The Official Draw for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be played in six venues across India between 6 and 28 October 2017, took place on Friday in Mumbai.

The draw revealed that hosts India will take on USA in their opening match of the competition in New Delhi. Group A also includes Colombia and Ghana, who will also clash as part of the first day’s action.

Perhaps the most intriguing quartet of teams can be found in Group D, where FIFA tournament debutants Niger were drawn with Korea DPR, Brazil, and Spain.

The draw ceremony was held in the presence of Sunil Gulati, FIFA Council member, Praful Patel, President of the All India Football Federation and Vijay Goel, Indian Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. Assisting in the draw ceremony were FIFA Legends Esteban Cambiasso and Nwankwo Kanu, as well as Indian national team legend Sunil Chhetri and Indian badminton star Pusarla Venkata Sindhu.

One of the highlights of the ceremony was the performance of the tournament’s Official Song. Pritam and Babul Supriyo revealed ‘Kar Ke Dikhla De Goal’ for the first time, much to the delight of the assembled audience.

FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 Draw
Group A: India, USA, Colombia, Ghana
Group B: Paraguay, Mali, New Zealand, Turkey
Group C: Iran, Guinea, Germany, Costa Rica
Group D: Korea DPR, Niger, Brazil, Spain
Group E: Honduras, Japan, New Caledonia, France
Group F: Iraq, Mexico, Chile, England

‘Phase II’ Tickets are now on sale. The phase will exclusively be available for Visa cardholders between 7 and 21 July. Fans will be able to buy tickets at all six venues – New Delhi, Navi Mumbai, Guwahati, Goa, Kolkata and Kochi – after knowing the teams that will play at the respective Host City.

Further information on the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 is available on FIFA.com.

BS U13
Final
Ayush Shetty (1), BADDYZONE, def. Tushar Suveer (2), PPBA, 21-7 21-7 .

GS U13
Final
Karinka Sree. S (3), SELENITE SPORTS ACADEMY, def. Gayathri Rani Jaiswal (2), ANUP SRIDHAR FTSM, 14-21 21-16 21-14 .

BD U13
Final
Ayush Shetty, BADDYZONE, and Nicholas Nathan Raj (1), PPBA, def. Sumukh.G.S and Tushar Suveer (2), PPBA, 21-16 21-17 .

GD U13
Final
Gayathri Rani Jaiswal, ANUP SRIDHAR FTSM, and Karinka Sree. S (2), SELENITE SPORTS ACADEMY, def. Anannya Joishy, Golden shuttle Academy, and Neysa Cariappa A (1), DYES, 21-12 21-12 .

GS U15
Final
Kriti Bharadwaj (1), DYES, def. Tanya Hemanth (2), I – Sports, 22-20 21-19 .

BD U15
Final
Kishal Ganapathy, RBA, and Saneeth D. S. (2), WPBA, def. and , , w.o..

GD U15
Final
Kriti Bharadwaj, DYES, and Tanya Hemanth (1), I – Sports, def. Janani Ananthakumar, I – Sports, and Shruti Moghe (2), DYES, 21-10 21-10 .

BS U17
Final
Tejas Kallolkar (1), rajan’s Badminton Academy, def. Nithin.H.V (2), I – Sports, 9-21 21-11 21-15 .

GS U17
Final
Trisha Hegde (1), PPBA, def. Tanya Hemanth (8), I – Sports, 21-16 16-21 22-20 .

BD U17
Final
Ajinkya Joshi and Tejas Kallolkar (2), rajan’s Badminton Academy, def. Bhargav S Gowda, WPBA, and Nithin.H.V (1), I – Sports, 21-12 21-16 .

GD U17
Final
Drithi Yatheesh and Trisha Hegde (1), PPBA, def. Keerthana P. Shroff, I – Sports, and Medha Shashidharan (2), DYES, 20-22 21-12 21-16 .

BS U19
Final
Kiran B. (2), WPBA, def. Mayuresh Janpandit (5), WPBA, 21-10 18-21 21-12 .

GS U19
Final
Drithi Yatheesh (4), PPBA, def. Ramya C. V (3), I – Sports, 21-12 21-11 .

BD U19
Final
Ganesh Vittalji and Sai Pratheek K, I – Sports, def. Abi Amudan S, Ace Badminton world, and Kiran B. (1), WPBA, 21-11 21-18 .

XD U19
Final
Ganesh Vittalji, I – Sports, and Dharini Ravikumar Rajarathnam (2), ACCOLADES, def. Abi Amudan S, Ace Badminton world, and Ranjini Hegde (1), Arun BA, 18-21 21-15 21-18.

New Delhi: The Indian football team today rose to the 96th spot in the latest FIFA rankings, its best- ever in the last two decades and the second best overall.

As far as Asia is concerned, India are the 12th highest ranked team in the continent, while Iran lead the chart at the 23rd spot. India’s best-ever FIFA ranking till date stays 94, which was attained in February 1996, while 99 was India’s second- best, achieved in November 1993.

The national team has been on an upsurge with a string of impressive results leading to a climb of 77 places over the last two years. The team has now won 13 of its last 15 matches and is unbeaten in the last eight games (including the unofficial match against Bhutan).

India were ranked 171 when Stephen Constantine took over as national coach for the second time in February 2015 and slipped further to 173rd in March 2015 in the FIFA ladder even before the gaffer could have his first game in charge against Nepal, which India eventually won 2-0 on aggregate.

Congratulating the team, All India Football Federation president Praful Patel said: “It’s a giant leap of faith for Indian football. Two years back, we were 173 and now we have reached our second best FIFA ranking ever. The leap signifies the potential of Indian football. Congratulations to the national team boys, the coach, the staff and all in AIFF.”

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das stated: “This comes as a huge boost ahead of our next AFC Asian Cup qualifying match against Macau on September 5, 2017. Hats off to the team for giving it their all in achieving this milestone. Qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup 2019 stays our top priority.”

Confederations Cup champions and reigning world champions Germany have overtaken Brazil to be the top team in the world and are followed by Argentina at third spot, Portugal and Switzerland.

Constantine said: “When I took over, I had mentioned that my target was to bring India below 100. I am happy to have played a small part in this process. Kudos to the boys, the staff and a big thank you to my colleagues in AIFF for supporting us all throughout. I also need to thank Mr. Patel and Mr. Das for their trust in allowing me to do things in the manner I wanted.”

“But the present FIFA spot doesn’t mean that we have achieved much. We need to stay focused on the upcoming challenges.” A qualification spot in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 is what the AIFF aims at this moment. That would be India’s second AFC Asian Cup stint in eight years, the last being in Doha in 2011.

(Agencies)

Pakistan have won the Champions Trophy cricket final after beating their arch-rivals India by 180 runs at the Oval ground in Britain’s capital, London.

Title-holders India, set 339 to win, collapsed after Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Amir removed the top three batsmen – Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and captian Virat Kohli. They were eventually dismissed for 158, with 19.3 overs to spare.

Al Jazeera’s Lee Wellings, reporting from South London, said that only few people saw this result coming.

“This is absolutely remarkable. Pakistan fans cannot believe the journey their team has taken,” he said.

“Pakistan is celebrating their biggest victory against their archrival.”

Amir finished with three for 16 in six overs and Hasan Ali, who kick-started Pakistan’s revival in their group-win over top-ranked South Africa, ended the match when he had Jasprit Bumrah caught by gleeful captain and wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Left-arm fast bowler Amir, whose career was almost ended on the other side of London’s River Thames by a ban and jail term he received for his part in a spot-fixing scam during a 2010 Test against England at Lord’s, finished with three for 16.

He dismissed Rohit Sharma (nought), India captain Virat Kohli (five) and Shikhar Dhawan (21) in a stunning new-ball spell.

Earlier, Pakistan made 338 for four after losing the toss with opener Fakhar Zaman’s 114 his maiden one-day international hundred in just his fourth match at this level.

India had thrashed Pakistani side by 124 runs in their tournament opener at Edgbaston on June 4.

(Agencies)

London: A wounded Pakistan will be out for revenge while India will aim to maintain their dominance when the arch-rivals meet in the final of the Champions Trophy cricket tournament at The Oval here on Sunday.

Pakistan have been badly bruised against India this series in their opening group stage match, having lost the game by 124 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method.

India may be ahead against Pakistan in ICC tournaments by an 8-2 margin, but in all ODI tournament finals Pakistan holds a 6-2 edge in the head-to-head battle against India.

Pakistan have managed to bounce back in this tournament, defeating South Africa and Sri Lanka in the group stages and England in the semi-finals to book a berth in the final.

With Pakistan’s front-line pacer Mohammad Amir declared fit to play in the final after sitting out the previous match, he alongside new ball bowler Junaid Khan will be the key against India to provide their side with early breakthroughs.

Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed will also look to use his team’s bowling strength to do the damage against an in-form Indian batting line-up.

The spin duo of Imad Wasim and Mohammad Hafeez alongside medium-pacer Rumman Raees — who made his debut in the semi-finals — will look to provide depth and variation to the Pakistan bowling line-up.

The batting department for Pakistan under the likes of opener Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman followed by Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez will look to flourish against India having got to good starts in the previous matches but failing to build lethal partnerships.

India, on the other side have looked a balanced side with both their batting and bowling departments having managed to click throughout the tournament.

India opener Shikhar Dhawan is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 317 runs in four matches and will look to continue his momentum against Pakistan.

In-form Indian batsmen Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni have also helped their side look capable enough of chasing any target.

The bowling department for India under the likes of pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have looked solid bowling economically while providing clinical breakthroughs.

Captain Kohli will also look to use off-break spinner Kedar Jadhav — who took two vital wickets in his previous match against Bangladesh — alongside Hardik Pandya to deceive the Pakistan batsmen.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, Mohammed Shami, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav.

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain and wicket-keeper), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees, Junaid Khan, Imad Wasim, Fahim Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail.

(IANS)

Birmingham: India cantered to a nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in a lopsided second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Edgbaston Stadium here on Thursday, setting up a clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.

Chasing 265 to win after electing to field first, the defending champions did not flinch for one moment as Rohit Sharma scored his 11th career ton (123 not out) and captain Virat Kohli notched up his 42nd fifty (96 not out) to stitch up an unbeaten 178-run partnership for the second wicket. India won the match with 59 balls to spare.

While Sharma’s innings was laced with 15 fours and one six, Kohli smashed 13 boundaries.

Kohli, in the process, became the fastest cricketer in the world to reach 8,000 runs in ODIs in just 175 innings.

Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Sharma were off to a rollicking start in the first six overs.

Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman was taken to the cleaners as Dhawan smacked his Indian Premier League (IPL) teammate for two back-to-back fours in his very first over, while Sharma hit three boundaries in his second over.

The defending champions raced to 50 in 7.5 overs with Dhawan hitting a four down the leg side off Taskin Ahmed to re-take the top spot in the run-making charts eclipsing Tamim Iqbal. He followed it up with a huge six over square-leg.

After the first 10 overs of mandatory powerplay, India were 63/0.

India were sailing smoothly when opposition skipper Mashrafe Mortaza rocked their ship, getting the prized wicket of Dhawan, who had made a quickfire (46; 34b; 7×4, 1×6). Trying to maintain his tempo, the Delhi batter came down the track and looked to hit over mid-off only to gift an easy catch to Mosaddek Hossain at point.

At the other end, Sharma clipped Shakib Al Hasan down to long-on to bring up his third half century of the tournament. India got to 100/1 in 16.2 overs with Kohli joining him in the middle and announcing his arrival with a Sachin Tendulkar-esque straight drive down the ground off Mustafizur. He followed it up with two more boundaries off the same bowler one over later including a magnificient cover drive.

At the halfway stage of the innings, India were cruising at 164/1 needing another 101 runs for victory when Sharma hooked Mustafizur for a six to bring up his century.

Earlier, riding on fluent half centuries from opener Tamim Iqbal and stumper Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh posted 264/7.

Tamim (70) and Mushfiqur (61) posted a 123-run third-wicket partnership to steady the Bangladesh ship after the tigers were reduced to 36/2.

Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/53) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/40) maintained a strict line to halt Bangladesh’s scoring rate while part-timer Kedar Jadhav (2/22) emerged as the surprise package.

Despite Bhuvneshwar sweeping up opener Soumya Sarkar (0) and one-down Sabbir Rahman (19), the counter-attacking intent from the Bangladesh batsmen kept the scoreboard ticking.

Kohli’s gamble to bowl Jadhav after all-rounder Hardik Pandya was smashed all over the park, worked wonders for the team as the off-spinner managed to break the century stand between Tamim and Mushfiqur.

Jadhav, who was handed the ball for the first time in the tournament, deceived Tamim with a straight delivery which the southpaw failed to read and instead lost his leg stump while attempting a cross-bat stroke.

The wicket of the dangerous Tamim, who struck seven boundaries and a six, changed the complexion of the game, as Bangladesh failed to keep up the momentum from a comfortable 161/2 after 30 overs to only muster 264/7 by the end.

Incoming batsman Shakib Al Hasan (15) fell cheaply to left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja before Jadhav once again struck with the crucial wicket of Rahim, who failed to clear midwicket where Kohli latched on to a comfortable catch.

Middle-order batsmen Hossain (15) and Mahmudullah (21) — who was dropped on four by Ravichandran Ashwin — failed to rise to the occasion with both sent back by Bumrah in quick succession.

Thereafter, Mortaza (30 not out) and tailender Taskin Ahmed (11 not out) put on a 35-run undefeated eighth-wicket stand to help the side reach 264.

(IANS)

Birmingham: Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and asked Bangladesh to bat in the second semi-finals match of the Champions Trophy cricket tournament at Edgbaston Stadium here on Thursday.

Both teams named unchanged squads for the crucial match.

Squads:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman, Mushfiqur Rahim (wicketkeeper), Shakib Al Hasan, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Taskin Ahmed, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman.

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah.

(IANS)

Cardiff: Pakistan rode on skipper Sarfraz Ahmed’s unconquered 61 to recover from a middle-order collapse and pull off a three-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in a virtual quarter-final Group B ICC Champions Trophy clash at Sophia Gardens here on Monday to qualify for the semifinals.

Chasing 237 for a triumph, fast bowler Mohammad Amir (28 not out) showed great resolve to stitch together an unbeaten 75-run stand with Sarfraz for the eighth wicket to help his side register the win in a see-saw battle. At one point, Sri Lanka had their rivals on the mat at 162/7 but had poor fielding and dropped chances to blame for their loss.

Pakistan, which chased the target in 44.5 overs, got off to a rollicking start riding young southpaw Fakhar Zaman’s quickfire 36-ball 50 but Nuwam Pradeep (3/60) put a spanner on his works by getting him out just when he was looking very good.

The opening pair between ZamanAand Azhar Ali stitched together a 74-run partnership.

Ali’s dogged (34; 50b; 2×4 1×6) came to a premature end also after Babar Azam (10; 18b; 1×4) and Mohammad Hafeez (1) failed to contribute.

Pakistan lost the middle order in a hurry with seasoned campaigner Shoaib Malik (11; 20b 1×4 0x6), Imad Wasim (4) and Fahim Ashraf (15; 15b; 1×4, 1×6) not lasting long.

It was down to Sarfraz to lead from the front and the 30-year old made the most of two reprieves to steer Pakistan over the line alongwith important contribution from Amir.

Sarfraz was dropped twice by Thisara Perera and substitute Seekkuge Prasanna on 38 and 40 respectively, bith times off Lasith Malinga’s bowling.

(IANS)

by Sahir Usman, CRICKETNMORE

Cardiff: Bangladesh rode on a record partnership by centurions Shakib Al-Hasan and Mahmadullah to defeat New Zealand by five wickets in their Group A match at the Champions Trophy cricket tournament here on Friday.

Needing 266 runs for the win, Bangladesh were off a nightmarish start, losing their entire top order by the 12th over.

But Shakib and Mahmadullah then joined forces to add 224 runs between them in 209 balls and snatch victory from what seemed at one point to be also certain defeat.

Shakib scored 114 runs from 115 deliveries, hitting 11 boundaries and a six during his stay in the middle.

Mahmadullah remained unbeaten on 102 runs off 107 balls with eight hits to the fence and two sixes.

This is the highest ever partnership for Bangladesh. The previous highest was a stand of 148 runs off 140 balls by Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al-Hasan against New Zealand in Chitagong in 2014.

By the time Shakib was bowled in the 47th over by an excellent yorker by Trent Boult, Bangladesh were on the verge of victory as they needed just nine runs from 21 deliveries.

Mosaddek Hossain then joined Mahmadullah in the middle to see Bangladesh through to victory.

The team from South Asia crossed the line in 47.2 overs.

Friday’s result has given Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-finals. They finish their group engagements with three points from as many matches.

They suffered an eight-wicket in the tournament opener against hosts England. They then earned one point from their washed out second game against Australia.

If England manage to defeat Australia in the final game of Group A on Saturday, then Bangladesh will go through to the knockout stage along with the hosts. Australia have been extremely unlucky as they have notched up only two points so far as both their matches were abandoned due to rain.

The Kiwis on the hand will have to catch the new flight back to New Zealand. They finish a poor campaign with a single from three matches.

Boasting a power-packed line-up of fast bowlers, the Kiwis were expected to do well in the swing friendly English conditions. But their bowling showed surprising lack of bite on Friday despite some early promise.

They earned their only point from their abandoned campaign opener against Australia before going down by 87 runs to England.

New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee knocked the wind out of the Bangladesh batting in the early stages of the chase by picking up three wickets in his opening three overs.

With Bangladesh struggling at 12/3 in the fifth over, Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim 21 runs between them before the Kiwi pacer Adam Milne found the gap between the bat and pad of the latter.

That was the only bit of celebration the New Zealand players will manage on the day as Shakib and Mahmadullah got down to business.

Southee was the standout performer in a rather poor bowling effort by the Kiwis with figures of 3/ in nine overs.

Earlier, New Zealand posted 265/8 after electing to bat first at the Sophia Gardens.

Skipper Kane Williamson (57) and Veteran batsman Ross Taylor (63) were the major contributors for the New Zealand cause.

New Zealand got off to a good start as openers Martin Guptill (33) and Luke Ronchi (16) forged a 46-run partnership before Ronchi was caught by Mustafizur Rahman off pacer Taskin Ahmed in the eighth over.

Soon, Martin Guptill was sent packing in the 13th over by speedster Rubel Hossain. Guptill, who faced 35 balls and slammed four boundaries and one six, was adjudged leg before wicket.

Middle-order batsmen Williamson and Taylor then added 83 for the third wicket to stabilise the innings. But just when it seemed good, Williamson was run out by Shakib Al Hasan. Williamson hit four boundaries in his 69-ball knock.

Incoming batsman Niel Broom (36) then added 49 runs in 8.4 overs with Taylor before the latter was dismissed by Ahmed in the 39th over.

Broom, along with new batsman James Neesham (23), displayed some quality cricket as the duo forged a crucial 27-run partnership before Broom was dismissed by offie Mosaddek Hossain.

Lower middle-order batsmen Corey Anderson (0), Mitchell Santner (14 not out), Adam Milne (7) and Tim Southee (10 not out) then failed to step up to the occasion as they failed to reach a handsome score.

For Bangladesh, Mosaddek Hossain scalped three wickets while Taskin Ahmed took two wickets each.

Brief score: New Zealand 265/8 (Kane Williamson 57, Ross Taylor 63; Mosaddek Hossain 3/13) against Bangladesh.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh: 268/5 in 47.2 overs (Shakib Al-Hasan 114, Mahmadullah 102 not out; Tim Southee 3/45) against New Zealand 265/8 (Kane Williamson 57, Ross Taylor 63; Mosaddek Hossain 3/13).

June 8 (CRICKETNMORE) – Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and opted to field against India in a Group B match of Champions Trophy at Kennington Oval in London on Thursday.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and opted to field against India in a Group B match of Champions Trophy at Kennington Oval in London on Thursday.

Sri Lanka made three changes in the team that played against South Africa. On the other side, India are going with the same team which played against Pakistan.

Playing XI

India

Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah

Sri Lanka

Niroshan Dickwella(w), Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews(c), Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep

Pitch report by Saba Karim

“This is a fresh wicket and for the first time this pitch is being used in the Champions Trophy. There is fresh grass, which means the pace bowlers will get some lateral movement. When I put my hand on it, I can feel the moisture. I don’t see any assistance for the spinners. One would be tempted to bowl first here,” opines Saba Karim.

(CRICKETNMORE)