FIFA World Cup 2018: In-form Ronaldo Looms for Morocco, Spain Face Iran

Agencies
June 20, 2018

Rostov-on-Don, Jun 20: Cristiano Ronaldo will hone in on Morocco on Wednesday after his stunning hat-trick in Portugal's World Cup opener, while 2010 winners Spain play Iran in Group B.

The five-time world player of the year bagged a sublime treble against Spain in the heat of Sochi on Friday in Russia 2018's stand-out match so far, the 51st of his glittering career.

"I'm very happy, it's a nice personal record to have, one more in my career," Ronaldo said on Tuesday.

Spain head to Kazan to face Iran still counting the cost of a chaotic run-up to the tournament during which Julen Lopetegui was sensationally sacked just two days before they opened their campaign.

Former international defender Fernando Hierro is now at the helm but barely a week into the tournament Spain -- expected to join Brazil, Germany and France in the latter stages -- have endured more drama than they would have wanted or expected.

"It's a crucial match that will determine our World Cup destiny," said midfielder Isco of the Iran showdown.

"We want to score from the opening minute, even though that won't be easy."

Iran kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win against Morocco, thanks to a late own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz, piling the pressure on Spain at Kazan Arena on Wednesday.

Iran sit top of the pile as the only Group B team with a win so far, an achievement that sparked widespread celebrations in the streets of Tehran and elsewhere throughout the Islamic republic.

Coach Carlos Queiroz concedes Iran now face one of the biggest challenges in their World Cup history, but maintains they can "make the impossible possible".

"If the game against Morocco was the World Cup final for us, the game against Spain will be the Universe Cup final," said the former Real Madrid coach.

Iran have never beaten a European side at a World Cup -- their only previous victory was a 2-1 win over the United States in France in 1998.

Morocco need to bounce back from their agonising defeat against Iran but Portugal and Ronaldo in particular pose Herve Renard's men a monumental challenge at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

"We lost a battle but we haven't lost the war. We're not dead," said midfielder Faycal Fajr, one of 17 foreign-born players in Morocco's squad.

Uruguay take on Saudi Arabia in Wednesday's other game, with forward Luis Suarez set to mark his 100th appearance for the Celeste in the Group A clash in Rostov-on-Don.

The Barcelona man has exited the last two World Cups in disgrace after being sent off for a goal-line handball against Ghana and he infamously sank his teeth into Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini in 2014.

The game itself should be straightforward for Uruguay, who won their opener 1-0 against a Mohamed Salah-less Egypt, as they face a Saudi Arabia team hammered 5-0 by hosts Russia in the tournament's curtain-raiser.

The Saudis' preparations were jolted by a mid-air mishap on Monday when the plane carrying them to Rostov suffered a fire in one of its engines.

The aircraft landed safely after what one of the Saudi players called a "simple malfunction".

Hosts Russia stand on the verge of the knockout stages after Tuesday's 3-1 win over Egypt in Saint Petersburg.

After a goalless first half, Ahmed Fathi scored an own goal before Denis Cheryshev struck and Artem Dzyuba added a third. Salah scored a consolation penalty late on but it was not enough for the Pharaohs.

Earlier, Senegal secured a first win for an African nation at this tournament, benefiting from a terrible error from Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to beat Poland 2-1 in Moscow.

Tuesday's other Group H clash saw Japan come out surprise winners against 10-man Colombia after midfielder Carlos Sanchez received the tournament's first red card for a handball minutes into the game.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Sydney, Feb 21: Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav bowled a magical spell in her comeback game to steer India to a comfortable 17-run win over defending champions Australia in the opening match of the Women's T20 World Cup on Friday.

Put in to bat, India struggled to a below par 132 before Poonam (4/19 in 4 overs) foxed the Aussies with her googlies, turning the match decisively into her team's favour.

Australia, who have won the competition four times in six editions, were all out for 115 in 19.5 overs

"A bowler like Poonam is someone who leads from the front. We were expecting a great comeback from her. Our team is looking nice, earlier we depended on two-three players," India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said after the match.

Poonam, who missed the preceding tri-series due to a hand injury, also got good support from other bowlers including pacer Shikha Pandey.

The 28-year-old from Agra was on a hat-trick but narrowly missed out as wicketkeeper Taniya Bhatia dropped a difficult chance.

The tournament-opener saw a record 13,000 plus attendance with a sizeable chunk supporting India.

India next play against Bangladesh in Perth on February 24.

"It was great for me to come back from injury and perform like this. It was the third time that I was on a hat-trick but satisfied that I was able to do the job for the team," said Poonam at the post-match presentation.

Australia were off to a good start to their chase with opener Alyssa Healy making a 35-ball 51, laced with six boundaries and a six.

However, Indian spinners led by Poonam triggered a collapse as Australia suddenly slipped to 82 for six.

Poonam (4/19) snapped four wickets, two in successive deliveries in the 12th over, to break the back of Australia's chase.

Ashleigh Gardner (34 off 36) tried her bit but didn't get any support from the other end.

Earlier, India squandered a flying start to end up with a below-par total.

Sixteen-year-old Shafali Verma took India to 40 for no loss in four overs with a typically aggressive 29 off 15 balls but her fall derailed the innings as the other batters disappointed.

Deepti Sharma made a composed 46-ball 49 in the second half of the innings but the firepower that India needed in the death overs was badly missing.

India were cruising initially with Shafali taking the opposition to the cleaners, hitting five fours and a six.

However, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (2/24) snapped two quick wickets, Smriti Mandhana (10 off 11) and Harmanpreet (2 off 5) to reduce India to 47 for three.

Deepti then shared 53 runs with Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 33) to bring up the 100 in the 16th over.

For Australia, Ellyse Perry (1/15) and Delissa Kimmince (1/24) were the other wicket-takers.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

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News Network
July 3,2020

Karachi, Jul 3: There was a sense of insecurity among Pakistan players during the 2019 World Cup, claims former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who also reckons that the PCB should have given Sarfaraz Ahmed more time as captain instead of removing him abruptly.

Inzamam said captains need to be backed since they get better with time.

"Even in the last World Cup I felt the captain and players were under pressure because they were thinking if we don't do well in the tournament we will be out. That environment was created and this is not good for cricket," Inzamam said.

"Sarfaraz achieved some notable victories for Pakistan and was learning to be a good captain but unfortunately when he had learnt from experience and mistakes he was removed as captain," the former captain told a TV channel.

Inzamam remained chief selector from 2016 till the 2019 World Cup. During his tenure, most of the time Sarfaraz remained captain.

Soon after Inzamam was replaced by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan Cricket Board removed Sarfaraz as a player and captain from all three formats.

"Sarfaraz won us the Champions Trophy and also made the team number one in T20 cricket. He got us some good wins. He should have been given more time as captain by the board but it acted in haste and didn't give him confidence or patience."

The PCB has now given the Test captaincy to senior batsman, Azhar Ali while young batsman Babar Azam leads the side in the white ball formats.

Inzamam, the most capped player for Pakistan, also said that the captain's own performance can dip as he had to focus a lot on other players.

"But a captain learns all this with time. There is no shortcut to it."

He pointed out that people praise Imran Khan’s leadership qualities and captaincy but he also won the World Cup on his third attempt as captain.

"He won the 1992 World Cup because by that time he had become a seasoned captain and learnt to motivate his players and get them to fight in every match."

Inzamam said giving confidence to new players and youngsters is very important for the selectors. He gave the example of Babar Azam.

"Babar struggled initially in Test cricket but we never had any doubt about his ability so we persisted with him and see today where he is standing in all formats."

He also described Babar and pacer, Shaheen Shah Afridi as and future stars.

"Babar is always compared to Virat Kohli but the latter has played a lot more cricket and if you look at their stats and performances at the stage Babar is now, he has not done badly at all."

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