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Pankaj Advani ties the knot with celeb make-up artist Saniya Shadadpuri. See photos

9 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Other sports  
A champion cueist of the green baize, and a Padma Bhushan and Khel Ratna Award recipient, Pankaj Advani is now bracing his red carpet walk down the aisle alongside his confidante and renowned celebrity make-up artist, Saniya Shadadpuri. The Bengaluru-based cueist, widely regarded as one of the world’s best, made his international debut in 1999 and soon became the first to achieve the feat of a ‘Grand Double’ at the IBSF World Billiards Championships in 2003. Recently having won his 23rd World title, Pankaj Advani has now brought home a world trophy every consecutive year since 2014. In 2019, Advani completed a career grand slam in cue sports by becoming the only player to have won the Asian and World Championships in all formats of Billiards and Snooker. The ace cueist has been at it ever since he bagged his first big win, back in 2003, as a fresh-faced 18-year-old picking up the IBSF World Snooker Championship trophy. Now championing his love life with Saniya, Adva..
                 

Jose Mourinho: We respect all cups

9 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho—one win away from a fifth League Cup win in his career—says the recipe for his success is respect for the competition. Mourinho, 57, could deliver Spurs' first piece of silverware since 2008 if they win the final in April at Wembley. Mourinho became just the third manager to reach the final with three different clubs following the late Ron Saunders and Ron Atkinson after Spurs beat spirited Championship side Brentford 2-0 on Tuesday. They will play the winners of Wednesday's semi-final between holders Manchester City and Manchester United, with whom Mourinho won the trophy in 2017. Jose Mourinho Mourinho's first taste of success in English football came when Chelsea won the 2005 League Cup. "I came to England in 2004 and I remember that in that period I had to learn the meaning of the cups here and I always took it seriously. If there is any secret, it's to take it seriously," he said. Mourinho has fielded strong sides in the League Cup this ..
                 

IND vs AUS: Glenn McGrath's message to Navdeep Saini - Just enjoy it, mate

9 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
For three Tests in a row, India have declared their playing XI on the eve of the match. This practice has impressed former Australian pacer Glenn McGrath as it "shows the confidence" the Indian team have. For the third Test against Australia at Sydney today, pacer Navdeep Saini is set to debut in place of the injured Umesh Yadav while Rohit Sharma will come in place of opener Mayank Agarwal. India's remarkable comeback in Melbourne after capitulation in the first Test at Adelaide has lit up the contest. The outcome of the third Test can have a massive influence on which way the Border-Gavaskar Trophy tilts. Glenn McGrath. Pic/Atul Kamble McGrath wants debutant Saini to simply back himself. "Saini should just look to enjoy it. We saw [Mohammed] Siraj in Melbourne and the way he bowled. He wasn't worried and he backed himself. So, just keep bowling the way you have been bowling, the reason you got picked in the first place," was McGrath's advice to the Haryana rookie ahead of the Pink Te..
                 

3rd Test: 'Get T Natarajan and be happy,' says Adam Gilchrist to Team India

10 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
The weeklong break between Tests for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy comes to an end tomorrow, as India and Australia square off with the series scoreline wonderfully poised at 1-1. This time round both teams will see a couple of changes. Will Pucovski will be making his debut according to all accounts, and David Warner will be back after his injury. They would be replacing the opening duo of Joe Burns and Matthew Wade but I see the latter being made to slide down to the middle order and Travis Head sitting this Test out. Tim Paine would be hoping that these changes will also bring a change in the mindset and approach of his batsmen. The team is yet to cross 200 and the Indian bowlers have had the better of them in each of the three completed innings. The lack of intent from Australia's batsmen have allowed the Indians to bowl at them as planned. Warner, a big boost for Oz I would imagine that the inclusion of Warner at the top of the order would address that to some degree. He has the expe..
                 

It's a tough period: Christian Pulisic after Chelsea's EPL defeat to Man City

11 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
Christian Pulisic has urged Chelsea to prove they have the "character" to end the dismal run that has plunged their season into turmoil. Frank Lampard's side suffered a fourth defeat in their last six Premier League games on Sunday, going down 1-3 to Manchester City. Chelsea were rocked by City's three-goal blitz in the first half at Stamford Bridge and looked bereft of confidence as they slipped to eighth place. Christian Pulisic Lampard accepted there will be questions about his ability to turn Chelsea into title contenders, with the City defeat coming hot on the heels of dispiriting losses against Everton, Wolves and Arsenal. After their £200 million ($273.5 million) spending spree in the close-season and a strong start to the new campaign, Chelsea were expected to push champions Liverpool, but now they face a battle just to finish in the top four. United States winger Pulisic admitted Chelsea's players must dig deep to resolve their issues before the season implodes completel..
                 

EPL: Arteta delighted with Arsenal's splendid 4-0 win over West Brom

12 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Football  
The Gunners ran out 4-0 winners at the Hawthorns to make it three victories on the bounce. Mikel Arteta feels confidence is running through his Arsenal squad and is one of the keys to their upturn in form. The Gunners have had an excellent festive period, as wins over Chelsea and Brighton eased talk of a relegation battle and they made it three victories on the spin with a 4-0 mauling of West Brom. Kieren Tierney set the Gunners on their way with an excellent solo strike on 23 minutes, with Bukayo Saka doubling the lead five minutes later following an excellent team move. Mikel Arteta Alexandre Lacazette scored twice in quick succession just after the hour mark to secure the win. "It was a convincing win. To win three on the spin over Christmas in the Premier League is not easy," Arteta told BT Sport. Keep scrolling to read more news Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates. Mid-Day is now on..
                 

IND vs AUS: 'No breach of protocol'

13 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
A fanboy moment on spotting Indian cricketers at a Melbourne restaurant has landed Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma, openers Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and pacer Navdeep Saini in trouble. The fan's viral video of the cricketers sitting in the restaurant and then his description of his experience on Twitter, where he described hugging Pant, taking selfies with the players and then footing their bill of AUD 118 [R6,500 approximately] was enough to send the BCCI and Cricket Australia into action. Though the BCCI earlier rubbished launching any probe into the incident, Cricket Australia in a statement, confirmed a joint investigation. The above screengrab shows Indian players at a Melbourne restaurant While the alleged bio-secure bubble breach is under investigation, it is understood that the Indian cricketers do not think they have violated any protocol. As per Cricket Australia's reported bubble rule, eating in an indoor restaurant is not permissible. The..
                 

IND vs AUS: Matthew Wade finds spin duo Ashwin-Jadeja too tough

12 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
Australia's opening batsman Matthew Wade, who was dismissed by India's spin duo of off-spinner R Ashwin and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in the last Test at Melbourne, admitted on Sunday that tackling them is a huge challenge. "They [Ashwin and Jadeja] are a tough spin duo to crack, very consistent and have bowled terrifically well, especially in Melbourne. Probably, they got more spin and bounce, more than what we expected in the first innings. That was a little bit of a shocker, but we expected that to come into play," Wade said at a virtual press conference from Melbourne. The third Test at Sydney starts on Thursday. Useful Wade Wade, 33, who scored 111 runs in the two Tests of this season's Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is confident that Steven Smith, who managed to score just 10 runs in his last two Tests, will come to the rescue of the hosts in the remaining two games. India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja celebrates taking the wicket of Australian opener Matthew Wade during Day Three ..
                 

IND vs AUS: He's all about the team

13 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Sports  
It was no surprise that Ajinkya Rahane captained India flawlessly at the MCG; anyone who saw him in charge at Dharamsala in 2017 would've recognised a man born to lead cricket teams. There were a lot of similarities between that 2017 match and the one at the MCG. Firstly, it was between the same two highly-competitive rivals, then there was the valuable first innings lower order contribution from Ravindra Jadeja and finally Rahane aggressively accumulating the required runs in a nervy pursuit of a moderate victory total. The moment that caught my attention in the Dharamsala match was when Rahane called on debutant left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav with David Warner and Steven Smith involved in a century partnership. "This is a brave move," I thought and it turned out to be a very smart one. Kuldeep quickly claimed the wicket of Warner—expertly caught by Rahane at first slip—and this prompted a five-wicket slide among the Australian middle-order. That's part of ..
                 

EPL: Red Devils join Reds on top

13 days ago  
News / Mid-Day/ Football  
Bruno Fernandes scoring a penalty has become a very familiar sight for Manchester United. Being among the Premier League frontrunners has not been seen in recent years for the fallen giant. United went level on points with leader Liverpool with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Friday. The win was secured by Fernandes scoring his ninth spotkick since making his debut 11 months ago. While United is still behind Liverpool on goal difference, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has won one more and has the team looking well-placed to mount a challenge for a first title since 2013. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Alex Ferguson, who produced United's record-extending 20th English title before retiring eight years ago, was among just a few hundred allowed into Old Trafford to witness this New Year's Day game in a city in near-lockdown. A day after his 79th birthday, the Scot saw Anthony Martial head United in front in the 40th minute at the end of a counterattack started by Paul Pogba. And it was Pogba who won the pe..