Page 865 - Sports

Coach Harendra defends selection of junior players in World Cup squad

India's chief coach Harendra Singh on Tuesday defended presence of several junior players in the squad for the FIH World Cup, saying they are good enough to create history. The current Indian team has seven out of 18 players from the junior World Cup squad, which under Harenedra clinched the world title two years ago in Lucknow. Junior players such as Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Sumit, Mandeep Singh and golakeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak were selected in India's squad. "Constitution gives us the right to marry after 18. So this is not a young team. It's a team that can create history," Harendra said on the eve of India's opening match against South Africa on Wednesday. "You have to have patient. Selectors have considered the young players to be good enough to wear India colours, so we need to be proud of them. Every player in the team understands it. My advice to the players would be to stick to the basics and strategy and consider crowd as 12th man and use their energy," he ...

TN takes on Bengal with eye on first win

: Tamil Nadu will take on Bengal in a crucial Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match at the M A Chidambaram stadium beginning here Wednesday, with both teams eyeing their first win of the season. The B Indrajith-led team has five points from three matches, all affected by the vagaries of the weather and will hope for a full game. The Tamil Nadu batsmen have been among the runs but the bowlers have found the going tough. The first innings could not be completed in two matches (against Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad) and they managed to secure the lead and three points against Andhra. Experienced southpaw Abhinav Mukund has been among the runs along with N Jagadeesan, while the skipper himself has been in middling form. Back on home teritorry, Tamil Nadu will be aiming for a win and full points against Bengal (on 6 points), which is coming off a chastening defeat against Kerala, the group topper, in its previous game. Speaking ahead of the match, Indrajith said the team was ...

India face tough task at hockey World Cup (Preview)

India are expected to face an uphill battle playing in front of the hockey crazy Odisha crowd that will turn up in large numbers to watch the 2018 FIH World Cup starting here on Wednesday.

WBBL: Sydney Thunder retain Harmanpreet; Smriti to play for Hurricanes

India's T20I skipper Harmanpreet Kaur has been retained by the Sydney Thunder franchise for the upcoming fourth edition of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) while her deputy and India opener Smriti Mandhana has been snapped up by the Hobart Hurricanes.

Harmanpreet, Smriti, Jemimah rise in ICC women's T20I rankings

After finishing as the second highest run-scorer in the recently-concluded ICC World T20, Harmanpreet Kaur, the India T20I skipper rocketed three slots to reach the No.3 spot in the latest ICC Women's T20I Player rankings, released here on Tuesday.

Nicholls holds firm but Pakistan close in on series-levelling win

Middle-order batsman Henry Nicholls stood firm with a fighting half century to delay Pakistan's probable series-levelling victory in the second day in Dubai on Tuesday. Nicholls was unbeaten on 74 for his seventh Test fifty as New Zealand reached 297-7 at tea on the fourth day, needing another 31 runs to avoid an innings defeat with just three wickets intact. Pakistan, who lost the first Test by four runs in Abu Dhabi, were put on the victory path by leg-spinner Yasir Shah who followed his career best 8-41 with 4-137 in the second innings. But New Zealand's batsmen led by Ross Taylor (82) and Nicholls made Pakistan toil hard. Nicholls added 52 for the fourth wicket with Taylor and another 57 for the next with BJ Watling who made 27. Nicholls has so far smashed a six and seven boundaries. Yasir finally broke Watling's resistance by trapping him leg before but could not dismiss all 11 players in the match when Colin de Grandhomme fell to Hasan Ali for 14. Yasir bowled Ish Sodhi for four

Mourinho tells players: 'stay home' if you can't handle Old Trafford pressure

Jose Mourinho has told Manchester United's underachieving players to "stay at home" if they cannot handle the pressure to perform at Old Trafford as they seek to reach the Champions League last 16. Young Boys are the visitors on Tuesday as the Red Devils look to qualify for the knockout phase with a game to spare -- a feat they will achieve should they win and Valencia fail to beat Juventus. Progress would be a welcome shot in the arm after Saturday's tepid goalless draw with struggling Crystal Palace, which left them 14 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City and with a mere three wins from nine home matches in all competitions. However, Mourinho rejected suggestions that his players find it easier to play away and laughed off a suggestion that playing at Old Trafford brought added pressure ahead of facing the Swiss champions. "If you feel pressure, stay at home -- and when I say home, I don't say stadium home, I say home home and watch on TV," he said. "If you feel ...

Still searching for maiden win, Mumbai to take on Gujarat

Domestic giants Mumbai will be eyeing their maiden win of this Ranji Trophy season, when they take on Gujarat in an Elite Group A game here Wednesday. 41-times Ranji champions Mumbai has played two games this season -- one against Railways in New Delhi and another against Karnataka in Belagavi -- and both the games ended in a draw. While Mumbai took the first innings lead against Railways and grabbed three points, they settled for a point against Karnataka after conceding the first innings lead. Thus when the players led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni take the field at their home turf -- the Wankhede Stadium -- they are expected to strive for an outright win. Despite the absence of key players like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, who are on national duty, Munbai still have depth in their batting. For the hosts, openers Akhil Herwadkar and Jay Bista, 'crisis man' Siddesh Lad and experienced duo of wicket-keeper batsman Aditya Tare and Surya Kumar ...

England eves to take on West Indies and Australia at home

Before taking on Australia in the Ashes, England women's team will play a three-match One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International series respectively against West Indies.The ODI series between England and West Indies will form part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's Championship. England are currently placed at the third position and one place ahead of West Indies. The top four sides at the conclusion of the Championship will qualify automatically for the 2021 Women's Cricket World Cup.Meanwhile, England will play no home internationals in August and September when the ECB Super League is contested, with the final of the domestic tournament being held on September 1 at the Hove.Under ICC Women's Championship matches, England will take on West Indies in the three-match ODI series, which will be played on June 6, 9 and 13 at Leicester, Worcester, and Chelmsford. Both the sides will again clash in three-match T20I series on June 18 and 21 at Northampton and on .

Harmanpreet enters top-5, Smriti and Jemimah achieve career-best rankings

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur entered the top-five in the latest ICC women's T20 International player rankings with opener Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues also achieving their career-best rankings. Harmanpreet, who was the second highest run-getter in the recently concluded Women's World T20, after Australia opener Alyssa Healy, has gained three slots to reach the third position. The Indian captain aggregated 183 runs including a match-winning 103 in the tournament opener against New Zealand. Teenage sensation Jemimah moved up nine places to a career-best sixth and Smriti jumped seven places to claim the 10th spot. Healy gained four slots to reach the eighth position for her Player of the Tournament effort, which saw her score 225 runs. Other batters to gain in the latest rankings update include Javeria Khan of Pakistan, who has jumped seven places to reach a career-best 14th position, and Clare Shillington of Ireland, who has gained one slot to take the 19th slot. In the ...

Mithali calls Diana Edulji biased, says was humiliated by coach Powar at World T20

Senior Indian woman cricketer and ODI captain Mithali Raj Tuesday lashed out at Committee of Administrators' member Diana Edulji and coach Ramesh Powar, saying a "few people in power are out to destroy me". Breaking her silence on the omission from the World T20 semifinal against England that raised quite a few eyebrows after India's eight-wicket loss, Mithali alleged that Edulji, who had backed her axing, "used her position against me". The 35-year-old was dropped despite scoring back-to-back fifties in the group stage of the competition held in the West Indies. "For the first time in a 20 year long career, I felt deflated, depressed and let down. I am forced to think if my services to my country are of any value to a few people in power who are out to destroy me and break my confidence," she wrote in a letter to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and Cricket Operations GM Saba Karim. "I would also like to point out that I have nothing against the T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur except for the fact ..

ICC T20I rankings: Harmanpreet Kaur leapfrogs to 3rd position

India women's Twenty20 skipper and batter Harmanpreet Kaur on Tuesday made a notable jump to reach the third position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player Rankings.Harmanpreet, who was the second highest run-maker during the recently concluded ICC World T20 event after Australia wicketkeeper batter Alyssa Healy, has gained three slots to reach the third position.Apart from the India skipper, Jemimah Rodrigues and Smriti Mandhana have also moved up after contributing in their team's campaign in the Caribbean, which ended against England in the semi-finals. However, ODI skipper Mithali Raj's ranking dropped by two places to the ninth position.Jemimah, who was placed at the ninth spot, has now moved up to her career-best sixth position, while, Smriti has gained seven places to be placed at her career-best tenth spot.Other cricketers who have made a remarkable jump includes Australian wicketkeeper batswoman, Alyssa Healy. She has gained four slots to reach the eighth position

Pakistan close in on victory after removing Taylor

Spinner Bilal Asif removed menacing Ross Taylor to bring Pakistan within six wickets of a series-levelling victory in the second Test in Dubai on Tuesday. Asif had Taylor caught off an uppish sweep for 82 before New Zealand reached 222-4 at lunch on the fourth day, still needing 106 runs to avoid an innings defeat. At the break, Henry Nicholls, who successfully reviewed a second-ball leg-before decision on nought, was unbeaten on 31 with BJ Watling 16 not out. New Zealand lead the three-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test by four runs in Abu Dhabi. Taylor smashed seven boundaries and a six during his aggressive 128-ball knock and added a valuable 80 runs for the third wicket with Tom Latham who fell for 50. New Zealand were forced to follow-on after superb bowling by leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who took 8-41 to dismiss them for a paltry 90 on Monday. Resuming at 131-2 Taylor smashed medium pacer Hasan Ali's first ball of the day to cover boundary to reach his 29th half century .

Birthday wishes pour in for Suresh Raina

Birthday wishes poured in for Indian cricketer Suresh Raina from across the cricketing fraternity as the attacking left-hander turns 32 today.From the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, a number of people took to Twitter to bestow good wishes on Raina on his special day."A bundle of energy and a live wire on the field. Here's wishing @ImRaina a happy and cheerful birthday," the BCCI tweeted.Tendulkar posted a picture from Raina's last birthday and wrote, "Fond memories of your birthday lunch last year, @ImRaina. Wishing you a very happy birthday and a blissful year ahead."Virender Sehwag also wished Raina a "lifetime of happiness""Listening to "Raina Beeti Jaaye" , Shaam na aaaaaye . Same happens when @ImRaina is in full flow with the bat, feel like shaam na aaye. Wish you luck and happiness. #HappyBirthdayRaina," Sehwag wrote."Wishing you lots of success, happiness and love @ImRaina . #HappyBirthdaySureshRaina!" cricketing stalwart VVS ...

Aim is to win Test series in Australia, says Ishant

India's pacer Ishant Sharma on Tuesday said that the team is focused on winning the four-match Test series starting December 6 in Adelaide.

Boca Juniors deserve Copa Libertadores title: Maradona

Diego Maradona has urged South American football governing body CONMEBOL to award the Copa Libertadores winners' trophy to Boca Juniors after River Plate hooligan fans caused the suspension of the final's second leg.

India prepare for Tests against inconsequential tour-game opposition

Eyeing a maiden Test series win in Australia, India will look to make the most of their only warm-up game, beginning here Wednesday against Cricket Australia XI. The four-Test series starts in Adelaide on December 6. As is the wont of the Indian side, the match has not been accorded First-Class status, allowing all players of the touring party to participate in the game. The Cricket Australia XI is also a team-sheet of names inconsequential to the upcoming Test series, barring perhaps D'Arcy Short who was part of the recently concluded T20I series. For India, this is a chance to get their game face on and also make the transition from white-ball to red-ball cricket for the final time this season. After this series, there is a long limited-overs' schedule until the 2019 ODI World Cup. But before focus turns to that quadrennial tournament, there is the small matter of preparing well for a last overseas Test series to be played this year. After enjoying a day of rest post the tied T20I ..

Still searching for their first win, Mumbai take on Gujarat

Domestic giants Mumbai will be eyeing their maiden win of this Ranji Trophy season, when they take on Gujarat in an Elite Group A game here Wednesday. 41-times Ranji champions Mumbai has played two games this season -- one against Railways in New Delhi and another against Karnataka in Belagavi -- and both the games ended in a draw. While Mumbai took the first innings lead against Railways and grabbed three points, they settled for a point against Karnataka after conceding the first innings lead. Thus when the players led by pacer Dhawal Kulkarni take the field at their home turf -- the Wankhede Stadium -- they are expected to strive for an outright win. Despite the absence of key players like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer, who are on national duty, Munbai still have depth in their batting. For the hosts, openers Akhil Herwadkar and Jay Bista, 'crisis man' Siddesh Lad and experinced duo of wicket-keeper batsman Aditya Tare and Surya Kumar ...

Scolari leads Palmeiras to 10th Brazilian Serie A title

Luiz Felipe Scolari led Palmeiras to clinch their 10th Brazilian Serie A title with a game to spare, their second top flight crown in three years.

Cagliari climb to 13th in Serie A on 0-0 draw with Torino

Cagliari held Torino 0-0 to edge up to 13th place in Serie A, with 15 points from 13 matches.