Messi set to get 5th FIFA best player prize, end Ronaldo run

January 9, 2016

Geneva, Jan 9: Lionel Messi is favored to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, ending Cristiano Ronaldo's two-year hold on soccer's top individual prize.

messiMessi already has a 4-3 lead in their career duel for the annual FIFA prize but has recently been eclipsed by his great rival.

That changed in 2015 when Messi inspired Barcelona to regain the Champions League title among five major trophies to none for Real Madrid, despite Ronaldo's relentless goal-scoring pace.

Barcelona's dominance also helped Brazil star Neymar earn a place on the three-man shortlist for the first time.

The Catalan club can sweep the men's honors with Luis Enrique heading the coaches' shortlist after becoming European champion and winning the Spanish league and cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup.

Messi can also win the Puskas Award - a fans' online vote for best goal - for his solo slalom through the Atletico Madrid defense to score in the Spanish cup final.

The World Cup-winning United States team is set to dominate the women's honors.

Carli Lloyd's 13-minute hat trick in the final - including a shot from the halfway line in a 5-2 rout of Japan - makes her a top contender for the player's prize. Lloyd is a finalist for the first time at 33 after a decade of national team duty, more than 200 appearances and two Olympic titles.

She is against Aya Miyama of Japan and Germany's Celia Sasic, whose six World Cup goals in Canada matched Lloyd though it earned her the Golden Boot because they were scored in less playing time.

US coach Jill Ellis is strongly favored to win the women's team coach award ahead of Mark Sampson, who led England to third place, and Norio Sasaki, who took the 2011 award after Japan won the previous World Cup.

Americans swept the 2012 awards when forward Abby Wambach and coach Pia Sundhage were rewarded for the team's Olympic title.

Barcelona swept the 2011 awards when Messi and then-coach Pep Guardiola won.

Guardiola is also nominated this year after winning the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich. Guardiola will skip Monday's event to stay with Bayern's midwinter training camp in Qatar.

Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli is also on the shortlist for guiding the host to a first Copa America title, beating his native Argentina captained by Messi in the final.

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Agencies
May 9,2020

Tokyo, May 9: As the world continues to grapple with coronavirus pandemic, the organisers of Tokyo Game Show have cancelled 2020 showpiece event.

TGS 2020 was slated to be played from September 24 to September 27 at the Makuhari Messe convention center. However, there now talks going on for holding an online event instead.

According to the Verge, this is the first time that TGS has ever been cancelled since it started in 1996.

TGS 2020 gained more attention because of its status as the last major trade show before the launch of the upcoming next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

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News Network
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: Former India skipper Rahul Dravid has praised the batting of MS Dhoni during the backend of a match, saying that the wicket-keeper often played during the period as if the result did not really matter to him.

Dravid also said that in pressure-cooker situations, not worrying about consequences can help players bring out the best in themselves.

"You watch MS Dhoni play during the backend of a match when he was at his best, you always felt like that he is doing something really important to him but he is playing it like the result does not really matter to him," Dravid told Sanjay Manjrekar during a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I think you need to have that or you need to train for it. It is a skill that I never had. The consequences of any decision mattered to me. It would be interesting to ask MS Dhoni that is this something that has come naturally to him or did he work on this during his career," he added.

Dhoni made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004, but he truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005 when he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Vishakapatnam.

He is the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy). Under his leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket.

He first led an inexperienced Indian side to the T20 World Cup triumph in 2007. He then took over ODI captaincy, but he had to wait for leading the Test side as Anil Kumble was doing the duties in the longest format.

Over his career, Dhoni has been reowned for his finishing skills and he is often viewed as the best finisher that the game has ever seen.

In December 2014, Dhoni announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Then in 2017, Dhoni handed over the captaincy reins to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 in the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been suspended indefinitely as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

Thirty-eight-year-old Dhoni has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup.

Dhoni recently had to face criticism for his slow batting approach during India's matches.

Earlier this year, Dhoni did not find a place in the list of BCCI's centrally contracted players from October 2019 to September 2020.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8:  India skipper Virat Kohli has added yet another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket as a captain. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 30 during India''s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series on Tuesday evening.

Kohli achieved the milestone of scoring 1,000 runs as captain in his 30th T20I inning. He is the second Indian and sixth overall after MS Dhoni to have achieved the feat. Dhoni had scored 1112 runs in 62 T20I games as captain.

Faf du Plessis (1273 runs from 40 games), Kane Williamson (1083 runs in 39 games), Eoin Morgan (1013 runs in 43 games) and Ireland''s William Porterfield (1002 runs in 56 games) are other captains on the list.

During India''s emphatic victory at the Holkar Stadium, Kohli also surpassed team-mate Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the series, as the top run-getter in the T20Is. Kohli now has 2663 runs from 71 innings.

Both had finished 2019 as joint top-scorers in T20Is, with 2633 runs each.

India, already with an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series, will now face Sri Lanka in the final T20I on Friday in Pune. The first match between the two teams was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet patches on the pitch in Guwahati last Sunday.

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