Kohli shuts down ‘noise’ with landmark century

Cricket icon Virat Kohli said he shut down “the noise” to compile an unbeaten 100 and become only the third man to make 14,000 runs in one-day internationals in Sunday’s six-wicket triumph over Pakistan in the Champions Trophy.Kohli’s 51st ton in the format in Dubai led India to a comfortable victory over their arch-rivals and to the brink of the semi-finals.The knock from the 36-year-old stood out in the high-pressure match as the former captain came into the 50-over tournament with speculation over his cricket future.”My job was clear – to control in the middle overs, not take risks against spinners and take on the pacers. I was happy with the template, it’s how I play in ODIs,” said man-of-the-match Kohli.”I have a decent understanding of my game. It’s about keeping the outside noise away, take care of my energy levels and thoughts. It’s easy for me to get pulled into expectations and frenzy around games like these.”Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan said his respect for Kohli had rocketed.”I wonder how hard he would have worked when the whole world was saying he is out of form but coming into a match which is awaited by the world, he scores runs easily,” said Rizwan.”I praise his hard work and fitness.”India captain Rohit Sharma said, “Virat loves representing the country, doing what he does the best, which is what he did today. People sitting inside the dressing room aren’t surprised with what he did.”Kohli entered the match with 13,985 runs in 298 ODIs and went past 14,000 runs with a flowing punch through the covers off pace bowler Haris Rauf.He is just the third man to achieve the feat after India icon Sachin Tendulkar (18,426) and Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara (14,234).Kohli, who was out for 22 in the opening win over Bangladesh, put on 114 runs with Shreyas Iyer as he drove and flicked with aplomb to reach his 82nd ton across all formats with a winning boundary.He took off his helmet and raised his bat to a standing ovation form the crowd that chanted his name.- ‘Hungry for runs’ -“I have never thought of Virat struggling for runs,” said Iyer.”It’s just that the mindset he possesses over the years, he is always hungry for runs and I remember yesterday he came almost an hour before us for the practise session. Looking from outside he looked as crisp as he looks all the time.”Kohli and Rohit retired from T20 internationals after India’s World Cup triumph last year.But the two struggled to find their best form in both Test and 50-over formats due to inconsistent run-scoring, with speculation that they may soon retire.Following the bruising 3-1 Test defeat in Australia, India’s board ordered contracted players to feature in domestic cricket.But both flopped, with Rohit scoring three and 28 in his first and second innings for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and Kohli scoring six off 15 balls for Delhi.Kohli will likely take field against New Zealand next Sunday in their final group match for his 300th ODI since his debut in 2008.

Israel says army to stay in evacuated West Bank camps for ‘coming year’

Israel said on Sunday its troops would remain for many months in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, after tens of thousands of Palestinians living there have been displaced by an intensifying military operation.The military began a major raid against Palestinian militants in the West Bank’s north a month ago, just after a truce went into effect in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory.The West Bank offensive has gradually expanded, spanning multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.Three of the camps, Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams, “are now empty of residents”, Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.He put the number of displaced Palestinians at 40,000, the same figure provided by the United Nations which said the offensive has so far killed at least 51 Palestinians including seven children, and three Israeli soldiers.Katz said he had instructed troops “to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism”.Also on Sunday, Israel’s military announced tank deployments in Jenin, where it was “expanding” operations.This is the first time tanks have operated in the West Bank since the end of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, in 2005.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a military ceremony on Sunday, said the deployment showed that “we are fighting terror with all means, everywhere”.Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at security and risk management consultancy Le Beck International, told AFP there was “no real military logic to using tanks in the West Bank at this stage”.”Unless it is to send a message, and potentially to stay more permanently in areas that have been targeted by Israeli raids,” he added.AFPTV footage showed Israeli tanks advancing and bulldozers operating in the Jenin area on Sunday.”The occupation’s army destroyed Palestinian shops and infrastructure,” said Jenin resident Fayez al-Sayyed.”This is a way to execute their policy of displacing the Palestinian people from their land,” he told AFP.”We are here, and we will not leave our country.”- ‘Flattening entire streets’ -Netanyahu made a rare visit to troops in the territory on Friday and ordered the army to step up its operations in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.Earlier this week, bombs that Israeli officials said resembled those used by West Bank militants exploded on several empty buses in central Israel without causing any injuries.Following the blasts, Netanyahu announced that Israel was “entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes.”Israeli forces said they had “apprehended 26 terrorists, confiscated three guns and additional weapons, and questioned suspected individuals” across the West Bank on Saturday.Analyst Horowitz said “the Israeli government has been devoting a lot more attention to the West Bank” since a shaky ceasefire took hold in Gaza on January 19.In both Tulkarem and Jenin, the army has demolished dozens of homes with explosives, opening up new access routes into the densely built camps.Armoured bulldozers have wreaked havoc, upturning tarmac, cutting water pipes and tearing down roadside facades.Violence in the West Bank has surged since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 900 Palestinians, including many militants, in the territory since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Palestinian health ministry.At least 32 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the territory over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.

Six nations: la France, en démonstration face à l’Italie, repart de l’avant

Vainqueur avec la manière et un record de points, le XV de France est reparti de l’avant en s’imposant dimanche à Rome 73 à 24 (mi-temps: 35-17) lors de la troisième journée du Tournoi des six nations, avant d’aller défier l’Irlande dans deux semaines.Après une défaite cruelle contre l’Angleterre à Twickenham (26-25), les Bleus avaient surtout besoin de retrouver le chemin du succès. Ils ont répondu présents en s’offrant une “finale” contre l’Irlande le 8 mars.Leur large victoire avec onze essais, la deuxième dans ce Tournoi après le succès contre les Gallois, leur permet de reprendre la deuxième place (11 pts) à trois longueurs des Irlandais et de continuer à croire à une victoire finale.Pour y arriver, une victoire à Dublin dans deux semaines sera indispensable. Mais si ses choix forts lui ont donné satisfaction, Fabien Galthié devra serrer encore quelques boulons en défense, trop facilement transpercée en première période par des Italiens joueurs dans la douceur dominicale romaine.Pour le staff tricolore, qui avait procédé à plusieurs changements dans le XV de départ avec les évictions de l’ailier Damian Penaud et de l’ouvreur Mathieu Jalibert, les motifs de satisfaction seront à chercher du côté de l’animation offensive.Face une équipe plus fébrile malgré des progrés récents, Antoine Dupont et ses coéquipiers ont effacé les scories qui avaient coûté si cher lors du Crunch, lorsqu’ils avaient laissé échapper des ballons d’essais et avec eux une victoire qui leur tendait les bras.- “Très positif” -“C’est un match très positif, une grande satisfaction d’avoir obtenu ce résultat avec ces joueurs-là à Rome”, a analysé Fabien Galthié au micro de France 2.”On a une idée très claire pour la suite”, a-t-il poursuivi, sans donner plus de détails. Si les Italiens ont été les premiers à frapper, le centre Tommaso Menoncello profitant des espaces dans la ligne de défense française pour ouvrir le score (7-0, 11e), les Français ont bien réagi.Le deuxième ligne lyonnais Mickaël Guillard a ouvert le bal en concluant en puissance une séquence rythmée, puis Peato Mauvaka a poursuivi le travail de sape des avants français en aplatissant dans l’en-but italien après un maul (14-10, 21e).Dans la foulée, les trois quarts n’ont pas voulu être en reste et l’ailier Louis Bielle-Biarrey a mis un coup d’accélérateur pour retrouver son capitaine Antoine Dupont à l’intérieur (21-10, 24e). Mais passer devant au tableau d’affichage du Stade Olympique n’a pas permis de resserrer les rangs en défense, et en quelques secondes, une action initiée par le Toulousain Ange Capuozzo et bien terminée par le centre Juan Ignacio Brex a permis aux Italiens de se rapprocher (21-17, 28e).Après une première demi-heure éprouvante et avec une adresse retrouvée, les Français ont progressivement pris le dessus face à des Italiens qui n’ont pu faire autrement que de baisser le pied peu à peu.L’entrée à la 49e minute de six “gros”, avec un banc dans une configuration inédite avec sept avants et un arrière, a définitivement assommé la Nazionale avec des doublés pour Antoine Dupont, Léo Barré Théo Attissogbe.

Every game ‘pressure’ as Bangladesh face make-or-break clash

Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons admits every game in the Champions Trophy “is hard and full of pressure” as the Tigers face a make-or-break clash with formidable New Zealand in Rawalpindi on Monday.After India defeated Pakistan on Sunday, Bangladesh must beat the Black Caps or they will be eliminated from semi-final contention.New Zealand, winners of the Champions Trophy in 2000, opened their campaign with victory over hosts Pakistan while Bangladesh lost to India.If New Zealand win on Monday they qualify for the semi-finals from Group A alongside India.”It’s the top eight in the world and you expect every game to be hard and full of pressure,” said Simmons, a former West Indian all-rounder.”New Zealand have been playing well but tomorrow is a new day so we will try and make sure that they don’t play as well as they have been.”Bangladesh are sweating on the fitness of 39-year-old batsman Mahmudullah who missed the India game with a calf injury.”He (Mahmudullah) has to do a fitness test and then we’ll know after practise today whether he’s fit enough. He is important for us,” said Simmons of a player who has made 5,685 runs from 238 matches since his ODI debut in 2007.

‘Captain America’ slips but clings to N. America box office lead

Marvel and Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World” clung to the top of the North American box office this weekend despite a steep drop from its opening, earning an estimated $28.2 million, analysts said Sunday.That take, on a slow February weekend, was just over one-fourth the $100 million the superhero film earned at its opening. Reviews of the movie, with Anthony Mackie in the title role, have been decidedly weak.Neon Studio’s new comedy-horror film “The Monkey,” based on a short story by Stephen King, opened in second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period, taking in an estimated $14.2 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.Theo James, Rohan Campbell and Elijah Wood star in the movie about a demonic toy monkey that is linked to a series of horrific deaths.In third place, slipping one spot from last weekend, was Columbia and Sony’s “Paddington in Peru,” at $6.5 million. Ben Whishaw voices the lovable, floppy-hatted bear.Also down one spot was “Dog Man,” a superhero comedy from Universal and DreamWorks, at $5.9 million. The family-friendly animation is a spinoff from the best-selling “Captain Underpants” books.And in fifth, at $3 million, was “Ne Zha 2” from CMC Pictures. The Chinese blockbuster has become the biggest-ever box-office release in China and the highest-grossing animated film of all time.The tale of a rebellious young deity who uses his powers to battle formidable foes, “Ne Zha 2″ has logged worldwide ticket sales of $1.72 billion since its January 29 release in China, according to state news agency Xinhua.  Rounding out the top 10 were:”Heart Eyes” ($2.9 million)”The Unbreakable Boy” ($2.5 million)”Mufasa: The Lion King” ($2.5 million)”One of Them Days” ($1.4 million)”Love Hurts” ($1.1 million)