Both sides will be high on confidence with an aim to come out all guns blazing.
India may be the underdogs in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup but midfield-lynchpin Suresh Singh Wangjam is confident that playing on the home soil would help them do well in the prestigious tournament.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The doping menace in India's Olympic sport has always left the establishment embarrassed and the BCCI in a marked departure has set up an anti-doping helpline so that its domestic cricketers (men and women) are aware of the medicines and supplements they are consuming.
'So we are missing players. Evin Lewis just decided to push back on a central contract. He is good enough to play Test cricket. So the shorter versions of the game curtail our progress. Having said that, it would be unfair to blame the players for making the choice (of playing IPL). We all want to be financially secure at the end of the day'
Minerva Punjab FC will take on Indian Super League side Jamshedpur FC on April 2 in the inaugural Super Cup football tournament which begins in Bhubaneswar on March 31.
A civil war and the menace of militancy has prevented them from playing many matches in run up to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup but then Iraq have proved that they can conquer odds and perform well.
Dravid, who is also tipped to take additional charge as the director of NationalCricketAcademy in Bengaluru, had recently suggested that talented young cricketers should get some vocational training, which can help them later in their lives.
Former India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia said not slotting international friendlies has got nothing to do with ISL dates. "We haven't slotted any international matches, and this has nothing to do with the ISL, nor are we giving importance to it. Instead, we had prioritized the national team to stay together for a one-month camp before they disperse to play ISL," Bhutia told reporters. Bhutia was in the city for the closing ceremony of Bhaichung Bhutia Champions Cup at Harvest International School.
The Local Organising Committee of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 (LOC) on Tuesday unveiled the official emblem for what will be the country's first international football event. The ceremony at a posh city hotel here was attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and Chairman of the LOC and All India Football Federation (AIFF) Praful Patel.
Jeakson Singh worried quite often but the midfielder shoves it away by focussing on the pride he feels in representing India at the FIFA under-17 World Cup.
India U-17 football team captain Amarjit Singh's confidence is set to get a boost during the World Cup as his full family will be in New Delhi to cheer him.
A star-studded England will take on unpredictable Chile in a Group F match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup at the refurbished Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
India and Australia might be sworn enemies on the cricket field but the two nations have been united in mourning the shocking death of Phillip Hughes.
India qualified automatically for the event as hosts. They have prepared well with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sending the players for training tours in Europe and a tournament in Mexico but the home side are the clear underdogs.
Rank-outsiders India may have a 'small percentage' of winning their tournament opener in the FIFA U-17 World Cup against what he expects to be an attacking USA team, coach Luis Norton de Matos said on Thursday.
'This is the beginning of good times for women's cricket.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Tamil Nadu Tennis Association Vice President Karti Chidambaram says the top 5-6 players such as Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Sumit Nagal, Dhakshineshwar Suresh and Nitin Sinha should be supported to travel with a common coach and trainer, play 26 tournaments, out of which at least 18 are abroad, train for 20 weeks and have six weeks of rest in a year.
The celebrations after the 2017 World Cup went on for the next few months. But there was one question that the Indian cricketers failed to respond to in their interviews. 'What was their next assignment?' Nobody knew; the players were waiting for the BCCI to tell them. The BCCI, with barely any time from its endless legal tangles, had nothing in mind immediately. The likes of Australia and England were back on the field, battling it out in the Ashes in front of sizeable crowds. But for Mithali Raj and team, there was no road ahead.
The youngest president of the Indian cricket board in India in independent India, Anurag Thakur has taken over the reins of the world's richest cricketing body at a time it is fighting an existential battle against a complete restructuring recommended by the Supreme Court.
In its quest to paint a rosy picture on the health of Indian cricket, Board of Control for Cricket in India president N Srinivasan and former treasurer Ravi Savant's note in the Board's Annual Report doesn't have a single mention of the spot-fixing scandal that rocked the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Former India Test batsman Praveen Amre and ex-Karnataka left-arm spinner Raghuram Bhat have been found to be in Conflict of Interest by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's Ombudsman. However, former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar was cleared of a similar charge.
It would be unfair to expect India to bedazzle crowds with eye-catching football. This team is built around stability, writes Dhruv Munjal
When it comes to the winning strike rate, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal has emerged victorious on eight of every ten seats it contested while only one of the every three Bharatiya Janata Party candidates managed to win.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag says he would love to be a mentor or a batting consultant for any IPL team which will give him a chance to share his knowledge with youngsters.
'Put cricket, first and foremost, at the centre of every decision you take.' 'The bottom line must always be the sport that we love.' Rahul Dravid as eloquent as always in his M A K Pataudi Memorial Lecture.
Full text of Rahul Dravid's Pataudi Memorial Lecture in New Delhi.
'What is true khadoos? Stubborn? Dogged? Unyielding? Relentless? Or something in between that? Or all of it together?' 'Just like you can't translate it, you can't teach a kid to be khadoos either. You can only inculcate that attitude in him by sharing stories of all the khadoos-ness of past stalwarts.' 'For instance, the story of Sunil Gavaskar batting left handed to counter the left-arm spin of Raghuram Bhat and salvaging a draw in the 1981-1982 Ranji Trophy semi-finals...' Rahul Dravid on Cricket's Great Oral Tradition.
