Sports

London, June 4 (IANS) Ahead of the World Test Championship final against Australia, the Indian Test team on Sunday commenced their practice session at The Oval. India will play Australia at The Oval in the much-awaited WTC final from June 7 to 11.

The BCCI shared the picture of the side hitting the ground running at the iconic venue. "Hello from the Oval," it said in a tweet.

On May 25, the BCCI had said via its official Twitter handle that Indian team members like Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur along with head coach Rahul Dravid and other support staff members had begun practicing at the picturesque Arundel Castle Cricket Club in Arundel town.

On May 29, it shared pictures of talismanic batter Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Siraj and Ravichandran Ashwin engaged in practice and chats with support staff members at Arundel.

Skipper Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and young Mumbai opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, a reserve player, joined the practice session from May 30. On the other hand, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, KS Bharat and Ajinkya Rahane linked up with the team on June 1 after featuring in the IPL final in Ahmedabad, followed by Mohammed Shami joining practice on June 2.

India, then led by Kohli, had finished as runners-up in the inaugural WTC cycle after losing the title clash to Kane Williamson's New Zealand by eight wickets at Rose Bowl in Southampton in 2021.

With Rohit set to captain the Test team on overseas soil for the first time, India will be aiming to go one step further through their second straight WTC final appearance against Australia at The Oval, who will be hosting a Test match in June for the very first time.

The final will mark the end of the second edition of the WTC, which was introduced in 2019 to add context to matches in the longest format of the game. The winners of the WTC Final will take home a purse of 1.6 million dollars while the losers will get 800,000 dollars.

India squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, KS Bharat, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Umesh Yadav.

Reserves: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav

--IANS

nr/ak

San Juan (Argentina), June 4 (INS) Tournament-leading goal-scorer Cesare Casadei added yet another goal to his kitty and led Italy to the FIFA U-20 World Cup semifinals with a 3-1 win over Colombia, at San Juan Stadium, here.

With Saturday's win Italy booked a semifinal spot for the third consecutive U-20 World Cup. Casadei became Italy's all-time top scorer in U-20 World Cup history with six goals, surpassing Riccardo Orsolini, who scored five in 2017.

Italy will face either Korea Republic or Nigeria in the semifinal on Thursday.

Casadei headed in the opening goal from Tommaso Baldanzi's corner kick to give Italy an early boost. He then turned provider for the latter, cushioning a header perfectly in Baldanzi's path to double the lead.

Shortly after half-time, Baldanzi added another assist to his name, cutting back for Francesco Esposito to score with a flicked finish.

Jhojan Torres gave Colombia a lifeline with a superb curling effort from just outside Italy's penalty area, but it proved to be a mere consolation.

--IANS

bc/ak

San Juan (Argentina), June 4 (IANS) A solo goal scored by Dor Turgeman saw debutants Israel come from behind to seal a historic 3-2 victory over Brazil and enter the FIFA U-20 World Cup semifinal, here at San Juan Stadium.

With the win on Saturday, Israel became the first debutant to reach the semifinals of a FIFA U-20 World Cup in eight years, since Senegal achieved the feat in 2015.

Israel will now play the winner of the match between USA and Uruguay in the semifinals.

Israel had the better of the first half, but Brazil had its best chance. Marcos Leonardo's excellent strike put Brazil ahead at the start of the second half. But Anan Khalaili equalised with the header. Kaique Rocha then pulled off a superb save to deny Turgeman and send the game to extra time.

Andrey Santos's exquisite flick set up Matheus Nascimento to restore Brazil's lead, but Hamza Shibli turned a cross in at the back post immediately to level things up again.

The decisive moment came at the end of the first half of extra time when Turgeman dribbled through Brazil's defense before unleashing an unstoppable curler past Kaique.

An incredible second period of extra time saw Israel fail to score from the penalty spot twice, but Ofir Haim's side were able to hold on and complete an historic victory.

--IANS

bc/ak

New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated the Indian junior hockey team for their victory at the Men's Junior Asia Cup.

The Indian team beat nemesis Pakistan 2-1 in a thrilling final match of the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman on Thursday night for the title.

Early goals by Angad Bir Singh (13') and Araijeet Singh Hundal (20') ensured India remained in command of the game while some outstanding saves by goalkeeper Shashikumar Mohith Honnenahalli kept India in the lead throughout the match.

"Heartiest congratulations to our Junior Men's Hockey Team for their splendid victory at the Men's Junior Asia Cup. Their triumph reflects the burgeoning talent and determination that our youth hold. They have made India very proud," the PM said in a tweet.

With the victory, India created a new record of winning the maximum titles at the Men's Junior Asia Cup.

The team had previously won the title in 2004, 2008 and 2015 while Pakistan has won the tournament in 1988, 1992, 1996.

--IANS

ak/

Paris, June 2 (IANS) Elise Mertens of Belgium knocked out world No.3 American Jessica Pegula with a 6-1, 6-3 win and advanced to the fourth round of the French Open, here on Friday.

Mertens has now won all three of her encounters against Pegula, who was a quarter-finalist in Paris last year, including a streak of 15 straight games.

The Belgian is into the last 16 at Roland-Garros for a second straight year, and a third time overall (2018, 2022 and 2023). She has now tallied 13 second-week runs across her 25 career Grand Slam main-draw appearances.

Mertens will next face Russian, Anastasia Potapova or 2021 finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

On the other hand, Pegula's campaign at Roland Garros is not over as she is through to the women's doubles second round with Coco Gauff.

The pair reached the final in 2022, and the semifinals at the Australian Open earlier this year.

--IANS

bc/ak

Bangkok, June 2 (IANS) India's Lakshya Sen continued his run of good performances as he got the better of Leong Jun Hao of Malaysia in straight games to storm into the semifinals while compatriot Kiran George was ousted from the ongoing Thailand Open 2023 badminton championships here on Friday.

Lakshya, who won a bronze medal in the 2021 World Championship, defeated his Malaysian opponent 21-19, 21-11 in the quarterfinals played at Court No.2 at Indoor Stadium Huamark in the Thai capital.

Lakshya entered the semifinals where he will face the winner between Lu Guang Zu of China and Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the semis on Saturday.

On the other hand, Kiran George's magical run came to an end with a defeat to Toma Junior Popov of France in the quarterfinals here on Friday,

The 23-year-old Kiran George, who had caused a couple of upsets to reach the last-eight stage of the Thailand Open, went down 16-21, 17-21 in a 41-minute encounter against the 28th-ranked French player at the

Playing against Leong Jun Hao, Lakshya conceded the lead as the players went neck-and-neck till 10-10 before the Malaysian jumped to a 16-10 lead. The 21-year-old Lakshya, a top-10 player who has now slipped to 23rd in the BWF Rankings, fought back to level scores at 17-17 before the Indian eventually won the first game, 21-19.

Things were a bit different in the second game as Lakshya took the early lead and though his Malaysian opponent remained on his heels, Lakshya won eight points in a row from 13-11 to win the game 21-11 and sealed a place in the last four.

Kiran George had defeated third seed Shi Yu Qi of China in the first round and then got the better of another Chinese shuttler, Weng Hong Yang in the pre-quarters.

Earlier, playing in a quarterfinal of a BWF World Tour Super 500 event for the first time, Kiran George, the Odisha Open 2022 winner, conceded an early lead as the French player surged to a 5-0 lead.

Though Kiran reduced the margin to 7-6, Popov won the next three points to make it 10-7. The Indian tied the score at 10-10 and after a regular exchange of points, Popov took the lead at 17-14 and though George fought well for the next few points, the French shuttler went on to win the first game 21-16.

The second game was closer as both players fought tooth and nail for each point as the lead exchanged hands a couple of times. Popov gained a narrow lead at 5-3 before George fought back to gain the upper hand at 11-8. The neck-and-neck fight continued till 17-all before Popov won four points in a row to win the game and the match at 21-17 to clinch a place in the semifinals.

He will next face eighth seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong, who defeated Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong 21-19, 23-21 in another quarterfinal.

--IANS

bsk

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), June 2 (IANS) A few days after winning the prestigious Europa League for the seventh time, Sevilla FC are looking set to further strengthen their backline by roping in the highly-rated Corinthians defender Murillo Santos.

On Thursday, media reports in Brazil claimed that Murillo Santos could join Sevilla in the European summer transfer window.

The Europa League champions are prepared to pay 15 million euros for the 20-year-old Brazilian's signature, having had an initial offer rejected, Gazeta Esportiva said on Thursday.

It added that clubs in at least three other European countries were also pursuing the centre-back, reports Xinhua.

Murillo, who is contracted to Corinthians until December 2025, has become a regular starter since the appointment of Vanderlei Luxemburgo as manager last month.

Sevilla had three Brazilians in their first-team squad in the 2022-23 season: Defender Alex Telles, midfielder Fernando and defender Marcao.

--IANS

bsk

Salalah (Oman), June 2 (IANS) Holders India scored two goals in the first half and defended stoutly in the second to prevail 2-1 over archrivals Pakistan in a hard-fought final of the Men's Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament here on Thursday.

This was the fourth clash between the two teams in the final of the Junior Asia Cup and the second successive after the Indians defeated Pakistan 6-2 in Kuantan, Malaysia to win the title in 2015. The event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Both India and Pakistan have won the title thrice each since the event was started in 1988. They had played out a 1-1 draw in the league phase a few days back and had reached the final after beating their respective semifinal rivals.

On Thursday, early goals by Angad Bir Singh (13') and Araijeet Singh Hundal (20') ensured India remained in command of the game while some outstanding saves by goalkeeper Shashikumar Mohith Honnenahalli kept India in the lead throughout the match.

With this victory, India has created a new record of winning the maximum titles at the Men's Junior Asia Cup. The team had previously won the title in 2004, 2008 and 2015 while Pakistan has won the tournament in 1988, 1992, 1996.

Recognising the team's effort and their unbeaten record in the prestigious tournament which saw them qualify for the FIH Men's Junior World Cup in Malaysia, the Hockey India Executive Board announced a cash award of INR 2 lakh each for players and INR 1 lakh each for support staff.

Congratulating the team, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, "The Indian Junior Men's team has made us all extremely proud with their unbeaten performance at the Junior Asia Cup. The team has shown great promise over the past few months, particularly after their historic win at the Sultan of Johor Cup they have become a dominate force and I believe this big win will hold them in good stead for the Junior World Cup later this year. Hockey India has decided to honour the players for this feat with a befitting cash award. I congratulate the team and the support staff for their efforts."

An elated Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh also wished the team on their successful campaign. "The team showcased great character and spirit of the game in every match. The team's continued success at the Junior Asia Cup is a testimony to Hockey India's national program for the U21. I congratulate the team and the support staff for keeping up the Indian team's record intact at the Junior Asia Cup."

Going into the final on the back of a stupendous 9-1 win against South Korea in the Semi-Final match, India rode on confidence to get off to a roaring start. They pushed Pakistan on the backfoot with early opportunities to score. They capitalized on their opponents' errors in the circle and punished them by converting the PC earned in the 13th minute. While it was Araijeet Singh Hundal who took a powerful shot on goal, Angad Bir Singh was quick on his feet to pick up the rebound and find a perfect deflection.

While the opening goal put India in command, a goal by Araijeet in the 20th minute helped in putting pressure on the Pakistani defence.

In the following quarter, the two teams lived up to the billing producing some tense moments that kept the full-house Salalah audience on their toes. Backed by a strong Pakistani fanbase, they were able to finally make a breakthrough in the 38th minute when Basharat Ali worked a brilliant field goal.

Though Pakistan found a number of opportunities to score through PCs in the last quarter, India custodian Shashikumar Mohith Honnenahalli made some sensational saves to keep India ahead.

It was a nail-biting finish, as Pakistan pushed for that elusive equaliser. But the spirited India Colts held their nerves to clinch the title in style and create history by clinching the fourth title in this prestigious competition.

"We wanted to win at any cost"

Speaking about the tense final, India captain Uttam Singh who was awarded the Player of the Match said, "After the 1-1 draw in the round robin stage, we were very aware of the areas we had to do well in order to beat Pakistan. It was quite a nervous Final. The team had never played in front of such a big crowd but I think created early goals helped us stay in control of the game."

Experienced India coach CR Kumar expressed that it was a good team effort. "It came down to executing our opportunities. Though I feel we could have scored a few more goals, when you are playing a big opponent like Pakistan there is a lot of pressure. But I am very happy with the way the players controlled their emotions and played to their potential."

--IANS
cs

Ahmedabad, May 27 (IANS) After reaching the final of IPL 2023 with a 62-run win over Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2, Gujarat Titans all-rounder Vijay Shankar heaped praise on Shubman Gill, saying the way the right-handed opener is batting currently is just unbelievable.

On Friday, Gill slammed a sensational 129 off 60 balls, his third century of IPL 2023, laced with ten sixes and seven fours while taking Mumbai's bowlers to cleaners all over the park as Gujarat posted 223/3. In the process, Gill overtook Faf du Plessis to be the highest run-getter of the ongoing season.

"In the second game of the season, I told that he has amazing work ethics, and that is why he is one of the best cricketers right now. The way he is batting right now is just unbelievable. He is hitting those sixes like he's batting in Test cricket."

"The way he practices is something really important. He does what he wants and practices with purpose, and every time he turns up to the game, it is so lovely to see him switch on from ball one, which is exceptional," said Shankar in the post-match press conference.

Gill's sixes tally is at 33 this year, tied with Shivam Dube and just behind du Plessis, the most for him in an IPL season. "He is able to do both. As a batter, when you know that you can hit sixes as well as rotate the strike. His biggest strength is finding the gaps in the powerplay."

"He can play the ball in the gaps and hit those boundaries whenever needed. There was an innings where he scored 90 (101 against Sunrisers Hyderabad) and had just one six. He is someone with everything and knows when to use what, and that's a highlight of being a top player and shows how it is done," added Shankar.

Shankar, 29, also credited skipper Hardik Pandya and the Gujarat think-tank for constantly backing the players, which has helped them produce consistent results by reaching the final of the tournament for the second successive time in their history of participating in the competition.

"He is pretty aggressive, but at the same time, he is pretty chill as well because he wants everyone to give their best and enjoy the game. He has shown the confidence in every individual in this team to come out and take up those challenges. When you have the backing from your captain and your coach, then you feel really comfortable."

With Gujarat set to face-off against Chennai Super Kings in Sunday's title clash, Shankar believes the defending champions have it in them to clinch the trophy yet again. "We have worked on all the aspects of our game, and it is just about going out there and giving our best. We did well in the first game when we played against Chennai here, and it is very important for us to enjoy the game as it is a very big moment for us."

"The wicket is really good, and we do have a bit of an advantage with the home conditions. Final is a great platform for us, and we want to enjoy the moment because we are playing back-to-back finals which is a great thing to happen," he concluded.

--IANS
nr/cs

Ahmedabad, May 27 (IANS) After Mumbai Indians' campaign in IPL 2023 came to an end with a 62-run defeat to Gujarat Titans in 2 Qualifier at Ahmedabad, head coach Mark Boucher admitted that he was disappointed about the result, but lauded the fight shown by the team till the end.

"First of all, the experience has been fantastic, I have really enjoyed it. Got a good group of guys in the dressing room, the support staff is great as well, lots of experience. It's tough, it's a very tough competition. It takes a lot to win a game of cricket."

'There are a lot of good teams that you come up against and the results can go either way, so it's quite a stressful competition. But to get to the playoffs is a great achievement. Obviously disappointed about tonight's result but I think we fought right to the end," he said in the post-match press conference.

Boucher also rued the lack of discipline shown by the bowling unit which allowed Gujarat to post 233/3, with Shubman Gill scoring 129 off 60 balls, as well as the batting line-up being unsettled due to Ishan Kishan suffering concussion, which led to a change in the opening pair, as Mumbai were bowled out for 171 in 18.2 overs.

"233 I thought was a bit high, to be fair, probably 25 to 30 runs too much. It was a little bit unsettling because we weren't quite sure how Ishan was going to go. Nehal we knew that he could do the job, in the practice games that we played, he actually opened the batting and he played fairly aggressively, which we really needed; someone to go out and play that way tonight."

"It didn't come up for us but it's T20 cricket. You got to adapt to the conditions and today we were thrown a bit of a curveball, unsettled us a bit. We lost Nehal early. I think Green was the one that also unsettled us a bit, got a blow to the arm, and he came off, but thankfully he was able to go back out and bat for us and put us in a decent position up until sort of like the 15th over."

"Unfortunately, we just lost too many wickets and I think that is our downfall from the batting perspective tonight. We gave it a good go right up until the 15th over. If one of our batters that were in there had batted right to the end, it might have been a lot closer than the end result."

"But I am proud of the way that they went about it. We could have gone out there and lost those couple of wickets and just thrown in the towel. It shows good signs for the future of how the guys are playing and the belief in the changing room and the intent that they're showing, especially with the bat," he elaborated.

Boucher signed off by saying the bowling line-up had to work with limited resources, especially after losing Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer and Jhye Richardson to injuries. "In the bowling, you lose two of your stars in the bowling lineup, it's going to create a couple of holes and we try to fix it up as best as possible. Hopefully, the guys can get over their injuries."

"If they can't, then we might have to look at other places and there are so many things that we can talk about. Not for me to start opening up a can of worms now, it would be stupid. I think it's time to just sit back, reflect a bit, take the emotion out of it and make some good sound cricketing decisions once everything's calmed down and once we understand the future of certain individuals and where they are from a fitness perspective."

--IANS
nr/cs