Page 268 - Sports

Peripheral awareness makes both Dhoni and Rohit special captains: Tendulkar

Being "switched on" from the first ball coupled with situational awareness has made Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma the two most successful IPL skipper, reckons iconic Sachin Tendulkar. While Dhoni's game awareness is well-documented, Rohit, who has also led the national team as stand-in skipper, has been incredibly successful. He has won all the three IPL finals he has captained till date. "I think they (Rohit and Dhoni) are pretty sharp. MS has been leading for a number of years and Rohit has also been incredibly successful. So the ability to read the game and having that peripheral (situational) awareness makes them special captain," Tendulkar told 'Star Sports' on Sunday. "With MS we have seen his ability to read match situations and even Rohit is proving that (he has that awareness). Both captains are on toes and switched on from ball one," said the Mumbai Indians' 'Icon'. Tendulkar also lauded the young talent that has come through along the years, growing up on the pace ..

Vani Kapoor drops to T-34 on final day in Hong Kong

Vani Kapoor had a horrendous final round of six-over 78 and dropped from overnight seventh to finish Tied-34th in the USD 150,000 EFG Hong Kong Ladies Open, here Sunday. Vani began with a double bogey and followed that with three straight bogeys and ended the day with two more. She had two birdies and also another bogey for a 78 and a total of 3-over 219. Amandeep Drall (76) the only other Indian to make the cut finished T-55 at 8-over 224. China's Liu Yuan came from behind to card 68 and win the title as overnight leader Du Mohan (76) dropped to tied second with fellow Chinese Zhang Wei Wei (71) and Thailand's Renuka Suksukont (68), who finished at 3-under 210.

Gangjee finishes tied 39, Asaji wins title

India's Rahil Gangjee finished tied 39th while Viraj Madappa faltered on the final day and ended tied 53rd at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup here Sunday. Madappa had an 81 in a round where nothing seemed to go right for him, while Gangjee (74) Gangjee started with a double but managed to hold his round. Japan's Yosuke Asaji capped an unforgettable week when he held his nerve to win the tournament by one shot on Mothers' Day at the Sobu Country Club. With his mother and wife following him throughout the final round, Asaji, who earned his spot by topping the Monday Qualifiers, kept his composure and maintained his overnight lead to eventually close with a one-over-par 72. Asaji's winning total of three-under-par 281 also earned him a spot at The 148th Open which will be held at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland in July. Micah Lauren Shin of the USA tried to surmount a late charge but dropped three shots in his inward-nine and had to settle for a share of second place with Japanese amateur .

CSK star Harbhajan upset with Hyderabad hotel staff

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) spinner and out of favour India international Harbhajan Singh on Sunday slammed the team hotel staff for negligence ahead of their final against Mumbai Indians (MI) here.

Mumbai opt to bat against Chennai in IPL final

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat against defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the summit clash of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, here on Sunday.

Emphatic victory for Jehan in Barcelona

Young Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, driving for Prema Racing, won the inaugural round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, one of the support events to Formula One, here Sunday. The all new FIA F3 Championship was created by merging the erstwhile GP3 Championship and FIA F3 European Championship, resulting in an ultra-competitive 30 car grid. The only Indian on the grid, 20-year-old Jehan started from second position and grabbed the lead into the run down to the first corner. With an accident involving four cars at the back of the grid, the safety car was deployed on lap one. At the restart Kari was able to benefit from Jehan's slipstream during the restart, and Jehan had to defend hard to keep the lead. Over the next two laps Jehan quickly opened up a gap of over 1.5 seconds so as to prevent Kari from deploying DRS (Drag Reduction System). The safety car was deployed a second time negating the advantage of a 2 second gap which Jehan had built up. During the restart, Jehan was much ...

Van Dijk wins Premier League Player of the Season award

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named Premier League Player of the Season. By doing so, he became the first defender to win the Player of the Season award in seven seasons, after Manchester City's Vincent Kompany in 2011-12."It's a great honour and I'm very proud. Without everyone here at Liverpool, fans and players, it wouldn't be possible so I will definitely give them credit for all of it as well," Premier League official website quoted Van Dijk as saying."I think the whole season in the Premier League has been outstanding. The only thing is we have been competing with another team that's pretty good. But I think it's a joy to watch, this title race, for neutral fans," he added.However, the 27-year still has to wait to see whether his team will lift the Premier League trophy.Liverpool, 94, is just one point behind top-positioned Manchester City, 95, in the Premier League and will face Wolves today.

Rohit wins toss, elects to bat against CSK in IPL showdown

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat against Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League title clash, here Sunday. Mumbai Indians have brought in Mitchell McCleneghan, replacing Jayant Yadav while CSK are unchanged. Both the sides have won three titles each. Teams: Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (C), Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Imran Tahir. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(C), Quinton de Kock, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Rahul Chahar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah and Lasith Malinga.

Indo International kabaddi to start with Pune-Haryana clash

Haryana Heroes will lock horns with Pune Pride to kick off the inaugural Indo International Premier Kabaddi League here Monday. The Pune Leg which is going to be held at the Balewadi stadium will have a star-studded opening ceremony. The first match of the tournament is going to feature the home side and Haryana Heroes. The city will play host to another 20 games before proceeding to Mysore and then Bengaluru for the final leg. Eight franchisees will be battling it out for the championship title along with a total prize purse of Rs 4 crore over a period of 23 days. Speaking before the beginning of the tournament, Pune Pride captain Dalbir Malik said, "I cannot wait for the tournament to start onwards. I am looking forward to our first game tomorrow and we are sure about not leaving any stones unturned to ensure victory for us." Haryana Heroes skipper Amit expressed similar thoughts. "A second legue for kabaddi is a good thing to happen. We have so many talented players in India and a .

Xhaka is aiming to secure Europa League title

After beating Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final, Arsenal have reached in the Europa League final and their midfielder Granit Xhaka is aiming to clinch the title.Surprisingly, it has been 25 years since Arsenal last lifted the European trophy which makes Xhaka more excited to win the trophy and create history."It's a long time, 25 years. Now we are in the final we want the trophy for the club, for the fans and for us players as well. Every piece of history is nice. If you can be in the history of this amazing club, it's something to make you proud. But first you have to win," Goal quoted Xhaka, as saying.Xhaka stated that every trophy or title is important and his team consists of both experienced players and the ones who are playing in the final for the first time."Every trophy, every title is important. It's important if you take the title here and you go to the Champions League. We wanted to be in the Champions League from the Premier League [top four]. But this is the past, we .

Juventus lose their stripes as new kit unveiled

Serie A champions Juventus on Sunday unveiled their new home kit for the 2019-20 season, which for the first time in over a century removes the iconic black-and-white stripes traditionally worn by players. The club was founded in 1897, but players have worn black and white stripes of various types since 1903. Next season Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates will wear a half-and-half jersey with white on the right and black on the left. The team will debut the new jersey against Roma in Serie A on Sunday in the Stadio Olimpico. "The daring new design evokes the past, whilst igniting the future of the club through the evolution of the iconic black and white stripes," the team said. "An unexpected flash of pink sits at the heart of the design and honours the first colour the club ever played in." Juventus are the record Serie A winners with 35 titles, including the last eight in a row.

Nadal hoping for clay turnaround after Madrid semi exit

Rafael Nadal heads into the final fortnight of the countdown to the French Open facing uncertainty after crashing out in his bid for a sixth title at the Madrid Open. Spain's formerly invincible king of clay - who in most years would have at least one dirt title to hand upon arrival at Roland Garros - will have a last chance in Rome to pick up a trophy. His mission at the Foro Italico from Monday will be to try and rescue his form prior to the start of the Grand Slam where he dreams of collecting a record 12th title. Nadal went down in the Madrid semi-finals to young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, with the ninth-ranked "El Greco" exposing some of the emerging fault lines in the game of the 17-time Grand Slam champion. "Not winning here means that I'm not going back to my hotel happy," said Nadal, who also made semi-finals in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. "But I think I still have tennis ahead of me." Nadal said his longer term focus was on Roland Garros, confident that ..

Serena looking to turn the clock back in Rome before Roland Garros bid

Serena Williams returns from injury in Rome next week looking to get back to winning ways as she prepares her bid to match Margaret Court's record of major singles titles at the French Open later this month. Rome will be Williams's fourth tournament of the season and the first since being forced to withdraw from the Miami Open in April due to a knee injury. The 37-year-old American -- now ranked 11th -- has completed just seven matches this year, also withdrawing from Indian Wells in March with illness. There are now doubts that the veteran can add to her tally of 23 Grand Slams, something which has so far proved beyond her since returning last year after taking time out following the birth of her first child. Her last Grand Slam singles title was won at the Australian Open in 2017, where she was pregnant, breaking a tie with Steffi Graf for the most in the professional era. Her win in Melbourne moved her one behind Australian Court's record of 24 major singles titles. After giving .

Fan shares plan on how to tackle CSK ahead of final

While Mumbai Indians (MI) might start as favourites against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) final owing to their better record, a fan has drafted a plan for Rohit Sharma and Co. on how to crack the code of defeating the eight-time finalists.

Rabada set to be fit for WC opener against India; Steyn Nigidi still doubtful

South Africa's pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada is expected to be fully fit for country's World Cup opener against India in Southampton on June 5, according to team doctor Mohammed Moosajee. Rabada, became IPL's highest wicket-taker with 25 scalps for Delhi Capitals before Cricket South Africa pulled him out as a precautionary measure after he complained of stiff back. "With KG (Rabada) we are extra cautious because of two reasons," Moosajee was quoted as saying by Cricket South Africa's website. Mossajee said Rabada will be fully fit within three weeks as his rehabilitation is on track. "The anticipated recovery period for KG's injury is two to three weeks and we are hopeful he'll make a full recovery to be part of the World Cup squad," said Moosajee. "He had a back issue that kept him out of the game for a protracted amount of time. Secondly there's his importance in the squad so we're managing his rehab and his return to play very carefully," the doctor said. Moosajee, though, is yet ..

De Villiers pulls out of Big Bash League

South African legend A B de Villiers has decided to pull out of the next edition of Big Bash League (BBL) after initially committing to play during the final phase of the tournament. While Cricket Australia has decided to make it a 14-match league affair on a home-and-away basis, there is a possibility that a lot of big names will not be available for the better part of the tournament due to cramped international calender. According to a report in 'ESPNCricinfo', De Villiers was willing to play for a "limited stretch towards its concluding stages" but has now turned his back after realising that both Cricket Australia and Big Bash League wanted maximum leverage from the Proteas legend's participation and lift the dwindling TV ratings. "Up to this point, CA, the clubs, and the broadcasters - Fox Sports and Seven - had appeared set to put together a package deal worth as much as 350,000 (AUD) to land De Villiers for a segment of the tournament, though there was a level of disquiet about

Bowlers put Morgan in dilemma ahead of World Cup

ICC Men's Cricket World Cup is just around the corner, hence the problem for England's skipper Eoin Morgan is increasing but in a good way.England has been doing fairly well in the bowling department in the ongoing ODI series against Pakistan which is putting Morgan into a dilemma of whom to select for the premier tournament.Jofra Archer, who did not find a spot in the 15-member preliminary World Cup squad, showed decent performance in the one-off T20I against Pakistan, in which he took two wickets and gave away 29 runs in four overs.However, Archer came out furiously in the first ODI where he bowled four over and gave away just six runs which included wicket of Pakistan opener, Fakhar Zaman. But rain washed out the first ODI. Hence, Morgan feels, it is going to be a tough decision to make."Unfortunately, a couple of guys from this 17 will miss out, and it's going to be a tough decision, regardless of how they perform in the rest of this series because of what they've contributed over

Ambris feeling 'out of the world' after scoring maiden ton

West Indies batsman Sunil Ambris is exhilarated after he scored his maiden ton on Saturday in the ongoing Tri-series being played in Ireland.Ambris scored 148 runs off 126 balls which helped his side chase down the target of 328 runs set by the hosts. Ambris said he cannot explain how he is feeling but it is probably his best inning he has played in the international cricket."I can't explain how I'm feeling, to be honest. It's out of this world. It's something that I've been working towards, something that I wanted to achieve. This is probably the best I've batted in international cricket. I haven't played much games...once I got in, tried to carry it as deep as possible," ICC quoted Ambris, as saying.Although Ambris played his career-best inning; he opined that it was not the 'hardest' inning he has played."I started very fluent, so I wasn't bogged down, it was easy for me. I got boundaries on the up. I was always going at more than a run-a-ball, so it wasn't the hardest of innings,"

Ankita makes semifinal exit from Luan ITF event

Ankita Raina recovered from a slow start but could not carry forward the momentum and crashed out of the USD 60,000 ITF women's event in Luan, China. The second seed Indian lost 3-6 6-1 2-6 to local girl Ying-Ying Duan in the semifinals of the hard court tournament. Nevertheless, it was one of better results for the Indian this season. Ankita has entered two finals this season, winning a USD 25k event in Singapore and ending runner-up in a USD 60k tournament in Istanbul. "I am very upset. I thought I had the match after the second set. I had good rhythm in the second and in the third as well but I don't know what went wrong. Since I knew I had the match I was more upset. I will go home and then leave for the French Open, so looking forward to that," said Ankita. Her effort, earned Ankita, ranked 175, a total of 29 ranking points.

Kamalakannan registers win

: Kamalakannan of Cue Zone defeated Sriram of TNBSA by three frames to one in the SVS Club Open Snooker Championship 2019 here Sunday. Sriram started off well winning the first frame 64-32 before Kamalakannan fought back to win a close second frame before closing out the match 32-64, 58-50, 65-20, 85-50. In another match, Sulthan Ibrahim edged out Aditya after trailing by two frames to one. Results: Venkateswara Rao (SVS Club) bt Siddarth (SOS) 3-1 (36-12, 34-56, 62-55, 67-22); Sulthan Ibrahim (Impact) bt Aditya (Cues & Yous) 3-2 (56-7, 46-60, 18-55, 63-37, 56-31); Sikkander (Cue Ball City) bt Vijay (Cue Zone) 3-0 (70-26, 62-48, 78-34); Prem (Red 15) bt Hruthick (Pot Black) 3-0 (58-19, 79-18, 57-37). Madan (Cue Zone) bt Vikram (MRC) 3-0 (70-39, 58-22, 68-38); Roshan (Cues & Yous) bt Rizwan (Nellore) 3-0 (51-6, 56-18, 55-10); Saleem (Snook City) bt Prakash (Q-Lounge) 3-1 (79-36, 34-74, 70-31, 65-55); Abhinav (Buddys) bt Nelson (Snook City) 3-0 (53-48, 53-21, ...