Sports

Hobart, Oct 21 (IANS) Brandon King marked his return to the playing eleven with an unbeaten 62 to take the West Indies to an under-par 146/5 in 20 overs of their do-or-die Group B clash against Ireland in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval on Friday.

For Ireland, leg-spinner Gareth Delany picked career-best figures of 3/16 and kept things tight, while off-spinner Simi Singh and pacer Barry McCarthy took a wicket apiece to give their side a good chance of qualifying for the Super 12 stage.

Pushed into bowling first, Ireland drew first blood as Barry McCarthy foxed Kyle Mayers with his length ball, the left-hander completely mistiming the ball to mid-off. Johnson Charles feasted on Curtis Campher's short balls, taking two fours and a six on three consecutive deliveries in the fourth over.

But as soon as he was starting to take off, off-spinner Simi Singh took him out in his first over, as Charles sliced a short ball straight to backward point. King, coming into the playing eleven in place of Shamrah Brooks, was off the mark on the very first ball with a drive past mid-off off Singh.

He then got going with three fours slammed on the bowling of McCarthy and an off-colour Campher. But he didn't find much support from the other end as Evin Lewis was rusty in his 18-ball stay and departed when he miscued a Delany googly to deep mid-off.

King continued to anchor the innings with back-to-back fours off McCarthy and get his sixth T20I fifty even as captain Nicholas Pooran fell while trying to clear the infield and Rovman Powell holed out to deep mid-wicket.

With King unable to get the desired acceleration, Odean Smith swung hard to hit a four and two sixes in his 19 not out off 12 balls, but was unable to push West Indies past 150-mark.

Brief scores: West Indies 146/5 in 20 overs (Brandon King 62 not out, Johnson Charles 24; Gareth Delany 3/16, Simi Singh 1/11) vs Ireland.


--IANS

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Seoul, Oct 21 (IANS) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in talks with 10 potential candidates to host the Summer Olympic Games, a top IOC official said here on Thursday.

"We are currently working with 10 interested NOCs and regions across four continents," IOC director general Christophe de Kepper said at the Association of National Olympic Committees meeting in Seoul, Xinhua reports.

De Kepper did not identify who those potential bidders are but said the 10 bid projects "are at very different stages and are developing their ambitions according to their own regional or national timelines."

The next three Olympic Games will be held in Paris in 2024, in Los Angeles in 2028 and in Brisbane in 2032.

Countries that have expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Olympics include Egypt, India, Indonesia, Britain and South Korea.

--IANS

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Auckland, Oct 21 (IANS) Tall New Zealand pace bowler Kyle Jamieson is confident his side will come out "tactically smart" in the ICC T20 World Cup Super-12 games against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Jamieson, sidelined with a back injury, said while the Black Caps recently lost an ODI series against the trans-Tasman rivals in Cairns, T20 cricket is a different ball-game altogether and anything can happen.

"(I'm) certainly backing the boys tomorrow (Saturday), obviously played them in the last month or so in some one-day cricket but T20's a different format again. I'm sure they'll (New Zealand) come out very tactically smart and play with that freedom and look to take them (Australia) on, on that big stage," Jamieson told SENZ Breakfast.

Australia, led by Aaron Finch, head into the opening Super 12 match as favourites due to their home advantage and history on their side. For New Zealand, it is an extremely crucial game as they also have England -- one of the toughest T20 sides -- in the group, which could make their task of reaching the semifinal very difficult if they lose to Jos Buttler's side.

"We've already seen through the qualifying games everyone can beat everyone on their day. I think that's the beauty of T20 cricket, it sort of evens everything up," opined Jamieson.

Jamieson, when asked about the back injury he sustained during the tour of England in June, said, "(It's) Just ticking away. Obviously as a fast bowler, your back's quite important so it's been a bit of a gradual process.

"It's been quite a good approach with Steady (head coach Gary Stead) and all the staff around just making sure we come back in a sustainable way, not trying to rush things just making sure we get it right."

Jamieson tentatively plans to make an appearance in local cricket in the near future before heading back into the national side.

--IANS

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Geelong (Victoria), Oct 21 (IANS) Reaching the Super 12 stage in the ICC T20 World Cup here after a brush with elimination has hardened the Sri Lankan team for bigger challenges, feels their wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis who smashed a breezy 79 as the Islanders defeated the Netherlands by 16 runs in a Group A First Round game here to secure a place among the elite sides on Thursday.

Sri Lanka, the reigning Asia Cup champions, had suffered a 55-run thrashing at the hands of Namibia in their opening Group A match, leaving them in a must-win situation in the two remaining matches. They defeated UAE by 79 runs to bring their net run rate (NRR) back on track and then overcame the gritty Dutch on Thursday to secure a Super 12 berth.

Asked whether the tough matches in the group stage had steeled the side for bigger challenges to come in Super 12, Mendis, who scored at a strike rate of nearly 180 on Thursday, agreed it was a good thing to face some tough challenges early in the tournament.

"Yeah, last month (too) I played very well at the Asia Cup (after the humiliating loss to Afghanistan). (Here too), I knew I (needed to) have a similar plan in the next match (after the loss to Namibia). I think we do it better (come back strongly after losses)," said Mendis.

Mendis said the first match against Namibia had taught the players it wasn't important to play the big shots to maximise the scoring rate.

"Yeah, the first game a little bit we knew the wicket was a little bit slow. After that match, I knew how to play (on) this wicket. Then the second and third match, I played really well," said Mendis.

Mendis conceded that in the Group A opening match, he was completely at sea on a slow pitch but altered his strategy in the subsequent games.

"First game, I didn't know how to play on the pitch because it was really slow. Then after the first match, I knew how to play here. I took time (to settle down). In the first six overs, I played the normal game. Then after the six overs, I managed my routine," he added.

--IANS

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Hobart, Oct 19 (IANS) Sikandar Raza starred with a brilliant spell of 3/19, triggering a West Indies collapse as the two-time champions set a 154-run target for Zimbabwe in a must-win Group B match in the first round of ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday.

Electing to bat first, West Indies started well despite losing Kyle Mayers in the fourth over, top-edging a pull to keeper off Blessing Muzarabani. Johnson Charles (45) and Evin Lewis (15) shared a vital 49-run stand off 38 balls to get the innings back on track.

But Zimbabwe's introduction of Raza from the seventh over triggered a West Indies meltdown in the middle-order. The off-spin all-rounder had his first scalp in the tenth over when Lewis holed out to long-on. Captain Nicholas Pooran was next to depart, falling to Sean Williams, chipping back a simple catch to the bowler.

West Indies were then dealt with a severe blow when Charles departed for 45 after a mix-up with Rovman Powell, resulting in a run-out. Raza added more misery when he trapped Shamrah Brooks lbw and took a superb catch off a Jason Holder chip on his own bowling to end with 3/19 in his four overs.

Struggling at 101/6, a late flourish from Powell (28 off 21 balls, including two sixes in the final over) and Akeal Hosein (23 not out off 18 balls) allowed the West Indies to cross the 150-mark, after losing their way in the middle post a strong start.

Brief Scores: West Indies 153/7 in 20 overs (Johnson Charles 45, Rovman Powell 28; Sikandar Raza 3/19, Blessing Muzarabani 2/38) against Zimbabwe

--IANS
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Hobart, Oct 19 (IANS) Curtis Campher and George Dockrell shared an unbeaten 119-run stand for the fifth wicket in Ireland's successful chase of 177 to seal a come-from-behind six-wicket win over Scotland in their Group B match of the first round in ICC Men's T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval on Wednesday.

After opener Michael Jones hit a magnificent 86 off 55 balls to carry Scotland to a massive 176/5, the bowlers came into act by reducing Ireland to 61/4 in 9.3 overs and victory looked improbable with every minute.

That's when Campher (72 not out off 37 balls) and Dockrell (39 not out off 27 balls) joined forces to shock Scotland and get a win out of nowhere for Ireland with a brilliant partnership in just 9.3 overs and keep them in the reckoning for a Super 12 spot.

The duo ran excellently hard between the wickets, converted their ones into twos, twos into threes and kept the boundaries coming consistently from the 11th over onwards and yielded runs in double figures till Campher finished off the chase with a hat-trick of fours, last of which was a crisp square drive past point and roared in delight over getting a thrilling win for Ireland.

In the chase, Paul Stirling and captain Andy Balbirnie impressed with boundaries in the first three overs. But the duo could not build on, falling to fast bowlers Safyaan Sharif and Brad Wheal in power-play.

Spinners Mark Watt and Chris Greaves then took over, removing Lorcan Tucker (20) and Harry Tector (14) just as they were on the verge of converting their promising knocks into something substantial.

When the drinks break was taken, Ireland had new batters in Campher and Dockrell with 116 runs still needed in 63 deliveries. After Dockrell took a boundary each off Wheal and Greaves, Campher joined the party by slog-sweeping Watt for six in an 18-run 13th over which also had four wides.

Campher frequently targeted the short square dimensions of the stadium, as seven of his nine boundaries came from square of the wicket regions on both sides, with Dockrell supporting him well.

Campher also used the crease well, heaving, scooping, cutting and slicing for boundaries for his first T20I fifty coming at a strike-rate of 225 and led Ireland to their highest ever successful run-chase in T20 World Cups with an over to spare.

Earlier, Scotland had a dominant innings with the bat, hardly keeping any foot wrong right from the time of winning the toss and electing to bat first. Jones was unarguably the star of Scotland's innings, hitting six fours and four sixes in his 55-ball 86, at a high strike-rate of 156.36.

After losing his opening partner George Munsey in the second over of the innings, Jones had to be cautious as well as adjust to the conditions. After passing through the initial phase, he then came out swinging with his array of shots, and looking delightful in hitting a majority of his boundaries through the leg-side, including one six landing on the roof of the stadium.

Jones was involved in two useful stands for Scotland -- 59 runs for the second wicket with Matthew Cross (28) and 77 runs for the third wicket with captain Richie Berrington (37). Though Jones fell in the 19th over of the innings, Scotland still managed to get 54 runs off the last five overs to finish with a strong total.

Ireland, on the other hand, were a bit sloppy in the field with Gareth Delany dropping Jones at deep backward square leg in the 15th over. Moreover, Curtis Campher, who was Ireland's best bowler by a mile, got only two overs to bowl, while Delany (0/28 in three overs) and Barry McCarthy (0/59 in four overs) leaked 87 runs from their combined seven overs, which didn't cause much issue in their quest for a crucial win.

Brief scores: Scotland 176/5 in 20 overs (Michael Jones 86, Richie Berrington 37; Curtis Campher 2/9, Mark Adair 1/23) lost to Ireland 180/4 in 19 overs (Curtis Campher 72 not out, George Dockrell 39 not out; Michael Leask 1/16, Brad Wheal 1/25) by six wickets.


--IANS

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London, Oct 19 (IANS) India opening batter KL Rahul figures on top in Kevin Pietersen's list of players who will excel in the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, with the former England cricketer predicting the 30-year-old will score tons of runs, though he doesn't think India will win the global event.

Rahul has been in sublime form, with the batter making 62 against Afghanistan in India's last Super Four match of Asia Cup 2022. He has smashed three fifties in five bilateral matches against Australia and South Africa at home.

Rahul has continued his good showing since India landed in Australia in early October, making a patient 74 in the second practice match against Western Australia XI in Perth and followed it up with 57 in a warm-up match against Australia at The Gabba, Brisbane.

In his column for betway.com, Pietersen expressed confidence Rahul will be a class apart with the bat. "I love him. I think he is the No. 1 batter in the world at the moment. He is absolutely fantastic. With the ball bouncing, swinging and seaming, I think he plays in a very authentic way and is correct enough to rack up the runs," opined Pietersen.

Pietersen though predicted England will win the title after their title run in the 2021 edition was cut short in the semifinal by New Zealand.

"This England white-ball team is absolutely spectacular. They really are. They're fabulous to watch, they've got all bases covered, and I think they go in as favourites. It was a great victory in Pakistan (seven-match T20I series), a huge victory. And they've been very confident in the way they've played the warm-up games in Australia. It's been the perfect build-up," said Pietersen.

He also predicted England opener batter Alex Hales could emerge as the match winner.

"It's a dust-off between (Phil) Salt and Hales for that top (opener's) spot, and it's going be interesting to see who they pick. It'll be good if Hales does get the gig, purely based on the fact that he wins games. At the end of the day, it's up to the players to agree on what the process is and whether a guy fits in. The most important point around all of this nonsense with Hales is the fact that he wins games of cricket for England," said Pietersen.

Pietersen added that the "Stokes factor" would be huge in England's title bid.

"It's irrelevant when Ben Stokes last played this form of the game. He brings experience, aura, and a fear factor to this England side. When the opposition are doing all their matchday preparation, the man that will get talked about most is Stokes, because of what he can do, and what he has done in his career. He just brings that fear factor and that aura to the team.

"England are the favourites for me. They have strength in depth in all departments. They've got quality fast bowlers, a fantastic spinner in Adil Rashid, and their batting needs no introduction."

He added that South Africa are the dark horses in the tournament.

"The reason why I say South Africa could be the dark horse is because, with the weather conditions that are knocking around, that South African bowling attack -- Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada -- could do some real damage. I've seen what Rabada and Nortje have done in the IPL when they played together for a season, and you can be 20 for five or 30 for six very quickly. Their batters won't need to score that many runs to knock off those kind of totals."

--IANS

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Lucknow, Oct 17 (IANS) There were plenty of goals on the fifth day of the Khelo India Women's Hockey League (Under-16) Phase - 2 here on Monday as Sports Hostel Odisha, Sports Authority of India 'A', Pritam Siwach Sports Promotion Foundation, Sports Authority of India 'B', Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy and HAR Hockey Academy registered wins in their respective matches.

In the first game on Day 5, Sports Hostel Odisha were up against Smart Hockey Academy and defeated them 5-1. Smart Hockey Academy took the lead in the first minute with Navroop Kaur finding the back of the net, but Sports Hostel Odisha bounced back. Premsila Bage (15') equalized in the first quarter, after which Anima Oram (17'), captain Amisha Ekka (27', 28') and Priyanka Rout (44') helped Sports Hostel Odisha register the win.

The second game saw a few more goals with Sports Authority of India 'A' defeating Citizen Hockey XI 21-0. Kajal (7', 12', 36', 50', 53', 54') led the charge with six goals. Karuna Minz (16', 55', 56', 59') added four more while captain Tanuja Toppo (10', 15', 58') along with Binati Minz (25', 28', 49') also scored a hat-trick. Dipika Barwa (30', 39'), Sonali Ekka (8'), Jyoti (20') and Nisha Dadel (57') also found the back of the net as Sports Authority of India 'A' ran out comprehensive winners.

Game 3 saw Pritam Siwach Sports Promotion Foundation registering a 10-0 win against Bhai Behlo Hockey Academy. Priyanka (3') started off the scoring with Manjinder (8', 39') getting on the scoresheet too. Khushi (10', 48') added two more while Bhavya (42'), Riya (44'), captain Tamanna (51'), and Ravina (54', 58') also found the back of the net, Hockey India informed in a release on Monday.

After that, Sports Authority of India 'B' won 6-0 against Salute Hockey Academy in the fourth game of the day. Lalpeksangi (3', 9', 20', 56') scored four goals, while captain Mutum Priya Devi (12') and Sisliya Sandi Purti (49') added two more to round off the win.

Game 5 saw the Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy defeat the Sports Authority of Gujarat 12-1. For Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Tanvi (3', 13', 36', 41', 48') led the charge, scoring five goals, while Kajal Pundir (56', 58', 59') netted a hat-trick.

Sujata Jayant (17', 50'), captain Krishna Sharma (37'), and Jainab Hasan (60') also found the back of the net for Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy. The Sports Authority of Gujarat side got on the scoresheet through Kodarvi Twinkle Anilbhai (47').

In the final game of the day, the HAR Hockey Academy won by a scoreline of 13-0 against the Anantapur Hockey Academy. For HAR Hockey Academy, captain Shashi Khasha (7', 20', 45', 48', 49', 54', 56', 59') was in great form and scored 8 goals for her side. Seema (12', 13') added a brace while Diksha (33'), Aditi (35') and Mahima Rajliwal (36') were also on the scoresheet.

--IANS

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Kuwait City (Kuwait), Oct 17 (IANS) India have scripted history in the Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2022, topping the medals table with 24 medals (six gold, 11 silver and seven bronze) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla said the federation is focussed on providing world-class coaching to junior athletes so that they go on and excel at the senior level.

Amit Chaudhary (boys' 1500m), Akash Yadav (boys' shot put), Ashakiran Barla (girls' 800m), and Atul (boys' discus throw) won gold medals in individual events while India came first in girls' and boys' medley relay races -- making it six gold medals in all.

India finished first with 24 medals whiles the Chinese Taipei team was second with six gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Lakshadweep's Mubssina Mohammed won two silver medals -- in girls' long jump and in girls' heptathlon -- missing out on a gold in the latter as she finished just seven points behind Alina Chistyakova of Kazakhstan, who had 4737 points.

Madhya Pradesh's Ekta Dey, who shifted to steeplechase from 1500m very recently on the advice of her coaches, won a silver medal in the Girls' 2000m steeplechase on Sunday.

With this performance, India, who have finished second in the 2019 edition held in Hong Kong, became the second-most successful nation in the Asian Youth Athletics Championship behind China. Around 400 athletes and staff from 30 Asian Countries competed in 40 events -- 20 for boys and 20 for girls -- at the Al Kuwait Kaifan Stadium in Kuwait City.

Ashakiran Barla of Jharkhand -- who did not have electricity in her house when she started participating in athletics, but now have it as officials reacted to her success in athletics -- was the lone Indian girl to win a gold medal in 800m.

"It was a great experience for me as I have learned a lot during the camp which was held before the Asian Championship. I had lost my father a few years back and our family survives on whatever my mother earns through farming. I just want to do my best and help her," said Ashakiran.

Sumariwalla said they have already set in motion a plan to provide foreign expert coaching to the junior and youth athletes and are in negotiations with some coaches.

Sumariwalla said the reason for this shift in approach is that when young athletes come to the senior level, they come with small mistakes in technique and it takes a lot of effort to unlearn them.

"We are now focusing on the junior athletes as our next step. We are trying to bring foreign coaches at this stage otherwise, many times when these coaches go to the top level, the coaches have to make them unlearn many things in their technique," he added.

"Negotiations are going on with some coaches but not many are ready to stay in India for the entire year. They want to come on short stints of a few months, but we are trying to get the best possible coaching," said Sumariwalla during an virtual interaction on Monday.

He said as they did for senior athletes around 10 years back, they have identified javelin throw, race walks and middle and long-distance running as focus areas for junior and youth athletes.

The other Indian athletes that won medals in the Asian Youth Athletics Championships are Isha Jadhav (silver, Girls' 400m), Arjun (silver, Boys' javelin throw), Sabita Toppo (silver, Girls' 100m hurdles), Mohammad Aman (silver, Boys' hammer throw), Deepika (silver, Girls' javelin throw), Sunita Devi (silver, Girls' 3000m), Servan K C (silver, Boys' discus throw), Vanshika Ghanghas (silver, Girls' pole vault) and Ekta Dey (silver, Girls' 2000m steeplechase).

The bronze medals were won by Kuldeep Kumar (Boys' pole vault), Siddarth Chaudhary (Boys' shot put), Nikita Kumari (Girls' discus throw), Anushka Kumbah (Girls' 400m), Murad Sirman (Boys' 400m hurdles) and Divyasri (Girls' triple jump).

The 2022 Asian Youth Athletics Championships, which encompassed the fourth edition of the Asian U18 Athletics Championship, was the fourth edition of the biennial, continental athletics competition for Asian athletes aged 15 to 17.

--IANS

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Gurugram, Oct 17 (IANS) Aditi Ashok, whose name brings about a sense of excitement among Indian golf fans, is back on 'home' turf in India for the Hero Women's Indian Open after a gap that got extended due to the pandemic.

The 24-year-old Bengaluru golfer wrote a new chapter in Indian women's golf by becoming the first woman from the country to win on the Ladies European Tour (LET) by bagging the Women's Indian Open title in 2016.

She progressed quickly from there, adding two more LET wins in 2016 and 2017 and earning a card on the toughest Tour in the world, the LPGA in the United States.

Yet, it was the LET was where Aditi captured the global imagination for the first time. Little wonder then her record on the LET is incredible.

In 57 starts on the LET, Aditi has had three wins and 18 Top-10s. That is almost 38 percent, which means she finished in Top-10 at least once every three starts -- a supreme effort by any standard.

Last year at the Tokyo Olympics, she had the whole country on the edge of their seat early in the morning as she came agonizingly close to getting onto the podium. Despite a masterclass in putting that had the golfing fraternity agog, she did not land a medal as the World No.1 Nelly Korda won the gold while local Japanese star Mone Inami edged out former World No.1 Lydia Ko of New Zealand to the silver. Ko settled for bronze and Aditi was fourth and the rest of the who's who of women's golf was some distance behind.

She may not have won an Olympic medal, but Aditi single-handedly put the game of golf into the mind space of Indian sports fans which even had Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauding her achievement.

Aditi, who played the Hero Women's Indian Open regularly since her debut in 2011, turned in superb performances between 2011 and 2015 in her five appearances as an amateur. She made the cut four times, finished in Top-10 once, twice in Top-15 and missed the cut only once.

In fact, Aditi had won a pro event on the domestic Hero Women's Golf Tour, while still being an amateur. She carried on from there when she turned pro in 2016. The year 2016 was her rookie year and even though a few Indian girls had finished in Top-10 in the previous editions, nobody had actually lifted that incredible silverware.

Aditi set that record straight, by winning it at the DLF Golf and Country Club, which is where she will be playing again this week as the tournament gets underway on October 20.

There were understandable celebrations all around. They had not even abated for her and in the very next start at the Qatar Ladies Open, she again lifted the trophy. A third LET Trophy came her way in 2017 when she won the FBM Ladies Open in Abu Dhabi.

In 2017, she returned for the HWIO, but was Tied for 13th and then she became a regular on the LPGA. Playing in the US, she was unable to make it to India in 2018 and 2019 and then Covid robbed the Indian sports fans of a chance of seeing her in action. This year as the National Open returns to action, so does Aditi Ashok who has always expressed great pride in wearing Indian colours, playing in India and interacting with youngsters in the country.

Aditi will in all probability have the largest gallery and she will be looking forward to giving them another enthralling experience.

--IANS

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