Category: Sports

Virat Kohli finally put an end to his run-drought in Test cricket by hitting his first half-century in red-ball cricket in 16 innings – the longest for him without a Test fifty. Kohli did that on Day 3 of the India vs Australia fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad. In the process, Kohli also became the fifth Indian to reach 4000 Test runs at home, joining an illustrious list headed by Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag.

Virat Kohli now has more than 4000 Test runs in India at an average of 58.82. This is the best among batters who have scored more than 4000 Test runs in India.

Kohli is the third fastest to reach 4000 Test runs in India. Kohli did it in his 77th innings in India. He went past current India head coach Rahul Dravid (88) and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar (87). Kohli needed 42 runs to reach the milestone and he got there in the final session on Saturday with a boundary off Nathan Lyon.

A few minutes later, Kohli also reached his fifty. This was his first Test fifty in close to 14 months. The last time he had reached half a ton was back in January, 2022 against South Africa.

Kohli now has more than 4000 Test runs in India at an average of 58.82. This is the best among batters who have scored more than 4000 Test runs in India.

Sehwag is the fastest to reach 4000 Tests in India in just 71 innings. At No.2 is Tendulkar in 78 innings. The little master, however, sits on top among the highest run-scorers in Tests in India with 7216 runs in 153 innings. He is followed by Dravid (5598), Gavaskar (5067) and Sehwag (4656).

Kohli came to the crease after India lost Cheteshwar Pujara just at the stroke of Tea on Day 2. India were in a good position but they were still a long way behind Australia’s first innings total of 480. India needed Kohli to stand up and put another noteworthy stand with Shubman Gill, who had just reached his century.

The former captain had a few nervous moments before the Tea break against Nathan Lyon. He got beaten once and got an outside edge that thankfully did not carry to Steve Smith at first slip. But Ahmedabad saw a different Kohli in the last session. He was confident and assured.

He made good use of the best pitch of the series and slowly started to make the scoreboard ticking. He put up a 58-run stand with Gill before the latter was dismissed for a well made 128.

Ravindra Jadeja then joined hands with Kohli and the two made sure there was no further damage. Kohli was unbeaten on 59 and Jadeja was batting on 16 when stumps was called on Day 2 with India at 289/3, trailing Australia by 191 runs.

In a development that will help the game of cricket reach the next level in the USA, Cricket Hall of Fame (CHoF) announced their acquisition of the team dedicated to cricket education in the country, the American Cricket Education Council (ACEC).

The first cricket game in the USA was played in 1845 but it has missed adequate and organic education programs with qualified and knowledgeable people to sustain the growth and development of the game here, said a release issued by CHoF.

The ACEC is an important step in making a difference in educational institutions with proper coursework to start or expand programs at schools and colleges.

ACEC is prepared to begin programs with the 2023-24 academic year in the USA through CricEdu.com. The link will also be accessible under Crickethof.org.

Commenting on the development, CHoF Executive Director, Mr Michael Chambers said, “In an important addition to support our mission and vision to ‘Educate Americans for Cricket’ CHoF has launched the American Cricket Education Council (ACEC) and it supersedes USA Center for Excellence in Cricket (USACEC) which has been around since 2008. Our Hall of Fame members and supporters will offer their time and expertise as key investments to promote and support cricket in western part of the world (Americas).”

The Cricket Hall of Fame (CHoF), first in the world established in 1981 is a non-profit organization dedicated to cost-sharing development of and meaningful support for our heroes (Honorees and Inductees) who have contributed to the game of cricket over the years, from maintaining the grounds to advancing trusted community engagement, and who in the true spirit of the game have also been engaged in quality of life development activities that their local urban or rural communities view as important and sustainable.

CHoF Board Director and Visionary, Mr Jatin Patel said, “Our credentialing is to combine resources, expertise, and infrastructure to empower scholastic cricket to educators and faculty members at colleges / Universities with enhanced resources and professional development opportunities and strengthen the future of the cricket coaches’ / educators and institutional instructors. Our Apex Panel members work in a variety of settings and carry vast experience with expertise in the US education & sports system and field of cricket. CHoF will connect to its vast network of legends and Cricket Hall of Fame inductees, including professionals in all these settings.”

Patel also added that rapid changes in the sport of cricket demands that instructors frequently update and enhance training skills to keep pace with their expanding role and increased responsibility with regards to legal requirements in the USA & to meet sports culture.

“ACEC advocates for rigorous education and training to prepare coaches or instructors at schools and colleges / universities within the USA education and sports system to adhere to best professional practices and promote cricket education in the academic profession through professional activities. Apex panel will lead and manage the programs with plans to expand the team to include other expertise who carry common values to support our vision and mission,” said Patel.

Soccer fans worldwide are united in grief after the death of a sports legend who inspired generations. Pelé, the Brazilian soccer icon and the only man to win the World Cup three times, died Thursday at 82. In Brazil, where he played for soccer club Santos, mourners paid tribute to a global star who made the nation synonymous with soccer excellence. Pelé’s hypnotizing moves and creative style transfixed sports fans and revolutionized the game. “How to grieve the passing of a man who, through football, took the name of Brazil to the world?” Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said. Fellow Brazilian soccer star Neymar described Pelé’s moves as art, adding that while he’s gone, his magic will remain. Pelé died from organ failure caused by colon cancer.

Pelé’s skill and grace on the field was unparalleled, and his goal-scoring prowess earned him a place in history. Sources list his tallies at anywhere between 650 (league matches) and 1,281 (all senior matches, some against low-level competition). His greatest moment on the field was the 1958 World Cup, where he scored two goals in Brazil’s 5-2 win over the host country in the final. He also played a key role in Brazil’s 1970 World Cup victory, scoring in the final and setting up Carlos Alberto with a nonchalant pass for the last goal in a 4-1 victory over Italy.

Pelé’s fame extended well beyond the soccer pitch. He was an ambassador for UNESCO and the United Nations, and was a key figure for Black people’s pride in Brazil. In 1997, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his achievements.

Pelé’s legacy will live on forever in the annals of soccer history. He will be remembered as one of the sport’s most beloved and talented athletes, and his name will continue to be mentioned alongside the likes of Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo in any conversation about soccer’s greatest players.

On Monday, thousands of mourners gathered in Santos, Brazil to pay their respects to the late soccer legend, Pelé. The funeral was attended by high school students, supreme court justices, and Brazil’s newly inaugurated president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A Catholic Mass was held at the stadium in honor of Pelé, and a song titled “Eu sou Pelé” (“I am Pelé”) was played.

Geovana Sarmento, 17, and her father attended the funeral wearing a Brazil shirt with Pele’s name. “I am not a Santos fan, neither is my father,” Sarmento said, “But this guy invented Brazil’s national team. He made Santos stronger, he made it big, how could you not respect him? He is one of the greatest people ever, we needed to honor him.”

Pelé was perhaps the world’s most famous athlete in the 1960s and 70s and his legacy lives on today. FIFA President Gianni Infantino asked every country to name a stadium after Pelé, and said “I am here with a lot of emotion, sadness, but also with a smile because he gave us so many smiles.” Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes said that Pelé was a humble man despite his global fame.

Pelé led Brazil to three World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pelé’s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar. He had undergone treatment for colon cancer since 2021, and passed away due to multiple organ failure as a result of the cancer.

On Monday, Brazil said goodbye to one of its most beloved figures. Thousands of mourners gathered at the Vila Belmiro stadium in Santos to pay their respects to the late soccer legend, Pelé. High school students, supreme court justices, and Brazil’s newly inaugurated president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva attended the funeral, which included a Catholic Mass and a song titled “Eu sou Pelé” (“I am Pelé”).

Pelé was a beloved figure throughout Brazil and the world, credited with putting the country on the world stage for the first time. He led Brazil to three World Cup titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and remains one of the team’s all-time leading scorers with 77 goals. Neymar tied Pelé’s record during this year’s World Cup in Qatar. Pelé’s legacy will live on, and his casket will be taken through the streets of Santos before his burial on Tuesday.

Qatar 2022 will go down as the most “compact” FIFA World Cup in history – but 2026 will be very different. While all matches this time around were played within an hour’s drive of each other, the next World Cup will be played across three nations – Canada, the United States and Mexico.

And it will be an expanded competition, with 16 additional teams taking part, meaning more matches. However, the tournament will still be played out within five weeks from mid-June 2026.

Questions will be asked about the amount of travel players and fans will have to make, with the tournament being held in 11 US cities, along with three venues in Mexico and two in Canada.

Sustainability will, therefore, be an important issue with the considerable number of flights needed to transport teams, fans, media and Fifa officials across three countries.

Why will there be more teams than ever before in 2026?

FIFA is expanding the next men’s World Cup finals from 32 to 48 teams.

It means more money will be generated through sponsorships, merchandising, ticket sales and broadcast revenues, with FIFA expecting to earn $11bn over the four-year cycle up to December 2026.

Bumper crowds are expected at the next World Cup as the popularity of football in North America continues to grow. FIFA is projecting as many as 5.5 million fans will attend the next tournament, beating the record 3.6m supporters who attended games in 1994, when there was an average attendance of 68,000 at each game.

The governing body claims that much of the increased profit will be redistributed to football development around the world, with projects including investment to expand the women’s game.

The expanded format will increase the number of competing teams from Africa and Asia.

In 2022, there were a total of 11 teams from across the two confederations at the finals – including Qatar, who qualified automatically as hosts, and Australia, who took part in the Asian qualifiers and then beat Peru in an intercontinental play-off.

In 2026, there will be a minimum of 17 teams from across the two confederations – and there could be as many as 19, depending on which two countries win through the six-team intercontinental play-offs for the finals.

A minimum of six Concacaf teams will qualify for the World Cup, including Canada, Mexico and the United States as hosts – and the federation will have two sides in the play-offs as well.

Where will the matches be played in 2026?

The 16 venues were announced in June, with all the grounds already built, and with the majority of big-capacity stadiums used by NFL teams in the United States.

Some of the stadiums will be upgraded before 2026 and some will require the laying of grass surfaces, as artificial turf is not permitted by FIFA.

As it stands, the format for 2026 will mean 80 matches across the tournament – although that could still change. The United States would host 60 matches, including every match from the quarter-finals onward, while neighboring Canada and Mexico would each host 10 matches.

Both the US and Mexico have hosted the World Cup before – but most of the venues in 2026 will be different. The US is using none of the stadiums from 1994, while Mexico has just one venue from 1970 and 1986 – the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The host venues for 2026 are:

United States

New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)

Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)

Dallas (AT&T Stadium)

San Francisco Bay Area (Levi’s Stadium)

Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)

Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)

Seattle (Lumen Field)

Houston (NRG Stadium)

Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)

Kansas City, Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium)

Boston/Foxborough (Gillette Stadium)

Canada

Toronto (BMO Field)

Vancouver (BC Place Stadium)

Mexico

Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)

Mexico City (Azteca Stadium)

Monterrey (BBVA Bancomer Stadium)

The geographical spread for the next World Cup has not yet been announced but it is likely that teams will play their group-stage games in regionalized zones.

There are three main venue clusters, which should help reduce the amount of travel needed at least for part of the tournament.

How will the 2026 finals be structured?

A final decision will be made by the FIFA Council in 2023.

The initial favored option was to have 16 groups of three teams. Each team would play two group games, rather than three, with the first two teams progressing to a new round of 32.

But the downside to that could be that the two teams playing in the last fixture could play out a specific result to send both teams through. That was alleged to have happened in 1982 when West Germany and Austria advanced at the expense of Algeria in the so-called ‘Disgrace of Gijon’.

Given the success of the four-team group format in 2022, the structure for 2026 will be revisited, according to FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

“I have to say after this World Cup, and the success of the groups of four, we have to revisit or rediscuss the format whether we go for 16 groups of three or 12 groups of four.” The indications are that it will end up being 12 groups of four, effectively split into two halves (like two Euros in one go).

Another possibility, though one that appears unlikely, is that group games may not be allowed to finish as a draw. If the teams were level after 90 minutes, the outcome could be decided with a penalty shootout, without the need for extra time.

Where will the FIFA World Cup 2026 final be played?

The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey could host the final That decision has not yet been made but it will be in the next year.

The front-runner to host the final is the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which has a seated capacity of 82,500 and is home to the New York Giants and New York Jets NFL teams. The Azteca in Mexico has been put forward as a potential host for the opening match.

Both venues are contenders to host the 2026 final, but FIFA president Infantino said world football’s governing body will take their time with a decision. “There are still some discussions to go on and we’ll certainly choose the best cities for the openings and the finals,” said Infantino. “But every match will be like a final at this World Cup.”

And what about 2030?

That will be a special centenary event, 100 years after the first FIFA World Cup in Uruguay, which was contested by just 13 teams. Uruguay has claimed for some time that it should be awarded the tournament, possibly in a joint bid with Argentina.

Spain and Portugal hope to be put forward by UEFA, but England dropped its interest in favor of bidding for UEFA Euro 2028 along with Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Saudi Arabia could be another potential bidder, though that could mean another winter tournament because of the high summer temperatures in the Middle East. A decision on the hosts of the 2030 tournament will be made by the FIFA Council in 2024.

Argentina’s World Cup-winning squad arrived home to a jubilant Buenos Aires in Arentina, with massive crowds lining the streets and cheering their champions’ return. Captain Lionel Messi stepped off the plane first, holding the gold trophy aloft, followed by his triumphant team onto a red carpet at the airport, greeted by reporters, officials and a live band.

As the team bus departed the airport, it was immediately swarmed by cheering supporters dressed in the national colors of blue and white. Videos show the bus inching forward slowly behind a police escort, surrounded by tens of thousands of people waving the Argentine flag and setting off firecrackers in the night.

The air was filled with cheers as the crowd sang and danced; the players, standing on the open top deck, waved to their adoring supporters.

Hundreds of thousands of fans are expected to line the streets of the capital later on Tuesday, which has been declared a national holiday, for the team’s victory parade following their thrilling penalty shootout victory over France in Qatar on Sunday, December 19th.

Crowds of supporters had camped out at the training site on Monday ahead of the team’s arrival, with photos showing fans spilling out of cars parked on its grounds. Some laid on blankets on the grass while others lounged on picnic chairs around coolers.

The team’s highly-anticipated return continues several days of nonstop celebration across the country and among fans overseas, following Argentina’s explosive win against France.

Superstars Messi and Kylian Mbappé faced off on the pitch, in what has widely been called the greatest World Cup final of all time.

Mbappé was defending France’s 2018 win at the tournament in Russia, while 35-year-old Messi was playing in his final World Cup match, looking to claim the trophy which had eluded him for so long.

Argentina took an early lead in the first half – but France roared back in the second half, reaching a 2-2 tie that forced the match into extra time.

Messi scored his second goal of the match to restore his team’s lead – but Mbappé scored a second penalty to grab his hat-trick and take the final to a penalty shootout, which ended with triumph for Argentina after France missed two shots.

Hundreds of thousands of people poured onto the streets of Buenos Aires after the World Cup triumph, flooding the central 9 de Julio Avenue. Social media videos showed jubilant fans climbing on top of street poles to wave the Argentine flag; others on the ground danced, sang and chanted in celebration.

The triumph in Doha was Argentina’s third World Cup win and its first since 1986, when the legendary Diego Maradona led the team to victory in Mexico. Sunday’s win also marked a change in fortunes for Argentina after three recent defeats in major finals – the 2014 World Cup, and the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.

“I cannot believe that we have suffered so much in a perfect game. Unbelievable, but this team responds to everything,” said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after the match Sunday, according to Reuters. “I am proud of the work they did,” he added, fighting back tears as he was embraced by his players. “I want to tell people to enjoy, it’s a historic moment for our country.”

Those losses prompted Messi at one point to announce his retirement from international football – though the almost-unanimous national outcry convinced him to reverse track, before wining the Copa América in 2021. Now, with the World Cup also under his belt, Messi has cemented his status as one of the all-time soccer greats alongside Maradona and Brazil’s Pelé. (Courtesy: Reuters)

It’s Kylian Mbappé vs. Lionel Messi on Sunday, December 18^th, 2022 at the Soccer World Cup Finals in Qatar, just about everyone was waiting for — and hoping for.

France and Mbappé are headed back to the biggest game in soccer, and to a much-anticipated matchup with Argentina, after ending Morocco’s historic run at the World Cup.

In front of the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, France beat Africa’s first ever semifinalist 2-0 on Wednesday, with Mbappé playing a part in goals by Theo Hernandez in the fifth minute and substitute Randal Kolo Muani in the 79th.

Mbappé became a global phenomenon by leading France to the World Cup title in Russia in 2018 and has a chance to cement his status as the sport’s new superstar when he comes up against the 35-year-old Messi, who has dominated the game with Cristiano Ronaldo for the past 15 years.

For some, that makes it the dream final, with France looking to become the first team to retain the title since Brazil in 1962 and Argentina on a mission to win soccer’s ultimate prize in what is likely to be Messi’s last World Cup.

“We need all our strength, all our energy to face a very competitive team with one of the legends in the sport with Messi,” France goalkepeer Hugo Lloris.

Earlier this week, the streets of Argentina turned into a party Tuesday as the national team beat Croatia by a comfortable 3-0 and earned this soccer-crazed South American country a spot in the World Cup final.

Fans poured onto the streets of the capital of Buenos Aires as soon as the match ended, with people waving Argentina flags out of their cars while others jumped and sang in joy amid a sea of wearing the national team’s jersey.

Buenos Aires had come to a standstill on what was a scorching summer afternoon as fans packed cafes, restaurants and public plazas, where giant screens followed the exploits of the Lionel Messi-led team.

The agonizing start of the tournament for Argentina was followed by a string of victories that have brought some much-needed joy to a country stuck in an economic standstill with one of the world’s highest inflation rates, closing in on almost 100% per year, and where close to four of every 10 people live in poverty.

The sky-high hopes for the Argentina team only increased here after the quarter-final against the Netherlands, an agonizing match that ended in a penalty shootout and led to a collective feeling the team that had shocked the world by losing its opening match against Saudi Arabia had finally found its groove.

There will be no team from the Arab world in the final of the first World Cup in the Middle East, a prospect that seemed nigh impossible before the tournament yet nearly happened in Qatar.

Morocco has been widely lauded for breaking ground for Africa and generated an outpouring of pride among Arab nations after topping a group containing Croatia and Belgium and eliminating two more European powers — Spain and Portugal — in the knockout stage. Their players gave France a far-from-easy ride, too, before collapsing on the ground in despair after the final whistle.

Remarkably, Hernandez’s early goal was the first scored against them by an opposition player in the tournament — the other had been an own-goal in the group stage — but Morocco responded to that and injury issues in its defense with a brave performance in front of tens of thousands of fans who dominated the 60,000-seat Al Bayt Stadium.

France was forced into some last-ditch defending at times but has developed a knack of pulling out victories despite not playing its best.

Mbappé helped create the goal for Hernandez because his shot deflected off a defender and into the path of the left back, who let the ball bounce before driving a downward effort into the net from a tight angle.

Typically a defense-first team, Morocco was forced to come out and play even though it was reeling from losing Nayef Aguerd to injury in the warmup and another center back, captain Romain Saiss, after only 21 minutes because of a hamstring injury. Both players were doubts ahead of the game but were risked by Morocco coach Walid Regragui.

Roared on by its red-and-green-clad fans, Morocco came closest to scoring when Jawad El Yamiq hit the post with an overhead kick in the 44th minute and forced France to defend in numbers.

However, Mbappé enjoyed more space as Morocco tired late in the second half and, after dribbling past two defenders, his deflected shot was tapped in by Kolo Muani, who had been on the field for less than a minute.

The goal was celebrated in the VIP seats by Macron, who flew in for the match and had earlier visited the Souq Waqif bazaar in Doha before traveling to the stadium.

Mbappé is France’s leader on the soccer field and although he was kept relatively quiet by Morocco right back Achraf Hakimi — his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain — he showed glimpses of his skills and lethal pace, including a 60-meter run down the left that had supporters out of their seats.

At the end, Mbappé consoled a distraught Hakimi and they swapped jerseys before France’s players ran in a line toward their small pocket of fans behind one of the goals.

France will be competing in the final for the fourth time in the last seven World Cups.

TOP SCORER

The World Cup trophy isn’t the only thing at stake on Sunday. Messi and Mbappé are tied as the leading scorers with five goals as they chase the Golden Boot award.

THIRD PLACE

Morocco’s World Cup isn’t over. The team will play the third-place playoff match against Croatia at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday.

USA Cricket is all set to co-host the premier cricketing extravaganza — the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup — in 2024. The tournament will be historic in two ways. The USA is not only co-hosting a global event but also has qualified as a participant for the first time. The 2024 edition of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will see more than a dozen teams taking part, including the USA.

ICC’s decision to hold the tournament in the USA aims to promote the gentlemen’s game in the continent and inspire the next generation to play cricket. USA became an Associate member of ICC in 1965 and since then the game has been slowly growing and it has made rapid advances in the last 10 years. Acquiring status as an ODI playing nation, in 2019, was a major landmark.

Interim CEO, Vinay Bhimjiani, welcoming the ICC decision, said, “I am absolutely thrilled with this announcement. USA cricket is committed to making this event an unparalleled experience. The exhibition of the world’s best cricketing talent on US soil will act like a springboard for future growth of this game in this country. The arrival of the world’s second most watched sport to the world’s largest media market provides unprecedented value and exposure.”

Chairman, Dr Atul Rai, said that the association is extremely delighted with the ICC’s decision. “The event will not only promote cricket in the United States but also boost our strategic partnership with the ICC to open new avenues to host future events. The tournament will take cricket towards mainstream status.”

Conducting the World Cup of Cricket in the USA and West Indies will further enhance prospects for the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi has secured his place among the best and the greatest football players in history. Messi, by leading Argentina into World Cup quarter finals with his record goals in the World Cup 2022, has a carved a place in history for himself and for the South American nation. 

Lionel Messi’s passionate performances at the Qatar World Cup 2022 are earning him oodles of love from Argentines, but their old favoritism for Diego Maradona may resurface unless he brings home the trophy on his final attempt.

Lionel Messi scored his first goal in a World Cup knockout round in his 1,000th match to beat Diego Maradona’s tournament tally, as Argentina beat off a frenzied Australia fightback to win 2-1 on Saturday,  December 3rd and helped reach his country the quarter-finals.

Captaining his national team for the 100th time, Messi ignited this last-16 match midway through the first half, curling home cutely after some neat build-up play – his 789th career goal.

Messi led his side ahead after 35 minutes with a coolly taken low strike for his 94th international goal, passing the great Maradona’s eight World Cup goals, in a match where he was instrumental in almost every Argentine attack.

Messi’s quest to win that elusive World Cup title had a rocky start at Qatar 2022 – Argentina was stunned by Saudi Arabia in its opening group game – and La Albiceleste barely troubled Australia in the opening half hour. 

Many soccer pundits have passed comment on just how much Messi tends to walk in matches these days, but that wasn’t the case when the 35-year-old closed down Behich as he attempted to clear the ball. 

With over 750 senior goals for club and country, Lionel Messi’s credentials as one of the greatest goal scorers in football history are beyond any doubt.

However, the Argentinian master hasn’t quite lived up to these lofty standards on the FIFA World Cup stage.

Lionel Messi has scored nine goals in 23 matches at the FIFA World Cup, spanning five editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022). Messi is the second-highest goal-scorer for Argentina at the football World Cup.

Lionel Messi has netted 94 goals in 169 international matches in his career, making him the top goal scorer of all time for Argentina. Messi is also fourth on the list of highest goal scorers in international football and second amongst active players, only behind rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi has a come a long way ever since he had entered the world soccer arena. The world had heard about Messi at Barcelona, the first time he came to play for Argentina. He did not say much then, but the country gave him a massive warm welcome to the team and quickly realized just how good he was. He played in 2005 Under-20 World Cup in the Netherlands when he was 17, winning the tournament together, it was mostly down to him!

Messi has won everything there is to win in club football, but he was desperate to come back and help us win something too. So it was amazing to see him winning his first major trophy at international level, at the Copa America last year.

Messi is not just a best player, he is the true leader of the team – even manager Lionel Scaloni has said that himself many times – and he will be helping them through this difficult start in that way too, not just by scoring goals.

Man of the match Messi admitted the final moments were tense.

“Things got complicated in the end with their goal but it’s a World Cup and it’s never easy,” Messi said.

“Now we have a really tough clash with Holland, who play very well. They have great players and a great coach, it’s going to be hard-fought. If a World Cup has been tough from the start, it gets even tougher at this stage.”

It has been a long journey for him to this moment. Of course, everyone can change off the field and learn different things. Messi now, at 35, is more mature, he has more experience and he is a family man – but he is still an amazing footballer too.

If he does win this World Cup then he should just retire straight away because he will have achieved everything possible. There will be nothing left for him to win.

All 32 teams started the 2022 FIFA World Cup with one goal: get to the knockout rounds.

Any player and coach will tell you that, in the single-elimination knockout stage, anything can happen. That’s why teams don’t care how they get there. They just want to get there.

Some paths will prove easier than others in the knockouts depending on the teams that qualify and the final pairings. The Round of 16 matchups are all predetermined with teams slotting in based on their finish in their respective groups (group winner or group runner-up).

Those nations that win their group are paired with a runner-up from a different group in the Round of 16 and a favorable first match can really set a team on its way to a deep run.

France became the first side to reach the Round of 16 on November 26 and since then nine other sides have followed them.

Like France, Brazil and Portugal also mathematically qualified after just two matchdays, but they’re still waiting to see if they’ll go through as a group winner or group runner-up when they play their finales. Meanwhile, Groups A-D were the first ones to wrap up play.

England booked their place in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup with a 3-0 win over Wales to top Group B. They will be joined by USA who beat Iran 1-0.

Earlier on the same day, Netherlands and Senegal finished in the top two positions in Group A to seal their places in the knockout stages.

The Dutch beat tournament hosts Qatar whose sorry campaign ended with three defeats from three, while Senegal edged past Ecuador who could have qualified with a draw.

They join France, Brazil and Portugal who each confirmed qualification with a game to spare in groups D, G and H respectively.

The defending champions became the first team to progress to the last 16 after snatching victory over Denmark on Saturday, with Brazil and Portugal joining them 48 hours later.

Finishing second in Group D are Australia who recovered from an opening match hammering from the French to win back-to-back games against Tunisia and Denmark respectively.

Here, we break down the permutations – including what Lionel Messi’s Argentina need to do to make the last 16 – for all the groups. How are they shaping up? And what does each nation need to qualify?

Oh, and think you know what will happen? You can still dive into our bracket game, where you can give your predictions, challenge friends and create mini-leagues.

How does Round of 16 work in World Cup?

The Round of 16 is the start of what is commonly referred to as the knockout rounds because every match is single elimination from here on out.

There are no points earned. There are no standings. There’s simply a winner and a loser.

What happens if knockout matches finish tied?

There has to be a winner on the day in the case of each Round of 16 match and for subsequent knockout-round matches. If teams are tied after 90 minutes of regulation, the match goes into a 30-minute period of extra time.

If the deadlock persists after those 30 minutes of extra time, then a penalty shootout will determine the team that moves on to the quarterfinals.

The Round of 16 pairings are set in advance of the World Cup Draw. Teams that finish in first place in the group stage match up against teams that are runners-up in their respective groups.

Round of 16 fixtures and schedule

Saturday December 3

R16 1 – Netherlands vs. USA (Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan; 3pm)

R16 2 – Argentina vs. Australia (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan; 7pm)

Sunday December 4

R16 3 – France vs. Poland (Al Thumama Stadium, Doha; 3pm)

R16 4 – England vs. Senegal (Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor; 7pm)

Monday December 5

R16 5 – Winners of Group E vs. Runners-up of Group F (Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah; 3pm)

R16 6 – Winners of Group G vs. Runners-up of Group H (Stadium 974, Doha; 7pm)

Tuesday December 6

R16 7 – Winners of Group F vs. Runners-up of Group E (Education City Stadium, Al Rayyan; 3pm)

R16 8 – Winners of Group H vs. Runners-up of Group G (Lusail Iconic Stadium, Lusail; 7pm)

After 12 years of planning, $220 billion in government investment and countless controversies involving everything from workers’ rights to beer sales, the 2022 World Cup kicked off On November 20th, 2022 on the edge of the Qatari desert in a massive stadium built to look like a Bedouin tent.

It was a spectacular setting for the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East and the first to be held in a majority-Muslim country. And the night began with pomp worthy of those circumstances, with Morgan Freeman hosting a 30-minute opening ceremony that involved two sheiks, three camels, four drummers, the last 14 World Cup mascots and 32 dancers dressed as giant replicas of the participating teams’ jerseys.

A packed crowd of over 67,000 fans filled the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, for a match between the hosts and Ecuador. Making its first World Cup appearance, Qatar looked severely outclassed. The opening game between the host nation and Ecuador ended in a 2-0 win for Ecuador, making Qatar the first host country to lose a World Cup opener.

Ecuador thought they had made a dream start within three minutes when they silenced the home fans as Enner Valencia headed in, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR for offside in the build-up. Thirteen minutes later, Ecuador did take the lead after Valencia dribbled round Qatari goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb who grabbed his shin and the referee pointed to the spot. Valencia coolly rolled home the penalty.

Valencia added a second goal to seal Ecuador’s 2-0 win. That spoiled the team’s tournament debut and disappointed many in the sellout crowd, but the night was about more than just soccer.

The tournament has been awash in controversy from the start, however, with the bid process that awarded it to the country in 2010 marred by allegations of corruption and bribery. Five years later, FIFA, the governing body of global soccer, backed away from promises the tournament could be played in Qatar’s intense summer heat and moved the World Cup to the winter for the first time, scrambling domestic league schedules everywhere.

Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was greeted with loud cheers by the home crowd as he officially opened the tournament, inside a stadium designed to look like a traditional Bedouin tent.

“From Qatar, from the Arab world, I welcome everyone to the World Cup 2022,” the 42-year-old said. “How lovely it is that people can put aside what divides them to celebrate their diversity and what brings them together.”

For Qataris, the hope is this tournament will prove the country, the smallest and youngest ever to host the event, is ready to become a major global player.

The ICC Twenty20 World Cup that concluded at Melbourne on Sunday, granted relevance to cricket’s shortest format. Lost in the medley of domestic leagues ranging from the Indian Premier League to the Big Bash, T20Is often become an after-thought in bilateral contests. A few games are casually held while the respective cricket boards tend to fatten their own indigenous leagues. With franchise-cricket mushrooming across the limited cricketing world while the globe at large favours football, the willow game needed a sense of permanence in a format that is often seen as a blink-and-miss routine.

Tests and ODIs have their own votaries but T20s are seen as a backyard clash marinated in top dollar and hype. The T20 World Cup alters that perception once in two years and the latest event at Australia was no exception. That England, steeped in the tradition of Test cricket won the trophy is bound to grant the format some heft even if the commercial muscle rests with India. It is also a tribute to the flexibility coursing through the Old Blighty’s coaching infrastructure that the administration there treats Tests, ODIs and T20Is as distinctly unique formats by which even team-composition and attitudes are customised. That Joe Root does not figure in England’s T20Is is a pointer to keeping sentiment at bay.

Squaring up against England in the summit-clash was Pakistan. Even if the climax favoured Jos Buttler’s men and their power-cricket, Babar Azam’s troops showed that the fast bowling riches within Pakistan remain intact. Despite a meagre 137 for eight, Pakistan was able to stretch the contest due to its pacers even if Shaheen Afridi limped off towards the end. If England and Pakistan shrugged aside a middling group-stage performance to stay the course, India and New Zealand were the form-teams in the initial rounds before fading out.

The Men in Blue rode on Virat Kohli’s consistency, Suryakumar Yadav’s chutzpah and reasonably effective bowlers before they unravelled against England in the semifinal. That India needs kinetic energy in the way it approaches T20Is has become a non-negotiable requirement. The trope of staying long and then exploding at the death may work in ODIs but is a weakness in the shortest version. With key players in their mid-thirties, Indian selectors need to infuse fresh blood. Equally, that defending champion Australia and South Africa crashed out while Ireland and the Netherlands staged upsets, points to the evolution within the T20 segment. Meanwhile, the failure of the West Indies to even qualify proved tragic as the men from the Caribbean are intrinsic to cricket’s health.

The ICC Twenty20 World Cup that concluded at Melbourne on Sunday, granted relevance to cricket’s shortest format. Lost in the medley of domestic leagues ranging from the Indian Premier League to the Big Bash, T20Is often become an after-thought in bilateral contests. A few games are casually held while the respective cricket boards tend to fatten their own indigenous leagues.

With franchise-cricket mushrooming across the limited cricketing world while the globe at large favors football, the willow game needed a sense of permanence in a format that is often seen as a blink-and-miss routine. Tests and ODIs have their own votaries but T20s are seen as a backyard clash marinated in top dollar and hype.

The T20 World Cup alters that perception once in two years and the latest event at Australia was no exception. That England, steeped in the tradition of Test cricket won the trophy is bound to grant the format some heft even if the commercial muscle rests with India. It is also a tribute to the flexibility coursing through the Old Blighty’s coaching infrastructure that the administration there treats Tests, ODIs and T20Is as distinctly unique formats by which even team-composition and attitudes are customised. That Joe Root does not figure in England’s T20Is is a pointer to keeping sentiment at bay.

Squaring up against England in the summit-clash was Pakistan. Even if the climax favoured Jos Buttler’s men and their power-cricket, Babar Azam’s troops showed that the fast bowling riches within Pakistan remain intact.

Despite a meagre 137 for eight, Pakistan was able to stretch the contest due to its pacers even if Shaheen Afridi limped off towards the end. If England and Pakistan shrugged aside a middling group-stage performance to stay the course, India and New Zealand were the form-teams in the initial rounds before fading out. The Men in Blue rode on Virat Kohli’s consistency, Suryakumar Yadav’s chutzpah and reasonably effective bowlers before they unraveled against England in the semifinal.

That India needs kinetic energy in the way it approaches T20Is has become a non-negotiable requirement. The trope of staying long and then exploding at the death may work in ODIs but is a weakness in the shortest version. With key players in their mid-thirties, Indian selectors need to infuse fresh blood. Equally, that defending champion Australia and South Africa crashed out while Ireland and the Netherlands staged upsets, points to the evolution within the T20 segment. Meanwhile, the failure of the West Indies to even qualify proved tragic as the men from the Caribbean are intrinsic to cricket’s health.

Series: The Incredible “Everyday Elite” runners of India.
Madan Godara

Everyday Elite: Madan Godara is running to inspire as many to make it their lifestyle!

It is always a privilege to be able to bring the legendary voices from across India and their inspirational tales of grit and determination. In this series, we connected with some iconic runners from across the country. They generously took out time to share with us their inspirational tales of courage and achievement.

We kick off the series with the one and only Madan Godara aka Haryana Roadways. He headlines many marathon events as brand Ambassador and “Mentor de fitness”. Fondly known as respected Godara Sahab or Madan Sir, he is much loved by the young brigade of runners who have had the good fortune of being groomed by him over the years.

What makes Madan Godara’s story special is not just the myriad accolades and podiums that have come his way, but the man himself. A retired army man turned entrepreneur discovered running by chance when at his place of business an overweight colleague proudly showed him his new shiny marathon medal. It piqued his interest and he asked himself the question ”Why not me ?” What followed was something astonishing and unthinkable.He attempted his first 10km at the next marathon event in his city and finished it in record time of 48 minutes. With this run he clearly made a record of sorts and soon became a force to reckon within the Indian running scene. Ever since there has been no looking back for this running icon. With his no excuses attitude, he proves his mettle year after year.

Now he says that running is synonymous with living life itself and his daily mandatory minimum 5km run is like “manna from heaven”. You can catchup with him at various national events where he would be busy winning podiums with his running group, Dwarka Xpress runners or you would find him at 4:30am on the running track mentoring young group of local runners. With official 100 half marathons under his belt, 15 full marathons, 100km night runs and various podiums this 57 years old Ultra runner has many unbeatable records to his name.

He recounts, however, that it is only when he took on the unbelievable XXX trail run in 2018, did he come face to face with his biggest running challenge yet. Three days of incessant running in the urban forest called the Aravali Bio Diversity Park in Delhi involving back to back long runs daily was not just challenging physically but also a tough mind game. Conquering this run, which was a  mix of soft and hardsurface with gradient steep stretches, was by far the most gut-wrenching but surprisingly satisfying running experience for him. Over the course of the next 3 days he relentlessly smashed his daily goals and in his own characteristic style  and came out a jubilant overall winner of this event.

He believes that everyone should adopt running as a lifestyle to keep fit and alert throughout the day. He knows that while all might not be able attempt a 10km on their first run but they should at least start running slowly and gradually increase mileage with correct running form with some consistency. His suggestion to any novice runner is not to go for speed and pace initially and focus on gaining muscle strength to remain injury free as an athlete.

He is avidly looking forward to the race season in the year 2023 and is a huge advocator of discipline and setting morning routines. He is currently training to try and best his time at the New Delhi Marathon 2023. With this next milestone he would be closer to his dream of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

If you are ever in New Delhi you can be sure to catch him at the starting line of plenty of other races in the future.
You can also follow him on his inspirational Facebook account https://www.facebook.com/madan.godara.169

While a New year offers possibility of 365 days stretching out in front of us , the end of the year especially the November month offers as much opportunity to fall into good habits. Hope these nuggets of inspiration coming to you in the month of November from our “Everyday Elite” series inspire you to finish the year on a high and achieve all your fitness goals.

Series: The Incredible “Everyday Elite” runners of India
Monika Kadian

Everyday elites train for many years and embrace disciplined routines and habits to take control of their health and achieve their fitness goals. Our everyday elites are accomplishing amazing things despite challenges like pandemic and physical limitations. There is something unique about each runners story but the universal pride that comes from crossing the finish line is one common factors in most of their stories.

“Everyday Elite” Monika Kadian, made her mark as a ultramarathoner by fighting illness and injury”

Our running icon for this series Monika’s story is one of extreme grit and determination. Mother of two and an iconic long distance runner with one of the most popular running groups in New Delhi, she is nothing short of a powerhouse of resilience. In a span of just a few years she went from barely managing running a few rounds of her local park to tackling ultramarathons across the nation. Any race less that distance seems too short for her now.

She runs with the spectacular family-oriented running group in Dwarka where she has been groomed to take on long distance running as lifestyle. She had struggled a lot with severe depression and now believes that running is her life saver. Running has not only help her shed a significant amount of weight but also helped her gain a positive outlook on life. She has managed to remain lean and fit with consistent running and no longer requires medicines to cope with the myriad issues that affected her health prior to her running journey. She singlehandedly with her dedication and hard work, has worked towards achieving her goals to stay fit . It is Monika 2.0 all the way.

With her unstoppable spirit she powered on to come on top of the 100 days of running challenge 2020 (HDOR) womens’ category, DXR. She won by covering an impressive distance of a whopping 2100kms in 100 days and it would be safe to say that with this feat she pretty much blew away her competition. By running an average of 21kms daily she proved that if she puts her mind to it she can achieve anything. She remembers that challenge as an unforgettable moment of triumph and satisfaction. She gives the credit to her running routine, an essential tool that helped her reinvent herself.

Taking on the challenge of each Ultra-run as a test of mental toughness she has grown from strength to strength with each passing year.

She has shown that with dedication one can steer one’s destiny and achieve any goal. She has made her mark in the running community by running unbelievable distances at various Stadium runs and Ultra-running events. She is now an inspirational runner to follow in the world of women’s running and has been setting the bar high with each of her spectacular runs. Now armed with her ultra-running super powers, she is leaner and mentally alert and she is all about taking on the next challenge. She has proved to be true superstar of running and definitely a name that no one should forget especially those who saw her valiantly overcome her battle with depression. A humble and extremely hardworking runner she gives all the credit of her success to her vibrant running group DXR . When not competing at various Ultra runs she is seen actively taking time to pay forward the gift of running to mentor young aspiring runners .

This year too she is gearing up to smash her own personal record at the upcoming Stadium run in New Delhi. She is gearing up to challenge her fitness levels by pushing her pain threshold as she feels that it is the only way she can continue to grow as a runner. She views running as a meditative process and she can’t imagine her life without its myriad benefits. Her motto is to keep doing better each time that and is looking forward to always better her athletic performance. Either which way we know that she will continue writing her very special ultra-running story, each and every time. You can follow her tales of grit on this Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/monika.kadian.718an

Next time you are thinking of skipping a run or miss a workout just keep these stories of grit and determination of these relentless ‘everyday elites” handy and ensure that your cup of motivation always keeps brimming to the hilt. These stories will surely get you excited to chase your own fitness goals.

“Everyday Elite”runners of India
Ritesh Udar

Each story of this series unfolds a different and unique running trajectory of an “Everyday Elite”. The readers get a VIP access to some awe-inspiring stories, an inside peek into some of  he biggest running challenges they have conquered and a very first look at their impressive upcoming year’s goals.

You may ask, why runners are so invested in the idea of challenging ourselves? Why do they do difficult things like long-distance running and embrace discomfort in order to grow? To find answers to these often asked questions we take a look at the sensational running journey of a young suave Pastry Chef from New Delhi. Having started running only 4 years ago, Ritesh Udar, our “Everyday elite” was trying to beat the monotony of his life and to increase his energy levels. His stint with the mad-mad world of ultra running, however, came during the covid lockdown period. The pandemic years seemed to have offered him a unique window of opportunity. With so much free time at his disposal Ritesh could not leave it at that. With running in his very DNA it wasn’t long before he started running long distance regularly. Months of disciplined training , deep determination, faith and encouragement from his running group saw him take his running trajectory to phenomenal heights.

Now running is an integral part of his life and the biggest takeaway for him is the importance of staying fit and active. He is a big advocate of being a part of any vibrant running groups and has completed unbelievable distances with his team mates. There has been no stopping him ever since and his iconic podium finishes at various long distance marathon events has earned him the name of the “golden boy” in his running group. He is determined to keep winning and he challenges himself to run longer distances each year and keeps relentlessly smashing his our personal records with each new run challenge.

He has run a total of 400 Half marathons, 15 full marathons , 15 ultra runs and a 24 hr stadium run till date. A truly superhuman feat, in such a short span of time, proving that he is an ultra marathoner extraordinaire, running unimaginable distances at unbelievable speeds.

He says however that the biggest achievement he felt was when he was asked to be a part to the dream team “The Great India Run” which ran continuously from Lal chowk, Kashmir to their final destination, Delhi. This run was organised to commemorate the occasion of the 75th Independece Day celebration in support of the “Har Ghar Tiranga campaign“ August 2022. Despite gruelling physical and psychological demands of this run, Ritesh powered on with his characteristic smile and triumphantly conquered each milestone with his teammates. The sheer magnitude of such a run would be a gut punch for any runner. Not for Ritesh. For him it was “pure ultra running”, an opportunity to again push his body beyond all limits and go beyond his pain barrier. The event went on to be an unmitigated success. This phenomenal performance has cemented his place among the top ultramarathoners of the country who thrive in challenging themselves to run further and longer.

Being the unstoppable elite runner that he is, instead of using the next few months for recovery we saw him head to Ladakh to take on the Khardungla Challenge (72km kms) which is the highest ultra marathon in the world. An event of this magnitude, set at a height of 17618 ft above sea level is an experience of a lifetime for any runner. Nothing is easy at this altitude let alone run a strong 72 km.

Unstoppable and on a high after achieving this once in a lifetime milestone he powered on to completed another awe-inspiring run, The Ladakh marathon(42kms), the very next day. Finishing two back to back tough ultra marathons in the most unbelievable time frames, surely leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind about Ritesh’s mental calibre as a legendary runner . His record breaking crazy attempts at unbelievable distances is a constant source of jaw dropping amazement and inspiration.

The numbers are stunning if you look at any marathon and his unbelievable finish times. Ritesh, of course, stays grounded and humble in his characteristic style and proudly basks in the attention that it brings him. As a runner he is determined to continue his running fervour and move forward boldly with confidence. Running is a time when he feels that there is magic in the air, his special time. He does not take his time for granted and keeps busy with training for his next running goal. He has set his goal is to try and Run a sub 3 hour full marathon in 2023. We are sure he would achieve his goal without blinking an eye considering his desire and willpower and deep love for the sport. You can follow this amazing everyday athlete on his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ritesh.udar

We wanna make sure that our readers a just an inspirational story way from getting back on the track and towards a healthy lifestyle. So this hoping you manage to end the year on a high and do not let anything derail your life’s journey from the path of being fit and healthy.

Series: The Incredible “Everyday Elite” runners of India
Nandan Barua

As most of you are aware, runners are a special lot of individuals. They persevere relentlessly, thrive on pain and are passionate about beating their personal best records with each every marathon event that they compete in. Their consistency is inspiring and their sheer determination to cross the finish line makes running look like an effortless sport . Each kilometre that they have covered daily is as important to them as breathing itself.

Everyday Elite Nandan Barua is running to live his best life yet!

Champion runner and father of two, Nandan Barua, wrote his own personal fitness success story and highlighted it with his determination to never give up under any circumstance. Running for him is not just about amazing marathon runs, but about leading a healthy life, improving his fitness and feeling good inside his skin. For him it is all about keep his morale high, pushing himself out of his comfort zone and eventually winning the most difficult fight, the fight against oneself.

He is a Samsung electronics professional working in the corporate field for the last 20 years. He started his incredible running journey not in very ideal circumstances. A freak accident had confined him to full bed rest for a painful 2 months in 2013. An accomplished athlete playing football and track since his early college years this debilitating injury made him dig deep about his next course of action. With broken knees and spirit weakening with each day he knew at that point in his life that the only way he could bounce back into a meaningful existence, mind and body, would be too push himself towards a new goal. He pinned his hopes on running a half marathon as soon as his doctor gives him a go ahead. His body slowly recovered and the pain started ceasing and soon he started preparing himself mentally first for the big challenge that he had planned for himself. With Airtel Half Marathon dreams in his mind he slowly started training and struggled to push past his weakness, a little bit everyday. With a stubborn self belief and sheer hardwork, he powered ahead closer to his goal. When the event date arrived he successfully ran his half marathon and achieved his goal and gained an unwavering new sense of confidence in his physical capabilities and mental calibre.

He has shown that one can steer life from weakness to strength . With this new strong sense of achievement he went on to take on running daily as a lifestyle and has been running ever since. He knows now that whenever he needs motivation he just needs to look inside himself. Despite the difficult and uncertain times we currently live in, especially post- pandemic, Nandan lives his life knowing that this discipline is his lifeline to be fit. Now he truly believes that running is his therapy and advocates disciple and commitment to make seemingly impossible tasks become a reality.

On weekdays you would see him pounding the streets with some envious legwork in the wee hours of morning where he manages a cool 5-6 kms run without fail. He also is quite fond of his weekend runs with his fellow running group members, chit-chat long slow distance runs as they call it, especially on Sundays.

He believes the mantra that in 30 days one can create a habit, and this good habit can change the subsequent 30 years of ones life . Disciple is key he says, “Keep your mind strong and keep growing.” His advice to aspiring runners is admire all fellow runners but not try to copy them blindly. He says, “.. each runner is unique and inspiring in their own way ..so come what may, just don’t give up..”

With an envious and challenging goal of 2000 kms in year 2023 he is all set to test his tough at the Tata Mumbai marathon in January 2023. You can follow his inspirational journey on. His Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/nandan.barua.58

These tales of the “Everyday elite” will take you on a journey of accomplishment and growth, new friendships, self – determination and the feeling of an overwhelming sense of joy that they must have felt on achieving the ultimate goal, crossing the finish line. Watch this space for more such inspiring tales.

Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli on Wednesday became the all-time leading run-scorer in the men’s T20 World Cup history during his team’s Super 12 match against Bangladesh, here.

Kohli reached the milestone when he crossed 16 runs in the seventh over of India’s innings, going past former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene’s record tally of 1016 runs. The Indian batter now has 1065 runs with an average of 88.75 and a strike rate of more than 132.46 in T20 World Cups.

Playing in his fifth T20 World Cup, the 33-year-old became the competition’s highest run-getter in only his 23rd innings, having scored 12 half-centuries. In comparison, Jayawardene had played 31 innings to set his record, though he faced fewer balls (754 balls) than Kohli did (773).

After Kohli and Jayawardene, Chris Gayle (965), Rohit Sharma (921) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (897) are at the third, fourth and fifth spot on the list of all-time run-scorers in the T20 World Cup history.

Kohli scored 185 runs in his maiden T20 World Cup in 2012; he was the competition’s top-scorer in 2014; and the second highest run-getter in 2016. He was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the 2014 and 2016 editions, making him the only male cricketer to win the award twice. His six Player-of-the-Match awards are also the most in the tournament’s history.

The star batter began the 2022 T20 World Cup on 845 runs and scored two consecutive unbeaten half-centuries — against Pakistan and Netherlands — before being dismissed for 12 against South Africa.

Former India skipper also holds the record for being the highest run-scorer in all T20 internationals, and is ahead of Rohit, Martin Guptill, Babar Azam and Paul Stirling on the list.

Kohli’s brilliant knock (64 not out off 44) helped India beat Bangladesh by 5 runs via DLS method to go top of the table in Group 2 and inch closer to a semifinal berth at the ongoing T20 World. (IANS)

(Reuters) – India’s men and women cricket teams will be paid the same appearance fees to represent their country, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah said on Thursday.

The agreement will see women’s players at international level receive the same match fees as men across all formats – 1,500,000 rupees ($18,225) for tests, 600,000 rupees for one-day internationals and 300,000 for Twenty20 internationals.

The announcement was made on Thursday by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s Secretary Jay Shah. “We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted BCCI women cricketers,” he said. “The match fee for both men and women cricketers will be same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Indian cricket.” Earlier this year, the BCCI said that a fully fledged women’s Indian Premier League (IPL) could begin as early as next year.

“We are implementing pay equity policy for our contracted BCCI women cricketers,” Shaw wrote in a post on Twitter. “The match fee for both men and women cricketers will be same as we move into a new era of gender equality in Indian cricket.”

Indian women’s cricketers currently earn 400,000 Indian rupees for test appearances and 100,000 for T20s and ODIs, and also play less cricket than their male counterparts.

Shah did not say whether there would be changes to the contract system for women.

Under their current annual contracts, women cricketers in the highest bracket earn 5 million rupees, while Grade B players take home 3 million and Grade C, 1 million.

Men in the Grade A+ bracket are paid 70 million, with those in Grades A, B and C taking home 50 million, 30 million and 10 million respectively, meaning the lowest graded male cricketers still earn twice as much as top-tier women cricketers.

India’s women’s team is ranked fourth in both the ODI and T20I rankings and beat Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup this month to claim a seventh title.

In the build-up to the India-Pakistan Super 12 clash of Mens T20 World Cup at a sell-out Melbourne Cricket Ground, rain threatened to disrupt the biggest match of the tournament. But it set the base for one of the most thrilling cricket matches of the year.

With 90,293 fans at the iconic stadium and more than crore fans tuning in from around the world, the stage was set for something surreal to happen on the fourth Sunday of October. There was awesome swing, extra bounce, tearaway speed, momentum shifts, unreal strokeplay and spine-tingling drama on display on the eve of Diwali.

The biggest fireworks for the match, though, came from Virat Kohli’s bat which lit up the Melbourne night sky. The talismanic batter re-iterated why he is one of the best chasers in cricket, slamming an unbeaten 82 off just 52 balls and powering India to an incredible four-wicket victory over Pakistan in their first Group 2 match.

After the right-left fast-bowling duo of Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh picked three wickets each to restrict Pakistan to 159/8 in their 20 overs, Kohli and Hardik Pandya (40) shared a match-winning stand of 113 off 77 deliveries, lifting India from 31/4 to chase 160 on the last ball to get their campaign off to a winning start.

As India scored 55 runs in 11-15 overs, Pakistan brought back Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, who gave away just six runs each in the 16th and 17th overs respectively. With 48 needed off the last three overs, Kohli brought up his fifty by fetching a short ball from outside the off-stump to pull Shaheen Shah Afridi through mid-wicket for four and ended the over with another four, swivel-pulled over short fine leg.

Kohli then smacked back-to-back sixes off Rauf in the 19th over — a straight loft down the ground was followed by using the pace of the ball to flick off wrists over fine leg – to make it 16 runs needed off the final over.

Mohammad Nawaz dealt a huge blow on the first ball of the final over when Pandya miscued the slog and the thick edge went to cover-point. On the fourth ball, Kohli smacked a waist-high full toss high over a deep square leg fence for six, which was on a no-ball.

After Nawaz conceded a wide, Kohli and Dinesh Karthik ran three byes on the free-hit delivery before the latter was stumped on the fifth ball. Nawaz conceded a wide yet again and Ashwin finished off the chase with a loft over mid-off to win a thriller for India.

In pursuit of 160, India had a shaky start when K.L Rahul chopped onto his stumps off Naseem Shah in the second over. Two overs later, Haris Rauf had Rohit Sharma poking tentatively at a 145kph length ball and a thick edge flew to the first slip, who dived low for a sharp catch.

Suryakumar Yadav sweetly punched a drive off Rauf and then pulled off the front foot over mid-wicket to collect a brace of fours. But the right-arm pacer had the last laugh as his back of the length ball on stumps cramped Suryakumar for room, who looked to cut the ball away.

All he could do was to nick behind to the keeper, leaving India at 26/3 in 5.3 overs. Things went from bad to worse for India as a mix-up in the middle for a non-existent single resulted in run-out of Axar Patel.

Kohli and Pandya took some time before the latter drilled a straight drive off Shadab and smacked two sixes over long-on and deep mid-wicket off Nawaz, sandwiched between Kohli launching a glorious six over long-on to make it 20 runs off the 12th over.

Apart from collecting plenty of twos with Pandya, Kohli brought out his deft touch with a fine glance off Shaheen, cutting off his wrists past deep cover off Shadab and flicking past a diving short fine-leg off Shah to collect three quick fours, thus paving the path for him to be smiling with his arms aloft. It was a masterclass in chasing in front of a packed MCG.

Earlier, electing to bowl first, Bhuvneshwar Kumar found some swing in the opening over. Arshdeep bowled a perfect first delivery in his T20 World Cup debut by trapping Babar Azam lbw for a golden duck and then cramped Mohammad Rizwan for room on the hook, hurrying him for pace and extra bounce as the top edge was caught by fine-leg.

From 15/2 in four overs, Ahmed (51) and Masood (52 not out) set about resurrecting Pakistan’s innings, sharing a 76-run partnership for the third wicket. The change in gears came when Ahmed hit four sixes off six balls between the 11th and 12th overs — once off Ravichandran Ashwin and thrice against Axar Patel — to reach his fifty in 32 balls.

But Shami came back in the 13th over trap Ahmed plumb lbw. Pandya then took over to have Shadab and Haider Ali holing out to the outfield within five balls. He followed it up by cramping Nawaz for room and nick behind to the keeper.

Arshdeep struck on the fourth ball of his second spell, bouncing out Asif Ali and giving the keeper a simple catch off the glove edge. Masood cracked consecutive fours off Shami to bring up his third T20I fifty. Though Shaheen and Rauf applied finishing touches with some boundaries, 159 proved to be insufficient for Pakistan to keep Kohli and India away from victory.

Brief scores: Pakistan 159/8 in 20 overs (Shan Masood 52 not out, Iftikhar Ahmed 51; Hardik Pandya 3/30, Arshdeep Singh 3/32) lost to India 160/6 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 82 not out, Hardik Pandya 40; Haris Rauf 2/36, Mohammad Nawaz 2/42) by four wickets (IANS)

Mallikarjun Kharge Assumes Charge As President Of Indian National Congress

India/Profile Cover 5

Hectic preparations are underway at the Congress headquarters for the ceremony planned for October 26th, 2022, where party president Sonia Gandhi will hand over the baton to her successor, Mallikarjun Kharge, after India’s Congress party elected the experienced Dalit leader Mallikarjun Kharge as its president last week.

The first “non-Gandhi” to hold this post in 25 years, the veteran Congressman defeated diplomat-turned-politician Shashi Tharoor by a resounding majority. Of the total 9,385 votes cast, Kharge received 7,897 votes. Tharoor still surprised many by bagging 1,072 votes. Some 416 votes were declared invalid. Stating that “the process of revival of Congress has truly begun,” Tharoor has assured Kharge of all support.

Kharge’s victory is historic because he succeeds Sonia Gandhi, the longest-serving party leader, who has been in office since 1998, with the exception of the two years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul Gandhi presided. Kharge, an 80-year-old from the lowest rung of India’s caste system, is seen as a loyalist of the Gandhi family, which has produced three Indian prime ministers and is expected to retain its clout over the party.

That Kharge had the full support of the Gandhis was evident when outgoing President Sonia Gandhi and her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Kharge’s home to congratulate him after his victory. Rahul Gandhi, who is in the midst of a countrywide long march, the “Bharat Jodo Yatra” (Unite India March), congratulated Kharge and lauded him for his “experience and ideological commitment” as well as his “democratic vision.”

The Congress hopes to revive its flagging fortunes with a new leader after losing two general elections and control of some state assemblies to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“The most important issues facing the country right now is inflation, unemployment, a widening divide between the rich and poor and a growing environment of hatred spread by the ruling government,” Kharge told reporters after his win.

An Ambedkarite-Buddhist who has been with the Congress for over five decades, Kharge is taking over the leadership at a time when the party, rattled by defeats, disunity and revolts, is desperately looking for a national revival. 

He is the first full-time Congress president in three years, succeeding Sonia who has been at the helm since 1998, except for one and a half years between 2017 and 2019 when Rahul was party chief. With his vast experience in governance and the organisation, Kharge assumes charge at a time when the Congress is at its weakest. The party is reeling from a series of electoral setbacks and the relentless exodus of leaders.

Kharge’s immediate challenge: the assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year. In Gujarat, the party is widely viewed as having frittered away the gains of the previous polls, in which it had won 77 of 182 seats. There has since been an exodus of leaders from the Congress, which now has to deal with an aggressive Aam Aadmi Party as well.

Despite the change at the top of the Congress, the BJP, which advocates a hard-right, nationalist stance, appears to be in a strong position to win a third successive term in a general election due by 2024.

The 137-year-old Congress, which helped win India’s independence from colonial power Britain and then dominated politics for decades, has long championed a secular polity.

Indian cricketing star Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who popularized the ‘helicopter shot’ has launched a quadcopter consumer camera drone named ‘Droni’. The made-in-India camera drone with advanced features is manufactured by Garuda Aerospace, of which MS Dhoni is the Brand Ambassador.

Garuda Aerospace has created a niche for itself by offering drone solutions for agricultural pesticide spraying, solar panel cleaning, industrial pipeline inspections, mapping, surveying, public announcements, and delivery services and has now ventured into the consumer drone market with the latest offering – ‘Droni’. According to the company’s founder and CEO, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the product will be available in the market by the end of 2022.

The event in Chennai also witnessed the launch of a new ‘Kisan Drone’ that is aimed at the agriculture sector, particularly in spraying applications. This battery-powered drone is capable of carrying out agricultural pesticide spraying over a land area of 30 acres per day.

Speaking at the event, Dhoni recalled that he had taken a keen interest in agriculture during the COVID-19 lockdown. He emphasized the role of drones for agriculturalists. Speaking at the launch, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, of Garuda Aerospace, “Garuda Aerospace is focused on creating high-impact solutions for numerous purposes.  Our Droni drone is indigenous and can be used for different surveillance purposes.  It is efficient, seamless and high quality from tech and build standpoint.  By providing Made-in-India drones, we hope to not just become aatmanirbhar(self-reliant)for demand of drones but also place India on the global map as a hub for superior quality, safe and secure drone and drone-based solutions.”

President of the Indian Drone Association and Former Wing Commander in the Indian Airforce, Anand Kumar Das said, “I am extremely delighted to serve on a platform where industry stakeholders connect to gain insights about the drone industry and happy to organize the Global Drone Expo with Garuda Aerospace. This platform will play a significant role in promoting the drone industry and fostering growth.”

The Global Drone Expo witnessed 1500+ participants from 14 international drone companies and representatives from over 28 states and union territories which attracted investors, youth and stakeholders and outlined a path forward for the drone industry.  Industry experts, farmers, dealers, distributors, people from the banking and insurance sectors, education-financial institutions, government representatives, pilots and various investors were provided a platform to gain insights into the drone culture and the various possibilities associated with the use of drones.

Wind blowing on the umbrella of clouds in the sky; sounds of ‘welcome’ to guests from the speaker; people under the tents on the trees and sitting on reclining chairs around the kabaddi field; gossiping somewhere along with gossiping Shugli; See the scenes of Kabaddi Seeing enthusiastic sports lovers and players playing with the claps of the audience with their game; apart from the daring to spend dollars on the waves of the dhavi and the hugs of the jugglers, sport organizations from far and near, socio-religious organizations People associated with C parties; Clubs Sponsors and associates receiving respect from the camera; The photographer taking photos by keeping his eyes on the camera as if he is saying ‘I want to take a photo of you beautiful… ‘; Video and Selfies; Foodie lovers are having fun somewhere and roaring somewhere and during singer Roshan Prince’s singing, Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club Chicago (Midwest)’s annual ‘Kabaddi Cup Cultural fair. ‘

 The fair started with a prayer of thanksgiving to the Almighty. Crowds were starting to turn out, but the fair had ended with plenty of participation until the semi-final match. The pinnacle of the final match was that people got up from their chairs to witness the tremendous sportsmanship of the players. Every single point was enjoyed by many. Many were so excited they couldn’t stop themselves from dancing. Along with the players, the spectators and the club members also became more fast and commentators Makhan Ali and Kala Rashin made the taste of the Kabaddi match double by taking the names of the players and describing the real situation.

Four Kabaddi teams competed in this Kabaddi Cup, including Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club Chicago (Midwest), Sant Baba Jawala Singh Harkhowal, Baba Seva Das North Carolina and Fateh Sports Club California. Final match between Fateh Sports Club California and Sher-e-Punjab Sports Club Chicago (Midwest). Players of both teams tried their best for ‘single-‘ single point, but Fateh Sports Club California bagged the winning cup by scoring three and a half points against Teti.

Several amateur athletes had tattoos on their arms, groves, necks, shoulders and backs. Some players who were constantly playing also felt pain in their muscles and had to seek massage and relieving pain-relieving spray from fellow players.

 When a person who was drinking by standing near the cars hit a Kabaddi player with a drink, he said clearly no, “No brother, hale to match…! “At the same moment a wise gentleman encouraging Kabaddi players made a humble plea that we should advise players to stay away from drugs.” Later, the person who made a deal of peg handed over dollars to the player saying that ‘Keep your pride brother… ‘

In addition, Kabaddi lovers were happy with the game of the players and encouraged them with dollars. Prizes distributed to the winning teams. Kabaddi cup best jaafi Aman kaonke kalan and best dhavi sultan special felicitated by Rajveer Gill of Regal jewellers. There were volleyball matches of children studying in schools, colleges, universities, but more crowd stayed around Kabaddi matches. Volleyball prize fair was sponsored by managing director Amarjit Singh Dhindsa and director Lakhvir Dhindsa. The sponsor of the cultural program was Lakhvir Singh Johal.

The chief guest was Gurinderjit Singh Grewal, a businessman from Madison (Wisconsin). They presented badges to the sponsors and players along with the club members. Club President Amritpal Singh Gill, Club members including Ajaib Singh Lakhan who has been associated with Kabaddi tournaments for the last twenty years – Amardev Singh Bandesha, Deepa Bandesha, Balwinder Singh Chatha, Santokh Singh D. C. I. C. C. Members including Lakhwinder Singh, Jasroop Singh, Parminder Singh Walia, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, Amrit Mangat, Rana Bhandal, Raja Tallan, Parminder Aujla and other members were busy in welcoming the guest house and honoring them hand in hand. Club President Amritpal Singh Gill has thanked the club members, sponsors and guests.

Illinois State Representative Michelle Musman also attended the fair and was specially honored with a poster designed about ‘Contributions of Sikhs in World Wars’ by his Hindu response to the Sikh community.

Apart from pakoras-samosas, jalebi and hot tea along with curry-rice, rajmanah, parantha and naan were present for the fairs. The Kulfian Wala did not have much fun at this fair, as the day was cloudy and cold. Maybe this is why Sophie and the ladies tripped round tea and went past Mood Tarare car doors. Many Shugal remained limited to the fair, but some of the drunkards started to scold.

After the final match of Kabaddi, people walked towards the stage, while some people were already sitting in front of the stage. In Chicago, realtor Jagmeet (Jassie) Singh and Laddi from Philadelphia, Roshan Prince came to the stage to sing, but in order to reconcile with the people, he started to get off the stage and climb on a chair and sing; some of his Started singing back to back. Then he picked up a child and started singing, but the child became uncomfortable and started crying. When he sang “Dance as much as you want, then don’t say that I have stopped the music”, the audience in excitement started dancing too. “Whose cars have red lights… There must be something… Performed covers of other songs including “Suhe Ve Chire Walia” “Kala Doria”. He started to talk and people’s response he went on stage.

 Meanwhile, Roshan Prince invited public-standing singer Jasbir Gunachaurye on stage and shared his share with the audience. Then people got on stage and started taking selfies with him. Even some members of the club started taking pictures of their family members with the singer. Behold, some youths climbed the stage in drunken state, while security guards were also deployed to avoid crowd on stage.

There was a disruption in the singing programme, leaving Roshan Prince and the audience feeling the same, but some club members shunned the youngsters coming on stage in order to control the situation. Security seemed to have become a bit strict. Shortly from behind, a commotion erupted between the youth and the security personnel howling towards the stage. Seeing the situation getting bitter, a security guard sprayed pepper spray that the eyes of two underage boys, including some youngsters standing nearby, were also sprayed and they immediately started wondering.

In this panic, a young man fell next to the sturdy chairs near the stage and crashed into a table with a sound system. Due to severe irritation in the eyes, the condition of the youth, including two boys, also got worse. The singing stopped and all eyes were on the scene due to the chaos next to the stage, but Roshan Prince hurriedly got off the stage in his car.

On the other hand, some people washed the eyes of the victims by pouring water and they started doing some more backbiting. The victims felt some relief only after continuously pouring tears in their eyes for a while. Friends and family of the victims were surrounded by security personnel. The police personnel also reached the spot and, assaulting the situation, began to do tricks to keep the situation under control Friends and family members of the pepper spray victims were lodging a complaint against security personnel with police.

Some people were blaming the security and some were saying that even some of our Punjabi people do not refrain from drinking alcohol in such family fairs. Some people said the security guard should have worked hard, not pepper spraying pepper spray. Hamatad-Tumatad started throwing out their light anger: some against security personnel, some against drunk youth and some songs against the loosened arrangements of time. The infiltration was done and the ambulance also came for medical help.

Sri Lanka on September 6th defeated India in its fourth Super 4 match in the Asia Cup 2022 in Dubai by 6 wickets. With this, India is almost out of the tournament, as it lost to Pakistan in its previous match. India’s journey in the series depends on Afghanistan’s performance against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Responding to the Indian challenge of 173 runs, Sri Lankan openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis dominated from the beginning and crossed 50 runs in just five overs.

After losing the toss, the Indian batters made a sloppy start and lost KL Rahul to Maheesh Theekshana and then followed the wicket of Virat Kohli to Sri Lankan bowler Dilshan Madushanka.

However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma held the ground with Suryakumar Yadav for a good partnership crossing the mark of 100 in just 12 overs. But, soon India lost its skipper Rohit Sharma played a captain’s knock of 72 runs in just 42 balls, hitting 4 sixes and 5 fours. Suryakumar Yadav too followed Sharma and walked to pavilion by scoring 34 runs in 29 balls.

Hardik Pandya and Risabh Pant both scored 17 runs each and walked to pavilion. Following this, the Indian batting collapsed, and however, India managed to put 173 runs in 20 overs by losing eight wickets.

Pathum Nissanka scored an important 52 runs in 37 balls and while Kusal Mendis scored 57 runs in 37 balls.  Like in the previous match against Pakistan, Indian bowlers hardly managed to impress and failed to take early wickets. Though spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took 3 wickets, while Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Danushka Gunathilaka.

In the final over, 22-year-old Arshdeep Singh bowled exceptionally to keep the match neck and neck but an overthrow and fielding error allowed the batsmen to run between the wickets and take the game from the Indians.

With this win, Sri Lanka sits at the top of the points table, while India has been virtually knocked out and they will depend on the results of both Pakistani games. The Island nation is currently at the top of the Super 4 points table with four points and an NRR of 0.3512, while Babar Azam-led Pakistan is second in the tally with two points and an NRR of 0.126.

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja‘s heroics with the bat helped India defeat Pakistan by five wickets to win their first Group A match in Asia Cup 2022 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, August 28th. After Pakistan made 147 all out in 19.5 overs, India needed 59 off the last six overs on a two-paced pitch.

From there, Pandya (33 not out) and Jadeja (35) shared a stand of 52 runs off just 29 balls. Even though the left-handed Jadeja fell in the final over, Pandya finished off things with a six over long-on to take India over the line and add another thrilling chapter in the history of India-Pakistan clashes.

Just like Pakistan, India had an eventful first over. Debutant pacer Naseem Shah struck on just his second T20I ball, as K.L Rahul inside-edged to his stumps. Virat Kohli, playing in his 100th T20I, was dropped by Fakhar Zaman at second slip while chasing a wide one. Kohli was nervous in his start as many inside and outside edges came off his bat.

He showed signs of his authoritative self when he pulled through mid-wicket off Shahnawaz Dahani in the second over. After a top-edge went over keeper’s head for a six, Kohli’s authority was visible in his slash through cover and whipping over mid-wicket to collect two boundaries.

Rohit Sharma, cautious till then, opened up in eighth over when he slog-swept Mohammad Nawaz over long-on. But the left-arm spinner had the last laugh as Rohit holed out to long-off on the final ball of the over. In his next over, Nawaz had another big scalp as Kohli chipped straight to long-off.

Jadeja started off his promotion at number four by smacking Nawaz down the ground for a 98m six. He and Suryakumar Yadav got a four each and relied mainly on strike rotation to keep the scoreboard moving.

The 36-run stand was broken by Naseem, who knocked off Suryakumar’s off-stump on the first ball of his second spell. With 41 needed off the last four overs, Jadeja and Hardik Pandya hanged in to bring the equation to 32 off the last three overs. Like India, Pakistan too were penalised for a slow over rate as one extra fielder came into the 30-year circle.

By then, Pakistan were struggling as their pacers got cramps and Jadeja survived an lbw appeal off Naseem Shah clearly in pain after a review showed the ball pitching outside the leg-stump. On the very next ball, Jadeja lofted with a straight bat down the ground for six as India needed 21 runs off the last two overs.

On the third ball of the 19th over, Pandya flat-batted Haris Rauf over extra-cover and got a boundary as Babar chased the ‘all, but couldn’t stop it from hitting the boundary rope. Pandya then swatted Rauf over wide long-on and brought out a short-arm jab on the last ball for a four splitting deep mid-wicket and long-on for perfection.

With seven needed off the final over, Nawaz struck on the first ball as Jadeja was clean bowled while going for an expansive slog. Pandya finished off the match in style by clobbering Nawaz over long-on to win an absorbing contest.

Pandya’s triple strike (3/25) in overs 11-15 meant Pakistan couldn’t really recover from it and crashed to 147 all out. With the bat, Pandya hanged around with Ravindra Jadeja to bring the equation to 32 off the last three overs. By then, Pakistan were struggling as their pacers got cramps and in the 19th over, Pandya flat-batted Haris Rauf over extra-cover and got a boundary as Babar chased the ball, but couldn’t stop it from hitting the boundary rope. Brief scores: Pakistan 147 all out in 19.5 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 43, Iftikhar Ahmed 28; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-26, Hardik Pandya 3-24) lost to India 148-5 in 19.4 overs (Virat Kohli 35, Ravindra Jadeja 35; Mohammad Nawaz 3-33, Naseem Shah 2-27) by five wickets.

“I was remembering everything. I was being stretchered out of the ground, and it was the same dressing room. Yes, today I felt a sense of achievement because what I have gone through to come back and to get the opportunity… that journey is very beautiful,” said Pandya in a conversation with Jadeja in a video posted on bcci.tv on Monday.

“The comeback is greater than the setback.” With this line after India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in an absorbing Asia Cup 2022 contest, India all-rounder Hardik Pandya himself summed up his life completing a full circle in the Dubai International Stadium, seen from the pictures of 2018 and 2022.

“Hardik Pandya is the world’s best all rounder at the moment,” Wasim Akram raved on the night Hardik beat Pakistan with a stunning performance with the bat and the ball. All the usual Hardik signposts were visible: With the ball, the confidence to use the bouncer liberally, the hard lengths he is most comfortable with. With the bat, the careful deliberate positioning of the body and the areas he accesses and the eerie calmness, right till the end.

With Pandya now being able to deliver consistent all-round performances for India, it is a massive boost for the side ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November.

Badminton powers India to 22 gold medalsGolden double: Double Olympic medallist and world badminton champion P V Sindhu, ranked seventh, created history by not only winning her maiden gold medal — beating Michelle Li, ranked 13th, of Canada, the 2014 champion at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (CWG) in straight sets, 21-15, 21-13 — at the CWG in Birmingham but also powering India to a double century of first place podium finishes — placing India fourth in the all-time gold medals list after Australia (998 gold medals), England (769 gold medals) and Canada (510 gold medals).

Golden hat-trick: It wasn’t just Sindhu who had the national anthem playing for her — in the men’s singles category, 10th ranked 20-year old Lakshya Sen rallied brilliantly from a set down to beat the 42nd ranked Malaysian Ng Tze Yong, 19-21, 21-9, 21-16. Adding the cherry on top were the men’s doubles duo of Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty who won India’s third gold medal in badminton in a single day by staving off the English duo of Sean Vendy and Ben Lane, 21-15, 21-13.

Golden comeback: It was a day of racquet sports, with India’s fourth gold medal of the day — and 22nd overall in this edition in its haul of 61 medals that also included 16 silver and 23 bronze — coming at the hands of Achanta Sharath Kamal, who, at the age of 40 and ranked 39th beat World No. 20 and 29 year old Liam Pitchford 11-13, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5, 11-8. To put things in perspective, Kamal, who had a brilliant run in what could possibly be his last appearance in CWG with a haul of 4 medals, including 3 gold, won his first CWG gold medal 16 years back, when Pitchford was just 13.

And the big miss!

The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Australia as the kangaroos thrashed them 7-0 to win the gold, relegating the men in blue to a silver — their third defeat at the hands of the Australians in a CWG final who blasted five goals in the first half itself to take the game away from the Indians.

Chicago Rowdies have been victorious in the three prior games that they have played, and Hurricanes came into their third game winning their past two games. This truly looked like a clash of the titans. Both teams have only local players vying for the topmost slot, and both teams are known to put their heart out when they compete.

Rowdies won the toss and decided to bat first. Skokie ground has proven to be favorable to the team batting first fifty percent of the time, which is not something you look past when you want to win. Pruthvish, captain of Hurricanes was not very pleased with the outcome of the toss but nevertheless took the field with his playing 11 to prove their might.

Rowdies’ openers Ahsan Syed and Wasim Patel both started off slow but steady. Garv the young gun who is only 17 looked like he was dominating the batters with Pruthvish providing ample support from the other end. But the Rowdies batters couldn’t be silenced past the third over. The fourth over yielded ten plus runs while the fifth was a devastating blow to the Hurricanes. Garv conceded 25 runs in the fifth over which accelerated the momentum for Rowdies. The initial partnership between Ahsan and Wasim yielded 59 runs. After Wasim’s departure the middle order did not rack up much in terms of partnership or runs. Liyakat Raja came in late but his contribution of 39 runs of mere 18 balls pushed the team total to 176 runs.

Urvish Desai’s spectacular bowling performance was the saving grace for Hurricanes. He hauled 4 wickets in 4 overs at a very economical rate of 3.25. Hardik Patel picked up 2 wickets at only 5.75. Salman Ahmed proved a little expensive but still managed to pick up 2 wickets. Garv and Pruthvish were on the more expensive side, both going for more than 11.00.

 With a solid total to chase the Hurricanes sent in Urvish Desai and Sunny Bhati. Urvish succumbed to a slow short ball and got out cheaply. Salman Ahmed who came in next put up a decent partnership with Sunny for 25 runs. Pruthvish and Sunny put together 41 runs but then succumbed to Liyakat. Sargam, Jay, and Jash did not do much damage. Aditya’s performance provided a glimmer of hope with his stellar 26 runs of 10 balls which was not enough to swing the game in the Hurricanes’ favor.

 Score: Chicago Rowdies: 176/9(20.0 Overs) Chicago Hurricanes: 158/8(20.0 Overs)Result: Chicago Rowdies won by 18 Run(s); Player of the Match: Liyakat Raja

A total of 187 teams in the open section will vie for the Hamilton-Russell Cup, and 162 teams in the women’s section for the Vera Menchik Cup at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai

The 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad was inaugurated on July 28 at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai with fanfare, in the presence of Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, and M.K. Stalin, the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, the main initiator of the event.

A total of 187 teams in the open section will vie for the Hamilton-Russell Cup, and 162 teams in the women’s section for the Vera Menchik Cup, while the best combined results of a nation in both the sections will decide the winner of the Nona Gaprindashvili Trophy.

The Olympiad having over 2000 participants is being held for the first time in India, famously known as the birthplace of Chess. Addressing the gathering, the PM welcomed the players from different countries and expressed happiness that this year’s Olympiad is special as it is coinciding with the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations along with setting its own records.

From Napier Bridge to Guindy, from Adyar to Tambaram, the chess buzz has never enveloped Chennai as it has now. The evening witnessed a march-past of the participating teams and was a sound and music spectacle to behold.

A week ago, a video anthem was released wherein A R Rahman and Chief Minister M K Stalin are walking along Napier Bridge, which is painted black and white to resemble the squares on a chess board. Both are clad in all-white, flanked by dancers in black, resembling the pieces on a board, humming the anthem and shyly jiving.

The former world champion and one of Chennai’s own, Viswanathan Anand, could not hide his excitement. “I have never seen the city so excited about chess. I was so happy to see the bridge painted black and white and I am sure that everyone in the city would know about the Chess Olympiad,” he said.

Into the melee dropped superstar Rajinikanth, when he invited fledgling chess stars R Praggnanandhaa and his sister R Vaishali as well as their parents to his house. If the confluence of the biggest politician in the state, the biggest actor and the biggest music composer does not strike a chord, perhaps nothing would. The ambitious Tamil Nadu government, riding a wave of goodwill since the curbing of the pandemic, has pulled no shutters to celebrate the Olympiad.

World Champion Magnus Carlsen, too, was blown away by the city decked up to celebrate. “Tamil Nadu or say Chennai is the hottest hub of chess in the world now. So just to be there and be a part of the chess celebration is a reason in itself,” said Carlsen, who has abdicated his crown, announcing recently that he would no longer participate in the World Championship.

The grand old International Master Manuel Aaron, who began the city’s first chess club in 1972 at the Soviet Centre for Culture Studies, where Anand polished his game, feels his life is fulfilled. “I have never seen the city celebrating chess as passionately as they have now. I feel very fortunate that I could in some way contribute to the game’s following and popularity in the city. The popularity of the game will soar even further,” he said.

This is perhaps the impact that the Tamil Nadu government had envisaged when they began an aggressive push for the Olympiad — to stretch the game to the deep reaches of the city, those locales where chess is barely played, leave alone followed. The locality around the Napier Bridge that connects Fort St George and Marina Beach is not where you find children playing chess in every house. It’s not where you want to find your children, either. Not too long ago, driving at night along the bridge was considered dangerous, replete with stories of snatchers, pickpockets and even ghosts of British soldiers. Painting the bridge like a chess board is a metaphor, too.

It is undisputed that Chennai has been churning out Grandmasters more frequently than any other city in the country — 24 out of 73, apart from seven Women Grandmasters, 34 International Masters, 10,000-odd registered players — with a throbbing chess culture and history. But the game really is not as mainstream as it is hyped up to be. It is this gulf between the mass and the niche that the Chess Olympiad seeks to bridge.

Every pillar and post reminds you of the Olympiad. The faces of DMK luminaries, from the ruling party’s founder C N Anna Durai to former CM M Karunanidhi and now Stalin to the emerging Udhayanidhi Maran have been embossed onto a chess board. In every speech Stalin makes, there is a chess analogy or reference.

“Every one in the city is a king or a queen,” he said in a function. He has invited a clutch of ministers from neighboring states, and the buzz is that there might even be an alliance between him and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrashekar Rao. The only unhappy faces, so far, are in the city’s BJP unit, which has been demanding that photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi be added to the hoardings. Chess is no stranger to politics, after the numerous proxy wars on the board in the Cold War Era.

This edition of the Olympiad, from July 28 to August 10, is the first the country is hosting. India are seeded second in the open segment, fielding six teams, three each in men and women’s sections, with top-seeded USA and third-placed Norway, helmed by Carlsen, expected to put up a stiff challenge. But the gold that India shared with Russia in the last edition has infused a sense of optimism that they will win the Olympiad at home.

So much so that about 300 km from Chennai, in Thirupoovanur, a 14th-Century Shiva temple has gathered sudden attention because it’s called “Sathuranga Vallabhanathar”, literally translated as “King of Chess”. The story goes that the temple was built at the location where Shiva beat the daughter of the local king in a game of chess (“sathurangam” in Tamil) to marry her, an avatar of Parvathi. Add divinity to the mix, and this Olympiad has the makings of a wholesome blockbuster, a mass entertainer. Or as the Chennaities call it: “Mass-u!” (With inputs from The Indian Express)

India’s Neeraj Chopra scripted yet another history, becoming only the second Indian to bag a podium finish to win a silver medal in the World Athletics Championships 2022.  World Athletics Championships are being held at Eugene, Oregon.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics javelin throw champion won the country’s only second medal at the World Athletics Championships, finishing with a historic silver in the men’s javelin final. The reigning World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who took gold with a humongous throw of 90.54m.

Chopra’s throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt secured him not only a podium finish but also ended India’s 29-year-long wait for a medal at the World’s after Anju Bobby George’s bronze medal finish in the women’s long jump way back in 2003. The legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George was the first Indian to win a medal — bronze — in the World Championships in the 2003 edition in Paris, France.

He is the first male track and field Indian athlete to win a medal at the World Championships, ending 19-year-long wait for a medal at the worlds. Chopra’s best effort of 88.13m in the final at the Hayward Field was short of Anderson Peters’ gold medal-winning mark of 90.54m. Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch won the bronze with 88.09m. The 24-year old athlete earlier made the cut for the final courtesy an 88.39m mark in the qualification.

Chopra started with a foul throw and then registered 82.39m with his second attempt. He improved with his third attempt, when he threw the javelin 86.37m. He was still not set for a medal, but he registered a throw of 88.13m with his fourth attempt to shoot up to second place from fourth. His fifth and sixth attempts were foul throws. At the Tokyo Olympics last year, Chopra became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics after shooter Abhinav Bindra, who clinched the yellow metal in 2008 Beijing Games.

Besides Neeraj, India’s second participant in the event Rohit Yadav bowed out finishing 10th with a best throw of 78.62m. Rohit’s first throw reached 77.96m, before he improved on it marginally by hitting the 78.05m mark. In what would turn out to be his third and final attempt, Rohit finished with his best effort of the competition but would overall be disappointed with his performance as he had had recorded a season’s and personal best of 82.54m while winning a silver at the National Inter-State Championships last month.

Neeraj Chopra’s historic 88.13m throw gives India first-ever silver in World Athletics Championships

India’s Neeraj Chopra scripted yet another history, becoming only the second Indian to bag a podium finish to win a silver medal in the World Athletics Championships 2022.  World Athletics Championships are being held at Eugene, Oregon.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics javelin throw champion won the country’s only second medal at the World Athletics Championships, finishing with a historic silver in the men’s javelin final. The reigning World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada, who took gold with a humongous throw of 90.54m.

Chopra’s throw of 88.13m in his fourth attempt secured him not only a podium finish but also ended India’s 29-year-long wait for a medal at the World’s after Anju Bobby George’s bronze medal finish in the women’s long jump way back in 2003. The legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George was the first Indian to win a medal — bronze — in the World Championships in the 2003 edition in Paris, France.

He is the first male track and field Indian athlete to win a medal at the World Championships, ending 19-year-long wait for a medal at the worlds. Chopra’s best effort of 88.13m in the final at the Hayward Field was short of Anderson Peters’ gold medal-winning mark of 90.54m. Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch won the bronze with 88.09m. The 24-year old athlete earlier made the cut for the final courtesy an 88.39m mark in the qualification.

Chopra started with a foul throw and then registered 82.39m with his second attempt. He improved with his third attempt, when he threw the javelin 86.37m. He was still not set for a medal, but he registered a throw of 88.13m with his fourth attempt to shoot up to second place from fourth. His fifth and sixth attempts were foul throws. At the Tokyo Olympics last year, Chopra became only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics after shooter Abhinav Bindra, who clinched the yellow metal in 2008 Beijing Games.

Besides Neeraj, India’s second participant in the event Rohit Yadav bowed out finishing 10th with a best throw of 78.62m. Rohit’s first throw reached 77.96m, before he improved on it marginally by hitting the 78.05m mark. In what would turn out to be his third and final attempt, Rohit finished with his best effort of the competition but would overall be disappointed with his performance as he had had recorded a season’s and personal best of 82.54m while winning a silver at the National Inter-State Championships last month.

For the FIRST TIME in international sports history, 12 Indian-origin athletes from around the globe will compete in the highest stakes basketball tournament in the world. 

India Rising is fondly nicknamed “The Avengers of Brown Basketball” by co-founder, former assistant coach of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings and current Egyptian national team head coach Roy Rana. The team will be one of 64 competing in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a single-elimination, eight-region competition that tips off on Friday, June 22 at 7 p.m. EST in Syracuse, NY, on ESPN, who will award the 2022 champion $1 million. 

“I spent most of my life praying, waiting, hoping, dreaming to see people who looked like me on these sports channels, and I’m done waiting,” said Gautam Kapur, co-founder and general manager of India Rising and former strategy manager at the NBA. “Growing up, I was always tall and naturally gravitated to basketball, but didn’t really have any role models who looked like me. Now, there are more than 60 professional, Indian-origin ballers worldwide, and nobody knows they exist. India Rising, the new home for brown athletes, aims to change that.”

“There are a lot of talented guys on this team, and this is only the beginning,” said Josh Sharma, India Rising’s seven-foot forward and former Stanford University Cardinal. “So, I think this is going to be that stepping stone for not only everybody on the team but the next generation of Indian ballers, so that the world recognizes the talent coming out of our community.”

This historic All-Star roster represents a diverse pool of talent from all corners of the world, including the NBA, G League, NBL (England, Australia), USports (Canada), 3×3 Leagues and multiple FIBA national teams.

“Winning games is our main priority right now, and secondly, it’s creating a sense of community for (Indian) athletes,” said Navin Ramharak, India Rising COO. “We’re creating a brotherhood and that goes beyond the game of basketball. Our third, and most important, goal is defeating cultural stereotypes. You don’t even need to necessarily win games to defeat stereotypes, but it helps the narrative tremendously. We want to start a cultural movement that if you’re Indian and looking to move into athletics, there’s a home for you to play and a community for you to belong.”

India Rising is currently fundraising to shoot a documentary series about their journey at the TBT, as well as the larger story of brown athletes in the international basketball ecosystem. To get involved or for more information, please visit the organization’s website www.indiarising.co. 

India Rising squares off against Syracuse Alumni team Boeheim’s Army
(No. 1 seed & defending champions of TBT 2021) in Game One on Friday, June 22, 2022 at 7 p.m. EST on ESPN. More than 15 million fans are expected to tune in!

The most awaited sporting event in Chicago, Chicago Premier League 20/20 tournament, kicked off with much fanfare on Thursday. Skokie Sports was lit up with new LED lights on six light poles. The cricket pitch had ample of light in the middle, which eliminates an issue that most players face when they bat on any of the grounds in Chicagoland. The players and team owners were absolutely thrilled at the new addition to infrastructure which has been overlooked by many organizers. CPL owner Adil Azeem Khan said, “This is just the beginning of better cricketing infrastructure in Chicago and that he has planned several more improvements along the way to wow the Chicago crowd.”

Chicago Phantoms and Chicago Destroyers opened the 2022 Chicago Premier League (CPL) season. Phantoms won the toss and elected to bat first. Usama Farqaleet and Jasim Sajjad opened the innings but were marred by the quick fall of Usama to Yash Mehta’s bowling for 5 runs. Mujeeb Ahmed stepped in for Usama and not only did he hold his wicket down till the last over but made a spectacular 110 of 62 balls before he succumbed to Vineet Sinha’s quick pace and a poorly executed shot. Rest of the team contributed little in terms of runs but nevertheless rotating strike so Mujeeb could continue with his onslaught of the Destroyers offense. Phantoms set the target to 175 in 20 overs. Vineet Sinha was the best bowler on the offensive side with 4 overs, 19 runs, 2 wickets and an economy rate of just 4.75, Shaheer Hasan was the most expensive with an economy rate of 16.00. 

 Fahad Babar and Zohad Hussain opened the innings for Destroyers and with the exceptional batting line up did not have any pressure while they continued to destroy the bowling attack of the Phantoms. The fall of the first wicket came at the total score of 90 in the 10th over with Zohad succumbing to Umama Azmi. Shaheer Hasan took on the role of keeping the wicket on one end and continued to chip at the total but could not get a partnership going with falling wickets on the other end. Phantoms exerted pressure on the batters and got Fahad Babar, Venkatesh Naidu, Yash Mehta out within a span of 20 runs. The loss of wickets at frequent intervals slowed down the onslaught of Destroyers and put both teams on an even keel. 

Destroyers failed to recover their momentum from the fall of Yash Mehta in the 14th over. The game came to the wire in the last over and Phantoms held the Destroyers back by 4 runs to win the season opener by a 4-run margin. 

Mujeeb Ahmed was awarded the Player of The Match award for his contribution with his bat. He also collected the award for his century in the innings.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag claimed that if wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant completes 100 appearances in Test cricket, his name will be written forever in the history books. Pant came into prominence due to his exploits in T20 cricket.

But of late, he has been a force to reckon with in Test cricket, amassing 1920 runs in 30 matches at an average of 40.85, including four centuries and nine half-centuries. In India’s last Test assignment, a two-match home series against Sri Lanka in March, Pant, 24, made 185 runs at a strike rate of 120.12, including a 28-ball fifty, the fastest by an Indian batter, on the second day of pink-ball Test at Bengaluru.

“If he goes on to play 100-plus Tests, his name would be etched in the history books forever. Only 11 Indian cricketers have achieved this feat, and everyone can recall those 11 names,” said Sehwag in an upcoming episode of Home of Heroes show on Sports18, to be aired at 7pm on Friday.

Sehwag himself had been one of the most destructive players to feature in Test cricket, compiling 8586 runs, averaging 49.34 at an astonishing strike rate of 82.23 apart from 8273 in ODIs at 35.05 with a strike rate of 104.33.

It wasn’t surprising that Sehwag still feels that Test cricket will remain the ultimate format of the game in the future despite the T20 format turning out to be more popular and lucrative. “In my humble opinion, Test cricket is the ultimate cricket. Why does Virat Kohli emphasise so much on playing Tests? He knows that if he plays 100-150 or even 200 Tests, he will be immortalised in the record books.”

Sehwag is also remembered for his penchant for hitting boundaries on the first ball, which he did so five times during the victorious 2011 World Cup campaign. Asked about it, Sehwag remarked, “Many, including (Sachin) Tendulkar, told me that I planned to hit the first ball to the fence. But I never did. I would be prepared to hit the first ball thinking it would more often be a loosener or a warm-up delivery.” (IANS)

Former India skipper Virat Kohli returned with yet another poor figure with the bat in the opening ODI match of the three-match series against West Indies on Sunday, yet he managed to smash another of Sachin Tendulkar’s world record.

With back-to-back boundaries during the 14th over of India’s chase of 177 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Kohli became the second cricketer in ODI history to score 5000 runs in India, joining the legendary Sachin (6976 runs) in the elusive list, while also becoming the fourth batter overall to reach the milestone in a single country. The two others include former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who amassed 5521 runs in Australia, and Jacques Kallis, who scored 5186 runs in South Africa.

Reaching the mark in his 96th ODI innings, Kohli surpassed Sachin to become the fastest batsman to score 5000 ODI runs in a single country. The former Indian batter had achieved the feat in his 121st innings, during the match against West Indies in 2007.

Two deliveries later, Kohli failed to control the pull shot against a shorter delivery from Joseph as he top edged the delivery to the fielder at fine leg. He walked back scoring just 8 off 4.

Earlier that same over, in the first delivery, Joseph had got rid of India’s new ODI skipper Rohit Sharma, dismissing him for 60 and ending an impressive opening stand of 84 runs alongside the young Ishan Kishan.

India had won the toss and opted to bowl first against West Indies who were folded for 177 in 43.5 overs with all-rounder Jason Holder top-scoring for the visitors with his 11th half-century score.

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with his 4 for 49, which is now his third-best ODI figure. Washington Sundar picked three while the pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna picked three between themselves.

The 24th edition of the Winter Olympics is officially under way after the Olympic cauldron was lit in a restrained opening ceremony in Beijing.

Almost 3,000 athletes from 91 nations will compete across the Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been criticised for awarding the Games to China because of the country’s alleged human rights abuses.

IOC president Thomas Bach said one of the missions of the Games was to “unite humankind in all our diversity”.

The Olympic torch was placed into the centre of a giant snowflake, which was then illuminated to become the cauldron.

The snowflake is made up of placards with the names of the 91 nations competing in Beijing.

Speaking during the ceremony, Bach addressed “all political authorities across the globe” during his speech, asking them to “give peace a chance”.

“In our fragile world, where division, conflict and mistrust are on the rise, we show the world: yes, it is possible to be fierce rivals, while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together,”

Beijing is the first city to host both a summer and winter edition of an Olympic Games, with the opening ceremony held in the iconic Bird’s Nest stadium that was built for the 2008 Games.

Just as in Tokyo six months ago, there were no paying spectators, friends or family present in the stands, although there were diplomats and team members applauding the athletes on.

Representatives of 56 ethnic groups from across China relayed the national flag into the stadium to begin the opening ceremony.

The Olympic rings themselves emerged from a frozen block of ice, with athletes entering the arena underneath them.

Curler Eve Muirhead and alpine skier Dave Ryding, both competing in their fourth Winter Olympics, carried the Great Britain flag into the stadium.

Bach told the athletes: “You will show how the world would look like, if we all respect the same rules and each other.

“Over the next two weeks you will compete with each other for the highest prize. At the same time, you will live peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village.

“There, there will be no discrimination for any reason whatsoever. ”

Why are the Games controversial?

A number of countries declared a diplomatic boycott of the Games, including the United Kingdom, with no ministers or officials attending the opening ceremony.

The Beijing government is accused of committing atrocities against the Uyghur Muslim population in the northwest province of Xinjiang, with the World Uyghur Congress describing the Games as “a genocide Olympics”.

There have been reports that, as well as interning Uyghurs in camps, China has been forcibly mass sterilising Uyghur women to suppress the population.

China has consistently denied allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, insisting camps were not detention camps, but “vocational educational and training centres”, while the IOC says it must “remain neutral on all global political issues”.

There has also been widespread concern over the safety of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after she made accusations of sexual assault against a top government official. Bach will meet face-to-face with Peng during the Games.

Russian president Vladimir Putin was in attendance at the opening ceremony, having met with China’s President Xi Jinping earlier in the day.

Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam men’s title in the most stunning fashion, fighting back from two sets down to beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a classic Australian Open final.

Backed by a loud Melbourne crowd, sixth seed Nadal rallied to win 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena.

US Open champion Medvedev was going for his second successive major title.

Medvedev, 25, was in command before Nadal showed all of his renowned grit and fight to earn an extraordinary win.

The 35-year-old Spaniard has been at the centre of some of the sport’s most incredible triumphs – but this surely goes down as the most amazing Grand Slam victory of his illustrious career.

Nadal’s achievement comes only a few months after he thought he would never be able to return to the tour because of a foot injury.

In the absence of the deported Novak Djokovic and the injured Roger Federer in Melbourne, Nadal has moved one ahead of his great rivals in the race to finish with most major men’s singles titles.

It is the left-hander’s second Australian Open title and comes 13 years after his only previous success.

“Without a doubt it is one of the most emotional wins of my career,” Nadal, who had also previously lost four Australian Open finals, said after the trophy presentation.

Nadal’s emotional celebrations after adversity

Chronic pain in Nadal’s left foot restricted him to only one tournament in the final seven months of 2021, while a bout of coronavirus in mid-December also left him “very sick with fever”.

Those setbacks meant the Australian Open was just his second competitive event in five months, having won a warm-up tournament at Melbourne Park earlier in January.

Nadal sealed victory against Medvedev after five hours 24 minutes – and at 01:11 local time in Melbourne – when the second seed could not return a net volley on the first of the Spaniard’s three match points.

Dropping his racquet to the floor, Nadal stood motionless with his hands on hips as his jaw dropped. After a warm embrace with Medvedev, he walked towards his support team and exploded with emotion.

A triple first-pump was followed by a drop to his knees, his hands covering his face as he looked up to the sky.

Nadal slowly walked over to his players’ box, hugging Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley, on his way to embrace his father Sebastian.

The intensity of his celebration illustrated the euphoria Nadal felt after the obstacles he had overcome – on the night and in the recent months – to win.

Previously in his career, Nadal had only won three matches from two sets down and the most recent of those came at Wimbledon in 2007 against Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny.

Victory came at the end of the second longest Grand Slam final in history, just 30 minutes short of the 2012 final at Melbourne Park when Nadal lost to Djokovic.

So much had he given to his record-breaking achievement that during the trophy presentation, Nadal was brought a chair so he could sit down rather than stand.

“I’m physically destroyed,” Nadal said in his post-match news conference.

Medvedev’s irritation at the pro-Nadal support

At two sets up, Medvedev had looked well on course to back up his victory in New York with another triumph at Melbourne Park.

Nadal lacked fluency with his groundstrokes in the first set, particularly on the backhand side, and Medvedev took five games in a row to seal it, Nadal dumping another backhand into the net, the Spanish left-hander’s 16th unforced error against just five from his opponent.

The younger man’s dominance was also illustrated by his winning 31 of the total points compared to 17 by Nadal.

With all the statistics in favour of Medvedev, the second set unexpectedly turned Nadal’s way at 2-1.

Nadal ended a 40-shot rally with an angled backhand winner, setting up break points for the first time in the match, and an unforced error from Medvedev handed over the game.

Suddenly Nadal had a spring in his step – and had the crowd getting noisier too – as he moved 4-1 ahead.

Three successive breaks of serve soon followed, a run that ended with a dramatic ninth game that stunned the Laver crowd.

It included a set point for Nadal, five break points for Medvedev and the game being halted when a protester jumped on to court before being dragged away by security.

The set eventually went to a tie-break which Medvedev finished the stronger and it appeared doubtful Nadal, already looking tired and sweating a lot, could fight back.

Another pivotal moment came in the sixth game of the third set when Nadal, facing going two sets and a break down, fought off three break points.

Both men continued to hold serve until the ninth game when Nadal, whose indomitable spirit began to grow, pounced.

Medvedev, perhaps as a result of the finishing line coming into view, lost clarity of thought when he tried to prod over a volley and instead hit it into the net.

That brought raucous cheers from the crowd and Medvedev responded with a sarcastic clap of his racquet.

The Spaniard broke and served out the set to love, sending the pro-Nadal crowd into further raptures.

A tense fourth set featured 15 break points, with Nadal taking two of his 10 opportunities to tee up a decider.

Medvedev continued to be irritated by the support being given to Nadal, and the frequent noise during his service points, prompting umpire John Blom to repeatedly ask for calm.

Nadal now looked the man with the mental resilience needed to see the job through.

He broke for 3-2 but then wobbled when he served for the match at 5-4, only to break straight back to lead 6-5 and serve out victory at the second attempt.

In his on-court speech, Medvedev thanked his team, and joked: “I’m sure my wife is watching back home but I think the TV will be broken now.”

Medvedev, who lost last year’s final to Djokovic, was aiming to become the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title at the next major event after his maiden triumph.

He was the highest seed men’s player in Djokovic’s absence.

“If we talk about tennis, I’m not that disappointed,” Medvedev said.

“It was a huge match, for sure, and there were some small points, small details, that I could have done better if I wanted to win. But that’s tennis. That’s life.

“Rafa played unreal and raised his level. I mean, two sets to love up, I wanted just to go for him, go for more.

“He was really strong, the way he played for four hours, I was even surprised.” (BBC)

For the first time since September 2019, USA are set to host an international cricket match when they face ICC Full-Member Nation Ireland in the inaugural T20I at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground here on December 22.

The series involves two T20Is, followed by three One-day Internationals and will conclude on December 30. The preparations haven’t gone as planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the practice games getting cancelled and both teams training individually on the centre wicket.

Ireland have had to make many changes to their squad after several of their members — including Barry McCarthy, George Dockrell, Harry Tector and Gareth Delany — tested COVID-positive ahead of the limited-overs series. They will join the team after 10-day isolation.

With several uncertainties, Josh Little cut short his Lankan Premier League stint to join the Ireland squad here. For the USA, Karima Gore, Jaskaran Malhotra and Aaron Jones have been ruled out after being named in the initial squads. To cover for the absentees, four players have received their maiden national call-up, three of whom are U-19 players.

Ritwik Behera has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads, while Yasir Mohammed and Ali Sheikh have been called up for the T20I squad along with Ryan Scott. Rusty Theron too will be unavailable due to a groin injury.

All the games will be played at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground here.

Squads:

Ireland T20I: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, William McClintock, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

Ireland ODI: Andrew Balbirnie (c), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Barry McCarthy, William Porterfield, Neil Rock, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White, Craig Young.

USA T20I: Monank Patel (c), Ali Khan, Ali Sheikh, Gajanand Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Ritwik Behera, Ryan Scott, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Vatsal Vaghela, Xavier Marshall, Yasir Mohammed.

USA ODI: Monank Patel (c), Aaron Jones, Ali Khan, Gajanand Singh, Jasdeep Singh, Jaskaran Malhotra, Marty Kain, Nisarg Patel, Nosthush Kenjige, Rahul Jariwala, Ritwik Behera, Saurabh Netravalkar, Steven Taylor, Sushant Modani, Vatsal Vaghela, Xavier Marshall.

Australia beat their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand by 8 wickets to lift their first T20 World Cup on Sunday, November 14^th in Dubai by chasing down the 173-run target set by the Kiwis with 7 balls to spare. Put into bat first, New Zealand struggled early on, managing to score just 57 runs for the loss of one wicket in the first 10 overs before the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson grabbed the bull by the horns and stepped on the gas, scoring a quickfire 85 off 48 balls to lead the team to 172 for the loss of 4 wickets.

Australia, who won the toss, began the run chase at a blistering pace with opener David Warner scoring 53 off 38 deliveries, enabling his team to be at 82 for the loss of 1 wicket at the halfway stage. Injury ravaged Mitchell Marsh, who top scored for his team with a 77 not out off 50 deliveries also achieved a personal milestone for himself by becoming the first Aussie to score 600 runs in T20Is in 2021.

While for the Kiwis, it was yet another heartbreak against the Kangaroos in a World Cup final — they lost to the Aussies in the 2015 World Cup ODI final — they did have a consolation in Williamson becoming the highest scoring captain in a T20 World Cup final, beating the record of former Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara. Williamson in fact singled out Mitchell Starc for special treatment, who went for 60 runs in his 4 overs, including 19 runs off the 11th over of the innings, including surviving a chance off a dropped catch by Josh Hazlewood.

It was New Zealand’s third white-ball World Cup final in six years, a superb achievement particularly when coupled with their victory in the World Test Championship earlier this year, but all three have been lost. “You sign up to play the game, and you win or you lose. These are things that can happen on any day,” their captain, Kane Williamson, said.

Through a combination of good bowling and a tough pitch, New Zealand was restricted for runs, also losing the wicket of opening batsmen Daryl Mitchell for just 11.

The turning point for New Zealand came when captain Williamson bwas dropped by fast bowler Josh Hazlewood on the boundary.

At that point, he had scored 21 runs off 21 balls. After that, he exploded, reaching a 32-ball 50 and also hitting Mitchell Starc for 22 runs off a single over.

However, in what proved to be a big over for Australia, Hazlewood claimed the wickets of Glenn Phillips and Williamson — after a remarkable innings of 85 runs off of 48 balls.

“If you look at the campaign as a whole, and the type of cricket we have been able to play, I can say we are very proud of our efforts through this period of time. You get to a final and anything can happen. We turned up and played some really good cricket, and it wasn’t quite enough.”

The winner of T20 World Cup 2021, Australia, will get Rs 11.9 crore. Additionally, the Aussies will also receive Rs 1.2 crore for winning four Super 12 matches. All in all, Finch’s side will receive Rs 13.1 crore.

Coming to New Zealand, the runner-up team will receive a prize money of Rs 5.95 crore. Since the Kiwis also won four of their five Super 12 matches, they also get Rs 1.2 crore. So, the Blackcaps will get richer by Rs 7.15 crore.

This was the first-ever T20 World Cup final for New Zealand, while Australia had played only one final before, in 2010 when it lost to England. Warner was named the Man of Tournament for his wonderful figure of 289 runs in the ICC event.

The seventh edition of the ICC T20 Men’s T20 World Cup is finally upon us and it will take place in UAE and Oman in a total of 4 venues — Muscat, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah.

The World Cup is being co-hosted by Oman and UAE after original hosts India were forced to take the ICC event to the Middle East due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The seventh World Cup begins with a double-header at the 3,000-seat venue outside Muscat.

The group stage of the tournament begins on Sunday with Papua New Guinea taking on Oman in the 3.30 PM IST slot while Bangladesh takes on Scotland in the 7.30 PM IST slot.

From October 23, the Super 12 round will start, and this will end on November 8. The knock-out round of the T20 World Cup 2021 will start on November 10 and the final of the tournament is set to take place on November 14.

The top two teams in each group of the Super12 stage progress to the semi-finals, with the final set to be played in Dubai on 14 November. India kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against Pakistan on October 24.

The eight teams in the first round of qualifying are chasing four places in the Super 12 round-robin stage.

England, Australia, South Africa, defending champions West Indies, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan will be waiting with all matches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

The top four then progress to the semi-finals before the final in Dubai on 14 November.

There is plenty at stake. A place in the next round guarantees a spot in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

There is also a financial incentive. Teams exiting at the first hurdle take home a modest $40,000.

The eventual champions pocket a $1.6 million winner’s CASH PRIZE. 

For the first time in T20 World Cup history, DRS has been made available. Like is the case with T20Is, each team will have a maximum of two unsuccessful reviews per innings.

Here’s all you need to know about the group stage matches:

Schedule:

Oman vs Papua New Guinea– Sunday, October 17 – 3.30 PM

Bangladesh vs Scotland – Sunday, October 17 – 7.30 PM

Ireland vs Netherlands – Monday, October 18 – 3.30 PM

Sri Lanka vs Namibia – Monday, October 18 – 7.30 PM

Scotland vs Papua New Guinea – Tuesday, October 19 – 3.30 PM

Bangladesh vs Oman – Tuesday, October 19 – 7.30 PM

Namibia vs Netherlands – Wednesday, October 20 – 3.30 PM

Sri Lanka vs Ireland – Wednesday, October 20 – 7.30 PM

Bangladesh vs Papua New Guinea – Thursday, October 21 – 3.30 PM

Oman vs Scotland – Thursday, October 21 – 7.30 PM

Namibia vs Ireland – Friday, October 22 – 3.30 PM

Sri Lanka vs Netherlands – Friday, October 22 – 7.30 PM

Pakistan have won their last 10 Twenty20 internationals in the UAE and captain Babar Azam claimed Saturday that run will give his men the edge over India next weekend. “Definitely we have played a lot of cricket in the UAE,” Babar said Saturday when asked about his team’s dismal 0-5 record against India in T20 World Cup clashes. “These conditions suit us and we know how to play here.”

Chicago IL: United Cricket League and Entertainment Gold cup tournament held Midwest Cc club team settle for a spectacular win against the Cougars on Monday September 06, 2021 at Skokie Sports Park, 3459 Oakton St, Skokie, IL.

 UCL & E Chicago gold cup this tournament played for 3 days at Skokie and Camera Park yesterday 2 matches was played semi-final and final and we finish final match yesterday at Skokie Sports Park first semi-final was played by cougars v/s Dee park it was hard job for both teams and second semi-final Midwest Cc club v/s yeh/ cheez and final match was played by Midwest Cc club v/s Cougars and Midwest Cc club win the final match and kamran syed win man of the series and Man of the match syed Kabir and best bowler salman khan and best batman syed kamran and in final match and also we gave trophy and cash prize.

Skokie Mayor and pramod C Shah Skokie Trustee and also Skokie commissioner and directors also came and also 1 minutes silent for Covid 19 and MC was Norman khan,and syead Mustaq Hussain gave speech and thanks for people’s a d Adil Azeem Khan thanks for all guest and also for salman khan family and Babar family and Midwest Cc 2 owner also came Mr sandip and Dr Hyder and also I thanks for Mr Navid and Mr Raja razak and Mr Dev and syed Iqbal UCL Director and Sufiyan Dukaanwala UCL Manager and Mr Isaac and Mohammed Rafi and Mohammed Afroz and Mohammed Yunus and also thanks for Aiyas patel and javid patel a d sayed Aishan and chirag patel and moin Babar and also Norman khan and Daniel and syed shabir and also for emperor Mr Anwar, Mr Shabbir Patel, Abdul roof a d Mr Mahdi, Ameen, Mr Hasim and also sponsors, Pepsi, Little Caesar, Devon Discount Pharmacy, AV Stones, and also thanks for Pakistani player Mohammed Asif and Mr Adam Westindies international player and Mr Bharat international player of India and under 19 international player and Fahad Babar USA

Joe Root held back and allowed Ollie Robinson to lead England off with a souvenir stump in his left hand, cap in the other, to lap up the acclaim of Headingley after a startling victory by an innings and 76 runs. Root had just made history, becoming England’s most successful Test captain with 27 wins, overtaking his boyhood hero Michael Vaughan, but he recognised he should step back for this was a victory set up by his bowlers. Robinson deserved his moment. “Sensational throughout the whole game,” was Root’s snap verdict moments after levelling the series and it was hard to disagree despite his own brilliant century strengthening England’s grip. Root was relieved though. It is six months since he levelled Vaughan’s record and this result stopped a seven match winless streak.

Robinson took five for 65 including four for 25 from an eight-over spell with the second new ball in the morning that destroyed India’s resilience, ensured the match was over 10 minutes before lunch and left Yorkshire having to fork out 50 per cent refunds. The ECB will be happy. This was all over in 112 balls. Surely someone can market that as a new version of Test cricket. How the mood had changed from Monday when the teams were netting at Headingley and Root learned he had lost another bowler – Mark Wood – and admitted he had to remind himself he was living his boyhood dream as England captain while coming to terms with the Lord’s defeat.

“When I was 10 years old I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do.” In truth, the break refreshed England, gave them time to regroup and remind themselves India’s batting had looked vulnerable in both Tests. They took advantage of good bowling conditions on day one, dismissing India for 78 and played on Virat Kohli’s hubris when he opted to bat first, ignoring 20 years of results at Headingley. Robinson admitted afterwards he had only learned to bowl the wobble seam delivery that served him well here by speaking to James Anderson in the week leading up to the Test. He is clearly a remarkably quick learner for he has taken to Test cricket like a natural, with 23 wickets at 17 in his four matches to date, with seven for 81 here.

He has endured the ups and downs already after his suspension for racist tweets but proved his maturity by focussing completely on his bowling despite the storm around him. He must have enjoyed his man-of-the-match award at Headingley which he left under a dark cloud as a youngster when Yorkshire despaired at his lack of professionalism. Members of the India squad were in the nets while the post-match presentation was taking place and Kohli was going through his interviews. He knows his middle order is in deep trouble, himself included. Cheteshwar Puajra made 91 but did not add to his overnight total and Kohli nicked off again playing in the channel outside off stump, where he averages 7.25 in this series.

India collapsed from 215 for three at the start of play to 278 all out in 18.3 overs with only Ravindra Jadeja scoring more than six runs on Saturday.   Robinson and Anderson looked as if they were sore on Friday night, both leaving the field for treatment as India rallied. But with the new ball due in their hand, they were refreshed and started with three maidens to crank up the pressure. Robinson, for the second time in the innings, worked his way through an eight-over spell and this time it was hot, the sun beating down for the first time in the match. He struck first from the Kirkstall Lane End, angling the ball into Pujara who shouldered arms and was struck on the pads. It was given not out, but England reviewed and Root leapt in the air, punching his fists towards the packed out Emerald Stand when it was given out, the relief obvious given Pujara’s stickability. Robinson (left) celebrates taking the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara after review Credit:PA. On 46, Kohli turned and walked when he was given out off the outside edge but partner Ajkinkya Rahane called him back to review. It was wise. Kohli had clipped his pad and was not out.

But it did not matter. Kohli reached fifty, drove Robinson for four but next ball fiddled at a wobble seam delivery which bounced, held its line and took the outside edge with Root pouching a good catch at first slip. Kohli, head bowed, walked off slowly. He had fallen into the trap again. Joe Root wheels away after claiming the catch to dismiss Virat Kohli Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Anderson will need to produce a book as thick as Wisden to record all his records and he added another one when Rahane dangled the bat and edged behind, another India batsmen playing at a ball he should have left. It was Anderson’s 400th Test wicket in England. Only Muttiah Muralitharan had taken 400 wickets in one country before. More importantly to Anderson, it was his first second-innings wicket of the summer and now England could realistically look forward to the afternoon off. Rishabh Pant has no defence to speak of in these situations, the ball seaming and swinging just enough to challenge the edge. He is batting a place too high, especially in England, and it has to be rectified. He charged down to two of his seven balls and it was never going to last. He chased a wide ball and edged Robinson to third slip for one.

Robinson thought he had his fifth wicket when Mohammed Shami was given lbw playing across the line, but it was going over the top of leg stump on review. Root cleverly turned to Moeen Ali, who has a hold over Shami, and bowled him with his second ball, a perfect offbreak that spun between bat and pad. Root gave Robinson one more over, desperately wanting him to take a fifth wicket. Ishant Sharma obliged, propping forward to edge behind for two. There would be no tailend resistance this time,  England homing in on the offstump relentlessly. Robinson deserved his break after nearly 90 minutes of bowling, stepping aside for Craig Overton to wrap up a decent Test return with the final two wickets, striking twice in three balls to remove Jadeja for 30 and last man Mohammed Siraj, both caught off the edge. Surrey, always canny commercial operators, announced straightaway there are tickets available for all five days of the fourth Test. Be quick, grab a seat. This series is brilliantly set up by two

Ten overs into the morning, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli have already both been dismissed. The second new ball is swinging and seaming; James Anderson and Ollie Robinson are bowling with immaculate control. Batting in Test cricket in England is seldom so challenging.   To Rishabh Pant there is only one response: charge. And so when he receives his first delivery from Anderson, Pant shuffles down the wicket. To his second ball, he does the same, and steers a single into the on side. From his third ball, against Robinson, Pant again advances, only this time with palpable intent, and attempts to smear him through the on side for a boundary. His bat only connects with air.  It seems the acme of recklessness; you can almost sense the tut-tutting as Pant moves up the pitch. The idea of Pant’s impetuosity obscures the rationale to what Pant is doing: by advancing, he hopes to negate seam movement.

In Test cricket, there exists a curious hierarchy of dismissal. A batsman dismissed defending is sparred opprobrium; one who is removed attacking is vilified, even if he scored more runs. For a top-order batsmen to be dismissed attacking early on in an innings is seen as not merely a cricketing fallibility but a moral one: evidence of a lack of character, a dearth of judgement and sheer arrogance. There is an alternative view. Part of the rich tapestry of Test cricket is that it is a game for all sorts; there is no one set way to approach an innings, as the brilliant, contrasting partnerships shared by Pujara and Pant during India’s victory in Australia last winter attest.  Pant’s propensity to attack is rooted in the simple belief that this is the best way for him to score runs. The rationale is two-fold. Firstly, Pant has an extraordinary array of attacking shots; when he last encountered Anderson with the second new ball, in Ahmedabad in March, Pant reverse-scooped him for four. Secondly, Pant resembles a man who does not trust his defence in English conditions. What can look like bravado is also a mask for insecurity.  Perversely, Pant’s dismissal also provides some vindication for his method. After his first three balls, he returns to a slightly more conventional approach to batting against the moving ball in England. He bats a little outside his crease, but does not advanced further towards the ball as the ball is bowled. And, rather than attempt to swish against the line, instead Pant reverts to defence.

From his fourth ball with this more conventional approach, Pant pokes forward at a delivery pushed across him from Robinson. It is angled across Pant at a line that he could have left alone; instead, his circumspect prod only steers the ball into the slips. All that reverting to orthodoxy has done is get Pant dismissed. There are very legitimate qualms with Pant’s approach in the second innings at Headingley: trying to hoick his third ball, when Anderson and Robinson seemed to be nearing the end of their spells, hardly gave himself the best chance. Pant’s real problem, though, was less of method than the durability of his defence. In seven Tests in England, he has been dismissed defending every 27 balls, compared to 49 balls for all batsmen in the top six in this time.  So when he defends the ball in England, Pant is almost twice as likely to be dismissed as the average top-order batsman. Seen through this light, Pant’s embrace of attacking is not so much a deliberate choice as a reflection of a lack of alternatives.

None of this obscures that Pant is an extraordinary cricketer. Aged 23, he averages 40, and has hit Test centuries in England, Australia and India. In consecutive weeks in Australia in January, India needed over 300 in the final innings; Pant responded with 97 and 89*, two innings of remarkable audacity and self-belief, to help India clinch a draw and a win and seal their heist in Australia. But against the seaming and swinging ball, Pant’s method has been altogether less robust: he now averages just 22.6 in seven Tests in England, and floundered in New Zealand too. For all the temptations to castigate his approach, Pant’s bigger problem is simply his porous defence – and the white heat of a five-match Test series is no time to change a player’s technique. And so perhaps India would be wiser to hope that, with a little fortune, a phenomenal talent can trust in his method and score runs in his own unique way.

(Courtesy: The Independent)

Cricket League and Entertainment held its Night Tournament Closing Ceremony was on August 23, 2021 Monday at Skokie Sports Park, IL. 12 teams that participated are Anjuman, Chicago Indians, Cougars, Mavericks, American Eagles, Deccan Heroes, Deepark, Rogers park, Gujju boys, Hawks, Kimball 11, and Maharishi CC. The two teams that played in the final are Anjuman and Deccan Heroes. Anjuman won the toss and the Captain, Ayaz Patel decided to bat first. Deccan Heroe captain Jibran led the team very well. Anjuman scored 206 runs and Deccan Heroes scored 115 runs. Anjuman won the final. Man of the Match was Ayaz Patel, and Man of the Series was Gul Khan.

The chief Guests included Masood Chik, former cricketer of Pakistan, Pramod Shah: Skokie Village Clerk , Jim McCarthy: Skokie Caucus Party Chairman, Susan Aberman: Skokie Park Board President, Mike Reid: Skokie Park Board Vice President. Mike Shah: Skokie Planning Commissioner, Robert DeLeonardis: Sports park supervisor, Syed Mustaq Hussain: main advisor, and Syed Sikander: advisor. Other guests were Mohammed Afroz, Mohammed Anwar, Faheem Shehzad, Abdul Faheem, Mohammed Rafi, Sidiq Khan, Mohammed Yunus, Mukhram Mehmood, Ayaz Patel, Sufuyian Dukanwala, Syed Ehsan, and everyone who attended. The empires were Syed Shabbir, and Hanif Lala. UCL&E would like to thank their sponsors which includes Pepsi, PPG, Devon Discount Pharmacy, Sabri Nahari, NP Jewelers, Free Covid Care, AV Stone, Patel Brothers, Air Tour, Shalimar Banquet Hall, Little Ceaser pizza, Noble Services, Lyca Mobile, and Okay Auto Repair.

There was also media coverage by TV Asia, Hi India, Asian Media USA, Crickcom, and Crickclub. The President of United Cricket League and Entertainment, Adil Azeem Khan would like to thank everyone and encourage teams to participate in the Gold Cup Tournament during Labor Day weekend.

Ending the long drought, India’s hockey team has come home with an Olympic medal in 2021. The dreams of billions of hockey fans came true when India bagged a historic bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, beating Germany 5-4 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller to claim its first medal in 41 years that will hopefully revive the sport’s fortunes in a country that is considered the spiritual home of the game on August 5th. India last won an Olympic medal in 1980 — a gold in Moscow. The Olympic men’s field hockey is the country’s first medal in that sport since 1980 – a decade before any of the current players were even born.

Manpreet Singh’s fought back brilliantly from a two-goal deficit (1-3) to score four goals in four minutes just around half-time for a sensational victory that would remind fans of the glory days when the Indians were a force to reckon with in world hockey.

India unleashed a four-goal blitz in four minutes as they came roaring back after being pinned down 1-3 by the Germans who started aggressively and created good pressure by going full press from the start itself.

But the Indians took control of the midfield, capitalized on the gaps created by the hard-pressing Germans, and counter-attacked brilliantly, cutting the German defense to shreds in those four minutes that left the opponents shocked. Till that time, it looked like Tobias Hauke’s side had taken control of the match as they opened the scoring in the second minute of their first attack and then scored twice within a minute as they took control of the proceedings with a 3-1 lead.

But the Indians were not done yet. They scored two goals of their own in the 27th and 29th minute through Hardik and Harmanpreet Singh, the latter powering a brilliant drag-flick into the German goal, capitalising on swift counter-attacks. The score was 3-3 at half-time and both teams had a lot to play for.

The Indians continued with the momentum in the third quarter and a minute after the restart, earned a penalty stroke when Mandeep Singh was brought down by Oruz in the shooting circle. Rupinderpal Singh’s push had too much power for German goalkeeper Alexander Stadler, who guessed the direction but could not get down fast enough to stop it.

India made things more difficult for Germany when Simranjeet Singh was on target again in the 34th minute after he was set up by Gurjant Singh, who made a good run to the goal-line and sent a minus ball inside the circle.

The Germans pulled one goal back with Windfeder converting a penalty corner in the 48th minute and India survived some anxious moments when Germany earned a penalty corner in the dying minutes of the match. PR Sreejesh, who has stood like a rock throughout the match pulling off many saves, blocked Windfeder’s attempt and the Indians jumped in celebration as the clock ran out.

Simranjeet Singh (17th, 34th) scored a brace of goals while Hardik Singh (27th min), Harmanpreet Singh (29th min), and Rupinderpal Singh (31st min) scored a goal apiece for India while for Germany Timur Cruz (2nd min), Niklas Wellen (24th min), Benedict Furk (25th min) and Lukas Windfeder (48th min) were on target. Sreejesh, ecstatic after winning the bronze medal in his third Olympics, climbed on to the top of the goal post to celebrate as his teammates ran around the ground, hugging and congratulating each other. As his teammates cried with joy, India’s goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh scrambled atop his goalposts, his padded legs dangling, and stretched his arms wide, pumping two fists in the air.

But even bigger history might still be made Friday, when India’s field hockey women — who’ve never won any Olympic medal — compete for their own bronze.  On Friday morning local time, India’s women faced, fighting brilliantly against Britain. The Indian women shocked undefeated Australia in the quarterfinals, but they lost to Argentina in the semifinals. It was the Indian women’s first-ever appearance in a semifinal match.

The Indian men’s hockey team has received a total funding of Rs 50 crore in the five years since 2016. The team that finished eighth in Rio de Janeiro Olympics after losing to Belgium in the quarter-finals, has received Rs 50 crore as part of Annual Calendar for Training and Competitions’ (ACTC) funding.

Besides this, the team received Rs 16.80 lakh under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), the Sports Authority of India informed. Thus the total government contribution in their preparation for the last five years comes to Rs. 50,19,80,000 (Rs 50.2 crore).

The team, which was stuck at Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Bengaluru centre for the entire duration of the nationwide lockdown in 2020, has mostly trained at home last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant travel restrictions. Besides the above mentioned funding, the team also received visa assistance for various international competitions and foreign training trips. It was worth all the investment India has done for the hockey game, which used to be one of the most popular sports in India.

It was India’s fourth medal in the Tokyo Olympics after one silver and three bronze. Weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won the (silver medal while shuttler PV Sindhu and boxer Lovlina Borghain claimed the other two bronze medals.

India has won more Olympic medals in field hockey than any other sport. But prior to Tokyo, its 11 hockey medals were all won by men, and all before 1980 – until now. On August 5th, the Indian team overcame four decades of disappointments as it captured a well-deserved bronze medal to take India’s tally in Olympic Games hockey competitions to 12 medals — eight gold, one silver and three bronze, surpassing Germany, with whom they were tied at 11 (4 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze).

The curse has been broken.  Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted moments after India won the hockey medal in Tokyo: “Historic! A day that will be etched in the memory of every Indian.”

Taking home Argentina’s first major title since 1993, Lionel Messi and the Argentinian national soccer team celebrated their long awaited victory when Argentinian player Ángel Di Marían scored the first and final point in the Copa América Final Saturday night. Starting only for the second time in the Copa, Ángel Di Marían delivered the finishing shot in the 22nd minute, sending the ball over Brazil’s goalkeeper, Enderson, landing directly in the back of Brazil’s net.

Argentina’s win was especially meaningful for captain Lionel Messi, 34, who is largely considered one of the best soccer players globally, with many previously won titles and honors with his Spanish club team, Barcelona. Even with all these accomplishments, he was unable to secure a single international trophy with his home team.

Beginning from the 2014 World Cup, Messi and Argentina consecutively lost three international championships. The repeated failures have had Messi retire from the national team more than once. But despite the critics after the defeats in three Copa finals and one World Cup final with Argentina, Messi had returned each time to chase that ultimate victory.

Standing in the same stadium 7 years ago where Messi and Argentina sustained arguably one of their largest defeats against Germany in the World Cup final, they finally stood victorious at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

“I was close many times,” Messi said after the match, according to The Associated Press. “It’s crazy. I can’t explain how happy I feel. I’ve been sad many times [with Argentina after tournaments] but I knew it would happen and there’s no better moment. This team deserved it,” he added.

Although the Argentinian team was unable to celebrate their win with their fans in person due to COVID-19 transmission fears, soccer enthusiasts all over the world were seen rejoicing over the 28-year long wait for victory.

The noise and energy from the Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday shook the world. English fans repopularized the 1996 song “Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home)”, landing its spot at the top of the British music charts, while Italian fans were seen waving flags and dancing in the streets from Italy all the way to Brooklyn, New York.

The Italian national team had won the 2020 men’s European soccer championship against England, crushing the hopes of England bringing home their first major title in over half a century, since the 1966 World Cup. This win also marks Italy’s first victorious Euro championship since 1968, after 3 failed attempts in the finals over the last two decades. The 90 minute match had the scores tied at 1-1, with England leading the first half of the game in behalf of an early goal from Luke Shaw. This lead was lost in the 67th minute when Italy’s Leonardo Bonucci managed to score the crucial goal, which resulted in 30 minutes of extended time, before Italy claimed victory during a penalty shootout, ending with three goals compared to England’s two.

With the help from goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma, 22, Italy managed to avoid England’s rising 19 year old star, Bukayo Saka, from scoring, ultimately leading to Italy’s win. This final save by Donnarumma justified his earning of player of the tournament award, which was notably the first time a goalie has received the title. Italy’s astonishing accomplishment on Sunday further proved the team’s formidable talents, as this victory marked their 34th consecutive win.

For English fans, the entire day was filled with overwhelming emotions, alternating between hope and disbelief. Many left the stadium into the London rain devastated and disappointed, believing that they would finally bring victory home. With Italian fans celebrating the outcome of Sunday’s game, the phrase “It’s coming to Rome!” has taken the world by storm.

This year’s T20 World Cup, which has been moved to the UAE and Oman from India due to the COVID-10 pandemic, will be played from October 17 to November 14, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Tuesday. The ICC statement came a day after BCCI intimated the governing body that the event can be moved out of India. “The BCCI will remain the hosts of the event, which will now be held in Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground, from 17 October to 14 November 2021,” the ICC stated.

The first round of the tournament, comprising the eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and UAE. Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they’ll join the eight automatic qualifiers. The upcoming edition will be the first men’s T20 World Cup played since 2016, when West Indies beat England in the final in India. The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea, before the play-off stage and the Final on November 14.

“Our priority is to deliver the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 safely, in full and in its current window,” said acting ICC CEO Geoff Allardice. “…the decision gives us the certainty we need to stage the event in a country that is a proven international host of multi-team events in a bio-secure environment. “We will work closely with the BCCI, the Emirates Cricket Board and Oman Cricket to ensure fans can enjoy a wonderful celebration of cricket.”

BCCI president SouravGanguly added: “We would have been happier hosting it in India but considering the uncertainty due to the COVID-19 situation and the importance of a world championship, the BCCI will now continue to host this tournament in UAE and Oman.”

With a little over a month until the start of the Tokyo Olympics, the possibility of a cancellation looms large over the Games.As Japan battles a fourth wave of coronavirus infections and a state of emergency in Tokyo and other prefectures remains in place until the end of the month, there is mounting pressure from health experts, business leaders and the Japanese public to call off the Games.

The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association, an organization of about 6,000 doctors in Tokyo, penned a letter calling for a cancellation, while a petition which garnered 350,000 signatures in nine days in support of a cancellation has been submitted to organizers.Also, the CEO of leading Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten said that holding the Games amid the pandemic amounts to a “suicide mission” — among the strongest opposition so far voiced by a business leader. However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has remained adamant that the Olympics, already postponed by a year amid the pandemic, will be able to get underway on July 23.

Organizers have released a playbook, the final version of which is expected next month, outlining a series of countermeasures that they say will ensure the Games can take place in a safe and secure way, even as thousands of athletes from around the world descend on Tokyo.The games, which are scheduled to take place in Tokyo and other parts of Japan from July 23 to Aug. 8, were already postponed for a year due to the coronavirus. Now, they may be pushed back again, or canceled altogether, as Covid-19 cases continue to rise, not just in Japan, but also across southeast and east Asia.Things could still change. And there are important financial, political, and institutional factors at play, as well as historical precedent: The games have only ever been canceled in wartime. Here’s what we know so far.

Who runs the Olympics?

The Olympic Games are a partnership between four main players:

1. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which oversees the Olympic movement and directs funds to organizing bodies.
2. The National Olympic Committees (NOC), of which there are 206. They select the athletes that will attend the Olympics, nominate host cities, and promote the Olympics at home.
3. The Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOG), which are formed by the host country’s NOC to organize and run the Olympics. OCOGs report to the IOC.
4. The host country and host city, which pay for the bids and finance new infrastructure and public services like extra security and border control officers.

According to the host city contract, only the IOC can cancel the games. Clause 66 gives five reasons for which the Olympics could be canceled. The most relevant one states that the IOC can terminate the contract if it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that “the safety of participants in the Games would be seriously threatened or jeopardized” by attending.

As difficult a decision as this is for IOC and Japanese officials, the people who could suffer the most are the athletes caught in the middle. While much remains up in the air, one thing is certain, says Benz: “It’s a situation unlike any the international Olympic family has found itself in the modern era.”

India captain Virat Kohli has been named the One Day International cricketer of the decade for the 2010s in the 2021 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack. Kohli is one of five cricketers who have been named for each decade from 1971 to 2021. He was part of the team that won the 2011 World Cup at the start of the decade and went on to establish himself as one of the leading batsmen in all formats of the game, particularly in ODIs.

He scored more than 11,000 runs in the ten-year stretch, averaging over 60 and scoring 42 centuries.

Sri Lanka spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan was named the ODI Cricketer of the 2000s. He helped Sri Lanka make the World Cup final in 2011 and claimed 335 wickets in the decade, more than any other bowler has in a single decade.

Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar and legendary former all-rounder Kapil Dev have been named for the 1990s and 1980s. Tendulkar scored nine ODI hundreds in 1998 alone, more than any other batsman in a single calendar year ever has.

Kapil, meanwhile, claimed more wickets than any other in the 1980’s, and scored at the highest strike-rate of any batsman with more than 1000 runs. He also famously led India to a stunning win in the 1983 World Cup against the all-conquering West Indies.

West Indies batting great Viv Richards was named the ODI cricketer of the year for the 1970’s, which was the first decade of the format. Richards fuelled West Indies’ dominance in the first decade of the format, scoring a century in the final of the 1970 World Cup to help them win the trophy. (IANS)

India booked their berth in the World Test Championship final by beating England by an innings and 25 runs on the third day of the fourth and final Test at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday last week. After resuming the third day on 294/7, India were guided to a total of 365 by the eighth-wicket partnership between Washington Sundar (96*) and Axar Patel. Trailing by 160 runs, England sent out their openers just before the lunch break. But spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (5/47) and Axar Patel (5/48) dominated the rest of the two sessions. The visitors were bowled out for 135 with Daniel Lawrence top-scoring with a fifty.

The pitch on this occasion was blameless. A beleaguered England were pummeled in the series finale fourth Test on Saturday by home strong India in just three days.

India’s 3-1 series victory seals their berth in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they will meet New Zealand in June at Lord’s. After a surprising first Test defeat against a confident England fresh off a romp in Sri Lanka, India turned it around with comprehensive victories in the next two Tests albeit controversially due to rank turning pitches that heavily favored them.

Perhaps a battered England’s confidence was already shot, but India proved they were a class above at home with an innings and 25 runs thrashing in Ahmedabad to win their 13^th straight home series stretching eight years.

It’s hard to see anyone beating them at home. Much like four years ago against Australia, India were stunned in the series opener before wearing down their opponents in unforgiving conditions for tourists.

Playing India on their terrain has become simply the toughest challenge in Test cricket. Once travelling to the Caribbean was an impossible task with the West Indies undefeated for 22 years then Down Under became a graveyard site for tourists with Australia unblemished from 1993-2008.

Those two teams are clearly the measuring stick for Test greatness over the last 50 years. Can India join them? The signs are looking rather ominous for the rest of the cricket world. India’s momentous series victory in Australia in January will perhaps be remembered as their harbinger moment.

India’s dominance of world cricket has felt inevitable given their sheer population, fanaticism to the sport and its governing body’s deep pockets and undeniable influence. Even though they have won ODI and T20 World Cups, India has never dominated Test cricket because they’ve struggled abroad, particularly in Australia and England.

This current India team, however, is building something formidable. The batting has become less reliant on talisman Virat Kohli – who didn’t even play the bulk of the Australia series – and developed a strong backbone down the order to frustrate opponents reminiscent of those mighty Australia teams.

Rishabh Pant, man-of-the match in the fourth Test for another audacious, game-changing century, is simply Adam Gilchrist 2.0. He’s changed the course of matches multiple times in just the past couple of months, but he has the extra safety valve knowing there is assistance beneath him. No longer do India fall away with the tail with Ravichandran Ashwin and breakout stars Washington Sundar and Axar Patel extremely capable at the crease.

India actually looked in trouble in the fourth Test with their wobbly top order struggling before the now familiar rescue act from Pant et al. Sundar agonizingly missed out on a maiden ton finishing 96 not out after sharing in a century stand with Patel.

There is scary depth now in India’s batting, which allowed them to paper over the sub-par performances batting stars of Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahanae.

Left-armer Patel was mesmerizing with the ball as he and Ashwin snared all of England’s second innings wickets through masterful spin bowling, which deceived the ashen-faced batters through canniness and supreme skill rather than overt assistance from the pitch.

They were barely needed in these conditions, but India has a battery of high-quality quicks to ensure they should be extremely competitive overseas – as they showed in Australia.

It’s a pivotal year for India’s bid for Test supremacy. Things have started extremely promising for Kohli’s men – and make no doubt India’s captain is revving his charges knowing he has the chance to aRe-dedication Celebration of Ghosh-Dastidar Family-Established 15th Cent Sri Bishnu Temple in Barisal District, Bangladesh Axar Patel has started his Test career in incredible fashion.

India faces New Zealand for the fight of the first ever WTC crown. This convoluted championship – designed to rejuvenate the slumping Test format –  is hardly an egalitarian system. For example, bitter rivals India and Pakistan can never play each other – except in a final – due to political squabbles. And the Covid-19 pandemic meant a truncated WTC, yet the two best teams are probably there and deserve their place.

India will be challenged in seaming conditions and were famously bundled out of the 2019 World Cup semi-finals by the plucky Kiwis. New Zealand also easily beat India at home 12 months ago, so the WTC final is probably an even money bet.

India will then play five Tests against England in the U.K. – a site of humiliation for them having lost seven of 10 tests in 2014 and 2018. If India really want to be an all-time great team, they need to end their U.K. hex and beat this flawed England team.

England’s bid for a truly memorable Test upset fell apart after such a bright start but to even win one match in India is probably a decent result for them. Their much-critiqued rotation policy will be further under the microscope and they seemingly erred at the selection table. But like all challenges since Andrew Strauss’ famed team in 2012-13 – a series triumph that continues to grow in mystique – India simply had all the answers at home.

It’s easy to cast ahead and envision India dominating the decade much like West Indies in the ‘80s and 2000s Australia.  But before we start getting into big picture narratives, India will have to twice take care of business in the U.K.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who became the fastest Indian bowler to 400 Test wickets in the third Test against England, climbed four spots to break into the top three of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test rankings for bowlers on Sunday. Ashwin picked up seven wickets in the Ahmedabad Test that saw him go to the third spot, two points adrift of second placed Neil Wagner.

India cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, and Rohit Sharma made significant gains in the ICC Test rankings thanks to their brilliant performances in the ongoing series against England.

Ashwin, who became the second fastest to claim 400 Test wickets in the day-night fixture, broke into the top three after jumping four places thanks to his remarkable consistency.

Ashwin’s spin-bowling partner and Player of the Match in the pink-ball Test Axar Patel also made solid gains. Left-arm spinner Patel’s 11-wicket match haul has helped him gain 30 slots to reach 38th position.

Opener Rohit Sharma touched his career-best eighth position with a six-place jump after his impressive sh in the low-scoring third Test in Ahmedabad. Rohit top-scored in the first innings with 66 and remained unbeaten on 25 in the second to move ahead of compatriot Cheteshwar Pujara among others. His rating points aggregate is 742, 20 more than his best of 722 in October 2019 when he was ranked 10th.

India’s opening batsman Rohit Sharma, who was the highest scorer in the Ahmedabad Test, attained a career-best ranking of 8th among batsmen.

Rohit is now the third Indian batsman along with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara in the top 10. Kane Williamson remains the top-ranked batsman in the longest format of the game while Australian pacer Pat Cummins is still the No.1-ranked Test bowler.

Axar Patel, playing just his second Test, picked up five-wicket hauls in both innings of the Ahmedabad Test — a match haul of 11 wickets — and he leapfrogged 30 spots to take 38th position in bowlers’ rankings.

James Anderson, who went wicketless in the third Test against India, lost three places and slipped to sixth place.  Moreover, Jasprit Bumrah and Stuart Broad, who didn’t get to bowl much on a surface that assisted spinners, dropped one place each. The third Test between India and England was a low-scoring encounter that ended inside two days.

Day Two saw 17 wickets tumble with India winning the match by 10 wickets to take 2-1 series lead in the four-match series. The fourth and final Test will be played in Ahmedabad from March

India’s Rishabh Pant stumps-out England’s Moeen Ali during the 4th day of the second cricket test match between India and England, at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai.(PTI)

The race to reach the final of the World Test Championship is heating up England, India and Australia vie for a chance to play New Zealand at Lord’s. The inaugural WTC will hold its final from June 18 to 22, with June 23 acting as a reserve day.

New Zealand have already qualified for the final after Australia’s pullout from the tour of South Africa. India and England are engaged in a battle to reach the summit clash while Australia’s chances hinges on the results of the Anthony de Mello Trophy.

The resounding 317-run win over England in the second Test on Tuesday propelled India to second in the World Test Championship standings issued by the ICC.

After the series-levelling win at Chepuak, India have 69.7 percentage of points (PCT) and 460 aggregate points, behind New Zealand who have already qualified for the WTC final to be held at the Lord’s June. New Zealand have 70.0 PCT and 420 points. India, who had lost the first Test by 227 runs at the same venue, need to win one more and at least draw another to make it to the WTC final.

Ravichandran Ashwin, with his dismissal of England opener Rory Burns, became the first spinner in more than 100 years to get a wicket off the first ball of an innings. As India keep fighting against England on the fourth day of the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin achieved a feat to be proud of.

After Joe Root won the toss, he led his team from the front with a mighty double hundred on his 100th Test. England posted a mammoth 578 in their first essay and in reply, India got dismissed for 337-all out on Monday despite Washington Sundar’s brave 85 not out.

During the visitors’ second innings, India enjoyed a perfect start courtesy of an opening ball dismissal by Ashwin. With his dismissal of Rory Burns, the Tamil Nadu-born bowler became the first spinner in more than 100 years to get a wicket off the first ball of an innings.

Before the 34-year-old, former South African cricketer Bert Vogler achieved the feat in 1907. The first spinner ever to pick up a wicket off the first ball of an innings was former England bowler Bobby Peel in 1888.

Earlier in the first innings, Ashwin had claimed 3/146 including the wickets of Burns, Ollie Pope and James Anderson. He also bowled the longest in an innings of a Test match for India, bowling a total of 55.1 overs.

Most overs in an innings by Ashwin:

53.1 vs England, Chennai (2020/21*)
53.0 vs Australia, Adelaide (2011/12)
52.5 vs Australia, Adelaide (2018/19)
52.3 vs England, Kolkata (2012/13)
52.1 vs West Indies, Mumbai (2011/12)

During his earlier spell, Ashwin also bowled the first-ever no-ball of his Test career. The off-spinner had gone more than 20,600 balls before overstepping in Test cricket.

On the other hand, fellow India spinner Sundar also marked a record during his impressive start to his Test career. The 21-year-old, during his unbeaten 85-run knock, joined an elite list of Team India batsmen with 50-plus scores in debut innings both home and away.

Scoring 50+ in debut innings both home and away (India)

Rusi Modi
Surinder Amarnath
Arun Lal
Sourav Ganguly
Suresh Raina
Hardik Pandya
Mayank Agarwal
Washington Sundar

In their second innings, England have already lost five wickets as Ashwin leads the numbers with three wickets — Burns, Dom Sibley and Ben Stokes. Refusing to enforce the follow-on, the visitors were 1/1 in two overs at lunch.

Tom Brady has done it yet again. The quarterback won his record seventh Super Bowl and the first with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady and the Bucs beat the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs 31-9 in what was a home game for the Bucs, played in Tampa, Fla on Sunday, Feb 7th.

Super Bowl 55 capped a difficult and challenging year for the NFL. The coronavirus led to postponements, teams sometimes playing with depleted rosters and many games hosted in mostly empty stadiums.

Brady, the oldest ever to play in a Super Bowl at age 43, showed his experience in the first half, leading the Buccaneers to three touchdowns — including two passes to his favorite postseason target Rob Gronkowski (and setting another record in the process: it was the 13th and 14th touchdowns for a QB-pass catcher tandem in the playoffs). Brady ended the first half with a 71-yard drive in the waning seconds to go up 21-6 at the break.

Tampa Bay’s defense stymied Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the first half. Mahomes, who had been slowed by a toe injury two weeks ago, seemed to shake off the pain but didn’t show his usual brilliance. The Chiefs made mistakes on both sides of the ball and were penalized eight times for 95 yards. In the last two postseasons, Kansas City faced deficits of at least 9 points and won each of them. The Chiefs were looking to become the first team since the Patriots in the 2003 and 2004 seasons to win back-to-back NFL championships.

KC QB Patrick Mahomes struggled for most of the game. Tampa Bay’s defense swarmed him leading to sacks, hurries and knockdowns during Super Bowl 55.

Kansas City started the second half with its biggest yardage gain of the game when running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire dashed 26 yards. But the K.C. offense could only capitalize with a field goal. The Buccaneers answered on the next drive with yet another touchdown as Leonard Fournette scampered 27-yards for the Bucs first rushing touchdown to extend their lead to 28-9. After a Patrick Mahomes interception, Tampa Bay marched down the field to score yet again, a 52-yard field goal by Ryan Succop, to extend the lead to 31-9. That would be all the scoring of Super Bowl LV and in one of the bigger surprises, the Chiefs did not score a touchdown.

This Super Bowl was marked by a number of firsts: it was the first time that a team got to play in its home stadium. Down Judge Sarah Thomas was the first woman to officiate in the NFL championship. And, for the first time in his ten Super Bowls, Brady led his team to a touchdown in the first quarter.

The coronavirus left its mark too. Stadium capacity was reduced to just 25,000 fans in attendance (including 7,500 vaccinated health care workers who received free tickets from the NFL). On television, the stadium looked even fuller because 30,000 cardboard cutouts filled the empty seats with pictures of smiling people who paid $100 for the honor.

Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady tossed three touchdowns in the first half of Super Bowl 55. It was Brady’s seventh Super Bowl victory and his first with the Bucs.

It was a record 10th Super Bowl appearance for Brady. He played in nine for the New England Patriots (winning six, a record) in his 20 seasons with New England. This was Brady’s first year with the Bucs and he led his new team to only their second Super Bowl in franchise history. Brady also was named as the Super Bowl MVP — for the fifth time, extending his record.

And good news for Bucs fans: During the post-game celebration Brady said simply, “I’ll be back.” The Buccaneers Super Bowl win is yet another crowning achievement for the Tampa region in the past year. The Lightning won the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup. The Rays played in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. And now the Bucs winning the NFL championship in their home stadium caps a stellar run for the region now known as Champa Bay.

(Picture: KSTP TV)

India vs Australia: What helped India win this series? There could be many logical answers and yet there could be no answer to it at all. It wasn’t meant to happen, such things don’t happen at all. The rarity of such this accomplishment is what makes it surreal and overwhelming. Perhaps like a deus ex machina, that enters a play at the last moment and solves all the problems.

Indian players pose with the winning trophy after defeating Australia by three wickets on the final day of the fourth cricket test match at the Gabba, Brisbane, Australia, (PTI) 

The year was 1999 and there was a lot of anticipation in everyone about what lay ahead. It was the end of a century and the beginning of another. In India, it was a time of great change. ‘Growth’ was the buzz word in every walk of life.

But Indian cricket, on the pitch, was stuck in mediocrity, despite having the biggest star the sport had seen till then in its ranks. Sachin Tendulkar was already reaching stratospheric heights with his batsmanship and had earned praise from the greatest batsman ever, Sir Donald Bradman, after his exploits against the Australians in the unforgettable summer of 1998.

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He was the diminutive ‘giant’ in a team that was still a mixed bag of sorts. When he led this team to Australia in the December of 1999 for a three-match Test series, in what was his second coming as captain of the side, there was fear in the hearts of Indian cricket fans and prayers on their lips.

Australia were the reigning world champions of ODI cricket and were an even greater force in Test cricket. To speak in footballing terms, they were the ‘Brazil’ of cricket in terms of dominance.

As was feared, India’s campaign came unstuck and ended in a 0-3 debacle. Tendulkar stood tall in the ruins, along with a certain VVS Laxman, but it didn’t matter much, as the team’s morale had touched its nadir. That defeat followed by a home series loss in years, against South Africa, meant Tendulkar gave up captaincy for good to concentrate on his batting.

It was an hour of crisis off the pitch too with the match-fixing scandal exploding and spinning out of control. India needed a leader, not just of a cricket team but of men and they found one in Sourav Ganguly. The Bengal cricketer had the elegance and charm of a prince in his batting, but he combined that with the tenacity of a street fighter as captain of the team.

(Picture: Yahoo News)

The T20I side is comprised of four players from India, two from Australia, two West Indies and one each from Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Afghanistan. The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the Men’s T20I and ODI teams of the decade on Sunday and named former India captain MS Dhoni as the leader of both sides.
The T20I side is comprised of four players from India, two from Australia, two West Indies and one each from Sri Lanka, South Africa, and Afghanistan.
Current Indian captain Virat Kohli, pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma are the other Indians in the T20I team. Former South African skipper AB de Villiers and Universe Boss – Chris Gayle are also included in the line-up.
ICC’s T20I Team of the Decade: Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, MS Dhoni (c), Kieron Pollard, Rashid Khan, Jasprit Bumrah, and Lasith Malinga.

The ICC’s ODI team of the decade led by Dhoni includes star Indian batsmen Rohit and Virat. In the team, David Warner and Rohit have been picked as openers while former South Africa cricketer AB De Villiers is picked as a middle-order batsman. Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan and England’s Ben Stokes are the two all-rounders in the team.
The pace attack includes Australian bowler Micthell Starc, New Zealand’s Trent Boult, and Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga.
ICC’s ODI Team of the Decade: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Shakib Al Hasan, MS Dhoni (c), Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult, Imran Tahir and Lasith Malinga.