Sports

Sunday, March 23, 2003 was one of the most heartbreaking days for every cricket fan in India. That day, Ricky Ponting scored 140 runs and crushed a billion Indian hopes as Australia defeated India in the World Cup final. After a few days, a rumour started circulating in India and, as rumours often do, it took the form of a …

ON Sunday 19th November 2023, on the day of the 13th ODI World Cup Final, the grownups entered the room — or, more precisely, the Narendra Modi Stadium in the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave, Ahmedabad, India. The stadium, ostensibly a monument to cricket, is in fact a monument to one man, the previously named Narendra Modi, who was present. Imagine …

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick in France’s record-breaking 14-0 thrashing of 10-man Gibraltar as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Romania booked their places at Euro 2024 on Saturday. Les Bleus set a new record margin of victory in European qualifying and a national record in Nice. Ethan Santos’ own goal and Marcus Thuram had already opened the floodgates before 17-year-old …

AHMEDABAD: India coach Rahul Dravid on Sunday said skipper Rohit Sharma batted superbly and “led the team fantastically well” despite losing the World Cup final to Australia by six wickets. The hosts came in as favourites in the title clash with an undefeated run of 10 victories but fell well short in Ahmedabad. India, despite their vast riches, are without …

KARACHI: Peshawar clin­ched their third List A title after overhauling Karachi Whites by five wickets in the Pakistan Cup final at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The Sahibzada Farhan-led side was boosted by immaculate bowling shows by pacers Mohammad Imran and Abbas Afridi, who bagged four and three wickets respectively to bundle Karachi out for 103. Peshawar chased down …

Australia clinched their sixth men’s ODI World Cup 2023 title on Sunday, triumphing over India in front of a roaring sea of 92,453 blue-clad fans in Ahmedabad. While the host team grappled with the disappointment of not securing a victory, the lack of sportsmanship exhibited by spectators inside the stadium and by certain politicians left social media users disheartened. This incident was …

AHMEDABAD: Pat Cummins may be an unusual captain, but on Sunday he played a role described as “phenomenal” as he led Australia to their sixth World Cup triumph in a victory over India. Cricket teams are often reluctant to appoint fast bowlers such as Cummins as their skipper because of concerns the extra workload will distract them from taking wickets. …

Six players from finalists India and two from champions Australia were selected in the World Cup team of the tournament announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday. Leading run scorer Virat Kohli who was named player of the tournament captain Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and top wicket-taker Mohammed Shami were all included in the team. All-rounder …

LUSAIL: The two riders duelling for the MotoGP title, leader Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, qualified fourth and fifth on Saturday for the Qatar Grand Prix, setting the tone for a white-knuckle ride on Sunday. Reigning champion Bagnaia of Ducati leads Martin of the satellite team Pramac by 14 points with 37 at stake on the Lusail circuit for this …

PARIS: Denmark booked their spot in the Euro 2024 finals with a 2-1 win in their crunch match against Slovenia. Albania also qualified on Friday, drawing 1-1 in Moldova to ensure they would finish in the top two in Group ‘E’. The Czech Republic drew in Poland to leave the second qualifying place from Group ‘E’ undecided. Italy moved to …