Weekly Digest (Jul 22-28): From Malinga's ODI swansong to India's Commonwealth protest
A round-up of all that happened in the world of sports this week.
Published : Jul 28, 2019 23:01 IST
CRICKET
Lasith Malinga bid farewell to ODI cricket with a match-winning three for 38 in the first ODI against Bangladesh. He overtook India's Anil Kumble in the list of highest wicket-takers in ODI cricket with 338 wickets. ( Report )
Sri Lanka completed its first ODI series win since November 2015 with a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh at the R. Premadasa Stadium, taking an unassailable lead in the three-match series. (
England completed an emphatic 143-run win over Ireland in the third day of the one-off Test at Lord's. ( Report )
The ICC’s Anil Kumble-led Cricket Committee will discuss issues concerning the epic World Cup final, including the controversial boundary count back rule, in its next meeting. Cricketers - current and former - shared New Zealand’s pain on losing the World Cup title to England on July 14. ( Report )
The ICC came out in defence of umpire Kumar Dharmasena for his controversial decision to award six overthrow runs, instead of five, to England during the epic World Cup final against New Zealand, saying due process was followed. ( Report )
Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and South African pacer Charl Langeveldt have been appointed as Bangladesh's bowling coaches. ( Report )
FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL
FIFA has requested through its ruling council to fast-track discussions around expanding the Women's World Cup from 24 teams to 32. The federation hopes to approve adding eight more teams within days without having a formal meeting. USWNT star Alex Morgan has tweeted her approval to the proposal. ( Report )
Gareth Bale's transfer from Real Madrid to Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning has fallen through. The Wales international was reportedly on the brink of signing a deal that would have seen him earn £1million per week after falling out of favour under Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. ( Report ) Liverpool has signed record-breaking teenager Harvey Elliott from Fulham, beating interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Real Marid. The Reds have won the race to make Elliott their second signing of the close season, following the arrival of Sepp van der Berg from PEC Zwolle. ( Report ) Real Madrid is being rumoured to make a €166.6million (£150m) bid for Manchester United star Pogba. This and more transfer talk in our roundup. ( Report )
Daniele De Rossi completed his move to Boca Juniors, as he was a free agent after being released at the end of his Roma contract. ( Report )
Filipe Luis joined Flamengo after leaving Atletico Madrid at the end of his contract. ( Report )
Nabil Fekir left Lyon and joined Real Betis, potentially paving the way for Giovani Lo Celso's departure. ( Report )
Diego Costa scored four goals as Atletico Madrid humiliated La Liga rival Real Madrid 7-3 in an incredible display at the International Champions Cup. ( Report )
Arsenal lost 2-1 to a Moussa Dembele-inspired Lyon in the Emirates Cup and saw Alexandre Lacazette substituted with an ankle injury. ( Report )
Angel Gomes scored the late winner as Manchester United beat Tottenham 2-1 in the International Champions Cup on Thursday, though the Red Devils will rue another injury suffered by Eric Bailly. ( Report )
Lionel Messi was handed a ban and fine after his red card during Argentina's Copa America win over Chile in the third-place play-off. ( Report )
The 2019 FIFA Club World Cup is set to begin on December 11 in Qatar. ( Report )
FIFA has requested through its ruling council to fast-track discussions around expanding the Women's World Cup from 24 teams to 32. ( Report ) INDIAN FOOTBALL
India dropped two places to 103rd position in the FIFA Men's Rankings. The Indian team now lies 18th among Asian countries. ( Report )
AFC's Road Map for Indian football: both the Indian Super League (ISL) and the I-League were allowed to run parallelly only till the 2018-19 season “on the strict condition that there is concrete agreement to the implementation of the Road Map for the unified system from 2019-20 season and beyond.” The consequence of not having a unified league by the 2019-20 season would be “the removal of India from qualification for AFC Club Competitions.” ( Report ) I-League clubs are not ready to hand AFC Champions League slot to ISL. Questions have been raised about why a proposal regarding the Champions League slot was sent when the federation had said it would maintain status quo. ( Report )
Top I-League clubs including Minerva Punjab, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, asking for his help in their fight for survival in Indian football. ( Read more )
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary Kushal Das stressed that the Federation would need time to implement the ‘Road Map’ for an “integrated league” suggested by the Asian Football Confederation in 2018. ( Report )
Indian captain Sunil Chhetri said he hoped the side would get enough preparatory matches ahead of its 2022 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers campaign. The Indian team, drawn alongside 2022 WC host Qatar, Oman, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh in Group E, will begin its chase for a World Cup berth when it hosts Oman in the second round of Asian Qualifiers on September 5. ( Report )
Former India skipper Bhaichung Bhutia said a bigger league with more number of teams getting promoted and relegated to higher and lower divisions respectively would be the ideal format. ( Report )
Fresh efforts are on to strike a deal that will allow Bengaluru FC, the reigning ISL champion, continued access to the Sree Kanteerava Stadium for its Indian Super League matches. It is learnt that a prominent city-based MLA approached Karnataka Athletics Association officials to persuade them to drop their tough stand against footballing activities in the stadium. ( Report )
Guwahati is in the fray to host India’s first qualifying match for the 2022 FIFA World Cup against Oman on September 5. ( Report )
The Indian men's and women's football teams are set to test their skills at the 17th Homeless World Cup to be held at Cardiff's Bute Park from July 27 to August 3. ( Report )
TENNIS
World number one Novak Djokovic withdrew from the Rogers Cup, opting for further rest after winning Wimbledon. ( Report )
John Isner landed his fourth Hall of Fame Tennis Championships title in Newport, Rhode Island, where the American saw off Alexander Bublik in straight sets. ( Report )
Nikoloz Basilashvili emerged victorious after a three-set battle with Andrey Rublev to successfully defend his title at the German Tennis Championships. ( Report )
Coco Gauff, the 15-year-old American who breezed into the Wimbledon last 16 earlier this month, returned with a qualifying victory at the WTA Washington Open. ( Report )
World number five Kiki Bertens will face Jil Teichmann in the Palermo International final after the top seed overcame Paula Badosa in straight sets. ( Report )
Ivan Lendl ended his year-long spell as coach to Alexander Zverev, just days after the German world number five complained the former eight-time major winner spent more time talking about "golf and his dog" than tennis. ( Report )
Former Australian Davis Cup tennis star and Wimbledon doubles champion Peter McNamara has died aged 64. ( Report )
Sumit Nagal put up a fight but it wasn't enough as he slipped to a 6-2, 7-6(2) loss to former world No. 7 Richard Gasquet in the first round of the Hamburg Open, while at the Baltic Open in Latvia, 264th ranked Patricia Maria Tig of Romania proved too good for Ankita Raina, as she raced to a 6-2, 6-1 victory. ( Report )
Rohan Bopanna and Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain were beaten 6-1, 6-4 in the doubles quarterfinals by Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer of Austria in the ATP-500 tennis tournament in Hamburg, Germany. ( Report )
The Indian squad for the Asia-Oceania Group I tie in Pakistan in September, 2019, is likely to be named on August 5. ( Report ) MORE SPORTS
BADMINTON: India’s campaign at the Japan Open came to an end after B. Sai Praneeth lost his men’s singles semifinal clash to World no. 1 Kento Momota at the $750,000 tournament on Saturday. ( Report )
BOXING: Ahead of the World Championship, six-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom claimed the gold medal without breaking a sweat in the 23rd President’s Cup. The Olympic bronze medallist pugilist decimated Australian April Franks 5-0. ( Report )
CHESS: R. Praggnanandhaa and his sister R. Vaishali had triumphant outings at the Xtracon Open Chess Championship, with the former winning the open title with 8.5 points from 10 rounds and the latter getting her first GM-norm and second IM-norm. ( Report )
KABADDI Dabang Delhi maintained its winning run, while Bengaluru Bulls completed a comeback win on the second day of the Mumbai leg of PKL 2019. ( Report )
MOTORSPORT: Max Verstappen emerged triumphant in a chaotic German Grand Prix that saw Lewis Hamilton pay the price for a crash and Sebastian Vettel surge from the back of the grid to a landmark podium. This is Verstappen's second win of the season in a wet-and-dry Hockenheim circuit. ( Report )
SHOOTING : In an unprecedented move, the Indian Olympic Association on Saturday proposed boycott of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games for dropping shooting from the roster, and sought the government’s approval. ( Report )
SWIMMING: Shayna Jack of Australia has tested positive for a banned substance, which prompted her withdrawal from the world swimming championships before the event began for what were cited as personal reasons. ( Report )
Srihari Nataraj bettered his national record in the 50m and 200m backstroke events and Sajan Prakash achieved the Olympic Standard Time (B-mark) at the 18th FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. ( Report )
TABLE TENNIS: Overseas recruits needed a helping hand from Sharath Kamal to shape Chennai Lions’ 10-5 victory over Puneri Paltan in the Ultimate Table Tennis in New Delhi on Sunday. ( Report )
India claimed the post of Chairman and Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation (CTTF) for the first time. Vivek Kohli said the change in leadership is an opportunity to raise Commonwealth TT's profile. ( Report )
GOLF: Shane Lowry defeated the elements and his rivals to become a major winner for the first time, registering a six-shot victory at the Royal Portrush. ( Report )