England opt to bowl against India in must-win World Cup game

AFP
Published at : 29 October 2023, 05:04 pm
England opt to bowl against India in must-win World Cup game

England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and elected to bowl first against unbeaten India on Sunday in a must-win match of their faltering World Cup campaign.

The defending champions have lost four of their five matches and come in unchanged at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium in hunt of victory and cling on to their slim hopes of making the semi-finals.

England's last loss was a crushing-eight wicket defeat to Sri Lanka after they folded for 156.

"We haven't done ourselves justice," admitted Buttler.

Rohit Sharma's India remain the team to beat with five wins in as many matches and come in with the same team that beat New Zealand last week.

Home fans at the stadium believe a win over England is a foregone conclusion.

"India is going to bash England today left, right and centre," Roi Shaunauk, 29, told AFP.

Shaunauk said he came in the hope that Virat Kohli would equal all-time great Sachin Tendulkar's ODI record of 49 centuries and become "the best".

England's dismal campaign has left them bottom of the table behind even The Netherlands and one of their small coterie of supporters in Lucknow laughed when asked about their chances.

"I've been wanting to come to India for a long time and the opportunity to see England play was a bonus," said Alex Piper, 32, on a two-week trip to the country with friends.

"Unfortunately, it's not worked out so well for us."

Teams

India: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (capt/wkt), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood

Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (RSA), Rod Tucker (AUS)

TV Umpire: Ahsan Raza (PAK)

Match Referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)

Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Published at : 24 September 2023, 03:42 pm
Mushfiqur to play for Fortune Barishal in BPL 2024

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

 

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:06 pm
Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:05 pm
Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.

PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Published at : 20 September 2023, 05:03 pm
PSG get better of Dortmund in Champions League opener

Paris Saint-Germain got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start on Tuesday as a Kylian Mbappe penalty set them up for a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes.

The French champions had dominated the first half without overly troubling the Dortmund defence, but they went ahead four minutes after the break when Mbappe scored a spot-kick awarded for a Niklas Suele handball.

Achraf Hakimi added a memorable second, and PSG could have won the Group F encounter by a far more handsome margin in the end.

The result immediately puts them in control of the group, after AC Milan and Newcastle United drew 0-0 earlier, and coach Luis Enrique will hope they can build on this performance when they visit the English side next in a fortnight.

"It was an almost perfect evening," said Luis Enrique.