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India have been confirmed as hosts of the 2017 Under-17 FIFA World Cup. The announcement was made by FIFA after their executive committee meeting in Sauipe Hotel in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil on Thursday. India saw off competition from the other bidders Azerbaijan, South Africa and Uzbekistan, and have been granted the chance to host a football World Cup, albeit the under-17 version, for the very first time. In the recent past, India have hosted the AFC Youth Championship in 2006 and AFC Challenge Cup in 2008....

India’s Aman Chetri opened the account in the first half while Boris Singh and Sanjeev chipped in one goal apiece in the second half of the game, an All India Football Federation (AIFF) release said on Sunday. Chetri scored the first one just after the half-hour mark on Saturday. India went to the dressing room at half-time having maintained the 1-0 lead. After resumption of play, the home team bounced back and equalised within the first five minutes and then took a 2-1 lead moments later....

India surged into the lead as early as the 2nd minute when Vikram Partap Singh sped past his marker and banged it in. The match-winner came in late in injury time when the nippy Ravi Bahadur Rana scored off a screamer from about 30 yards. Yeasin Arafat reduced the margin for Bangladesh in the 40th minute. “I had maintained that it will take a moment of brilliance to end this SAFF Championship, and it was fitting that Ravi finished if off with a wonderful strike,” Head Coach Floyd Pinto stated moments after the final whistle....

Edmund Lalringka and Roshan Singh scored hat-tricks to calm the nerves in the dug-out and ensure a comfortable evening for the home side. Speaking of the game, Pinto said, “The game [went] pretty well for us because we won 7-2. For us, we were playing Saudi Arabia. That was the level we set for us. We never knew what to expect from Singapore. But fortunately, we were much higher than the level expected....

Australia were off to a perfect start. They crossed 100 runs without losing a wicket. Usman Khawaja went on to score his maiden ODI century and Finch got out for 93 runs. Glenn Maxwell played well before he got out to an amazing piece of smart work from Dhoni and Jadeja. Australia posted 313/5 in the 50 overs. India were off to a bad start yet again as they lost Rohit, Dhawan and Rayudu inside of 30 runs....

The coming Saturday, October 13, will witness the ‘historic’ match. It is historic in the sense that this will the first time the Indian National team will be playing The Dragons on their soil. Most of their previous meetings have either been on Indian soil or elsewhere. The upcoming International friendly is of paramount importance as it will help the Men in Blue gear up for the AFC Asian Cup which is slated to kick off in January next year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)....

Chasing an improbable 405, England decided to try and block their way to a draw rather than chase after the huge target. Hameed, the young sensation, and his senior partner and captain of the side, Alastair Cook, withstood India’s bowlers for 50 overs, scoring only 75 runs. Once the duo were sent back to the pavilion, none of Root, Stokes or Bairstow could withstand Ashwin and co. Wickets fell in clusters and England lost their last 8 on Day 5 while adding just 71....

During Day two of the test, Ben Stokes dismissed Virat Kohli and followed it with a gesture by putting his hand in his mouth. The following day, when the Englishman got tricked by Ravichandran Ashwin on Day three, captain Kohli gave a silent sent off to the departing batsman. Also read: Video: Ben Stokes sends-off Virat Kohli with a mocking gesture on day two As per the reports of cricket....

England won the toss and elected to field first, on a pitch that was a lot different from the usual batting friendly surfaces in England. The wicket had some extra bounce and scoring was not at all easy. India recovered well after losing three important wickets in the power play overs. Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, and MS Dhoni played useful knocks and helped India set a fighting target of 149....

Having threatened Shikhar Dhawan’s opening spot, KL Rahul’s versatility has resulted in threatening Rishabh Pant’s place as well. With Hardik Pandya unfit, the all-rounder’s slot will be contested between Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian team will be hoping to find answers by giving them a proper run in the series. But it won’t be easy against New Zealand, who have been excellent in the shorter formats in 2019....

India had already crossed 300 when the first wicket fell. The run rate in the first session was around five per over, which was exactly what India needed considering inclement weather is predicted on all five days and that the third session of the first day was already washed out. Rohit and Agarwal had laid a perfect foundation, or possibly much more than a foundation, with a record-breaking triple-century opening stand in their debut partnership....

In the 57th over of the Sri Lankan innings, after Mohammad Shami had trapped Dilruwan Perera in front of the wicket, the on-field umpire adjudged the Lankan LBW. Initially, Perera was happy to walk off without reviewing the decision, but after a few steps towards the dressing room, he turned back and straight away asked for the review. Eventually, the third umpire overturned the on-field umpire’s decision as the impact was outside off-stump....

The Islanders lack maturity, consistency, and attitude. Openers Avishka Fernando and Danushka Gunathilaka conceded momentum early by squandering headstarts. Kusal Perera flattered only to deceive, exposing the vulnerable lower-middle order as tearaway Navdeep Saini wreaked havoc. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Oshada Fernando couldn’t provide the late flourish despite trying hard, leaving Sri Lanka with an exiguous target to defend. Moreover, Sri Lanka’s team selection raised eyebrows. Benching experienced campaigners Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis wasn’t the smartest decision anyway....

India’s longstanding middle-order problem resurfaced in the crucial semi-final encounter and thus all eyes will be on the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey who will audition for the middle-order spots. While India is going with a full-strength batting line-up, the bowling looks a little thin. With T20 regulars Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav rested for the series, the big-hitting West Indies batsmen will surely target the inexperienced Indian bowling attack....

London, Aug 10 (PTI) The inept technique coupled with fragile temperament of Indian batting was thoroughly exposed as they crumbled to 107 all out against a top quality England seam attack on a rain-hit second day of the second cricket Test. While skipper Virat Kohli had insisted that there are no technical problems but the horrendous batting effort painted a sorry picture. Put into bat under overcast conditions, the frailties of a wobbly top order was there for everyone to see as veteran Jimmy Anderson (5/20) made them hop, skip and jump on a track with his 26th five-wicket haul in longest form....

Mikael Silvestre, who enjoyed a trophy-laden spell of nine years at Manchester Untied before moving to Arsenal in 2008, elucidated on his Indian adventure, “Playing in India for Chennaiyin FC was a very enjoyable experience as the country has a fast-growing football scene. In addition to being the defensive partner of player-manager Marco Materazzi, I did a lot of Italian-to-English translation for my Indian teammates at the club.” FIFA Ranking: India drop to 132nd place...

Surprisingly, Vicuna was not in the shortlist of five coaches that was released last week. Former Gokulam Kerala coach Fernando Valera emerged as the front-runner to take the position of Head Coach, while former Bengaluru FC and ATK coach Ashley Westwood was also in the fray. Some club officials wanted to give the job to Westwood, who has enough experience of coaching in India. But it is seems the team management changed their mind in the last moment and zeroed in on Vicuna, who has never set his foot in the country....

Finally a relief would come to those who have been cringing to change their mobile numbers’ on and off when they move from one place to another in the country. Telecom minister Kapil Sabil today announced that in February it would be possible to have a nationwide portability. Letting go off roaming rates under “ One India’’ is another thing on Government cards. If it gets approved it would definitely bring down those sky-high phone bills....

Nepal Jack Stefanowski didn’t give any excuses for his side’s 2-0 defeat against India at the Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri on Tuesday despite the fact that 13 of his players only joined the national team training less than 48 hours before kickoff. All of those 13 players have been playing at the Sikkim Governors’ Gold Cup with eight players of Three Star Club also having a match on Wednesday afternoon in Gangtok but Stefanowski just accepted that his team wasn’t good enough in this game....