Category: SPORTS

Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the only two teams yet to win a game in the 2019 IPL, will be desperate to outdo each other in a clash of strugglers at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Tuesday.Both teams have been more than disappointing thus far in the IPL and need a win to revive their respective campaigns. Royals have failed to tighten the screws when it mattered most. In the all three matches, they were in a good position but could not grab the moments, losing to Kings…

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Rajasthan Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane says it is difficult for the bowlers to defend any total against a team which has an in-form batsman like David Warner in its ranks.Sanju Samson’s (102 not out) century was overshadowed by Warner’s blistering fifty as Sunrisers Hyderabad chased down a mammoth 199-run target to beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets in their IPL match here. “I think first of all, we thought 190 plus was very good score. Initially when Sanju and me were batting the wicket looked slow — it was stopping and…

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Striker Mandeep Singh continued his rich form and scored a brace to help India thrash minnows Poland 10-0 in their last league match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here Friday.Already assured of a place in Saturday’s summit clash against Korea, the Indians scored goals almost at will, leaving the Polish players in daze. Besides Mandeep (50th, 51st minutes), dragflciker Varun Kumar (18th, 25th) also struck twice while Vivek Sagar Prasad (1st), Sumit Kumar (7th), Surender Kumar (19th), Simranjeet Singh (29th), Nilankanta Sharma (36th) and Amit Rohitdas (55th)…

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Striker Mandeep Singh scored a brilliant hat-trick as India outplayed Canada 7-3 in a goal fest to set one foot on the summit clash of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament here on Wednesday.The 24-year-old Mandeep fired in three quick field goals (20th, 27th and 29th minutes), all of them coming in the second quarter, after Varun Kumar had given India the lead in the 12th minute of the high-scoring match.At the half time, India were 4-0 up in the match before Canada reduced the margin through a strike…

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Jos Buttler has now been ‘Mankaded’ twice in his senior competitive career while Ravichandran Ashwin has hit the ‘Bull’s Eye’ in his second attempt after an aborted one seven years back.The two protagonists in the latest episode of ‘Mankading and the ensuing Spirit of Cricket debate’, have been there and done that.On February 21, 2012 during a Commonwealth Bank series game against Sri Lanka in Brisbane, Ashwin had ‘Mankaded’ non-striker Lahiru Thirimanne for backing up too far.However, seniormost player Sachin Tendulkar was seen having a word with stand-in captain Virender…

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Indian boxing star Vijender Singh’s much-awaited professional debut in the USA, scheduled for April 12, was Tuesday postponed after he injured himself during a sparring session in Los Angeles.The 33-year-old, India’s first Olympic and world championships medallist in boxing, was to make his US debut at the Staples Center on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Anthony Crolla undercard. It was to be an eight-round contest and his opponent was yet to be decided.”I got hurt during a sparring session on Friday. My left eye has received two kinds of stitches and doctors have…

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Steve Smith would still be a bit rusty and Kings XI Punjab would try to exploit it to their advantage, says skipper Ravichandran Ashwin, who also reckons that it won’t be easy comeback journey for the Australian. The spotlight will be on Smith when Rajasthan Royals’ clash with Punjab tomorrow.”We all know he is a quality player and must have worked and prepared hard during the break but comebacks are not easy. He must have put a lot of efforts for a comeback mentally. I am sure he would look…

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India defeated Asian Games champion Japan 2-0 to start its campaign at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament on a positive note here Saturday.Varun Kumar converted a penalty corner in the 24th minute to hand India the lead before Simranjeet Singh (55th) scored a diving field goal from skipper Manpreet Singh’s brilliant pass to secure full three points for the five-time champions.India will play Korea in their next league game on Sunday before taking on hosts Malaysia (March 26), Canada (March March 27) and Poland (March 29).The top two…

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Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri opened with a creditable one-under 70 in the first round to sit in a tie for 28th place at the USD 6.7 million Valspar Championship here.Lahiri, who is having a rough time this season, is four shots behind the leaders Joel Dahman of the US and Austrian Sepp Straka, who shot five-under 66 each at the Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead course.The scoring was not easy with only 44 players in the field going under par.Lahiri, who has played the event in the past, said, “It was a…

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Asian Games gold-medallist Amit Panghal will be making his competitive debut in the 52kg category while Shiva Thapa (60kg) will eye a record-breaking fourth successive medal after the duo found a place in the Indian men’s boxing team for the Asian Championships, next month.The Asian Championships are scheduled to be held in the Thai capital of Bangkok from April 19 to 28.Panghal won a second successive 49kg category gold medal at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria last month and trained in his new weight division in Germany earlier…

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