Page 685 - Sports
Pandya, Rahul erred but Team India need them for World Cup: Sreesanth
Banned Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth on Monday, chided young cricketers Hardik Pandya and Lokesh Rahul for their misogynist comments on the 'Koffee with Karan' show, but also said that Team India need the "match winner" duo for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
Bertens eases past Riske 6-3, 6-3 in Aussie opener
Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands grabbed a straight sets win over Alison Riske of the United States in round one of the Australian Open here on Monday.
Series win against India would mean a lot for us: Carey
Australia vice-captain Alex Carey on Monday said that an ODI series win against a top team like India "will mean a lot" considering the hosts' struggles over the last 12 months. The home took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with a 34-run win in Sydney, and the second ODI will be played in Adelaide on Tuesday. Pakistan were the last side to lose an ODI series to Australia, 4-1 in January 2017, and thereafter after a tumultuous 2018, wherein they won only 2 out of 18 ODIs, the hosts have started 2019 on a winning note. "It would mean a lot, it has been a while. I want to see Australia win and being part of it means so much to us every game we play. But to continue to get better every game is probably our biggest process at the moment leading into that World Cup," said Carey. "Against India, they're a really good side so they're going to look to bounce back pretty quickly, so it's going to be a great opportunity to stand up tomorrow night, to puff our chests out again and hopefully .
Spain's Badosa bows out of Australian Open in first round
Spain's Paula Badosa lost her first round match against Australian Kimberly Birrell at the Australian Open here on Monday.
Maroon 5 to perform at Super Bowl with Travis Scott, Big Boi
Following months of controversy, it has been confirmed that Maroon 5 will headline the Super Bowl halftime show in Atlanta on February 3.The group will be joined by rapper Travis Scott and former Outkast member Big Boi, Variety reported.From celebrities like Amy Schumer to organisations like NAAPC, many have taken issue with the halftime booking, partially because of NFL's treatment of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has been essentially taken out of the league for kneeling during the National Anthem and because the big game is taking place in Atlanta, the capital of black music in the US. They subsequently advocated for musicians to turn down the gig.According to the report, artistes like Cardi B, Outkast, Mary J. Blige, Usher and Nicki Minaj - were considered or approached to perform with Maroon 5. Notably, the announcement comes late in the football season schedule because of negotiations dragging out. Justin Timberlake, who performed at the 2018 Super .
Kerber downs Hercog 6-2, 6-2 in round 1 of Australian Open
Former champion Angelique Kerber defeated Polona Hercog 6-2, 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena here on Monday.
Uruguay's Cuevas upsets Serbia's Lajovic in first round of Australian Open
Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas defeated Serbia's Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 in round one of the Australian Open here on Monday.
Ceballos goal takes Real Madrid to 2-1 win over Betis
Dani Ceballos found the back of the net with a free kick in the 88th minute and handed Real Madrid a 2-1 victory over his former team Real Betis.
Srikanth, Saina begin new season at Malaysia Masters
Top Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal will begin the season with renewed verve at the Malaysian Open World Tour Super 500 tournament which gets underway with the qualifiers here Tuesday. World No 8 Srikanth endured a below-par season where he topped the BWF ranking for a brief period and also claimed the Commonwealth Games silver but failed to win a single title, following an unprecedented high of 2017. Though he couldn't produce the goods in the international circuit, Srikanth managed to keep a clean slate in the just-concluded Premier Badminton League (PBL) where he anchored his team to a title win on Sunday. The 25-year-old from Guntur will hope to continue his unbeaten run when he takes on Hong Kong's Ng Ka Long Angus in his season-opener on Wednesday. Saina, on the other hand, has been one of the top achievers in 2018, claiming a second gold in the CWG and securing a bronze at the Asian Games and Asian Championship. She also reached the finals at Indonesia ...
In Bumrah's absence, Bhuvi gets down to perfecting yorkers
Jasprit Bumrah is India's resident yorker specialist but in absence of Gujarat speedster, the team management has entrusted his new ball partner Bhuvneshwar Kumar to fire in the toe-crushers at the Australian batsmen. Buvneshwar was seen bowling in the nets keeping a shoe at the base of the stumps in order to perfect his yorker ahead of the The UP seamer, who rarely bowls yorker like Bumrah, is trying to add the delivery in his repertoire in order to avoid getting hit in the slog overs. "The skills (required to bowl yorkers) are also different. I was practising bowling yorkers at the shoes, and I was practising for the end (slog) overs to take wickets or block some runs. This (keeping shoes on the pitch) is something that I have been doing for some time," Bhuvneshwar told mediapersons on the eve of the second ODI. The seamer said that he wasn't practising yorkers as he wasn't playing Test matches and also because the delivery is rarely used in longest format. "I didn't practice that ..
Sharapova routs Dart in straight sets at Australian Open
Former champion Maria Sharapova began her 15th Australian Open with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Harriet Dart in 63 minutes here on Monday.
Nadal defeats Duckworth in straight sets at Australian Open
Spain's Rafael Nadal defeated Australian wild card entry James Duckworth 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, in the first round of the Australian Open here on Monday.
Nadal flies into Open round two as Kerber issues warning
A ruthless Rafael Nadal showed no mercy in a clinical first round thumping at the Australian Open Monday with fellow former champions Angelique Kerber and Maria Sharapova also romping through. The 17-time Grand Slam winner, who cut short his 2018 season to have surgery on a foot injury, cruised into round two of the year's opening major 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 against Australian wildcard James Duckworth. "Not easy to come back after a lot of months, especially against a player playing super aggressive on every point," said the 2009 Australian champion, who showed no sign of any injury worries. "The energy I feel in this place is fantastic," he added. The Spanish second seed is bidding to become the first man in the Open era, and only third in history along with Roy Emerson and Rod Laver, to win each Grand Slam on two or more occasions. Fifth seed Kevin Anderson also progressed against Adrian Mannarino, with last year's Wimbledon finalist a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 winner. NextGen Finals champion ...
Australian Open: Prajnesh loses in straight sets to American Tiafoe
Prajnesh Gunneswaran's maiden Grand Slam appearance ended in disappointment after American Frances Tiafoe defeated the Indian in straight sets in the opening round of the Australian Open on Monday. Tiafoe defeated Gunneswaran 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 6-3 to set up a second round clash with big South African Kevin Anderson. World No.39 American beat the Indian qualifier in a match that lasted an hour and 52 minutes. Guuneswaran fought hard in the first set which went into the tie-breaker after both players held their serve till the 12th game. In the tie-breaker, Tiafoe got a mini-break and then closed the set at 9-7 in the tie-breaker. Once he won the first set, the American completely dominated the 106th ranked Indian in the second and third sets respectively. Prajnesh's first serve let him down in the second set and his success rate was 43 percent compared to 72 per cent of the American. Tiafoe converted two break points in the third and sixth game of the second set to take it 6-3. In the final
Maroon 5 confirm Super Bowl Halftime 2019 gig
Maroon 5 are set to headline the Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show in 2019, the music group confirmed. The band made things official through a video montage of them -- both on stage and off stage -- which was posted on their official Twitter account Sunday. They captioned the clip: "#SBLIII". The news that Maroon 5 has been locked by the organisers broke last September but they were unavailable for a comment. Travis Scott and Big Boi will also be part of the halftime show. The marquee event for the National Football League (NFL) has been in the eye of storm regarding players kneeling during the playing of national anthem in a peaceful protest against police brutality and racial inequality. Case in point being quarterback Colin Kaepernick who has not played since 2016 and last year filed a grievance against the league and its owners, accusing them of colluding to keep him off the field. In October, Amy Schumer urged Maroon 5 to pull out from the Super Bowl in an attempt to support ...
Madrid striker Karim Benzema injures right hand
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema had to be substituted at half-time of Sunday's Spanish league match at Real Betis after hurting his right hand. Madrid coach Santiago Solari said Benzema had fractured his hand. "He was in a lot of pain," Solari said. Madrid was already without Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Marco Asensio, Mariano Diaz and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois due to injury. Benzema needed to be attended by team doctors when he fell after a brush with a Betis defender in first-half stoppage time. He was replaced by reserve-team player Cristo Gonzalez during the break. Benzema leads Madrid in scoring with 12 goals in all competitions this season.
De Gea's saves help United beat Tottenham in Premier League
There were too many saves for Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea to even remember. Everyone else was certainly counting: Eleven. The most by any goalkeeper in a Premier League match this season. And they were all in the second half to thwart a Tottenham comeback. The Spaniard's virtuoso goalkeeping performance protected a 1-0 victory in the Premier League on Sunday after Marcus Rashford's first-half strike, giving United a sixth successive victory in all competitions since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho. "I said to David at halftime, 'You might have to make a save here, you have to keep your concentration,'" Solskjaer said. "He didn't have to keep his concentration because he was never allowed to relax. He is a fantastic goalkeeper. I think he's the best in the world." Few would dispute that on Sunday as De Gea was masterful with his hands and feet particularly frustrating efforts by Harry Kane and Dele Alli to equalize. "I don't even remember some of them," De ...
Inter into Coppa quarters at San Siro closed after racist chanting
Inter Milan cruised into the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia after beating second-tier Benevento 6-2 in a match played behind closed doors following the racist abuse of Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly last month. Inter ran riot in a San Siro left empty on Sunday as part of the punishment the club received for the monkey chants directed at Koulibaly during their 1-0 Boxing Day win over Napoli. "That wasn't a real match tonight," said Inter coach Luciano Spalletti. "The protagonists of the game are the fans, who should come and have fun watching the show on the pitch. "We can't deprive good people of enjoyment because others disturb the match (with their behaviour). We need to reward that type of fan, who needs to take a stand against the chants they don't want to take part in." Spalletti's side were two up inside seven minutes thanks to a roaring start that saw Mauro Icardi open the scoring from the spot following a foul on Antonio Candreva, who was on hand to crash home after ...
Bizarre seven-ball over dismissal in Big Bash League
Perth Scorchers opener Michael Klinger was bizarrely given out on the seventh ball of an over in Australia's Twenty20 Big Bash League with umpires failing to realise their mistake. The veteran's controversial dismissal for two came in their game against the Sydney Sixers on Sunday evening when the umpires lost count of how many balls had been bowled. It overshadowed the Scorchers' seven-wicket win and a quick-fire unbeaten 87 from Cameron Bancroft as he starts to find form again on his return from a nine-month ban for ball-tampering. Scorchers coach Adam Voges said the controversy was "not ideal". "Obviously it's the umpires' jobs to count the number of balls in an over," he said. Cricket Australia said the incident would be "followed up". "It appears there was a miscount of balls in the over, and a seventh ball was allowed by the umpires," a spokesperson said on their website. "As the ball was bowled it is deemed live and consequently the decision stands. "The incident will be ...
Fabregas smooth in debut as Monaco battle to Marseille draw
Cesc Fabregas got off to a positive start in his debut for struggling Ligue 1 side Monaco after his side gained a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Marseille at a tumultuous Stade Velodrome. Fabregas, who joined the Principality club from Chelsea on Friday, struck a composed figured in the midfield as Thierry Henry's side recovered from a shaky start to earn a point thanks to Youri Tielemans' leveller six minutes before the break on Sunday. The World Cup winner almost laid on a winner for Tielemans in added time with a trademark clipped pass but the Belgium international hesitated on the ball and ended up shooting a presentable opportunity to snatch a rare victory well wide. Fabregas' arrival on the Mediterranean coast on Friday was the third in January after veteran defender Naldo and France under-21 left-back Fode Ballo-Toure, who both acquitted themselves well on Sunday. The draw was a good result for a team without a fit striker and not enough available players to even fill the ...