Page 394 - Sports

Ajinkya Rahane suggests to declare zing ball fail as a dead ball

Rajasthan Royals skipper, Ajinkya Rahane on Sunday opined that bowlers too should be given credit if the ball hit the wickets but do not dislodge the stumps by declaring it a dead ball."The rules are what they are, but I told the umpire, at least don't declare it a boundary. It's already so tough for the bowlers in T20, and in such a situation, a ball can maybe be declared a dead ball," International Cricket Council quoted Rahane as saying.His comments came after an incident that took place during the match between Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders.Controversy evoked when Dhawal Kulkarni bowled KKR's Chris Lynn but without displacing the bails, the ball went straight for a boundary and the umpire singled for a boundary. Rahane said rules are what they are but according to him, in such a situation the ball should be declared dead bowl so neither the batsman loses wicket nor he is awarded runs.Law 29.1.1 is very clear on what constitutes a dismissal, it says, "The wicket is put

Rest Kohli ahead of World Cup: Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain on Sunday said that the current Indian skipper Virat Kohli should be given a rest ahead of the upcoming World Cup.His comments came moments after Royal Challengers Bangalore four-wicket loss against the Delhi Capitals. The team slumped to their sixth consecutive loss in this year's edition of the IPL."If India are smart they rest @imVkohli now for the World Cup ... Give him some time off before the big event ... #IPL2019," Michael Vaughan, the former England skipper posted on his Twitter account.After facing their sixth consecutive defeat, RCB recorded the joint-worst start to an IPL season. Previously Delhi Daredevils also recorded six losses in a row in 2013.To make the playoffs of the IPL, every team should win a minimum of eight matches. RCB after suffering their sixth defeat in a row, now only has eight matches left in the group stage and they need to win every game to make it to the playoff stage.Ahead of the IPL, Indian coach Ravi ...

National football coach will be appointed at the earliest: AIFF president

All India Football Federation president Praful Patel may consider appointing a big name as national team coach only if the candidate fits their criteria, saying the appointment will be done at the earliest. The AIFF has received more than 250 applications for the top job, post of which was left vacant after Stephen Constantine resigned following the Indian team's failure to make the knockouts of the AFC Asian Cup after coming close. Among the 250-odd applicants, sources close to the federation said 35 of them are well-known names from Europe and elsewhere. "If the candidate fulfils the criteria, what we are looking at, and if he is well-qualified, then we can think of that (appointing a big name)," the AIFF chief told PTI. "The appointment will be made as soon as possible, maybe by the end of this month," he added. Patel was Saturday elected as a FIFA Council member, becoming the first Indian to enter the prestigious panel in a landmark development. Patel won with a record-breaking ...

India's WC squad selection on April 15 in Mumbai

India's 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup will be selected on April 15 in Mumbai. The Committee of Administrators (CoA) along with office bearers decided on the date during a meeting on Monday. The last date for announcing the World Cup squads is April 23 but BCCI has decided to announce it eight days prior to the scheduled day. The World Cup will be starting on May 30 in United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the BCCI will be getting Rs 2.09 crore from Cricket Australia after reconciliation of accounts for the past 10 years. "There have been discussions on accounts settlements over all the past bilateral series between India and Australia. We are supposed to get Rs 2.09 crore. The discussions are still on. The office bearers will again meet the CoA on April 20," a BCCI official told PTI on Monday.

WrestleMania 35: Kofi steals the thunder to become new WWE Champion

Kofi Kingston stole the show at WrestleMania 35 defeating Daniel Bryan in an enthralling fight to walk away with his maiden WWE Championship title here Sunday. The fight between Kofi and Bryan was brutal and went down to the wire. But the crowd favourite Kofi lived up to his reputation after being beaten and bruised by Bryan to emerge victorious in front of a capacity crowd at the MetLife Stadium. Tony Nese overcame the challenge from Buddy Murphy to win the Cruiserweight Championship. While Carmella took home the 'Women's Battle Royal' trophy. In the Tag team event, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder defeated The Revival. Ryder was taken to task initially but at the last moment, Hawkins turned the tables on their opponents to script an emphatic win. WWE superstar Braun Strowman emerged as the winner of the 'Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal' in the pre-show. WrestleMania 35, the marquee event of the evening, began with the fight for the 'Universal Champion' with Brock Lesnar taking on ..

No need to panic yet: Rahane

Rajasthan Royals might have lost four out of five matches in the ongoing IPL but captain Ajinkya Rahane feels there is no need to hit the panic button just yet. After restricting Rajasthan Royals to 139 for 3 in 20 overs, Kolkata Knight Riders' Sunil Narine (47) and Chris Lynn (50) tore their bowling attack to shreds, sharing 91 runs for the opening stand in 8.3 overs to reach the target with 6.1 overs to spare. "I think there's no need for us to panic yet. Out of the five matches that we played, we lost badly in just one game. We played well in our last four matches, out of which we could have won three," Rahane said at the post match press conference. "When you're losing, you can risk overthinking. But when you're winning, you don't dwell on things that much. "It's not too late for us. If we can improve and apply ourselves, the desired results will surely follow," he added. Rahane said that the batsmen need to stay longer at the crease and take calculated risks, while bowlers are ...

India selectors to pick WC squad on April 15 (IANS Exclusive)

The national selectors led by M.S.K. Prasad will meet on April 15 in Mumbai to pick the squad for the 2019 World Cup in England, starting May 30. India are considered one of the favourites going into this edition of the World Cup.

CSK will look to contain Russell as they gear up to clash with KKR

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings will be focussing on containing the big-hitting batsman Andre Russell when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match here on Tuesday. In a clash between two teams with a battery of quality spinners, a batsman of Russell's calibre may just prove to be the difference between the two sides. Both the teams have four wins each and have been in pretty impressive form. Both will be eyeing victory to go at the top of the points table. Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led CSK, which beat Kings XI Punjab here on Saturday rather convincingly, will be wary of the Dinesh Karthik's KKR. The Knight Riders are also coming off an all-round clinical win over Rajasthan Royals on Sunday night. With two teams having an array of top-notch spinners, the onus would be on the batsmen to counter them, given the nature of the pitch at MA Chidambaram stadium. While Harbhajan Singh, Imran Tahir and Ravindra Jadeja stifled the Kings XI batsmen to set up the win, Kuldeep Yadav, .

Shaun Marsh opens up on his Big Bash move

Shaun Marsh, the Australian left-handed batsman on Monday said that the security of a three-year deal played a big part in his decision to leave the Perth Scorchers for joining the Melbourne Renegades in the upcoming season of the Big Bash League."The three years played a big part, the security of three years for myself and my family was probably a big part of it, it has been an incredibly hard decision and I just want to thank everyone from the Scorchers for what they have given me over the last eight years," cricket.com.au quoted Marsh as saying.Marsh had shocked Australian cricket last month when he decided to make a switch from Perth to Melbourne, ending the exclusive link between Western Australia cricket and the Marsh family.The 35-year-old left-hander has been a part of Perth Scorchers since the inception of the Big Bash tournament and he has been able to lift the trophy three times."I have won two championships, been involved in three. (I'll cherish) memories of after we won, .

Twitter divided over Zing bails issue

Dhawal Kulkarni bowled Chris Lynn during the ongoing Indian Premier League on Sunday, but the bails did not come off, as a result, the Lynn was given not out.This incident caught the attention of the Twitter users who started tweeting their opinion over the issue. While some opined that batsman should be given out if the bails light up, others disagreed.A user tweeted, "If ball hits the stumps & zinger bails lights up but it not to come off then it's must OUT. Its not bowlers fault why then batsman given out stumping & run out when only zinger bails lights up 3rd umpire should check out bails come off or not @MitchJohnson398 @dhawal_kulkarni."Another user tweeted questioning why rules should favour the batsmen, "And this needs to be change quickly y all the rules should be in batsmens favour? If ball hits the stumps and bails light up then no doubt the batsman is out.."A user asked that if it is given not out when the bails do not dislodge when the batsman is bowled then ..

Clinical effort, adapted well to conditions: Karthik

While Rajasthan Royals failed to start well with the bat, Kolkata Knight Riders openers Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine ensured that they got off to a brilliant start and KKR skipper said that the eight-wicket win was a culmination of quality bowling followed by some good hitting by the openers.

Happy with all-round effort but need to improve certain aspects: Karthik

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik has praised his players for their all-round clinical effort in his side's eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match but said they need to improve in certain aspects. "It was a pretty clinical effort, the bowlers bowled well and the batsmen backed it up well too," Karthik said after the win here on Sunday night. "In India, you get to play on a lot of slow surfaces and you need to adapt to them. We need to improve in a few situations, but that's always the case," he added. Asked about his side's debutant pacer Harry Gurney, who took two wickets for 25 runs, Karthik said, "Well Harry (Gurney) is a true professional, he's played in leagues all over the world." Gurney, on his part, said, "It was a pitch that suited my cutter options, so a nice one to make my debut on. I work hard on my variations and on my yorker and it is nice to have them in tough situations, although I didn't use it much tonight. "I am working on a knuckle ball ..

Sterling matures into Man City's difference maker

Raheem Sterling had his own special fanclub in attendance as Manchester City eased into the FA Cup final on Saturday with the England winger paying for 550 pupils of his former school to attend the match at Wembley. However, appreciation of Sterling the player and the man now extends from the estate he grew up in the shadows of England's national stadium, to Manchester and beyond as he becomes an ever more important figure on and off the field for club and country. City go into Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final, first leg at Tottenham still on course for a historic quadruple of trophies. Sterling scored the winning penalty as they retained the League Cup in February, and the Premier League title is also still in their hands despite a titanic battle with his old club Liverpool. His 19 goals and 16 assists for Pep Guardiola's men have seen him emerge as City's leading candidate for player of the year awards, while a three-year drought for England has been emphatically ended by a .

'Feel the power': Error-prone Lloris backs Spurs to rock Man City

Hugo Lloris has endured a mistake-filled season, but the Tottenham goalkeeper knows his costly blunders will be forgotten if he can lead his side to Champions League success against Manchester City. Lloris will captain Tottenham in Tuesday's All-English quarter-final first leg showdown with City at the north London club's new stadium. And the France star will be firmly in the spotlight on what promises to be a busy evening given City's attacking prowess. Lloris has been well below his best for much of this term, with his latest clanger coming in the last minute of a damaging 2-1 defeat at Liverpool last weekend when he sparked a Toby Alderweireld own goal by spilling Mohamed Salah's header. The 32-year-old has shown alarmingly bad judgement all season. In Tottenham's 2-2 group stage draw against PSV Eindhoven, Lloris suffered a rush of blood as he needlessly sprinted outside his penalty area to foul Hirving Lozano, earning a straight red card that inspired the Dutch side to snatch a ..

Zimbabwe announced squad for ODI series against UAE

Zimbabwe have announced a 16 member squad to take on United Arab Emirates (UAE) at home for the first two games of a four-match ODI series which will be played between April 10 to April 16.Vice-captain Peter Moor will lead the side as their most experienced players, captain Hamilton Masakadza and wicket-keeper Brendon Taylor, have been ruled out. Masakadza sustained a thumb injury while playing domestic cricket in February whereas Taylor hurt his hamstring during Pakistan Super League (PSL).Timycen Naruma and Regis Chakabva have been recalled after a lengthy absence from the ODI set-up, the former is a batsman and a part-time leg-spinner who last represented his country in 2016 while the latter made his debut in 2008 and has recently established himself as their first-choice gloveman in Tests.Also, two uncapped players have been included, Ainsley Ndlovu, a 23-year old left-arm spinner and Tony Munyonga, a 20-year old off-spinning all-rounder.Stand-in captain, Peter Moor, has said that

Napoli draw puts Juventus coronation on hold

Napoli drew 1-1 with ten-man Genoa on Sunday to ensure that Juventus will have to wait another week to seal an eighth consecutive Serie A title. The champions have a 20-point advantage on second-placed Napoli, who they have beaten in both their head-to-head clashes, with seven games to go. Juventus, who beat AC Milan 2-1 on Saturday, needed Napoli to lose to win the Scudetto for the 35th time, ahead of their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Ajax next week. A draw next weekend at lowly SPAL would be enough for Massimiliano Allegri's side to win the title which would be the first in Italy for Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite their numerical advantage, Napoli struggled to contain the visitors who inflicted the only league defeat this season on Juventus last month. Genoa went a man down when Stefano Sturaro was sent off on 28 minutes following a VAR review for a diving studs-up tackle on Allan. Dries Mertens blasted in the opener on 34 minutes, but Darko Lazovic pulled Genoa ...

Mane steps out from Salah's shadow to lead Liverpool's double charge

Sadio Mane has grown used to playing second fiddle to Mohamed Salah in the two seasons since the latter joined the Senegalese at Liverpool. However, the fact Jurgen Klopp's men top the Premier League in their quest to end a 29-year wait to win the title and face Porto in the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final at Anfield on Tuesday, is largely thanks to Mane. As Salah's goals dried up in an eight-game drought prior to Friday's 3-1 win at Southampton, Mane assumed the mantle as chief goal getter with 11 in his last 13 Liverpool appearances taking his tally for the season to 20. That run included a double away to Bayern Munich last month that eased the five-time European champions past the German giants and eyeing another shot at Champions League glory. His first goal in particular at the Allianz Arena was a demonstration in the 26-year-old's pace, skill and calmness in front of goal. Mane controlled a raking long pass from Virgil van Dijk, rounded Manuel Neuer and then dinked

Choupo-Moting goal-line howler as PSG miss chance to wrap up French title

Paris Saint-Germain squandered the chance to clinch the Ligue 1 title in record-equalling time on Sunday after a 2-2 draw at home to Strasbourg, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's incredible miss from on the goal-line costing his team dear. PSG were handed the opportunity to win their sixth French crown in seven seasons after second-placed Lille drew 1-1 at Reims earlier. That left Thomas Tuchel's side knowing that three points at the Parc des Princes would see them retain the title and wrap it up with eight games to spare, matching the speed with which Laurent Blanc's team became champions in 2016. Choupo-Moting gave them an early lead with his third Ligue 1 goal, but later in the first half he somehow succeeded in turning a net-bound Christopher Nkunku shot onto the post while standing on the line. "I wondered if I was offside and it all happened very fast. I touched the ball, it hit the post and, well, it's a real shame because the ball was going in," Choupo-Moting told Canal+. "Sorry

We are making same mistakes in almost every game, says Moeen Ali after RCB's sixth straight defeat

Royal Challengers Bangalore faced their sixth consecutive defeat in the ongoing Indian Premier League as Delhi Capitals won the match by four wickets on Sunday.After the defeat, RCB's Moeen Ali has agreed that they are making same mistakes over and over again due to which Kohli-led side has been unable to win even single match in IPL and as a result, the RCB is the bottom-placed team in the points table."I think at the moment it's obviously very frustrating. We are training hard, the coaches are giving us everything we need, but now on the field we're a little bit nervous at times and feel a bit of pressure... It's just frustrating as cricketers that we're making the same mistakes almost every game - dropping catches, giving wickets away. You can't afford to do that in the IPL," International Cricket Council (ICC) quoted Ali as saying.While talking about the qualifying chances for RCB, the 31-year old said, "we just need to improve and we need to win, obviously, all the games." Ali ...

Sevilla's Caparros suffering from leukemia but vows to continue as coach

Sevilla coach Joaquin Caparros announced on Sunday that he has chronic leukemia but says the condition is under control and will not prevent him continuing in his job. The 63-year-old, who took over last month after Pablo Machin was sacked, was speaking after Sevilla's 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid in La Liga. "I have chronic leukemia," Caparros said in the post-match press conference. "I have caught it early and can live a normal life. "I want to enjoy my job and for everyone to stay calm. I've had no treatment and am grateful for the club giving me the opportunity (to continue coaching)." Previously Sevilla's sporting director, Caparros is now acting as coach until the end of the season, with the team winning four of his six games in charge so far. Another former Sevilla coach, Eduardo Berizzo, announced in November 2017 that he was suffering from prostate cancer. He was sacked a month later following a string of bad results. The victory over Valladolid moved Sevilla up to fifth .