Page 484 - Sports
Rohit completes 8000 runs ODIs
India vice-captain Rohit Sharma completed 8000 runs in ODI cricket during the fifth and series-deciding match against Australia on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Rohit completed the milestone in his 206th ODI appearance and is joint third fastest to the milestone along with former India captain Sourav Ganguly. Both have taken 200 innings to reach 8000-run mark with the fastest being current India skipper Virat Kohli (175 innings) followed by South Africa great AB de Villiers (182). Rohit scored 56 off 89 balls on the day before being stumped off Adam Zampa's delivery. He now has 8010 runs in 206 ODIs with 22 hundreds and 41 half-centuries.
Shaun Marsh joins Melbourne Renegades in Big Bash League
Shaun Marsh has joined the Melbourne Renegades for the upcoming season of Big Bash League. This move can be considered as a shock move as this decision has broken a long term association of the Marsh family with Western Australia.Marsh had played all his cricket with Western Australia he has been with the Perth Scorchers since the starting of the Big Bash League."I would like to thank everyone at the Scorchers who have supported me over the years - it was a very successful period for the club," cricket.com.au quoted Marsh as saying."But I am ready for a new challenge and the opportunity to join the Renegades on the back of such a successful season is very exciting.""I have spent a lot of time with Finchy and know the other guys well, so I am looking forward to it," Marsh added.Shaun Marsh has played 37 games for the Scorchers over the eight seasons of the BBL.However, Andrew McDonald, the head coach of Renegades is ecstatic on Marsh joining his team and has said that he would give ...
'Our inspiration is Afghanistan' - East Timorese hope to copy cricket rise
Navigating pigs and goats as they practise on a dusty paddock, a group of young East Timorese are hoping to copy the fairy-tale rise of Afghanistan by making it as Asia's latest emerging cricket nation. In the impoverished, once war-ravaged country, which only gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, the manicured pitches of Lord's are a world away for aspiring cricketer Juvelino Mique "Micky" Rama Pinto, 16. His 14-year-old batting partner, Joana Gonsalves Borges, has seen cricket on TV and is excited by "watching big sixes and wickets being taken". Like Micky, she wants to play for East Timor. The vision to turn soccer-obsessed East Timor on to cricket originated with Mark Young, who played at league level in Lancashire and Gloucestershire before emigrating to New Zealand in 1997. Young and a Pakistani colleague, Muhammad Tayyeb Javed, argue that East Timor can use cricket as part of its revival just like Afghanistan, whose players learned the game in refugee camps but have risen
Indian Oil retain Gold Cup Hockey crown; Raghunath shines
Indian Oil retained their Bombay Gold Cup Hockey crown Wednesday after fighting back from the brink to overcome Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) 9-7 via the penalty shootout in the summit clash here. The oilmen from Bengaluru and the bankmen from Jalandhar fought their way to a tense 5-5 stalemate in regular time in the final of the 53rd edition of the tournament. Indian Oil captain and Olympian V R Raghunath equalised at the death through a penalty corner when his side trailed 4-5 to force the tie-break which the oilmen won by showing better nerves at the MHAL-Mahindra Stadium. Raghunath again converted a penalty stroke when Vikramjit Singh, who was working his way to score from the fourth attempt, was fouled by the rival goalkeeper Guriqbal Singh to seal Indian Oil's 4-2 penalty shootout success. Earlier, Punjab and Sind Bank scored twice in the second quarter through Harmanpreet Singh (24thminute) and Jaskaran Singh through a penalty corner (29thminute) to open up a 2-0 ...
Khawaja hits century before India stop Australia to 272/9
India staged a decent comeback to restrict Australia to 272 for nine after Usman Khawaja continued with his imperious form by hitting his second hundred of the series in the decisive fifth ODI here Wednesday. Khawaja, who had not scored a century before arriving to India for this series, hit an exact 100 off 106 balls and shared two big partnerships at the top of the order. Australia were placed comfortably at 175 for one in the 33rd over and set for a kill in slog overs, but the script changed for the hosts when Bhuvneshwar Kumar got rid off Khawaja in the last ball of the that over. The visitors added only 97 runs after that in 17 overs, surrendering the advantage, which was well-earned by Khawaja and his top-order colleagues. The left-hander, who hit a century in Ranchi as well, first raised a 76-run stand with Aaron Finch (27) after his skipper elected to bat in hazy and overcast conditions and followed it up with a 99-run partnership with Peter Handscomb (52). Bhuvneshwar took ..
CCI snooker: Uppal ousts seasoned Shakeel to enter round four
Delhi's Anuj Uppal Wednesday upset seasoned Kolkata-based Railways cueist Shakeel Ahmed 3-0 in a third round clash of the CCI All India Open Snooker Championship here. Uppal won 71-25, 58-52, 61-23 in the best-of-five clash to enter round four at the Cricket Club of India. Two other Railway cueists put up a better show. Mohd Hussain Khan rallied after dropping the first frame to beat Mandeep Singh of Uttar Pradesh 3-1 while Mumbai-based Malkeet Singh brushed aside Surat's Maaz Chakkiwala 3-0. Gujarat's Rupesh Shah hit top form and constructed three substantial breaks on the way to a convincing 3-0 win against Odisha's Subrat Das in a second round match. The ONGC player quickly settled down and, with runs of 40 and 47, pocketed the first two frames before making a neat 83 in the third to complete a 50-14, 93-14, 83-0 win. Results: Second round: Rupesh Shah (Gujarat) beat Subrat Das (Odisha) 3-0 (50(40)-14, 93(47)-14, 83(83)-0); Lucky Vatnani (Telangana) beat Siddhesh Mulay
Top-ranked Osaka, Halep crash out of Indian Wells
World number one Naomi Osaka crashed out of Indian Wells on Tuesday, routed by Belinda Bencic on a day that saw second-ranked Simona Halep sent packing, too. Bencic, ranked 23rd in the world, defeated Osaka 6-3, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the prestigious WTA premier mandatory event, where Osaka won her first tour title last year. That marked the start of a remarkable rise that included Osaka's first Grand Slam title at the US Open. She followed that with an Australian Open crown that sent her to number one. But she never found her feet against Bencic, whose crisp groundstrokes and precise service game propelled her to victory in 66 minutes. "I didn't play that well," Osaka said. "Honestly, at a time like this with that scoreline, I would usually feel very depressed and sad. But I feel pretty good right now, because I tried my best and I don't really have any regrets. "She was just playing so well ... there wasn't anything that I could do in that situation." Bencic, who turned .
Ridhima shoots superb 66 to take 2-shot lead over amateur Asmitha
Ridhima Dilawari had an eventful back nine that included an eagle, three birdies and three bogeys between the 11th and 17th holes, carding a superb six-under 66 in the first round of Women's Pro Golf Tour Wednesday. On a day when the leaders scored low, Ridhima's 66 had seven birdies, four of them in the front nine, three bogeys and an eagle on the par-5 13th. That gave her a handy two-shot lead over amateur Asmitha Sathish, who impressed with her four-under 68 that included five birdies and a bogey. Last week's winner, Gaurika Bishnoi had just two birdies and missed many more, but like Ridhima, she too had an eagle on the Par-5 13th, besides bogeys on second and 12th holes as she shot two-under 70. Amateur Anika Varma and Anisha Padukone were tied for fourth position at one-under 71, as five players brought home under par scores on a rather good day. Amandeep Drall (73) was sixth, while Siddhi Kapoor and Afshan Fatima carded 74 each to be Tied-seventh, as amateur Nayanika Sanga and ..
Bengaluru's Army Boys School wins FC Bayern Youth Cup
Army Boys School, Bengaluru won the FC Bayern Youth Cup India 2018-19, beating DPS East, Bengaluru 2-1 in the final. The under-16, seven-a-side inter-school football tournament was played in Delhi at adidas' state-of-the-art football facility The Base over two days. The FC Bayern Youth Cup spanned across five cities with more than 2,000 talented players showcasing their skills. Out of the 250 schools that participated in the tournament, 10 schools from - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and first-time participants from Jammu Kashmir secured qualification to represent their respective cities in the National Finals. The winning team from the National Finals will represent 'Team India' in the FC Bayern Youth Cup World Finals and train under the watchful eye of professional coaches from Bayern Munich. The National Finals was attended by France's World Cup winner and Bayern Hall of Famer, Bixente Lizarazu, who engaged with the young footballers and imparted his knowledge about the ...
Former international Renedy Singh named Neroca FC coach
Former India midfielder Renedy Singh was Wednesday named head coach of Neroca FC, succeeding Spaniard Manuel Retamero Fraile who left the club after its sixth-place finish in the just-concluded I-League. Neroca lost to Real Kashmir 2-3 at home in their final match of the 12th I-League to finish with 26 points (from 20 matches). It turned out to be Fraile's last match at the helm of the Imphal side. The 39-year-old Renedy, whose home is just a few kilometers away from the club base, donned the national colours in 59 matches between 1998 and 2011 during which he was a dead-ball specialist along with Steven Dias. He also captained India on a few occasions and featured in the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar. After retiring from international football in 2011, he took to coaching. He had a stint as assistant coach of Indian Super League side Pune City FC in the 2015-16 season. He is an AFC - A Licence holder. "It is an honour to be the head coach of Neroca FC. Hoping I could help the team ...
Kohlschreiber stuns Djokovic at Indian Wells, Rafa, Federer advance
Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber stunned Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday, claiming his first career win over a world No. 1 player to reach the fourth round of the ATP Indian Wells Masters. Serbian superstar Djokovic was playing his first tournament since lifting a record seventh title in Melbourne, taking his tally of Grand Slam victories to 15. He had won eight of nine prior meetings with Kohlschreiber, but could find no answer to the 39th-ranked veteran, who had come up empty in 11 prior attempts to beat a top-ranked rival. "It's a very special moment," Kohlschreiber said. "Of course, playing the top guys is always a big pleasure, but most of the time they beat you." In match that resumed after rain stopped play just one game in on Monday night, Kohlschreiber said the warmer daytime conditions suited him better, and Djokovic agreed. "I liked my chances more at night against Kohlschreiber," Djokovic said. "Completely different conditions today: Ball bounces
Vettel says Ferrari feeling good as new Formula One season launches
Sebastian Vettel said Wednesday that Ferrari have "tried to turn the page" after being dominated by Mercedes in 2018 and their new car "feels good" ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The German four-time world champion was speaking as the new Formula One season officially launched with all 20 drivers taking part in a first-of-its-kind public meet-and-greet with fans in the heart of Melbourne. "For the whole team we have tried to turn the page," Vettel told the thousands of fans who turned up for a glimpse of their heroes in the city's Federation Square. "We had some weaknesses here and there last year and we have tried to fix those and do much better," he added after the drivers arrived by boat on the Yarra River, signed autographs and posed for pictures with the event live streamed on Formula One's social media channels. "The team is on track and the car feels good," he said of his Ferrari, which was fastest in pre-season testing and is the bookmakers' favourite going
Pandya, Rahul needed the wrap on their knuckles: Shastri
India's head coach Ravi Shastri says Hardik Pandya and K L Rahul needed "the wrap on their knuckles", referring to the duo's sexist comments on a popular TV show. Pandya and Rahul were in the eye of a massive storm following their sexist comments on 'Koffee With Karan' in January. "Pandya and Rahul needed the wrap on their knuckles. They would have learnt a lot from what happened, which is good," Shastri told 'Mirror Now'. "You are bound to make mistakes and you are bound to be punished at times but that's not the end of the world. Such experiences just help players to come back stronger, harder and wiser," he said. The TV show was aired on January 6. In the show, Pandya and Rahul talked about their relationships, crushes, favourite movies, actors and actresses. Pandya boasted about hooking up with multiple women and even spoke about how open he is with his parents on the matter. Shastri was asked about the differences in opinion between the BCCI and the team over partners of ...
Juventus shares soar after Ronaldo hat-trick rescues Champions League
Juventus shares soared by over 20% on the Milan stock exchange on Wednesday, the morning after Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible hat-trick rescued the Italian giants Champions League campaign. The Portuguese superstar added a late penalty to a pair of headers for a 3-0 win on the night and 3-2 on aggregate over Atletico Madrid to seal a place in the quarter-finals. The Turin club's shares jumped by 23% after the Milan stock exchange opened before dipping to 17.09% later in the morning. In 90 minutes the five-time Ballon d'Or winner demonstrated why Juventus splashed out 100 million euros ($117 million) last summer to bring the Real Madrid star to Italy, in addition to his annual salary of 31 million euros. "That's why Juventus bought me, to help them in games like this," the 34-year-old Ronaldo said after the game. The seven-time reigning Italian title-holders have not won the Champions League since 1996, and have finished runners-up twice in the past four seasons.
We are hopeful of playing maximum home games at Eden Gardens: KKR CEO Mysore
Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore is hopeful that the franchise will able to play most of their home games at the Eden Gardens despite seven-phase polling in West Bengal during the upcoming general elections. The IPL will start on March 23 and end on May 12 while the general elections are slated to be held in seven phases between April 11 and May 19. Since West Bengal will have elections in all seven phases, April 11, 18, 23, 29, May 6, 12 and 19, there is a possibility that some of KKR's matches may be shifted to neutral venues. As per the two-week schedule, KKR are playing two home games vs Sunrisers (March 24) and KXIP (March 27) and two away games against Delhi Capitals (Mar 30) and RCB (April 5). "We have had some good meetings with the concerned authorities today, so fingers crossed. We are waiting for some clarification. I think they (authorities) are very keen to make sure that we play in Eden. If all goes well, we will play our home games here only," Mysore told ...
Joshna continues impressive run to reach quarters in Egypt
India's squash star Joshna Chinappa extended her impressive run in the Women's Black Ball Squash Open with a fighting win over sixth seed Sarah-Jane Perry here. After downing the legendary Nicol David in the first round, she wore down the English player 11-4, 6-11, 14-12, 11-9 to storm into the quarterfinals of the PSA gold event on Tuesday. It was Joshna's first win over Sarah in almost seven years, having beaten her last in the 2012 Chennai Open. It was a match of over four games but on this occasion, the Indian seemed in greater control and nothing displayed that better than the first game. Though the higher-ranked Sarah came back strongly in the next, Joshna was ready for the fight. In the last eight, Joshna plays third Joelle King of New Zealand.
Delhi ODI: India to bowl first against Aussies
Australia won the toss and asked India to bowl first in the final match of the ongoing five-match ODI series here at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium on Wednesday.Following the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said he also wanted to bat first after looking at the pitch conditions.Talking about the team combination, Kohli informed that they made two changes in the playing XI from the fourth ODI, bringing in Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami in place of Yuzvendra Chahal and KL Rahul."Would have batted first as well. Hopefully, it doesn't break down so much. Hopefully, there is dew later. This is a knockout game for us. Everyone is pumped up. We are one of the best chasing teams in the world. We have to show that today. Pretty much. last two games did not go our way but it is not like we have not been doing well overall. In terms of team balance, we have sorted our head. We are not unbeatable. But so long as we can learn from our losses, we are okay. Chahal misses out, Jadeja comes in, ...
5th ODI: Australia opt to bat vs India
Australia skipper Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bat against India in the fifth and final ODI of the rubber at the Ferozshah Kotla here on Wednesday.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup a litmus test for youngsters: vice-captain Surender
Indian men's hockey team vice-captain Surender Kumar Wednesday said the upcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup will be a good opportunity for youngsters to test themselves ahead of the qualifying tournaments for 2020 Olympics. India will be fielding a young squad at the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup with the likes of Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit Kumar (Junior), Gurinder Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Gurjant Singh, among others. They have shown tremendous potential after making their international debut with the senior team. "The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup has always been a great platform to test youngsters and see how they adapt to international standards. Their experience will grow ahead of the major (2020 Olympic Games qualifying) tournaments we play this year," said Surender. "Some of these players have done very well at the FIH Champions Trophy and 2018 Men's World Cup and carry a lot of confidence. And we have been speaking to them regularly about handling ...
Maharashtra, Karnataka to fight for Mushtaq Ali crown
Old rivals Maharashtra and Karnataka will square-off in the final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy here Thursday after both teams stayed unbeaten in the Super League stage. Both teams won all their four games, and will be vying to lay their hands on the coveted trophy. For Maharashtra, this has been a collective effort rather than individual brilliance. Someone like a 'ever-reliable' Ankit Bawne, an aggressive wicket-keeper-batsman Nikhil Naik or all-rounder Naushad Shaikh have chipped in with their noteworthy performances when the side needed the most in the tournament. Naik shone with the bat against Railways, his unbeaten 95 playing a crucial role in the team's 21-run win. If Maharashtra have to tame the famed Karnataka bowling line-up, which has quality bowlers, then one of these players will have to bat deep and rise to the occasion. Maharashtra's bowling is led by inform left arm-medium pacer Samad Fallah along with senior pacer D J Muthuswami. Even left-arm orthodox bowler ...