timesofindia.indiatimes.com - Jos Buttler steers clear of controversy after Matthew Wade obstruction

Jos Buttler steers clear of controversy after Matthew Wade obstruction

Jos Buttler declined to appeal against Australia's Matthew Wade for obstructing the field in the series-opening T20 match in Perth on Sunday but said he might be less forgiving in the upcoming World Cup. The match was delicately poised with Australia needing 39 off 23 balls to win when Wade top-edged a short ball from Mark Wood into his helmet. The ball careened into the air and Wood ran down to Wade's end to attempt a catch but the Australian wicketkeeper-batsman stuck an arm out to impede him.

'Super-pumped' Novak Djokovic ending troubled year on a high

Novak Djokovic believes his prolonged but self-inflicted absences in 2022 make him even more "super-pumped and motivated" to finish a year which started with the ignominy of deportation from Australia on a high. The 35-year-old swept to back-to-back titles when he comfortably defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 in the Astana final on Sunday, a week after securing the Tel Aviv trophy. "I could not ask for a better restart of the season. I'm super-pumped and motivated to end the season as well as I have done these past couple of weeks," said the former world number one.

History beckons for title-holders Australia at T20 World Cup

Aaron Finch's men enjoy the advantage of being the only winners of cricket's shortest format to have a crack at defending the title on home territory since the T20 World Cup started in 2007. With a star-studded line-up spearheaded by David Warner, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell, the Australians also boast all but one of the team that won the tournament last year in the UAE. Finch, who recently stood down as one-day skipper to focus on T20s, suggested they will be all guns blazing in defence of the trophy. "If in doubt, be overly aggressive. That is how we want to play," he said. "At times that is going to come with high risk and high reward. At times it comes with no reward. That is just a part of T20."

Juergen Klopp blasts 'soft' penalty as Liverpool crash at Arsenal

Liverpool to a damaging 3-2 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday. Klopp's side were clinging on for a point until the 76th minute at the Emirates Stadium when Thiago Alcantara was punished for his challenge on Gabriel Jesus. There was only minimal contact from Thiago as Jesus went to ground in the Liverpool area, but the penalty was awarded after a VAR check. Bukayo Saka converted the spot-kick to leave Liverpool languishing 14 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. Klopp confronted referee Michael Oliver on the pitch after the final whistle and made it clear he felt the incident was not worthy of a penalty.

India vs South Africa, 2nd ODI: Indian bowlers didn't give us any freebies, says Aiden Markram

Markram (79) and Reeza Hendricks (74) shared 129 runs for the third wicket, but South Africa lost four wickets for 63 runs in the back-end to settle for 278 for 7, a target India chased down with seven wickets in hand, here on Sunday. "They (India) bowled well, they did not give us any freebies. Whenever a team goes bang-bang, the fielding team all of a sudden gets that momentum in their corner. Myself getting out at that time of the innings was, maybe, where we left that 15-20 runs short," Markram said after India levelled the three-match series.

Nervy Barcelona cling on to beat Celta Vigo and top La Liga, Real Sociedad beat Villarreal

Barcelona earn an agonising 1-0 win over Celta Vigo to move back top of La Liga on Sunday. After Real Madrid beat Getafe, Barcelona knew they had to beat the Galicians to head into next Sunday's Clasico as league leaders, but Celta did not make it easy for them. With Barcelona clutching a narrow advantage, the visitors came close to an equaliser at Camp Nou and Marc-Andre ter Stegen earned a sixth consecutive domestic clean sheet with a brilliant save from Iago Aspas late on. Goncalo Paciencia hit the post in stoppage time with the Catalans on the ropes, begging for the whistle. "We had a great second half, with four, or five, or six clear chances, but if you don't score at Camp Nou then it's normal that you lose," Aspas told DAZN. "They ended up wasting time on throw-ins."

Waiving Novak Djokovic's visa ban would be 'slap in the face' for Australia: Ex-minister

Novak Djokovic's visa ban to let him play the Australian Open would be a "slap in the face" for Australian people who vaccinated for COVID-19, opposition lawmaker and former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on Monday. Serbian Djokovic was deported from Australia in the leadup to the Grand Slam in January for declining to be vaccinated. The former world number one is barred from the country until 2025 but can have his three-year visa ban waived by the government.

U-17 World Cup: Thomas Dennerby working on India's defence

While the other contestants from Group A - Brazil and Morocco - took to practice at the other ground on the same premise, their opponents in Tuesday's opener, the US, took over in an evening session at the same venue. It is a formidable group that the hosts have been drawn into and Dennerby's stress upon his wards' defensive training revealed the challenge that has been thrown at the Indians. Having conceded 20 goals in the last six matches - with Brazil and the US having netted 33 and 58 times, respectively - the hosts' defensive woes could hit them hard in the group stage of the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. Adding to their test at hand will be the presence of some of the most promising young footballers in the world in their opposing ranks. While the US attack will be boosted by the presence of Amalia Villarreal and Riley Jackson - the joint-highest goal scorer in their World Cup-qualifying CONCACAF U17 Championship campaign and the best player at the same, respectively - as well as Taylor Suarez, the world awaits the arrival of Ingrid Aparecida Borges de Moraes or 'Jhonson' who fired nine goals during Brazil's qualifying campaign.

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Timesofindia.indiatimes.com Sport News

Jos Buttler steers clear of controversy after Matthew Wade obstruction

'Super-pumped' Novak Djokovic ending troubled year on a high

History beckons for title-holders Australia at T20 World Cup

Juergen Klopp blasts 'soft' penalty as Liverpool crash at Arsenal

India vs South Africa, 2nd ODI: Indian bowlers didn't give us any freebies, says Aiden Markram

Nervy Barcelona cling on to beat Celta Vigo and top La Liga, Real Sociedad beat Villarreal

Waiving Novak Djokovic's visa ban would be 'slap in the face' for Australia: Ex-minister

U-17 World Cup: Thomas Dennerby working on India's defence