Page 745 - Sports
Flamengo sign Brazil defender Rodrigo Caio
Brazil international centre-back Rodrigo Caio has joined Flamengo on a five-year contract after parting ways with Sao Paulo, the Rio de Janeiro club said.
Australia include Labuschange in squad for fourth Test
Australia on Sunday included leg-spinning all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne in the squad for the series-deciding fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, beginning Thursday. India Sunday defeated Australia by 137 runs at the third Test to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-Test series. After winning the second Test, Australia had announced a 13-member squad for both the third and fourth Test but now they have added South African-born Labuschagne for the crucial Sydney match where the hosts need a win to level the series. "We'll get up to Sydney and have a look at the conditions," skipper Tim Paine said as he confirmed Labuschagne's inclusion. "From what we're hearing, it'll probably spin quite a bit so once we see that for ourselves, we'll start to think about the best combination for ourselves to win that Test." Opener Aaron Finch and all-rounder Mitch Marsh are under pressure to retain their spot in the playing XI following the loss at the MCG and Australia will now have ..
Genoa, Fiorentina in goalless stalemate
Fiorentina missed a chance to gain ground on their rivals in the tightly packed Serie A mid-table, managing only a 0-0 draw with hosts Genoa here.
Inter rides Keita winner
Senegal forward Keita Balde scored the winner to snatch a 1-0 victory for Inter Milan over host Empoli, in a Serie A contest at the Carlo Castellani here.
AS Roma beats Parma in Serie A clash
AS Roma took three points home after defeating Parma 2-0 in a Serie A tie at the Ennio Tardini Stadium here.
Disgraced Bancroft out third ball on return from ban
A nervous Cameron Bancroft's return from his nine-month ban for ball-tampering did not go to plan Sunday when he was out to the third ball he faced in the Big Bash League. The disgraced 26-year-old was picked in the Perth Scorchers team despite only having played club cricket since he was caught trying to use sandpaper to alter the ball in Australia's Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March. He came in at number four after the Hobart Hurricanes had reduced the Scorchers to 16-3 and played the first ball off his pads to square leg for two. Bancroft blocked another one before getting an edge off Riley Meredith to Matthew Wade behind the stumps. Despite his quick exit, he was applauded by the crowd at Launceston in Tasmania as he trudged off. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was commentating on the game, said he spoke to Bancroft beforehand and he was "really, really nervous". "He was a little bit worried about the pace these boys might be bowling at him as he's only .
Test team rankings: India retain numero uno spot
India retained their numero uno spot in the year-end International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings on Sunday.After their unassailable 2-1 lead in the ongoing four-Test series against Australia, India maintained their 116 points to consolidate their top place followed by the English team, who are placed at the second spot with 108 points.Meanwhile, New Zealand team that won fourth consecutive Test series and finished the year on 107 points, have overtaken South Africa by two points to move up to the third position after completing a 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in their concluded two-Test series.The fourth-placed South African team, who lead 1-0 in an ongoing three-Test series against Pakistan, can reach 110 points and move up to the second spot by blanking the opposition. The top five teams end with Australian team, who are placed at the fifth position with 102 points.
AC Milan beat SPAL to break out of slump
Gonzalo Higuain scored for the first time in two months to help AC Milan defeat SPAL 2-1 and emerge from a five-match winless streak in the Serie A.
Torino holds Lazio in Serie A action
Torino held mighty Lazio to a 1-1 draw in their Serie A clash at the Stadio Olimpico here.
Wolverhampton stun Tottenham in EPL clash
Wolverhampton Wanderers rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat high-flying Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in their English Premier League (EPL) clash and end the London club's winning streak at five.
Liverpool pound Arsenal to widen EPL lead
Liverpool conceded an early goal to Arsenal before rebounding to dispatch the Gunners 5-1 and go nine points clear at the top of the English Premier League (EPL).
Napoli get late goal to beat Bologna
Napoli needed a last-minute goal to defeat relegation bound Bologna 3-2 and reach the mid-point of the Serie A season in second place, 9 points behind defending champions Juventus and five ahead of Inter Milan.
Djokovic claims 4th Mubadala title
Serbia's Novak Djokovic defeated defending champion Kevin Anderson of South Africa 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to win the Mubadala World Tennis Championship for the fourth time.
Big B, Anushka hail team India after MCG Test win
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and actress Anushka Sharma on Sunday congratulated Indian cricket team for its victory over Australia in the third Test match in Melbourne.
Compression stockings may boost football players' performance
Sports compression stockings are so effective that they may be considered performance enhancers for soccer players, a study has found. Researchers from James Cook University (JCU) in Australia measured the fatigue levels of female soccer players with and without the tight-fitting stockings, which are designed to apply pressure to the lower legs and enhance blood circulation. "We found that compression stocking use during an amateur female soccer match positively influenced agility and lower limb muscular endurance following the match," said Anthony Leicht from JCU. "The benefits were clearly higher with the compression stockings than with regular socks. They confirmed that there is a protective effect with compression stockings that may be crucial for performance in soccer matches," Leicht said. The study showed that the stockings were comfortable and unlikely to impede players during a match, and while the extent of their benefits needs to be further investigated, they could be ...
Rs 100 crore earmarked for funding of athletes under TOPS for 2020 Olympics: SAI
The Sports Ministry has earmarked Rs 100 crore for the funding of athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for their preparations for 2020 Olympics, according to Sports Authority of India Director General Neelam Kapur. The TOPS, which was launched in September 2014, is a flagship programme of the sports ministry to provide financial assistance to potential Olympic medal winners. Athletes have also been given financial assistance to prepare for Commonwealth Games and Asian Games under the TOPS. "We have kept a ballpark (approximate) figure of Rs 100 crores for 2020 Olympics. The sports minister has instructed that there shouldn't be any shortage of funds for the athletes in TOPS," Kapur told PTI. "With TOPS, we have tried to take a holistic approach. We are consulting the national federations, national observers taking their feedbacks and after going through all the data the final selection is made by the Mission Olympics Cell," she added. A TOPS Secretariat has also been
Australia add Marnus Labuschagne for Sydney Test
All-rounder Marnus Labuschagne on Sunday has been added to the Australian squad for the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, beginning from January 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)."We will get up to Sydney and have a look at the conditions," ICC quoted Australia captain Tim Paine, as saying after the Melbourne Test while confirming Labuschagne's inclusion."From what we are hearing, it will probably spin quite a bit so once we see that for ourselves, we will start to think about the best combination for ourselves to win that Test. We think we have got the best group of players available to us at the moment and we will pick the best combination for that group that we think will win the last Test," Paine added.The 24-year-old, who picked up seven wickets and scored 43 in his debut two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE in October this year, was dropped from the squad for wicket-keeper batsman Peter Handscomb and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh as they occupied the ...
PM Modi congratulates Indian athletes for their feats
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 51st 'Mann Ki Baat' address on Sunday, congratulated several Indian athletes for their recent achievements.In his monthly radio address, the Prime Minister lauded Pune's 20-year-old Vedangi Kulkarni on becoming the fastest Asian to travel around the world on a bicycle."This very month, Pune's 20-year-old Vedangi Kulkarni became the fastest Asian to traverse the globe riding a bicycle. She rode for 159 days, covering around 300 kilometres each day. When we hear about such feats, we derive inspiration to touch heights despite obstacles," he said.Prime Minister Modi also congratulated 16-year-old Rajni who won a gold medal in Junior National Women Boxing Championship and thanked her parents for supporting her."There was a lot of discussion in media about a 16-year-old Rajni who won a gold medal in Junior National Women Boxing Championship. When she expressed her wishes to learn boxing to her father, he did everything within his capacity and helped ...
Cricket's high & low: From MeToo to sandpaper scandal to triumph Down (2018 in Retrospect)
The gentleman's game hit a new low in 2018 when two of the world's finest batsmen -- Steve Smith and David Warner -- copped year-long bans from Cricket Australia for their involvement in the infamous 'sandpaper gate' scandal while in India, it was marred by "MeToo" allegations against the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri before he was re-instated after the charges found very few takers, even as the administrative mess continues.
Pujara has been flexible in altering his game as per team's demands: Kohli
Cheteshwar Pujara didn't exactly have a great tour of Australia in 2014-15 but the Saurashtra batsman has been "flexible in altering his game" as per team's demands which has got him success this time, feels skipper Virat Kohli. Pujara didn't have a great tour of SENA countries (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) during the 2014-15 season but is now topping charts after three Tests with 328 runs in three games with two hundreds in team's winning cause. "Pujara has been a lot more flexible in altering his game very quickly. From the last time he played in Australia, he has made a few changes to his set-up, and that's working for him. He is embracing the fact that if something has been told to him and he has to work on those things, he has worked on it," Kohli said about one of his trusted lieutenants. With a bowling attack that can get 20 wickets in any conditions, Pujara's role becomes even more crucial reckons Kohli. "And now that we have the bowling attack that we can