The News Caravan

Tag: Semifinal

  • Mumbai City FC vs Mohun Bagan Super Giant HIGHLIGHTS, Durand Cup Quarterfinals

    Mumbai City FC vs Mohun Bagan Super Giant HIGHLIGHTS, Durand Cup Quarterfinals

    In an exhilarating confrontation at the lofty Durand Cup, Mohun Bagan Very Goliath (MBSG) arose triumphant with a resonating 3-1 success against Mumbai City FC, getting their spot in the elimination rounds. The quarterfinal conflict, which occurred at the Ambedkar Arena in New Delhi on Sunday, saw intense fan support and uncommon exhibitions from the two sides.

    The high-stakes quarterfinal experience was set apart by a variety of serious minutes and splendid presentations of expertise from both Mumbai City FC and Mohun Bagan Very Monster.

    Mumbai City FC opened the scoring in the eighteenth moment, with striker Rajesh Kumar tracking down the rear of the net. Be that as it may, their lead was fleeting as MBSG quickly answered with an objective by their star forward, Arjun Das, in the 25th moment.

    The defining moment of the match came in the 38th moment when MBSG’s midfielder, Ankit Sharma, got a tremendous free-kick, putting his group ahead 2-1. Mumbai City FC fought furiously to even out the score however was frustrated by MBSG’s strong safeguard.

    As the clock ticked down, it was MBSG that had the last say, with Arjun Das protecting his support with a clinical completion in injury time, fixing a 3-1 triumph and a spot in the Durand Cup elimination rounds.

    Mumbai City FC’s lead trainer, Rohit Mehta, recognized the force of the match, expressing, “It was a hard-battled challenge, and the two groups showed estimable expertise and assurance. Congrats to Mohun Bagan Very Monster for their exhibition.”

    On the opposite side, MBSG’s director, Sanjay Singh, communicated his fulfillment with his group’s exhibition, saying, “The players executed the blueprint impeccably, and we are really glad to advance to the elimination rounds. We desire to proceed with this force in the impending matches.”

    The triumph moves Mohun Bagan Very Goliath into the elimination rounds, where they will confront the champ of the quarterfinal conflict between East Bengal and Churchill Siblings FC. Football devotees the nation over are enthusiastically guessing what vows to be an exciting end to the 2023 Durand Cup.

    The Durand Cup, India’s most seasoned football competition, has reliably given football fans holding activity and paramount minutes. As the competition advances, the fervor just heightens, and football lovers anxiously anticipate the impending elimination round conflicts.

  • Luca Brecel fights back against Si Jiahui in thrilling Crucible semi-final

    Luca Brecel fights back against Si Jiahui in thrilling Crucible semi-final

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    Luca Brecel staged a brave fightback to stay in his World Snooker Championship semi-final against Si Jiahui in one of the most exciting sessions witnessed at the Crucible.

    The Chinese world No 80, who has wowed fans over the last two weeks with his brilliant attacking game, looked on course to win the match with a session to spare when he won the first three frames of the evening session, extending his lead from 11-5 to 14-5 with breaks of 90, 132 and 97.

    But Brecel, the world No 10 from Belgium, came from 10-6 behind to defeat the defending champion and world No 1, Ronnie O’Sullivan, 13-10 in the quarter-finals. He summoned up the same fighting spirit that secured that memorable victory with a display of virtuoso attacking snooker.

    Si seemed to wilt when Brecel produced some audacious potting and break-building, as the Belgian forced his way back into the match in dramatic fashion, winning five straight frames including a break of 108. It was exhibition stuff, particularly an outrageously thin cut on a red near the pink spot into the middle pocket that drew gasps of admiration from the crowd.

    In the final frame of the night, it looked as if Brecel was on course to reduce his arrears to four frames when he made a break of 53, only to miss the final red to give Si a chance. But the 20-year-old surprisingly missed a straightforward attempt at green and thumped the table in frustration, a rare show of annoyance.

    Brecel had fought back to 14-10 to give himself a chance when play resumes on Saturday afternoon, with Si needing three more frames for victory.

    Mark Selby plays a shot as Mark Allen watches on in their world championship semi-final.
    Mark Selby plays a shot as Mark Allen watches on in their semi-final. The match was played in a jovial spirit despite the dour nature of the snooker. Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA

    In the other semi-final it was a different story, as Mark Selby, the world No 2, and Mark Allen, the No 3, laboured for more than three hours to complete only five of their scheduled eight frames, with Selby establishing a 7-6 overnight advantage.

    Selby is well known for his obdurate approach and his tactical game which is second to none, and which has helped him win four world titles. Allen is traditionally an aggressive, attacking break-builder but has recently reined in his natural instincts to great effect. He has won three ranking titles this season, including the UK Championship, and is miles in front as No 1 on the one-year ranking list.

    So a tough, gruelling battle was very much on the cards. Even so, it was perhaps more gruelling than many had expected.

    Stephen Hendry, for one. He criticised the two players, saying they had cast a “dark cloud” over the Crucible. The seven-times world champion, a pundit for the BBC, said: “A dark cloud came over the match table at the Crucible. It was not pretty.

    “It’s not the snooker that I want to watch, but I understand that snooker has to be played in different ways. It’s almost like they’re trying to be too precise, too exact in their matchplay. Just play the ball sometimes.”

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    #Luca #Brecel #fights #Jiahui #thrilling #Crucible #semifinal
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Si Jiahui leads Brecel in Crucible semi-final while Allen puts heat on Selby

    Si Jiahui leads Brecel in Crucible semi-final while Allen puts heat on Selby

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    Chinese youngster Si Jiahui leads Luca Brecel 5-3 at the end of an intriguing first session of their world championship semi-final.

    The 20-year-old, the first debutant to reach the last four since Andy Hicks in 1995, lost the first frame, but produced back-to-back clearances of 125, 102 and 97 to punish Brecel for errors with a near-faultless display of break building. However the Belgian, who beat seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last eight, scrapped his way back to 4-3 before succumbing in a nail-biting conclusion to the afternoon’s play.

    In a scrappy start, Brecel enjoyed the benefit of an outrageous fluke when he rattled the pink in the jaws and saw the ball run the length of the table down the cushion before dropping in. He went on to make 50 before missing the blue off its spot although Si – the youngest semi-finalist at the tournament since O’Sullivan in 1996 – was unable to prevent him from going ahead.

    However, the youngster announced himself in style in the second frame, sinking a tough red to get in before compiling an imperious 125 break. And he repeated the feat to take a 2-1 lead when, after Brecel had missed the yellow at 33-0, he cleared the table once again.

    Si eased himself 3-1 in front at the mid-session interval after an arm-wrestle in the fourth frame with both players twice missing difficult reds to the middle pockets before he prevailed 103-29 courtesy of a break of 97. The world No 80 stuttered briefly, missing a regulation red as he applied right-hand side to the cue-ball in an effort to develop the pack after Brecel had erred once again, but eventually tied up an untidy fifth frame 103-3.

    Si’s first error of note arrived in the next when, 53 points into another seemingly decisive break, he jawed the black to allow his opponent to the table, and Brecel’s break of 72 stopped the rot.

    Having benefited from a mistake, Brecel handed it back almost immediately, following up a good long red with a careless blue, but the Chinese player was equally profligate, leaving himself unable to see a colour as he attempted to develop the pack before taking seven attempts to hit the nominated brown. A second snooker and three more misses yielded 12 more points to leave the 28-year-old 38-33 ahead, and he eventually drew back to within one frame of his opponent with a visit of 69.

    The final frame of the session unfolded with a sustained safety exchange, but it was Brecel who made the first move with a break of 33 before inexplicably missing the pink – although Si faltered at 43-34. Brecel then rattled a pink towards the top pocket which, had it gone in, would have levelled the match at 4-4, but it rolled agonisingly over left-middle, allowing the younger man to go two in front again.

    Mark Allen finished the opening stanza of the other semi-final against Mark Selby on a roll, winning the final three frames to lead 5-3 overnight.

    A 123 clearance gave Selby the ideal start but uncharacteristic errors in the safety battles in the next two frames allowed his Northern Irish opponent to take control with breaks of 63 and 66. Selby missed a black off its spot in the fourth frame but still went into the mid-session interval level at 2-2 as it was Allen’s turn to fluff his lines in a tactical exchange.

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    A break of 68 moved Selby into the lead in an ebb-and-flow session and while Allen levelled, there was a hint of controversy when replays showed he grazed the red he was bridging over to make a tough pot. The referee did not spot the foul while Allen did not acknowledge it either so – with players so scrupulous in calling to attention any wrongdoing when they are at the table – the suggestion was the left-hander, who has won three ranking events this season, was oblivious to what he had done.

    Selby did have a visit to the table thereafter but his rival’s break of 64 left him well adrift and Allen quickly wrapped up the frame. Allen then finished the session with breaks of 60 and 78 to seize the initiative.

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    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Assembly polls in 9 states: Semi-final before the 2024 LS polls

    Assembly polls in 9 states: Semi-final before the 2024 LS polls

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    The results of the recently concluded Tripura elections and upcoming assembly polls in eight states in the current year will be a trailer and the semi-final before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The results will show whether the BJP continues to sway the voters or the Congress-led Opposition will defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections. Regional satraps would naturally want to protect their turf.

    The eight states where elections are going to be held in the current year are Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and the three northeastern states, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

    The poll schedule runs through the year. The voting process in Tripura ended on 16 February 2023 and the results will be announced on March 2 whereas Meghalaya, and Nagaland will go to polls on February 27. Karnataka to go for polling in April- May. Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram will face elections at the year-end. Jammu and Kashmir may also go for polls, the first since the abrogation of Article 350 in 2019.

    Congress, BJP, and regional parties are all playing it, marshaling all their resources. The states where BJP and Congress remain the leading contenders are- big states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chattisgarh. Congress is ruling Rajasthan, Chattisgarh, BJP Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh. A two percent swing, either way, would change the results.

    BJP wants to expand further while Congress struggles to raise its head. It has already lost the northeastern states, which was its stronghold at one point in time to the BJP, and BJP has increased its foothold steadily everywhere. Even the Communists have lost Tripura to the BJP. With such high stakes, the worst-case scenario for Congress is to lose Rajasthan and Chattisgarh and not win any of the other seven states. The best-case scenario is to retain what it has and gain more.

    The BJP is on a mission mod. Mission 350′ (to get 350 seats in Lok Sabha) is their stated goal. It is going all out to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi to perform a hat trick.’

    Earlier, the BJP chief Nadda sounded the poll bugle, asking the cadres to “Prepare to win all nine Assembly polls this year. The party is getting votes of Backward Classes, SCs and STs, and is giving them representation. This shows our resolve of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Prayas,” he said; while addressing the party’s national executive recently.

    The two parties have already begun their poll exercises, with Modi campaigning in the North East and the Congress concentrating on Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. Key regional players like the ambitious Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, hoping for a hat trick, are also preparing for the battle of 2023.

    The BJP wants to focus on the South, which has 129 seats, of which the party has only 29 seats, 25 coming from Karnataka. The party wants to win at least 50 seats. But the regional satraps have a firm hold in Southern states, be it Telangana or Kerala.

    “The upcoming 2023 assembly elections will be the final journey for communists, and the Congress party will become a poster”, according to Tripura’s former Tripura chief minister Biplov Kumar Deb. It will be a trial by fire between BJP and regional parties in the northeastern states. The seven states count for 25 seats.

    After completing Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ Yatra, the Congress workers are enthused.

    We must wait for Yatra’s electoral impact, as it depends on follow-up. Organizational unity is a crucial challenge, especially in states such as Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Telangana, where traditionally, Congress had done well in the past. The party’s high command must not mess up as it did in Punjab and elsewhere. It must choose its alliance partners and assess its strength correctly.
    Secondly, it has to find a balance between old guards and younger leaders. Thirdly, Congress must choose a new, catchy narrative and raise correct issues, particularly of interest to the common man, like bread and butter issues.

    For the BJP, money is no constraint, nor is the organization. Above all, the BJP depends on Modi’s magic to sway the voters.

    However, the Saffron party is on the back foot regarding price rise, inflation, and jobs. There are no takers for its Hindutva ideology in the South. If the opposition concentrates on the bread and butter issues and convinces the voters to move away from the BJP, it would be an ‘advantage Opposition.’ The BJP also has to fight the dynasties, welfare politics, and social engineering to conquer the South. Regional satraps like K. Chandrashekhar Rao still have a hold on the electorate.

    Each player has to use a different poll strategy to win and go for a suitable alliance. The Congress needs a different narrative, while the BJP ideology does not attract people in the South. The parties have to overcome some disadvantages to utilize their advantages successfully. Ultimately, it all depends on the voters and Dame Luck.

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    #Assembly #polls #states #Semifinal #polls

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )