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Churchill Brothers are on a merry ride of results after having gotten the better of both Kolkata oppositions, in successive ties. Full of confidence after a change in coach, Churchill have regained their form since the defeat against new entrants Minerva Punjab in the nine-goal thriller. The pacy duo of Ansumana Kromah and Anthony Wolfe, who have been in sublime form, have started banging in the goals now. The two attackers scored a goal each, against The Reds and Golds and will continue to trouble Shillong Lajong’s defensive forces on the weekend....

Oscar Bruzon opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation in his debut game as the Mumbaikars’ gaffer. Thoi Singh was ruled out of the fixture following a leg injury. Alex Willian Silva operated as the lone striker, and as expected, Karan Sawhney and Djelaludin Sharityar were deployed as central defensive midfielders. Derrick Pereira started with a 4-4-1-1 shape with the deadly duo of Ansumana Kromah and Anthony Wolfe upfront. Rowilson Rodrigues, who suffered a cut on his leg, made way for Meldon D’Silva in the defence....

Churchill, who were relegated from the I-League last season, however, stayed put in the top flight after getting a wild card entry to the top flight. The Goa-based team has been performing exceptionally well in the league against all expectations. Willis Plaza has been the spearhead of the attack scoring 20 goals, with Dawda Cessay providing the support for him. The Gambian has scored thrice this season and provided assists on 9 occasions....

A clip of Kohli launching a mobile app earlier this week went viral after he responded to a comment that favourably compared English and Australian batsmen to their Indian counterparts. “OK - I don’t think you should live in India,” Kohli replied. “Go and live somewhere else. Why are you living in our country and loving other countries? “I don’t mind you not liking me, but I don’t think you should live in our country and like other things....

Sampaoli confirmed his intention to take charge of his country’s ailing World Cup qualification campaign this week but a deal is yet to be reached between the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and Sevilla. Aulas: Lacazette has Atleti deal Speaking after braces from Vitolo and Franco Vazquez either side of a Stevan Jovetic strike saw off already relegated opponents, Sampaoli reiterated his stance that Argentina was the only job he would leave the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan to take....

The 21-year-old English midfielder, who had injured his ankle, returned back for the first time since Arsenal‘s loss against Tottenham on 3 March. “I rushed Jack back a bit. He was not completely ready,” said Wenger. “I will get advice from the medical department and how he feels as well and use my experience.” Arsenal are playing Everton tomorrow and if Tomas Rosicky is fit, Wenger might opt against starting Wilshere against Everton....

The Dutchman led the Red Devils from 2014 until the summer of 2016, at which point he was replaced by Jose Mourinho. Van Gaal did not enjoy the success expected of him in England, despite lifting the FA Cup in his final match in charge, but he has grumbled that he was not able to land his prime transfer target. “I also wanted to train Lewandowski and wanted to bring him to Manchester United,” he told Bild....

There was only a slight twitch in the iron grin I weld in place for photo ops. ““How nice,’’ I said. Despite a massive overhaul of ““Geraldo,’’ the nationally syndicated daytime talk show that admittedly once featured my nose breaking, butt fat being injected into my forehead and ““Men in Lace Panties and the Women Who Love Them,’’ the perception remains that I am a carnival barker who morphs into a respectable broadcaster only after the sun goes down....

Conte was implicated in a 2011 scandal while in charge of Siena and later served a four-month ban, but always denied any wrongdoing and was later acquitted by an Italian judge in May 2016. The Chelsea manager has been involved in back-and-forth verbal sparring with Mourinho, after it was suggested the Portuguese had aimed a dig at Conte when he said he prefers to act in a “mature” manner on the touchline, rather than “crazy” or like a “clown”....

Pogba has repeatedly been linked with a move to Madrid to link up with compatriot and head coach Zidane at the Santiago Bernabeu. Zidane was asked about the player on Friday, with the January transfer window now open, but he appeared keen not to upset United. Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed earlier this week Pogba would likely have surgery to fix an ongoing ankle issue, and this injury was the focus of Zidane’s response....

A documentary, titled “Doping – Top Secret: The Shadowy World of Athletics,” was released Saturday by German broadcaster ARD. MORE: Doping scandals leave sport seeking next Michael Johnson ARD and The Sunday Times of London claim to have obtained from a whistleblower an IAAF database containing 12,000 blood tests of some 5,000 athletes from 2001-12. The Times and ARD used two of the world’s “foremost anti-doping experts,” scientists Robin Parisotto and Michael Ashenden, to review the data....

Athletics Kenya (AK) president Isaiah Kiplagat confirmed Wednesday that the plans are at an advanced stage to start building a laboratory to be used as the blood centre, in their fight against doping, reports Xinhua. “We are going to build a blood centre in Nairobi starting January. The centre will serve Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and the central Africa region,” he said. “This will reduce the cost and time it takes to get results whenever we take our samples to Germany or South Africa,” Kiplagat said....

Ibra: PSG stronger than Utd Ibrahimovic has won the domestic title in Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France during a prolific career and is aiming to add to his medal haul in the Premier League with Manchester United. At 35, the exuberant Sweden great is reaching the twilight of his career and a switch to MLS has often been mooted. A move across the Atlantic is something that appeals to Ibrahimovic, who feels he has “conquered” every European country he has played in....

The announcement was made at the MRF Tyres headquarters in Chennai at a function attended by ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson, MRF Tyres’s Chairman and Managing Director, K M Mammen, former India captain and MRF brand ambassador, Sachin Tendulkar, and other officials. The ICC and MRF Tyres recently completed a successful partnership at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, one of the most successful ICC events to date. Over the next four years, the ICC will aim to reach greater heights at eight tournaments, including the ICC World Twenty20 in 2016, an ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 and an ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019....

India find themselves in a group of death with Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. While the opening clash against arch-rivals Pakistan will be fuelled by emotions, there will be no easy games against South Africa and Sri Lanka either. The pressure will be on the Indian batsmen, as for the first time in many years, India might be going into an ICC tournament with its bowlers in better form than the batsmen....

While the victory would definitely give their morale a boost, it would also raise concerns about the lack of sting in the bowling, especially during the Powerplay overs and in the last five. Here are some of the snapshots from today’s game: Shikhar Dhawan arrives on the big stage This generation’s “Vikram Rathore” announced his arrival on the big stage with a well-paced hundred that set the platform for a huge score....

The ninth edition of the tournament had been allotted to India by the ICC, with the previous two installments being hosted by England in 2013 and 2017. The offer has been presented by the ICC seeking more marketability and compensating for possible revenue losses in the current financial cycle. In case you didn’t know… Despite the confirmation that India would be the hosts of the next edition, the sport’s governing body had expressed reservations about staging the Champions Trophy in the country in 2021 owing to tax-related issues....

The ICC uncovered a photo that shows the former India cricketer swimming at his team hotel in Port-of-Spain on 26 March, 2007. The India team had just been eliminated from the 2007 World Cup, and were spending the rest of the tournament’s duration at the hotel. With the photo, there was a caption which asked if Agarkar was the next Michael Phelps. Phelps, the highest medal winner in Olympics history and generally considered as the greatest athlete of all time, is competing at the Rio Olympics for a last time....

Talking about the favourites, the hosts are definitely up at the top as they are the No.1 ODI side in the world right now. Alongside England, India too starts as one of the favourites. India, the runners-up in the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, would look to go all the way this time. India has a well-balanced unit but still, they will face a few problems when it comes to selection....

Sophia Gardens has played host to 24 ODIs so far. Only one World Cup match has been played here - Australia vs New Zealand in 1999. On that note, let us now take a look at some of the key stats from all ODIs played in Sophia Gardens. Batting performances 342/8 by England against Australia in 2018 is the highest team total at this ground. 138 all out by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2013 is the lowest team total at this ground....