Sports

London, Jun 27: Defending champion Roger Federer's remarkable run of reaching 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinals or better was ended in a shock second-round Wimbledon defeat by unheralded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky on Wednesday. Federer's 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(5) loss in exactly three hours rocked Wimbledon to its core on a day that already seemed surreal after seven players withdrew or

London, Jun 26: Pakistan's Asad Rauf, who is being investigated in the IPL spot-fixing scandal, and long-serving New Zealander Billy Bowden were today dropped from the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires after an annual review of their performance. Rauf, who is being probed for allegedly taking expensive gifts from suspected bookies, and Bowden have been replaced by former Test cricketers Richard

Bristol, Jun 25: In a sudden move, Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday sacked Mickey Arthur and appointed Darren Lehmann as the new coach of the Australian team just weeks ahead of the Ashes series. The 45-year-old Arthur, who was appointed as coach in November 2011, came in for sharp criticism following Australia’s poor performances and disciplinary issues within the camp. Cricket Australia chief

New Delhi, Jun 24: Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi on Monday hailed the brilliant performance of the Indian team in the Champions Trophy and said the "nucleus" of the squad that will represent India in the 2015 World Cup is ready. "This tournament has given us an idea about what will be Indian team's nucleus during 2015 World Cup. Shikhar (Dhawan), Virat (Kohli), Jadeja (Ravindra) and

Birmingham, Jun 24: England captain Alastair Cook said Ian Bell's dismissal in the ninth over was a poor umpiring decision which finally proved to be the turning point of the match for the hosts. Bell (13) could consider himself unlucky as he got a raw deal from third umpire Bruce Oxenford. He was adjudged stumped off Ravindra Jadeja's bowling when TV replays showed that Bell had got his foot back

Birmingham, Jun 24: It came down to the proverbial wire, but in the end all of England's melancholic weather and the T20-like drama could not deny India its share of joy in gloomy Birmingham on Sunday. From the start of the Champions Trophy early this month, they had been the team to beat here. In the end, they remained unbeaten. The only coveted trophy missing from India's cupboard - MS Dhoni's

Birmingham, Jun 23: Just over two years after MS Dhoni guided India to their World Cup triumph in Mumbai, the skipper has inspired a largely different group of players to the final of the ICC Champions Trophy. As India prepare to take on England in the summit clash here at Edgbaston on what promises to be a muggy (if not rainy) Sunday, Dhoni has the opportunity to create a unique record. If India

Birmingham, Jun 22: Putting behind the turbulent phase of the past few weeks, a red-hot India are standing on the cusp of winning their second straight world title as they take on hosts England in the summit showdown of the ICC Champions Trophy here tomorrow. The reigning World Cup winners roared into the title clash of what will be the last edition of the tournament, winning all their four

New Delhi, Jun 22: There will be a dash of cricket in the inaugural Indian Badminton League with star batsman Sachin Tendulkar set to be part of a conglomerate to buy the Mumbai Masters franchisee in the event. Tendulkar will be part of a conglomerate, which is in the process of buying the Mumbai Masters, according to highly-placed sources in the Badminton Association of India. "Tendulkar is in

Mumbai, Jun 21: Among all the Indian captains that he has played against, Sourav Ganguly is the "favourite" of West Indian batting legend and former skipper Brian Lara as he feels his leadership against arch-rivals Australia was "astonishing". "Sourav is my favourite. His leadership against Australia in Australia was astonishing. I have great respect for him," Lara said at a Dell event on