FIFA World Cup: Russia to lock horns with Croatia in quarters

Agencies
July 7, 2018

Sochi, July 7: Russia will look to book their place in the semi-final of the ongoing 21st edition of FIFA World Cup when they square off with Croatia in the quarter-final clash here at Fisht Stadium on Saturday.

Russia, who came into the tournament ranked 70, surprised the spectators around the world with their impressive run in the tournament so far.

The hosts will be coming off in the clash on the back of their two convincing victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt while a 0-3 defeat against Uruguay in their third and final group-stage match.

The Igor Akinfeev- led side, in one of the major upsets of the tournament, defeated pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 via penalty shootouts after the high-voltage round of 16 ended with a 1-1 draw at full time.

Croatia, on the other hand, are so far unbeaten in the tournament and will definitely be fancying their chances against the host nation.

The Croatians squeezed past Denmark 3-2 in the penalty shootout in their high-voltage round-16 clash to book their place against Russians in the quarterfinals.

Previously, the two teams met twice during the qualifiers of Euro 2008 but both the matches ended in stalemate draws.

However, in a friendly match in November 2017, Croatia thrashed the Russians 3-1 in the encounter.

In other clashes of the day, world number twenty-four Sweden will collide with 12th-ranked England for the semi-final berth in the tournament.

Both the teams have had a roller-coaster ride in the World Cup so far and will be aiming to put their best foot forward in the match.

The two teams met twice in the World Cup so far, settling with a 2-2 draw in 2006 and a 1-1 draw in 2002.

As far as head-to-head record is concerned, England have won just two of the matches in their last fifteen meetings.

On a related note, the full Russian and Croatian squads are as follow:

Russia

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (C), Vladimir Gabulov, Soslan Dzhanaev, Andrei Lunev.
Defenders: Vladimir Granat, Ruslan Kambolov, Fedor Kudryashov, Ilya Kutepov Roman Neustadter Konstantin Rausch, Andrei Semenov, Igor Smolnikov, Mario Fernandes.
Midfielders: Yuri Gazinsky, Alexander Golovin Alan Dzagoev, Alexander Erokhin, Yuri Zhirkov, Daler Kuzyaev, Roman Zobnin, Alexander Samedov, Anton Miranchuk, Alexander Tashaev, Denis Cheryshev.
Forwards: Fedor Smolov, Aleksei Miranchu, Artem Dzyuba.

Croatia

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic , Lovre Kalinic, Dominik Livakovic
Defenders: Vedran Corluka , Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic , Dejan Lovren, Sime Vrsaljko , Josip Pivaric , Tin Jedvaj, Duje Caleta-Car
Midfielders: Luka Modric , Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic , Milan Badelj, Marcelo Brozovic, Filip Bradaric
Forwards: Mario Mandzukic , Ivan Perisic , Nikola Kalinic , Andrej Kramaric, Marko Pjaca, Ante Rebic. 

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News Network
July 25,2020

New Delhi, Jul 25: Former India spinner Anil Kumble said that he has never understood why people compared him with Australia's Shane Warne.

Kumble was doing an Instagram live session with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa and it was then that the spinner also talked about being the third-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.

"It feels really wonderful to finish with these many wickets. I never bothered about statistics or what my average should be, I wanted to bowl the whole day and be the one to take wickets. To finish as the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests alongside Murali and Warne is very special. All three of us played in the same era, there were a lot of comparisons, I do not know why people compared me with Warne. Warne was someone really different and he was on a different plane," Kumble told Mbangwa during the interaction.
"These two guys could spin the ball on any surface so it became really difficult for me when they started comparing me with Warne and Murali. I learnt a lot by watching them both bowl," he added.

The Indian spinner announced his retirement from international cricket in 2008. He finished with 619 wickets in the longest format of the game.

He has the third-highest number of wickets in Tests, only behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (800) and Australia's Shane Warne (708).

Kumble is the second bowler in the history of international cricket after England's Jim Laker to take all ten wickets in an innings of a Test match.

He had achieved the feat against Pakistan in 1999 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium in Delhi. Kumble had bowling figures of 10-74 from 26.3 overs in the second innings of the Test match.
Kumble will be coaching Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Skipper Virat Kohli has become the first Indian to reach the 50M followers mark on social media platform Instagram. Kohli, who is breaking cricketing records with each passing match, has a great social media following.

The 31-year old has so far made 930 posts on the platform and his social media posts continue to enthrall fans worldwide. Overall, Instagram's official account has the most number of followers and it is followed by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 200M followers.

In terms of Indians with most number of followers, Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra is on the second spot with 49.9 followers while Deepika Padukone is on the third place with 44.1 followers.

Last year, Kohli had become the most successful Indian Test captain, surpassing Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Currently, Kohli is in action against New Zealand and his side would take on the hosts in the two-match Test series, slated to commence from February 21.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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