Real Madrid would be top if everyone was like me, rages Cristiano Ronaldo

February 28, 2016

Madrid, Feb 28: Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the Spanish giants would be top of La Liga rather than nine points behind Barcelona if his team-mates matched his standards.

ronaldoRonaldo had a day to forget in front of goal as Real waved goodbye to any lasting hope of mounting a title challenge in a 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on Saturday with even coach Zinedine Zidane admitting their challenge was over.

"If everyone was at my level, we would be top," said Ronaldo.

"Every year according to the press it seems I am rubbish, but the numbers and statistics don`t lie."

Madrid have endured a season from hell as Zidane replaced the sacked Rafael Benitez in January, whilst the club has suffered a series of institutional embarrassments, including being eliminated from the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.

The final whistle was met by a chorus of discontent from the home fans as they called for president Florentino Perez to resign.

A mounting injury list has also taken its toll as they were without Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Pepe, and Karim Benzema had to be replaced by 18-year-old Borja Mayoral at half-time.

And Ronaldo claimed that, despite Perez`s multi-million euro investment, Madrid don`t have a good enough squad to compete at the top level.

"I don`t want to undervalue any of my teammates, but when the best aren`t there it is difficult to win."

"I like to play with Pepe, Karim, Bale, Marcelo. I don`t want to say that Jese (Rodriguez), Lucas (Vazquez), (Mateo) Kovavic are not good players, they are very good, but to win a competition you need the best."Defeat was Zidane`s first in nine games since taking charge last month and he admitted that he had been shocked by his side`s poor display.

"Today is a big blow. To lose at home to Atletico is difficult to take," said the Frenchman. "I didn`t expect the game we saw today.

"The league is over. It was already difficult and I said yesterday if you drop more points it is even more so.

"We`re not just going to throw the league away because whatever happens we have goals, games to play and things to win. That is the idea we have to have going forward."

Victory meant Atletico became the first visiting side ever to win three consecutive league games at the Bernabeu and solidified their position in second, four points ahead of Real.

"Today we were Atletico Madrid. There is no better example of what we are than what we showed today," said coach Diego Simeone.

"Once again the fans of Atletico Madrid can feel immensely proud of their players."

Simeone`s men trail Barcelona by five points, but the European champions can regain their eight-point advantage when they host Sevilla on Sunday.

"Barcelona are very good, it is difficult to see them losing three games," added Simeone.

"We have to focus on our own objective which was to finish in the top three, but everyone wants to finish as high as possible."

Atletico`s title bid has been hampered by a lack of goals in recent games, but Antoine Griezmann ended a five-game drought to slot home his 20th of the season early in the second half.

"I`m happy on a personal level and also for the team," said Griezmann.

"We played a great game, we very solid at the back and, although we didn`t have many chances, one of them went in."

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Dubai, Jan 11: India opener KL Rahul has retained the sixth position while skipper Virat Kohli and left-hander Shikhar Dhawan have advanced one place each in the latest ICC Men's T20I player rankings after the conclusion of the series against Sri Lanka.

India won the T20I series 2-0 with one match getting washed out. Rahul, the highest-ranked Indian batsman, has gained 26 points and is now at the sixth spot with 760 rating points.

Rahul is just six points behind Australia's Glenn Maxwell after scores of 45 and 54 in his two innings against Sri Lanka.

Kohli, top-ranked in Tests and ODIs, is in the ninth position while Dhawan is on 15th. Manish Pandey has advanced four places and is ranked at the 70th.

India's fast bowlers have made notable gains in the first T20I update of the year and would be encouraged as they prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2020 in Australia.

Player of the series Navdeep Saini has rocketed from 146 places to 98th while Shardul Thakur has re-entered in 92nd position after both finished with five wickets in the series. Jaspreet Bumrah has gained eight places to reach the 39th position.

For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya de Silva has gained 72 places to reach 115th among batsmen after aggregating 74 runs while spinner Lakshan Sandakan has moved up 10 places to reach 29th position after grabbing three wickets in the series.

In the ICC Men's team rankings, India have gained two points but remain at fifth position with 260 points, while Sri Lanka have lost two points and now have 236 points and are at the eighth spot.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: On the first day of the New Year 2020, Hardik Pandya announced his engagement with Serbian actor Natasa Stankovic.

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

The 26-year-old shared three pictures and a short clip on the social media platform. In one photo, Stankovic can be seen flaunting her ring.

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

On work front, Stankovic was last seen in a song from 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'.

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News Network
February 18,2020

Feb 18: There are no half measures for fit-again New Zealand pace spearhead Trent Boult who is ready to challenge India captain Virat Kohli on his return to international cricket during the two-Test series starting in Wellington on Friday. Boult was out of action for the past six weeks due to a fracture on his right hand sustained during the Boxing Day Test against Australia and missed out on the limited-overs leg of the India series. Back for the traditional format, the left-arm fast bowler made his priorities clear ahead of the first Test.

"That's personally why I play the game, to get guys like that (Kohli) out and test myself against them, so I can't wait to get stuck in. But he's an exceptional player. Everyone knows how great he is," Boult said, sending out a warning after landing in the capital city for the opening Test.

New Zealand's last Test series in Australia was a nightmare as they lost 0-3 and India will be a tough test for the Black Caps.

"They are a great side and they are leading the ICC Test Championship. They are very clear on how they wanted to play the game. It was a tough learning curve in Australia. It's good to see where we are in terms of bouncing back," said Boult.

The Basin Reserve track will have a lot for the seamers and in conducive conditions, a wily customer like Boult will prove to be a handful for the travellers.

"I'm preparing for a solid wicket. It generally is very good here and goes the full distance (five days). I do enjoy playing here, the history that's involved, and it's going to be an exciting week building up. I can't wait to get out there," said the 30-year-old who has taken 256 wickets from 65 Tests.

It was frustrating for him to watch his side get walloped 0-5 in the T20 series but exhilarating when it got its mojo back in the subsequent one-dayers.

The Black Caps won 3-0 in the 50-over format. "I think it is what it is. I have just got to put the last six or so weeks behind me and just back myself to get out there and do my thing," said Boult, who warmed up by playing a club game at the picturesque Taupo ground.

Boult did find a bit of humour in his injury which, for him, was more of an accident.

"If I had to break a hand, (it would) probably be my right one. Breaking a hand, you don't really know how much you use it unless you break it," said Boult.

"I was pushing in off the long run. I think a couple of the clubbies from Taupo really enjoyed that. It was a good afternoon," added the pacer, who sent down eight overs in a friendly game for his club Cadets.

While bowling isn't a problem, Boult is hoping that catching doesn't become an issue.

"Everything has gone very well but catching will be the biggest issue for me," he said.

Professionally, Boult had to lie low due to injury, but it was also a good break as he and wife Lana welcomed their second child.

"Having some time away from the game and having my second son a couple of weeks ago came at quite a good time," said Boult.

Fighting fit, all he wants now is to get hold of a red kookaburra and get a few to tail into Kohli and company.

"I am hungry to be here and can't wait to get back in the white and get the red ball moving around," he said.

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