Page 527 - Sports
Justin Langer puts Maxwell elevation request on hold
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell had expressed the desire to play up in the batting order following his match winning knock against India in the final T20I but coach Justin Langer has put the request on hold, as for now.Langer said that they would prefer to wait before taking any step and asserted that any decision made will be taken keeping in mind team's interest."We'll wait and see. We'll do what's best for the team I reckon. We'll see how we go," Cricket.com.au quoted Langer, as saying.After his blistering knock of 113 runs in the final T20 against India, Maxwell had stated that if an opportunity came, he would love to grab it."It'd be nice to bat higher, but there are obviously a lot of well-credentialed players in our top four and top five that thoroughly deserve their spot," Maxwell had said."So if an opportunity does come up, I'd love to take it."Australia had whitewashed the Indian side 2-0 in the T20I series. Next, both the teams are slated to play a five-match ODI ...
Ajgar-Musthaf takes lead after first stage of JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 7
Ace Indian driver Ajgar Ali came up with a powerful performance to go ahead of the pack after the opening day of the JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 7, here on Thursday.
I-League: Arrows spoil Mehtab's farewell party with win over Mohun Bagan
Mehtab Hossain could not lead Mohun Bagan to a victory in his final game as Indian Arrows punctured their reputation with a come-from-behind 3-1 verdict in an inconsequential I-League tie, here on Thursday.
Mushtaq: Mumbai defeat Saurashtra, advance to knock-out stage
Domestic giants Mumbai Thursday defeated Saurashtra by eight runs to advance to the knock-out stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament from Group C. Mumbai have now 20 points from six games and only Railways are on the top of the table with 20 points, but have played a match less. Saurashtra are in the third spot, with 12 points, with a game in hand, and if they win it, they will have 16 points. After being bundled out for 147, Mumbai bowlers led by experienced Shardul Thakur (3-30) showed a lot of character to shoot out Saurashtra for 139 in 19.5 overs at the Holkar Stadium here. Other Mumbai bowlers -- pacers Dhawal Kulkarni (2-23), Tushar Deshpande (2-24) and spinner Shams Mulani (1-28) -- played their parts to perfection. For Saurashtra, Robin Uthappa staged a lone fight with a 41-ball 57 (6 x 4 and 1 x6) but other batsmen faltered. Left-handed batsman Arpit Vasavada chipped in with a 27-ball 36, but that wasn't enough to take his side home. Earlier, put into bat, ...
Ebdon edges out Wollaston in Indian Open snooker
: Former World champion Peter Ebdon of England edged out compatriot Ben Wollaston by four frames to three in the 5th Indian Open world ranking snooker tournament here Thursday. In other matches played today, Belgian Luca Brecel, known as "The Belgium Bullet" outplayed Ian Burns (England) 4-0 while Luke Simmonds (England) had a similar result against Mei Xiwen of China. Elliot Slessor (England) bounced back from being two frames down to register a 4-3 win against countryman David Gilbert, while Iran's Hossien Vafaei had to work hard to get past Dominic Dale (Wales) 4-3. Graeme Dott (Scotland) got a walk over from Alexander Ursenbacher (Switzerland). The 16-year old Indian Digvijay Kadian enjoyed a lead of 25 points in the first two frames, but couldn't make much headway and went down by four frames to nil to Andrew Higginson of England. In another match, Scotland's Scott Donaldson routed Englishman Jimmy Robertson 4-0. In the afternoon session, China's Yuan SiJun (China)
Ajgar Ali, Musthafa take lead after first stage of JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 7
Ace Indian TSD driver Ajgar Ali came up with a powerful performance to go ahead of the pack after the opening day of the JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 7 here. The two-time defending champion along with his navigator Md. Musthafa showed great skills and completed the thrilling night stage from Siliguri to Murti which comprised of dirt sections as well as sharp bends with the least amount of penalty points (311) to take an early lead. With a total penalty points of 340, the pair of veteran driver Jogendra Jaiswal and his navigator Nagarajan Thangaraj are on the second spot, while the team of V Santosh Kumar and C Sakhtivel with 380 points are placed third and will surely go into the next stages as contenders. Having navigated through a night leg for the first time in Himalayan Drive, the drivers headed into the stage two; the outcome of which will be very crucial for all the drivers to stay relevant in the title race. India's only international TSD (Time, Speed, Distance) rally started off ...
Diksha and Vani among five Indians in Canberra Classic field
A big contingent, including Diksha Dagar and Tvesa Malik, will look for a good outing this week when they begin their campaign at the ActewAGL Canberra Classic here Friday. Along with Diksha and Malik, there will be three other Indian girls -- Vani Kapoor, Astha Madan and Amandeep Drall. Diksha had finished 44th at the Australian Ladies Classic - Bonville golf tournament last week, while Tvesa, who had finished as the top domestic pro on Women's Pro Golf Tour in India, signed off at tied 61st in the same event. Vani, who has earned a full card to Australian Ladies PGA, Astha and Amandeep had missed the cut last week. All five Indian girls are in the afternoon wave and will start from the tenth tee. Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord who picked up her fourth Ladies European Tour trophy in Bonville on Sunday is looking to make it back-to-back Australian titles in the Canberra Classic. The 33-year-old Norwegian made an eight-and-a-half hour drive from Bonville Golf Resort to Royal Canberra via
Sandhu opens with 3-under 69, Kapur and Joshi shoot 70 in New Zealand
Two late bogeys pegged him back but Ajeetesh Sandhu did enough to emerge as the best-placed Indian at Tied 25 after the opening round of the 100th New Zealand Open here Thursday. On course for a fine opening round, Sandhu dropped two late bogeys in the last four holes to finish with three-under 69. While Sandhu was placed Tied-25th, Shiv Kapur and Khalin Joshi shot two-under 70 each to be Tied-42nd and Viraj Madappa (73) was Tied-110th -- all playing at the Par-72 Hills course. Chikkarangappa (73) and Rahil Gangjee (71) were Tied-59th and 87th respectively while playing at the Par-71 Millbrook Resort course. Asian Tour rookie Zach Murray got off to a flying start after signing for a flawless eight-under-par 63 at the Millbrook Resort to grab a share of the opening round lead. He fired eight birdies to sit atop the leaderboard alongside Japan's Ryuko Tokimatsu and Harry Bateman of New Zealand, who finished strongly to shoot matching 64s. Sandhu playing in the same foursome as Kapur, ...
I-League: Chennai look to seal title with win over Churchill (Preview)
The race for the I-League title could be all but over when hosts Churchill Brothers take on Chennai City FC in the potential title-decider at the Tilak Maidan here on Friday.
I-League: Aizawl rally to beat Gokulam 3-1, enhance chances of saving relegation
Aizawl FC came from behind to beat Gokulam Kerala FC 3-1 and enhance their chances of saving relegation in an I-League encounter here on Thursday.
Trusting skills worked in my favour, says Brunt
Fast bowler Katherine Brunt said trusting her skills reaped dividends as she returned with a five-wicket haul to help England register a two-wicket win over India in the third and final ODI here Thursday. The 33-year-old produced exceptional figures of 5/28 to restrict the hosts to 205/8, which was later chased down by England with Danni Wyatt (56) hitting a fifty. "In the first game, bowled one of my best 8-10 overs that I have bowled in my career, especially out here, so not getting a wicket was disheartening. In the second game, it did not go my way and probably, I tried a bit too hard," Brunt told reporters. "So today was finding in-between and being more relaxed and trusting my skill. (And) It worked out." Brunt also praised Wyatt, saying the all-rounder showed a lot of character. "When I came back-on (to bowl) I got three quick wickets in my second spell (and) it seemed to slow things down. And then I thought Danni Wyatt's innings, she showed a lot of character today," said ...
Aizawl FC beat Gokulam Kerala 3-1 in I-League
Aizawl FC came from behind to notch up a 3-1 win over Gokulam Kerala in a must-win I-League fixture for the two lower-half teams here Thursday. Gokulam Kerala, ranked 10th in the points table, drew first blood through Marcus Joseph in the 9th minute but eighth-placed Aizawl restored parity in the 83rd minute through Paul Ramfanzauva, who was also adjudged the Hero of the Match. The highlanders struck back in quick succession twice through Mawpuia in the 88th minute and Kromah during the final moments of the added time (90' + 6') to seal the game in their favour. Fighting for survival at the tail of the table, the hosts took to the attacks right from the start. Gokulam Kerala FC pressed hard with Marcus and Suhair VP in combination, and looked threatening from the start. Gokulam Kerala who were raiding the Aizawl FC box in regular intervals but couldn't find a way to convert the chances that came their way. However Aizawl did try hard to create a few chances through Kromah and Dodoz ...
ISL: Kerala look for home comfort against NorthEast (Preview)
Kerala Blasters FC will hope to sign out with a win in front of their home fans as they face NorthEast United FC in their concluding match of the Indian Super League (ISL) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, here on Friday.
Sad to lose 2 points, but series win over England will boost our confidence: Mithali
India women's ODI team captain Mithali Raj is disappointed for not being able to complete a series whitewash against England, but said the 2-1 win over the current world champions would act as a huge confidence booster for her side. Mithali rued the missed opportunity to not only complete a 3-0 series whitewash against a quality side like England, but also lose out on crucial two points in the ICC Women's Championship. "Well, it does play a very important part because, obviously we are not playing Pakistan and we just have one more team that we are still to play, the West Indies," said Mithali after the hosts lost the third and final ODI of the series by two wickets here on Thursday. Putting things in perspective, Mithali said India now has only the contest against the West Indies to look for after having lost two points each against Sri Lanka, South Africa and also in New Zealand. "So pretty much in totality we lost eight points when we were in a position to grab those 2 points in ...
I-League: Manzi faces off with Willis Plaza as Chennai look to seal the title
Three points is all that Chennai City FC need to win their maiden I-League title when square off with Churchill Brothers in a tricky 19th round away encounter here Friday. With their Spanish sniper Pedro Manzi, who has 19 goals with four hat-tricks, ready to hit the Goan giants hard, a tally of 43 points will take them clear of nearest rivals East Bengal, who can at best reach 42 points. All Chennai City needs to ensure is two draws in two games and even if East Bengal win their next two, Akbar Nawas coached side will walk away with the coveted trophy on count of better head-to-head record. In fact, it will be billed as a game between the two most prolific strikers of the league. Manzi's Trinidadian counterpart in the Churchill ranks, Willis Plaza, having netted 18 times for the 'Red Machines' will like to spoil the visitors' party. The two will be in a dogfight to finish with the maximum goals under their belt with just a game more to play. Churchill are placed fourth at the moment, .
Youngsters sledge veteran stars ahead of IPL 2019
Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019, a couple of youngsters of the Indian squad fired warnings at its most decorated players -- Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Kerala eye win in final ISL tie against weakened NorthEast
Kerala Blasters FC will hope to sign out with a win in front of their home fans as they face NorthEast United FC in their concluding match of the Indian Super League here Friday. Kerala Blasters have had a forgettable season, going 14 matches without a win after their opening day victory against ATK, a run they recently ended with a 3-0 win against Chennaiyin FC at home. "Tomorrow it is important to play a good game and win the last game. NorthEast United club means a lot to me because they gave me the first chance to come to India in 2016. I would like to congratulate them for making it to the play-offs," said Kerala Blasters head coach Nelo Vingada. NorthEast United have already sealed their place in the play-offs, having earned 28 points from 17 matches. But with Mumbai City, who are on 30 points, playing their last game the following day, the Highlanders can put pressure on the Islanders and move up the table. Eelco Schattorie has had to shuffle his first team quite a bit this ...
Andhra ends Jharkhand's winning streak, big win for Kerala
: Andhra Pradesh pulled off an upset, beating Jharkhand by three runs to end its four-match winning streak in a Group 'A' match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 cricket tournament here Thursday. In another match, Kerala thrashed Nagaland by 10 wickets to go to the top of the standings following Jharkhand's surprise loss, while Jammu & Kashmir defeated Manipur by eight wickets. The Andhra-Jharkhand match was a thriller with the host picking up three wickets in the final over to emerge victorious. Andhra had earlier posted 179 all out in 19.5 overs riding on some late pyrotechnics from Karn Sharma (30, 15 balls, 2X2, 2X6). Earlier, M Pranith led the way with a blistering 43 off 17 balls (6X4, 3X6) before Andhra lost its way losing wickets in the middle phase. In reply, Jharkhand didn't get the start it would have liked as skipper Ishan Kishan (12) fell after hitting two boundaries, as did Virat Singh (17). The experienced Saurabh Tiwary put the innings back on track
Indian chess body yet to implement new player registration norm
The All India Chess Federation (AICF) might claim to have removed the restrictive undertaking that players had to give in line with the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) order but the new norms are not in force, said a female chess player.
Isolating Pakistan better than boycotting World Cup match
Several former players and ex-officials of the BCCI have demanded boycott of the match against Pakistan at the upcoming ODI World Cup and that they should be isolated from the international cricket community following the Pulwama terror attack.