Day: December 22, 2021

22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Williamson ruled out of New Zealand team for Bangladesh Tests, Latham to lead | Cricket News – Times of India

WELLINGTON (New Zealand): New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has been ruled out of the Test series against Bangladesh starting at Bay Oval on New Year's Day. In the absence of Williamson, batter Tom Latham will be leading the BlackCaps in the series. Following an impressive start to his Test career in England, Devon Conway returns to the squad. He suffered a hand injury in the ICC T20 World Cup semi-final against England in November. With regular captain Kane Williamson ruled out with an elbow injury, @Tomlatham2 will lead the side for an entire T… https://t.co/qCDLJPtrSG— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) 1640188819000There's no space for a specialist spinner in the 13-man squad, meaning left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel misses out despite his heroics in India, with Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell ...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Gashimov Memorial chess: Anand endures winless run on day 1 of Blitz event | Chess News – Times of India

BAKU (Azerbaijan): Indian chess maestro Viswanathan Anand failed to win even one game in the Blitz section of the 7th Vugar Gashimov Memorial chess tournament here on Wednesday. The former world champion lost two games - one to Fabiano Caruana (USA) and the other to Richard Rapport (Hungary) while drawing with five others. The draws came against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Sergey Karjakin (Russia), David Navara (Czech Republic)), Vugar Asadli and Rauf Mamedov (both Azerbaijan). He lies in the last spot after the Rapid event and day one of the Blitz section with 5.5 points. On Thursday, the second day of the Blitz where the players would play the respective opponents with the opposite colour would be held. Rapport is ahead of the field with 20.5 points with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Pro Kabaddi League: U Mumba beat Bengaluru Bulls in season 8 opener | More sports News – Times of India

BENGALURU: Abhishek Singh was the star for U Mumba as they beat Bengaluru Bulls 46–30 in the Pro Kabaddi League season opener here on Wednesday. The U Mumba raider clinched a Super 10 (19 points) and was ably supported by the team's defence in a statement victory by the season 2 champions. Pawan Sehrawat had an off day for Bengaluru Bulls who missed a quality third raider to support Chandran Ranjit and Pawan. There were no spectators at the stadium due to the COVID-19 threat but that certainly didn't take the energy away from the match. The first raid of the season resulted in a successful tackle on the "high-flyer" Pawan Sehrawat by Harendra Kumar. The first few minutes went on to be dominated by the team from Mumbai with Abhishek Singh picking up important raid points. Fazel Atrachali...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Going forward, isolated COVID-19 cases will not disrupt our home series: PCB | Cricket News – Times of India

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board has said that isolated Covid-19 cases will not lead to postponement or cancellation of any home series in future as cricket has now learnt to co-exist with the dreaded virus. PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said they have now started to have agreements with touring sides that isolated Covid cases should not lead to any series being postponed or cancelled. The former Test captain said the PCB agreed to postpone the recent ODI series against West Indies because the visiting side faced an unusual situation with their eight to nine players and support staff testing positive. “Playing international cricket in Covid-19 situation is now a reality and if there are a few cases among players or officials since daily rapid tests are now part of the bio secure protocols it w...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Saurav Ghosal replaces world number one Ali Farag as men’s president of PSA | More sports News – Times of India

LONDON: India's leading player and world number 15 Saurav Ghosal was on Wednesday named as the Professional Squash Association's (PSA) men's president, replacing world number one Ali Farag. As men's president, Ghosal will sit on PSA's Board of Directors. Speaking to PTI, Ghosal said it is a huge honour for him and assured that his new role won't impact his playing career. "The focus is still very much on playing. It (the PSA role) is a massive honour for me. My role will be to push the interests of the players and broadly guide the board to develop the game's interests worldwide," said the 35-year-old. 📝 News@SauravGhosal has been named as the PSA Men's President following our AGM earlier today - read more ⬇️… https://t.co/trQIrXN7Bi— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) 1640185402000Ghosal, ...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Sourav Ganguly shouldn’t have spoken on Virat Kohli captaincy issue: Dilip Vengsarkar | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: Former India captain and chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar feels that board president Sourav Ganguly wasn't right in airing his views on behalf of national selectors on Virat Kohli's captaincy saga which has triggered a controversy. Ahead of their departure to South Africa, Virat Kohli in a media conference said that no one from BCCI told him not to quit T20 captaincy, contrary to Ganguly's claims that he had spoken to the skipper on the issue. The 'Colonel' on his part, opined that Ganguly had no business to speak in the matter. "The thing is that Ganguly had no business to speak on behalf of the selection committee. He is the BCCI president. Any issue about selection or captaincy, it's the chairman of the selection committee Chetan Sharma, who should speak," Vengsarkar, a...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Two PSG players test positive for Covid-19 ahead of Lorient visit | Football News – Times of India

PARIS: Two Paris Saint-Germain players have tested positive for Covid-19 and a third is in isolation, the club said Wednesday a few hours before a Ligue 1 match at Lorient. They are one of several Ligue 1 clubs to reveal positive tests, though not at the same level as England, where a raft of matches have been postponed in the Premier League and lower divisions. PSG's two positive cases are German international defender Thilo Kehrer and the 21-year-old French midfielder Eric Junior Dina-Ebimbe. They "are subject to the appropriate health protocol", said their club. Argentine international midfielder Leandro Paredes was placed in isolation on Tuesday "as a precaution", PSG said. All three played Sunday in a 3-0 French Cup win over Entente Feignies-Aulnoye. The evening game at Lorient is ...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Being full ICC member feels just ‘like a name’, says Ireland skipper Balbirnie | Cricket News – Times of India

FLORIDA [US]: Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie has said that being a full ICC member just feels like a name at the moment as it has been three years since his team last played a Test match. Ireland's progress has been slow since they became Full Members of the ICC in 2017, highlighted by a first-round exit at the 2021 T20 World Cup. "We're a Test member, or a Full Member, but at the moment it only really feels like a name. Nothing's really showing for that. We've had our days out at Lord's and Malahide but apart from that, all I can see is a name. It'll be three years in the summer that we've haven't played a Test match," ESPNcricinfo quoted Balbirnie as saying. Ireland's status as Full-Membermeans that, after a two-year grace period, their players no longer qualify as locals in county ...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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‘I have never run away from pressure, it brings the best out of me as a person’

You are the senior-most player and Test captain now. How has the team culture and environment within the team changed over the years? There has been a massive transformation. When I started in 2012, the culture was strong but it was old-school mentality. There were a lot of big strong personalities then that ran the team pretty well. But now the culture is very strong too. We have made every player feel welcome as much as possible. Even with the younger guys, we have tried to make them feel as if they have been here for a few years already. I think that’s because they are more comfortable with the environment. We have also lost a lot of players, but we also have some young players which can be good as they bring a different spinoff to the environment and it’s something for me to get use...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Bronze comes with reality check for Indian hockey

The Asian Champions Trophy might lack an overall context but for India, the last one week has shown that their path to an Asian Games gold, and through that to the Paris Olympics, won’t be as straightforward as many would have imagined. On almost all counts – be it depth of talent or the amount of investment, the number of matches they play or the scale of recent achievements – the Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists are head and shoulders above the rest of Asia. Curiously though, the team has struggled to translate that dominance on the field, as evidenced by their performance in Dhaka over the past week. South Korea scripted a stunning comeback, equalising with 0.01 seconds remaining, to beat Japan 4-2 via a tie-breaker to win the gold medal. India, meanwhile, huffed their way past a res...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Pro Kabaddi League: U Mumba beat Bulls in PKL season 8 opener

Abhishek Singh was the star for U Mumba as they beat Bengaluru Bulls 46-30 in the Pro Kabaddi League season opener on Wednesday. The U Mumba raider clinched a Super 10 (19 points) and was ably supported by the team’s defence in a statement victory by the season 2 champions. Pawan Sehrawat had an off day for Bengaluru Bulls who missed a quality third raider to support Chandran Ranjit and Pawan. There were no spectators at the stadium due to the COVID-19 threat but that certainly didn’t take the energy away from the match. The first raid of the season resulted in a successful tackle on the “high-flyer” Pawan Sehrawat by Harendra Kumar. The first few minutes went on to be dominated by the team from Mumbai with Abhishek Singh picking up important raid points. Fazel Atrachal...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Exclusive – ‘Looking forward to sharing some of the best moments of my career with my fans’: Rohit Sharma on launching his personal NFTs | Off the field News – Times of India

MUMBAI: India’s white-ball captain Rohit Sharma is the latest entrant in the NFT (non-fungible token) market. The opening batsman will now be launching his own personal NFTs on FanCraze, the consumer-facing brand of Faze Technologies, that recently became an official partner with the International Cricket Council (ICC). “I am looking forward to sharing some of the best moments of my career with my fans. The team is building the next-generation of consumer experiences, and I cannot wait to check out the super-cool HitMan NFTs and 2D/3D avatars that they will be dropping in the months ahead,” Sharma told TOI on Tuesday. Boom! I’m excited to announce my exclusive partnership with @0xFanCraze to step into the cricket metaverse. Registe… https://t.co/itBvUwAl8C— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) 164017...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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MCA wants Vengsarkar as ‘mentor’ for Mumbai Ranji team | Cricket News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is keen to have former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar as the 'mentor' for its Ranji Trophy team in the upcoming season, which begins in January. The move comes after domestic giants Mumbai performed miserably in both the white-ball tournaments -- Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy -- under Amol Muzumdar. The multiple-time Ranji champions were knocked out of the league stages of both the tournaments. The idea to make the 65-year-old Vengsarkar, a stalwart of 116 Tests and a former MCA office-bearer, was floated by the cricket body's treasurer, Jagdish Achrekar. In an email to MCA president Vijay Patil, Achrekar wrote, "I refer to my mail dated 13th December to call an urgent Apex Council meeting to discuss the performances of vari...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Tom Prest to lead England in ICC U-19 World Cup | Cricket News – Times of India

LONDON (UK): The England U19 selection panel, headed up by Head Coach Richard Dawson, on Wednesday selected a 15-strong squad and two travelling reserves for the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup. Hampshire's Tom Prest has been selected as captain of the squad, with Warwickshire's Jacob Bethell vice-captain. The tournament will take place in the Caribbean in January, with England drawn in Group A alongside 2020 winners Bangladesh, Canada and United Arab Emirates. England won the Plate Final in the 2020 tournament. "We're really looking forward to getting out there and testing ourselves against the best young players in the worl… https://t.co/tR836v9ZXt— England Cricket (@englandcricket) 1640174401000Richard Dawson in an official release said: "It's always a hugely exciting moment for any ...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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ISL: Kerala Blasters sweep aside Chennaiyin to breach top-four places

Kerala Blasters FC recorded an impressive second consecutive win in their 2021-22 Indian Super League campaign after defeating Chennaiyin FC 3-0 on Wednesday. Jorge Pereyra Diaz (9th minute) gave KBFC the lead by scoring his third goal of the campaign prior to Sahal Abdul Samad (38th) doubling the advantage before half time. Adrian Luna (79th) then scored his first goal of the season to put the result beyond any doubt in the second half. Jorge Diaz sent his team into an early lead after a lofted through ball found the striker in ample space behind CFC’s backline. His right-footed shot towards the bottom left corner gave no chance to Vishal Kaith to make a save. Prabhsukhan Gill was called into action just before the half-hour mark and he made a brilliant right-handed save to keep aw...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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IWF set to propose 10 weight classes for Paris Olympics, Jeremy’s category likely to be axed | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Battling to survive as an Olympic sport, weightlifting's world governing body is likely to introduce six new divisions among a total of 10 for the 2024 Paris Games, retaining only four from the Tokyo edition, a move that will see Indian teen sensation Jeremy Lalrinnunga's current category being lopped off the roster. The proposal needs to be approved by the International Weightlifting Federation's General Council before being sent to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for its nod. The proposed weight categories for Paris 2024 include five each for males and females. They are 61kg, 73kg, 89kg, 102kg and +102kg for men, and 49kg, 59kg, 71kg, 81kg and +81kg for women. The ones retained from Tokyo are 49kg and 59kg for women and 61kg and 73kg for men. The changes, which co...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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India vs South Africa: Top 5 Indian Test run-scorers vs SA in current squad | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The year 2018 was the start of a new era in Indian cricket. It was when Virat Kohli and his Test unit began their journey of becoming one of the best ever touring teams. The start of this journey was promising but began with a 2-1 series loss in South Africa. But three years down the line -- with two back-to-back series wins in Australia and a 2-1 lead in this year's series (unfinished) in England under their belt, Team India has achieved unprecedented success on foreign lands in the longest format. And now once again, it is the same Kohli and co. who are back in the Rainbow Nation to complete some unfinished business - try and win a Test series in South Africa. Although there are quite a few first-timers in the Indian team in this year's 'Mission South Africa' , when it come...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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1983 World Cup: What Syed Kirmani told Kapil Dev in the middle when India were 17/5 versus Zimbabwe

Kapil’s Devils, in their sixties and seventies now, had a get-together in Mumbai on Wednesday. They were gearing up for the 8 pm premier. Director Kabir Khan’s ’83’ has rewound to Indian cricket’s finest hour, bringing back the memories of India’s first-ever World Cup triumph Over the phone, Sunil Valson sounded excited. “We are getting ready for the premiere. All of us will go together,” he said. The left-arm seamer didn’t get a single game at the 1983 World Cup. His team-mates ensured that he never felt left out. The official trailer of the film, available on YouTube, takes the viewers back to June 18, 1983. Tunbridge Wells was the venue and India had been facing Zimbabwe on the heels of their back-to-back losses against the West Indies and Australia. They were playing to survive. A v...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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ICC Test Rankings: Virat Kohli slips to No. 7 | Cricket News – Times of India

DUBAI: Indian captain Virat Kohli slipped a notch to be placed seventh in the latest ICC rankings for Test batters even as Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, riding on his prolific Ashes form, displaced England skipper Joe Root to become the new world number one. India's Rohit Sharma remained static at fifth position. Among bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin is still in second place behind Australia skipper Pat Cummins. Kohli, who played the second Test against New Zealand, was earlier placed sixth and now with 756 points is in seventh position. Labuschagne has climbed to the top of the ICC rankings for batters for the very first time after sensational performances in the two matches of the Ashes so far. With career-best 912 rating points, he went past Root (897), who has dropped to the second s...

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22Dec By source belowNo Comments

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Positive COVID cases will be isolated but matches will continue: CSA medical officer on India tour | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The BCCI and Cricket South Africa have mutually agreed that the upcoming Test and ODI series between the two teams will continue even if there is an isolated case of COVID-19 among players or support staff and close contacts will not be forced into isolation, the host board's medical officer Shuaib Manjra has said. India will start their three-match Test series against the Proteas on December 26 at Centurion followed by Tests in Johannesburg (January 3-7) and Cape Town (January 11-15). The Tests will be followed by three ODIs on January 19, 21 and 23. While there is a specific agreement that BCCI can pull out of the tour in case situation in South Africa, where the new variant Omicron was found, gets worsened, a senior official said that they are not contemplating any pull-ou...

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