Page 314 - Sports

Brilliant Warner hands Sunrisers 45-run win over Kings XI

David Warner signed off his IPL 2019 campaign in style, notching up his eight fifty of the season to help Sunrisers Hyderabad take a step closer towards qualifying for the play-offs with a comfortable 45-run win over Kings XI Punjab here Monday. Playing his last match of season before heading home for World Cup preparations, Warner struck a belligerent 81 off 56 balls with seven fours and two sixes to complete his IPL 2019 campaign with 692 runs, the highest so far in the tournament. Chasing the imposing total, K L Rahul (79 off 56, 4x4s, 5x6s) made a valiant effort with the bat but lacked support from the other end as Kings XI were restricted to 167 for eight. By virtue of this win, Sunrisers have consolidated their fourth position in the table with 12 points from 12 games, while Kings XI are at 10 points from as many matches. Both the teams have two more matches to go with Kings XI still in the hunt. Kings XI needed a brisk start but they didn't get one, losing explosive Chris Gayle

Chennayin to play Bangladesh's Abahani in last home game of AFC Cup

Chennaiyin FC will take on Bangladesh's Abahani Limited Dhaka in their final 2019 AFC Cup Group E home game at The Arena Stadium here on Tuesday. Going into this match-day three tie, both sides are locked on four points each with Chennaiyin top of the table on goal difference and Abahani second. Chennayin will be buoyed after picking up their first AFC Cup group stage victory with a 2-0 win over Nepal's Manang Marshyangdi Club in their previous outing less than two weeks back, courtesy goals scored by skipper Mailson Alves and Australian midfielder Chris Herd. The clash with Abahani will be the first of a double header, with Chennayin traveling to Bangladesh for the reverse fixture in a fortnight. Chennaiyin come into match with seven clean sheets in their last 10 outings in all competitions, not having conceded in the AFC Cup campaign so far with four games played. In terms of team news, Chennayin will be without Brazilian midfielder Raphael Augusto through injury with the rest of ...

Chennaiyin, Abahani Dhaka face off in AFC Cup

Chennaiyin FC (CFC) are set to welcome Abahani Limited Dhaka for their final AFC Cup Group E home game at The Arena Stadium here on Tuesday.

Cricketer James Faulkner reveals he's gay on birthday

Out of favour Australia all-rounder James Faulkner took to Instagram on his 29th birthday to reveal that he is in a same sex relationship.

Warner smashes 81 as SRH post 212/6 against KXIP

David Warner notched up his eighth half century of the season to end his Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign this season in style, as Sunrisers Hyderabad posted 212/6 in 20 overs against Kings XI Punjab in a key match here on Monday.

Warner's blistering fifty powers Sunrisers to 212/6 against Kings XI

David Warner signed off his IPL 2019 campaign in style, notching up his eight fifty of the season to guide Sunrisers Hyderabad to a commanding 212 for six against Kings XI Punjab here Monday. Playing his last match of season before heading home for World Cup preparations, Warner struck a belligerent 81 off 56 balls with seven fours and two sixes to complete his IPL 2019 campaign with 692 runs, the highest so far in the tournament. Warner and Wriddhiman Saha (28 off 13) got Sunrisers off to a brisk start after being sent into bat. The duo took the Kings XI bowlers to the cleaners to pile up 77 runs of the first six overs of powerplay. Warner made his intentions clear from the onset, hitting young Arshdeep Singh for two boundaries in the opening over and then followed it up with a six over long-off in Mujeeb Ur Rahman's next over. Mujeeb was in for some treatment as Warner hit two more boundaries in the spinner's next over and then Saha also found the fence to bring up Sunrisers' fifty .

Hales 'devastated' after England drop him from World Cup plans

Alex Hales's representatives said on Monday he was "devastated" by the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) treatment of the batsman after he was ejected from the preliminary World Cup squad. The ECB announced Hales had been withdrawn from all international squads following an off-field incident not related to cricket. Hales was included in the 15-man preliminary World Cup squad for the tournament on home soil, but it emerged last week that he had been sanctioned under the ECB's disciplinary policy for a second time. A report in the Guardian newspaper said the hard-hitting batsman was serving a 21-day ban from cricket for recreational drug use. Hales's latest misdemeanour comes just a few months after he was suspended and fined by the ECB for his part in a street brawl in Bristol also involving Ben Stokes in September 2017. The 30-year-old has been stood down from this Friday's one-off one-day international against Ireland in Malahide, the upcoming limited-overs matches against ...

IPL has helped me prepare for 50-over cricket, says Smith ahead of World Cup

Former Australian captain Steve Smith on Monday said competing in the IPL has immensely helped his preparation for the upcoming 50-over World Cup. Both Smith and former Australia vice-captain David Warner have served out their year-long international bans for their role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year. Now, they head back home from IPL to join the national team camp for the World Cup beginning May 30. While serving their bans, Smith and Warner had participated in several T20 competitions, including in Canada and the Caribbean, in their bid to get play time. "Personally for me, playing IPL is to spend some time in the middle to take on quality opposition and best players," Smith said ahead of Rajasthan's match with Royal Challengers Bangalore. "I think T20 cricket almost prepares you well for 50 overs cricket. It is an extended version of T20 cricket, the way it has been played in the last two years," he added. Asked about his World Cup preparations Smith, who ..

Favourite team in UCL is the one that has Lionel Messi: Mauricio Pochettino

Tottenham Hotspur's manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that whichever team includes Lionel Messi in their ranks will be the clear favourites to win the UEFA Champions League."For me, there is no favourite if we see what happened in the quarters. But personally, the favorite is the one that has Lionel Messi, and that one is Barca. If it were not like that, there would be 25 per cent chance for each semi-finalist," goal.com quoted Pochettino as saying on Monday.Tottenham were beaten for the very first time at their new stadium on Saturday in a Premier League clash and the manager has been critical of the tournament for not allowing the team to ease up on their fixtures ahead of the Champions League semi-final."We are very focused in the Premier League these days, this Saturday we played against West Ham. We look askance at Ajax, for now, we know them a lot," Pochettino said."We are going to be pressured because we do not have a clean week to prepare for it, plus we played a derby and .

Bangladesh captain tells fans to ease World Cup 'hype'

Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe Mortaza on Monday called on the country's fans to douse their expectations for the World Cup and avoid putting unwanted pressure on the team. After Bangladesh's appearance at the Champions Trophy semi-finals two years ago and the Asia Cup final last year, national hopes of a winning streak at the World Cup have skyrocketed. But the 35-year-old captain called for calm ahead of the team's departure for a warm-up tournament in Ireland, before the World Cup starts on May 30 in England and Wales. "You are saying this is our best ever team, but that's not important," said Mashrafe. "We went to the Asia Cup with the same team but could not win it. We played in the Champions Trophy semi-final, we had the same team. So there is no need to create hype," he pleaded. "The best team does not always win," added Mashrafe, who said the players do not need the "extra pressure on us" and that he preferred to believe in "luck". Mashrafe said there should be no public pressure

Fast-rising Sathiyan becomes first Indian to break into top-25 of ITTF rankings

India's G Sathiyan on Monday scaled new heights in his rapidly rising career by becoming the first Indian to break into the top-25 of world rankings. Sathiyan rose four spots to be 24th in the latest ITTF rankings, following his impressive sixth place finish in the Asia Cup in Yokohama earlier this month. Last week, he was the sole Indian to reach the round of 32 in the World Championships in Hungary. "Really happy with way I am playing and I feel I am moving in the direction to reaching the top-15 by the end of 2019. Also, I can't thank my coach (S Raman) enough for his support and guidance," the engineer turned table tennis professional told PTI. Veteran Sharath Kamal, who lost in the round of 64 in Hungary, dropped nine places to be in 46th position. India's number one female player, Manika Batra, slipped three spots to be 59th, following her round of 64 loss in the World Championships.

Chennaiyin FC look to finish AFC Cup home campaign on a high

Buoyed by their maiden victory, Chennaiyin FC will look to end their home campaign on a high when they lock horns with Bangladesh side -- Abahani Limited Dhaka -- in the AFC Cup here Tuesday. Both sides are locked on four points each with Chennaiyin sitting at the top of the table on goal difference. CFC had defeated Nepal's Manang Marshyangdi Club 2-0 in their previous outing before playing out a goalless draw with Indian rivals Minerva FC in their opening match. The clash with Abahani will be the first of a double header, with CFC travelling to Bangladesh for the reverse fixture in a fortnight. CFC are coming into this match with seven clean sheets in their last 10 outings in all competitions, not having conceded in the AFC Cup campaign so far with four games played. The Indian club will be without Brazilian midfielder Raphael Augusto while Abahani will miss the services of their top-scorer Sunday Chizoba and defenders Tapu Barman and Tutul Hossain Badsha. "Abahani will be a big ...

Kings XI Punjab win toss, ask Hyderabad to bat

Kings XI Punjab skipper R. Ashwin won the toss and asked Sunrisers Hyderabad to bat first in their Indian Premier League clash at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday.

Aim is to qualify for Tokyo Olympics: Gomathi

Gomathi Marimuthu might have become an overnight star with her gold-winning effort at the recently-concluded Asian Athletics Championship in Doha but she is completely focussed now on qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The athlete from a village near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu finished on top in 800 metres in Doha and has now set her eyes on doing well at the World Athletics championships. "My next aim is to perform well in the World Athletics Championship later this year," Gomathi, an employee of the Income Tax Department, Bengaluru, told PTI from Tiruchirapalli. "I also want to run in the Olympics and am preparing for it. Now more and more people and the government is supporting me. I want to do everything possible to qualify for the Games in Tokyo. The aim is to qualify for the Olympics," the athlete, who comes from a humble background, said. Gomathi clocked a personal best time of 2:02:70s at the Asian championship, bettering her previous best of 2:03:21 that she had achieved

Kings XI wins toss, opts to bowl against Sunrisers

Kings XI Punjab won the toss and elected to bowl first against Sunrisers Hyderabad in an Indian Premier League match here Monday. Teams: Kings XI Punjab: Ravichandran Ashwin (C), K L Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Nicholas Pooran, Prabhsimran Singh, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammed Shami, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh. Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (C), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Wriddhiman Saha, Abhishek Sharma, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma.

Lahiri-Sharma finish tied 22nd despite a fine front nine at Zurich Classic

Indian golfing duo of Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma dropped three-bogeys to let slip a chance of a possible top 10 finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans here. Lahiri and Sharma were inside the top 10 as they piled up for four-under for the front nine to 19-under. But bogeys on the 10th, 13th and 15th washed away their hopes as they finished tied 22nd, which was still seven places better than their overnight tied 31st. Ryan Palmer and Jon Rahm shot a three-under 69 in the alternate-shot final round to win the PGA TOUR's only team event by three strokes over Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood here Sunday. The victory was the fourth on the TOUR for the 42-year-old Palmer, but first in nearly a decade. Having last won in 2010 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Palmer was thrilled as he walked up the 18th fairway with Rahm. The 24-year-old Rahm won his third TOUR title -- one each in three straight seasons. He finished in the top 10 for the seventh time this year. Palmer-Rahm finished

Five-way race for last two IPL playoff spots

With nine games left in the group stages of the 12th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL), one would think that the points table would wear a settled look with the playoff positions sealed or on the verge of being sealed.

Rameez wins dual titles at Elite Legends Championship

Senior tennis player Rameez Samad had a great weekend, winning both the 'Singles and Jumbled doubles title' at the inaugural Investec Elite Legends Championship here. The tennis tournament was played at the MCA courts in Bandra Kurla Complex. First up for Rameez (52) was the Jumbled Doubles, where 16 A players were mixed up with 16 B players on a draw based on chits and with winners playing with a different partner every round, a media release said Monday. After a gruelling 8 hours of jumbled doubles action, the top seed and national ranked player Rameez along, with his partner of the final round, S Chandran prevailed over Firdaus of the CCI and his partner and CEO and the title sponsor of Investec India, Ajeeth N, securing a 7-2 win in a best of 7 games match to take the doubles trophy. Rameez, who played his singles final within a few hours of clinching his doubles trophy, showed no signs of slowing down as he breezed past an extremely talented 53 year old wild card ..

Aalyka moves into final qualifying round at tennis meet

Aalyka Ebrahim edged out Vaidehi Katkar in three sets to enter the final qualifying round at the first-ever USD 3000 FinIQATT Asian Ranking Women's Tennis Championships here Monday. Aalyka won 4-6, 7-6(9), 10-6 to stand one win away from making the main draw of the event organised by the Navnath Shete Sports Academy and being held at the Shri Shivchatrapati Krida Sankul, Mhalunge Balewadi. In another close match, Sarvani Chintalapalli was stretched in getting past Abhilasha Mehra 6-7(3), 6-3, 10-3. Singdha Bala Angam, Pragati Solankar, Priyam Kumari, Rupkatha Mukherjee, Srinidhi Sridhar and Pragathi Narayan were the other players to make it to the final round qualifying. Results: Women's singles (2nd qualifying round): Aalyka Ebrahim bt Vaidehi Katkar 4-6, 7-6(9), 10-6; Singdha Bala Angam bt Sharanya Shetty 6-0, 6-0; Pragati Solankar bt Amisha Patel 4-1 conceded; Priyam Kumari bt Dhara Thakor 6-2, 6-1; Rupkatha Mukherjee bt Amulya Peniklapati 6-2, 6-2; Sarvani ...

Van Dijk not eying Messi's crown as world's best

Virgil van Dijk was crowned the Premier League's Player of the Year by his peers on Sunday, but the Liverpool defender insists he is not thinking of battling Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or. Van Dijk will come up against the five-time Ballon d'Or winner when Liverpool travel to Barcelona for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday. Messi has scored 46 goals this season as Barca have wrapped up another La Liga title with three games to spare and remain on course for a treble of league, Copa del Rey and Champions League. "That's not something that's on my mind at all," said Van Dijk at the prospect of rivalling Messi. "There are currently players walking around in this football world that are out of this world basically and they've been doing it for many years. "I'm very happy how I perform at the moment, how consistent I'm performing, that I'm fit as well. I think I just need to not look too far ahead." Liverpool head to the Camp Nou on a run of 10 consecutive