Euro 2016: Robin van Persie scores own goal, Dutch fail to qualify

October 15, 2015

Paris, Oct 15: The Netherlands, finalists at the 2010 Fifa World Cup, failed to qualify for the 2016 Euro Championships on Tuesday, while Croatia and Turkey took the final automatic qualifying spots.

Euro 2016

The Dutch needed to beat the already-qualified Czech Republic in Amsterdam and hope Turkey lost at home to already-qualified Iceland in Konya to salvage third place in Group A and a spot in next month’s play-offs. But in the end neither happened, with the 1988 European champions going down 3-2 to the Czechs, their third loss in four qualifiers under Danny Blind, while Turkey beat Iceland 1-0.

Pavel Kaderabek of Hoffenheim put the Czechs ahead and Josef Sural doubled their lead, before the away side had Marek Suchy sent off for chopping down Memphis Depay as he raced through on goal two minutes prior to half-time.

However, Robin van Persie, who came off the bench in the first half to win his 101st cap, inexplicably headed into his own net in the 66th minute to make it 3-0. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Van Persie scored at the other end to reduce the deficit but by that point the damage had been done and the Dutch will miss a major tournament finals for the first time since the 2002 World Cup.

The Dutch have not failed to qualify for a European Championship since 1984, when the finals were also played in France.

“I have no intention to step down. I’m going to carry on with my work because I’m under contract until 2018 and I believe in this team,” Blind, who replaced Guus Hiddink in July, said afterwards. “Am I the one to blame? I now have to analyse that,” he continued. “The results weren’t good. I won only one match (out of four since taking over).”

Turkey, meanwhile, had Gokhan Tore sent off 12 minutes from time against Iceland but had third place in the bag thanks to events in Amsterdam.

They went one better, though, as Selcuk Inan’s brilliant free-kick on 89 minutes saw them win their game. And that, coupled with a 1-0 win for Kazakhstan in Latvia -- secured by an Islambek Kuat goal -- allowed Fatih Terim’s side to progress automatically as the best third-placed side.

It made for agonising viewing for Hungary, who had been poised to progress as the best third-placed side. Now they must come through the play-offs -- the draw is on Sunday -- next month if they are to reach a first major finals since the 1986 World Cup.

Bosnia in play-offs

Elsewhere, Croatia clinched qualification from Group H as a 1-0 win in Malta allowed them to snatch second place in the section behind Italy, at the expense of Norway. Norway had started the day two points clear of Croatia but were beaten 2-1 by already-qualified Italy in Rome, despite Alexander Tettey of Norwich City putting the visitors ahead.

Alessandro Florenzi equalised for Italy before Southampton’s Graziano Pelle struck the late winner, while Croatia beat Malta thanks to a solitary Ivan Perisic goal, leaving Norway to settle for a play-off place.

The other game in Group H saw Bulgaria end a disappointing campaign with a 2-0 win over Azerbaijan in Sofia, with Mihail Alexandrov and Dimitar Rangelov on target.

Meanwhile, Bosnia and Herzegovina secured third place and a play-off spot in Group B with a dramatic 3-2 victory in Cyprus.

Haris Medunjanin had put the Bosnians ahead but captain Constantinos Charalambides equalised for the hosts in Nicosia and Nestor Mytidis put them ahead. Nevertheless, Medunjanin made it 2-2 just before the break and Milan Djuric got the winner for the Bosnians midway through the second half.

Belgium secured top spot in the group, and with it moved to the top of the Fifa world rankings, after beating Israel 3-1 in Brussels. Dries Mertens, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard were all on target for Marc Wilmots’ side before Tomer Hemed got one back towards the end.

And Wales celebrated securing their historic first qualification for a major tournament since 1958 by easing past Andorra 2-0 in Cardiff with star duo Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale getting their goals.

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News Network
July 1,2020

New Delhi, Jul 1: After being named as India's 'Most Valuable Player' in Test cricket in the 21st century, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja on Wednesday said that he will always aim to give his best for the country.

His remark came as Jadeja achieved an MVP rating of 97.3 and as a result, he was also rated as the second most valuable player Test player worldwide, only second to Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

"Thank you Wisden India for naming me the 'Most Valuable Player'. I would like to thank all my teammates, coaches, fans, and well-wishers for your support as I aim to give my best for our country. Jai Hind," Jadeja tweeted.

Based on CricViz's market-leading analytics, each player in world cricket was awarded an 'MVP rating' by Wisden using a statistical model to rank their 'match impact' compared to their peers.

Jadeja has played in 49 Tests from 2012, managing to score 1,869 runs and has also picked up 213 wickets.

"It might come as a surprise to see Ravindra Jadeja, India's spin-bowling all-rounder, feature as India's number one. After all, he's not even always an automatic pick in their Test team. However, when he does play he is picked as a frontline bowler and has batted as high as No.6 - contributing to a very high match involvement," the official website of Wisden quoted CricViz's Freddie Wilde as saying.

"But Jadeja's position is based on more than simply volume: it's what he does when he's involved that really counts. The 31-year-old's bowling average of 24.62 is better than Shane Warne's and his batting average of 35.26 is better than Shane Watson's. His batting and bowling average differential of 10.62 runs is the second-best of any player this century to have scored more than 1,000 runs and taken 150 wickets. He is an all-rounder of the very highest quality," he added.

With the bat in hand, Jadeja has managed to score one century and 14 fifties in the longest format of the game.

He was last seen in action during India's two-Test series against New Zealand earlier this year.

He would have been in action for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL had the tournament commenced from March 29.

However, the IPL has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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News Network
January 20,2020

Jan 20: Both Steve Smith and Rohit Sharma made sparkling centuries in Bengaluru, but it was the Indian who finished on the winning side, leading his team to a 2-1 series win.

Smith, having run out his captain Aaron Finch early on, dug in to bring up his ninth ODI century, his 131 off 132 balls setting India a target of 287 on Sunday, 19 January. Continuing the dazzling display of batting at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, Rohit struck 119 in 128 balls, and skipper Virat Kohli chipped in with 89, as the hosts chased down the target with seven wickets to spare in 47.3 overs.

With Shikhar Dhawan hurting his shoulder in the fifth over of the day and sidelined for the rest of the match, Rohit was reunited with KL Rahul – who had a chance to open the innings after coming in at No.3 and No.5 in the first two matches, while also standing in as wicket-keeper. The vice-captain was on the ball right away, dominating the scoring as India raced to 61/0 in the first 10 overs.

The introduction of spin gave Australia a vital breakthrough: Ashton Agar trapped Rahul in front on review, and although the new pair of Rohit and Kohli weren't unduly troubled, the run-rate slowed down. Josh Hazlewood, playing his first ODI in India and his first match in the format in 14 months, was especially miserly, conceding just 10 runs in his first five overs.

But, having settled in, the duo built a useful partnership of 137 and gave themselves the chance to hit out with wickets in hand. The part-time bowling of Finch and Marnus Labuschagne was punished, Rohit lapping up the short balls and sending them soaring into the stands. His century, his eighth against Australia, came with a single to third man.

Zampa finally got the breakthrough, having him caught in the deep going for another big one. But with Kohli having loosened his arms with a couple of beautiful fours off Pat Cummins to go past his half-century, India remained on course.

The skipper missed out on a hundred, but with Shreyas Iyer too clearing the ropes, there were no hurdles as India wrapped up an entertaining series win.

Earlier, the Indian bowlers struggled to find their lines after Australia chose to bat, but Australia weren't able to fully capitalise. David Warner was thrown by the movement to nick Mohammed Shami to the wicket-keeper, while Finch was caught short after Smith pulled out of a run, to leave the hosts at 46/2.

Labuschagne and Smith, though, combined for another special partnership, going at a brisk rate and showing delectable timing against spin. They had guided their side to 173 in the 32nd over when the a sharp piece of fielding from the home captain and strong bowling pulled things back.

Kohli, at cover, plucked a drive from Labuschagne soon after the batsman had reached his maiden fifty. Ravindra Jadeja had his second of the over when the experiment to send Mitchell Starc at No.5 lasted just three balls.

Alex Carey gave Smith company as he brought up a well-earned century, having fallen just short the previous game. The former skipper stepped up the scoring once he crossed three figures, a wristy helicopter six over deep square leg the highlight of his innings. But, excellent death bowling by Shami, who finished with four wickets, ensured the tourists were kept to under 300 – a total that proved below par.

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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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