Messi foot injury a concern as La Liga resumes
Barcelona: Lionel Messi is a major doubtful starter in FC Barcelona’s return to La Liga action this weekend after Argentina coach Gerard Martino admitted that the striker was suffering from a foot injury. Messi’s injury caused him to miss Argentina’s friendly win over Ecuador in New Jersey on Tuesday night. And he must now be considered a major doubt as Barcelona prepare to visit Celta Vigo on Sunday where they seek to defend their four-point lead at the top of the La Liga table, reports Xinhua. “We waited to see if Messi would be fit until the last moment, but he couldn’t play,” said Martino, who last season coached Barcelona. “He found it really hard to even tie his shoelaces and he was not in condition to play,” added the coach. (IANS)
IPL opening ceremony to be held in Kolkata on April 7
Kolkata: The opening ceremony of the 2015 Indian Premier League (IPL) will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium here on April 7, a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) statement said on Wednesday. The ceremony will start at 7.30 pm in the evening and will feature some of the “big names in Bollywood”. However, the identities of the artists who will perform at the event are yet to be disclosed. “The names of the artists will be announced soon,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said in the release on Wednesday. The online ticket sales of the tournament’s opening ceremony will commence at 5 pm on Wednesday. The minimum price of the tickets is pegged at Rs.200. The box office ticket sales will commence shortly, the release added. In the first match on April 8, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will face Mumbai Indians in Kolkata. (IANS)
McCullum named New Zealand’s ‘Cricketer of the Year’
Auckland: New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum was named “Cricketer of the Year” at the New Zealand Cricket Awards here on Wednesday. McCullum, who led New Zealand to their first World Cup final, was the supreme award winner at the ceremony, winning the “Sir Richard Hadlee” medal. Team-mate Kane Williamson won the “Batsman of the Year” award across all three formats of the game, reports stuff.co.nz. Seamer Trent Boult, who was the second-highest wicket taker at the World Cup behind Australia’s Mitchell Starc, was named “Bowler of the Year” while Suzie Bates was named “Women’s Cricketer of the Year”. (IANS)
Mitchell Starc to miss start of IPL
Bengaluru: Royal Challengers Bangalore will be missing the services of Mitchell Starc for the start of the IPL with the Australia pacer recuperating from a knee niggle after a hectic World Cup campaign for which he was adjudged Man of the Tournament. The Australian quick, who tops the ICC’s one-day bowling rankings, has sustained a minor knee strain and will be out of action for close to three weeks, according to News Corp Australia. Starc, who led the Australian attack with responsibility by picking up 22 wickets from eight ODIs, was the star as Australia lifted their record fifth 50-over World Cup trophy. The left-arm pacer picked up 14 wickets from as many matches and conceded 7.49 per over for RCB in his debut IPL season last year. Starc’s injury adds to RCB’s bowling woes with another new recruit Adam Milne also in doubt after the New Zealand pacer was ruled out of the World Cup with an injury. The Virat Kohli-led side will be banking on Varun Aaron, Ashoke Dinda and Sydney Sixers pacer Sean Abbott. The recipient of the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year award, Abbott, who was brought by the Vijay Mallya-owned unit in the February auctions is set to make his debut this season. The eighth edition of the T20 league kickstarts April 8 as RCB are slated to play their opening game on April 11 against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders. (PTI)
Tiger Woods out of top 100
Washington:Tiger Woods has dropped out of the top 100 for the first time since 1996, a media report said on Wednesday. The former world number one player dropped to 104 this week, reported Xinhua. The 39-year-old has accumulated a record 683 total weeks as the world number one, including 11 different runs at the top. The 14-time major winner set the record for most consecutive weeks atop the rankings in a span from August 1999 to September 2004 and topped his own record with 281 straight weeks at No. 1 from June 2005 to October 2010. Woods underwent back surgery in March 2014 and played in only eight tournaments last season and his last run as No. 1 was from March 2013 to May 2014. (IANS)
