Mumbai,  The Premier Badminton League (PBL) on Wednesday announced its association with Child Rights and You (CRY), an NGO working for child rights for the last four decades to use it as a vehicle to promote children’s cause through sports.

With this association and the world’s leading badminton stars advocating every child’s ‘Right to Play’ through PBL, the idea is to help empower children who are victims of child labour, dropping out of school and child marriage. 

Speaking about the initiative, Prasad Mangipudi, Executive Director of SportzLive, organisers of PBL, opined: “We are on the same page as CRY, sharing their concern and vision and would be elated to put forth a helping hand for the betterment of these children.”

“PBL has been intrinsic in inspiring youngsters and tying up with CRY allows this generous opportunity to reach out to the less privileged children and empower them for a journey of a champion,” he added.

Srinagar,  Rasikh Dar, 17, a teenager from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district will feature in the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 edition after being pocketed by Mumbai Indians in the just concluded auctions held in Jaipur.

The pace bowler is the youngest among the four children of a school teacher belonging to Kulgam district, and was bagged by the three-time IPL champions for Rs 20 lakh.

Dar is currently part of the state’s under-19 team for the Cooch Behar Trophy. He recently took six wickets in that trophy and impressed many by his bowling style, maintaining a decent length and pace.

He was shortlisted during a talent hunt by Irfan Pathan in the state.

Guided by Pathan and local cricketer Parvez Rasool, he was picked for the state’s senior team that played in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Talking about his entry into the IPL, Dar said: “I have over the years worked hard on my game and wanted to play at the highest level. This year I did well in district tournament and then was called for the talent hunt.”

“In the trials, I was fortunate to impress Pathan Bhai and others and was finally selected for the senior team. It is the dream of any cricketer to see himself in IPL,” he added.

Dar is the 4th ever cricketer from the state to be picked for the IPL. Earlier, Parvez Rasool, Manzoor Pandav and Muhammad Mudasir were also bought by Mumbai Indians.

Panchkula, Bengaluru Bulls notched up a thumping 44-28 victory over Telugu Titans in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) clash here on Tuesday.

The victory ensured that Bengaluru Bulls have now qualified for the play-offs.

Pawan Sehrawat continued his fine form and got another super 10 and top scored with 13 points. It was a solid defensive performance by the Bulls. 

Star raider Rahul Chaudhari scored 12 points for Telugu Titans but couldn’t muster enough support from his teammates. Titans
still remain in the hunt for a place in the play-offs but are under pressure now.

It was a close affair in the first half as both teams started on equal footing with the score 2-2 after two minutes. Pawan Sehrawat made a two-point raid in the third minute to give Bulls 4-2 lead. A super tackle in the fourth minute got the Titans back into the game as they trailed 4-5.

Bengaluru Bulls inflicted an all out in the seventh minute to lead 11-5. Rahul Chaudhari produced a super raid in the ninth minute to get Titans back in the game once again.

The Titans inflicted an all out in the 15th minute to level the match at 16-16 and put pressure on Bengaluru Bulls. However, the Bulls scored six straight points to end the half on a high as they led 22-16.

The second half saw Bengaluru Bulls take complete control of the match as they inflicted two all outs to maintain a healthy lead. 

There were moments of quality from Titans in the second half but it just wasn’t enough. A super tackle in the 27th minute
reduced the Bulls lead to 10 points as the Titans trailed 21-31.

But Sehrawat and co. continued to score easy points at will and completed their third successive win over their arch rivals.

Perth,  Australia defeated India by 146 runs in the second Test to level the four-match series at 1-1 here on Tuesday.

India were dismissed for 140 runs in their second innings on the fifth and final day.

Starting the final day at the overnight score of 112/5, the visitors seemed over-awed by the daunting challenge of getting 170-odd runs in difficult conditions against the formidable Australian bowling.

The Indians needed at least one big partnership but none of their batsmen could stick around for too long and were bundled out pretty quickly.

Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc was the most successful among the Australian bowlers with three wickets each.

Although the pitch did not have too much turn, Lyon did well to outfox the Indian batsmen with his variations and richly deserved his match haul of eight wickets.

The visitors lost their first wicket of the day soon after the start when Hanuma Vihari was dismissed by Starc.

Pant was dismissed by Lyon a short while later when he went for a drive and the inside edge went to Peter Handscomb on the onside.

The Indian tail did not wag too much and the Australians cleaned up the remaining wickets to clinch a well deserved victory.

Brief Scores 

India: 283 and 140 (Ajinkya Rahane 30, Rishabh Pant 30; Nathan Lyon 3/39, Mitchell Starc 3/46) vs Australia: 326 and 243

India were at 112/5 against Australia at stumps on the fourth day of the second test match on Monday, pursuing of a stiff target of 287, which appears achievable only in theory.

The visiting team’s hopes were shattered with the departure of captain Virat Kohli for 17, off Nathan Lyon, who also accounted for Murali Vijay and has been the man largely responsible for Australia enjoying an upper hand in this match, reports Efe news.

The Australian quicks were ruthless, as Mitchell Starc sent back Lokesh Rahul in the first over of India’s second innings for a duck, while Josh Hazlewood accounted for Cheteshwar Pujara not too long after that.

Ajinkya Rahane was out for 30 off Hazlewood, almost putting the final nails in the coffin.

Rookie Hanuma Vihari was batting at 24, in the company of the explosive but reckless Rishabh Pant on nine.

In the morning session, Australia were at 190/4 in their second innings, taking a healthy lead of 233 runs.

Resuming the day at 132/4, overnight batsmen Tim Paine and Usman Khawaja started the proceeding on a positive note. The duo played cautiously in the first hour and then started playing their shots.

Indian bowlers struggled in the first session, allowing both the overnight batsmen to continue batting till lunch.

Soon after the lunch break, Australia were bowled out for 243, setting India a target of 287.

Mohammed Shami grabbed four wickets in the second session while Jasprit Bumrah took the remaining two, getting them all out for 243, with the former recording a career-best 65/6.

Usman Khawaja (72) was the highest scorer for the hosts. Skipper Tim Paine (37) also contributed handsomely.

Towards the end, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood forged a 36-run partnership in 38 balls for the last wicket to help their team post a challenging score.

Chasing the target, India lost two quick wickets in the form of Lokesh Rahul (0) and Cheteshwar Pujara (6). India were 15/2 at the tea break.

Skipper Virat Kohli and Murli Vijay were batting when tea was taken but soon after tea India lost three quick wickets.

Australia now need five wickets to win the second Test and level the four match series 1-1.

Brief scores: Australia 326 & 243 vs India 283 & 112/5 at stumps on Day 4 (Ajinkya Rahane 30; Josh Hazlewood 2/24)

Guangzhou (China) (IANS) India’s P.V. Sindhu became the first Indian to win the season finale at the BWF World Tour Finals 2018 badminton tournament here on Sunday.

Sindhu defeated title favourite Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-19, 21-17 in the women’s singles final, reports Efe.

The straight games win is special for the star Indian shuttler, who has won no title this year, although she made it to the finals of four tournaments, including the BWF World Championships and the Asian Games. 

She finished runner-up at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2017 World Championships and the 2017 World Superseries Finals.

She had also lost to Okuhara in the epic World Championships final in Glasgow last year.

However, on Sunday, Sindhu held her attack and dominated the game.

Okuhara won the very first point of the match, but failed to secure a lead again in the match.

“I got close to her in both games, but I wasn’t patient. She wasn’t as aggressive as she usually is, she played at a slower pace. I tried to play the longer rallies in the second game, but I couldn’t recover from my first game loss,” Okuhara said after the game.

“I’m really proud, the year has ended on a beautiful note. People have been asking me the same question, I think the question won’t come again – asking why I always lose in the final. Now I can say I won the gold and I’m proud of it. It was good that people were asking me about losing so many finals, because I had to ask myself why I was losing. Finally I got the answer,” Sindhu said after her win.

“I got emotional because it’s my first gold in this tournament. I didn’t have anything in my mind. I was on my knees. I wanted this win very much.”

Both players had advanced to the final in straight games on Saturday.

Okuhara had defeated compatriot and defending champion, Akane Yamaguchi, while Sindhu beat Thailand’s Ratchanok Intan

 Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu defeated former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in straight games in their women’s singles semi-final at the 2018 BWF World Tour Finals here on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Olympic silver medallist, who has not lost to World No.8 Intanon in the last two years, breezed into the final after quashing her Thai opponent 21-16, 25-23 in 54 minutes, reports Efe.

The world number six from Hyderabad – who entered the semi-finals after defeating Beiwen Zhang of the US 21-9, 21-15 on Friday – dominated the first game, winning it in 20 minutes after grabbing an initial 6-4 lead.

Intanon bounced back in the second game but Sindhu did not lose nerve and won it in a nail-biting finish to wrap up the match.

Sindhu will now play against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in the final on Sunday.

IANS

India were 172/3 at stumps on the second day of the second Test against Australia at the Perth stadium here on Saturday.

India skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane were batting on 82 and 51 runs respectively when the day ended. 

The visiting side still trail by 154 runs against Australia’s first innings total of 326. Resuming the second day at 277/6, the Aussies were all out for 326 shortly before lunch.

Brief Scores: India (First Innings): 172/3 (Virat KOhli 82 batting, Ajinkya Rahane 51 batting) vs Australia (First Innings): 326 (Marcus Harris 70; Ishant Sharma 4/41).

IANS

Perth  India was 6/1 in their first innings at lunch on the second day of the second cricket Test here on Saturday.

Lokesh Rahul was on 1 at the break.

The visitors now trail the Australian first innings total of 326 by 320 runs.

The Indians lost opener Murali Vijay right at the stroke of lunch as a delivery from fast bowler Mitchell Starc found the gap between bat and pad to crash into the stumps.

Earlier, India had dismissed Australia for 326 runs in the first innings of the second cricket Test here on Saturday.

Resuming the overnight score of 277/6, Tim Paine and Pat Cummings held the Indian bowlers at bay for a while before both the players departed in consecutive overs.

Fast bowler Ishant Sharma then had Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood caught behind off back to back deliveries to bring the Australian innings to an end.

Brief scores:

India (first innings): 6/1 (Lokesh Rahul 1 batting) vs Australia (first innings): 326 (Marcus Harris 70; Ishant Sharma 4/41) vs India.

(IANS)

 PAustralia were 277/6 at stumps on the opening day of the second Test match against India here on Friday.

Pat Cummins (11) and skipper Tim Paine (16) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day.

Brief scores: 
Australia: 277/6 (Marcus Harris 70, Aaron Finch 50; Ishant Sharma 2/35) at stumps on Day 1 vs India.