Page 874 - Sports
Stokes, Buttler rescue England after top-order collapse
Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler dug England out of a dangerous hole after another top order collapse saw the tourists in trouble against Sri Lanka on Sunday as they sought a winning lead. Stokes and Buttler took England's second innings from 39-4 to 110-4 at lunch on the third day, building a strong 204-run lead despite some heart-stopping escapes that may cost Sri Lanka the match. Buttler was unbeaten on 38 and Stokes 32, having been the beneficiary of two basic blunders by Sri Lankan spinner Lakshan Sandakan. Left-arm spinner Sandakan had Stokes caught at cover on 22, then at slip on 32, only for replays to show he had overstepped the bowling line on each occasion. Stokes was on his way back to the dressing room when he was recalled both times. He shook his head in disbelief as he walked off for lunch. Buttler was given out lbw on 27 to part-time off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva, but the decision was overturned when the ball was projected to be travelling over the stumps upon review. Sri
CoA likely to meet Harmanpreet, Mithali; players asked to maintain 'decorum'
The Committee of Administrators could summon Indian women's team skipper Harmanpreet Singh and Mithali Raj following the senior most player's controversial omission for the World T20 semi-final against England. India's campaign in the ICC tournament ended with a humiliating loss in the last-four stage. According to a top BCCI official, Mithali might put across her view point in writing to GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim, who is also in charge of women's cricket. "It is understood that a meeting will be held soon here and CoA is likely to speak separately to Harmanpreet, Mithali, Ramesh (coach Ramesh Powar), manager Trupti Bhattacharya and tour selector Sudha Shah to understand what led to Mithali's omission," a senior BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity. CoA chief Vinod Rai was unhappy that players' agents are making unsavoury comments about team selection. "The comments made by people who appear to be associated with the Indian women's team have been viewed with ...
Dipa needs to win gold in upcoming World Cups to qualify for 2020 Olympics: Nandi
Dipa Karmakar needs to win nothing less than a gold in the upcoming World Cups to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, says coach Bisweswar Nandi, who is targeting a podium finish for the ace gymnast at the 2019 World Championships in Stuttgart. Dipa made a strong start to her qualifying bid for the Tokyo Olympics by winning a bronze at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Cottbus, Germany on Saturday. "I didn't hope that she would do so well given the strong field, which had lot of medallists. But I'm satisfied with the way she performed. She had very less time to prepare for the event and she did very well. I made her cry a lot during the last few months. So very satisfied," Nandi told PTI from Cottbus. "It is a good start but to qualify for the Olympics, she will have to win gold in the next 3-4 events of the world cup she participates in. Second or third position won't matter," he added. The Cottbus meet is part of an eight-event qualifying system for the 2020 Games, under which a
3rd T20I: Australia opts to bat vs India
Australian Captain Aaron Finch won the toss and opted to bat first against India in the third and final Twenty20 International of the rubber at the Sydney Cricket Ground here on Sunday.
Sydney T20I: India asked to bowl first
India have lost the toss and are asked to bowl first by Australia in their third and final T20 International of the ongoing three-match series here at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Sunday.Following the toss, Indian skipper Virat Kohli said that he was happy to bowl first. Talking about the team combination, he said, "No changes in the team."On the other hand, Australia skipper Aaron Finch said: "The wicket is good so we want to put runs on the board."Reflecting on the changes in the squad, Finch confirmed, "One change for Australia with (Mitchell) Starc replacing (Jason) Behrendorff."Australia are leading the series with 1-0 as the second T20I was called off due to rain. Meanwhile, India would like to level 1-1 and take some momentum into the Test series starting from December 6 in Adelaide.Following are the playing eleven of India and Australia:India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar
Australia opt to bat against India in third T20
Australia won the toss and opted to bat against India in the third and final T20 International here Sunday. India named an unchanged eleven while Australia brought in pacer Mitchell Starc in place of Jason Behrendorff. Teams: India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli(captain), Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, K Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah Australia: D Arcy Short, Aaron Finch(captain), Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Ben McDermott, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.
Australia wins Women's World T20
Australia bagged their fourth women's World Twenty20 crown after a thumping eight wicket victory over England at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here on Sunday.
Australia breeze to fourth Women's World T20 title
Australia breezed to their fourth Women's World T20 title, thrashing England by eight wickets in the final here on Saturday. England faltered with the bat after winning the toss, struggling to 105 all out in 19.4 overs with opener Danielle Wyatt (43) being the top-scorer. Pacer Megan Schutt (2/13), leggie Giorgia Wareham (2/11) and all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner (3/22) led Australia's clinical effort with the ball. Chasing a comfortable target, Australia raced to victory in 15.1 overs with Gardner and captain Meg Lanning remaining unbeaten on 33 and 28 respectively. Interestingly, England had also mustered 105 against Australia in the final of the 2014 edition and even on that occasion, the team from Down Under cruised to a famous win. With another emphatic win on Saturday, Australia extended their dominance in the showpiece event of the shortest format, lifting their fourth trophy in tournament's sixth edition. Australia are also the most successful team in ODI World Cup with six ...
ICC announces team of Women World T20
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday announced the squad of the Women's World T20, based on the performances during the 16-day tournament held across Providence, Gros Islet and North Sound in West Indies.Three players each from Australia and India, two from England and one each from Pakistan, New Zealand, and West Indies have been named as the playing eleven, which was selected by an esteemed selection panel comprising of former players and commentators Ian Bishop, Anjum Chopra and Ebony Rainford-Brent, journalist Melinda Farrell and ICC's General Cricket Manager Geoff Allardice.India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, one of the two skippers to make the squad along with Pakistan skipper Javeria Khan, has been named to lead the team, while player of the tournament Alyssa Healy of Australia, India's opener Smriti Mandhana and Amy Jones of England have been nominated to bat.All-rounders Deandra Dottin of West Indies and Allyse Perry of Australia, and England fast bowler Anya ...
Atletico denied long-awaited win over Barca, Eibar stun Real
Atletico Madrid came within a whisker of their first league win over Barcelona in eight years on Saturday only for Ousmane Dembele to dash their hopes with a dramatic equaliser in injury-time. Diego Costa looked to have won a dreary contest at the Wanda Metropolitano when he headed in his first La Liga goal since February with 12 minutes left, as Atletico prepared to go top of the table with a long-awaited victory. Instead, Barca produced another fightback as Dembele, on as a substitute, slid home a cool finish in the 90th minute to earn the visitors a 1-1 draw. The relief was palpable in the celebrations of the luminous yellow shirts in the corner but perhaps just as grateful were Real Madrid, beaten 3-0 by Eibar earlier in the day. Santiago Solari had proven the perfect caretaker but his debut as permanent coach ended in a disastrous, and deserved, defeat at Ipurua. Madrid's only consolation was that neither Atletico nor Barca were able to secure the win that would have pulled them .
Ronaldo, Mandzukic on target as Juventus ease past SPAL
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his hot form for Juventus on Saturday as he and Mario Mandzukic scored both goals in the second consecutive game to help the Serie A leaders open up a nine-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win over struggling SPAL. Ronaldo slotted home Miralem Pjanic's free-kick after 29 minutes in Turin to join Genoa's Krzysztof Piatek at the top of the Serie A scoring charts with nine goals, before Mandzukic sealed the three points on the hour mark in a simple warm up for Tuesday's crucial Champions League visit of Valencia. The pair also scored both in Juventus' 2-0 win over AC Milan before the international break, and Ronaldo's strike was his seventh in eight games in all competitions for his new club, for a total of 10 goals this season. "Cristiano does things that catch opponents off guard and that's exactly what we need," said coach Massimiliano Allegri. "Sometimes we play one pass too many and the moment is lost. "Cristiano moves and thinks so quickly, .
We don't have tennis culture in our country: Mahesh Bhupathi
Indian Tennis legend Mahesh Bhupathi on Saturday asserted that India lacks a tennis culture and people should not expect miracles in terms of big wins.While replying to a question about the scenario of tennis as a sport in India, Bhupathi said, "My advice is that people should not expect miracles. People constantly keep saying why we don't have a single grand slam champion. And that's because we don't have a culture of tennis in our country. You know Leander was an anomaly, Sania was an anomaly and that's the way it is going to be."Bhupathi also opined that in India a lot more investment is needed in every sport and not just tennis."If you want to build champions consistently you will have to invest in the sport," he said.Talking of changing sports scenario in India, Bhupathi said, " It's growing very aggressively every year which is a very positive sign but considering the length and depth of the country I think there is a long way to go and its great that a lot of corporates are ...
PKL: Bengaluru rode Rohit's heroics to hammer Tamil Thalaivas 36-22
Puae, Nov 24 ( IANS) Riding on a terrific raiding performance by Rohit Kumar, Bengaluru Bulls beat Tamil Thalaivas 36-22 in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) match here on Saturday.
Ahead of World T20, Aaron Finch all praises for Australian eves
Ahead of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women's World T20, Australia men's limited-overs team skipper Aaron Finch on Saturday praised the women's squad for their performance throughout the tournament.As Australia gear up for their finals against old rivals England, Finch said, "Meg (Lanning) and Matt (Matthew Mott, the coach) have led that side really well, and the girls have played some great cricket. To get such a convincing win against a really dominant Windies (West Indies) was really important going into that final against England," according to ICC.Australia have fired on all cylinders in every match at the tournament, apart from the final group fixture against India, however, they had already secured qualification to the semi-finals.Finch, who knows all about the extra edge in encounters between Australia and England, said, "They (Australia women's team and England women's team) have obviously played a lot against each other. There has been a great rivalry like in the .
'Mother' Mary does it again, wins historic sixth World Championships title
India's M C Mary Kom won a historic sixth gold in the World Championships here Saturday, the mother-of-three doing, without breaking a sweat, what no other woman boxer has done or known before. Moments after Mary Kom became the most successful boxer in the history of women's world championships by beating Ukraine's Hanna Okhota in an unanimous 5-0 verdict in the 48kg category summit bout, young Sonia Chahal settled for a silver medal after losing her final. India finished third in the overall standings behind China and Taipei. The Olympic bronze medallist came into the all-important bout, which coincided with her 36th birthday, optimistic of adding to her five world championships titles, and, without an iota of doubt, she walked the talk against Okhota in front of a packed K D Jhadav Stadium. The feisty Manipuri now has an incredible six gold and one silver in the showpiece, the last yellow metal coming in 2010 in Bridgetown. The results read 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 in ...
'Grateful' Hamilton on pole with record lap as Mercedes dominate
New five-time champion Lewis Hamilton smashed the lap record as he secured pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and led team-mate Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes to another front-row lockout. In a scintillating performance, the Englishman clocked a best lap in one minute and 34.794 seconds to outstrip Bottas by almost two-tenths of a second. It is his 11th pole of the season and the 83rd of his career. Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was third ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Sauber-bound Kimi Raikkonen, Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo and his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen. Romain Grosjean was seventh for Haas ahead of Ferrari-bound Charles Leclerc of Sauber, Esteban Ocon of Force India and Nico Hulkenberg of Renault. Hamilton kissed his car after the session. "I'm so grateful for all the support we've had here. It's emotional for me because it's the last lap I'll do in this car. I've been so emotionally attached to it. "I'm just happy that this car will be in the history museum
Shubhankar best Indian at T-12, moves close to Order of Merit
Shubhankar Sharma carded an improved three-under 67 to emerge as the best-placed Indian at Tied-12th after the third round of the HONMA Hong Kong Open here on Saturday. Sharma (69, 68) took his three day total to six-under 204 at the Hong Kong Golf Club. England's Aaron Rai, whose mother is of Kenyan origin, extended his overnight advantage from four to six shots by signing for a third round two-under-par 68. The 23-year-old traded four birdies against two bogeys to compile a three-day total of 16-under-par 194, a score which comfortably kept his compatriots Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick at bay. Sharma had five birdies, three of them in a row from 11th to 13th and he also had two bogeys during the day. With Korea's Sanghyun Park making his early exit from the tournament, Sharma could extend his merit lead when he returned with a 67 to share 12th place while close rival, Justin Harding of South Africa fired a 67 for tied-20th place. The next best Indian is veteran Arjun Atwal
Lahiri, Bhullar slip on third day at world Cup
Indian duo of Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar on Saturday slipped eight places to tied 11th after carding two-under 70 in the third round of the USD 7 million ISPS HANDA Melbourne World Cup of Golf here. Lahiri and Bhullar, who were tied third after the second round, took their three-day total to 10-under 206. "There is one more day to go, so we expect to make up," Lahiri said. "Things just didn't happen for us," he added. Pieters and Detry have placed Team Belgium on top of the leaderboard, shooting 9-under in the third round to take a five shot advantage into the final round. "We were making some good putts. And it's always nice when you know your partner's playing some great golf, it gives you a lot of confidence and you can play some pretty free golf," said Detry. Pieters and Detry pulled away from the chasing pack after signing for a commanding 63 and a three-day total of 19-under-par 197. They had held a share of the overnight two-shot lead with Korea. Korea's Byeonghun An
PKL-6: U Mumba crush Dabang Delhi 39-23
It was a sold team effort which saw U Mumba notching a comfortable 39-23 win over Dabang Delhi in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 6 match at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Saturday.
Shuttlers Saina, Sameer enter Syed Modi International final
Three-time winner Saina Nehwal and defending champion Sameer Verma stormed into the respective finals of the women's and men's singles events at the Syed Modi International World Tour Super 300 here on Saturday.