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636 runs, 17 wickets, a maiden ODI hundred and a diamond duck – The Champions Trophy kicked off with a bang with an eventful encounter between India and South Africa. Though South Africa went in the game as favourites, the current number one ODI side nudged passed the Proteas with a superior display of all-round cricket. Even though South Africa put on a brave chase on the field, yet some unnerving questions would create a few furrows on the foreheads of both coaches....

The investigation in The Hague will look at reports of misconduct by the Taliban insurgency, Afghan government forces and U.S. military and CIA personnel since May 2003, as well as other U.S. abuses related to this conflict that took place in other countries part of the ICC since its July 2002 founding. Although the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, Afghanistan is....

Two groups A and B separate the fourteen contesting teams. Group A consists of Scotland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Singapore, Kenya, and Bermuda. In Group B are teams such as UAE, Ireland, Oman, Hong Kong, Canada, Jersey, and Nigeria. Scotland is a team to watch out for as they are leading in ICC T20I Team Rankings at #11. Following them are the hosts UAE at #12 and Ireland at #14....

Batting first, South Africa could only manage 221/6 in their fifty overs. Mignon du Preez top scored with an unbeaten 75 while Laura Wolvaardt played a decent knock of 66 as well. Meanwhile, each of the English bowlers in Anya Shrubsole, Natalie Sciver, Heather Knight and Jenny Gunn picked up a wicket each. England began the chase on a positive note with the openers, Lauren Winfield and Tammy Beaumont, putting up an opening stand of 48 runs at a run-a-ball....

“My job is to have an impact in the middle order to upset the opposition bowlers. I like to be a 360-degree player. Sometimes in these conditions I don’t get to play the behind square shots too often, so I am focusing on the shots in front of the wicket, turning the ones into twos,” Blackwell told the media here. “Perhaps be inspired by someone like a Virat Kohli and an M....

The respective results saw Churchill Brothers FC Goa move up to the eighth position above Chennai City and Minerva Punjab while Bengaluru FC find themselves in the fourth position behind Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Aizawl FC. “We are looking forward to our home match and they are coming from a loss while we are coming from a draw. So some positives are there and maybe their confidence can be low after that defeat....

With absolutely no interest from the East Bengal supporters, The Red and Golds lined up without Chris Payne and Robin Singh, with the Aussie striker not even featuring on the bench. Cavin Lobo made a return from injury as Thongkhosiem ‘Semboi’ Haokip was thrown in to lead the line by assistant coach Ranjan Chaudhuri who was deputising for injured Mridul Banerjee. Surinder Singh chose to go in with a three man defence with Baoringdao Bodo featuring on the bench, barely 24 hours after he scored against Lonestar Kashmir in New Delhi in the U-18 I-League on Saturday....

“We got three points and a good scoreline. Our plan was a success today. We got it because we have good players. All the credit goes to our boys. I focused on the defence today. In attack, I gave them the licence to do whatever they want.” The game kicked off at 2 PM under the scorching sun and the players had to endure 96 minutes of heat on the field, including two water breaks in either half....

Star striker Kamo Bayi and midfielder Francis Moubourou both failed late fitness tests and was left out of the starting lineup against NEROCA by coach Bino George. Mohamed Salah came into the backline along with Irshad and Rashid who both featured for the first time at home for Gokulam Kerala. Lelo Mbele started as the lone striker. Gift Raikhan had no such injury worries as Felix Chidi lead the line, jean Fabien and Pritam Singh behind him in midfield and skipper Lalit Thapa in between the sticks....

The I-League winning manager said he was delighted at the achievement of his fellow manager Khalid Jamil and said it was a historic moment for Indian football. “It’s a great achievement for Khalid because this is the first time he is out from Mumbai so it is nice that an Indian coach has gone so far. It is actually a proud moment for all Indian coaches and great for Indian football,” he noted....

Chennai City coach opted to stick with his 4-4-2 with the only change being in personnel. Club captain Dharmaraj Ravanan, ruled out through injury, was replaced by Afghan-international Haroon Amiri in central defence. Elsewhere, Darren Caldeira partnered Dhanapal Ganesh in central midfield while the wingers and forwards remained unchanged. Abhra Mondal started in goal ahead of the more experienced Karanjit Singh. Khalid Jamil decided to go with three at the back in an attempt to stifle Chennai....

In case you didn’t know… Aizawl FC won the I-League last year and now have a chance of becoming the first Indian club to play in the AFC Champions League. For that, they will have to get past three playoff rounds in the month of January. Similarly, Bengaluru FC of the ISL will play their AFC Cup qualifier in February. The heart of the matter Aizawl FC are set to play their 17 matches (the dates for the 18th match is yet to be decided) of the season in a period of just 91 days; BFC will play their 18 ISL matches in over 103 days....

The association formed by defending champions Minerva Punjab, Chennai City FC, Neroca FC, Aizawl FC, Gokulam Kerala FC and Shillong Lajong FC is up in the arms against the AIFF after it recently announced that it would reduce the I-League TV coverage to just 30 of the 61 remaining matches. Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, who are all set to be part of the Indian Super League (ISL) next season, have not responded to the association request to join them....

Gerrard urges Liverpool to sign Van Dijk Rooney surpassed Bobby Charlton as United’s top scorer with his 250th goal in their 1-1 Premier League draw at Stoke City on Saturday. The 31-year-old came off the bench in that match and his future is far from certain, with the England skipper no longer an automatic starter under Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford. Mourinho said that he would not stand in Rooney’s way should he take up an offer in the lucrative Chinese Super League but the country’s record marksman is happy in Manchester....

The 29-year-old has repeatedly been linked with a move away from Spurs after he publicly announced an intention to leave following an outstanding 2016-17 season. Then linked with Manchester United, Rose has since struggled for form and fitness and was a reported target for Premier League strugglers Watford on the eve of the new season. However, the England international claims there was never any possibility he would leave in the most recent transfer window....

Hazard starred in Chelsea’s 2014-15 and 2016-17 title-winning campaigns in the Premier League, but there is a lingering sense that Europe’s top competition is yet to see the best of the Belgium playmaker. Speaking at a news conference ahead of Barcelona’s visit to Stamford Bridge, Hazard reminded reporters of his fine displays in the group stage against Atletico Madrid this season, but knows where he stands in the overall pecking order....

The 35-year-old became the first United player to hit the 20-goal mark since Robin van Persie scored 30 in the 2013-14 season, while he simultaneously became the oldest player in history to score 15 in the Premier League. Premier League Team of the Week But the Swede insisted afterwards that he has a figure in mind for his debut campaign in the Premier League, and 20 is not enough for him even if he doesn’t expect to come close to the 50 he scored in his final season at Paris Saint-Germain....

Promes was hauled off with a suspected toe injury seconds after Damjan Bohar scored in the 85th minute to cancel out Aleksandr Samedov’s opener for the visitors. Spartak 13/2 group winner After his side played the final minutes of the game without their in-form frontman, Carrera revealed that the decision to substitute him was made in error. “Promes’ substitution was a mistake,” Carrera told reporters. “I wanted to replace another player, but he [Promes] pointed to his foot and I thought he had a problem....

The 31-year-old managed one goal in 10 appearances for Genoa last season, and is currently a free agent following the expiry of his contract. After four productive years in LaLiga with Villarreal between 2007 and 2011, Rossi was struck down by a torn anterior cruciate ligament and has been battling a succession of knee problems ever since. Spells at Fiorentina, Levante and Celta Vigo preceded his time at Genoa but despite making no more than 19 league starts in any campaign since 2011-12, Rossi is giving no thought to stepping away from football....