Born

Mount Maunganui, Feb 11 (IAN S): Colin de Grandhomme smashed an unbeaten 28-ball 58 as New Zealand crushed India by five wickets in the final ODI at the Bay Oval on Tuesday, thereby clinching the threematch series 3-0.

Grandhomme came in to bat when the Black Caps, chasing 297, were 220/4 at the end of 40 overs. The big-hitting all-rounder took the game by the scruff of the neck by taking a liking to Shardul Thakur who went for 83 runs in nine overs as he smacked six fours and three sixes during his stay at the crease.

Besides him, opener Henry Nicholls set the tone of the chase with a wellpaced 80 off 103 balls (9x4) with contributions from Martin Guptill (66) and Tom Latham, who was unbeaten on 32 alongwith Grandhomme.

For India, Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers returning figures of 3/47.

For India, K.L. Rahul scored 112 but his effort went in vain in the end as India lost with 17 balls to spare.

In their chase, the hosts were off to a flying start as Guptill and Nicholls shared a 106-run stand before Chahal castled Guptill with a beautiful delivery.

Back leading the side after an injury layoff, Kane Williamson looked good to continue Kiwis’ domination but a lapse of concentration cost him his wicket as he whipped a Chahal delivery straight to midwicket where Mayank Agarwal took an easy catch.

From a position of strength, New Zealand suddenly looked in trouble after in-form Ross Taylor (12) was caught by Virat Kohli at short cover off Ravindra Jadeja and in the very next over, Nicholls was caught behind off Thakur. Allrounder James Neesham joined the steady Latham in the middle but could not last long as he smacked a tossed up Chahal delivery straight to Kohli at mid-wicket.

Grandhomme then took over and sent Thakur to the cleaners with Latham supporting him from the other end.

Earlier, Rahul continued with his prolific run in the ongoing tour as he smashed a brilliant century to help India set a 297-run target.

While Rahul top scored with 112, Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey made significant contributions of 62 and 42.

Put into bat, India didn’t have a great start as they lost opener Mayank Agarwal (1) in the second over itself.

Kohli, who came in next, did try to steady India’s ship. However, while playing an upper-cut, he was caught at the third man boundary after scoring just 9. Opener Prithvi Shaw didn’t let the fall of wickets get the better of him as he kept scoring boundaries and looked determined to play a big innings. However, just when things looked to be getting India’s way, Shaw lost his wicket as he was run-out after scoring 40 off 42 balls.

Rahul and Iyer then came to India’s rescue and shared a 100-run stand to bring the visitors back in the game.

Iyer, who had a 100 and fifty to his name in the first two matches, scored yet another half-century. However, after playing a well-compiled innings of 62, he was caught at mid-wicket by Grandhomme.

Pandey, who replaced Kedar Jadhav for the dead rubber, came out with positive intent right from the word go and stitched a 112- run partnership off 113 balls as India went past the 250-mark.

Rahul, who scored his fourth ODI ton, got out in the 47th over while trying to up the ante and was caught at long-off. Pandey (42 off 48) also got out the very next ball while trying to go for a maximum against Hamish Bennett.

Bennett was the pick of the New Zealand bowlers as he returned with figures of 4/64 from his 10 overs. Brief scores: India 296/7 in 50 overs (K.L. Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64); New Zealand 300/5 in 47.1 overs (Henry Nicolls 80, Martin Guptill 66, Colin de Grandhomme 58; Yuzvendra Chahal 3/47). NZ script 3-0 ODI sweep over India

Correspondent Wokha, Feb 11 (NPN): The 5th Lt Emi Merry (IAS) memorial women football and volleyball championship 2020 organised by Wokha district women sports association (WDWSA) got underway at local football ground, Wokha on Tuesday.

Vilone Sakhrie, Addl. Director and HoD, Dept. of Women Resource Development graced the occasion as the special guest.

In his address, Sakhrie said organising a women’s tournament was his long dream to promote women in the field of sports, stating that his dream had been initiated by the WDWSA. He further suggested women’s tournament in the state which can accommodate women of all districts.

He noted that in early days women were not allowed to play because games were dominated by males and now time has changed and women participate in every field.

Sakhrie reminded the gathering that participation was more important than winning. Altogether, 22 teams consisting of 8 football and 14 volleyball teams including a team from Tuensang district are vying for the championship.

The first match between defending champion Suren women SC and Chumpo Women SC Koio ended in 1-1 draw.

While Tsumang and Rising Star Forest colony registered win in the volleyball matches, Tsumang beat Yanthamo Eloe Ekhung and Rising Star Forest colony defeated Midland Eloe Ekhung. 5th Lt Emi Merry memorial tournament begins in Wokha Vilone Sakhrie, Addl. Director and HoD, Deptt. of Women Resource Development, the special guest after being introduced to the players on Tuesday. (NP) New Zealand’s Colin de Grandhomme and Tom Latham celebrate the win during the ODI series win at Bay Oval, Tauranga, New Zealand, Tuesday. (AP/PTI)

M a n i l a , F e b 1 1 (IAN S): India took one step forward in their quest to reach the quarter final of the Asia Team Badminton championships with a 4-1 win over Kazakhstan. Former world number one Kidambi Srikanth and young guns Lakshya Sen and Shubhankar Dey won their respective singles matches while M.R. Arjun and Dhruv Kapila won their doubles fixture.

Men’s singles World Championships bronze medallist Sai Praneeth, who was not fielded in the singles matches, teamed up with Chirag Shetty and lost their tie to Kazakh pair Artur Niyazov and Khaitmurat Kulmatov in three games.

Srikanth beat Dmitriy Panarin 21-10, 21-7 in a match that lasted just 23 minutes. Lakshya beat Niyazov 21-13, 21-8 in 21 minutes while Shubhankar beat Kulmatov 21-11, 21-5 in 26 minutes.

Arjun and Kapila beat Nikita Bragin and Kulmatov 21-14, 21-8.

India are placed in Group B with Malaysia and Kazakhstan after their initial group, which consisted of defending champions Indonesia and hosts Philippines, was reshuffled due to the withdrawals of China and Hong Kong after the coronavirus outbreak.

While a full strength Indian men’s team is taking part in Manila, the second-string women’s team devoid of stars like PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal was withdrawn by the Badminton Association of India due to fears related to the coronavirus outbreak. India rout Kazakhstan in first tie of badminton Asian C’ships Dubai, Feb 11 (IAN S): Font-foot no ball technology will be used at the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia slated to be played later this month.

The decision to use this system was made after successful trials conducted recently in both India and the West Indies. The third umpire will monitor the front foot landing position after each ball and communicate to the on-field umpire if the delivery was a no ball. The on-field umpires have been instructed not to call any front foot no balls unless advised to do so by the third umpire, although they will be responsible for calling all other types of no ball on the field.

The technology was recently tested across 12 games, during which 4,717 balls were bowled and 13 no balls (0.28 per cent of deliveries) were called. All deliveries were judged accurately. 3rd umpire to call over-stepping in Women’s T20 WC Kidambi Srikanth

England recall Jennings, Foakes for Sri Lanka tour

Lo nd o n, F e b 1 1 (IAN S): England have recalled opener Keaton Jennings and wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes for next month’s Sri Lanka tour.

Jonny Bairstow was dropped and James Anderson was left at home to continue his recovery while Moeen Ali remains unavailable.

“The South Africa tour marked the emergence of a very exciting group of young players, creating a nice balance with an experienced core of senior players,” national selector Ed Smith was quoted as saying by the BBC.

“That squad is mostly retained, with some tweaks relevant to injury, rest and the challenges of playing in subcontinent conditions.

“Jonny Bairstow has been in England squads across the three formats without a significant break. This two-Test tour presents a good opportunity for Jonny to be rested. “Moeen Ali is still unavailable for Test selection. The selectors are in consistent dialogue with Moeen and he remains a valued player in England cricket.”

England Test squad: Joe Root (captain), Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Dominic Sibley, Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. England’s Keaton Jennings celebrates with his teammate Ben Foakes at Sri Lanka on November 24, 2018. (File)

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IAN S): Former India and Pakistan players Yuvraj Singh and Shahid Afridi said that cricket matches between the two countries will be better for the game as a whole. Afridi said that the series would be “bigger than the Ashes.”

Both players have been part of teams that toured either countries in bilateral series. While they have retired from international cricket, Yuvraj and Afridi still play T20 leagues around the world. “I remember playing against Pakistan in 2004, 2006 and 2008 in bilateral series. These days yeah, there has not been enough of that. But these things are not in our hands. We play cricket for the love of the sport. We cannot choose which country to play against ourselves. But what I can say is that the more India v Pakistan cricket there is, the better it is for the sport,” Yuvraj told Sports360.

“I think, if India and Pakistan were to have a series, it will be something bigger than the Ashes. However, we don’t seem to get it. We are letting politics get in the way of people’s love for this sport and their wish to come together,” said Afridi. “I think we need to put a few things behind us as well and so does India. We need to sit down together at a table and talk things out.” The two teams meet sporadically in multi-nation tournaments but have not played a bilateral series since 2013. They last played a Test series in 2008. Yuvraj, Afridi bat for IndiaPakistan bilateral series AI Z AW L , F EB 1 1 (AGEN CIE S): Aizawl FC beat TRAU FC 2-0 to register their first home win of the I-League 2019- 20 season on Tuesday at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Aizawl.

Substitute Abdoulaye Kanoute scored a brace (75’, 87’) to seal three points for the hosts.

Aizawl climbed to the sixth position on the league table with 14 points from 11 matches. TRAU, on the other hand, remained fourth with 15 points from 12 matches.

Meanwhile, dishing out a strong performance, the national football federation developmental side India Arrows held hosts Neroca to a goalless draw in a Hero I-League match, here on Tuesday.

The Arrows defended stoutly to deny Neroca on several occasions at the Khuman Lampak Stadium.

Neroca, with the draw, have climbed up to the eighth spot on the table with 12 points from as many games while Arrows are at the rock bottom with eight points from 11 matches. I-League: Aizawl FC beat TRAU FC

POT C HE FSTROO M, FEB 11 (IAN S): Five players -- three from Bangladesh and two from India -- have been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after an altercation following the Under-19 World Cup final.

After Bangladesh won the final beating the Priyam Garg-led side by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field, leaving a Bangladeshi flag damaged in the process.

Bangladesh chased down a revised target of 170 to win from 46 overs, after India were bowled out for 177.

The Bangladesh players who have been found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct are Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan. They all have been handed six demerit points and found guilty of a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct, said ICC in a media release.

India’s Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi have also been given five demerit points for the post-match incidents.

Bishnoi, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, was handed a further two demerit points for using “language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter” after dismissing Avishek Das.

“We were easy. We GU WAHATI , FEB 11 (AGEN CIE S): Indian Super League club NorthEast United FC has parted ways with manager Robert Jarni, with Khalid Jamil announced as the interim head coach.

The announcement came hours after NorthEast drew 3-3 with Jamshedpur FC at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati.

The club said in a statement: “NorthEast United FC would hereby like to confirm that the club has parted ways with head coach Robert Jarni and his coaching staff through mutual agreement. The decision has been taken keeping in mind the best interests of the club and our recent performances in the ISL.”

Jarni had replaced Eelco Schattorie as the NorthEast United manager at the start of the 2019-20 season.

With three league rounds left to play, NorthEast lies second from bottom, having scored the least number of goals in the ISL (12). The club is on a 11-match winless run.

The club confirmed the interim appointment in the former Aizawl and East Bengal coach Jamil. “Assistant coach Khalid Jamil will take over as the interim coach for the time being before the club finds a suitable replacement.”

NorthEast has a fixture against Odisha (away) before consecutive home fixtures against Hyderabad FC and two-time ISL champion Chennaiyin FC to conclude its season. Robert Jarni sacked as NorthEast United coach 5 players fined for U-19 WC final fracas think its part and parcel of the game -- you win some and you lose some,” India captain Priyam had said at the post-match press conference. “But their reaction was dirty. I think it shouldn’t have happened. But it’s okay.”

Bangladesh captain Akbar Ali, on his part, had said he was “sorry” for his team’s behaviour.

“What happened, it should not (have) happened,” Akbar said.

“I don’t know what exactly happened. I didn’t ask what was going on. But, you know, in the final, emotion can come out, and sometimes the boys were getting pumped, and emotions were coming through. As a youngster, it shouldn’t happen. In any position, in any manner, we have to show the respect to the opponent, we should have respect for the game.

“Cricket is known for being a gentleman’s game. So I’ll say, I’ll be sorry for my team,” he added.

The suspension points will be applied to the forthcoming international matches the players are most likely to participate in at either senior or Under-19 level. Robert Jarni Yuvraj Singh Players of India and Bangladesh seen in brawl after the final match.

Shahid Afridi