"I stand by my comments. Anybody who tweets on social media platform should be careful. But anyone with a contrary view should be allowed to speak. Gurmehar is a young girl and she should be allowed to speak her mind," he said.
Hosts Mumbai rode on a solid batting display following their excellent bowling stint and looked poised for an outright win against Punjab on Day 3 of their Ranji Trophy match in Mumbai on Saturday.
India's chances of advancing to the final suffered a blow after they went down 1-2 to defending champions New Zealand in their penultimate round-robin league match of the 25th Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Ipoh in Malaysia. Goals from Ken Russell (28th minute) and Nick Wilson (41st) clinched victory for defending champions New Zealand, who managed to weather the hot and humid conditions better than the Indians, whose only goal came from Mandeep Singh in the 36th minute. Wilson's match-winner resulted from a defensive error committed by the Indians as they failed to clear the ball properly in their own striking circle. New Zealand benefitted from the loose ball in the Indian circle in the 41st minute, when a reverse shot from the goal-line was padded by the Indian goalkeeper and deflected to the middle. Defender Harmanpreet failed to connect in his reflex attempt to push the ball out and Wilson had the easiest task of shooting into the goal for what turned out to be the match-winner for the Black Sticks
A spirited Ranchi Rays overcame a two-goal deficit to hold defending champions Delhi Waveriders to a 2-2 draw in a league match of the third Hero Hockey India League (HIL) in Ranchi.
Chasing 135 to win, Gujarat lost both openers - Ishan Kishan (16) and Brendon McCullum (3) -- to be reduced to 23-2 but Finch blasted 5 fours and 6 sixes in his scintillating 34-ball 72-run innings as the visitors romped home with 6.1 overs to spare.
Having flattered to deceive on most occasions after his transition from Under-19 to senior cricket, Delhi boy Unmukt Chand would like to make amends as he leads India 'A' in the tri-nation 'A' series, considered a launch pad to the senior team.
Bangalore have been on a roll with skipper Virat Kohli enjoying one of the best phases of his career as he has four centuries under his belt.
Manish Pandey continued his good form in the limited-overs' format, scoring an unbeaten 99 as defending champions Karnataka beat Mumbai by four wickets to enter the semi-finals of the National One-Day Championship, for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, in Vadodara, on Friday.
Sam Curran claimed a hat-trick as Kings Xi Punjab pulled off a miraculous 14-run victory against Delhi Capitals.
This was Dhoni's 17th List 'A' century, which includes 10 in ODIs, and first in domestic one-dayers since February 2005 when he had scored an unbeaten 102 for India Seniors in the Challengers Trophy against India B.
Andre Russell's second consecutive blistering knock made all the difference as Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab by 28 runs in the IPL match IN Kolkata on Wednesday. The Jamacian, who hit a sensational 19-ball 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in KKR's previous match, bludgeoned his way to a 17-ball 48 to propel the home side to a massive 218 for 4 after being sent in to bat.
Mumbai Indians had an off day on the field with below par bowling and catching performance against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Abhimanyu Easwaran dropped anchor at one end as his 97-run stand with Shreevats Goswami enabled Bengal to reach 185 for four against Madhya Pradesh on the first day of their final group league encounter of the Ranji Trophy, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Stung by a batting debacle, Royal Challengers Bangalore have the onerous task of picking up pieces when they face defending champion Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday, with a singular aim of keeping their hopes alive in the Indian Premier League.
Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore will fight for survival when they lock horns in the Indian Premier League in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
If MI have their problems to sort out, having lost at the death in all three games so far, RCB too have their own shortcomings to address with only one win in three games under their belt.
He could be overtaken by Sunrisers Hyderabad Captain Kane Williamson (760) or Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Sunil Narine (703) or even the intrepid Ambati Rayadu (675) of the Chennai Super Kings.
Embattled Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have left themselves with little margin for error after a string of reverses, will face a test of character when they clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, in the Indian Premier League, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore will be aiming for revival when they clash against out-of-sorts Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League match.
A summary of the day's play in the Vijay Hazare One-day tournament.
They have been booked under IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), said a senior police officer.
India disastrous campaign at Hero Hockey World League Final continued as they lost 1-3 to New Zealand to succumb to their second straight defeat in Pool A at the floodlit Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Royal Challengers Bangalore may have faltered against Sunrisers Hyderabad after notching up a win in their first game, but captain Virat Kohli expects a complete turnaround once Adam Milne and Mitchell Starc recover from their respective injuries.
Several states and UTs including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana have decided to opt for global tenders for procurement of anti-coronavirus shots with the domestic supply falling short to meet the rising demand.
Captain Rohit Sharma and Evin Lewis hit quickfire half-centuries to help Mumbai Indians crush Royal Challengers Bangalore by 46 runs for their first victory in IPL-11, in Mumbai on Tuesday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Wednesday.
Sreesanth, who was not shortlisted in IPL 2021 auction's final list, returned figures of five for 65 in his first List A game in more than eight years.
Brimming with confidence after a clean-sweep in the Test series, India will look to carry on their dominance over New Zealand when the two teams lock horns in the first cricket One-day International of the five-match series, in Dharamsala on Sunday.
Prabhjot Singh (6th minute), Shilanand Lakra (15th, 43rd), Harmanjit Singh (21st), Mohd Faraz (23rd), Abhishek (50th) and skipper Mandeep Mor (60th) were the goal scorers for India.
India have their backs to the wall and no other option but beat Korea in Tuesday's do-or-die final Pool C match to progress to the quarter-finals of the Hero Junior Men's Hockey World Cup in Delhi.
Images from Wednesday's IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab, in Bengaluru.
A summary of the second day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches being played at different venues over the country.
Royal Challengers Bangalore got back to winning ways after they squeezed past Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs on a batsman-friendly wicket in their Indian Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The IAF received a total of 13 awards including five Yudh Seva Medals and seven Vayu Sena Medal.
The deceased have been identified as Major K P Rane, hawaldars Jamie Singh and Vikramjeet and rifleman Mandeep.
Appointed coach of the national team for the tour of Zimbabwe, Sanjay Bangar says the upcoming limited overs fixtures against the minnows will be a good opportunity for India's young cricketers to prove their mettle in international cricket.
Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to earn two valuable points and move up to second spot in the points-table when they take on struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Virat Kohli and Steven Smith will be eager to stem the rot when Royal Challengers Bangalore square off with Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League encounter.
Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh made a superb return to competitive cricket as he smashed 92 off only 80 balls to rescue his team from a precarious position against an impressive Jammu and Kashmir bowling attack on the first day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals.
