Sports and Culture
Auckland, Jan 25: After securing a thumping six-wicket victory in the first T20I, Team India will look to continue with their winning run and extend the lead when they take on New Zealand in the second match of the ongoing five-match series at the Eden Park on Sunday.
Virat Kohli's men have won seven out of their last eight T20Is, and four on the trot. And another win in Auckland would present
New Delhi, Jan 25: BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly has lauded K.L. Rahul's work in the limited-overs format and wished the Karnataka batsman will continue the current form even in the longest format of the game.
The Indian team management had decided to hand Rahul the dual role of a 'keeper-batsman' in limited overs by dropping Pant from the playing XI in the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand.
New Delhi, Jan 25: Former India batsman V.V.S. Laxman on Saturday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who during his annual 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' event, reminded students of the famous 376-run partnership between Laxman and Rahul Dravid that helped India record an epic win against Australia at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2001.
"Thank you very much Narendra Modiji for sharin
Auckland, Jan 25: The Indian women's hockey team kick-started the first tour of their Olympic Year with a confident 4-0 victory over the New Zealand Development squad.
Arriving in Auckland on Thursday for the tour where they will play the hosts in four matches and Great Britain in one match, India played with an intent to win on Saturday.
Though it took them the entire first half to shake o
Auckland, Jan 24 (IANS) New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Friday said they were put under constant pressure by the Indian team during the first T20I which they lost by six wickets, adding the hosts need to improve in all areas in the next game.
After being put into bat, New Zealand posted a mammoth 204-run target for India at the Eden Park. However, that didn't prove to be enough as the v
Auckland, Jan 24 (IANS) After India registered a comprehensive six-wicket win over New Zealand in the first T20I, skipper Virat Kohli said that there was no talk of jetlag in the team and all they were focused upon was what the team needed to do in order to win.
Kohli had criticised the scheduling before the start of the series as the team had to fly from Bengaluru to Auckland the very next
Auckland, Jan 24 (IANS) It was another special display of batsmanship from young Shreyas Iyer as he continued from where he had left against Australia in Bengaluru to take India home in the opening T20I against New Zealand at Eden Park on Friday. The visitors led by Iyer's 58-run knock chased down New Zealand's total of 203 with six balls to spare.
It was only poetic justice that Iyer took Ind
Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS) Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Friday called for equal opportunities for daughters of the country on the occasion of National Girl Child Day.
"Daughters are our pride and the light in our lives. Let's nurture them with love and equal opportunities to follow their dreams," Tendulkar said in a tweet.
India observes the National Girl Child Day on January 24. It is cel
New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) Gursharan Singh, interim president of the Paralympic Committee of India, believes an unprecedented haul of 15 medals, five of them gold, is well within India's reach when they send their biggest ever contingent to a Paralympic Games at Tokyo 2020.
The 65-year-old's enthusiasm stems from the sterling display of the Indian Para athletes in the build-up to Tokyo that has
Mumbai, Jan 24 (IANS) The National Basketball Association (NBA) on Friday announced that five-time NBA Champion Ron Harper will visit India from January 25 to 30 as part of the league's continued efforts to grow the game of basketball in the country.
Harper will first stop in Mumbai on January 25, where he will engage with youth at the NBA Basketball School at the St. Stanislaus School.
On
Dubai, Jan 24 (IANS) India skipper Virat Kohli maintained his top spot in the ICC Test Rankings for batsmen which were updated on Friday. Cheteshwar Pujara has been able to retain his sixth position whereas Ajinkya Rahane moved up by a place and is currently at the eighth spot.
In the latest rankings update that also includes the Port Elizabeth Test, which England won by an innings and 53 runs
Lucknow, Jan 24 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday announced that all the athletes from the state, who will be winning gold medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games, will be rewarded with Rs 6 crore each.
Apart from this, those winning silver and bronze medals at the prestigious quadrennial event will be rewarded with Rs 4 and 2 crore, respectively. Besides, all the Uttar Pradesh athletes p
Auckland, Jan 24: The immensely talented Shreyas Iyer enhanced his reputation as a finisher with a scintillating 29-ball-58 in India's six-wicket victory over New Zealand in a high-scoring first T20 International here on Friday.
Iyer built on KL Rahul's (56 off 27 balls) blazing start and Virat Kohli's useful 45 off 32 balls as India made short work of a 204-run target, knocking it off with an
Christchurch, Jan 24: Krunal Pandya's quickfire 51 wasn't enough for India 'A' in the second unofficial ODI against New Zealand 'A' as they lost by 29 runs at the Hagley Oval on Friday.
Chasing 296, none of the India 'A' batters could get a big score and wasted their starts as the team managed 266 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their stipulated quota of 50 overs.
The home team rode o
Melbourne, Jan 24: India's Divij Sharan on Friday got knocked out of the ongoing Australian Open after he lost his second-round men's doubles match with New Zealand partner Artem Sitak.
Sharan and Sitak lost 7-6 (6-2), 6-3 to Brazil's Bruno Soares and Mate Pavic of Croatia in a match that lasted one hour and 17 minutes. The duo had entered the second round after defeating Pablo Carreno Busta a
Imphal, Jan 23 (IANS) Mohun Bagan registered an emphatic 3-0 victory away from home against Neroca FC at the Khuman Lampak Stadium on Thursday to extend their lead at the top of the table to six points in an I-League encounter.
Nongdamba Naorem broke the deadlock in the 27th minute before creating the second goal for Papa Diawara in the 53rd minute.
Substitute Komron Tursunov added the thir
Ranchi, Jan 23 (IANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and former India captain M.S. Dhoni have inaugurated new facilities at the Jharkhand Cricket Association Stadium (JSCA).
On Wednesday evening, Dhoni and Soren inaugurated the solar power system, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, C3 Fitness Club, and The Uptown Cafe at the JSCA complex.
Both of them tried out some dishes at the new rest
Dubai, Jan 23 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday confirmed the qualification process for the additional ICC Mens T20 World Cup that will take place in 2021 in India.
The 16-team T20 World Cup 2021, which replaces a previously scheduled eight-team ICC Champions Trophy, will see 11 regional qualification events take place across the five ICC regions (Africa, Americas, Asi
Mumbai, Jan 23 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals have appointed former Australian fast bowler Rob Cassell as their new fast bowling coach for the upcoming 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Steffan Jones, who worked with the Royals in the fast bowling coaching capacity for the 2019 IPL edition, will continue to work with the franchise, but now as a development coach during the off-season.
Gondomar (Portugal), Jan 23 (IANS) The Indian men and women table tennis teams are just one win away from securing their maiden Olympics qualification after they recorded victories against Luxembourg and Sweden respectively in the Team Qualifier on Thursday.
A quarterfinal finish will ensure qualification for the Tokyo Olympics. India has never made it as a team in Olympic history.
It was S
Lahore, Jan 23 (IANS) Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has termed Virat Kohli as a "fantastic player" without a doubt, but believes the Indian skipper is "lucky" as he gets full support from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"He (Virat Kohli) is a fantastic player and there is no doubt about it. However, he is lucky as the BCCI supports him well and instills the confide
Auckland, Jan 23 (IANS) Determined to further cement his place as India's limited overs No.4 batsman, Shreyas Iyer will look to be among runs in New Zealand and underline his adaptability away from home and in tough conditions.
On the eve of India's first T20I, the 25-year old was a picture of concentration as he posted a picture of him batting at the nets with the caption: "Focussed".
Iyer
Mumbai, Jan 23 (IANS) India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur on Thursday echoed head coach W.V Raman in saying that handling pressure would be the key as they look to win the Women's T20 World Cup in Australia, a feat they came close to but could not achieve in the last two global showpieces.
India made a semi-final exit from the last T20 World Cup and in the previous ODI World Cup, they had finished
Auckland, Jan 23 (IANS) Buoyed by their emphatic series win over Australia, Team India will now go ahead with their T20 World Cup preparations when they face New Zealand in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Eden Park on Friday.
India's World Cup dreams ended agonisingly at the hands of the Kiwis in the semi-final last July where they suffered a crushing defeat in Manchester. With
Melbourne, Jan 23 (IANS) Indian tennis star Sania Mirza's campaign at the Australian Open came to an abrupt end on Thursday after she retired mid-way into her women's doubles first-round match with an injury.
Mirza and her Ukranian partner Nadiia Kichenok were trailing 0-1 in the second set against the Chinese pair of Xinyun Han and Lin Zhu when the Indian was forced to retire due to a calf in
Lausanne, Jan 23: World Archery conditionally lifted the suspension of the Archery Association of India (AAI) following elections that were held in New Delhi last week.
The AAI had been suspended since August 5, 2019, with Indian athletes only allowed to compete under a neutral flag at events that directly affected their qualification chances for the Olympics.
With the uplifting of the susp
Bloemfontein (South Africa), Jan 23: Already through to the quarterfinals after two resounding wins on the trot, defending champions India will be keen to maintain their unbeaten run when they face New Zealand in the final Group A tie of the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Friday.
India, who are atop their group with four points, had cruised to a 90-run victory over Sri Lanka in their opening enco
New Delhi, Jan 23: 15-year-old Shafali Verma has been the talk of the town for her extra-ordinary run of form since making her international debut in 2019. The senior members of the Indian women's team though are not too surprised by the teen prodigy's showing so far at the international level.
Currently a top draw around the world, India's T20I vice-captain and batting mainstay Smriti Mandhan
Melbourne, Jan 23: Indian tennis star Sania Mirza's campaign at the Australian Open came to an abrupt end on Thursday after she retired mid-way into her women's doubles first-round match with an injury.
Mirza and her Ukranian partner Nadiia Kichenok were trailing 0-1 in the second set against the Chinese pair of Xinyun Han and Lin Zhu when the Indian was forced to retire due to a calf injury.
Auckland: India captain Virat Kohli has said that as a leader of his team, his focus is to take the team forward and not worry too much about the results as they don't always determine the leadership qualities of a person.
Team India is currently in New Zealand where they would be kicking off the tour with the five-match T20I series beginning Friday at the Eden Park.
"One thing that I have
New Delhi: Shoaib Akhtar has dismissed Virender Sehwag's claim that the former Pakistani speedster lavishes praise on the Indian team because "it makes business".
In a video posted on his official Youtube channel, Akhtar said that he has more money than Sehwag's hair on his head.
"I have more maal (money) than you have baal (hair) on your head. If you are not able to fathom that I have such
Bangkok, Jan 22 (IANS) India had a disappointing opening day at the Thailand Masters as all four shuttlers participating from the country bowed out of the competition after facing defeats in their respective first round matches on Wednesday.
In men's singles, Kidambi Srikanth, Sameer Verma and H.S. Prannoy faced crushing defeats in their opening rounds, while Saina Nehwal, India's lone contend
New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) England batter Tom Banton is one of the most exciting stars in the T20 circuit but former England captain Michael Vaughan has asked the England Cricket Board (ECB) to withdraw him from the upcoming IPL season.
Vaughan wants the youngster to play in the County Championship and make a claim for England's Test team.
Banto was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) f
Melbourne, Jan 22 (IANS) India's Divij Sharan on Wednesday advanced to the second round of men's doubles event at the Australian Open after beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa along with his New Zealand partner Artem Sitak, but Rohan Boppanna was knocked out.
Divij and Sitak needed an hour and 28 minutes to win the first-round match 6-4, 7-5 against their lower-ranked opponents. The pai
Lincoln (New Zealand), Jan 22 (IANS) A day after replacing Shikhar Dhawan in the ODI squad, opener Prithvi Shaw starred with the bat as India 'A' won by five wickets against New Zealand 'A' in the first unofficial ODI on Wednesday.
India's U-19 World Cup winning captain Shaw slammed 48 off 35 deliveries to lay the foundation for the visitors' chase at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval.
Wicket-keeper
Mumbai, Jan 22 (IANS) Power, the sports and performance brand by Bata, along with Smriti Mandhana, BCCIs Best Women's International Cricketer and the face of Power, launched their all new fitness collection for 2020. The launch was announced in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Smriti Mandhana has been the face of Power since 2018 and has been on a quest to promote fitness as a lifestyle. Speaking on her a
Guwahati, Jan 22 (IANS) India's first Dronacharya Award winner in weightlifting Pal Singh Sandhu is expecting Mirabai Chanu to end up with a podium finish at the Tokyo Olympics slated to be held later this year.
"The future of weightlifting in India is very bright. We have Mirabai Chanu, who is a world champion and with the grace of God, she will be on the podium in the 2020 Olympics," said Sa
New Delhi, Jan 22 (IANS) Bengalurus Yash Aradhya on Wednesday became the first Indian motorsports star to win the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar Award. Yash received the award at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from President Ram Nath Kovind.
The 17-year-old, who has been scorching race tracks ever since he turned nine, has 13 Championship wins, including over 65 podium
Sydney, Jan 22 (IANS) Steve Smith believes promising wicket-keeper batsman Josh Philippe has the potential to represent Australia in all three formats.
"There's no reason why he can't play all three forms for Australia," Smith was quoted as saying by www.cricket.com.au.
Smith and Philippe will play together for the Sydney Sixers on Thursday night in the Big Bash League (BBL).
"He's got a
Melbourne, Jan 22: India's Divij Sharan advanced to the second round of men's doubles event at the Australian Open after beating Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa along with his New Zealand partner Artem Sitak.
Divij and Sitak needed an hour and 28 minutes to win the first-round match 6-4, 7-5 against their lower-ranked opponents. The pair won 69 per cent 1st serve points and hit 27 winners t
Dubai: Indian batswoman Jemimah Rodrigues has said that the team will have a good match practice in the tri-nation series for the T20 World Cup scheduled to be played next month.
India will be travelling early to Australia to play a tri-nation series along with the host nation and England before the main event.
"I think it's (preparations) going pretty well. We have got a good couple of ma
Kolkata, Jan 21 (IANS) East Bengal's Spanish head coach Alejandro Menendez on Tuesday stepped down from his post after a spate of poor results saw the club languish at seventh place in the I-League table.
Speaking to IANS, club secretary Kalyan Majumdar said it was too early to decide on who would take over after Menedez.
With 13 matches of the I-League still remaining, Majumdar said: "At p
Singapore, Jan 21 (IANS) Indian wrestling sensation Ritu Phogat will aim to go for her second win in a row in her budding mixed martial arts career when she locks horns with Chinas Pro MMA fighter Wu Chiao Chen at ONE Championship (ONE) here on February 28.
Phogat, who belongs to India's most famous wrestling family, sizzled in her debut late last year when she beat Nam Hee Kim in the first ro
New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) Senior India pacer Ishant Sharma is all but out of the Test series against New Zealand after he suffered a Grade 3 tear on his right ankle while playing for Delhi in their Ranji Trophy encounter against Vidarbha at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The official statement from the BCCI is awaited.
Speaking to IANS, DDCA director Sanjay Bhardwaj said that the pacer was all but o
Guwahati, Jan 21 (IANS) Princepal Singh's break from his tough regimen at the NBA Global Academy in Canberra couldnt have come at a better time. He was relaxing at home, getting ready to prepare for his examinations, when the call from the Punjab coach came.
"Do you want to be part of the team for the Khelo India Youth Games?" India's brightest prospect in basketball, towering at 6 feet 10 inc
Auckland, Jan 21 (IANS) New Zealand will be heavily dependent on experienced Tim Southee along with spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi for the World T20 but two other pacers -- Trent Boult (hand injury) and Lockie Ferguson (calf injury) are also eyeing to make a comeback for the showpiece event. Kiwi star batter Ross Taylor feels the upcoming series with India will be a perfect platform for
Bangkok, Jan 21 (IANS) Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth aim to put up a good show when they begin their campaign at the BWF Thailand Masters Super 300 tournament here on Wednesday.
Saina and Srikanth are placed at the 22nd and 23rd spots in BWF's rankings as April 26 has been set as the deadline date for Tokyo Olympics qualification.
As per BWF Olympics qualification r
Melbourne, Jan 21 (IANS) Following her first round defeat at the Australian Open 2020, former champion Maria Sharapova has admitted that she doesn't know if she will be back at the Rod Laver Arena next year.
Sharapova crashed out of the year's first grand slam after she faced a crushing defeat against Croatian star Donna Vekic in her opening round contest on Tuesday. Vekic beat Sharapova 6-3 6
Auckland, Jan 21 (IANS) New Zealand will be heavily dependent on experienced Tim Southee along with spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi for the World T20 but two other pacers -- Trent Boult (hand injury) and Lockie Ferguson (calf injury) are also eyeing to make a comeback for the showpiece event. Kiwi star batter Ross Taylor feels the upcoming series with India will be a perfect platform for
Paris, Jan 21 (IANS) Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) striker Kylian Mbappe feels English side Liverpool are "a machine" and he is 100 per cent happy in the French capital as he continues to be linked with Real Madrid.
"What Liverpool do in this moment is amazing," Mbappe was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
"They're like a machine, they've found a rhythm and are like 'we play again, we play again'.
Brisbane, Jan 21 (IANS) Former Australia captain Steve Smith believes Marnus Labuschagne is capable enough to play in all formats of the game.
"I certainly don't see why not," Smith was quoted as saying by www.cricket.com.au after the duo returned from their India tour where they lost the ODI series 1-2.
"We saw how he grew in Test cricket over the summer, the way he played and in his first
Innsbruck (Austria) Jan 21 (IANS) Ace Indian shooters Apurvi Chandela and Divyansh Singh Panwar clinched gold at the ongoing Meyton Cup international shooting championship in Austria. Apurvi won the gold in womens 10m air rifle with a final score of 251.4. Anjum Moudgil had to settle for bronze in the same event with a final score of 229.
In men's 10m air rifle, Divyansh bagged the top honours
Innsbruck (Austria) Jan 21: Ace Indian shooters Apurvi Chandela and Divyansh Singh Panwar clinched gold at the ongoing Meyton Cup international shooting championship in Austria. Apurvi won the gold in womens 10m air rifle with a final score of 251.4. Anjum Moudgil had to settle for bronze in the same event with a final score of 229.
In men's 10m air rifle, Divyansh bagged the top honours with
New Delhi, Jan 21: Team India might have left for New Zealand after the end of the three-match ODI series against Australia, but assistant trainer Yogesh Parmar has stayed back in Bengaluru and will be working closely with the trio of Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan. While Pandya will complete his rehab after undergoing back surgery, Bhuvneshwar underwent surgery for sports h
New Delhi, Jan 21: Indian opener Rohit Sharma was at his witty best as he trolled his team-mate Yuzvendra Chahal after the leg-spinner's shirtless picture was compared to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson on social media.
Following India's emphatic ODI series win over Australia, the 32-year-old star Indian opener tweeted a photo of Johnson along with a shirtless picture of Chahal and wrote: "Best pict
Melbourne, Jan 21: India's top-ranked tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran bowed out of the Australian Open after losing to Japan's Tatsuma Ito in the first round on Tuesday.
Prajnesh, who had entered the main draw of the men's singles event as a lucky loser in the qualifiers, fought for two hours as rain played spoilsport before he went down 4-6, 2-6, 5-7 at Rod Laver Arena.
The match was ea
New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS) Ishant Sharma picked three wickets as Vidarbha were dismissed for 179 runs while Uttar Pradesh reached 281/4 against Mumbai on the first day of the sixth round of Ranji Trophy matches on Sunday.
While Ishant ended with figures of 3/45, Simarjeet Singh returned with 4/39 but Delhi had a difficult time with the bat themselves later in the day. They lost four wickets betw
Bengaluru, Jan 19 (IANS) India vice-captain Rohit Sharma became the third fastest batsman to reach 9,000 ODI runs during the series deciding third and final game against Australia here on Sunday.
Rohit needed four runs to get to the landmark and the senior India opener got to it in the final ball of the first over of India's innings to sit behind skipper Virat Kohli and South Africa's AB de Vi
Munich, Jan 19 (IANS) Rising star Erling Haaland continued to impress with a hat trick on his Borussia Dortmund debut, as the team won 5-3 over Augsburg on Saturday in a remarkable comeback result.
The 19-year-old came on for Lukasz Piszczek on 56 minutes with Dortmund 3-1 down and had cut down the deficit three minutes later.
On 61 minutes, Jadon Sancho levelled for the German Bundesliga s
Melbourne, Jan 19 (IANS) Former Australia speedster Brett Lee has slammed ICC's decision to suspend South Africa quick Kagiso Rabada for one Test due to his overflow of emotions while celebrating a wicket, saying its "ridiculous".
"I understand that cricket needs to be played in the spirit of the game but to ban @KagisoRabada25 for a test match for over celebrating to me is ridiculous. I also
Mumbai, Jan 19 (IANS) South African fielding great Jonty Rhodes finally got to watch the Ranveer Singh starrer "Gully Boy", which made him laugh, cry and gave him goosebumps.
Rhodes tweeted on January 17 that ever since he met actor Siddhant Chaturvedi, he had been listening to the film's soundtrack.
"Been listening to the #GullyBoy soundtrack ever since meeting @SiddhantChturvD last year a
Guwahati, Jan 19 (IANS) West Bengal swimmer Swadesh Mondal has had a successful Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati with a gold each in the 100m Breast Stroke and 400m Medley in the U-21 category.
Mondal, who clinched gold at the Asian Pacific Youth Games last year, is aiming to take part in the 2024 Olympics.
"I am aiming for the 2024 Olympics. Hopefully, I will do well in the trials and b
Guwahati, Jan 19 (IANS) Harshada Nithave's parents set up a small canteen in a college in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, with the sole aim of giving her a good education.
But Harshada fell in love with shooting, ringing alarm bell, at first, in the household. Her father was worried about the expensive nature of the sport and tried to dissuade her.
The cheeky lass, however, quietly practiced and w
Lincoln (New Zealand), Jan 19 (IANS) Prithvi Shaw brightened his chances to enter the Indian Test squad after slamming a magnificent 150 against New Zealand here on Sunday.
The promising youngster's crucial knock guided India to post a massive 372 in the second one-day warm up game against the Kiwis.
Opening for his side, Shaw took India to a flying start with Mayank Agarwal (32) as they ad
Rome, Jan 19 (IANS) Ace India grapplers Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya have won gold at the Rome Ranking Series. Bajrang beat American Jordan Oliver 4-3 in the final, while, Dahiya, fighting in 61 kg instead of his usual 57 kg category, also bagged the yellow metal after beating Kazakhstan's Nurbolat Abdualiyev 6-0.
Dahiya beat Moldova's Alexandru Chirtoaca in the first round and Kazakhstan's N
Mumbai, Jan 19: South African fielding great Jonty Rhodes finally got to watch the Ranveer Singh starrer "Gully Boy", which made him laugh, cry and gave him goosebumps.
Rhodes tweeted on January 17 that ever since he met actor Siddhant Chaturvedi, he had been listening to the film's soundtrack.
"Been listening to the #GullyBoy soundtrack ever since meeting @SiddhantChturvD last year at an e
Lincoln (New Zealand), Jan 19: Prithvi Shaw brightened his chances to enter the Indian Test squad after slamming a magnificent 150 against New Zealand here on Sunday.
The promising youngster's crucial knock guided India to post a massive 372 in the second one-day warm up game against the Kiwis.
Opening for his side, Shaw took India to a flying start with Mayank Agarwal (32) as they added 89