FIFA World Cup 2018: Uruguay Thrash Russia to Top Group A

Agencies
June 26, 2018

Samara, Jun 26: Uruguay burnished their World Cup credentials with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Russia on Monday, finishing top of Group A with a perfect record while dampening the hopes of the tournament hosts, who had to settle for second.

Luis Suarez grabbed his second goal of the tournament to open Uruguay's account with a free kick after 10 minutes and they doubled the lead with an own goal from Russia's Denis Cheryshev soon after.

That silenced a vociferous home crowd who had been in party mode after Russia's opening two victories and were not expecting their final group contest to be effectively ended in the 36th minute when Igor Smolnikov was sent off for a second booking.

Edinson Cavani bundled home a third goal for Uruguay at the death to wrap up their third straight victory, ensuring they finished above the Russians, who will now have to face the winners of Group B in the last 16.

Uruguay, who kept their sixth straight clean sheet, will face the runners-up from that group, which will be decided when Spain, Portugal and Iran battle it out for two last-16 spots later on Monday.

While Russia had confounded those who predicted a group stage exit with resounding victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, there was still a question mark over how they would perform when they faced stronger opposition.

Smolnikov's sending off may have ended Russia's hopes but in truth the encounter had already swung decisively against them by that point.

They went behind in sweltering conditions at the Samara Arena when Suarez struck a low free kick into the bottom corner that should have been easy pickings for Russia keeper Igor Akinfeev.

Sadly for the home fans, who had created a deafening din in the opening minutes, Akinfeev inexplicably vacated his bottom left corner, moving back to the side of the goal his wall was guarding and leaving space for Suarez to stroke the ball home.

It was Suarez's second of the tournament and seventh World Cup goal overall for Uruguay, with only Oscar Miguez having scored more for the South Americans with eight.

Russia doubled their lead in the 23rd minute when Diego Laxalt's shot from the edge of the area deflected off Cheryshev, leaving Akinfeev wrong-footed.

It should have been 3-0 before Smolnikov departed, but Akinfeev made a good save to deny Rodrigo Bentancur when the midfielder was played through by Suarez.

With their job done, Uruguay took their foot off the pedal in the second half and only added to their lead in the 90th minute when Cavani finished from close range after Diego Godin's header was saved.

Russia battled valiantly and had a penalty appeal turned down after a VAR consultation late in the game, but there was little else to cheer the home fans.

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Agencies
August 3,2020

Silverstone, Aug 2: Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton on Sunday won his seventh British Grand Prix title after a dramatic last-lap at the Silverstone Circuit.

Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas were at the first and second spot respectively until tyre drama struck.

Second-placed man Bottas was the first to suffer as his tyre deflated on lap 50, resulting in 11th place finish. Hamilton also suffered a similar issue before the final few seconds of the race.

However, with Max Verstappen having opted to pit a few laps from the end to try and claim the fastest lap, Hamilton had enough time in hand to just cross the line first, five seconds ahead of Verstappen and the third-placed Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.

McLaren's Carlos Sainz had been set to finish fourth, but his own last lap tyre issue saw him eventually come home P13, allowing Renault's Daniel Ricciardo to claim fourth, following a late pass on the sister McLaren of Lando Norris.

Renault's Esteban Ocon finished sixth, having enjoyed a race-long battle with Lance Stroll's Racing Point, with Pierre Gasly having enjoyed a fine race to finish seventh for AlphaTauri.

Alex Albon finished eighth for Red Bull, having recovered from a lap 1 tussle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen that saw him fall to last, while Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel rounded out the top 10, Vettel holding off a late charge form the recovering Mercedes of Bottas.

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News Network
January 14,2020

Sydney, Jan 14: Retired South African big-hitter AB de Villiers on Tuesday said efforts are on to ensure his comeback in the national team for the T20 World Cup in Australia, a plan in which his IPL form will play a crucial role.

Speaking to Cricket Australia's official website 'cricket.com.au', the 35-year-old swashbuckler said he would love to be back two years after calling it quits internationally. He is currently in Australia to play in the Big Bash League.

"I would love to. I've been talking to 'Bouch' (new South Africa coach Mark Boucher), (new director of cricket) Graeme Smith and (captain) Faf (du Plessis) back home, we're all keen to make it happen," he said.

"It's a long way away still, and plenty can happen – there's the IPL coming up, I've still got to be in form at that time. So I'm thinking of throwing my name in the hat and hoping that everything will work out," he added.

De Villiers, nonetheless, is keeping a check on his expectations.

"It's not a guarantee, once again. I don't want to disappoint myself or other people, so for now I'm just going to try and keep a low profile, try and play the best possible cricket that I can and then see what happens towards the end of the year," he said.

"There are a lot of players (involved with CSA) who I used to play with. Guys who understand the game, leaders of the team for many years" he said of the present dispensation.

"So it's much easier to communicate than what it used to be in the past. They understand what players go through – especially players that have played for 15 years internationally.

"It doesn't mean that everything is going to be sunshine and roses, but it's definitely a lot easier and it feels comfortable, the language that's being used and just the feel that everyone has at the moment in South Africa about the cricket," he added.

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News Network
July 6,2020

New Delhi, Jul 6: India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly says improved fitness standards and a change in culture have led to the country developing one of the world's best pace attacks.

Spearheads Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah are part of a battery of five formidable quick bowlers that have helped change India's traditional reliance on spin bowling.

"You know culture has changed in India that we can be good fast bowlers," Ganguly said in a chat hosted on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Twitter feed.

"Fitness regimes, fitness standards not only just among fast bowlers but also among the batters, that has changed enormously. That has made everyone understand and believe that we are fit, we are strong and we can also bowl fast like the others did."

The West Indies dominated world cricket in the 1970s and 1980s led by a fearsome pace attack that included all-time greats such as Michael Holding, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Joel Garner.

Recently Indian quicks have risen to the top in world cricket with Shami, Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a deadly arsenal.

"The West Indies in my generation were naturally strong," the former India captain said.

"We Indians were never such naturally strong... but we worked hard to get strong. But I think it is the change in culture as well that is very important."

Shami last month claimed that the current Indian pace attack may be the best in Test history.

"You and everyone else in the world will agree to this -- that no team has ever had five fast bowlers together as a package," said Shami.

"Not just now, in the history of cricket, this might be the best fast-bowling unit in the world."

Shami took 13 wickets during India's 3-0 home Test sweep over South Africa last year, while Bumrah has claimed 68 scalps in 14 Tests since his debut.

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