Page 486 - Sports
Mumbai City win but Goa progress to ISL final
A narrow 1-0 win was not enough for a desperate Mumbai City FC who were knocked out by FC Goa 5-2 on aggregate in the Hero Indian Super League semi-final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here Tuesday. Rafael Bastos scored the only goal of the match in the sixth minute but the visitors struggled to take advantage of their early lead and score more goals. A resolute Goa stood firm to ensure a place in the final and will battle Bengaluru FC for the coveted trophy at the Mumbai Football Arena on Sunday. Mumbai got off to a promising start and took the lead in the sixth minute. Arnold Issoko intercepted a sloppy pass from Ahmed Jahouh and dribbled forward through the centre. Issoko picked out Bastos' run into the box from the left and the Brazilian slotted the ball past goalkeeper Naveen Kumar. Goa soon took control of the game and passed the ball in and around the Mumbai box in search of an equaliser. The Islanders' defence, led by Lucian Goian, stood firm and closed down gaps. Jahouh was .
Gavaskar picks England as World Cup favourites
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes England have a very good chance to win the 50-over World Cup."If you go by the history of last two or three World Cups, in 2011 the host nation India won, in 2015 host nation Australia won. In 2019, there is a very good chance that England will win the World Cup," Gavaskar said at the British High Commissioner's residence on Tuesday.Gavaskar, however, pointed out that he is not saying England will win the 50-over tournament. "There is a very good chance they (England) will win the World Cup," he said.The former cricketer, who debuted and played his last ODI cricket against England, is the first player to amass 10,000 Test runs.He had also played for Somerset, one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England.Meanwhile, the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to India, Dominic Asquith said he is hopeful that England men's team will emulate their female compatriots, referring to England's women ..
AFC Cup: Chennaiyin hope to qualify with win over Colombo FC (Preview)
Indian Super League (ISL) side Chennaiyin FC are all set for the second leg of their AFC Cup qualifying play-off tie against Sri Lanka's Colombo FC at the Arena Stadium, here on Wednesday.
ISL: Mumbai City win, FC Goa progress to final
A narrow 1-0 win in the second leg was nowhere near enough for a desperate Mumbai City FC who were knocked out by FC Goa 5-2 on aggregate in the Indian Super League (ISL) semi-final at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Tuesday.
Minerva Punjab claim they have pulled out of Super Cup along with 7 other I-League clubs
Minerva Punjab FC Tuesday claimed they have pulled out of the upcoming Super Cup along with seven other I-League teams, citing unfair treatment to the clubs by the All India Football Federation. The shocking development comes barely two days before the start of the Super Cup and could well throw the schedule into disarray. Former champions Minerva Punjab finished 10th in the just-concluded 2018-19 season of the league. "Minerva's withdrawal is in unison with the united withdrawal of all I-league clubs (barring Shillong Lajong, Churchill Brothers, Real Kashmir, and Indian Arrows) from the Super cup due to reasons mentioned in identical letters sent by all clubs to All India Football Federation (AIFF) general secretary, Kushal Das today," Minerva Punjab said in a statement. Mohun Bagan secretary Srinjoy Bose was not forthcoming when PTI contacted him but dropped a broad hint at withdrawal from the tournament when he said, "We all are united in this fight, this much I can say, rest you ..
AIFF orders inquiry after match commissioner cast doubts on Chennai vs Minerva game
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) Tuesday launched an inquiry into the final-day I-League championship decider between Chennai City and Minerva, swinging into action after an expression of suspicion by the match commissioner. Leaders Chennai City's shocking loss to Churchill Brothers had handed East Bengal a shot at the title going into their last round matches. On the final day of the 2018-19 league, a draw or a defeat for the Chennai City against Minerva Punjab and a victory for East Bengal would have crowned the Kolkata heavyweights champions. While East Bengal did manage to win, Minerva Punjab lost 3-1 after taking the lead, immediately prompting the red & gold outfit's skipper Lalrindika Ralte to question the Minerva Punjab's decision to substitute their foreign recruits at what was a crucial juncture of the game. "The AIFF is looking into the matter and the federation's integrity officer has already got down to work. Though, in the match commissioner's report to the ..
Lara's precision: It all started playing with bats made of coconut branch and balls made of marbles
The willow in his hand was like paint brush but the first time that a four-year-old Brian Lara put wood to leather, it was a bat shaped out of a coconut branch by his elder brother. One of the greatest batsman to have ever graced the game, Lara spoke about his initiation to cricket and the sacrifices that his father made to make him a professional cricketer. "My brother shaped a cricket bat out of coconut branch. You know Caribbeans are tropical and they love their coconut trees. I was only four years old," Lara told ICC Cricket 360. The left-hand batsman, who accumulated 11,953 Test runs at an average of 52.88 and 10,405 in one-day internationals at 40.48, said that as a kid, he and his friends could play with anything that they could lay their hands on. "I believe in street cricket. I mean we played cricket with anything we could put our hands on. Hard orange, lime, or marble, in the backyard, in the streets. I played all sports as well. "It used to be very seasonal in the Caribbean
Bengal Open golf: Karan takes day one honours with a breathtaking 62
Even as all eyes were focused on the big names on day one of the Bengal Open Golf Championship, it was 18-year-old rookie Karan Pratap Singh of Faridabad, Haryana, who stole the thunder with a breathtaking eight-under-62 to seize the lead, here on Tuesday.
Rahul, Yadav in top 10 of ICC rankings
Lokesh Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav are the only Indians in the top 10 of the batting and bowling rankings, respectively, in the latest ICC Twenty20 International (T20I) rankings released here on Tuesday.
C for Commitment, C for Cheteshwar: On Ashwin's call, Pujara lands to play club match in TNCA league
It took just a call from his national team colleague Ravichandran Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara was convinced that he needed to play an "important game" for his club MRC 'A' in Tamil Nadu CA's first division league. India's dependable No 3 landed and scored 162 for MRC against Crombest Club giving another example of his commitment towards the game irrespective of the level of competition. He plays only one format now and last played for Saurashtra in the Mushtaq Ali T20 where he scored a quickfire hundred. "Basically, I wanted to get some match practice in between and also you need to be in touch with the game. Ashwin told me it was an important game for the club, so I came over to play the match," Pujara said in a matter-of-fact manner after turning up for MRC "Obviously, I have had a long season and am trying to monitor my workload as well. Overall, I think when you are playing good cricket, it is good to play some odd matches in between and take things forward from here," he ...
Zidane risks reputation to usher in new era at Real
Zinedine Zidane stood for 29 minutes fielding questions but all of them really came down to two: Why now? And, what next? In a packed auditorium in the belly of the Santiago Bernabeu on Monday night, Raul and Roberto Carlos took their seats in the front row while journalists squeezed up against the walls, an hour and a half after the official announcement. Santiago Solari had been sacked as coach of Real Madrid and in his place Zidane would return, 284 days after he had left. On May 31 last year, sitting next to the club's president Florentino Perez, Zidane had said the team would not keep winning with him in charge. They failed to win without him, first under Julen Lopetegui, the sacked Spain coach, and then Solari, the interim-turned-permanent coach, who watched on as Madrid's season went up in smoke in six days. Solari's exit was inevitable but the idea any suitable replacement would take over for 11 La Liga games, with nothing to preside over except the aftermath of a crisis, ...
Mookerjee qualifies for main draw of Swiss Open
Young shuttler Riya Mookerjee and a couple of Indian men's doubles pairs qualified for the main draw of the Yonex Swiss Open here Tuesday. Mookerjee took half an hour to get the better of Laura Sarosi of Hungary 21-15 21-10 in her qualifying match. She will take on Linda Zetchiri in the first round of the main draw. In the men's doubles qualifiers, India's Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty prevailed over Chinese Taipei combo of Lee Fang-chih and Lu Chia-Pin 21-15 17-21 21-19 in a battle that lasted 51 minutes. Another Indian combination of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Dhruv Kapila, too, registered a hard-fought victory over German pair of Bjarne Geiss and Jan Colin Volker 21-17 19-21 21-18 in a 52-minute match. However, the mixed doubles duo of B Sumeeth Reddy and Pooja Dandu failed to cross the qualifying hurdle, going down 14-21 18-21 to Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Lee Chia Hsin in just 27 minutes.
Travelling Chennaiyin FC fans to make it home away from home for AFC Cup showdown
Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC are all set for the second leg of their 2019 AFC Cup qualifying playoff tie against Sri Lanka's Colombo FC at The Arena Stadium on Wednesday. The first leg in Colombo finished 0-0 a week ago, in what was also Chennaiyin's AFC Cup debut. Several Chennaiyin FC supporters will be making the journey from Chennai to Ahmedabad to show their support, after it was deemed not politically conducive to host a team from Sri Lanka in Tamil Nadu. The club will be looking after the fans' train journey from Chennai and accommodation in Ahmedabad. A few more supporters are also scheduled to fly into Ahmedabad ahead of the big match. Head coach John Gregory paid tribute to the unconditional support of the fans in what has been a disappointing season so far, with CFC finishing the 2018-19 ISL season bottom of the table. "We are going to have our fans come all the way from Chennai for the big match against Colombo. And we will do our best to ensure we give them a ...
Ticket sales for opening IPL-12 match to commence on March 16
Sale of tickets for the opening match of IPL-12 between defending champion Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore to be played on March 23, will commence on March 16. Online sales of tickets will be start at 11.30 AM on March 16 and would continue till the tickets are sold out, a press release said. Book My Show (in.bookmyshow.com) is handling CSK's entire ticketing for home matches. Counters for sale of tickets will open at TNCA at 11.30 AM on March 16, the release said, adding details of ticket sales for the remainder of CSK's home matches would be announced at a later date. Tickets have been priced at Rs 1,300 (C, D and E lower tier), Rs 2,500 (C & E upper tier) and hospitality tickets at Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,500.
Amla sits out final two ODIs for family reasons
Hashim Amla was given compassionate leave on Tuesday to miss South Africa's last two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka, providing what could be a last-ditch opportunity for Reeza Hendricks to stake a claim for a place in the country's World Cup squad. Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee said batsman Amla had asked for leave because his father was critically ill with Hendricks replacing the 35-year-old. Amla was not selected for the first three matches of the series, all won by South Africa, although selection convener Linda Zondi said at the time he had not been dropped and the selectors wanted to examine all their options ahead of this year's World Cup. Opening batsman Hendricks had scores of 1, 29 and 4 in the first three matches and his World Cup chances seemed to have disappeared when he was dropped for the last two games. The 15-man squad appeared to be a likely choice for the global tournament held in England and Wales between May and July. Sri Lanka will be without ...
Fit-again Hardik joins Mumbai Indians' pre-tournament camp
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was ruled out of the T20 and the ongoing ODI series against Australia due to "lower back stiffness", resumed training Tuesday at the pre-season camp of three-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians. Hardik was ruled out of the limited overs series against Australia as a precautionary measure and was subsequently replaced by Ravindra Jadeja in the 50-over squad. The seam bowling all-rounder along with his T20 specialist elder brother Krunal joined the MI camp at the Reliance Corporate Park cricket ground in Ghansoli, a senior franchise official told PTI. The official informed that Hardik did "strength endurance training" on Tuesday but refused to divulge any further information. Hardik, who has played 11 Tests, 45 ODIs and 38 T20s, had returned to action during the limited-overs series in New Zealand after being handed a provisional suspension for his sexist remarks a TV chat show. Hardik possibly would have played a few matches of the Mushtaq Ali T20 had ...
Rohit Sharma 46 runs away from entering elite list
The tensed decider match between India and Australia is around the corner and openers showed a scintillating form in the fourth ODI. Shikhar Dhawan achieved his career-best 143 whereas Rohit Sharma's 95 run inning helped him to get closer to enter the elite list.Rohit Sharma has an opportunity to enter in the elite club by achieving a milestone of 8000 runs- he is just 46 runs away from achieving this feat.If he manages to do so in the upcoming fifth ODI against Australia, he will not only enter the prestigious category but will also become the third fastest along with Sourav Ganguly, to achieve this milestone in his 200th inning.The Hitman has an opportunity to surpass cricket legends like MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar and many more by securing the third position. Indian skipper Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, are on the 1st and 2nd position as they touched the 8000 mark on their 175th and 182th inning respectively.Although, the first three ODI matches against Australia did not go well .
World Team Chess: Indian men draw with Azerbaijan
Drawing on all four boards, the Indian men played out a 2-2 draw with Azerbaijan in the seventh round of the World Team Chess Championship here Monday. B Adhiban played a rock-solid game with black pieces on the top board against in-form Arkadij Naiditsch and Surya Shekhar Ganguly was also spot on with black on the third board signing peace with Safarli Eltaj. S P Sethuraman was the first to end his game against Nidjat Mamedov and it was left to Krishnan Sasikiran to provide the breakthrough. Sasikiran stood better for the major part of the game but with the clock ticking away decided taking against undue risk and split the point. The draws means that the Indian men will now hold the third spot on ten points as the English team posted a convincing 2.5-1.5 victory over Egypt. The Russian men also came up with a 2.5-1.5 triumph over United States to inch closer to the gold medal. With Russia on 12 points, England is now on 11 while the Indian men hold the third spot on ten points. ...
ICC T20 Rankings: India stay put, Rahul gains a spot, Kuldeep drops a notch
Indian opener KL Rahul's two impressive knocks in the recently concluded two-match T20 series against Australia helped him climb to fifth in the latest ICC Rankings for T20 batsmen here Tuesday. Rahul, who made a comeback to international cricket after a brief suspension by the BCCI for his sexist comments on a TV show, scored 47 and 50 in the two matches and gained a spot in the latest rankings. In the bowlers' list, Kuldeep Yadav, who was rested for two T20 Internationals, dropped a place to fifth. Pakistan's Babar Azam and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan remained in top positions in batsmen and bowlers' list respectively. Pakistan (135) enjoys a 13-point lead over second-placed India (122) with England remaining at third place with 121 points. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid has equalled his career-best third place in the latest rankings. Rashid's five wickets in the series against the West Indies have helped him gain two slots and cross the 700-point mark for the first time in his career during
ICC T20 Rankings: India stay put, Rahul gains a spot, Kuldeep drops a notch
Indian opener KL Rahul's two impressive knocks in the recently concluded two-match T20 series against Australia helped him climb to fifth in the latest ICC Rankings for T20 batsmen here Tuesday. Rahul, who made a comeback to international cricket after a brief suspension by the BCCI for his sexist comments on a TV show, scored 47 and 50 in the two matches and gained a spot in the latest rankings. In the bowlers' list, Kuldeep Yadav, who was rested for two T20 Internationals, dropped a place to fifth. Pakistan's Babar Azam and Afghanistan's Rashid Khan remained in top positions in batsmen and bowlers' list respectively. Pakistan (135) enjoys a 13-point lead over second-placed India (122) with England remaining at third place with 121 points. Leg-spinner Adil Rashid has equalled his career-best third place in the latest rankings. Rashid's five wickets in the series against the West Indies have helped him gain two slots and cross the 700-point mark for the first time in his career during