Page 2164 - Sports

Aditya wins Kolkata Open Snooker meet

Veteran cueist Aditya Mehta won the Kolkata Open 2018 International Invitation Snooker Championship at the Hindustan Club here on Monday.

Uruguayan defender Caceres joins Lazio

Italian football club Lazio on Monday announced it had reached an agreement with Serie A rival Hellas Verona to sign Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres.

Sub-junior National Hockey C'ship: Rajasthan beat Mumbai 2-0

Rajasthan brushed aside The Mumbai Hockey Association Ltd 2-0 in their Pool A clash on the fourth day of the 8th Hockey India Sub Junior Men's National Championship here at the Hojai Hockey Stadium in Assam on Monday.The winning goals came from Manish Choudhary (6'), who has been having a good tournament so far and skipper Sachin (19').In another Pool A clash, Telangana Hockey lost 1-4 to Hockey Madhya Pradesh.The winning team got off to a strong start with captain Abdul Rahman scoring in the 12th minute followed by a 24th minute goal by Zaid Khan. They ended the first half with 3-0 lead when Aditya Chhetry scored off a penalty corner in the 32nd minute. Though Telangana Hockey scored a goal in the 53rd minute through skipper Aravind, they were nowhere close to Hockey Madhya Pradesh's goal conversion rate. Shubham Kahoria scored the fourth goal in the 58th minute through a penalty corner ending Hockey Madhya Pradesh's score-line with 4-1 victory.In a Pool D match, Sports Authority of .

Want to win Ashes in England: Smith

Australian skipper Steve Smith, who on Monday won the Compton-Miller Medal for being the player of the series, said that winning the Ashes in England has now entered his "bucket-list"."I think the more we play together, the more we're going to get better as a group. We've just got to keep getting better and improving as a team. England in 2019 is a long way away but it is a real challenge for us as well and a bucket list for mine to win an Ashes series in England", the 28-year-old told The Sydney Morning Herald.However, Smith admitted that playing in England would require dealing with batting conditions, where the ball deviates more as compared to flat tracks at home."It's a tough tour, going to England, it's a great place to play and a difficult place for any team travelling. England play incredibly well at home. I don't know who would be favourites. But I now do look forward to going over there in 2019 and playing in another Ashes series", the skipper concluded.Earlier in the day, ..

England cannot hide truth of Ashes hammering - Boycott

Batting great Geoffrey Boycott labelled England "false" for attempting to play down the gulf in class with Australia as a post-mortem began following their chastening 4-0 Ashes defeat. The home side ruthlessly finished off England in Sydney today to record their fourth comprehensive win of a one-sided series -- including two innings victories and a 10-wicket win. Several England players and coaches have repeatedly stressed in recent weeks that the main difference between the sides is that Australia have seized the crucial moments across the series. But Boycott told BBC Radio 5 Live that the series result was a fair reflection of the gap between the two teams, with most of the standout performances coming from the home side. "I think it's a little false by a number of the England players to say at times they were quite close and that there were moments here and there. Quite honestly they were far better than us in nearly every department." Boycott compared Test cricket to .

Murray announces hip surgery, eyes grasscourt season

Andy Murray announced he had hip surgery in Australia today and is hoping to return to competitive tennis in time for the grasscourt season midway through the year. The 30-year-old Scot has not played competitively since being knocked out of the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year and last week withdrew from this month's Australian Open. "Today I underwent successful right hip surgery at the St Vincent Hospital in Melbourne," the former world number one said on Facebook. "I'd like to thank Dr John O'Donnell and all of the staff for looking after me. I look forward to returning to competitive tennis during the grasscourt season. Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes and support over the last few days. I'll come back from this." The three-time Grand Slam champion, who dislodged Novak Djokovic from the top of the rankings towards the end of 2016, has slipped to 19th in the world due to his lengthy lay-off. He first felt pain in his right hip during his French Open ...

Aussies played pressure moments better: Anderson

England's leading bowler James Anderson says Australia played the pressure moments better than the battle-weary tourists and deserved their crushing 4-0 Ashes series triumph. Steve Smith's Australians swept to an innings victory in Monday's final Sydney Test, condemning England to four comprehensive defeats in the five-match series. The Ashes were relinquished by the third Test in Perth and England gave the impression by the final day of the series that they just wanted it all to end. Vice-captain Anderson, deputising for stricken skipper Joe Root, said the writing had been on the wall for some time. "Weve known for a few weeks they're going to lift the (Ashes) urn, but I guess, seeing them do it in person is tough to watch," Anderson told reporters. "There's not a lot we can do about it. We've not played well enough and they've deserved to win. "Just got to give them credit and they're well within their rights to be over the moon with that win." Anderson, 35, who is ...

Smith praises Australia's 'exceptional' bowlers

Captain Steve Smith has praised the collective efforts of his "exceptional" four front-line bowlers for contributing to Australia's crushing 4-0 Ashes series win over England today. The Australians rounded off a dominant five-match series with an innings and 123-run hammering of the beleaguered tourists on the final day of the fifth Sydney Test. Mitchell Starc, John Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon all finished with 20 or more wickets in the series to take 87 in total to dominate the England batsmen. Despite this, Smith was not prepared to rate them higher than the quartet of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Lyon who bowled Australia to a 5-0 whitewash in the last Ashes series in Australia in 2013-14. "I think all the bowlers did an exceptional job," he told reporters. "Each of our bowlers have over 20 wickets which showed that the guys have bowled together as a group, bowled in partnerships, bowled for one another and helped us take the ...

Root's Ashes tour struggles last to bitter end

Joe Root ended his troubled Ashes tour of Australia sound asleep as England surrendered to a 4-0 series loss in Sydney today. The young England captain finished the demanding five- Test series debilitated by a stomach bug which flared overnight and sent him to hospital. Root could not resume batting at the start of the final day, but came to the crease an hour in when Moeen Ali was dismissed and batted to lunch. He could not continue after the break as England slumped to a crushing innings defeat and missed the post-match presentations, with vice-captain James Anderson speaking on his behalf. "He was up all night with some sort of stomach bug, some gastro thing. He is asleep in the dressing-room trying to recover," Anderson told reporters. "He's not had any sleep, he's not eaten. He's had diarrhoea and vomiting, so I'm guessing he's not in a great state at the minute," the paceman added. "So to get to the ground in itself is a great effort and then to strap his pads on ..

Australia's Lynn out of England ODI series

Big-hitting Australian batsman Chris Lynn has been ruled out of this month's one-day international series against England with a calf problem, Cricket Australia said today. Lynn suffered the injury to his right calf fielding in the Brisbane Heat's Big Bash League match against the Perth Scorchers on Friday. It is expected the injury will sideline him for three to four weeks with selectors to announce a replacement shortly. The opening match of the five-game series takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.

Only time'll tell if Pandya becomes a genuine allrounder:Kapil

Hardik Pandya certainly has the ability but only time will tell if he would go on to become a genuine all-rounder, said former India captain Kapil Dev, considered as the country's best ever all-rounder. "Time will tell, wait for some time. He has the ability," Kapil said when asked if Pandya can emerge as a genuine all-rounder for India. "The team has to see the right combination, that's it. When you have an all-rounder, that is always good for the captain, he has the option." The 59-year old, a veteran of 131 Tests and 225 ODIs, today heaped praise on the current crop of Indian cricketers, saying the cricketing world is now looking up to India. "These boys are professional, they are doing so well. We used to look up to other countries, today the world of cricket is looking up to India, it's a big change," he said. On the performance of Indian bowlers in the ongoing South African tour, Kapil said, "They are very good, give them time, they will do far better than this what

Shreevats, Vivek guide Bengal to easy victory vs Odisha

Opener Shreevats Goswami smashed an unbeaten 79 off 52 balls in company of young Vivek Singh (64 no) as Bengal romped home by seven wickets in an East Zone encounter of the National T20 Championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Batting first, Odisha scored 157 for 5 with Rajesh Dhuper scoring 90 off 64 balls with eight boundaries and two sixes. Part-time off-break bowler Writtick Chatterjee (2/25 in 4 overs) and skipper Manoj Tiwary (2/23 in 3 overs) shared bulk of the spoils between them. In reply, Bengal coasted home in 18.4 overs with Shreevats and Vivek setting up the platform with 134 run opening stand in 13.5 overs. Shreevats hit boundaries on all sides of the wicket -- nine of them in all and also two sixes while young Vivek also hit three maximums and five boundaries. By the time Shreevats was dismissed, Bengal needed only three runs to win the match. Brief Score: Odisha 157/5 (Rajesh Dhuper 90 off 64 balls, Writtick Chatterjee 2/25, Manoj Tiwary 2/23). Bengal

I-League: Soundararajan aims to rectify mistakes against Neroca (Preview)

V. Soundrarajan-coached Chennai City will aim to rectify their mistakes against Neroca on Tuesday in the I-League tie after suffering an initial loss against the same club earlier.

Gujarat hold Rajasthan in Santosh Trophy qualifiers

Gujarat played out an emphatic 5-5 draw against Rajasthan in the inaugural Santosh Trophy qualifier tie at the TransStadia here on Monday.

South Africa reduce India to 82/7 at tea in Cape Town Test

South Africa reduced India to 82/7 in their second innings at tea on the penultimate day of the opening cricket Test at Newlands here on Monday.

New Barcelona recruit Coutinho injured, ruled out for 3 weeks

Barcelona's recently-signed midfielder, Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho, is suffering from a right thigh injury that will keep him on the sidelines for three weeks, the club said on Monday following medical examinations.

Mushtaq North Zone: Himachal beat Haryana in 'Eliminator'

Himachal Pradesh beat Haryana in a thrilling 'Eliminator' during a North Zone leg encounter of the National T20 Championship for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Batting first at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Himachal Pradesh scored 194 for 2 riding on opener Prashant Chopra's 64-ball-99 that had 11 boundaries. Veteran Paras Dogra also scored 47 off 32 balls. In reply, seam bowler Harshal Patel, who was promoted up the order to open the innings smashed 73 off 32 balls with seven fours and five sixes to keep his team in the hunt. In the last over, Haryana requored 10 runs to win the match and three off the last ball. However Jayant Yadav and Amit Mishra could manage only to runs resulting in a tie. However HP seamer Pankaj Jaiswal did the star turn as he dismissed two batsmen of successive deliveries with Haryana managing only two runs in the 'One Over Eliminator'. Prashant Chopra hit a boundary to finish off the match. Brief Scores: Himachal Pradesh 194/2 in 20 overs (Prashant Chopra 99 ..

Chasing 208, India collapse to 82/7 at tea

The South African pacers proved too hot to handle for India who were left tottering at 82 for seven in their second innings at tea on day four, chasing what now has become an improbable 208-run target in the series opener here. Vernon Philander took 3-22 as Indian batsmen failed to apply themselves against quality fast bowling on a seaming and bouncy track. The visitors need another 126 runs for victory with 48 overs remaining in the days play. Twenty nine overs were bowled in the afternoon session which ended with the fall of Wrddhiman Saha (8). Post lunch, India began their chase in circumspect fashion. Shikhar Dhawan (16) looked to make a quick start while Murali Vijay (13) struggled against Philander. Vijay survived twice via DRS reviews for caught behind and lbw appeals. Vijay wasnt third time lucky though, caught behind off Philander in the 8th over as the slide began for India. Six balls later, Dhawan was caught pulling much like the first innings, only this time

Sandeep, Gulfam lead in PGTI Pre Qualifying I

Ganganagar's Sandeep Singh and Delhi's Gulfam shot four-under-68 each to take the lead in round one of the Professional Golf Tour of India's (PGTI) Pre Qualifying I for the 2018 season being held here on Monday.

India 82/7 at tea, trail South Africa by 126 runs

India were 82 for seven in their second innings, trailing South Africa by 126 runs at tea on day four of the first Test here. Brief scores: South Africa 286 and 130 all out in 41.2 overs (De Villiers 35; Shami 3/28, Bumrah 3/39). India 209 and 82/7 in 29 overs (Kohli 28; Philander 3/22).