Month: January 2017

India captain Virat Kohli was among eight sportspersons who were picked today to receive the prestigious Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian award. Besides Kohli, the seven other sportspersons named for the award were Rio Olympics bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik, Paralympians Mariyappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, Indian hockey captain PR Sreejesh, discus thrower Vikas Gowda and blind cricket captain Shekar Naik. The eight sportspersons were among…

Brisbane Heat 9 for 167 (McCullum 46, Lyon 4-23, Abbott 4-40) tied with Sydney Sixers 8 for 167 (Henriques 64, Hughes 46, Steketee 2-21)Super Over: Sydney Sixers 0 for 22 (Henriques 18*) beat Brisbane Heat 0 for 15 (McCullum 13*) by seven runsScorecard Moises Henriques had to do more than a 24-ball fifty for his team © Cricket Australia On the night that BBL’s sixth season’s millionth fan came through,…

Play 02:30 Platform right to groom youngsters – Kohli Contrary to the usual convention of bringing in a lot more youth for T20 matches, India have gone back to veterans like Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Amit Mishra for the three Twenty20 internationals against England. Dhoni’s inclusion is perhaps to groom and ease in a young wicketkeeper, such as the uncapped Rishabh Pant. Others like Yuvraj,…

Leicestershire have signed Surrey all-rounder James Burke on a season-long loan deal. Burke’s arrival at Leicestershire should bolster their seam bowling resources which were a chief reason for the fading of a surprising promotion challenge last season. Burke is available to play in all three competitions for the Foxes but will not feature if Leicestershire play Surrey in any fixtures during the 2017 season. He is currently training in Cape…

Match facts Thursday, January 26, 2017Start time 1630 local (1100 GMT) Amit Mishra will lead India’s spinners in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja’s absence © BCCI Big picture England finally found reasons to grin when Chris Woakes owned the last four balls of his final over in Kolkata, sealing their first win since November. The tension, pressure, dejection and relief were all palpable in the closing overs. The teams now…

File photo – Martin Guptill hammered 15 fours and three sixes in his 105-ball 112 © Getty Images Centuries from openers Martin Guptill and Glenn Phillips were just enough for Auckland to scrape to a four-run D/L win against Central Districts, a result that pushed them to the top of the Ford Trophy points table. After Auckland were asked to bat at the Eden Park No. 2, Guptill (112 off…

Sydney Sixers women 6 for 169 (Healy 77, McGlashan 38, Burns 2-26) beat Hobart Hurricanes women 66 (van Niekerk 3-15, Gardner 2-9) by 103 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball details © Getty Images Like they did in the first edition of the Women’s Big Bash League, the Sydney Sixers thrashed the Hobart Hurricanes to book their spot in the final. Last year, the margin was ten wickets (Duckworth-Lewis method) and this time,…

Under David Hussey’s captaincy, the Melbourne Stars finished as finalists in 2015-16, before being knocked out in the semi-final in 2016-17 © Cricket Australia/Getty Images Former Australia batsman David Hussey has announced his retirement from the Big Bash League following the Melbourne Stars’ loss against the Perth Scorchers in the semi-final on Tuesday. Hussey had retired from all other formats after the 2014-15 summer and had only played in the…

Matthew Wade batting in the only match he has ever played for Tasmania, a one-dayer against South Australia in February 2007 © Getty Images Victoria could be set to lose their captain for next summer, with Matthew Wade likely to return home to Tasmania after a decade in Melbourne. Wade was born and raised in Tasmania and played a single match for the state at the age of 19, back…

Match facts January 26, 2017Start time 1350 local (0320 GMT) Usman Khawaja, who will miss the New Zealand ODIs, will aim for a big score in this match to secure his place at the top of Australia’s ODI order © Cricket Australia Big Picture The series is decided, and this Adelaide Oval one-day international thus becomes a low-pressure celebration for Steven Smith’s men on the national holiday – Australia Day….