Page 1935 - Sports
In T20, the first six overs are the key: Raina
Comeback man Suresh Raina feels that in T20s it is all about the first six overs and that is where every team has to cash in to win games.
Taylor, Santner heroics get New Zealand home over England
A century by Ross Taylor and lusty late hitting by Mitch Santner delivered a last-over victory to New Zealand over England in their first one-day international in Hamilton on Sunday. In a match filled with twists and turns, the outcome hung in the balance until Santer smacked a six in the final over to get New Zealand home with four balls to spare. Domination fluctuated throughout the match but when Ben Stokes celebrated his return to international cricket with the crucial wicket of Tom Latham, it appeared to put England in charge. However, Santner's 45 off 27 balls swung the game back in New Zealand's favour as they chased down England's 284 for eight. New Zealand were in immediate trouble at the start of their run chase as they fell to three for 27 in the 10th over. Taylor, with his 18th century, and Latham clawed the home side back into the game with a 178-run stand for the fourth wicket before Stokes stepped up to remove Latham for 79 and New Zealand were 205 for four in the 40th .
Olympics not 'tainted' by Russian doping, says Bach
Olympics chief Thomas Bach denied the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics had been "tainted" by the Russian doping scandal as officials voted to keep Russia's suspension in place for the closing ceremony on Sunday. Bach said Russia's ban from Olympic participation will automatically be lifted if anti-doping officials do not find any more Russian drug cases at Pyeongchang, where two Russians tested positive. An International Olympic Committee source said the suspension could be lifted as early as "a few days or a few weeks" if no further positive tests come out of the Games. The Russian question has hung over Pyeongchang. Russia was banned for systemic doping, but 168 "clean" Russians were allowed to compete -- only for a curler and a bobsledder to fail drugs tests. But Bach said the IOC had sent a "clear message" on Russia, who competed as "Olympic Athletes from Russia" and will now be unable to fly the national flag at Sunday's closing ceremony. "I don't think, quite frankly, that these ...
Golden finish for Norway as Russian flag barred
Winter Olympics legend Marit Bjoergen lifted Norway top of the final Pyeongchang medals table today, as Russia celebrated a dramatic men's hockey gold -- but also saw their flag barred from the closing ceremony over doping. Bjoergen, 37, won her second gold and fifth medal at Pyeongchang in the women's 30km cross country mass start, extending her record Winter Olympics career tally to 15. It was a fitting finale as it handed Norway their 14th gold to overtake Germany in the final medal count, after the German team won the four-man bobsleigh earlier on Sunday. Germany also finish on 14 golds, but Norway take top spot with their record 39 medals overall to Germany's 31. Canada are third with 11 golds, while hosts South Korea are seventh. Norway's celebrations capped a dramatic final day of competition that saw the Olympics Athletes from Russia beat Germany 4-3 in a sudden-death, overtime hockey thriller. Kirill Kaprizov scored a thumping power-play goal 9:40 into the extra period to ...
Sudden-death Russia hail hockey gold, sing banned anthem
Russians ended a 26-year Olympic men's hockey title drought Sunday and capped their dramatic 4-3 over-time victory over Germany by singing their banned national anthem on the ice. Kirill Kaprizov scored the power-play goal that will be forever remembered in Russian hockey history 9:40 into the extra period, producing the only Russian men's gold at the Pyeongchang Games. "Everybody is up in Russia and they are celebrating. Monday will be a holiday in Russia," Russian top scorer and tournament Most Valuable Player Ilya Kovalchuk said. "It feels good to do something like that for the country." Kaprizov's goal began a joyous celebration as the Russian squad raced onto the ice for hugs and laughter while flag-waving supporters roared with delight. "It's a very big moment," Russian captain Pavel Datsyuk said. "We're all happy and especially in this moment for Russia." Germany's Patrick Reimer was sent into the penalty box for a high stick on Datsyuk, setting the stage for Kaprizov's ...
We can be a surprise element in World T20: Mithali Raj
Fresh after registering a historic double series win on the South African tour, India One-Day International (ODI) captain Mithali Raj said the team can be a surprise element in the World T20 in November.
No Kohli, Dhoni, Bhuvi in T20I tri-series squad
Captain Virat Kohli, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have been rested as India on Sunday named their squad for the Nidahas Trophy Twenty20 cricket tri-series slated to take place in Colombo from March 6.
Kumar, Dhawan make significant movement in ICC rankings
India opener Shikhar Dhawan and fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar today made significant gains in the latest ICC T20I Player Rankings, riding on their superlative performances in a 2-1 T20 International series win over South Africa. Dhawan, who scored 143 runs to emerge as the top run-getter in the three-game T20I series, jumped 14 places to grab a career-best 28th spot, while Man of the series Kumar, who took seven wickets, improved 20 places to reach the 12th spot in the Player Rankings. In the ICC T20I Team Rankings, India have gained one point and South Africa have lost one point after their closely-fought series and retain their third and seventh positions, respectively. Pakistan are on the top of the table at 126 points but only fractionally ahead of Australia. South Africa captain Jean-Paul Duminy, who scored 122 runs in the series, also jumped four places to be at the 24th spot in the batting ranking. Among others, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has moved up to take top ...
Clinical Quetta Gladiators beat Lahore Qalandars in PSL
Quetta Gladiators produced a clinical show to crush Lahore Qalandars by nine wickets in the second match of Pakistan Super League here. Put into bat, Lahore could only post 119/9 after a dazzling start and Quetta easily chased down the target in 14 overs for the loss of just one wicket at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. DSport is broadcasting the PSL action in India. Brendon McCullum and Sunil Narine gave a superb start to Lahore who were 45 for no loss after three overs. Narine blasted 24 runs in an over of Shane Watson that had three fours and two sixes. In the next three overs of Powerplay, Lahore's innings, however, took a dramatic turn with pacers Rahat Ali and Jofra Archer combining with spinner Mohammad Nawaz to share three wickets and reduce them to 61/3 in six overs. Rahat ended Narine's knock of 28 while Archer accounted for Fakhar Zaman (1). Nawaz got rid of McCullum (30) and Cameron Delport (15) in consecutive overs as Lahore batsmen continued taking unnecessary ...
Russia hacked Winter Olympics, alleges US
The United States (US) has alleged that Russia hacked several hundred computers used by the authorities at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea.The Russian military spies tried to make it appear as if the intrusion was conducted by North Korea, reported the Washington Post, quoting, two US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.Officials in PyeongChang acknowledged that the Games were hit by a cyber attack during the February 9 Opening Ceremonies, however, they denied to confirm if Russia was behind the attack.According to the report, analysts are of the opinion that the move was retaliation against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for prohibiting the Russian team from the Winter Games over doping violations.The Russian athletes were punished by the IOC before these games in response to Russia's alleged state-sponsored doping program that marred the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.However, 168 Russian athletes are ...
Defending champion Svitolina beats Kasatkina, keeps Dubai title
Defending champion Elina Svitolina of Ukraine won her second Dubai Tennis Championships title in a row, beating Russia's Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-0 in the final.
Winter Olympics: Russia beats Germany, wins men's gold
The team of Olympic Athletes from Russia won the men's gold in hockey on Sunday beating Germany 4-3 at the Gangneung Hockey Centre at the ongoing Winter Olympics in South Korea.
We never backed down from any situation, says Sharma
India never backed down in adverse situations and played an aggressive brand of cricket to emerge as deserving winners in the limited over series, said stand-in captain Rohit Sharma. "We will take these limited-overs trophies, throughout the series we played with a lot of aggression. As a group, we never back down from any situation. That is the reason we are standing here as winners," Sharma said after India beat South Africa by seven runs to clinch the series 2-1 yesterday. Sharma also lauded his bowlers for a clinical performance. "We discussed certain plans and it worked today. The idea was to keep the ball on the stumps and we kept it tight in the first six overs. Credit to the new-ball bowlers. It was a complete bowling performance," he said. "To be honest, we were 15 runs short. Because the way the first half went, I thought we lost our way in the end. These things happen and we learn from it. I thought it was a decent score and the bowlers did the job for us. I hope games like
Hafeez wants ICC to modify rules to allow 'doosra' remain a part of game
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez says the International Cricket Council (ICC) should tweak its rules to ensure the 'doosra' remains part of the sport. "Really happy to see leg spinners come into international cricket. But I still believe something should happen when it comes to the doosra," Hafeez said on the sidelines of the Pakistan Super League. "Saeed Ajmal has given us a lot of excitement as well as Saqlain Mushtaq. It is one area ICC must look into. Some extension in the rules... doosra should be a part of cricket, not taken away from it," he added. Hafeez, a top order batsman and a handy off-spinner, has been reported for more than once in the past for his suspect bowling action and currently he cannot bowl in ICC events. Hafeez said he is not surprised by the rise of leg-spinners in world cricket and feels it's a great option to get wickets. "This is one area that every team looks forward to. Having leg spinners in the team provides them with lots of excitement and options
Kohli, Dhoni rested for upcoming T20I tri-series
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and star wicketkeeper-batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni have been rested from the 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.The All-India Senior Selection Committee of the of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday named Rohit Sharma as the stand-in captain of the Indian side, while Shikhar Dhawan will serve as his deputy.The first of the seven-match Nidahas Trophy 2018, which will be played in Sri Lanka, will be held on March 6 in Colombo, to be played by India and Sri Lanka.India squad for the T20I series: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk).
India's experience in bowling was the difference, says Gibson
South Africa coach Ottis Gibson said India's experience in the bowling department was the main difference between the two sides as Virat Kohli's men clinched the T20 International series 2-1 with a thrilling seven-run victory in the third and final game here. Experience (is the big difference),said Gibson after India restricted South Africa to 165 for six while chasing a target of 172 for seven last night. India have got (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Bhuvneshwar) Kumar, two very experienced players. We have got Chris Morris and Junior Dala, who made his debut. The experience they have of playing not just for India but also playing 3 or 4 years of IPL cricket has shown in the end. Talking about his bowlers, Gibson said: "While Junior held his own, Morris has a lot of work to do. He is a match winner for us but he needs more consistency in his bowling. "He is short of that. He just needs to figure out what type of bowler he is and what he wants to become. This is the conversation I had with ...
Bologna tops Genoa in Serie A
Bologna FC topped Genoa 2-0 in 26th-round action here in the Italian football league, snapping the visitors' three-game winning streak.
'No deficit expected from PyeongChang Winter Olympics'
With the PyeongChang Winter Olympics gearing up for its grand finale on Sunday, the top organiser said the country's first Winter Games were financially successful, breaking the conception that major international competitions normally end with high levels of debt.
The saree conundrum at CWG: It's comfort over convention for quite a few
The tradition of saree will make way for the "comfort" of blazers and trousers for India's women athletes at this year's Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and quite a lot of them are happy with the departure from convention. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on February 20 decided to replace the saree with blazers and trousers as the ceremonial dress for female athletes, a move which the governing body claimed, was dictated by the feedback received. While some like Olympic silver-medallist shuttler P V Sindhu, Olympic bronze-medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik and shuttler Jwala Gutta are against the decision to break away from tradition, quite a few are happy that comfort has won over convention. Among them is 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games air rifle gold-medallist, Apurvi Chandela, who feels blazer and trouser will come across as graceful as saree. "I respect and honour the decision of the IOA. Like saree, even blazer and trouser would also look graceful. So we are happy about it .
Leganes, Las Palmas play goalless draw
Leganes and Las Palmas fought to a 0-0 tie in a match at the Butarque Stadium here that got off to a slow start in the first half but offered several scoring chances in the second half, especially for Leganes.