Weekly Digest (Nov. 18-24): India triumphs in pink ball Test, Mourinho returns
In a round-up from the week gone by, Jose Mourinho's shocking return to the Premier League and India's win in the pink ball Test grab the major headlines.
Published : Nov 25, 2019 00:11 IST
CRICKET
Bangladesh lasted 47 minutes on Day 3 of the pink-ball Test in Kolkata to lose the fixture by an innings and 46 runs, and concede the series 2-0 to India. [ Report ]
Australia went one up in the two-Test series against Pakistan when it won the first Test by an innings and five runs at the Gabba in Brisbane on Sunday. [
Shanker Basu, a former trainer of the Indian men's cricket team, has broken his silence in an exclusive chat with Sportstar after letting allegations of nepotism against him swirl around for a week. [ Report ]
Amitava Dey, proprietor of one of Bengal's oldest confectionery, Felu Modak, came up with a pink-ball shaped sweet on the request of BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. [ Report ]
Ambati Rayudu has decided to take a break from the forthcoming Ranji Trophy and took to Twitter highlighting “rampant corruption and politics in selection of teams”. [ Report ]
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has communicated to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), requesting it to swap the first T20I between India and West Indies — scheduled to be held at the Wankhede Stadium on December 6 — with Hyderabad, the venue for the third T20I on December 11. [ Report ]
Sri Lanka captain and veteran pacer Lasith Malinga has had a rethink on his decision to retire after next year’s Twenty20 World Cup, saying he can carry on for another two years. [ Report ]
FOOTBALL
Defending Premier League champion Manchester City edged Chelsea 2-1 in a pulsating match at the Etihad Stadium, coming back from being a goal down. Kevin de Bruyne scored the equaliser before Riyad Mahrez scored from close range after a solo run to secure the points. ( REPORT )
Jose Mourinho made a victorious return to management at the expense of former incumbent Mauricio Pochettino with Tottenham Hotspur registering a 3-2 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium. ( REPORT )
Roberto Firmino scored the winning goal for Liverpool against Crystal Palace shortly after Wilfried Zaha cancelled out Sadio Mane’s opening goal. The result left Liverpool eight points clear at the Premier League summit. ( REPORT )
Juventus beat Atalanta 3-1 with a brace from Gonzalo Higuain and a goal from Paulo Dybala after Robin Gosens gave Atalanta the lead in the 56th minute. ( REPORT )
Bayern Munich maintained its perfect record under Hansi Flick with a 4-0 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf with goals from Benjamin Pavard, Corentin Tolisso, Serge Gnabry and Philippe Coutinho. ( REPORT )
Bengaluru FC beat Kerala Blasters 1-0 thanks to Sunil Chhetri’s goal as the Indian Super League season resumed after the international break. ( REPORT )
Turkey played out a goalless draw against Iceland on Thursday to qualify for Euro 2020, while France also made it through from group H. ( REPORT )
Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order. Despite Wales making it to the EURO 2020 finals, it was the banner with which Gareth Bale and his Welsh teammates celebrated with which made the headlines. ( REPORT )
India is close to out of contention from the 2022 World Cup qualification after a 1-0 defeat away to Qatar in the qualifiers. Have a listen to our team summarise Igor Stimac's men 2019 in charge of the Indian team in our 'Matchpoint Paradox' podcast.
BADMINTON
Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma crashed out of the Korea Masters after suffering straight-games defeat in their respective second-round clashes on Thursday. ( REPORT )
India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has withdrawn from the upcoming edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL), citing lack of preparation time due to poor health and injuries. The fifth season of PBL is slated to take place from January 20 to February 9 next year. ( REPORT )
India’s chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Wednesday attributed P.V. Sindhu’s lean run since her World Championship triumph to hectic scheduling. ( REPORT )
Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri hammered their way towards the men's doubles title, beating the Thailand duo of Chaloempon Charoenktamorn and Kittisak Namdash 21-15, 21-15 at the Infosys Foundation International Badminton Challenge 2019. ( REPORT )
KABADDI
The 2019 World Kabaddi Cup will take place from December 1 to 9 in India and will be organised by the Punjab government, revealed the state’s Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi in Chandigarh earlier this seek. (Report)
BOXING
Indian boxing star Vijender Singh defeated Ghana’s former Commonwealth champion Charles Adamu to claim his 12th successive win in the professional circuit. ( REPORT )
Deontay Wilder defeated Luis Ortiz in the seventh round to retain his World Boxing Council world title, He also maintained his unbeaten record in boxing's resurgent heavyweight division. ( REPORT )
MOTORSPORT
Renault driver Nico Hulkenberg, who will be replaced by Esteban Ocon next season, has ruled out retiring from Formula One despite being without a seat for next year. ( Read more )
In MotoGP, champion Marc Marquez’s brother Alex Marquez will ride for Repsol Honda next season after winning the Moto2 title in 2019. ( Report )
National motorsport federation FMSCI has banned its own president J.Prithiviraj from officiating in the wake of the organisational blunder that led to the death of three, including a minor, during the ill-fated Rally of Jodhpur. ( Report )
Narain Karthikeyan marked a successful end to his maiden season in sports car racing as he won the Super GT x DTM Dream Race at Fuji Speedway. ( Report )
SHOOTING
Indian Olympic Association’s proposal to withdraw from the 2022 Commonwealth Games was not put up for approval of Executive Council as it would have amounted to jumping the gun before a crucial meeting between CGF and the ISSF top brass, President Narinder Batra said on Saturday. (Report)
Manavaditya Singh Rathore combined brilliantly with Anushka Singh Bhati to trap the mixed gold for Rajasthan in the 63rd National shotgun championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Saturday. (Report)
The Indian shooters completed their brilliant show in the World Cup Final, in which they had accounted for three individual gold medals, by clinching a bunch of medals including the gold in both the rifle and pistol mixed team competitions in Putian, China, on Friday. (Report)
Former World Champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu showed that he was still the best in the country as he clinched the men’s trap gold for the umpteenth time, with a thrilling 42-41 victory over Vishadev Singh Sidhu in the 63rd National Shotgun championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Friday. (Report)
Shooting sensations Manu Bhaker, Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar, on Thursday, bagged their maiden ISSF World Cup Final gold medals in women's 10m Air Pistol , 10m Air Rifle and men's 10m Air Rifle respectively, at the Chinese Shooting and Archery Administration Center in Putian, China. (Report)
Arjun Singh gave company to some of the leading shooters of the country at the top of the list with two perfect rounds of 25 in men’s trap in the 63rd National Shotgun Championships at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Wednesday. (Report)
Shreyasi Singh shot as if in a dream, especially in the climax, to clinch the women’s trap gold with a four-point margin over qualification topper Rajeshwari Kumari in the 63rd National shotgun championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Monday. (Report)
TENNIS
Rafael Nadal has matched Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic by securing a fifth year-end number one , with the Spaniard saying that the achievement gave him ‘a great personal satisfaction’ .
Seventeen years after turning professional, Tomas Berdych confirmed he is retiring from professional Tennis.
Novak Djokovic hopes to play at the Davis Cup Finals despite admitting he felt a "pretty sharp" pain in his elbow in the match against Roger Federer at the ATP Finals.
As he continues his recovery from injury, Andy Murray believes the grand slam events give his body the clearest path to success in future.
The ATP Bengaluru Open Challenger will return to the calendar in 2020 and will be played from February 10 to 16.
With security concerns remaining, the AITA has not changed its stance on India-Pakistan tie.
Leander Paes has dropped out of doubles top-100 for first time in 19 years, while Prajnesh Gunneswaran continues to be India’s top-ranked singles player.
ATHLETICS:
Eliud Kipchoge, the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours, and 400 metres hurdles world champion Dalilah Muhammad won the World Athlete of the Year awards. ( Report )
The prospect of Russia being banned from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics moved a step closer as the World Anti-Doping Agency recommended the country's drug-testing authority be declared non-compliant. ( Report )
World Athletics launched a 10-stop second-tier circuit, called the “Continental Tour”, which will include individual events controversially dropped from the elite Diamond League. ( Report )
Equestrian
Double Asian Games medallist equestrian Fouaad Mirza secured an Olympic quota for India after finishing as the top-ranked rider in his group in the qualifiers, becoming the third Indian to represent the country at the marquee event. ( Report )