Page 471 - Sports
Younis Khan set to be appointed as Pakistan U-19 coach: PCB
Former captain Younis Khan is set to be appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan Under-19 team, a Cricket Board (PCB) source said here Sunday. "A decision has been taken in this regard within the PCB but the announcement will be made soon after completing a few formalities," the source said. Citing the example of Rahul Dravid, who is the coach of India Under-19 team, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani had recently said that Pakistan too needed to follow BCCI's footsteps and hand over the charge of the nation's youth cricket to former cricketers. Besides, Younis will also be in charge of the national junior selection committee as its chief. "Younis will be given full powers as head coach and also chief selector of the national junior selection committee and he will be assisted by another former Test player, Nadeem Khan who is in line to be appointed as manager," the source said. Both Younis and Nadeem are set to be appointed on long-term basis and are expected to work with the juniors until ...
IPL 2019: Warrier, Cariappa added to KKR squad
Two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday announced Sandeep Warrier and KC Cariappa as replacements for the injured pace duo of Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi in the upcoming edition of the league, starting March 23.
Athlete Irfan qualifies for Tokyo Olympics
Indian athlete K.T. Irfan has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as he finished fourth in the men's 20 kilometre category at the Asian Race Walking Championships here.
We played more cricket than current generation and found time to improve: Shane Warne
There is a feeling in cricketing fraternity that a choc-a-bloc international calender comprising three formats leave youngsters with very little time to work on their game. However the legendary Shane Warne believes otherwise at a time when workload management has been the buzzword in many countries including India. "We played more cricket than this generation. We played more days of cricket, even though it was first-class cricket. What's the complication nowadays is the travel and different formats that they have to adjust to. But in terms of pure balls bowled and days played, yesteryears' players used to play more," Warne told PTI during an exclusive interview. Warne then cited an example of his playing days for Australia, Victoria and Hampshire. "There used to be a Sheffield Shield game for Victoria, then a Test match and we would again go back and play for Victoria. Now they have breaks, they have got Big Bash, so that's a fact," said Warne, who bowled an astounding 92,797 legal ..
South Africa sweep Sri Lanka series 5-0
South Africa handed a 5-0 whitewash to Sri Lanka as they won the fifth ODI owing to a floodlight failure at Newlands on Saturday.The visitors posted a target of 226 runs and the Proteas managed to score 135 for two after 28 overs before the floodlight failure halted the final ODI, bringing DLS method into play and the hosts won the match by 41 runs.Kusal Mendis looked in control and was the top scorer for Sri Lanka as he scored 56 runs to help the visitors put up a respectable total. However, his dismissal sparked a succession of wickets as Sri Lanka crumbled.Sri Lanka was able to get Quinton de Kock's wicket early, breaking the wicket-keeper batsman's run of five consecutive fifty-plus scores in this series.Then came in South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who formed a partnership of 70 runs with Aiden Markram. Du Plessis later lost his wicket to Thisara Perera, which brought Rassie van der Dussen to the field.The duo played well until the match was stopped due to the failure of ...
Smith, Warner return to Aussie dressing room
Steve Smith and David Warner, who are nearing the end of their year-long ban, returned to the Australian dressing room for the first time following the 2018 ball-tampering incident.The duo was warmly welcomed as Australian players enjoyed some time off in the UAE, where the side will play Pakistan in a five-match ODI series.It is understood that the meeting was an opportunity for players to air grievances with the duo and also served as an orientation for the returning batsmen into a new Australian culture, ICC reported."It's been awesome. It's like we didn't really leave. The boys were very accepting of us coming in and with open arms," Warner said. "[There were] a lot of big hugs and cuddles. It's been great. It's good to see the spirit they're in after a great series win in India, and I am obviously looking forward to watching them play against Pakistan here, and hopefully, they win that series as well," he added.Despite their failures last year, Australia bounced back and won the .
Kohli, Bumrah maintain top positions in ICC ODI rankings
India skipper Virat Kohli and pacer Jasprit Bumrah have retained their top positions in the batsmen and bowlers' list of the latest ICC ODI rankings issued Sunday. Kohli remained at number one spot after scoring 310 in the recently-concluded home series against Australia while his deputy Rohit Sharma hit 202 runs to maintain the No.2 spot in the batting chart. Kedar Jadhav's all-round effort has helped him move up 11 places to a career-best 24th after the five-match series, which India lost 2-3. Meanwhile, South Africa opener Quinton de Kock has grabbed fourth position among batsmen after playing a huge part in his team's 5-0 victory over Sri Lanka in a home series that ended in Cape Town on Saturday. The 26-year-old left-handed wicketkeeper-batsman's 353 runs in the series, which included a century and three half-centuries, has helped him win the player of the series award and gain four slots in the rankings. New Zealand's Ross Taylor has maintained the number three spot. In the ...
No cap on IPL matches, insists Kohli, tournament to benefit India players for WC, says Kirsten
"You cannot put a cap on anything," said India captain Virat Kohli, insisting that no instructions have been issued to Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises with regards to workload management of World Cup bound players. However the Indian captain expects his teammates to be smart enough to manage their workload before the mega event starting May 30. "If I'm able to play 10, 12 or 15 games, it doesn't necessarily mean that the other guy can only play that many. My body might demand I play a certain number of games and I need to be smart about that and rest," Kohli, who will be leading RCB in the IPL, said during the launch of an app. "Someone else's body might be more capable than mine or less, that is a very individual thing. And everyone wants to play the World Cup, so people will be smart about it because you don't want to miss out on such a big event." Kohli said that it is up to individual players to deal with the issue to keep their body fit and be in contention for a place in .
'Best race ever': Bottas upstages Hamilton at Australian Grand Prix
Valtteri Bottas upstaged his Mercedes world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton Sunday to win the season-opening Australian Formula One Grand Prix in a sizzling performance that he called his "best ever". The flying Finn started second on the grid but got a jump on the polesitting Briton at the first corner and never looked back, scorching round the Albert Park circuit to take the chequered flag a massive 20.9 seconds ahead of Hamilton. Red Bull's precocious Max Verstappen came third to join them on the podium after audaciously overtaking Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel midway through the race. "How about that! Yes!" said Bottas over the team radio after also taking the new bonus point for the fastest lap. "I don't know what just happened. I don't know what to say. It was definitely my best race ever," he said after. "I felt so good and the car was so good. Four-time world champion Vettel had to settle for fourth, trailing in 57.1 seconds behind Bottas. Ferrari partner Charles Leclerc was ...
Valtteri Bottas wins Australia GP for Mercedes
Mercedes team Formula One (F1) driver Valtteri Bottas won his first champion in the Australian Grand Prix held in Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.
Sindhu & co look at India Open to bring cheer for fans
The initial few months of 2019 haven't gone well for the Indian shuttlers as the likes of P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikant and Parupalli Kashyap have failed to reproduce the magic they have shown in the last couple of seasons.
Gambhir thanks fans, critics after receiving Padma Shri
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is well known for speaking out his mind on various issues and the hero of India's two World Cup winning campaigns in 2007 and 2011 has once again taken a dig at his critics.
K T Irfan become first Indian from athletics to qualify for Tokyo Olympics
National record holder KT Irfan Sunday became the first Indian from athletics to qualify for the next year's Olympics while finishing fourth in the 20 km event of the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan. The 29-year-old Irfan clocked 1 hour 20 minutes and 57 seconds to better the Tokyo Olympics qualification standard of 1 hour 21 minutes. The Olympics qualification period for race walk events and marathon race has begun from January 1 this year and will run till May 31, 2020. The Olympics qualification period for all other athletics events will start from May 1 this year and will run till June 29, 2020. No other Indian from athletics has so far qualified for Tokyo Olympics. Irfan, who has a personal best as well as national record of 1:20:21 which he did during his 10th place finish in 2012 Olympics, also qualified for this year's World Championships (September 27-October 6) in Doha, Qatar as he bettered the qualifying mark of 1:22:30. The Kerala race walker had won the 20
The sport of politics: Where Rathore hit bull's eye and Bhutia missed a sitter
One is usually front page, the other mostly at the back. But in election season, politics and sports converge, defying the old adage that the two do not and should not mix. Sports stars have long dotted the political firmament and will do so again this election with seasoned names like Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Kirti Azad and Navjot Singh Sidhu in the reckoning and maybe some newbies like cricketer Gautam Gambhir joining their fray. "I feel sportspersons have a drive to do something for the nation, and whether they are on the playing field or in the field of politics, they always have that in them," Olympics silver medallist and Union minister Rathore told PTI. The 16th Lok Sabha featured accomplished sportspersons like Rathore, a BJP leader who is minister of state for Information and Broadcasting, as well as former cricketer Kirti Azad (in the BJP to start with and now with the Congress), former football captain Prasun Banerjee (Trinamool Congress) and national-level shooter ...
Steve Smith joins Royals camp in Jaipur, Shane Warne expects him to be "hungry"
Having been welcomed with open arms by his national teammates in Dubai, Steve Smith Sunday touched down in Jaipur to join his IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals' pre-tournament camp ahead of cash-rich league starting March 23. With an aim on getting back in the Australian side for the World Cup, Smith is expected to raise his game for Royals and franchise's brand ambassador Shane Warne knows that the former skipper will be as "hungry as ever". "He (Smith) will be so excited to turn up and play cricket. That's what he loves doing and that's what he is very very good at. Smith and Warner are two of the best players in world cricket, I think Smith will be giving a lot and integrate with the team," Warne told PTI during an interaction. Smith and David Warner would soon be completing their one-year international ban for their involvement in ball tampering scandal in South Africa last year. The duo spent some time with the Australian team in Dubai on invitation of coach Justin Langer and both ..
Happy that Chess is back in Asian Games: Anand
The legendary Vishwanathan Anand along with other top players welcomed the return of chess to the Asian Games fold for the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, stating that it will be an incentive for players to take up the sport. Five-time World Champion and the country's first Grand Master Vishwanathan Anand said he was happy with the development adding that looked forward to a medal from the team. "I am happy about the development. I look forward to a medal from our team," Anand told PTI. Chess was a part of Asian Games programme at the 2006 edition in Doha and 2010 in Guangzhou. India won two gold medals at Doha, with Koneru Humpy capturing the top prize in the women's rapid individual event and the mixed team winning the standard event gold. In the 2010 edition, the Indian men won a bronze in the standard team event while D Harika took the bronze in the women's individual (rapid) event. Grand Master Baskaran Adhiban, who is playing in the World Team Championship in Astana (Kazakshtan), said
Smith, Warner reunite with Australian cricket team
With the one year ban on Steve Smith and David Warner for their involvement in the Sandpaper Gate controversy in South Africa ending later this month, the duo have reunited with the Australian cricket team ahead of the series against Pakistan here.
Zidane enjoys winning start but Atletico beaten in Bilbao
Zinedine Zidane brought Real Madrid's outcasts in from the cold and they repaid him with a win over Celta Vigo on Saturday but La Liga's title race could well be over after Atletico Madrid were beaten by Athletic Bilbao. Isco and Gareth Bale each scored in Madrid's 2-0 victory over Celta before Atletico lost 2-0 at San Mames, giving Barcelona the chance to go 10 points clear if they overcome Real Betis on Sunday. Barca's superiority has been clear for some time but Zidane's new era is up and running. Isco, who had not started a single league game under Santiago Solari, gave Real the lead shortly after the hour and Bale got the goal his own committed display deserved to put sorry Celta out of sight. Bale was teed up by Marcelo, who was also dropped by Solari but recalled, while Keylor Navas pulled off a superb save in the first half, having been brought back in ahead of Thibaut Courtois. "Nobody can erase what these players have done," Zidane about those players he recalled. "I will ...
India's Irfan KT qualifies for 2020 Tokyo Olympics
India's Irfan KT has qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after finishing fourth at the Asian Race Walking Championship here on Sunday. Irfan clocked 1:20.57 in the 20km walk to attain the standard qualifying mark for the quadrennial extravaganza in Tokyo. The fourth place finish also ensured a berth in the upcoming IAAF World Championship in Doha from September 27 to October 6. Two other Indian race walkers, who qualified for the World Championship are Devinder, who clocked 1:21.22 and Ganapati (1:22.12). Having qualified for Tokyo 2020, this will be Irfan's second Olympics having represented the country in 2012 London edition. During last year's Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Irfan was sent home after not adhering to the 'no needle policy'.
Thiem books Indian Wells final against Federer
Austria's Dominic Thiem defeated Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 on Saturday to book a title clash with five-time champion Roger Federer at the ATP Indian Wells Masters. Thiem, ranked eighth in the world, withstood 17 aces from the rangy Canadian, gaining the only break of the contest in the third set. He'll fight for a maiden Masters 1000 title against Swiss great Federer. Federer, seeking a record sixth Indian Wells crown, reached the final when semi-final opponent Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament with a right knee injury. Thiem, 25, has split four prior meetings with the 20-time Grand Slam champion 2-2.