Sunil Chettri guides Bengaluru FC to Super Cup win over East Bengal

Agencies
April 21, 2018

Bhubaneswar, Apr 21: Skipper Sunil Chettri led from the front with double strikes as JSW Bengaluru FC came back from a goal down to notch up a dominating 4-1 win over 10-man Kingfisher East Bengal in the finals to claim the inaugural Super Cup trophy on Friday.

Two goals from Chettri and one each from Rahul Bheke and Nicolas Fedor (Miku) ensured that the early lead taken by East Bengal through Kromah did not stop their march to victory at the Kalinga Stadium.

Bengaluru made a positive start and tried to wrest control of the midfield early. Off a counter-attack, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Bengaluru FC Goalkeeper got the first booking of the match when Kromah broke free and Gurpreet brought him down just outside the Bengaluru box.

The game came to life in the 28th minute when East Bengal took the lead quite against the run of play. Off the fourth East Bengal corner which was fisted away by Gurpreet, Kromah pulled off a lobbed back volley from inside the box which went in despite a desperate Erik Partalau’s valiant attempt to keep it out.

BFC equalised in the 39th minute when Rahul scored against his former Club by heading in a corner.

Minutes before the interval, East Bengal were reduced to 10-men when Samad Ali Mallick was red-carded for a rough tackle on rival defender Subhashish Bose.

Changing over, East Bengal started the second half in a positive fashion. Kromah even managed to put the ball into the rival net but the flag had gone up earlier.

Gurpreet then rose to the occasion keeping off an Al Amna free-kick and then, the lanky custodian also thwarted a powerful Ladanmawia Ralte pile-driver.

However, the game changed with the introduction of Toni Dovale in the 61st minute in place of Erik Paartalu for Bengaluru FC. Dovale took control playing in tandem with Miku and Victor Perez.

Soon BFC surged into the lead in the 68th minute when Gurwinder Singh handled the ball off a corner and the referee pointed to the spot from which Chettri gleefully converted.

Three minutes later in the 71st minute, a Dovale-Perez combo from midfield found Miku inside the box, who sidestepped his marker and blasted it in.

Deservedly, the skipper finished it off in the 90th minute, when off an Udanta cross, Chhetri rose above Lalram Chullova in the East Bengal defence to head it in.

Chhetri was declared the Hero of the match, while Miku was declared the hero of the tournament.

My team has been most consistent this season: Albert Roca

Lavishing praise on his boys for claiming the inaugural Hero Super Cup, Bengaluru FC coach Alberto Roca described his team as the most consistent side in the domestic circuit this season.

Skipper Sunil Chettri led from the front with double strikes as Bengaluru FC came back from a goal down to notch up a dominating 4-1 win over 10-man Kingfisher East Bengal in the final.

“I am very happy for the supporters. This is the success we were looking forward to. Today we showed that my team has been the most consistent team this season,” Roca said moments after the dominating win.

“We were a little bit down in the first 20 minutes. They were very aggressive. I also need to congratulate East Bengal for their performance in the season.

“I am very happy for the way my team performed in the tournament. Three of the games we came from back from a goal down. It’s very credible.”

Referring to the Guard of honour which the Bengaluru FC team gave to the East Bengal players prior to the prize distribution ceremony, Roca said it was a “manner to show respect” to the “deserving opponents.”

“East Bengal had a very good tournament. They deserved to be in the final and even with 10-men they made it so difficult for us. I understand the supporters of East Bengal may be a bit sad at the moment but they should be proud of them and the manner they played in the tournament.”

Meanwhile, East Bengal coach Khalid Jamil said that his “boys worked hard.”

“Everybody worked very hard, especially the players. But the result was not in our favour. All the credit goes to the players,” he maintained.

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News Network
May 6,2020

May 6: They have similar impact on their teams but Virat Kohli is driven by sheer passion to subdue the rivals while Steve Smith just enjoys batting, says Australia opener David Warner.

India skipper Kohli and top Australian batsman Smith are arguably the top two cricketers of the current era. They achieve new milestones consistently, invoking debates, who is better between them.

"Virat's passion and drive to score runs is different to what Steve's would be," Warner said while speaking to Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"Steve is going out there for a hit in the middle, that's how he sees things. He's hitting them out in the middle, he's having fun, he's enjoying himself, just does not want to get out."

Warner feels, while Kohli is batting he is aware that if he sticks around the middle his team will be on top of the proceedings.

"Virat obviously doesn't want to get out but he knows if he spends a certain amount of time out there, he's going to score plenty of runs at a rapid rate. He's going to get on top of you. That allows the guys coming in, especially in the Indian team you've got a lot of players who can be flamboyant as well."

The Australian opener added that both men are mentally strong and a good knock by them boosts the morale of the entire team.

"When it comes to cricket, they both have got the mental strength, the mental capacity to score runs. They both love spending time in the middle.

"They stabilise, they boost morale - if they score runs, everyone else's moral is up. If they are out cheaply you almost sense that on the field that everyone is (down on morale and thinking) 'now we all have to step up'. It's a very bizarre situation," he added.

Asked about the similarities between himself and Kohli, who are both live wires on the field, Warner said the passion to do better than the opponent keeps him going.

"I can't speak for Virat, obviously, but it's almost like we got this thing in us when we go (out to the middle) we need to prove people wrong, prove someone wrong."

"If you're in that contest, and if I'm going at him for example, you're thinking, 'Alright, I'm going to score more runs than him, I'm going to take a quick single on him'. You are trying to better that person in that game. That's where the passion comes from."

Warner also explained how he breaks down a match into smaller competitions.

"Obviously you want to win the game but you almost break it down to: If I can score more runs than Virat, or if Pujara scores more runs than Steve Smith, you have these little contests and that's how you try to narrow the game in the sense that if we do these little things, we can be ahead of the game or we can be behind the game.

"The passion is driven by...I know my sense - one, the will to win and two, wanting to do better than that person in the opposition," said Warner.

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Agencies
January 9,2020

Jeddah, Jan 9: Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde criticised the new Supercopa format and said that "football has become a business and as a business it looks for income".

"The bottom line is football has become a business and as a business it looks for income. That's the reason we are all here," Goal.com quoted Valverde as saying ahead of Barca's semi-final against Atletico.

"It's a completely different format to what we're used to. It was always the first title and the opener of the season and to me, that seemed fine," he added.

The Supercopa was traditionally a two-legged affair played between the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey at the beginning of the season, but following last term's one-off meeting between Barca and Sevilla in Tangier, Morocco, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) went ahead with a full revamp.

Instead of just two teams being involved, the Supercopa has been expanded to also include the runners-up from La Liga and the Copa - meaning Barca and Valencia are joined by Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. It is also set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia for the next three editions.

"It's been changed and let's see, it will be judged once it has happened. It's interesting, with four good teams, but from a sporting point of view, I'm not sure," Valverde said.

"We must bear in mind that the football we are involved in is an industry, sources of income are sought and in the same way that there are special connotations in this country, there are also in Morocco, where we played last year," he added.

Barcelona will face Atletico Madrid in the semifinal of the Supercopa at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on January 10.

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Agencies
March 1,2020

New Delhi, Mar 1: Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif on Sunday heaped praise on Ravindra Jadeja after the all-rounder took a spectacular catch on the second day of the Christchurch Test against New Zealand.

Jadeja grabbed a one-handed stunner at deep square leg in the 72nd over to dismiss Neil Wagner, who had to depart after scoring 21 runs.

"Sir Jadeja for a reason! Jadeja Airlines, flying high! Terrific stuff," Kaif tweeted.

In the match, Jadeja also impressed with the ball. The left-handed bowler took two wickets while giving away 22 runs.

On day two, India bundled out New Zealand on 235 runs in the second Test. However, in their second innings, Indian batsmen again struggled to tackle the New Zealand pacers and lost six wickets with a lead of just 97 runs.

India went to stumps at 90/6, with Trent Boult doing the majority of the damage with three wickets.

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