1. Under-Fire Dhoni Faces Tricky New Zealand Test in Series-Decider
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership as well as finishing skills will be put through a stern test when an inconsistent India take on a rejuvenated New Zealand in the series-deciding fifth and final ODI at Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
With the series locked at 2-2, Dhoni and his men will be eager to clinch the match while history beckons Kane Williamson’s men as they have a glorious opportunity to taste their maiden success in a bilateral ODI series.
The only thing that can play spoilsport is the cyclone threat which can lead to a complete washout.
(Source: The Quint)
2. Sania-Hingis Duo Enter Semis of Season-Ending WTA Finals
Indian ace Sania Mirza and Switzerland’s Martina Hingis entered the semifinals of the WTA Finals after beating the Taiwanese combination of Hao-Ching Chan and Yung Jan Chan 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 in Singapore on Friday.
The Indo-Swiss pair will be facing the Russian pair of Elena Vesnina and Ekaterina Makarova in the semifinals on Saturday.
This is the pair’s first competition since they had split following an early exit at Montreal in July.
(Source: The Quint)
3. Sreejesh’s Injury a Worry as India Take on South Korea in Semis
India are hopeful of producing the magic to surmount the challenge from resurgent South Korea in the semifinals of the fourth Asian Champions Trophy in Malaysia on Saturday, despite ace custodian PR Sreejesh’s ankle injury.
The other worry for India is deep defender Surender Kumar’s suspension.
Seeking to reclaim the title that they won in the inaugural edition in 2011, the fancied Indian team were held to a 1-1 draw by the young South Korean side (in the round-robin stage), which has improved with every outing.
India topped the round-robin league standings, but did not know their semifinal opponents until the end of last league encounter between the Koreans and hosts Malaysia.
The Koreans led by a goal until four minutes from the hooter before a penalty corner produced the Malaysian equaliser and got the home side the second place in the league standings.
(Source: The Quint)
4. Curtains for Indians at French Open Super Series
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu suffered another second round defeat when she went down fighting against He Bingjiao of China in the women’s singles competition at the USD 3,00,000 French Open Super Series badminton tournament at Paris on Friday.
Sixth seed Sindhu, who had beaten Bingjiao at the Denmark Open last week, could not get past her rival this time and lost 20-22 17-21 to the Chinese in a 41-minute match.
In the men’s singles, India’s H S Prannoy also failed to cross the second round as he lost 19-21 16-21 to fifth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the match that lasted 42 minutes.
(Source: PTI)
5. Ronaldo Angry About Lack of Goals, Says Zidane
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
With four strikes in nine appearances in all competitions, Real’s all-time top scorer is in the midst of his worst start to a season since joining the Spanish champions from Manchester United in 2009.
Ronaldo failed to score in Real’s 5-1 drubbing of Legia Warsaw and Sunday’s 2-1 success over Athletic Bilbao.
I don’t think he’s anxious but he is perhaps angry, he wants to score goals and that’s normal.Zinedine Zidane
(Source: Reuters)
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