Page 2240 - Sports
SL captain Thisara confident of bouncing back in T20s
Skipper Thisara Perera is confident of a Sri Lanka comeback in the T20 series against India, insisting that his side would look to "flush out" the negativity following heavy defeats in the preceding Tests and ODIs. From being ordinary in the Test series, Sri Lanka caught India unawares with a surprise bowling effort in the first One-day International, but could not capitalise on the momentum and lost the series 1-2. As the long tour enters its final leg, both teams are looking to shift to T20 mode. "It was a bad ODI series but we have to take good things from the first match. There were a lot of positives. We have to flush out the negatives. It's a new series and we hope to start well," Perera said on the eve of the T20I series opener at the Barabati Stadium. "We have good talents, death bowlers, power hitters. We will do our best tomorrow. I've to give more confidence to the young players. I don't think they have pressure, they have to give 100 per cent. Personally I ..
De Villiers to miss warm-up game against Zimbabwe
Swashbacking South African batsman AB De Villiers will not play in the scheduled warm-up match against Zimbabwe.While he has been recalled to the Test squad for the Boxing Day Test against Zimbabwe, de Villiers has been withdrawn from the South African Invitation XI squad."AB de Villiers is struggling with lower back stiffness and has been withdrawn from the three-day warm-up match as a precaution," said team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee."He is, however, available for selection for the Test match against Zimbabwe," added Dr Moosajee.De Villiers, regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation and also as one of the greatest of all time, stepped down from Test captaincy in December 2016 following an elbow injury, which kept him out of the team for a long period. Later a self-imposed exile sidelined him from Tests in 2017.The 34-year-old has been out of action since injuring his shoulder, during a series against Australia in Perth in November last year.He recently made a return ...
Ranji Trophy: Satish 50 keeps Vidarbha afloat in semis
Middle-order batsman Ganesh Satish cracked a defiant unbeaten 50 to keep Vidarbha afloat in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against heavyweights Karnataka by taking a 79-run lead and posting 195/4 at stumps on day III at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
India eves thrash Nepal in U-15 SAFF football meet
India Under-15 womens team scored five goals in each half to thrash Nepal 10-0 in a one-sided group encounter of the SAFF Womens Championship at Dhaka on Tuesday.
NBA announces first-of-its-kind global youth basketball competition
The National Basketball Association (NBA) on Tuesday announced the Jr. NBA World Championship, a first-of-its kind global youth basketball tournament for the top boys and girls teams ages 14 and under from around the world.The Jr. NBA World Championship will feature boys and girls divisions, each comprised of 16 regional champions (eight U.S. and eight international teams) that will receive all-expenses-paid trips to compete in the inaugural event, which is to be held from August 7 to August 12.From India, the top performers in the 5-on-5 competitions will make for a city All-Star Team. One boys and one girls team, from each of the eight participating cities, will be selected to compete in a National Final. The winners of the National Final will then represent India at the Jr. NBA World Championship.In showcasing the world's top young talent, the Jr. NBA World Championship will be centered on four core values - teamwork, respect, determination and community - that will set a new ...
India need more matches against strong teams: Striker Balwant (IANS interview)
Striker Balwant Singh reckons that the Indian football team needs more exposure against strong teams in order to improve its standard.
Trainer Beard confident of Vijender's win
India's professional boxing ace Vijender Singh's trainer Lee Beard is confident of his knockout win against African middleweight champion from Ghana Ernest Amuzu on December 23 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Gatlin 'shocked' by allegations about coach and an agent
World 100 metres champion Justin Gatlin says he is "shocked and surprised" by allegations in a British newspaper that his coach and an athletics agent offered to sell performance-enhancing drugs to undercover reporters. Anti-doping officials have launched an investigation into the claims in the Daily Telegraph about Gatlin's coach Dennis Mitchell and an agent, Robert Wagner. The 35-year-old American sprint star, who has twice served bans for doping, said he had sacked Mitchell after hearing of the claims. The report alleged Mitchell and Wagner offered to provide undercover reporters with false prescriptions for banned performance-enhancing substances and smuggle the drugs into the United States. The claims are being investigated by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), set up this year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the US Anti- Doping Agency (USADA). Gatlin said on Instagram: "I was shocked and surprised to learn that my coach would .
Two teams from India to take part in Jr NBA World C'ships
Two teams from India will compete at the inaugural Junior National Basketball Association (NBA) World Championships in the US from 7-12 August next year. The top performers in the 5-on-5 competitions from the Reliance Foundation Jr NBA Program will make for a city All- Star Team. One boys and one girls team from each of the eight participating cities will be selected to compete in a National Final. The winners of the National Final will then represent India at the Jr NBA World Championship, a media release said. The Jr NBA World Championship will feature boys and girls divisions, each comprising 16 regional champions (eight US and eight international teams). The championship will be separated into US and international brackets that include round-robin competition followed by single-elimination boys and girls tournaments. Along with India international teams from Africa and Middle East, Asia Pacific, Canada, China, Europe, Mexico and South America will also take part in ..
India back in World Series of Boxing from February
India will return to the International Boxing Association's (AIBA) semi-professional World Series of Boxing (WSB) in February next year with the country finding a place in the Asian group for the event's eighth season. The yet-to-be-named franchise, which would be fully owned by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), will replace Mumbai Fighters, the team that had withdrawn in 2012 due to lack of support from the national body at that time. The WSB's format will follow the three-group, regional regular season and global play-offs, with the Croatian Knights joining for qualification from Group Europe, while Group Asia having a team from India for the first time, the AIBA said in a statement. "In Season VIII, we can now go even further, with India's vast and growing appetite for boxing adding a new dimension to the 2018 competition and the Croatian Knights bringing with them all of that great nation's boxing history," said AIBA interim president Franco Falcinelli. In the ..
Indian young Turks not perturbed anymore: Karthik
Dinesh Karthik today said the Indian team's uncapped players are not "perturbed" anymore and their IPL experience will hold them in good stead in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting here tomorrow. With star skipper Virat Kohli being rested, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian squad has three uncapped players -- Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar while the likes of Jaydev Unadkat and Mohammed Siraj are also low on experience. "All of them have come with a lot of IPL experience behind them -- some have played 20-30 games. They are not as perturbed as they used to be in earlier days. It gives them a lot of confidence to come into the International set-up," Karthik said on the eve of their T20I series opener. "I'm sure these are exciting times for the young boys. I'm very confident that they will make best use of the chances given to them. It's a great opportunity for all the young boys coming in." The Indian wicket-keeper batsman said the ODI team has got a ...
De Villiers, Steyn back in Proteas squad for inaugural four-day Test
Wicketkeeper-batsman AB de Villiers and fast bowler Dale Steyn have made their long-awaited return to the 14-man national Test squad for the inaugural day-night Test against Zimbabwe, beginning at the St. George's Park in Port Elizabeth from Boxing Day.De Villiers, regarded as one of the best batsmen of his generation and also as one of the greatest of all time, stepped down from Test captaincy in December 2016 following an elbow injury, which kept him out of the team for a long period. Later a self-imposed exile sidelined him from Tests in 2017.The 34-year-old has been out of action since injuring his shoulder during a series against Australia in Perth in November last year. He recently made a return from long injury lay-off when he played for Titans in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge last month.Meanwhile, Vernon Philander has also been recalled in the Proteas squad after missing the most recent series against Bangladesh following an injury picked up during the winter tour to ...
Vijender Singh's trainer confident of his 'knockout win' over Ernest Amuzu
With just few days to go for the mega double title defence fight, Vijender Singh's trainer Lee Beard is confident of the Indian boxing sensation's knockout win against African middleweight champion from Ghana Ernest Amuzu at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on December 23 in Jaipur.Vijender will be defending his WBO Oriental and Asia Pacific Super middleweight titles, which he won after winning six bouts abroad and three in India. This bout will be his fourth in the country.While Ernest Amuzu is leaving no stone unturned to make his punches stronger by the day, the Indian boxing sensation is not far behind either.As the fight is coming closer, the intensity of Vijender's training is increasing day by day and his trainer Lee Beard is very impressed with the hard work Vijender is putting in."He is training very hard in India from the last sometime, he has been sparring 10-12 rounds daily with 3-4 different guys and also putting the strength and condition to work hard also. We know about the ..
Ranveer needs to retain his identity while playing Kapil:Kabir
In his upcoming directorial venture "83", which is based on India's first Cricket World Cup win in 1983, filmmaker Kabir Khan says his attempt is to let Ranveer Singh adapt the persona of veteran cricketer Kapil Dev, yet retain his identity. Underdog India outclassed mighty West Indies by 43 runs in the final played at the Lord's on June 25, 1983 to lift their maiden World Cup under Dev's leadership. "Audience knows he is Ranveer and he is going to play the role of Kapil Dev in the film. Today, there is technology to make Ranveer look exactly like him, but that is not the attempt. "He needs to get the persona of Dev and yet retain his identity as Ranveer. We want the audience to see and enjoy Ranveer playing Dev," Kabir told PTI in an interview. He said Ranveer has already begun preparations for his role in the film. "It is a simple brief to Ranveer. He just has to see Kapil Dev playing the game. The iconic body language of Kapil Dev, the way he used to bowl, bat. He ...
Smith closes in on Bradman's record in ICC Test rankings
Australian skipper and top-ranked Steve Smith's phenomenal run has lifted him to new heights in the latest ICC Test Player rankings as he has moved closer towards Don Bradman's highest-ever ranking points after a match-winning double-century in the third Ashes Test against England in Perth.The Australia captain's innings of 239, which helped his team regain the Ashes by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, has seen him reach a tally of 945 points to take joint second position in the all-time list along with Len Hutton.Smith had reached 941 points after the first Test in Adelaide before dropping briefly to 938 after the Brisbane Test.Smith, who has gained seven points after his Perth performance to overtake Peter May, Ricky Ponting and Jack Hobbs and to within16 points of Bradman's tally of 961 points, has had a minimum of 918 points over the past 12 months, which is 25 more than second-placed Virat Kohli's current total.His batting average of 62.32 is second only .
Confident of knockout win by Vijender: Lee Beard
Trainer Lee Beard is confident that Vijender Singh will knock out Ghana's Ernest Amuzu when the unbeaten Indian lock horns with the African middleweight champion in Jaipur on Saturday. "He has been sparring 10-12 rounds daily with 3-4 different guys and also putting the strength and condition to work hard also," Beard said in a media release. "Ernest Amuzu has got a good record, and he is a strong fighter who has played a lot of fights but Vijender is an amazing boxer and always focused on the strategies planned by us," Beard said. The British boxing trainer said although Amuzu has a good record, the strategy to beat him has already been planned. "We know about the opponent, and we have been working on the technical part of the game planning. We have run a few tests on Vijender and he looks in good shape for the fight," Beard said. "Vijender has boxed off many tough fighters who have had different style of boxing, but southpaw is bit more difficult to fight and he has ...
Pujara grabs third spot in ICC Test Player Rankings
India's middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara improved a place to grab the third spot in the latest ICC Test Player Rankings here today. Pujara, who has scored 4,396 runs at an average of 52.96 in 54 Tests, currently has 873 points in the list of Test batsmen, headed by Australia captain Steve Smith, who continued to top the rankings for almost two years. Top-ranked Smith moved closer towards Don Bradman's highest-ever ranking points after a match-winning double- century in the third Ashes Test against England in Perth. The Australia captain's innings of 239, which helped his team regain the Ashes by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, has seen him reach a tally of 945 points to take joint second position in the all-time list along with Len Hutton. Smith is within 16 points of Bradman's tally of 961 points, has had a minimum of 918 points over the past 12 months, which is 25 more than what second-placed Virat Kohli's current total. Smith is already
Smith closes in on Bradman's feat in ICC Test rankings
A day after guiding Australia to regain the Ashes urn, skipper Steven Smith consolidated his stay atop the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings as he inched closer to batting great Don Bradman's highest-ever rankings points.
Yeray to return to action six months after cancer relapse
Athletic Club Bilbao defender Yeray Alavarez will return to action after six months fighting against cancer when he plays in an Under-23 game against Swansea in the English Premier League Cup on Wednesday, his football club have confirmed.
Babar Azam quashes comparison with 'big player' Kohli
Pakistan middle-order batsman Babar Azam has played down his comparison with Indian skipper Virat Kohli, saying he should not be likened with such a 'big player'.Describing Kohli as 'the No.1 batsman in the world', the 23-year-old said that he took wants to perform like the Indian skipper for Pakistan."He compared me with a very big player. I think it shouldn't be done. But that is the coach's thinking. Maybe the stats at the start of our careers are similar, but he is the No.1 batsman in the world. I want to perform at a high level for Pakistan too," ESPNcricinfo quoted Azam, as saying.Last year, Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur had likened Azam with Kohli, saying the 22-year-old is an exceptional player and could perform as good as the Indian swashbuckling batsman.Meanwhile, the Pakistan batsman further revealed that he used to draw inspiration from South African star batsman AB de Villiers in the early days before, adding that nowadays he also looks at Kohli, Hashim Amla and ...