Sports

New Delhi, Mar 21: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar today backed India to go the distance in the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, saying that the return of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni would boost the team's chances. Dhoni had skipped the recent Asia Cup due to injury and Gavaskar said Dhoni's return could change the fortunes of his side, as they take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the campaign opener at

Mirpur: India gained the much-needed boost ahead of their ICC World T20 opener against Pakistan when they comfortably defeated England by 20 runs in their second and final warm-up game here today. Riding on a cavalier unbeaten 73 off 47 balls from Virat Kohli and an equally entertaining 54 off 31 balls from Suresh Raina, India scored an imposing 178 for four in 20 overs. It was a good enough total

Madrid, Mar 19: Real Madrid stormed into the Champions League quarter-finals with a club record 9-2 aggregate success after Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-1 win at home against Schalke 04 on Tuesday. Real were virtually assured of a place in the last eight after thrashing the Bundesliga side 6-1 in Gelsenkirchen in the first leg and coach Carlo Ancelotti rested a host of regulars for the

Chennai, Mar 18: Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has moved the Madras high court seeking Rs 100 crore as damages from the private television network Zee. On Tuesday, Dhoni also won an interim order from the court, restraining the Zee group from telecasting interviews or news pertaining to certain match-fixing allegations against him. Denying his involvement in any such unlawful

Mirpur, Mar 18: Indian team's batting woes continued in the familiar sub-continental conditions as they lost their opening warm-up tie of the ICC World T20 against Sri Lanka by five runs, here today. Batting first, Sri Lanka scored 153 for six and then bowled out India for 148 in exactly 20 overs. Needing 12 off the last over bowled by Lasith Malinga, Indians could get only six as the Lankan

Dhaka, Mar 17: Sri Lankan batting stalwart Mahela Jayawardene will retire from Twenty20 Internationals after the conclusion of the ongoing T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. International Cricket Council announced the news of Jayawardene's decision on Twitter. "SL legend @MahelaJay to join @KumarSanga2 in T20I retirement after the #wt20 2014," a tweet from the ICC said. The decision came a day after

Melbourne, Mar 17: Nico Rosberg said Mercedes would have to work hard to improve the reliability of their new F1 car despite his emphatic win in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. While Rosberg was dominant in his fully functioning W05, his pole-sitting team-mate Lewis Hamilton lasted only four laps before a misfiring cylinder ended his race. World champion Sebastian Vettel was also an

Mirpur, Mar 17: Bangladesh spinners led by Shakib Al Hasan guided their side to a thumping nine-wicket win against Afghanistan in their Qualifying Group A match of the ICC World T20 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, here today. The hosts made an impressive start to their campaign as they first skittled Afghanistan for a paltry 72 in 17.1 overs after electing to field and then returned to

Kolkata, Mar 16: Karnataka completed a historic treble at domestic level by emerging champions in the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a four-wicket win over Railways in yet another low-scoring affair at Eden Gardens here today. Chasing 158, the Ranji and Irani Trophy champions had a jittery start after they lost five wickets in 26 runs to be 47/5 in the 12th over but sensible batting by youngsters Karun

Mar 16: Bangladesh have a lot of pressure to deal as hosts of the tournament and have to deliver the results. Abhijit Banare analyses strength and weaknesses of the Bangladesh squad for ICC World T20 2014. When expectations exceed more than the skills to match it, there’s only one result in the offing — crash of hope. India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have all gone through this phase in the past and