Celta cuts Betis’ advantage in fifth as Champions League spot opens up

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Madrid, May 10 (IANS) Celta Vigo kept alive its hopes of playing in next season’s UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win away to Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday.

Atletico missed several chances, while Borja Iglesias scored the only goal of the game in the 62nd minute.

Real Sociedad fought back from two goals down to claim a dramatic 2-2 draw with Real Betis, reported Xinhua.

Two days after it was confirmed Spain will have five Champions League places next season, Betis took a 2-0 lead thanks to Antony and Abde Ezzalzouli.

However, Orri Oskarsson pulled a goal back after an assist from the left with 11 minutes left to play, and Mikel Oyarzabal made it 2-2 in the 91st minute from the penalty spot.

Celta cuts fifth-placed Betis’ lead to four points.

Sevilla took an important step away from the bottom three with a 2-1 home win over Espanyol.

Tyrhys Dolan gave Espanyol a 56th-minute lead. Young Sevilla defender Andres Castrin leveled in the 82nd minute after he was allowed to advance unchallenged into the Espanyol area, and Akor Adams won the game in the 91st minute with a well-placed shot from outside the area.

Alaves remains in the bottom three despite a 1-1 draw away to Elche, which saw Alvaro Rodriguez’s header for the home side cancel out Toni Martinez’s penalty for Alaves.

Alaves was inches away from a vital win after substitute Aitor Manas saw his effort bounce back off the post in the 98th minute.

Levante kept its survival hopes alive with an epic fightback to edge Osasuna 3-2 on Friday.

After going 2-0 down in the early stage with an own goal and Ante Budimir’s strike, Levante stormed back, with Victor Garcia scoring two goals in three minutes to level before halftime.

Levante threw everything at Osasuna in the second half and was finally rewarded by Karl Etta Eyong’s last-minute winner.

–IANS

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1st Test: Harry Brook’s unbeaten fifty steadies England, trail India by 144 at lunch

Leeds, June 22 (IANS) Local lad Harry Brook was at his rollicking best to hit his 12th Test fifty, as England trail India by 144 runs after reaching 327/5 in 77 overs at lunch on day three of first Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Headingley on Sunday.

After Brook was almost dismissed for naught off Jasprit Bumrah at the stroke of stumps on day two, as replays showed it was a no-ball, the right-handed batter was at his free-flowing best. He earned another reprieve when on 46, Rishabh Pant dropped his catch off Ravindra Jadeja, as Brook eventually reached his half century off 65 balls to end the session at a counter-attacking 57 not out.

With Jamie Smith providing him good support via 29 not out off 45 balls and his partnership with Brook being at 51 off 73 balls, England would fancy their chances of taking the lead over India, who bowled with more control, though Jasprit Bumrah couldn’t add more to his three scalps and will have a chance in second session to get more breakthroughs.

Brook was on the money from the word go, cutting Prasidh Krishna for four before pulling him over midwicket for six. Overnight centurion Ollie Pope added only six runs before edging behind off Krishna, giving Rishabh Pant his 150th catch in Tests. But Brook continued to stamp his authority with his loft, steer, drive, and ramp shots.

Ben Stokes looked scratchy in his 20 off 52 balls before being caught behind off Mohammed Siraj, which prompted the England skipper to throw his bat in the air in frustration. Smith was solid in getting his boundaries off Siraj and Shardul Thakur, before his inside edge narrowly evaded debutant B Sai Sudharsan in a tough take at forward short leg off Jadeja.

Brook’s reprieve on 46 came when Pant failed to gather the ball and couldn’t take the catch on rebound, again off Jadeja, who found some help from the pitch. Though Brook and Smith ensured England ended the session without any more loss of wickets, the new ball being due in three overs’ time means they will face a stern examination from Bumrah when post-lunch session commences.

Brief Scores: India 471 in 113 overs (Shubman Gill 147; Ben Stokes 4-66) lead England 327/5 in 77 overs (Ollie Pope 106, Ben Duckett 62; Jasprit Bumrah 3-67, Mohammed Siraj 1-73) by 144 runs

–IANS

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A minute’s silence observed for IS Bindra, Ajit Pawar in Ranji Trophy games in Chandigarh, Mumbai

New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) Players and officials observed a minute’s silence in memory of former BCCI President IS Bindra and Maharashtra’s deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar ahead of the Ranji Trophy round seven fixtures in Chandigarh and Mumbai, respectively.

Bindra, who served as the BCCI President from 1993 to 1996, apart from being the President of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), passed away at the age of 84 in New Delhi on Sunday. At the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali, both the Punjab and Karnataka teams, along with match officials, observed a minute’s silence before play began in the Elite Group B clash.

“A minute’s silence was observed ahead of the Ranji Trophy match between Punjab and Karnataka in memory of former BCCI President Mr Inderjit Singh Bindra, who passed away on 25th January, 2026, at the age of 84,” said the BCCI through its ‘X’ account for domestic cricket on Thursday.

Meanwhile, at the BKC Ground in Mumbai, players from both the Mumbai and Delhi teams, along with match officials, observed a minute’s silence for Pawar, who passed away in a plane crash in Baramati, Maharashtra, on Wednesday, before play began in the Elite Group D clash. The players are also sporting black armbands in honour of Pawar.

“A moment of silence was observed before the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Delhi to pay tribute to the late Hon. Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajit Dada Pawar, honouring his memory and contributions.

“A moment of silence was observed before the Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Delhi to pay tribute to the late Hon. Deputy Chief Minister Shri Ajit Dada Pawar, honouring his memory and contributions,” wrote Ajinkya Naik, President of the Mumbai Cricket Association, on his ‘X’ account.

–IANS

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‘Bumrah might retire from Test cricket soon’, says Kaif after pacer’s low-key performance in Manchester

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) Former India batter Mohammad Kaif made a shocking revelation that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah might retire from red-ball cricket after failing to give his 100 per cent on the field in the ongoing fourth Test against England at Old Trafford.

Bumrah has so far bowled 28 overs in England’s first innings and returned with the figures of 1-95. His only dismissal was Jamie Smith in the final session of play on Friday. It was not about getting wickets but his pace has noticeably dipped in the ongoing fourth Test, where he’s mostly operating in the 130-135 kmph range – a marked drop from the speeds he clocked during the series opener in Headingley. In both the Leeds and Lord’s Tests, the 31-year-old consistently touched 140 kmph.

“Jasprit Bumrah, I feel, will not play in the upcoming Test matches and might retire as well. He is struggling with his body and his pace has dropped in this Test match. He is an honest man and if he feels that he’s not able to give 100 per cent to the country, he will rule himself out. Not getting wickets is one thing, but the pace has also dropped to 125-130 kmph,” Kaif said in a video posted on X.

Concerns deepened when Bumrah was seen clutching his ankle during the second session, though he did return to bowl later in the day. Even the commentators noted that he appeared to be holding back, bowling within himself and approaching the crease cautiously.

With Bumrah already scheduled to feature in only three of the five Tests due to workload management, Kaif suggested that fans may need to start adjusting to the prospect of seeing less of him in the longest format moving forward.

“There is no doubt about his passion and commitment, but he is losing out on his body. His non-performance in this Test, clearly speaks that he will have problems in playing Test matches ahead and might not even play in Tests. After Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ashwin, the Indian fans have to prepare themselves for playing without Bumrah. I hope my prediction comes out wrong, but what I saw is what I’m speaking of,” the former batter added.

–IANS

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