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England began day three at Edgbaston on 267-4 but a middle order collapse saw them bowled out for 374 in response to Australia’s 284. That first-innings lead of 90 would have been significantly more if not for Smith’s remarkable 144 on day one, and he again proved immovable after England made early inroads in the second innings. Australia were 27-2 after David Warner and Cameron Bancroft went cheaply, but Smith was unbeaten on 46 as Australia reached stumps on 124-3 with a lead of 34....

While Gurpreet was in India’s squad for the 2011 Asian Cup, he did not make any appearance for the national team. This Asian Cup, he returns as the first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Amrinder Singh and Vishal Kaith. He will have his task cut out in Group A, where India are pooled with hosts UAE, Thailand and Bahrain. Ahead of India’s opener against Thailand on January 6 in Abu Dhabi, Sandhu spoke at length about India’s opponents, the Goalkeeper’s role, the understanding with the defensive line, his learnings from Subrata Paul and much more....

Last-minute drama on and off the pitch The date was November 5, 2016, and the Indian girls were up against China in the finals of the Asian Women’s Champions Trophy. Zhong Menglin had restored parity in the 44th minute for China after Deep Grace Ekka had given India the lead in the 13th minute. Deepika Thakur was on fire with just over a minute left on the clock as she picked up a pass from Nikki Pradhan near the halfway mark and made a scintillating solo run to beat four Chinese players and enter the opposition circle....

As protests continue around the world over police brutality, a movement that began in the U.S., New Zealand’s police commissioner announced that it would end plans to introduce Armed Response Teams (ARTs). The idea was trialed for six months in the wake of the Christchurch shootings, in which 51 worshippers at two mosques were killed by Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant. The trial was aimed at providing specialist police to deploy to high-risk incidents in addition to the Armed Offenders Squad, which is a group of specially-trained officers who attend critical events....

Cricket Australia stripped Smith of the captaincy and banned the batsman for 12 months for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal that rocked cricket. But Smith has not missed a step during his first Test back, rescuing Australia’s first innings with a sublime 144 that steered the visitors to 284 from 122-8. He was at it again at Edgbaston on Sunday, racking up 142 as Australia posted 487-7 declared to put the tourists in position for a victory that had seemed so unlikely a couple of days ago, with England needing to bat out the final day having been set 398 to win....

Intrepid Studios’ Ashes of Creation is a promising new MMO which really puts players in control of the world. The game features a unique node system, where players will have the opportunity to build and destroy civilizations across the high-fantasy world of Verra. In a letter to the Ashes of Creation community, Steven Sharif revealed that Intrepid Studios is pushing back the Alpha One schedule for the game. The Alpha One preview was originally planned to open this month, and the full Alpha One was planned to launch in April....

“Ashish Nehra won’t be fit for the remainder of the tournament. Yuvraj will be undergoing a fitness test this evening. We’ll be giving him every opportunity to prove his fitness and at this stage, we’re reasonably confident”, he was quoted as saying. Also read: IPL 2017: SRH mentor VVS Laxman gives update on Yuvraj Singh’s injury In case you didn’t know… The 38-year-old Nehra, having made a comeback to the Indian T20 side last year, had to pull out of his side’s game against the Rising Pune Supergiant earlier this month, and could not take part in the remainder of the games for the franchise....

At the break, Peter Handscomb was batting on 33 while Travis Head was unbeaten on 17 runs. Australia still trail by 133 runs, after India made 250 in their first innings. Post lunch, Ashwin bowled an incisive spell that tied down the Australian batsmen. First up, Shaun Marsh (2) gifted his wicket immediately after resumption of lunch break. In the very first over, he went for a wild slash against Ashwin, but ended up playing on as Australia were reduced to 59/3....

Singapore defeated Malaysia in an inconsequential match by 29 runs. Singapore captain Suryawanshi won the toss and decided to bat first. A brilliant 100 by Anish Paraam, useful contributions from Manpreet Singh scoring 34, Anantha Krishna’s quick 30 off 17 balls, 26 runs by opener Rangarajan, Mutreja’s 22 and Abhiraj Singh’s 22 helped Singapore post 275 for 9 in 50 overs. For Malaysia, Syazrul Idrus picked 3 wickets while Fetri and Abdul Rashid took 2 wickets each....

Kabaddi has not been China’s much-adored sport as the people mostly like Football, Hockey, and Badminton. The Federation, however, is devoted towards making this game relevant among the people. An official announcement revealed a 12-member women’s team for the upcoming Asian Games 2018. They will be participating for the third time in a row in the women’s category of the Asian Games. The women’s Kabaddi was introduced in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China....

The Indian team, comprising Karmakar, Pranati Nayak, Pranati Das and Aruna Budda Reddy qualified in seventh place for the final. In case you didn’t know Karmakar had been out of action for nearly two years following her highly-talked about fourth-place finish at the Rio Olympics. She underwent a surgery to repair the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) on her right knee, that made her miss the World Championships in 2017 and the Commonwealth Games 2018....

Team India, which will be spearheaded by PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, has been placed in the top half of the draw. After receiving a bye in the first round, they start directly from the quarter-finals, where they face the Japanese in this 16-team competition. What makes Japan strong is their depth in both singles and doubles. The country has four pairs in the world’s top 10 in women’s doubles, two of which made it to the Asian Games squad apart from Koharu Yonemoto, one-half of Japan’s third-best team....

ChaRee Pim wrote about the interaction on her Facebook account on Monday, noting that it had not happened to her and that she was only posting because the Thai woman involved was ready to speak up on the matter. Pim wrote that the couple took their dog, two cats and bird for an evening stroll on April 4 in a Brooklyn park when a boy approached them. A boy believed to be about 12 years old “snatched and pulled the [cat’s] leash up … into the air” before dropping the cat....

Group tables in Asia’s final qualifying round for the 2014 World Cup, after Tuesday’s games (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): Group A South Korea 6 3 2 1 12 6 11 Uzbekistan 6 3 2 1 6 4 11 Iran 6 3 1 2 3 2 10 Qatar 7 2 1 4 4 8 7 Lebanon 7 1 2 4 3 8 5 Group B...

Do you have a question about the beautiful game that has been bugging you? Unclear on one of the fuzzy and remote bylaws of the sport? Leave a comment below to ask it. The Goal.com editors will select one and answer it in the next edition of Ask an editor. 

Claiming that his administration “will always welcome newcomers who share our values and love our people,” despite overseeing a widespread crackdown on immigration to the U.S. border, Trump said that “every nation has the right to secure and controlled borders” during a “Namaste Trump” event that saw tens of thousands of people in attendance on Monday. Asserting that both the U.S. and India were “committed to working together to stop terrorists” from entering their countries and to fighting “their ideology,” the president then said that his own administration was also working “in a very positive way with Pakistan to crack down on the terrorist organizations and militants that operate on the Pakistani border,” as the crowd broke out in cheers....

Indeed, throughout history, dissidents have brought about lasting political change, liberation from oppression, and the empowerment of the people. By ‘dissident’, I do not mean the opposition in parliament, I mean political activists challenging established power from the outside. Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela were dissidents whose names are now cherished worldwide. Yet, all of them radically challenged the political, social and economic order of their time, which got two of them murdered and the third incarcerated for 27 years....

The 53rd-ranked Brady, who has no WTA tournament titles, beat French Open champion Barty on her home court at Pat Rafter Arena 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Thursday. It’s been quite a week already for Brady, who went through three rounds in qualifying and then wild-card entry Maria Sharapova in the first round. Barty was coming off a first-round bye. It’s the first time in three matches the 24-year-old Brady has defeated Barty, who remains in contention in the doubles....