The Odisha government on Monday announced that all educational institutions in Bhubaneswar will remain closed for the opening ceremony of the Odisha Men’s Hockey World Cup on Tuesday.

Schools and educational institutions in the capital city will remain closed on Tuesday, while educational institutions across the state will remain closed after 1.30 p.m, a release from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.

Similarly, all government offices in the state, including those in Bhubaneswar, will function till 1.30 p.m, the release said.

The inaugural event will be held in the evening on Tuesday. The matches for the world cup will begin at Kalinga Stadium here from Wednesday.

The state government also announced that all educational institutions and government offices in Cuttack will be closed on Wednesday after 1.30 p.m in view of the Hockey World Cup celebrations event scheduled to be held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Wednesday.

Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and music maestro A.R. Rahman are slated to perform at the inaugural programme at Kalinga Stadium on Tuesday. Besides, some Odia actors will also perform at the programme.

Similarly, Rahman and some actors will perform at Barabati Stadium on Wednesday.

IANS

India will be playing an International Friendly against Oman on December 27 in Abu Dhabi as part of their preparation for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, it was announced on Monday.

As per the October FIFA Rankings, Oman are currently ranked 84 in comparison to India on 97.

All India Football Federation General Secretary Kushal Das said it’s important that the National Team plays “stronger opposition” in their quest to prepare better for the Asian Cup.

“Oman are a very strong team. We were drawn against them in the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers and are aware of their quality and strength. It will be the perfect test for our boys as they gear up for the Asian Cup,” Das said.

“I need to thank the Oman Football Federation for agreeing to play the match in Abu Dhabi,” he added.

National coach Stephen Constantine highlighted the “need to strike a rhythm.”

“It’s now a question of trying to establish a rhythm and making sure we all know what we have to do. In our last game against Jordan, the circumstances were exceptional and that was a good learning experience for all the players,” the coach stated.

Constantine explained that Oman will be very similar to Bahrain and UAE, both of whom India will be facing in the group stage of the AFC Asian Cup.

“Oman will be in some ways very similar to Bahrain and UAE which is why we wanted to play them so that we can get a good idea of what we are going to face in the group stages,” he maintained.

India last played Oman in the FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers (in 2015) and lost 1-2 in Bengaluru and 0-4 in Muscat.

Constantine, however, said that the team is a “completely different” outfit now.

“After 3 years, we are a completely different team and I believe we are getting better. It should be a great game for us,” he said.

India will play Thailand in their first match of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 at the Al Nahyan Stadium on January 6.

IANS

The Netherlands outclassed Australia 5-1 to win its seventh Women’s Hockey Champions Trophy at the Wujin Hockey Stadium here.

With the win on Sunday, the reigning world champion has kept its record intact during the tournament and extended its winning streak to 43 matches, reports Xinhua news agency.

“We are always challenging ourselves to be the best we can be. We focus on our performance, not that of our opposition,” head coach Alyson Annan told the official website of the International Hockey Federation.

Apart from the team trophy, the Dutch players also reaped three individual awards of the tournament. Eva de Goede was crowned Best Player, Marijn Veen as Best Scorer and 22-year-old Marijn Veen as Rising Player.

The Best Goalkeeper award went to China’s Ye Jiao, who had excellent performance in the tournament although China lost 6-0 to Argentina to finish fourth.

The tournament featured only six teams, including world’s top four of the Netherlands, Britain, Australia, Argentina as well as Asian Games champion Japan and host China.

Australia finished second, followed by Argentina, China, Britain and Japan.

IANS

 Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said he was not surprised by India women’s cricket team’s decision to drop senior pro Mithali Raj for their World T20 World Cup semifinal loss to England.

Despite scoring back to back half centuries, the ODI captain was rested for the final league stage game against Australia due to a knee injury and didn’t figure in the semis too.

“No! I have also sat out in the dug out after captaining India. When I saw Mithali Raj being dropped, I said ‘Welcome to the group’,” Ganguly said while addressing a gathering at the Tollygunge Club here.

Citing his example during the Greg Chappell era, Ganguly said: “Captains are asked to sit, so just do it. I have done it in Faisalabad. I didn’t play an ODI game for 15 months when I was probably the best performer in one-day cricket… It happens in life. The best in the world are at times shown the door,” the 46-year-old said recalling the 2006 second Test against Pakistan.

Ganguly said it’s not the end of the world for Mithali.

“You should always remember you’re best because you did something and there’s an opportunity again. So, I am not too disappointed seeing Mithali being asked to sit out. I have not been disappointed to see the reactions on the ground.

“But I am disappointed because India lost the semifinals because I thought they had the team to go the distance. It happens as they say there’s no guarantee in life. Do the best,” expressed Ganguly.

“Women’s cricket had had a lot of hurdles last few years and very rightly so. It’s good to see that they have been looked after now and paid good numbers,” the former India captain further opined.

Ganguly was also asked about MS Dhoni, who has not been in the best of form for some time now and is not part of the current T20I and ODI side in Australia.

“He’s another champion… Fantastic career for 12-13 years since winning the World Twenty 20. Just like everyone else he has to perform. There’s one must in life: whatever job you do, wherever you are, whatever age you have, how much experience you have, you have to keep performing at the top level otherwise someone else will take your place,” Ganguly pointed out.

“I wish him (Dhoni) all the luck because we want champions to go on a high, whenever he goes. I still feel he can hit the ball in the stands. He’s a phenomenal cricketer,” Ganguly said.

Remembering President Pervez Musharraf’s admiration of Dhoni during 2006 tour, the Kolkata lad said: “I still remember Pervez Musharraf asking me from where did you get him? ‘I told him he was walking near the Wagah border and we pulled him in’,” Ganguly said in a lighter note.

Asked about his take on the 2019 World Cup lineup, Ganguly said: “I am not a selector but I expect 85-90 per cent of the current team will play in the World Cup.”

IANS

Sydney After India defeated Australia by six wickets in the third and the final Twenty20 match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) to level the rubber 1-1, skipper Virat Kohli felt his bowlers did a commendable job on a tough wicket.

Kohli, who struck a brilliant half-century to ensure India overhaul the 165-run target in time, also lauded openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan’s effort.

Significantly, Rohit (23 off 16 balls) and Dhawan (41 off 22 balls) were involved in a 67-run partnership to provide the India a solid start.

“Things become pretty easy when those two (Shikhar and Rohit) guys do the job for us. We thought the wicket slowed down with the old ball. That’s how T20 cricket goes,” the Indian skipper said after the match.

“When our openers get into the zone they’re difficult to stop,” Kohli, who played a crucial 41-ball 61-run knock on Sunday, expressed adding: “Overall, skill wise, we were better on the day than Australia.”

The 30-year-old also praised his bowlers for restricting the hosts to an achievable total.

“With the ball, we were more professional today. I thought it was a 180 wicket,” Kohli pointed out.

Meanwhile, an elated Krunal Pandya, who returned with his career best figures of 4/36 after being hammered for 55 runs in first game at Brisbane, said: “Obviously it feels really great to contribute in a winning side. I had to back myself after that first game. It feels good to overcome those type of hurdles.”

“The best part of team India is they back all of the players whether you are doing well or poorly,” Krunal, who was also adjudged Man of the Match, added.

(IANS)

Pune, Nov 25 (IANS) Haryana Steelers put up an accomplished team performance to register a much-needed 34-27 win over Dabang Delhi in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) clash at the Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex here on Sunday.

Vikas Kandola was the star performer as he scored 10 points and was ably supported by Naveen who chipped in with five points for Haryana.

Meanwhile Dabang Delhi’s Naveen Kumar also scored 10 raid points but his effort went in vain as he didn’t get enough support from his defence.

Haryana Steelers got off to a quick start to lead 2-0 after two minutes but Naveen Kumar levelled the match for Dabang Delhi with a two-point raid. It was a quiet first 10 minutes as both sides seemed to be measuring each other.

Haryana Steelers were trailing 5-7 and their star raider Monu Goyat was struggling to put points on the board.

Vikas Kandola got the bulk of raid points for Haryana Steelers in the first half. After 15 minutes both teams were locked in a tight battle with scores level at 9-9. Monu opened his account in the 17th minute to give Haryana Steelers 12-9 lead.

At the end of the first half Haryana Steelers led 13-10 with Dabang Delhi still very much in the game.

Vikas made a two-point raid at the start of the second half as Haryana extended their lead to 17-10. Haryana Steelers inflicted the first all out of the match in the 25th minute to lead 23-15.

Naveen Kumar had an excellent raiding game for Delhi as he consistently put the points on board.

After 30 minutes, Haryana Steelers were in the driving seat as they led 27-18. Haryana Steelers kept their nerve and composure in the last five minutes and went away with a convincing 34-27 win.

India crashed out of the ICC women’s World T20 after going down to England by 8 wickets in the second semi-final at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here on Friday.

In what turned out as a golden opportunity to avenge their ICC 50-over World Cup final loss to England, India were handicapped by a lower order batting collapse that saw them being bundled out for a meagre 112 after opting to bat.

In Saturday’s summit clash, No.2 ranked England will face traditional rivals World No.1 Australia, who outclassed defending champions and hosts West Indies by 71 runs in the other semi-final of the day.

On a pitch that demanded technique and patience, England’s chase of 113 got off to a tricky start with the opening duo of Danielle Wyatt (8) and Tammy Beaumont (1) departing early, thanks to Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadav.

England could soon have lost their third wicket in the form of top scorer Natalie Sciver (54 not out off 43 balls; 4X5) had Poonam Yadav not dropped her at midwicket off Anuja Patil when the right-hander was on two.

Even after that Harmanpreet Kaur’s ploy of continuing with the slower bowlers for the first 10 overs gave the English duo of Sciver and stumper Amy Ellen Jones (51 not out off 42; 4X3, 6X1), the license to adjust accordingly.

The right-handed pair came all guns blazing, with Amy taking the attack to the opposition with her aggressive stroke play before Natalie matched her shot for shot to first bring up their respective fifties, and take England to their fourth World Cup final with 17 balls to spare.

Earlier, India’s ploy to leave out the veteran Mithali Raj on a pitch that demanded techinique and patience, backfired as the the women in blue squandered a brisk start before losing their last eight wickets for mere 23 runs to fold for a meagre total.

Smriti Mandhana (34 off 23; 4X5, 6X1) top scored for India, getting the team to a quick 43-run start with stumper Taniya Bhatia (11) before young Jemimah Rodrigues came up with a run-a-ball 26 to solidify things.At 89/3 in the 14th over, the platform was set for skipper Harmanpreet (16 off 20; 6X1) to launch the attack for another massive total but unfortunately the Indian innings got derailed from there on.

India kept losing wickets in heaps with the next seven batters falling like nine pins and even failing to reach the double digits.For the English women, skipper Heather Knight was the pick of the bowlers, returning 3/9 while Kirstie Gordon and Sophie Ecclestone contributed well by taking two wickets each.

Brief Scores: India 112 (Smriti Mandhana 34, Jemimah Rodrigues 26; Heather Knight 3/9, Kirstie Gordon 2/20, Sophie Ecclestone 2/22) lose to England 116/2 (Natalie Sciver 54 not out, Amy Ellen Jones 51 not out; Radha Yadav 1/20) by 8 wickets.

 India’s team selection in the 8-wicket women’s World T20 semi-final loss to England on Friday seemed to defy all logic even as skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s defence of having “no regrets” of keeping veteran Mithali Raj out of the playing XI hardly found any takers.

Going by sheer statistics, Mithali, with 2,283 T20I runs, is the highest scorer for the country in the shortest format, even surpassing the likes of her male counterparts — Rohit Sharma (2,214) and Virat Kohli (2,106) — and to that extent, the team skipper herself, who has 1,886 runs.

In the World T20, Mithali had opened the batting along side Smriti Mandhana on two occasions, and on both the former skipper had scored back-to-back half centuries while also bagging the Player-of-the-Match awards.

The veteran right-hander was dropped to No.8 in the order in the tournament opener against New Zealand, with stumper Tanya Bhatia partnering Smriti. Mithali was then rested from the last league game against Australia as she was unwell.

Cut to Friday’s toss at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here. India won the toss and opted to bat and it was then that Harmanpreet announced that Mithali was not in the playing XI. She said that the Indian management had decided to back its winning combination.

Now coming to the outcome, Mithali’s replacement Tanya managed a meagre 11 before falling to England skipper Heather Knight while Smriti top scored with 34 runs, before a lower order collapse completely derailed India’s innings.

On a pitch that demanded the technical acumen of Mithali, and where stroke play wasn’t the easiest way to approach, the Indian team management’s ploy of excluding the former skipper cost it dear, which was evident from the fact that the last seven Indian wickets fell for mere 23 runs.

But in the post-match presentation, when Harmanpreet defended the decision, she hardly found any takers with many cricket experts terming it as a big mistake.

“India paid the price for two mistakes. One in planning, by dropping Mithali on this pitch. The other in execution, by rushing down the pitch to muscle the ball in front of the pitch on a very slow pitch,” former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on Twitter.

Noted cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle also criticised the move in a couple of tweets, in which he wrote: “If India can go in without Mithali Raj, this must be twice as good a batting side as any in the world!!! What is the story there?”

“Can understand, if you have to, that you leave out Mithali in a 180 game. But on a tough pitch? Then you play your best players and she is that,” Bhogle wrote.

As sports journalist Suprita Das put it: “Let’s just say the team got its strategy horribly wrong on a big day. The coach could’ve also had a say in this. It’s a bit baffling that India would decide to drop an in-form Mithali on a track like this. She’s our best bet to anchor an innings when in trouble. There’s no guarantee of course that she would play the anchor’s role today as well, but goes without doubt that Mithali’s calmness may’ve helped the team hold their nerves even while defending the total.”

“How India and the various stakeholders of the sport react to the current result is what will tell us whether we really care about women’s cricket in India or not,” Suprita, whose book “Free Hit: The Story of Women’s Cricket in India”, will release in early December, told IANS.

Till Friday, India remained the sole unbeaten side in the 2018 World T20 but like last year it was once again an England team that stood as a stumbling block to the Women in Blue’s pursuit of a title in a big-ticket event.

 Defending the team management’s decision to bench veteran Mithali Raj even after Friday’s heartbreaking 8-wicket semi-final loss to England, India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur maintained that she had “no regrets”.

“Whatever we decided, we decided for the team. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, no regrets,” Harmanpreet said at the post-match presentation at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium here.

“I’m proud of the way my girls played through the tournament. This is a learning for us because we are a young team.”

On a pitch that wasn’t the easiest to bat on, the English duo of Natalie Sciver (54 not out) and Amy Ellen Jones (51 not out) displayed great technique to deny India any chances of a comeback after the spinners removed the openers within the first five overs of the England chase.

Hailing World No.2 England’s approach in the semi-final, the India skipper said: “Sometimes you have to change your game according to the wicket. England bowled really well, read the wicket really well.

“It was not an easy total to chase, and our bowlers bowled really well. We stretched the match till the 18th over.”

Harmanpreet further maintained that this World T20 was another learning curve for her young side and pointed out the need to focus on mental strength.

“I think we are a young team and we still need to work on our mental strength. If we can work on how to play under pressure, that will change how we play these games,” she said.

IANS

Bengaluru FC accounted for FC Goa 2-1 in a fiery Indian Super League (ISL) encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

Rahul Bheke opened the scoring with an improvised backheel flick in the 34th minute. Both teams were then reduced to 10 men after the restart as Mohammad Ali and Dimas Delgado were sent off.

Brandon Fernandes equalised for the hosts in the 72nd minute but Sunil Chhetri notched the winner for Bengaluru five minutes later.

The win takes Bengaluru — only unbeaten side in the ISL — level on points with FC Goa at the top of the table with two games in hand over the Gaurs.

Bengaluru had the first sight of goal after Chencho Gyeltshen and Udanta Singh combined well on the right flank. The Indian winger delivered a teasing ball across the face of goal, but Mohammad Nawaz punched it away from danger.

At the other end, Carlos Pena’s cross from the left was intercepted by Juanan at the near post but the ball fell to Hugo Boumous whose close-range shot was brilliantly saved by Gurpreet Singh.

Hugo Boumous’ defence-splitting through-ball midway through the first-half allowed Seriton Fernandes to sneak in behind the Bengaluru defence but Gurpreet was alert to the situation and got to the ball in a jiffy.

The visitors took the lead in the 34th minute when Delgado’s corner-kick fell to Xisco Hernandez at the edge of the box. The Spaniard’s weak shot was gorgeously flicked into the net by Bheke at the far post.

The defender almost doubled his side’s lead at the stroke of half-time after Mourtada Fall’s poor first touch gifted him the ball inside the box. Bheke’s effort, however, skimmed off the crossbar.

The hosts were reduced to 10 men two minutes into the second-half when Ali picked up a second yellow card. The full-back pushed the ball away with his hand to prevent Xisco from getting to it on the right flank and received a second yellow card.

Bengaluru were also dealt a blow at the hour mark when Delgado was shown a straight red card for a high-footed tackle on Hugo Boumous.

The game stretched in midfield as Goa sought an equaliser.

Chhetri found Nishu Kumar in space down the left flank and the full-back used his first touch to skip past Seriton Fernandes into the box and forced a good low save from Nawaz.

Goa got their equaliser in the 72nd minute when Ferran Corominas fought his way into the box through a crowd of defenders and found Brandon in the centre. The Indian midfielder slotted the ball into the net, helped by a deflection.

Bengaluru restored their lead five minutes later. Thongkhosiem Haokip played Udanta Singh into space on the right flank and the Indian winger delivered a terrific cross to the far post where Chhetri lost his marker and headed home to secure all three points for his side.

IANS