City eyeing Liverpool’s Skrtel
London: Manchester City are eyeing a shock move for Premier League title-rivals Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel. With England centre-back Joleon Lescott out of favour at the Etihad, City manager Manuel Pellegrini will be on the look out for a central defender in the summer, reports a local newspaper. The 29-year-old is emerging as a prime target and City believe he can be prised away should Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League. The Slovak defender has done well for the Anfield club this season and has played a key role in Liverpool’s fight for a top-four finish. Earlier in the month, Skrtel had admitted he had thought about leaving last summer, with reported interests from clubs like FC Barcelona and Napoli. But said it was hard to leave “one of the best clubs”, and was glad to have stayed. (IANS)
Bangladesh’s Shakib punished for lewd gesture on TV
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s premier all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan will miss today’s final one-dayer against Sri Lanka and the first two matches of the Asia Cup after being banned for making a lewd gesture on live television. Shakib pointed towards his crotch and then towards the camera that was focused on him in the players’ balcony soon after his dismissal for 24 during the second one-dayer in Dhaka on Thursday. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), which conducted a disciplinary hearing on Friday, suspended the 26-year-old for three one-day internationals and fined him 300,000 Bangladesh taka ($3,860). (AFP)
Navratna lift Louis Philippe Cup
Mumbai: Navratna Ahmedabad underlined their supremacy once again as they defeated strong contenders Puravankara Bangalore 2-1 in the strokeplay final of the 3rd Louis Philippe Cup golf tournament at the par-70 Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Chembur, here on Saturday. In the Rs 1.2 crore prize money tournament, the Ahmedabad team received the winners cheque of Rs 36 lakh, while runners-up Bangalore pocketed Rs 24 lakhs. Krish Colombo, who finished at third place, went home richer by Rs 18 lakhs. The Navratna team had earlier clinched the title when they defeated the same opponents, Bangalore, 3-0 on their home turf in the first edition of the IPL-style tournament. On Saturday, Navratna owed much of their success to their Sri Lankan pro Mithun Perera, who sunk a crucial birdie on the par-5 18th hole to finish with a card of two-under-68 and score over M Dharma, who made some costly mistakes including a triple bogey on the par-4 9th hole. However, Dharma still managed to complete the round with a score of one-under-69 to lose the tie narrowly. Perera, thus, completed a hat-trick of titles in three weeks having won the Eagleburg Open in Bangalore and Standard Chartered Open in Colombo. Captain Vikrant Chopra later mentioned that it was a combined team effort which helped Ahmedabad to their second title triumph in the competition. (PTI)