Page 378 - Sports
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mark Boucher elected as MCC Honorary Life Members
Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mark Boucher have been elected as the Honorary Life Members of the Marylebone Cricket Club(MCC) in recognition of their outstanding achievements in cricket. The announcement was made on Friday.Former Pakistan batsman Inzamam played 119 Test matches. He captained the side from 2001-07 and scored 8,829 runs at an average of 50.16, including 25 centuries.Inzamam, who made his international debut in 1991, featured in Pakistan's successful 1992 World Cup campaign and went onto play in 378 ODIs. His 11,739 ODI runs at an average of 39.5 places him sixth in the all-time list.Since his retirement in 2007, the 49-year-old had a stint as the head coach of Afghanistan before becoming Pakistan's Chief Selector in 2016. Upon becoming an Honorary Life Member of MCC, Inzamam has joined fellow Pakistan cricketers including Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shahid Afridi.On the other hand, former South Africa wicket-keeper batsman Boucher is the first gloveman to take 500 ..
'Roland Garros Junior Wild Card' series to take place in New Delhi from April 29 to May 1
The French Tennis Federation (FFT) organisers of the world's premier clay court event - Roland-Garros, in association with the All India Tennis Association (AITA), announced the fifth edition of the 'Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series' on Friday.The fifth edition of the 'Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series' will see a total of eight players each from the boys' and girls' category competing to earn qualification to the wild card playoffs of the Junior draws at Roland-Garros 2019 in Paris.The Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series aims at providing a clay court tennis experience to the young talent of India, and at promoting the same at the grassroots level.This competition will be held at the clay courts of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA) from April 29th to May 1st, 2019.The top-8 boys and top-8 girls in the AITA rankings will be chosen to participate in the competition. It is an important tournament as it gives the winners the opportunity to compete against the best ...
Roland-Garros Jr Wild Card Series from April 29
The French Tennis Federation (FFT), organisers of the worlds premier clay court event -- Roland-Garros, in association with the All India Tennis Association (AITA), on Friday announced that the fifth edition of the 'Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series will be held here between April 29 and May 1.
RCB take on Kings XI in must win encounter (Preview)
With their backs firmly to the wall, out-of-sorts Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on Kings XI Punjab in a must-win Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the IS Bindra Stadium here on Saturday.
ISL-EPL joint venture readies new set of coaches
A football-based programme to ready new coaches and referees, run by the English Premier League and the British Council in association with the Indian Super League, has concluded. The week-long course took place in Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai with "Premier Skills" coaches educators Jez Weeks and Graham Robinson delivering the session, a media release said on Friday. The aim of phase three of the joint venture was to provide 17 coaches and 30 referees from across India with the knowledge and skills to run their own training courses within their communities, the release said. The participants were from seven states across India, including four coaches from host state Maharashtra. Pratap Singh Patwal, the Referee Development Officer of the All India Football Federation, praised the initiative. "Most of the referees who attended previous Premier Skills courses are now performing at a national level. The impact I witness is their psychologically positive approach to the game of ..
Confident Mumbai to host lacklustre Rajasthan (Preview)
A confident Mumbai Indians will look to consolidate their position in the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table when they host a lacklustre Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
Yubrani to meet Humeira in final of tennis meet
Local girl Yubrani Banerjee set up a summit clash with Telangana's Shaikh Humeira at the Central Excise Open AITA Men's & Women's National Ranking Tennis tournament at the synthetic courts of the Bengal Tennis Association Complex here on Friday.
Dhoni did not offend me: Oxenford to match referee
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni walking onto the field after a no-ball was called and then overturned in the 20th over of the CSK innings against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Thursday created an uproar with all and sundry questioning the skipper's action.
Nepal bans internet game PUBG
The popular multiplayer internet game PUBG has been banned in Nepal following a court order which said that it was having a negative effect on the behaviour of children and youth, according to a media report. The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) on Thursday directed all the internet and mobile service providers to ban PlayerUnknown's Battleground, commonly known PUBG, the Kathmandu Post reported on Thursday. According to police, those found playing the game after the ban will face arrest. The Kathmandu District Court gave the permission to ban PUBG on a petition filed by the metropolitan crime division citing negative behavioural affect in children, the report said. After the court permission, the division then sent a letter to the NTA requesting it to ban the game. Based on a letter from the crime division, we have ordered all internet and mobile service providers to ban the game, Purushottam Khanal, acting NTA chairman, was quoted as saying. PUBG is a game in which a maximum .
Like players, umpires' code a must: BCCI treasurer
Chennai Super Kings captain M.S. Dhoni was fined 50 per cent of his match fees for walking into the ground and confronting the umpires during the 20th over of the game against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Friday. With Dhoni admitting to the Level 2 offence, he was fined 50 per cent of his match-fee. But the bigger problem here is the number of howlers we have seen in this edition of the league alone.
Yurbani shocks top seed Chilumula
Local challenger Yubrani Banerjee stunned top-seed Nidhi Chilumula of Telengana to set up a women's singles summit clash with Shaikh Humeira in the National Ranking Tennis Tournament here on Friday. Third seed Banerjee played some flawless tennis to surpass Chilumula 6-3 6-4 in a semi-final match. In another last-four stage contest, Humeira fought hard before getting the better of Nithyaraj Baburaj 6-2 3-6 6-3. The top-seeded duo of Mohit Mayur Jayaprakash and Parikshit Somani lifted the men's doubles title after defeating Niki Poonacha and Dakshineshwar Suresh, seeded second, 6-4 7-6(4).
Batting at top for SRH, not for WC spot: Shankar
From the low of the Nidahas Trophy final in Sri Lanka to now being in the scheme of things as the national selectors gear up to pick the India squad for the World Cup, all-rounder Vijay Shankar has come a long way. While Indian fans and cricketers await with bated breath for M.S.K Prasad and team to announce the squad for the showpiece event on Monday, Shankar wants to focus on the job at hand -- winning games for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The complex cycle: Umpires bungle and stars let it rip
Sundaram Ravi and Ulhas Gandhe's bloopers have raised questions on the standard of umpiring in the IPL but it is Mahendra Singh Dhoni's public outburst that has triggered a debate on whether star players get away with intimidating match officials. For the first time in his illustrious career, Dhoni, a two-time World Cup winning former India captain, entered the field of play for an angry confrontation with umpire Gandhe, who backtracked after signalling a no ball during an IPL match on Thursday night. "Obviously star players try to pressurise umpires but it's up to the umpires to withstand the pressure. They will do what they feel but it depends on the personality of the umpire," one of India's most well-known international umpires, K Hariharan, told PTI on Friday. As per laws, Dhoni had no right to enter the field of play and has got away with a fine of 50 percent of his match fees, something that will be paid by his franchise Chennai Super Kings. The maximum punishment for this ...
Chelsea FC condemns fans calling Liverpool's Mohamed Salah a 'bomber'
Chelsea FC on Thursday (local time) condemned a video showing a Chelsea fan in Prague purportedly calling Liverpool's star footballer Mohamed Salah "bomber"."Chelsea FC finds all forms of discriminatory behaviour abhorrent and where there is clear evidence of Chelsea season ticket holders or members involved in such behaviour, we will take the strongest possible action against them," Chelsea FC said in an official statement."Such individuals are an embarrassment to the vast majority of Chelsea supporters who won't tolerate them in their club," the statement added.Salah was playing in a quarter-final against Slavia Prague when the chants of "bomber" were heard in the stadium.Earlier, Liverpool FC also issued a statement to condemn the issue."The video circulating online, showing vile discriminatory chants being aimed at one of our players, is dangerous and disturbing, this behaviour needs to be called out for what it is - unadulterated bigotry," the statement read."As pertains to this .
Sindhu enters Singapore Open semi-finals, Saina crashes out
PV Sindhu advanced to the semi-finals of Singapore Open on Friday whereas Saina Nehwal suffered a defeat in the quarter-finals against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara.Sindhu registered a hard-fought 21-13, 17-21, 21-14 victory over China's Yanyan Cai in a match that lasted for more than one hour.As a result of this victory, Sindhu advanced to her second semi-final of this season, following a last-four finish at India Open last month.On the other hand, Nehwal lost in straight sets 21-8, 21-13 against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara. She was unable to display her top game and lost the match within 37 minutes.Nehwal, on Thursday, registered a victory over Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-16, 18-21, 21-19 in the second round to enter the quarter-finals.Sameer Verma and Kidambi Srikanth are also slated to play in the men's quarter-finals later in the day.Srikanth will face world number one Kento Momoto in the quarter-finals of Singapore Open whereas Sameer Verma will take on Chou Tien Chen.Meanwhile, ...
Justine Henin to visit Delhi for Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series
The four-time French Open winner Justine Henin will visit the city for the fifth edition of the 'Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series', to be held here from April 29 to May 1. The legendary tennis star will be on a two-day trip, where she will watch the young Indian players in action on the clay courts and host a tennis clinic with the youngsters. The competition returns to the country for a fifth consecutive year, the French Tennis Federation (FFT), organisers of the world's premier clay court event Roland-Garros, in association with the All India Tennis Association (AITA) announced on Friday. The competition, to be held at the clay courts of the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association (DLTA), will provide a clay court tennis experience to the young talents of India, and promote the same at the grassroots level. The former World No. 1 women's player Henin, who won the French Open in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, said she was looking forward to the 'Roland-Garros Junior Wild Card Series'. "It ...
RCB's performance won't affect Kolhi's WC form, says Brad Hogg
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg on Friday opined that Royal Challengers Bangalore's bad form will not affect Virat Kohli during the forthcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and termed the Indian skipper a "focused individual".Hogg posted a video on Twitter where he answered a few questions that were asked by users.When a user asked Hogg "Do you think RCB's bad form will affect Virat Kohli during the World Cup?", he replied, "There is no way that it will affect Virat Kohli in the World Cup, he is a focused individual and he wants to succeed, do not worry about Kohli going in the world cup."Another user asked Hogg what went wrong with RCB in the ongoing Indian Premier League, as the franchise has not won even a single match in this season.The 48-year-old answered, "simple. They rely too heavily on Kohli and AB de Villiers, their middle order has not stood up, so no runs in the middle order. Also their bowling department in the death overs; they have not executed their plans and they ..
Jos Buttler 'not sure' if Dhoni 'did the right thing' by barging into the field
Rajasthan Royals wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler on Friday said he is not sure if Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni's decision to barge into the field midway during the match was the right thing to do."I am not sure if that is the right thing to do or not, obviously tensions are running high in the IPL, every run counts, it was a big moment in the game, but whether stepping on the pitch is quite right, probably not," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Buttler as saying.Following Dhoni's dismissal in the final over of Thursday's IPL clash, RR's Ben Stokes bowled a high-full toss delivery to Mitchell Santner. While umpire Ulhas Gandhe was about to signal the delivery as a no-ball, Bruce Oxenford, standing at square leg, said it was a legitimate delivery.The opposing views of the two umpires sparked off an argument between them, Santner and Ravindra Jadeja on the field.A visibly-upset Dhoni, who was standing at the dugout, barged into the field and got involved into an altercation with the .
The Final Countdown begins for World Cup 2019 (Column: Close-in)
The stage is all set for a marvellous battle between the top 10 cricket sides of the world, to play for the most sought after trophy, The World Cup. England being the host nation and the country that has historically been instrumental in projecting and popularising cricket, has that aura like nowhere else.
Virat Kohli's RCB take on R Ashwin-led KXIP in must-win IPL clash
Gasping for breath after six successive defeats, Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to snap their winless streak and stay afloat when they take on an inconsistent Kings XI Punjab in a must-win IPL encounter here Saturday. Nothing seems to be going right for RCB, who slumped to their sixth straight loss after going down against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match last Sunday. Kohli, who was recently named the Leading Cricketer of the year for the third successive time by Wisden Almanack, will hope that fortunes finally knock at the doors of RCB as they need to win all their next eight matches to salvage any hope of making it to the play-off. RCB have been inconsistent with both their bowling and batting faltering in many occasions. The RCB bowlers had allowed Sunrisers Hyderabad to post a mammoth 232 with centuries from Jonny Bairstow and David Warner before they were skittled out for 113 to lose the match by a massive 118 runs. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, despite ..