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Canning Dishahara F.A and Gobindadham Yoga & Sports have emerged as the men's and women's champions, respectively, at the Howrah zonal stage of the CIL Cup, an initiative of Coal India Limited. Both teams will represent their respective categories in the semifinals, which will be held in Purulia. In the men's zonal final, Canning Dishahara F.A prevailed over GB Dham FC after the match ended in a goalless draw and the penalty result stood at 1-1. The winner was subsequently decided by a coin toss. Abdul R Football Academy finished third, while Chakgopal 7 Star secured fourth place. Rajesh Hembram of GB Dham FC was named the Player of the Match. In the women's competition, Gobindadham Yoga & Sports emerged as champions and secured qualification for the semifinals in Purulia. Diamond Harbour Morning Star finished third, while Chakmakrampur Mahila Football Academy took fourth place. Urmila Kishku of Gobindadham Yoga & Sports was named the Player of the Matc...

Amitabh Bachchan may have millions of followers, but that has not kept him away from online trolling. The veteran actor recently shared how social media users have commented on his age and questioned his posts. During an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 18 , Big B spoke about how these reactions changed his approach to social media and why he no longer writes as much as he used to. The conversation began when a contestant named Vinamra asked Amitabh Bachchan how he deals with criticism online. He pointed out that people from his age group often find it difficult to handle negative comments and wanted to know how the actor manages such reactions. Big B explained that when he first started using social media, he saw it as a space where he could express his thoughts freely. Things changed when he began reading what people had to say about his posts. Recalling the comments, the actor said, “ Pehle humne socha ki yeh bahut accha yantra hai, ismein hum apne dil ki baat bol dete hain… U...

Australia's fabled fast-bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon etched their names into the history books during the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead. The renowned bowling unit breached a special 600-wicket milestone with their scalps in the first innings against the Proteas. The four have become the first quartet to complete 600 wickets in Test cricket while playing together. Coming into the first Test in Durban, the four bowlers had taken 599 wickets in the 37 Tests they had played together and breached the 600-wicket mark during Day 2 of the fixture at Kingsmead. The four bowlers now have more than 600 wickets in the 38 Tests they have played together. This came after they combined to take the first eight wickets to fall in South Africa's innings at the time of writing. Cummins leads the chart among the four with 160 wickets in matches played alongside Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon. Starc is second with 155 wickets i...

India suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of West Indies in the second T20I in Ranchi, as the visitors pulled off their record chase in the format. Despite putting up a total of 249, West Indies chased down the mammoth target of 250 with nine balls to spare. Speaking after the match, Gambhir stated that India cannot afford to take the defeat lightly, and that as T20 world champions, there should be higher expectations on them to deliver consistent victories. “You don't shrug off any defeat. If you want to keep improving, you don't want to put anything under the carpet. We are a world-champion team so we want to keep improving. These are obviously tough conditions to bowl - we know flat wickets with the dew - obviously it's tough but we need to figure out and find the way. “Especially with the opposition having lost two wickets in the first over and then lost three wickets in the powerplay. But again, credit to the West Indies, the way Shai Hope and Sherfane batte...

In a country like India, where cricket academies and teams abound in every corner, getting a chance in the national team requires more than just hard work. There are several instances of talented players failing to earn a place in the national side because of the abundance of options available to the BCCI selectors. Parthiv Patel is one such player. He made his international debut at the age of 17 years and 152 days in 2002. However, his international career saw him being dropped on several occasions for long periods. The emergence of MS Dhoni saw him lose his place in the team. Patel made a comeback in 2008 against Sri Lanka but was dropped again. Then, during the 2009-10 season, Parthiv said he was in peak form in domestic cricket, but when he asked a national selector in 2010 about his prospects, he got a shocking reply. Patel said he first had a discussion with then-chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar. The India great told him to keep working hard. Then, after a new selection panel...

Can Mohammed Shami emulate Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make an India comeback? The question has been ringing across the country's cricketing landscape since Bhuvneshwar's return to India squad after a four-year hiatus, for the away T20I series against New Zealand. But the situation is far too complex once the layer of hope is peeled off. There was a huge outcry to call the Bhuvneshwar back once he grabbed 45 wickets from 30 IPL matches in 2025 and 2026 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But Shami has largely remained a forgotten figure in the last two seasons of IPL, taking just 18 wickets from 22 matches at an average economy rate of 10. In theory, Bhuvneshwar, who bowls at a gentle pace on flat decks, has less chance than Shami to succeed in T20s. However, the Meerut pacer tides over the lack of pace with his ability to prodigiously swing the new ball in the Power Play, and endless variations -- from an accurate yorker to a befuddling slow bouncer -- in the death overs. RCB assi...