Sports Today News

India crush England to level ODI series

KOCHI: India came from behind to record a huge 127-run win over England in the second One-day International of the five-match series here at the Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing a tough target of 286, England batsmen could not resist against an accurate Indian bowling attack and were all out for 158 in 36 overs.Kevin Pietersen top scored with 42, followed by Joe Root (36) and Samit Patel (30) as five batsmen could not get into the double figures.

For India, seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and off-break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin captured three wickets each while left-arm spinner.Ravindra Jadeja claimede two wickets.
Earlier, India amassed 285 for six in the allotted 50 overs after their captain Mahindra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat.
Dhoni continued his consistent form and made 72 from 66 balls with seven fours and two towering sixes.
Allrounder Jadeja smashed an unbeaten 61 off 37 balls with two sixes and eight fours while Suresh Raina hit 55 with two sixes and as many fours. Both added 96 runs in just ten overs to make target difficult for the tourists.

Women’s World Cup: Pak matches may be moved to Ahmedabad

NEW DELHI: Media reports on Tuesday said the women's cricket World Cup, scheduled to be played in Mumbai from January 31 to February 17, could be affected due to Pakistan's participation.
The Pakistani women are due to play three matches in the preliminary league of the eight-nation event and at least another four if they advance to the second round.
The Indian Express newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying Pakistan's matches could be moved to Ahmedabad, which last month hosted a one-day international between the men's teams of the two nations.
There was no immediate comment from the International Cricket Council on the report. (AFP)

Murray through to Open third round in straight sets

MELBOURNE: British third seed Andy Murray brushed aside Portugal's Joao Sousa to win in straight sets and reach the third round at the Australian Open on Thursday.
The US Open champion downed the 100th-ranked Sousa 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in 1hr 41min on Hisense Arena in scorching temperatures.

Pakistan bars stars from Bangladesh T20 league

DHAKA: Bangladesh cricket chiefs said Wednesday that Pakistan had refused to release any of its players for the Bangladesh Premier League which begins this week after a planned bilateral series had to be scrapped.
Pakistan had been due to host Bangladesh for a Twenty20 game and a 50-over match in Lahore this month in what would have been its first home internationals since a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus nearly four years ago.
But the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cancelled the tour, saying Pakistan was not safe for its players.
According to a BCB spokesman, Pakistan has now responded by preventing any of its stars from competing in the BPL which begins Thursday.
“The chief executive officer of PCB called our CEO today and informed him that they won’t allow their players to play in the BPL until we send our team to their country,” spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP.
“We’ve now decided to host the event without Pakistani players,” he said, adding the BPL’s seven franchises would now find replacements for the 26 Pakistani players they bought in the auction last month.
The move represents a major blow for the second edition of the BPL since Pakistani cricketers have a big following in Bangladesh.
More than 50 Pakistani players took part in the auction for the second edition of BPL, with opening batsman Imran Nazir fetching $280,000.
Last year more than 20 Pakistani players took part in the inaugural edition, with all-rounder Shahid Afridi sold for the highest fee of $700,000.
BCB spokesman Yunus said Bangladesh has not ruled out touring Pakistan in the coming months but wanted to reassess the security situation before sending a team.
Bangladesh was also due to tour Pakistan last April, but the tour was blocked by the Dhaka High Court on security grounds.