Category: SPORTS

Former Australia cricketer Andrew Symonds, one of the finest all-rounders and a two-time World Cup winner, has died in a tragic car accident, leaving the cricketing world in shock. He was 46 and is survived by his wife and two young children. Cricket Australia has now lost three prominent figures in the past two months. Spin legend Shane Warne and former wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh had died within hours of each other in March. According to a statement issued by Queensland police, the accident happened in Hervey Range Road, about 50…

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Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting feels South African pacer Anrich Nortje is just a couple of spells away from being match ready and expressed optimism over his availability for their next IPL game against Lucknow Super Giants on April 7. Nortje has been out of competitive cricket since last November’s T20 World Cup due to a back and hip injury. “Nortje bowled 100% this morning (Saturday) in the warm-ups. He has to get through another maybe four or five-over spell at 100% capacity and then I think if he…

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Rafael Nadal defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (0), 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in a match featuring obscenities, underhand serves, a point penalty and smashed rackets. Nadal improved to 19-0 this year, the third-best start to a season since 1990. Happy about that third set because it wasn’t easy after the end of the second. It was terrible for me, he said on Thursday. But I hold it emotionally, and mentally, I think I was ready to keep fighting. So was Kyrgios. After the post-match…

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England’s flamboyant batter Jason Roy has pulled out of the upcoming IPL citing extended stay in the tournament bubble, dealing a blow to his new franchise Gujarat Titans weeks before the event gets going. According to a report in ‘ESPNcricinfo’, Roy informed the franchise of his decision last week. The Titans are yet to finalise a replacement. The 31-year-old South African-born English cricketer was signed by Gujarat Titans for his base price of Rs 2 crore at the mega auction. The development is a big blow to the Gujarat franchise…

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Top-seeded Elina Svitolina, a 27-year-old professional tennis player from Ukraine, says she will withdraw from the Monterrey Open rather than face a Russian opponent at the Mexican tournament unless tennis’s governing bodies follow the International Olympic Committee’s lead and insist that players from Russia and Belarus are only identified as neutral athletes. Svitolina wrote Monday on Twitter that she did not want to play her opening-round contest against Anastasia Potapova nor any other match against Russian or Belarussian tennis players until the WTA women’s tour, ATP men’s tour and International…

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In-form India batter Suryakumar Yadav was on Wednesday ruled out of the three-match T20 International series against Sri Lanka owing to a hairline fracture on his hand. The series starts here on Thursday and Yadav’s injury was confirmed to PTI by a BCCI source before the Board issued an official statement. Yadav, who was adjudged Player of the Series in the preceding T20Is against the West Indies, is the second Indian player to be forced out of the Sri Lanka series after pacer Deepak Chahar. Chahar was ruled out of…

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Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic received a warm welcome in Dubai, where he visited the world’s fair following the global drama around his decision to remain unvaccinated. After being twice detained and deported from Australia ahead of the year’s first Grand Slam Tournament last month, Djokovic was in the United Arab Emirates for the Duty Free Tennis Championships. I’m excited to go out on the tennis court next Monday, he said when asked by The Associated Press how he feels after the recent twists and turns of the legal dispute…

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 Enjoying a brilliant run of form, India batter Suryakumar Yadav says he is relishing the role of a finisher whose unbeaten knocks can steer the team home consistently. In the opening T20 against the West Indies here on Wednesday, India suffered a few hiccups after a flying start given by skipper Rohit Sharma (40) but Yadav revived their 158-run chase with an unbeaten 18-ball 34. The side eventually won comfortably by six wickets. “I think it was very important for me to stay till the end and win the game…

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Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is set to miss the tour of Pakistan and the initial few games of Indian Premier League due to his wedding next month. Maxwell told ‘Fox Sports’ that the clash was unavoidable due to changes in the schedule. He is one of the retained players by Royal Challengers Bangalore alongside Virat Kohli and Mohammad Siraj. “Originally when I organised the dates with CA there was a two-week gap where I could potentially have it,” Maxwell said after the third T20 against Sri Lanka in Canberra. “So…

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Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian superstar who was expected to deliver her nation its third straight Olympic gold medal in women’s figure skating, practiced as usual Thursday, hours after reports that she tested positive for a banned substance. Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Beijing Games, the Russian newspaper RBC reported. The sample was reportedly obtained before Valieva won the European championship last month in Estonia, a performance that solidified her status as the leader of Russia’s quad squad of elite women’s figure skaters. It’s unclear…

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