Page 2072 - Sports
I-League: Chennai City face Arrows' challenge at home (Preview)
Chennai City take on Indian Arrows in a testing Hero I-League clash at the JLN Stadium here on Saturday.
India will get 10 days preparation for England, Australia series: Rai
India will get at least 10 days to prepare in England and Australia before the actual action begins, the Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai, responsible for running the BCCI, said on Friday.
I-League: Neroca host Minerva in top-of-the-table clash (Preview)
Neroca FC are all set to take on Hero I-League table toppers Minerva Punjab in the much-awaited top-of-the-table encounter at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium here on Saturday.
Experts criticise Wanderers pitch, term it "dangerous"
The Wanderers pitch on offer for the ongoing third cricket Test between India and South Africa has come in for sharp criticism with former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding terming the surface "dangerous". "This pitch, I think, is dangerous. I would hate to be a batsman on this pitch given what I am seeing happening out there at the moment on the third day of a Test match," Holding told PTI. "Look, I am happy with lateral movement, like we saw in the first Test (at Cape Town). I have no problem with that. But when balls start exploding off a length and people start getting hit left, right and centre, I don't think that's a good pitch," he added. The Wanderers' pitch has coming under criticism from former cricketers and commentators for its dangerous nature. The talk of the entire third day was about the uneven bounce of the track with some of the cracks on good length and short of it opening up. As many as three Indian and one South African batsmen were hit on day .
Chennai City face Arrows' challenge
Chennai City will look to avenge their opening game loss against Indian Arrows when the two teams lock horns in a bottom-of-the-table clash at the Hero I-League clash at the JLN Stadium here tomorrow. V Soundararajan's boys suffered a 3-0 defeat against Arrows in their opening game of the season, a result that the head coach would want his team to overturn at their new home here. "After seeing Arrows' tactics, we feel that they are a very good team. We have settled in nicely now. It is a challenge for us. We will take it as a challenge," said Chennai City head coach Soundararajan. Jean Micheal Joachim has scored five goals so far in the league and is Chennai's top scorer but he has found goals hard to come by in the last few games. However, with the ever-impressive Soosairaj acting as the stronghold in midfield, the game promises to be an exciting end-to-end affair. "We will look to win the match comfortably so we will go all-out," said a confident Soundararajan. Luis ...
Satwik-Chirag join Saina in Indonesia Masters semis
India's young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their impressive show, while veteran Saina Nehwal got the better of compatriot P.V. Sindhu to enter the semi-finals of the $350,000 Indonesia Masters World Tour Super 500 here on Friday.
Indonesia Masters: Saina, Satwik-Chirag enter semis
Former World No 1 Saina Nehwal asserted her supremacy over Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu with a straight game victory to enter the semifinals of the USD 350,000 Indonesia Masters, here today. London Olympics bronze medallist Saina, who is coming back from an ankle injury, gave ample display of her powerful game as she overcame Sindhu 21-13 21-19 in an all-Indian women's singles quarterfinal clash. "I m happy to b on the winning side against Sindhu today ... It was a really tough match," Saina tweeted after the match that lasted 37 minutes. Saina, who has a silver and a bronze at World Championships, will next face Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, seeded fourth, who dumped Glasgow World Champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in another match. Saina has an 8-5 head-to-head record against Ratchanok. Young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty stunned fourth seeded and World No 6 Denmark pair of Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding 21-23 21 -15
Kerala, PSPB spell Maharashtra doom in Senior TT Nationals
Tamil Nadu defeated Odisha 3-1 to enter the quarterfinals of the 79th Senior Nationals Table Tennis Championship here today. Reeth Rishya lost 13-15, 12-10, 12-10, 6-11, 8-11 to junior player Anannya Basak. However Yashini Sivashankar won her two singles and Selanadeepthi Selvakumar also contributed win a win to guide Tamil Nadu to the quarters. Reeth, despite leading 2-1 against the Odisha youngster, could not stop Anannya from clawing her way back into the second singles and level the team score. But then Selena put Tamil Nadu ahead again when she beat Prusty Samartha 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 and thereafter it was left to Yashini to take care of Anannya. The Tamil Nadu girl, who beat Poushali Ghatak in the first singles 3-0, repeated the performance against Anannya to win 11-7, 11-4, 11-3. Tamil Nadu will now take on Kerala, who sent Maharashtra A packing 3-2 in a marathon with as many as 22 games being played. Maharashtra B also lost 0-3 to PSPB and as a result the state ...
South Africa need 241 to win 3rd Test
India were bowled out for 247 in their second innings on the third day here on Friday, setting a target of 241 runs for South Africa to clinch the third and final cricket Test.
Rai urges ex-cricketers to come into administration
The Committee of Administrators (COA) chief Vinod Rai on Friday urged former greats of the game like Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev to get into cricket administration for the betterment of the sport.
India set South Africa 241-run target to win 3rd Test
India set South Africa a stiff 241-run target to win the third and final cricket Test after scoring 247 in their second innings, which ended during the final session of the third day, here. Ajinkya Rahane was the top-scorer for the visitors with his 48-run knock. The lower-order batsmen Bhuvneshwar Kumar (33) and Mohammed Shami (27) chipped in with useful knocks. India are trailing the three-match series 0-2. Brief Scores: India: 187 and 247 in 80.1 overs. (A Rahane 48, Virat Kohli 41; Kagiso Rabada 3/59, M Morkel 3/47, V Philander 3/61) South Africa 1st innings: 194 all out.
Babos-Mladenovic pair claims 1st Grand Slam title
Hungarian Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic of France on Friday won the women's doubles title at the Australian Open tennis tournament after defeating the second seeded Russian pair of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-3.
Head guides Australia to victory in fourth England ODI
Travis Head, promoted to the top of the order, led Australia to a drought-breaking win over England in the fourth one-day international, here today. Replacing injured opener Aaron Finch, Head anchored a shaky Australian run chase with a polished 96, falling just shy of a deserved century and with victory imminent. England were dismissed for 196 after being sent in to bat in bowler-friendly conditions, losing four of their top six batsmen for ducks as the possibility of a record low score in one-day cricket briefly loomed. In reply, Australia reached the modest target with 13 overs to spare, finishing on 197 for seven, but the chase was not without concerns as they struggled to win their first game in the five-match series and turn around their dismal recent one-day form. England had already secured the series by taking an unbeatable 3-0 lead in Sydney last Sunday, and that result had left the current World Cup holders with just one win in their past 11 completed ...
Consolation win for Aussies at Adelaide
After facing three defeats, Australia registered a three-wicket consolation victory over England in the fourth one-day international (ODI) played at Adelaide Oval on here Friday.Set a low target of 196, Travis Head led the Australia charge by scoring 96 before being dismissed by Mark Wood.Mitchell Marsh scored 32, while Tim Paine was unbeaten on 25.For England, Chris Woakes top-scored with 78, Tom Curran scored 35, skipper Eoin Morgan and Moeen Ali scored 33 runs apiece.Pat Cummins took career-best figures of 4-24 and Andrew Tye finished with 3-33.The two sides will next meet on Sunday for the fifth and final ODI at the Perth Stadium.
U-19 World Cup: Gill sets up semi-final clash with Pak
Shubman Gill produced sublime innings of 86 as three-time champion India scored an impressive 131 runs victory over Bangladesh to set up a semi-final clash with arch-rival Pakistan at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup.Gill scored 94 to help India give a target of 266 runs.Bangladesh succumbed for 134 in 42.1 overs under a mounting asking run-rate, courtesy some tight bowling from the India fast bowlers in the early overs.Opener Pinak Ghosh scored 43 but they could neither get runs at a brisk pace nor keep wickets in hand.India captain Prithvi Shaw credited his team for a good all-around effort, and said, "The fast bowlers and spinners executed our plans very well. It's really good to pick up wickets in the power-plays. The plan was quite simple with our batting - look for the singles and rotate the strike".Gill, who was also declared the man of the match, said the intensity was more following their recent loss to Bangladesh."We remembered our loss in the Asia Cup and so were ...
India eye 3rd consecutive win in 4 nations hockey meet (Preview)
India will be overwhelming favourites against Japan in the last pool stage match in the second-leg of the Four Nations Invitational Tournament at the Gallagher Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.
ASC reaches final
ASC, Bengaluru, edged out Chennai FC 5-4 via penalties today in the semi-final of the Don Bosco-Fr McFerran Trophy All India football tournament here. The match ended goalless at regulation time. While the Bengaluru team converted all the penalties, Chennai FC missed one to bow out of the tournament. For ASC, the scorers were: Thiygarajan, Thirunavakarasu, Neeraj, Arunjit and Jerin. John Peter, Sanjay Sharma, Swanta Mistri and Gudipath Kumar found the net for the city club. ASC takes on Goa FC in the final, tomorrow.
Mark Sifneos replaces Adrian Colunga in FC Goa squad
FC Goa today announced the signing of former Kerala Blasters FC striker Mark Sifneos for the current season of the Indian Super League. The Dutchman, 19, is the youngest foreign player in the Hero Indian Super League and was the first goal scorer for his former team in this season of the ISL. The youngster already has four goals and an assist in the tournament and will be looking to add to that tally with the Gaurs who are the highest goal scorers of the tournament, having played only 10 games. Sifneos also scored a goal against the Gaurs when Kerala played Goa at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda. The lanky Dutchman is a towering presence in the box and will be a threat to opposing teams at set pieces. His poaching instinct and ability to convert half chances will also help the Gaurs push for a place in the play off stage of the competition. "The club is pleased to get Sifneos on board. He's a player who has already proved his quality in the league this year with .
Kerala fancy win against bottom-placed Delhi in ISL (Preview)
Kerala Blasters will fancy a win over bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos on Saturday as they look to push for the top four spots in the Indian Super League (ISL).
Atwal lies T-13 in Myanmar Open; six Indians make cut
Arjun Atwal turned in a fine three- under 68 to move up to Tied-13th from overnight T-34th at the Leopalace21 Myanmar Open here today. Atwal, the only Indian to have tasted success on the PGA Tour in the US, but now playing in Asia, is now four-under 138 and four shots behind the leaders, Paul Peterson (66) and Rattanon Wannsrichan (69) at the halfway stage. While Atwal led the Indians in the field, five others made the 36-hole cut in the USD 750,000 event co-sanctioned by Asian and Japan Tours. Ajeetesh Sandhu (70-70) and Shiv Kapur (72-69) are Tied- 37th, with the latter improving from his first round position of T-78. Also making the cut were Gaganjeet Bhullar (70-72), Rashid Khan (71-71), Jyoti Randhawa (70-72) -- all Tied-51st as 66 players made the cut which fell at even par 142. Atwal, the Asian captain at the recently concluded EurAsia Cup, began in style with three birdies in first four holes, but back-to-back bogeys on sixth and seventh set him back. Two ...