Puneri Paltans defeated Jaipur Pink Panthers 29-25 to register their first win in home-leg of the Pro Kabaddi League here on Friday.

Pune’s defence led by Ravi Kumar, who picked six crucial points in tackles, was the major difference between the two sides in front of a packed home crowd.

Pune rode on 18 tackle points to ensure they remain on top of the table in Zone A.

It was Jaipur’s second defeat of the season as they remain at the bottom of Zone A points table.

Jaipur started with a 3-1 lead in the first three minutes as their defence started off swiftly.

Akshay Jadhav made a two-point raid in the sixth minute as Puneri Paltan tied the match at 4-4. Both teams traded tackle and raid points in the next couple of minutes as it was 6-5 in Jaipur’s favour after nine minutes.

Jaipur led 10-5 after 14 minutes and it was then that Pune started their flurry of super tackles.

It was an evenly contested first-half where defenders played a bigger role than raiders. Puneri Paltan forced three super tackles in the first-half.

It was surprising for the gallery that in the first-half, Nitin Tomar couldn’t score a single raid. At the end of the first-half, it was 13-12 in the favour of Pune.

Pune forced another super tackle in the 22nd minute to lead 15-13. The fifth super tackle for Puneri Paltan came in the 25th minute as they led 17-15.

Nitin Tomar’s first point came in the form of a tackle, with Puneri Paltan leading 20-15 after 32 minutes. Two minutes later, Jaipur trailed 18-21 as they sent Tomar to the bench again.

Pune equalled the record of most super tackles in a match in the 35th minute to lead 23-18.

Deepak Hooda scored two crucial raid points as Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted the first all-out of the match in 38th minute as they cut the lead to just one point.

The host had their defence to thank for as they managed to pick important tackle points throughout the match.

After losing their first home game on Thursday, Pune finally carved out a win, thanks to their superb defenders.

Ians

Mumbai City FC registered their first win of the current Indian Super League (ISL) season and it came at the expense of their Maharashtra rivals FC Pune City at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Friday.

A maiden goal in Mumbai colours for Modou Sougou (25th minute) and a penalty from Rafael Bastos (45th) sealed Mumbai’s 2-0 win, their first at home in four attempts in the Maharashtra derby.

After a fairly uneventful start, Mumbai drew first blood through Sougou. The Senegalese forward made no error with an emphatic finish from close range after Paulo Machado’s cross had rebounded off the crossbar.

At the other end, Emiliano Alfaro was starting to look threatening for Pune and the Uruguayan vociferously appealed for a penalty after going down under Subhashish Bose’s challenge, to no avail.

However, a spot-kick would be awarded at the other end eventually in the dying minutes of the first session. A scrappy phase of play found Mumbai’s attackers with a numerical advantage over Pune’s defenders. Bastos attempted to set Sougou through on goal but the Senegalese was brought down by a challenge from behind from Chhuantea Fanai.

The referee had no hesitation in blowing his whistle for a penalty. Bastos stepped up for the penalty and made no mistake from the spot, sending Vishal Kaith the wrong way.

Pune came out with some much-needed urgency after the break. However, it were the hosts who should have extended their lead around the hour mark when Machado surged forward on a mesmerising run. The Portuguese’s attempt after cutting in from the left flew inches wide off the target.

Miguel Angel Portugal threw on Marcelinho as he sought to get his side back into the game and the Brazilian almost made an instant impact with a snapshot from the edge of the area where Amrinder Singh was alert enough.

Alfaro almost reduced the deficit in the 65th minute with a sharp turn and shot in the 65th minute following a cross from Golui. But his effort agonisingly scraped the crossbar before going out of play.

Jorge Costa shored up the hosts’ defence as they looked to protect their two-goal lead with Pune’s attackers being thwarted repeatedly despite coming forward in numbers.

There would be another spot-kick awarded in added time, once again to the hosts. A quick breakaway saw Arnold Sissoko skip past the Pune defence before he was hacked down in the box by Gurtej Singh. Lucian Goian stepped up to take the penalty but his effort was saved well by Kaith who guessed the right way.

Hot favourites India will look to start their preparation for next year’s 50-over World Cup in style and iron out the weaknesses in the side when they take on lowly West Indies in the five-match ODI series starting here on Sunday.

India will play 18-odd One-Day Internationals (ODI) before the World Cup in England.

Among the issues they would want to address, India’s middle order is a problem especially the number four position where many have been tried but with little success.

Explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is expected to make his ODI debut, following his exploits in tests.

The 21-year-old Pant, who cracked a ton at the Oval in his debut series against England, continued his rich form with consecutive scores of 92 against the West Indies in the two-match Test series.

This series will also see skipper Virat Kohli making the return to the fold after taking a break during the Asia Cup which India won.

Former captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will once again be under the pump as he has time and again struggled to replicate his old form.

Dhoni was far from his best in the Asia Cup, scoring 77 runs in four innings with an average of 19.25 and a strike rate of 62.09.

With Pant now also making the team regularly, Dhoni will be under more pressure to perform.

India have struggled to find a proper No.4 batsman and this will also present an opportunity to Ambati Rayudu, who is expected to bat at the position, to stake a claim in the side more regularly.

Rayudu and will look to carry forward his fine form of Asia Cup where he scored 175 runs, averaging 43.75 from six innings.

India will also have the services of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the lower-order and in the absence of injured Hardik Pandya, he will have to step-up.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will once again be expected to wreak havoc with their spin while fast bowlers Mohammad Shami and an in-form Umesh Yadav will share the workload in the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, who have been rested for the first two ODIs.

The tourists are expected to put up a better show in white ball cricket unlike the Tests.

But the withdrawal of big-hitting opener Evin Lewis from the ODI series citing personal reasons is a body for the side which is already missing Chris Gayle and Andre Russell.

To make matters worse, coach Stuart Law, who is into his penultimate assignment with the team, will not be allowed in the dressing room in the first two ODIs due to a breach of ICC’s code of conduct.

West Indies will bank on veteran Marlon Samuels, captain and all-rounder Jason Holder and pacer Kemar Roach.

The squad features three uncapped players — opener Chandrapaul Hemraj, all-rounder Fabian Allen and pacer Oshane Thomas.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Lokesh Rahul, Umesh Yadav.

West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Fabian Allen, Sunil Ambris, Devendra Bishoo, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Kieran Powell, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Oshane Thomas and Obed McCoy.

IANS

Kidambi Srikanth thrashed Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus of Denmark in the opening round to advance in the Denmark Open here late on Tuesday night.

Srikanth defeated Vittinghus 21-16, 21-10 in a match which lasted 35 minutes.

India’s campaign in men’s doubles and mixed doubles ended as the men’s pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy and the mixed pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa went down in their respective matches.

The Indian duo went down to Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen paring in a marathon men’s doubles match while Ashwini and Satwik went down to Seo Eo Seung Jae and Chae Yujung of South Korea.

Earlier on Tuesday, Star shuttler Saina Nehwal survived a scare before progressing to the second round while Rio silver medallist P.V. Sindhu crashed out after being stunned by unseeded American Beiwen Zhang in the opening round of the women’s singles event.

IANS

Going forward, chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav will become India’s primary spin weapon, feels veteran bowler-turned-cricket commentator Harbhajan Singh.

“Kuldeep has shown glimpses of what he can do on a first-day wicket. He is slower in the air and gets the ball to turn both ways. Going forward, he should be India’s key and deciding factor. He will be the No.1 spinner in future,” Harbhajan told IANS in an interview.

Kuldeep was the second-highest wicket-taker against the West Indies in the just-concluded two-match series, picking up 10 wickets. Earlier, Kuldeep played just the second Test in England and was wicketless, bowling nine overs and leaking 44 runs. India lost by an innings and 159 runs.

Harbhajan, a lethal and celebrated off-spinner in his time who was part of India’s World Cup-winning team, did not want to read too much into that performance.

“In England, the conditions were seaming and the day he bowled, it was the coldest day in summer. So, for a wrist spinner, it is very difficult. He could not do the things he wanted. He has time and again proved his credentials and the team depends a lot on him and will in the future,” said Harbhajan, who was commentating during the England tour and watched Kuldeep from close quarters.

Asked about the two-Test series sweep against the West Indies, Harbhajan said the visitors were no side to beat at the moment, adding that this Indian team has in it to win the upcoming Test series Down Under. With Steve Smith and David Warner unavailable, this is their best chance.

“The result shows that this was a one-sided affair. More than how well India played, the West Indies was not even competing,” said Harbhajan, who has 417 Test wickets in 103 matches.

“They have always produced some match winners, but at the moment I doubt whether they have any. This is worrying for cricket. Sri Lanka is going down, so is Zimbabwe. All these teams used to be so good,” said the most successful off-spinner the country has produced.

India will play four tests starting December 6 in Adelaide.

“If we bat well there, we have got the bowling to get them out. Without Smith and Warner, this is our best chance to win a series there,” Harbhajan opined.

Lauding 18-year-old sensation Prithvi Shaw, who ended the series as the highest run-getter and was adjudged the Man of the Series, and young wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, Harbhajan said while the former has played fearless cricket, the latter is ready to take over in all three formats.

“He plays a fearless brand of cricket which is great to see. His confidence is beyond his years and that is due to the number of runs he made in school cricket and Ranji Trophy. This is where credit should go to our infrastructure and the BCCI.

“As far as Pant is concerned, the way he played in the IPL, he took the game away from the opposition. He has got power, balance and everything what you need as a batsman in the modern era to score runs. He deals in fours and sixes with so much ease.

“He is someone who is ready to play in all formats. MS (Dhoni) is playing which is great as he will learn a lot from him.”

IANS

Spanish world No. 1 Rafael Nadal headlines the list of players expected to compete at the 2019 Mexican Open in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco, the organisers said.

“Having the (world) No. 1 is important for us, but it’s special because it’s Rafa. It took just one telephone call to confirm he’d be here,” tournament director Raul Zurutuza said, reports Efe.

The Mexican Open, an ATP 500 event, will take place from February 25 to March 2 in Acapulco.

The 32-year-old Nadal won the Mexican Open in 2005 and 2013, losing to American Sam Querrey in the 2017 final.

Nadal withdrew from this year’s Mexican Open due to the injury he suffered at the Australian Open.

Spaniard David Ferrer, a four-time champion in Acapulco; Germany’s Alexander Zverev; American John Isner; and Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka are among the other big-name players in the field.

The 36-year-old Ferrer, who won the title in the Pacific resort city in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015, is winding down his career and this will be his last foreign tournament before saying farewell to the ATP Tour with appearances in Barcelona in April and Madrid in May.

“David will always be David to us, there’s special affection there. He’s really loved in Mexico,” Zurutuza said.

The men will be competing for $1.7 million in prize money.

On the women’s side, American Sloane Stephens, the world No.8 and the 2017 US Open champion, will be in the field.

Zurutuza said the tournament is speaking to several other top WTA Tour players, including Spanish star Garbiñe Muguruza, who won the French Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017.

“Muguruza is always on the list of players we want to have. Her presence depends on her schedule,” Zurutuza said.

IANS

 Antoine Griezmann had a double to lead World Cup champions France to a 2-1 win over Germany in a UEFA Nations League match here.

The result leaves Les Bleus atop League A Group 1 with 7 points from three matches, while struggling Germany have just 1 point after three games and are sure to be relegated if they don’t beat the second-place Dutch, reports Efe.

The visitors scored first in front of 80,000 spectators at Stade de France on Tuesday, as Toni Kroos converted from the spot in the 14th minute after the referee awarded a penalty for a hand ball by Presnel Kimpembe.

Germany, winners of the 2014 World Cup, dominated for most of the first half and might have doubled or even tripled their advantage but for the efforts of French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Missing the solid team play that characterised their triumph a few months ago in Russia, France were forced to rely on individual brilliance.

Last week, Kylian Mbappe rose to the occasion in a friendly against Iceland, on Tuesday, it was the turn of Atletico Madrid striker Griezmann.

Les Bleus were much improved to start the second half and though Mbappe failed to prevail in a battle with Germany keeper Manuel Neuer in the 50th minute, Griezmann buried a Lucas Hernandez cross to bring France level in the 62nd.

The match seemed destined to end 1-1 until a controversial penalty call in the 80th minute.

France’s Blaise Matuidi appeared to step on the foot of Mats Hummel when the German challenged him in the box, but the referee cited Hummel for the foul. Griezmann stepped to the line and delivered the winner.

IANS

Sri Lanka’s former cricket captain Sanath Jayasuriya has said he has always acted with integrity and transparency, a day after he was charged with two counts of breaching the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) anti-corruption code.

The World Cup winner and former national team selector is accused of failing to cooperate with an investigation by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, cricket’s world governing body said in a statement on Monday.

The 49-year-old was also charged with trying to conceal, destroy or tamper with evidence that could be crucial to the probe.

“The contents of the letter which has been released to the media has caused a lot of speculation among the cricket-loving public both domestically and internationally,” Jayasuriya said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I am under advice to state that the charges do not contain any allegations pertaining to match-fixing, pitch-fixing or any other corrupt activity.

“The charges allege that I have not been cooperative and not assisted the investigations.”

The ICC has given Jayasuriya 14 days to respond to the charges but did not state which matches the charges and investigation relate to.

“I am under strict legal advice that no comment is to be made in respect of the above charges as such a course would offend the ICC rules,” the retired cricketer said, adding that his legal team is drafting a response for submission.

“I have always conducted myself with integrity and transparency with matters concerning the sport and I will continue to do so,” he said.

Match-fixing in Sri Lanka
Earlier this month, the ICC said Alex Marshall, general manager of the anti-corruption unit, was overseeing a probe into potential corrupt practices over “serious allegations” in Sri Lanka.

The world body said it has provided a detailed briefing to the country’s president, prime minister and sports minister.

Match-fixing allegations plagued Sri Lankan cricket earlier this year, when Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposed three former international players, including Sri Lanka’s Jeevantha Kulatunga, who were prepared to take money to fix matches.

As part of the investigation, media also revealed how criminals fixed two Test matches – Sri Lanka versus India in July last year and Sri Lanka versus Australia in August 2016.

Jayasuriya famously led Sri Lanka to its first and only victory at the World Cup in 1996 and is widely considered one of the greatest batsmen in history.

After a 22-year-long career that ended in 2011, he served in the Sri Lankan parliament and became the national team’s chairman of selectors.

Last year, the Jayasuriya-led selection panel resigned en masse following protests over Sri Lanka’s slump in form.

The Sri Lankan team, who are currently playing a home series against England and are in action on Wednesday, have distanced themselves from the scandal.

“We have decided that the players will not answer any questions with regard to Sanath,” said Sri Lankan team manager Charith Senanayake during a press conference on Tuesday.

“It’s not a distraction because Sanath has no role to play with the squad at the moment and as a team as a whole, we would like to stay away without a comment on the whole saga,” he added.

Aljazeera

On the eve of the second Test against Australia at Sheikh Zayed Stadium here, Pakistan on Monday named limited overs opener Fakhar Zaman, uncapped quick Mir Hamza and all-rounder Shadab Khan in the 12-man squad.

Left-arm quick Wahab Riaz has been dropped for the series decider, Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed confirmed on Monday.

Wahab, who returned to the side after a year, failed to impress in the first Test where he returned wicketless after bowling 27 overs.

Fellow left-armer Hamza appears the most likely man to replace him, though Shadab, who has recovered from a groin injury, could be considered if Pakistan want another spin-bowling option.

In the batting department, Fakhar is in line to make his Test debut, and replace injured Imam-ul-Haq, who fractured his finger in the drawn opening Test.

Squads:
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (Captain & WK), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez.

Australia: Tim Paine (Captain & WK), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc.

IANS

The Indian Under-18 men’s and womens Hockey team finished their 2018 Youth Olympic Games campaign with silver medals.

While the women suffered a heart-breaking 1-3 loss against hosts Argentina, the men were handed a 2-4 loss by Malaysia in their respective final of the hockey 5s competition on Sunday night.

In the women’s affair, India’s Mumtaz Khan (1′) opened the scoring in the match after just 49 seconds, but the hosts scored thrice through Gianella Palet (7′), Sofia Ramallo (9′) and Brisa Bruggesser (12′) to secure the Gold Medal.

Indian women started the first period well as they attacked the hosts right from the opening whistle, and were rewarded after just 49 seconds as in-form forward Mumtaz scored to give her team a crucial lead.

However, Argentina put the pressure on their opponents to find the equalizer in front of their home crowd and were successful in their efforts as Gianella Palet (7′) and Sofia Ramallo (9′) scored to turn the match around and help their side to a 2-1 lead at half-time.

The second period saw Argentina keep most of the possession, not allowing the Indian team to find space or create chances. It was Argentina’s Brisa Bruggesser who had the first real chance of the second period in the 12th minute, and the Midfielder made sure that she hit the target, giving her team a solid 3-1 lead.

Argentina, backed by their crowd, made sure that they managed the game well, as they kept possession and saw themselves through to the final whistle to register a historic Gold Medal victory.

Coming to the men’s contest, India captain Vivek Sagar Prasad (3′, 6′) scored twice within the first six minutes of the match to give India a 2-1 lead, but the Malaysians struck thrice in the second period through Akhimullah Anuar (14′, 19′) and Arif Ishak (17′) to secure the victory, after Firadus Rosdi (5′) had equalized for them in the first period.

Both the teams started the match well but it was India who struck first through Vivek in the 3rd minute. However, Malaysia were not behind for too long as Firadus Rosdi threatened the Indians in the 5th minute, and struck the equalizer in his second attempt to make the scores 1-1.

The Indian skipper looked in prime form as he forced a save from the Malaysian Goalkeeper Shahrul Saupi in the 6th minute and then managed to beat the Malaysian in the same minute to give India the lead again.

The second period, however, turned out to be a difficult one for the Indian team as they had to face constant pressure from the Malaysians. After having denied Malaysia of levelling the scores, Indian goalkeeper Prashant Chauhan was beaten for the second time in the match in the 14th minute as Akhimullah Anuar scored past him to make the scores 2-2.

Malaysia took the lead on the counter in the 17th minute through Arif Ishak. Having taken a 3-2 lead, it was the Malaysian team who now started to dominate the proceedings, and it was Akhimullah Anuar who popped up again in the 19th minute to seal the Gold Medal win for his team.