Author: Anuraag Peesara

India’s dashing opener Smriti Mandhana and all-rounder Deepti Sharma have put pen on paper to confirm their move to the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League 2021/22. The defending champions have signed both these players as replacements for Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont. https://twitter.com/ThunderBBL/status/1441920975621144582 This will be Mandhana’s third club association in the BBL, having previously represented the Hobart Hurricanes and Brisbane Heat. She played 25 games in the league, having scored 407 runs, including two half-centuries. Despite never bowling at the international level, Mandhana has bowled in the WBBL and picked up three wickets. Sharma will debut at the tournament, having just…

A massive injury boost for Liverpool fans, confirming that Naby Keita will be travelling to Lisbon with the squad for their Champions League group stage clash against FC Porto. Naby Keita was nursing a vague injury picked up during their 3-0 win against Norwich City. In the press conference after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw against Brentford in the Premier League – which Keita has missed due to injury – Jurgen Klopp remained uncertain about the midfielder’s return, but Guinea international was spotted practising with the first team on Monday. Credit: Getty Images As mentioned by Goal reporter Neil Jones, Keita trained with his teammates and is…

Former Tottenham and Chelsea goalkeeping coach Leslie Cleevely has joined SC East Bengal to assist and nurture their shot-stoppers for the upcoming season. The ISL side, who appointed Manolo Diaz as their head coach for the upcoming season, have made some terrific signings and are keen on upgrading their last season’s result. https://twitter.com/sc_eastbengal/status/1442054661326852096 Cleevely has worked with the Tottenham academy as the goalkeeping coach before making a move to their Chelsea in 2007. He spent four years with the current European champions, and worked with the likes of Petr Cech, Carlo Cudicini and Hilario. He recently worked with the Bangladesh national side before making a move to India’s top flight…

Despite completing some massive signings last summer, Manchester United’s trajectory has not gone as per plan at the start of the season. The 20-time first division champions have lost their Champions League opener to Young Boys, followed it up with a League Cup defeat to West Ham United, and a Premier League defeat to Aston Villa further intensified the pressure. Credit: PA United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under immense pressure as it stands, and club legend Gary Neville, who led the side to four Premier League titles and a Champions League back in the day, believes that the Red Devils’ football is…

The current champions of the ODI World Cup will begin their title defence in a few months’ time, and they seem to be rearing to head into the tournament going by their current performances. England Women to win both the T20I and ODI series against visitors New Zealand Women, who could only win two games out of the eight that were played. Tammy Beaumont chipped in with one of the T20I performances of the season in the opening game of the tour, welcoming the Kiwis with a 65-ball 97 in the 1st T20I. England’s 184-run total seemed too daunting for the…

In one of the contests of the season, CSK overcame the high-flying Kolkata Knight Riders off the last ball of the game. Ravindra Jadeja’s fireworks negated Kolkata’s perseverance right in the end, as Chennai nearly confirmed their berth in the playoffs. KKR won the toss earlier in the afternoon and decided to bat first. The track was as good as it could have been in the middle-east for batting, and despite getting 10 runs off the first over, Shubman Gill’s attempt for a quick single saw him capitulate. KKR’s star of the UAE leg, Venkatesh Iyer, once again chipped in with some delightful…

Having remained a free agent for over one year, ex-France international finally announced his retirement during an interview with French publication “Le Journal du Dimanche”. Having made his mark at Marseille, Nasri joined Arsenal for 16 million euros and donned the red-and-white for three seasons. Despite failing to win any major trophies with the Gunners, the winger who was capable of playing in attacking midfield and central midfield positions, caught the attention of Manchester City. https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1032918729951272960 Nasri’s career started going uphill after his move to City in 2011, and he played a crucial role in Roberto Mancini’s Premier League win of 2011/12, scoring five and assisting…

Having missed a crucial penalty in the most dreadful way possible against Aston Villa on Saturday, Manchester United midfielder spoke up about it on social media. The Portuguese stepped on to take an injury-time penalty with his side trailing 1-0, and lashed the ball into the crowd at the Stretford End. https://twitter.com/ESPNUK/status/1441758078118989824 Usually a very reliable and clinical penalty taker, Bruno Fernandes has been the chief penalty taker for United ever since he entered the fray in England. However, some people expected Cristiano Ronaldo to take over the mantle after making his move back to United from Juventus, but that wasn’t the case against Villa.…

Ex-India cricketer turned commentator Gautam Gambhir has said that MS Dhoni should bat higher up the order if Chennai Super Kings qualify for the playoffs. The star for India in two ICC finals back in the day, Gambhir has overseen a stupendous reign as KKR captain. While speaking to Star Sports, Gautam said that MS Dhoni must bat up the order, at number 4, to accommodate batters lower down the order who can get going instantly. This season, Dhoni has scored 51 runs in the IPL and has struggled to bat the way he usually does. Credit: IPLT20 However, his…

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has predicted that the Kolkata Knight Riders will reach the final of IPL’s ongoing edition. Despite a brash start to the campaign, the Knight Riders, have picked up things brilliantly in the UAE and are looking like a force to reckon with. This prompted the Star Sports commentator to predict that the men in purple have a definitive chance of reaching the finals. Former KKR player Aakash Chopra is not alone, though. The franchise’s most successful skipper Gautam Gambhir also said in the post-match live session that KKR will reach the final. Kolkata Knight Riders won just two games…