Much on stake for Argentina, Australia $@$# France
All eyes will be on Messi today as in Pool-D, last edition’s finalists Argentina will battle it out against Croatia in FIFA World Cup. The match will kick off at 11:30 PM.

Denmark will take on Australia at 5:30 PM in Group-C, with France facing Peru at 8:30 PM.

Uruguay and Russia have become the first two teams to reach the last-16 of the FIFA World Cup.

On Wednesday night, in a Group-A match at Rostov Arena, Uruguay defeated Saudi Arabia 1-0 as well as hosts Russia progressed to the knock-out stage.

In Group-B, Portugal and Spain recorded 1-0 victories to go at the top of the table and edge closer to the knock-outs.

At the Luzhniki Stadium, Portugal edged past Morocco as skipper Cristiano Ronaldo’s fourth goal of the tournament.

In the other game at Kazan Arena, Spain edged out a resilient Iran in an absorbing contest.

Hindusthan Samachar/Shri Ram Shaw

The 21st edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI national racing championship will get underway here on July 6, with the countrys top drivers vying for the mantle of Indias fastest racer of the year, the organisers announced on Tuesday.

Besides revealing the dates for the upcoming season, JK Motorsport also unveiled a string of exciting motorsports events, right from circuit racing to off-roading to rallying competitions in different parts of the country.

The first round will take place during the July 6-8 weekend while the grand finale will be held from November 16-18 at the majestic Buddh Circuit in Greater Noida.

The second Round is scheduled for August 31 to September 2 and the third from October 12 to 14, both also in Coimbatore.

The Euro JK 18 will continue to be the blue riband event of the championship, drawing the cream of the racing pool, including those who are already competing on the international stage.

It will be supported by the LGB Formula 4 which gives budding racers the opportunity to hone their skills. The Suzuki Gixxer Cup will remain an integral part of the championship, offering the country’s prominent bikers the platform to compete against the best.

“We celebrated a huge milestone last year, when we completed 20 years of JKNRC,” Sanjay Sharma, head of JK Motorsport, said.

“We embark on a new journey this season and renew our commitment to discover, hone and support young talent as they strive to make it big in the world of racing,” he added.

India openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay moved up the ladder in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen after their twin tons in the first innings of India’s one-off five-day game against Afghanistan in Bengaluru last week.

Dhawan’s knock of 107, during which he became the first player from India to complete a century before lunch on the opening day of a Test match, saw him gain 10 spots to reach a career-best 24th position while Vijay’s innings of 105 lifted him six spots to 23rd position as they helped India win the Test within two days by an innings and 262 runs.

Meanwhile, spinner Ravindra Jadeja inched up one slot to third position after claiming six wickets in the Bengaluru Test while fast bowlers Ishant Sharma (up two places to 25th) and Umesh Yadav (up two places to 26th) also made northward movement.

The Afghanistan players to make an entry into the players’ rankings are Hashmatuallah Shahidi (111th) and captain Asghar Stanikzai (136th) among batsmen. Among bowlers, Yamin Ahmadzai (94th) and spinners Mujeeb ur Rehman (114th) and Rashid Khan (119th) are among those in the rankings. Rashid is currently top-ranked in T20Is and second in ODIs.

West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel made a huge jump to take a career-best 12th position after his player of the match effort in the drawn second Test against Sri Lanka in St Lucia, which ended on Monday.

The 30-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago gained 11 places after finishing the match with 13 for 121, the third best match haul ever by a Windies bowler.

Gabriel has reached 754 rating points while his previous best was 636 points and an 18th place in August last year.

Gabriel’s team-mates Roston Chase (up one place to 38th) and captain Jason Holder (up one place to 64th) were the others to gain in the latest update which also takes into account the one-off Test between India and Afghanistan in Bengaluru which the home side won by an innings and 262 runs.

For Sri Lanka, who trail the three-match series against the Windies 1-0, captain Dinesh Chandimal has gained one spot to move up to ninth position after his effort of 119 not out and 39 while Kusal Mandis is another batsman to move up, gaining four spots to reach a career-best 12th position.

Among their bowlers, Suranga Lakmal has gained one slot to reach 29th position while Lahiru Kumara has gained three spots to reach 51st position.

Australia slipped to a 34-year low, dropping to the sixth position on the ICC’s latest ODI rankings table after losing the opening two fixtures of the ongoing five-match rubber against England.

The Kangaroos will need to win at least one of the three remaining games in the series to climb back above Pakistan to fifth.

According to cricket.com.au, the last time Australia found themselves in sixth position was way back in January 1984.

It has been a swift fall for the defending world champions in the recent past.

Less than two years ago, they were ranked No.1 heading into an away series against South Africa, where they were whitewashed 5-0.

Thereafter, the five-time world champions have lost 13 of their 15 completed ODIs, in which time they have lost three successive bilateral series — to New Zealand, India and England — and exited the Champions Trophy at the group stage.

England, India and South Africa currently occupy the top three spots in the ICC One-Day International (ODI) rankings.

BY : Andrea Princy.

From centuries the game of life and the talent of football has never been outdated. The magnificent thrive for the football still craves every person till day from 2000 years ago to ancient China. Greece, Rome and parts of Central America also claim to have started the sport but it was England that transitioned a game of running around kicking a ball in the mid – 19th century as “Football”, the game we know today.

FIFA – “The Fèdèration International De Fooyball” was founded in the Headquarters of the Union Des Sociètès Françaises De Sports Athlètiques at the Rue Saint Honorè 229 in Paris on 21 May 1904 – comprising football associations from France and Belgium. From the scratch to this day, FIFA has gained more popularity. The present(2018) FIFA is being hosted by Russia as it was announced by the President Sepp Blatter on 2 Dec 2010 in the FIFA Headquarters, Zürich, Switzerland.
The match played between Costa Rica and Serbia of Group E, Germany and Mexico of Group F and Brazil and Switzerland of Group E on 17 Sunday, June 2018 was phenomenal.
The scoreline are :
Costa Rica 0 Serbia 1
Germany 0 Mexico 1
Brazil 1 Switzerland 1

Serbia celebrates it’s victory over Costa Rica by scoring 1-0
COSTA RICA TEAM STATS SERBIA
10 Shots 10
3 Shots on target 3
53% Possession 47%
18 Fouls 15
2 Yellow cards 2
0 Red cards 0
1 Offsides 3
5 Corners 4

In the latter match, Mexico celebrates it’s victory over Germany by scoring 1-0
GERMANY TEAM STATS MEXICO
26 Shots 13
9 Shots on target 4
67% Possession 33%
10 Fouls 16
2 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
1 Offsides 1
8 Corners 1
Everyone looked forward for the scores of Brazil and Switzerland. Their amazing fight to reach the goal was phenomenal. After Brazil’s lead
1-0, Switzerland never gave up and scored a goal which leads to a tie match. Brazil 1-1 Switzerland.
BRAZIL TEAM STATS SWITZERLAND
21 Shots 6
5 Shots on target 2
55% Possession 45%
11 Fouls 19
1 Yellow Cards 3
0 Red Cards 0
1 Offsides 0
7 Corners 2

The match played between these amazing players and teams was breath taking. We can look up to these teams and praise their determination towards FIFA Let’s wait in eager to see what’s up next.

NOTE : Today’s Schedule.
Group F – Sweden and South Korean, Today at 5:30 PM
Group G – Belgium and Panama, Today at 8:30 PM
Group G – Tunisia and England, Today at 11:30 PM.

With a 6-4, 7-6 7-3 victory over Milos Raonic in the Stuttgart Cup final on Sunday, 36-year-old top-seeded Swiss Roger Federer not only claimed his 98th ATP Tennis title, but also re-established his unrivalled superiority on grass. Now, he will regain the world number one ranking on Monday (June 18).

Roger Federer will now be playing next week as top seed in Halle. And, he will be chasing a ninth Wimbledon triumph next month.

India skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bat in the one-off Test against debutants Afghanistan here Thursday.

Afghanistan is set to become the 12th nation to play Test cricket as skipper Asghar Stanikzai opted for a spin-heavy playing XI at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

For the hosts sans regular skipper Virat Kohli, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik made a comeback to the Test side after almost eight years.

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Lokesh Rahul, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Stanikzai(c), Afsar Zazai(w), Mohammad Nabi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai, Wafadar.

The Brazilian football team, which is the most successful FIFA World Cup competitor with five titles, arrived in Russias Black Sea resort city of Sochi early on Monday.

The five-time world champions will stay at the Swissotel Resort Sochi Kamelia and train at the Yug-Sport stadium. The Brazilian squad will hold a public training on June 12, reports Tass news agency.

Before departing to Russia, Brazil defeated Austria 3-0 in a friendly match.

During the tournament’s group stage, Brazil will play in Group E against Switzerland (June 17, Rostov-on-Don), Costa Rica (June 22, St. Petersburg) and Serbia (June 27, Moscow, Spartak Stadium).

Apart from holding five championship titles, Brazil is also the world’s only national squad to qualify for every FIFA World Cup.

It also holds the record of the best overall performance in World Cup, with a record of 70 victories in 104 matches played.

Teams from Iran, Panama, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Morocco, Australia, Egypt, Peru and France have already arrived in Russia.

 Six-time champions India once again stormed into the finals of the Women’s Asia Cup after thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan by seven wickets in their last league encounter at the Kinrara Academy Oval here on Saturday.

Electing to bat, Pakistan folded up for a meagre 72/7 with Sana Mir (20 not out) and Nahida Khan (18) managing to reach the double figures in a lacklustre batting effort.

In response, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (34 not out) and her deputy Smriti Mandhana (38) steered the Indians to a comfortable victory with 23 balls to spare after starting on a shaky note.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht spun a web around the Pakistanis with three wickets, and was well assisted by the other Indian bowlers who stuck to a disciplined effort.

During their chase, India too got off to a forgettable start, losing former skipper Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma for ducks with the scoreboard ticking 5/2.

But thereafter the defending champions did not look back as the left-right combo of Smriti and Harmanpreet forged a brilliant 65-run third wicket stand to take the side within sniffing distance of victory.

Table toppers India (8 points) will now have to wait for the final league match between Bangladesh women and hosts Malaysia later in the day, to find their opponents for Sunday’s summit clash.

On the other hand, second-placed Pakistan, with six points in their kitty will desperately hope for an upset by Malaysia over Bangladesh (also on 6 points) to bag a place in the final.

The Brazilian football team, which is the most successful FIFA World Cup competitor with five titles, arrived in Russias Black Sea resort city of Sochi early on Monday.

The five-time world champions will stay at the Swissotel Resort Sochi Kamelia and train at the the Yug-Sport stadium. The Brazilian squad will hold a public training on June 12, reports Tass news agency.

Before departing to Russia, Brazil defeated Austria 3-0 in a friendly match.

During the tournament’s group stage, Brazil will play in Group E against Switzerland (June 17, Rostov-on-Don), Costa Rica (June 22, St. Petersburg) and Serbia (June 27, Moscow, Spartak Stadium).

Apart from holding five championship titles, Brazil is also the world’s only national squad to qualify for every FIFA World Cup.

It also holds the record of the best overall performance in World Cup, with a record of 70 victories in 104 matches played.

Teams from Iran, Panama, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Morocco, Australia, Egypt, Peru and France have already arrived in Russia.