Indian Super League: Holders Atletico De Kolkata Play Runner-Up Kerala Blasters In Opener

Agencies
September 22, 2017

Sept 22: Two-time champions and holders Atletico De Kolkata will take on runner-up Kerala Blasters in the opening match of the Indian Super League season 4 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on November 17.

The match is looked upon as a re-run of last year's final and the Kerala outfit would be eager to make amends for last year's disappointment. Altogether 95 matches will be played this season and 10 teams will be in action with the addition of Bengaluru FC and Jamshedpur FC, a media release issued here said.

All the 10 teams will play each other in a home-and-away format in 90 games before the two-legged semi-finals which are scheduled to take place in the second week of March.

Date and venue for the final will be announced later.

All league matches to be played from Wednesday to Saturday will kick off at 8 PM (IST) with Sunday featuring double headers at 5:30 PM and 8 PM (IST).

The season's first double-header will see a repeat of the 2015 final between Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa in Chennai followed by AFC Cup 2016 finalist, Bengaluru FC, getting their first taste of ISL when they take on last season's semi-finalists Mumbai City FC in a home match at Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Sunday, November 19.

The highlight of the day will undoubtedly be India captain Sunil Chhetri taking on his previous club for the first time.

The season's first Maharashtra derby between FC Pune City and Mumbai City FC will be played on November 29 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex Stadium in Pune.

Jamshedpur FC will play their first home match at the renovated JRD Tata Sports Complex Stadium against title holders ATK on December 1.

The 10 clubs have collectively spent Rs 132.75 crores in signing 77 international and 166 domestic players.

Unlike previous seasons, the maximum number of foreign players in the playing XI has been reduced from six to five from this season onwards.

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Agencies
January 14,2020

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News Network
April 14,2020

Melbourne, Apr 14: As all sporting action across the world has come to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, Australian bowlers are pondering as to how Indian skipper Virat Kohli might play in front of no spectators.

India and Australia are scheduled to play a four-match Test series later this year, and it is being speculated that the series might end up taking place without any crowds due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon on Tuesday said that it would be interesting to see how Kohli goes about it if he does not get a chance to get the audience behind him.

"He is probably good enough to adapt to any scenario. But I was talking to Mitch Starc the other day and we actually said that if we are playing with no crowd, it'll be quite amazing to see Virat trying to rev up the empty seats," cricket.com.au quoted Lyon as saying.

"It is going to be a little bit different, but Virat is a superstar. He will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in," he added.
During the 2018-19 series, India managed to defeat Australia in Australia for the first time in a Test series.

Australia, at that time were without the services of David Warner and Steve Smith. However, the series later this year promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.

"I am excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it's up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. They are an absolute powerhouse of the cricket world, and to have those guys out here is going to be fantastic. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we have got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world," Lyon said.

"I have not thought about no crowds or massive crowds, it is just about the opportunity of playing against India again. They had the wood over us last time they came over here but we are a much stronger Australian cricket side at the moment, and I am just unbelievably excited about playing them here at home," he added.

Lyon was slated to represent Hampshire in County Championship this year, however, his stint was called off last week due to COVID-19.
He is Australia's third-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the game as he has total of 390 wickets in Test cricket.

Lyon was last seen in action in the Big Bash League for Sydney Sixers.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: Thrilled after getting to know about Hardik Pandya and Natasa Stankovic's engagement, skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday called it a "pleasant surprise".

Extending his best wishes to the newly-engaged couple, Kohli posted a comment on Pandya's Instagram post which read, "Congratulations H. What a pleasant surprise. Wish you guys great times ahead. God bless".

On the first day of the New Year 2020, Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

The cricketer took to Instagram to share the photo with the actor and captioned the post: "Mai tera, Tu meri jaane, saara Hindustan. 01.01.2020 #engaged".

The couple got engaged in Dubai and were seen taking a ferry ride along with close friends.

On the work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from the Bollywood movie The Body starring Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor. She had also made it to the finals of the TV show Nach Baliye with her ex-boyfriend Aly Goni.

Stankovic first became a household name after appearing as a contestant on famous reality show Bigg Boss 8.

In 2019, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had confirmed that Pandya had had lower-back surgery in London.

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