London, June 22: Following Pakistan’s eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 final at Lord’s, former national captains praised the side as thousands of fans took to the streets across the country.
Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq paid tribute to the spirit of the side while Ramiz Raja said this win was even better than Pakistan’s World Cup success in 1992.
London, June 22: If there was a fear before the final that Pakistan’s meek alter ego was due an untimely return, then Mohammad Aamer dispelled that in the space of five furiously hostile deliveries.
London, June 22: Former England captain Michael Vaughan is set to discover if he is in line for a Test recall against Australia when the selectors name an extended squad for an Ashes training camp.
Vaughan has not played for England since resigning as captain following last year’s third Test against South Africa at Edgbaston, although he has often stressed how he he wants to play in the upcoming Ashes.
England is due to announce Monday a 16-man squad for an Ashes training camp and the three-day warm-up match against Warwickshire.
New Delhi, June 22: Boxers are being hailed as the new sporting heroes in the country and India as seen as the powerhouse on the Asian continent. The spark was noticed at the Beijing Olympics and in 10 months the Indians are out scaling greater heights.
London, June 22: After leading Pakistan to World Twenty20 title Sunday, Younis Khan dropped a bombshell when he announced his retirement from the shortest version of the game.
“I am already 34 and probably too old for this kind of cricket,” said the senior batsman who was Pakistan’s most prolific run-getter in the tournament.
“Today I have decided to retire from Twenty20 cricket,” said the Pakistan captain, adding that he would like to focus on Test and ODI cricket.
Younis had said before the tournament that he might quit Twenty20 cricket.
Melbourne, June 21: Steve Waugh’s work for humanity has spread far and wide, but the former Australia captain traces its roots to India, a country which he says has changed his outlook towards life.
“India has given me some life changing moments right from 1986 when I played my first match on Indian soil,” says Waugh.
“I have memories of some unforgettable matches in India and meeting Mother Teresa here was a mesmerising experience which changed my outlook about a lot of things,” Waugh told PTI.
London, June 21: Pakistan’s star all-rounder Shahid Afridi wants to lead his country in international cricket before retiring from the game.
Afridi, the chief architect of Pakistan’s impressive World Twenty20 campaign here in England, Sunday said it is his greatest wish to captain Pakistan before saying goodbye to international cricket.
The flamboyant Afridi is one of the senior players in the Pakistan team but is not considered as a future captain amidst the presence of current skipper Younis Khan and vice-captain Misbah-ul-Haq.
Johannesburg, June 21: A war of words erupted between the Egyptian football team and authorities in South Africa Sunday over the circumstances in which members of the Egyptian team were robbed, following their Confederations Cup win over Italy. On Friday, members of the Egyptian announced they had been returned to their hotel rooms after their historic 1-0 win over Italy at Ellis Park in Johannesburg to find thieves had made off with 2,400 dollars of their cash.
London, June 21: Women tennis players have reacted with fury after a leading sports commentator and former Wimbledon champion accused them of “selling sex”.
Michael Stich, an expert commentator with BBC Radio 5 Live and the 1991 Wimbledon champion, said the role of female tennis stars is as much about “selling sex” on court as it is about their sporting prowess.
The Mail on Sunday newspaper said Stich made the comment Saturday night during an argument over the loud grunting of many of the game’s top women.
New Delhi, June 21: Saina Nehwal on Sunday defeated China’s Lin Wang 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 to win the Indonesian Open Super Series.
This is Saina’s maiden Indonesian Open title.
In the semis, she had defeated China’s Lan Lu 25-23, 21-19.
—–Agencies
London, June 21: The huge commercial success of the World Twenty20 has given the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) enough reasons to turn down the offer to host an overseas edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in order to promote their own domestic tournament.
Bloemfontein, June 21: David Villa and Fernando Llorente scored the goals that gave Spain a 2-0 win over South Africa on Saturday for a world record 15th straight victory.
Valencia’s Villa broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute and substitute Llorente sealed the game with 18 minutes left to ensure the European champions finished top of their group at the Confederations Cup.
It means they play the runner-up in Group B, likely Italy or Egypt, in the semi-finals next Wednesday.
London, June 21: An unpredictable Pakistan will be desperate to shed their runners-up tag by pulling off a win against a rampaging Sri Lanka when the two teams meet in the Twenty20 World Cup final at the Lord`s.
Pakistan, who lost the Cup by a whisker to India in the inaugural edition in South Africa, have played little international cricket since then because of political turmoil back home and would be eager to win the honour in a bid to bring the sport back on track in their country.
New Delhi, June 20: Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh will need more than brilliant play and probably a prayer, too, as he gets off to the second round in search of a berth into the final two rounds of the 109th US Open.
Placed at 11-over after 24 holes, he was certain to miss the cut, but some of the bigger names, including Tiger Woods were also battling to make the cut at the 109th US Open, where the tournament seems to have been divided into two halves – the Lucky and Unlucky ones.
London, June 20: Actress Jessica Biel is better at golf than beau Justin Timberlake, the reason why the singer refuses to play with her.
“Jessica has just joined a course in golf but he (Justin) prefers not to play with her since she’s gotten so good,” contactmusic.com quoted a source as saying.
Though Jessica is not really that interested in the game, she wants to get better at it so that she can spend more time with Justin. The singer is a big fan of the sport and also owns a golf course.
—IANS
London, June 20: Yet to get over the disappointment of losing the final to arch-rivals India two years ago, Shahid Afridi is desperate to make amends when Pakistan takes on Sri Lanka for the World T20 title at Lords here tomorrow.
The sturdy Pathan turned in a superb all-round performance in the semi-final against South Africa as Pakistan stormed into their second World T20 final in a row.
Islamabad, June 20: Pakistan and Sri Lanka playing in the World Twenty20 final on Sunday will send a strong message to the world that cricket cannot be brought down by terrorism, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja said.
A militant attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3 ended Pakistan’s chances of hosting any international matches in the near future following earlier concerns about security.
Islamabad, June 20: Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram said to get the best out of star all-rounder Shahid Afridi, he needs to be pampered and constantly reminded that he is the main match-winner for the team.
“I have worked with Afridi as captain. The way to get the best our of him is to give him confidence and motivate hims. He needs to be acknowledged as a senior player. He has to be constantly told he is the main match-winner. He is somebody who needs a lot of attention and you need to give him that much of attention,” Akram wrote in his column for the .
London, June 20: At the very heart of Pakistan’s invigorating run to a second successive World Twenty20 final has been a player you might think was put on the planet to play Twenty20 cricket.
A three-four over bash with the bat, a quick four-over spell hustled through the middle overs and some adrenaline-fuelled cheerleading in the field: thanks very much, Shahid Afridi.
Notthingam, June 20: It is exactly 10 years to the day since Pakistan – and Shahid Afridi – last appeared in the showpiece Lord’s final of a global cricket tournament.
It all went horribly wrong for Pakistan and Afridi, then 19, in the 1999 World Cup final as Australia bowled them out for 132 and raced to a nine-wicket win.
One of Pakistan’s most embarrassing days on the field finished very early, in front of a packed and disappointed crowd, as Australia completed the job with almost 30 of their 50 overs unused.
London, June 20: The Sri Lankan juggernaut crushed West Indies by 57 runs in Friday’s lop-sided semifinal to set up a summit clash with Pakistan in the final of the Twenty20 World Cup at Lord’s on Sunday. Scorecard I In pics I Profiles
Put into bat, run-machine Tillakaratne Dilshan hit a sublime unbeaten 96 to help the Lankans overcome a mid-innings collapse and post 158 for five. And when they returned to defend the total, Angelo Mathews sent down a sensational first over, claiming three crucial wickets, and West Indies could never really recover from the setbacks.
New Delhi, June 20: Saina Nehwal came up with her best showing at the Super Series events in the last six months when she outdid South Korean Hwang Sung Hwan 21-17, 11-21, 21-15 to enter the semi-finals of the Indonesian Super Series badminton championships in Jakarta on Friday.
Saina came up with her best performance in December when she made it to the semi-finals of the Malaysian Super Series. She beat the unseeded Hwang, who had upset fourth seed Wang Chen.
New Delhi, June 19: The legendary Steve Waugh on Friday dismissed the element of fatigue as a valid excuse for India’s under-par performance in the Twenty20 World Championship and said it was time for skipper MS Dhoni to take a break.
“There have been conjectures of fatigue that led to the losses suffered by the Indian team, but at the top level of sport it is just not acceptable,” said the former Aussie skipper, who is known not to mince his words.
The 44-year-old Waugh added that Dhoni’s “should take some days’ break now”.
–Agencies
Farmingdale, June 19: Heavy rains forced an early end to first-round play Thursday in the 109th US Open as water-logged Bethpage Black became unpla yable and stars such as Tiger Woods battled through a deluge.
Soaked spectators braved intense showers to watch a super group of reigning major champions navigate the 7,426-yard par-70 course but rain swamped holes so badly that one green had a flagpole in the center of a pond.
London, June 19: Will Roger Federer reclaim his Wimbledon throne? Will Rafael Nadal’s knees permit him to defend his title? Can Andy Murray finally put the wo Those are the three burning questions as the All England Club’s famous lawns get their final trim before the start of the year’s third grand slam on Monday.
A sun-kissed first week is in store, according to the weather forecasters, but the British climate can be unpredictable, just as the men’s game has been in recent weeks.