Tag: Sports

Dubai (TIP)- India began their Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket victory against Bangladesh after opener Shubman Gill anchored their nervy chase with a classy hundred in the Group A contest on Thursday, February 20.
A victory target of 229 looked inadequate to test India’s vaunted batting but Rohit Sharma’s men faltered in their chase and owed their tense victory, even if it came with 21 balls to spare, largely to Gill’s unbeaten 101. Gill’s ton trumped Towhid Hridoy’s heroic 100 while battling cramps that helped Bangladesh, who were 35/5 at one stage, reach 228 before being all out with two deliveries left in their innings.
Seamer Mohammed Shami claimed 5/53, signalling he was ready to lead India’s pace attack in the absence of the injured Jasprit Bumrah.
“We have been in that kind of situation many a time,” India captain Rohit Sharma said of their chase. “There’s a lot of experience in that dressing room to handle that… KL (Rahul) and Gill at the end were quite composed.”
Najmul Hossain Shanto was left to regret his decision to bat as Bangladesh lost the top half of their batting half inside nine overs.
While India’s new ball pair of Shami and Harshit Rana (3/31) struck in their first overs, spinner Axar Patel nearly claimed a hat-trick.
During the chase, Rohit (41) and Gill got India off to a flying start adding 69 runs for the opening stand.
Rohit could not initially middle the ball but boundaries soon started to flow from his bat as he crossed 11,000 runs in ODIs. Taskin Ahmed removed Rohit in the 10th over and suddenly the boundary flow stopped. Virat Kohli (22) could not convert the start while Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel fell cheaply as Bangladesh fought back with their spinners.
Brief scores: Bangladesh: 228 all out in 48.4 overs (Hridoy 100, Jaker 68; Shami 5/53, Harshit 3/31); India: 231/4 in 46.3 overs (Gill 101*, Rohit 41, Rahul 41*; Hossain 2/38).
Shami makes dream return
Till a few weeks back, Mohammed Shami was not sure of making the Indian team for the Champions Trophy. In fact, there was a period last year when the veteran pacer was not even sure if he would ever return to the field again. But Shami, who recently made a comeback from a long injury layoff, proved his worth by picking up five wickets in India’s victory against Bangladesh in their opening game of the tournament.
The 34-year-old speedster, who is leading India’s bowling department in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, made an unforgettable comeback by claiming his sixth five-wicket haul in ODI cricket. It was his first ever five-wicket haul in an ICC tournament.
Shami also became the eighth Indian to complete 200 wickets in ODI cricket. On Thursday, he grabbed three wickets to reach the milestone in his 104th match. He became the fastest Indian to the milestone, breaking the record of former India pacer Ajit Agarkar (133 matches). He then added two more wickets to his tally to end the day with figures of 5/53.
Shami, who averages less than 24 and has 10 four-wicket hauls, also extended his record of most five-wicket hauls for India in the format. The next best is three five-wicket hauls by Javagal Srinath and Harbhajan Singh.
The road back to the top, though, was filled with hurdles — the latest being his 14-month exile from cricket. After finishing the 2023 World Cup as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, Shami required surgery for an ankle injury. After a long layoff, his comeback was delayed by issues with his knees during rehabilitation. Shami finally returned to competitive cricket, turning up for the Bengal team in the domestic season. He finally re-joined India’s white-ball squad for the home series against England.

Real Madrid easily beat Manchester City 3-1 with a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick on Feb 19 in their Champions League playoff second leg at a raucous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, earning them a 6-3 aggregate victory and a place in the last-16. Last year’s champions will face either Bayer Leverkusen or city rivals Atletico Madrid, depending on Friday’s draw, as they seek a record-extending 16th title.
It was the first time in City coach Pep Guardiola’s illustrious career that one of his teams in the Champions League had failed to reach the Round of 16. “It was a perfect night,” Mbappe said. “It’s only logical that Real Madrid advance to the last-16. We are very strong at home and it’s great to give joy to our fans.”
After a breathtaking first leg packed with goals and individual brilliance from both sides at the Etihad Stadium, the return game was thoroughly one-sided.
Real did not have to work too hard to subdue their sorry rivals who failed to manage a shot on target in the first half, looking a shadow of Guardiola’s dominant force from past years. Already 3-2 down from the first game, City’s task became even harder an hour before kick-off when they announced a starting 11 without leading striker Erling Haaland, who suffered a knee injury at the weekend. Real took full control of proceedings from the off and never looked under threat with the hapless visitors lucky not to lose by a larger margin.

Karachi (TIP)- South Africa opener Ryan Rickelton scored a maiden ODI century with a fluent 103 as his side eased to a 107-run win over Afghanistan in their opening Champions Trophy Group B fixture at the National Stadium on Friday, February 21.
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat, amassing 315/6 in their 50 overs on a wicket with pace and bounce that was more akin to their home conditions on the Highveld than a sub-continent style pitch.
Afghanistan’s Rahmat Shah scored a fighting 90 but South Africa’s seamers stifled the run-rate and picked up regular wickets as their opponents battled to stay in the contest and fell well short as they were bowled out for 208 in 43.3 overs.
“I was a bit edgy, but to contribute to the team and set us up for a winning performance, I am chuffed with that,” Rickelton said after being named the Player of the Match.
“The wicket played alright, the bounce was a bit inconsistent and you had to work out how to adapt to score your runs. We could have pushed harder at certain stages of our innings, but everyone chipped in to make sure we had competitive total.”
South Africa’s innings was anchored by the left-hander, whose 103 came from 106 deliveries, but there were valuable contributions all the way through.
Captain Temba Bavuma scored 58 as he put on 129 with Rickelton for the second wicket before Rassie van der Dussen pitched in with a useful 52 and Aiden Markram was unbeaten on 52 from 36 deliveries to give the innings a boost at the end.
In contrast to South Africa, Afghanistan battled to find a way to stem the flow of runs, with 40-year-old off-spinner Mohammad Nabi the pick of their bowlers with 2/51 from 10 overs.

India made a sizzling start to their campaign, delivering a 5-0 thrashing to Macau in their opening group D tie of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship here on Wednesday, Feb 12.
Having won the bronze medal in the last edition in Dubai, India are now assured of a quarterfinal berth. They will next face Korea in their second and final group tie on Thursday, Feb 13.
The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath, the newly-crowned National Games gold medallists, gave India a rousing start, recording a 21-10, 21-9 win against Iok Chong Leong and Weng Chi Ng in the opening match. In men’s singles, 2021 World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen then outwitted Pang Fong Pui 21-16, 21-12, making it 2-0.
Malvika Bansod, the 2024 Hylo Open finalist, then sealed the tie for India with a dominant 21-15, 21-9 win over Hao Wai Chan in women’s singles. Chirag Shetty paired up with MR Arjun and prevailed 21-15, 21-19 over Chin Pon Pui and Kok Wen Vong in men’s doubles.
The world number 9 women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand completed the demolition with a 21-10, 21-5 thrashing of NG Weng Chi and Pui Chi Wa in the final match.
Thursday’s match against Korea will decide the group topper.

Dubai, (TIP)- India captain Rohit Sharma, who led the team to their second ICC T20 World Cup title last June, has been named skipper of the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2024.
The team dominated by Indians also features star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Rohit had an unforgettable 2024, both as a leader and a batter.
The seasoned opener amassed 378 runs in 11 matches at an impressive average of 42.00 and a strike rate of over 160. Rohit played a pivotal role in India’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign, with three half-centuries, including a sensational 92 against Australia in the Super Eight stage.
His astute leadership was instrumental in guiding a young Indian side through high-pressure situations, cementing his legacy as one of India’s greatest T20I captains.
Pandya reaffirmed his stature as one of the world’s finest all-rounders, playing a crucial role in India’s successful campaign.
In 17 matches, Pandya scored 352 runs and claimed 16 wickets, finishing as the top-ranked ICC Men’s T20I all-rounder.
His standout performance came in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa, where he defended 16 runs in the last over, securing India’s title victory. His best bowling figures of 3/20 in the final underlined his ability to deliver under pressure.
Bumrah made a remarkable return to T20I cricket in 2024, leading India’s bowling attack with precision and consistency.
He claimed 15 wickets in eight matches at an astonishing average of 8.26, making him a nightmare for opposition batters.
His lethal yorkers and impeccable control at the death overs played a pivotal role in India’s success, and his performances earned him a nomination for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year.
Young left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh emerged as India’s most prolific wicket-taker in 2024, scalping 36 wickets in 18 matches at an average of 13.50. Source: PTI

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open title on Sunday, comfortably defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the men’s final to secure his third career grand slam win. Just over a year ago, Sinner hadn’t won a grand slam title; he was still a promising youngster, unproven but earmarked for great things. Now, the 23-year-old Italian has three grand slam titles – two at the Australian Open and one at the US Open – and has been the dominant player on the men’s tour since he gained the mantle of world No. 1 last June.
Against Zverev, he was also dominant, becoming just the fourth male player in the last 35 years to win a grand slam final without even conceding a single break point, despite never really playing his best tennis.
But still, a cloud hangs over Sinner’s win since it comes against the backdrop of ongoing controversy off the court.
He avoided suspension last year after testing positive for Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, in March 2024. The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced in August that he wasn’t at fault for the incident, but the World Anti-Doping Agency has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The hearing is set to begin on April 16.

Melbourne (TIP)- Madison Keys of the United States upset two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final on Saturday night to collect her first Grand Slam title at age 29.
By adding this win over the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka to an elimination of No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals on Thursday — saving a match point along the way — Keys is the first woman since Serena Williams in 2005 to defeat both of the WTA’s top two players at Melbourne Park. Keys, ranked 14th and seeded 19th, was playing in her second major final after being the runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Open.
She prevented Sabalenka from earning what would have been her third women’s trophy in a row at the Australian Open — something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997-99 — and her fourth major title overall. When it ended, Keys covered her face with her hands, then raised her arms. Soon, she was hugging her husband, Bjorn Fratangelo — who has been her coach since 2023 — and other members of her team, before sitting on her sideline bench and laughing.
Sabalenka chucked her racket afterward, then covered her head with a white towel.
Keys is the oldest woman to become a first-time major champion since Flavia Pennetta was 33 at the 2015 U.S. Open. This was the 46th Slam appearance for Keys, which ranks as the third-most major tournaments before winning a trophy in the Open era, behind only Pennetta’s 49 and Marion Bartoli’s 47 when she won Wimbledon in 2013.
It was the more accomplished Sabalenka who was shakier at the outset. Keys broke three times in the first set, helped in part by Sabalenka’s four double-faults and 13 total unforced errors.
Don’t for a moment think this was merely an instance of Sabalenka being her own undoing. Keys certainly had a lot to do with the way things were going, too. She compiled an 11-4 edge in winners in that first set, managing to out-hit the big-hitting Sabalenka repeatedly from the baseline. For a stretch, it seemed as though every shot off the strings of Keys’ racket — the one she switched to ahead of this season to protect her oft-injured right shoulder and to make it easier to control her considerable power — was landing precisely where she wanted.
Also important was the way Keys, whose left thigh was taped for the match, covered every part of the court, racing to get to balls and send them back over the net with intent. On one terrific defensive sequence, she sprinted for a forehand that drew a forehand into the net from Sabalenka, capping a break for a 4-1 lead.
Never one to hide her emotions during a match, Sabalenka frequently displayed frustration while trailing on the scoreboard, kicking a ball after netting a volley, dropping her racket after missing an overhead, slapping her leg after an errant forehand.
Sabalenka took a trip to the locker room before the second set, and whether that helped clear her head or slowed Keys’ momentum — or both — the final’s complexion soon changed. Keys’ first-serve percentage dipped from 86% in the first set to 59% in the second. Sabalenka raised her winner total to 13 in the second set and began accumulating, and converting, break points.
Source: AP