(Cricket news) Australia defeat India in a nail biting contest to win 26 W-ODIs in a row. Australia have also won the series with a consolation match left to play.

India were put into bat after losing the toss and had a good start to the innings. India's tried and trusted opening pair of Smriti Mandhana and Shefali Verma scored 70 runs in 11 overs to set the tone. Things were looking good for the Indians but Sophie Molineux broke the partnership as she got rid of Shefali Verma. India lost Mithali Raj and Yastika Bhatia in quick succession. Smriti Mandhana was going strong on the other end but was dismissed by Tahlia McGrath on 86. Cameo's from Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar helped the Indians reach 274 runs.

India started their defence in the best possible fashion as they removed the 3 experienced Australian batters Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning and Ellyse Perry for just 34 runs before 10 overs. Ashleigh Gardner was dismissed soon after. Jhulan Goswami and Meghna Singh got a wicket each Pooja Vastrakar, Opener Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath got a very important partnership of 126 runs. Beth Mooney Played an invaluable innings of 125. Nicola Carey came in after Deepti Sharma dismissed McGrath and played a match winning innings of 39 off 38 balls.

Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

Australia required 13 from the last over which Jhulan Goswami was going to bowl. A couple of misfields and a beamer no ball eventually brought the equation down to 3 off 1. A full toss to Carrey was hit straight to the fielder and the Indians were celebrating. The third umpire then had a lengthy look at the ball and decided to call it a no ball. Carrey got 2 off the last ball as Australia won the match.

India were in command for the majority of the game but bottled it at the end. Indian fielding in particular was nowhere near international standard which eventually cost them the game. The two no balls in the last over also massively affected the end result. The 3rd ODI will be played on Sunday before a one off Test and a 3 match T20I series.

Mumbai, Sep 24 (Cricket News) A phone call from a hospital to former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale changed the course of Venkatesh Iyer's life even before his ability with the bat, and utility with the ball, came into the picture.

Ignored from the Ranji Trophy camp in 2019, Iyer picked up the phone and sought help from the veteran administrator, who was also a former national selector and who was also greatly impressed by the youngster's attitude and the willingness to go the extra mile.

"I have been watching him right from the U-14 tournaments. He always looked good and he used to keep wickets also when he was 12-13," Jagdale told PTI.

"But the crucial part where I can say I had some contribution was, two-three years back, he did reasonably well for MP in U-23 tournament and it must be 2019 when selectors were picking Ranji Trophy teams. So they had short-listed some 25-30 boys and Venkatesh was not in that list.

"I don't know the details, but he called me from hospital. He told me, 'sir, I am in the hospital for last 8-9 days and I have not played any cricket but, if I get a chance in selection trials, it will be good for me and I will try to do well.

"The only thing I liked is his attitude, even though he was in hospital for six-eight days, he called me," Jagdale fondly remembered.

Jagdale then requested the selectors to give Iyer a fair trial. And the rest, as they say, is history.

From once failing to make the Ranji probable to taking the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians attack to the cleansers, Iyer has come a long way.

On the 26-year-old's days of trying to stake a claim for state selection, Jagdale shared more details.

"Then I was not a selector but I spoke to the selectors, chairman was Keerti Patel, I spoke to him, I spoke to Devendra Bundela, who was the captain and somehow, I convinced that this boy has been doing well.

"I told them you should be looking for a fifth bowler also and he is a batsman-bowler, he can be there as a batsman, plus your fifth bowler in Ranji Trophy," remembered the 71-year-old Jagdale.

"So, you give him a fair trial. This is what I told them: although you have not picked him in probable, you give him two trail matches, give him an opportunity, he is out of touch, so I told them that one match will be not fair since he must not have played cricket for a long time.

"They did so on my recommendation and he must have done reasonably well and this is how he came into MP probable also," added Jagdale, one of the most respected administrators of the game.

Jagdale reiterated that he liked the attitude of Iyer and that he also worked hard on his fitness.

"He was struggling with his fitness two years back, but he worked very hard on his fitness and other areas, and he always looked confident and the best thing I liked about him was that he gave his 100 per cent whenever he played," said Jagdale.

Iyer's club coach Dinesh Sharma recalled with pride how joining his team made a difference for Iyer.

"This is 2011-12 thing, he used to play at the Khanuja club, where he used to go from his childhood, as it was near his house. So, I was with the MYCC (Maharaja Yashwatrao Cricket Club) club, from where he plays right now.

"I saw him playing when he was a kid, his mother came to me and I suggested to them that he should either play for CCI, where Jagdale Sir teaches or MYCC, he can be better, as he has the potential," Sharma recollected.

Sharma said he had thought that Iyer's height could be a problem.

"After six months, his father, his mother came to me, and then said that we want him to play for your club and he will be under you. I felt that his height could be a problem.

"So, we started working on his fitness, and he was a natural hitter and used to generate power in the shots and we worked on his batting," recalled Sharma.

According to Sharma, Iyer was "mentally strong" and he pushed his mother not to stop him from playing cricket and also narrated his journey in age-group cricket.

"There are ups and downs in cricket, when he wasn't selected his mother used to come, he was very good in academics, his mother would say 'our relatives used to say don't let him play, his life will be spoiled'.

"I motivated his mother not to go ahead, saying the day he will shine, these people would come to you," Sharma signed off.

Also Read : Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Sep 24 (Sports News) Many years ago, Leander Paes acted on a whim when he asked Mahesh Bhupathi, "Would you like to win Wimbledon?" and the tennis star says what followed was a partnership that brought many trophies for India.

This "brotherhood" between the two Indian tennis icons, who were the first doubles team from the country to win at Wimbledon in 1999, is what the two tennis legends have revisited through ZEE5's non-fiction series "Break Point".

Paes said the audience will get to see a faithful representation of their journey through the series, directed by filmmaker couple Nitesh Tiwari and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari.

"We created a brotherhood. And through ‘Break Point’, you get to see the journey of two young Indian boys and how we conquered the world of tennis, won Wimbledon and became number one in the world," Paes told PTI in an interview.

Once the poster boys for the sport in the country, nicknamed the "Indian Express", Paes and Bhupathi played together from 1994 to 2006 and reunited for their second stint from 2008 to 2011.

Besides the Wimbledon championship that they won in 1999, Paes and Bhupathi also won two French Open titles in 1999 and 2001.

Through "Break Point", Paes said he re-lived all the games that he and Bhupathi played together including the several Grand Slams and the Olympics, while also taking note of the ups and downs of their relationship, among other things.

"One of my favourite memories is when I was 16-year-old playing in Sri Lanka, and Mahesh was 15, playing at the same Asian championships. So when I saw him, I had an intuition that we could win Wimbledon together and we could be number one in the world.

"So I watched him play for about 15 minutes and when he came off the court he had a big smile on his face and I shook his hand. I said, 'I am Leander.' and he said, 'I know and I have been following you'. And then I said, 'Thank you, but would you like to win Wimbledon?'" Paes said.

He recalled that Bhupathi was taken aback by what he said and started laughing.

"He said, 'You're crazy.' I said, 'I am crazy. Would you like to win Wimbledon?' And the rest is history," added Paes, who as a singles player had famously won the bronze medal in tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

What Paes respects a lot about Bhupathi is that he believed in his dreams and worked hard for them.

"I think that what we've achieved together has created some world records as we are unbeaten in the Davis Cup in 24 matches, we played so many Olympics together.

"We've been number one in the world together. So I really respect the hard work that you put into believing in that dream." Their partnership, however, was marred by a public fallout in 2012 ahead of the London Olympics but Paes said they have put that past behind them and moved on in their lives.

He described the show as quite "real" and "raw".

"We are very true to telling the story of how we were pioneers at the time because there was no manual to teach us how to be the best in the world.

"And it also shows our mistakes, the downfalls that we had, the things that possibly we did wrong that we could have done better." Personally, for him, his win at Atlanta Olympics is a moment closer to his heart as it seemed like emulating his Olympian father Vece Paes.

The tennis star felt that one of the key reasons why they chose to narrate their own story through "Break Point" is that they wanted to share a true story.

"One of the reasons we didn't choose actors and told it directly from our own mouths and our own stories…and also we got our parents, siblings, friends and opponents that we played against, like the Bryan twins, the Woodies, Martina Hingis, Radek Stepanek, Mark Knowles.

"I'm really appreciative of all of them coming and taking part in ‘Break Point’," he said.

Praising Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Nitesh Tiwari, Paes said the directors have gone beyond the game and tapped into the human aspect.

"Through all the episodes, they take you through a journey of human emotions. They show you how champions are built, how Champions also make mistakes and that they are human also.

"They show you how winning Wimbledon on one day might make you the king of the world but the next day you are vulnerable too,” he added.

Paes is grateful to the director duo, writer Piyush Gupta and the streaming platform ZEE5 for giving them the platform to narrate their story in multiple languages.

"It's been one phenomenal journey. We proved that if you work hard and if you believe in yourself, have the courage to believe in your dreams, you can be world champions, for sure.

"With this show, we can actually reach the masses to inspire them that if these two can win Wimbledon then you can also be a champion of the world in anything you want to." "Break Point" will stream on ZEE5 on October 1. 

Also Read : Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra meets Abhinav Bindra

News Source : PTI

Sharjah, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Almost out of reckoning for a play-off berth, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to play party-poopers when they take on an equally struggling Punjab Kings in the IPL's battle of laggards here on Saturday.

Sunrisers suffered their seventh defeat on Wednesday after being blown away by Delhi Capitals and their play-off chances look less than dim as they have managed just two points after eight games.

Punjab, on the other hand, quite inexplicably found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory against Rajasthan Royals and will be desperate to find an answer to their problems after being placed seventh with six points from nine matches.

The Kings were well-placed to win their first IPL game of the UAE leg before committing harakari in the last over bowled by Kartik Tyagi. They lost two wickets and scored just one run while needing four to win against Rajasthan.

Despite being packed with excellent Indian and foreign talent, Punjab Kings have regularly messed up games and skipper KL Rahul will have to address their inconsistency.

Punjab Kings have also lacked any kind of stability over the last 14 seasons with captains and coaches being changed frequently.

Their playing XI too has gone through many changes, something which has drawn sharp criticism from former team mentor Virender Sehwag.

In batting, Rahul and Mayank Agarwal have been one of the most dominant opening duo of the IPL.

In the last game too, they put on 120 runs in 11.5 overs but none of them could stay back to finish the job.

While Chris Gayle can destroy any attack even at the age of 41, he was kept out in the last game.

In the middle-order, Nicholas Pooran, who had a horrendous outing in the first phase, looked good in the last game before he lost his bearings in the final over even as Aiden Markram was left stranded on the other side.

In bowling department, Mohammed Shami has been their prime bowler and he did well to pull things back against RR.

Young Arshdeep Singh also returned with five wickets as he and Shami bowled out RR to 185 in the last game.

However, Punjab's spinners, especially England's Adil Rashid, have disappointed and they will need to step up their game in the next few weeks.

For Sunrisers, it is all about enjoying the remaining few games and ending on a high.

With Johnny Bairstow, their season's leading run-getter, pulling out and Australian opener David Warner in poor form, SRH have found the going tough against Delhi.

The likes of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad also failed to capitalise on their starts as SRH could manage just 134 in their last game.

Their bowling has been too dependent on spin sensation Rashid Khan and it will be important for the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jason Holder to put up a strong show to give some respectability to the team's campaign.

Squads: Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid, Murugan Ashwin, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Aiden Markram, Mandeep Singh, Darsan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi BIshnoi, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Jalaj Saxena.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (Captain), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, J Suchith, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy.

March Starts: 7:30 pm.

Also Read : In the last two games, superstars have been our bowlers: Morgan

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Operating like a well-oiled unit, Delhi Capitals will be eager to consolidate their top spot when they clash with a resurgent Rajasthan Royals, who will be keen to keep the winning momentum going in the Indian Premier League here on Saturday.

The Rishabh Pant-led side had a sensational first leg, winning six games in eight outings. They started the second phase on a high by handing laggards Sunrisers Hyderabad an eight-wicket thrashing on Wednesday to maintain their top spot on the points table.

On the other hand, Rajasthan, who were struggling to find their feet in the first leg, will take a lot of confidence after snatching a two-run victory from the jaws of defeat against Punjab Kings.

With the win, they have bridged the gap on the playoff spots. A victory against Delhi will take them to the fourth.

For Rajasthan, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mahipal Lomror rose to the occasion with the bat against Punjab but skipper Sanju Samson will be expected to take more responsibility.

In the bowling department, pacers Kartik Tyagi and Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman did the job in the end.

With Punjab needing eight runs to win of the final two overs, Rahman gave away just four in penultimate over before rookie Tyagi bowled a sensational final six balls, picking up two wickets while conceding just one run to seal the side's fourth win of the season.

The former champions will look to keep the winning momentum going and bag two more points but that's easier said than done.

Come Saturday, the Royals will face a tough task against the Delhi team with openers Shikhar Dhawan, the leading run scorer of the tournament this season, and Prithvi Shaw looking in good touch.

Dhawan (422 runs) and Shaw (319 runs) have provided flying starts to their side with six half-centuries between them along with 88 fours and 21 sixes. For any bowling unit, facing the Dhawan-Shaw duo is a scary proposition.

Shreyas Iyer made a stunning return with an unbeaten 47 after missing the first leg due to injury, which is a big positive for the side.

DC also boast of a strong middle-order comprising, skipper Rishabh Pant (248 runs), Australian Steve Smith and Shimron Hetmyer, who can be highly destructive on their day.

In the bowling department, Delhi is unlikely to tinker with their pace attack, as Avesh Khan has been impressive and South African Kagiso Rabada can do the damage early while Anrich Nortje provides the express speed.

Teams (From): Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimrom Hetmyar, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Billings and Vishnu Vinod.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Liam Livingstone, Evin Lewis, David Miller, Chris Morris, Oshane Thomas, Mustafizur Rahaman, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenn Phillips, Chetan Sakariya, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, KC Cariappa, Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldip Yadav, Mahipal Lomror.

Match starts at 3:30PM IST.

Also Read : Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Rajasthan Royals' latest hero Kartik Tyagi says touring Australia as the Indian team's net bowler last year benefited him greatly, during which time he also received tips from pace ace, Jasprit Bumrah.

The pacer defended four runs in the final over to guide his side to a famous win over Punjab Kings in the IPL on Tuesday.

"When I went to Australia, I learnt a lot. Lot of players were injured and a youngster can also win the tournament and I also want to win matches for India," said Tyagi.

Mumbai Indians pacer Bumrah had lavished praise on Tyagi after his last-over heroics against Punjab.

"When I went to Australia, I didn't go to Jasprit bhaiya because I was nervous but he came to me and discussed many things with me and it was a big moment," he said.

"Personally when I saw that he had tweeted about me, I felt very happy because he is among the world's best bowlers and he is my hero and he has tweeted about me." In the last over against Punjab, the pacer said he looked to bowl six yorkers. He ended up taking two wickets while conceding just one run to seal a two-run win for RR.

"When Mustafizur Rahman was bowling, it didn't seem that the match will go till the last over because a left-hander was batting and left-arm fast bowler was bowling and it was a shorter end," Tyagi said during a virtual press conference on Friday.

"But as he gave just four runs the match reached last over, there was little pressure and excitement too, but I didn't think I will be able to defend the score.

"When I had bowled three balls, I started having the belief that probably it is possible and then when in the last ball it happened, I felt very happy." Tyagi said he didn't feel any pressure when he was asked to bowl the final over.

"When I was in the run-up, Sanju bhaiya (Sanju Samson), Chris Morris, they asked me what was my plans and also discussed their plans. They supported a lot," he said.

"I didn't feel any pressure because four was needed in six balls. I would have been in more pressure if I needed to defend 10 runs in six balls because people will naturally think that we have lost the match because it is possible to score 4 runs in six balls.

"I too felt that it will be chased in 3-4 balls because even if they take four singles it will be over but once I bowled three balls, everybody started believing that the match can turn now and I was clear that I need to bowl six yorkers in six balls." Asked about his ambition as a player, Tyagi said: "I know that I can swing the ball both ways and I can also bowl fast. I have a dream to be the best so I think I should always help the team in every situation and do well in future.

"If I am asked to bowl with the new ball, I can swing it and also bowl fast in the middle overs because I consider them my strengths and as I grow in age, I will also gather more experience, so I would look to help RR." Rajasthan will take on table-toppers Delhi Capitals on Saturday and Tyagi said he is just focussing on the process.

"Not only Delhi capitals, all the teams are good. So I am not planning against any particular team, I am just following the process. Like even in last over, I had to bowl just six balls, so I just want to follow the process," he said.

Also Read : Nortje praises Pant's game sense, says, he can project what's going to happen next

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 24 (Football News) Veteran India midfielder Sanju Pradhan is currently busy preparing for the challenges that lie ahead in the I-League Qualifiers with his new club FC Bengaluru United.

However, till he had joined his teammates for their pre-season routines, the 32-year-old was busy giving back to society.

Active footballers do not get to spend a great deal of time at home, and when Sanju was afforded such an opportunity, he used the time to help out the people in need in his native village of Daramdin in Sikkim.

Sanju, who has represented India as well on the international level, has opened his own football academy in Sikkim, through which he attempts to do his social work.

"I myself am from a no-so-affluent background, so I understand when people come to me and ask for help," Sanju told i-league.org.

During normal situations, Sanju and the band of aspiring footballers who train in his academy send relief rations to the forces that are stationed near the area. However, it has been different ever since the pandemic struck.

"Normally we send such relief rations to the forces, like SSB, BSF, and Police. They have to work in harsh conditions, and we always try to help them out. But this time, during the pandemic, many people lost their jobs, or have not been able to get the basic necessities," said Sanju.

"We have had so many requests that we decided to help out anyone who needed aid." "The Pandemic has affected so many people across so many towns and villages. People in the rural areas have been affected even more, especially the daily wage workers," he continued.

"But what is so good to see is that its not just the academy kids who have come out to help this time. The people of our locality have also come out to help one and all, and that is heartening to see.

"We send relief rations to people that are in need. It is basic stuff like rice, dal, oil, sugar, salt – just the essential, but if that helps people in any way, we are happy." While Sanju Pradhan is with his club FC Bengaluru United, playing in the Durand Cup, before travelling to Bengaluru for the I-League Qualifiers, the work in his hometown continues.

"It's very important for me to be able to help, especially since I am also from a family of poor farmers. Football has given me a lot of things in life, and I feel that it is also important to give back to society.

"It's as big an achievement for me as winning any tournament," he said.

Also Read : Former Real Madrid Coach Ángel Garcia Becomes SC East Bengal assistant coach

News Source : PTI

Vadodara, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Former Australian cricketer and World Cup-winning coach Dav Whatmore has joined the Baroda team as its head coach for the upcoming domestic season.

The development was confirmed to PTI by Baroda Cricket Association secretary Ajit Lele on Friday.

"He (Whatmore) joined the day before yesterday as the head coach and he will guide other coaches also, other age groups," Lele said.

The 67-year-old Whatmore has got years of experience in top-flight cricket and was coach of the Sri Lankan team that won the World Cup in 1996.

He then went on to coach various teams and in the Indian domestic circuit, he has had Kerala under his tutelage.

His last assignment was with Nepal.

The BCCI has already announced the domestic schedule for the 2021-22 season and this time the Ranji Trophy will also be played after it had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic last season.

Also Read : Women's ODI: Mandhana's 86 steers India to 274/7 against Australia

News Source : PTI

Kolkata, Sep 24 (Football News) Former Real Madrid coach Angel Puebla Garcia has been appointed as the deputy to SC East Bengal head coach Manuel 'Manolo' Diaz, the club announced on Friday.

He will also be fulfilling the responsibilities of a strength and fitness coach.

With close to two decades of coaching experience, Garcia has worked with the likes of Vicente del Bosque at Real Madrid between 1993-94 and Rafa Benitez in Real Madrid and Real Valladolid between 1994-1996 as both football conditioning and assistant coach.

A UEFA Pro License holder who has also cut his teeth in sports science, fitness and conditioning with multiple degrees to show for, Garcia has worked closely with players of the ilk of David Villa and David Silva also working with the Georgia national team in 2008.

"I am happy to be part of such a big club like SC East Bengal. I have worked in some of the finest football clubs and with some of the best coaches. I know what it takes to bring the winning mentality and that is what we will try to do here," Garcia said.

"I am looking forward for the challenge ahead and I can't wait to get started," he added.

Garcia was the chief executive of Real Valladolid's academy and Kimberley College Football Academy in Brisbane (Australia). Having worked in four continents, Garcia was last attached to Newell's Old Boys in Argentina, where he was the assistant coach to Germán Burgos.

Garcia has worked with players like Raúl, Fernando Morientes, Emilio Butragueño, Rafael Martín Vázquez, Iván Zamorano and Maxi Rodríguez besides also training Spanish world champions Villa, Silva, Álvaro Arbeloa, Carlos Marchena and Raúl Albiol.

He has worked with Al Wasl in Dubai, also plying his trade with Evergrande Football School in China. Garcia was assistant coach to Héctor Cúper in Turkey as well for FC Orduspor. He worked with Cúper at Racing de Santander before that also being part of his team at Greek club Aris FC.

Meanwhile, former Indian football star Renedy Singh will continue to remain assistant coach of SC East Bengal and will be part of Diaz's backroom staff.

Former India captain Renedy was part of Robbie Fowler's coaching team as well in SC East Bengal debut season in the Indian Super League.

Also Read : Mumbai City secure loan move for Brazilian striker Catatau

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 24 (Cricket News) He might have played just one match under Rishabh Pant's leadership as of now but South African speedster Anrich Nortje is impressed by Delhi Capitals' skipper's match reading skills and ability to project what's there in the offing.

Nortje, world's fastest bowler missed out on the first phase of IPL due to an injury.

The match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he got 2/12, was the first game that he played under Pant's captaincy.

"It's difficult to say just after one game. But all in all, he is good in understanding the game from what I have seen. He is a keeper as well and sees things differently," Nortje said ahead of Capitals' game against Rajasthan Royals.

"He has got a good eye of what's going to happen in the game, and that's really nice having that especially as a captain.

"The simple things like being good with angles and where fielders need to be placed, projecting what's going to happen, really nice having him at the back," Nortje said of his new skipper having played under Shreyas Iyer last time.

Without an iota of doubt, Nortje is currently the fastest bowler in world cricket and has bowled the top eight fastest deliveries of the IPL which includes a lot of 150 plus thunderbolts.

The highest recorded speed this IPL has been 151.71 kmph.

"I don't think about bowling speeds on the field but I do think about it when I am doing my strength training. High speed is not something I search for on the field. I just try to hit the right lengths while bowling during a game." Having Kagiso Rabada as a new ball partner has also helped him as their relation has become stronger over the years.

"KG learnt quite a lot. We are quite comfortable with each other and our relation has grown as we get along well.

"We chat simple stuff, like getting on top of off-stump, cliches, just about finding how to do it, knowing what you say to each other, building on it. How he bowls in certain situations in certain wickets," Nortje cited the advantages of having Rabada in his corner.

When asked about his experience of working with head coach Ricky Ponting, Nortje said, "I love his chats and he breaks things down very nicely and makes everything easy to understand." "He's quite clear on what he wants. I am trying to learn as much as possible from him. We enjoy working with him and hopefully, we can grow as a unit with him." Asked if he has shared some tricks of the trade with young fast bowler Avesh Khan, the Proteas speedster was waxed eloquent about the Indian's yorkers.

"Some of us have been looking at how Avesh is landing his yorkers and how he has been going about things. He has been so good for us.

"It was especially nice to see him land his yorkers in the first half of the season in India. It's been so nice to see him progress as a bowler."

Also read : I respect team's decision to let Pant stay as captain: Iyer

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Uncapped medium pacer Umran Malik was on Friday named as a short-term COVID-19 replacement for T Natarajan in the Sunrisers Hyderabad squad for the ongoing Indian Premier League.

Natarajan had tested positive for COVID-19 before the team's fixture against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.

"Sunrisers Hyderabad have brought in medium pacer Umran Malik as a short-term COVID-19 replacement for T Natarajan for their VIVO Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign," an IPL release stated.

The 21-year-old Malik has played one T20 and List A match for Jammu Kashmir and has picked a total of four wickets. He is already part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad as a net bowler.

"Under the Regulation 6.1 (c), franchises are allowed to sign a short-term replacement player until the original squad member is permitted to re-enter the team's bio-secure environment." "Hence, Malik will only be a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad side until Natarajan recovers and is allowed to join the team," the release added.

The left-arm pacer is currently under isolation for 10 days and will have to test negative twice before being allowed back into the bubble.

The 30-year-old Natarajan has 20 IPL wickets from 24 matches.

Also Read : SRH's India player T Natarajan tests positive, match against DC to go ahead as scheduled

News Source : PTI

Jamshedpur, Sep 24 (Football News) The Indian women's football team will play multiple international friendlies, starting next week in the UAE, as part of its preparation for the 2022 AFC Asian Cup at home.

According to the itinerary unveiled by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the women's team, which has been training in a camp in Jamshedpur for around a month, will play two friendlies against the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia. The team will leave for the UAE on September 30.

The Indian Women's Team will then travel to Bahrain to play two more friendlies against Bahrain and Chinese Taipei.

That is likely to be followed by a brief stint in Sweden, where they are set to face two Damallsvenskan league teams, subject to permission to Indian citizens arriving in Sweden from relevant authorities.

"Besides the four matches against UAE, Tunisia, Chinese Taipei and Bahrain, we also have two confirmed matches against two Swedish premier league teams," Head Coach Thomas Dennerby said in a release issued by AIFF.

"We are in the process of sorting out the travel protocol to the country as entry of Indian citizens to Sweden is still not open yet.

"I appreciate the efforts of the AIFF in finding us teams willing to play matches against us under such circumstances." Dennerby said the quarantine rules in different countries in wake of COVID-19 has left India with very few options.

"We have been training in Jamshedpur for a month, in our quest to prepare for the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2020 (January-February)," he said.

"Unfortunately, the current pandemic situation is tough and the reality is that there are different quarantine restrictions in different countries which kills many options for the Indian teams as entry for Indians in some countries is either still not yet open, or involves a major quarantine period." Dennerby has already spoken about the importance of playing quality matches to get the girls match fit ahead of the big tournament, and he believes that the friendlies in UAE and Bahrain will help the team assess itself.

"The matches in UAE and Bahrain will allow us to judge ourselves where we stand against some good competitive opponents. Teams need to build up their defence, and also the build-up process, and all of that is judged in an international match," the coach said.

The Indian women's team, as part of their preparation for the AFC Asian Cup, will be based out of Jamshedpur, training in facilities provided by the Jharkhand Government.

"It's difficult to arrange such things during a pandemic, and it has been very helpful to have the facilities to train in Jamshedpur. The Jharkhand Government has left no stone unturned in providing us with the necessary facilities, and we are all thankful for that," he said.

"I hope with the correct mixture of training and friendlies against quality opponents, we can be more than ready for the Asian Cup."

Also Read : Kochi to host women's international tournament in December ahead of AFC Asian Cup next year

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Virat Kohli’s side will be looking to get back to winning ways after a very disappointing loss to KKR in their first game back. With five wins from eight matches, Kohli's team still look in a good position to qualify. On the other hand, Chennai Super Kings will be looking to reclaim the top spot and virtually put one foot in the playoffs.

CSK will again be looking at their openers to give them a good start to the game so that the middle order batsman can play with a freedom. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the man to watch out as he made 88* against a good Mumbai bowling attack on a tricky pitch, with the match being played at Sharjah we can expect some big hitting from him. While Curran may be available for selection, CSK just might persist with Dwayne Bravo for his experience as he offers a better death bowling pedigree. Ambati Rayudu suffered a bad bruising on his elbow the previous match, it remains to be seen if he plays or not. Jadeja’s matchup against Maxwell might be an intriguing watch as he has dismissed him 5 times in 36 balls in the IPL.

RCB might just be interested in playing Navdeep Saini but it could be a gamble especially when we have seen that a little extra pace is helping the batsman in these conditions. Virat and RCB management will look to strengthen their middle order as too much dependence is on the top four. Tim David might get picked instead of Hasaranga as his explosive batting style along with playing in the same venue not long ago and also short boundaries might just help him get selected. The strike rate of Suresh Raina this IPL against pacers has been 91, something Virat will look to exploit with Kyle Jamesion and Siraj.

Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

Head to head: CSK 17- 9 RCB, Chennai have won the 9 out of 11 encounters also, the last time they played together CSK won comfortably by 69 runs as it was a Ravindra Jadeja show, he scored 62* off 28 and took 3-13 with the ball.

Pitch and Weather report: Sharjah Cricket Stadium is usually a batters paradise, with the pitches mostly being flat and with short boundaries we can expect few runs to be scored. The bowlers need to be inch perfect to get their desired result. The temperature is going to hover around 35 degrees with no chance of rain at all.

Interesting facts:

• Harshal Patel has dismissed Faf du Plessis twice in 13 balls and has dismissed Rayudu four times in 36 balls.
• MS Dhoni has scored 824 runs against RCB, which is most against a single franchise
• Virat has scored 151 runs off 98 delivers against Dwayne Bravo without being dismissed
• Virat is 66 runs off making 10,000 runs in T20
• Sharjah has 56 T20s out of which 36 have been won by the team batting second.

Probable XI for CSK:

Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c&wk), Dwayne Bravo/Sam Curran, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Josh Hazlewood

Probable XI for RCB:

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Tim David/Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini

Mumbai, Sep 24 (Football News) Reigning Indian Super League (ISL) champions Mumbai City FC have signed forward Ygor Catatau on a season-long loan from Brazilian side Madureira Esporte Clube.

The Brazilian striker started his professional career with Madureira before making the jump to the first team in 2015 and was loaned out to clubs like Barra da Tijuca and Boa Esporte in his initial years.

Catatau then signed on a one-season loan deal with CR Vasco da Gama, where he featured in the Brasileiro Série A and Copa do Brasil during the 2020/21 season.

Earlier in March 2021, the 26-year-old player was loaned to Série B side EC Vitoria, where he made 27 appearances for the club and scored three goals, including one assist to his name.

Catatau's move to Mumbai City FC will be his first experience playing outside of his native Brazil, stated a media statement issued by the club on Friday.

Ygor Catatau, on his part said, "Joining Mumbai City and coming to the ISL is a new challenge for me in my career and I'm extremely excited about it." "For all of us at the club, we want to deliver in what I'm aware is going to be an important season for us," he added.

Also Read : Odisha FC reveal home kit for the new Indian Super League season

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 24 (Boxing News) Tell Shiva Thapa that he is the most seasoned boxer in the Indian squad for next month's world championships and the newly-crowned national gold-medallist takes a pause to reflect before trying to downplay that description.

At 27, he is a five-time Asian medallist and would be competing in his third world championship in Belgrade, Serbia from October 24. Adding to his credit is the fact that Thapa is among just the six male boxers from India who have a medal at amateur boxing's biggest showpiece after the Olympics.

"Being the most experienced means more responsibility. I would like to look at it this way. My job would be to ensure there is a good vibe in the squad, keep the fire ignited going forward," the light welterweight (63.5kg) boxer, the only Indian male with that many Asian medals, told PTI in an interview.

The two-time Olympian has been rebuilding after falling off the radar for a while. He couldn't make the cut for Tokyo Olympics as his rival in the weight category, Manish Kaushik, claimed the slot in the very first qualifier.

But never the one to look back or rue missed opportunities, the former youth Olympics silver-winner made a statement with his fifth Asian championship medal in May earlier this year.

Now with the national title under his belt in Bellary on Tuesday, Thapa is eager to become the first Indian male boxer to grab a second world championship medal come October.

"This was the most intense national championship that I have been a part of. Perhaps because the gold-winners were to be picked for the world championship. But seriously, I could not take it easy against even one guy," he said.

Despite the stiff challenge, he did manage to score one Knockout win during the tournament.

"The challenge coming to Bellary was my preparation. It wasn't particularly great. I was training at home but it is not the same as being in a camp. So, I called up my good friend (and fellow boxer) Kavinder (Bisht), who is with the Air Force and he invited me to join him in Bengaluru for training at their camp," he said.

"I landed here a few days before the Nationals and those 3-4 days were very helpful in getting me ready," he elaborated.

His world championship experience has been bitter-sweet. Thapa won a medal in 2015 but in 2017, when the event was held in Hamburg, a stomach ailment forced him to withdraw without competing.

As has been his approach, the soft-spoken Assamese prefers to look ahead instead of reflecting on the time that has slipped out of his grip.

"We have a really good team. And I believe all of us are going to do well. It is my third world championship and it would be memorable if I win a medal," he said.

The performance would be crucial because Indian men's boxing needs to recover from an underwhelming Olympics, where only one of the five in fray made it past the preliminary round.

"It's easy to sit outside and judge. Nobody likes to lose. They all prepared and they gave their best. There are factors which are beyond everyone, it is a contact sport, never forget that," said Thapa, trying to make sense of the campaign which is being reviewed at present by the national federation.

"Hopefully, the world championship will go well for us. I am really looking forward to it," he added.

Aside from being a trial for the worlds, the national championship this year brought back the head guards to ensure that cuts and bruises could be kept low. Thapa said it was a good move.

"I have competed both with and without head guards. I would say, having head guards is good for something like the Nationals where you are competing everyday because it certainly minimises the risk of cuts," he said.

"At something like the world championships where there is gap between bouts, it is fine without head guards," he explained.

The preparations for the world event will get underway in the next few days but before that, there is another competition for which Thapa has to be ready, albeit in front of a computer at Sivasagar, more than 300km from his base in Guwahati on Sunday.

"I have to appear for an exam to gain promotion in ONGC, where I am employed. I will become an officer once I do that. The exam is on September 26, I have the course material with me, so I don't have too much breathing space right now.

"Lot of running around because I have to go to Sivasagar (ONGC office) from Guwahati, where I live. But I am not complaining, it is always better to be on the move than being stagnant," he laughed.

Also Read : Shiva, Sanjeet, Deepak, Rohit win gold in Men's Boxing Nationals; book spots for Worlds

News Source : PTI

Mackay (Australia), Sep 24 (Cricket News) Opener Smriti Mandhana hit a patient 86 to guide India to a competitive 274 for 7 against Australia in the second women’s ODI of the three-match series here on Friday.

Mandhana hit 11 boundaries to register her 19th half-century after the visitors were sent in to bat. She shared two crucial partnerships -- 76 runs with Richa Ghosh (44) and 74 runs with Shafali Verma (22) -- to help India set up a good total.

It is the highest total scored against Australia since their 25-match winning streak started in 2018.

India were off to a flying start with Mandhana and Shafali (22) racing to 68/0 in the first 10 overs, their best in the 10 ODIs they have played this year.

But the threatening opening stand was soon broken by spinner Sophie Molineux in the 12th over as she dismissed the latter.

A mix up then led to skipper Mithali Raj’s (8) run out followed by Yastika Bhatia’s (3) departure as the hosts made a strong comeback.

Mandhana and Ghosh then steadied the ship, keeping the scoreboard ticking but the opener sliced it straight to point which marked the end of her innings.

Pooja Vastrakar (29) and Jhulan Goswami (28 not out) added 53 runs to help India breach the 250-run mark.

Tahlia McGrath (3/45) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia with Molineux (2/28) picking two wickets.

India bowlers, who were pedestrian in the series opener, will need to do a much better job to stop Australia.

Brief Scores: India 274 for 7 in 50 overs (Smriti Mandhana 86, Richa Ghosh 44; Tahlia McGrath (3/45), Sophie Molineux (2/28), Darcie Brown (1/63) 

Also Read : Women's ODI: Australia win toss, put India in to bat

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) A superb century by Heather Knight guided her team to a successful record chase against New Zealand in the fourth Royal London International and a series win. New Zealand women scored 244-8, a target that was achieved only through Knight’s contributions as England won by three wickets and finished 245-7. With this result, England women won the series 3-1 with the final game yet to be played in Canterbury on Sunday.

Royal London Series

Thursday September 16: 1st match of the Royal London Series, Royal London X Ace One Day International. England v New Zealand (Bristol County Ground). England won by 30 runs.

Sunday September 19: 2nd match of the Royal London Series. England v New Zealand (New Road, Worcester). England won by 13 runs (DLS).

Tuesday September 21: 3rd match of the Royal London Series. England v New Zealand (The Uptonsteel County Ground, Leicester). New Zealand won by three wickets.

Thursday September 23: 4th match of the Royal London Series. England v New Zealand (The Incora County Ground, Derby). England won by three wickets.

Sunday September 26: 5th match of the Royal London Series. England v New Zealand (The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury)

Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders defeat Mumbai Indians for the first time since 2019 to enter the top 4

New Delhi, Sept 24 (Hockey News) He played a pivotal role in India's historic hockey bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and midfielder Simranjeet Singh's next aim is to further hone his skills to become a regular feature in the team for the upcoming events, including next year's Asian Games.

Singh had scored twice as the Indian men's team defeated Germany 5-4 in the thrilling bronze-medal play-off at Tokyo.

"I feel very fortunate, honestly. It was a great experience I had in Tokyo and my aim was to execute the role I was given to perfection," he said in a release issued by Hockey India (HI) on Friday.

"Now, I am waiting to return to the camp and analyse our performance in detail and understand the areas I can further work on and improve." Singh was part of the India Colts team that lifted the FIH Junior Men's World Cup in Lucknow back in 2016.

"That victory in Lucknow truly changed our lives for good. It really was the stepping stone for many of us and the journey so far has been fantastic," he said.

"From here on, my aim is only to get better and be part of India's upcoming campaigns at the FIH Hockey Pro League, Asian Games and so on. There is still a lot that I feel I can improve upon." With the FIH Men's Junior World Cup scheduled to be held in India starting November 24, Singh is excited that the best talents from across the world will get to experience the facilities in Bhubaneswar.

"It is great that the best junior players from across the globe will get to experience the world-class facilities in Bhubaneswar.

"We have played in many venues across the world but playing in Odisha is always special because of the facilities there, the Odisha State Government's hospitality and the fans.

"I am really happy that hockey festivities are returning to India after nearly two years of no action in the country due to COVID-19. I hope all the players enjoy the tournament and wish them good luck," Singh signed off.

Also Read : Odisha to host Hockey Junior World Cup in Nov-Dec: CM

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Odisha FC have revealed their new home kit that will be worn by their players at the upcoming Hero Indian Super League season. The kit is dedicated to the states rich handloom tradition with Sambalpuri, specifically Pasapali, designs on it. The club will retain its colours of black and purple just like the previous season.

The design of Odisha FC’s kit is inspired by the famous Sambalpuri saree which is a handloom saree woven in the western part of the state. The decision to implement this design is to spread Odisha’s culture and tradition across the globe.

A few days ago, Odisha FC also launched their second and third kits. The away kit represents the traditional warriors of Odisha while the Paikas and the 'Sunrise' colour symbolize #ANewDawn inspired by the rising sun. The third kit represents Odisha’s massive coastline, magnificent beaches and the waves of Puri beach.

Also read: Indian Super League side Kerala Blasters FC to return to Kochi for pre-season training

(Football news) Following the Durand Cup participation, Kerala Blasters players will enjoy a well earned break before returning to Kochi on 26th September for pre-season training ahead of the new Indian Super League season. Except Alvaro Vazquez, all foreign players have already joined the squad in Kolkata and the team will spend three weeks in Kochi after which they will travel to Goa mid-October to play two friendlies.

Abdul Hakku is expected to rejoin the team after enduring a minor knock in the first Durand match while Nishu Kumar will also join the squad in the first week of October after undergoing treatment for the last eight weeks. Kumar will complete the final leg of his rehabilitation with the squad.

“We are very happy to get back to Kochi after Kolkata. It would be great to get back to where we can have our training program under control. We will be working the next 15-20 days in Kochi with some friendly games. We are happy that the new players have arrived and that we can start to integrate them within the group. Hope to have all of our players under one roof soon and prepare further for the upcoming efforts before going to Goa.” says Ivan Vukomanović, Head Coach, Kerala Blasters FC.

Also read: Chennaiyin FC and DafaNews renew their partnership for third consecutive year

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is "close to playing" but Mumbai Indians won't rush him back as the franchise is also keeping in mind the needs of the Indian team while managing his workload, MI bowling coach Shane Bond said.

Pandya, who has hardly bowled ever since returning to action after a back surgery last year, missed his second successive IPL game in the UAE leg but Bond asserted that the Baroda player was training well and hopefully will make a mark in the business end of the tournament.

"Look, Hardik is training well, like Rohit. He is getting closer to playing. We are obviously balancing the needs of our team with the needs of Team India as well," Bond said at the post-match press conference when asked about Hardik's status.

Mumbai Indians suffered a seven-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday in their IPL game. It was after their 20-run loss to Chennai Super Kings in the first game after resumption.

"The one thing that this franchise does very well is look after its players with an eye on not only to try and win this competition but also on the T20 World Cup that's following on," said the former New Zealand speedster.

"We are hopeful that Hardik will be back for the next match. As I said, he has trained today and trained pretty well by all counts." Mumbai head coach Mahela Jayawardene had earlier said that Hardik was kept out of the IPL game against Chennai Super Kings as a precautionary measure as he had a little niggle.

Bond backed the team management's decision to not play Hardik in the first two matches.

"We are obviously desperate to put him back out on the field. But like anything you have to balance everything up, you have to also consider what the player wants," he said.

"There's also no point rushing him back to get injured to miss the rest of the tournament when we may have a chance to win it.

"I think we are doing the right thing and hopeful (that) we will get him back shortly and he'll have an impact on the back-end of the tournament and get us into the playoffs and hopefully win the tournament from there." On Thursday, Mumbai Indians were restricted to sub-par 155 and Bond said that the defending champions were well short of the score.

"I think it was a 175-180 kind of wicket and we were well short of the score. And KKR bowled beautifully, bowled disciplined and then came out and really put us under pressure with the bat and dominated the game and they really deserved to win," said the 46-year-old.

Bond conceded that his team was completely outplayed by the Eoin Morgan-led KKR.

"Today, they played well. You have to give them credit. They were positive, put us under pressure. We bowled some balls that by our standards weren't good enough," he said.

"You can say that they put pressure on us and we weren’t good enough to respond. Look, we have won four of the last six tournaments on the back of some brilliant bowling performances.

"We will improve, I am sure, over the next coming outings. I am not concerned about that. We were just outplayed today but expect a lot better from us in our next game." 

Also Read : RCB seek return to winning ways against resilient CSK

News Source : PTI

Yankton (USA), Sep 24 (Archery News) The Indian compound archery trio of Ankita Bhakat, Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam kept medal hopes alive in the individual competition by advancing to the quarterfinals of their events in the World Championships here.

India have already confirmed two medals by entering the compound women and mixed finals slated in the early hours of Saturday.

In the individual event, Ankita produced the biggest upset on Thursday when the 23-year-old Kolkata archer held her nerves to eliminate Korean world number four Kang Chae-Young, a team Olympic gold-medallist at the recently-concluded Tokyo Games.

Ankita dropped just one set to defeat the Korean heavyweight 6-4 (29-28, 28-28, 27-27, 24-29, 29-28) and set up a quarterfinal clash with Casey Kaufhold of the USA later in the day.

Ankita started off in spectacular fashion, shooting two 10s en route to 29 out of 30, mounting early pressure on the reigning Olympic team champion.

Thereafter, both the archers had a neck and neck battle tying two sets as Ankita held on to a slender 4-2 lead.

The Indian was wayward in the fourth set shooting in the red ring thrice (8, 8, 8) while Chae-Young was at her best (X, 10, 9) to bring the match on an even keel.

Locked 4-4, Ankita showed fine composure to fire in two 10s to clinch the issue.

Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam also advanced into their respective last-eight rounds.

Reigning World Cup gold-medallist Verma had two perfect rounds as he beat Jozef Bosansky of Slovakia 145-142 (29-28, 30-27, 28-29, 30-29, 28-29).

The former Asian Games team champion Verma will face American world number one Mike Schloesser later in the day.

Jyothi also capped a memorable outing showing the door to Chaewon So of Korea 146-142 (30-29, 29-29, 28-30, 29-29, 26-29).

Trailing 59-58 after first two series, Jyothi drilled in five perfect 10s in a row that included one X (arrow closest to the centre) to claim a 117-116 lead going into the final set of arrows.

The Korean buckled under pressure and shot an 8 as Jyothi clinched the issue with two 10s including one X.

Jyothi will face Croatian Amanda Mlinaric, the reigning under-21 world champion, later in the day.

Also Read : Archery WC: Indian women's compound team in final, men lose in quarters

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) KKR defeated MI for only the 7th time in IPL history. This allowed KKR to overtake MI in the points table to enter the top 4. Eoin Morgan won the toss and put MI into bat. Mumbai had a brilliant start with Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock firing on all cylinders. Prasidh Krishna and Sunil Narine got rid of the openers and the wickets started tumbling. Lockie Ferguson bowled a brilliant last over to restrict MI to 155. Apart from the openers, Kieron Pollard was the only batsman that looked good before he was run out. 

KKR chased the target of 156 in just over 15 overs. Venkatesh Iyer continued his great form as he scored 53 of just 30 balls. Rahul Tripathi anchored the chase scoring 74 off 42 deliveries. Jasprit Bumrah's 3 wickets went in vain as every MI bowler including him leaked way too many runs. It was not Mumbai's day as luck massively favoured KKR. Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar were uncharacteristically smacked all over the park.

Kolkata have started the 2nd phase in grand fashion and look very likely to make it to the playoffs. Their next game is against Chennai Super Kings on 26th September. Things are not looking good for Mumbai with two very lackluster performances. Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan have failed to make an impact in these two games. MI needs them back in form in order to qualify for the playoffs. Hardik Pandya's absence is clearly felt and the sooner he gets fit the better it will be for Mumbai Indians. Their next game is against RCB on 26th September.

Also read: RCB seek return to winning ways against resilient CSK

Mackay, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Australia won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the second women's ODI here on Friday.

For India, who trail 0-1, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad came in for Sneh Rana.

Australia are missing vice-captain Rachael Haynes due to injury and Nicola Carey has taken her place.

Teams: India: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (c), Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav.

Australia: Beth Mooney, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Nicola Carey, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Hannah Darlington, Darcie Brown.

Also Read : Batting coach promises different approach in second ODI, backs Mandhana to overcome poor form

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 24 (Basketball News) Basketball player Satnam Singh Bhamara, who became the first Indian to be drafted into an NBA team before being banned or doping, has decided to try his hand at wrestling by sealing a deal with a professional league in the USA.

The 25-year-old Singh, who created history when he was picked in the NBA draft by Dallas Mavericks in 2015, will begin his training to be a pro wrestler at the Atlanta-based Nightmare Factory, to compete in the All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

Singh follows in the footsteps of NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, who squared off alongside Jade Cargill in a mixed tag team match against Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet on "AEW: Dynamite" in March.

"While we've recently secured some of the hottest free agents on the planet, I’m also deeply committed to cultivating our own homegrown stars and the next generation of extraordinary professional wrestlers," Tony Khan, CEO, GM and Head of Creative of AEW, said in a media release.

"In addition to Satnam's commanding 7'3" stature, I was impressed with his high level of athleticism and charisma. He's an exciting addition to our roster, and I'm looking forward to our fans getting to know Satnam's personality and watching his development." Singh is currently serving a two-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) disciplinary panel for failing a dope test in 2019.

His suspension is due to end on November 19.

Also Read : Los Angeles Lakers vs Brooklyn Nets: The battle between two superteams

News Source : PTI

(Esports news) They say age is just a number and you’re never too old to pursue your dreams, which is exactly what the eight person team of Matagi Snipers believe in, being Japan’s first esports professional team consisting entirely of elderly citizens. For a profession largely associated with younger participants and audiences, the Matagi Snipers have players ranging from the age of 66 to 73 and their presence in the industry is doing wonders to make the sport more inclusive to all.

Based in Akita Prefecture, the Matagi Snipers consist of eight players plus two additional spots for ‘juniors’ aged 65 or younger. Named after the local “matagi” hunting group, the team focuses primarily on shooting games and sets their sights high to make a mark in the esports industry. In a press conference, 72 year old Mr. Kita of Matagi Snipers said “I'm doing my best and having fun every day. I'll try hard to become the very best as a professional player.” The team has also kept gender balance in mind and currently have three female players in their team who will participate in events and tournaments representing the Matagi Snipers from April next year.

The establishment of the team was to highlight the benefits of esports in senior citizens with a secondary aim for them to impress their grandkids. The selection process was surprisingly challenging as aspiring team members were tested for their gaming aptitude and only eight made the cut out of the twenty one people who applied. The concept of elderly people playing esports might be the first of its kind in Japan but back in 2017, a Counter-Strike team known as Silver Snipers which was sponsored by Lenovo consisted of players over the age of 60.

Japan has taken steps to make the esports industry more inclusive to all and launched an esports facility last year for senior citizens called ISR Esports in Kobe. The aim of this facility has been to introduce esports to complete beginners and one such individual, an 88 year old who has been visiting the facility since last year admitted that they have played a big part in him enjoying games that he previously did not. In an interview with Japan’s ABC TV, he said “That’s because there are lots of different types.”

The concept of senior citizens being involved in esports is breathing new life in the second chapter of many of their lives. Gaming has been a preventative measure against cognitive impairment, hand and eye coordination combined with discussing strategy with teammates is helping many elderly individuals keep their mind sharp and active, which is not only beneficial in the esports domain but also daily life. The Matagi Snipers practice three times a week, which by professional esports standards is admittedly not a lot but there are also limitations that come with age. They plan to start streaming content on Youtube and Twitch from October and their popularity might make esports for the elderly a mainstream prospect. For many young esports players, the possibility of having no retirement age for their careers might be a relief and they should actively promote the idea of more esports teams and leagues for the elderly.

Also read: World Esports League 2021 to start India Qualifiers from September 29th 

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan has hailed his bowlers as "superstars" of the team, saying their "outstanding" performance in the last two IPL games has allowed the openers to play with freedom.

KKR bowlers had bundled out Royal Challengers Bangalore for a meagre 92 in their first game since IPL resumption and on Thursday restricted a marauding Mumbai Indian line-up to just 155.

Rookie Venkatesh Iyer (53) also left many in awe of his talent as he smashed a 27-ball 41 in the first game and then hit his maiden IPL fifty on Thursday to help KKR tame MI by seven wickets and enter the top-four in the points table.

"I don't think it's one player that's changed the outlook of the team. I think in the last two games, the superstars in our side have been the bowlers, they have been outstanding on really good wickets to bat on here at Abu Dhabi," Morgan said at the post-match media conference.

"And I think that allowed our opening pair in (of) Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer to go out and play their natural game." Morgan lavished praise on the lanky south-paw Iyer for his "imposing" innings at the top of the order.

"I think Venkatesh played an innings today that would match a guy who's played possibly 50 IPL games. The freedom in which he has played with has really ... it was quite imposing as a batsman at the top of the order to be able to do that and today was no different," he said.

"He's continued on his form from the first day. So, I don't think it's one player, I think it's collectively, I think it is set up by our bowling line-up which was magnificent again." Morgan also lauded the bowlers for executing the plans "unbelievably well".

"I don't think it's a massive gamble, I think there is a lot of preparation and strategy that go into the decisions that are made on the field," he said.

"Obviously, when you are on the field, you need to adjust to what’s happening with the pitch and conditions here at Abu Dhabi. And I think we had good games both with strategy and planning because the bowlers have executed unbelievably well.

"They have been in fine form, they have managed to do that and make the rest of our preparation look really good." Morgan also singled out the contribution of the spinners, who have been able to show their "high-quality" skills despite not getting much help from the wickets.

"I think, the quality of our spin bowlers means that they can bowl in conditions that aren't friendly to spin bowling and I don't particularly think that Abu Dhabi is, yes, the boundaries are bigger, but the two games that we have played, the ball hasn't turned pretty much at all...

"So far, they haven't played a massive part, it is just the high-quality that they are producing." Morgan was also pleased to see his team play an "aggressive brand of cricket" that he alongwith KKR head coach Brendon McCullum have been advocating.

"It is extremely pleasing. We want the best for everybody in the changing room and the aggressive cricket that we have shown in the last two games, is exactly what suits the talented guys in our changing room," he said.

"I know some of them might feel alien to take risk after risk after risk, but that is exactly what we want them to do. They are a seriously talented batting and bowling line-up and we want them to continue to get better." KKR are next up against Chennai Super Kings on September 26 here.

Also Read : KKR fined for slow-over rate against Mumbai Indians

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 24 (Cricket News) Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan and his team-mates have been fined for the side's slow-over rate during their seven-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here.

According to an official statement, Morgan has been fined Rs 24 lakh while rest of his team members in the playing XI were each fined lesser of either Rs 6 lakh or 25 percent of their individual match fee.

"The Kolkata Knight Riders have been fined after they maintained a slow over rate during their IPL 2021 match against Mumbai Indians at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi on September 23," read a statement issued by the IPL.

"As it was the team’s second offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Eoin Morgan was fined Rs 24 lakhs.

"The rest of the members of the playing XI were each fined lesser of either Rs 6 lakhs or 25 percent of their individual match fee." KKR produced a clinical performance for the second successive game since IPL's resumption to tame the mighty Mumbai Indians by seven wickets, riding on fluent fifties from Rahul Tripathi (74 not out) and rookie Venkatesh Iyer (53).

The win also saw the two-time former champions enter the top-four in the points table on Thursday. KKR will next play Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings here on September 26.

Also Read : Mumbai Indians look to bounce back against Kolkata Knight Riders on Match 34

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 23 (Cricket News) The ICC on Thursday launched the official anthem of the upcoming T20 World Cup along with a campaign film featuring 'avatars' of Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli and West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard.

The tournament will begin on October 17 in Oman and UAE, with the final to be played in Dubai on November 14.

Composed by Bollywood music director Amit Trivedi, an animated film features young fans from all over the world engaged in T20I cricket and includes some of the sport's biggest superstars.

India captain Kohli leads the group of players brought to life as 'avatars' in the animation, that interact with each other throughout.

Kohli is joined by fellow captain Pollard of the reigning champions, West Indies as well as Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and Rashid Khan of Afghanistan.

Launched in collaboration with ICC's global broadcast partner Star Sports, the film premiers worldwide on Thursday across ICC, BCCI, and Star Sports' social media handles.

The animation features a brand-new broadcast technology that blends both 3D and 2D effects to create the film.

A production team of over 40 people, including designers, modellers, matte painters, animators, lighters, and compositors, worked round-the-clock to produce the final version.

A total of 16 countries, featuring the sport's biggest names and best teams, will compete in the sport's biggest event since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There is something magical and special about putting on the West Indies jersey and stepping onto the field," said Pollard.

"This upcoming World Cup will give us more special moments. We know our fans will be fully engaged, watching, and supporting and we want to give them plenty to cheer about," he added.

The opening fixture of the tournament takes place on October 17 as Oman take on men's T20 World Cup debutants Papua New Guinea at Muscat's Oman Cricket Academy.

Claire Furlong, ICC General Manager, Marketing and Communications said: "Cricket has more than a billion fans around the world, and we wanted to put our young fans in the heart of the action alongside their heroes and allow them to live the game."

Also Read : The fantastic four who have made a mark in the T20 game for the country and in IPL

News Source : PTI

Sharjah, Sep 23 (Cricket News) Star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore would look to shrug off the crushing defeat in the previous outing and get their mojo back when they take on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's resilient Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, here on Friday.

While RCB will look to start afresh, CSK got a confidence-boosting 20-run win against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday night.

It is imperative for RCB to improve upon their batting as they seek to keep their place in the top half of the points table.

It will be important that the openers -- Devdutt Padikkal (217 runs) and skipper Virat Kohli (203 runs) -- provide a solid start.

But the opening duo would also need support from the middle-order, which crumbled against Kolkata Knight Riders.

The likes of Glenn Maxwell (233 runs) and AB de Villiers (207 runs) will have to perform in unison against a strong CSK attack.

Australian Maxwell did justify his high price tag during the first leg, becoming the side's top scorer. He would be raring to go once again as will the ever-reliant De Villiers.

The RCB bowlers will also have to forget the underwhelming display against KKR. While pacers Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel bowled well, Kiwi quick Kyle Jamieson, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga all had leaked more than 10 runs an over.

CSK could have suffered the reversal in their tie against Mumbai had it not been for youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad's mature unbeaten knock of 88 off 58 balls.

The team's leading run-getter Faf du Plessis (320 runs), Moeen Ali were out for ducks while Ambati Rayudu was retired hurt on nought. Veterans Suresh Raina and Dhoni also failed to reach double digit scores and the side was reeling at 24 for 4.

But Gaikwad was not ruffled and kept his calm, steering the three-time champions to a respectable 156 for 6. He stitched crucial partnerships with all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo, who smashed 23 runs off eight deliveries, taking the team over the 150-run mark.

Defending a modest total, CSK showed immense resilience as the bowlers led by pacer Deepak Chahar and Dwayne Bravo handed the “Yellow Army" their sixth win of the season.

A win on Friday will take them back to the top of the table.

CSK will also have the option to choose young England all-rounder Sam Curran, who had been one of the breakout stars of last year’s IPL, shining with both the bat and the ball.

Teams (From): Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (Captain) Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis, Robin Uthappa, Karn Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Jason Behrendorff, Krishnappa Gowtham, Mitchell Santner, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, Cheteshwar Pujara, KM Asif, Harishankar Reddy, Bhagath Varma.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Captain), Navdeep Saini, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Rajat Patidar, Dushmantha Chameera, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Sachin Baby, Wanindu Hasaranga, George Garton, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Kyle Jamieson, Suyash Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Tim David, Akash Deep, AB de Villiers.

Match starts at 7:30PM IST.

Also Read : Rohit and Hardik are recovering very well: Boult

News Source : PTI 

Bhubaneswar, Sep 23 (Hockey News) Odisha will host the Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup at the Kalinga Stadium here from November 24 to December 5, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced on Thursday.

At a function held here, Patnaik said Hockey India had recently approached the Odisha government to support them for the Men’s Junior World Cup to be held in two months time.

“It is a short notice for making the arrangement for such an event, especially during the pandemic period. However, since the country’s prestige is at stake, we have readily agreed to host it,” the chief minister said.

“I hope the reigning Indian team will take advantage of the home condition and emerge victorious again,” he said.

Patnaik also unveiled the logo and the trophy for the event.

Also Read : We're eager to directly qualify for Paris Olympics by winning Asian Games: Hardik

News Source : PTI

Palm Beach (USA), Sep 23 (Golf News) Eager to be back on the course after a month-long break, Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri will compete in next week's Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, hoping to present a stronger and faster version of himself.

Having recovered from a tough season, and despite losing valuable time, tournaments and physical strength after contracting the COVID-19 infection, Lahiri did exceedingly to qualify for the Olympics.

He also managed a punishing schedule and kept his PGA Tour card even as many top stars lost their full playing rights.

Lahiri recognises that the way he played towards the end of the season and even got into the Play-offs after a long time, augured well for the coming year.

"I knew I was getting into my rhythm. So I want to continue with the same mindset. So, the key is to start this season in the same vein, albeit fresher, stronger, faster and I will be able to manage my schedule better and not have to wait till the last minute," he said.

Talking about the off-season, Lahiri said it was mostly spent rejuvenating in the company of his family.

"It has been a good month; a much-needed month which started off by taking some time off with the family to vacation. That was a first after a couple of years. It was probably what I needed after the hectic end to the schedule.

"Physically I found myself quite drained and I think I played like seven out of nine weeks to finish the year. That included travel to Japan and back and the play offs," said Lahiri.

"...the Olympics; managing the travel and the fatigue and the energy levels. Frankly, there was a lot on my plate and I am quite pleased with the way I handled the pressure with the COVID situation.

"I am glad I was able to do that and I had to dig deep. I am proud of how I managed that." Lahiri, who last won in 2015 at the Hero Indian Open and then made his move to the PGA Tour by the end of that year, is still looking for his first win on the PGA Tour.

"I was totally spent every which way and all this happened within 3-4 months of having COVID. The last two and a half weeks or so I have gotten back in the gym; have started working out a little bit more trying to work on endurance as much as possible.

"At the same time, I am trying to keep an eye on all my parameters...I am recovering my strength and have been in touch with my coach Vijay Divecha as well and just trying to get back into the same rhythm that I had found towards the end of the season last year." The Indian ace, who has now spent more than seven seasons on the PGA Tour, the toughest professional golf Tour in the world, is now all set to start the 2021-22 season next week.

"I want to hit the ground running and check some things off my list," added Lahiri.

Also Read : Saudi International, Asian Tour come together for historic USD 5 million event to start 2022 season

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 23 (Cricket News) The lack of quality pace-bowling support for veteran fast bowler Jhulan Goswami remains a matter of concern for the country's women's cricket team, feels former India captain Anjum Chopra.

Regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time in the women's game, Jhulan began her journey in international cricket nearly two decades ago and, at 38, she is still going strong but without enough help from the other end on a consistent basis.

"No bowler to complement for Jhulan... that's been there for a long, long time. That remains a concern for the team to not have a supporting role alongside Jhulan Goswami. Whereas many teams are looking to field three seamers, we are struggling to field two," Chopra told PTI during an interaction.

"Shikha Pandey was not picked for (the series against) South Africa but went to England (earlier this year). Meghna Singh is there... it's also about taking those chances for the players." The 27-year-old Meghna, a pacer, is one of three uncapped players included in the India squad for the ongoing tour of Australia.

In recent times, the Indian team management, including head coach Ramesh Powar and batter Smriti Mandhana, stressed on regularly scoring 250 plus in ODIs, and Chopra said it will not happen overnight.

"A 250-run target doesn't happen overnight, we need planning, preparation and skill level to get there. It can be 250-plus, 300 or 350. 250 is now a par score as women's ODI scores have become higher over the past few years," Chopra said.

Chopra, who was the face of women's cricket in India and played in six World Cup finals, refused to think too far ahead when asked about next year's ODI World Cup.

India are currently touring Australia where they are engaged in a series comprising three ODIs (one already over), three T20Is and a one-off day/night Test.

"The series against Australia has just begun, there are more number of matches to go. World Cup is still far ahead. It's anybody's game in the World Cup.

"The World Cup is the next big tournament and all the preparation is towards that. You need game time towards enhancing yourself." While some believed Virat Kohli would have been better off quitting white-ball captaincy completely instead of relinquishing the job in only T20Is, Chopra said the batting maestro needn't necessarily jump the gun.

"He has mentioned that he wants to focus on Indian captaincy towards the 2023 ODI World Cup. I don't think he needs to jump the gun. He is 32 now and whatever number of years he has to offer to Indian cricket, he still has a long time." It has also been felt by many that giving up leadership responsibilities may help him get back his touch with the bat. Kohli has not scored an international hundred since November 2019.

"When someone sets the kind of benchmark that Virat had set complementing his skills level, I think he is allowed that kind of leeway," she said.

Asked about Kohli's recent decision to step down from the Indian T20 captaincy after the upcoming World Cup, Chopra said, "There will always come a time for every player to realise what is the format they can slightly step away from.

"It's pretty okay... there have been so much chatter or loud sound coming that he has not delivered in T20... Anybody can have a slight dip in performance.

"He (Kohli) knows a little time off from one of the formats may help him. It's an individual decision. And as long as Virat Kohli the match winner is there, Indian cricket will only gain."

Also Read : Batting coach promises different approach in second ODI, backs Mandhana to overcome poor form

News Source : PTI

(Football news) Two-time Indian Super League (ISL) winners Chennaiyin FC (CFC) have announced the continuation of the club’s partnership with DafaNews as one of its primary sponsors for the 2021-22 season. DafaNews is a one-stop online sports news hub that has been associated with CFC for the last two seasons. 

Commenting on the club’s continued partnership with DafaNews, Vita Dani, co-owner, Chennaiyin FC, said: “DafaNews over the past two seasons have become a vital part of the CFC family. We look forward to having them back with us for a third consecutive year and are sure that it is a partnership that will bear fruit for both, the brand and Chennaiyin FC.”

As the partnership enters its third consecutive year, it is a testimony to the continued faith that both the brands share. The association also brings forth the strong trust and value for Chennaiyin FC and DafaNews.

“After a productive two seasons we've had with Chennaiyin FC, we’re happy to continue for a third consecutive year. We see great merit in continuing our association with brand CFC, in what will also be a new campaign under a new head coach and fresh set of players, played out in Goa,” said an official spokesman for DafaNews, on the news of continuing their association with CFC.

Also read: Has Carlo Ancelotti rescued Marco Asensio's career with the position change?

DafaNews, which has partnered with big football clubs across the globe, entered ISL in the 2019-20 season. The online sports news portal caters to the demands of sports aficionados by extensively reporting on Indian and global sports events.

In an attempt to win a third ISL trophy, the Marina Machans will begin their campaign on November 23 against Hyderabad FC at the Athletic Stadium in Bambolim, Goa as the upcoming ISL season will kick-start on November 19.

(Cricket News) Cricket Ireland have confirmed that their men’s team will play a warm up match against Scotland and three T20I’s against the United Arab Emirates cricket team in Dubai at the ICC Academy before the T20 World Cup in October.

The fixtures were officially announced by the Emirates Cricket Board and will be held between 5th to 10th October, featuring the likes of UAE, Ireland, Scotland, Namibia and Papua New Guinea. The Ireland men’s squad is due to leave for the UAE tomorrow and will undergo a mandatory six day quarantine before training can begin.

THE COMPLETE FIXTURE LIST

Pre-T20 World Cup – preparation period

5 October 2021: Ireland v Scotland – warm-up match (ICC Academy Oval 2; start 9am local time)
7 October 2021: Ireland v UAE – 1st T20I (ICC Academy Oval 1; start 9am local time)
8 October 2021: Ireland v UAE – 2nd T20I (ICC Academy Oval 1; start 9am local time)
10 October 2021: Ireland v UAE – 3rd T20I (ICC Academy Oval 1; start 9am local time)

Official T20 World Cup warm-up matches

12 October 2021: Ireland v Papua New Guinea – warm-up T20I (Abu Dhabi; start 2pm local time)
14 October 2021: Ireland v Bangladesh – warm-up T20I (Abu Dhabi; start 6pm local time)
 
T20 World Cup - Round 1

18 October: Ireland v Netherlands (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; starts 10am GMT)
20 October: Ireland v Sri Lanka (Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; starts 2pm GMT)
22 October: Ireland v Namibia (Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah; starts 10am GMT)

The top two teams from Round 1 will progress to the Group Stage. 

THE SQUAD

An 18-player preliminary squad has been announced which will further be reduced to 15 for the T20 World Cup tournament along with three other players as reserves. 

Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Graham Kennedy, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Also read: Mumbai Indians look to bounce back against Kolkata Knight Riders on Match 34

Kolkata, Sep 23 (Football News) SC East Bengal on Thursday added teeth to their attack by acquiring the services of Croatia forward Antonio Perošević on a one-year deal that will keep him at the club till the end of the Indian Super League 2021-22 season.

Perošević joins SC East Bengal from Hungarian top division club Újpest FC, starting 13 games for them last season.

The 29-year-old, who can also play on the wing, becomes Manuel 'Manolo' Diaz's sixth and final foreign signing for the season.

Slovenian midfielder Amir Dervišević, Australian defender Tomislav Mrcela, Croatian centre-back Franjo Prce, Nigerian striker Daniel Chima Chukwu and Dutch utility player Darren Sidoel are the other five overseas recruits.

"India is an amazing country and I have heard a lot about how passionate people are about football here. Especially, SC East Bengal and its fan base are much talked about. I have read up on them and I can't wait to pull on the red and gold shirt," said Perošević after putting pen-to-paper for SC East Bengal.

Perošević has represented the Croatian senior national team in 2017, being capped twice.

"I will look to help the team in whatever way I can and maintain the team spirit. I know the history attached to this club and I will do my best to uphold its legacy," he added.

Perošević started playing for the youth team of his hometown club Osijek in 2010.

He made his senior team debut as a late substitute in a 2–0 win against Cibalia in the last round of 2009–10 season. Perošević finished as Osijek's top league goalscorer with seven goals in the 2011–12 season.

Perošević moved abroad after a successful spell at Osijek, turning out for Hungarian club Puskás Akadémia in 2017 before moving to Al-Ittihad Kalba SC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on loan the following season.

"I have had a good conversation with the management and I am really looking forward to the new adventure. I am looking forward to meeting the coaching staff and all my teammates. I have also heard about the big derby against ATK Mohun Bagan, and that kind of games further motivates a player," Perošević told the SC East Bengal website.

SCEB will face Jamshedpur FC in their opening game of the ISL on November 21 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium.

Also Read : Young goalkeeper Manas Dubey joins TRAU FC on loan

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 23 (Table Tennis News) The Delhi High Court Thursday stayed the Table Tennis Federation of India's mandate on compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp in order to be selected for any upcoming international event and asked the Centre to conduct an inquiry into Manika Batra's complaint against the sports body.

Justice Rekha Palli further said that if warranted, the Union Sports Ministry may look into the affairs of the TTFI as well.

Justice Palli was hearing a plea by Batra who was left out of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships and has alleged that the national coach Soumyadeep Roy “pressurized” her to “throw away” an Olympic qualifier match in favour of one of his personal trainees.

The judge said the rule mandating compulsory attendance at the national camp has been enforced “at a point when there was a complaint pending against the national coach” and the same “does not inspire confidence”.

The court also expressed “anguish” at the manner in which a committee, constituted by the federation to look into the allegations, was reconstituted after it sought centre's stand on the issue.

“They are overreaching the court. I will issue a notice of contempt. I pass an order and you appoint a new person. This is shocking... I am expressing my anguish,” the judge stated.

“I am of the view that the operation of the rule is required to the stayed till the next date of hearing. Respondent no. 2 (Sports Ministry)...is itself inclined to hold an inquiry into the serious allegations by the petitioner. There is no reason why respondent no 1 (federation) should continue with its rule,” she ordered.

“Respondent no 2 will proceed to hold an inquiry at the earliest...furnish a copy of the report to the court,” it was added.

The court clarified that at this stage, it was not appointing any committee to look into the issues and directed that the Centre's inquiry report be placed before it in four weeks.

It added that the centre may seek the stand of the national coach and also issued notice on the petition, which was listed for further hearing on October 28.

Senior counsel Sachin Dutta, appearing for Batra, said his client was not desirous of participating in the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships.

“Some (tournaments) are starting from October 24 and world championship is in November. The event (Asian Table Tennis Championship) is next week and training happens in Pune,” he said.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, representing the Centre, stated that the federation's rule on compulsorily attending the national camp was in the teeth of the sports code and defeated merit.

He informed that the centre would initiate an inquiry into the athlete's allegation.

Advocate Hrishikesh Baruah, representing TTFI, defended the rule and stated that such a mandate was present on other sports as well including weight lifting and judo.

The lawyer clarified that his client had no say on grant of access to a venue to Batra's personal coach and physiotherapist at any sporting event.

He argued that the federation has no problem with holding a fair inquiry into Batra's allegations and that claimed that the national coach was not even present at the national camp which she refused to attend.

Maybe I will agree with you (at a later stage). Today, holistically, I am not with you,” the court stated.

In the petition, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Khel Ratna awardee has alleged that the federation was carrying out its selection processes in a non-transparent manner, targeting certain individuals such as herself.

She has asserted that the national coach, in a clear conflict of interest, was running a private table tennis academy simultaneously and on one occasion, “pressurized the petitioner to throw away a match only with a view to help one of his trainees at his private academy to qualify for the Olympics, 2020”.

“This incident happened on 17.03.2021 in respect of the match to be held on 18.03.2021 at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2021 organized by ATTU. Not only did the Petitioner refused to comply with such an unethical, illegal and immoral request, but she also immediately communicated this to the Adviser, TTFI, on 18.03.2021,” the plea reads.

"After conclusion of Olympics, the Respondent No.1 (federation) issued Rules and Regulations dated 04.08.2021 (received by the Petitioner on 27.08.2021) informing her that attending of National Coaching Camp is compulsory, failing which she would not be selected for any upcoming international event," it further reads.

The plea states that Table Tennis is an individual sport, which requires specialised training with support staff and thus the rule against personal coaching is arbitrary, irrational, absurd and have no nexus with achieving excellence in an individualised sport. 

Also Read : HC seeks Centre's stand on plea by Manika Batra against TT Federation of India

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 23 (Sports News) Tokyo Paralympics bronze medal-winning high jumper Sharad Kumar has been diagnosed with heart inflammation and has undergone a few more tests, reports of which are still awaited.

Kumar, who won a bronze in the T-42 high jump event in the Tokyo Paralympics on August 31, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after experiencing chest congestion last week.

"The earlier reports showed that I have an inflammation in my heart," Kumar told PTI on Thursday.

The-29-year-old Patna-born athlete, who stays in Chhatarpur, was discharged from the medical facility earlier this week but had to come back for some more tests.

"I have come back here for more tests. Since I live just 10 minutes away, I had asked the hospital authorities to allow me to go home," he added.

Kumar, whose left leg was paralysed after he was administered a spurious polio vaccine as a toddler, competed in the T-42 final in Tokyo last month despite suffering a knee injury while training before his event.

He later revealed he was on the verge of pulling out of the competition. Kumar had jumped 1.83m to win the bronze.

He is a double Asian Para Games (2014 and 2018) high jump champion and also a world silver medallist (2019).

The T-42 classification is for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs. The athletes compete in a standing position.

Also Read : Felicitations continue for Paralympic medal winners

News Source : PTI

Mackay (Australia), Sep 23 (Cricket News) Indian women's team batting coach Shiv Sunder Das on Thursday promised a different approach to counter Australian bowlers and backed out-of-form opener Smriti Mandhana to come good in the second ODI against the hosts here.

The match is scheduled for Friday.

India were handed a nine-wicket trashing by Australia in the opening ODI of the three-match series here on Tuesday.

"We are looking at the top-order to give us a good start and the middle order -- they have worked hard in the last few sessions, we have some plans. I think they'll play differently in tomorrow's game," Das said on the eve of the second ODI.

"We have Shafali (Verma) and Smriti... I am positive they will give a good start and once we score 60-70 runs in the 10 overs we can carry that momentum in the middle overs," he added.

India, who are aiming to post 250 plus consistently fell short of the mark once again, managing 225 for eight in their quota of 50 overs in the first ODI, but the batting coach said the Mithali Raj-led side has a plan in place for the second game to keep the scoreboard ticking.

"We are working on that aspect of the game, we are looking for a good start and in the middle overs we are looking at the average of five runs and in the end we are looking at six runs per over. That's our batting plan." After the loss of openers Mandhana and Shafali Verma inside the first six overs, India struggled to get going.

"We have addressed the issues in the first 10 overs but, in the middle overs, running between the wickets we are still working on.

"It's a work in process, we have a few young batters in the side, we have to give them some time and once they get used to the conditions, they will definitely fire." Mandhana's struggles with the bat in the format continued with the left-hander scoring just 16 in the first ODI. The opener has breached the 50-run mark just once in the last nine games but Das is confident she will provide the much-needed solid start for India.

"I had a chat with her (Mandhana) and we have worked on her in the last two sessions, we have addressed the issues, she is a world-class player and we are backing her ability to get runs for us, and definitely, we'll see the difference in tomorrow's game." Mithali, who scored a 107 ball-63, was once again the top scorer for the team and asked if the other players are taking advantage of the skipper's consistency, the coach said the youngsters in the side will perform after they settle in.

"There are a lot of youngsters in the team, Yastika (Bhatia) got an opportunity and she batted really well. It is a huge challenge for them and all these wickets are good batting wicket and I hope they'll perform well tomorrow." 

Also Read : Haynes rendered doubtful for 2nd ODI against India

News Source : PTI

Mackay (Australia), Sep 23 (Cricket News) In-form Australia opener Rachael Haynes was on Thursday rendered doubtful for the second women's ODI against India after she took a blow on her right elbow during a training session.

The match is scheduled for Friday.

Haynes, who had hit an unbeaten 93 in the home team's convincing nine-wicket thrashing of India in the series-opener, was taken for scans.

According to cricket.com.au, Haynes "doubled over in pain, then removed her gloves and walked out of the nets and to the team changerooms to ice the injury, before leaving the ground a short time later." "Rach suffered a knock to her right elbow while batting today and has been taken to get scans," Australia team physio Kate Beerworth said.

The 34-year-old has been in good form as she made 65 in the only practice game ahead of the series.

If Haynes is ruled out of the next match, the hosts may ask Beth Mooney to open alongside Alyssa Healy, who is also enjoying a good run of form.

The Australian women's cricket team is going through an incredible run, having won 25 straight games and it will be a tough task for the struggling Indians to snap it.

Also Read : Shafali needs to work on her back foot to put Australia on backfoot: Khadeer

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Mumbai Indians take on Kolkata Knight Riders in an attempt to get back to winning ways after their loss to CSK in the 1st game of phase 2. Kolkata Knight Riders had an amazing start in the phase 2 after a comfortable win against RCB. Eoin Morgan and co. will be looking to continue on the same path.

Mumbai Indians missed Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya in the last game. The pair is deemed fit and available for selection. Their replacements in the side Saurabh Tiwari and Anmolpreet Singh were two of MI's highest scorers in the last game. It'll be interesting to see if they are dropped after. 

KKR on the other hand looked like a very balanced side in the first game. Venkatesh Iyer should keep his place in the side after his fine knock against RCB. The only other change could be Sakib Al Hasan coming in place of Sunil Narine to strengthen their batting and bring a little variation to their bowling line-up with a left arm spinner.

Also read: Rajasthan Royals pull off a great escape as Punjab Kings fail to score 8 runs in 2 overs

Head to Head: MI 22 - KKR 6, KKR have always struggled against MI, even during the time when KKR used to be unbeatable they would always struggle against MI. 

Pitch & Weather Report: The Sheikh Zayed Stadium is mostly a batting friendly surface so it may assist the batsman again. The temperature is expected to be 34 degrees with 67% humidity and  no chances of rain as of now. The hot and humid conditions might play a key role for the spinners.

Interesting facts:

• Rohit Sharma is 18 runs away from becoming the first batsman to score 1000 runs against a team in IPL. He has won four Player of the Match awards in MI-KKR contests - the most by any player, followed by three each for Sachin Tendulkar and Hardik Pandya.
• While MI haven't won their season opener since 2013, they have come storming back into form in their second match of a season in the five of the last six seasons - four of those wins coming against KKR.
• Shubman Gill is set to play his 50th IPL game.
• Andre Russell has faced more balls from Jasprit Bumrah than from any other bowler in the IPL, and the Mumbai talisman has come out of that head-to-head with a magnificent record: only 51 runs conceded in 40 balls, and three wickets.

Chandigarh, Sep 22 (Sports News) Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra on Wednesday met the country's first-ever individual gold medallist from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Abhinav Bindra, and his family.

The javelin star from Haryana got a puppy named 'Tokyo' as a gift from Bindra.

In a tweet after the meeting, Chopra said, “Took my Olympic medal to meet its elder sibling from Beijing (Bindra) today." "Thank you@Abhinav Bindra sir for your family's warm hospitality and for 'Tokyo' (the puppy) who I will cherish forever,” he added.

Bindra said it was a pleasure to meet and interact with India's golden man.

“I hope that 'Tokyo' will be a supportive friend and motivate you to get a sibling named Paris (wishing him luck for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games) for him in 2024,” he tweeted.

“The two of us agree that the process is the Goal. The process is the Gold. And the Process is most rewarding. Happy to have spent the afternoon with this young Gold Medallist,” Bindra said in another tweet.

Also Read : Felicitations continue for Paralympic medal winners

News Source : PTI

(Football news) James Rodriguez has left Everton FC to join Qatari club Al Rayyan for an undisclosed fee, after a falling out with the club as well as the manager. The move transpired as the Middle East transfer window is still open till the end of the month. Al Rayyan are currently 8th in the Qatari League and also had an abysmal AFC Champions league where they played India’s FC Goa as they finished last in the group.

James joined Everton in the summer of 2020 for 20 millions pounds from Real Madrid in a much hyped transfer. James shared a special relationship with Carlo Ancelotti as he was an integral part of the  2014 Real Madrid Champions League winning squad, then he followed him to Bayern Munich as he was there for a two year successful loan spell, before finally joining him in Everton last summer. Ever since his sudden departure to Real Madrid, James has felt like an expensive spare in a team whose game is completely based on hard running and well organised defence. The new manager Rafa Benitez had no use for him and Rodriguez is not only 30 but also the highest paid player in the clubs history earning 220K a week.

Also read: Manchester United crash out of the Carabao Cup while Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham progress to Round 4

Ever since he joined the Premier League, James struggled with the physical side of the game as he was injury prone and also his workrate was not up to the required standards. Benitez arrived after a sudden appointment and he did not give a single opportunity to Rodriguez before sanctioning a sale for him, James bowed out after making 26 appearances and scoring 6 goals for Everton. The Everton hierarchy were trying to send him back to Porto in the summer window as the proposed swap deal for another Columbian Luis Diaz but failed on the final day of the transfer window.

Yankton, Sep 23 (Archery News) The Indian women's compound archery team defeated hosts USA 226-225 to enter the finals but the men's team lost in the last-eight stage of the World Championship here.

The seventh-seeded women's team, comprising Priya Gurjar, Muskan Kirar and Jyothi Surekha, held its nerves in a close battle with Linda Ochoa-Anderson, Paige Pearce and Makenna Proctor on Wednesday.

However, the men's team, led by the seasoned Abhishek Verma, lost 235-238 to Austria in the quarterfinals.

The Indian women's trio will next face top seeds Colombia in the final. Colombia defeated France 234-220 in its semifinal match.

The mixed team of Verma and Surekha also entered the final, beating Korea's Kim Yunhee and Kim Jongho 159-156. They will be up against second seeds Colombia in the summit clash.

In the men's section, three-time World Cup gold-medallist Verma, along with Sangam Bisla and Roshab Yadav, fought well but could not advance ahead.

The Indian men's team was seeded fifth in the draw.

Also Read : Practice of tie shots, breathing exercises gave dividends: Paralympic medallist archer Harvinder

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 23 (Cricket News) Shreyas Iyer says he relished captaining the Delhi Capitals in the IPL but completely respects the team management's decision to let Rishabh Pant stay as leader of the pack till the end of the 2021 season.

Iyer had led the Capitals to the summit clash of the 2020 season but he missed the first phase of this year's season due to a shoulder injury and the management asked Pant to captain the side.

The 26-year-old returned to the side before IPL's resumption after the COVID-19 forced break but the Capitals chose not to change the leader again, keeping Pant in the captain's chair.

The young Mumbai batsman, who hit a blistering 47 in team's win on Wednesday night, said he understands team's policy and has no complaints.

"When I was given the captaincy, I was in a different frame of mind and my decision-making and temperament level was very good and I benefited from it in the last two years," Iyer said at the post-match press conference.

"This is part of the decision-making from the franchise or whatever decision they took, I respect the fact and Rishabh is leading the side well from the start of the season and they thought that he should be continued till the season end and I completely respect the decision," he added.

The 26-year-old said he continues to enjoy the pressure situation as he thrives in such circumstances.

"And no drastic change has come that my focus has increased in batting. when I was captain, I like to soak in the pressure, when there is pressure, there are more challenges and, in such situations, I perform, that is my mind-set.

"Even today (Wednesday) when I went in, there was pressure to win the game. The wicket was playing uneven, so the mind-set is the same that being a main part of the team, you have to finish the match and whenever I play, my mindset is that I play till the last ball and see to it that I make the team win." The aggressive batsman it is a "really good feeling" to contribute in team's win in his first match post comeback.

"I wouldn't say that I'm satisfied because the hunger has just gone up and the appetite keeps on increasing every match you play, so yeah, not satisfied or not contained," he said after DC demolished Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets.

Iyer said the injury period was difficult for him but he had the right people around him.

"I have a very close-knit family and friends and they never made me feel that I was going through an injury.

"When I got injured, it was really difficult for me to adapt (to) the fact that I was injured because I keep doing so many activities here and there and I never think about that situation and that occurred, so it was really tough for me to adapt.

"They kept me busy and in a positive frame of mind and never made me feel that I am going through an injury.

"When the rehab started and I started gaining strength, that feeling was really amazing and that put me in a really good frame of mind that I will come back positive and strong," shared the top-order batsman.

Delhi Capitals is at the top of the table and Iyer said the key now is to maintain the momentum.

"When we came in here, we were still on the top of the table and we have to maintain the same rhythm that we created in the first half of the leg and the mindset has been really positive in the dugout," he said.

Also Read : SRH's India player T Natarajan tests positive, match against DC to go ahead as scheduled

News Source : PTI

London, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Former captain Michael Atherton says it was strange that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) called off the Pakistan tour, citing players' welfare but allowed them a three-month window to play the IPL.

In a scathing assessment of ECB's decision, Atherton said it was worse than India's recent withdrawal from the Manchester Test.

There are questions in England cricket fraternity on how a few England players, who would have had to play the short white-ball series in Pakistan, can now play for their IPL franchises in the play-offs if required.

"Citing player welfare is strange when the ECB has essentially washed its hands of its players’ travel and cricketing commitments for three months of the year so that they can play in the Indian Premier League," Atherton wrote in his column for 'The Times'.

"If, as an employer, it is so wary of bubble and cricket fatigue, surely it should take more interest in the players' availability for the IPL?," he was blunt in questioning the ECB decision.

"Now, of course, those who are playing in the tournament will be available for the knockout stages. It suits India and England, but not Pakistan, who have no direct stake, their players being barred still from the competition." Atherton said it was difficult to understand the reasoning behind the decision.

"This decision is worse than England's withdrawal from South Africa last winter and India's cancellation of the Manchester Test this month. While both those actions were hard to justify, they were at least understandable given Covid had come into close proximity to both teams." Atherton said he understands that the "sense of anger and betrayal in Pakistan is real and understandable," after England pulled out from their away series without any tangible reason.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cited concerns from players rather than security issues, which was the reason for New Zealand to pull their team out of the tour after being in the country for more than a week.

Atherton in his column made it clear that both administrators and players were wrong in selling a dummy to Pakistan when they should have shown gratitude for their magnanimity last year when they toured UK in midst of a raging pandemic.

"English cricket, the governing body and players, had a chance to do the right thing this week. They had a chance to repay a debt, uphold their honour and side with a cricketing nation that has undergone challenges others cannot even begin to contemplate. Instead, citing a mealy-mouthed statement, they did the wrong thing," he wrote.

Atherton felt that Pakistan's worst fears were always going to come true as 'low expectations of England's responses were duly met" once New Zealand called off their tour.

The former England captain also feels that Australia's decision to tour Pakistan won't be any different.

"Australia's reputation for doing the right thing is as bad as England's, so it would be a surprise if they front up in February. Pakistan will be facing a financial hammer blow," he further wrote.

Atherton observed that while it was completely understandable that a lot of players are suffering from bubble fatigue in COVID-19 times, the ECB could still have picked a team to tour Pakistan.

"Player welfare is an important issue, especially so with Covid, and the implication is that the wariness of travelling to Pakistan after New Zealand's withdrawal would exacerbate those concerns. The players were spooked.

"Player welfare in this regard does not wash: while many players have spent long periods in Covid-restricted environments, there are many within the English game who have not, and who could have been asked to tour if others were unavailable." Atherton didn't want to believe that ECB couldn't find 14 willing players "It was incumbent upon the ECB to try to put out a team, any team, once the security arrangements were deemed satisfactory. When a Covid outbreak ruled out England’s one-day squad in July, the ECB was happy to play Pakistan with a second/third team. Why not now? " Atherton understands the anger of new PCB chairman Ramiz Raja.

"They do not expect England to travel, despite the commitment, and have lost any trust and faith in them. It is hard to blame them."

Also Read : ICC charges Marlon Samuels for breaching anti-corruption code

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The Indian Premier League finishes on 15th of October and the T20 World Cup begins two days later. The squads have been announced by the teams and the players form in IPL will set the stage for a bigger show while they represent their country. Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Rusell have made major strides in the IPL and are known for their T20 game.

Chris Gayle is no doubt the greatest T20 batsmen, the power he holds while comfortably guiding the ball out of the stadium is simply something to admire and to ponder upon. Gayle has been part of the IPL since 2009 and holds multiple records in the league. He has hit a record 357 sixes and also has the highest score in the league of 175 not out, Gayle is the flagbearer of T20 cricket and has been the most attacking player. The 6 foot three inch batsmen does not have the need to run between the pitch instead scores in boundaries and is one of the strongest players in the game. He scored the first international T20 century in 2007 against South Africa in the World Cup and will play a vital role in this year’s World Cup.

Dwayne Bravo is one of the superstars in Chennai Super Kings and has established himself as one the finest bowlers in IPL. He has the record of taking the most wickets in a single season of the league, he had 32 wickets in the 2013 season. His unreadable slow balls leave the batsmen stumped and are unable to score while he is in form, the T20 game requires heavy striking with the bat and the ball and Bravo has the ability to do both. With the ball he is deadly especially in the death overs and with the bat can play cameos and hit maximums. He is also one of the most athletic players on the team and can move around quickly in the field.

Andre Russell will be always remembered for his 2019 season with Kolkata Knight Riders as raged up a storm in the season. He scored 510 runs while batting at number 6 and smacked 52 sixes in 249 balls in the season. He does not take any time to adjust in the pitch, the bat straight away goes for the big ones and can chase any target when in form no matter who he is up against. Russell is a pacer too and can bowl around 140 km/ hour, in the 2018 season his fastest ball was recorded at 147.73 km/hour and can send the stumps on a roll.

Kieron Pollard is the biggest of the four as he is 6ft f5 inches tall and does justice to his giant stature. He will be captaining the West Indies team in the T20 World Cup and is the perfect candidate in the format. He has played over 500 T20 matches making him one of the most experienced players in the shortest format and has played explosive knocks for the Mumbai Indians. Pollard is known to clear the boundaries casually, he has the two biggest sixes this season and both over 100m which shows his raw strength. He is known to provide the last minute show for the team and can chase huge targets under pressure, he is also known for his fielding and shows no fear to dive to take superhuman catches. 

The West Indies is the only team to win the T20 World Cup twice and will look to capture their third title. Their domination in the T20 format reminds the world of how they were on top of the game in the 1970s when Vivian Richards, Clive Llyod along with Malcolm Marshall and Michael Holding were a deadly combination and could disarm the opposition while striking fear in the pitch. After so long the current players will try to bring glory and make history in the shortest format of the game. 

Also read: The test of speed and skill in Indian Premier League, bowlers taking over the game

New Delhi, Sep 22 (Sports News) Some of India's Tokyo Paralympic medal winners, including javelin throw gold-winner Sumit Antil, were on Wednesday felicitated by their sponsor as part of the company's CSR initiative.

Antil, discus throw silver-medallist Yogesh Kathuniya and javelin throw bronze-winner Sundar Singh Gurjar were among the 10 para athletes sponsored by Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning India Ltd, in partnership with Shirdi Sai Baba Foundation, under its 'Radiant in Quest of Gold initiative.

"The company is really proud of these para-athletes who brought home victory from the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 and is giving its high-end premium 5-Star room air conditioners and monetary gift to these winners as a token of appreciation," stated a press release.

Altogether, the 10 para-athletes sponsored under this campaign secured a total of 19 medals in the last three years for India at various international platforms like Asian Para Games, World Para Grand Prix, Tokyo Paralympics etc.

Antil, who won a gold in the F64 men's javelin throw at the Tokyo Paralympics, said, "It is time that people and even brands in India actively start participating in supporting and fuelling the popularity of para-games and para-athletes.

"Our Paralympics stars have ushered a new chapter of para sports fame and success in India at the Tokyo Paralympics." 

Also Read : Tokyo Paralympians felicitated by Venkaiah Naidu

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 22 (Cricket News) The International Cricket Council on Wednesday charged former West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels of breaching four counts of the anti-corruption code during a T10 league, including failure to disclose hospitality benefits that could bring disrepute to the sport.

The game's governing body charged the West Indian on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), the organiser of the T10 League which is four seasons old.

"Samuels will be given a time period of 14 days to respond to the charges," an ICC release said.

The 40-year-old Samuels played 71 Tests, 207 ODIs and 67 T20Is in his international career, scoring 11,134 runs and taking 152 wickets. He retired from international cricket in November 2020.

According to the ICC, Samuels breached articles 2.4.2, 2.4.3, 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the Code.

The three articles deal with failure to disclose to the Anti-Corruption Official, receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit that was made or given in circumstances that "could bring the participant or the sport of cricket into disrepute", non-cooperation with the investigation, and obstructing or delaying the investigation by "concealing information that may have been relevant..." The T10 league's latest edition was held in Abu Dhabi in January-February earlier this year.

Samuels was a part of the event in 2019 when he turned up for Karnataka Tuskers, which was led by South African star Hashim Amla.

Also Read : Home Season: Team India to play 4 Tests, 3 ODIs and 14 T20Is

News Source : PTI

Mumbai, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Young India opener Shafali Verma is a fabulous front-foot player but she needs to work on her back-foot to put pressure on the Australians, former India cricketer Nooshin-Al-Khadeer said on Wednesday.

Shafali could score only 8 runs in the first ODI, which the visitors lost by nine wickets against Australia on Tuesday.

"I think in the first ODI, we have seen that they (Australians) were bowling too short on her (Shafali) body. She needs to be adapt and get her back-foot shots quite well, because the Aussies have read her, she is a fabulous front-foot player and she can be destructive," Khadeer said.

"But if Shafali can get on to her back-foot, I am sure that it is going to take Australia on a backfoot... she needs to be working on her back-foot now." Khadeer, a former right-handed batter and off-spinner, also backed ODI skipper Mithali Raj, who has often been criticised for her slow strike rate.

"I think it is very easy for us to sit back and judge that strike-rate is an issue, but as cricketers, do we realise what situation she has walked into bat," Khadeer said at a virtual con-call when asked about the criticism of skipper Mithali Raj's strike rate.

"I would want to put forward a question saying that is it okay for a batter to score 10 runs in 8 balls or a batter who is able to score 60-70 runs, okay in 100 balls she has taken and contribute those 60 runs, there is a difference in that." Raj, the world no 1 ODI batsman, had recorded her fifth consecutive fifty in the first ODI against Australia. She has also completed 20,000 career runs but yet she is often criticized for her slow strike rate.

"I understand strike rate is important, but we need to understand the situation of a batter waking in. Whether the situation is right to get a strike rate of 100-120 and what happens," said Khadeer, who also played 78 ODIs, 5 Tests and 2 T20s.

The 40-year-old also pointed out the lack of contribution of the middle-order.

"Over a period of time, if we go through the statistics, we have seen our middle-order has not been contributing," she said.

"So if we are going with a strike rate of 100 and we miss out on her innings, then there will be criticism that, she is not informed, not contributing, so where is the contribution of the middle order, we need to have people contributing.

"Otherwise, we will see India not even crossing 200 runs," she quipped.

India will play two more ODIs, one day-night Test, and 3 T20Is during the series.

The second ODI of India’s Women’s tour of Australia will be aired on 'Sony Six' channels on September 24 from 10.40 AM IST and the third ODI will be aired on September 26 from 5.35 PM IST.

Also Read : Australia too good for struggling India, win by nine wickets in first ODI

News Source : PTI

Hyderabad, Sep 22 (Football News) Young Hyderabad FC goalkeeper Manas Dubey has joined I-League side TRAU FC on a season-long loan deal, the club said on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old has been with Hyderabad FC since 2019 as a part of the reserve side before joining the first team squad for the club under Manolo Marquez, during the 2020-21 Indian Super League campaign.

The 6"5' goalkeeper, who trained under HFC Goalkeeping Coach Marc Gamon last season, will look to continue his progress with the Manipur-based club, which finished third in the 2020-21 I-League season.

Also Read : Full vaccination mandatory for I-League players, except U-18 and those recovered from COVID recently

News Source : PTI

(Tennis news): Laver Cup will begin from 24th of September and will be led by the next generation as the big three won’t be taking part this time. Team Europe is led by the US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Diego Schwartzman will be leading team World, the tournament is back after a year as it was not held last year due to the pandemic.

The Laver Cup is played in honour of the living legend Rod Laver who dominated the game during the early 60’s and set records which still stands today. He is the only man to have achieved a calendar year slam and was the first player to do it when he won all the four slams in 1969. He played left handed and had strong groundstrokes along with an attacking serve and volley.

Laver also became the first Open era champion at Wimbledon in 1968, he had a total of 198 titles with 111 titles coming in the Open era. He also played doubles, winning all the slams except the US Open in the pre open era and won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the open era. He was one of the highest paid players and had a total of 11 slams in which 5 of them came in the open era. Laver had laid the foundation for tennis, he was even present in this year’s US Open final and Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne is named after him. 

The Laver Cup was created by Roger Federer’s management company TEAM8 along with former player Jorge Paulo Lemann with a partnership of Tennis Australia. It is based on the Ryders Cup in Golf and the top players from the US play against top professionals from Europe. The Laver has two teams, team Europe and team world and there six players in each team who will be captained by a legend in the sport. The current captain for team Europe is Bjorn Borg and vice captain being Thomas Enqvist as for the team world they are being captained by John Mcenroe and the vice captain being Patrick Mcenroe. 

The Laver Cup does not have ATP points and is played between the top players. The players are chosen according to team ranking and the captain also chooses players, Team Europe has won the first three editions of the game and Alexander Zverev is the only one player from team Europe to feature in all the editions. John Isner and Nick Kyrgios and have also been part of all the editions in team world.

The first edition was notable as Federer and Rafael Nadal were part of the doubles team and in the second edition Federer and Novak Djokovic were part of the doubles team. There were outstanding performances from Sock in the doubles, Isner and Kyrgios in the singles. All the players watch the match on the court and also receive coaching during the match from the captain and the players.

Team Europe: Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev,  Matteo Berrettini and Casper Ruud.

Team World: Félix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Diego Schwartzman, Reilly Opelka, John Isner and Nick Kyrgios.

John Isner is the only player this time who is aged above 30 as the rest of the players are all in their twenties. Isner who is 36 is the oldest and Félix Auger-Aliassime who is 21 is the youngest this time. Team Europe is filled with youngsters and is the favourite to win the Cup as for Team world they will look to hold the cup for the first time.

Also read:  Davis Cup: Bopanna and Ramkumar crack in must-win doubles match, India lose tie to Finland

New Delhi, Sep 22 (Football News) All the footballers taking part in the I-League starting in December will have to be fully vaccinated except for U-18 players and those who have recently recovered from COVID-19 infection, League CEO Sunando Dhar said on Wednesday.

The I-League 2021-22 is expected to be held under bio-secure environment with strict COVID-19 protocols in Kolkata and its surrounding suburbs.

"It will be mandatory for all the players and officials taking part in the I-League and I-League qualifiers to have both doses of COVID-19 vaccination. The only exception will be the players who are under-18 years and those who cannot be vaccinated due to recent recovery from the infection," Dhar told PTI in an interview.

"Last year, double dose vaccination was not mandatory but we have made it mandatory this time. In that sense, it is stricter this time," he added.

The U-18 players and those who have not got their jabs due to recent COVID-19 recovery will have to undergo more frequent testing during the tournament than the vaccinated players.

"If the fully vaccinated players are having test for every 5-6 days, they (U-18 players and recently recovered players) will be tested every 3-4 days," he said.

All the players and officials are also required to remain in quarantine for six days in their respective hotels after arrival. They will be tested twice during those six days.

Anybody who tested positive will be isolated in a different floors of the hotel and he will have to have three consecutive negative test results before joining their team-mates.

Dhar said it will be more challenging to manage the bio-bubble this time as 13 teams are competing as against 11 last year. The 13 teams and match officials will be put up in a bio-bubble comprising three hotels. Last year, the 11 I-League teams were put up in two hotels in Kolkata.

"We have the experience of last year, we were the first in the country to stage tournaments inside a bio-bubble. So we already have a template to follow.

"But the challenge will be to live up to expectations. Moreover, there are two teams more this time than last year. So, more matches and longer duration of the league. But we are hoping we will pull it off smoothly just like last year." He also said that only six COVID-19 cases were reported during last year's I-League out of the 12500 tests conducted.

Dhar also made a point that the AIFF's COVID-19 management abilities have been appreciated by other countries also.

"I had gone to Kathmandu for a workshop organised by All Nepal Football Association. I was invited to make a presentation on the bio-bubble management of the AIFF so that they can learn and apply in their domestic competitions," he said.

The I-League qualifiers will be played in Bangalore starting October 4 among 10 teams from which one will be promoted to the I-League. Out of the 10 teams, seven are new teams. Last year, only five teams competed in the I-League qualifiers.

"We had put all the players and officials inside one hotel last time. This time, we will use two hotels in Bangalore as bio-bubble.

"Seven teams will be in one hotel and the other three teams along with match officials will occupy another hotel. The players and match officials in the second hotel will occupy different sections." The matches will be played in front of empty stadium.

He said there will be live streaming of the I-League qualifier matches and even they are trying for live broadcast the games on television.

Dhar also said that it was unfortunate that the Golden Baby League grasssroot programme and other age group leagues have to be stopped due to the pandemic. The All India Football Federation is, however, hoping to resume the programmes next year.

On the Indian Women's League, which was not held this season due to the second wave of the pandemic, Dhar said, "It should happen in March-April next year after the Women's AFC Asian Cup."

Also Read : Delhi FC reach Durand Cup quarterfinals with 1-0 win over Kerala Blasters

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) India and Australia are all set to play the 2nd W-ODI at Harrup Park in Queensland. Australia outclassed India in the 1st W-ODI, winning by 9 wickets. Australia come into the game with a 25 consecutive winning streak in W-ODIs. It will take a mighty performance by team India to beat this Australian side in their own backyard.

Possible playing XI

India: Smriti Mandhana, Shefali Verma,Yastika Bhatia, Mithali Raj (C), Harmanpreet Kaur, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (WK), Shikha Pandey, Sneh Rana, Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav.

Vice captain Harmanpreet Kaur missed the first game due to a thumb injury but she should be back in the side. India clearly missed some experience in their bowling line-up so Shikha Pandey and Radha Yadav's inclusion would be very crucial. 

Australia: Alyssa Healy (wk), Rachael Haynes, Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Georgia Wareham, Hannah Darlington, Darcie Brown

The Aussies have no reason to change their line-up after a perfect performance in the 1st game. The game will be played on the same ground so the team combination should remain pretty much the same. There is no official news on any injuries so it is very likely that Australia go into the match unchanged.

India will have to stitch more long partnerships together to get a better score. The bowling was nowhere near as good from the Indians. The match and the series is very crucial considering the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand is just around the corner.

Also read: Indian Women lose 1st W-ODI after dominant Australian performance in all departments

New Delhi, Sep 22 (Badminton News) The Indian men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has pulled out of the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships on medical grounds.

The World no.10 pair was part of the 12-member Indian team announced by the Badminton Association of India for the prestigious event to be held from September 26 to October 3 in Finland.

"Chirag and Satwik have withdrawn on medical grounds as the former is not well," a BAI source told PTI.

"It is also uncertain if they will participate in the Thomas Cup which will be held after the Sudirman Cup. It will be subject to Chirag's recovery from illness." The nature of illness couldn't be ascertained as neither Chirag nor Satwik answered calls.

The Thomas and Uber Cup will be held from October 9 to 17 at Aarhus in Denmark.

Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu had already requested not to be considered for the two events citing post Olympics recovery.

The Sudirman Cup will be the first BWF tournament to be held this year since the world body was forced to cancel or reschedule a number of events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Chirag and Satwik's absence, the onus will be on Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun, who were the top-ranked doubles pair in the selection trials, to win India the men's doubles matches in the tournament, which comprises two singles and three doubles ties in a rubber.

The squad also comprises Kidambi Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth, women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy and youngsters such as Malvika Bansod, Aditi Bhatt, Tanisha Crasto, Rutuparna Panda.

The biennial tournament will see the Indian team competing against defending champions China, Thailand and hosts Finland in Group A. 

Also Read : BWF cancels Syed Modi International badminton tournament

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) On this day in 1986, the Test match between India and Australia ended in a tie. This was only the 2nd time in the history of Test cricket that a match had ended in a tie. The occurrence has not been repeated since. The first tied match occurred between Australia and West Indies in 1960 at the Gabba.

In 1986 Australia toured India for 3 Tests and 6 ODIs. The tour got off to a fantastic start with a rare occurrence of a tied Test match first up.

The first Test match happened at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Madras as it was known back then. Australian captain Allan Border won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia scored 574/7 declared thanks to a double century by Dean Jones and a ton each by Allan Border and David Boon. In the 2nd innings India could only manage 397 with skipper Kapil Dev scoring a century. Off spinner Greg Matthews took a fifer while Ravi Shastri, Mohammed Azharuddin and Krisnamachari Srikant scored fifties.

Also read: Rajasthan Royals pull off a great escape as Punjab Kings fail to score 8 runs in 2 overs

With a lead of 177 runs, Australia walked out to bat for the 3rd innings. Allan Border declared after Australia was 170/5 leaving India to chase 348. Sunil Gavaskar scored 90 runs and other Indian batters contributed as well, but Australia kept picking wickets to keep themselves in the game Greg Matthews grabbed his 2nd fifer of the match and while his partner in crime Ray Bright also ended up picking 5 wickets.

The ending of the game was as dramatic as it could get. India were 344 for 9 before the last over of the day requiring 4 runs to win the match. Ravi Shastri was batting on 45, joined by the number 11 Maninder Singh with Matthews ready to bowl. After a dot ball, Shastri ran two off the 2nd delivery. He made the bold choice of running a single on the 3rd ball, leveling the score but that also meant Matthews had 3 balls to get Maninder Singh out and that is exactly what he did. The 5th ball trapped Maninder on the back leg and the umpire signalled out. The match ended in a dramatic fashion as a tie.

Apart from the two tied Tests, there have been two other instances when the match has ended when time expired with the scores level in the fourth innings, but with the batting side still having wickets in hand. These matches are considered to be draws, rather than ties. The first one happened in 1996 between Zimbabwe and England at Bulawayo. The 2nd one was in 2011 between India and West Indies in Mumbai.

Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Mumbai Indians pacer Trent Boult is not sure if skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya would feature in their next IPL game on Thursday but said both of them are recovering well.

West Indies' Kieron Pollard had led the side against Chennai Super Kings in the absence of Rohit, who has a dodgy knee while Pandya also missed the game due to a niggle.

"They are both recovering very well. In terms of their selection for the next game, I'm not too sure what's going on there. But day by day, they are improving," Boult said during a virtual press conference on the eve of their game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

"They are obviously two vital players in the XI for Mumbai. And we're desperate to get them back. So, fingers crossed that they'll be pretty good to go over the next couple of games," added the New Zealand pacer.

Boult said Rohit was "sorely missed" in the game against CSK but defended the team management's decision to rest the star opener.

"He is right up there in terms of experience and runs achieved in this format. So, it was a big hole but it was a good decision to make sure he is 100 per cent with the amount of cricket coming up.

"If he comes to the eleven, it will be brilliant, but we want to make sure he is 100 percent fit," said Boult. The defending champions have a better record against KKR in the cash-rich league but Boult believes that history does not matter in this format.

"It is more about starting afresh, every game is such a big game, every match is important now. History is history, it is nice to have previous results against them, but they are a quality side and we would not take them lightly," said the left-arm pacer.

Boult, 32, also felt that competing in the IPL was good preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the UAE and Oman in October-November.

"You could probably not have any better build-up to the tournament like the T20 World Cup. The focus is on what's on for the next couple of weeks, but in terms of preparation, it is very good.

"Conditions can change quite quickly but having to deal with the heat and humidity is a big challenge at this stage. It is going to be interesting to see how conditions move over the course of the next few weeks," Boult signed off.

Also News : MI eye improved batting effort against rejuvenated KKR

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, September 22 (Esports news): The India qualifiers for the World Esports League (WSL) 2021 will begin from September 29 to 30 by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI). The World Esports League is hosted by Technoblood Inc. and organised by the WSL Organising Committee in partnership with the International Esports Federation (IESF). The pandemic has caused the India Qualifiers to be held virtually with top athletes from across the country competing and showcasing their skills and strategies. Top games like TEKKEN7 and multiplayer online battle arena and third-person hero shooter video game Brawl Stars (3V3) will
be part of the event.

Fighting game Tekken7 will be proceeding in double elimination format whereas athletes can compete in Brawl Stars in Single elimination format. “A tight-knit fight gaming community in India has extreme potential, one that we keep witnessing in many esports tournaments in the country. Tekken7 has a legacy of being the top fighting games and we are confident that esports athletes coming from the country will be putting up a show of their own. Brawl Stars is a very popular game among the children between 16-21 years of age and there will be a display of budding superstars coming out as national champions and bringing the laurels for the nation at the Global Finals.This is a very interesting time for esports in India and we are already looking forward to our national qualifiers for WSL ’21,” said Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Director of Esports Federation of India.

Along with the experience, the Indian qualifiers will be selected to represent the country at the Global Finals of WSL 2021 which is scheduled to take place in Korea from December 16 to 19. The air travel expenses and accommodation of the athletes traveling to Korea will be covered. In order to take part in the event, country’s Esports athletes and enthusiasts can
register themselves on https://discord.gg/esfi till 26th September 2021.

Also read:  Ultimate Battle brings out subscription model for gamers for increased access

Dubai, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T Natarajan has tested positive for COVID-19 but the team's IPL match against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday will go ahead as scheduled, the BCCI said.

Left-arm pacer Natarajan, who is coming back from a knee surgery, has been isolated along with six close contacts which also include out of favour India all-rounder Vijay Shankar.

"Sunrisers Hyderabad player T Natarajan tested positive for COVID-19 at a scheduled RT-PCR test. The player has isolated himself from the rest of the squad. He is currently asymptomatic," a BCCI release stated.

"The rest of the contingent including the close contacts underwent RT-PCR tests at 5AM local time this morning and the test reports are negative.

"As a result, tonight's game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals will go ahead at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai," it further stated.

The close contacts identified by the medical team also include Vijay Kumar(Team Manager), Shyam Sundar J (Physiotherapist), Anjana Vannan (Doctor), Tushar Khedkar (Logistics Manager), and Periyasamy Ganesan (Net Bowler).

The IPL resumed here on Sunday after it had to be halted in May due to multiple COVID cases in its bio-bubble when the event was being staged in India.

Also Read : IPL: Delhi Capitals take on struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad in match 33

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 22 (Hockey News) Eager to change the shade of the Tokyo bronze, the Indian men's hockey team is now focussing on directly qualifying for the Paris Olympics by winning next year's Asian Games, says young midfielder Hardik Singh.

The Manpreet Singh-led Indian team had ended a 41-year-old long wait for an Olympic medal when it clinched the bronze at the Tokyo Games last month.

With the all-important Asian Games scheduled to be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China from September 10 to 25 next year, the team's top priority will be to qualify for the Paris Olympics by winning the gold at the continental tournament.

"We are eager to begin our quest for gold at the Paris Olympics. We will have to approach step-by-step, and our first step will be to qualify directly for the Olympic Games 2024 by winning Gold at the 2022 Asian Games," Hardik said in a Hockey India media release.

"Then in 2023, we have another marquee event- Hockey World Cup, which will be played in Odisha, so there are challenging and exciting times ahead, and we are looking forward to it," he added.

The 22-year-old, who was one of the key figures in the Indian midfield, scored two crucial goals in his debut Olympic Games in Tokyo.

When asked about the reason behind India's success at the Tokyo Olympics, Hardik said, "We are a tight-knit team, and I think that was our biggest strength at the Olympics. We have formed a special bond, and we were able to master the best out of each other skills.

"After the disappointing result against Australia, we sat together and openly spoke to each other about what went wrong and what we needed to do in the upcoming matches to put up a much better performance. That really helped us a lot to bounce back and eventually win the medal for the country." He scored a memorable field goal in the quarterfinal match against England, which helped the team enter the medal rounds at the Olympics after more than four decades.

While recalling the iconic goal, the young gun said, "It was a team goal, our defence line stuck together to hold the 2-1 lead at a very crucial phase of the game as we were down to 10 men.

"Harmanpreet tackled the ball really well, he then passed it to me, and I had open space to penetrate into the striking circle, although my shot bounced off the goalkeeper's pad, luckily I received the rebound, and found the back of the net.

"Nilakanta also played a crucial role here as he blind spotted the goalkeeper, which helped me find the gap during that rebound," he added.

Also Read : Initially disappointed, but Varun feels lucky to be a part of Olympic hockey history

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The sight of stumps flying leaving the batsman with no clues is every bowler’s perfect dismissal and only the best of the best have done it continuously. The IPL has been a stage for bowlers to shine as there are fewer balls to bowl and it always gets intense from the start. Brett Lee dismissing Unmukt Chand in the very ball of IPL in 2013 is still a memory worth reliving, the fast bowlers have ruled the game in most of the seasons and the spinners have been on top overall.

In terms of wickets, yorker legend Lasith Malinga is on top with 170 wickets and is closely followed by spinner Amit Mishra who has 166 wickets. This year we might be able to see an Indian in the top of the bowlers list but Mishra is closely followed by Dwayne Bravo and Piyush Chawla. The spinners are flooding the top ten as only Bravo and Malinga being the pacers in the list as the next ten are only pacers.

The best bowling figures belong to Alzarri Joseph who in 2019 became the third player to pick up a six wicket haul while playing for Mumbai Indians. Sohail Tanvir was the first one to take six wickets in a single game in IPL, he was playing for Rajasthan Royals in 2008 and did it against Chennai Super Kings. Adam Zampa did it 8 years later while playing for Rising Pune Supergiants and as of now is the only spinner in the IPL to have done it. The five wicket haul has been recorded on multiple occasions with only two bowlers doing it twice, Jaydev Unadkat and James Faulkner. Faulkner did it twice in 2013 while playing for Rajasthan Royals, the first Indian to do it was Lakshmipathy Balaji in the 2008 season while donning the Chennai Super Kings jersey.

IPL also has been recording the fastest balls bowled since 2012 and South African speedster Anrich Nortje has bowled the top three fastest balls in the history of the league, he bowled all of them in the 2020 season with the fastest one recorded at 156.22 km/hour. The fastest Indian is Navdeep Saini who bowled a 152.85 km/hour in the 2019 season, the 2016 season saw the least number of times bowlers crossing the 150km mark as only it was passed twice and in the 2020 season it happened on a record 71 occasions. 

In the Orange cap holders, Bravo and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar are the bowlers to wear it twice with Bhuvaneshwar being the only bowler to do it consecutive times. In the 13 editions so far every leading wicket taker has managed to take more than 20 wickets a season, with the lowest being 21 in the 2010 season by spinner Pragyan Ojha and the highest by Bravo in 2013 when he took 32 wickets. Spinners have worn the cap twice, Ojha in 2010 and Imran Tahir in 2019 and the first Indian bowler to wear it was RP Singh in the 2009 edition.

Chennai Super Kings have been able to top the bowling charts on three occasions, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore are yet to do it. The 2013 season saw a record 9 bowlers taking 20 wickets or more and the 2008, 2010 season saw only a single bowler taking 20 wickets or more. 

Balaji was the first player to take a hat-trick in the league, he took three in three against Punjab Kings in the very first edition which saw a total of three hat- tricks in a record span of 8 days. Amit Mishra has a record three hat tricks to his name and Yuvraj Singh has the record of doing it twice in a single season in 2009. This year many records are at stake, with the bowling friendly pitch in UAE we can surely hope to see the wickets tumbling and look forward to the race for the Orange cap.

Also read: Harshal Patel leading the race for purple cap in first phase of Indian Premier League

Abu Dhabi, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Defending champions Mumbai Indians would look for inspiration from skipper Rohit Sharma, who is set to return to action, when they take on a rejuvenated Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

Mumbai were without the services of Rohit and star all-rounder Hardik Pandya in their 20-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings on Sunday as both were rested as a precautionary measure due to having niggles. However, head coach Mahela Jayawardene has said Rohit should be fit and available for selection for the match against KKR.

KKR, on the other hand, have registered a dominating nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in their opening game of the second leg of the league.

Mumbai, who are currently placed fourth in the table with eight points, began their second leg campaign in a typical slow manner but with only half the tournament left to play, the defending champions need to win to stay in the top half of the league table.

Rohit, who has been in fine touch of late, will be expected to continue in the same vein and help his side make amends of the inept batting performance against CSK. Apart from Saurabh Tewary, who hit an unbeaten half century, none of the other batsmen were able to capitalize on their starts against CSK, failing to chase down 156.

On the other hand, the comprehensive win would have boosted KKR’s confidence. Having struggled in the first leg, KKR looked a completely different unit, in the manner in which they defeated RCB.

The Eoin Morgan-led side, placed sixth in the points table, fired on all cylinders with mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and star all-rounder Andre Russell wreaking havoc with the ball before openers Shubman Gill and debutant Venkatesh Iyer chased down the 93-run target with 10 overs to spare.

Skipper Morgan had said that KKR would be dangerous opponents with nothing to lose in the second leg and the team certainly looked menacing against RCB. They will hope to continue playing in a similar aggressive fashion and win the title just like 2014 edition when they notched nine victories in a row.

They will also hold the edge over their rivals having already experienced the conditions at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium against RCB.

The Teams (from): Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (captain), Dinesh Karthik, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Karun Nair, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathy, Shubman Gill, Harbhajan Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pawan Negi, M Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Dube, Tim Southee, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russel, Ben Cutting, Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (captain) Quinton de Kock, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, Anmolpreet Singh, Chris Lynn, Saurabh Tiwary, Anukul Roy, Arjun Tendulkar, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, James Neesham, Jayant Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Marco Jansen, Yudhvir Singh, Adam Milne, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohsin Khan, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, Rahul Chahar, Trent Boult.

Match starts at 7:30PM IST.

Also Read : Special to change game myself after watching others do it: Tyagi

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) The main question the Hyderabad setup needs to answer is, will they bring back David Warner back into the playing XI? He was stripped off his captaincy midway through the season and then axed from the playing XI against Rajasthan Royals which has meant that he has suffered his worst IPL season by some distance. For SRH, chances of qualification look really grim with Kane Willamson and co needing to win all their matches to even stand a chance for qualifying for the playoffs. On the other hand Delhi Capitals will look to reclaim top spot from CSK, the welcome return of Sheryas Iyer might act as a boost for the team.

SRH's biggest miss is going to be their best batsman this season's Jonny Bairstow as he opted to focus on the T20 World Cup and Ashes. They have brought in West Indies explosive batsman Sherfane Rutherford as his replacement. Another major concern for SRH is their middle order as they haven't really shown any impetus to score runs or even take the team home in run chases. With Bairstow not playing, SRH management can use either Mohammad Nabi or Jason Holder to fill that void in the team. In the first leg SRH were hampered with injuries especially to their bowlers, this unwanted break might act as a blessing in disguise as they have near full strength bowling line.

The Delhi Capitals side will be looking for their maiden IPL trophy as this team almost have all the bases covered. They lost Chris Woakes but have replaced him with Ben Dwarshuis for the rest of the season, while left arm seamer Kulwant Khejroliya replaces M Siddharth. The DC management opted to stick with Rishabh Pant as the captain even though Sheryas Iyer is back to full fitness. The return of Iyer will be a boost for the team, and the balance of the team improves as he can play no 3 which could mean that they could bring back the South African duo of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada back together in playing XI. Warner vs Rabada will be a key battle to watch out for as Rabada has dismissed him 3 times in 39 balls but he has also conceded at a rate of 9.38.

Head to head: SRH 11 - 8 DC, the last time they played Delhi prevailed in a humdinger of a contest as the match went into a super over.

Pitch and Weather report: The Dubai International Stadium is a batting friendly surface like we saw in the last match and is expected to assist the batters again, pacers might get some assistance towards the latter half of the game and wrist spinners in both the sides might play a big role.The temperature will  hover around 39 degrees as the humidity will be 55% with no chance of rain as of now. The dew factor could play a major role in the second innings.

Also read: Captain Samson fined Rs 12 lakh for RR's slow over rate against Punjab

Interesting facts:

• Amit Mishra will become the first player to feature in 100 matches for Delhi in the IPL if he plays 
• Amit Mishra is only 4 wickets behind Lasith Malinga’s tally of 170 wickets to become the highest wicket taker in IPL history
• Rashid Khan has picked up 17 wickets in 12 matches in Dubai at an economy rate of 4.55
• DC have hit the fewest sixes (32) but have hit most fours also (132)
• Ashwin needs only one wicket to take 250 T20 wickets and in doing so he’ll become the only the third Indian bowler to do so.  

Probable XI for DC:

1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Avesh Khan   

Probable XI for SRH:

1 David Warner, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Kane Williamson (capt), 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Jason Holder/ Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Sandeep Sharma   .       

Dubai, Sep 22 (Cricket News) Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has been fined Rs 12 lakh for his side's slow over rate during their two-run win over Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League match here.

The Royals pulled off an incredible two-run victory over Punjab Kings with fast bowler Karthik Tyagi dismissing Nicholas Pooran and Deepak Hooda and giving away only one run in the final over to snatch the win for his team at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.

"Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their VIVO Indian Premier League 2021 match against Punjab Kings at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai on September 21," the IPL said in a statement.

"As it was his team’s first offence of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Mr Samson was fined Rs 12 lakh," the statement added.

The two sides were playing their first match after resumption of the IPL on September 19.

Also Read : Delhi Capitals resume IPL campaign against laggards SRH

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 21 (Cricket News) Pacer Kartik Tyagi was ecstatic to effect a turn around in an IPL match for Rajasthan Royals after having seen others do it in the past seasons.

Punjab were poised for an easy win as they needed just four runs from the last over but the 20-year-old from Uttar Pradesh changed the game with his accurate bowling.

He took two wickets and conceded just one run to script an incredible two-run win for his team.

Tyagi, who missed the India leg of the IPL, said "This feels really good".

"I have been talking to seniors over the years and they keep telling me that things keep changing in this format, so I need to keep believing," Tyagi said at the post match press conference.

"I've always heard from everyone and also watched games in this format where strange things have happened. Today, I was fortunate to play a big role in something special." Asked about his effort, he said, "I was bowling a bit too short earlier, later worked on it consciously after getting a lot of feedback." Royals skipper Sanju Samson could not stop smiling after pulling off an incredible win.

"It's funny that we kept believing (that we could win). I kept the overs of Mustafizur and Tyagi for the end, believing. Cricket is a funny game right. We just kept fighting and believing," he said.

"I always believe in my bowlers, want to keep fighting and that's why I kept those two overs till the end. To be very honest, to get that score on this wicket, we felt good because we had the bowling.

"If we took the catches, we could have won the game earlier. People have really worked hard on their fitness," he said.

Punjab skipper KL Rahul was gutted.

"This is a tough one to swallow. We need to see how we can handle pressure better. It's happened to the best in the game. Tough one to swallow that you haven't learnt from your previous mistakes," he said, looking dejected. "We bowled decent lengths in the first six. Unfortunate that edges got it away from us. But we pulled this back nicely with the ball."

Also Read : Rishabh's level of maturity has gone through the roof: Ponting

News Source : PTI

Bellary, Sep 21 (Boxing News) Rohit Mor stunned defending champion Mohammad Hussamuddin but the accomplished duo of Shiva Thapa and Sanjeet lived up to expectations by clinching gold medals in their respective weight categories at the Men's National Boxing Championships here on Tuesday.

Deepak Kumar (51kg), Akash (54kg), Akash (67), Sumit (75kg), Sachin Kumar (80kg), Lakshya (86kg) and Narender (+92kg) also secured gold medals by winning their respective final bouts at the Inspire Institute of Sports. All of them are from Services team.

All the gold medal winners of the National Championships will represent India at the World Championships scheduled in Belgrade, Serbia from October 24 to November 6.

All of them, except Shiva, will be competing in their maiden world championships.

Delhi boxer Mor dished out a dominating 5-0 win over Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Hussamuddin, one of the strong contenders for the title in the 57kg.

Reigning Asian champion Sanjeet, also representing Services, outclassed Haryana’s Naveen Kumar by unanimous decision.

Seasoned boxer Shiva Thapa of Assam, a bronze medallist at the 2015 world championships and also a five-time Asian medallist, successfully defended his title as he recorded an easy 5-0 win over Dalveer Singh Tomar of Services in the 63.5kg final.

Karnataka’s Nishant Dev also continued his brilliant run at the championships. He blanked Amit Kumar of Daman, Diu & Nagar Haveli to win the 71kg title.

Deepak, an Asian championships silver medallist, was adjudged best boxer of the championships for his impressive performance.

Services defended their team championship title as they won 12 medals -- 8 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.

Railway (2 gold, 2 bronze and 3 silver) and Delhi (1 gold, 4 bronze) claimed the second and third position respectively.

For Railways, Varinder Singh (60kg) and Govind Sahani (48kg) claimed gold medals with identical unanimous victories. While the 2021 Asian Championships bronze medallist Varinder defeated Services' Etash Khan Muhammed, Govind got the better of Chandigarh’s Kuldeep Kumar.

The Championships, which returned after a gap of one year due to COVID-19 pandemic, saw participation of 35 States/UT units and Boards and close to 400 boxers.

While the gold and silver medallists from each category of the Championships will also get direct entry into the national coaching camp, the two bronze medallists will take part in the selection trials where they will compete alongside the boxers representing the second team of top-3 teams of the last National Championships -- Services, Railways and Haryana.

The announcement of the remaining two names for the national camp will be made on September 24 on the basis of results of the selection trials.

Also Read : Shiva, Sanjeet, Hussamuddin one win away from world championship selection

News Source : PTI

Bengaluru, Sep 20 (Sports News): Bengaluru racers - Ruhaan Alva, Rohaan Madesh and Nikhilesh Raju - won the three titles on offer in the Meco FMSCI National Karting Championship here recently.

Alva clinched the Senior title in the NC Racing MSport X30 India class in an emphatic manner while Rohaan Madesh (Junior) and Nikhilesh Raju (Cadet) had to fend off stiff challenge from their rivals to take the top spot.

Local lad Nigel Thomas took the second place in the Seniors section and Zarah Misra the third in the Cadets.

Fifteen year-old Alva (167 points) was in a league of his own, impressing in each of the five rounds that were held under prescribed Covid-19 norms. In Rounds 2, 3 and 4, he won each of the four races that eventually proved to be the difference.

In the final round too, he suffered only one minor setback, taking the second position in the second race. But by then he had already sealed the championship.

In the Juniors, Rohaan Madesh (146 points) had to ward off a stiff challenge from Jaden Pariat (134) and younger brother Ishaan (130). Final championship table: Cadet: 1. Nikhilesh Raju (Bangalore; 167 points); 2. Arafath Sheikh (Pune; 157); 3. Zarah Misra (Bangalore; 76) Junior: 1. Rohaan Madesh (Bangalore; 146); 2. Jaden Pariat (Guwahati; 134); Ishaan Madesh (Bangalore; 130) Senior: 1. Ruhaan Alva (Bangalore; 190); 2. Nigel Thomas (Bangalore; 120); 3. Nirmal Umashankar (Chennai 3). 

Also Read : After winning 200m gold in only his 2nd senior level race, Amlan Borgohain wants to just run fast

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 21 (Cricket News) Delhi Capitals coach Ricky Ponting feels his young skipper Rishabh Pant's level of maturity "has gone through the roof" in the last couple of seasons as he has evolved from a swashbuckling keeper-batsman to a leader of the pack.

The 23-year-old Pant was given the responsibility to lead Delhi Capitals in the first phase of IPL 2021 after regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out due to a shoulder injury.

"Rishabh's level of maturity in the last two seasons has gone through the roof," Ponting, one of the game's all-time greats, described the cricketer on Tuesday.

"When I first came in, he just burst on to the scene. I had said we are going to see the unearthing of someone who is going to play for India for a long time. I could see that coming. I could see how much he wanted to be in every Indian team..

"It will take a very good player to knock him off that Indian team." Under Pant's captaincy, DC reached their maiden IPL final last season though they lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit showdown in the UAE.

"He has done a terrific job so far (leading DC in IPL). We are all striving for something special. This year we want to go one step further and Rishabh is going to play an intergral part in that." Before the first phase of the league had started in India earlier this year, Ponting had backed Pant as the team's skipper in the absence of Iyer, stating that the youngster would enjoy the extra responsibility.

And he did as DC topped the standings with six wins from eight matches before COVID-19 cases in the IPL's bio-bubble led to a suspension of the event.

Eager to in their first silverware, Pant said the team needs to give just 10-15 percent more than last season.

"We are better than last time this year. We have been focussing on the process for two-three years. We don't have to do too many things differently from last year. We can do the same things and give 10-15 percent extra," Pant said on the eve of their opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

With the presence of people like Marcus Stoinis and Shimron Hetmyer in the team, besides Pant, the Australian legend has a lot of confidence in his middle-order.

"Stoinis has had actually really big impact on us. He has the talent to be a great all-rounder in world cricket, especially in white-ball. We have got a lot of finishing power there with Hetmyer, Stoinis and Pant... makes our batting lineup really strong and really deep." Ponting is delighted to have Shreyas back in the squad, lending additional firepower to the batting lineup.

"I am delighted to have him back in the team. He has been an exceptional player for Delhi, a world-class player. It does make our team look a little more complete." He said the inclusion of Shreyas in the playing XI will not disturb their bowling combination that has two highly effective South African pacers in Kagiso Rabada and Andre Nortje.

Ponting said the vibe and atmosphere around his group is good going into their first game in the second phase of the league.

DC have plenty of senior players in their ranks including Steve Smith, Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin, and some of them often miss out on game time, but the head coach said managing them has never been an issue as he treats everyone equally.

"I manage everyone the same way, everyone is on the same page in our team. We treat each other equally, that's certainly the way we try to go about. We have a good mix of youth and experience..

"We also do rely on our senior players as, at the end of the day, Rishabh is not always going to be right. So we bring everybody along the journey." Pant said the team's performance in the first half is good from the psychological point of view but they don't talk about what happened few months ago.

"That performance in first half counts obviously but we just want to focus one match at a time. We don't discuss that as a team and focus on our process.

"As a player, I don't think too much. I try to make most of the opportunity I get, move on, and keep learning everyday." Asked about his biggest learning from his predecessor in the Indian team -- the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni -- Pant said, "Focus on the process and results will follow." When asked about his leadership, he said, "I just try to keep the environment light. Anyone can discuss anything with me or Ricky. The combination of youth and experience helps us to go forward.

"I have learned from Ricky that everyone should be treated equally in the team -- players and also the support staff. Only then special things happen and as a skipper, that's the only thing you want." About Wednesday's opponents, Ponting observed that SRH are not a high-scoring side but "they back their defensive side of the game" and are always up for a scrap.

"We feel like we are well prepare. I am very confident that our boys will get the job done." 

Also Read : We've given ourselves a good chance to qualify for playoffs: Rabada

News Source : PTI
 

Kochi, Sep 21 (Football News) An international football tournament will be held here in December ahead of the AFC Women's Asian Cup that India is hosting from January 20 to February 6 next year.

Kerala will host the final round of the 75th Santosh Trophy National Senior Football Championship. The next junior and sub-junior national football championships for boys and girls will also be held in the state.

The slew of tournaments were part of efforts to promote football in Kerala undertaken by the state government in collaboration with the All India Football Federation.

The AIFF and Kerala Football Association will also support the organisation of Golden Baby Leagues as well as the Youth Leagues from the local level to the state level.

Talismanic former India captain IM Vijayan sounded excited, lavishing praise on the collaboration between the Government of Kerala and the AIFF in close coordination with the KFA.

"This will act as a boon to football in the state. I am very happy to hear such tournaments are being planned to be hosted in Kerala," Vijayan said in an AIFF release.

"It has been a long time since we have had footballing action in the state, especially due to the pandemic. People are dying to watch live action,” Vijayan, nicknamed the ‘Black Buck’ during his playing days, said.

He said hosting an international women’s tournament will further help inspire more women to take up the sport.

“Gokulam Kerala will already play in the AFC Women’s Club Championship, and now the Kerala Government has also opened academies for women. I am looking forward to it. Well done,” Vijayan said.

Also Read : ATKMB face FC Nasaf in unfamiliar Uzbek territory in AFC Cup Inter-Zone Semis

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 21 (Cricket News) Bolstered by Shreyas Iyer's return, Delhi Capitals will look to maintain the form they showed in the first half of the season as they resume their IPL campaign against a struggling Sunrisers Hyderabad here on Wednesday.

Delhi are currently sitting on the second spot, with 12 points from eight games. On the other hand, Sunrisers are placed at the last spot, with just a solitary win from seven games and six losses.

The Rishabh Pant-led side ended the first half of the IPL with a win and would be keen to start on a winning note.

And to do that, the Capitals have enough power-hitters in their line-up, who can take any good attack to cleansers and Sunrisers won’t be an exception.

Opener Shikhar Dhawan (380 runs), would be keen to prove the selectors wrong after being axed from India’s World T20 squad, while his partner young Prithvi Shaw (308 runs), would also like to get some runs under his belt.

DC boast of a strong middle-order comprising Shreyas Iyer, skipper Rishabh Pant (213 runs), Australians Steve Smith (104 runs) and Marcus Stoinis (71 runs) and Shimron Hetmyer (84 runs.

They will have to play their roles well if the Capitals need to keep winning and in case the opener’s fail, the middle-order will need to take responsibility.

Iyer, who is making a comeback after recovering from shoulder injury that he sustained in March, would also be keen to start the tournament well.

Delhi also have a settled bowling attack and they could go in with Avesh Khan (14 wickets) and Kasigo Rabada (8 wickets), who have been lethal at the start and at the death.

Delhi have array of spinners to choose from – be it wily old-fox Ravichandran Ashwin, experienced campaigner Amit Mishra, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav or Pravin Dubey.

For Sunrisers, a win would boost their confidence and help them stay afloat in the tournament.

However, their season’s leading run-getter Johnny Bairstow, has decided to pull out and hence the marauding Australian opener David Warner (193 runs) will have to shoulder more responsibility.

The likes of Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Kedar Jadhav, Abdul Samad and Vijay Shankar, will also need to chip in and contribute.

Their bowlers, led by spin sensation Rashid Khan, also will have to put up a disciplined show to contain the Delhi batters at the Dubai International Stadium.

Teams (From): Delhi Capitals: Rishabh Pant (Captain), Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Ripal Patel, Shikhar Dhawan, Shimrom Hetmyar, Shreyas Iyer, Steve Smith, Amit Mishra, Anrich Nortje, Avesh Khan, Ben Dwarshuis, Ishant Sharma, Kagiso Rabada, Kulwant Khejroliya, Lukman Meriwala, Pravin Dubey, Tom Curran, Umesh Yadav, Axar Patel, Lalit Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Ravichandran Ashwin, Sam Billings and Vishnu Vinod.

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson (Captain), David Warner, Manish Pandey, Sherfane Rutherford, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Rashid Khan, Vijay Shankar, Mohammad Nabi, Abhishek Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Abdul Samad, J Suchith, Jason Holder, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Kedar Jadhav, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Jason Roy.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.

Also Read : How Kohli overcame persistent back issues

News Source : PTI

Chennai, Sep 21 (Football News) Two-time ISL champion Chennaiyin FC's new head coach Bozidar Bandovic does not believe in a long pre-season, saying eight weeks were enough to make the players run and still keep them fresh.

The ISL 2021-22 season gets underway on November 19 in Goa.

"As a coach I don't agree with long pre-season. I think eight weeks are enough to make them run for 90 minutes and be refreshed at the same time. We start the work every day on zoom call," Bandovic said during a virtual media interaction. "We start training on September 26. I spoke to the club about having 6-7 friendly games but we will inform you when we will complete all the dates because it's a difficult situation. We need to see which teams are free and when it's good for them and us to play friendly matches." The man from Montenegro said the team had a "good mix of youth and experience and also some domestic players who play for the national team".

"We have a good team and now we have to work hard. I believe that we need to make coordination between the players and to make them play in their preferred position so that they can give their best for the team," he added.

To a question about last season during which CFC finished eighth in the league stage, Bandovic said, "I cannot speak about the last season." "Looking at the numbers, the team did not score many goals. I believe that these (foreign) players can score the goals. We will try to work to make the change. It's not important who scores the goal. I want the team to win. I believe that we will be better this season," he added.

On the new foreign signings, the CFC coach said they will have a positive influence on the domestic players and help them improve.

"They are new to the league. I know that they have the quality. We choose the players who have the personality. The foreigners need to make a difference immediately on the field. We will make a good group.

"They will have a positive influence on the domestic players – training and communication. The domestic players will improve. They are leaders and have character," he added.

He further said all the players were in Goa save for Hungarian -midfielder Vladimir Koman, who was expected to arrive on Wednesday and added that there were no injury worries for the team.

"All players are here...Koman will arrive tomorrow.. (Goalkeeper) Samik Mitra has some problem – flu.. He will be with us in a couple of days. (Lallianzuala) Chhangte is 99 percent. He only has a small problem. He will need only two days to be fully fit," the CFC coach added.

He also revealed that the local mid-fielder Dhanpal Ganesh has not joined the pre-season camp so far.

Bandovic, who recently worked with Thai club Buriram United, said he needed to adapt to India and Indian football.

"The people around me are very good. I will learn more as days go by. This club should be in the top four. This is a team that has won two championships.

"I looked at the games of our team from last season. I chose the players after looking at them. The club signed the players that I proposed. I looked at players who are best of the team."

Also Read : 

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Punjab Kings take on Rajasthan Royals in the Dubai International Stadium in a must win match for both teams, with Mumbai dropping points Rajasthan can go level on points and can also occupy the 4th position if they win. On the other hand KL Rahul’s side can’t afford any more slip ups as they have to potentially win all their matches to stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Both the sides will have plenty of new faces due to the non availability of players, and some of those could work in favour looking at their form and calibre of these players.

Rajasthan Royals are basically going to have a new set of foreign players as the likes of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Andrew Tye and Jos Buttler all opted out as they wanted to focus on the T20 World Cup and Ashes. Although the Royals have got in form players in Evin Lewis, Oshane Thomas, Shamsi and Glenn Phillips in. The positives for Royals is that Liam Livingston and Evin Lewis are in sublime form as both were the highest run getters in the Hundred and CPL respectively. A lot of responsibility falls on Chris Morris to lead the relatively inexperienced  bowling attack as players like Archer and Tye opted out, Morris’ match up with Gayle will be an interesting watch as the South African has dismissed him three times scoring 58 runs in 61 balls only.

Punjab Kings on the other hand will be without Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Dawid Malan, the kings decided to bring in Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid and Aiden Markarm as their replacements. The kings during the first phase had a lot of dependency on the top order as 50% of the runs this season have been scored by KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, the middle order has only averaged 17.10% of the runs in this year's IPL, which is the lowest amongst the teams. A solution to this problem could be Markarm as he recently played in the slow turning pitches in Sri Lanka recently at number 3. The Kings can straightway hand Adil Rashid his debut as the Royal players tend to struggle to spin.    

Also read: Kolkata Knight Riders outclass dull Royal Challengers Bangalore to win by 9 wickets

Head to head: RR 12 - 10 PBKS, their last game was a thriller as kings won by four runs in the last over.

Pitch and Weather report: The pitch was green top in the first match which assisted the fast bowlers. It is expected to turn slower like it did earlier as a total of 160 could be a challenging target especially with the long boundaries. The temperature is going to hover around 42 degrees with no chances of rain as of now.

Interesting facts:

• Mustafizur (43) and Shamsi (41) are the second and third highest wicket-takers in T20s in 2021
• KL Rahul has a strike rate of over 157 in the middle overs
• Kings (57) and Royals (52) are amongst the top three six hitting teams this season
• Mustafizur has an economy rate of 8.81 in the death overs which is the best this season

Probable XI for PBKS:

1 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Fabian Allen/Adil Rashid, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Nathan Ellis, 11 Mohammed Shami 

Probable XI  for RR:

1 Evin Lewis, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Kartik Tyagi, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Chetan Sakariya/Jaydev Unadkat

Karshi (Uzbekistan), Sep 21 (Football News) Up against a formidable opponent in an unfamiliar territory, ATK Mohun Bagan will start as underdogs in their AFC Cup Inter-Zone Semi-final against FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan here on Wednesday.

ATK Mohun Bagan are without central defender Sandesh Jinghan, who has joined Croatian club Sibenik since the 1-1 draw with Bashundhara Kings which saw the Indian side advance as South Asian Zonal champions.

Another heavyweight Hugo Boumos is also out, having been omitted from the squad to make way for Joni Kauko, a newly signed midfielder who appeared in all three of Finland’s matches at UEFA Euro 2020 earlier this year.

The 2020 Uzbekistan Super League runners-up will play the make-or-break clash in the familiar surrounds of Markaziy Stadium, a venue where they have tasted defeat just twice in 11 home matches this season, including their 3-2 win over Turkmenistan’s FC Ahal in the previous round of the continental tournament.

In contrast, ATK Mohun Bagan have had to travel via Dubai in their bid to advance to next month’s Inter-Zone Final against Lee Man FC of Hong Kong, and have been out of domestic league action since March, with three AFC Cup group stage fixtures in August their only competitive action in over six months.

Despite the lack of competitive preparation matches, Antonio Lopez Habas’ side hope to make up for it in talent and ambition.

The star attacking duo of Roy Krishna and David Williams have travelled after combining for three of the team’s six goals in the group stage, while goalkeeper Amrinder Singh will be aiming to build on a positive start to life at ATK Mohun Bagan.

Fans of the Kolkata-based side will, at the very least, be expecting a far better result than the last Indian team to venture to Karshi for an AFC Cup clash, with Dempo suffering a 9-0 defeat in the group stage back in 2011.

Nasaf are match fit, focused and in form. Chasing the trophy, a decade after the club won it in 2011, the settled nature of Ruzikul Berdiev’s outfit is underlined by the fact there are no changes to the squad which successfully navigated the Central Asian Zonal Final last month.

Serbian duo of Marko Stanojevic and Andrija Kaluđerovic -- both goal scorers against Ahal -- may be well known to fans from outside Uzbekistan, but Nasaf’s strength lies in their deep pool of young local talent, with Sherzod Nasruallev, Khusayin Norachaev, Akmal Mozgovoy and Khusniddin Alikulov all under 25, and all influential in the competition so far.

Berdiev’s charges have proved impossible to contain in Asia this season, averaging 67 percent of possession and 21 shots at goal per outing over their four fixtures and scoring multiple goals in every match.

Also Read : Kerala Blasters FC launch their home kit for 2021-22 Indian Super League season

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) Indian Women's team started their Australia tour in the worst possible way. Australia won the 1st ODI in a very convincing and comfortable fashion by 9 wickets and 9 overs to spare. The toss was going to be very crucial as it was a fresh wicket and bowling first was going to be a very big advantage. Unfortunately for India, Mithali Raj lost the toss and India was put into bat first. 

Australia displayed some aggressive bowling from the very beginning. India's dangerous and in form openers Shefali Verma and Smriti Mandhana were dismissed very cheaply by seamer Darcie Brown. Yastika Bhatia and Mithali Raj built a partnership of 77 runs before Bhatia was dismissed. Australia kept picking wickets on regular intervals as India could manage only 225 runs. Debutant Hannah Darlington and spinner Sophie Molineux took 2 wickets each while Darcie Brown put in Player of the match performance by picking up 4 crucial wickets.

Also read:  Opportunities aplenty for aspiring female cricketers post evolution of the game - India A all rounder Tejal Hasabnis

India had a very small target to defend and they never looked like doing it. Australia's top 3 of Alyssa Healy, Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning scored half centuries to guide Australia to a comfortable victory. Healy became the fastest woman to score 2000 runs in One Day Internationals.

Although the Indian batters didn't put a big enough score on the board, it was the bowlers who lost the match. Poonam Yadav was the only bowler who picked up a wicket and that too was just a consolation. 

The next W-ODI is on 24th September when Australia will have a chance to wrap up the series. A thumb injury sidelined vice-captain Harmanpreet Kaur from the 1st match but the hard hitting batting all-rounder could come back for the 2nd game.

Dubai, Sep 21 (Cricket News) India skipper Mithali Raj continued to hold on to the number one spot while New Zealand's Amy Satterthwaite returned to the top five in the latest ICC women's ODI rankings for batters released on Tuesday.

While skipper Mithali, who has 762 rating points, retained her top spot, opener Smiriti Mandhana was placed seventh.

Satterthwaite made her way back into the top five on the back of her unbeaten 79 in the first ODI against England.

South Africa opener Lizelle Lee, who had caught up with Mithali last week to share the mantle at the top, has slipped by a position at number 2 -- one rating point behind -- after missing the final two ODIs against West Indies.

England captain Heather Knight also made significant gains. Her match-winning 89 off 107 deliveries against New Zealand helped her enter the top ten, jumping five places to share the ninth spot with Natalie Sciver and Laura Wolvaardt.

Veteran Indian pacer Jhulan Goswami moved up a spot to fourth while senior spinner Poonam Yadav remained static on ninth among bowlers.

India's Deepti Sharma moved a rung to be fourth in the all-rounders' list led by Australia's Ellyse Perry.

In the bowling rankings, the England pair of Sophie Ecclestone and Katherine Brunt climbed up the ladder one position each at sixth and seventh respectively, shifting Ayabonga Khaka of South Africa down to number eight who missed the final two outings of the series against South Africa.

Kate Cross snared five wickets in the first two ODIs while Natalie Sciver picked up three. Effectively, Cross moved up two places to 15th and Sciver advanced up three places to 18th.

Also Read : Australia too good for struggling India, win by nine wickets in first ODI

News Source : PTI

(Football news) September 21, 2021: Kerala Blasters FC has launched their first kit for the upcoming season of Hero Indian Super League 2021-22. The first kit is a tribute to the 1973 Kerala Santosh Trophy squad who won the first-ever Santosh Trophy championship on the soil of Kerala. To celebrate the 1973 triumph and to honour those veterans, 1973 will be written on  all the jerseys. This kit will be the home kit and will be worn for the home matches.
 
Yellow remains emboldened in the kit, as it represents the team's strong passion for football and also symbolizes their pride to be one with Kerala in reinforcing the State’s legacy. Along with this unchanged yellow, the Komban is also maintained as it signifies the pride of KBFC. The blue colour on the sides represents the tusk of the Komban, and the skin pattern is inspired by the shape of the Komban’s eyes. This skin pattern is made to represent the culture and passion of the Kerala fan base. 

Also read: Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC teams up with Kerala Government for Sports Kerala Elite Residential Football Academy
 
Ambar Aneja, CEO Six5Six says, 'It's been an honour to be a part of this historic partnership and to honour heroes that have had an incredible impact on the game of football in Kerala. This Jersey is an ode to all of that and more.' 
 
Kerala Blasters FC's Director Nikhil Bhardwaj says, 'This one is special for me because when we made a commitment to the development of football in the state of Kerala we knew that we had a rich legacy that we had to honour. This year when we wear the Yellow Armour we will take with us the spirit of the Class of 1973. #ForOurLegends.'
 
The club will reveal the second and third kits prior to the start of Hero ISL 2021-22.

(Boxing news) Belgrade will host the 2021 edition of the AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships from October 24 to November 6. So far, applications for participation in the tournament have been submitted by national federations of 68 countries, including Cuba, Uzbekistan, Thailand, the Philippines, Ukraine, India, Mongolia and others. Champions and winners of the biggest and most important boxing tournaments will participate in the tournament. Such recognized stars as Khasanboy Dusmatov, Julio La Cruz, Emomali Rahmon and other world famous boxers are already preparing to demonstrate their highest level in Belgrade.

The number of applications for participation exceeded the expectations of the organizers and due to the numerous requests of the national federations, therefore AIBA management has decided to extend the terms of accreditation till October 4, 2021.

Also read: I hope we can reach more people with the power and spirit of rugby - Paul Walsh MBE, Founder and Managing Trustee at Jungle Crows

For the first time in AIBA’s 75-year history, medal winners at the forthcoming AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia will be rewarded with significant prize money from AIBA. The prize money fund has been set at $2,6 million USD. The prize for first place is $100 000 USD. Silver medalists receive $50 000 USD, and both bronzes in each weight category receive $25 000 USD.

New Delhi, Sep 21 (Sports News) He has won a gold with the fifth fastest time ever by an Indian in only his second 200m competition at senior level but Assam youngster, Amlan Borgohain, wants to take one step at a time and refuses to harbour lofty ambitions.

The 23-year-old Borgohain, hailing from Meleng village in Assam's Jorhat district, claimed the men's 200m gold on Sunday with a time of 20.75 seconds during the National Open Championships in Warangal, Telengana.

His time was the second fastest on the country's soil and fifth fastest ever by an Indian after national record holder Muhammed Anas Yahia (20.63), Dharambir Singh (20.66), Arokia Rajiv (20.66) and Anil Kumar (20.73).

"It was my first senior level 200m final race since I started taking part at senior level in 2019 and I don't have any international experience," Borgohain told PTI in an interview from Bhubaneswar, where he is training at the Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics High Performance Centre (HPC) since April last year.

His first senior level 200m race was during the 2019 National Open Championships in Ranchi, where he had clocked 21.99 seconds. He had also won a silver in the 100m dash with a creditable time of 10.34 seconds in Warangal.

Asked what are his targets, he said, "I have just started my career and I want to just run fast.

"Olympics is any athlete's ultimate dream but, at the moment, I am not looking very far. I want to take one step at a time. My coach is there to help me and chalk out my future course of action." Borgohain is under the tutelage of Welshman James Hillier, the head coach at the Reliance Foundation HPC, who has mentored the likes of Rio Olympics 4x400m relay bronze medallist Emily Diamond in the past.

"Of course, there is Asian Games and Commonwealth Games next year but I am not going to put pressure on him by telling him about medals. There is a lot of room for improvement and we are focussing on that.

"He is certainly the best 200m runner in the country at the moment. I am planning to take him to Europe next year to compete on the European circuit and get some more experience competing against quality foreign athletes.

"He has the right attributes to become a top-class athlete. He is always eager to learn, wants to work hard and also very actively participates in anything, not the kind of shy or reticent athlete, he is the leader of any pack." Borgohain also took part in the Federation Cup in March in Patiala where he ran 10.44 seconds in 100m but did not run in 200m due to a hamstring injury. A bout of COVID-19 infection -- he tested positive on his 23rd birthday -- forced him to miss the National Inter-State Championships in June.

A fan of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sunil Chhetri, football was Borgohain's first love but took up athletics once his armyman father was posted in Hyderabad, where they shifted from Assam. His father BC Borgohain retired as Subedar Major in 2009.

"Just like most of northeasterners, my first love was football and I played the game in my childhood and school days. But once our family shifted to Hyderabad, there was little scope for football. So, I shifted to athletics. That was in 2015," he said.

Asked if he had faced financial issues during his formative years in the sport, Borgohain said, "We are not well off but the situation was not that bad. It is not that I will not get things like running shoes with spikes, but it takes some time for my father to gather money to buy the stuff." His first athletics medal came at the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) Nationals in Lucknow in 2015 and podium finishes in the Under-18 and Under-20 categories at state level followed.

Borgohain, whose family has now returned to their native village in Assam, then took part in the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) nation-wide athletics competition in 2017.

He clocked 10.84 seconds in 100m and 22.06 seconds in 200m in the 2018 RFYS national finals.

Hillier spotted him at the Khelo India Games in Guwahati in January last year and invited the youngster to appear for an evaluation at the HPC in February. After four weeks of intensive training and assessment, Borgohain was confirmed a spot at the Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre in April last year.

Also Read : Amlan Borgogain, Praveen Chithravel share limelight with Manju Bala Singh

News Source : PTI

Mackay, Sep 21 (Cricket News) India's frailties in the batting and bowling department were laid bare as the mighty Australia gave the visitors a nine-wicket hiding in the first women's ODI to extend their record winning streak to 25 matches.

India, who are aiming to post 250 plus regularly to challenge the likes of Australia, could only manage 225 for eight in an innings that never got the momentum it needed.

Skipper Mithali Raj (61 off 107) recorded her fifth consecutive fifty, which was also her 59th overall, while the other contributions came from debutants Yastika Bhatia (35 off 51), Richa Ghosh (32 not out off 29) and veteran pacer Jhulan Goswami (20 off 24).

Australia gunned down the target in 41 overs as India bowling lacked the teeth to trouble them. The four-time World Cup winners last lost an ODI in October 2017.

After a sedate start of 30 runs in eight overs, Australian openers Alyssa Healy (77 off 77) and Rachael Haynes (93 not out off 100) changed gears to run away with the game.

Healy was the aggressor in their 126-run stand with her dominating knock comprising eight fours and couple of sixes. She was eventually caught at mid off trying to hit another one out of the ground off leggie Poonam Yadav.

Haynes and skipper Meg Lanning (53 not out off 69) then shared a 101-run stand and took Australia home for a resounding win.

India, who fielded three debutants in the game including Ghosh, Yastika and pacer Mansi Singh, have a lot of thinking and planning to do for the second ODI of the three-match series.

The decision to pack the eleven with three all-rounders in Sneh Rana, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar, leaving out a specialist left-arm spinner, did not work for India.

Megha impressed with her ability to swing the ball while Jhulan bowled a tidy spell as usual but India were never able to put Australia under pressure.

On the batting front, the visitors would not have crossed the 220-run mark if it wasn't for the eight-wicket stand of 45 runs between Jhulan and Ghosh, who was picked ahead of Taniya Bhatia to add the much needed firepower.

India openers Shafali Verma (8) and Smriti Mandhana (16), whom the team relies on heavily for brisk starts, perished after hitting a few boundaries. They need to be consistent going forward.

The bowlers have identified the apparent weakness in Shafali's game and don't offer front-foot balls. The 17-year-old perished off a short ball again with wicketkeeper collecting the catch on the leg side off pacer Darcie Brown.

Brown (4/33) was the stand out bowler for Australia while debutant Hannah Darlington (2/29) and Sophie Molineux (2/39) took a couple each.

Mithali was hit on the helmet by a Ellyse Perry bouncer but she carried on to bat.

Senior India batter Harmanpreet Kaur did not play the game due to a thumb injury.

Also Read : India's batting struggles continue as visitors end up with 225/8

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 21 (Cricket News) Virat Kohli has narrated his struggles from a persistent back pain in 2014 and how he overcame it with the guidance of former India strength and conditioning coach Basu Shanker.

In the foreword for Shanker's maiden book -- 100, 200 Practical Applications in Strength and Conditioning -- Kohli recalled how he was introduced to lifting weights by the S&C coach who helped him in becoming one of the fittest cricketers around.

"In the latter half of 2014, I found myself with a relentless back issue which was not easing off. Every morning, I had to do a routine for 45 minutes to loosen my back, but the stiffness could come back at any time through the day.

"It was then that Basu sir and I had a conversation around lifting weights and get ting overall explosive strength in my body," Kohli wrote.

Shanker, who worked with the national team from 2015-2019, is seen as the man responsible for the transformation of Kohli and the Indian team's fitness.

"At first, I wasn't convinced (about lifting), but the only thing Basu sir asked of me was 'trust'. I had full faith in his knowledge and experience.

"I remember in our series against Sri Lanka in 2015, I started learning lifting from Basu sir, understood the dynamics and the study behind the practice and felt I was working towards something amazing.

"The results were outstanding, and that changed my perception of S&C and the importance of knowing exactly what you're working towards." Kohli, who himself launched the book on social media last week, heaped rich praise on Shanker, who is currently with RCB.

"Basu sir is the best S&C coach I've worked with, and his ability to make you feel at ease with his template is absolutely amazing. Never have I worked with someone who knew exactly how to transform my physique and performance according to my needs, not through a set template that was common to every one.

"I truly believe through this book, one can dive into the details and the knowledge which can surely transform your perception of what training means, change the way you do things and how you feel about your physique after fol lowing the programme to the T, as Basu sir likes to say," Kohli added.

Also Read : Iyer's aggressive knock signifies the aggressive brand of cricket KKR want to play: Morgan

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(Cricket news) In match 31 of the IPL, RCB were convincingly defeated by KKR by 9 wickets with 10 overs to spare. RCB remain 3rd on the table while KKR jump to 5th.

RCB had played well in the first half of the tournament but couldn't replicate their form. KKR on the other hand bounced back from their disappointing first. Bangalore's batting collapsed like dominoes as Devdutt Padikkal was the only batter who crossed the 20 run mark. 

Kolkata's bowlers did a magnificent job to restrict RCB to 92. Varun Chakravarty picked up 3 wickets and also influenced a run out as he was named the man of the match. Andre Russell displayed some fiery  bowling picking up 3 wickets. His yorker to get rid of AB de Villiers for a golden duck was a jaffa which would've troubled any batter in the world.

Also read: Iyer's aggressive knock signifies the aggressive brand of cricket KKR want to play: Morgan

KKR's batters didn't have too much to do as the required run rate was well below 5 an over. Shubhman Gill scored a fine 48 while debutant Venkatesh Iyer scored a magnificent 41 to anchor the run chase. There were a lot of positives in the game for KKR. Iyer's innings cement's his place in the side for a while and the team's balance looks to be perfect for the time being. KKR's next game will be against Mumbai Indians on 23rd September.

RCB don't have too much to think about as the loss doesn't reflect anything wrong with the tactics or selections. It was just a batting collapse which is enough to lose any match in the T20 format. RCB will play table toppers CSK on 24th September to try and get their campaign back on track.

Mackay, Sep 21 (Cricket News) India's batting woes continued as they could only manage 225/8 against Australia in the first women's ODI of the three-match series here on Tuesday.

India, who are aiming to score 250 plus consistently to challenge the likes of Australia, kept losing wickets regularly in an innings that never got the momentum it needed.

Skipper Mithali Raj (61 off 107) recorded her fifth consecutive fifty, which was also her 59th overall half-century, while the other significant contributions came from debutants Yastika Bhatia (35 off 51) and Richa Ghosh (32 not out off 29).

India would not have crossed the 220-run mark if it wasn't for the eight-wicket stand of 45 runs between senior pacer Jhulan Goswami (20 off 24) and Ghosh, who was picked ahead of Taniya Bhatia to add the much needed firepower to the batting line-up.

India openers Shafali Verma (8) and Smriti Mandhana (16), whom the team relies on heavily for brisk starts, perished after hitting a few boundaries.

Senior batter Harmanpreet Kaur did not play the game due to a thumb injury.

Pacer Darcie Brown (4/33) picked up four wickets for Australia while debutant Hannah Darlington (2/29) and Sophie Molineux (2/39) took a couple each.

Also Read : Best possible preparation for ODI World Cup: Mithali on mighty Australia challenge

News Source : PTI

Rugby in India is a sport that is steadily developing and Indian athletes are constantly making a name for themselves in the sport, both domestically and around the world. While rugby might still have some way to go to be considered a ‘mainstream’ sport in the country, those working behind the scenes are dedicated to raise the standard of rugby, right from the grassroots and are building a solid foundation for a sustainable rugby ecosystem for years to come.

In this exclusive interview with SPOGO, Mr. Paul Walsh MBE, Founder and Managing Trustee at Jungle Crows Foundation speaks about the recent partnership between Bristol Bears and Kolkata Jungle Crows, the role of British actor Stewart Wright, grassroot development, the impact of the partnership and long term benefits.

Q 1) What will the partnership between Bristol Bears and Kolkata Jungle Crows bring to the rugby ecosystem in India?

I am thinking about this in two ways - the first is perhaps obviously, the benefits the partnership will bring to the Jungle Crows and the second is how we can work for this to support rugby in India more generally. We have to get down to some detailed discussions but one area of the partnership that is particularly exciting is how we can tap into the very excellent Bristol Bears Academy. The Jungle Crows coaching at grass roots is what we all enjoy so much, so improving and developing our skills and systems will be a top priority for us. Of course this will all be online for some time yet, but let's see where it leads.

Q 2) What role did Bears’ season ticket holder and Bristol actor Stewart Wright have in making this partnership a reality?

Stewart basically made the partnership happen. When he completed the film "Jungle Cry" this became a mission for him. It is difficult to get the attention from a team as busy and focused on performance as the Bears. Through various connections and reminders, Stewart was eventually able to discuss the partnership with the right person, have it agreed by the Bears board and from then it all moved very quickly.

Q 3) What does a partnership of this nature do for the grassroot development of rugby in India?

Well we hope it continues to improve and grow grassroots rugby and give other clubs something to aim for themselves. Just having media attention is so helpful in its own right, it gives young players a big boost. We want the partnership to develop so it isn't just about the Jungle Crows but supports rugby communities across the country. That's the challenge.

Also read: Rugby has completely changed my life, it’s a misconception that rugby is a very difficult contact sport - Sandhya Rai, Rugby player

Q 4) How much of a boost will this partnership have on the national men’s and women’s rugby team in India?

I think the ecosystem of any sport requires inputs at all sorts of levels. The India under 18 women have just won the silver medal in Asian 7s in Tashkent. These are our top young athletes, trained in excellent facilities provided by KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, coached by Ludwiche, an excellent South African Coach, but to make this happen needs a foundation and a pipeline of talent coming through. If the partnership can play a part in developing this talent then we can have a positive impact on how the national team performs.

Q 5) Sport has the power to uplift entire communities, do you think this partnership can have a transformational impact on the lives of others?

For me the community connection with the Bristol Bears is a fundamental part of the partnership. As their mission the Bears have "To inspire our community through rugby success." The Jungle Crows have always been like a family, with all the ups and downs that it involves. I've been fortunate to see some of the transformations rugby has had on young people, all over the world. I am hoping we can do more and reach more people with the power and spirit of rugby. 

Q 6) What are some of the long term benefits that you can see as a result of this partnership?

For me I'd hope that the Bears can become a sort of mentor to the Jungle Crows. Whether in business, life or in sports, having a mentor brings real benefits. It will give us confidence, help us to figure out strategies, and of course mean we play better rugby. It is worth saying here though, that this isn't a one way street and it is important we also bring some benefits to the Bristol Bears. We have some ideas around this that need to be developed and we've plans to be worked out, but this is a great start!

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Sports News) Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday pushed for a common pool of cash awards for athletes with both the central and state governments accumulating funds to provide equal benefits to athletes winning medals for India.

During a virtual interaction, Thakur asked the sports ministers of states and union territories to send their feedback in this regard.

The meeting was organised to draw a road map to prepare the Indian athletes for future Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games and evaluate how the states are contributing to promote sports at the grassroots.

The meeting was also attended by sports secretary Ravi Mittal.

Thakur said sports is a state subject and the overall motive of the interaction was to urge the states to organise sporting events across rural and urban areas for able-bodied and para-athletes as well as play a key role in identification of talents at the grassroots level.

"Today's meeting was very fruitful and we have agreed to meet at least twice in a year to evaluate the progress and how we can come up with better infrastructure, more coaches and more trainers and physiotherapists," he said after the meeting.

"Apart from that we will be looking to create a dashboard, where the data related to sports infrastructure will be available from each state, district, block.

"The dashboard will give all relevant information like how many coaches are available, what kind of sports will be played in those indoor stadium or outdoor games etc. and all these details will be available at the click of a button." Thakur also said that there will be a talent hunt programme for various sports to identify youngsters and train them for future events.

Also Read : Tokyo Paralympians felicitated by Venkaiah Naidu

News Source : PTI

(Cricket news) IPL has seen the highest run scorers every year breaking new barriers as the orange cap takes a lot of team effort too as more the matches, the more the chances they get to score. Players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, David Warner and Ab De Villers have redefined the art of attacking the bowlers. Indian players are also not far behind as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina have terrorised the bowlers in their own style.

When we look at the numbers, only twice has the orange cap holder scored less than 600 runs in a season, Mathew Hayden scored 572 runs in 2009 and David Warner scored 562 runs in 2015 which is the lowest for an orange cap holder. Virat Kohli has scored the most runs in a single season when he scored 973 runs in the 2016 season, no one has been able to touch the 900 run mark and the closest was in the same season when David Warner finished second with 848 runs.

Shaun Marsh was the first player to score over 600 runs in a single season as he took the orange cap in 2008, Sachin Tendulkar became the first Indian to score 600 runs in a season as he scored 618 runs in the 2010 season. Chris Gayle became the first player to break the 700 run barrier as he scored 733 runs in the 2012 season, Virat Kohli became the first Indian to score more than 700 runs in a year in the 2016 season and was joined by David Warner. Warner and Kohli are the only batsmen to score more than 800 runs in a year.

Sunrisers Hyderabad has had a batsmen score more than 600 runs a year four consecutive times and Royal Challengers Bangalore being the other one who have done it four times but on separate occasions. Punjab Kings have done it thrice, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals have done it twice, Mumbai Indians and Kolkota Knight Riders have done it once with Rajasthan yet to do it. David Warner has won the orange cap a record three times.

Virat Kohli is leading the run chart overall with 6076 runs, he is the only player to go past the 6000 run mark and is followed by Shikhar Dhawan who has 5577 runs to his name. David Warner has the highest runs for an overseas player as he has scored 5447 runs with De Villers coming in second with 5056 runs. Dhawan can cross the 5600 run mark while Warner can enter the 5500 mark in this season.

Warner has scored the most fifties as he has scored it fifty times in 148 innings and has a narrow lead over Dhawan who has 44 fifties to his name. Chris Gayle is on top in the century list as he has 6 hundreds to his name and is challenged by Virat Kohli who has five in which four came in the 2016 season which is itself a record. The first hundred was scored by Brendon McCullum in the very first match of the IPL in 2008, he was playing for Kolkata and scored it against Bangalore. Manish Pandey scored the first hundred by an Indian in the IPL, he was playing for Bangalore and scored it against Deccan Chargers in 2009. 

Chris Gayle has scored the fastest century as it took him only 30 balls to reach the three figure mark against Pune Warriors India in 2013 and the Indian record is held by Yusuf Pathan when he scored a century in 37 balls against Mumbai Indians in 2013. The IPL is known to bring in records every season and has seen batsmen smashing sixes all over the stadium and even out of the stadium. This season, the batsmen will have more challenges as the UAE pitches are not batsmen friendly so they won't have the same advantage that they had in India. However, this format is all about challenges and this time too it will be handled with brutal force and power.

Also read: The top five run scorers in the first phase of the Indian Premier League

Dubai, Sep 20 (Cricket News) Young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad is glad that he could take up the responsibility of guiding Chennai Super Kings to an eventual winning total from a "tough situation" against reigning champions Mumbai Indians in their opening match of the second phase of IPL here.

The 24-year-old Gaikwad scored an unbeaten 88 off 58 deliveries to guide CSK to a fighting 156/6 from 24/4. CSK eventually won the match by 20 runs here on Sunday.

"Obviously the situation was tough as most of the top-order batsmen got out. I had to take the responsibility and then find a way how can we reach up to 120-130," Gaikwad told teammate Deepak Chahar in a video posted on IPL website.

"And after spending some time on the crease the target got extended by 10 runs everytime, 140-150 looked possible then." Gaikwad took up the onus on himself after the likes of Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni were dismissed early, while Ambati was retired hurt.

Gaikwad and senior pro Ravindra Jadeja (26) shared crucial 81 runs for the fifth wicket to take CSK forward and lay the foundation for the winning total.

"The conversation I had with Jaddu bhai (Jadeja) in between was to build a partnership, it was the plan and thankfully it got executed," said Gaikwad, who bagged his fifth man-of-the-match award in 13 IPL matches.

"Our preparation was good, we came a little early here than other teams. We had plenty of match simulations where we tried simulating slog overs batting as well as early on in the innings, setting target as well. I think that was really helpful."

Also Read : Ruturaj's 88 and bowlers power CSK to 20-run win over MI

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Sports News) Paralympics bronze-medallist high jumper Sharad Kumar has been admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after experiencing chest congestion but he is "feeling better" now.

Kumar, who won a bronze in the T-42 high jump event in the Tokyo Paralympics on August 31, is awaiting his test reports after he was admitted to the prestigious medical facility four days back.

"I have been here for four days after feeling chest congestion. I am feeling better now," Kumar told PTI.

"Everyday, there is a test and the doctors are going to tell (what is future course of action) in a day or two," he added.

The 29-year-old Patna-born athlete, whose left leg was paralysed after he was administered a spurious polio vaccine as a toddler, had competed in the T-42 final despite suffering a knee injury while training before his event. He later said he was on the verge of pulling out of the competition. He jumped 1.83m to win the bronze.

"I had my meniscus dislocated (during training). I cried whole night and thought of pulling out of the event. I spoke to my family back home and my father asked me to read Bhagavad Gita and focus on what I can do and not on what I have no control over," he had said then.

Kumar is a double Asian Para Games (2014 and 2018) high jump champion and world silver medallist (2019).

The T42 classification is for athletes with a leg deficiency, leg length difference, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement in the legs. The athletes compete in a standing position.

Also Read : Tokyo Paralympians felicitated by Venkaiah Naidu

News Source : PTI

Bellary (Karnataka), Sep 20 (Boxing News) The accomplished trio of Sanjeet (92kg), Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) and Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) stood just one win away from booking a slot in India's world championship squad after they entered the finals of the men's National Boxing Championships here on Monday.

Reigning Asian gold-medallist Sanjeet, representing Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), proved too strong for Harsh Kaushik from Delhi as he registered a convincing 5-0 win.

Sanjeet will take on Haryana's Naveen Kumar in the final. Naveen blanked Punjab's Raghav Chaudhary.

Another SSCB boxer Hussamuddin, however, faced a tough challenge from the in-form youth world champion Sachin of Haryana.

The defending champion Hussamuddin had to work hard before completing a 4-1 win in an intense semifinal bout. He will fight against Delhi's Rohit Mor in the gold medal match.

Later, 2015 world championships bronze-medallist Thapa recorded a dominating victory over Uttar Pradesh's Abhishek Yadav, winning with a unanimous 5-0 verdict.

The five-time Asian medallist will square off against SSCB's Dalveer Singh Tomar in the final on Tuesday.

Deepak (51kg), Akash (54kg), Etash Khan Muhammed (60kg), Akash (67kg), Sumit (75kg), Sachin Kumar (80kg), Lakshya (86kg) and Narender (+92kg) were the other SSCB boxers to enter the finals.

Chandigarh's Kuldeep Kumar (48kg) and Sagar (+92kg) also made their way into the finals with equally dominant victories.

While Kuldeep Kumar outperformed Uttar Pradesh's Ravi Kumar with a unanimous margin, Sagar too comfortably defeated Maharashtra's Reynold Joseph, when the referee stopped the contest in his favour.

For Karnataka, Nishant Dev also booked a final berth in the 71kg category. Nishant got the better of Haryana's Yashpal with an easy 5-0 win.

Gold medal winners from the championships will earn themselves a chance to represent the country at the world championships to be held in Serbia from October 24 to November 6.

Also read : Shiva Thapa storms into semi-finals of boxing nationals 

News Source :PTI

Mackay (Australia), Sep 20 (Cricket News) India captain Mithali Raj and head coach Ramesh Powar on Monday listed out their objectives from the ODI series against Australia and said playing the mighty hosts is the best possible preparation for next year's Women's World Cup.

Powar, who had spoken about the need for playing fearless cricket following the UK tour in July, said it is high time the team starts scoring 250 consistently to compete with the likes of England and Australia, who are on a record 22-match winning streak in ODIs.

The team also needs to improve in the fast bowling department with veteran Jhulan Goswami not getting enough support from the other end.

"Moving towards the World Cup as a group, batting unit, bowling unit, we have set some targets. We want to score consistently over 250. And we are planning towards that.

"In bowling we are trying to get opponents all out so we are trying to use Jhulan Goswami as the experienced bowler who can give us good openings in front and senior players as always, we expect them to guide youngsters and drive the team which they are doing quite well," said Powar ahead of the series opener on Tuesday.

Mithali, who was the only consistent batter against England with three consecutive fifties, said she could move up to number three from four, like she did in the warm-up game if the other batters are performing as per expectations.

"We definitely are looking at the combinations for the World Cup, and we will be giving a little more game time to the players to fit into those roles, that's our objective in the series, but the main thing definitely is that we are fielding in the best level to win every game.

"Playing against the best side before the World Cup, it is the best preparation that we can get," said Mithali.

On batting at three, Mithali said: "I have been quite flexible with my batting order whether it is number three or number four, but it all depends on the composition of the team.

"If we have a good middle order then I push my order up to three. If there is a little more inexperience in the middle order then I push myself to number four. Now with Harman out of the first ODI, I probably have to think about my order." Mithali also said said the 14-day quarantine in Brisbane was tough on the players but they chose to look at the positive side and kept themselves going with training sessions in the room, zoom meetings and team bonding activities during which the skipper got to know a lot more about her teammates than just their cricketing life.

A lot of bouncers were used by the Australian pacers during the warm-up and India are geared up for that challenge.

"We also have gathered that input that you know they will be using a lot many of the short pitch deliveries for our batters.

"So we do have the sidearm throwers in the team so that's that's where the girls have been using a lot of time playing them, playing more of the short of length and short pitch deliveries.

"So lot more of the cuts and the pulls we've been working in our training sessions," she said.

Powar spoke about the progress of Shafali Verma in international cricket and Jemimah Rodrigues' return to form after a forgettable time against England.

"The way she played in England, we were happy and as a 17-year-old I think we have to give a little breathing space and Mithali, SS Das (batting coach) and me we have had conversations with her. She knows what is expected of her, so we don't push a 17-year-old who's very expressive in her batting.

"We don't want to curtail her game, but we want to give her freedom with some more responsibility and SS does plays a major role.

"He has spent a lot of time with Shafali, and he's working on her game, and mental aspects also, and she has played the hundred. She's got some confidence from England. We can't forget that she is just 17." On Jemimah, he added: "She will be and she is part of our plans going forward, and it's about combination. We are trying to find the right composition for the team going into the World Cup.

"So she might miss out (in the ODIs against Australia), she might play also. We'll take it one game at a time." Australia will be extremely tough to beat in their own backyard but India are up for the challenge.

"We don't think about opponents. If you keep thinking of Australia or England, you will lose your battle in the dressing room, so we don't think that way. We just think of playing quality cricket."

Also Read : Big test for India's middle-order against mighty Australia, Harmanpreet not fit for opener

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Cricket News) The Indian cricket team will play 14 T20 Internationals and just four Tests at home between November 2021 and June 2022 as the BCCI announced its international itinerary, which features just three ODIs.

The teams that will visit India during the eight-month period are New Zealand (in November-December), West Indies (in February, 2022), Sri Lanka (February-March 2022) and South Africa (in June, 2022).

In between in December-January, India will be touring South Africa and the IPL will happen between April-May.

Against New Zealand, India will be playing two Tests and three T20Is while West Indies are due to play three ODIs and five T20Is.

Sri Lanka will play two Tests and three T20Is while South Africa will come for the shortest tour where they would play five T20Is in a space of 10 days.

"We have kept 14 T20Is because we have another T20 World Cup in Australia in a year's time and we need to have adequate matches before the big event," a BCCI official said.

The four Test matches will be held at Kanpur and Mumbai for the New Zealand series while Bengaluru and Mohali will host Sri Lanka in the traditional format.

As per the rotation system, most of the cities will be getting the 17 white-ball games that has been scheduled.

Jaipur, Ranchi, Lucknow, Vizag, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Cuttack, Trivandrum, Chennai, Rajkot, Delhi have all got matches.

Also Read : Achieved all I wanted, never overstay your welcome: Shastri gears up for end of India tenure

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Cricket News) The BCCI on Monday announced that domestic cricketers affected by the COVID-curtailed 2020-21 season will be paid 50 per cent additional match fee as compensation for the disruption and also hiked their remuneration for the upcoming season.

Many Indian cricketers struggled financially after the Ranji Trophy was not held last year for the first time in its history due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The BCCI compensation package for these players was awaited for a long time.

"Cricketers who participated in 2019-20 Domestic Season will get 50 per cent additional match fee as compensation for season 2020-21 lost due to COVID-19 situation," BCCI general secretary Jay Shah said in a tweet.

The decision to give compensation and increase the match fee was taken during the BCCI's Apex Council meeting on Monday.

The per day fee for the top Ranji cricketers, who have played more than 40 matches, was also almost doubled to Rs 60,000, which will ensure that such players earn Rs 2.40 lakh per first-class match.

Those who have played 21 to 40 matches will be paid Rs 50,000, while players with experience less than that will be entitled to a remuneration of Rs 40,000 per day.

The move will likely benefit more than 2,000 male cricketers from the under-16 to the senior level.

Shah also said that domestic players will be paid an increased match fee.

According to the announcement, the cricketers in under-23 and under-19 category will get Rs 25,000 and 20,000 per day respectively.

"I am pleased to announce the hike in match fee for domestic cricketers," Shah tweeted.

Before Monday's decision, a first XI player in a Ranji Trophy game was entitled to Rs 35,000 per day. For Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the BCCI pays Rs. 17,500 per game.

The BCCI also announced remuneration for women cricketers and the senior players will now be paid Rs 20,000 per match instead of Rs 12,500.

The recommendations to increase the payout were made by a working committee comprising former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin, Yudhvir Singh, Santosh Menon, Jaydev Shah, Avishek Dalmiya, Rohan Jaitley and Devajit Saikia.

Also Read : PCB reaches out to SLC and BCB for short tours but no series could be planned

News Source : PTI

Abu Dhabi, Sep 19 (Cricket news) The opening pair of Shubman Gill and Nitish Rana may not have fired in the first leg of IPL but Kolkata Knight Riders chief mentor David Hussey believes the duo can "shock the world" with their batting in the second phase of the tournament beginning here on Sunday.

While Gill scored just 132 runs, Rana managed 201 runs in the first seven games for KKR in this year's IPL, which was postponed in April following multiple COVID-19 cases inside the bio-bubble in India.

However, Hussey pinned his hopes on the duo, calling them the 'next generation of Indian players'.

"They both are quality players, they are determined to do very well for the team and for themselves and they have a taste of international cricket now," Hussey told ESPNcricinfo.

"I think they are about to shock the world that they are the next generation of Indian players, not just for one or two series but for perhaps a decade, so if they get going look out for them in the IPL." Hussey also backed skipper Eoin Morgan to come good in the second leg after a lacklustre performance in the first phase.

"As a captain, he is going to lead from the front. We need some big performances from him. His is probably the hardest position to play in the middle order. He comes in either in deep trouble or coming in with 3-4 balls to go when top orders have done realy well," he said.

"He also has to lead on the field, get the fields correct, take wickets and also gamble a few times...Eoin will be a little disappointed with the last seven games, but knowing well that he is going to be prepared really well, I back him to be dominant in the next 7 games not only with the bat but captaincy as well." The road ahead, however, is extremely difficult for KKR as the team is languishing at the seventh position on the points table.

However, Hussey believes his team can script a turnaround.

"All we have to do is win this ... We have done it before and so we can do it again... I feel we have the squad to do it also. You qualify for the finals and whole competition starts again," he said.

In the 2014 edition, KKR had won nine matches in a row to claim the title.

Hussey said coach Brendon McCullum is determined to prove a point this time.

"Brendon has been phenomenal, been very consistent, whether we are winning or losing. He has been a consistent person, this time there is a bit of determination in Brendon, he really wants to show that this squad can go a long way in the tournament." KKR will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

Also Read : IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders meet Royal Challengers Bangalore in match 31 of the season

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, September 20 (Esports news): Ultimate Battle (UB), India’s first single stop online Esports platform has introduced VIP membership for esports players to expand their gaming levels.

Available at INR 99 for 3 months and INR 299 for a year, the VIP Membership will include players unlimited access to Free tournaments along with a redeem store to buy and sell in-game items using UB Coins earned from Free tournaments on Ultimate Battle. VIP Members will also enjoy an ad-free experience with the new intuitive user interface. Other than that, VIP members will also get free access to Leaderboard events with added rewards. VIP Membership enables Gamers to explore exclusive features and explore the platform.

While talking about the latest development, Tarun Gupta, Founder of Ultimate Battle said, “The new subscription model will help us take the business to the next level. It will increase player’s participation and give them more opportunities to engage on the platform backed by awards and recognition. Our new subscription model is a step forward in a direction to give the esports community a platform to hone their gaming skills.”

“The excitement and the growing popularity of Esports have taken the gaming community to its new heights. The latest announcement of 8 esports titles in Asian Games 2022 is being welcomed in the Esports community, only making it more prominent and influential in every aspect,” he further added.

Subscription models are becoming a mandatory step in all major cloud-based apps. Ultimate Battle is one of the few that has successfully introduced it for its users. UB, which has been a regular place for playing many action-packed games with high-end graphics and has successfully added more than 12 esports title games to the platform, boasts to be a gamer’s paradise that also caters to the Esports community with Gaming News Content and an e-commerce gaming store.

Currently, the platform has over 3,30,000+ players and 81,000+ monthly active users. The platform also provides gamers an active community to engage, interact and compete with other gamers.

Also read: Reigning national champion Hemanth Kommu qualifies for the Finals at 13th Esports World Championship

Dubai, Sep 19 (Cricket News) Delhi Capitals all-rounder Axar Patel says the team will look to build on its "happy memories" from the previous season, when it reached its maiden final, and go a step further in the second leg of IPL-14.

The IPL, which was suspended midway into the 14th season of the league in May owing to multiple COVID-19 cases in its bio-bubble, resumes in the UAE on Sunday.

The Capitals, who are currently perched on top of the points table, had reached their maiden final last season when the tournament was held entirely in the UAE. The Shreyas Iyer-led side had lost to Mumbai Indians in the summit clash.

"When it was announced that the second half of the tournament will be held in the UAE, I thought about our performance the last time we were here," Axar was quoted as saying in a media release.

"We have happy memories from that tournament as we reached our first-ever IPL final. We are looking to repeat our performance and hopefully, just go one step further in the final this season," said the all-rounder, who had picked up nine wickets in 15 matches last season.

Axar, who was part of the Indian squad for the recently-concluded Test series in England, spoke about the massive difference in weather conditions between UK and UAE.

"It's been a drastic change for us as far as the weather is concerned. It was quite cold in England and now we are getting used to the heat here.

"When we stood on our balconies during quarantine, we got an idea about the heat, but we got to know the full extent of the weather conditions when we started practising in the nets.

"We are looking to get used to the conditions in the next 2-3 days," he said.

When asked about his personal goals for the remainder of the IPL season, Axar said, "My personal goals are always aligned with the team goals.

"I always think about what the team needs and then set my personal goals accordingly. I always carry out my preparations according to the team's requirements. And personally, I just look to get better with every match in every season." Delhi Capitals are set to take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22. 

Also read : Match readiness will be an issue for some of IPL players: RR all-rounder Chris Morris

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 19 (Table Tennis news) The Indian pairs of Siddhesh Pande-Mudit Dani and Fidel R Snehit-Sudhanshu Grover had to be content with bronze medals after losing their respective men's doubles semifinals at the ITTF Kazakhstan International Open in Karaganda.

Both the pairs put up a great show throughout the tournament before suffering defeats in contrasting fashion in their respective semi-finals.

While Maharashtra duo of Mudit and Siddhesh suffered a 0-3 loss against the Saudi Arabian pair of Ali Alkhadrawi and Abdulaziz Bu Shulaybi, Snehit and Sudhanshu went down fighting 2-3 against Kazakh pair of Alan Kurmangaliyev and Kirill Gerassimenko.

Snehit also entered the singles final after defeating Pavel Platonov of Belarus 4-1.

The world number 405 Indian will take on 46th ranked Kirill Gerassimenko of Kazakhstan in the gold medal match.

Indian women's doubles pair of Kaushani Nath and Prapti Sen also stormed into the final, outclassing Uzbek duo of Kamila Khalikova and Mekhriniso Norkulova 3-1.

They will now face Valeria Kotcyur and Valeria Shcherbatykh of Russia in the title clash.

Also read : Indian TT players make merry at WTT Youth Contender Meet in Tunisia

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 19 (Sports news) Sports minister Anurag Thakur will virtually interact with sports ministers of all states and union territories on Monday to prepare a roadmap for the future.

The interaction comes after the country's success at the Olympics and Paralympics in Tokyo.

The government's flagship programs, Khelo India and Fit India, will remain an integral part of the interaction.

During the interaction, Thakur would urge the states to organise sporting events across rural and urban areas for able-bodied and para-athletes as well as play a key role in the identification of talents at grassroots level.

The promotion of school level sports and support to the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) will be another key point of discussion.

The states and UTs would also be requested to form a pool of cash awards for the athletes where both the central and the state governments can accumulate the funds.

At present, there are 24 Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCE) across 23 states and UTs while 360 Khelo India Centres have opened across various districts in the country.

Thakur would also urge the states and UTs to send in proposals to open up KISCEs, KICs as well as academies to further the cause of strengthening the sports ecosystem of the nation. 

Also Read : Tokyo Paralympians felicitated by Venkaiah Naidu

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Hockey News) Disappointed to lose out on a place in the initial 16-member squad for the Olympics, Indian men's hockey team defender Varun Kumar considers himself lucky to make a bronze medal-winning debut in the Tokyo Games after he was called up in the side as an alternate player owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Varun, a drag-flicker, and and mid-fielder Simranjeet Singh made their Olympic debut after they were added to India's squad following the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow "alternate athletes" in team events due to the pandemic.

"When the squad for the Olympics was announced, my name was not part of the 16-member squad. I still remember that day very well and I was evidently disappointed," recalled Varun.

"But after a few days when IOC allowed hockey teams to expand to 18 players, Simranjeet and I were called up as alternate athletes. It came as a huge relief but somewhere at the back of my mind I was still upset about not making it to the final 16 and I really wanted to prove myself." Varun further stated that skipper Manpreet Singh's one-on-one chat with him before the team left for Tokyo helped him a lot.

"It really helped that captain Manpreet had a long chat with me and pumped me up mentally. Manpreet has been a big influence in my career from a very young age as we played in the same academy and him talking to me made a lot of difference.

"I stopped beating myself up for not being good enough to make the 16-member squad. I started focusing on how I can make this opportunity count and deliver when the team needs me," stated Varun.

What followed in Tokyo is now part of history as the Indian men's hockey team went on to clinch an Olymipic medal, bronze, after a hiatus of 41 years.

Varun played a key role in India's 3-1 win over Argentina in the pool stages as he scored the first goal of the match. He was effective in the backline and impressed with his performance every time he was called up.

"It was indeed a fantastic experience in Tokyo. Winning the bronze and standing on the podium along with my teammates is perhaps the best moment of my life. Now my priority will be to improve in every aspect.

"We have had a good break after the Olympics and we are all waiting to return to camp in October," he said.

Also read : Hope my Olympic bronze will inspire youngsters of Manipur to take up hockey: Nilakanta

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 20 (Cricket News) The COVID-forced four-month break between the first and second phase of the Indian Premier League is sure to affect the "match readiness" of some players and they might just "struggle" to shake the rustiness off, feels Rajasthan Royals' South African all-rounder Chris Morris.

While most of the foreign players were freelancing in leagues and also playing international cricket, the Indian domestic players haven't had any game time after the IPL stopped in the first week of May due to COVID-19 cases inside the bio-bubble.

"Match readiness is going to be an issue just like last time when IPL was played in Dubai. People will take a couple of games to get rustiness out of their way," Morris, one of the mainstays in this Royals line-up, said when asked about challenges of having the IPL in two halves.

"Fortunately, overseas players have been playing some cricket. I have done pre-season at home, trying to lose weight. Match fitness is always the best type of fitness. We have had two warm-up games now and we have spent time on our feet," Morris said.

The fast-medium bowler and lower-order explosive hitter feels that simulations can never match the intensity of real games.

"You can never simulate match intensity and I think a few guys will struggle to get that rustiness off. That's the nature of the beast of COVID at the moment," he said.

"Some guys will have to shake off their rustiness and I think that's part and parcel of the game. You have to find out a way to get out and make it work," he added.

For Morris, all the freelance overseas players like Liam Livingstone, and Evin Lewis to name a few, will add a lot of intensity to the game.

"The guys who are there are playing leagues and scoring quite a lot of runs and making massive impact around the world," he said.

Morris also said that the Royals' bowling unit has quality to restrict the opposition.

"The bowling unit is going to be under pressure as it's the bowlers who win you matches, we know we have quality to restrict teams and at business end, we will come out all guns blazing," he added.

Also Read : Battle of explosive top-orders as Rajasthan Royals meet Punjab Kings in IPL

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sep 20 (Table Tennis news) The Delhi High Court Monday sought the Centre's stand on a petition by Manika Batra, who was left out of the Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Table Tennis Championships, assailing Table Tennis Federation of India's (TTFI) mandate of compulsory attendance at the National Coaching Camp in order to be selected.

Justice Rekha Palli granted two days to the central government counsel to take instructions on the petition which alleges that on one occasion, the national coach Soumyadeep Roy “pressurized” Batra to “throw away a match” to enable one of his personal trainees to qualify for the Olympics 2020 and seeks that the Sports Ministry “enquire into the management” of the federation.

The judge said the allegations against the coach were serious and the Centre should be a little proactive.

“There is something to be said. We have a high ranking player. We have to balance... If there are such senior allegations against the coach, Union of India has to be a little bit proactive on this,” said the judge.

“Let them (Centre) come back with instructions. Ultimately she is the highest-ranking player in the country today,” the judge added.

Senior counsel Sachin Dutta, appearing for Batra, said that by virtue of a rule on mandatorily attending the national camp, his client's chance for the 25th ITTF Asian Table Tennis Championships, 2021, which is to be held in Doha from September-October, has been scuttled in spite of her fulfilling all merit-based criteria.

He urged the court to stay the rule to enable her to participate in another international event scheduled for November.

“There is an event in November. This regulation be stayed immediately. It will kill my career,” Dutta said as he highlighted that personal coaching is encouraged in several other sports.

The counsel for the federation denied all allegations and said that the national coach was not even present at the national camp.

In the petition, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Khel Ratna awardee has alleged that the federation was carrying out its selection processes in a non-transparent manner, targeting certain individuals such as herself and acting completely contrary to the interest of sports and sportspersons.

She has asserted that the national coach, in a clear conflict of interest, was running a private table tennis academy simultaneously and on one occasion, “pressurized the Petitioner to throw away a match only with a view to help one of his trainees at his private academy to qualify for the Olympics, 2020”.

“This incident happened on 17.03.2021 in respect of the match to be held on 18.03.2021 at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, 2021 organized by ATTU. Not only did the Petitioner refuse to comply with such an unethical, illegal and immoral request, but she also immediately communicated this to the Adviser, TTFI, on 18.03.2021,” the plea alleges.

"After conclusion of Olympics, the Respondent No.1 (federation) issued Rules and Regulations dated 04.08.2021 (received by the Petitioner on 27.08.2021) informing her that attending of National Coaching Camp is compulsory, failing which she would not be selected for any upcoming international event," it says.

The plea states that Table Tennis is an individual sport, which requires specialised training with support staff and thus the rule against personal coaching is arbitrary, irrational, absurd and have no nexus with achieving excellence in an individualised sport.

“Only the personal coach would know the strengths, weakness, skills and areas which a player should focus and strengthen. However, these Rules do not permit any personal coach/support staff,” the plea adds.

The matter would be heard next on September 23.

Also read: Manika Batra left out of India squad for Asian TT Championships

News source: PTI 

Cromvoirt (The Netherlands), Sep 20 (Golf News) Indian golfer Ajeetesh Sandhu faltered in the final round with an even-par 72 to end tied 22nd at the Dutch Open here.

Sandhu slipped seven places from his T-15 position after the third round. He totalled 11-over 299 for the tournament.

Shubhankar Sharma, who began the week superbly with 70-66, let it slip over the weekend with 74-70 and finished T-27th.

SSP Chawrasia, who had an up-and-down week with a 67 on the second day followed by 82 on third, ended the week just the way he started with a 75 and was 77th.

Kristoffer Broberg ended a six-year drought as he claimed an emotional victory at the Dutch Open. The Swede won by three strokes after holding his nerve down the final stretch.

For Sandhu, who had 69s on first three days, the bogeys on 15th and 16th ended his hopes of a Top-15 finish.

Sharma, trying to avoid dropping bogeys as he did in round three, played a bogey free 70 with just two birdies.

Broberg, 35, said he went through "six years of hell" before battling his way back to triumph at Bernardus Golf. He won back in 2015 BMW Masters after a play-off with Patrick Reed.

Matthias Schmid (66) and Alejandro Canizares (68) seemed to pile pressure but Broberg held on despite dropped shots at the par five 12th and the 14th.

Broberg holed a long birdie putt at the par-three 17th to almost seal the event and then finished it with a par.

Schmid earned his best European Tour finish with an outright second place on 20-under, courtesy of a final round 66. Canizares claimed the third place despite a double-bogey finish and a 19-under total.

Also Read : Aditi finishes 73rd in Cambia Portland Classic Tour

News Source : PTI

Colombo (Cricket News) : Galle Gladiators fell short by a whisker to win the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League going down to eventual winner Jaffna Stallions in a closely fought final. But, owner of Galle Gladiators Mr. Nadeem Omar feels this will be the year of the Gladiators as they prepare to bounce back even stronger in the second edition of the premier T20 League in the island nation. 

In the first season, the team was led by Pakistani star all- rounder Shahid Afridi in the early phase of the tournament and was later taken over by Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa after Afridi had to leave the tournament midway due to some personal reasons. Former legendary pacer Wasim Akram was the team mentor.

Mr Omar also owns the Quetta Gladiators franchise in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He is a Pakistani business executive and former scrabble player who is known nationally and internationally for his contributions to sports. He has been the president of the Pakistan Scrabble Association since October 2020 and the president of the Karachi City Cricket Association since May 2018. He is also the president of the Pakistan Cricket Club. The core motivation of the Galle franchise is to develop the game in the southern province of Sri Lanka.

“The upcoming season of LPL is very crucial for us especially after the way we fought back last season. We saw some remarkable performances from young players like Azam Khan, Dhananjaya Lakshan and Sahan Arachchige. They have set a benchmark of excellence for the younger talents who will come into the team. Coming into the next edition, we want to put up a better fight and clinch the trophy. We had great support from the fans around Galle, though they weren’t allowed into the stadiums but we saw their support online through various platforms. We urge them to extend their support in similar fashion and help us grow,” said Mr. Omar while highlighting the focus for the upcoming edition of the premier T20 League in the Island Nation. 

Mr Anil Mohan, who is the Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant The IPG Group, the official promoter of LPL, added, “Gladiators set LPL on fire with their remarkable comeback in the

first edition. But we are all set to witness a new chapter in its cricketing history with LPL becoming bigger and better. I am confident that the Galle team's performance will help the League grow in stature.”

Mr. Jawad Ghulam Rasool, COO & CCMO of The IPG Group added: “Last season of LPL saw Mr. Nadeem Omar’s team, the Galle Gladiators give us some nail-biting performances. Mr. Nadeem Omar will always hold a special relationship with us as the first franchise to be announced that kick started the league. I look forward to some thrilling moments in this year’s LPL which will no doubt be welcomed by sports enthusiasts not just in Pakistan but the world over. We wish Mr. Nadeem ‘Mr. Cricket of Pakistan’ and the Gladiators good luck for the second season of the Lanka Premier League”

The inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) which was played in a bio-secure bubble at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota from November 26 till December 16, 2020, reached a cumulative audience of 557 million people through TV, digital-social space, and traditional media outlets. Sponsors enjoyed a media evaluation (visibility) of $54.5m and title sponsor MY11CIRCLE enjoyed a ROI of 9.85x. Winner of the first edition of LPL Jaffna Stallions tops the valuation chart with $3.98m followed by Galle Gladiators ($3.82m), Dambulla Kings ($3.54m) Colombo Kings ($3.44m) and Kandy Tuskers ($3.19m).

The LPL matches which were telecast live by Sky Sports, Sony Sports Network, Geo, PTV, and Willow TV in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UK, US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand saw 155 million people tuning in to catch live action. On social media, it achieved a reach of 218 million and LPL found 133478 mentions as the league came alive with each and every match with some scintillating performances on the ground.

(Cricket news) KKR meet RCB at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, in what is a must win match for KKR. RCB on the other hand will be looking to continue their first phase form and hopefully go on run to win their maiden IPL trophy. Brendon McCullum's side lost five matches in the first phase as this unwanted break will act as a blessing in disguise for KKR, now that the players and coaches had time to reflect on the early tournament failures, the only option for them is to start winning all the matches if they stand a chance to qualify for the playoffs.

RCB on the other hand will have a lot of new faces in the camp as Adam Zampa, Finn Allen, Kane Richardson and Daniel Sams all opted out of the tournament. RCB have recruited the world no 2 T20 bowler Wanindu Hasaranga who can be their x factor heading into the tournament, the slow pitches along with playing at these venues not long back will certainly assist RCB. One area that RCB needs to improve is its death bowling if they are to challenge for the title, after the Chennai leg the RCB bowlers have leaked 12.10 runs per over and picked up only 5 wickets in the death overs. Purple cap holder Harshal Patel and Kyle Jamieson will have a lot of responsibility to tighten things up.

KKR need their foreigners to perform to their potential if they stand any chance of qualification. They have lost their star player Pat Cummins who had figures of 3/24 when they last faced each other in the first phase of the tournament, KKR management have replaced Cummins with Tim Southee who shares a close relationship with Brendon McCullum. The West Indies duo of Sunil Narine and Dre Russ hold the key to success if they are to find a result against this in form Bangalore team, Narine holds a good head to head record against AB de Villiers as he has been dismissed 3 times in 53 balls conceding only 64 runs.

Also read: KKR is now dangerous side with nothing to lose, says Morgan

Head to head: KKR 14 - 13 RCB. The last time these two sides met, RCB scored 204 runs and won that match pretty comfortably by 38 runs.

Pitch & Weather Report: The Sheikh Zayed Stadium is mostly a batting friendly surface so it may assist the batsman again. The temperature is expected to be 34 degrees with 67% humidity and  no chances of rain as of now. The hot and humid conditions might play a key role for the spinners.

Interesting facts:

• Both Russell and Narine have strike rates of over 200 against RCB
• De Villiers has now struck three consecutive fifties against KKR
• Kohli is set to make his 200th appearance for RCB 
• Kohli is also 71 runs shy of scoring 10,000 runs in T20’s

Probable XI for KKR:

1 Nitish Rana, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Lockie Ferguson, 9 Kamlesh Nagarkoti/Shivam Mavi, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Prasidh Krishna  

Probable XI for RCB:

1 Virat Kohli (capt), 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Dubai, Sep 20 (Cricket News) Liam Livingstone and Evin Lewis's explosive batting will meet its match in Chris Gayle's power and KL Rahul's finesse when Rajasthan Royals lock horns with Punjab Kings to improve upon their mid-table position in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

The two IPL teams have been perennial under-achievers in the league and would be desperate to change their fortunes after disappointing one and all with their underwhelming performances over the past few seasons.

More so for Punjab Kings, the only team that has lacked any kind of stability over the 14 seasons of IPL with captains and coaches being changed like musical chairs.

For skipper KL Rahul, who has been a prime performer in IPL, it will not just be about the runs he scores but also about how he leads the team with guidance from Anil Kumble, who will also want to prove his mettle as a franchise coach.

However, the match on Tuesday will be more about the kind of starts that the top-orders players provide.

Liam Livingstone has been a rage in shortest format for last couple of years now and is coming into his own with some great performances in 'The Hundred'. His potential opening partner is likely to be West Indies man Lewis, who has often been Indian cricket team's nemesis in various games.

Mohammed Shami is expected to be partnered by either Chris Jordan or Nathan Ellis.

If Livingstone and Lewis can be explosive in the Powerplay overs, Royals will expect skipper Sanju Samson to be more consistent in that number three position.

What will be Royals' advantage is Punjab's weak Indian bowling set-up save Shami as they have to depend on either Adil Rashid or Ravi Bishnoi for wrist spin. Their pace line-up with left-armer Arshdeep Singh as the domestic pick doesn't look the strongest.

Royals' third and fourth foreign player in the playing XI will be interesting choices as Chris Morris as an all-rounder is a certainty, while the fourth slot will go to either David Miller in the middle-order or world's No 1 T20 spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

However, it is the Indian players like Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya, who will like to step up their game in the next four weeks to ensure a play-off berth for Royals, which many believe is the weakest unit in absence of Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler.

Similarly for Punjab Kings, Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are expected to open with Chris Gayle still an enforcer par excellence at the age of 41 which will keep the Rajasthan bowlers on tenterhooks.

In the middle-order, Nicholas Pooran, who had a horrendous outing in the first phase will like to put a far better account of himself along with M Shahrukh Khan.

Squads: Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Liam Livingstone, Evin Lewis, David Miller, Chris Morris, Oshane Thomas, Mustafizur Rahaman, Tabraiz Shamsi, Glenn Phillips, Chetan Sakariya, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Akash Singh, Anuj Rawat, KC Cariappa, Yashashvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldip Yadav, Mahipal Lomror Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid, Murugan Ashwin, Harpreet Brar, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Aiden Markram, Mandeep Singh, Darsan Nalkande, Prabhsimran Singh, Ravi BIshnoi, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Jalaj Saxena.

March Starts: 7:30 pm.

Also read : KKR is now dangerous side with nothing to lose, says Morgan

News Source : PTI

Mackay, Sep 20 (Cricket News) The under-fire middle-order will be expected to deliver when India take on the mighty Australia in the ODI series beginning here on Tuesday, aiming to finalise their combination ahead of the Women's World Cup next year.

India have lost back-to-back series against South Africa and England primarily due to poor batting and even poorer strike-rate save for openers. The next challenge could not be tougher with Australia on a record 22-match winning streak.

Key batter Harmanpreet Kaur is unavailable after injuring her thumb before the warm-up game on Saturday.

"Unfortunately she injured her thumb few days ago and is not available for the first game. The rest of the squad members are fit and available for tomorrow," head coach Ramesh Powar said on the eve of the game.

Lack of firepower has been an issue for India since the home series against South Africa and Powar has clearly conveyed his expectations to the batters. Depending on how the batting performs, skipper Mithali Raj will decide on whether to bat number three or four in the longer run. With Harmanpreet injured for the opener, she is likely to stick to four to lend more solidity to the batting line-up.

The team has realised that Punam Raut neither has the power nor the game to build momentum at one-drop position after Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana's flamboyance.

Jemimah Rodrigues, who had a dismal run against England, played brilliantly in The Hundred and is back in the reckoning for the number three spot.

Mithali, with her two-decade long experience, also makes a lot of sense at number three as the innings can be built around her presence in the middle. She had scored three consecutive fifties in England at number four.

Deepti Sharma is another slow-scorer in the middle-order, which has often lost momentum.

Even during the one-off practice game, Deepti consumed as many as 93 deliveries to return with a 49 not out but its her tight off-breaks that India would require in the middle-overs which makes her indispensable.

However during the warm-up game against Australia that India lost by 36 runs, left-handed batter Yastika Bhatia gave a good account of herself scoring 41 off 42 balls as Harmanpreet was not fit for the game.

Yastika has a good chance of starting tomorrow. She is a hard-hitting batter with a good range of strokes in the off-side area.

Richa Ghosh looks set to play the 50 over format as Taniya Bhatia's strokes also lack strength, something where the Bengal girl is far ahead.

The advantage for India will be Australia's bowling line-up which isn't the most experienced one as the cricket board wants to manage the workload of the players in a series with short turnaround between formats.

So Ellyse Perry will have Annabel Sutherland, Darcie Brown, Nicola Carey, Stella Campbell for company in absence of seasoned pacer Megan Schutt and spinner Jess Jonassen.

The Australia bowlers have made their intentions clear: they will be aiming to bounce out the India batters as it was evident in the warm-up game.

It is Southern Stars' might batting line-up that will pose a bigger challenge for the Indians.

If the warm-up match is anything to go by, Indian bowlers, save leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and senior seamer Jhulan Goswami, looked out of rhythm as the home team scored 278 in 50 overs which is more than winning score in women's cricket.

The line up of Rachael Haynes, Alyssa Healy, Meg Lanning, Perry and Beth Mooney form a formidable five.

It is no surprise that Goswami and Yadav will need a lot of support. With Shikha Pandey not having measured up in recent series as Goswami's pace bowling partner, rookie Meghna Singh might be tried out along with bowling all-rounder Pooja Vastrakar.

Squads India: Mithali Raj (Captain), Harmanpreet Kaur (vice-captain), Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Yastika Bhatia, Taniya Bhatia (wicket-keeper), Shikha Pandey, Jhulan Goswami, Meghna Singh, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Poonam Yadav, Richa Ghosh, Ekta Bisht.

Australia: Meg Lanning (captain), Rachael Haynes (vice-captain), Darcie Brown, Maitlan Brown, Stella Campbell, Nicola Carey, Hannah Darlington, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Georgia Redmayne, Molly Strano, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham.

Match Starts : 5:35 am IST.

Also Read : Perry set to spearhead depleted Australian bowling attack against India

News Source : PTI

Portland (USA), Sep 20 (Golf News) India's Aditi Ashok ended a disappointing week with a six-over 78 that saw her finish 73rd at the 2021 Cambia Portland Classic golf tournament here.

Playing her first event in the US since mid-July and after the Olympic Games, Aditi shot 77-72-78. She will now look to shake off this rust and get back to the form in the last leg of the LPGA season from here on.

Meanwhile, Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko, starting for the first time in six weeks, dominated the field. She carded a bogey-free 69 in the third round, which was also the final round in the event shortened due to rain.

She won by four strokes over Jeongeun Lee and Su Oh.

Ko started with a one-stroke advantage over Gemma Dryburgh and as the latter fell back with a couple of bogey, Ko pulled ahead.

Oh and Lee kept Ko in their sights, with Lee striking an eagle at No.18 to pull within three shots but a confident Ko drained a 23-foot putt at 18th to close the win.

Oh and Lee both earned the best finishes of their LPGA Tour careers with their tie for the second spot.

Also Read : Aditi plays steady second round to make cut in Oregon

News Source : PTI

New Delhi, Sept 20 (Table Tennis News) India's Payas Jain claimed his second successive under-17 boys title after defeating Tom Closset of Belgium 3-1 in the WTT Youth Contender final in Tunis.

Picking up the threads from where he left off in Otocec, Payas outwitted Tom 7-11, 11-4, 11-4, 15-13 in the summit clash on Sunday.

The Delhi lad, who won gold in the same category in Slovenia last week, had a bad start to the final but came back strongly to go up 2-1.

However, in the fourth game, his opponent squandered a couple of game points to let the Indian finish in style.

In his semi-final, Payas defeated Preyesh Raj Suresh 16-14, 11-8, 11-8.

Despite his upper hand in the first game, the Tamil Nadu boy could not breach Payas' confidence and finally settled with the bronze.

Ankur Bhattacharjee, who played an enduring semi-final against Tom Closset, settled for the bronze.

In under-19 boys, Payas, however, failed to cross the semi-final hurdle yet again on Sunday.

The Indian signed off with a bronze after going down to Louis Laffineur 1-3 (11-9, 10-12, 4-11, 9-11).

Payas began well and after a bit of struggle in the second, deuced. The Belgian bounced back well and completed the task soon after taking the second game.

In the other semifinal, Maharashtra lad Deepit Patel went down 3-11, 4-11, 7-11 to Adrien Rassanfosse, also a Belgian. Adrien became the eventual winner when he defeated his compatriot Tom in the final.

Left-handed Preyesh made up for his loss to take the Under-15 Boys title.

He downed Ankur Bhattacharjee in the final 3-1 (11-8, 15-13, 11-13, 11-9). The West Bengal paddler ascended the podium for the second time, this time winning a silver medal.

Another Indian, P B Abhinand of Tamil Nadu, settled with a bronze after losing his semi-final 9-11, 12-10, 7-11, 1-11 to Ankur, earlier in the day.

In the under-11 boys, it was an Indian show again as Vishruth Ramakrishnan claimed the gold medal after accounting for local boy Amir Essid. The Tamil Nadu boy won 11-4, 11-3, 11-7.

Also Read : Golden sweep for Indian girls in Tunis

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Dubai, Sep 20 (Cricket News) Star allrounder Hardik Pandya was kept out of the IPL game against Chennai Super Kings as a precautionary measure as he had a little niggle, said Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene.

"Hardik was training, had a little niggle, so again precaution, we thought, lets just give him extra days to see how things are, but nothing serious,” the former Sri Lankan skipper said during a virtual press conference.

MI skipper Rohit Sharma had also opted out of the match and Jayawardene said he should be available for the next match.

"Rohit was batting and doing his running as well, but after coming back from the UK, we felt that, he probably needed an extra few days, so should be fine to play the next game," he said.

Mumbai didn't have a good start to the resumption of the IPL as they lost the opening match by 20 runs and Jayawardene lamented that none of his batters took the responsibility to bat through the innings.

Ruturaj Gaikwad hit an unbeaten 88 while Dwayne Bravo, batting at number eight, smashed 23 off just 8 balls as CSK made 156 for six after opting to bat first.

The total proved to be more than enough as CSK restricted MI to 136 for 8.

"We probably gave couple of soft dismissals. It just needed someone to take a bit more responsibility and bat through the innings, which we did not do and that was a difference with Ruturaj (Gaikwad) doing that for CSK," Jayawardene said.

"So, even though they (CSK) lost wickets, there was a set batsman, who went till the end. So, I think we're disappointed, the way we handled the situation, the game awareness and the approach." Chasing 156, MI slipped to 37 for three in the sixth over, before further slumping to 58 for four in the 10th over. Saurabh Tiwary (50 not out) was the top-scorer for MI but he didn't get enough support.

"...probably needed a bit more application of taking that responsibility and giving yourself a bit of time because we felt that the second half of each innings was much easier to bat," Jayawardene said.

“So, I put it down to game awareness and taking that kind of onuses, but not too concerned, because the guys (have) been hitting the ball pretty well, it is just the application out there in the middle, that is something we need to work on." Mumbai did well in the Delhi-leg of the cash-rich tournament when the IPL was called off earlier this year due to outbreak of COVID-19 cases.

Jayawardene admitted it is hard to create that kind of momentum again.

“Yeah, I mean, not in our control. Obviously, we played a couple of very good games in Delhi but unfortunately the tournament had to stop and everyone went away, was playing a lot of different cricket in different parts of the world and then coming back together again and trying to create that kind of momentum is going to be harder.

"We knew we need to be sharper, especially against the experienced Chennai team. But I think we probably competed that first 10 overs and probably another five overs in between in a 40-over game.

"So, I think when you're playing an opposition like Chennai, if you're not in the competition for that many overs, it's always going to be tough," he said.

Also Read : Rohit Sharma rested due to knee niggle

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Kolkata, Sep 19 (Football News) Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC and Army Red entered the quarterfinals of the 130th Durand Cup football tournament from Group D here on Sunday, beating Assam Rifles 7-2 and Hyderabad FC 2-1 respectively.

The Army Red team became the second Services side after Army Green to progress to the tournament's knockout stages.

The simultaneous final group fixtures were extremely contrasting in nature. While the game between the Reds and ISL side Hyderabad FC at the Vivekananda Yubabharati Krirangan (VYBK) was tight and cagey in nature, it rained goals at the Kalyani Stadium where Assam Rifles and Gokulam Kerala squared off.

The Malabarians showed no mercy and raced to an emphatic 4-1 lead by half time.

Nigerian striker Chisom Elvis Chikatara gave Gokulam the lead in the very first minute. Goan forward Beneston Piecton Barretto notched a brace in the first-half while Rahim Osumanu also added to the tally.

In the second half, Chikatara added a double to his name to complete his hat-trick, the first of the tournament this year. Substitute Sourav also joined the action and nicked a goal for himself in the 61st minute.

Assam Rifles scored though Soibam Roger Singh (36') and Samujal Rabha (63').

In the other game at the VYBK, Army Red continued their brilliant run and defeated Hyderabad FC 2-1.

Liton Shil of Army Red scored a brace and was the star of the match. Koustav Dutta scored the only goal for Hyderabad FC.

The first half was very eventful with both teams playing equally well. Liton broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute but Hyderabad's Koustav Dutta did well to score the equalizer, just two minutes later.

Army Red played a very attacking game in the second half and Liton did well to score the winning goal for the Reds, taking his team through to the quarterfinals.

Also Read : Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC teams up with Kerala Government for Sports Kerala Elite Residential Football Academy

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Gurugram, Sep 19 (Sports News) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday felicitated the history-making Paralympians with the Haryana government handing out cash rewards for the medallists at The NorthCap University here.

Cash rewards of Rs. 6 crore to the gold-winning athletes, Rs. 4 crore to silver, and Rs. 2.5 crores to the bronze medal winners were distributed along with government jobs.

"It's my immense pleasure that I received a chance to felicitate the winners of the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. The athletes have created a history and made all of us proud," Naidu said.

"The entire nation complements and salutes them for their enormous contribution in the field of sports. I feel honored while honoring the athletes,” he added.

The Indian para-athletes returned from Tokyo on the back of a sensational campaign that saw them win an unparalleled 19 medals, including five gold, eight silver and six bronze.

This was the country's best-ever Paralympics campaign as it finished 24th in the overall tally.

The Harayana government also distributed a reward of Rs. 50 Lakh and Rs 15 Lakh to the players who performed extremely well at the Paralympics.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal said, “Our Paralympic players are a source of inspiration for the entire society. Leaving the weakness of their bodies behind they have reached the top of their game and won a medal for our country." "For the next Olympics, we have set a target of 100 participants from Haryana and winning 50 medals. The goal is to bring maximum medals for the country without worrying about the budget," he added.

Also Read : Top five most watched sporting events in the world

News Source : PTI

Warangal, Sep 19 (Sports News) Assam sprinter Amlan Borgohain, Tamil Nadu triple-jumper Praveen Chithravel and experienced Rajasthan hammer thrower Manju Bala Singh produced career-best efforts to emerge champions on the final day of the 60th National Open Athletics Championships, here on Sunday.

Borgohain clocked a sensational time of 20.75 seconds to win the men’s 200m final. Only Muhammed Anas Yahia (20.63), Dharambir Singh (20.66), Arokia Rajiv (20.66) and Anil Kumar (20.73) have run a faster time over the distance in the history of Indian athletics.

The 23-year-old, who has lived in Hyderabad since 2014, was running his first 200m competition at the National level in 20 months. Borgohain burst out of the blocks and sped ahead of the pack to break the beam in 20.75 seconds.

It was not only the first time that Borgohain stopped the clock inside 21 seconds but also a new meet record.

The 20-year-old Chithravel, whose previous best of 16.51m that came in March 2019, nailed the triple jump gold medal with his opening try of 16.88m.

He is now third on India’s top list in hop, step and jump behind Renjit Maheswary (17.30m) and Arpinder Singh (17.17m).

He had two other good efforts over 16.74m and 16.79m while Services Abdulla Aboobacker also produced his personal best of 16.84m to take silver in a competition that saw his teammate Karthik Unnikrishnan equal his career best of 16.80.

Asian Games champion Arpinder was sixth with a best effort of 15.91m.

Manju Bala Singh, a 2014 Asian Games medallist, had five throws over the 60m mark with a career best of 64.42m on her third attempt to claim the women’s hammer throw meet record from Hardeep Kaur who set it at 61.67m in 2002.

The 32-year-old produced the second best throw by an Indian woman behind Sarita Romit Singh’s national record of 65.25m.

Sarita Romit Singh came up with a 59.58m effort on her last try to edge Railways’ teammate Jyoti Jakhar Rana to third place.

The 31-year old Sarita had accounted for the five best throws until this competition where Manju improved on her previous best of 62.74m she achieved in Lucknow in June 2014.

Kartik Kumar (Services) and Sanjivani Baburao Jadhav (Maharashtra) overcame opening day disappointments to claim gold in the 10,000m events on the final day.

Kartik, who finished outside the medal bracket in the 5000m, showed his lasting power to beat Services team-mate and 5000m silver medalist Dharmender.

Sanjivani Jadhav, who was second in the 5000m, emerged on top with a comfortable win in the 25-lapper.

Archana Suseendran (Tamil Nadu) was another who did not let an earlier result worry her and claimed the women’s 200m sprint, stopping Taranjeet Kaur (Delhi) from racing away with the sprint double.

The Delhi teenager fought hard to bridge the gap and ended up with a maiden sub-24-second effort, finishing just six-hundredths of a second behind Archana Suseendran.

Also read : Long distance runner and world record holder Sufiya Khan announces her next ultra marathon aiming to cover 480 KM

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 19 (Cricket News) India vice-captain Rohit Sharma opted out of Mumbai Indians' opening match of the second phase of Indian Premier League, which resumed here on Sunday, due to a knee niggle he had sustained during the recent England tour.

Rohit had struck a century in the second innings of the fourth Test at the Oval but did not take the field when England batted.

"The message from the physio is 'assess every minute, don't look too far ahead'," Rohit had said after the Oval Test.

Kieron Pollard led the defending champions against Chennai Super Kings in the absence of Rohit.

MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene said Rohit was kept out of the game as a precautionary measure.

"Rohit had something going in last Test (Oval), so we thought a couple of days of extra precaution," he said.

Mumbai Indians next play Kolkata Knight Riders on September 23 in Abu Dhabi.

With the T20 World Cup beginning immediately after the conclusion of the IPL, the Indian maestro would not wish to rush his return. 

Also Read : The top five run scorers in the first phase of the Indian Premier League

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 19 (Cricket News) The gifted Ruturaj Gaikwad laid the foundation with an unbeaten 58-ball 88 before Dwayne Bravo led an excellent bowling display to power Chennai Super Kings to a crushing 20-run win over Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Sunday.

Gaikwad batted through the innings to lift Chennai Super Kings from a precarious 7/3 to 156 for six as the IPL-14 resumed in the UAE after the first phase in India was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in May.

The late spark was provided by Bravo (23 off 8 balls) as CSK recovered from a disastrous start to put up a fighting total.

Chasing 157 on a pitch where the ball often stopped on the batsmen, MI too were off to a poor start as they slipped to 37 for three in the sixth over at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Both Quinton de Kock (17) and debutant Anmolpreet Singh (16) got out after getting starts, the bowler being pacer Deepak Chahar on both occasions.

Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan too made their way back to the dugout in quick succession to leave MI in a spot of bother at 58 for four in the 10th over.

Saurabh Tiwary (50 not out) and stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard tried to forge a partnership before Josh Hazlewood had the big-hitting all-rounder from Trinidad trapped in front of the wicket.

CSK brightened their prospects further when Krunal Pandya was run out by the Dwayne Bravo-MS Dhoni combination.

Tiwary and Adam Milne tried but could not succeed, with the latter getting out to the experienced Bravo in the second ball of the 20th over.

Bravo picked up 3/25 while Chahar had 2/19 as MI ended at 136 for eight.

Earlier, the 24-year-old Gaikwad added 81 runs for the fifth wicket with Ravindra Jadeja (26) to steady the ship after they lost skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the sixth over with the score reading 24 for 4.

Gaikwad smashed nine fours and three sixes, while Bravo hit three maximums as CSK scored 112 runs in the back 10.

CSK lost four wickets in the power play, including the wickets of skipper Dhoni and the team's seasoned run-getter Suresh Raina, as three top-order batsmen failed to open their account.

The start was inauspicious for CSK as Trent Boult dismissed Faf du Plessis in the fifth ball of the very first over when the New Zealand pace spearhead had the veteran South African caught by the backward point fielder Adam Milne, who was standing very fine, after the batsman had shaped himself up to play the cut shot.

One for one became two for two in the next over as Milne got Moeen Ali who slapped a slightly short ball straight to Saurabh Tiwary at cover.

What didn't help Moeen was that the ball seemed to stop as the England all-rounder went for his shot.

More trouble was in store for CSK as the three-time winners lost the big wicket of Raina in the third over when the experienced left-handed batsman, who has helped the team win so many matches in the past, got out to an irresponsible shot when he miscued one while trying to attack the Kiwi seamer.

Meanwhile, Ambati Rayudu retired hurt after taking a blow on his body to make matter worse for the Super Kings.

If that was not enough, holders Mumbai Indians piled more misery on CSK by sending the veteran Dhoni back to the hut for a poor score.

The World Cup-winning Indian captain timed his shot well but, to his shock, Boult completed a well-judged catch at deep square leg, capping a forgettable powerplay for the unit from Chennai.

After that, Gaikwad and Jadeja put together invaluable runs by mixing caution with aggression to give their team a total to defend against a side that is missing two of their big players in regular skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Hardik Pandya, whose seam-up bowling was missed when the Chennai duo was rebuilding their innings.

Also Read : Kohli to quit RCB captaincy after this year's IPL

News Source : PTI

Dubai, Sep 19 (Cricket News) Virat Kohli will step down as captain of his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of the ongoing season, the Indian batting maestro announced on Sunday, two days after deciding to quit national T20 captaincy following next month's World Cup.

The 32-year-old will quit the India T20 captaincy to manage the immense workload that he has been enduring as an all-format skipper and his decision to leave the leadership role in franchise cricket is part of those efforts.

"This will be my last IPL as captain of RCB. I'll continue to be an RCB player till I play my last IPL game. I thank all the RCB fans for believing in me and supporting me," Kohli said in a video statement issued by RCB.

"I have spoken to the squad. It was something that was on my mind as I recently announced stepping down as T20 captain to manage my workload which has been immense.

"I want to be clear about how I want to move forward. I have made it clear to the management that I can't think of being in any other team apart from RCB," he added.

Kohli was inducted in the RCB squad in 2008, when the league came into existence, and started leading the side in 2013. He has not managed to win the IPL title even once but was never removed from captaincy due to his immense brand value.

"It is just a little halt, not the end of the journey. The journey will continue," he asserted.

One of the most decorated players of the franchise, the star batsman will continue to be a part of the RCB squad.

Kohli has been enduring a tough phase in which he has gone without a Test century in two years and perhaps the decision will help focus on the longest format of the game.

He has managed 563 runs at 26.80 in 12 Tests during this period.

"It has been a great and an inspiring journey, captaining a talented bunch of players in the RCB squad.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank the RCB management, coaches, support staff, players, and the entire RCB family, who have been instrumental in the growth of the franchise over the years.

"It wasn't an easy decision but one that has been well thought of and in the best interest of this wonderful franchise." Kohli has played 199 IPL matches and scored 6076 runs so far with five hundreds.

He had his best IPL season as a batsman in 2016 when he claimed the Orange Cap with 640 runs averaging an astonishing 81.

The highest paid cricketer in the IPL, Kohli was the first to be retained by his franchise ahead of the 2018 players auction.

Mike Hesson, RCB's director of cricket operations, thanked Kohli for his contribution as the team's captain.

"Have only been here a short time but I thank you @imVkohli for all you have done for @RCBTweets as a fully committed leader and team man, your energy and passion is infectious. I know the boys are fully committed to help send you out on a well deserved high skipper," Hesson tweeted.

Also Read : Ruturaj and Bravo got us more than what we expected: Dhoni

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Dubai, Sep 19 (Cricket News) Chennai Super Kings skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dwayne Bravo "got us more than what we expected" after his team was reeling at 24 for four at one stage of its IPL match against Mumbai Indians here on Sunday.

Gaikwad stroked his way to an unbeaten 88 while veteran Bravo, batting at number eight, smashed 23 off just 8 balls as CSK made 156 for six after opting to bat first.

The total proved to be more than enough as CSK beat MI by 20 runs.

"At 30 for 4, you want to put up a respectable score, I felt Rutu and Bravo got us more than what we expected. We thought of 140, to get close to 160 was tremendous," Dhoni said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

"Rayudu got injured, so it was tough to come back from there but we batted sensibly and finished superbly. It was sensible for one batter to bat right through to the end." Talking about the wicket, Dhoni said, "The wicket was two-paced, slightly slow to start off. Also it's difficult if you're batting lower down, if you don't get a chance to see what is happening, you want to go hard." Dhoni also said that Ambati Rayudu, who retired hurt after getting hit while batting, should be fine by the next match.

Gaikwad was declared the Player of the Match and he said it was one of his better knocks.

"Obviously one of my top innings until now, given the pressure we were in. I had to grind it out, bat till 10-12 overs, give myself time and push for 120-130, and then slowly 140-150 was possible. It was a matter of spending time in the middle," he said.

"Mahi bhai, everyone in the CSK management, once they back you, they don't make you think anything but positive things. The Sri Lanka tour and preparation coming here helped a lot." MI's stand-in captain Kieron Pollard was also all praise for Gaikwad.

"Ruturaj batted really well. In T20 cricket, if one person bats through he can hurt you. We didn't finish off well with the ball. Losing by 20 runs you know those were the extra runs we conceded," he said.

He did not find any fault with the pitch but blamed poor batting for the defeat.

"The surface was good, new ball had movement, our seamers got early wickets. Their batters tried to continue the momentum throughout, we didn't do that." "Even though they got 150-plus, as a batting team we could have gotten that. Losing three wickets was a cardinal sin for us. Given the circumstances, Saurabh (Tiwary, 50 not out) batted really well," he said.

Also Read : Rajasthan Royals aim to break into the top four in the 2nd phase of the IPL

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(Cricket news): The Indian Premier League is set to continue after a gap of 4 months as the pandemic caused a break in the middle of the tournament. The first half saw over 29 matches played and now in the second half, there will be a total of 27 matches before the qualifiers. The final will be played one month from now on October 15th. Out of the 8 teams only Delhi Capital and Punjab Kings have played 8 matches as the rest have played 7 matches.

The teams will play a total of 14 matches which will see the top four teams enter the qualifiers. The second half will be crucial as every match will give the teams a chance to enter the top four of the points table. Bottom placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will hope their luck changes in Dubai and Sharjah as top placed Delhi Capitals will hope their wheel of fortune keeps rolling. Mumbai Indians are currently placed 4th, they are known for their comebacks and the expectations are no different this time.

Since the venue has shifted from India to UAE there will be a significant change in every team as the pitch will be different and there will also be spectators in limited numbers this time which will bring the old charm back. The matches will start on September 19 and the schedule has also been released.

Also read: A look back at what happened in the 1st half of Indian Premier League 2021

Dubai, Sep 20 (Cricket News) Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming has lavished praise on young opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, saying he absorbed the pressure and played a "remarkable" innings which gave the team a chance against defending champions Mumbai Indians in their IPL match here.

Gaikwad hit a match-winning unbeaten 88 as CSK posted 156 for 6 after being reduced to 24 for four inside the powerplay.

"Today's innings was very special. It's okay to play an innings in a high-scoring game and dominate. But when you're the one to get a score to give your team a chance, then that's even more special," Fleming said at the post-match press conference.

"So, the way he went about his work, it had really absorbing pressure and then the ability to accelerate as the innings went on, it really was down to his hand, that we were able to create any pressure whatsoever. So, it was a remarkable innings from him." Gaikwad anchored the innings with an unbeaten 58-ball knock before Dwayne Bravo led an excellent bowling display to power CSK to a crushing 20-run win over Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Sunday.

"It was very special, as you know, we've had very big taps on him (Ruturaj) for some time. Even last time we were here, we rushed him back, probably too early given the shape he was in from COVID, but that's how much regard and respect we have for his ability.

"But the way he finished off the IPL here in Dubai last year, set him up for the first part in India,” added the former New Zealand skipper.

While batsman Ambati Rayudu retired hurt after taking a blow on his body, pacer Deepak Chahar had cramps while bowling.

Giving an update on their fitness, the head coach said: "Rayudu X-ray was clear. So, it was just a bad bruise at the stage and he lost a little bit of power on his grip. So, yeah, we were up feared for that it could be broken, but the good news, it is not.

"And Deepak Chahar was cramped and will check that out tomorrow. So hopefully fingers crossed, they both will come through reasonably, okay.” In the game against Mumbai Indians, CSK skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni came out to bat ahead of Ravindra Jadeja and Fleming said the call was taken based on the match situation.

"It is very much (based on the) situation. In India, we had some really good starts and we looked at the left and right hand combination. So, we're getting into the back end of the innings," he said.


"When the captain made the call today it was much different. We haven't been in this situation for some time, if at all."So, the captain wanted the responsibility and it was right, so it was a good call but it's very much situational and just a little bit of a gut feel in the match situation, with a left hander or MS goes up. So, it's good to have those options."

Also Read : Harshal Patel leading the race for purple cap in first phase of Indian Premier League

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(Cricket news) The 14th season of IPL will see its second phase starting from 19th of September.  The top 10 of all time wicket takers are dominated by the spinners as there are only three pacers, Lasith Malinga is on the top with 170 wickets and Amit Mishra will look to overtake him this season as Mishra needs five more wickets to become the leading wicket taker. Only two spinners have managed to win the purple cap, Pragyan Ojha in 2010 and Imran Tahir in 2019. Dwayne Bravo has taken the most wickets in a single season as he won the purple cap in 2013 with 32 wickets.

Harshal Patel: Royal Challengers Bangalore

Harshal is having his best season by picking up 17 wickets in seven matches as he leads the list of wicket takers in the first phase of IPL. He and Andre Russell are the only bowlers to take a five wicket haul so far in this season. Harshal created chaos in the opening game against Mumbai Indians as he took three wickets in the last over while conceding a single run. He will look to break Bravo’s record as there are seven more matches and he needs 15 more wickets. Although he proved to be economical in the beginning, he has leaked the second most runs in the league this season after Shardul Thakur.

Avesh Khan: Delhi Capitals

Avesh Khan is placed second in the list as he has taken 14 wickets from eight matches. He has been bowling well in every match and has leaked minimal runs. He has the ability to trouble the batsman with his pace as well as the length. The T20 format requires sharp bowling and Avesh does have the potential to stop the run scoring. He has bowled 72 dot balls this season and is fourth on the list.

Chris Morris: Rajasthan Royals

Chris Morris is currently third having picked up 14 wickets in seven matches. He had taken fifteen wickets in the 2013 season in sixteen matches and will be able to finish strong this time. He is the most expensive player as he was bought by the team for a price of 16.25 crores. He does have a lot of expectations to fulfil and is so far performing well for the team. He has bowled 63 dot balls this season and bowled 18 dot balls against Kolkata Knight Riders while picking up four wickets.

Rahul Chahar: Mumbai Indians

Rahul Chahar has been one of the most economical bowlers this season as he has not only reduced the run flow but has also picked up wickets. He has 11 scalps from seven games and looks promising as the second phase will test his potential. He cleaned the top four batsmen from the Kolkata Knight Riders which played a major part as Mumbai won the match by 10 runs.

Rashid Khan: Sunrisers Hyderabad

Rashid Khan has been the most economical bowler out of the top five as he has given away only 172 runs while taking 10 wickets. He is one of the top bowlers in the game and has been phenomenal with the bowl although the others have failed to do well. It will be a shame if Sunrisers don’t finish in the top four as Rashid is a player who can trouble any of the batsmen and can defend low totals.

Also read: The top five run scorers in the first phase of the Indian Premier League

Espoo (Finland), Sep 18 (Tennis news) Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan blew away their chances in the must-win doubles match as India lost the World Group I tie to Finland after conceding an unassailable 0-3 lead, here on Saturday.

Captain Rohit Rajpal changed the doubles combination at the last minute by pairing Bopanna with Ramkumar instead of left-handed Divij Sharan but nothing helped as they lost the crucial match 6-7(2) 6-7(2) to Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara in one hour and 38 minutes.

Both Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar had lost their singles matches on Friday and to stay alive in the tie, the Indians needed to win the doubles.

The reverse singles have now been rendered inconsequential.

Heliovaara was considered the most vulnerable of all four players on the court but he raised his game by several notches and created a huge impact on the outcome of the match with his fearless approach.

The Indian, on the contrary, fumbled even when they had advantage as they squandered as many as four breakpoints in the eight game of the second set when winning that game could have given them the chance to put the hosts under the pump.

After doing all the hard work, the Indians cracked at crucial junctures.

At 3-3, the Indian pair attacked the serve of Heliovaara, going 30-all but the home player served big on the next two points to ensure the set stays on serve.

Eventually the opening set went to tie-breaker. Heliovaara found a stunning service return winner off Bopanna on the second point to get the mini break and also held his serve as Finland took a 4-1 lead.

Then came Ramkumar's double fault and a volley error at the net that gave Finland players five set points. They converted the second when Ramkumar could not return Kontinen's serve.

A forehand winner by Ramkumar at 30-all in the second game of the second set, set up the first break chance for India and they converted when Kontinen could not return Bopanna's backhand.

However, the big-serving Bopanna dropped his own serve in the next game when he made consecutive unforced errors.

In the next game, the Indians went up 40-0 on Heliovaara's serve but blew away all three breakpoints and later one more to let the rivals hold for a 4-4 scoreline.

Another tie-breaker followed. Helovaara pulled of a sensational forehand winner at 5-2 to get to first match point and it was all over for India when Ramkumar could not return the ball in the next point.

Also read: Davis Cup: Prajnesh, Ramkumar lose on Day 1, India trail 0-2 against Finland

News source: PTI 

(Cricket news) The 2nd phase of the 2021 IPL is about to start and Rajasthan Royals are 5th on the points table with 7 matches left to play. Their 1st game back is against PBKS on 21st September.

Newly appointed captain Sanju Samson has been performing with the willow, having scored 277 runs in 7 innings. Proteas seamer Chris Morris is leading the bowling attack and has already picked up 14 wickets. Youngster Chetan Sakariya is enjoying a good start to his IPL career.

Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler carried the batting line up in the 1st half. With Buttler not there, one or two others have to take more responsibility. David Miller is the obvious candidate with all his experience. Rahul Tewatia had a breakthrough tournament last season but hasn't quite delivered in this edition. Another problem is that the opening pair is still unclear. Manan Vohra, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis.

Also read: Punjab Kings look to break their 6 year streak to qualify for the playoffs

Since winning the inaugural tournament in 2008, Rajasthan Royals have made it to the playoffs only twice. They have a long way to ge before they can get anywhere near the trophy, to try and get to the playoffs would be the first step. On a personal level Sanju Samson will have something to prove after being cast aside from the Indian side.

The Royals played the 1st half without Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Liam Livingstone. While Livingstone is set to return, Stokes and Archer will miss the tournament. To make matters worse Jos Buttler is the recent Englishman to pull out of the tournament. Evin Lewis, Glenn Phillips, Tabraiz Shamsi and Oshane Thomas are the four new signings made for the 2nd phase.

Here is the full Rajasthan Royals squad

Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shreyas Gopal, Glenn Phillips (wk), Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Evin Lewis, Oshane Thomas, Kartik Tyagi, Mahipal Lomror, Yashasvi Jaiswal, David Miller, Jaydev Unadkat, Anuj Rawat (wk), Mayank Markande, Manan Vohra, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Liam Livingstone, Akash Singh, KC Cariappa, Kuldip Yadav.

Brisbane, Sep 18 (Cricket news) The Indian women's team made a disappointing start to its tour of Australia as it suffered a 36-run loss in a 50-over warm-up match here on Saturday.

Opener Rachael Haynes (65), Meg Lanning (59) and Beth Mooney (59) smashed individual fifties as Australia posted a challenging 278 for nine after batting first at the Ian Healy Oval.

In reply, India could only manage 242 for seven in their 50 overs with Pooja Vastrakar (57) emerging as the top-scorer.

For Australia, star all-rounder Ellyse Perry (2/38) made a successful return to new-ball duties as she, along with 19-year-old quick Stella Campbell (3/38), snapped two wickets each inside the first 15 overs to leave India reeling at 88 for four.

Perry produced a disciplined performance, bowling a tight line and was rewarded with the wickets of opener Smriti Mandhana (14) and Mithali Raj (1).

Campbell made her case for an international debut as she got rid of Shafali Verma (27) and Richa Ghosh (11) early.

The 21-year-old India rookie Yastika Bhatia (41) then gave ample display of her resilience as she negotiated a barrage of short balls from Darcie Brown, 18, before being dismissed by left-arm finger spinner Sophie Molineux (1/12).

With India slipping to 106 for six, Vastrakar and Deepti Sharma (49 not out) tried to stage a recovery but the duo couldn't take them across the line.

Earlier, Jhulan Goswami (2/36) and Meghna Singh (0/35) looked impressive with the new-ball.

Goswami provided the first blow, removing Alyssa Healy (8) but Haynes and Lanning took Australia past the 100-mark.

Vastraker ran out Haynes to break the partnership and Perry (1) was stumped after she appeared to be unaware that she had strayed out.

With two wickets falling in quick succession, Australia slipped to 136 for four.

After that, Ashleigh Gardner (24) combined with Mooney for an important fifth-wicket stand of 63.

Annabel Sutherland (20 off 14) and Georgia Wareham (17 not out off 15) then offered India a stark warning of their depth as Australia posted a good score on board.

The two teams will meet in the ODI series opener on Tuesday.

Also read: Heather Knight and Katherine Brunt lead England to ODI victory against New Zealand

News source: PTI 

(Cricket news) The second phase of the IPL begins tomorrow in UAE, the first phase saw Delhi Capitals leading the points table with Shikhar Dhawan leading the batting charts. Delhi Capitals have one bowler and two batsmen in the top five charts of runs scored and wickets. The first stage has so far seen three centuries with Rajasthan Royals accounting for two of them. The top five batsmen from the first phase are all right handers except for Shikhar Dhawan and Faf Du Plessis being the only overseas player.

Shikhar Dhawan: Delhi Capitals

Dhawan is currently the highest run scorer with 380 runs from eight matches, he has been playing in IPL since the inaugural edition and has scored 300 plus runs in every season except in 2009 and 2010. He started off with a whirlwind 85 from 54 balls that helped his team chase a target of 190 against Chennai Super Kings and in the third match single handedly led the team to victory by scoring 92 runs from 49 balls against Punjab Kings.

Dhawan’s form has given the team great starts and they have been able to chase down huge targets. The left hander plays with aggression which has helped him become a consistent performer in the league and last year became the first batsmen in IPL to score back to back centuries which helped saw him scoring 618 runs his highest so far. Dhawan’s form is vital for Delhi Capitals to stay on top of the points table.

KL Rahul: Punjab Kings

Rahul has been a star performer every season with the bat and has so far scored 331 runs from seven matches. He has smashed 16 sixes which is the most this season along with four half centuries and has got out in the nineties twice. His captaincy skills are also on point along with the wicket keeping and has scored 500 plus runs in the past three seasons. He can get runs on board quickly and has the ability to clear the boundaries consistently as he has scored the fastest half century in IPL in 2018 which came off 18 balls . Rahul also has the highest score by an Indian in the IPL as he scored 132 last year and ended the season with 670 runs.

Faf Du Plessis: Chennai Super Kings

Du Plessis is known for his flying catches and speed on the field, he is 37 years old but is still quicker and agile than most of the youngsters in the league. He has scored 320 runs from seven matches. After failing to score in the opening game against Delhi Capitals, Du Plessis has been in spectacular form as he has scored four half centuries in his last four innings and even came close to scoring his first century in IPL in the fourth match against Kolkata Knight Riders but fell short of five runs. He is coming back from playing CPL for Saint Lucia Kings and is known for his ability to hit with power and also technique.

Prithvi Shaw: Delhi Capitals

The youngest of the lot, Shaw has been proving to be a perfect partner to Dhawan in the Delhi Capitals. He has scored 308 runs from eight matches and is having the best season so far as his previous highest runs tally was in 2019 when he scored 353 runs from 16 matches. Shaw was on song against Kolkata Knight Riders as he scored 82 runs from 41 balls and hit six fours in six balls in the very first over of the match. Shaw will be eager to cross the 400 run mark or even the 500 mark this season and has the ability to hit the ball all around the ground.

Sanju Samson: Rajasthan Royals

Samson has been one of the most elegant batsmen in the IPL in recent times and comfortably clears the boundary ropes. He has scored 277 runs from seven matches so far and scored a heroic 119 in his first match as a captain. He is known to be brave and is always on the lookout to knock one over the boundary. Although he struggled after the first match scoring 30 runs in the next three matches he came back with 40 plus scores in the final three matches. Samson has been the lone performer from his team and as the captain will need to motivate the players to climb up the rankings.

Also read: IPL returns as precursor to T20 World Cup

New Delhi, Sept. 17, 2021 (Sports news) Under Armour athlete Sufiya Khan, who holds a world record for long distance running, is once again ready to push her limits with her upcoming Ultra marathon ‘Himalayan Ultra Run Expedition’. Aiming to cover a distance of 480 km in less than 130 hours, amidst the difficulties of ruthless terrains and conditions, Sufiya will be the first female marathon runner in the world to attempt the run from Manali to Leh. The Himalayan Ultra Run Expedition is scheduled from 25th Sep to 30th Sep 2021 and will begin at an altitude of 2000m, reaching up to 5400m altitude and total 9000 m elevation gain throughout the expedition with temperature dipping between minus 5 to minus 10 degrees and oxygen levels getting less than 50 percent on mountain passes. Themed ‘Push Your Limits’, with this run both, Sufiya and Under Armour aim to encourage athletes to expand their limits, move out of their comfort zone and take up challenging tasks in their fitness journey.

From everyday athletes to the world’s best, Under Armour has been committed to equipping focused performers to strive for success. After supporting Sufiya to power through her record breaking Kashmir to Kanyakumari run and Indian Golden Quadrilateral Run Under Armour continues to contribute to Sufiya’s constant pursuit to move beyond the ordinary and push her limits with her upcoming Manali to Leh run.

Also read: Opportunities aplenty for aspiring female cricketers post evolution of the game - India A all rounder Tejal Hasabnis

Gearing for her next big feat, Sufiya Khan said, “I see every challenge as an opportunity for me to prepare myself for the next one. This run is one of the most challenging ones that I will attempt in my life and I am both excited and nervous about it. I am honoured to be supported by a brand like Under Armour and draw a great deal of inspiration from their philosophies. The brand’s core values resonate with my own and pushes me to give in my very best. I believe together we can push the limits of human potential and further encourage and motivate every budding athlete to push their boundaries and step out of their comfort zones.”

In 2020 Sufiya Khan hit the road for her most ambitious run. She aimed to run along with the Golden Quadrilateral highway network across India: a total length of about 6,002 km. After facing some disappointment in her first attempt due to the Covid pandemic, Sufiya completed the marathon in 110 days, 23 hours and 24 minutes, in her second attempt. Sufiya credits a big part of her success to wearing the correct gear provided by Under Armour. She believes it has not only enhanced her performance but also safeguarded her from injuries along the way.

Dubai, Sep 18 (Cricket news) Players will be getting valuable experience in the UAE conditions ahead of the T20 World Cup while the Indian cricket board will be hoping its money-spinner stays away from the looming COVID-19 shadow when the IPL resumes with the blockbuster Chennai Super Kings-Mumbai Indians clash here on Sunday.

As the second wave of COVID-19 wreaked havoc in India in April-May, the water-tight IPL bio-bubble was also breached, forcing the suspension of the tournament after 29 games.

With too much at stake for all stakeholders including the players, teams and BCCI, there was little doubt over the completion of the world's biggest T20 competition. It was only about when the BCCI would squeeze in the IPL in an ever-pack global calendar.

After a few alterations in the franchise cricket and international calendar, the best possible window was found with the BCCI slotting in the tournament as the lead up to the T20 World Cup.

Last week, doubts over smooth conduct of the tournament resurfaced with the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Indian team's camp in England but fortunately for the organisers, the issue did not escalate and the available Indian and English players arrived here safely.

The entire IPL was held in the UAE last year without any hassles and the BCCI will be hoping for a similar experience this time around.

Fans, albeit a limited number, will also be present at an IPL venue for the first time since 2019, adding immensely to the event's spectacle.

Though the squads have already been announced for the World Cup, an IPL performance seldom gets unnoticed and there could be some players, including Indians, who make the squad in the 11th hour in case of injury with the ICC allowing changes until October 10.

India skipper Virat Kohli, who will step down from T20 captaincy after the World Cup, would love to get his hands on the elusive trophy and Royal Challengers Bangalore showed signs earlier in the season that they could finally go all the way.

Delhi Capitals, who finished runners-up in 2020, are leading the points tally and are primed to win their maiden title. The other teams in the top four are CSK, RCB and the mighty Mumbai Indians, the winner of a record five titles and the team to upstage.

There are 31 games to be played in UAE conditions instead of the usual 60 and that could mean good pitches for the majority of the tournament. With the conditions different from India and pitches expected to be slower, all teams have emphasised on starting from scratch.

CSK and MI renew their celebrated rivalry to kick start the IPL resumption on Sunday.

Having already played half of their 14 league games, MI, who have three wins from seven games, can't afford another slow start.

CSK, aka Dad's Army, finally seemed to have found a winning combination after the disappointment of 2020. Their young guns like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sam Curran delivered in the first half of the season while their spinners -- Imran Tahir, Moeen Ali and Ravindra Jadeja -- also came to the party. Moeen and Jadeja also impressed with the bat.

Now the team will be hoping its stalwarts, skipper Dhoni and Suresh Raina, too find their touch.

MI, on the other hand, will be hoping to up their game like they often do in pressure situations. Their famed middle-order did not exactly set the stage on fire and their bowling in the powerplay also can be better.

Skipper Rohit Sharma, who has been in stellar touch of late, will be expected to continue in the same vein and the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and leggie Rahul Chahar, come into the event a more confident trio having made the World Cup squad.

Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya would be expected to bowl regularly in the tournament which will also tell the India selectors on how he is shaping ahead of the ICC showpiece.

The teams which have been affected by withdrawals of key players include Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders, who all are struggling to survive in the competition.

Punjab had to seek replacements for Dawid Malan, Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson. They managed to rope in the services of rising Australian pacer Nathan Ellis to boost their death bowling. England leggie Adil Rashid too has come into the squad.

KKR will be missing the services of star pacer Pat Cummins who has been replaced by Tim Southee.

Royals were anyway without Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes and now Jos Buttler has been added to that list. The English player to watch out in the squad would be Liam Livingstone.

With one win from seven games, Sunrisers Hyderabad will have to come up with something special to resurrect their campaign. They will be without star opener Jonny Bairstow.

Also read: Punjab Kings look to break their 6 year streak to qualify for the playoffs

News source: PTI

(Football news) Kerala Blasters FC have announced their partnership with the Government of Kerala (DSYA) to operate their Sports Kerala Elite Residential Football Academy as Technical Partner. The Centre of Excellence will be managed by Kerala Blasters FC for an initial period of five years. The academy was initially inaugurated by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and chaired by the Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman.

With this collaboration, Kerala intends to be a world class production hub for Indian and International footballers and providing aspiring talent with a career path. The state aims to establish itself as a football destination for young talent and the Youth National team. The academy will have three age group teams - Junior groups of U14 and U17 and Senior group of U20, with 100% domestic youth players.

As a part of this partnership, Kerala Blasters FC will bring aboard various management and technical experts to operate the best-in-class football academy in the country. To make their vision a reality, Kerala Blasters will invest in world class infrastructure, turf and support facilities.

In a press release, Mohammed Rafik, the Director of Football, Kerala Blasters FC said “We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the Government of Kerala for the first of its kind partnership in India. Through this project, we aim to assist young talents from the state and make them into sought out footballers of tomorrow through the best-in-class infrastructure, football program, life skills and education. We are honored to have our esteemed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurate the academy.”

Also read: SC East Bengal sign Dutch utility player Darren Sidoel

Cromvort (The Netherlands), Sep 18 (Golf news) Indian golfer Shubhankar Sharma landed two eagles for a card of 6-under 66 to lie tied-9th after the second round of the Dutch Open tournament here.

At 8-under Sharma, who shot a 2-under 70 in the opening round, is four shots behind the leader, Kristoffer Broberg (68-64) who put his injury problems behind him to fire his lowest European Tour round for almost six years. He leads the field at 12-under.

Sharma, who has had four finishes in Top-16 in his last five starts, started with a bogey but quickly found his feet. He birdied third and sixth and turned in 1-under.

On the back nine, he eagled par-5 12th, where he had dropped a shot a day earlier. As if that was not enough he holed his second shot on par-4 15th for another eagle and then closed with a birdie on 18th.

With two eagles in the second round, he has three in two rounds having landed an eagle on the first day on Par-5 seventh.

Broberg made nine birdies with a single dropped shot as he carded a 64 that moved him to 12 under, a shot clear of Belgian Thomas Detry and Dane Marcus Helligkilde.

Ireland's Niall Kearney and German Maximilian Kieffer were then at 10-under but the headlines at Bernardus Golf belonged to 35-year-old Broberg, who has shown signs of his brilliant best in recent weeks after a tough few seasons.

The 35-year-old announced himself to the golfing world in 2012 as he won three events in four weeks on the European Challenge Tour, and within three years he was a European Tour winner at the BMW Masters.

He lost his card in 2017 and while he regained it at the Qualifying School, hip and knee injuries contributed to him playing just 11 events between 2018 and 2020.

Also read: Olympian Udayan Mane shoots sublime 65 to take first round lead at J&K Open

News source: PTI 

New Delhi, Sep 18 (Cricket news) Mahendra Singh Dhoni was always a bowlers' captain in white ball cricket and his presence as team mentor for the T20 World Cup will immensely benefit Jasprit Bumrah and Co, feels former India opener Virender Sehwag.

Dhoni was recently named mentor for the mega event by the BCCI.

"I am very happy that MS accepted the offer to be the Team Mentor for the T20 World Cup. I know many people want that MS should again comeback into the mainstream of Indian cricket and being roped in as the mentor is the best thing that could have happened," Sehwag told PTI in an exclusive interview.

Sehwag, who has played alongside Dhoni for a decade, knew what his core strength was as a captain and that is understanding his bowlers' psyche in limited overs format.

"As a keeper, MS was exceptional with his understanding of field placements and this is something that will help the bowling unit in this World Cup. The bowlers can pick his brains and get useful tips on planning against a batsman," the explosive opener of yesteryears said.

For Sehwag, there can't be a better 'mentor' than Dhoni when it comes to young players, who are a bit introvert and need someone to guide them as they try to express themselves on the field.

"There are always players in any international side, who are shy and do hesitate to go up to their skipper and strike up a cricketing conversation. MS has always been that kind of a person who is easily approachable and also a perfect trouble shooter for youngsters." While the BCCI has announced the 15-member squad with three reserves, Sehwag believes that with ICC giving a window to change teams till October 10, there could still be room for some good performers, who have missed the bus.

"100%. We have around seven matches minimum left for the teams. That means you still have a platform to perform and those who are on the fringes could still impress the Indian selectors who would be watching the tournament closely. "Since ICC allows a window to change teams, I will not be surprised if there are some changes in the original squad," the Nawab of Najafgarh said.

Talking about Virat Kohli, Sehwag said that Kohli at least owes one IPL trophy to Bangalore since he enjoys such a huge fan following.

"IPL is important for every captain but I think more so for Virat as with his huge fan base, everyone wants Virat to win a trophy for the Bangalore franchise. If not multiple times then at least once in his tenure as captain," the 42-year-old said.

"This has been a strange year off the field due to pandemic and who knows it might be a different year for Bangalore from previous seasons and they go on to win the trophy," said Sehwag.

Just like that last edition of IPL in the UAE, Sehwag again feels that Mumbai and Delhi are favourites to win the tournament.

"Since the second half has been shifted to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, I think Delhi and Mumbai will again be favourites and the five-time champions are slightly ahead," he said.

Sehwag reckons that pitches in UAE will be slower and thus Chennai and Bengaluru might facesome problems.

"Chennai's average score in India was 201 during the first phase but I think when it comes to UAE tracks, they would be lacking a bit in batting firepower. If I have to pick one team, that will be Mumbai." He said that for Chennai, after such a long gap, it might take "some more matches" to settle down and get into the "groove".

When asked which are the players that he would be looking forward during the next four weeks, Sehwag named four batters.

"My first choice will be Ishan Kishan followed by Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul and Sanju Samson. These four I will be intently watching. I have loved Devdutt's batting and if I have to pick one amongst the four, he is my man. Who knows, if he does well, he might be drafted in as that Indian top-order for the T20 World Cup,' he added.

The interview was facilitated by "Flipkart Video for Power Play with Champions".

Also read: Achieved all I wanted, never overstay your welcome: Shastri gears up for end of India tenure

The show will take viewers through a predictive spin on the upcoming cricket tournament, which will not only give them a chance to test their knowledge of their favourite game, but will also give them a chance to win exciting prizes.

Talking about the show, Sehwag said, "I had a great time last year on Flipkart Video Power Play with Champions and also half the season that we did earlier this year." 

News source: PTI

Puidox (Switzerland), Sep 18 (Golf news) India's Gaurika Bishnoi logged her best international result in a long time with a tied-6th finish at the Lavaux Ladies Open on the LET Access Series.

Returning to action after a long time, the five-time winner on the domestic circuit with cards of 71-72-69 finished 4-under and tied for sixth, while Ridhima Dilawari was tied-9th with rounds of 74-69-70.

While the money they earned may not even have been enough to cover their expenses, the confidence generated by finishing in top-10 will do them a lot of good.

Amandeep Drall (73-73-72), who was tied-4th at Flumserberg Open on LET Access Series a fortnight ago, finished tied-22nd alongside Pranavi Urs (71-74-73) who is making her big venture into Europe.

Vani Kapoor hoping to come out of her rusty form due to long break due to the pandemic (75-74-72) was tied-33rd.

Gaurika, who was rather successful on the domestic circuit till 2019, was like many others left stranded without any events to play during the pandemic. She is now getting back into the groove and a few invites into the Ladies European Tour will also help.

Scotland’s Gabrielle Macdonald prevailed in a playoff at the Lavaux Ladies Open to secure her second LET Access Series title in 2021. The 28-year-old began the day in a tie for fifth place on 4 under and produced a round of 69 to finish the tournament of seven-under-par.

She birdied 18th to get into a play-off with England’s Gemma Clews (68) who she beat with a par on the playoff hole. It was her second playoff victory in the space of four events.

Also read: Aditi plays steady second round to make cut in Oregon

A trio of French amateurs appeared next on the leaderboard with Ariane Klotz and Emma Falcher finishing T3 on six-under-par, while Nastasia Nadaud was one shot further back in solo fifth place. 

News source: PTI

(Cricket news) The 2nd phase of the 2021 IPL is about to start and PBKS are 6th on the points table with 6 matches left to play. Their 1st game back is against RR on 21st September.

Captain KL Rahul is once again leading from the front having scored 331 runs in 7 innings. There has been adequate support from opening partner Mayank Agarwal but after that it goes downhill. No other batsman has made significant runs with the willow which explains their position on the table. Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh have led the bowling department which hasn't done particularly well.

PBKS in 13 seasons have qualified for the playoffs only twice. The structure of the team keeps on changing again and again with new coaches and new captains which isn't healthy. Two of the most successful teams are Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings and long term captains is one thing they both have in common. PBKS are still in the contest but they need their middle order to step up.

Also read: Can Royal Challengers Bangalore finally bring the trophy home this season?

The two West Indians Nicholas Pooran and Chris Gayle will have a huge role to play. There have been talks about Chris Gayle opening the innings which might not be the worst thing in the world as Gayle is far more comfortable at the top of the order considering he needs a few balls to get into his rhythm. Aiden Markram could be a wildcard as he is in a hot run of form in T20Is. Adil Rashid could be Useful bowler in the UAE conditions. His ability to bowl with the hard new ball will come in very handy.

Pacers Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson have pulled out of the 2nd phase of the tournament. PBKS have signed English leggie Adil Rashid and Australian pacer Nathan Ellis as replacements. ICC's no.1 T20I batsman David Malan has also pulled out of the tournament and Aiden Markram has been named as a replacement.

Here is the full PBKS Squad

KL Rahul (Captain), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Pratyush Singh, Jalaj Saxena, Nathan Ellis, Adil Rashid, Aiden Markram

London, Sep 18 (Cricket news) His tenure set to end after next month's T20 World Cup, India head coach Ravi Shastri conceded that there would be a bit of "sadness" but he has no doubts that he is going out at the right time, having "over-achieved" during his stint.

Shastri's first stint as head coach began in 2017 before he was reappointed in 2019. The T20 World Cup starts on October 17 in the UAE.

The 59-year-old is currently in quarantine here after testing positive for COVID-19. Speaking to 'The Guardian', Shastri said to win the T20 World Cup would be special but the team has already done special things in his time.

"I believe so because I've achieved all I wanted. Five years as No.1 (in Test cricket), to win in Australia twice, to win in England.

"I spoke to Michael Atherton earlier this summer and said: 'For me, this is the ultimate – to beat Australia in Australia and win in England in Covid times.' We lead England 2-1 and the way we played at Lord's and the Oval was special," said the former player.

India were leading 2-1 against England when the fifth and final Test in Manchester was called off after a COVID-19 outbreak in the touring camp.

During Shastri's tenure, India also recorded T20 series wins in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and England.

"We've also beaten every country in the world in their own backyard in white-ball cricket. If we win the (T20) World Cup that will be the icing on the cake. There is nothing more.

"I believe one thing – never overstay your welcome. And I would say that, in terms of what I wanted to get out of the side, I've over-achieved. To beat Australia away and to lead the series in England in a COVID year? It is the most satisfying moment of my four decades in cricket." The flamboyant coach would love to sign off with an ICC trophy, which the team has not lifted during the Shastri-Virat Kohli phase.

"We're going to give it everything. Absolutely. We've got the team to win if we play to our potential. Above all we're going to enjoy it. Forget Test match pressure. T20 cricket is meant to be enjoyed. I plan on going out on a real high," he asserted.

"Yes there will be sadness it's ending because I've worked with so many great players and personalities. We've had some great times in the dressing room. But, above all, the quality of our cricket and the results we've achieved has made it one heck of a journey," he said.

He also spoke on the emergence of Jasprit Bumrah as a lethal Test bowler in his tenure.

"No one believed Jasprit Bumrah could play Test cricket. He was a white-ball bowler. But when I took over as coach I asked myself: 'How do I take 20 wickets overseas?' "I knew I needed four great fast bowlers because I had played so much Test cricket against the West Indies. It started in South Africa in 2018 and we lost that fantastic series 2-1. I wanted to unleash Bumrah in that first Test in Cape Town.

"I bounced the idea off Virat months before and told the selectors: 'Do not unleash him in India. I don't want the world to see him in Test cricket before Cape Town.' "That was three years ago. Since then he's taken 101 wickets (in 24 Tests). It's remarkable."

Also read: BCCI may approach Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman for head coach's post

News source: PTI 

Portland (US), Sep 18 (Golf news) Indian golfer Aditi Ashok quickly made up for her disappointing start on the opening day with a steady even par 72 in the second round to make the cut at the 2021 Cambia Portland Classic here.

Aditi, who carded a five-over 77 in the first round, is now Tied-57th and has the two weekend rounds to improve on her position as she gets into rhythm.

Aditi travelled to the US this week after a few starts in Europe before which she was in Tokyo for the Olympics, where she missed a medal by a whisker.

On the second day, Aditi putted much better despite finding as many greens in regulation as the first day. She birdied fifth and 18th but dropped shots on 11th and 12th.

The cut came at +6, with 77 players advancing to the weekend.

Rolex Rankings No. 2 Jin Young Ko (69-67) carded six birdies and just one bogey for a second-round 67 and sits on top of the leaderboard at 8-under heading into the weekend at Oregon Golf Club. She has a one-stroke advantage over Gemma Dryburgh (68-69) in second and a three-stroke lead over Carlota Ciganda in third.

Ciganda ended up barefoot at one point in her round of 71, taking off her shoes and socks to wade into a water hazard on No. 15. With her ball sitting up on a patch of grass just shy of the water, Ciganda knocked her 54-degree wedge to 15 feet and converted an unconventional birdie.

Seven players are tied for fourth at 4-under, with Alana Uriell joining that group thanks to a flurry of five consecutive birdies to end her round.

Also read: Disappointing start for Aditi in Portland Classic

News source: PTI 

(Sports News) The power of sports is universal, it spans across cultures, languages, countries and continents. It’s one of the most lucrative spots for advertisers, with the price of a 30 second commercial at the Super Bowl costing $5,500,000 simply because of the sheer number of eyeballs at the event. While some sports are bigger in certain areas than others, the influence of these events is simply getting bigger by each passing year.

Here are the top five most watched sporting events in the world

5) Winter Olympics

There are many sports that are not given the limelight they deserve such as figure skating, alpine skiing, ice hockey, and snowboarding, until they are featured at the Winter Olympics. Although it’s the less popular cousin of the Summer Olympics, it still reaches a broad audience because it hosts a number of countries. This 17 day event got 2.1 billion in TV viewership in 2006 and will be held in Beijing, China from February 4 - 20, 2022.

4) Cricket World Cup

For many parts of the world, especially the Indian subcontinent, the cricket mania is off the charts. The Cricket World Cup is a championship featuring many countries from across the world competing in a One Day International Format. The tournament lasts just over six weeks and takes place every four years. The 2019 Cricket World Cup hosting in England and Wales set a new viewership record with 2.6 billion people tuning in to become the most watched cricketing event in history. The next Cricket World Cup will be hosted by India from February 9th to March 26th, 2023.

3) Tour de France

The Tour de France is undoubtedly the most prestigious event in the world of cycling and arguably one of the biggest sporting events in the world, dating back all the way to 1903. The race is held across 2,200 miles at France’s scenic mountain roads across 23 days. With 21 stages in the race, competitors race as an 8 person team to get the fastest time. Approximately 190 countries tune in to watch the Tour de France with an estimated viewership of 3.5 billion people according to race organizers and 12 million roadside spectators.

2) FIFA World Cup

It’s only fitting that the FIFA World Cup to be one of the most watched sporting events, considering that football is the most popular sport in the world. In fact, the FIFA World Cup should be THE biggest sporting event in the world if we refer to single sport events, but for the sake of technicality, it remains in second place. This 32 team event, which will be expanded to 48 countries in 2026 is only getting bigger, thereby getting more viewers. To put it in perspective just how big this event is, the 1950 World Cup Final had a record attendance of 199,854 spectators in an enclosed stadium. Nearly half of the human population (estimated to be 3.57 billion) tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup in Russia, 2018 and the sport is expected to grow even more by the time it’s hosted in Qatar in 2023.

1) Summer Olympics

The most watched and biggest sporting event on the planet, the Summer Olympics is the pinnacle of every athlete's career. Not only does it feature a wide variety of sports, it has all the action, drama and surprises that make us all love sports. From shock underdog victories to new records being broken and personal dreams being fulfilled, the Olympics is a stage unlike any other. Held every four years, the Summer Olympics is viewed across the globe with the 2012 London Games and Rio Olympics being viewed by an estimated 3.6 billion people. The next edition will be held in Paris, France in 2024 from July 26 – August 11.

Also read: Japan will not host the FIFA Club World Cup 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

New Delhi, Sep 17 (Cricket news) Some former international cricketers, including Indians, will be in action in a T20 tournament called the Legends League Cricket to be held in March next year in the UAE, the event's organisers stated on Friday.

Although the organisers did not divulge details of the players who have signed up for the tourney, they claimed that the list includes some top former internationals from India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and England, among others.

"The League would be played twice every year. In the first season, the league would be played in Tri-series format, with Indian team, Asian Team and a Rest of the World Team playing against each other.

"This would mean six league stage matches before the final match," they stated in a press release.

Vivek Khushalani, co-founder and promoter, promised a grand show.

Also read: BCCI may approach Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman for head coach's post

"The brainstorming sessions gave us huge excitement, the thought of seeing Legends playing for team India once again gave a different high.

"As sports enthusiasts, we have spent our lives watching them play and win matches for India and with LLC, billions of fans can relive those dreams," Khushalani stated. 

News source: PTI

New Delhi, Sep 18 (Cricket news) Life may come to a full circle for Anil Kumble as the Sourav Ganguly-led BCCI might ask him to apply for the post of head coach of the Indian team along with VVS Laxman once Ravi Shastri finishes his term after the T20 World Cup.

Kumble was the coach of the Indian team for a year between 2016-17 when the Cricket Advisory Committee headed by Sachin Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly had appointed him, replacing Shastri.

However, a bitter fall-out with captain Virat Kohli led to Kumble tendering his resignation after the Champions Trophy final defeat against Pakistan.

Along with Kumble, the board may also approach Laxman, who has been a mentor of the IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad for some years now.

However, Kumble will be favourite even as Laxman will also remain in contention.

"Anil Kumble's exit needs course correction. The manner in which the CoA succumbed to the pressure of Kohli and removed him, wasn't the best example set. However, it also depends on whether Kumble or Laxman are ready to apply for the job," a senior BCCI source privy to development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Kohli has already announced that he will quit as T20 captain after the World Cup.

For the BCCI brass, a reputed Indian coach is always the first choice and both Kumble and Laxman with their stature in Indian cricket with 100 plus Test matches along with coaching experience fit the bill perfectly. A foreign coach is the second option.

"The criteria for BCCI's coach's job will be such that only a select few with very good record as player as well as experience of coaching/mentorship can apply for the top job," the source said.

Asked if Vikram Rathour is in contention, the official said,"He can apply if he wishes to but he doesn't have the stature to become a head coach of the Indian cricket team." "He is at best an assistant coach. However, when we select the new coach, he will have a team all by himself. So let's wait and watch," the source concluded.

Also read: NZ took an unilateral approach, they will hear us at ICC: PCB chief Raja

News source: PTI 

Espoo (Finland), Sep 17 (Tennis news) Prajnesh Gunneswaran yet again lost to a lower-ranked player in the Davis Cup while Ramkumar Ramanathan went down fighting in the second singles as India trailed 0-2 in the World Group I tie against Finland, here on Friday.

Up against Otto Virtanen, ranked as low as 419 in the ATP ranking chart, the 165th ranked Prajnesh lost 3-6 6-7(1) in just one hour 25 minutes.

Ramkumar, ranked 187, presented a good fight but lost 4-6 5-7 to Finland's number one player, Emil Ruusuvuori, who is ranked 74th.

While Ramkumar tried a few tricks in his bag to overcome his rival, Prajnesh's defeat was extremely disappointing since he had a less experienced player, who had won just one Davis Cup match before this tie, to contend with.

After dropping his serve in the sixth game, Ramkumar got the break back immediately, playing smartly. He often charged the net to surprise his opponent, getting some good points.

However, he went down 0-40 in the 10th game while serving to stay in the set and lost it when he hit a backhand wide.

Ruusuvuori countered Ramkumar's strategy of chip and charge easily in the second set, hitting a few passing winners. The home player even got a breakpoint in the fourth game but Ramkumar saved that to stay on serve.

The Finnish player raised his game post 5-5 scoreline as he started to add more power to his game and strokes.

He hit a splendid cross court winner at 40-40 to earn his first match point but Ramkumar kept his cool and saved that by dispatching a winner in open court from close the net.

However, the Indian served a double fault soon to hand Ruusuvuori his second and the Finland player converted that with a backhand passing winner.

Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan now must the doubles match to keep India alive.

Earlier, Prajnesh saved two breaks early but dropped serve in the sixth game to fall behind in the opening set. The left-hander got a chance to break back when Virtanen double-faulted at deuce point in the next game but Prajnesh could not capitalise on the chance.

Virtanen served out the set without any fuss in the ninth game. With home support, Virtanen kept the Indian under the pump. Prajnesh was again in danger of dropping serve early in the second set but he managed to hold the third game after a couple of deuce points.

Prajnesh kept fighting till 4-all but was down 0-40 after serving a double fault in the ninth game. However, he saved five breakpoints and eventually held the game with a well-calculated drop shot.

The Indian served the 11th game set love and now needed to break his rival, who was playing effortlessly.

He got that little chance when Virtanen hit forehand on net at deuce point but the Finnish pulled off an ace at the break point. Eventually it went to a tie-breaker, in which Prajnesh fell behind 0-3 and then 1-5.

An angled serve that Prajnesh could not return gave the home player a match point, which he converted with an easy winner.

Also read: Davis Cup: Indian players need to give their all against Finland

News source: PTI 

Kolkata, Sep 17 (Football news) Deepak Singh scored the solitary goal to take Army Green to the Durand Cup quarterfinals after the former champions beat Sudeva Delhi FC 1-0 in the final Group B game at the Mohun Bagan ground, here on Friday.

Jamshedpur FC were also playing their final game simultaneously against FC Goa but they lost 0-5, allowing Army Green to go through along with group toppers FC Goa.

In the initial quarter of the first half, both Army Green and Sudeva created opportunities but it was all Greens after that.

In the ninth minute, the Greens had their first major scoring opportunity when Lallawmkima took a brilliant header, but could not go past Sudeva keeper Sachin Jha.

Shubham Rana took another shot at goal on the rebound, but Sachin came up with another brilliant save.

The ball hovered around the Sudeva goal for most part of the first half. Thirty minutes into the game, two back-to-back corners almost got the Greens on the board, but Sachin made sure it was goalless at half time.

Sudeva looked all charged up in the second half. In the 46th minute, William Pauliankhum had the ball just a few yards away from the goal but failed to score.

Army Green came back strong and in the 51st minute, courtesy a nice set up and a wonderful assist by Dip Mazumdar, Deepak tapped the ball into the net.

The Delhi side did have a few chances to equalise but they could not go past Army Green's defence to end the campaign with three losses.

In the day's second game, FC Goa blanked JFC 5-0 to finish on top with nine points and push their ISL rivals out of the tournament.

It was an incident free first quarter of an hour, with Goa keeping the likes of Glan Martins and Makan Chote on the bench and giving Brandon a start along with a third keeper in the tournament in Hrithik Tiwari.

They were looking to take control and eventually Devendra got a free-header off a corner in the 20th minute and nodded home from close to give Goa their first goal of the game.

Then six minutes later, Princeton Rebello got two bites of the cherry inside the JFC box and blasted the second one home past a hapless Vishal Yadav under the JFC bar.

Devendra then tapped in a third, his second of the game and third of the tournament, a minute before the break to make it 3-0 for the Goans at half time.

The talented Muhammed Nemil then made the second half his own with a double strike.

Also read:  Durand Cup: Hyderabad FC face stern Gokulam test

News source: PTI

(Cricket news) Mumbai Indians have been one of the top teams in the IPL with five titles to their name and in the past few years have been known to comeback from the brink. They are currently placed fourth in the points table having won four matches out of seven and still have seven matches to play in UAE. They will be looking to be the first team to win the title three consecutive times and have the capability to do it.

Rohit Sharma is leading the team, he is the highest run getter for India in Tests this year and has already established his name in the shorter formats. Their bowling is led by Jasprit Bumrah who has been quite efficient with his yorkers and speed especially at the death overs. Trent Boult is also quite lethal, Rahul Chahar has been performing well and Piyush Chawla comes with a lot of experience playing in the IPL. Krunal Pandya can also give Chawla company in spin and both of them can play attacking shots too.

The batting is led by the captain hitman along with Hardik Pandya, big hitter Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan who recently made his debut for team India just like Suryakumar Yadav and Chris Lynn. Wicket keeper batsman Quinton De Kock is also a young explosive player who gets right off the blocks and is a regular opener for the team. Pandya has lately been out of form and will look to get it together before the start of the T20 World Cup, Pollard is one of the most experienced players in the T20 format and will look to continue his CPL form.

They have eight points as of now and are just below Royal Challengers Bangalore, Mumbai Indians are always up for an entertaining show. They have the top bowlers and batsmen in their side, Rohit has been the top scorer in the team as Rahul Chahar has been on fire with the ball. Even though only one half of the league has been completed, fireworks are for sure from the Mumbai Indians as Pollard and Pandya have the ability to take the team from bottom to the top. As for the bowlers Bumrah and Boult can restrict the batsmen from scoring even in the final overs.

Ishan and Suryakumar Yadav performed admirably well in their national debut against Sri Lanka, they will look to take the team to the top as they will also look to seal their place in the national team. Arjun Tendulkar has also been included in the team and might get a chance to play with the rest. Dhawal Kulkarni has only played a single match this season, he had some great seasons with Rajasthan Royals with the ball and Saurabh Tiwary who is yet to play a match this season. Mumbai Indians will play their opening match against arch rivals Chennai Super Kings on 19th September.

Also read: Sunrisers Hyderabad look to end their losing streak in second phase of IPL

New Delhi, Sep 17 (Football news) Young Indian football team forward Farukh Choudhary feels a striker needs to be ruthless in front of the goal to reap rich dividends for the side in any match.

Choudhary, who recently scored his first goal in international football, said being calm and confident are also the hallmark of a good forward.

"I won't say that a striker is completely different. When it comes to defending, we all need to defend together. But in attack, a striker has a different set of responsibilities," he told AIFF TV.

"You want your striker to score goals. That's the main reason why he's in the team. The most important thing is focus, you need to be focused for the whole 90 minutes. A striker needs to be ruthless in front of goal." While Choudhary made his international debut in 2018 SAFF Cup, he scored his first international goal against Nepal in the second friendly which India won 2-1 at the Dasrath Stadium in Kathmandu earlier this month "I've been trying for a very long time. I created a lot of chances, but never got a chance myself to score an international goal. I don't know how to describe this feeling. As an Indian football fan, as a professional player, to score a goal in international football means everything to me. I hope that I can score more in the future," he said.

"I have been struggling with this, and it often comes with experience. Playing more games, getting more opportunities are very important for strikers. You need to be calm in front of goal. if you don't have the composure, then you can't score," added the 24-year-old.

The Blue Tigers are currently preparing for the upcoming SAFF Championships, which are set to be held in the Maldives next month.

Looking back on his previous SAFF experience, Choudhary fondly remembers his 2018 experience as one in which he donned the coveted India jersey for the first time.

Also read: AIFF president Patel meets Sports Minister Thakur

"I was called up to the national camp for the first time before the 2018 SAFF, and I really learned a lot about how things work at that level.

"To play my first international game was amazing. The atmosphere in Bangladesh was just brilliant," he recalled. 

News source: PTI

(Cricket news) KKR haven't really hit the ground running this first half of the season, too many inconstient performances has led  the team down and now require a herculean effort to qualify for the playoffs. The Knights basically have to win 6 out of their 7 matches to stand any chances to make it to the playoffs in the second half of the season. The two time champions will be without their primer fast bowler Pat Cummins who opted out of the IPL to focus on the T20 World Cup and Ashes. KKR have played 7 matches and have won 2 and lost 5 as they lie 7th in the table

One thing KKR have shown this season is that they were giving consistent runs at specific roles, last year apart from Shubman Gill, no one had a fixed batting position in the team. Although this season they have stuck with Gill-Rana-Tripathi combination in the top order followed by Morgan-Russell-Karthik trio but the issue is that they looked good individually but as a eleven they haven't clicked in unison. They have had games where the top order performs but the middle order fails and vice versa. Cummins was arguably their best player in the Indian leg, picking up 9 wickets and scoring valuable runs in the lower order but him pulling out will serve as a massive jolt to the franchise. They have replaced Cummins with  New Zealand T20 captain Tim Southee.

The problem with the first half of the season was that the team didn’t click on both fronts, either some matches their batting was good or bowling was bad. The main Achilles heel for this team is the inability to strike at regular intervals as in the last season KKR picked up the fewest wickets, a trend which continued this season as well. Their pacers have struggled to pick up wickets in the powerplay (3 wickets in 7 innings during the powerplay) this has hampered the spinners in the middle overs as the batsman usually used to get settled in.

Also read: KKR's Morgan, McCullum excited about playing in front of fans

The only positive heading into the tournament is the form of Russell and Narine as they both had a good CPL. The added benefit of Varun Chakravarthy getting selected for the T20 World Cup should act as a catalyst to perform better and showcase his talent to the Indian fans. Last season, Chakravarthy finished the season with 17 wickets as the slow turning pitches as well as his variations helped baamboozle the batsmans. KKR need a miraculous performance as their coach Bredon McCullum stated that they were “paralysed by the fear of failure” during the first half of the season as the second half of the season they need to rectify their mistakes as well as play fearless cricket as they have nothing to lose. KKR take on RCB on 20th September

Probable XI for the game:
 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Nitish Rana, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Prasidh Krishna, 9 Shivam Mavi, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Varun Chakravarthy 
 

(Cricket news) The 2nd phase of the 2021 IPL is about to start and RCB are 3rd on the points table with 7 matches left to play. Their 1st game back is against KKR on 20th September.

Seamer Harshal Patel has been a revelation this season after picking up 17 wickets. He is also the current holder of the purple cap. New signing Glenn Maxwell has been in the form of his life having scored 227 runs in 6 innings which include 2 half-centuries.

RCB have qualified for the playoffs 6 times in 13 seasons but have never won the coveted trophy. Virat Kohli has always been criticised and mocked for his failure to win major trophies as a captain and he would be keen to get this checked off his list. Kohli has also announced that he would step down as the captain of the Indian T20I team after the World Cup. Which raises the question if he will continue to lead RCB after this season. If this is indeed Virat's last season as the skipper then there will be an extra motivation to win it.

RCB need Virat the batsman as much as they need Virat the captain if not more. His performance with the willow will be directly proportional to the teams performance. The opening pair of Kohli and Padikkal will have a lot of responsibility. The bowling will be led by the Indian pace-spin pair of Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohammed Siraj. Purple cap holder Harshal Patel will also play an important role. It will be interesting to see if inform newcomer Wanindu Hasaranga will be put straight into the side.

Also read: Sunrisers Hyderabad look to end their losing streak in second phase of IPL

The RCB middle order will be anchored by AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell. Rajat Patidar and Shabaz Ahmed batted one down in the first half but they could face the axe in favour of Mohammed Azharuddin or Pawan Deshpande. Sachin Baby is another batter who will be an interesting option as he is yet to play a game this season. 

Australian spinner Adam Zampa pulled out of the 2nd phase along with his fellow countrymen Daniel Sams. They were replaced by the Sri Lankan pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera. Washington Sundar and Kane Richardson were ruled out of the tournament with injuries. They were replaced by Akash Deep and George Garton. Tim David has been roped in to replace Finn Allen in the squad. 

Here is the full RCB squad

Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pavan Deshpande, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Suyesh Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Tim David, Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasarangal, Akash Deep, George Garton.

RCB need to continue playing the way they have played so far this season to make it to the Playoffs and eventually try and win the trophy. Death bowling has always been the persistent issue with RCB but they seem to have massively improved this time around and that needs to continue.
 

Kolkata, Sep 17 (Sports news) Battling depression due to a nagging back injury, Asian Games gold medal winning athlete Swapna Barman has decided to call it quits, a formal announcement of which will be made in a few days.

The decision comes less than 24 hours after Swapna, a North East Frontier Railway athlete, won a gold medal in high jump at the 60th National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal.

"My body is not taking the toll anymore. Mentally, I'm very depressed and it's not easy," Swapna told PTI from Warangal.

"I’m a bit confused, but I’ve mentally prepared 80-90 per cent to call it quits. I will make the ‘big’ announcement after reaching Kolkata.

"I never wanted to participate, but because of Railway commitments I had to participate here," Swapna, who skipped her pet heptathlon event in Warangal, said.

After becoming the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold in Jakarta 2018, Swapna, who has six toes on each foot, struggled with injuries and won a silver at the Asian Championships in Doha a year later — her last International competition.

The lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic meant that Swapna could not take part in any competition in 2020 and while in 2021 she aimed for the Tokyo Games qualifying mark but again injuries and a second wave of the pandemic derailed all her plans.

This year, she took part only in the Federation Cup and at the ongoing Open Nationals.

"It seems I was not destined for it. I tried hard but could not make it and struggled a lot with injuries," she said.

Swapna had delayed the surgery on doctors' advice and relied on rehab but she said she had enough of it.

"Ultimately I have to go for the surgery, even during this meet I was troubled by the back pain. It does not feel well anymore," an emotional Swapna said with a choked voice.

The Jalpaiguri athlete was also mired in controversy last year after her house was raided by forest department officials for alleged illegal possession of timber as there were wide protests in the area. "People are jealous of my achievements and my mother is subjected to a lot of harassment. I can’t take it anymore. I’ve to be with my family and deal with it,” she concluded."

Also read: Ministry directs NRAI to initiate fresh election process

News source: PTI 

Dubai, Sep 17 (Cricket news) South African pacer Anrich Nortje wants to replicate his last year's IPL performance in the upcoming second half of the T20 league to help Delhi Capitals win their maiden title, here.

Nortje, who picked 22 wickets in 16 matches in his first-ever IPL season in 2020, played an instrumental role in helping DC reach its maiden IPL final, where it came second-best against Mumbai Indians here last year.

DC are set to take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22 when the season resumes here.

"It was here where things started to happen for me in the IPL, but I am looking to take it match by match this season. There's a lot coming up, even after the IPL," he said in a release issued by DC.

"We have to try and remember what we did here the last time we were here and try and implement that again. Hopefully, we can repeat what we did in the UAE the last time we were here," said the 27-year-old.

The fast bowler added that the second half of the IPL 2021 season will be completely different from the first half of the season.

"What worked at one place is not going to work at another place so we have to take it game by game. The upcoming games in the UAE are going to be completely different from the games we had earlier in the season.

"Maybe teams will field different strategies in the second half of the tournament. We have to be switched on now and just be ready," Nortje said.

He feels playing in the IPL before the T20 World Cup in the UAE is certainly going to be a big advantage for all the players.

"It's definitely a massive advantage to play the IPL before the T20 World Cup. We have a chance to acclimatise to the conditions and get first-hand experience of the kind of wickets here in the UAE.

"The sooner we get the information about the kind of wickets here, the better it will be for all of us. I think each team is looking to assess everything as much as possible, but, firstly we have to assess the conditions for the IPL as it certainly is a big tournament in itself and then we will get to the T20 World Cup," he said.

Also read: Delhi Capitals retain Rishabh Pant as captain for remainder of IPL 2021

News source: PTI

Kolkata, Sep 17 (Football news) SC East Bengal on Friday bolstered their ranks with the acquisition of young Dutch defensive midfielder Darren Sidoel on a one-year deal that will keep him at the club till the end of the 2021-22 ISL season.

Sidoel, who has played under SC East Bengal head coach Manuel ‘Manolo’ Diaz at Spanish side Hércules CF, becomes the Spaniard’s fifth foreign signing.

Slovenian midfielder Amir Dervišević, Australian defender Tomislav Mrcela, Croatian centre-back Franjo Prce and Nigerian striker Daniel Chima Chukwu are the other four overseas recruits so far.

The 23-year-old Sidoel joins SC East Bengal from Spanish second division club Córdoba CF, having spent last season on loan at Hércules under the tutelage of Diaz. Sidoel can also play at centre-back and central midfield positions with a willingness to move the ball higher up the pitch.

“SC East Bengal presents a new opportunity for me. I have played in a few European countries and picked up quite a lot. I am eager to learn and I believe I can develop playing in the Indian Super League,” Sidoel said.

“I have played under the coach (Manolo) before in Spain and that helps. We have a good understanding and I am looking forward to reuniting with him again.” Part of the famed Ajax youth system, Sidoel made his debut in the second division of the Dutch league (Eerste Divisie) for Jong Ajax (reserve team of Ajax) in the 2017–18 season, helping them win the title. He also featured in the UEFA Youth League for Ajax II.

Also read: Nigerian forward Chima is SCEB's fourth foreign recruit

Head coach Diaz said “I am happy to have Darren in my plans again. He has age on his side and is hard working. He can play across the pitch and is a utility player. I have had a good chat with him and he is raring to go,” .

SCEB will face Jamshedpur FC in their opening game of the ISL on November 21 at the Tilak Maidan Stadium. 

News source: PTI

Rawalpindi, Sep 17 (Cricket news) The New Zealand cricket team on Friday abandoned its ongoing tour of Pakistan before the start of the first ODI here, citing a security threat, which the host board asserted did not exist.

The trouble began when the first ODI of the white ball series could not begin on time at the Rawalpindi stadium on Friday with both teams remaining in their hotel rooms.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White then issued a statement to say that it was simply not possible to continue with the tour given the advice he was receiving.

"I understand this will be a blow for the PCB, who have been wonderful hosts, but player safety is paramount and we believe this is the only responsible option," he stated in a press release.

New Zealand Cricket Players Association chief executive Heath Mills echoed White's sentiments.

"The players are in good hands; they're safe – and everyone's acting in their best interests," Mills said.

NZC said it will not comment on the details of the security threat nor the updated arrangements for the departing squad.

The Pakistan Cricket Board, on its part said that New Zealand had unilaterally decided to postpone the series.

"Pakistan Cricket Board and Pakistan Government made foolproof security arrangements for all visiting teams. We have assured New Zealand Cricket of the same.

"The Pakistan Prime Minister spoke personally to the Prime Minister of New Zealand and informed her that we have one of the best intelligence systems in the world and that no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team," the PCB said in a statement.

The PCB said that the security officials with the New Zealand team have been satisfied with security arrangements made by the hosts throughout their stay here.

"PCB is willing to continue the scheduled matches.

Also read: India's ODI tour of New Zealand postponed to 2022

"However, cricket lovers in Pakistan and around the world will be disappointed by this last minute withdrawal. is in danger of being cancelled after the first match of the ODI series could not begin on time on Friday at the Pindi stadium," it added.

The series was to comprise three ODIs and five T20 Internationals. 

News source: PTI

Brisbane, Sep 17 (Cricket news) Star Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who is set to lead the home side's depleted bowling attack in the upcoming ODI series against India, sees this as an "opportunity" with the new ball in the absence of regular pacer Megan Schutt.

India's tour of Australia begins with the opening ODI at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay on September 21 and concludes with third and final T20I at the Metricon Stadium in Gold Coast on October 10.

With Australia without the services of pacers Schutt and Tayla Vlaeminck and spinner Jess Jonassen, Perry is set reprise her new-ball role in the opening ODI.

"With Megan Schutt missing for this series there might be more opportunity there with the new ball, especially initially," Perry was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.

"That still very much depends on performance but I think there will be a fair bit of change in between the attack, just managing people's workloads given that a number of us went through 14 days' quarantine before this," she added.

Australia's leading women's wicket-taker across all formats, Perry, was recovering from a hamstring injury and hence did not feature in a single ODI in 2020.

Earlier this year, in the series against New Zealand she just bowled six overs in the first two matches.

"Last summer I was grateful just to be back on the park … a lot was made of the limited impact I had with the ball, and it's been a really great challenge to continue to evolve and try and improve that.

"Right the way across my career I've always really enjoyed the challenge of trying to get better and evolve my game because I think the game's evolved so much.

"To have such a long period of time over the off-season to (train) in Victoria has been really good … obviously I've still got to perform and translate that back onto the park but I'm looking forward to the summer ahead." One of just seven bowlers to have taken 150 wickets in women's ODIs, Perry had a career-best year in 2019, claiming 21 ODI wickets at 13.52.

"Physically, I don't feel any different almost 18 months down the track from that (hamstring injury), and I think the numbers are one thing and then the other side of it is playing a role for the team and contributing to how we want to play," she explained.

"As the personnel in our team evolves or we change that, your role as an individual slightly changes too, and it's about balancing that within a group," she said.

The multi-format series comprises three ODIs, a day-night Test and three T20s.

The Test will be played from September 30 to October 3 in Canberra.

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News source: PTI