Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 8 (ANI): Sachin Tendulkar-led India Legends is all set to take on England Legends in the big encounter of the ongoing Road Safety World Series T20 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium on Tuesday.
A high on confidence India will have the upper hand in this exciting tie for the kind of talent they have at their disposal. Playing at home adds zing to their already strong presence on the field. The Indians have been the most consistent side in the tournament.
On the other hand, England, who played their first game on Sunday, opened their account immediately with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Bangladesh Legends.
Going by team balance, India could be the stronger side on paper for the sheer all-round strength.
The top-order comprising captain Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag is a deadly combination and a nightmare for any new ball bowler. The presence of the dashing southpaw Yuvraj Singh, the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan, and his brother all-rounder Irfan adds ice to the cake.
The trio of Munaf Patel, Irfan, and R Vinay Kumar not only makes India dangerous with the new ball but also brings in a lot of variety. Tweakers Yuvraj and Yusuf make it more than a back-up for India Legends leading spinner Pragyan Ojha.
For England, all eyes will be on Kevin Pietersen to take their team home, especially after he blasted and entertaining 17-ball 42 against Bangladesh to give them a strong platform for an easy win.
However, Pietersen will have to play out of his skin when he plays the in-form bowling of Team India which has been more than effective on these slow wickets. Skipper Pietersen would be expecting a bit more from his batsmen.
The bowling department of England is far more experienced with some exciting bowlers like Chris Tremlett, James Tredwell, Matthew Hoggard, Ryan Sidebottom and Sajid Mahmood in it. However, it will boil down to left-arm spinner Monty Panesar on how well he does on those slow tracks.
India Legends: Sachin Tendulkar (C), Virender Sehwag, Mohammed Kaif, S Badrinath, Yuvraj Singh Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan Munaf Patel, Manpreet Singh Gony, Pragyan Ojha, R Vinay Kumar, Noel David, Naman Ojha
England Legends: Kevin Pietersen (C), Darren Maddy, Gavin Hamilton, James Tindall, Jim Troughton, Jonathan Trott, Chris Schofield, Chris Tremlett, James Tredwell, Kabir Ali, Matthew Hoggard, Monty Panesar, Ryan Sidebottom, Sajid Mahomood, Usman Afzaal (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): In a first-time move, Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju jointly launched an online training programme exclusively for women physical education teachers and community coaches.
Smriti Irani and Rijiju on Monday also announced a number of initiatives that the two ministries will be taking together, the first of which was launched on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The initiative which is a convergence of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and Fit India programmes, aims to empower women teachers in primary, secondary and senior secondary schools by giving them fitness training so that they can, in turn, empower students, especially the girl child.
The programme has registered the participation of 12500 PE Teachers and Community Coaches, who will be imparted training for free. The online program will have a total of 28 sessions (in Hindi and English) i.e., two sessions of 90 minutes each daily and will commence on March 8 and will go on till March 26.
Speaking at the event, Irani said, “I am so happy to know that so many women have registered for this unique programme, who will, in turn, be able to motivate our future generation of girls to be physically fit and take up sports.
“I understand that women participation in the Khelo India Games has gone up by 160 per cent between 2018 to 2020 and I would like to thank Rijiju for executing the vision of our PM so well,” she further said.
“Going forward, through the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao and Khelo India initiatives, we would like to support and promote our female athletes,” Irani added.
Elaborating on the collaborative events planned ahead, Rijiju said, “This online training programme is the first of many of projects that the ministries will organise together. In the second half of the year, when the Covid situation is completely under control, we have planned to organise Girls’ Super Leagues in Kho Kho, Basketball, Kabaddi and Football in association with MoWDC.”
With this initiative, Fit India and WCD aim to provide an opportunity for women teachers to learn from the best trainers not just in India but from the world over and in the process empower them in the field of physical fitness and health.
Under this, the government aims to train female teachers of primary, secondary and senior secondary classes who undertake physical activities in their schools, female PE Teachers and community coaches across the country, and women who aspire to be PE teachers or coaches in the future.
Besides the online PE teachers and community coaching programme, the Fit India Mission organised an All Women’s Fit India Walkathon on Monday morning where thousands of NYKS volunteers participated in the event which was held in 1000 locations across India. (ANI)

Goa [India], March 8 (ANI): ATK Mohun Bagan and NorthEast United walked away on level terms after their first leg playoffs of the Indian Super League (ISL). The second leg at the Fatorda Stadium on Tuesday will decide if NorthEast will play their first final or if Antonio Habas’ side will play their third.
Bagan coach Antonio Habas was denied a win in the first leg by a late Idrissa Sylla header, a result that mounted pressure on Bagan, who haven’t been at their best off late.
The Kolkata team has had a solid defence throughout the season, having conceded just 15 times in the league stage. But the team has conceded 5 goals in the last 3 games which cost them the ISL League Winners Shield as well as an advantage in the first leg. However, coach Habas feels such situations do arise in the games where players tend to lose concentration.
Habas though looked relaxed ahead of the second-leg. “There is no pressure,” he said. “It’s all about a big opportunity and this opportunity wouldn’t come again. We have to enjoy now. We have to give our best and enjoy the semi-finals.”
When questioned about his approach against Khalid Jamil’s side, who are unbeaten in the last 10 games, a composed Habas replied he had instructed his players to stay calm. “Strategy is to keep calm and keep the intensity and to try to win. It’s more important to play with calmness and to go through to the final,” he said.
Bagan will bank on David Williams and Roy Krishna on Tuesday as the duo has never failed to contribute with goals at this stage.
For NorthEast, who are unbeaten under Jamil, it will be their first-ever final, provided they beat ATKMB.
“We have to focus on getting the result as it is a do-or-die game,” stated Jamil. “There is always pressure. I have told the boys to enjoy this pressure. Both teams have to fight for a result because of no away goals, so it is the same for our opponent as well.”
“We will have to create more scoring opportunities and put them under pressure. One team will have to outscore the other in this one as a draw will create the added load of 30 minutes,” he said. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): The final of the World Test Championship (WTC) between India and New Zealand will be played at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. The final will be played from June 18 to 22 with June 23 kept as the reserve day.
Speaking to ANI, BCCI vice president Rajiv Shukla confirmed the development. “Yes, the final will be played in Southampton keeping an eye on the COVID situation,” he said.
Team India on Saturday roared into the final of the inaugural edition of the WTC following an emphatic 3-1 series win over England.
Virat Kohli’s men finished as the number one team with 72.2 percentage points in the WTC points table, the factor that determined the final placings rather than total points won, following a change to the points system owing to the Covid-19 disruption.
The Black Caps were the first team to ensure a place in the final with 70 percentage points. Australia finished third with 69.2 percentage points while England ended with 61.4 percentage points at the fourth position.
“That victory against England means India finish the league phase of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship with a fine view from the top of the table,” read a tweet on the official Twitter handle of the International Cricket Council.
After reaching the final, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said that a best of three final would have been nicer, but the senior pro assured that the side will give its best shot in the summit clash.
“For people like me, Pujara (Cheteshwar), Rahane (Ajinkya), and Ishant (Sharma), who did not play the 2019 World Cup, this is literally the World Cup. I also saw Ishant speaking about it. I am happy for every member for making it to the finals. I am sure we can get a positive result if we adapt quickly because we just have one match as the final. It would have been nicer if we had three, but we just have one, we have to live with that and we will try to give our best shot,” said Ashwin in a video posted on the official website of the BCCI.
Talking about the WTC final, pacer Ishant Sharma had said: “Feeling great to be a part of this team. Really happy, the kind of effort we have put in 2-2.5 years for this championship, it is a tremendous achievement that we have made it to the final. Actually, I am looked forward to the final.”
In November last year, the ICC had confirmed that the WTC points system would be amended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Delhi Capitals shared four inspirational stories of women from the capital city, who broke stereotypes and gender roles.
From rally racer Baani Yadav to detective Bhavna Paliwal to transgender model Nitasha Biswas to bouncer Mehrunnisha Shokat Ali, the Delhi Capitals as part of their #MainHoonNayiDilli campaign brought forward stories of these incredible women, who showed a never-say-die attitude and overcame every obstacle that came their way to achieve their dreams.
When Baani Yadav first got a taste of racing at the French Grand Prix at the age of 11, she was certain that she wanted to take up racing as a career. However, before even getting near a car, she was told by her father, “racing wasn’t an option in India, and even less so for a girl.”
Baani wasn’t going to give up on her dreams easily and years later after getting married and having two children, she decided to put her full focus on her goal of becoming a rally racer.
“At the age of 43, I participated in my very first race. I was met with a lot of ridicule, I struggled to find any sponsors and fellow racers didn’t take me seriously. They all expected me to participate in a couple of races and then move on as they didn’t think I had the ability or time for racing, being a woman and a mother,” the Delhi Capitals’ website quoted Baani as saying.
“But I kept turning up to the track, race after race, determined to prove them wrong. My turning point was in 2016, when I stood 2nd in the challenging Rally De North, something no woman had done before. That is when I felt I had finally arrived. It also forced the male racers to sit up and see me in a different light,” she added.
Since her childhood, Bhavna Paliwal always wanted to take the road not taken. After realizing that a career in journalism wasn’t going to satisfy her desire to pursue an unexplored path, Bhavna took the bold step of becoming a detective.
“When I came across an advertisement for private detectives and I decided to turn up for the interview. As soon as I wrapped up my first case, I knew that I had found my calling,” said Bhavna.
Growing up in an extremely conservative family, Mehrunnisha Shokat Ali’s entire life was mapped out on the day she was born. Mehrunnisha’s family expected her to do the household chores, get married young and stick to the path that had been followed by all the women in her family for generations.
But Mehrunnisha wasn’t going to budge. A career wherein she could protect others really appealed to her, therefore she went on to become a policewoman, but she was discouraged by her father. A few years later, Mehrunnisha had found her calling and this time, nobody could stop her.
“When I was 16, I came to Delhi with my little brother for his audition at a singing reality show. There, I saw bouncers for the first time, handling the crowd and keeping everyone safe. I realised this could be the way for me to finally live a part of my dream,” said Mehrunnisha.
As a child, Nitasha Biswas always felt that she was a woman trapped inside a man’s body and therefore she decided to undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to convert her body to that of a female.
Without any support from her family and friends, Nitasha underwent HRT and achieved her dream of becoming a professional model.
“I decided to leave behind everything I knew and moved to New Delhi with one goal — to live the life I always dreamt of. I started my HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) treatment, I met new people who gave me love and respect, and I even had a book written about my journey,” said Nitasha.
“Then, I came across an online ad about India’s first transgender beauty pageant. I decided to enter on whim, not expecting anything, and with no knowledge of how my life was about to change forever,” the model further said.
Each year on March 8, International Women’s Day is observed in order to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day commemorates women, who despite various challenges posed by society have proven their mettle in every sphere across the world. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 8 (ANI): On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Local Organising Committee of FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 with support from FIFA, kicked off its Coach Education Scholarship Programme at Cooperage Stadium in Mumbai to further develop women’s football.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF), in a statement, said that 21 aspiring coaches from different parts of the city took part in the E-license course and were trained in both theoretical and practical elements of the game with all safety practices in place.
“This event signifies the start of the Coach Education Programme that will be carried forward to other districts of Maharashtra, including Pune, Thane, Nagpur and Kolhapur with Government of Maharashtra and the Western India Football Association (WIFA),” AIFF said.
Speaking at the event, Tournament Director of the LOC of FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2022 and AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022, Roma Khanna said, “We’re extremely pleased to restart activities for the U-17 Women’s World Cup. It is important to us that the community benefits from hosting the tournament and today’s event signifies a new start. Having more female coaches at grassroot level is vital to having more young girls and women taking up the sport.”
“It is really encouraging to see so many female coaches in each category now, more so than the previous years. I am sure this will only increase in the future,” said Maymol Rocky, head coach of the Indian women’s national team.
AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das said: “Starting the Coach Education Programme in Maharashtra with FIFA’s support is a wonderful milestone for us. Having increased capacity building courses will help women’s football and broaden its base.”
Chairperson of the Women’s Committee for WIFA, Madhurima Raje was also present at the event. FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will take place in India in 2022. (ANI)