Page 884 - Sports

Prajnesh extends his super run to semifinals at Pune Challenger; Mukund ousted

In-form Prajnesh Gunneswaran dished out yet another impressive performance to make the semifinals of the KPIT-MSLTA Challenger, taming Alexander Nedovysov in straight sets, here on Thursday. Prajnesh tacked the seasoned experienced Kazakh- who once figured in top-100 but is now 186 - with ease, winning 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes at the USD 50,000 hard court tournament. Prajnesh stood out with his fluent stroke-making, specially with his free-flowing forehand which is his biggest weapon. He hit deep returns and fed the Kazkah mostly on his backhand side to open the court, looking for winners. The plan worked effectively for the Indian. It was second meeting between the Kazakh and Prajnesh with the former winning the first match in his home city in Astana in 2016. Top seed Radu Albot prevented an all-Indian semifinal in the top-half by halting the impressive run of 21-year-old wild card Sasi Kumar Mukund, who lost 3-6 6-4 1-6 in the last quarterfinal of the day. These two weeks .

I was not fit enough to play 2001 Eden Test: VVS

Best remembered for his match-winning 281 against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 2001, former India batsman VVS Laxman Thursday revealed he was not fit enough to play that Test against Australia. "281 (against Australia in 2001) was a significant achievement as far as I am concerned because the situation we were in (that Test match). And also I was not fit enough to play that Test match. Hemang Badani was there in the physio room, when I walked into (former physio) Andrew Leipus, who actually I feel because of him I was able to play the Test match," Laxman recalled at the Mumbai launch of his book '281 and Beyond', co-authored by R Kaushik. Laxman said that his partner and former India batsman Rahul Dravid constantly motivated him through their partnership. Dravid scored a 180 in the second innings after the hosts were given a follow on by Australia. India eventually went on to win the Test match by 171 runs and later the series 2-1. "At the first place I was not going to the play ..

Liverpool legend Fowler arrives on three-day Kenya visit

Liverpool and English Premier League (EPL) legend Robbie Fowler landed here for a three-day visit to Kenya on Thursday.

Chardy, Tsonga to play singles for France in Davis Cup final

Jeremy Chardy and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earned France captain Yannick Noah's faith to represent the defending champions in singles matches of the Davis Cup final this weekend against Croatia.

Real Kashmir FC to participate in the 'Football for Peace' conference

Real Kashmir FC will be the first Indian football club to participate in the 'Football for Peace conference in London on November 22, it was announced on Thursday.

PKL: Gujarat register comfortable win over Haryana Steelers

Gujarat Fortunegiants ended their home leg of the Pro Kabaddi Season 6 with a comfortable 40-31 win over Haryana Steelers here on Thursday.

ISL: Bengaluru edge past Goa to maintain unbeaten run

Bengaluru FC accounted for FC Goa 2-1 in a fiery Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Struggling Arsenal needed fresh start after Wenger - Emery

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has claimed the club needed a breath of fresh air after 22 years of Arsene Wenger and that he took over a team in decline. Former PSG coach Emery has enjoyed an encouraging first few months as Wenger's successor, with Arsenal currently unbeaten in 16 matches and buoyed by impressive performances against Liverpool, Fulham and Leicester. They remain three points adrift of the Premier League's top four but Emery appears to have injected energy into a team that was stagnating under Wenger. "Nowadays it's very difficult for a coach to stay 22 years," Emery said in an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca on Thursday. "We had to rearrange the furniture, and not because of anything bad that happened previously, but to stimulate everyone again -- to shake things up, sweep under the carpets, open the windows -- in a positive way." Emery has made changes defensively, deploying a higher and more aggressive pressing game that has been adopted surprisingly quickly by

England aiming to whitewash Sri Lanka in 3rd Test

Sri Lanka has played poorly and is weakened. And it's already 2-0 down in the test series at home. England fancies its chance of administering a coup de grace in the third test from Friday at Sinhalese Sports Club. "There's only been two other sides who have won 3-0 out here in test cricket, so it would be a brilliant achievement which would fill us with a huge amount of confidence going into the rest of the winter," England skipper Joe Root said on Thursday. The two occasions Sri Lanka was swept were in 2004 by Ricky Ponting's Australia, and last year by Virat Kohli's India. Normally strong at home, Sri Lanka goes into the final test trying to patch a team together. Captain Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out by a groin strain. Chandimal was injured in Galle, where England won the first test by 211 runs, and he missed the second test at Pallekele last week, where England won by 57 runs for a first series win in Sri Lanka in 17 years. Sri Lanka was hopeful Chandimal would recover for this .

Bengaluru FC prevail over FC Goa 2-1 in ISL

Bengaluru FC accounted for FC Goa 2-1 in a fiery Hero Indian Super League encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here Thursday. Rahul Bheke opened the scoring with an improvised backheel flick in the 34th minute. Both teams were reduced to 10 men after the restart as Mohammad Ali and Dimas Delgado were sent off. Brandon Fernandes equalised for the hosts in the 72nd minute but Sunil Chhetri notched the winner for Bengaluru five minutes later. The win takes Bengaluru -- only unbeaten side in the ISL -- level on points with FC Goa at the top of the table with two games in hand over the Gaurs. Bengaluru had the first sight of goal after Chencho Gyeltshen and Udanta Singh combined well on the right flank. The Indian winger delivered a teasing ball across the face of goal, but Mohammad Nawaz punched it away from danger. At the other end, Carlos Pena's cross from the left was intercepted by Juanan at the near post but the ball fell to Hugo Boumous whose close-range shot was brilliantly ...

We have had enough of getting bashed up: Langer

Relieved at being able to break a run of recent reverses with a four-run win over India in the first T20 International, Australia coach Justin Langer said they were tired of being "bashed up". Glenn Maxwell carried on his impressive form with 46 off just 24 balls, Marcus Stoinis made 33 from 19 balls, while leg-spinner Adam Zampa (2/22 off four overs) was Man of the Match for Australia in Brisbane. "What did it (the win) do the team? I loved seeing the way we were brave. We talked about it. Aussies are great at getting to a point where (we say): 'We have had enough of this. It doesn't matter what part of our summer - we have had enough of it'," Langer was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'. "We have had enough of getting beaten, we have had enough of getting bashed up and I just loved how brave the boys were. The way they fielded, the way they batted, they were brave, they had a red-hot dip. "That's what Australians are good at, aren't we? We get to a point - we say: 'You

Gujarat Fortunegiants beat Haryana Steelers in PKL

Gujarat Fortunegiants ended their home leg of Pro Kabaddi League season 6 with a comfortable 40-31 win over Haryana Steelers here on Thursday. Sachin led the scoring charts with 10 points while defender Parvesh Bhainswal achieved another high five and scored six tackle points. Monu Goyat had an indifferent first half but ended up being the top scorer for Haryana Steelers with 10 points. Gujarat's top raider Sachin also hit the 100-point landmark in this edition of Vivo Pro Kabaddi League. Gujarat are now top of the table in Zone A with 58 points from 14 matches while Haryana are fifth in the table with 26 points from 14 matches. Mahendra Singh Rajput got Gujarat off to a flying start as he made a super raid in the first minute. Haryana Steelers composed themselves and forced a super tackle in the third minute to trail 2-5. Haryana got their first raid points in the fifth minute when Anand Tomar got a two-point raid. Gujarat inflicted the first all out of the match in the seventh ...

Mary storms into Boxing Worlds final; Lovlina bags debut bronze

Five-time world champion M.C.Mary Kom stormed into the final of the 48 kilogram light flyweight category after thrashing North Korean Kim Hyang Mi 5:0 by unanimous verdict in the AIBA Women's World Championships at the packed K.D.Jadhav Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.

Alianza Lima blows chance to catch up to Peruvian league leader Melgar

Alianza Lima played to a 1-1 tie with San Martin, blowing a chance to catch up to Peruvian Clausura tournament leader Melgar.

Spin sensation Patel plans to keep pressure on Pakistan

The man who spun New Zealand to a stunning victory in the first Test against Pakistan has vowed to keep the pressure on the home team when the two sides meet again in the second Test in Dubai on Saturday. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had a dream start to his Test career, claiming a memorable 5-59 in Abu Dhabi to help New Zealand pull off a sensational four-run win after setting Pakistan a modest 176-run target. The 30-year-old, who collected the man of the match award in Abu Dhabi, said keeping up the pressure is the key in a Test. "I think it will be pretty much the same plan, to keep the pressure for a longer period of time and keep bowling good balls in good areas," Patel told AFP. "A good ball is a good ball in Test cricket and batters respect that. Likewise they will put pressure back on us so it's a bit of a cat and mouse game, backward and forward, so we will do our best." Pakistan have been stung by the criticism of their self-destructive batting which saw them throw away their

Prajnesh extends super run, enters semifinals at Pune Challenger

In-form Prajnesh Gunneswaran dished out yet another impressive performance to make the semifinals of the KPIT-MSLTA Challenger, taming Alexander Nedovysov in straight sets, here on Thursday. Prajnesh tacked the seasoned Kazakh, who once figured in top-100 but is now 186, with ease, winning 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes at the USD 50,000 hard court tournament. Prajnesh stood out with his fluent stroke-making, specially with his free-flowing forehand which is his biggest weapon. He hit deep returns and fed the Kazkah mostly on his backhand side to open the court, looking for winners. The plan worked effectively for the Indian. It was the second meeting between Nedovysov and Prajnesh with the former winning the first match in his home city, Astana, in 2016. The first break opportunity came Nedovysov's way when a long forehand put Prajnesh down 30-40 in the sixth game. Prajnesh saved with some smart returns, ending the point with an overhead smash and served out the game with an ...

Mominul, Gabriel shine on day one of Bangladesh Test

Shannon Gabriel took four wickets in three overs after Mominul Haque slammed a century on the opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies here on Thursday. Bangladesh reached 315 for eight at stumps, thanks to Mominul's 120 off 167 balls -- his eighth Test hundred. He now shares the record with Tamim Iqbal for scoring the most Test centuries for Bangladesh. It was his fourth century this year -- only India's Virat Kohli has scored as many Test centuries in 2018 so far. Gabriel ended Mominul's record innings after the tea break to finish with 4-69 in a devastating spell that also included the prized wickets of Shakib Al Hasan (34), Mushfiqur Rahim (four) and Mahmudullah Riyad (three). Electing to bat first, Bangladesh seemed to be coasting towards a big total once Mominul brought his hundred with a six and four in successive overs before the tea break. But Gabriel struck back in the final session. He first had Mominul caught behind before successfully reviewing a ..

Zlatan says Man Utd spell made him feel 'like Benjamin Button'

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed he was told by "everyone" not to risk his reputation by playing in England but how a successful spell at Manchester United made him feel young again -- "like Benjamin Button". The 37-year-old Swedish forward made a high-profile switch to Old Trafford in July 2016 after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, initially on a one-season contract. Ibrahimovic made a major impact at Old Trafford, scoring twice to help Jose Mourinho's side win the 2017 League Cup final against Southampton before suffering a serious knee injury during the Europa League quarter-final with Anderlecht. The veteran frontman recovered and signed a contract extension but eventually left United to join Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy in March 2018. In an interview with BBC 5 Live, the much-travelled Ibrahimovic recalled the advice he had received when he was contemplating life in the Premier League. "When I went to England I was talking to different players that I knew well and ...

India have good chance in Tests against Australia, feels Whatmore

World Cup-winning former Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore Thursday subscribed to the general view that India have a good chance of winning a maiden Test series in Australia, in the absence Steve Smith and David Warner. Currently playing a three-match T20Is, India begin the four-Test series in Adelaide from December 6. "India have got a very good chance, particularly with Smith and Warner not around," the Sri Lankan-born Australian, who is here as the coach of Kerala, told reporters after a nine-wicket win over Bengal at Eden Gardens. "I agree with one or two articles that I read on the subject which said that India can be victorious in Australia this time." Having seen Bengal's Mohammed Shami from close quarters during the match, the 64-year-old said the India pacer was in good shape. "He is in good shape going to Australia. He is a good bowler. He will do okay in Australia," Whatmore who coached Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2010 and 2011 editions of the IPL said. India were optimistic ...

Milind Kumar misses world record; Manipur secure maiden win

Milind Kumar continued his sublime form with the bat to smash 133, his third successive triple-figure score, but Sikkim still failed to save follow-on against Uttarakhand in their Ranji Trophy Plate group match here on Thursday. Having struck 261 and 224 in the last two matches, the former Delhi batsman once again waged a lone battle for Sikkim. Milind had a great chance to become the only batsman in the history of first-class cricket to score three consecutive double tons but Dhanraj Sharma dismissed him 67 runs short of the world record. Overnight 49/3 in reply to Uttarakhand's 582/9 delcared, Sikkim were shot out for 264 in 96 overs with only two other batsmen -- skipper Nilesh Lamichaney (57) and Bipul Sharma (36) -- managing double digits. Following-on, Sikkim were 27/2 in the second essay staring at a big loss as they still needed 291 runs to avoid an innings defeat. In Jorhat, Manipur secured their maiden win in the Ranji Trophy with a eight-wicket victory over ...