Mumbai-awadhe locked at 2-2 with one to go
Bangalore: Rising shuttler P V Sindhu of Awadhe Warriors stamped her class over experienced Tine Baun of Mumbai Masters in a three-game thriller in the inaugural Indian Badminton league (IBl) here on Saturday night. Sindhu prevailed over Baun 21-12, 19-21, 11-8 in the women’s singles match to level the tie 1-1 after Vladimir Ivanov had given Mumbai Masters a 1-0 lead by defeating R M V Gurusaidutt. The tall Russian Ivanov rode on his powerful smashes and better placements to tame Gurusaidutt 21-18, 20-21, 11-9 in the first men’s singles match. In the third match, the pair of beat Kido and Boe beat Sumeet/Manu of Mumbai 21-16, 21-14 in a comfortable manner to give their side a 2-1 lead in the tie. While in the last game, world number one lee Chong Wei beat K Srikanth.21-15, 21-20 to level at 2-2.
Beats take on delhi Smashers in must-win tie
Bangalore: Hosts Banga Beats have a humongous task of winning their last two ties with big margins to remain in semifinals hunt as they clash with laggards Krrish Delhi Smashers in their penultimate round tie of the Indian Badminton league (IBl), here on Sunday. Beats were rusty against Pune Pistons, losing 1-4 and now stand fifth in the table with just eight points. Awadhe Warriors also have eight points but they are placed above the Bangalore side. Beats now not only have to win their remaining matches but also pray that some of other results go in their favour. Sunday is a good chance for Beats to bring their campaign back on track as they face struggling Smashers, who are coming into the tie following a 1-4 defeat against Awadhe Warriors. After that they face formidable table-toppers Hyderabad Hotshots, and hence their win against Smashers with a huge margin becomes imperative.
Rain hits Australia’s victory hopes
london: Australia’s hopes of forcing a consolation win in their Ashes finale against England were left hanging by a thread after rain washed out the whole of the fourth day’s play at The Oval on Saturday. Conditions worsened throughout the day and, with rain pelting down under increasingly dark skies, the umpires finally abandoned play for the day at 4.06pm local time (1506GMT) with only a handful of hardy spectators, some sheltering under umbrellas, still in the ground. The bad weather was especially frustrating for Australia, who were seeking a first win in nine Tests and trying to avoid their first Ashes series without a Test victory since 1977. England, who at 3-0 up had already won the five-match series and retained the Ashes, were 246 for four at stumps on the third day in reply to Australia’s first innings 492 for nine declared, That left England 245 runs behind and still requiring a further 46 runs to avoid the follow-on.
Ind A let SA A escape with a respectable total
Pretoria: India A bowlers ripped through South Africa A top order before letting the home side escape with a respectable 231 for six on the opening day of the second unofficial Test here on Saturday. Impressive spells by all-rounder Parvez Rasool and pacer Ishwar Pandey saw the South Africans being reduced to a precarious 128 for six at tea before lower order batsmen Wayne Parnell and Simon Harmer rescued the home side with a fine 134-run stand for the unbroken seventh wicket. At the draw of stumps, Parnell and Harmer were going strong on 64 not out and 68 not out respectively. Parnell has so far hit eight fours in his ball 172-ball unconquered innings while Harmer had smashed nine fours and a six in his 115-ball unbeaten knock. Brief Scores: SA A: 231/6 (Simon Harmer no 68, Wayne Parnell no 64; Rasool 2/39, Pandey 2/49) at stumps on Day 1.
IOA set to ignore IOC warnings at GBM
New Delhi: It may put India’s return to the Olympic fold in jeopardy but the suspended IOA’s General Body Meeting here tomorrow is all set to ignore the IOC’s directive to bar chargesheeted officials from contesting elections through constitutional amendments. The defiant move may put a spanner on the country’s return to the Olympics but IOA officials have asserted that amendments to bar corruption-tainted officials cannot be carried out as Indian law permits chargesheeted persons to contest even Parliamentary elections. The IOC had on August 15 asked the IOA to amend its constitution incorporating the provisions to bar corruption- tainted persons from contesting elections proposed to be held next month. It had subsequently warned of further action if the amendments were not carried out in Sunday’s General Body Meeting.
Kapur shoots 66, moves up in Rolex Trophy
Geneva: Shiv Kapur cracked a stunning six-under 66 that included seven birdies against one bogey to move up to tied 28th after the third round of the Rolex Trophy on the European Challenge Tour. Kapur, who won the season’s first effort in Kensville Challenge in Ahmedabad earlier this year, has now shot 73-73-66 to be four-under through 54 holes as he moved up from 40th to 28th. Kapur opened with a bogey on first, but then quickly recovered with a birdie on second and then three more on fifth, sixth and eighth to turn in three-under.
Bengaluru FC signs Aus striker Sean Rooney
Bangalore: Bengaluru Football Club today signed a one-year deal with Australian striker Sean Rooney, who had a successful last season with New South Wales side Blacktown, scoring 14 goals for the club. With the roping in of the Australian, Bengaluru FC completes the slot for foreigners at the club with John Johnson, Curtis Osano and John Menyongar being the other players already signed.
Record-setting Shehzad leads Pak to victory
Harare: Ahmed Shehzad hit the highest international Twenty20 score by a Pakistani to lead his country to a second win in two days over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Saturday. Shehzad smashed 98 to follow on from his 70 on Friday which had set Pakistan up for a 25-run victory in the first game of the tour. On Saturday, he followed that up with 98 not out as the tourists clinched a 19-run win and 2-0 series sweep. The right-hander struck six sixes en route to the highest score by a Pakistani batsman in the Twenty20 format, but missed an opportunity to reach three figures when he could only manage a single from the final ball of the innings.
Bayern beat Nuremberg 2-0 in Bundesliga
Berlin: Defending champion Bayern Munich ground out a hard-fought 2-0 win over Nuremberg to maintain its winning start to the Bundesliga on Saturday. Franck Ribery met Philipp lahm’s cross with a fine header to break the deadlock in the 69th, and Arjen Robben sealed the result when he eluded three defenders and scored through the goalkeeper’s legs in the 78th. Bayern toiled to break down the Nuremberg defense, however, in what was the 187th derby between the sides. Schalke’s poor season start continued with a 2-1 loss at Hannover.