Category: SPORTS

Unstoppable so far, India would be aiming to rewrite record books with a fourth title when the Rahul Dravid-coached side squares off against an equally formidable Australia in the final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, here tomorrow. India and Australia are the two most successful teams in the history of the tournament having won the coveted trophy thrice each. But come tomorrow, Dravid’s sprightly boys will be desperate to outwit their Australian counterparts and become the first team in the history of the event to lift the trophy for…

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Former captain Sourav Ganguly today tipped India as the favourites to win the Under-19 World Cup final against Australia on Saturday. India crushed arch-rivals Pakistan by 203 runs yesterday to set up a summit clash against Australia on February 3 at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand. “India (will win U-19 World Cup). U-19 team is playing very well. There are immensely talented boys like Prithwi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Ishan Porel are players who have come up from the BCCI system. Our Board members have invested time…

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Veteran star Leander Paes today regained his place in the top-50, courtesy Challenger title win at the Newport Beach event, as he jumped 14 places to 47 in the latest rankings, issued today. Paes had partnered American James Cerretani for the Newport Beach tournament, which fetched him 125 ranking points. This week he is playing at the USD 125,000 Dallas event, for which he has partnered Briton Joe Salisbury. Rohan Bopanna is India’s top-ranked doubles player at number 20 after losing a place and is followed by left-hander Divij Sharan,…

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India captain and ICC Cricketer of the Year Virat Kohli today moved ahead of Caribbean legend Brian Lara in the all-time career-high Player Rankings for Test batsmen by earning 12 points from the Johannesburg Test. Kohli had started the third and final Test on 900 points and earned 12 points following contributions of 54 and 41. This means he is now on 912 points and in 26th position on the all-time list, which is headed by Don Bradman (961 points). Current number-one ranked batsman Steve Smith is second in the…

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Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu will meet in an all-Indian quarterfinal clash after both won their respective preliminary matches at the USD 350,000 Indonesia Masters, adding another chapter to their new rivalry. London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina, who is coming back from an ankle injury, took 37 minutes to overcome World No.20 Chinese Chen Xiaoxin 21-12 21-18, while Sindhu stream- rolled Goh Jin Wei of Malaysia 21-12 21-9 in a one-sided contest. Young men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too entered the quarterfinals after getting past Chinese…

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Former pacer Shoaib Akhtar feels cricketers in India and Pakistan are being denied a chance to experience the historic cross-border sporting rivalry between the two countries due to politics. India and Pakistan have not played a full bilateral series since 2007 in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. A short series was played in India in 2012 but considering the current hostility in diplomatic ties, resumption of full cricketing ties between the two nations seems highly unlikely anytime soon. “It is terribly sad that cricketers from either…

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Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar today gave a pep talk to members of the Indian women’s cricket team, who will travel to South Africa for a gruelling ODI and T20 series. It is learnt that Tendulkar spoke to the members of the team captained by Mithali Raj, for over an hour, at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Bandra Kurla complex here. The Indian’s women team will tour South Africa for a three-match ODI series, which starts at Kimberly on February 5, followed by a five-match T20 series, which begins on February 13…

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Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand’s quest for a record sixth title suffered a setback as he slumped to a shock defeat against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the seventh round of the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament, here. Having done quite well so far, Anand went for unwarranted complications against Kramnik who was at his best to match his opponent. The Italian opening by the Indian became very complicated when Anand decided to keep his king in the middle of the board and Kramnik showed deep understanding in finding the right…

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Five days before the final Test on a pitch that bore an excessively green tinge, pacer Kagiso Rabada said South Africa are gunning for a whitewash of India, having trampled the visitors in the first two matches. The hosts have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead with convincing wins in the first two Tests, with Rabada producing a match-winning spell at the Newlands. “Obviously we know how to play fast bowling and we’ve got respect for their attack. Every game you go into, you want to win. So obviously we want…

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