. The question was asked in the context whether he would like to play county cricket before the England series. "As for the county stint, there are a lot of procedures involved and we have to wait. There is a lot of time before the England and Australia assignments. Being a professional, I am confident of making the necessary adjustments and put up a better show on those two tours," he added. Vijay, who was part of the CSK before moving on to play for other teams including ..

I don't like sledging and car horn honking: Rahane

Having experienced verbal retorts from rival teams at the top level of the game, Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane has developed a distaste for such banters. The 29-year-old today compared sledging with horn honking when driving his car. "Just as I don't like sledging (on the cricket field), I also don't like car honking while driving," said Rahane. The Mumbai cricketer was speaking at a media conference to announce an initiative by the Motor Vehicles Department, Maharashtra (MVD) in association with the Tata Group to raise awareness about road safety and no honking. Rahane is also set to take part in the 'Horn Not Ok Please' T20 Cup exhibition match on March 24 at the Wankhede Stadium between 'Road Safety XI' and 'No Honking XI'. Some top Indian players, including Yuvraj Singh, K L Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Suresh Raina, will also feature in the match. "Noise pollution is a serious issue, especially in large metro cities like ...

Hopefully I would get to play in the World Cup: Bravo

Out of national of reckoning for a while now, West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo is hoping to get a chance to play for his country at next year's World Cup after the two-time champions qualified for the 50 over quadrennial event to be held in England. The West Indies snatched a spot at next year's World Cup by notching up a five-run victory over Scotland via DLS method in Harare yesterday. Bravo, who has been out of the ODI side since the tour of India in 2014 and last played for West Indies in September, 2016 at Abu Dhabi, congratulated the young team for making it to the World Cup. "First of all, congrats to the team for qualifying. I am happy for the guys. World Cup without the West Indies... I mean there is FIFA World Cup without Italy. These things are possible. No one team or one country are guaranteed anything," he told reporters at a promotional event here. "It is a young team. The cricketing world loves to see West Indies and love to see West Indies competing with the best. .

Table tennis player Soumyajit booked for rape

Arjuna awardee table tennis player and Olympian Soumyajit Ghosh was booked on Thursday for raping a teenager.

Surya Yadav happy to use T20 Mumbai League as tune up for IPL

City cricketer Suryakumar Yadav is happy to find some form ahead of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL) where he would turn out for defending champions Mumbai Indians. The IPL commences on April 7 with the title holders taking on arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings here at their den, the Wankhede Stadium. "I will play most of my Indian Premier League games here itself, so I wanted to use the opportunity and get some form which will hopefully help me later in IPL," said Yadav after powering his team Triumph Knights, representing the North-east region of the metropolis, to the inaugural T20 Mumbai League title last night at the Wankhede. Yadav, who also plays for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and was even its captain once, slammed a blistering 90 not out in 42 ball with seven sixes and as many fours embellishing it, to pull the Knights out of deep trouble at 34 for 5 in the company of Parikshit Valsangkar (59). The duo helped Triumph Knights post 182 for 5 which proved .

India's Elavenil Valarivan bags gold in ISSF Junior WC

Reigning national champion, Elavenil Valarivan won the junior women's 10m air rifle gold at the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Sydney, Australia, as India won two gold medals and one bronze to kick-off their campaign on a strong note.The teenager from Gujarat, who burst onto the scene at the national shooting trials last year with a world record score and then went on to win the senior nationals on debut in the event, had a profitable day, also pocketing the Team Gold along with compatriots Shreya Agrawal and Zeena Khitta. Arjun Babuta in the junior men's 10m air rifle won India's third medal of the day, a Bronze.Elavenil shot a junior world record score of 631.4 to top qualification a clear 1.7 points ahead of Chinese Taipei's Ying-Shin Lin and the writing was on the wall. All three Indians qualified for the eight-woman including Zeena who shot 623.1 and Shreya who shot 622 to finish sixth and seventh respectively.In ..

West Ham issue lifetime bans pitch invaders

England football club West Ham United have issued lifetime bans to five fans who invaded the pitch during a match at the London Stadium earlier this month.Scenes turned ugly after team's 3-0 defeat by Burnley when fans invaded the pitch and threw coins at the club's owners, David Gold and David Sullivan, reports the Independent.West Ham said the spectators were banned for their acts of "severe violence and physical aggression" and with the "intent to injure or harm"."Lifetime bans from all West Ham United matches, both home and away, have today been issued to five individuals who crossed safety barriers to enter the field of play - a criminal offence that is a severe breach of stadium safety regulations - while a number of individuals have also been banned for life for violently throwing coins or objects with intent to injure or harm on the bridge directly in front of the Directors' Box," the England club said in a statement.It added that further bans will be issued based on witness ..

Aussies claim T20 tri-series opener over Indian eves

Australian women cricket team defeated India by six wickets in the opening encounter of the T20 Tri-series at the Brabourne Stadium here on Thursday.After being asked to bat first, India posted an easy target of 152 with help of opener Smriti Mandhana's 41-ball-67 and Anuja Patil's 35. The tourists cruised to the target with two overs to spare.Opener Beth Mooney gave Aussies a solid start with her 43-run innings while right-hand batsman Elyse Villani contributed 39 runs to her team's winning cause.Skipper Meg Lanning and Rachael Haynes remained unbeaten on 35 and 12 runs respectively to take their side over the line.India's Jhulan Goswami, who was making a comeback after sustaining a heel injruy, scalped three wickets while Poonam Yadav claimed one.For Australia, Ashleigh Gardner and Ellyse Perry took two wickets apiece while Delissa Kimmince grabbed one.The second game of the tri-series will be played between Australia and England on Friday.

Focus on game and money will follow, Dravid's advice to Mavi

Rahul Dravid's pearls of wisdom are precious for any young cricketer and talented fast bowler Shivam Mavi is no exception as he is trying to follow the former India captain's advice to the T: "Focus on the game and riches will follow". The 19-year-old Mavi, a star performer for the World Cup winning India U-19 team, will be turning out for Kolkata Knight Riders in the upcoming Indian Premier League after being picked up for a whopping Rs 3 crore at the auctions. "Rahul Sir told us that 'money will keep flowing in but just remember what is it that has helped you earn so much money and focus on that. It's cricket for you. If you give time to cricket then it will give you back, whatever you want.' His words still rings in my ears," Mavi told PTI in an interview at KKR's team hotel here. It is a common thing for young cricketers to progress from domestic cricket to the IPL but U-19 World Cup winning speedster Shivam Mavi wants to buck the trend aiming a place in the Uttar Pradesh Ranji ...

Rajanth, Rijiju wish the best to CWG-bound team

Home Minister Rajnath Singh today wished the Commonwealth Games-bound Indian athletes all the success in the quadrennial multi-sporting event in Gold Coast and said a good performance will evoke a "sense of pride" among the people of the country. Rajnath made a brief appearance at the send-off ceremony of the contingent organised by the Indian Olympic Assiociation. His deputy Kiren Rijiju was also present on the occasion, along with IOA president Narinder Batra and secretary general Rajeev Mehta. "I am fully confident that the players who are going to the Commonwealth Games will bring laurels to the country. When a country becomes an economic power there is a sense of pride among the people of the country. Similarly, when a sportsperson brings laurels to the country, it evokes a sense of pride among the people of the whole country," the Home Minister said. After his brief speech, Rajnath posed with the Indian contingent for a photograph and then left immediately, leaving behind Rijiju

World Cup at risk from match-fixing, say betting experts

The World Cup is not immune from the threat of match-fixing, experts have warned, with sophisticated monitoring systems in place to identify suspicious activity during the tournament in Russia. Jake Marsh, head of integrity at digital media group Perform, which supplies live sports video to bookmakers, said there was no room for complacency despite the global nature of the event. He said factors such as national pride and the impression -- sometimes false -- that all the players are well-paid, did not mean the World Cup would not be targeted. "We have had World Cup qualifiers that have been proved as fixed," said Marsh, who was speaking at the Betting on Football conference at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground on Wednesday. "So why wouldn't they go into the main tournament? "We looked at a friendly match last year between two international sides, one of whom couldn't afford to pay their hotel bill and might be featuring at the World Cup." "The vulnerabilities are there even though they

No CWG, Ghosh in all likelihood will be suspended: TTFI Secy

The Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) today said it is likely to suspend former national champion Soumyajit Ghosh and drop him from the country's Commonwealth Games squad after an 18-year-old woman levelled allegations of rape against the paddler. A complaint has been lodged at the Barasat women's police station in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, where the 24-year-old Arjuna awardee has been booked under the IPC sections for rape, criminal conspiracy, causing miscarriage without the woman's consent and cheating, the police said. Ghosh, who is currently training in Germany, for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, is set to be dropped from the national team, federation secretary MP Singh told PTI today. "The charges are very serious against Ghosh, who is an important member of the men's squad for the CWG. I have called an executive committee meeting tomorrow. In my opinion, we have no option but to suspend him pending further investigations. Sanil Shetty has .

Team not learning from past mistakes, says Mandhana

Admitting that the team is not learning from its past mistakes, India Vice Captain Smriti Mandhana today took blame for the six-wicket loss against Australia Women saying she threw her wicket away. "We are not learning from our mistakes in the One Dayers. I have been timing the ball well, but I have been getting out after getting set, so that is the take away from this match, a disheartened Mandhana told reporters at the post match conference. Mandhana's 67, her highest score in T20 internationals, went in vain as India suffered a humiliating 6 wickets loss to the Aussies. Giving the example of Mithali Raj, Mandhana said the juniors needed to own up to their mistakes and learn from the ODI skipper and other senior players. "It's very easy to blame others and not put it on ourselves. As player it is easy to say that they didn't perform, but the fact is that it is really hard for a new batsman to come and bat, and it is really for a set batswoman to play, so it is much easier for me to

Auckland Test: Boult, Williamson put Kiwis in dominating position on Day 1

Fast bowler Trent Boult scalped a six-wicket haul before skipper Kane Williamson struck a 91-run knock to put New Zealand in driver's seat in the opening day of the first Test of the two-match series against England here at the Eden Park on Thursday.After being asked to bat first, the England batsmen were humiliated and ripped to shreds by New Zealand as they collapsed to 27-9 before being eventually dismissed for 58 runs in their first Test since losing the Ashes 4-0 in Australia.Boult made the most of the pink ball for New Zealand, as he finished with the brilliant figures of six for 32 to dismantle the Joe Root-led side's top order. His partner Tim Southee well supported him as he took care of the remaining batting line-up by bagging four wickets.Five England batsmen were dismissed for duck as the visiting side recorded their sixth-worst total in the longest format of the game.In reply, New Zealand too lost opener Jeet Raval cheaply for three runs before Williamson struck an ...

Bolt a 'massive fan' of Ronaldo but likens himself to Messi

Former Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who is all set to swap his spikes for studs, has said that though he is a 'massive fan' of Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo, his natural talent is more similar to that of Barcelona forward Lionel Messi.The 31-year-old, who has won eight Olympic gold medals in his illustrious career that ended in 2017, is all set to give playing football a serious try out when he joins the Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund this week.Talking ahead of an open training session with his first football team, Bolt said that he is a big fan of Ronaldo, but he has more in common with Messi, saying they both benefited from a natural ability."Messi is very talented.From what I've learned and listened to over the years, Cristiano had to work to get where he is. I was born with speed and had a lot of talent [like Messi]," goal.com quoted Bolt, as saying.Meanwhile, Bolt said that he is now determined to use his stint with Borussia Dortmunds as a platform to achieve his

Aussie women beat India in T20I Tri-Series first match

Australia dominated with both bat and ball to defeat India by six wickets in the first match of the women's Twenty20 International (T20I) Tri-Series here on Thursday.

Auckland, Mar 22 (AFP) Scoreboard at stumps on day one of the first Test between New Zealand and England in Auckland today:

Scoreboard at stumps on day one of the first Test between New Zealand and England in Auckland today: England first innings A Cook c Latham b Boult 5 M Stoneman c Watling b Southee 11 J Root b Boult 0 D Malan c Watling b Boult 2 B Stokes b Boult 0 J Bairstow c and b Southee 0 M Ali b Southee 0 C Woakes b Boult 5 C Overton not out 33 S Broad c Williamson b Southee 0 J Anderson c Nicholls b Boult 1 Extras: (LB-1) 1 Total: (20.4 overs) 58 Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-6, 3-16, 4-18, 5-18, 6-18, 7-23, 8-23, 9-27, 10-58. Bowling: Boult 10.4-3-32-6, Southee 10-3-25-4 New Zealand first innings J Raval c Bairstow b Anderson 3 T Latham c Woakes b Broad 26 K Williamson not out 91 R Taylor c Woakes b Anderson 20 H Nicholls not out 24 Extras: (LB-6, W-5) 11 Total: (for 3 wickets; 69 overs) 175 Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-92, 3-123. To bat: BJ Watling, Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Trent Boult. Bowling: Anderson 13-4-32-2, Broad 15-4-24-1, Overton 15-4-43-0, Woakes 15-5-36-0, ..

Williamson stars as England hit embarrassing low

Captain Kane Williamson's unbeaten 91 set New Zealand up for a commanding lead after England were skittled for one of the lowest scores in their history in the first Test in Auckland today. At stumps on day one in the first day-night Test in New Zealand, the Black Caps were 175 for three and 117 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand. England were left red-faced when they failed to cope with a swing bowling masterclass by Trent Boult and Tim Southee to be all out for just 58 after a mere 20.4 overs in Auckland. They were flirting with the world-record low of 26, set by New Zealand on the same ground against England in 1955, until number nine batsman Craig Overton spared their blushes with an unbeaten 33 at the end. Apart from Stuart Broad taking his 400th Test wicket it was a bleak day for the tourists, who registered their sixth lowest total in Tests. But for New Zealand, Williamson commanded the Test from the moment he won the toss and opted to bowl. He featured in the field with a ..

Women's T20 Tri-series: Australia overpower Indian by 6 wkts

Australian women maintained their stranglehold on India with a record-equalling six-wicket victory in the opening encounter of the T20 Tri-Series, here today. The Southern Stars thus maintained their unbeaten record on tour having outclassed the hosts 3-0 in the ODI series. While the format changed from 50 to 20 overs but the familiar middle-order collapse still continued. Opener Smriti Mandhana once again struck a stylish 67 off 41 balls, helping India post a decent total of 152 for five in 20 overs. In reply, Australia equalled their highest-ever chase in shortest format, comfortably winning in 18.1 overs despite a fine effort by veteran Jhulan Goswami (3/30), who unfortunately lacked support from the other end. The biggest problem was that save Goswami, the other two seamers Shikha Pandey (0/25 in 2 overs) and Rumeli Dhar (0/28 in 2.1 overs). Indian bowlers bowled too many boundary-balls with as many 21 fours and six were taken off them. Chasing 153, Australia women were in trouble