Page 602 - Sports
India bid to host hockey World Cup in 2023
After successfully organinsing the men's World Cup thrice, India on Tuesday announced their bid to host either of the FIH men's or women's World Cups in 2023.
Excited to test NZ's bench strength in T20 series against India: Williamson
The deflating ODI loss behind him, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson Tuesday said he is excited about the prospect of testing unheralded players against a "top" team like India in the T20 series starting Wednesday. New Zealand have drafted in two debutants -- all-rounder Daryl Mitchell and right-arm pacer Blair Tickner -- in the T20 squad besides all-rounder Scott Kuggeleijen, who has played just one T20 and wicketkeeper Tim Seifert (8 T20s). The Kiwis lost the five-match ODI series 1-4. Williamson said with Martin Guptill ruled out due to a back injury, some rookie players will be in action in the three-match T20 series against India. "Martin (Guptill) has been ruled out of the series because of a back injury. We have a different squad altogether with some new faces. We are going to see some debutants throughout the series and it is really exciting," the Kiwi skipper said on the eve of the opening T20. "It's a positive thing that a number of guys are getting opportunities to have ..
Bangladesh call Shafiul Islam, Ebadat Hossain for NZ tour
Bangladesh have called up paceman Shafiul Islam and uncapped Ebadat Hossain for the ODI and Test series respectively for New Zealand tour, beginning on February 13.The inclusion in the squad comes up in the wake of ruling pacer Taskin Ahmed, who had been named in both formats, out of the seroes due to a lateral ligament injury to his left ankle, ICC reported Bangladesh Cricket Board's statement on Tuesday. Islam, who has picked up 63 wickets in 56 ODIs, last played in the format in 2016. His performance in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) earned him a recall to the national side.Meanwhile, Hossain, who came in limelight after winning a pace-bowling hunt, has been on the the fringes of selection. His recent performances in domestic cricket gave him a breakthrough.Following are the squads of Bangladesh for ODI and Test series:ODI squad: Masrafe Mortaza (c), Shakib Al Hasan (vc), Tamim Iqbal Khan, Litton Das, Soumya Sarker, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman,
Bangladesh call up uncapped fast bowler for New Zealand
Bangladesh on Tuesday called up uncapped pace bowler Ebadot Hossain for this month's Test series against New Zealand, replacing the injured Taskin Ahmed. For the three-match one-day international series that starts in Napier on February 13, Taskin will be replaced by the experienced Safiul Islam. Taskin has been ruled out of the tour with a torn ligament after he was recalled into both the ODI and Test squads following an impressive show in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Twenty20 tournament. He was the competition's leading wicket-taker with 22 scalps until he was hit by injury on Friday. "We've chosen Ebadot for Test because he bowls hitting the seam. Shafiul will come into the ODI side as he is in fine form in BPL and he is also experienced," said chief selector Minhajul Abedin. Newly called-up Ebadot was a finding of a talent hunt programme in 2017. The 25-year-old has claimed 59 wickets in 19 first-class matches. Bangladesh will play three ODIs and three Test matches .
India aim to carry ODI momentum to T20I vs New Zealand (Preview)
After clinching the five match One-Day International (ODI) series, a confident India will aim to carry the momentum to the three match Twenty20 International (T20I) series when they face New Zealand in the opening match at the Westpac Stadium here on Wednesday.
Indian women eyeing another series win in New Zealand
Smarting from a heavy loss in the final one dayer, the Indian women's team will aim for a solid showing in the opening encounter of the three-match T20 series against New Zealand, beginning here Wednesday. The three-match series, which was part of the Women's ODI Championship, was won by India 2-1 but they suffered an eight-wicket loss at Hamilton on February 1 after being bowled out for 149 at Hamilton. Harmanpreet Kaur, who did not get to do much in ODIs in which Mithali Raj was captain, will lead the T20 side. It will be India's first game in the format ever since that infamous loss to England at the Word T20 in the Caribbean, where Mithali was dropped for the all-important semifinal. That decision of the team management triggered a massive controversy and Ramesh Powar was replaced by W V Raman as the head coach. Questions were raised over Mithali's strike-rate in the shortest format and it remains to be seen how she approaches the series, having played a record 200th ODI at ...
Bolivia coach Villegas outlines World Cup target
Newly appointed Bolivia coach Eduardo Villegas said that his goal is to help the team qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
India bids to host next hockey World Cup
India are among the six countries that have presented bids to host the next edition of the hockey World Cup, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced Tuesday. India have proposed conducting the event for either men or women in the January 13 to 29, 2023 window, which has also been preferred by Australia and New Zealand. India have hosted the men's World Cup thrice, the latest being last year in Bhubaneswar. Spain, Malaysia and Germany have proposed organising the event in the July 1 to 17, 2022 window. "Bidding countries had to indicate until the deadline of 31 January 2019 also their preferred time window, either 1-17 July 2022 or 13-29 January 2023," the FIH said in a statement. FIH will now start the evaluation process of the bids and its Executive Board will make the final decision on both hosts in June this year. "FIH is glad to have received such strong bids. This confirms how appealing our events are," FIH CEO Thierry Weil said.
Chile midfielder Fernandez completes Junior Barranquilla move
Chile international midfielder Matias Fernandez has joined Junior Barranquilla from Mexico's Necaxa, the Colombian club said.
T20Is chance to turn tables against India, says New Zealand skipper Amy Satterthwaite
On the eve of T20I series against India Women, New Zealand's White Ferns skipper Amy Satterthwaite said the three matches will be a chance for her side to turn around the tables after losing out the 50-over series."The T20I series is very important. We are obviously disappointed with the way things went in the ODI series. For us it is chance to turn it around and win the [forthcoming] series," Satterthwaite told reporters.India won the ODI series, part of ICC Women's Championship, by 2-1 on February 1. Having less time to change from one format to another, Satterthwaite acknowledged, saying, "It is certainly a challenge. We saw that probably coming into the 50-over format when lot of our girls had played a lot of T20 cricket in the last months. So I think it will be easier to transition to T20 format after having played a longer format but it is always the adjustments you have to make."A couple of fresh faces will be seen in the White Ferns squad to face India in the three-match ...
Ronaldo effect: Chinese fans drop Real Madrid for Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo's move from Real Madrid has seen Juventus's popularity rocket in China, up nearly 70 percent by one measure, as top European clubs vie for supremacy in the Asian country. The Portuguese forward has made his presence felt on the pitch, netting 17 goals in 22 Serie A games to put Juventus well on course to retain their Italian league title. Ronaldo, who cost Juventus about 110 million euros last summer, was at it again at the weekend, scoring twice before the Turin side were held 3-3 at home by Parma. Off the pitch, the Portuguese -- who turned 34 on Tuesday -- has made a similarly emphatic impact in China, the world's second-biggest economy and home to a growing number of football supporters. In the week of Ronaldo's transfer in July last year, Juventus added 308,000 followers across the Twitter-like Weibo, social media and messaging app WeChat, and video app Douyin (known elsewhere as TikTok), the Italian club said. That popularity has held, Juventus say, its number .
World Cup countdown: Time for Pant to make strong case in New Zealand T20s
They have hit the homestretch of a memorable three-month tour and a rampant India will be fancying another series win when they clash with under pressure hosts New Zealand in the opening T20 International here on Wednesday. While regular skipper Virat Kohli is getting the much-needed rest, the Rohit Sharma-led squad will be hoping it has enough left in the tank to record a maiden T20 series win in New Zealand, following a record 4-1 result in ODIs and a historic tour of Australia. "We too are humans and our bodies need a bit of rest. Of course, we would be looking to the win the series and carry the momentum back home for the Australia series," opener Shikhar Dhawan said on the eve of the game. The preceding ODI series solved a part of the puzzle as India look to finalise their 15 for the World Cup. But there are still a few spots up for grabs and the T20 series can help the team management zero in on the squad for the mega event in England in May-July. Young wicket-keeper batsman ...
Ankita holds key as India aim for Fed Cup World Group II
India's top singles players Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi will have to punch above their weight when the battle to qualify for Fed Cup tennis tournament's World Group II, begins here Wednesday. India have been placed in Pool A where getting past Thailand on Thursday is not expected to be a problem. The real challenge would be to upset hosts Kazakhstan, who have two top-100 singles player, on Friday. Kazakhstan's world number 43 Yulia Putintseva and Zarina Diyas, ranked 96, won't be easy to beat for the Indian players in their quest to top Pool A. The winners of Pool A and B, which has four teams, will clash to determine the nation which will qualify for World Group II. Pool B has China, featuring world number 40 Shuai Zhang and world number 42 Saisai Zheng, along with Korea, Indonesia, and Pacific Oceania. In all likelihood, China will top Pool B and it will be toss up between India and Kazakhstan in Pool A. Last year at home in New Delhi, Ankita, in her unbeaten singles ...
Team is dependent on spinners, they control middle overs: Mithali Raj
India Women team heavily depended on spinners in the middle overs and they have not disappointed in the series against New Zealand's White Ferns, ODI skipper Mithali Raj said on the eve of the three-match T20I series, beginning on February 6.Spinners, who adapted to challenging conditions in the Kiwiland, helped the touring side clinch the ODI series by 2-1.Ekta Bisht (3, 32) (2, 14) (0, 29), Deepti Sharma (2, 27) (2, 51) (0, 19) and Poonam Yadav (3, 42) (2, 38) (1, 31) worked in tandem to run through the Kiwi batting in the three matches."It is good to see spinners bowling very well in the series because it is something lot of people have asked me earlier - how the spinners are going to be effective on this soil, in these conditions. India definitely has heavily depended on spinners in the middle overs and they have not disappointed in the series because when it came to the first two games, they controlled the middle overs and got those wickets for us," Mithali told ANI.With the ...
Atletico's Isacio Calleja dies aged 82
Isacio Calleja who won two league titles with Atletico Madrid and the 1964 European championships with Spain died on Monday aged 82, his former club announced. Born in 1936 Calleja joined Atletico in 1958 and the defender remained with the club until his retirement 425 matches later in 1972. "Today is a sad day for the rojiblanca. Atletico Madrid is in mourning after the death of our ex player Isacio Calleja" the club announced on their website.
Lacklustre Liverpool slip up again at West Ham
Liverpool wasted another chance to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League as a sub-par performance from Jurgen Klopp's men was punished in a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Monday. Less than a week after missing the opportunity to go seven points clear of Manchester City with a 1-1 draw against Leicester, Liverpool's lead is now just three over the champions, who can now go top with victory at Everton on Wednesday. Sadio Mane put the visitors in front at the London Stadium, but Michail Antonio quickly levelled and West Ham had the better chances to claim all three points when Declan Rice and Mark Noble failed to hit the target. After posting a perfect record against opposition with the top six in their first 23 league games, Liverpool have now slipped up twice in as many matches to mount the tension in their chase for a first title in 29 years. Klopp's side looked like a side playing under pressure in a lacklustre display as the absence of the injured Jordan Henderson, Georginio ..
Neymar celebrates birthday in style and on crutches
Neymar celebrated his 27th birthday with a glittering party in Paris on Monday evening joined by family, Paris Saint-Germain teammates and a smattering of celebrities. DJ Bob Sinclair, Brazilian singer Wesley Safadao and world surf champion Gabriel Medina were among the 200 guests at the fashionable Pavillon Gabriel near the Champs-Elysees. The world's most expensive footballer, nursing a right foot injury, greeted his guests leaning on distinctive red crutches in keeping with the colour theme for the 'Nuit Rouge (Red Night)'. Among his club colleagues in attendance were captain Thiago Silva and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola. Neymar, who turns 27 on Tuesday, will miss both legs of Paris Saint-Germain's upcoming Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester United with a metatarsal injury suffered last month.
Aguero still Man City's go-to goal getter
Much has changed at Manchester City in the three seasons since Pep Guardiola took charge tasked with turning the wealth of the club's Abu Dhabi backers into domination of English football. However, if Guardiola's men are to reel in Liverpool to become the first side in a decade to retain the Premier League, Sergio Aguero is likely to be the primary source of goals just as the Argentine has been for the past seven seasons. Aguero was a City legend from the moment he won the club's first title in 44 years with virtually the last kick of the campaign in his debut season. But the 30-year-old is now staking a claim to be regarded as one of the Premier League's greatest ever imports, particularly if he spearheads a fourth title triumph in eight years in England. Already firmly established as City's all-time leading scorer, Aguero's hat-trick in Sunday's 3-1 win over Arsenal was his 14th for the club, his 10th in the league - just one short of Alan Shearer's all-time record. It also took his
British sports minister to meet with football officials over racism
British sports minister Mims Davies has said she plans to meet with football authorities following recent incidents of racist chanting and abuse at major matches. Davies, speaking in the House of Commons on Monday, said she planned to hold talks in the coming weeks with England's governing Football Association, Premier League and English Football League. Campaign groups including Kick it Out and Stonewall will also be invited to discuss what else can be done to clamp down on racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic abuse at matches. In December, Chelsea suspended four people from their Stamford Bridge ground in west London pending a police investigation into alleged racial abuse of Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling during City's 2-0 defeat in a Premier League match. The same month saw a Tottenham Hotspur fan fined by a court for throwing a banana skin at Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Meanwhile the FA are investigating alleged racist chanting by some Millwall supporters during .
ISL: Methodical Delhi keep Goa at bay
FC Goa and Delhi Dynamos FC settled for a goalless draw after a closely contested Hero Indian Super League (ISL) duel at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Monday.