Fulton to be NZ's batting coach
Wellington: Former New Zealand batsman Peter Fulton will take over as batting coach of the national side following the World Cup which is slated to be held in England and Wales from May 30. The 40-year-old will assume the role from Craig McMillan who is stepping down after almost five years in the job. New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said Fulton was the stand-out applicant for the role. "We're delighted to have Pete come on board after the World Cup and are confident he will be a good fit for our environment," said Stead. "Pete obviously has a good understanding of batting, but he also demonstrated a clear vision for helping our elite batsmen. He's shown he has the coaching skills through his work with the U 19s and our winter training squads, while we know from his playing days that he will certainly add to our team culture," he added. Fulton's term will coincide with Stead's NZC contract which runs until the end of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next November.
Panthers beat Strikers by 6 runs
Mumbai: North Mumbai Panthers bowlers held their nerve as they defeated Eagle Thane Strikers by 6 runs in the T20 Mumbai league game here on Wednesday. Put in to bat, a late cameo by Karan Nande (50 off 23 balls) helped North Mumbai post a challenging 190 for eight at the Wankhede Stadium. Later, their bowlers restricted the Strikers to 184/5 despite a blazing 71 off 44 balls by rival skipper Aditya Tare. Tare's knock was studded with 10 fours, but he could not complete the job and fell in the penultimate over. Strikers needed 16 runs off the final over and Moondeep Mangela, despite conceding a four on the first ball, did well to hand his team a win.
Wilmots to coach Iran: Report
Tehran: Former Ivory Coast and Belgium manager Marc Wilmots has arrived in Tehran and is set to sign a three-year deal as national coach, state news agency IRNA reported. The official agency said Iran football federation president Mehdi Taj had confirmed the deal and the former Belgian striker would sign a contract later on Wednesday. It said the 50-year-old who was capped 70 times for his country was expected to sign on until the end of the 2022 World Cup for a fee of $1.2 million (1 million euros) a year. He replaces Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz who stepped down after eight years in charge in January following Iran's semi-final exit in the Asian Cup when they went down 3-0 to Japan. He led Iran to two World Cup finals and extended his contract to 2019 after the 2018 tournament in Russia. Wilmots guided Belgium into the 2014 World Cup during his stint as coach with them between 2012-2016.
Kynan, Prithviraj lead qualification
Changwon: India's Kynan Chenai and Prithviraj Tondaiman shot two perfect rounds of 25 each to lead the 109-strong qualification field in the men's trap shooting competition of ISSF Shotgun World Cup here on Wednesday. With three more rounds to be played on Thursday before the top six go through to the medal round, India will feel they are in a strong position to clinch final berths. Kynan and Prithviraj shared the lead with only two other shooters from Great Britain and Kazakhstan while Zoravar Singh Sandhu, the third Indian in the competition, shot 45 out of 50 to be in 82nd place. In the women's trap, which concluded on Wednesday, Shagun Chowdhary shot a total of 115 to end in 35th spot while Rajeshwari Kumari managed 99 to finish in 56th position.
Chennaiyin FC suffer defeat
Dhaka: Chennaiyin FC suffered their first defeat of the AFC Cup, going down 2-3 to Abahani Limited Dhaka in a Group E match, but still remain in the hunt for a next round berth here on Wednesday. C K Vineeth gave Chennaiyin the lead in the seventh minute but Abahani fought back in the second half with two goals in five minutes through Kervens Belfort (64th) and Masih Saighani (69th). Isaac Vanmalsawma drew Chennaiyin level in the 74th minute but Mamunul Islam's 88th minute goal handed the home side all three points. With Wednesday's result, Abahani drew level with Chennaiyin on top of group on seven points from four games. Chennaiyin were playing their first away match of the tournament. Chennaiyin face Minerva Punjab FC in their penultimate group match on June 19 in Guwahati while Abahani play against bottom-placed Manang Marshyangdi of Nepal. Agencies