Page 405 - Sports
Came close to quitting cricket due to form, injuries: Neesham recalls visit to psychologist
New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham says being picked for the upcoming World Cup feels "surreal" as he was on the verge of retiring 18 months back due to form and injury, needing professional counselling to rediscover his love for cricket. The 28-year-old, who has played 12 Tests, 49 ODIs and 15 T20 Internationals for New Zealand, was named in the 15-man squad that the Black Caps recently announced for the ODI showpiece starting May 30 in the United Kingdom. He was ignored for the 2015 edition of the mega-event which was held in Australia and New Zealand. Neesham was also axed following the 2017 Champions Trophy before making a comeback earlier this year. Battling inconsistent form and injuries, Neesham said he dialled New Zealand Players Association CEO Heath Mills to express his desire to quit. "It came as close as it could get. I actually called Heath Mills and told him I was going to retire so I owe a lot to him to convince me to take a little break and come back three or four ..
Lack of consistency will pose challenge for Windies in World Cup, says Brian Lara
Former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara said lack of consistency will pose a challenge for the team to get to the World Cup knock-out stage."West Indies have match-winners, but that is not enough to play in English conditions and win the World Cup. We need a team that is consistent. (But) once they are in the knock-out, they can beat any team. We have seen that in the past," ICC quoted Lara, as saying.Two-time winners of the World Cup, West Indies had to go through a qualifying tournament to seal their place in the 10-team tournament in England, starting May 30. Ranked ninth on the ODI list, the Caribbean side drew a five-match series 2-2 against top-ranked England.Lara, who retired with 10,405 runs from 299 ODIs, said: "The team has shown enough improvement from what they played in India last October. What we are trying to be is to be a strong team at home. India may have to worry when they come to the West Indies in July-August because we have a team that understands the ...
Battle of leadership styles of Dhoni and Ashwin as CSK take on KXIP
It will be a battle of leadership styles of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin when Chennai Super Kings clash with Kings XI Punjab an IPL match here on Saturday. Dhoni's ability to stay calm and keep his cool even in the trickiest of situations versus Ashwin's aggressive approach and out-of-the-box decisions would certainly make for an interesting contest. The two teams have three wins each and both will try to outdo each other to take the upper hand. Defending champions CSK suffered their first defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians in their last match after three straight wins, and they would hoping to get back to winning ways as they return to their 'den'. The two previous matches at MA Chidambaram stadium have produced contrasting performances. While Royal Challengers Bangalore were shot out for 70, Rajasthan Royals made CSK sweat before going down by eight runs on a better surface for the batters. The spin-heavy CSK will now be up against KXIP, which also have quality ...
Chennai City knock Bengaluru out of Super Cup
Chennai City FC emerged on top in the battle of champions, edging out Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the first quarter-final of th Super Cup 2019 played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.Bengaluru went into the match on Thursday as the reigning champions, having won the inaugural edition of the tournament last year, but the defeat marked a premature end to their title defence. I-League 2018-19 champions Chennai City, meanwhile, progressed to the semi-finals and will back themselves to clinch the double this season.Bengaluru started the match on the front foot, keeping possession of the ball and asking questions of the Chennai defence, particularly down the right-hand side. Udanta Singh and Xisco Hernandez's combination down the right flank looked dangerous early on, keeping the I-League side on their toes.The first real chance of the match, however, fell Chennai's way. Edwin Vanspaul's pass from deep dropped kindly for Sandro inside the Bengaluru box and the Spaniard got his shot off. The ...
Malinga collects 10/83 in two days
Sri Lanka's fast bowler Lasith Malinga took 10 wickets in two games across two countries in two days.The 35-year-old picked up career-best one-day figures of 7/49 during a domestic match in Kandy on Thursday, the day after he picked up three wickets for Mumbai Indians in an IPL clash against Chennai Super Kings in Mumbai.After helping Mumbai to a 37-run victory, Malinga left to play for Galle in Sri Lanka Super Four Provincial Limited Over Tournament.The fast bowler then went onto rattle Kandy with 7/49 to help Galle to a 156-run win.
WWE star O'Neil upbeat on women's event in WrestleMania
For the first-time, WrestleMania will have a main event for the women and WWE star Titus O'Neil believes that it is a step in the right direction even as he expects it to be a competitive one. "I expect it (the women's main event) to be highly competitive, highly emotional (and it is) not really having anything to do with them (contestants) being women," O'Neil said. "It is more so that these are the women who have represented our company in a strong way in the past several years and to have them in the spotlight in the grand stage of WrestleMania is going to be a treat for everybody," O'Neil said "It is going to be an inspiration to all people," he added on the sidelines of an event organised by WWE and Susan G Komen at the Newport Centre Mall here on Thursday. WWE recently had announced that the first-ever women's main event of WrestleMania would be a 'winners take all match' for both Raw and Smackdown championship titles. This event will feature Ronda Rousey versus Charlotte Flair .
Delhi Capitals coach Ponting blasts Kotla track
Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting was furious with the Feroz Shah Kotla ground staff, who provided the home team with a pitch that proved to be more helpful for the Sunrisers Hyderabad during the IPL encounter between two teams. Sunrisers comfortably beat Delhi Capitals by five wickets on a track where run-scoring was difficult and suited the visiting team bowlers even more. In fact, the former Australian captain made it a point to mention that inputs provided by the groundsmen was completely opposite to how the pitch played out. "I think it is fair to say that the wicket surprised us a lot. Talking to the groundsmen before the match, we thought this would be the best pitch that we had by far but it was the worse. You saw how little it bounced and how slow it was," Ponting told reporters after the match. Sunrisers' Afghan spin duo of Mohammed Nabi and Rashid Khan took three wickets amongst them, giving away only 39 runs in their combined eight overs. "Look, at the end of the day, it .
Injuries leave Man City with Mendy dilemma
Manchester City are strong favourites to take another step towards an unprecedented quadruple of trophies in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Brighton at Wembley. A potential 13 more games lie between Pep Guardiola's men and a clean sweep of FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League to add to the League Cup they lifted in February. However, with another seven matches to come before the end of April, Guardiola faces a headache in a familiar problem position. Oleksandr Zinchenko suffered a hamstring injury in Wednesday's routine 2-0 win over Cardiff that restored City to the top of the Premier League. The Ukrainian has deputised ably at left-back, despite being a midfielder by trade prior to Guardiola's arrival, while $68 million World Cup winner Benjamin Mendy has been sidelined for much of the past two seasons due to knee injuries. Guardiola's patience with Mendy has worn thin and was tested again this week when the defender was filmed in a nightclub at 3.30am last Saturday ...
Peerless PSG on verge of another French title
Paris Saint-Germain can clinch a sixth Ligue 1 title in seven seasons this weekend and complete the first part of a domestic double after booking their place in the final of the French Cup. Thomas Tuchel's team will know ahead of kick-off whether they can round off their title procession with a victory at home to League Cup champions Strasbourg. PSG would claim the championship for the eighth time -- and draw to within two of the record held by Saint-Etienne -- with a win at the Parc des Princes if Lille slip up away to Reims. Yet Tuchel, whose side are on track to shatter their 96-point return from the 2015-16 campaign, denied recent reports he has signed an extension with PSG until 2021. "I can't confirm, we should wait a bit," said the German, who saw his team agonisingly knocked out of the Champions League last 16 by Manchester United last month. Marquinhos became the latest high-profile PSG injury casualty during Wednesday's 3-0 semi-final defeat of Nantes, joining Neymar, ...
Kupcho takes lead into final round of Augusta National Women's Amateur
Top-ranked Jennifer Kupcho will take a one-shot lead into Saturday's final round of the inaugural Augusta National Women's Amateur. Kupcho, the reigning US collegiate champion, fired a second-round 71 at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, for a five-under-par total going into the final round -- which will see women competing for a trophy for the first time at Augusta National -- long the home of the Masters men's major. Kupcho, 21, was coming off a "perfect" first round of 68 that had left her tied overnight with 16-year-old Zoe Campos. She was three-under for the day before her first bogey of the week at her 14th hole of the day, the par-four fifth. She dropped another shot at the eighth to finish the day one stroke in front of Mexico's Maria Fassi, who had an eagle, five birdies and five bogeys in a 70. "I started out strong and was hitting the ball really well," Kupcho said. "After the bogey on the fifth, I was just trying to get through six, honestly - and then the ...
Bowled as we weren't sure about wicket: Bhuvneshwar
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) put on a quality display as they beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets at the Feroze Shah Kotla here on a wicket that was pretty low and slow. While the decision to win the toss and bowl first from SRH skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar surprised quite a few, the captain said it was because they weren't sure how the wicket would play.
Juventus poised to win eighth straight Serie A title in record time
Champions Juventus turn their focus to nailing down an eighth consecutive Serie A title in record time this weekend, days after a row erupted over racist abuse aimed at starlet Moise Kean in Cagliari. Massimiliano Allegri's side return to their home comforts of the Allianz Stadium in Turin to host AC Milan after their trip to Sardinia on Tuesday ended amid scenes of chaos as Kean and teammate Blaise Matuidi were subjected to monkey cries and racist chanting. Juventus could win the league title with seven games to spare -- the earliest any team has ever sealed Serie A -- if they beat AC Milan and nearest challengers Napoli lose at home to Genoa. The Turin giants have an 18-point advantage on Napoli and have won both their direct clashes with Carlo Ancelotti's side this season. "The eighth consecutive championship is in the 'loading phase'," said Juve captain Giorgio Chiellini. "Right now, the 'uploading' is getting closer to completion. These will be two very important weeks for ...
Wicket had wear and tear, good toss to win: Bairstow
It looked like in-form Jonny Bairstow batter on a different Feroze Shah Kotla wicket and the rest of the batsmen from the Delhi Capitals (DC) as well as Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) played on a different pitch. Even as others struggled to find form, Bairstow hit a 28-ball 48 to ensure that there was no coming back for DC in the match.
Pitch surprised us, was by far the worst: Ponting
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) beat the Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets in their Indian Premier League (IPL) game, but more than the loss, it was how DC dished out a pitch that suited the away team more surprised all. And speaking after the game, head coach Ricky Ponting revealed how the curator had made the team believe that this was their best wicket.
In-form Hyderabad beat lacklustre Delhi by 5 wickets
Jonny Bairstow started from where had he left against Royal Challengers Bangalore as he hit a whirlwind 28-ball 48 to set the runchase for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their Indian Premier League clash against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday.
IPL 2019: Sunrisers Hyderabad defeats Delhi Daredevils by five wickets
Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Delhi Capitals by five wickets in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi on Thursday.As a result of this win, Hyderabad have now won three out of their four matches whereas Delhi have lost three out of their five matches.Chasing a score of 130, SRH once again got off to a strong start as their openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner hammered the hosts with regular boundaries inside the first six overs. The team was able to score 62 runs in the powerplay overs.The duo stitched together a 64-run partnership before Bairstow (48) was dismissed by Rahul Tewatia. The batsman failed to read the ball out the bowler's hands and he was adjudged LBW.Delhi came back into the match as they dismissed Warner (10) soon after dismissing Bairstow. The left-hander was sent back to the pavilion by Kagiso Rabada.Vijay Shankar and Manish Pandey then took the honors upon themselves to take SRH over the line and duo added 27 ..
Chennai City FC knock Bengaluru out of Super Cup
I-League champions Chennai City FC underlined their might once again as they knocked holders Bengaluru FC out of the Super Cup with a 2-1 quarterfinal win at the Kalinga Stadium here on Thursday.A
Malinga juggles IPL and domestic cricket in 12 hours
At a time when workload management of the players are keenly monitored ahead of the World Cup, Sri Lanka's veteran pacer Lasith Malinga, in a rare incident, played two matches inside 12 hours -- a T20 game in India and a domestic 50-over match in Sri Lanka.
Hyderabad spinners restrict Delhi batsmen to 129/8
It was a new day, but the Delhi Capitals batsmen put up another disappointing show at the Feroz Shah Kotla here against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Indian Premier League game on Thursday. Put in to bat, DC put on 129/8 in their 20 overs.
Iyer hits 43 but Sunrisers restrict Delhi to 129/8
Sunrisers Hyderabad dished out a superb bowling effort to restrict hosts Delhi Capitals to a lowly 129 for eight in an Indian Premier League match at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium here Thursday. Sunrisers bowlers exploited the conditions well, making life difficult for the hosts, who simply failed to get going right from the start on a slow wicket. Skipper Shreyas Iyer tried to anchor the innings with a steady 41-ball 43 but he didn't get support from the other end. It would have been more embarrassing for Delhi, if not for the cameos from Chris Morris (17 off 15) and Axar Patel (23 not out off 13). The pace-spin combination of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Nabi gave Sunrisers a good start, restricting Delhi to 19 for one in first four overs after the visitors won the toss and elected to field. After conceding a first ball boundary, Bhuvneshwar came back to clean up Prithvi Shaw in the third over. Skipper Iyer then deposited one at the stands after Siddarth Kaul was introduced into ..