Posts

And then the slide began Mortality began to reveal its ugly face only after the World Cup triumph in 2007, a corollary of multiple retirements which had formed the core of their side. Few older statesmen remained, but their powers were discernibly diminishing. As their epilogue was penned, defeat, the unknown phenomenon, suddenly gathered steam in 2009, with a 2-1 Ashes loss that set a template for the next two. Australian cricket found itself functioning on an ad hoc basis, where nothing was guaranteed, let alone success....

Tim Paine’s side does not look too strong on paper, while England, led by Yorkshireman Joe Root, enter the contest as firm favourites. However, they cannot afford to take Australia lightly as the visitors can pack a punch even on an off day. Here, we pick out three key battles which could determine the outcome of the game. #1 David Warner vs James Anderson The battle between Australia’s opener David Warner and England speedster James Anderson will be mouthwatering....

Fast bowler Archer, a star in England’s recent Cricket World Cup triumph, had been tipped to replace the injured James Anderson in England’s attack at Lord’s. He received his first cap on the pitch at Lord’s from Sussex team-mate and fellow England international Chris Jordan, who, like Archer, was born in Barbados. However, England had still not named their XI by 15:30 local time as rain in London meant play was still yet to begin....

“I am a big fan of Umesh Yadav – talent wise even though he has not fulfilled his true potential as to what he should have achieved by now. He is somewhat similar to me but my case was more to do with injuries. Varun (Aaron) and Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) are also talented. But Ishant Sharma, who has played 60 Test matches (62) is the least talented among them but one of the most hardworking guys around,” Nehra said in an interview....

The tourists held a huge 520-run lead as England began the fourth innings late on Monday, giving Virat Kohli’s men over two days to bowl out the hosts at Trent Bridge. England battled bravely through day four to cut the deficit to 209 runs, inspired by Jos Buttler’s maiden Test century, but they had just one wicket remaining at the close of play after Jasprit Bumrah (5-85) and a new ball prompted a collapse following tea....

Nonetheless, the Asia Cup 2018 saw some brilliant individual performances. Players from smaller teams like Hong Kong and Afghanistan also put on a great show in the tournament. Let’s look at the top 5 performers of the Asia Cup 2018. #5 Jasprit Bumrah Kuldeep Yadav was one of the successful bowlers in the Asia Cup 2018 in terms of wickets. Yadav took 10 wickets in 6 matches. But still, Jasprit Bumrah’s performance in the tournament is rated higher than Yadav’s....

Fitness has been one of the key criteria for Pakistan under the stewardship of Mickey Arthur and a mark of 17.4 has been set as the minimum in the YoYo test. 17 of the 18 Pakistan players who are in the training camp at Lahore underwent fitness tests and cleared the YoYo test but Imad Wasim fell agonizingly short as he managed just 17.2. But he will get another opportunity to clear the test on Tuesday....

The Indian Kabaddi team (both men’s and women’s) start as the favourites in the Kabaddi competition. Since the 1990 Asian Games, the men’s team has never lost a single match and has won all 7 gold medals consecutively. The Indian Kabaddi women’s team has won 2 gold medals since the women’s Kabaddi was brought in the 2010 Asian Games. Bangladesh (7 medals), Pakistan (7 medals) and Japan (1 medal) are the teams after India to have participated in all Kabaddi events since the 1990 Asian Games (men’s) and the 2010 Asian Games (women’s)....

India’s journey started way back in 1951 in the very first Asian Games hosted in New Delhi. India ended the games with a creditable 2nd position, a feat which it was never able to emulate till date. In terms of medal tally, there were 15 Golds and a total tally of 51 medals in that edition. And this is the best ever Gold medal count ever till date. India came tantalizingly close to this in the 2010 Guangzhou where it ended up with 14 Golds and the best ever total tally of 65 medals in all....

Along with the CDM, four Deputy Chef de Missions have also been appointed to lead the contingent’s participation in the 2018 edition. The names of the four Deputy Chef de Missions are as follows: Mr Raj Kumar Sacheti Col. Satyavrat Sheoran Mr Balbir Singh Kushwaha Mr Dev Kumar Singh Congratulating the CDM and Dy. CDMs, Mr Rajeev Mehta, Secretary-General, said, “I would like to congratulate the Chef de Mission and the Dy....

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra made the announcement today during the send-off ceremony organized for the contingent. The Games will be held from August 18 to September 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang. The 20-year-old Neeraj is the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and won a gold in the Savo Games in Finland last month. Neeraj had won the gold medal in the Asian Athletic championships in 2017 with a throw of 85....

India started the day brilliantly with two medals in Men’s Shooting. Abhishek Verma and Saurabh Chaudhary were representing India in the 10m Air Pistol event. They both did extremely well to finish in the first and third positions, winning two medals in the same event. Verma finished third and took home the Bronze. However, the big moment of the day came from 16-year-old Saurabh Chaudhary, who broke the Games Record to win the Gold medal....

PLAYERS Conventional Wisdom Japan ( + ) Our pols are all bribe-taking, gold-hoarding sleazes, but who cares? We’re still kicking butt. U.S.A. (+,-) Stop lecturing us about trade, rights, democracy. You wanna buy a nice cheap minivan? China ( + ) Old CW: Murderous communist thugs. New CW: Ravenous capitalist pigs. H. Kong ( - ) Brits tout democracy 50 years too late, will leave colonial mess as always. Korea (+,-) Wacky North’s nukes may broil Seoul....

With massive testing shortages, ineffective tests, and an inability to implement widespread testing strategies, the U.S. has been plagued by testing-related issues since the start of this pandemic. However, as technology catches up with the evolving information surrounding SARS-CoV-2, scientists are beginning to develop innovative, rapid, and accurate tests that can help curb the spread of COVID-19. One of these tests, SalivaDirect, was granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U....

The Ends of the Earth During Jeffrey Bartholet’s reporting trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he and photographer Tammy Kennedy were stranded for 24 hours when a bad storm delayed their small charter plane. Still, says Bartholet, taking a firsthand look was the only way to really evaluate the potential impact of drilling for oil in the refuge. And how did the two spend their wait time? “We traded stories about pilots who forgot to come back to fetch their passengers....

Hutchinson, a Republican, was met with heckling from some members of the audience who called him a “liar,” the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported on Saturday. Some members of the audience held up signs as the governor and Arkansas Secretary of Health, Dr. Jose Romero, spoke. Not all of the more than 100 attendees at the event, which was held at the Siloam Springs Community Building, protested the governor. Some spoke in favor of vaccinations, and raised concerns about the public health risks of COVID-19, according to the newspaper....

In an interview with Angie Martinez on her podcast, IRL, Ashanti—whose full name is Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas—reacted to recent comments Gotti made, in which he claimed that they had been in a relationship in the early 2000s. In August, the Murder Inc. Records founder and producer was a guest on the Drink Champs podcast, where he initially talked about about a sexual relationship he allegedly had with the singer when he was still married....

Five of Australia’s six batsmen to bat made scores of 50 or more on a batting paradise at Sydney. Moeen Ali and Mason Crane bowled well for the English on a slightly turning surface but couldn’t break Australia’s dogged resistance led by Usman Khawaja. Eventually, the day ended with the hosts firmly in the driving seat. #5 Usman Khawaja smashes maiden Ashes hundred Usman Khawaja had appeared mediocre in this series thus far but all it takes for good batsmen to turnaround their fortunes is one knock and Khawaja’s came with barely two innings remaining in the whole series....