Page 613 - Sports
Davis Cup: Superior Italy push India to brink with 2-0 lead (Roundup)
Former champions Italy pushed India to the brink of elimination by winning the singles rubbers to take a 2-0 lead into the final day of the Davis Cup Qualifiers at the Calcutta South Club here Friday.
Ranatunga says Sri Lanka heading for World Cup disaster
Sri Lanka cricket legend Arjuna Ranatunga predicted Friday that the country would fall short at this year's World Cup because of corruption by officials and player indiscipline. Ranatunga, who captained the side that won the 1996 World Cup, doubted that Sri Lanka would even get past the first round of the tournament that begins in England on May 30. "There is corruption at the board. Players are demoralised. Players are fighting with each other," said the 55-year-old. Ranatunga, who is currently Sri Lanka's transport minister, is preparing a new bid to take charge of Sri Lanka Cricket. He told reporters in Colombo that the national cricket board and several unnamed players were responsible for the national team's recent poor performances. Sri Lanka, who are currently touring Australia, lost the first Test by an innings and 40 runs after losing a two-Test series to New Zealand 1-0. Sri Lanka also lost the three one-day internationals and the one-off T20 match. "We have to improve ...
All-round New Zealand earn consolation win in final ODI
New Zealand managed to escape a 0-3 whitewash by registering an eight-wicket win over India in the third and final ICC Women's Championship One-day International (ODI) here on Friday.
Davis Cup: Berrettini defeats Prajnesh, Italy take 2-0 lead
Rising star Matteo Berrettini defeated India's top ranked player Prajnesh Gunneswaran in straight sets to hand former champions Italy a 2-0 lead in the second rubber of the Davis Cup World Group qualifier tie here on Friday.
Higuain, Piatek, Boateng notable moves in Serie A transfer window
Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain's move from AC Milan to Chelsea, Poland's Krzysztof Piatek's move to replace him at the Milan club, and Ghanaian forward Kevin Prince Boateng's transfer to Barcelona from Sassuolo were the most notable deals that were sealed during a transfer window in Italy.
President Xi 'hates' doping, vows tough stance for Beijing 2022
Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared that he "hates" doping, laying out a tough stance against cheating at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Doping has overshadowed the Games in recent years, with Russia's Olympic committee barred from last year's competition in Pyeongchang because of performance-enhancing drugs. Doping has also tainted China's sporting record in the past decade, with some athletes stripped of Olympic medals. Meeting with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach in Beijing, Xi said he personally objected to doping and that China has "a clear and very strong policy" on the use of drugs in sport. "I myself hate it," Xi said at Thursday's meeting, according to the official Olympic website. "I would prefer to have clean Chinese athletes than a gold medal, or any medal at all." Chinese athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs will receive criminal punishments and jail terms as of this year, the official Xinhua news agency reported in December. In ...
Big Burns, Head centuries put Australia in control against Sri Lanka
Joe Burns and Travis Head plundered Australia's first centuries of the home summer Friday in a stirring fightback as they ruthlessly exposed Sri Lanka's inexperienced attack in the second Test at Canberra. Australian skipper Tim Paine won the toss at the Manuka Oval and put his side in on a flat track conducive to batting, a gambit that paid off after some early wobbles. At stumps, they were a commanding 384 for four with Burns not out 172 and Kurtis Patterson, who was dropped first ball, on 25. Head fell for 161 after a 308-run stand with Burns -- Australia's first stand over 200 since Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh achieved the feat in the third Test against England in December 2017. Vishwa Fernando was the best of the bowlers with 3-99. On a cool, overcast day, Burns and Head dug Australia out of a hole after they lost Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne cheaply to be in trouble at 28 for three. After weathering the storm and as the new ball lost its shine, the pair ...
Finals of FC Bayern Youth Cup India starts on Saturday
As many as top-10 qualifying schools will battle it out against each other in the National Finals of the sixth edition of the FC Bayern Youth Cup India, it was announced on Friday.
Third ODI: India lost to Kiwis, clinch series 2-1
Indian women's cricket team lost the final ODI against New Zealand by eight wickets here at the Manuka Oval on Friday but clinched the three-match series 2-1 to take the trophy home.Chasing a target of 150 runs, New Zealand did not break much sweat and get to the score with 124 balls still remaining in their innings. They lost just two wickets on their way to the victory.The hosts got the first jolt in the form of their opener Lauren Down who got run out at the score of 10. Down was followed by her opening partner Suzie Bates who was departed back by spinner Poonam Yadav at the score of 57 in the 21st over.After the dismissal of the two openers, skipper Amy Satterthwaite and batting all-rounder Sophie Devine built a match winning partnership and took their team to a convincing win in the end.Earlier, Indian eves had put up a disappointing performance with the bat as they were bowled out at a score of 149 runs. Deepti Sharma emerged as the highest run getter for India with a score of ..
Pavon helps Boca Juniors rise to fifth
Defending champions Boca Juniors scored twice either side of half-time to secure a 4-0 away victory over San Martin in the Superliga Argentina.
Davis Cup: Berrettini defeats Prajnesh to hand Italy 2-0 lead
India's top ranked player Prajnesh Gunneswaran lost to Italy's promising Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-3 in the second rubber of the Davis Cup World Group qualifier tie here on Friday.
Real Madrid dispatch Girona to reach Copa del Rey semis
Karim Benzema scored twice to lead Real Madrid 3-1 over Girona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinal tie, allowing the Blancos to advance to the final four by a decisive 7-3 on aggregate.
Davis Cup: Italy's Seppi brushes aside Ramkumar in straight sets
Italian Andreas Seppi made short work of India's second highest ranked Ramkumar Ramanathan by winning 6-4, 6-2 in their first Davis Cup World Group rubber at the Calcutta South Club here on Friday.
Fluminense secure ex-Brazil midfielder Ganso
Fluminense FC announced that it has secured former Brazil international midfielder Paulo Henrique Ganso on a five-year deal.
Laggards Chennayin FC look to salvage pride against FC Pune City in ISL
A struggling Chennaiyin FC takes on FC Pune City in an Indian Super League game here Saturday, hoping to salvage pride and also gain some momentum prior to the upcoming events like Super Cup and AFC Champions League. Languishing at the bottom of the points table with a solitary win and 10 defeats, the defending champions (5 points) has endured a nightmarish season while Pune is at seventh spot with 11 points and will look to push forward with six games in hand. The arrival of forward C K Vineeth and winger Halicharan Narzary from Kerala Blasters on loan deals, didn't alter the team's fortunes as it went down to NorthEast United FC on January 26. After the highs of the 2017-18 season when coach John Gregory hardly seemed to put a foot wrong, things have gone pear-shaped for CFC as nothing has worked. The absence of Dhanpal Ganesh owing to injury didn't help and the influential Jeje Lalpekhlua has not been able to reproduce his form of the previous season, as a result of which the team .
Seppi outclasses Ramkumar to give Italy 1-0 lead
Andreas Seppi overcame early jitters to beat Ramkumar Ramanathan in straight sets, giving Italy a 1-0 lead over India in the Davis Cup Qualifer here Friday. The World number 37 was slow off the blocks on the grass court of the Calcutta South Club but hit top gear in the second set to complete a 6-4 6-2 win in one hour and 11 minutes. The big-serving Indian fired eight aces but his weak returns meant that he failed to convert two break points in the first set before the Italian won five points in a row to wrap the opening set in 41 minutes. Italy took a gamble by naming Seppi as their number one player ahead of world number 19 Marco Cecchinato, who had ousted world number one Novak Djokovic from the French Open last year. In front of a motley crowd shouting 'Ram, Ram', it was a neck and neck battle till the eighth game with both holding their serves. Ramkumar, who is ranked 133, failed to convert two break points in the second and eighth game. The match was tantalisingly poised in the .
Lazio beats Inter Milan in shootout, advances to Italian Cup semis
Lazio eliminated Inter Milan after a penalty shootout and qualified for the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, after a match that ended 0-0 in regulation and 1-1 after extra time.
Joe Burns ends Australia's Test century drought
Right-hand batsman Joe Burns ended Australia's 113-day wait for a Test century as he scored a ton in the second Test of their ongoing two-match series against Sri Lanka here at the Manuka Oval on Friday.The last Test century for Australia had come from the bat of Usman Khawaja during a Test series against Pakistan in Dubai, last year.Burns, with the century, helped Australia avoid hitting a 136-year low as the last time they went without a Test century on the home soil over a summer of three or more Tests was in 1882-83, Cricket.com.au reported.Australia are leading the ongoing two-match series 1-0. In the second Test, they have opted to bat first and have crossed the 300 mark on the Day One of the match.After losing some early, wickets Burns and Travis Head stitched a much-needed partnership to accelerate their side's scoring rate.
Indian women walloped by New Zealand in dead rubber
Having already sealed the series, the Indian women's cricket team put up an ordinary effort with the bat to go down by eight wickets against New Zealand in the third and final ODI here on Friday. Captain Mithali Raj, playing a record 200th ODI on Friday, had spoken about the importance of a clean sweep going into the game but her team could muster only 149 after being put in to bat. The White Ferns chased down the target in 29.2 overs to register a morale-boosting win. Deepti Sharma, batting at number three, was the only one to make a significant contribution for India, top-scoring with 52 off 90 balls. India collapsed to 149 all out in 44 overs after being at 117 for four in the 35th over. " I am happy with the first series win in New Zealand. I am happy that youngsters like Deepti (Sharma) and Jemimah (Rodrigues) got runs. We definitely wanted to try a few things. The bowlers have done well through the tournament. But today we didn't get enough runs," Mithali said in the post-match .
ICC decision to ban Sarfaraz is 'utter nonsense': Ehsan Mani
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani believes that the decision of International Cricket Council to hand over a four-match ban to Sarfaraz Ahmed following a racial remarks controversy, involving South African pacer Andile Phehlukwayo, is "utter nonsense".Mani said that they made public apologies and dealt with the matter openly but since the ICC "could not get the two players involved in a room together", they charged Sarfaraz and banned him."We made an apology at all levels and it had been accepted by everyone. We have a good relationship with CSA (Cricket South Africa). For the ICC to jump in because Phehlukwayo was upset and didn't want a reconciliation process, [and to feel they] have to charge Sarfaraz, that's where I think a bit of nonsense comes into this. What else can you achieve by sitting them in a room? They're not school children," ESPNcricinfo quoted Mani, as saying."This is my issue that they sat on it. Our statements and apologies were public. This is not ..