Sports

Madrid, Jan 13: Cristiano Ronaldo is heavily favoured to end Lionel Messi’s four-year reign as the world’s best player at the Fifa Ballon d’Or gala on Monday. Ronaldo’s prolific tally of 69 goals for Real Madrid and Portugal seems likely to earn his second Fifa award after finishing runner-up three times in Messi’s dominating era.Franck Ribery is the third candidate, but the Bayern Munich and

Napier, Jan 13: The Indian cricket team arrived here on Monday for the five-match ODI series against New Zealand starting January 19. "Napier welcomes us with pleasant weather and great scenery. Can't wait to get onto the field," tweeted Virat Kohli after arriving in the city. The Indians took a connecting flight from Auckland for Napier after arriving in the country from Mumbai. The series will

Mumbai, Jan 13: Here are the bare facts: Virender Sehwag is 35; he sports glasses/contact lenses; he hasn’t scored a century since November 15, 2012; he has squandered starts; his last 15 outings in first-class cricket have yielded a solitary fifty; he has batted at every position from one to six and has averaged less than 20 in the Ranji Trophy this season. Simply put, the greatest Indian opener

Mumbai, Jan 12: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that the upcoming tour of New Zealand will be an ideal exposure trip for his young brigade as it prepares to defend the World Cup, which will be held in just over a year's time in the Trans-Tasman nations. "As far as experience is concerned, yes the next World Cup will be in Australia and New Zealand, so most of the players will get the feel

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Bangalore, Jan 11: Riding on right arm leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal’s five-wicket haul, Karnataka beat Uttar Pradesh by 92 runs to enter into the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy at Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday. Chasing a target of 333, UP were bundled out for 240 in 65.3 overs. Batting first, Karnataka had scored 349 all

Dubai, Jan 10: Bangladesh on Friday promised enhanced security for the Pakistan cricket team during next month`s Asia Cup, after political unrest in Dhaka endangered their participation in the regional event. The Asian Cricket Council last week decided to host the event in Dhaka from February 25-March 8 despite violence and protests in the wake of January 5 national elections, which opposition

Dubai, Jan 10: India will have to beat New Zealand in the upcoming ODI series to retain their top spot in the ICC rankings as Australia and England have a chance to topple Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s men from the perch. Australia are currently ranked second with 114 ratings points, six ratings behind number-one ranked India, while England is ranked third on 111 ratings points. Australia was last ranked

New Delhi, Jan 9: Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli are the leading candidates for the 2013 ESPNCricinfo awards, nominations for which were announced on Thursday. The annual ESPNCricinfo awards recognise the best performances in Tests and ODIs through the year and the Indian trio figured in both the Test batting performance of the year and ODI batting performance

New York, Jan 8: World number one Tiger Woods has cracked USD 1.3 billion in career earnings by leading the Golf Digest 50 with USD 83 million in income last year, the magazine reported on its website. Woods, a 14-time major champion, topped the list for the 11th time in its 11-year history with $83,091,508, including an estimated $71 million off the course and more than $12 million in prize money

New Delhi, Jan 8: The Indian cricket board on Tuesday clarified that they are not backing any private seven-a-side league in the United Arab Emirates which is rumoured to be launched by Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina. The BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel on Tuesday issued a clarification a report published in a national daily carrying a story in this regard. "........, in its