NEW DELHI: India opener and World Cup hero Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday called time on his career as a cricketer, announcing his retirement from all forms of the game. The 37-year old took to social media to reveal the decision. ALSO READ: Full text of Gambhir's retirement announcement "The most difficult decisions are often taken with the heaviest of hearts. And with one heavy heart, I’ve decided to make an announcement that I’ve dreaded all my life,"...

DUBAI: The mood around the Dubai International Cricket Stadium here on Thursday did not give the sense that it is going to play host to 25,000 fans who will brave the sun and heat to cheer either India or Bangladesh in a big Asia Cup final on Friday. The tournament has been sort of an anti-climax. The day the fixtures were drawn, it seemed the market forces and the caretakers of cricket had designed it to make up for the lack of India-Pakistan bilateral...

DUBAI: India opener Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday said there was "no shame" in his disastrous run of form in the Tests against England as his plans did not work out despite giving his all. ALSO READ: Asia Cup Final, IND v BAN - Top players to watch Dhawan, whose place in the Test team is under threat for the home series against the West Indies, seemed unfazed about a possible axe. The batsman, who has made a Test comeback in the past on the basis...

DUBAI: India ticked all boxes as they clinically decimated Pakistan by eight wickets in a lopsided Asia Cup group league encounter on Wednesday. Scorecard | As it happened It was a superlative effort from the bowling unit that saw them shoot out Pakistan for a paltry 162 in 43.1 overs before Rohit Sharma (52 off 39 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (46 off 54 balls) added 86 for the opening wicket to ensure a smooth chase for the 'Men In Blue' in only...

HONG KONG INNINGS (259/8) End of Over 50: India (285/7) beat Hong Kong (259/8) by 26 runs in Group A match at Dubai. (Nizakat Khan 92, Anshuman Rath 73; Kuldeep Chahal 3/46, Khaleel Ahmed 3/48) 49.1 overs: Slower one from Khaleel and chipped straight up by Ehsan Khan (22). Easy return catch for the youngster, who now has three wickets. End of Over 48: The writing is on the wall! HKG 249/7, requiring 37 off 12 balls now. 46.3 overs: Stumped!...

DUBAI: KL Rahul walked into the nets for the second time moments after Team India bowling coach Bharat Arun yelled out to his bowlers, "Take rest and then come back." Rahul paused, looked around and took fresh guard. READ ALSO: Searing heat, slow pitches will test India The noon heat wave here has compelled the Indian players to conserve energy. Yet, Rahul, back from a tiring tour of England, was pushing himself. It's not even a week since...

NEW DELHI: India coach Ravi Shastri on Friday said that they didn't lose the Test series to a collective effort from England but to all-rounder Sam Curran's individual brilliance which became the difference at crucial junctures. India lost the five-match Test series 1-4 but Shastri put up a brave front making it clear that the final scoreline does not depict the kind of fight that Virat Kohli's men put up. READ ALSO: At times, Kohli's lack of...

NEW DELHI: India coach Ravi Shastri has come under fire for his side's humiliating 4-1 Test series loss to England - a second consecutive away defeat for the world's top-ranked side. The thrashing in England, following the loss in South Africa earlier this year, piles pressure on Shastri ahead of a tour to Australia in November and next year's World Cup - as well as a massive clash with arch-rivals Pakistan next week. Critics and former captains...

NEW DELHI: Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh on Wednesday decided to call time on his illustrious career, saying he had played enough in the last 12 years and now it's time for the youngsters to take over. READ ALSO: Factfile on Sardar Singh Sardar said he made the decision after a disappointing Asian Games where India failed to defend their title and had to settle for a bronze medal, leaving them out of the reckoning for direct qualification...

LONDON: India lost the fifth and final Test against England by 118 runs on Tuesday despite heroic resistance from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, bringing the curtains down on a tour which started as a golden opportunity but ended in a saga of disappointments. BLOG: 12 lessons for Virat Kohli and company after 4-1 loss to England A mediocre England team with a fragile batting line-up won the series by a comprehensive 4-1 margin after India were bowled...

LONDON: The English capital has proven to be a city of sorrow for the Indian cricket team. READ ALSO: Alastair Cook signs off the way he started - with a ton After the two-and-a-half-day disaster at The Lord's last month, Virat Kohli's boys are now staring at another humiliation at the other end of London, The Oval. All the talk of being the best touring side in the world is ringing hollow as India are on the brink of a 1-4 defeat following...

LONDON: Alastair Cook displayed his all-too familiar obduracy and powered England to a position of strength in the fifth Test against India, laying the groundwork for a swansong befitting a distinguished career. Scorecard | As it happened Cook was unbeaten on 46 runs in his last international innings as England reached 114 for 2 at stumps on day three at the Oval. At end of play, he had put on 52 runs for the third wicket with skipper Joe Root...

LONDON: India's susceptibility to quality swing bowling once again came to the fore as they struggled to reach 174 for six after England's tail wagged considerably to give the hosts an upper hand on the second day of the fifth and final Test here on Saturday. Scorecard | As it happened India still trail England by another 158 runs with four wickets in hand and three full days' play remaining in the match. Courtesy birthday boy Jos Buttler's 89...

NEW DELHI: The sepaktakraw world championship in Bangkok is just a fortnight away and Asian Games bronze medallist Harish Kumar is busy serving - not on court but at his brothers' roadside tea stall in Delhi's 'Little Tibet', Majnu ka Tila. Tea has been the 21-year-old's ticket to sporting glory. For each one of his 15 medals, he and his family have passed countless steaming cups over the counter. Five days after the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games...

LONDON: It was at The Oval that India won their first Test in England way back in 1971. Forty-seven years down the line, it could so easily have been another chance to create history at this magnificent venue, but that's done and dusted. READ ALSO: Team India divided over Ashwin's Southampton flop India have frittered away opportunities and lost the series 1-3 and the disappointment is palpable among the fans who had made elaborate preparations...

LONDON: India have lost the Test series in England but coach Ravi Shastri insists that the current lot is travelling better than the teams of the last 15-20 years. India lost by 60 runs in the fourth Test at Southampton to go 1-3 down in the five-match series. "As hard as our guys tried, England were one-up on us there. Nothing to take away (from them), the endeavour of this team is to travel well, compete and win. If you look at the last three years,...

NEW DELHI: Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Tuesday said the countdown for 2020 Olympics has started for the Indian athletes after the country's best-ever medal haul in the Asian Games. READ ALSO: Govt felicitates India's Asiad medal winners with cash awards A visibly delighted Rathore congratulated Indian medal winners of the just-concluded Asian Games but said their real journey has just begun. "You made the entire country...