KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi predicted that Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar will have to wait until after the World Cup to reach the milestone of scoring 100 international centuries. “Sachin will have to wait until after the World Cup for his 100th international century because we are not going to allow either him or …
DHAKA: Captain Graeme Smith prepared himself for verbal “daggers and swords” to be directed at his South African squad after an all too familiar defeat in the World Cup knockout stage on Friday. Smith’s eight-year tenure as limited-overs captain ended in ignominy with a 49-run quarterfinal loss to New Zealand in a match his side …
COLOMBO: Muttiah Muralitharan has recovered from a hamstring injury and is fit to play for Sri Lanka in Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal against England. “Murli is fine to play,” captain Kumar Sangakkara said Friday. “He is 100 percent OK, which is great for us.” Muralitharan, the leading wicket-taker in both test matches and ODIs, pulled …
DHAKA: New Zealand produced an inspired fielding and bowling performance to extend South Africa’s horror run in World Cup knockout matches with a 49-run upset win in Friday’s quarterfinal. South Africa appeared to be coasting at 108-2 in the 24th over after restricting New Zealand to 221 for eight, but crumbled to 172 all out. …
NEW DELHI: Riding on her Swiss Open triumph, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has regained the number three place in the latest world ranking. Saina, who missed a couple of tournaments early in the year because of a nagging ligament injury and then suffered early exits from the Korean Open and the All England Championships, …
DHAKA South Africa ensured top place in Group B and sent Bangladesh to the brink of World Cup elimination with a 206-run win on Saturday. South Africa’s win means India and England are also assured of quarterfinal places. West Indies can advance if its avoids a heavily lopsided defeat to India at Chennai on Sunday. …
COLOMBO: He has had some of the most memorable on-field battles with Sachin Tendulkar but maverick speedster Shoaib Akhtar claims he was never scared to bowl at the legendary batsman. Instead, it was dashing Australian ‘keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist and West Indian legend Brian Lara who “scared the hell” out of him during his 14-year international …
COLOMBO: Australian captain Ricky Ponting today hailed retiring Pakistani tearaway pacer Shoaib Akhtar as an outstanding cricketer and the fastest bowler he has ever faced. “Congratulations to him for being an outstanding cricketer,” Ponting said of Akhtar who yesterday announced his retirement from international cricket after the ongoing World Cup. “I had some great duels …
Akhtar fastest bowler I have ever faced: Ponting Read More »
CHENNAI: Italian football managers, despite mostly possessing a versatile back-line, have perennially been rankled by this query, “Where do we get the goals from?” Similarly, India would be wondering where they would get the wickets, as the knockout phase looms. Wickets can have therapeutic qualities for strike bowlers, but it works the opposite way, too, …
NEW DELHI: Muttiah Muralitharan made his mark on the last World Cup he’ll ever contest, ignoring a painful hamstring strain and advancing age to take four wickets in a 112-run win over New Zealand on Friday that guaranteed Sri Lanka will finish second in Group A. A month out from his 39th birthday, Muralitharan hurt …
