Dhoni eyes hat trick of victories

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

New Delhi, Apr 25: The love and loyalty of the fans will never let him leave Royal Challengers Bangalore till the time he is playing IPL, skipper Virat Kohli said on Friday.

RCB have reached the IPL final thrice but have not gone on to win the trophy.

During a live session on Instagram with former South African captain and RCB teammate AB de Villiers, Kohli said winning the tournament remains the goal but he would not leave the team irrespective of the results.

"It has been such an amazing journey. It is always going to be our dream, winning the IPL together. There is no scenario where I could think of leaving the team ever.

"You can feel emotional about the season not going well but till the time I am playing IPL, I am never leaving this team. The fans, their loyalty has been amazing," said the India skipper.

Responding to Kohli's feelings towards RCB, De Villiers too acknowledged the support of fans over the past nine years. Kohli, on the other hand, has been with RCB since 2008.

"Same for me. I never want to leave RCB but to do that I got to keep scoring runs. I am not the captain you see," said the South African in jest.

Both recalled their early days in international cricket and their growth as cricketers and friends.

Kohli said at times, the youngsters coming in have too much regard for the "system" and he wants to see them break the norm.

"I want to see youngsters coming in scoring 500-600 runs. I want people to break the norm. Sometimes I feel people have too much regard for the system in sport. When you break the shackles, you do something special."

Kohli also acknowledged contribution of Mark Boucher, Gary Kirsten and Duncan Fletcher early on in his international career.

"Gary always gave me positive feedback. Boucher told me in 2008 to improve my game against the short ball. He had the vision. Then Fletcher, he had a keen eye for the game. So many people who have contributed (to my growth)," said Kohli.

De Villiers picked the 119 at Wankhede in the 2015 series decider as his best knock against India. Kohli picked the 119 he scored in Johannesburg Test in 2013.

"I was always really motivated to win the series after 2-2 . I was incredibly motivated to do something special," de Villiers said.

They also picked their combined South Africa and India ODI team. It included Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ab de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, M S Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada.

Jeddah, Jan 3: Spanish driver Fernando Alonso is aiming to create history as the first Formula One world champion to win the Dakar Rally when the 12-day marathon gets underway in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Alonso, who won the F1 championship with Renault in 2005 and 2006, is one of 351 starters in this year's 7,500 km race which has moved from South America to Saudi Arabia, both venues a long way from the original 1979 route between Paris and the Senegalese capital Dakar.

Among the starters will be motorbikes, quad bikes and trucks but Alonso, who will have five-time bike champion Marc Coma navigating his Toyota, will be in the car category as he bids to become one of the greatest all-round drivers of all time.

Apart from his success in F1, the 38-year-old Spaniard has also won the Le Mans 24-hour race and has singled out the Indianapolis 500 as his priority for 2020. He describes Dakar as “the biggest challenge of my career”.

Alonso is not the first F1 driver to take part in the race, however.

The Belgian Jacky Ickx, a winner of eight grand prix and six-time winner of Le Mans, won Dakar in 1983 and came second in 1986 and 1989. Frenchman Patrick Tambay, who had two wins in his 114 grand prix, came third in 1988 and 1989.

Given the treacherous conditions--long stretches of sand dunes--Alonso is not overly confident of challenging for victory, noting that even the nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb was unable to deliver when he raced the Dakar. Loeb won 13 stages but could only finish second in 2017 and third in 2019.

“If Loeb still hasn't won the Dakar, imagine me, who is coming from asphalt,” Alonso told RTVE. “I think the goal is more to approach the rally as an enriching experience for us.”

Fellow Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah is a more likely candidate, not least because the Qatari is a three-time winner and reigning champion.

"Give me some sand and I'm happy," Al-Attiyah told dakar.com.

He will be pressed, however, by the Minis of Carlos Sainz and 'Monsieur Dakar' aka Stephane Peterhansel who has won 13 Dakars across bikes and cars in 30 races.

“We are obviously very excited about the Dakar in Saudi Arabia. It will be a new challenge for everyone,” said Peterhansel who will be partnered by Paulo Fiuza after the Frenchman's wife Andrea pulled out for health reasons.

“Unfortunately, it is not possible to contest the rally with Andrea, as was planned, however I have known Paulo Fiuza for a very long time. According to the organisers, the navigation will be very complicated and play a major role this time.”

Cyril Despres, a five-time winner on bikes, is also back with a new teammate -- explorer Mike Horn.

“I was stuck in the ice for a month, and now I'm heading to Jeddah. For the first time, the Dakar Rally is in Saudi Arabia and I'm doing it with a very good friend of mine, Cyril Despres,” tweeted Horn whose adventures include an 18-month solo journey around the equator without using any motorised transport.

Horn is also the first man to travel without dogs or transport to the North Pole during winter, in permanent darkness.

Across the dunes of Saudi Arabia that experience may come in handy.