Page 538 - Sports

Windies all-rounder Russell returns for 4th England ODI

West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell is set to make his first international appearance since last August after being named in the hosts' squad on Monday for the upcoming fourth and fifth one-day internationals against England. The 30-year-old has been struggling with a knee problem, and although chief selector Courtney Browne admitted his fast bowling may be hampered, he said his lower-order hitting could prove crucial. Russell takes the place of Kemar Roach, who was ruled out of the series with a back injury. "We believe Russell will add value to the squad," said former Windies wicket-keeper Browne. "We are well aware that although Andre's bowling may be limited due to a knee problem, his tremendous batting ability to power the ball in the back end of the game will be an asset to the team." The five-match series is level at 1-1 heading into Monday's third ODI in Grenada. The Windies' performances in the opening two matches and their preceding 2-1 Test series victory have raised ...

Mandhana to lead India women in T20Is against England, Harmanpreet yet to recover

Prolific opener Smriti Mandhana was Monday named as the captain of India women's Twenty20 squad for the three-match series against England after regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was ruled out due to an an ankle injury. According to a statement from the BCCI, Harmanpreet is yet to recover fully from the injury and will continue with her rehabilitation process. The ankle injury had earlier ruled Harmanpreet out of the ongoing three-match ODI series against world champions England. Mandhana is the current ICC cricketer of the year has been in stupendous form. The 15-member squad also includes ODI skipper Mithali Raj. The squad was picked on Monday after a meeting of the All-India Women's Selection Committee. "Harmanpreet Kaur has not yet fully recovered from her ankle injury and will continue her rehab at the NCA," BCCI said in a statement. Middle-order batswoman Veda Krishnamurthy has made a comeback to the side after being dropped for the recent tour of New Zealand along side Priya ...

England T20I series: Mandhana to lead Indian charge, Veda Krishnamurthy returns

Opener Smriti Mandhana will be leading the Indian charge as India announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against England, beginning March 4.Right-hand batswoman Veda Krishnamurthy, who was left out of India's new Zealand tour, has made a comeback to the team.Vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur, on the other hand, is still recovering from the ankle injury and will continue her rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA)."Harmanpreet Kaur has not yet fully recovered from her ankle injury and will continue her rehab at the NCA," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in an official statement.India will play their first match of the T20I series on March 4 in Guwahati followed by second and third clash on March 7 and 9, respectively, at the same venue. Following is the full Indian women's squad for the England T20I series:Smriti Mandhana (Captain), Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Bharti Fulmali, ..

Syed Mushtaq Ali tourney: Karnataka cruise to fourth win; Assam stun Bengal

Karnataka thrashed minnows Mizoram by 137 runs to cruise to their fourth win on the trot and consolidate the position atop Group D, while former champions Bengal were stunned by Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament, here on Monday.

Uttar Pradesh hammer Puducherry by seven wickets

Captain Priyam Garg smashed 54 off 30 balls to guide Uttar Pradesh to a seven wicket win over Puducherry in a Group E match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy here on Monday. Opting to bat, Uttar Pradesh rode on Garg and openers Upendra Yadav (36) and Samarth Singh's (29) knocks to post a commanding 179 before their bowling attack spearheaded by Saurabh Kumar (4/14) restricted Puducherry to 102 for six. The top-order of Puducherry failed and the middle-order too were unable to stitch a match-winning partnership. Fabid Ahmed was the top-scorer with an unbeaten 25. In other matches, Services thrashed Baroda by seven wickets while Uttarakhand got the better of Tripura by 37 runs. Elsewhere, Hyderabad suffered their fourth straight defeat in as many matches at the hands of Maharashtra by seven wickets. In Palam A Stadium, Uttarakhand beat minnows Tripura by 37 runs to move to 16 points and retain its lead on the top. Put in to bat, opener Karn Veer Kaushal's 58 and Vaibhav Singh's 46 ...

Real Kashmir-Minerva row: AIFF executive panel to take final decision

After the failure of Minerva Punjab FC to turn up in Srinagar on February 18 for an I-League clash against Real Kashmir, the AIFF league committee on Monday decided to refer the matter to the federation's executive committee for a decision.

Smriti to lead India in T20Is vs England

Explosive opening batswoman Smriti Mandhana will lead the Indian T20I side in the absence of injured regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, as the BCCI on Monday named the squad for the three-T20I rubber against England, to be played in Guwahati.

Boxing body approves religiously respectful women's uniform

The international boxing association (AIBA) says it has approved new uniforms for female boxers to wear for religious reasons. AIBA says "hijabs and full body form-fitting uniforms" have been designed "that do not compromise the competition and therefore the health of the boxers." Previously, the boxing association objected to the material of hijab head coverings "which was not designed to fit the body and had potential to come off and interfere in the competition." AIBA says the rule change highlights its "commitment to gender equity and religious tolerance." AIBA is currently under scrutiny by the International Olympic Committee, which halted formal planning for men's and women's boxing tournaments at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The IOC's main issue is with AIBA president Gafur Rakhimov, who is on a US Treasury Department sanctions list.

Mushtaq Ali: Mumbai continue winning streak; Shaw shines

Young prodigy Prithvi Shaw found his mojo back as domestic giants Mumbai Monday cantered to a fourth straight win in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy, hammering Goa by six wickets in a Group C game of the T20 tournament here. Earlier, Mumbai had defeated Sikkim, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh in the premier domestic T20 tournament. Mumbai rode on Shaw's blazing 71 off just 47 balls to reach the target of 140 with 10 balls to spare. Shaw, who struggled in the last three games, finally found momentum and registered his first fifty of the tournament. The 19-year-old batsman's quickfire knock was studded with five boundaries and seven sixes. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane (31) played his part to perfection as the duo laid the foundation stone of the win with a 95-run opening stand. Mumbai slumped to 117/4 from a healthy 95/1, but experienced Surya Kumar Yadav (24 not out) steered the side home at the Emeralds Heights International School Ground. Earlier, Mumbai bowlers did a decent job to restrict .

I-League: East Bengal suffer blow in title race with 1-1 draw

East Bengal's title aspirations suffered a huge blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Aizawl FC in an I-League encounter at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Monday.

Harmanpreet fails to recover, Mandhana to lead India women in T20Is against England

Still nursing an ankle injury, regular skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was Monday ruled out of next month's three-match Twenty20 International series against England. Harmanpreet, who also missed the ongoing three-match ODI series, is yet to recover fully from her ankle injury. In her absence, opener Smriti Mandhana has been named as the captain of the 15-member Indian women's squad which also includes ODI skipper Mithali Raj. The squad was picked on Monday after a meeting of the All-India Women's Selection Committee. "Harmanpreet Kaur has not yet fully recovered from her ankle injury and will continue her rehab at the NCA," BCCI said in a statement. Middle-order batswoman Veda Krishnamurthy has made a comeback to the side after being dropped for the recent tour of New Zealand along side Priya Punia. Attacking batswoman Bharati Fulmali and left-arm pacer Komal Zanzad are the two new faces in the team. Harleen Deol, who replaced Harmanpreet in the ODI squad for the ongoing series against ...

East Bengal finish home leg with 1-1 draw vs Aizawl

East Bengal's dreams of claiming a maiden title suffered a further setback as they dropped points for a second successive match following their 1-1 draw against a 10-man Aizawl FC in the last home match of I-League here Monday. Leonce Dodoz put Aizawl ahead in the 23rd minute with a superb finish from Alfred Jaryan assist and it took East Bengal more than an hour to equalise in front of a 17,000-odd home fans at the Saltlake Stadium. Enrique Esqueda headed in the equaliser in the 66th minute from Samad Ali Mallick's assist. East Bengal got the numerical advantage two minutes later when Kareem Omolaja Nurain was sent off after receiving a second booking. Just before the halftime, it would have been worse for the home side as Ansumana Kromah scored but the goal was disallowed by the referee after the Liberian snatched the ball from goalkeeper Rakshit Dagar hands at the time of release. East Bengal persisted but the winner kept eluding them and in the second minute of stoppage time Jobby

Shubhankar finishes disappointing 60th; Johnson claims title

Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma's fortunes did not change on the final day as he shot a disappointing 75 in the fourth round to end tied 60th at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship here Monday. Shubhankar, who just could not get his game going, had three birdies, three bogeys and two doubles in the final round to finish with a total of eight-over 292. It was his fifth successive WGC appearance and Shubhankar was disappointed that he couldn't come close to the Tied-ninth finish he had on his first WGC start at the same WGC-Mexico Championships last year. "Things did not happen. I have just put it out of my memory. Sure I have learnt some things from but one needs to move on and look at other positive things," he said. Dustin Johnson completed another dominant week for his 20th PGA Tour win. Even though runner-up Rory McIlroy and Johnson played the back nine in five-under 31, Johnson won by five shots. So dominating has Johnson been that he has four wins by five shots or ...

Whether to play Pakistan or not, ball is in government's court (Column: Just Sport)

So much is happening in cricket, both on and off the field. Its exciting on the park and so much politicking in the board rooms.

Injury, surgery hampered Ravi's World Cup preparation

Going under the knife to treat an infection on his buttock weeks before the season-opening ISSF World Cup hampered Ravi Kumar's preparation as the Indian shooter "missed out on valuable training". The 26-year-old Ravi finished a disappointing 14th with a total of 627 in the men's 10m air rifle event of the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in the capital. The reigning national champion in 10m air rifle and a World Cup bronze medallist, Kumar has impressed with his consistency since winning his first individual international medal, a bronze at the Asian Airgun Championships in 2017. But things did not go his way at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range on Monday. His personal coach Manoj Kumar, who also guides Ravi's compatriot Deepak Kumar, said it affected his preparation in the run-up to the tournament, which offers 16 quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "He had gone to Mumbai to participate in some competition. There he caught fever, for which he took an ...

Getting dropped from World T20 side has nothing to do with my good form: Shikha Pandey

Indian pacer Shikha Pandey has been impressive with bowl since she got her spot back in the national side after being dropped from the World T20I side, last year. The swing bowler, however, believes that finding her rhythm back has nothing to do with getting dropped from the T20 World Cup.Pandey said that getting selected in the national side is not something in her hand and asserted that she has worked a lot on her consistency which ultimately yielded results for her."Getting dropped from World T20 side is something not in my hand. I am only trying to help myself with the controllable things. I seem to be bowling well in the nets and just taking the confidence. I wouldn't say that getting dropped from the T20I side has sparked something in me. That was never the case," Pandey said in a post-match press conference."I knew I was bolwing well. It's just that I have worked a lot on being consistent, I have put in those many number of practising hours. I am trying to work hard on my ...

East Bengal-Real Kashmir game shifted to Delhi from Srinager

East Bengal's I-League game against fellow title aspirants Real Kashmir FC was on Monday shifted to New Delhi from Srinagar due to security reasons in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sources said.

All-round India tame England women to clinch series

India rode on an all-round effort to thrash England by 7 wickets in the second match of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Women's Championship and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-ODI rubber at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.

Real Kashmir's home game against East Bengal shifted to Delhi

Real Kashmir FC's upcoming home leg I-League fixture against East Bengal was Monday shifted to New Delhi in view of the prevailing "Uncertainty" in Srinagar. The All India Football Federation's League Committee also referred the matter of Minerva Punjab FC's boycott of their I-League game in Srinagar, owing to the Pulwama terror attack, to the AIFF's Executive Committee. The East Bengal-RKFC match was scheduled to take place on February 28 in the Jammu and Kashmir capital. The venue has been changed but the date of the clash remains unchanged. "... RKFC informed in writing that in view of the current uncertainty prevailing in Kashmir due to Article 35A, they want to play their forthcoming Hero I-League match against Quess East Bengal on February 28, 2019 in a neutral venue like New Delhi. Accordingly, the Committee decided to shift the match to Delhi," the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said in the statement. Article 35A provides special rights and privileges to permanent ...

Sarri still has respect of Chelsea players after Kepa incident, says Luiz

David Luiz says Kepa Arrizabalaga's refusal to be substituted during the League Cup final against Manchester City does not show that Maurizio Sarri has lost the respect of his Chelsea players. Sarri's position is precarious after a run of poor results but his team put in a valiant performance in Sunday's match against City, who had beaten the Blues 6-0 just two weeks earlier. City retained the trophy with a 4-3 penalty shootout win at Wembley, but the match was overshadowed by a bizarre incident when Kepa declined to go off, sparking an angry response from the manager. The Italian coach and Kepa later said the incident was the result of a misunderstanding and Luiz was adamant the players are on Sarri's side. "The coach has the power over the group. He has our respect," Luiz said. "For me, there is not a problem here for that. We all believe in his philosophy, we all believe in the way he wants us to play. "That's why we did a great game against the best team in Europe at the moment. ..