Chiellini, Cuadrado ready for Milan clash
rome: Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri on Friday said defender Giorgio Chiellini and winger Juan Guillermo Cuadrado had both recovered from their injuries and are available for the club's Serie A clash against Milan. Juventus is finishing preparations for Saturday's game against Milan before getting ready to face Real Madrid in the Champions league quarterfinals next week. "Chiellini is fine and will play, Cuadrado is in good shape and will be on the bench tomorrow night," Allegri said in a press conference. Chiellini, who suffered a muscle injury on February 17, rejoined the group work on Wednesday and trained normally, just like Cuadrado, who returned to the squad's training sessions this week after being out for three months.
Santosh Trophy: Kerala to play Bengal in final
kolkata: Five-time champions Kerala edged out Mizoram 1-0 in the semi-final to book their berth in the final of the 72nd edition of the national championship for the Santosh Trophy at the Mohun Bagan Ground here on Friday. Kerala will face 32-time winners and hosts Bengal in the summit clash on Sunday. Bengal beat Karnataka in the other semis clash. Substitute Afdal VK netted the winner in the 54th minute thus causing an upset of sorts with Mizoram playing the better football on the day. Kerala, riding the slender victory, reached their first final since the 2012/13 edition.
Chennaiyin favourites against Aizawl
Bhubaneswar: Chennaiyin FC coach John Gregory feels that the recently crowned Indian Super league champions have come to Bhubaneswar with nothing but the 'intention of winning' ahead of the Chennai-based outfit's Super Cup campaign opener against Aizawl FC here on Saturday. "The Super league season has ended. The euphoria of winning the final is already over and now we have another challenge right in front of us. We are back to the ground now to focus on this tournament starting tomorrow with every intention of winning," he said. On the other hand, Aizawl FC coach Santosh Kashyap stressed that the match is very evenly poised and his boys can spoil Chennaiyin FC's party. "We are a young team and we are pitted against one of the best teams. But anyone can beat anyone in a knock-out tournament. We'll try to do our best and win tomorrow's game," he said.
Pak revival strengthens with T20 series at home
karachi: Pakistan will take another significant step towards the revival of international cricket as World T20 champions West Indies feature in three back-to-back Twenty20 internationals in Karachi from Sunday. The series comes as Pakistan is enjoying guarded optimism over the return of international cricket, driven from the country after a deadly militant attack targeting the Sri lanka team in 2009. The other two matches will be played on Monday and Tuesday. Pakistan have included three newcomers in batsman Asif Ali, allrounder Hussain Talat and paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi.
