๐Welcome sports enthusiasts. We will be covering all the major developments across sporting arenas on February 18 right here. Stay tuned for updates.
๐ฌFollow highlights from the sports world on Tuesday, February 18
๐Welcome sports enthusiasts. We will be covering all the major developments across sporting arenas on February 18 right here. Stay tuned for updates.
Barcelona are back to the top of the La Liga points table on goal difference as Robert Lewandowskiโs first-half penalty secures a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano. The Catalan club has taken advantage of weekend slip-ups by Real Madrid ๐ฒand Atletico Madrid to move onto 51 points, the same as Madrid and a point clear of Atletico. Madrid drew 1-1 at Osasuna and Atletico were held by the same score at home by Celta Vigo earlier.
Canada have pipped Finland 5-3 to earn a rematch against the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey ๐ final. Nathan MacKinnon scores twice and Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid have a goal and an assist apiece as Canada surges to a four-goal lead and holds on to beat Finland. On the same ice where he clinched the 2019 Stanley Cup for the St Louis Blues, Jordan Binnington stops 23 shots to give Canada a chance to avenge their 3-1 round-robin loss to the Americans.
Ahead of the start of their Champions Trophy campaign in Dubai, the Indian men's cricket ๐ฑteam posed for the official photo shoot and the BCCI handle shared some particularly striking clicks. Have a look!
Novak Djokovic has spoken out against the alleged leniency of the three-month doping ban handed to world number one Jannik Sinner. Claiming that most players on the professional tennis ๊ฆฏcircuit feel Sinner is the benefactor of โfavouritismโ, Djokovic has said that the majority have lost faith in the anti-doping authorities.
The 37-year-old Serbian legend appealed to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to overhaul their processes for dealing with doping cases โbecause the system and the structure obviously doesnโt work.โ Read all about it in our report HERE.
๐Venezia's winless run has swelled to eight games as the team concedes two goals in the last eight minutes to lose 2-0 to Genoa in Serie A. Venezia's last win in the Italian league came against Cagliari on December 22 and they remain in 19th place, two points above last-place Monza and four behind Parma. Meanwhile, the win lifts Genoa one place into 11th.
Vidarbha are batting at 346 for the loss of seven wickets against Mumbai in the first innings in Nagpur, with Harsh Dubey and Nachiket Bhute at the crease. Over in Ahmedabad, Kerala have lost five wickets for a score of 237 runs against Gujarat. Mohammed Azharuddeen is batting alongside Salman Nizar. You can track live updates from the Ranji Trophy semi-finals at our dedicated blog HERE.
๐นA Cristiano Ronaldo-less Al-Nassr have drawn 0-0 away against Iranian club Persepolis in the last round of the AFC Champions League Elite group stage. The Saudi Arabian team had already secured a place in the round of 16 of the continental competition and coach Stefano Pioli took a weakened team to Tehran. Al-Nassr finish third in the West group behind fellow Saudi Arabian clubs Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal.
๊ฆIn match 54 of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League Two, hosts Oman have won the toss and elected to field first against the United States in Al Amerat. USA and Oman are the top two teams in the league standings currently, with 20 and 18 points respectively from 15 games apiece.
Oman๐ฆ: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Hashir Dafedar, Jiten Ramanandi, Shakeel Ahmed, Jay Odedra, Siddharth Bukkapatnam, Samay Shrivastava
United States of America๐: Smit Patel (wk), Andries Gous, Monank Patel (c), Saiteja Mukkamalla, Milind Kumar, Aaron Jones, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Harmeet Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Nosthush Kenjige, Yasir Mohammad
โHe did it to Jasprit Bumrah in Melbourne, and has now done it to Scott Boland in Sydney. The 19-year-old Sam Konstas continues to evoke awe and grimaces from varied quarters with his outrageous strokeplay. After reverse scooping the inimitable Bumrah for six at the MCG, Konstas has unleashed the same stroke against the metronomic Boland in a Sheffield Shield match while playing for New South Wales. Check out the video of the remarkable shot below.
๊ฆZimbabwe's Craig Ervine has won the toss and opted to field first in the third and final ODI against Ireland in Harare. The series is tied at 1-1 and today's game is thus the decider.
Ireland๐: Paul Stirling (c), Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (wk), George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Andy McBrine, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Joshua Little
Zimbabwe๊ฆ: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Craig Ervine (c), Wessly Madhevere, Sikandar Raza, Johnathan Campbell, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu
The commentary panel for the India broadcast of Champions Trophy 2025 has been unveiled. The 11-member roster for English commentary includes cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Wasim Akram and Matthew Hayden. As for Hindi commentary, cricketing icons like Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Wahab Riaz and Waqar Younis will be part of the panel. The tournament will be streamed live across 16 feeds, which is reportedly a first for the digital space. Know all about it in our report HERE.
๐งIndia have named a 23-member squad for the Pink Ladies Cup, a friendly women's football tournament to be held in Sharjah from February 20 to 26. India, coached by Crispin Chettri, will face Jordan (February 20), Russia (February 23) and Korea Republic (February 26). Below is the India squad:
Goalkeepers๐: Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Payal Basude, Shreya Hooda.
Defendersโ: Aruna Bag, Kiran Pisda, Martina Thokchom, Nirmala Devi Phanjoubam, Purnima Kumari, Sanju, Shilky Devi Hemam, Sweety Devi Ngangbam.
Midfielders๐: Babina Devi Lisham, Grace Dangmei, Mousumi Murmu, Priyadharshini Selladurai, Priyangka Devi Naorem, Ratanbala Devi Nongmaithem.
Forwards๐ฆ: Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar, Lynda Kom Serto, Manisha, Renu, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Soumya Guguloth.
๐ The winners of Indian Sports Photography Awards, an initiative celebrating the art of sports storytelling through the lens, will be announced on Saturday, February 22nd at Bangalore International Centre, Indiranagar. The awards, which are supported by Olympic-medallist Gagan Narang's non-profit organisation, aim to provide a platform for Indian sports photographers to showcase their talent, inspire creativity, and gain recognition.
๐ฎParis Olympics double medallist Manu Bhaker has said that Jaspal Rana will continue to be her "coach" despite the Dronacharya awardee being roped in as the high performance trainer for pistol discipline by the National Rifle Association of India. Rana, a four-time Asian Games gold medallist, had a fall-out with Manu before the Tokyo Olympics but they reconciled before the last year's Paris Games, where the latter made history by bagging two bronze medals. (PTI)
๊ฆฟJust two days ahead of India's Champions Trophy opener against Bangladesh, bowling coach Morne Morkel has reportedly left for his home in South Africa due to a family emergency. Morkel had travelled to Dubai with the Indian team on Saturday, and also attended the side's first practice session ahead of the 50-over showpiece. But the 40-year-old former South Africa pacer was, however, not around for the Indian team's second practice session on Monday, according to a PTI report.
โChess Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has announced his participation as a member of the 2024 Esports World Cup-winning Team Falcons. Both Nakamura and the Falcons have confirmed the development on their respective social media handles, with the organization stating that Nakamura would be their representative at this year's Esports World Cup.
๐ The United States solidify their lead at the top of the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two standings with a 57-run win over hosts Oman in Al Amerat. Despite being dismissed for 122 runs in 35.3 overs, the Monank Patel-led USA comfortably emerge victors, bundling out Oman for just 65 runs. Nosthush Kenjige claims a fifer for the table toppers, who now possess 22 points from 16 games. Oman stand second with 18 points.
๐ฆReal Kashmir have beaten Namdhari 1-0 thanks to Paulo Cesar's early goal from the penalty spot.
๐ทKawasaki Frontale have defeated Central Coast Mariners in the AFC Champions League. Erison gave the Japanese side lead by scoring from the spot in the 36th minute before a Marcinho strike in the injury time doubled Kawasaki's lead.
VID 383
MUM 188/7 (59)
At Day 2 Stumps - Mumbai trail by 195 runs
KER 418/7 (177) at Day 2 Stumps
๐ฆฉMohammed Azharuddin is still batting on 149 from 303 balls and Kerala are in a good position.
๐ฅSC Bengaluru and Inter Kashi play out a goalless draw at the Bangalore Stadium. SC Bengaluru are now at the tenth spot in the standings while Inter Kashi are at fourth.
เตฉChamari Athapaththu will be missing the final phase of the Women's Premier League as she will be leading Sri Lanka in a white-ball series against New Zealand beginning on March 4.
๐We will be ending our coverage for the day. Thank you for being with us. We will be back tomorrow with more updates. Till then you can be on our website for latest news and developments from sports and around the world.