Weekly Digest (Feb 1-7): From Root's historic 200 to the Australian Open draws

Joe Root, the England captain, became the first player in history to score a double century in his 100th Test match. Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka is one of a number of players in the women’s draw of the Australian Open this year.

CRICKET

Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara helped India recover from early jolts but Dom Bess's 4 for 55 has put England in charge of the first Test. ( REPORT )

The I, J, and K stands of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium will be thrown open to spectators for the first time since 2012 when Chennai hosts the second India-England Test from February 13. ( REPORT )

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will organise the Vijay Hazare Trophy between February 20 and March 14 across six venues. ( REPORT )

Here are all the records England captain Joe Root broke on his way to a double century against India in his 100th Test. ( REPORT )

A total of 1097 players - 814 from India and 283 from overseas - registered for the auction by the deadline of February 4. ( REPORT )

Former Australia women's cricket team captain Lisa Sthalekar has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame. ( REPORT )

Mohammad Rizwan scored a first Test century as Pakistan set South Africa a daunting target of 370. In response, the tourist closed the fourth day on 127 for one. ( REPORT )

Kyle Mayers made an unbeaten double hundred on his Test debut to help West Indies snatch an extraordinary three-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the first Test. ( REPORT )

FOOTBALL

 

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 36th birthday by setting up Juventus to beat Roma 2-0 in Serie A. ( REPORT )

The AIFF League Committee decided that Hero Indian Women's League will remain an integral part of the competition calendar and will be held prior to May this year. ( REPORT )

Ajax Amsterdam goalkeeper Andre Onana has been suspended for 12 months by European football's governing body UEFA for violating doping rules, the club said. ( REPORT )

SC East Bengal’s coach Robbie Fowler was suspended for four matches and fined Rs 5 lakh after being found guilty of making "insulting" remarks against Indian referees in the ongoing ISL. ( REPORT )

Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix has become the club's third player to test positive for COVID-19 in the last week. ( REPORT )

Manchester United beat nine-man Southampton 9-0 on Tuesday to tie the biggest margin of victory in a Premier League match. ( REPORT )

Odisha FC has sacked manager Stuart Baxter for using an offensive analogy about rape while talking about a refereeing decision. ( REPORT )

From Martin Odegaard's move from Real Madrid to Arsenal to Mario Mandzukic's AC Milan signing, here are the top five January transfers across Europe. ( REPORT )

Plans to reform the Champions League by expanding the competition from 32 to 36 teams and replacing the traditional group stage, face resistance over the allocation of the extra four places. ( REPORT)

RB Leipzig will play Liverpool in the first leg of its Champions League last-16 tie in Budapest after German authorities denied the English side entry into the country due to COVID-19 protocols. ( REPORT )

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the 500th club goal of his career and added a second as AC Milan reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a 4-0 win over bottom side Crotone. ( REPORT )

TENNIS

 

On the eve of the Australian Open, tournament CEO Craig Tiley spoke about the preparations, challenges, contingency plans and prize money. ( READ )

Tennis legend Akhtar Ali passed away in Kolkata on Sunday. He was 81 and is survived by his son, well known tennis player Zeeshan Ali, and two daughters. ( REPORT )

Top-ranked Barty claimed her second WTA on home soil with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over sixth-seeded Garbine Muguruza. ( REPORT )

Briton Dan Evans captured his first ATP Tour title with a commanding 6-2 6-3 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Murray River Open final. ( REPORT )

Serena Williams has been drawn into the same quarter at the Australian Open as No. 2-ranked Simona Halep and the same half as Naomi Osaka in her latest bid for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title. ( REPORT )

BADMINTON

Badminton Asia has cancelled its mixed team championships which were set to be held in Wuhan next week due to many governments imposing travel restrictions and quarantine requirements on players. ( REPORT )

The Indian mixed doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa climbed 16 places to a career-high ranking of 19 in the latest BWF rankings. ( REPORT )

TABLE TENNIS

In the Senior Nationals to be held in Panchkula from February 14 to 23, G. Sathiyan has the best chance to win his first title, according to his coach S. Raman. ( REPORT )

HOCKEY

Skipper Rani struck for India in the 35th minute. (File Photo)

 

Hockey great, Floris Jan Bovelander, talks about life at the NTHA, upcoming Tokyo Olympics, Indian hockey, the art of drag flicking and more. ( READ )

The Indian women's hockey team put up a spirited performance to hold formidable Argentina to a 1-1 draw and end its tour on a high note. ( REPORT )

Indian women's hockey team head coach Sjoerd Marijne says the recently-concluded "exposure trip" against Argentina has helped the players understand what it takes to beat a top team. ( READ )

BOXING

Ajay Singh prevailed 37-27 in the elections.

Ajay Singh was re-elected president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) in the elections held at Gurugram. Singh defeated Maharashtra MLA Ashish Shelar. (REPORT)

ATHLETICS

Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said that Japan would hold the Summer Olympics regardless of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. ( REPORT )

Tokyo Olympics organisers unveiled a "playbook" and said that athletes and officials should not use public transport without permission, and asked them to wear face masks at "all times" during the event. ( REPORT )

Uttarakhand’s Ankita Dhyani broke Sunita Rani’s under-20 women’s 5000m National record, clocking 16:21.19s in the 36th National junior athletics championships. ( REPORT )

Uttarakhand’s Reshma Patel celebrated her second national record in a fortnight while clinching gold in the under-18 girls 5000m race walk at the 36th National junior athletics championships. ( REPORT )

MOTORSPORT

India’s top racer Jehan Daruvala created history in the Formula 3 Asian Championship, scoring a breakthrough victory for Mumbai Falcons, an all Indian-outfit, in Abu Dhabi. ( REPORT )

Mercedes will unveil its 2021 Formula One car in a digital launch on March 2, the reigning world champion announced. ( REPORT )