La Liga: Ronaldo scores treble as Real Madrid thrash Espanyol 6-1

February 1, 2016

Madrid, Feb 1: Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 29th hat-trick of the La Liga as Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid moved back to within four points of leaders Barcelona with a 6-0 thrashing of Espanyol on Sunday.

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However, Gary Neville’s terrible La Liga run since taking charge of Valencia continued with a 1-0 loss to Sporting Gijon on Sunday -- Los Che’s first home defeat since November 2014.

In keeping with their fast starts under new boss Zidane at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid raced into a 4-0 half-time lead with Karim Benzema and James Rodriguez’s first goal since November adding to Ronaldo’s double.

The three-time World Player of the Year sealed his latest La Liga hat-trick nine minutes from time before Oscar Duarte’s own goal ensured a repeat scoreline from when the sides met earlier this season.

“We all needed to work harder as a team and now we have a positive mentality,” Ronaldo told Canal Plus of Zidane’s impact.

“The pre-season wasn’t very good, there was a lot of travelling. Zizou has arrived with different ideas and we need to continue like this.”

Victory also moves Real just a point behind local rivals Atletico Madrid after their 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday.

However, Barcelona also have a game in hand on both Madrid clubs.

“Our objective is to do our best in every game and get to the end of the season with the chance to win the league,” said Zidane.

“My expectations for the league are still high, it is not over.”

Real have now struck 41 goals in seven games at home since being thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona in November.

Zidane’s men again made a flying start as Rodriguez’s cross from the right picked out Benzema to take his tally for the season to 22 goals in 21 games after seven minutes.

Ronaldo hit five when the sides met earlier in the campaign and was among the goals once more as he doubled the lead from the penalty spot after being brought down by Enzo Roco.

Rodriguez’s deflected effort killed the game as a contest after just 18 minutes and Benzema could easily have made it four as he shot wide after a lovely one-two with Isco.

Ronaldo did get the fourth before the break with an audacious piece of skill to skip past Alvaro Gonzalez before blasting into the top corner on his left foot.

Madrid’s intensity dropped after the break with the points in the bag, but Ronaldo wasn’t to be denied another hat-trick as he nodded home Jese Rodriguez’s cross to register his 30th goal of the season.

And Duarte’s own goal rounded off the scoring from another dangerous Jese cross.

In contrast to Zidane’s comfortable start to life in La Liga, Neville’s Valencia nightmare continued as his winless streak stretched to eight games.

Antonio Sanabria’s penalty five minutes into the second-half handed Sporting their first away win since October as Valencia paid for missing a host of clear-cut chances, most notably through captain Alvaro Negredo.

Victory moves Sporting out of the relegation zone up to 16th with Valencia now just six points off the drop zone in 12th.

Yet, Neville denied his position was fast becoming untenable.

“You’re asking me about my position. I find this question ridiculous,” said the former Manchester United captain.

“It’s from you (the media), don’t put this onto the fans.”

Elsewhere, Sevilla maintained their chase of Villarreal for the fourth Champions League place with their 11th consecutive win at home in all competitions, 3-1 over bottom side Levante.

Celta Vigo missed the chance to move back up to fifth as they conceded a last minute winner to Las Palmas in a 2-1 defeat.

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News Network
May 7,2020

Melbourne, May 7: Australia opener Joe Burns is eyeing the Tests against India should they take place later this year, to stabilise his stop-start international career, saying "you want to play in and do well in" in this kind of series.

India is scheduled to play four Tests in Australia in December-January, a series which is currently in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 2.5 lakh lives across the world.

"They are obviously world class team. I think the two teams going at each other will be very exciting to watch and players playing against each other as well," Burns told reporters in a video conference on Thursday.

"You look at the world ranking, they were number one and now we have got to number one, so I know that series will be anticipated by everyone and as a player this is a sort of series you want to play in and do well in."

With the coronavirus also threatening the T20 World Cup, Cricket Australia is under financial stress and has gone on a cost-cutting drive, which included standing down 80 per cent of its staff at 20 per cent salary.

There are also speculations that the Sheffield Shield for 2020-21 would be curtailed to cut costs.

Burns, however, hoped it won't be tinkered with.

"I love the fact we have a really strong first-class system. The 10 games, where you play everyone twice," Burns, who was struck down by a fatigue illness after an indifferent season, said.

"It leads to world-class players coming into Test teams. You don't want to see that get changed.

"Obviously it is unique circumstances at the moment and There's a lot of things to work through ... the players' association is consulted on those things."

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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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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