MELBOURNE: Tireless Dominic Thiem came from a set down to outlast German Alexander Zverev and make his first Australian Open final Friday, booking a showdown with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic. The 26-year-old fifth seed, the first player from Austria ever to reach the Melbourne decider, battled past seventh-ranked Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on a sweltering evening. Defending ...

NEW DELHI: Indian women’s hockey skipper Rani Rampal on Friday received an out-of-turn promotion from the Sports Authority of India. Rani, on Thursday won the World Games Athlete of the Year award and SAI has promoted the 25-year-old, honouring her achievement. Rani was voted The World Games Athlete of the Year through an online voting process that spanned three weeks. ...

WELLINGTON: Crediting India’s second successive Super Over win against New Zealand on Friday to the team’s never-say-die attitude, middle order batsman Manish Pandey said they will push for an unprecedented 5-0 series whitewash in the fifth T20 International. A nervous New Zealand threw it away yet again as a persevering India prevailed in the Super Over for the second successive ...

NEW DELHI: Here are the big sports events lined up for Saturday (February 1) that comprise action from Australian Open and Premier League. (All timings in IST) 3:30 am (Cricket – 1st unofficial Test, Day 3) New Zealand A vs India A 2:00 pm (Football – I League) Aizawl FC vs Real Kashmir 2:00 pm (Tennis – Australian Open) Sofia ...

WELLINGTON: New Zealand threw it away from a winning position in the last two T20s against India but opener Colin Munro instead gave credit to the visitors, saying they “always” find a way to bounce back. Munro and Tim Seifert scored half-centuries to tie the scores at 165 runs each for both sides, but India held their nerves to end ...

PANAJI: Union Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Friday said several sports related matters were pending in courts and this was not good for the sector in the country. He was speaking at a function to unveil the ‘Rubigula, Flame-Throated Bulbul’ mascot of the National Games to be held in Goa from October 4 to ...

HARARE: Kusal Mendis struck an unbeaten century as Sri Lanka batted out the fifth day of the second and final Test against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club on Friday to claim a draw and a 1-0 series win. Zimbabwe had declared overnight on 247 for seven to set Sri Lanka an improbable target of 361 in 98 overs, and ...

BENONI (SOUTH AFRICA): A half-century from opener Muhammad Huraira on debut and a fine bowling performance powered Pakistan to a six-wicket win over Afghanistan in the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Friday, setting up an exciting semifinal against arch-rivals India. Afghanistan fought hard after posting 189 but just did not have enough runs on the board. Huraira, playing his ...

WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s morale-crushing loss to India in the fourth T20 International on Friday was their seventh defeat in eight Super Over finishes and in most of those defeats, they had only themselves to blame. New Zealand have lost six Super Over T20I matches out of seven while the sole defeat in ODIs came in the 2019 World Cup final ...

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Friday announced the appointment of its Cricket Advisory Committee. The three-member committee comprises Madan Lal, Rudra Pratap Singh and Sulakshana Naik. “The term of appointment will be for one year,” BCCI said in a statement. Lal represented India in 39 Tests and 67 ODIs and was a member of the ...