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New Delhi: The Indian team management is likely to prefer Shardul Thakur over left-arm pace sensation Thangarasu Natarajan in the third Test against Australia in place of injured Umesh Yadav. According to sources, senior pacer Yadav, who had earlier missed the third Test due to a calf muscle tear, is heading home for rehabilitation after being ruled out of the fourth and final Test in Brisbane as well. The third Test begins in Sydney from 7 January. "While people are excited about the brilliant progress shown by T Natarajan, we mustn''t forget he has played only one first class match for Tamil Nadu. And Shardul has been a seasoned domestic red ball pacer for Mumbai," a BCCI source privy to developments in Australia told PTI on Thursday. "Shardul was really unfortunate that his Test debut against West Indies ended abruptly due to injury even before he could bowl an over. He has been shaping up well and might replace Umesh in the playing XI," the source

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Melbourne: A struggling Australia are prepared to risk playing seasoned opener David Warner in the third Test against India even if he is not 100% fit, assistant coach Andrew McDonald said on Thursday. The third Test is scheduled to be played in Sydney from 7-11 January. In the absence of Warner, who was recovering from a groin muscle tear, Australia's batting failed miserably in the first two matches. "That's a real, clear option. He may not be 100 per cent fit — who is coming off an injury? You never know until you get out there," McDonald said during a virtual press conference. "Look, if he's 90-95% fit and the conversation is that he's fit enough to be able to go out there and perform his duties for the team, then I'm sure that'll be a conversation the coach has with the player. "Most times Justin (Langer) is pretty open with the players in terms of giving them accountability around that." Warner has been named in the squad a

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Leeds United have condemned the online abuse aimed at Karen Carney after the Premier League club mocked a comment made by the former England player while working on a match broadcast. But Leeds did not delete the tweet that took exception to Carney suggesting the club benefited from a three-month pause in play last season due to the pandemic as it secured promotion back to the top division after a 16-year exile. Leeds posted a clip filmed by a supporter off Amazon Prime’s coverage of Leeds’ 5-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night. It led to sexist abuse being targeted at Carney. Leeds said it “completely condemns any abuse received” by Carney but did not delete the original tweet. “Everyone at our club respects Karen greatly for all she has achieved in the game, as well as her work in the media and the charity work she undertakes,” Leeds said in a statement. Shame. Shame. Shame. Thicken up that skin y’all. Also, don’t come for @karenjcarney she’s a National treasu

San Antonio: Becky Hammon would have preferred a victory over history after becoming the first woman to direct an NBA team. The assistant coach took over the San Antonio Spurs in the second quarter after coach Gregg Popovich was ejected in a 121-107 loss to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. "I try not to think of the huge picture and huge aspect of it because it can be overwhelming," Hammon said. "I really have had no time to reflect. I have not had time to look at my phone. So, I don't know what's going on outside the AT&T Center." Hammon and the Spurs already had a lot to contend with against the defending league champion Lakers. James celebrated his 36th birthday with 26 points, eight assists and five rebounds in the Lakers' third double-digit victory. The teams will complete the two-game set Friday night. "(I was) trying to get the guys in the right spots," Hammon said. "Trying to get them motivated.

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San Antonio: Becky Hammon became the first woman to direct a team in NBA history, taking over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers following Gregg Popovich's ejection in the first half. Popovich was ejected by official Tony Brown with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter. Popovich screamed at Brown and entered the court following a non-call on DeMar DeRozan's attempted layup and a subsequent attempted rebound by Drew Eubanks. Popovich was applauded as he exited the court by several of the team's family members that were in attendance at the AT&T Center. Hammon took over the team's huddles during timeouts and walked the sideline following Popovich's ejection. Hammon was the first full-time female assistant coach in league history. Tim Duncan took over last season when Popovich was ejected against Portland on 16 November, 2019. The Hall of Famer opted not to return as assistant this season. A three-time All-American at Colo

Brazilian prosecutors said on Wednesday they were investigating reports that football star Neymar has organized a New Year's Eve mega-party at his luxury home near Rio de Janeiro, despite public health measures to curb rising coronavirus deaths. Sources close to the striker denied he had plans to host such an extravaganza, while the Paris Saint-German player added to the mystery by simply posting pictures of himself with a friend on a yacht off a beach in the southern state of Santa Catarina. The Rio Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that it had opened an investigation after receiving "several claims, based on information released by the press, about the events sponsored by the player Neymar." The prosecutor's office also urged Neymar, as well as the exclusive community where his mansion is located and another neighboring residential complex, to urgently provide clarifications as to "the number of guests, the organization of parties and any health me

Burnley: Burnley became the latest Premier League club to become owned by Americans when a takeover was completed Wednesday. ALK Capital's sports investment arm, Velocity Sports Partners, has bought an 84% stake in the northwest English club from British businessmen Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz. Burnley's glory days came long ago — winning the English championship in 1921 and 1960 — but it is playing its fifth straight season in the world's richest league. ALK managing partner Alan Pace will replace Garlick as chairman of the team, which is based just north of Manchester. He was previously CEO of Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake. Garlick and Banaszkiewicz, will remain on the new board of directors at Burnley. Unlike squads in the rest of the league, Burnley largely has players from Britain and Ireland rather than the rest of the world. Of the 13 players used by manager Sean Dyche in a 1-0 win over Sheffield United on Tuesday, only Erik Pieters of the Neth

Sydney: A three-match one-day international series between the Australia and India women's cricket teams has been postponed indefinitely and likely won't be played until 2022. There have been new COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney which have resulted in some states imposing travel restrictions. And international passengers arriving into Australia are required to quarantine for 14 days. The matches were due to take place on 22 January 22 in Canberra, 25 January in Melbourne and 28 January in Hobart. Cricket Australia said the matches will be postponed until "next season," which would likely be 2022, and that three Twenty20 matches would be added to the tour. The development means India, runners-up in the last ODI and T20 World Cups, will be out of action for 10 months. The team's last match was in the T20 World Cup final on 8 March. In that game, Australia beat India by 85 runs before more than 86,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the biggest attendance fo

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New Zealand's first-Test hero Neil Wagner will miss the second Test against Pakistan and is expected to be out for more than five weeks as he recovers from breaking two toes during this week's dramatic victory, his coach said Thursday. The world's third-ranked Test bowler suffered the injury while batting and needed pain-killing injections as he bowled 21 overs in Pakistan's first innings and 28 in the second to play a key role in New Zealand's win. Wagner's four wickets included the crucial scalp of Fawad Alam for 102 during a marathon 11-over spell late on the fifth day, when it looked as if Pakistan could hold on for a draw. Their last wicket fell with less than five overs remaining on Wednesday. "The injections he was getting were wearing off each time so he was getting less and less (pain-free) time and we can't have him going through that again for this Test match," Stead said as the team arrived in Christchurch ahead of Sunday's seco

Atletico Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga on Wednesday after Luis Suarez fired them to a 1-0 win over Getafe while Real Madrid could only draw 1-1 at Elche. Suarez struck in the 20th minute with a superb header from Yannick Carrasco's cross to move Diego Simeone's Atletico up to 35 points, two ahead of local rivals Madrid after they were pegged back by a Fidel Chaves penalty following Luka Modric's early opener. Real Sociedad, Sevilla and Villarreal are all a further seven points back, with Barcelona 10 behind Atletico in sixth after their 1-1 draw with Eibar on Tuesday. Atletico have also played two fewer matches than reigning champions Madrid after a win emblematic of Simeone's reign on his 500th match as coach of the club. "When I got on the plane to come here I thought that when I left the club (as a player) that I always wanted to come back," said Simeone, who is in his 10th year as Atletico coach. "I found men (Koke, Saul Niguez

Miami: American Sam Querrey was given six months probation and a suspended $20,000 fine Wednesday by the ATP Tour for violating Covid-19 safety protocols at the 2020 St. Petersburg Open. The tour said it had completed an investigation into world number 53 Querrey's actions last October, when he departed Russia on a private plane rather than remaining in quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19. The ATP "concluded Mr. Querrey's conduct to be contrary to the integrity of the game under the Player Major Offense provision in the ATP Code of Conduct." That prompted the tour to issue the fine to Querrey but he can avoid paying the punishment by avoiding more violations during his probation period. "Taking into consideration Mr. Querrey's many years of otherwise good standing with the ATP and other mitigating factors, the fine is suspended and will be lifted subject to Mr. Querrey committing no further breaches of health and safety protocols related to CO

Liverpool squandered the chance to open up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League in the final English top-flight match of 2020 after being held to a goalless draw by Newcastle on Wednesday. The 0-0 stalemate at St James' Park means the champions go into the New Year with a three-point lead over Manchester United, having played a game more. But they will rue their missed chances in a match in which they enjoyed nearly three-quarters of possession. Mohamed Salah — top of the Premier League goalscoring charts with 13 goals — missed the target either side of half-time with just goalkeeper Karl Darlow to beat and strike-partner Roberto Firmino saw two headers superbly saved. Three days after lowly West Brom snatched a point at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp's men, who have now won only two of their eight league away games this season, were frustrated once again, although it took a late goal-line clearance from Fabian Schar and Darlow's brilliance to keep them at bay. Kl

London: Lewis Hamilton has been knighted in Britain's traditional New Year Honours list after equalling Michael Schumacher's record of seven Formula One world titles. The list recognises outstanding achievements in various fields including showbusiness, sport and politics, as well as the contributions of a larger number of everyday citizens. There are many awards this year for those seeking solutions to the problems posed by coronavirus as the pandemic drags on. Hamilton, 35, surpassed Schumacher's record number of career race wins during a stellar season in 2020 that was shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic. A group of British lawmakers last month called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to recommend the driver for a knighthood. Hamilton, who lives in Monaco, has faced scrutiny in the past over his tax arrangements but has insisted he pays a substantial amount of tax in Britain. The Mercedes driver has become an outspoken supporter of equality, diversity and the

London: The Premier League said on Wednesday it had "no plans" to pause the season and had confidence in its protocols after a third English top-flight match was postponed due to coronavirus outbreaks. Tottenham's home match against Fulham was scrapped just three hours before the scheduled 1800 GMT kick-off after a number of Covid-19 cases at the visiting club. It is the third top-flight game to be wiped out by the virus, following Newcastle's match with Aston Villa earlier this month and Monday's game between Everton and Manchester City. The Premier League announced on Tuesday there had been a season-high 18 positive tests in its latest round of testing across the competition, already compressed due to the late start to the season. Britain is struggling with another surge in the virus, with an overall death toll of more than 72,500 - one of the worst in the world. But league chiefs issued a statement late Wednesday expressing their determination to fulfil t

The Milwaukee Bucks made an NBA-record 29 3-pointers in their 144-97 romp over the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Milwaukee shot 29 for 51 from beyond the arc, two nights after going 7 for 38 in a loss to New York. The Bucks used 13 players and 12 made at least one 3 — two-time reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only one who didn’t. Khris Middleton had four 3s and scored 25 points, Jrue Holiday made six during his 24-point effort and Donte DiVincenzo was 5 for 6 from deep to finish with 17 points. Antetokounmpo had only nine points. The record-breaking shot was made by Sam Merrill, who got the 28th 3-pointer with 6:07 remaining, giving the Bucks a 131-86 lead. The previous record for 3s in a game was 27, set by Houston against Phoenix on April 7, 2019. Tyler Herro scored 23 points for the Heat. Jimmy Butler missed the game with a sprained right ankle. It was the biggest road win in Bucks history, and it matched the second-worst loss in Heat hist

Bangkok : Thailand's badminton chief pledged that next month's restart tournaments will be the "safest in the world" on Wednesday after heavyweights China withdrew because of coronavirus restrictions. China's pull-out blows a big hole in the draw for the three world tour events from 12 January in Bangkok, the first in Asia since COVID-19 shut down the sport in March. Badminton Association of Thailand president Patama Leeswadtrakul said China's anti-coronavirus rules prevented the team, which includes men's Olympic champion Chen Long and women's world number two Chen Yufei, from travelling. "The reason is that the Chinese government doesn't allow them to go out of the country  —   not just for the sport of badminton but for all kinds of athletes," Patama told AFP . The three back-to-back tournaments, in bio-secure "bubble" conditions and behind closed doors, culminate in the delayed 2020 World Tour Finals from 27 January. Pa

On 23 December, former India spinner Bishan Singh Bedi wrote to DDCA , asking his name to be removed from one of the stands at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. Bedi’s point of contention was simple; he was miffed at DDCA’s decision to build a statue of their former president Arun Jaitley whose long tenure (1999-2013) was riddled with numerous corruption allegations and controversies. Five days later, Home Minister Amit Shah, in the presence of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, unveiled the six-foot, 800 kg statue of the late finance minister near the Virender Sehwag Gate. It was a moment of poignant shame and sorry disregard; a forgettable picture that said a thousand unfortunate words, and an apt reflection of the stifling conundrum that cricket administration in India has become. Unveiled a statue of Shri Arun Jaitley ji at New Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. His pioneering contribution in promoting cricket will never be forgotten. We will always miss him as an incredible person dedicated

New Delhi : The five-bowler strategy worked out perfectly for India in Melbourne but the Ajinkya Rahane-led side has some tough calls to make in the batting department, especially the opening slot, ahead of the third Test against Australia in Sydney with Rohit Sharma available for selection. His elevation as a Test opener in the home series against South Africa last year was a huge success but lack of match practice and the circumstances in which he has arrived in Australia don't make Rohit a certain starter at the top of the order. "We will have a chat with him to see where he is placed physically because he has been in quarantine for the last couple of weeks. Also got to see how he feels before we take the call," said head coach Ravi Shastri following the memorable eight-wicket win in the second Test on Tuesday. Rohit joined the squad in Melbourne on Wednesday. With Shubman Gill showing calmness and maturity beyond his age in his debut Test, the team is likely to fi

Day 4 report: Tim Southee claimed his 300th Test wicket as New Zealand edged closer to a win over Pakistan Tuesday on the fourth day of the first Test. New Zealand set Pakistan 373 to win after leading by 192 on the first innings and declaring its second innings at 180-5, shortly before tea. At stumps Pakistan was 71-3, still 202 runs behind, with Azhar Ali 34 not out and Fawad Alam 21. The unbroken 34-run partnership between Azhar and Fawad which occupied 89 minutes before stumps helped the tourists recover from a dreadful start which saw them two wickets down without a run on the board. Southee took the first Pakistan wicket to fall Tuesday and finished the day with 2-15 from nine overs. Southee became the third Kiwi after Richard Hadlee (431) and Daniel Vettori (361), the 34th bowler from all nations and only the fourth active player to achieve the 300 wicket milestone. His wickets have come in 76 Tests at an average of 28.48 and a strike rate of 56.8. Those statistics compare

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Sydney : Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins said he had "every confidence" Australia's top batsmen would return to form following an underwhelming first two Tests against India. With the series level at 1-1 heading into the third Test in Sydney, Cummins parried talk of crisis and said batters like Steve Smith — who was named Test player of the decade this week, but has managed just 10 runs in the first two games — would rediscover their touch. "Absolutely no stress," Cummins said. "They'll come good." "Steve's been champion for a dozen years or so, so absolutely no stress at all. Every batter, every player, goes through ups and downs and the great ones find a way to get back, so yeah absolutely no stress that they'll come good, I'm sure." Australia won the first Test in Adelaide by eight wickets after India suffered their worst ever Test collapse, scoring just 36 in their second innings. But it was India who won by eight

As football has modernised, become faster and more technical, the average age of teams throughout the world has dropped as well. Younger players are considered fitter and also able to be better moulded tactically which allows coaches to exert a clear footballing identity. Fans also crave to see academy graduates and talented youngsters being given a chance in the first team so the search is constantly on for the next Messi or Ronaldo, or in India’s case, the next Sunil Chhetri. Chhetri is 36 and having maintained incredible fitness levels, he has been outstanding for club and country after entering the fourth decade of his life. But it would be unfair and unrealistic to expect him to carry the burden of an expectant fanbase into his 40s, so who is going to take up that mantle for the Blue Tigers? Where are the goals, creativity and leadership going to come from? Since the inception of the league, most managers have preferred to use their full quota of foreign players in the starting

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Manchester : Manchester United are recreating the habit of late winners that could lead to an unexpected Premier League title challenge, according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Marcus Rashford's deflected strike deep into stoppage time beat Wolves 1-0 on Tuesday to move United up to second and within two points of leaders Liverpool. After come-from-behind wins at Brighton and Southampton already this season, United have now won three of their first 15 games of the season in added time, a trait Solskjaer knows well from his playing career at Old Trafford under Alex Ferguson. "It's one of the points we brought up early in the season, that we didn't win many points towards the end of games," said Solskjaer. "We have a tradition for it at this club. Obviously we've normally got many more supporters helping us to do that. "Now we've won many more points towards the end of games and that's both a mental aspect and a physical aspect."

Barcelona : With Lionel Messi nursing his ankle in the stands, Barcelona fell further behind in the Spanish league on Tuesday after ceding their first-ever point to Eibar at Camp Nou. Halftime substitute Ousmane Dembele salvaged Barcelona a 1-1 draw when he scored in the 67th. That canceled out Kike Garcia's opener 10 minutes earlier after a ball-control blunder by center back Ronald Araujo. A second consecutive home draw meant Ronald Koeman’s side slipped into sixth place after Sevilla moved into fourth with a 2-0 win over Villarreal, who fell into fifth. Front-runners Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are seven points clear of Barcelona before they play matches on Wednesday. “Being realistic, the league title is very complicated. Nothing is impossible, but we must recognize the gap," Koeman said. “We were missing Leo, who is always decisive, but the sensation I have is ‘how is it possible we didn’t win?’ We created chances, missed a penalty, and gave away a goal that was t

The coronavirus pandemic continues to reshape the men's tennis calendar with Indian Wells absent from the schedule for the eight weeks following the Australian Open, released by the ATP on Tuesday. Indian Wells in California is traditionally the first Masters event of the year on the men's tour and runs alongside a women's tournament. The ATP said that "due to the impact of COVID-19" it would not be held on "its customary dates in March." The tournament organizers released a statement saying: "This decision was made after thorough consultation with state and local health authorities." "The tournament is proactively working with the ATP and WTA Tours as well as title sponsor BNP Paribas to confirm dates later in the year to hold the event." California is suffering a spike in virus cases. "As of December 28, California has 2,155,976 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 24,284 deaths. The number of COVID-related deaths in

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Languishing at the bottom half of the table after suffering back-to-back defeats, Hyderabad FC would look to exploit the defensive woes of FC Goa when the two sides clash in an Indian Super League match on Wednesday. It has been a mixed campaign for Hyderabad so far. Manuel Marquez's side were unbeaten after five games but back-to-back defeats have seen them slip to eighth on the table. Another stern test from FC Goa awaits them at the Tilak Maidan Stadium but the Gaurs' defensive woes will provide Hyderabad glimmer of a hope to get their campaign back on track. Sixth-placed FC Goa have been among the most fearsome attacking teams this season, having scored 10 goals so far. However, in defence, they have found it hard to keep things tight, conceding nine goals while recording just one clean sheet. Marquez is aware of FC Goa's defensive struggles and knows his team will have their chances to win. The Nizams, who have often been guilty of missing chances this season, will