Sania Mirza-Barbora Strycova win Toray Pan Pacific Open title

September 25, 2016

Tokyo, Sep 25: Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova strolled to a comfortable straight-set win over unseeded Chinese pair of Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang to lift the Toray Pan Pacific Open title here on Saturday.

sania

The second seeded Indo-Czech combination had an easy outing against the Chinese duo as they needed just 51 minutes to down their rivals 6-1, 6-1 in the final of the women’s doubles event.

This is Sania and Strycova’s second title in three tournaments since they have paired up together.

Last month, Sania and Strycova won the Cincinnati Open title with a 7-5, 6-4 win in the final against the Indian's previous partner Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe.

However, Sania and Strycova were ousted from the US Open after losing in straight sets in the quarter-final to Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.

Wozniacki, Osaka in final

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki produced a spirited fightback to beat fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the singles final on Saturday.

Awaiting the Dane in Sunday’s Tokyo final will be Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka, who continued her fairytale run with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.

Wozniacki, Pan Pacific champion six years ago, starts favourite as she goes in search of a 24th career title.

“It’s always a grind when you’re injured to come back but you have to go with it. My body feels good and it’s nice the hard work is paying off,” said Wozniacki after almost three hours on court.

Wozniacki had seen her world ranking plunge to 74th after suffering wrist and ankle trouble, her father even telling a Danish tabloid the 26-year-old could walk away from tennis.

Monica, Lara to clash for title

Seoul: Fifth seed Monica Niculescu of Romania on Saturday sailed through to the Korea Open finals to take on Spain's Lara Arruabarrena for the crown. The 28-year-old Niculescu, currently the world number 55, trounced third seed Shuai Zhang of China 6-0, 6-4.

Playing the first event since reaching the third round of the US Open this month, the 55th-ranked Niculescu remained almost perfect throughout the battle, displaying powerful and accurate shots against the 27-year-old Zhang, ranked 40.

Paes-Begemann in final

St Petersburg (Russia): Leander Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann made it to the finals of the St Petersburg Open by recording a straight-set victory over the Russian pair of Mikhail Elgin and Alexander Kudryavtsev in the men’s doubles event. The Indo-German duo defeated the Russian pair 6-3, 7-6 in a match that lasted around one and half hours.

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News Network
April 12,2020

New Delhi, Apr 12: As devotees across the world celebrate Easter today, former Sri Lanka skipper and current Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) president Kumar Sangakkara on Sunday condoled the demise of people who lost their lives during last year's Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka and said someone must seek answers to the questions which still remain unresolved.

"A year on we all share the pain of the families grieving lives lost, we stand with you and for you. We remember. So many questions still unanswered, but answer them someone must," Sangakkara tweeted.

On April 21, 2019, multiple blasts ripped through Sri Lanka when the Christian community was celebrating Easter Sunday.
The explosions rattled churches and high-end hotels across the country, killing 258 people and injuring over 500.

A local terror group called National Thowheeth Jama'ath had claimed responsibility for the devastating attacks.

The island nation was put under a state of emergency for a period of four months from April to August.

The Sri Lankan police had then said that 293 suspects were arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in the island country in April.

This year, most of the devotees would be offering the prayers from their homes as mass gatherings have been suspended in most countries due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Easter marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ following his crucifixion on Good Friday. It also marks the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and penance.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Indore, Jan 8: Skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 30 as India beat Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Twenty20 international in Indore on Tuesday.

The hosts rode a 71-run opening stand between KL Rahul, who hit 45, and Shikhar Dhawan, who made 32, to chase down their target of 143 in 17.3 overs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after the first match was rained off.

Leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga took the wickets of the Indian openers but Shreyas Iyer, who scored 34 before falling to paceman Lahiru Kumara, and Kohli, who hit the winning six, got the team home.

The third match is on Friday in Pune.

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Agencies
August 1,2020

Colombo, Aug 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has expressed his interest in playing the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), scheduled to start from August 28.

Pathan is among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the LPL, ESPNcricinfo reported.

It is believed that Pathan has taken permission from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take part in the competition. 

BCCI doesn't allow active players to participate in other T20 leagues but Pathan announced his retirement in January this year.

Former swashbuckling all-rounder Yuvraj Singh also played in a foreign league last year. He played for Maratha Arabians in the T10 League in Abu Dhabi.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Pathan will now be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player. The details of the draft, and the franchise owners, are yet to be finalised and announced. 

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is also waiting on some government clearances even as it decides on franchise owners. The five franchises will represent Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna.

On Monday, SLC Executive Committee granted approval for the tournament.

"The 23 match League will be played on the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulu International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. Five teams named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will participate in the League," SLC said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has controlled the spread of COVID-19 better than many other cricket-playing nations.

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