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Happy 50th: Iconic Wankhede Stadium to celebrate Golden Jubilee

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MCA announces week-long celebrations from January 12 to 19, marking five decades of iconic cricketing history

Updated On – 19 December 2024, 05:55 PM


Happy 50th: Iconic Wankhede Stadium to celebrate Golden Jubilee

MCA president Ajinkya Naik, and other Apex Council Members are leading the way as they prepare for the landmark event.

Mumbai:  The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Thursday announced plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Wankhede Stadium here from January 12 to 19. A special logo was unveiled by the association here at the stadium during a function by the MCA officials and its apex council members.

“Built in 1974, Wankhede Stadium stands as one of the world’s most iconic cricketing venues, having witnessed monumental moments in cricket history. From Sachin Tendulkar’s final international match in 2013 to India’s historic 2011 ODI World Cup triumph, the stadium has been home to countless memories,” the governing body said.

There will be multiple functions on different days to mark the celebrations while a special postal stamp will also be released. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and former MCA president and ex BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar will also be felicitated during the eight-day event.

A cricket match will be held between MCA officials and Consul Generals and government officials on January 12. “We are going to felicitate all the MCA groundsmen and host a lunch for them because they are like unsung heroes. There are also a few others like security people of the MCA who have been working for long time and the MCA staff, we are going to felicitate everybody on January 15,” president Ajinkya Naik said.

A coffee table book will be launched on January 19 along with a music show from Ajay-Atul. Since free entry cannot be facilitated owing to anticipation of a big crowd turnout as witnessed in the past, the fans will have to purchase tickets priced at Rs 300 for the event, which will also have several current and former Mumbai and India players along with Bollywood celebrities on January 19.

Meanwhile, Naik also confirmed that the governing body will celebrate legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s 75th birthday after a date is confirmed.

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Champions Trophy 2025: India to take on Pak on this date, deets inside

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ICC confirms that all India-Pakistan matches during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be hosted at neutral locations due to strained political relations between the two nations

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 06:20 PM


Champions Trophy 2025: India to take on Pak on this date, deets inside

File photo

New Delhi:  The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format.

The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”
“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches,” sources said on Thursday.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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Father says Ashwin was being humiliated; off-spinner plays it down as “dad comment”

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I too came to know at the last minute. The way in which he gave that (retirement), there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 07:47 PM


Father says Ashwin was being humiliated; off-spinner plays it down as “dad comment”

R Ashwin Returns Home After Retirement Announcement

Chennai: Just-retired R Ashwin’s father Ravichandran kicked up a controversy on Thursday by claiming that “humiliation” could have been a reason for his son’s decision to call it quits but the veteran off-spinner made light of the “dad comment”, blaming it on lack of media training.

Ashwin dropped a bombshell on Wednesday when he announced his retirement from top-flight cricket at the end of the drawn third Test against Australia in Brisbane. He flew back to Chennai the same evening and was welcomed warmly by his family and friends here on Thursday morning.

Although Ashwin described his decision as an “instinctive” call that was on his mind for a while, his father raised eyebrows by hinting at other factors, including humiliation.

“I too came to know at the last minute. The way in which he gave that (retirement), there could be many reasons. Only Ashwin knows, maybe humiliation,” Ravichandran told ‘CNN News18’.

However, Ashwin later tried to douse the fire, saying his father was not “media trained” and his comment should not be taken seriously.

“My father isn’t media trained, dey father inneda ithelaam (what’s all this, father). I never thought you will follow this rich tradition of ‘dad statements’,” he quipped after the comment became a viral social media trend.

“Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone,” Ashwin wrote on X.

Earlier, Ravichandran said the family was expecting Ashwin’s retirement for some time because “humiliation was going on”, though he didn’t reveal the exact nature of it.

“The sudden change – retirement – gave us a shock. We were expecting it because humiliation was going on. How long he can tolerate all those things? Probably, he would have decided on his own,” he said.

“It’s his wish and desire, I cannot interfere in that. The way he gave his retirement, one part I was very happy, another part not happy because he should have continued,” he added.

Ashwin had told the media in Brisbane that he has a “bit of punch left” in him, hinting at reasons more than mere cricketing.

Washington Sundar was picked ahead of the seasoned off-spinner, who has 537 Test wickets, for the first game in Perth. The 38-year-old found a place in the eleven for the Pink Ball Test at Adelaide.

However, Ashwin was again benched for the third Test at the ‘Gabba’ as Ravindra Jadeja started in that match.

India skipper Rohit Sharma revealed that he had a chat with Ashwin on the sidelines of the Perth Test and convinced him to stay for the day-night game.

“…this was on his mind and there are obviously a lot of things that went behind it. When I arrived in Perth, this was a chat we had and I somehow convinced him to stay for that pink ball Test match,” Rohit had revealed in his press conference on Wednesday.

“Then after that it just happened so that he felt that if I (Ashwin) am not needed right now in the series, I am better off saying goodbye to the game,” he added.

Ashwin will continue to play club cricket and will be turning up for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL next year.

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Himateja’s brilliant 164 leads Hyderabad to 94-run victory over Vidarbha in under-23 state ‘A’ one-day trophy

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Batting first, Himateja played a brilliant knock, hitting 17 boundaries and 3 sixes, supported by valuable contributions from Mayank Gupta (58) and Sathwik Reddy (41), as Hyderabad posted a total of 313/5 in 50 overs.





Published Date – 19 December 2024, 07:56 PM


Himateja’s brilliant 164 leads Hyderabad to 94-run victory over Vidarbha in under-23 state ‘A’ one-day trophy

Batting first, Himateja played a brilliant knock, hitting 17 boundaries and 3 sixes, supported by valuable contributions from Mayank Gupta (58) and Sathwik Reddy (41), as Hyderabad posted a total of 313/5 in 50 overs.







Hyderabad: Himateja’s scintillating 164 off 141 balls steered Hyderabad to a 94-run win over Vidarbha in the Round 3 clash of the Under-23 State ‘A’ One-Day Trophy at Vadodara, Gujarat, on Thursday.

Batting first, Himateja’s knock, which featured 17 boundaries and 3 sixes, along with useful contributions from Mayank Gupta (58) and Sathwik Reddy (41), powered Hyderabad to 313/5 in 50 overs.

In reply, Vidarbha folded their innings at 219 in 43 overs, with Shivam top-scoring with 57 runs. For Hyderabad, Saketh Dhatrak, Nitin Sai Yadav and Ruthik Yadav each picked up two wickets.

Vijay Merchant Trophy

The match between Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh ended in a draw on Day 3 of the Round-3 Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday. Due to a first-innings lead of 78 runs, Hyderabad secured three points from the contest, while MP settled for one.

Brief Scores: U-23 State ‘A’ One-Day Trophy: Hyderabad 313/5 in 50 overs (Himateja 164 no, Mayank Gupta 58, Sathwik Reddy 41, Praful Hinge 2/61) bt Vidarbha 219 in 43 overs (Shivam 57, Varun Raj 45, Saketh Dhatrak 2/31, Nitin Sai Yadav 2/65, Ruthik Yadav 2/28);

Vijay Merchant Trophy: Madhya Pradesh 209 & 273/6 decl in 47 overs (Yashvardhan Singh 105(109b,11×4), Kushagra Nagar 62, Uzair Ahmed 2/61, Naman Choudhary 2/41) drew with Hyderabad 287 in 96.5 overs & 108/4 in 34 overs (Aditya Vardhan 39 no, Naman Choudhary 36, Rahul Gangwar 2/20, Bhavesh Jat 2/27).

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HCA League: Parmeet, Arya shines in C Division

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Parmeet smashed an unbeaten 102 (13×4, 3×6) in Ameerpet’s 13-run win over SK Blues in the HCA C Division One-Day League Championship on Thursday. Aditya (4/46) was the standout bowler for SK Blues, who fell short in the chase by 13 runs, finishing at 237/8 in 40 overs.

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 08:30 PM


HCA League: Parmeet, Arya shines in C Division

(L-R) Parmeet and Arya

Hyderabad: Parmeet smashed an unbeaten 102 (13×4, 3×6) in Ameerpet’s 13-run win over SK Blues in the HCA C Division One-Day League Championship on Thursday. Aditya (4/46) was the standout bowler for SK Blues, who fell short in the chase by 13 runs, finishing at 237/8 in 40 overs.

In the other match, Arya’s five-wicket haul (5/21) helped Reliance clinch commanding 184-run victory over Raju CA. Shanmukh’s unbeaten 106 and Pranay’s 77 guided Reliance to 296/3 in 50 overs. In reply, Raju CA crumbled as Arya and Prathamesh (3/33) wreaked havoc, dismissing Raju CA for 112 in 34.3 overs.

Brief Scores: C Division One-Day League: Ameerpet 250/6 in 40 overs (Parmeet 102 no, Sukhbeer 44, Aditya 4/46) bt SK Blues 237/8 in 40 overs (Anshul 46, Manpreeth 3/35); Reliance 296/3 in 50 overs (Pranay 77, Shanmukh 106 no) bt Raju CA 112 in 34.3 overs (Prathamesh 3/33, Arya 5/21); Superstars 165 in 34.1 overs (Karthik 65, Jai Keerth 5/28) lost to VP Willowmen 166/6 in 31.3 overs (Akhileshwar 48);

U-14 Boys One-Day Knockout Tournament: World One School 96 in 29.2 overs (Anshul 51, Anas 4/26) lost to Adilabad Dist 107/3 in 20.3 overs; Tatva Global S 68 in 22.2 overs (Chanakya 4/27, Heymann 3/25) lost to Pallavi MS Boduppal 69/2 in 15.4 overs; St Peters School 85 in 26.3 overs (Prudhvi 3/27) lost to Pragathi Central S 86/4 in 18 overs; St Patricks HS 136 in 33.3 overs (Rupas 3/19) lost to Hyd School of Excellence 139/3 in 18.4 overs; Oxford Grammar S 119 in 41.5 overs (Aahil 3/18, Harshavardhan 5/21) lost to Nalgonda Dist 120/4 in 17.4 overs (Kriday 61 no); HPS Ramanthapur 154 in 31.5 overs (Sri Vishnu 52, Sayeesh 3/32) lost to St Peters HS 155/9 in 28.4 overs (Sourish 57); JRS School 212 in 32.2 overs (Nikhil Reddy 85) bt Oakridge Int S Bachupally, 114/8 in 27 overs (Rana 40, Yashmith 6/43); St Anthonys HS Sangareddy 265/8 in 50 overs (Sainath 56, Lohit 104) lost to Chirec Int S Kondapur 266/5 in 32.5 overs (Snithik 126, Vihaan 52), Santinos Global S 269/6 in 46 overs (Gowtham 65, Likith 86 no) bt Hyd Institute of Excellence 93 in 23.1 overs (Gowtham Reddy 5/24, Charan 3/2); Medak Dist 210/9 in 47 overs (Sai Harshith 106 no) bt Johnson GS Mallapur 102 in 30.1 overs (Karthik 5/14); Gowtham MS West Marredpally 244/8 in 36 overs (Anirudh 69, Karthikeya 58, Kiran Sai 3/54) bt Pallavi MS Alwal 130 in 31.3 overs (Chiranjeevi 45, Sai Pranav 3/17, Surya 3/13); Warangal Dist 174 in 42.1 overs (Sathwik 68, Sukumar 54, Srinadh 5/32) bt Gowtham MS Ameerpet 150 in 40.5 overs (Sukumar 4/32); Don Bosco 248/3 in 47 overs (Siddhartha 92 no, Avinash 87) lost to Gowtham World School 252/1 in 34.3 overs (Sai Tanishq 79 no, Smyan Bharadwaj 106 no); Delhi PS Nacharam 332/9 in 50 overs (Arjun Diwakar 131 no, Arnav 98, Manikanta 3/55) bt Nizamabad Dist 101 in 32.4 overs (Satvik 3/4); St Andrews HS 206 in 49.5 overs (Akshaj 46, Venkat Sagar 3/28) bt Mahbubnagar Dist 177 in 45.5 overs (Shaffan 34, Omkar 3/28); St Peters High School 331/10 in 44.1 overs (Jaya Prakash 177, Jashwanth 67, Rayyan Ahmed 4/66) bt Nasr Boys S 88/10 in 23.3 overs (Abdul Basit 5/23).

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Telangana hoopsters advance in sub-junior nationals

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Telangana girls narrowly defeated Chandigarh 53-52 to qualify for Level I and enter the pre-quarterfinals of the 49th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls (Under-13 Years) at the Sports Authority of Telangana Indoor Stadium, Saroornagar, Hyderabad, on Thursday.

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 08:36 PM


Telangana hoopsters advance in sub-junior nationals


Hyderabad: Telangana girls narrowly defeated Chandigarh 53-52 to qualify for Level I and enter the pre-quarterfinals of the 49th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys & Girls (Under-13 Years) at the Sports Authority of Telangana Indoor Stadium, Saroornagar, Hyderabad, on Thursday.

In the other matches, Kerala notched a commanding 92-28 win over Rajasthan, Maharashtra smashed Haryana 70-43 and Karnataka topped West Bengal 74-21.

Results: Girls: Telangana 53 bt Chandigarh 52, Maharashtra 70 bt Haryana 43, Karnataka 74 bt West Bengal 21, Uttarakhand 39 bt Himachal Pradesh 38, Puducherry 71 bt Jammu & Kashmir 10, Chattisgarh 55 bt Uttar Pradesh 51, Punjab 42 bt Rajasthan 40, Andhra Pradesh 51 bt Madhya Pradesh 31, Kerala 92 bt Rajasthan 28, Delhi 47 bt Odisha 24, Gujarat 43 bt Jharkhand 19;

Boys: Maharashtra 55 bt Jharkhand 36, Karnataka 63 bt Andhra Pradesh 57, Madhya Pradesh 74 bt Tamil Nadu 63, Delhi 84 bt Uttarakhand 62, Kerala 53 bt Rajasthan 46, Manipur 75 bt Gujarat 51, Assam 62 bt Bihar 49, Himachal Pradesh 75 bt Puducherry 46, Chhattisgarh 69 bt Chandigarh 39.

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Santosh Trophy: Kerala stay perfect with third win

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Kerala maintained their perfect run in Group B with a 2-0 win over Odisha, cementing their position at the top of the Group B table with nine points from three matches in the final round of the 78th Senior National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy at Deccan Arena on Thursday.

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 08:40 PM


Santosh Trophy: Kerala stay perfect with third win

Players of Odisha and Kerala in action in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Hyderabad: Kerala maintained their perfect run in Group B with a 2-0 win over Odisha, cementing their position at the top of the Group B table with nine points from three matches in the final round of the 78th Senior National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy at Deccan Arena on Thursday.

Meghalaya earned their first victory in the final round, defeating Delhi 2-0 to climb to third place with four points. Muhammad Ajsal opened the scoring for Kerala in the 41st minute, and Naseeb Rahman doubled the lead in the 54th minute. The loss left Odisha with just one win from three games, slipping them to fourth place in Group B.

Last year’s runners-up, Meghalaya, finally found their rhythm as Donlad Diengdoh struck twice in quick succession early in the second half. Donlad netted the first goal in the 49th minute and followed up with another four minutes later. This was Delhi’s first loss, but they remain second in the standings with six points, while Meghalaya moved up to third place.

Results: Odisha 0 lost to Kerala 2 (Muhammad Ajsal 41’, Naseeb Rahman 54’); Meghalaya 2 (Donlad Diengdoh 49’, 51’) beat Delhi 0.

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Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone, says Ashwin on father’s comments

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Previously on Thursday, Ravichandran, father of Ashwin, said humiliation could have been a reason behind the off-spinner quitting international cricket with immediate effect after the end of third Test against Australia at the Gabba, which ended in a draw

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 09:03 PM


Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone, says Ashwin on father’s comments

Ravichandran Ashwin

New Delhi: After Ravichandran Ashwin‘s father claimed he took the shock decision to retire from international cricket because of humiliating treatment, the recently-retired India off-spinner requested everyone to forgive and leave him alone.

“My dad isn’t media trained, dey father enna da ithelaam (What is this father?). I never thought you would follow this rich tradition of ‘dad statements.’ Request you all to forgive him and leave him alone,” posted Ashwin on his ‘X’ account.

Previously on Thursday, Ravichandran, father of Ashwin, said humiliation could have been a reason behind the off-spinner quitting international cricket with immediate effect after the end of third Test against Australia at the Gabba, which ended in a draw.

“I too came to know last minute, actually. What was going on in his mind I don’t know. He just announced. I too accepted it with full pleasure. I did not have any feelings at all for that. But the way he gave his retirement, I was very happy, another part not happy because he should have continued.  The sudden change ‘retirement’ gave us really kind of a shock. At the same time, we were expecting it because humiliation was going on. How long he can tolerate all those things? Probably, he would have decided on his own,” Ravichandran had said to CNN-News18.

Ashwin ended his 14-year international career with 537 wickets at average of 24 in 106 Tests and becoming India’s second leading wicket-taker after legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble.

He also picked an incredible 37 five-wicket hauls in Tests, the second-most in the history of the game, along with eight ten-wicket hauls. Ashwin also scored six Test centuries and 14 fifties with the bat in the longer format.

His last international game was the day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide, where he took 1-53 in his 18 overs and made 29 runs with the bat, as India lost by ten wickets.

Ashwin also played 116 ODIs for India, taking 156 wickets, and being a member of 2011 ODI World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy winning teams. Ashwin also played 65 T20I matches and took 72 wickets.

Ashwin was one of 11 allrounders to clinch the double of 3000 runs and 300 wickets in Tests. He also won a record 11 Player-of-the-Series awards, which is level with Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan. He will be seen in action for five-time champions Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025.

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Bottas returns to Mercedes as F1 reserve driver for 2025 season

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Valtteri Bottas will return to Mercedes as its reserve driver for next year, the Formula 1 team said Thursday.

Published Date – 19 December 2024, 11:35 PM


Bottas returns to Mercedes as F1 reserve driver for 2025 season


London: Valtteri Bottas will return to Mercedes as its reserve driver for next year, the Formula 1 team said Thursday.

Bottas won 10 races over five seasons at Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s teammate from 2017-21. He did not score a point this season with Sauber and the team replaced him and Zhou Guanyu with a new lineup of the experienced Nico Hulkenberg and Brazilian newcomer Gabriel Bortoleto, ahead of rebranding as the Audi works team in 2026.

Bottas’ return to Mercedes was made possible after Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, moved on from his Mercedes reserve driver role after two years.

“I’m happy to finally answer the question I’ve posed over the past month,” the 35-year-old Finn said. “Returning home to the Mercedes family as third driver for 2025 is what’s next and I couldn’t be more pleased. Despite the challenges of the past few years, I know that I’ve still got so much more to contribute to F1.”

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Australia ropes in teenage sensation Konstas for Boxing Day Test

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Drops rookie opener Nathan McSweeney for the final two Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India

Updated On – 20 December 2024, 10:44 AM


Australia ropes in teenage sensation Konstas for Boxing Day Test

Sam Konstas

Melbourne: Teenage sensation Sam Konstas was handed a maiden call up as Australia on Friday dropped rookie opener Nathan McSweeney for the final two Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India.

The 19-year-old is set to become Australia’s youngest Test batting debutant in over 70 years. Konstas’ inclusion follows a series of disappointing performances from the Australian top order in the first three Tests, especially McSweeney.

The 25-year-old, who made his Test debut in the series-opener in Perth, failed to score a single half century and could manage scores 10, 0, 39, 10 not out , 9 and 4 in his six innings and was dismissed by Indian pace spearhead four times.

Konstas had been in the reckoning to partner Usman Khawaja after grabbing the attention of Cricket Australia’s selection committee following his twin Sheffield Shield centuries for New South Wales.

He had scored an unbeaten 73 at the MCG against India A while notching up a ton (107) in the Prime Ministers XI pink ball game against India in Canberra. “Sam gets a call up to the Test squad for the first time. His style of batting offers a point of difference and we look forward to watching his game develop further,” Australian Chair of Selectors George Bailey said.

“We remain confident Nathan has the ability and temperament to succeed at Test level in the future. It was a difficult decision to leave him out. “It has clearly been a challenge at the top of the order for batters throughout the series and we want to provide the option of a different line up for the next two matches,” he added.

If Konstas, who turned 19 on October 2, is selected in the playing XI in the Boxing Day Test, he would become Australia’s youngest Test debutant since captain Pat Cummins, who was 18 years and 193 days old when he made his debut against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2011.

Australia squad for 4th and 5th Test

Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.