Wales down Belgium to reach first ever semi-final

July 2, 2016

Lille/France, Jul 2: Wales produced a stunning upset to reach the Euro 2016 semi-finals after Hal Robson-Kanu's superbly fashioned goal and Sam Vokes's late header secured a 3-1 comeback win over Belgium on Friday to set up a clash with Portugal.

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Robson-Kanu left three Belgium players for dead with a 'Cruyff' turn and calmly stroked the ball home to put Wales ahead in the second half, while substitute Vokes's header ensured they reached their first major tournament semi-final.

It was a crushing blow for heavy favourites Belgium, who had taken the lead in the 13th minute when Radja Nainggolan rifled a shot into the top corner from distance only for Wales captain Ashley Williams to level with a header from a corner.

"I said before we kicked the ball today, we're not here to enjoy it, we are here to compete," Wales manager Chris Coleman said. "Don't be afraid to have dreams. Four years ago I was as far away from this as you could imagine. I've had more failures than successes but I'm not afraid to fail. We deserve this."

Wales, playing in their first quarter-final since losing to Brazil in the 1958 World Cup, next have a match that sees the world's two most expensive players face each other in Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team mate Gareth Bale.

Coleman's side, however, will have to do without their inspirational midfielder Aaron Ramsey, who picked up a booking that has ruled him out of the semi-final in Lyon on Wednesday.

FRENETIC OPENING

There was a frenetic opening to Friday's match, which many had predicted would be a cagey encounter, as Belgium took the early initiative and would have grabbed the lead after seven minutes but for some superb last-ditch Wales defending.

Wayne Hennessey saved superbly from Yannick Carrasco before efforts from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard were blocked by lunging defenders as Wales, looking to talisman Bale for an outlet, sought to stem the early Belgian tide.

The Welsh were undone, however, when Nainggolan's powerful shot from 25 metres thundered past Hennessey's outstretched fingers into the top corner to give Belgium the lead.

Strangely, the goal swung the momentum back in Wales's favour, with Coleman's side fluffing a chance to level when Neil Taylor sidefooted at keeper Thibaut Courtois from six metres.

The equaliser arrived five minutes later in the 55th, though, and was clearly crafted on the training ground. Having won a corner, Wales's players lined up behind each other, before breaking from the pack as Aaron Ramsey whipped the ball in.

Wales captain Williams, who had recovered from a shoulder injury to make the starting lineup, found himself unmarked to head down and past Courtois for the first goal the Belgium keeper had conceded since their opening defeat by Italy.

While Belgium began the second half stronger, with Romelu Lukaku glancing a header wide and Hazard flashing a shot just past the post, it was not long before Wales struck again with Robson-Kanu producing a sublime piece of individual skill.

Ramsey's cross found the striker in the area with his back to goal but he sold three Belgium players a dummy with a trademark 'Cruyff' turn and then sidefooted the ball powerfully past the helpless Courtois in the 55th minute.

Belgium pushed hard for an equaliser but Wales were resilient and then broke with four minutes remaining as Chris Gunter crossed for Vokes to leap and angle his header across goal into the net, sparking wild Welsh celebrations.

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News Network
June 24,2020

New Delhi, Jun 24: Star Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan deeply regrets his "silly mistake" of not reporting a corrupt approach by an Indian bookie to the ICC, leading to his one year suspension from the game.

Shakib was banned for two years, one year of it suspended, for failing to report corrupt approaches during an IPL edition by an alleged Indian bookie named Deepak Aggarwal.

"I took the approaches too casually When I met the anti-corruption guy and told them and they knew everything. Gave them all the evidence and they knew everything that happened," Shakib told Harsha Bhogle on 'Cricbuzz in Conversation'.

"To be honest, that's the only reason I was banned for a year, otherwise I'd have been banned for five or 10 years," he added on the ICC's investigation.

The 33-year-old, who was in brilliant form before the ban, amassing 606 runs in the 2019 World Cup in the UK, said he regrets how he went about the situation.

"But I think that was a silly mistake I made. Because with my experience and the amount of international matches I've played and the amount of ICC's anti-corruption code of conduct classes I took, I shouldn't have made that decision, to be honest."

Lesson learnt, Shakib's advice to all young criceters is to never take any such message lightly.

"I regret that. No one should take such messages or calls (from bookies) lightly or leave it away. We must inform the ICC ACSU guy to be on the safe side and that's the lesson I learnt, and I think I learnt a big lesson," he added.

The all-rounder, whose ban ends on October 29, said he became a bit arrogant and never felt he was doing anything wrong by not reporting the bookie's approach immediately.

"Because you do most things right in your life, you tend to get arrogant with some decisions. You may not realise but you're doing wrong by the books. It never came to my mind that I am doing something wrong

"It was just a feeling of 'okay, what's going to happen, leave it' and I continued with my life. But that's the mistake I made. And that happens," Shakib said.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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