CRICKET
Mewar Premier League kicks off with grand inauguration in Udaipur
The Mewar Premier League kicked off on Wednesday following a grand inauguration ceremony that took place at the Wonder Cement Cricket Academy, Shikarbadi Cricket Ground, Udaipur.
Coming to the match, batting first, Bhilwara Warriors smashed 140/6 in the allotted 20 overs on the back of the fine fifty by Yashwant Dangi (53 in 45 balls). Chasing 141, Rajsamand Stallions were restricted to 91/10, cousrtsey of some fine bowling performance Bhilwara Warriors.
Zubair Ali Khan picked four wickets for Bhilwara Warriors and was named as the Player of the Match as Mewar Premier League kicked off in style at the Shikarbadi Cricket Ground, which is Udaipur’s first international-standard ground with floodlights.
Organised by 100 Sports and approved by UDCA the League will feature, six formidable teams representing various districts of Mewar. The six teams are Udaipur Royals, Bhilwara Warriors, Chittorgarh Chitas, Rajsamand Stallions, Royal Rajputana Conquerors, and Dungarpur Dragons.
- Team Sportstar
Bengal Pro T20 League: Siliguri Strikers skipper Ritwik Roy Chowdhury confident of semis spot despite narrow defeat
Siliguri Strikers skipper Ritwik Roy Chowdhury remains optimistic about his team’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals in the ongoing Bengal Pro T20 League despite a recent defeat. Ritwik was awarded for the best all-round performance in the 18th match against Howrah Warriors on Thursday.
Howrah Warriors defeated Siliguri Strikers on Thursday by 6 runs (DLS method). In a rain curtailed 11 over game, Siliguri Strikers blasted 94 runs but Howrah Warriors slammed 74/2 in 7.4 to win the match as light showers against halted the play.
“It would have been good if we would have won the match but the situation today was different. It was a truncated match and it doesn’t happen everyday. Nevertheless, we did a few things well, even after the rain, Ankur and I batted really well. In fielding we could have done better,” said Ritwik Roy Chowdhury after the match.
Ritwik (44 in 25 balls) and Ankur Paul (42 in 30 balls) built an 82-run partnership for the first wicket, attacking the bowlers from the start. Speaking about their performance, Ritwik emphasized the importance of giving oneself the best chance to score runs.
“We have a very healthy net run rate and if we win the next two games, we will be in a place to qualify for the semi-finals. We are now focusing on the next game,” Ritwik signed off.
- Team Sportstar
Bengal Pro T20 League: Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers posts six-wicket win over Shrachi Rarh Tigers
Karan Lal’s fine all-round showing (2/21, 38) enabled Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers to post a six-wicket win over Shrachi Rarh Tigers in the Bengal Pro T20 League at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
The scores:
At Eden Gardens: Men: Shrachi Rarh Tigers 117/9 in 20 overs (Ayan Gupta 35, Shahbaz Ahmed 31) lost to Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers 118/4 in 16.1 overs (Abishek Porel 50, Karan Lal 38).
At Jadavpur University ground: Women: Rashmi Medinipur Wizards 84/8 in 20 overs bt Murshidabad Kueens 82/8 in 20 overs (Ankita Barman 4/17); Adamas Howrah Warriors 123/6 in 20 overs (Dhara Gujjar 57) bt Servotech Siliguri Strikers 112 in 19.4 overs (Priti Mondal 43, Brishti Majhi 35, Dhara Gujjar 3/12).
- Team Sportstar
FOOTBALL
AIFF Futsal Club Championship to kick off in Gujarat on Saturday
The third edition of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship is set to kick off at the Swarnim Gujarat Sports University in the Vadodara district of Gujarat on Saturday.
The tournament will be streamed live on the Indian Football YouTube Channel.
Nineteen teams will battle for 16 days to make it to the final and lift the trophy on July 7. They have been divided into four groups - Group A, B and C with five teams each, and Group D with four teams.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
The first two editions of the AIFF Futsal Club Championship were held in Delhi, marking this as the first time the tournament will be played outside the capital.
- PTI
GOLF
Aditi Ashok fights back on the back nine to lie 22nd in Women’s PGA
Indian golfer Aditi Ashok rebounded from a disappointing front nine of 3-over to finish at even par for the first round in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Aditi, playing her 30th Major, was tied-22nd after the first round.
She had bogeys on the first, seventh and ninth, but started making up with birdies on 10th and 11th on the back nine. A dropped shot on the 14th was followed by birdies on the 16th and 18th for a 72.
Aditi’s record at the PGA is modest with the 26-year-old making the cut four times in six previous starts and having a best finish of tied-29th in 2017.
- PTI
Rahil Gangjee takes 5-shot lead in Selangor Masters
India’s Rahil Gangee shot a three-under-67 to take a massive five-shot lead after the third and penultimate round of the Selangor Masters.
Gangjee has two wins on the Asian Tour – at the Volkswagen Masters in 2004 in China and then 14 years later in Japan at the Panasonic Open.
In the interim, Gangjee, who has also played on the Web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry) in the US, won an ADT event in 2018 at Louis Philippe.
The 45-year-old, who shifted his base from Kolkata to Bengaluru some years back, is making a comeback from an injury and showing better form with each round.
Gangjee overcame two early bogeys and went on a run of five birdies in eight holes to take a firm grip on the tournament at the Kelab Golf Seri Selangor.
Among other Indians, only Saptak Talwar (71-71-76) made the cut and is now at tied 40.
Khalin Joshi and Akshay Sharma missed the cut.
-PTI
Bhatia lies tied second, Korea’s Tom Kim grabs lead at Travelers C’ship
Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia, who already has one win to his name this season, was lying tied-second after the first round of the Travelers Championship.
Bhatia shot 6-under 64 as Korea’s Tom Kim fired his lowest score of the season with a blistering 8-under 62 for a two-shot lead.
Bhatia was bogey free with four birdies and an eagle, while Kim, also bogey free had eight birdies. Another Indian-American Sahith Theegala (71) was T-33.
Bhatia shared the second place with Rickie Fowler, Will Zalatoris and Kurt Kitayama, who all shot 64s at TPC River Highlands.
Kim is chasing a fourth PGA TOUR victory on his birthday week and Bhatia is seeking a third PGA Tour win.
Kim, who turns 22 on Friday, put on a stellar show with a hot putter delivering eight birdies and his career first 18-hole lead on the TOUR ahead of Bhatia.
-PTI
Randhawa tied 13th after first day in Irish Legends golf
India’s Jyoti Randhawa fired four birdies against three bogeys to make a smart start at the Irish Legends on the Legends Tour in Europe.
Randhawa is playing his first full season on the Tour for 50 years and over, and was placed at tied 13 after the first round.
India’s other senior on the Tour, Jeev Milkha Singh shot 74 and was tied 37 after day.
Last week’s tournament host Paul Lawrie was relishing the links test on a day with little wind.
The 1999 Open Champion got the turn in 2-under par before making back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th holes.
He would make a further four birdies on the back nine, with just the one dropped shot on the way back in as he signed for a round of 67 (-5) and the early clubhouse lead.
Lawrie shares the lead with his playing partner Patrik Sjoland – the 2023 Legends Tour Rookie of the Year.
- PTI
Vani Kapoor off to solid start, Avani cards 3-under
Vani Kapoor, who has shown flashes of form but not over the full course of tournaments this year, produced a fine four-under 68 on the opening day of the Czech Ladies Open.
The round was still in progress with Vani tied seventh following six birdies and two bogeys.
Her opening-round performance was the best among Indians with Pranavi Urs and Diksha Dagar dishing out even par scores through nine holes.
Amateur Avani Prashanth shot 3-under and was tied 18th. The others to finish their rounds were Ridhima Dilawari (2-under 70) and Tvesa Malik (1-under 71). Ridhima was tied 30th and Tvesa was tied 44th.
Welsh golfer Chloe Williams had a stunning start with a bogey-free 9-under 63, while Finland’s Sanna Nuutinen carded 7-under 65 with five birdies and an eagle. Alexandra Swayne was sole third with 6-under 66.
Defending champion Diksha Dagar was among the late starters in the opening round.
She had begun from the first and had birdies on the fifth and the seventh but gave back both those gains on the eighth and ninth.
-PTI
TENNIS
AITA ranking tennis tournament: Riya Sachdeva defeats top seed Sejal Bhutada
Riya Sachdeva, the women’s champion in the AITA ranking tennis tournament in Ludhiana. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Fifth seed Riya Sachdeva beat top seed Sejal Bhutada 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the Rs.200,000 AITA ranking tennis tournament at the Harvest Academy, Jassowal.
Riya had earlier beaten the second seed Sahira Singh in three sets.
Sahira and Kashish Bhatia won the doubles title.
Former national champion Dalwinder Singh won the men’s title, outplaying his doubles partner Suraj Prabodh for the loss of two games in the final. Dalwinder won the doubles title as well with Suraj.
The results:
Men (final): Dalwinder Singh bt Maan Keshwani 6-4, 6-4; Semifinals: Maan bt Udit Kamboj 6-2, 3-6, 6-4; Dalwinder bt Suraj Prabodh 6-1, 6-1.
Doubles (final): Suraj Prabodh & Dalwinder Singh bt Fateh Singh & Chandan Shivaraj 6-4, 6-4.
Women (final): Riya Sachdeva bt Sejal Bhutada 6-3, 6-4; Semifinals: Sejal bt Apara Khandare 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Riya bt Sahira Singh 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
Doubles (final): Kashish Bhatia & Sahira Singh bt Sejal Bhutada & Snigdha Patibandla 6-2, 6-1.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Sriram Balaji bows out in quarterfinals
Second seeds Sriram Balaji and Luke Johnson were beaten 7-6(3), 6-4 in the doubles quarterfinals by Marcus Daniell and Matwe Middelkoop in the €148,625 Challenger tennis tournament in Ilkley, Britain.
The Indo-British pair collected €1750 and 25 ATP points.
The results:
€148,625 Challenger, Ilkley, Britain Doubles (quarterfinals): Marcus Daniell (Nzl) & Matwe Middelkoop (Ned) bt Sriram Balaji & Luke Johnson (GBR) 7-6(3), 6-4.
$15,000 ITF men, Hillcrest, South Africa Singles (quarterfinals): Alec Beckley (RSA) bt Aryan Shah 6-3, 6-2.
Doubles (semifinals): Alec Beckley (RSA) & Alexander Donski (Bul) bt Kabir Hans & Aryan Shah 6-4, 6-3.
$15,000 ITF men, Koszalin, Poland Doubles (quarterfinals): Jakub Jedrzejczak & LLeon Zaorski (Pol) bt Manas Dhamne & Daniele Rapagnetta (Ita) 7-5, 6-2.
$15,000 ITF men, Hong Kong
Singles (quarterfinals): Thanapat Chanta (Tha) bt SD Prajwal Dev 6-4 (retired).
Doubles (semifinals): Yuichiro Inui & Kazuki Nishiwaki (Jpn) bt SD Prajwal Dev & Adil Kalyanpur 6-4, 1-6, [12-10].
$15,000 ITF men, Monastir, Tunisia Doubles (quarterfinals): Mateo Matulovich (Arg) & Paulo Santos (Bra) w.o. Amr Elsayed (Egy) & Manish Sureshkumar.
$25,000 ITF women, Wichita, USA Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Sahaja Yamalapalli bt Victoria Flores (USA) 6-2, 6-1.
Doubles (quarterfinals): Ashton Bowers & Sophia Webster (USA) bt Chieh-Yu Hsu (Tpe) & Sahaja Yamalapalli 6-3, 7-5.
$25,000 ITF women, Tauste, Spain Singles (quarterfinals): Tian Fangran (Chn) bt Rutuja Bhosale 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles (semifinals): Rutuja Bhosale & Tian Fangran (Chn) bt Rebeca Pereira (Bra) & Eva Vedder (Ned) 6-3, 7-5.
$15,000 ITF women, Rancho Santa Fe, USA Singles (pre-quarterfinals): Anna Campana (USA) bt Teja Tirunelveli 6-3, 6-4.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Bopanna-Ebden pair loses in Cinch Championship quarters
Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden put up a gritty show but lost in straight sets to the Russian-American pair of Karen Khachanov and Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals of the Cinch Championships, on Friday.
The big-serving Khachanov and Fritz, seeded eighth in the tournament, defeated the Indo-Australian pair 7-6 (1), 7-6 (3).
Khachanov and Fritz were clearly dominant with their second serves, having a win percentage of 70, while Bopanna and Ebden erred on this front.
Bopanna and Ebden, who had reached the French Open semifinals, had on Wednesday scored a fluent 6-4, 6-4 win against the Austrian pair of Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler in the opening round of the ATP 500 grass court tournament.
-PTI
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