Page 353 - Sports
Mitsui Shoji T20 league from Apr 23; Vaas & Herath to grace it
The eight season of a local T20 league will be held here from April 23 and Sri Lankan greats Rangana Herath and Chaminda Vaas would attend its opening ceremony, it was announced Friday. Jwala Singh, Director and Organising Secretary of the 8th season of Mitsui Shoji T20 League, said it will be a five -team affair, which will begin from April 23 and the first game will be played at the Mumbai Police Gymkhana. While 45-year-old Vaas, who has played a staggering 111 Tests and 322 ODIs, has been a regular visitor here, 41- year-old Herath, one of the greatest left-arm spinners of his times, has accepted the invitation of the organisers for the opening ceremony. Singh told reporters that five teams -- Bandra Heroes, Thane Marathas, Ghatkoper Jets, Mumbai Police Cityriders and Shivaji Park Worriers -- will be mentored by first-class players. Singh said Vaas, Herath along with former India opener Wasim Jaffer will also give training to select players chosen from cricketers who
'Ponting, Ganguly working overtime to break Kotla code'
A loss against Mumbai Indians at the Feroze Shah Kotla has once again put the spotlight on Delhi Capitals' inability to adapt to conditions at home and the team management is aware of the same and looking to work on it before their game against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday. For now, Delhi's record stands at a dismal one win after four home games in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.
Former Proteas star AB de Villiers eyes BBL stint
Former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers has shown his interest to play in the upcoming season of the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.
Two Indian boxers enter pre-quarters of Asian Championship
Indian boxers were off to a good start in the Asian Championships claiming two pre-quarterfinals berths in the opening session of the continental showpiece here Friday. National champion Deepak (49kg) and Rohit Tokas (64kg) advanced to the last-16 stage with confident victories. Deepak defeated Vietnam's Loi Bui Cong Danh, fetching a unanimous verdict from the judges before Rohit put it past Taiwan's Chu-Yen Lai with a similar scoreline. Deepak kept it simple and focussed on hitting straight to ensure clean and impactful punches. Danh wasn't particularly a pushover but lacked power in his attacks, not to mention the poor precision. Rohit Tokas (64kg) was up against a more aggressive one in Lai but he hardly broke a sweat to advance. The Indian, a winner of three King's Cup bronze medals here, literally toyed with his rival, who seemed under-prepared for bout. Lai was cautioned several times for failing to keep his head up. He went for the jugular in the last three minutes but Rohit ...
Scotland all-rounder Con de Lange dies at 38
Scotland all-rounder Con de Lange passed away on Friday morning after a lengthy battle with brain tumour. He was 38.
Rahane seeks BCCI permission to play for Hampshire
India's Test deputy Ajinkya Rahane has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to grant him permission to play county cricket for Hampshire in the months of May, June and mid-July. An application seeking permission has been sent by the batsman to the board and the same has been forwarded to the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administration (CoA).
A birds eye view of India's WC team (Column: Close-in)
The BCCI's announcement of the 15-member India team for the forthcoming cricket World Cup in England and Wales has received a mixed reaction. The ones who gave it a thumbs-up were people who had already formed their opinion even before the selection. The common thread amongst them was that 90 per cent of the team had already established themselves and the question was to fill two insignificant spots, that too, if the need arose.
Punjab ride last-gasp Harjinder goal to enter Santosh Trophy final
Punjab made it through to their 15th Santosh Trophy final on Friday at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana, beating traditional rivals Goa by a 2-1 margin. Harjinder Singh scored the winning goal on this occasion to put the home side into the final. Punjab started off the match with great gutso plunging into the attack from the word go. The home side was heavily reliant on its wide players Sunny and Jaspreet Singh. Both the wide players toiled hard to generate swift attacks, aiming the ball at the heavily-marked striker Vikrant Singh. However, it was Jaspreet, who sneaked into the box from the right, and nodded in a cross from the left flank to put Punjab in the lead in the 12th minute. The Goans were shell-shocked, but they picked up the pace soon. Their striker Lallawmpuia dropped deep to get more involved in the build-up play, which helped them gain more possession over the ball. A foul near the Punjab penalty area towards the end of the first half gave the Goans the perfect ...
Pak PM shares past World Cup experiences with team
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday shared his past experiences of playing at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup with its national team.The cricketer-turned-politician Khan had led Pakistan to its only World Cup win in 1992, where the team defeated England by 22 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).Khan met the men in green at his Bani Gala residence in Islamabad. Entire 17-member contingent along with the national selection committee, headed by Inzamamul Haq, head coach Mickey Arthur and rest of the team management were part of the meeting, Cricket Pakistan reported.Pakistan will leave for England on April 23 to play in a one-off T20I and five ODIs against England, beginning May 5. The team will then clash with Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the warm-ups before openings its World Cup campaign against West Indies on May 31 at the Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
Eyeing Tokyo 2020, Indian lifters begin campaign at Asian Weightlifting Championship
Former world champion Mirabai Chanu will look to put the best foot forward to strengthen her chances of Olympic qualification when she spearheads the Indian challenge at the Asian Weightlifting Championship, starting here Saturday. India's brightest medal prospect, Mirabai, who jumped from 48kg to 49 kg following the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) rejig of weight categories, has made a strong comeback from a lower back injury that kept her out of action for nearly nine months. In February, the 24-year-old lifted 82 kg in snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk to clinch the gold medal at the EGAT Cup in Thailand, which was the first of the six Olympic qualifying events for Mirabai. In order to ensure a spot on the podium here, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist will have to significantly better that performance. Thai weightlifter Chayuttra Pramongkhol, who is currently embroiled in a dope scandal, had lifted 209kgs (89+120) in the 49kg category to clinch the gold medal .
Dhoni liked my version of helicopter shot: Hardik
Hardik Pandya has already emulated M S Dhoni's signature helicopter shot and the Mumbai Indians all-rounder says the veteran keeper-batsman liked his version of the innovative stroke. Pandya has looked in ominous form this IPL, scoring 218 runs at a strike rate of 194.64 in nine matches. He used the shot to good effect against speedster Kagiso Rabada in their game against Delhi Capital Thursday night. The 25-year-old smashed 32 off 15 balls to power Mumbai Indians to 168 for five, a total which Delhi Capitals found too stiff to chase, going down by 40 runs. His inning comprised two boundaries and three massive sixes, including the helicopter shot -- a stroke made famous by Dhoni. It was in the second ball of the 20th over when Hardik had played that shot, sending a Rabada delivery across the ropes between long-on and deep mid-wicket position. The all-rounder had played the helicopter shot in front of Dhoni during a game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), which Mumbai won by 37 runs at
Scotland all-rounder Con de Lange dies at 38
Scotland all-rounder, Con de Lange, who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour, died on Thursday at the age of 38.South Africa-born played 21 internationals for Scotland, made his debut in T20 international in June 2015 against Ireland.In June 2017, De Lange achieved his career best figure 5-60 against Zimbabwe which handed Scotland their first one-day international victory against a Full Member.De Lange featured in five matches after that, the last of which was in November 2017, before being sidelined for health reasons that were at the time not made public.In October 2018, the family went public with the news of his illness and launched a campaign to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity.Cricket Scotland also shared the news using Twitter."It is with great sadness that Cricket Scotland shares the news that Con de Lange passed away on Thursday 18th April 2019. A great servant to Scotland and the game of cricket, our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time," the tweet ..
PCB chairman to meet Pak PM Imran Khan
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani is expected to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday to discuss the next season of Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the renovation of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.The meeting, to be held in Islamabad, had been scheduled two weeks ago. It is understood, the PCB stated, the discussion has nothing to do with the current revolt by PCB governing board members against Wasim Khan's appointment as its Managing Director, The Express Tribune reported.International Cricket Council (ICC) is not in favour of any government interference. To solve the matter, PCB can either fasten the process of changing its constitution through which governing board members will not have any powers or convince the Board of Governors to bring in changes in domestic structure, leading to change their stance on Wasim's appointment.Wasim will continue his work since Mani did not accept the resolution passed by governing board members. Moreover, board officials stated
Messi deserves sixth Ballon d'Or, says Rivaldo
Lionel Messi deserves Ballon d'Or irrespective of whether he wins the Champions League with Barcelona or not, according to former Brazil striker Rivaldo."Even if he doesn't win the Champions League, however, he already deserves the Ballon d'Or," Goal.com quoted Rivaldo, as saying.Messi, as of now, has five Ballon d'Or under his belt and if he lifts this year's award, it will take his tally to six.Rivaldo lavished praised on Messi and expressed that it would be relishing to see Messi win the World Cup because a world-class player like him must be a world champion."I like him so much and I always say I feel so sad because he never won the World Cup with Argentina. It is an award he deserves because a world-class player like him must be a world champion," Rivaldo said."He has been scoring goals, giving assists and being the top scorer in La Liga for a long time and I think what he has been doing in the Champions League means his merits should be recognised," he added.Champions League ...
Do-or-die encounter for Royals against Mumbai (Preview)
Rajasthan Royals will know anything short of a victory will virtually end their chances of making the play-offs, when they take on high-flying Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Saturday.
Women cricketers Hayley Jensen, Nicola Hancock wed
New Zealand women cricketer Hayley Jensen has married her former Melbourne Stars teammate Nicola Hancock. The wedding ceremony took place last weekend.
Takeaways from South Africa's World Cup squad
Cricket South Africa named its provisional 15-man squad for the ICC Men's World Cup. The Faf du Plessis-led side will open its campaign against the host England in the curtain raiser on May 30.Hashim AmlaThe 36-year-old, who was far from a guaranteed spot in the team, was named by the selectors, leading to a battle for a top-order berth. Quinton de Kock is locked at the top but should his partner be Amla or Aiden Markram will create a lot of problem for the management. Amla has struggled in the recent past. Meanwhile, there are chances Rassie van der Dussen can make the cut at number four.David Miller to be Quinton de Kock's backupThere is no specialist back-up wicket-keeper to de Kock, which means David Miller will be behind the wickets. Miller wore the gloves during the second ODI against Sri Lanka and had played the role for both KwaZulu-Natal Inland Under-19s and Dolphins.Imran TahirThe 40-year-old leg-spinner, who has 162 wickets from 98 ODIs under his belt, will hang up the ...
#Enough, PFA's firm step to obliterate racial abuse
The spike in racist incidents with the football players have led to an emergence of a campaign called #Enough, organised by Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) which will encourage players not to use any social media platform from 9Professional footballers in England and Wales will boycott social media to take a stand against racism and this campaign will display the unity of the players and will call for a strong action to be taken by social networks and football authorities both on and off the pitch.Also, the association is urging all its members to post a #Enough graphic on their social media platform before the boycott.Recently, Manchester United defender Ashley Young became the victim of racial abuse on Twitter while Juventus player Moise Kean faced the same from the crowd at the Sardegna Arena on April 3."Football has the power to do so much good in the world. We must always try to use the sport's popularity and influence to make positive change. Over the last few months
Dhoni liked my version of helicopter shot: Pandya
All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been in great touch in the ongoing edition of the IPL. In the nine matches, he has scored 218 runs at 194.64 strike rate and has picked up eight wickets for the Mumbai Indians (MI).
Challenging task to play in new category: Amit Panghal
Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal will make his competitive debut in the new weight class of 52 kg in the Asian Boxing Championship which begins here on Friday, and is eyeing the tournament as a platform to understand the strength and weaknesses of Asian boxers in the new category.