Why Bengaluru must reverse poor form against East Bengal East Bengal, on top of the table, might not be in lofty spirits given their own short run of three winless games but that would not make things easy for the Southern Eagles even if the likes of Willis Plaza, Arnab Mondal and Rahul Bheke have not made the trip. “They have good players who have scored a lot of goals....
The matchup has proved to be the marquee clash in the Indian domestic circuit in the last three seasons and after cancellation of the first leg due to a clash of fixtures with Asian competitions, the second leg couldn’t have come at a better time - just before the international break. Bengaluru FC, who returned to winning days last weekend after going eight games winless in the I-League, only managed to draw against Chennai City midweek....
After Brandon Fernandes sidestepped Gouramangi Moirangthem to shoot wide early on, the first real chance of the game came in the 20th minute when Ansumana Kromah smashed the ball wide after Brandon’s corner, headed on by Adil Khan, fell into the path of the Liberian. Soon after, Anthony Wolfe’s cutback to Brandon from the right touchline saw Subrata pull off a brilliant save to keep the scores level. Kromah got to the loose ball and got a shot away but the rebound was cleared by Gouramangi before Brandon could pounce on it....
Sitting pretty on 27 points out of 12 games, the Red and Golds’ faithful might have been tempted to count down to the magic number that would secure them their first ever I-League trophy, but Trevor Morgan is not one to count his chickens before they hatch. “We’re always prepared. We had a long journey back from Shillong yesterday. The players who weren’t involved trained today and the others had a cool-down....
This is the second home game for the Mariners in their new stadium and the first match of the new calendar year for both the sides. Bagan won the earlier fixture between the two sides when Sanjoy Sen’s men managed a 2-1 win on the night. Mohun Bagan Despite going a goal up in their last game against the Indian Arrows, the Kolkata giants squandered yet another match from a winning position and lost two crucial points....
The last derby between the two sides was in the Calcutta Football League (CFL) at the Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri. With both teams on 23 points, Carlyle Mitchell’s own goal and Ansumana Kromah’s strike were not enough for Bagan as goals by Laldanmawia Ralte and Mahmoud Al Amna ensured Khalid Jamil’s side won the title by virtue of a better goal difference. However, it was Shankarlal Chakraborty who was the head coach of Bagan for the CFL....
Speaking about his team’s performance, Sen said, “I know the fans are disappointed but a team cannot miss so many chances. The chances we missed in the last match as well as this one, one cannot justify. Shilton Paul was tested just once and he conceded a goal. You cannot blame the keeper. Players [need] to be alert during the counter-attacks. There was only one such instance and it was a goal....
East Bengal League leaders East Bengal started the I-League campaign with a draw against Aizawl FC and a loss to arch-rival Mohun Bagan but managed to bounce back from the third game against Shillong Lajong. They have scored the maximum number of goals (16) and conceded eight in return. Katsumi Yusa, who has scored five goals, is in the race for highest goal scorer award along with Dipanda Dicka and Jean Michael Joachim....
Just one point separate Chennai City and East Bengal on the I-League table but the odds favour the table-toppers Chennai City to grab the title on Saturday. Chennai City, East Bengal - Who do they face? With 40 points, Chennai City had a solid hold on the top spot of the I-League but a 3-2 defeat to Churchill Brothers on February 28 saw East Bengal close in on them....
“I was feeling a lot tensed I must admit while the selection meeting was on. But I am feeling a lot more relaxed now. My job now will be to do justice to my selection with my batting and wicket-keeping,” Saha told Xtratime. In case you did not know.. Saha had to leave the team in the middle of the England Test series with a hamstring injury and Parthiv Patel was called in as his replacement....
Verma, who has been the original petitioner in the 2013 spot-fixing case, is expected to play a major role when unified Bihar cricket body takes shape but the hindrance would be the cricketing ambitions of his son Lakhan Raja. With Bihar back in the national mix, it is expected that Lakhan will be back in his home state with an eye on first-class cricket. “I know that there could be an issue of conflict of interest if my son Lakhan Raja plays for Bihar....
Arsene Wenger has been top of their wishlist for some time now. In fact, ever since Roy Hodgson resigned from his post after a forgetful Euros the Arsenal manager’s name has been mentioned several times. Wenger is in the final year of his contract at Arsenal and might step down from the job even if he is offered a new contract depending on how the season goes. It will be a big blow for the Gunners to lose the man who changed Premier League football for good....
The incident occurred in the third quarter of the Heat’s 90-89 victory over the Raptors at Air Canada Centre in Toronto as Miami extended their winning streak to five games. Johnson will serve his suspension when the in-form Heat take on the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, while Ibaka will sit out Toronto’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday. The NBA also fined Raptors All-Star DeMar DeRozan $25,000 and the Heat’s Goran Dragic $10,000 for a separate altercation at the end of the game....
The IBL governing council ratified the decision following a request from the Warriors to pick up the former men’s doubles World No.1 out of the reserve list of players who went unsold at the players auction. Commenting on the decision, Awadhe Warriors’ team official Abhijit Sarkar said: “We are delighted to bag one of the best doubles players in the world. I’m confident Mathias Boe will be a great asset for us....
The Manchester United forward is known for his outrageous claims and egotistical statements, but may have outdone himself with his latest project. Is Ronaldo the best European player ever? Posing beside a stone sculpture more than twice the height of the 6'5" tall striker, Ibrahimovic shared a sneak peak of the statue. The sculpture is not yet completed, as Ibrahimovic wrote: “When you come to New York you have the Statue of Liberty, when you come to Sweden you have the Statue of Zlatan #comingsoon”...
The forward recently completed his comeback from a serious knee injury, but has since picked up a further problem that will likely see him sidelined for much of January. Ibrahimovic, though he has enjoyed a glittering career that has seen him win multiple trophies in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France and England, says that he is still subject to unfair criticism from the media in his homeland. “They still attack me today because they do not accept me being Ibrahimovic,” the 36-year-old told Canal+....
Icardi has been in sparkling form again this season, scoring 13 goals in as many Serie A games as the Nerazzurri lie second in Serie A heading into this Saturday’s away clash with Cagliari. That scoring streak has unsurprisingly seen the 24-year-old linked with a big-money move to European champions Madrid, but Spalletti has confidence his captain is happy at San Siro. When rumours of Madrid’s interest were put to Spalletti in his pre-match news conference, the Inter boss replied: “Who does not want Icardi?...
Afghanistan has received a financial boost from the world cricket governing body to develop the sport in the war-ravaged nation, it was announced Thursday. Cricket has become one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan since it was introduced by returning refugees, who learnt the game in the refugee camps of Pakistan after fleeing the 1979 Soviet invasion. Afghanistan became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2001 and in 2009 it attained one-day status....
“Our selection was wrong … we messed around with it too much rather than sticking with what’s been a proven formula,” Warne said, according to a report in the Canberra Times. The leg-spinner added, “Because we had so much talent in our team and so much skill, they [the selectors] thought ‘it doesn’t matter what the combinations are we’re still going to do OK." Australia crashed out of the tournament after a loss to India in their last Super 10 encounter at the PCA stadium in Mohali....
While there are always the obvious factors like the nature of the deck, dew and ground size, India needed the chase more badly than West Indies for a more important reason. At venues like Wankhede, one of the better ways of defeating teams like West Indies and England, two outfits with an insane batting depth, is by making them bat first. More often than not, such teams – while setting a target – don’t realise their actual potential and settle for a score much lesser than they are actually capable of....
