After losing the second One-Day International (ODI), India will aim to improve performance in every department when they face confident England in the third and final match at the Headingley Cricket ground here on Tuesday.

England levelled the three match series with a convincing 86-run victory at Lord’s, having been comprehensively beaten in the opening match at Trent Bridge.

After first ODI victory, India made couple of mistakes in the second match. First the bowlers leaked few extra runs which helped England post a challenging total and then batsmen failed to rise to the occasion.

Apart from Suresh Raina and skipper Virat Kohli no other batsman could face English bowlers perfectly. Wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shikhar Dhawan, however, got the good starts but could able to utilise it.

Middle-order batsmen Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya also drastically failed. So, in order to give English bowlers tough times in the middle, Indian batting line-up must click in unisom.

In the bowling department, Kuldeep was the only wicket-taker. He scalped three wickets but gave away 68 runs in his 10 overs. Pacers Umesh Yadav, Hardik and debutant Sidharth Kaul were also costly. Bowlers now have to come up with something new to disturb the opponents as Root, Morgan, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow has already came in form.

England, on the other hand, learned quickly from a poor display in the first match and especially against chinaman Kuldeep, who claimed 6 for 25. Joe Root and skipper Eoin Morgan also came in form with the brilliant knocks of 113 and 53 respectively.

Jason Roy and Bairstow displayed the glimpses of coming back in form with disciplined batting throughout their innings. So the top-order seemed settled the only worry of the hosts is their middle and lower order. Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali could not add much to the score after a brilliant start. If the trio clicked in the final match then it could be a difficult task for the Indian batsmen.

England has improved a lot in the bowling department. Bowlers are hunting in pairs. Pacers Liam Plunkett and David Willey combining well whileAdil Rashid, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood supporting the duo handsomely. There bowling economy is not above six which is a good sign for English players especially when the opponent team is chasing the target.

Skipper Morgan have not used Stokes much in the second ODI. So in the upcoming match, Morgan, who has the penalty of options in in bowling department, mat try all his bowlers to their potential to get the results.

Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (Wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shreyas Iyer, Siddarth Kaul, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

England: Eoin Morgan (Captain), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (Wicket-keeper), Moeen Ali, Joe Root, Jake Ball, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, David Willey, Mark Wood.

France scored twice in each half as they thumped a combative Croatia 4-2 in a dramatic final to win the FIFA World Cup for the second time in 20 years here on Sunday.

A first-ever own goal in a World Cup final gave France the lead as Mario Mandzukic headed a free-kick into his own net in the 18th minute but Croatia pulled level through a strike from Ivan Perisic in the 28th minute.

Antoine Griezmann converted a penalty in the 38th minute to regain France’s lead which was further increased to 3-1 by Paul Pogba in the 59th minute.

Kylian Mbappe (65th) made it 4-1 before Mandzukic pounced on a blunder from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to reduce the difference to two in the 69th minute, giving some hope to Croatia. But the third goal from Croatia never arrived as the talented French side sealed a deserving triumph.

Barring Lakshya Sen, none of the Indian could stand up to the clinical South Koreans as India went down 1-4 in their last Group C match in the Asian Junior Badminton Championships here on Sunday.

But, having finished second behind South Korea in the group, India entered the quarterfinals where they will take on Japan on Monday.

In contrast, the Indian juniors went through the motions against Sri Lanka in the morning and cleaned them up 5-0, stamping their subcontinental authority. They had on Saturday beaten Kazakhstan by the same margin in the opener.

India were expected to put up a semblance of fight against the third-seeded Koreans. But, unfortunately, the resistance came only in the form of Lakshya who revived India’s hope with straight sets win of 21-14, 21-13 against Kim Hyeong Jung in the men singles of the mixed team events.

Lakshya’s start was nice and he built on excellently with his strategy to keep his rival to the backcourt. And it paid dividends as the Indian not only used his smashes cleverly but also with his forecourt placings surprised the opponent. However hard the Korean tried to come back, he was unable to do as he hastened the defeat with several unforced errors.

But for this wonderful response, the other Indians didn’t have any auspicious beginning. The men doubles’ pair of Manjit Singh and Dingku Singh, who faced Ki Dong Ju Ki and Shin Tae Yang, in match opener could only run their opponents close but couldn’t stop them from winning the rubber 21-17, 21-11.

The Indians mixed well when the Koreans somewhat had a cautious beginning. Understandably, they were caught on the wrong foot at time and it helped the Indian shuttlers some leeway. Yet, the Koreans held therein and nerves to put their team 1-0 ahead.

Akarshi Kashyap, the world No 11, began really against Park Ga Eun and stretched her before winning the first game 23-21. But the Korean girl packed a lot of power in her forehand shots which brooked little challenge in the second and third. Park, after dropping the first game, played brilliantly to win 21-23, 21-13, 21-9, the tie consuming 51 minutes.

Then Jang Eun Seo and Lee Eun Ji combined well and disposed off the Indian women doubles pair, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker, 21-15, 21-9 in 26 minutes to assert themselves. Simram and Ritika could not match the game plan devised by their Korean rivals who were quick on their feet and complimented each other, managing the back and fore courts really well.

Having already established a winning lead of 3-1, one thought it should be a mere formality for the Korean mixed duo of Jeong Na Eun and Wang Chan but the Indians were not disgraces as Srishti Jupidi and Srikrishna Sai Kumar went down fighting the last rubber 13-21, 21-18, 21-23. That was, indeed, a gutsy performance from the mixed doubles team which kept the interest alive.

Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic feels his team played the best match of the FIFA World Cup despite losing 4-2 to France in the final here on Sunday.

“I congratulate France on their title. We played well in the first 20 minutes, we controlled the game. Then there was an own goal from a set play. We came back to life, dominated and then the penalty was given,” Dalic was quoted as saying by fifa.com after the game.

A first-ever own goal in a World Cup final gave France the lead as Mario Mandzukic headed a free-kick into his own net in the 18th minute but Croatia pulled level through a strike from Ivan Perisic in the 28th minute.

Antoine Griezmann converted a penalty in the 38th minute to regain France’s lead which was further increased to 3-1 by Paul Pogba in the 59th minute.

Kylian Mbappe (65th) made it 4-1 before Mandzukic pounced on a blunder from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to reduce the difference to two in the 69th minute, giving some hope to Croatia. But the third goal from Croatia never arrived as the talented French side, coached by Didier Deschamps sealed a deserving triumph.

“I have to congratulate my players, it was maybe the best game we played in these championships; we controlled the match but we conceded,” Dalic further said.

He added that Croatia, playing their first-ever World Cup final, can be very proud of their achievements.

“Against such a strong side as France you must not make mistakes. We are a bit sad but we have to be proud as well for what we’ve done.”

Croatia’s celebrated FC Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic said they were unlucky to have not won the crown despite being the better team in the first period.

“We were the better team in the first half, we were attacking, but we were unlucky tonight. They scored four goals from their three shots on goal. But I congratulate France, they deserved it.”

France thus pulled level with South American powerhouses Argentina (1978, 1986) and Uruguay (1930, 1950) as the third nation with two World Cup titles.

India’s star shuttler P.V. Sindhu lost to reigning world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games in the women’s singles final of the Thailand Open here on Sunday.

The second seeded Sindhu lost 15-21, 18-21 in 50 minutes as the 2016 Olympic bronze medallist took a 6-5 lead in head-to-head record.

While fourth seeded Okuhara got a prize money of $26,250, Sindhu, a three-time World Championship medallist, bagged $13,300.

The Japanese was quick off the blocks, taking a 6-2 lead. But Sindhu did well to gain three consecutive points, trailing 5-6.

Okuhara then won a 23-rally battle to take a 7-5 lead before she went on to extend her lead to four points with the scoreline at 12-8, thanks to couple of unforced errors on the part of the Indian.

Sindhu sensed the urgency in reducing the deficit as she didn’t allow Okuhara to run away with the game. However, the Japanese cotinued to maintain at least a two-point game until she reached 17 points.

Thereafter, Okuhara produced four consecutive points in a hurry to pocket the first game 21-15. A body smash rattled Sindhu, who then hit a shot wide before hitting one onto the net to trail 0-1 in the match.

In the second game, Sindhu started brigh, racing to an early 6-2 lead. But Sindhu was left stranded at the six-point mark as Okuhara fought valiantly to garner five points on the trot to take a 7-6 lead.

The Indian then brought her high-jump smashes to the fore to reel in three successive points to lead 9-7 but the Japanese equalised at the nine-point mark. Sindhu managed to go into the midgame break with a two point lead.

Afterwards, Okuhara brought out some delectable cross-court net-game to trouble Sindhu and lead 14-12. Even though Sindhu quickly pulled level, Okuhara raced to a 17-14 lead.

Sindhu came out with a strong defence which earned her two quick points. Okuhara smashed at the left and Sindhu dived to put it slowly past the other net but the Japanese couldn’t reach there. Then Okuhara shot wide to manage to hold a slim 17-16 lead.

Then, Sindhu’s smash went long as she trailed 16-18. Under pressure, both matched shots for shots as a half-smash on the right from Sindhu made Okuhara lead by a point before the Japanese could only defend a smash into the net, with the scores tied 18-all.

Just like the first game, Okuhara then showed her aggression to force Sindhu on the defensive. And as the Indian’s shot hit the net, the Japanese got her match point.

In the men’s singles final, Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan defeated Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto 21-16, 13-21, 21-9 in 58 minutes.

The men’s doubles title went to Japanese top seeded pair of Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda, who defeated compatriots Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe 21-17, 21-19 in 44 minutes.

The mixed doubles final witnessed a huge upset as Indonesian eighth seeds Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja stunned English top seeds Chris Adcock and Gabrielle Adcock 21-12, 21-12 in 28 minutes.

In the women’s doubles final, Indonesian fourth seeds Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu thrashed Japanese third seeds Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi 21-13, 21-10 in 53 minutes.

Russian punk protest organization and band Pussy Riot has claimed responsibility for four people running onto the field at the Luzhniki Stadium here during the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2018 between France and Croatia.

In a statement posted on its Twitter account, Pussy Riot wrote that the disruption was meant to protest political prisoners, illegal arrests during protests, and more. The performance was referred to as “policeman enters the game”, reports variety.com.

In the 52nd minute, four people simultaneously charged onto the field in old-fashioned police uniforms. Stewards quickly tackled them to the ground, but one of the protesters still managed to snag a double high-five from French player Kylian Mbappe.

“Today is 11 years since the death of the great Russian poet, Dmitriy Prigov,” the statement began.

“Prigov created an image of a policeman, a carrier of the heavenly nationhood, in the Russian culture.”

The statement goes on to distinguish between the “heavenly” policeman and “earthly” policeman, emphasizing how the earthly policeman takes actions that “break our world apart”.

Pussy Riot has been active since 2011, and has been particularly vocal against the administration of President Vladimir Putin, who they consider a dictator. The group staged a performance in 2012 in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior that gained them international notoriety. The collective can be frequently seen wearing bright colors, and the themes of their protests include LGBT rights and feminism.

Born in a poor family in the Nagaon district of Assam, sprinter Hima Das’ has enjoyed a meteoric rise. On Thursday evening, she created history in Tampere, Finland by winning the gold medal — the second by an Indian athlete — in the women’s 400 metre event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.

Hima registered 51.46 seconds in the final at the Ratina Stadium to become the first Indian sprinter to win gold in a track event in a world championship across all age groups.

She had a slow start and was trailing at least three other runners going into the final stretch.

But the 18-year-old produced a powerful sprint in the last 100 metres to win by a comfortable margin.

Delhi youngster Neeraj Chopra was the first Indian to win gold at the World U20 Championships when he won the men’s javelin event in 2016.

The other Indian medallists at the World Junior Championships were Seema Punia who took bronze in women’s discus in 2002 and Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (women’s discus bronze in 2014).

Hima had done well in the earlier rounds as well, winning Heat 4 with a time of 52.25 seconds. She emerged on top in the semi-finals as well, winning her race in 52.10 seconds.

Hima has improved considerably from the Commonwealth Games earlier this year where she finished sixth in the women’s 400m with a time of 51.32 seconds, 1.17 seconds behind gold medallist Amantle Montshofrom Botswana.

She was also a part of the women’s 4x400m relay team which finished seventh with a time of three minutes and 33.61 seconds.

Hima ‘s achievement is all the more remarkable since she started using spikes only a couple of years ago.

The youngest of six siblings, Hima’s talent was first spotted during an inter-district meet in 2016.

Due to the absence of a running track, she had to train on a muddy football field.

Despite the lack of facilities and training equipment, she took bronze in the state meet and reached the 100m final at the junior nationals later that year.

She eventually qualified for the women’s 200m event at the Asian Youth Championships in Bangkok, where she finished seventh.

But Hima’s time of 24.52 seconds saw her qualify for the the World Youth Championships in Nairobi where she eventually took the fifth spot with a time of 24.31 seconds.

The Assam girl built on that success with a gold at the Asian Games test event in Jakarta with a personal best of 23.59 seconds.

She soon turned her focus to the 400m as well.

With the success at World U20 Championships making her a favourite for the gold at next month’s Asian Games, both Hima and her millions of fans back home will be hoping for more than one medal at the continental extravaganza.

Mohammad Kaif on Friday announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket via a post on social media.

“When I started playing Cricket,the dream was to play in the India Cap one day. Have been very fortunate to step on to the field & represent my country on 190 days of my life. Today is an apt day for me to announce my retirement from all competitive Cricket. Thank you everyone,” Kaif posted on Twitter.

Kaif, who last donned the India jersey in 2006 against South Africa, has played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for the country. The 37-year-old will be remembered for his match-winning knock of 87 at Lord’s during the Natwest Trophy final in 2002.

In his 13 Test appearances, Kaif amassed 2753 runs at an average of 32.01, including two hundreds and 17 half-centuries.

Kaif will also be remembered as one of the finest fielders to have ever played for India. He was also part of the Indian team that reached the World Cup final in 2003.

Kaif, who represented Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy for most of his career, last played first class cricket for Chhattisgarh.

Croatia’s prominence in the football World Cup freshened memories of its origin in the war which expanded after German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher recognised Croatian and Slovenian independence, ahead of other European Union countries which were palpitating because German reunification in 1989 had already added to their anxieties.

As the Persian expression goes, “Ek na shud, do shud.” Before one source of anxiety could subside, another surfaced. Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, headquartered in Zagreb’s magnificent Cathedral, marched off to the Vatican to seek the Pope’s and Italy’s support. This was promptly given. Some EU member-countries began to have nightmares of the “Axis” being revived.

I was in the Cardinal’s office in the Cathedral which dominates Zagreb square when the door of the ante room flung open and Father Juraj Jezerinac of the Topusko Parish walked in. I had been introduced to him at the earliest stages of the conflict in one of the livelier cafes in Zagreb square. He was full of stories. One night his orthodox Serb counterpart from the neighbouring church compound came to him, looking very conspiratorial.

He had received word from the Orthodox headquarters in Belgrade that Orthodox Priests must lead all Serb populations out of Western Croatia in the Topusko area because the Serb army was preparing to attack the area and annex it as part of Greater Serbia. This was a scoop.

Was further proof required to confirm coordination between the Catholic and the Orthodox churches? They would put aside their intra-church conflicts and join hands against the Bosnian Muslims. The cruel irony was that Sarajevo, the centre of art, music, theatre, literature in former Yugoslavia, was primarily a Bosnian Muslim city. Like Lucknow, Sarajevo went down, nursing art and culture, unable to cope with the assault of philistinism.

At the outset when, some EU members suspected German and Italian encroachments, Britain and France came covertly on the side of Serbia which had been with them during World War II. Gen. Michael Rose, leading the UN Peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, became a regular feature on global TV giving briefs on the Bosnian dead on a daily basis.

Nothing could have exceeded Serbian brutality than the four-year-long siege of Sarajevo. Graphic accounts of this siege, beamed mornings, afternoons, evenings to global audiences on a daily basis, decisively altered the political landscape in Turkey, a development of which the West remained totally oblivious.

Sarajevo derives from Caravan Sarai, pointing to the city’s Ottoman past. The effect of the Bosnian tragedy on the Turkish electorate brought to power Necmettin Erbakan of the Refah party, akin to the Muslim Brotherhood. This was anathema to the upholders of Turkey’s secular Kemalist constitution. The Erbakan government was dismissed.

That is when two of Erbakan’s protégés, Tayyip Erdogan and Abdullah Gul, reinvented themselves as the (AKP) justice and Development Party. The rest is recent history.

The siege of Sarajevo was graphically chronicled by a daily newspaper, Oslobodenje, which won global awards for its bravery. The paper’s office itself was an astounding sight. The offices and the press were in a huge basement, beneath the debris of a multistoreyed building brought down during the war. The editor, Kemal Kurspahic, whom I had met at the last Non-Aligned Summit attended by Rajiv Gandhi in Belgrade, looked none the worse for his travails. But he had, nevertheless, developed a mark on his forehead. This happens when the forehead hits the ground for “namaz” (Muslim prayers) five times a day over months and years.

“Have you become a devout Muslim?” I asked.

“There is no alternative but God when the world abandons you.” There was conviction in his voice.

“Who helped you publish the paper in these circumstances?”

His reply stunned me. “George Soros.”

Throughout the four-year conflict Europe maintained a hands-off policy to avoid internal divisions within EU. Observers like Salman Rushdie described European restraint as hypocritical.

“You reverse the religious affiliations of the protagonists on the ground and not just NATO but even European forces would have entered the theatre immediately to end the bloodbath.” They refrained from intervention because Muslims were the victims.

Those of us involved in covering the conflict knew that Rushdie, and others like him, were speaking the truth. But the mainstream narrative was fudged even on such crimes as the Srebrenica massacres in which 8,000 young Bosnian men were separated from their families and shot dead by Serb militias. Why did the Dutch peacekeeping forces move away from the site of the massacre?

The 78-day US bombing of Serbia during the Kosovo war was designed to oust the Serbian dictator, Slobodan Milosevic. Russians had been outmaneuvered by the Western alliance in a theatre Moscow considered its pan Slavic sphere of influence. Therefore when the responsibility of various part of Kosovo was being distributed between countries of Europe, Russian armoured carriers barged into the area around Pristine airport uninvited. They are still in occupation of that airport. Britain, Germany, France control other segments of Kosovo, a tiny country dotted with exquisite monasteries. The great monastery of Decan in the care of the Italians where priests produce the world’s finest wines and schnapps.

Just as the sun sets, a young priest runs around the building carrying on his shoulder a giant rattle called the tallantone, alerting the inmates just in case the “Turk invader” has eyes on the “House of God”. This hostile mythology is sustained in many countries on the periphery of what was once the Ottoman Empire.

Considering that this World Cup has been a celebration of multiculturalism, how do I explain my being distracted into Balkan tribalism? How swiftly a nation of 4.5 million has made its mark, wrenching itself away from a recent and messy past. Supposing Sefik Ibrahimovic had not migrated from Bosnia to Sweden in 1977 where the great soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic was born? Well, Zlatan could have claimed a slot in the Croatian team with considerable justification. His mother, Jurka Gravic, is after all a Croat. Remember, there was multiculturism in the Balkans too before sectarian tribalism was let loose.

India’s Hima Das created history by winning the gold medal in the women’s 400 metre event at the IAAF World U20 Championships here on Thursday.

Hima registered a time of 51.46 seconds in the final at the Ratina Stadium to become the first Indian athlete to win gold in a world championship across all age groups.

Andrea Miklos of Romania took silver with a personal best time of 52.07 seconds. Taylor Manson of the US registered 52.28 seconds to finish third.

Hima had done well in the earlier rounds as well, winning Heat 4 with a time of 52.25 seconds. She emerged on top in the semi-finals as well, winning her race in 52.10 seconds.

Jisna Matthew, the other Indian in the fray, also showed early promise, winning Heat 5 with a time of 54.32 seconds. But the Kerala girl crashed out in the semi-finals, where she finished fifth with 53.86 seconds.