Page 601 - Sports
Kerala Blasters face toughest test against Bengaluru FC
Kerala Blasters will renew their rivalry with table-toppers Bengaluru FC when the two sides meet in an Indian Super League fixture at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here Wednesday. The two sides have a burgeoning rivalry between them and three points will be highly coveted despite the disparity in their positions on the table. Bengaluru have all but sealed their spot in the play-offs with 30 points from 13 games while Kerala Blasters are out of the running for the same (10 points from 14 games). "The reason we are on top of the league is the work that we have put in as a whole. We take risks, but we know that we are taking risks. The final outcome is that we are on top of the league," Bengaluru head coach Carles Cuadrat said. Bengaluru FC will be boasted with possible return of Miku, and the new signing midfielder Luisma Villa - adding more versatility to their attack. However, the long dry run of captain Sunil Chhetri, who hasn't found the back of net last 600 plus minutes, is a cause ..
Looking to take winning momentum back home for Australia series: Shikhar Dhawan
As India is all set for their three-match T20I series against New Zealand, opener Shikhar Dhawan stated that they are looking to clinch the series in order to carry a winning momentum back home before facing Australia."We are looking to win the T20I series against New Zealand. We have already won the ODI series and would now like to finish on a high note. It's always good to get wins under your belt and we want to take the winning momentum back home. We are going to play Australia so we would like to go with the winning momentum," Dhawan said in a press conference.Talking about his performance in the T20 format, Dhawan said that he has done well in the last one year and is hoping to continue the same in the upcoming series, as well."Last year, my T20 season went really well and I would like to go ahead with the same mindset. This format demands more aggressive style of batting and surely I will display aggressive batting from tomorrow and in the upcoming matches," he said.India's T20 .
Jason Holder makes big gains in Test rankings
West Indies skipper Jason Holder has made big gains in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test player rankings after his side completed a commanding victory over England in a home series.Holder's five wickets haul in the Antigua Test has lifted him four places to a career-best sixth position in the Test rankings after the Windies scored an impressive 10-wicket win over England to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.The 27-year-old, who last week became the first Caribbean player since ICC Cricket Hall of Famer Sir Gary Sobers to top the list of Test all-rounders, added another feather to his cap by reaching a tally of 778 rating points, the highest by any Windies bowler since the retirement of Courtney Walsh in 2001.The Player of the Match in Antigua though was Kemar Roach, who grabbed four wickets in each innings. He was rewarded with a jump of eight slots to 12th position, just one place behind his compatriot Shannon Gabriel, who advanced one slot.The presence
Saurashtra look to bowl out Vidarbha for 150: Desai
They have been outstanding with their chase during the knockout matches but the Ranji Trophy final would be a different ball game due to the slow and low wicket, says Saurashtra opener Harvik Desai, who believes a target of around 160 would be gettable. Saurashtra chased 372 in the quarterfinal against Uttar Pradesh and knocked down a target of 279 against Karnataka in the semifinals. With two full days to go, Vidarbha are ahead by 60 runs with six wickets in hand and Desai said bowling them out quickly would be key if they are to win their maiden Ranji Trophy title. "The wicket is slow and is offering spin. A target in the vicinity of 150-160 would be gettable. Yes we have chased bigger targets before but it would be different here because of the wicket. It's difficult to score runs on this tricky wicket," said Desai after end of third day's play. He said there was enthusiasm in the dressing room after the last wicket pair of captain Jaidev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya added 60 runs ..
Linekar to captain Maharashtra team
Mumbai's Linekar Machado will captain the 20-member Maharashtra team that will participate in the West Zone leg of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2018-19, to be held at Solapur from February 7 to 12. The team was selected after the probables were put through a strenuous selection process under the supervision of Head coach Ritesh Inumula, assistant coach Sachin Narsappa and Technical Director Irenio Vaz, a media release said Tuesday. Maharashtra is clubbed in Group-B along with Gujarat, Rajasthan and Dadra Nagar Haveli. In the opening match Maharashtra meet Gujarat on Friday and then take on Dadra Nagar Haveli on Sunday and play against Rajasthan in the last league match on February 12. The team: Rohan Fasge, Rahul Kadlag; Owais Khan, Mohammad Ghulam, Rahul Neware, Sagar Chintala; Linekar Machado (captain), Dion Menezes, Dhurwesh Nijap, Mrunal Tandel, Jayesh Kadam, Aman Gaikwad, Rohan Shukla, Vinod Pandey, Arif Shaikh, Al Azhar Delhiwala, ...
4000 children learn leadership lessons through football in India
Enabling Leadership has announced that its "Just For Kicks" national football league for children will take place on 9th & 10thFebruary 2019 in Bengaluru. It is a global for-purpose organization that works with over 5400+ children in India.The "Just For Kicks" program is a unique football-for-leadership program with over 4000+ students enrolled from government and low-income schools in the cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune, and 12 villages in Dharwad, Karnataka. The program's unique curriculum and instruction uses football training to teach important leadership lessons in teamwork, "win-win", healthy competition, risk-taking, creative thinking, and self-awareness.Students participate in the program between July and February, competing in regional level leagues between November and January. The winning teams, totaling 350+ children, will travel Bengaluru to participate in a national level league in February 2019. Learn more about the program here.The Enabling
ISL: Kerala in search of motivation against Bengaluru (Preview)
Soccer hostilities will be resumed when Kerala Blasters face league leaders Bengaluru FC in an Indian Super League (ISL) clash at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Wednesday.
India can play World Cup in 10-20 years: Lizarazu
The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner and FC Bayern Hall of Fame member Bixente Lizarazu feels that India is witnessing a football revolution and can play a World Cup in a decade or so.
Golfer Tvesa takes lead in 3rd leg of Hero Women's Pro Tour
Golfer Tvesa Malik moved into a familiar pole position at the end of the opening day of the third leg of the Hero womens Pro Tour at the Kensville golf and country club here on Wednesday.
Former champions Mane, Sandhu star at Golconda Masters with World ranking points at stake
As many as 124 golfers, including defending champion Udayan Mane and two-time winner Ajeetesh Sandhu, will be vying for honours at the Golconda Masters Championship, which is set to become the first PGTI event to have Official World Golf Ranking points. Golfers from countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Australia will look to give a tough fight to the home grown golfers at the Rs. 40 lakh event beginning Wednesday. The Pro-Am event of the season-opener will be held on February 10. The fifth edition of the Golconda Masters marks the beginning of a new era in Indian golf as PGTI aligns itself with the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) system for the first time. The break-up of OWGR points for all PGTI events will be as follows: Winner (5 points), Runner-up (3 points), Third Place (2 points), Fourth Place (1.6 points), Fifth Place (1.2 points). The top Indians in the fray include Panasonic Open champion Khalin Joshi, 2017 Yeangder TPC winner Sandhu, K Chikkarangappa, Aman Raj, ...
Sarfaraz will lead Pakistan in World Cup: PCB
Sarfaraz Ahmed will be Pakistan's captain in the World Cup later this year, the country's Cricket Board announced Tuesday, backing the under-fire player, who is serving a four-ODI ban for his racist comments in a game against South Africa recently. Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ehsan Mani told a media conference in Lahore that Sarfaraz would carry on as captain for the World Cup and praised his skills and contribution to the team. "There should be no doubt that Sarfaraz is the Pakistan cricket team's captain. He will lead the team in the series against Australia and also in the World Cup," the PCB chairman said. The confirmation ended speculation that the board might consider Shoaib Malik to lead the team in the World Cup after the board recalled Sarfaraz from South Africa. Sarfaraz was banned for breaching the ICC's anti-racism policy during the second one-day international at Durban. The board contributed to the speculation and uncertainty by insisting that the captain would be ...
I-League: Indian Arrows stun champions Minerva, notch-up fifth win
Indian Arrows stunned champions Minerva Punjab FC 2-1 at the Kalinga Stadium to notch-up their fifth win of the I-League season and leapfrog to the seventh position on the points table here on Tuesday.
Deschamps, Vonn to attend 2019 Laureus Awards
Twin World Cup-winning France football team's former captain and current manager Didier Deschamps and the just-retired Lindsey Vonn, the greatest women's skier of all time, will be attending the Laureus World Sports Academy here later this month. A glittering list of nominees who will be here competing for the most prestigious sports awards in the world, include Kenya's marathon star Eliud Kipchoge, ironman triathlon world champion Daniela Ryf, seven-time surfing world champion Stephanie Gilmore and brilliant young Jamaican sprinter Briana Williams. Among other nominees confirmed so far for the February 18 event are Ana Carrasco, Maya Gabeira, Anna Gasser, Diede de Groot, Brian McKeever, Bibian Mentel-Spee, Vinesh Phogat, Grigorios Polychronidis and Markus Rehm. They will be joined by great sports stars of past and present, including football's Kosovare Asllani, Fredi Bobic, Fabio Capello, Alex Scott, Mikael Silvestre and Patrick Vieira, ex-Formula One star David Coulthard, Olympic ...
It was not nerves, says Liverpool coach after draw with West Ham
The battle for the Premier League title is now a "three horse race" according to Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp, after his side were held to a 1-1 draw away to West Ham United.
Sri Lanka drops captain Chandimal for South Africa Tests
Sri Lanka has dropped captain Dinesh Chandimal from the Test squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa. The selectors have asked him to play domestic games to regain his form. Sri Lanka Cricket said on Tuesday opening batsman Dimuth Karunaratne is the stand-in captain of a 17-man squad for the two-test series starting on February 13. Chandimal's omission follows scores of 5, 0, 15, and 4 in the two recent Test losses against Australia. The squad includes three uncapped players -- batsman Oshada Fernando, seam bowler Mohmed Shiraz and left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya. Allrounder Milinda Siriwardana has been recalled to the Test squad after nearly three years. The Tests are in Durban from February 13 and in Port Elizabeth from February 21.
Gritty Saurashtra battle hard to spice up Ranji Trophy final
Saurashtra batsmen survived nasty body blows from Umesh Yadav during their gallant fight against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy final, which is now on even keel after third day. Resuming at a precarious 158 for five, Saurashtra's lower order batsmen showed remarkable gumption and grit to take the first innings to 307, just five short of hosts' first innings total. With the first innings lead virtually nullified, Vidarbha in their second innings lost skipper Faiz Fazal (10) and R Sanjay (16) to left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (2/36) before ending the day at 55 for two. The hosts now lead by 60 runs with reliable Wasim Jaffer (5) and Ganesh Satish (24) at the crease. There are six sessions left in the match and Saurashtra, who have had a happy knack of chasing down fourth innings totals, will certainly fancy their chances. Overnight batsman Snell Patel (102) completed his first century of the season and when India pacer Umesh Yadav sent him back after smacking one on his helmet, ...
Tvesa takes three-shot lead in third leg of Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour
Tvesa Malik carded an even par 72 to move into a familiar pole position after the first round of the third leg of the Hero Women's Pro Golf Tour on Wednesday. Playing at the Par-72 layout, Tvesa played steady golf with three birdies and three bogeys to make a good start to the event which carries a purse of Rs. 8 lakhs. Her effort gave her a handy three shot lead ahead of Gaurika Bishnoi, who carded 75 after two bogeys in the last three holes at the Kensville Golf & Country Club. Amandeep Drall, runner-up in the second leg in Pune, shot 77 on a day when she had just one birdie against six bogeys, four of them on the back nine. She shared the third place with Siddhi Kapoor. Things did not pan out well for Gursimar Badwal, who won the second leg, as she shot six-over 78, the same as the winner of the first leg, Neha Tripathi. They were both Tied-fifth alongside Smriti Mehra, Afshan Fatima and Jyotsana Singh. On a course which was not yielding good scores, Tvesa, winner of the Hero ..
Colin Munro expected in top three: NZ skipper Kane Williamson
New Zealand's Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson said the middle-order batsman Colin Munro is expected in the top three slots to take on India in the forthcoming T20I series, beginning February 6.Opening batsman Martin Guptill picked up a back injury during fielding practice. He has returned to Auckland for rest and recuperation, make way for seam-bowling allrounder Jimmy Neesham in the squad."Martin [Guptill] is ruled out of the series and we have a different squad altogether with some new faces. We want to balance with number of allrounders which will affect the positions. Munro is expected in the top three," Williamson told reporters.India defeated Black Caps by 4-1 in the ODI series, concluded on February 3. Having less time to switch over to shortest format, Williamson said it is always a challenge but one needs to make adjustments and set their mindset."It is always a challenge whether that is from Test to one-day or T20 or whichever sort of equation. It requires adjustments and
Underdog tag will pose challenge to Australia at World Cup: Michael Kasprowicz
Former Australia paceman Michael Kasprowicz on Tuesday said in spite of recent setbacks, the defending champions can raise the game in time for the upcoming ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.Australia lifted the trophy in front of the home crowd in 2015, but since then the team has slipped to number six on the ICC ODI rankings. However, Kasprowicz, who is a non-executive director on the board of Cricket Australia, believes that the five-time champions know how to raise their game on the biggest stage."What is going to be really different for the Australian cricket team going into the World Cup is being the underdog, having the underdog tag around their neck," ICC quoted the former cricketer as saying.The defending champions have missed out on Steve Smith and David Warner's services but outside the two, the team has struggled."The last few World Cups, Australia have been among the favourites, having enjoyed so much success. So that is different for the team [and it is] going to be ...
Dhawan praises stumper Pant ahead of T20I series
Showering praise on young stumper Rishabh Pant, India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Tuesday termed Pant as 'an asset' for the team.