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Showing posts from August, 2016

Yuvraj slams official after Hazel Keech alleges racism

Yuvraj Singh and Hazel Keech have been inseparable ever since they got engaged last November. Yuvraj has preferred to keep his relationship with the Bollywood actress under wraps. But, on Wednesday, the star India player lost his cool after Hazel was subject of racial discrimination. Hazel was racially abused by an official of Western Union Money Transfer and the Bollywood actress took to Twitter to report about the incident. Mr Peeyush Sharma @WesternUnion in Jaipur is the most racist person ive met and refused to give money because my name is not "Hindu-enough -Hazel Keech (@hazelkeech) August 30, 2016 Im sickened by the attitude of these people,in front of my HINDU mother + my muslim friend @1NS1A #outrage #racism https://t.co/Rq7eIyEcWG -Hazel Keech (@hazelkeech) August 30, 2016 My name is Hazel Keech. i am Hindu born/raise. But why does dat matter at @WesternUnion whether2 give me money or no https://t.co/jF7XIzm6Yu -Hazel Keech (@hazelkeech) August 30, 2016 ...
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Sehwag owns twitter with witty comeback to Piers Morgan's Olympics jab

Virender Sehwag is one witty guy, and British journalist Piers Morgan sure knows that by now. At around midnight on Wednesday, Morgan thought of reviving the somewhat limp conversation on India's gold medal chances at the Olympic Games after England's record-breaking innings against Pakistan. This is hilarious. An embarrassed @PiersMorgan deletes his tweet after realising that India already has 9 golds. http://pic.twitter.com/r2Y4CvXSPJ ??? Sonam Mahajan (@AsYouNotWish) August 30, 2016 Soon after, he was barraged with tweets pointing out its factual error. Morgan had forgotten to take into account India's eight gold medals for hockey and Abhinav Bindra's gold for shooting at Beijing Olympics. The CNN presenter then tweaked his tweet to read: Hi @virendersehwag , I bet you 1 million rupees to charity that England wins a ODI World Cup before India wins another Olympic Gold. Accept? ??? Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 30, 2016 After Morgan's move, peopl...
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Duleep Trophy: Kuldeep Yadav leads India Red rally

Greater Noida: Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav bagged a four-wicket haul as India Red bowlers dominated on the second day of their Duleep Trophy match against India Blue here. Yadav on Tuesday returned figures of 4/49 as India Blue plodded their way to 200/5 at stumps at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. Fast bowler Nathu Singh (1/54) captured the other wicket to fall on the day. Dinesh Karthick and Sheldon Jackson were at the crease at the close. Both were yet to open their account. Starting the day at 105 for no loss, the Blues were off to a steady start before Nathu trapped Gautam Gambhir leg before to bag the first wicket of the day. Gambhir, who scored 77, hit 10 boundaries during his 143-ball stay in the middle. His fellow opener Mayank Agarwal was unlucky to miss out on a century as he was the next to return to the pavilion. Yadav and tried to hit across the line, only to see India Red wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat pull off an easy stumping. The subsequent India Red ...
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England hit world record 444-3 to crush Pakistan

England amassed a world record one-day international total of 444 for three as they crushed Pakistan by 169 runs at Trent Bridge on Tuesday to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Jos Buttler struck the last ball of the innings for four to take Eoin Morgan's men past Sri Lanka's 443 for nine against Netherlands in July 2006. Hales plundered 171, the highest individual limited-overs score by an England batsman, before Buttler reached his fifty off 22 deliveries, another record for his country. The hosts passed their previous highest total of 408 for nine, made against New Zealand last year, while captain Morgan got to his half-century off 24 deliveries as he and Buttler shared an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 161. "Quite a monumental knock from Alex Hales," said Morgan. "To score 171 in any form of the game is remarkable and our innings was based around that. "Records are hugely important, it emphasises we're not just a chasin...
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England plunder world record total of 444-3 against Pakistan

England piled up a world record one-day international total of 444 for three against Pakistan after Alex Hales and Jos Buttler ran riot at a sun-kissed Trent Bridge on Tuesday. Buttler struck the last ball of the innings for four to take Eoin Morgan's men past Sri Lanka's 443 for nine against Netherlands in July 2006. Hales plundered 171, the highest individual limited-overs score by an England batsman, before Buttler reached his fifty off 22 deliveries, also an England record. The hosts passed their previous highest total of 408 for nine, made against New Zealand last year, while captain Morgan got to his half-century off 24 deliveries as he and Buttler shared an unbroken fourth-wicket partnership of 161. Hales flayed four sixes and 22 fours in his 122-ball knock to surpass Robin Smith's 167 not out against Australia in Birmingham in 1993. Caught off a no-ball on 72 and dropped on 114, the 27-year-old right-hander passed Smith's score by pulling Hasan Ali to the mi...
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India will be No.1 Test team by end of season: Dhoni

Image courtesy: BCCI India's limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes the Test team is set to dominate the rankings by the end of the forthcoming season. The Virat Kohli-led side are scheduled to play 13 Test matches at home against New Zealand, England, Australia and Bangladesh. Interacting with the media after the second T20I against the West Indies in Florida Dhoni praised the Test squad that has grown from strength to strength in the last one year under Kohli's captaincy. "I think the Indian Test team is shaping up well. It seemed we were more settled in T20 and ODI but now our team had a good batting experience. If you notice, for the last 2 and a half years, we had the same batting unit, barring one or two changes. So you learn a lot. Test remains the ultimate format. On top of it, one plus point is that all our fast bowlers are fit now and the way they are bowling. We have 10 proper fast bowlers and it???s an asset. Now we will be playing a lot of mat...
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Dhoni bats for more games in USA

Lauderhill (Florida): India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni heaped praise on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and leg-spinner Amit Mishra for putting up a "fantastic effort" to bowl out the West Indies for a low score in the second Twenty20 International cricket match here. After the one-run defeat in the high-scoring first game, Indian bowlers came back well to bowl out West Indies for 143. Mishra picked up three wickets for 24 runs in his four overs, while Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami picked up two wickets each to restrict the reigning T20 champions to a below-par total. But the second match was abandoned due to rain and West Indies bagged the two-match series 1-0. "I felt bowlers executed plans very well; 150 was a good score to achieve. I'm not saying we would have definitely won, but a good batting effort would have seen us through. If you compare the two games, you'd wonder if we were playing on the same wicket!" Dhoni told reporters here....
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Dhoni praises Ashwin, Mishra for fantastic bowling effort

Lauderhill (Florida): India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni heaped praise on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and leg-spinner Amit Mishra for putting up a "fantastic effort" to bowl out the West Indies for a low score in the second Twenty20 International cricket match here. After the one-run defeat in the high-scoring first game, Indian bowlers came back well to bowl out West Indies for 143. Mishra picked up three wickets for 24 runs in his four overs, while Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami picked up two wickets each to restrict the reigning T20 champions to a below-par total. But the second match was abandoned due to rain and West Indies bagged the two-match series 1-0. "I felt bowlers executed plans very well; 150 was a good score to achieve. I'm not saying we would have definitely won, but a good batting effort would have seen us through. If you compare the two games, you'd wonder if we were playing on the same wicket!" Dhoni told reporters here....
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Sania Mirza lifts Connecticut Open doubles title

Image Courtesy: WTA In what would serve as a confidence booster for Sania Mirza ahead of the US Open, the Indian tennis ace and her Romanian partner Monica Niculescu have lifted this year's Connecticut Open trophy with a straight sets victory in the finals of the women's doubles event on Saturday. The Indo-Romanian pair, who recently joined forces, registered a 7-5, 6-4 win over Ukrainian-Taiwanese pair of Kateryna Bondarenko and Chuang Chia-Jung in the summit clash that lasted one hour and 30 minutes. It was Mirza's 39th title of her illustrious career and seventh this year. Sania and Niculescu had earlier teamed up way back in 2010, when they reached the quarterfinals of the Western and Southern Open before calling time on the partnership. The Indian star also partnered with Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic at the Cincinnati Masters last week and won their debut tournament by defeating former partner Martina Hingis and American Coco Vandeweghe. via Sify.com http...
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Execution of last-ball was wrong, admits Dhoni

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday admitted that the execution of his last ball dismissal which led to India's narrow loss to the West Indies was wrong but sought to dwell on the positives from the first T20 International in Florida. India vs West Indies - Complete Coverage "It was an amazing game. We couldn't have expected more from the batting unit. The last ball, the thinking was right but the execution was wrong. Everything is judged by execution," Dhoni said after India lost the match by 1 run. Chasing 246 for a win, India ended their run chase at 244 for 4 with Dhoni's last ball dismissal, leaving Lokesh Rahul at 110 not out -- his maiden T20I hundred. India needed two runs from the final ball to win the match but Dhoni failed to get those runs as he was caught by Marlon Samuels, slicing a slower delivery off Dwayne Bravo.I ndia thus failed to notch up the highest ever successful run chase in T20 Internationals as they fell short by just one run in...
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There was no effort to get a super sopper: Gavaskar

The apathy shown by those in charge of the Queens Park Oval meant that despite hot bright sunny days there was no play possible after the first day in the Trinidad Test. The downpour that came just around lunch on day one washed out the rest of that days play but while that was understandable it was unacceptable for a Test match venue not to be able to do enough to get the game going on the rest of the days when there was plenty of sunshine. One would have understood a delayed start on day two but even that didn't happen as there was no super sopper or enough covers or for that matter enough ground staff (only 6 people) to help get the ground ready for action. What was disappointing was that despite what had happened on first two days there was no effort to get a super sopper or more covers for the remaining days. The only people who have lost money is the TV channel that bought the rights and they have every right to demand answers for why there was so much indifference and apa...
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Windies stop India by one run in first T20I

Lauderhill: Promising batsman Lokesh Rahul's 110 not out went in vain as West Indies managed to defeat India by one run in the nail-biting first T20 International at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground here on Saturday. With India needing 2 runs from the final ball, West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo kept his nerves to dismiss Mahendra Singh Dhoni (43) with a slower one to take the Caribbean side home. Chasing a mammoth 246, Rahul struck the second fastest century in T20 Internationals to guide India to an almost improbable win before the last ball twist changed the fortunes of the men in blue. With the century, the Karnataka batsman has now become the third Indian to score a century in all three formats of the game. The 24-year-old Rahul, who was preferred over regular opener Shikhar Dhawan for the match, made the most of the opportunity, bringing up 89 runs for the third wicket with Rohit Sharma (62) before almost guiding the team to victory with a 107-ru...
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India Red thrash India Green by 219 runs in Duleep trophy opener

An all-round effort from India Red players helped the side thrash India Green by 219 runs in the opening match of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament at the Greater Noida Sports Complex ground on Friday. With the win, the Yuvraj Singh-led brigade secured six points by virtue of an outright win in what was the country's maiden first-class game played with the pink ball. After a miserable first innings by both the sides, where India Red managed to take a slender 10-run lead, Man-of-the-Match Abhinav Mukund (77 in first innings, 169 in second) once again flourished in the second essay to take the side to a mammoth 486, with valuable contributions from centurion Sudip Chatterjee (114) and Gurkeerat Singh (82). There was no stopping the duo of Mukund and Chatterjee, who forged a 240-run stand for the second wicket while Mukund added another 70 runs with Gurkeerat for the fourth wicket. Despite off-spinner Shreyas Gopal's five wicket haul, the India Red batsmen kept exerting press...
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Focus is on changing mindset from Test to T20 mode: Anil Kumble

Emphasizing the need for adjustment according to different conditions, Indian head coach Anil Kumble has admitted that his side are focusing on changing their mindset from the Test mode to the shortest format of the game ahead of the two-match T20 series against West Indies. "It is a mindset change and not easy to switch your focus from playing a Test series and coming into a T20 mode. It is something we need to change in our mind. Probably both bowlers and batsmen need to make adjustments. It is not easy, but all of us are professionals and they have played enough T20 cricket to adjust. It is something to focus on. It is more in the mind," the former skipper said. Admitting that the Caribbean side would be tough to beat, Kumble observed that most of West Indies' star players were part of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and hence, it would not be difficult for them to switch from Tests to T20. "West Indies are always a tough side and they are the World T20 cham...
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Windies can leapfrog second-ranked India in USA

Two-time ICC World Twenty20 champions West Indies can leapfrog second-ranked India in the T20I team rankings when they go head-to-head in a two-match series in Lauderhill, Florida, USA, on 27 and 28 August. India are currently placed on 128 points, four points behind table leader New Zealand, while third-ranked West Indies are on 122 points. Led by new captain Carlos Brathwaite, who had smashed four consecutive sixes to wrap up this year's ICC World Twenty20 final against England in Kolkata, the West Indies will move to second place on 127 points with a 2-0 win and push India to third place on 124 points. However, a 2-0 win for India, captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, will help them join number-one ranked New Zealand on 132 points but the Asian side will be ranked second when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. In this scenario, the West Indies will slip to fourth position with 118 points, one point behind South Africa. A 1-1 series draw will keep India ahead ...
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Looking forward to work with Dhoni: Kumble

Lauderhill, Florida: Indian cricket team head coach Anil Kumble has said he is looking forward to working with limited-overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni when the side takes on the West Indies in the first game of the two-match Twenty20 International series starting here on Saturday. The team is coming into the shortest format of the game after a comfortable 2-0 win over the West Indies in the four-match Test series. "This is the first time that I'll be working with MS. Obviously we have played together over a long period of time and we had a chat yesterday and today as well. I'm really looking forward to working with him and the new set of boys like Jasprit Bumrah who has joined as well," Kumble told reporters ahead of the T20 series in the United States. "I've worked with him in the Indian Premier League (IPL) ... so it's nice to be part of the India dressing room again.” Speaking on the shift in gears from Tests to T20s, the leg-spin legend said: “...
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England tour of Bangladesh to go ahead after risk assessed

England's five-week tour of Bangladesh will proceed as planned starting in late September, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Thursday after conducting a risk assessment. The tour had been in doubt over security concerns following a July 1 attack by Islamic militants on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people were killed, most of them foreigners. But a risk assessment by the board's security team concluded the situation in the country was stable enough for the tour to go ahead. Players, including test captain Alastair Cook and one-day international captain Eoin Morgan, were briefed on Thursday. "Safety and security of players and management are always paramount," England director of cricket Andrew Strauss said after the meeting. "We've received a thorough risk assessment, had excellent insight into the current situation and been fully briefed on security commitments. "ECB and PCA (Professional Cricketers' Association) have the utmost...
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Goodbye 'Dilscoop', Dilshan to retire after Australia series

Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan will quit international cricket after the ongoing limited overs series against Australia, the swashbuckling opener announced on Thursday. "I have decided to retire from the ODIs after the third match in Dambulla (on Sunday) and will play the two Twenty20s and then retire completely," Dilshan told local media. After the conclusion of the five-match ODI series, Sri Lanka and Australia will play two Twenty20 matches on Sept. 6 and Sept. 9. Inventor of the famous "Dilscoop" ramp shot, Dilshan played the last of his 87 tests in 2013 before quitting the longer format with 5492 runs and 39 wickets. A wily off-spinner and one of the most agile Sri Lankan fielders even at the age of 39, Dilshan scored 22 and 10 in the first two one-dayers of the ongoing five-match series against world champions Australia. "I together with my committee wish to extend our sincere appreciation and wish him the very best in his future endeavours,...
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Jeff Thomson to train Kerala pacers

Former Australian fast bowler Jeff 'Thommo' Thomson has been roped in by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) to train budding seamers from Kerala for the next two years, an official said on Friday. The 15 days-a-month programme will start on September 1 with 15 selected pace bowlers, including current state players and new talent. KCA President T.C. Mathew told IANS that the programme has been organised in partnership with the IDBI-Federal Bank Pace Foundation. "Thommo will be in Kochi on Monday. On Tuesday he will address the press. Starting next month he will leave for Wayanad, where the training programme is scheduled," said Mathew. The Foundation is organising a similar programme in Bengaluru and Thomson, 66, is expected to shuttle between the two southern states. The Australian pacer will be assisted by a few former Indian players including Tinu Yohanan, Ramesh Powar and a few others. Thomson played 51 tests for Australia between 1972 and 1985 and took 200 ...
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Ashwin, Dhawan, Bhuvi visit home arena of NBA Miami Heats

Indian cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar on Thursday visited the home arena of American professional basketball club Miami Heats here. The Indian cricket team is in the United States to play a two-match Twenty20 International series against reigning World T20 champions West Indies at the Central Broward Regional Park here on August 27 and 28. The latest recruits of the Miami Heats -- Tyler Johnson and Briante Weber -- hosted the Indian trio at their home ground, The American Airlines Arena. The Indian players were taken around the locker room, gymnasium and the recuperation centre before indulging in a brief bout of play between the five of them. Shikhar and Bhuvneshwar were chatting up the hosts, while Ashwin seemed to have gone back to his school days of playing basketball. "It was great fun. I am very happy we could make it here. Exchanging thoughts about how the sports have transformed with the latest technology is always good. While I tr...
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Messi wins UEFA goal of the season award

The goal of Barcelona striker Lionel Messi in the first round of the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League against Roma was chosen by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) as the best of last season. Messi scored the goal as a result of collective play with Neymar and Luis Suarez. That encounter, played at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium last November, ended in a 6-1 victory for the hosts, reports Efe. The Argentina striker's goal received 34 per cent of the vote and exceeded Brazilian Ricardinho's goal in Futsal, which gained 13 per cent votes, while the goal of Swiss Xherdan Shaqiri in the second round of the Euro 2016 against Poland came in third with 11 per cent. Messi is not among the three nominees for UEFA best player in Europe, which are Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Antoine Griezmann. The winner will be announced on Thursday night during the draw for the first phase of the UEFA Champions League. via Sify.com http://ift.tt/2bo1WfA
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Dilshan to retire from ODIs, T20Is

One of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan has decided to retire from T20s and ODIs. Dilshan will play his final ODI in Dambulla on Sunday against Australia and will last play his T20 match in Colombo on September 9. It is understood that Dilshan has been forced to retire from the shortest formats of the game as the current national selectors and skipper Angelo Mathews are building a team with the 2019 World Cup in view. Dilshan had missed the limited-overs series against England and Ireland for personal reasons. Dilshan has been the most-consistent batsman of the country over the last two years, having notched up a total of 1207 ODI runs at an average of 52.47 in 2015 itself. However, Dilshan, who took retirement from Test cricket in late 2013, ruled out the chances of retirement from shorter formats of the game then. But with the cricet board pressurizing him,Dilshan had no choice but to hang up his boots. Kusal Perera, who is bein...
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Whitewash of Windies won't be enough for India to get top T20I rank

Dubai: A whitewash of the West Indies in the forthcoming two-match Twenty20 International series in Florida on August 27-28 will still not help second-placed India climb to the top of the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 rankings. India currently trail top-placed New Zealand (132 points) by four points, while third-ranked West Indies are on 122 points. A 2-0 win for India, will help them join number one ranked New Zealand on 132 points but the Asian side will be ranked second when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point. In this scenario, the West Indies will slip to fourth position with 118 points, one point behind South Africa. A 1-1 series draw will keep India ahead on 128 points with West Indies on 123 points. Windies T20 captain Carlos Brathwaite, who had smashed four consecutive sixes to wrap up this year's World Twenty20 final against England in Kolkata, will aim to help his side win the series 2-0 and move to second place on 127 points and push India...
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Becoming world No.1 is ultimate goal: Sindhu

Hyderabad: Basking in Olympic glory, star shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu has now set her eyes on the World Superseries, the only trophy missing from her cabinet, while becoming the World No.1 remains her ultimate goal. The tall 5' 11" silver medallist in women's singles badminton at Rio Olympics is conscious of the fact that she will be the most marked player by her opponents in the upcoming tournaments. The Hyderabadi, who returned to a hero's welcome by both the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments, told IANS in an interview that her immediate aim is the Superseries. "My immediate aim is the Superseries. I will focus on that," said the 21-year-old who finished runner-up at the Denmark Open last year. For the World No.10, reaching the top rank remained her ultimate goal, which she had set for herself in 2012 after breaking into the top 25. "If you keep winning tournaments, you automatically become number one. I will have to definitely work ha...
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Captain Smith to return home from Sri Lanka to rest

Australia captain Steve Smith is to leave the tour of Sri Lanka and return home to rest ahead of their limited-overs series in South Africa before they host the Proteas at the start of a heavy home schedule. Vice-captain David Warner will lead the side for the remaining three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka. "It's obviously going to be a big summer with South Africa and then six tests at home then limited-overs matches against New Zealand," Smith told reporters after his side lost the second one-day international against Sri Lanka by 82 runs in Colombo on Wednesday. "It was talked about that they give me a little break at some point. We had a few discussions, myself, (coach) Darren (Lehmann) and Rod (Marsh), who also consulted with the other selectors. "It took a bit of convincing to get me over the line because I hate missing cricket but in the long run a little bit of a break will do me the world of good." Australia w...
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Federer, Nadal to play doubles together in Laver Cup

In some exciting news for Tennis fans, Tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will play doubles together in a new competition pitting Europe against the Rest of the World in a Ryder Cup-style tennis team event. The Laver Cup was launched in New York and both Federer and Nadal who have won 31 Grand Slam titles between them, agreed to participate in the event. The event will be held for the first time in Prague from September 22-24 next year. Former Grand Slam heavyweights Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe will be the captains. Organisers of the tournament, named after Rod Laver, the last man to achieve the calendar Grand Slam in 1969, are hopeful that the current top two in the world -- Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray -- will also be persuaded to play. "It's going to be unbelievable to be on the same side of the net as Rafa finally. It's a great feeling not facing the big forehand," said 35-year-old Federer, who attended the launch despite injury ruling him out of ...
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ICC rates Kingsmead, Queen's Park Oval outfields as poor

Dubai: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday said the outfields at Kingsmead, in Durban, and Queen's Park Oval, at Port of Spain, have been rated as "poor" by match referees. Andy Pycroft and Ranjan Madugalle, both from the Elite Panel of ICC match referees, in accordance with Clause 3 of the ICC pitch and outfield monitoring process, submitted their reports to the ICC, a release said. In the report, they have expressed their concerns over the quality of the outfields for the first Test between South Africa and New Zealand, and the fourth Test between the West Indies and India, respectively. The reports have been forwarded to Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), who now have 14 days to provide their responses, the release added. The CSA's response will be reviewed by ICC's general manager - cricket, Geoff Allardice and Madugalle. Allardice and David Boon, also from the Elite Panel of ICC match referees, will asse...
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Zidane reason behind my best season: Ronaldo

Madrid: Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has credited Zinedine Zidane's appointment as Real Madrid head coach as the catalyst for "one of the best seasons" of his illustrious football career. Reports in Spain suggested Ronaldo had an uneasy relationship with Real's former head coach Rafael Benitez, who was replaced by Zidane in January. Benitez drew plenty of criticism for a perceived negative style of football at Madrid. But under Zidane, the club finished the domestic season by winning 12 straight games to lose out on the LaLiga title by one point to Barcelona, while they also won the Champions League following a dramatic penalty shoot-out win over Atletico Madrid. Ronaldo went on to clinch a first major international title with Portugal at Euro 2016 and the 31-year-old's success with club and country makes him the favourite to take home the Best Player in Europe award on Thursday. And the former Manchester United star hailed Zidane's arrival for...
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England won't force players to tour Bangladesh: Morgan

England will not force any player to tour Bangladesh, limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan said, in the wake of the July 1 attack on a Dhaka cafe in which 22 people were killed. England's one-day squad will receive a briefing on Thursday from a three-member panel which toured Bangladesh to assess security for the series, comprising three one-dayers and two tests there in October. "I don't think anybody will ever be forced to go on a particular tour," Morgan told BBC Radio 5 live. "I think it's important for us to get together as a group, and be informed by people who we trust in order to make the right decisions and go from there." Australia pulled out of their tour of Bangladesh last year over security concerns and did not compete in the under-19 World Cup in the south Asian country for the same reason. England's one-day team is scheduled to leave for Bangladesh on September 30 and Morgan had full faith in the wisdom of the England and Wales Cricke...
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Bowlers dominate first day of Duleep Trophy tie

Greater Noida: Bowlers dominated with the pink ball with as many as 17 wickets falling on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy clash between India Red and India Green at the Greater Noida Sports Complex here on Tuesday. At stumps, India Green were on 116/7 in their first innings, trailing India Red's first innings total by 45 runs. Sourabh Tiwary (27 not out) and Ashok Dinda (8 n.o.) were in the middle at the close of play. Suresh Raina was the highest scorer for the Greens with 35 runs off 56 balls including five hits to the fence. Left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav and fast bowlers Nathu Singh were the pick of the bowlers among the Reds with three wickets each. Yadav had figures of 3/26 off 13 overs while Nathu returned 3/32 off seven overs. Earlier, pacers Ankit Rajpoot and Sandeep Sharma dominated with the ball as India Red were dismissed for 161 runs in 48.2 overs. Rajpoot claimed figures of 3/16 while Sandeep returned 3/62. Opener Abhinav Mukund produced a fighting half c...
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Trinidad board to probe India Test washout

Port of Spain: The Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) has launched an investigation into why the fourth Test match between India and West Indies had to be abandoned due to a wet outfield. In the five-day match, only 22 overs could be played at the Queen's Park Oval due to soggy conditions following heavy rain. The abandoning of the final match of the India-West Indies series has led to wide criticism for the failure of TTCB to ensure proper infrastructure at the venue to deal with inclement weather conditions. "As hosts, the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and QPCC (Queen's Park Cricket Club) regret that limited play was possible in the 4th Test Match between WI and India at the Queen's Park Oval," TTCB President Azim Bassarath said in a statement on Monday. "We have jointly launched an investigation to determine what occurred with a view to remedying the situation so that this does not occur in the future. Once this has been done, it will be pre...
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Five reasons why India should host the Olympics

Yet another Olympics comes to an end and one realizes that the largest democracy in the world is yet to host one. India got Independence in 1947 and even in 2016 doesn’t look like hosting an Olympics any time soon. India is one of the oldest existing countries in the world, and was around in some form when the Ancient Olympics began in the Before Common Era (BCE). We are number two in population and the seventh largest by size. Most of the major countries have hosted the Olympics once at least.But there are many reasons why India should host the Olympics… 1. Imagine a New Delhi 3.0: India got Independence in 1947 and in 1951 we hosted the first Asian Games. We stumbled and delayed the games by a year, but it really helped a new capital city get a foothold in connecting with other countries. But the real upgrade happened in the 1982 Asiads. New roads were built, an Asiad village came up and Maharashtra used the Olympic coaches for a unique 'Asiad bus service.' The Jawaharlal ...
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India does not play for rankings: Kohli

Port of Spain: India's Test skipper Virat Kohli said that the team is not too much concerned about losing the No.1 position in the longest format of cricket as they don't play for rankings. India had to win the fourth and final Test against hosts West Indies to hold on to their No.1 Test spot, but with rain playing spoilsport, and the match ending in a draw, Pakistan were promoted to No.1 spot from second for the first time. India had already won the Test series 2-0 against the West Indies. "Had Pakistan not won, had we drawn the last game, the rankings would have looked different again. It is a very short-term incentive because we understand that the points' table is very close," Kohli told reporters after winning the series here. "But as a team we think we can assess ourselves at the end of this season, not one Test at a time," he added. "The other teams have played more games than us and we need to play as many games to be able to compare a...
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Kohli congratulates coach for Dronacharya award

Port of Spain: Test skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday congratulated his coach Raj Kumar Sharma, who was selected for this year's prestigious Dronacharya award. Kohli took to Twitter to wish his coach after Sharma was on Monday named along with three others for the award, which will be given by President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29. "Congratulations Raj Kumar Sir. All the hard work behind the bigger picture never gets noticed. I am delighted for you on getting the Dronacharya Award," Kohli tweeted. Apart from Sharma, gymnast Dipa Karmakar's coach Bisheshwar Nandi, athletics coach Nagapuri Ramesh and boxing coach Sagar Mal Dhayal have been selected for the coveted award. The Dronacharya awards for lifetime will be awarded to veteran swimming coach S. Pradeep Kumar and wrestling coach Mahabir Singh. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each with a medal and a citation. via Sify.com http://ift.tt/2bwSqr3
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Kohli credits Ashwin, Saha for series win against Windies

India Test skipper Virat Kohli believes much-improved batting performance from his side's lower-order batsmen namely Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha led to their 2-0 Test series win against West Indies. Ashwin, who was promoted to No. 6 in the batting order, smashed centuries in Antigua and St Lucia while Saha contributed significant 40s in the first two Tests before scoring his maiden Test ton of 126 in the third match. While praising Ashwin and Saha, Kohli said that the duo emerged as the biggest positives in the four-match Test series against the Caribbean side. "It's been pretty good for us, a lot of positives, a lot of things we wanted to improve on we have. For me the biggest positive was Saha getting runs in the lower order plus Ashwin coming good at No. 6," Kohli said after frustrating weather forced India to settle with a draw in the fourth Test at Queen's Park Oval and denied them defend their top spot in the world's rankings. The second ...
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Ajinkya Rahane named for Arjuna award

New Delhi: Star cricketer Ajinkya Rahane will be conferred on with the Arjuna Award alongside archer Rajat Chauhan, athlete Lalita Babar, cueist Sourav Kothari, boxer Shiva Thapa, footballer Subrata Paul, hockey stars V.R. Raghunath and Rani Rampal, shooters Gurpreet Singh, Apurvi Chandela, paddler Somyajit Ghosh, wrestlers Vinesh Phohat, Amit Kumar, Para-athletes Sandeep Singh Maan and Virender Singh. The award constitutes a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh and medal and a citation. Athlete Satti Geetha will be conferred the Dhayan Chand award along with hockey player Sylvanus Dung Dung and rower Rajendra Pralhad Shelke. The award comprises a cash prize of Rs.5 lakh, a medal and a citation President Pranab Mukherjee will give away the awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29, which is celebrated as the National Sports Day. Meanwhile, the Tripura government welcomed Dipa with open arms in Agartala. Tripura Sports Minister Sahid Chowdhury said national sports awards to Dipa and her coach w...
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Always want to contribute for the team: Ashwin

R Ashwin who won the man of the series award for his brilliant performance said that contributing to team's success is always great. Ashwin picked his sixth man of the series award further said that each and every member contributed towards the series win. "It's No. 6 and I'm very happy about it. Contributing in a win for the team is always great," Ashwin said. "When we started this series, we wanted to come here and play aggressive cricket. We wanted to play five bowlers in all the games, that's something we wanted to try out." When asked about the positives, he said, "What we'll take away from here is a lot of positives. The team is such that everyone's closely monitored and their contributions are appreciated. That's why we're doing well as a unit." India skipper Virat Kohli was clearly disappointed as no there was no play after the first session on Day one. The skipper on his part gave a cheeky reply when asked what ...
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Pakistan dethrone India to reach No.1 Test spot

Dubai: Pakistan cricket team on Monday topped the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings for the first time after the final Test between India and the West Indies was called off due to wet ground at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, the world cricket body stated on Monday. India could not defend the top spot which it had reclaimed from Australia on August 17 and is now currently placed at second spot with 110 points -- one behind Pakistan and two ahead of third-ranked Australia. India had entered the series on 112 points, 44 points ahead of the eighth-ranked West Indies. Misbah-ul-Haq's side has now become only the fifth team after Australia, England, India and South Africa to top the ICC Test rankings since these were introduced in 2003. Reacting to their ascent to the top spot, an elated Misbah-ul-Haq said: "There is no greater feeling than to achieve the number one ranking in the most traditional and purest format of the sport. This is what cric...
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Pakistan dethrone India to reach No.1 Test spot

Dubai, Aug 22 (IANS) Pakistan cricket team on Monday topped the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings for the first time after the final Test between India and the West Indies was called off due to wet ground at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, the world cricket body stated on Monday. India could not defend the top spot which it had reclaimed from Australia on August 17 and is now currently placed at second spot with 110 points -- one behind Pakistan and two ahead of third-ranked Australia. India had entered the series on 112 points, 44 points ahead of the eighth-ranked West Indies. Misbah-ul-Haq's side has now become only the fifth team after Australia, England, India and South Africa to top the ICC Test rankings since these were introduced in 2003. Reacting to their ascent to the top spot, an elated Misbah-ul-Haq said: "There is no greater feeling than to achieve the number one ranking in the most traditional and purest format of the sport. This...
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West Indies need to do something about ground equipment: Gavaskar

That Test cricket is struggling is accepted by just about everybody. The young followers of today are more into the action packed version of T20 which provides not only a result after three hours but also loads of action and thrills in that time than in the longer format of Test cricket where after playing for five days there can be a draw and no result. Thankfully the Indian players are aware of the fact that they will be only recognised after they perform at the Test level and not for what they achieve in the limited overs competition. The same cannot be said of the West Indian players who would rather play T20 cricket and earn a good living than stress themselves in the five day Test match. It is understandable to an extent since there is not much employment opportunities in the Caribbean islands and so it makes sense to make as much as one can while the going is good. The scheduling also does not help and it is here that the administrators have to do something. The Indian tour w...
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