Author: admin

AUSTRALIA WOMEN TOUR OF INDIA, 2025 Australia hunted down 282 with relative ease. © Getty Australia marched to a convincing eight-wicket victory in the final lap of their World Cup preparations against hosts India, in New Chandigarh on Sunday. Riding on the back of fifties from each of their top-three, India finished with 281 for 7 in their 50 overs after electing to bat first in the first ODI of the three-match series. Australia’s successful chase revolved around Phoebe Litchfield’s 88 at the top, followed by an unbroken 116-run stand between Beth Mooney (77) and Annabel Sutherland (54) that helped…

The depth of the NSW talent pool runs so deep that coach Greg Shipperd has no doubt they’ll have a “really competitive team” despite as many as 15 players set to be unavailable in the early stages of the men’s domestic season. Australia and Australia A selection, as well as several off-season injuries, are set to strain the Blues playing stocks for their first two One-Day Cup matches and next month’s Sheffield Shield opener against Western Australia.Shipperd’s men will launch the domestic summer on Tuesday when they host Tasmania at Cricket Central where the veteran mentor has challenged his younger…

ASIA CUP, 2025 India’s spinners, led by Kuldeep Yadav again, starred in another dominant win © Getty India’s spinners, led by Kuldeep Yadav again, starred in another dominant win as Pakistan were swatted away with ease in Dubai. India were ruthless again with the ball right from the word go and kept Pakistan to just 127/9 – a total they chased down easily with 25 balls to spare. Where was the game won? In the middle overs. While Pakistan struggled big time against India’s spin attack, scoring at just four runs an over in the phase, India put on a…

Taylor is not the only player to answer the T20 World Cup Qualification call from The 685, a beloved nickname of Samoa that comes from the county’s dialing code. It’s a nod to the messages and calls that bounce across the Pacific Ocean, with many of Samoan heritage having settled in New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the world. New Zealand ‘A’ international Sean Solia returns to the fold having previously captained the Samoan national team, while Ili Tugaga bolsters the team’s bowling ranks. Taylor is under no illusions as to the difficulty of Samoa’s task in Oman, with…

DUBAI: Spinners led by Kuldeep Yadav helped India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in the Asia Cup on Sunday as the neighbours met on the cricket pitch for the first time since a military conflict between them in May. Kuldeep returned figures of 3-18 and along with fellow spinner Axar Patel kept Pakistan down to 127-9 in a key Group ‘A’ T20 clash in Dubai. India lost two wickets after a fiery 31 off 13 balls from opener Abhishek Sharma, but skipper Suryakumar Yadav hit an unbeaten 47 to achieve the target with 25 balls to spare. Suryakumar, who turned…

BARCELONA: Kylian Mbappe was at his brilliant best as Real Madrid showed grit to claim a 2-1 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday, despite playing for an hour with 10 men after Dean Huijsen’s red card. Mbappe and Arda Guler’s first-half goals were enough for Los Blancos to maintain their 100 per cent record, with Mikel Oyarzabal pulling one back for the hosts from the penalty spot. Xabi Alonso’s side top the table on 12 points from four games, three ahead of second-placed Athletic Bilbao after they fell 1-0 against Deportivo Alaves to tarnish their own perfect…

GIVEN the rage in India over this summer’s conflagration, and demands to boycott the latest tournament clash between Pakistan and India, it was something of a surprise to see so many Indian fans at the Asia Cup match in the UAE on Sunday night. Nonetheless, the stadium wasn’t full, and India’s fans did outnumber their rivals. Much to the chagrin of warmongers, the crowd enjoyed a friendly rivalry and the players just got on with doing their jobs. Business as usual also meant that Pakistan were thoroughly outplayed by India — as is the custom in international tournaments. In fairness,…

ASIA CUP, 2025 After the win, Suryakumar Yadav walked towards Shivam Dube, shook his hand and then walked off, leaving the Pakistani players without acknowledgement © AFP India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team gave a proper reply by not shaking hands with Pakistan after their victory Asia Cup match in Dubai. Pakistan coach Mike Hesson later revealed that his side were “ready” to shake hands and were left “disappointed” when their gesture wasn’t reciprocated. There were unusual scenes at the end of the T20I between the sides, when Suryakumar hit a six to finish the game, walked towards batting…

Captain Suryakumar Yadav stood tall as India have banked a seven-wicket win over arch-rivals Pakistan Captain Suryakumar Yadav has led India to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory against Pakistan in a politically-charged Asia Cup match before dedicating the win to their armed forces. India’s three-pronged spin attack laid the foundation of their second successive victory in the tournament when they restricted Pakistan for a below-par 9-127. Opener Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma contributed 31 each before Suryakumar, who made 47 not out, sealed India’s victory with a six with 4.1 overs still left in their innings. The Group A fixture was…

Litchfield reflects on ‘rewarding’ win in tough, humid conditions Phoebe Litchfield has admitted she had to tamp down some of her more unconventional impulses throughout her match-winning knock in Australia’s first ODI win over India on Sunday. To the outside observer, the opener looked to have near seamlessly made the switch back to the 50-over format after her star turn in The Hundred, where she was crowned player of the tournament. Speaking post-match, Litchfield felt there was still some adjusting left to do – she was denied a third ODI century when she miscued her favoured reverse sweep on 88…