A disallowed Luis Suarez goal summed up a frustrating afternoon for Barcelona as the leaders of La Liga dropped points for the second week running after a 0-0 stalemate with Getafe on Sunday. After needing a late equaliser to grab a point in the Catalan derby at Espanyol last weekend, Barca could not break down a well-organised Getafe side, who showed why they have the third-best defensive record in the league. In irresistible form in front of goal in 2018, Suarez had the ball in the net just before half-time with a great finish from a Lionel Messi free-kick, but the home celebrations were c ... Read More

Manchester United handed Juan Mata a one-year contract extension on Tuesday, tying the playmaker to the club until June 2019. Mata joined from Chelsea in 2014 and has established himself as a key member of the squad under Jose Mourinho, who sold the Spaniard to United when Chelsea manager. When I arrived one-and-a-half years ago, (they said),Mata is in trouble, in trouble, in trouble,and now he is getting an extension of one more year,Mourinho said. An important player for me. Important player for the club. Important player for the other players. ... Read More

What A difference a year makes.It was perhaps the first time in 10 years that Richard Madley had sounded like he actually cared about a players fate at the IPL auction. English pacer Tymal Mills had gone from making franchises break their bank and earning a whopping Rs 12 crore contract in 2017 to inciting yawns and disinterested browsing of the phones in the auction hall a year later on Sunday. And even Madley could not, for a change, help but acknowledge his astonishment at Mills fall from glory. Despite having become such an indelible part of the IPL at least for those two days where his h ... Read More

From a sleepy village in Kashmir to the dressing room of Kings XI Punjab, it has been a long walk for Manzoor Ahmad Dar. And while the Rs 20 lakh spent by the IPL franchise to acquire his services doesn’t mean much in the cash-rich cricket league, it is a jackpot for a someone compelled by financial distress to drop out of school and work as a private security guard at an automobile showroom in Srinagar. Today is the biggest day of my life,the 24-year-old Dar told The Indian Express after he was bought by the Mohali-based franchise.It is difficult to translate my happiness in ... Read More

What A difference a year makes.It was perhaps the first time in 10 years that Richard Madley had sounded like he actually cared about a player’s fate at the IPL auction. English pacer Tymal Mills had gone from making franchises break their bank and earning a whopping Rs 12 crore contract in 2017 to inciting yawns and disinterested browsing of the phones in the auction hall a year later on Sunday. And even Madley could not, for a change, help but acknowledge his astonishment at Mills fall from glory. Despite having become such an indelible part of the IPL at least for those two days where hi ... Read More

IT was like any other Sunday for Jaydev Unadkat. He had driven from his home in Porbandar to Rajkot for his first practice session for the Saurashtra team, which is scheduled to take part in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. While he was rolling his arm over at the nets, Unadkat asked his team physio to call him whenever he went under hammer at the IPL auction in Bangalore. The moment came and Unadkat says everyone left the practice session and rushed to the dressing room. Ek phone ko 30 log gher ke rakhe the. Poori team toot padi thi. Koi chilla raha tha, koi halla kar raha tha. It was fun. All were ... Read More