Sports

Karachi, February 19: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is likely to be recalled to the one-day squad for the forthcoming series against South Africa after a string of batting failures in the Test series. Sources close to the national selection committee said that Afridi, who was dropped for the one-day series in India after playing in just two T20 matches, would be picked for the entire

Karachi, Feb 19: Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq feels Pakistan were psychologically under pressure against South Africa and advised the national team players to stop being overawed by the world's number one Test team. "I firmly believe we were psychologically under pressure from South Africa since the start of the series. You look at the batting strike rate of our players and you can see they never

It's crunch time for MS Dhoni. Another series loss will almost surely result in the Indian captain losing the hot seat. For the prolific Michael Clarke, the challenge will be to get the best out of a less-than-formidable Australian side, arguably the weakest to tour India since Kim Hughes' men in 1979-80. Which skipper will have the last laugh? As individuals, they are as different as chalk and

Mumbai, Feb 18: Australia clinched their sixth Women's World Cup title after they comfortably defeated the West Indies by a huge margin of 114 runs in the final at the Brabourne Stadium here today. Needing 260 to win, the Caribbeans were bundled out for 145 runs in 43.1 overs, miserably failing to recover from Elysse Perry's early three-wicket burst. Batting first, Australia rode on Jessica

Cape Town, South Africa, Feb 17: Three wickets in three balls put South Africa firmly in command of the second test on Sunday as Pakistan collapsed on the fourth morning at Newlands. After Robin Peterson had bowled Sarfraz Ahmed at the end of the 65th over, Vernon Philander struck twice at the start of the 66th over to leave Pakistan’s second innings in disarray. Pakistan went to lunch on 157-8

Melbourne, Feb 17: Gautam Gambhir's exclusion from India's squad for the first two Tests against Australia is a "positive" development for the tourists, feels former cricketer Matthew Hayden. Hayden, who had a good tour of India in 2001, said Gambhir formed a "potent" opening combination with Virender Sehwag and the left-hander's exclusion will be a welcome relief for the Australian bowlers. "The

Chennai, Feb 16: Dropped from the national Test squad, opening batsman Gautam Gambhir sent a strong message to the selectors with a fine 112 for India A on the first day of the three-day cricket match against Australians at the Guru Nanak College Ground here Saturday. At the close of play, India A were 338/4 having played the day's quota of 90 overs. Electing to bat first, skipper Gambhir and

Moscow, Feb 16: The head of the international wrestling federation Raphael Martinetti has been fired after receiving a vote of no-confidence in the wake of the sport's exclusion from the group of core Olympic disciplines, a Russian official said on Saturday. FILA chief Martinetti had come under fire for failing to do enough to promote wrestling inside the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and

Mumbai, Feb 16: Five-time champions Australia will walk in with the twin aims of revenge and title triumph when they take on a spirited West Indies, a team which has punched above its weight all through, in the summit clash of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in Mumbai on Sunday. Australia was undefeated in the series until the West Indies beat them by eight runs in their last Super Six match

Chennai, Feb 15: Axed from the Test team after a prolonged form slump, India 'A' skipper Gautam Gambhir will have a point to prove when he leads out the side in a three-day warm-up cricket match against the Australians starting here tomorrow. The left-handed opener, who hasn't scored a Test century for three years now, was dropped from the squad for the four-Test series against Australia starting