India, Nepal in U-15 SAFF finals
Kalyani: India and Nepal secured the top two spots in the 2019 U-15 SAFF Football Championship at the Kalyani Stadium here on Thursday. India beat defending champions Bangladesh 4-0, while Nepal trounced Bhutan 6-0. Bangladesh, who had lost 1-4 to Nepal earlier in the tournament, needed to beat India by a two-goal margin, in order to clinch the second spot. However, the hosts came through in the end, with an emphatic result. The match got off to a rather nervy start on a rain-drenched day. India head coach Bibiano Fernandes made as many as eight changes to his starting XI from their last game against Sri Lanka. Captain and centre-back Anish Mazumder, midfielder Satvik Sharma, and striker Himanshu Jangra were the only ones to keep their position in the starting XI. Himanshu Jangra scored a hat-trick, finding the back of the net in the 29th, 74th and 79th minute, while Renedy Meetei struck once in the 90th minute. India have taken the top spot in the group table. Both Nepal and India are now set to face each other in the final on Saturday. (PTI)
Kotak, Mhambrey replace Dravid
New Delhi: Former Saurashtra captain Sitanshu Kotak and ex-India seamer Paras Mhambrey have replaced Rahul Dravid as head coaches of India A and U-19 sides respectively following a reshuffle in the support staff for juniors.Dravid has recently been appointed as the National Cricket Academy’s head of cricket operations and will be preparing the roadmap for India A and U-19 teams along with upgradation pan for the existing coaching module. It will require him to stay more at the NCA even though he is free to travel for A or U-19 tours whenever he deems necessary. (PTI)
Abhimanyu named captain
Kolkata: Top-order batsman Abhimanyu Easwaran was on Thursday named captain of the Bengal cricket team in place of Manoj Tiwary in all the three formats for the upcoming season. Tiwary, who has played 12 ODIs and three T20 Internationals, had succeeded Laxmi Ratan Shukla in 2015-16 season and led the side to Ranji Trophy semifinals in the 2017-18. The Sourav Ganguly-led Cricket Association of Bengal wanted a split captaincy, giving Tiwary the option to lead in the shorter formats while promoting Abhimanyu for the Ranji Trophy. (PTI)
Sanjeev secures Olympic berth
Rio de Janeiro: Sanjeev Rajput on Thursday won the silver medal in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event of the World Cup here, securing India’s eight quota in shooting for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The 38-year-old shot 462.0 in the eight-man finals to finish second on the podium behind Petar Gorsa of Croatia (462.2). China’s Zhang Changhong clinched the bronze. Sanjeev could have won the gold but for a poor last shot which saw him miss his second World Cup gold, after the one he had won in 2011, by a slender 0.2 point margin to Gorsa. (PTI)