Pro Kabaddi 2018: Six players hit jackpot on Day 1

Jun 20: Bengaluru FC (BFC) have signed Brazilian striker Cleiton Silva for a one-year deal, the ISL club said in a statement on Saturday.

As per the agreement, BFC have the option of extending Silva's contract for another year.

The 33-year-old, who started his career with Brazilian side Madureira, moved to Thailand where he spent the better part of the decade playing for Muangthong United and Suphanburi, apart from stints in Mexico and China.

Silva, who also operates on the wing, became the first foreign player to reach the 100-goal mark in Thailand and finished top scorer of the Thai League 1 for two seasons. He also tops the charts of the all-time leading scorers of the League.

His biggest success came at Muangthong where he racked up 57 goals in 79 appearances and won three major trophies in as many seasons at the club.

The Brazilian, who was in talks with the Blues last season before the deal didn't materialise, said he was glad to have finally made the move.

"I've signed with Bengaluru FC because I want to be a champion and this is a club that is always after titles. I have that opportunity once again at BFC. I want to make the club and its fans happy. I have been following the club for some time now because we were in talks a while ago. And I liked what I saw. I am looking forward to making my way to Bengaluru and am excited to meet my new teammates, the fans and embrace the city," said Silva.

Silva, thus, became BFC's first new foreign signing of the season after the club had handed extended deals with Juanan Gonzalez, Dimas Delgado and Erik Paartalu.

Bengaluru FC coach Carles Cuadrat said Silva's addition was an important one, given his penchant for scoring.

"Cleiton has a proven track record when it comes to scoring and this is an area we needed to strengthen on the squad. The goals aside, he even has an eye for a quality final pass and we're looking forward to working with him," he said.

Atlanta, Jan 9: Top tennis stars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Serena Williams will be playing an exhibition match to raise funds for Australia's bushfire relief.

Apart from these three, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas have also confirmed their availability for the match, CNN reported.

The match will be played on January 15 at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. The Australian Open Rally for Relief will be donating the proceedings from the ticket sales to the bushfire relief efforts.

Tennis star Maria Sharapova had also announced on Wednesday that she had left 10 signed pairs of her tennis shoes in her Brisbane hotel that members of the public could buy with a donation to the Australian Red Cross.

"Brisbane, I have signed ten pairs of my tennis shoes, left them at the @BrisbaneTennis
desk at the Westin Hotel, alongside a donation envelope for fire rescue efforts.They're yours to keep,we just ask you to donate AUD 300 a pair. All money going directly to Red Cross," Sharapova tweeted.

Earlier, former Australian spinner Shane Warne on Monday had announced to auction his Baggy Green cap to raise funds for victims of devastating bushfires in Australia.

Taking to Twitter, Warne made the announcement and posted a statement.

"The horrific bushfires in Australia have left us all in disbelief. The impact these devastating fires are having on so many people is unthinkable and has touched us all. Lives have been lost, homes have been destroyed and over 500 million animals have died too," Warne wrote.

"Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis. This has led me to auction my beloved baggy green cap (350) that I wore throughout my Test career," he added.

Warne joined a growing list of cricketers to raise money for the bushfire victims. Australian players Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short have already announced that they will donate AUD 250 each for every six they hit in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) to support bushfire victims.

Athletes from other sports too joined the movement as tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Novak Djokovic decided to donate 25,000 dollars each for Australia's bushfire relief fund.

Wildfires have been raging across Australia for months, killing 23 people, burning about 6 million hectares (23,000 square miles) of bushland and killing a billion animals.

Naval and air rescue operations were launched on Friday as mass evacuations of towns at risk of being engulfed by flames got underway.b

New Delhi, Jan 22: The pitches in New Zealand have become a lot more batting-friendly over the years, says iconic former batsman Sachin Tendulkar, insisting that India have the “ammunition” to trouble the sprightly hosts during the upcoming series.

Tendulkar, who has been on a record five New Zealand tours since 1990, feels that from seaming tracks during his early trips years, the tracks became high-scoring hard ones during his last tour back in 2009.

“Of late, the Tests in New Zealand have been high scoring and surfaces have changed,” Tendulkar told PTI during an exclusive interview.

India will play five T20 Internationals, three ODIs and two Tests during the tour starting with the shortest format on January 24.

From 2002, when India played ODIs and Tests on green tops, to 2009, when India won only their second Test series in 32 years, Tendulkar has seen it all in New Zealand.

“I remember when we played in 2009, the Hamilton pitch was different compared to other pitches. Other pitches got harder (Wellington and Napier) but not Hamilton. It remained soft.

“But Napier became hard with passage of time (where Gautam Gambhir scored an epic match-saving 12-hour hundred in 2009). So, from my first tour (in 1990 till 2009), I realised pitches got harder with passage of time,” Tendulkar said.

Tendulkar is confident that the Indian bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, has the ammunition to put New Zealand in trouble.

“We have a good bowling attack with quality fast bowlers as well as spinners. I believe we have the ammunition to compete in New Zealand.”

However, in Wellington, Tendulkar wants the team to be well-prepared to counter the breeze factor.

“Wellington, I have played and it makes a huge difference if you are bowling with the wind or against the wind. The batsman needs to be judicious in the choice of which end he wants to attack, it is very important,” he said.

Tendulkar said he would prefer spinners to bowl against the breeze.

“...the seamers bowling against the strong breeze need to be smart. So I would prefer that if there is strong breeze, let the spinner bowl from that end and from the opposite end, the fast bowler bowls with the breeze behind him,” he said.

The maestro is confident that Rohit Sharma's white ball experience will hold him in good stead in the Tests as well, an assignment that has been kept for the last leg of the trip, which begins with five T20 Internationals from January 24.

“The challenge would be to go out and open in different conditions. I think Rohit had opened in New Zealand in ODIs and has been there quite a few times, he knows the conditions well. Eventually, Test cricket is Test cricket,” he said.

“But all depends on surfaces that they provide. If they provide green tops, then it's a challenge.”

There is no Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Deepak Chahar in limited-overs series but Tendulkar is not ready to press the panic button.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game when you play and push your body to the limits.

“When you play for your country you need to give your best and while you give your best, you can get injured. That's okay,” he concluded.