Weekly Digest (September 13-19): Kohli to step down as T20 captain, India loses to Finland in Davis Cup

Here are some highlights from the world of sport in the last week.

Published : Sep 19, 2021 20:50 IST

Virat Kohli will bid adieu to captaincy in T20Is after the T20 World Cup. - S. MAHINSHA
Virat Kohli will bid adieu to captaincy in T20Is after the T20 World Cup. - S. MAHINSHA
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Virat Kohli will bid adieu to captaincy in T20Is after the T20 World Cup. - S. MAHINSHA

Last week, Virat Kohli announced that he will step down as the India captain in T20 Internationals after the T20 World Cup, citing a heavy workload. He has been successful as India's T20 captain, leading the team to 27 victories in 45 matches at the time of his announcement. A T20 World Cup crown can add a feather to his cap as he bows out.

The PCB was left fuming after the New Zealand team pulled out of its tour of Pakistan hours before the first ODI in Rawalpindi, citing a security threat to the team. The PCB says the decision was taken unilaterally and that the New Zealand team had no threat to its safety.

In tennis, India lost its Davis Cup World Group I  contest against Finland 3-1.

Here are some main headlines from the world of sport in the last week.

CRICKET

Virat Kohli will step down as India's T20I captain after T20 World Cup, the cricketer confirmed on Thursday. ( REPORT )

New Zealand abandoned its cricket tour of Pakistan on Friday over security concerns that mystified the host, just before the Black Caps’ first scheduled match in Pakistan in 18 years. ( REPORT )

New Zealand's abrupt decision to pull out of its cricket tour of Pakistan has created "an unfortunate scenario" but the host knows how to overcome such crises, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board Ramiz Raja said on Saturday. ( REPORT )

 

The BCCI on Friday announced the Junior National Selection Committee. Former Tamil Nadu captain Sridharan Sharath has been appointed chairman. ( REPORT )

India will not be touring New Zealand later in the year due to a packed calendar and COVID-19 related restrictions. India would have had to quarantine for 14 days to play three ODIs as part of the World Cup Super League. ( REPORT )

Host St Kitts and Nevis Patriots eked out a three-wicket win over Saint Lucia Kings in a last-ball thriller to claim its maiden Caribbean Premier League title at Warner Park. ( REPORT )

Rishabh Pant will continue to lead Delhi Capitals for the remainder of the IPL 2021, beginning September 19. ( REPORT )

Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding has bid adieu to cricket commentary. ( REPORT )

Former Bengal player and current Mizoram Under-19 coach Murtaza Lodhgar died of a heart attack on Friday night, according to Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) sources. He was 45. ( REPORT )

Harri-Heliovaara-Henri-Kontinen
Harri Heliovaara and Henri Kontinen who won the doubles and clinched the Davis Cup tie for Finland on Saturday. - FINNISH TENNIS ASSOCIATION
 

TENNIS

The Indian hopes of a revival were dashed as Harri Heliovaara and Henri Kontinen sealed the decisive doubles for host Finland with a 7-6 (2), 7-6(2) victory over Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan in the third rubber on the second day of the Davis Cup World Group tie at the Espoo Metro Arena on Saturday.

With Finland having won both the singles matches on the opening day through Otto Virtanen and Emil Ruusuvuori, against Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar respectively, the onus was on India to keep the tie alive.

India lost the rubber 3-1. ( REPORT )

Sania Mirza and Shaui Zhang pair was beaten 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 by Greet Minnen and Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in the doubles quarterfinals of the EUR 189,708 WTA tennis tournament. ( REPORT )

Sumit Nagal bowed out in the opening round of the EUR 132,280 Challenger tennis tournament in Poland, losing to Stefano Travaglia of Italy in three sets. ( REPORT )

Sania Mirza believes that the fairytale run of Emma and Leylah provided a glimpse of the depth in the women's field. ( REPORT )

 

GOLF

India's Tvesa Malik excelled again as she finished tied-12th with a final round of 1-under 70 at the 2021 Lacoste Ladies Open de France in Bordeaux, France. She now has three top 10 finishes this season. ( REPORT )

HOCKEY

Indian men's hockey team midfielder Nilakanta Sharma hoped his contribution to the country's bronze medal-winning feat at the Tokyo Olympics will inspire a generation of youngsters from his home state Manipur. ( REPORT )

Forward Shamsher Singh said winning the Olympic bronze medal was just ticking off one box in the new beginning for the Indian men’s hockey team. ( REPORT )

TABLE TENNIS

Manika Batra was left out of the India squad for the Asian Championships, which begins in Doha from September 28, after she did not attend the mandatory national camp in Sonepat. ( REPORT )

Swastika Ghosh, Yashaswini Ghorpade, Suhana Saini, Hansini Rajan and Dhaani Jain emerged champions in the World Table Tennis Youth Contender tournament in Tunis. ( REPORT )

The appointment of a worthy foreign coach is of “topmost priority” for Sharath Kamal among the suggestions made to the Table Tennis Federation of India recently. ( REPORT )

ATHLETICS

World Athletics restructures cross country, combined and race walking events ( READ HERE )

Tokyo medallist Ujah's B-sample tests positive, case referred to CAS ( READ HERE )

Next year's world cross country championships have been pushed back to 2023 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in Australia, governing body World Athletics said on Wednesday. ( READ HERE )

National Athletics Open 2021 Round-up: Santhosh Kumar back on winning track; Patience pays for Parul and Abhishek; Harmilan and Aishwarya bag gold  

Abhishek Pal from Railways, won the men's 5000m while Parul Chaudhary won the women’s 5000m. (

). Harmilan Bains smashed the National Record with a gold-winning time, 4:05.39s. ( READ HERE )

B. Aishwarya won the long-jump gold with a personal best 6.52m. ( READ HERE ). T. Santhosh Kumar returned to winning ways after winning the 400m hurdles. ( READ HERE ).

Mohammad Ajmal's switched to 400m playing off ( READ HERE ).  

Salazar's four-year ban upheld by CAS

The 63-year-old received the ban in 2019 from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for "orchestrating and facilitating" doping as head coach of the Nike Oregon Project. ( READ HERE )

Tokyo Marathon postponed, 2022 edition cancelled due to Covid-19

The 2021 Tokyo Marathon has been postponed until March 6, 2022, because of the surge in the Delta variant of CO-19, the Tokyo Marathon Foundation announced on Friday. ( READ HERE )

Gatlin beaten in Nairobi 100m, puts retirement on hold

The 39-year-old American, who has twice been banned for doping, failed to qualify for this year's Tokyo Games and was hoping to make amends in Kenya. ( READ HERE )

World sprint and relay championships in Bermuda cancelled due to COVID-19

This year's World Triathlon sprint and relay Championships have been called off due to a surge in COVID-19 infections in Bermuda. ( READ HERE )

BOXING

Nishant Dev upset Strandja memorial bronze medallist Naveen Boora to enter the semifinals and ensure his first podium finish in the National boxing championships at the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS). ( REPORT )

FOOTBALL

In the Durand Cup 2021, Gokulam Kerala and Army Red progressed into quarterfinals ( READ ).

Bengaluru FC was held to a 2-2 draw by Delhi FC with quarter-final qualification going down to the last match ( READ ) while Jamshedpur FC ended its campaign with a 5-0 loss to FC Goa ( READ ).

From Manchester United's stunning loss to Chelsea and Bayern Munich's victories, here is a round-up of all the action from the Champions League. ( READ )

Grealish netted on UCL debut in Man City's wild 6-3 win over Leipzig ( READ ) while Griezmann jeered as Atletico Madrid held 0-0 by Porto in Champions League ( READ )

Real Madrid and Rodrygo trumped Inter Milan; Atletico Madrid saved by VAR. Haaland’s prolific Champions League record continued with a goal in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 win at Besiktas. ( READ )

In Bundesliga, Lewandowski scored again as Bayern routed Bochum 7-0 ( READ ), while Ekkelenkamp scored on debut as Hertha wins again ( READ )

In the Premier League, Brentford defeated Wolves 2-0; Watford puts three past Norwich ( READ ), while Odegaard curler gave Arsenal a win at Burnley ( READ ). Man City was held to a frustrating draw by Southampton despite VAR reprieve ( READ )

Sadio Mane reached 100 goals for Liverpool in 3-0 win over Palace ( READ ), while Bailey cameo inspired Villa to 3-0 win over Everton ( READ )

Lingard, De Gea earned a dramatic late win for Man United over West Ham in the Premier League. ( READ )

In La Liga, Benzema’s hattrick saw Madrid make a winning return to Bernabeu ( READ ), while Joao Felix saw red as Atletico Madrid held to a draw by Athletic Bilbao. ( READ )

Cadiz beat Celta for first La Liga win this season ( READ ) while Betis scored late in Andalucia derby to end winless streak. ( READ )

In Serie A, Mazzarri was named Cagliari boss after Semplici sacking ( READ ). Pjaca's goal lifted Torino to 1-0 win at Sassuolo ( READ ) while Inter won 6-1 over Bologna ( READ ).

In Ligue 1, Lens beat Lille after match was interrupted by fan violence ( READ ); Strasbourg beat Metz 3-0 ( READ ) while Shaqiri set up Lyon goal in 3-1 win, Angers drew at Brest ( READ )

MOTORSPORT

Aston Martin has started work on a new Formula One factory and wind tunnel that team owner Lawrence Stroll said underpins his commitment to the sport and aim of fighting for world championships in the next three to five years. ( REPORT )

Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia survived a late charge from world championship leader Fabio Quartararo to win the San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday and claim a second straight MotoGP victory. ( REPORT )

Four times world champion Sebastian Vettel and Canadian Lance Stroll, son of the owner, will race for Aston Martin next season in an unchanged driver line-up, the Formula One team said on Thursday. ( REPORT )

Formula One world championship leader Max Verstappen will have a three-place grid drop at the Russian Grand Prix on September 26 after stewards ruled he was mainly to blame for a collision with title rival Lewis Hamilton at Monza on Sunday. ( REPORT )

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