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GUYANA CHRONICLE Saturday, June 17, 2017
India wary of maverick Pakistan in high-octane final By Ed Osmond |
LONDON, England (Reuters) - India are favourites to retain the Champions Trophy tomorrow but they would probably have preferred to face different opponents than arch-rivals Pakistan in what is sure to be a highly-charged final. The neighbouring countries have moved on from years of political conflicts but emotions will run high as millions of supporters around the world watch the first major cricket final between the teams since the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup. One of the most unpredictable sides in world sport, Pakistan were the lowest-ranked side going into the tournament and produced a shambolic performance in their heavy opening defeat by India. As they have done many times before, however, Pakistan suddenly found their form with wins over topranked South Africa and Sri Lanka before delivering an outstanding all-round display to stun previously unbeaten hosts England in the semi-finals. India suffered a shock loss to Sri Lanka in the group stage before overwhelming Bangladesh in the semis and their captain Virat Kohli has been impressed by Pakistan’s resurgence. “The turnaround has been magnificent,” Kohli said. “Obviously, if you reach
Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez walk off victorious against England in the first Champions Trophy semi-final
the final you have to play some good cricket and credit to them, they’ve turned around things for themselves really well. “The belief just showed on the field the way they played together as a team and regardless of who you play in the final, it’s always going to be challenging because once
you start thinking that it’s a big game, then your mindset changes.” OUTSTANDING BATTING India, who beat Pakistan by five runs in the Twenty20 final 10 years ago, have been lifted by the outstanding batting form of Kohli, Shikhar
Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. “What we are going to try to do is repeat the similar sort of cricket that we have played so far, knowing the strengths and weaknesses they have,” Kohli said. “I don’t think we need to look too far away from what we are doing as a group, focus on our skills and our abil-
Ronaldo seeks Real Madrid exit
(REUTERS)-Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave the club and Spain after being accused of committing tax fraud in the country, a report in Portuguese sports daily A Bola said on Friday. The newspaper said its story was based on a reliable source and that the 32-yearold four-times world player of the year had already made up his mind to ask the club for a transfer. It said that Ronaldo was “deeply disenchanted” with the allegations against him. Record, another sports daily, carried a similar story. Ronaldo’s agents could not immediately be reached for comment. Spanish prosecutors have filed a lawsuit against the player accusing him of defrauding tax authorities of 14.7 million euros ($16.5
million) by hiding his image rights income between 2011 and 2014. Ronaldo has denied any wrongdoing. Real Madrid said on Thursday they were confident
Ronaldo led Real Madrid to their 12th European Cup earlier this month after scoring two goals in a 4-1 victory over Juventus in the Champions League final, becoming
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo
the Portuguese forward had acted legally. They could not immediately be reached on Friday to comment on the report.
the tournament’s top scorer. Ronaldo, Portugal’s alltime leading scorer, is the latest in a long line of soccer players in Spain -- among
them Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Neymar -- to be caught up in cases over tax or transfers. Ronaldo has completed eight seasons at Real Madrid since joining them from Manchester United in 2009 for a then world record fee of 96 million euros During that time, they have won the Champions League three times and La Liga twice. In November, he agreed to extend his contract until 2021. He is currently at the Confederations Cup in Russia with the Portuguese national team where his team mate Andre Silva said that Ronaldo was motivated for the tournament. “All I can say is that he is motivated, focused on the national team and encouraging us on to win the tournament,” he told a news conference in Kazan, where Portugal face Mexico on Sunday.
ities and believe in ourselves on that particular day.” Pakistan, without their leading fast bowler Mohammad Amir due to injury, strangled the usually free-scoring England batsmen on a slow
wicket in Cardiff with a disciplined display of bowling and fielding. The Oval pitch should be more favourable for batsmen but India, who have beaten Pakistan in eight of their 10 World Cup and Champions Trophy meetings, will not be complacent. “We’ve seen some really surprising results and it’s been amazing for the fans to watch and for the players to be a part of,” Kohli said. “We played some really good cricket but we’re not going to take anything for granted for sure.” Pakistan’s rejuvenation has been built around the runs of opener Fakhar Zaman and the experienced Azhar Ali while Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan stepped up to compensate for the absence of Amir who is expected to be fit for the final. Their captain Sarfraz Ahmed said they had quickly forgotten the opening loss to India and simply focused on the next game in their bid to win the Champions Trophy for the first time. “After the India match, we just motivated the guys,” he said. “Don’t worry about the India match. This is gone. If we play good cricket, definitely we will win this tournament.”
Georgetown, Linden Masters clash tonight at MSC ground
A PRE-FATHER’S Day football clash, featuring the veterans of the game from the City and the Mining Town, will take place tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground. Georgetown Masters will face their Linden counterparts in a match-up, set to kick off at 20:00hrs. But before that game the veterans of East and West of Linden will clash from 18:00hrs. The RightStart Foundation has put together this double-header. Georgetown Masters should field a team that will include former national standout Deon Barnwell, Anthony Stanton, Gerald Gittens and ‘English’ Parris, They will challenge a Linden Masters team that will be stacked with players like Troy Easton, Renee Gibbons, Eon Wills, Sean Warner, Wayne Bethune and Beresford Harry. That game will be preceded by the Linden match-up - East of Linden, featuring the likes of Ruel Williams and Travis Waterton, against their West counterparts, comprising Tony Adams, Rawle Gittens, Oswald Benjamin among others. The organisers have garnered support from Member of Parliament Jermaine Figueira along with BK International, to put together this Classic Father’s Day football encounter. Several giveaways will be available for lucky patrons. On board also are The Caring for Others Organisation, BK Quarry, BK Super Mix, Jags Airline, Fly Jamaica, Banks DIH Limited, Wills electrical, Figgy’s Grocery Mart, NK’S Eatery and Smoothie Shop, Gifth’s Enterprise, B. Harry Hardware and General Store, Bernard’s Variety Store and Right Care Pharmacy. (Joe Chapman)