Sports

Lisbon, Aug 22: Cristiano Ronaldo admitted on Wednesday his long-time rivalry with Lionel Messi has made him "a better player" and that he enjoys a "healthy" rivalry with the Argentine great. However, Portuguese star Ronaldo, whose influence at Real Madrid mirrored that of Messi at Barcelona before he left for Juventus, admitted that the pair have never socialised together. "I really admire the

North Sound, Aug 22: India skipper Virat Kohli doesn't mind getting hit and that too hard immediately after he takes guard as he feels it fires him up to have a go at the bowler. The world's number one Test batsman gave his views on the 'chin music' that batsmen are often subjected to by fast bowlers, something that became quite a topic of discussion after Steve Smith was felled by a Jofra Archer

Bengaluru, Aug 22: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday said the newly-appointed ministers will be allocated portfolios in a couple of days. "It will be done by tomorrow or the day after," he told reporters in response to a question about portfolio allocation to new ministers. More than three weeks after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister, Yediyurappa on Tuesday expanded his

Leeds, Aug 22: England captain Joe Root wants his side to make the most of Australia star batsman Steve Smith's enforced absence from the third Ashes Test at Headingley starting Thursday as the hosts try to level the five-match series at 1-1. Smith suffered delayed concussion symptoms after being hit on his neck by a 92mph bouncer from England fast bowler Jofra Archer during the drawn second Test

The Indian men's hockey team won the Olympic Test event on Wednesday, beating New Zealand 5-0 to avenge the loss it endured in their round robin clash. Captain Harmanpreet Singh (7th minute) set the ball rolling before Shamsher Singh (18th minute), Nilakanta Sharma (22nd minute), Gursahibjit Singh (26th minute) and Mandeep Singh (27th minute) scored for India at the Oi Hockey Stadium here. India

Mumbai, Aug 21: Observing that Indian pacer S. Sreesanth has undergone a ban for alleged spot-fixing for almost six years, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ombudsman, Justice (retd) DK Jain has ordered the restriction to end in August 2020. "Sreesanth is already facing a ban, for almost a period of six years now, which bars him from playing cricket or participating in any event, with

Aug 21: England women`s coach Phil Neville has urged the football community to boycott social media for six months and 'send a powerful message' in response to a significant rise in online racist abuse of players. Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba became the latest high-profile player to be a target of online abuse after he missed a penalty in Monday`s 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers. "I

North Sound, Aug 21: A perfect combination and a winning start will be foremost on skipper Virat Kohli's mind when India take on West Indies in their inaugural World Test Championship opener here on Thursday. A win in the opening Test will be the 27th for Kohli as skipper and will put him on even keel with his predecessor Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A century in the game (19th as captain) will place him

Lausanne, Aug 20: Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the star names on the 10-player short-list announced on Monday by FIFA for its Puskas award for goal of the year. They are joined by three women and five men, with goals scored between July 16, 2018 and July 19, 2019. There are nominees from the Bundesliga, Spanish Liga and women's World Cup and one, a jaw-dropping shot by Billie Simpson of

Aug 19: Australian batsman Steve Smith has moved up to the second spot in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Player Rankings for Test batsmen after scoring a valiant knock of 92 during the first innings of the drawn second Ashes Test against England at the Lords' Cricket Ground. The blistering knock saw Smith gain one spot and close in on top-ranked Indian skipper Virat Kohli in the updated