Sports

Zidane returns, Real win

Madrid, Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Zinedine Zidane’s return to the dugout, less than 10 months after he resigned as coach. Isco and Gareth Bale, whose future at the club is very much up in the air, scored second half goals against a rival who travelled to Madrid already in the relegation zone and never looked like getting anything from the match. Much of the day’s interest was in Zidane’s ..

Praneeth finishes second best

India’s Sai Praneeth lost to world No 2 Shi Yuqi of China in the men’s singles final of the Swiss Open badminton tournament, here on Sunday. The world No 22 lost to the top seed Yuqi 21-19, 18-21, 12-21 to settle for the silver. The match lasted for 68 minutes. The Indian started well but failed to keep the momentum going in the second half of the final. Praneeth had a golden chance to bag his first title in two years and especially after the kind of form he was in throughout ..

Thiem meets Federer in final

Indian Wells (US), Austria's Dominic Thiem defeated Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4 on Saturday to book a title clash with five-time champion Roger Federer at the ATP Indian Wells Masters. Thiem, ranked eighth in the world, withstood 17 aces from the rangy Canadian, gaining the only break of the contest in the third set. He’ll fight for a maiden Masters 1000 title against Swiss great Federer. Federer, seeking a record sixth Indian Wells crown, reached the ..

BCCI aghast at Star’s ad request

THE Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has received a request from host broadcasters Star wherein they want to show political advertisements during the 12th edition of Indian Premier League, starting May 23...

Real era under Zidane begins

Zinedine Zidane has promised change at Real Madrid this summer and the last 11 games of the season will give an indication as to who will be part of his new era. Zidane’s first match since being reappointed as coach comes against Celta Vigo on Saturday, with Madrid lying in no-man’s land in La Liga, 12 points behind Barcelona in first and 10 ahead of Alaves in fifth...

I won’t bowl to Kohli: Warne

NEW DELHI, (IANS), THE debate on whether India skipper Virat Kohli is as good or better than the legendary Sachin Tendulkar shall not die down any time soon. But former Australia leg-spinner and current Rajasthan Royals brand ambas..

Terror overshadows cricket again

CHRISTCHURCH, (PTI) Bangladesh cricketers escape shooting attack in NZ mosque THE Bangladesh cricket team escaped unhurt despite being in close vicinity of a shooting attack on a mosque here but its ongoing tour of New Zealand was ..

SC sets aside BCCI’s life ban on Sreesanth in spot-fixing case

NEW DELHI, (PTI) THE Supreme Court on Friday quashed the life ban imposed by the BCCI on cricketer S Sreesanth for his alleged involvement in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal and asked the apex cricket body to re-consider within three..

Messi docks Barca into QF

Barcelona, FC Barcelona recorded a 5-1 victory on aggregate over Lyon in the Champions League round-of-16 action. After settling for a scoreless draw in last month's first leg, Barcelona clinched a quarter-final berth in Europe's premier club competition with a 5-1 win in front of their home fans at Camp Nou on Wednesday night. The Catalans were locked in from the outset against the Ligue 1 side and got on the scoreboard in the 18th minute after Jason Denayer was ..

Mane, Dijk usher Liverpool into quarter-final groove

Munich, Sadio Mane had a brace as Liverpool defeated Bayern Munich 3-1 to claim a berth in the Champions League quarterfinals. The Reds, who lost last year's final to Real Madrid, became the fourth English side to reach the last eight in the 2018-2019 edition of Europe's elite club competition, joining Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, reports Efe news. Germany, meanwhile, will be without any representation in the quarterfinals, as Borussia ..

Federer, Nadal in QF

Los Angeles, Swiss Roger Federer, a five times Indian Wells champion, has qualified for the quarterfinals of the Indian Wells tournament, the first Masters 1000 of the season, by defeating the UK's Kyle Edmund 6-1 and 6-4 in 64 minutes. Federer, current world number four, disarmed his opponent from the beginning and took the first five games on Wednesday. The Briton improved in the second set, but in the fifth game could not avoid a key break that led to victory for the ..

Amla to miss ODIs on compassionate grounds

VETERAN batsman Hashim Amla has pulled out of the South African One-Day International squad to play Sri Lanka for family reasons, granting a reprieve for opener Reeza Hendricks who had been dropped for the final two matches of the series. “Hashim has asked to be excused from the last two ODIs of the current series on compassionate grounds since his father is critically ill,” Proteas team manager Mohammed Moosajee confirmed in a statement on Tuesday. Hendricks played ..

Oz confident of moving with this squad to WC: Carey

NEW DELHI,EMBOLDENED by Australia’s remarkable turnaround in the ODI series against India, vice-captain Alex Carey Tuesday said they are “really confident” of entering the ICC World Cup with a squad good enough to play like defending champions. The five-match series is poised at 2-2, thanks to Australia’s back-to-back wins after staring down the barrel at one stage. “As a player in the Australian cricket side we have been working hard in the last 12-18 months. Some success ..

Wagner demolishes Bangladesh, Kiwis wrap up series

WELLINGTON,SHORT-BALL specialist Neil Wagner engineered an innings victory over Bangladesh in what New Zealand called “an ideal two days” in the rain-shortened second Test to wrap up the series with a game to spare. After the first two days were washed out, the match finished in the first session of the final day in Wellington as New Zealand completed a fifth consecutive series win for the first time. In the face of Wagner’s relentless bouncer barrage, Bangladesh were ..

TURNER TURNS IT ON

MOHALI, (PTI),UNHERALDED Ashton Turner took an experienced Indian attack to the cleaners with some unbelievable hitting, helping Australia chase down a record breaking target of 359 runs and level the five-match series here Sunday.It was t..

Result definitely possible: Wagner

WELLINGTON, (AFP),NEW Zealand short-ball maestro Neil Wagner believed a result in the rain-affected second Test against Bangladesh was still “definitely possible” after New Zealand trailed by 173 at stumps on Day Three in Welling..

Djokovic, Prajnesh rise; Kyrgios falls

Indian Wells (US),(AFP),Novak Djokovic shook off some rust and US qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo Saturday, opening his ATP Indian Wells Masters campaign with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory. The second-round clash was the world number one's first match s..