Author: SpogoNews Team

According to a press release by New Zealand Cricket, the Canterbury Magicians survived a threat from Otago Sparks at Christchurch in another last ball finish at the Dream 11 Super Smash, whereas the Canterbury Kings ensured that both Canterbury teams would appear in this edition’s finals. Sparks displayed a clinical all round performance yet couldn’t get better off the Magicians, as they put all their experience into play to win a thriller at the Hagley Oval. Sparks needed 4 runs off the final ball, when Magicians captain Frankie Mackay striked with the last ball, Kate Ebrahim taking the catch to…

Dubai, Jan 30 (PTI) Virat Kohli remained the highest-placed Indian batsman at fourth position even as Cheteshwar Pujara rose a rung to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Saturday. Apart from Kohli (862) and Pujara (760), Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane (748) is the other Indian batsman in the top-10, hanging on to the eighth spot. Pujara moved up one place to sixth, while wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and star opener Rohit Sharma remained static on the 13th and 18th spots respectively. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson (919) continued to lead the batting charts, with the Australian duo of…

Melbourne, Jan 30 (PTI) Indian tennis star Rohan Bopanna’s search to look for a partner for the men’s doubles competition at the Australian Open ended on Saturday as he tied up with Japan’s Ben McLachlan for the season’s first Grand Slam. Bopanna had originally paired with Joao Sousa but the Portuguese contracted coronavirus virus, forcing them to pull out. Bopanna, who served a 14-day hard quarantine after arriving in Melbourne on January 16, informed that Ben and he were in the same boat. “I got lucky there. Unfortunately Ben’s partner Raven Klassen had to pull out and Ben was looking…

San Diego, Jan 30 (PTI) India's ace golfer Anirban Lahiri carded a disappointing six-over 78 in challenging conditions on the second day to miss the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open on the PGA TOUR here. Lahiri, who had posted a solid 68 on the first day, struck seven bogeys and a double against three birdies and finished the 36 holes for a total of two-over 146 to miss the cut for the second week in a row. It was a strange day going by weather conditions as rain, hail and sunshine all happened over the course of the day.…

According to a press release by Eurosport and PGA Tour, Anirban Lahiri started off great for the second week as he carded a 4-under 68 in the Opener of Farmers Insurance Open, picking up 7 birdies including all the four Par-5s of the Torrey Pines North Course. Lahiri is now at T21, 4 shots off the lead. His partner, Alex Noren and ex Masters winner Patrick Reed bagged a share of the lead in the PGA Tour with 8 – under 64 each. Trailing behind them on the North Course is Scottie Scheffler with 65, whereas seasoned Korean star K.J…

Bangkok, Jan 29 (PTI) Already out of contention for the knockouts, World champion P V Sindhu ended her campaign with a consolation win at the BWF World Tour Finals but Kidambi Srikanth had a disappointing finish after yet another close defeat, here on Friday. Sindhu, the Olympic silver medallist, notched up a 21-18 21-15 win over world number 13 Pornpawee Chochuwong in her third and final match after suffering defeats in the first two days. “Well I think it was a good finish. Actually until yesterday I still had a chance. Unfortunately the match with Tai went the other way,…

The Sudeva Delhi FC right back has consistently featured for his side with a string of solid performances and considers learning to deal with losses as important as developing a winning habit. “It isn’t the losses that define your season,” Akashdeep Singh Kahlon says, “And this is not some stereotypical advice I’m spouting. It is logical. You will lose games. Every team loses games. It is what you do after losing that matters” said the experienced fullback in a press release by Sudeva Delhi FC. The defender has plenty of experience under his belt, winning the 2017-18 season with Minerva…

Kalyani, Jan 29 (PTI) Their confidence soaring high after the resounding 4-1 victory over NEROCA in their last match, Gokulam Kerala FC will aim to continue their winning streak when they face Real Kashmir FC in a Hero I-League match here on Saturday. Vincenzo Annese’s Gokulam produced a clinical performance against NEROCA to lie fourth on the I-League table, just four points adrift of leaders Churchill Brothers. The winner on Saturday could jump to second place. Speaking at the official pre-match press conference, Annese termed Saturday’s match against Real Kashmir as a “litmus test” for his side. “We have improved…

According to a press release by New Zealand Cricket, the first Hawke Cup Challenge of 2020/2021 saw a ground delay at Rangiora as Nelson captain Brenden Hodgson elected to bat after winning the toss. Both Nelson and Canterbury Country feature strong line-ups to Mainpower Oval with Greg Hay captain of Central Stags Plunket Shield, spinner Felix Murray, allrounder Henry Shipley and Fraser Sheat set to go head to head along with Under 19 stars Rhys Mariu, Jesse Frew and brother of Black Cap Will Young, Rupert Young. At the end of last season, Rupert Young scored 166 against Otago Country…

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The “nightmare” that he endured while being confined in a Bangkok bio-bubble made ace shuttler HS Prannoy realise the importance of addressing the mental health concerns that sportspersons are facing in the post COVID-19 world. The international badminton restarted after a long COVID-19-induced break as players had to stay in a bio-bubble while competing in the Asian leg championship in Bangkok. “It was totally new (situation) for us in Thailand, it was first time we went to a bio-bubble. We didn’t know anything what was going to happen,” Prannoy said during a webinar. “For two…