Page 710 - Sports
Magnificent performance by Virat and his team, says Vivian Richards
Congratulatory messages continued to pour in a day after India's historic Test series victory on Australian soil with legendary batsman Sir Vivian Richards labelling the visitors performance as "magnificent". India won the four-match series 2-1 after the Sydney Test ended in a rain-forced draw on Monday, their first ever Test series triumph on Australian soil. "Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Virat and his team for such a magnificent performance Down Under. It was always going to be tough, but you guys came out smelling sweet," Richards said in a video message. The 66-year-old West Indian also lavished praise on Player of the Series, Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 521 runs at an average of 74 with the help of three hundreds. "And to Pujara just magnificent batsmanship... I just felt real gold stuff. Well done to everyone. Magnificent performance again. Congratulations to the Indian team and to my good mate Ravi well done again.
Kohli's men India's best fast-bowling, fielding team but not batting: Chappell
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels the Virat Kohli-led side is India's best in pace bowling and fielding but it is nowhere close to being the best in batting. India defeated Australia 2-1 for their maiden Test series triumph Down Under, ending a 71-year wait. The historic victory has garnered widespread praise for Kohli's men with several former players lauding the gritty performance. Asked if this was the best Indian team of all time on 'ESPNCricinfo', Chappell said, "This Indian side is the best fast bowling contingent I have seen from India and the best fielding side that I have seen from India." "But it's not the best batting side. I have seen better batting combinations from India than this team," he added, but did not dwell on which batting line-up he considered the best. Although Cheteshwar Pujara was adjudged man of the series for being the series' top-scorer, India's traditionally much-vaunted batting was, for once, overshadowed by the team's pacers. The Indian ...
Convinced Ganguly believes Rishabh will shine in future
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who is convinced with Rishabh Pant's efforts against Australia, on Tuesday, said the wicket-keeper batsman will shine in the forthcoming fixtures."He (Rishabh Pant) will be a superb player for India in the future. He has been so good in the series and in future also, he will shine," ICC quoted Ganguly, as saying.On the Australian soil, Pant ended the five-Test series as the second-highest run-scorer after Cheteshwar Pujara, notching 350 runs in seven innings. While behind the stumps, he broke the record for most catches (20) by an Indian wicket-keeper in a Test series.The 21-year-old, who made his Test debut against England last year, has cemented his place in the Test squad. In nine Tests, Pant has blazed two centuries each in England and Australia, amassed 696 runs with an impressive average of 49.7 and a healthy strike rate.When asked to pick up the biggest positives for India from the recent series, the former captain zeroed on Pujara and ...
BCCI showers cash rewards on Indian team for their historic Test series win over Aussies
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday announced cash rewards for the Indian team for posting historic Test series triumph over Australia.The cash prizes will also be given to the coaches and support staff who were a part of the Indian contingent during the recently-concluded Test series, which the visitors won 2-1.All the players who were a part of the playing eleven will get a bonus equivalent to the actual match-fee payable to them, that is Rs 15 lakh, while the reserve players will get an amount equivalent to their match fee, that is, Rs 7.5 lakh.For coaches, the bonus will be equivalent to Rs 25 lakh each while the support staff of the Indian team will get a bonus equivalent to their pro-rata salary or professional fee.India scripted history by winning the first-ever Test series on the Australian soil. Next, India and Australia are slated to play a three-match ODI series beginning January 12 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
ICC Test rankings: Pant edges past Dhoni, Pujara in top 3
Rishabh Pant surpassed former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, while Cheteshwar Pujara secured a spot in the top three positions in the updated ICC Test player rankings on Tuesday.The 21-year-old, who has played nine Tests so far, leapfrogged 21 slots to attain his career-best 17th position, which is two places ahead of Dhoni, whose career-best was the 19th spot.Pant already has two overseas hundreds under his belt in such a short period of time. The ongoing tour of Australia helped the wicket-keeper batsman gain massive points in the ranking, where he scored 350 runs in seven innings with an average of 58.33.Cheteshwar Pujara has moved up one place to enter the top three. The top-order batsman, who was the highest run-getter against Australia, amassed 521 runs.Meanwhile, Ravindra Jadeja and Mayank Agarwal gained six places to settle at 57th place and five positions to achieve the 62nd spot respectively.For Australia, young opener Marcus Harris took a huge leap in the rankings as he ...
I-League: Mohun Bagan, Minerva Punjab look to revive title hopes (Preview)
It could be the last opportunity for both former champions Mohun Bagan and defending champions Minerva Punjab to keep their title hopes alive as they come face to face in a 12th Hero I-League game at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) here on Wednesday.
Under new coach Jamil, Bagan look to revive fortunes against Minerva
Newly-appointed head coach Khalid Jamil will have his task cut out when Mohun Bagan take on Minerva Punjab in a must-win battle between the former champions in an I-League clash here Wednesday. Jamil, the I-League winning former Aizawl coach, was brought in less than 48 hours before the crucial match after Shankarlal Chakraborty stepped down following their shock home defeat to Real Kashmir on Sunday. Having suffered successive defeats, Mohun Bagan have slipped to sixth on the table, while the defending champions Minerva Punjab are placed a rung lower in the 11-team league standing. The Punjab outfit lost to Churchill Brothers in the last round fixture. They are winless from four matches that include a defeat to Mohun Bagan. The Mariners have been profligate in front of the goal, while their defence has leaked 14 goals in 11 games. Without Sukhdev Singh in the defence, they have looked like fish out of water at the mammoth Salt Lake Stadium, winning just one out of their six home ...
IPL 2019 to start March 23 despite general elections
The hugely-popular two-month-long Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played in India from March 23 despite the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May, ending the uncertainty over whether it would be shifted to some other country.
Pakistan reschedules Tri-nation Kabbadi International series due to security reasons
The Tri-nation Kabbadi International series involving India, Pakistan and Iran was rescheduled after the organisers on Tuesday failed to get security clearance for the inaugural matches in Jhang. The organizers said that the series was scheduled to start from Tuesday with a clash between Pakistan and Indian teams at Jhang but the tournament will now be held from January 10 to 14. "We didn't get security clearance from the interior ministry and now the event will start from January 10th from Bahawalpur and continue in Sahiwal and end in Lahore on the 14th," the organisers said. Jhang in the Punjab province is notorious for being a hotbed of extremist sectarian religious parties and some religious seminaries based in the area have a reputation of being hardcore and supportive of militant elements. The Indian Kabbadi team is already in Punjab for the series which also includes Iranian grapplers and Kabbadi fans have been looking forward to the matches between the Pakistani and Indian ...
Lippi says China facing striker crisis
Marcello Lippi said an influx of foreign forwards had decimated China's striking stocks and could damage their Asian Cup campaign after an unconvincing start in the United Arab Emirates. China's threadbare options up front were underlined when makeshift forward Yu Dabao grabbed the winner in Monday's 2-1 win over debutants Kyrgyzstan, which also left key attacker Wu Lei nursing a suspected collarbone injury. Yu played as a defender last season for Beijing Guoan and Lippi said the overseas forwards flooding the cashed-up Chinese Super League have squeezed out Chinese players. "This shows our situation in China. In China, nearly all the foreign players are forwards," said Lippi, who led his native Italy to the 2006 World Cup title. "It means for our attack, I have to pick a player who spent the season in central defence." China's attacking play was far from convincing against Kyrgyzstan, who led at half-time and should have grabbed at least a draw if not for a bungling own goal by their
BCCI announces cash awards for triumphant Team India members
The BCCI on Tuesday announced cash awards of Rs 15 lakhs per match for each of the playing eleven that featured in India's maiden Test series win on Australian soil. Virat Kohli and Co. defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-match Test series Down Under, ending India's 71-year-old wait for the rare achievement. Congratulated the team, the BCCI also announced cash awards for all the reserve players, as well as the members of the support staff. "The bonuses will be equivalent to the actual match-fee payable: which is INR 15 Lakhs per match for Playing XI and INR 7.5 Lakhs per match for the reserve players," the BCCI said in a release. The coaches will be awarded with Rs 25 lakhs each, while the the non-coaching support staff will receive bonuses which will be equivalent to the pro-rata salary/professional fee. India had won the first and third Test in Adelaide and Melbourne respectively, while the hosts emerged victorious in the second match in Perth. The fourth and final Test in Sydney ...
Stephens avoids shock loss to join Kvitova in Sydney round two
World number five Sloane Stephens battled back from the brink of a shock defeat to a qualifier Tuesday to join two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in round two of the Sydney International. Less than a week before the Australian Open -- the season's first Grand Slam -- the American was twice two points away from losing to 72nd-ranked Ekaterina Alexandrova, who had the former US Open champion on the ropes. Alexandrova won the first set to love and was serving for the match and two points away from victory in the second set. But Stephens somehow rallied to win 0-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/3). "I was, like, it's not going to get any worse than this," Stephens said of the first set. "So it was like I might as well just play. "Obviously she was playing well. Sometimes when you play a player that's just playing like that, there is not much you can do." Earlier, Kvitova avenged her US Open defeat to in-form Aryna Sabalenka. The Czech, who slumped to 29 in the world after being attacked in her
Fergie delivers rousing call to arms to United players
Manchester United's legendary former manager Alex Ferguson delivered a rousing call to arms to the players, insisting they could make the club successful again, a source close to the Premier League team told The Sun. The 77-year-old Scot -- who guided United to numerous trophies including two Champions League titles during his 27-year reign -- has played an increasingly prominent role since former striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became interim manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho. The latest intervention from Ferguson, who has made a remarkable recovery from the brain haemorrhage he suffered last May, came at the behest of Solskjaer and took place at the training ground. The squad are presently in Dubai for a training camp ahead of Sunday's clash with Tottenham Hotspur which represents a real test for Solskjaer to maintain his perfect record of five wins in five matches. "He (Ferguson) told the lads that this group will make United dominant and successful again," the source ...
IPL to stay in India but to have March start this year
The Indian Premier League (IPL) will stay in India despite a speculated clash of dates with the general elections but the glitzy event will start earlier than usual, from March 23, the Committee of Administrators (CoA) announced Tuesday. The two-member CoA, comprising chairman Vinod Rai and former women's captain Diana Edulji, met here Tuesday to discuss the venues and window for the league. "Based on the preliminary discussions with the appropriate central and state agencies/authorities, it was decided that the 12th edition of the world's most popular and competitive T20 tournament will be scheduled to be played in India," a statement issued by the BCCI read. "It is proposed that the IPL 2019 will commence on March 23, 2019. The detailed schedule will be finalised in consultation with the appropriate authorities," it added. Tuesday's statement ended months of speculation about the league's venue this year given the possibility of a clash of dates with the Lok Sabha elections, the ...
Martino takes reins of Mexican football team
Gerardo "Tata" Martino, who turns 60 a day before the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, is banking that he can be a transformative figure as coach of the Mexican national football team, dishing out tough love on the practice field and providing grandfatherly support off the field.
Kroos facing three-week injury layoff
Spanish football giants Real Madrid have announced that their German midfielder Toni Kroos faces three weeks on the sidelines after tearing his left hamstring.
Man United to open club-themed entertainment centres in China
English Premier League (EPL) giants Manchester United are to open a series of club-themed entertainment and experience centres throughout China, the club revealed in a statement on Tuesday.
Porto beat Nacional to tighten grip on 1st in Primeira Liga
FC Porto defeated Nacional 3-1 to go 6 points clear atop the Primeira Liga and extend their winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions.
Athletic beat Celta to climb out of La Liga drop zone
Athletic Club defeated Celta 2-1 to pick up three valuable away points and emerge from the La Liga relegation zone.
Siraj, Kaul in Indian limited overs squad, Bumrah rested
Debutant pacer Mohammed Siraj will replace Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian squad for the upcoming limited overs series against Australia and New Zealand.