Pollard puts on sellotape in mouth after umpire's rap
Bengaluru: In a bizzare incident, Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard today put on a sellotape on his mouth after the umpires rapped him for his onfield altercation with fellow West Indian and Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman Chris Gayle during an IPl match here. Pollard had an argument with Gayle just at the start of the third over during RCB's mammoth chase of a 210-run target set by RCB, forcing the onfield umpires Richard Illingworth of England and Vineet Kulkarni to intervene and warn the big West Indian. A miffed Pollard then went on to the team dug out and pasted a sellotape on his mouth to show his displeasure over the onfield officials wrath. The cameras too picked up Pollard's antics quickly as he constantly appeared on the giant screen, thereby bringing a wry smile on his Mumbai Indian's coaching staff that included Ricky Ponting and Robin Singh among others.
Yusuf Pathan is still our trump card: Akram
New Delhi: Yusuf Pathan may not have set this edition of the IPl ablaze with his powerful batting just yet but Kolkata Knight Riders bowling consultant Wasim Akram feels the swashbuckling all-rounder is still the team's "trump card" and one of the biggest hitters in cricket's shortest format. After making an impression in the cash-rich league for Rajasthan Royals in the first three seasons under skipper Shane Warne, Yusuf was taken by KKR in 2011 for $2.1 million. The destructive batsman has since stuck with the Shah Rukh Khan-owned unit, playing a crucial role in the team's title triumph in 2012 and 2014. The Baroda-born player may not have fired in this season so far, but he played the sheet anchor's role to perfection with his 28 not out in the 95-run partnership with Andre Russell (66) in the team's four-wicket win against Kings XI Punjab, and Akram backs the big-hitter to come to the party and get big runs soon. "Yusuf is only 32, he is still our trump card. He is still one of the biggest hitters in this format. He is enjoying his confidence. It is really handy to have a player like Yusuf Pathan. He can bowl, he can bat and he can field as well," Akram said.
Bipul replaces 'ill' Shukla in Sunrisers squad
New Delhi: The Indian Premier league (IPl) technical committee approved Bipul Sharma as a replacement player for laxmi Ratan Shukla of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday. According to a release by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Shukla has been ruled out of the IPl season due to illness. The 31-year-old Bipul Sharma, an orthodox left-arm spinner and left-handed batsman, was part of Kings XI Punjab from 2010 to 2013. Sharma has taken 44 wickets in 55 Twenty20 matches and scored 602 runs. The technical committee of the IPl consists of BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, Sourav Dasgupta, Subir Ganguly, Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri. AgenciesHisar: Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has selected 48 grapplers, including 16 women, to represent the country at the senior Asian Wrestling Championship in Doha from May 5-10 and the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Toronto from June 5-7. The tournaments will include both freestyle and Greco-roman categories. According to a WFI spokesman here on Sunday, the trials for men's team were held at lucknow while the women's trials were held at Sonepat in Haryana. Wrestlers who got the first place in their weight category are eligible to participate in the Senior Asian Championship while those who were first and second in their weight categories will participate in the Commonwealth Championship, the WFI spokesman said.
India finish 7th in Hawk's Bay Cup
New Delhi: The Indian women's hockey team beat Japan 3-2 to finish seventh in the Hawkes's Bay Cup in New Zealand. India had also beaten Japan to win the bronze at the 2014 Asian Games. Japan led 1-0 by first quarter and doubled their lead soon after to put pressure on India. India were forced to attack more and in the 28th minute they found success as Sushila Pukhrambam slammed the ball past the goalie. The third session proved to be a dry one with no goals being scored, making the last fifteen minutes very important for India. They scored two consecutive goals in a matter of three minutes to seal the tie.
Narain gets podium at Suzuka
Suzuka (Japan): Narain Karthikeyan overcame a sluggish start to finish third in the season opener of the Japan-based Super Formula Championship here on Sunday, sealing his first ever podium in the fastest single seater series outside Formula 1. Karthikeyan, starting from second on the grid, lost three places on the opening lap before recovering to finish third in the 43-lap race at the famous Suzuka Circuit. Three-time le Mans winner Andre lotterer won the race, 9.4 seconds ahead of 2014 champion Kazuki Nakajima. It was a welcome result for the 38-year-old Indian, who endured a tough opening season last year when he finished 13th in the Championship with five points. The Championship moves to the Okayama International Circuit on May 23-24.
three walkers qualify for rio
New Delhi: Three Indian race walkers — Khushbir Kaur, Manish Rawat and Sandeep Kumar — on Sunday qualified for next year's Rio Olympics after creditable performances in the IAAF Race Walking Challenge at Rio Maior in Portugal. National women's 20km walk record holder Khushbir Kaur clocked 1:33:58, better than Rio 2016 qualification time of 1:35, though she finished 13th in the race. In the men's 20km race walk, Manish Rawat logged a personal best performance to finish in top 10 with a timing of 1:22:50, well above Rio Games qualification time of 1:24. National 50km race walk record holder Sandeep Kumar also qualified for Rio Games with a 14th-place finish in 1:23:32 though he received one warning.
IAF thump golden hawks; in qf
New Delhi: A 143 run knock by Railways Ranji player Soumik Chatterjee ensured Indian Air Force put up a mammoth 308/6 against Golden Hawks in 25th All-India Sperry Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament being played at R.S.K.P. grounds. In reply, Golden Hawks fell 92 runs short despite a second consecutive ton by Aditya Jain (127).