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Day: April 11, 2023

Sports

IPL 2023 | I’m happy I could come up with a match-winning performance, says Nicholas Pooran 

Lucknow Super Giants’ Nicholas Pooran plays a shot during IPL 2023 match between RCB and LSG at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 10, 2023. | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K The only misstep from Nicholas Pooran on a manic night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday was in the press conference area where he slipped and fell after his cricket spikes didn’t hold up well on the glazed flooring. On the field, the 27-year-old didn’t put a foot wrong, scoring a dashing half-century (62, 19b, 4x4, 7x6) to help Lucknow Super Giants edge Royal Challengers Bangalore by one wicket and record it’s third victory in four games. “It wasn’t a surprise for me,” said the Trinidadian, who came into bat with LSG requiring 114 runs from 56 balls. “It was a good cricket pitch with small bound...
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IPL 2023: Mumbai off the mark with scratchy win

With the six-wicket loss against Mumbai Indians, David Warner-led Delhi has succumbed to their fourth straight loss. With five needed off six balls, it was Mumbai Indians’ match to lose. Anrich Nortje bowled an excellent last over and if Mukesh had not dropped Tim David at mid-wicket, the home team might have opened their account. However, it was not the case as Mumbai Indians managed to cross the line off the last ball with David and Cameron Green stealing two runs to get their team off the mark. Chasing 173 to win, Mumbai Indians openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan came out all guns blazing; the duo looted 62 runs in the Powerplay. The surface had eased out, and Rohit and Ishan put the Delhi bowlers under the pump straight away. Rohit teed off with two boundaries and a six off Muke...
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IPL 2023: Piyush Chawla’s resounding comeback, Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma nullify spinners and Jason Behrendorff takes off

DC just can’t catch a break After the near run out in the penultimate ball of the last over—Anrich Nortje could not gather the ball pelted furiously by Mukesh Kumar at short mid-wicket and break the stumps—David Warner gestured at Kumar that he should have thrown the ball on the full towards the South African seamer as Cameron Green was so far from safety. The last ball, Warner did exactly the same, and it turned out to be a mistake. As Tim David and Green were scrambling for the second run, he threw the ball full at Abhishek Porel, but it was so high that Porel had to leap and collect the ball head high. By the time he whipped the bails off, David had leapt like an Olympic swimmer and completed the run. This time, a one-bounce throw at the keeper would have sufficed. Warner too perhaps...
Sports

DC vs MI Highlights: Rohit shines in Mumbai’s thrilling last-ball win, Delhi lose fourth on the trot | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: When Rohit Sharma disdainfully pulls a delivery of sheer pace from Anrich Nortje deep into the mid-wicket stands you know that he is batting at peak of his prowess. For most part of the reply to Delhi Capitals’s 172 at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Tuesday night, it seemed Rohit’s intimidating 45-ball 65 had set up a rather comfortable chase till Nortje turned up for the last over of the match defending just five against power-hitters Cameron Green and Tim David. After facing six near-perfect yorkers hurled at them, David and Green’s long limbs helped them scamper back for two runs off the final ball with six wickets to spare.Indian cricket, holding its breath over Rohit’s striking ability in T20 cricket for a while, would heave a sigh relief when seeing Rohit toying with the Capit...
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Stressed and downcast Ding Liren grappling with much more than Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ding Liren looked lost. It was a fairly simple, release-the-pressure sorta question, posed by a Twitter user at the press conference on Monday: “What would you be if not a chess player?” Ian Nepomniachtchi would go first, saying how there are many teachers in his family and that he might have become one himself. Ding thought long and hard. For 25 seconds, he struggled to think of an alternate career option before managing, “It’s hard to say”. At the same press conference, he had been asked if he felt better while playing game 2 than he did in game 1. Once again, he could only say: “It’s hard to say”. Monday had been a demoralising day for Ding, who had lost Game 2 to his Russian rival in 29 moves. But you needn’t look at the scoreboard to know what had happened; one look at the body lan...
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‘We want flat, fast wickets for Ashes 2023’: Ben Stokes

England Test captain Ben Stokes has demanded flat and fast pitches for the upcoming Ashes 2023 series against Australia. Stokes also revealed that he will pick the best team for the series and already had a starting XI in his mind. The 31-year-old is hoping to lead England to their first Test series victory over Australia since 2015 and believes that pitch conditions will be crucial to the outcome of the series. “I think I know what the starting XI is going to be, there or thereabouts,” Stokes was quoted as saying on Sky Sports during their Indian Premier League coverage. “Having the option to bowl above 90mph, any captain wants that. [But] when it comes to that first Test I will be making sure I pick the best team for that first game. “We’ve been clear with the ground staff what ty...
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Novak Djokovic recovers from stuttering start to reach Monte Carlo round three

Novak Djokovic briefly ran into a spot of bother as he fought his way into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters with a 7-6(5) 6-2 victory against Russian qualifier Ivan Gakhov on Tuesday. The world number one, who had not played since early March when he reached the final in Dubai after being forced to skip Indian Wells and Miami because of his COVID unvaccinated status, struggled to find his range on the Monte Carlo clay before prevailing on a sunlit centre court. Gakhov went for his shots and claimed the first service break to lead 4-3, only for the Serbian to break right back and take the opening set by winning the tiebreak 7-5. Djokovic was then business like in the second set, leaving no chance of a comeback for his opponent, who suddenly felt the court was too big for him. T...
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Suryakumar Yadav: Watch: Suryakumar Yadav suffers nasty hit above eye while attempting a catch | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav suffered a freak injury during the IPL 2023 match against Delhi Capitals at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday.The incident took place in the 17th over of DC's innings when Axar Patel smashed left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff towards long-on where Surya dropped a simple chance and ended up conceding a six.What added to his woes was that the ball hit above his eye that required attention of the physio. Surya was then expectedly taken off the field after that nasty hit.Coming to the match, riding on contrasting half-centuries from Axar Patel and captain David Warner, Delhi Capitals posted 172 all out in 19.4 overs.Delhi were in trouble at 98/5 in 12.3 overs, and Axar walked in to smack 54 off 25 balls, hitting four fours and five effo...
Sports

IPL 2023: DC vs MI | Axar’s attacking knock propels Delhi to 172 against Mumbai

Delhi Capitals batsman Axar Patel during the Indian Premier League 2023 match against Mumbai Indians in New Delhi on April 11, 2023. | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy David Warner laboured to his third fifty of the season before Axar Patel flaunted his much improved batting skills again to push Delhi Capitals to 172 allout against Mumbai Indians in the IPL in New Delh on April 11, 2023. Warner struck 51 off 47 balls before Axar's impactful 54 off 25 balls took Delhi to a competitive total after Mumbai Indians put the hosts in to bat. Veteran Piyush Chawla, who was commentating in the IPL last season after going unsold, showed he has still got his sublime skills in tact with a three-wicket haul for Mumbai Indians. Prithvi Shaw, who struggled in the first three games, hit some high quality bo...
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Ravindra Jadeja’s wish to make MS Dhoni’s 200th match as CSK captain memorable | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Chennai Super Kings and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are synonymous to each other as the talismanic player has been with the franchise since the inception of the IPL in 2008. However, CSK were suspended for two years due to the involvement of their officials in illegal activities.Leading the team from the inaugural season, Dhoni is now standing on the cusp of captaining CSK for the record 200th time when they take on Rajasthan Royals at Chepauk on Wednesday.IPL 2023 Schedule | IPL 2023 Points TableAll-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is hoping for the team's victory tomorrow to make Dhoni's 200th match as captain of CSK more memorable. Asked about his thoughts on this at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Jadeja said, "What can I say. He is a legend of not only CSK, he is a legend of ...
Sports

David Warner: WATCH: David Warner fancies right-handed batting on a free-hit delivery against Mumbai Indians | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Seasoned Australian opener David Warner on Tuesday grabbed eyeballs when he switched his stance to bat right-handed on a free-hit delivery during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.The incident took place in the eighth over of the match when the Delhi Capitals skipper was at the crease to face a free hit from young off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen.Shokeen overstepped the third ball of the over and Manish Pandey tapped the quicker delivery towards long-on to take a single bringing Warner on strike.And then the Delhi skipper came up with an unusual stance and batted right-handed but to his dismay he went for a big heave and mistimed it completely and the ball ultimately dropped around the mid-on region fetching just a single.Warne...
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Sanath Jayasuriya-led committee to probe Sri Lanka’s direct ODI World Cup qualification failure | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka's sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe appointed a technical committee headed by the legendary Sanath Jayasuriya to probe the reasons behind Sri Lanka's failure to win direct qualification for the ODI World Cup to be held in India later this year.The committee which was named last week comprises three other former national players. Sri Lanka twice finalists in addition to the 1996 win has played every World Cup since 1975. This will be the first time they will be playing in a qualifying round.Sri Lanka failed to directly qualify for the ICC ODI World Cup after their defeat to New Zealand in the third ODI at Hamilton last month."We will ask the coaching management the reasons for not winning the automatic qualification," Jayasuriya, a key player in Sri Lanka's only Worl...
Sports

From high jump to decathlon: Tejaswin Shankar wants to sit on the throne of games

“After the first day you are on your knees. At the end of the second day your face is literally on the floor. That is how exhausted you are,” high jump national champion Tejaswin Shankar says. Tejaswin Shankar. (File) The 24-year-old Commonwealth Games bronze medallist high jumper says he is gratified by his own pain and suffering as he describes how physically draining the decathlon can be. Ten events over two days. And a sleepless night in between with ceaselessly-churning thoughts on how to push the body through another day of five more events. “After a high jump competition, I would think about perfection. That (chasing perfection) would get into my head and that was really detrimental. I needed something to bring me to my knees and at the same time give me the feeling that I gave ...
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Manchester United to accept third round bids ahead of potential sale: Report | Football News – Times of India

Manchester United will accept a third round of bids from prospective buyers at the end of the month as the Premier League club's owners explore a sale, sports industry news site Sportico reported on Tuesday.Manchester United and Raine Group, the investment bank running the bidding process, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.United's American owners, the Glazer family, launched a formal sale process late last year, with several bids received in February and March.British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, founder of chemicals producer INEOS, Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the son of Qatar's former prime minister, and Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus are among the bidders for the club.Any sale would likely exceed the biggest sports deal so far, the $5.2 billion in...
Sports

IPL betting racket busted, 10 held

The Special Operations Team of Balanagar zone and Bachupally police jointly conducted a raid on Sai Anurag Colony of Bachupally on Tuesday and apprehended 10 bookies for allegedly running an online IPL cricket betting racket.Police seized laptops, mobile phones, line boards, televisions, two wheelers and ₹60.39 lakh cash and another ₹5.89 lakh in various bank accounts.A case under Sections 3 and 4 of the Telangana State Gaming Act has been registered against the accused.In view of the ongoing IPL, Cyberabad police have been keeping a strict vigil on illegal betting activities.Addressing the media on Tuesday, Cyberabad police officials said that these bookies would send a pop-up message on various betting apps, and as soon as the pop-up link is clicked, a whatsapp number is given through...
Sports

I hope to play with Messi next season at Barcelona: Lewandowski | Football News – Times of India

BARCELONA: Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski said he would love Lionel Messi to return to the Catalan club from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, speaking at a charity event on Tuesday.The 35-year-old Argentine World Cup winner left Barca in 2021 when the club could not afford to renew his contract and his PSG deal expires in June.Amid whistles from PSG supporters who see Messi as a symbol of the club's mistakes in chasing star signings instead of building a competitive team, Barcelona are openly courting the forward."Messi belongs to Barca and if he returns it would be something incredible," said Lewandowski."We know that his place is here, in Barcelona. I don't know what will happen, but I hope that next season we can play together."Messi is the club's all-time top goalscorer and ma...
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Suryakumar Yadav: ‘There’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel’: Ravi Shastri on struggling Suryakumar Yadav | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Suryakumar Yadav's unexpected lean run has been the biggest talking point with the batter's sudden dip of form surprising everyone. The Mumbai Indians dasher has so far managed just 15 and one in his two outings.Surya even created an unwanted record of becoming the first Indian batter to register three successive golden ducks in ODIs last month in the one-day series against Australia at home.IPL 2023 Schedule | IPL 2023 Points TableFormer India coach Ravi Shastri has come up with a piece of advice for the struggling Suryakumar saying he needs to spend more time at the crease early on in order to regain his lost touch."There's going to be light at the end of the tunnel, he's going to be seeing that very soon," Shastri told 'ESPNCricinfo' ahead of the match."And when he sees th...
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Wayne Parnell: Poor execution no cause for concern, says RCB’s Wayne Parnell – Times of India

BENGALURU: With 212 runs to defend and Lucknow Super Giants struggling at 23/3 at the end of four overs, Royal Challengers Bangalore were in with more than just a chance. Then came the storm in the form of scorching innings from Marcus Stoinis (65) and Nicholas Pooran (62) and RCB’s inability to close out wins was exposed yet again.During their one-wicket loss to Lucknow at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Monday, RCB became the first team in the Indian Premier League to score in excess of 200 runs and yet lose a match on five occasions. Adding to their misery, the Faf du Plessis-led team was fined for maintaining a slow over-rate and docked Rs 12 lakh.IPL 2023 SCHEDULE | IPL 2023 POINTS TABLEWhile RCB began well with the new ball, they lost the plot in the middle against LSG and it boiled ...
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Billie Jean King Cup: Ankita Raina guides India to 2-1 win over Thailand | Tennis News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Seasoned Ankita Raina fought hard in her singles and doubles matches to guide India to a 2-1 win over Thailand in the Asia/Oceania Group I competition of the Billie Jean King Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Tuesday.India lost the opening match after Rutuja Bhosale conceded 2-6, 1-6 to Luksika Kumkhum, leaving India trailing 0-1 in the Pool A contest.But the experienced Raina held her nerves as she registered a stunning come-from-behind 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 win against Peangtarn Plipuech to level the tie 1-1.In the decisive doubles, Raina and Bhosale rallied to beat the Thai pairing of Kumkhum and Plipuech 4-6, 6-3 6-2.Once the Indians broke their rivals in the opening game of the second set, they did not look back and closed the match with ease.India will take on hosts Uzbekistan on ...
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Spare a thought for the unfortunate, too: Ashwin

A teammate consoles Gujarat Titans’ Yash Dayal after the disastrous final over that cost them the match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Ahmedabad on Sunday. | Photo Credit: AP Yash Dayal went through some of the most challenging moments of his career when Rinku Singh hit him for five consecutive sixes to chase down 29 off the last over in the match between Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. But after the game, the left-arm seamer received much support from his teammates, opponents, and fans.That is something India’s premier off-spinner R. Ashwin wants to see more of, considering the game is tilted in favour of batters, especially in T20. Captain’s backing “The understanding of a bowler and what he needs has to come from inside the team management. It is improv...