Indian sports News- November 23rd
November 23, 2019
Bytes: Davis cup SF, INDvsBAN pink ball test, AUSvsPAK, ENGvsNZ, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Fauood seals Olympic quota, shooting WC, NBA, Russia may face Olympic 2020 ban, Vijender Singh wins, Mayweather to return, Tata Chess Tour
YoGems makes sure that you won’t miss a thing in the field of sports, so here is a quick recap to all the happenings from the last 24 hours:
Tennis:
Davis Cup- Sasi Kumar Mukund on Saturday pulled out of the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Pakistan due to a foot injury. Mukund, who was named as a reserve member, suffered the injury while playing in an ATP Challenger tournament in Portugal. The 22-year-old lost in the singes second round but reached the doubles semi-final partnering N Vijay Sundar Prashanth. “Unfortunately Sasi will not travel with us. He has informed that he sustained the injury while playing the doubles,” India’s Davis Cup coach Zeeshan Ali told PTI during the team’s practice session at DLTA. Zeeshan said they wanted N Sriram Balaji to travel to Nur Sultan but getting visa at such short notice won’t be possible. Balaji was not named in the eight-member squad but he has been with the Indian team in the training camp to help the side prepare since Thursday. Captain Rohit Rajpal, who was busy working out the doubles combination during the session, rued Mukund’s absence.
Rafael Nadal won back-to-back matches to propel Spain to a 2-1 victory over Argentina and a place in the semi-finals of the new-look Davis Cup on Friday. World number one Nadal thrashed Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2 to pull Spain level after Guido Pella put the Argentines ahead with a 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 win over Pablo Carreno. Nadal then teamed with Marcel Granollers to beat Maximo Gonzalez and Leonardo Mayer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a must-win doubles match to see Spain into a final-four clash with Great Britain.
Cricket:
INDvsBAN- India’s pace bowlers once again wreaked havoc and it was the senior man Ishant Sharma who shone the brightest on day one in the historic day-night Test against Bangladesh in Kolkata, taking his second five-wicket haul in a home Test. Ishant Sharma (5/22) claimed five wickets, Umesh Yadav (3/29) snapped three while Mohammed Shami (2/36) took two as Bangladesh were dismissed for just 106. The pacers were so dominant that India used only over of spin by Ravindra Jadeja and that too for a change of ends. The visitors were bowled out in the 31st over. Bangladesh attack then found itself at the receiving end of a masterclass from the Indian captain Virat Kohli, who remained unbeaten on 59 off 93 balls, as India reached 174/3 at stumps on the opening day. The stodgy Cheteshwar Pujara, with two pink ball hundreds under his belt in first-class cricket, scored a chiselled 55 as India took a 68-run lead. Earlier, Bangladesh top-order were blown away to be reduced to 73/6 in country’s first day-night Test where the pre-match hype didn’t translate into quality contest. Earlier, Bangladesh top-order were blown away to be reduced to 73/6 in country’s first day-night Test where the pre-match hype didn’t translate into quality contest.
Syed Mushtaq Ali- Opener Kunwar Bidhuri’s rearguard fifty went in vain as Delhi suffered a one-run loss to Baroda in a Super League match of the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at Surat on Friday. Sent into bat, Baroda managed a competitive 151/6 and then returned to restrict Delhi to 150/9 in the 20 overs. Bidhuri made a 51-ball 68, laced with three fours and four sixes, but none of the other Delhi batsmen provided any support as they fell short by a run. Bidhuri was dismissed in the final over. Lower-order batsman Suboth Bhati tried his bit with an unbeaten 8-ball 20 but it was not enough. Babashafi Pathan (3/24) claimed three wickets to emerge as the best bowler for Baroda.
The Indian selection committee has decided to release Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill from the Test squad to get some match time in domestic cricket ahead of the limited overs series against the West Indies next month. Andhra keeper-batsman Kona Shrikar Bharat will join the Indian team as Wriddhiman Saha’s cover for the remainder of the second and final Test against Bangladesh. “Rishabh will be playing all the six matches (3 T20s and 3 ODIs) against the West Indies. The selectors thought it’s only prudent that he goes and plays in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Delhi,” said a senior BCCI source on conditions of anonymity.
AUSvsPAK- Australia look certain to take a 1-0 lead in their series against Pakistan after dominating with both bat and ball on day three of the first Test in Brisbane on Saturday. Big centuries to Marnus Labuschagne (185) and David Warner (154) helped Australia to a first innings total of 580 in reply to Pakistan’s 240. At stumps Pakistan were in big trouble on 64/3, still needing 276 runs to make Australia bat again. Shan Masood was not out 27 and Babar Azam was 20 at the close. Mitchell Starc did the early damage for the Australians in the final hour of the day’s play, trapping captain Azhar Ali leg before for five.
NZvsENG- A gritty BJ Watling, New Zealand’s go-to man when the chips are down, produced an unbeaten 119 to put the Black Caps ahead of England in the first innings of the opening Test on Saturday. At stumps on day three in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand were 394/6 to lead England by 41. The 34-year-old Watling, with a reputation for producing his best when the going is tough, has toiled under a blazing sun for almost seven hours to rescue New Zealand from a precarious situation and notch his eighth Test century. Much of it was in partnership with Colin de Grandhomme in a 119-run stand for the sixth wicket and followed by an unbroken 78 with Mitchell Santner, who was 31 not out at stumps. When de Grandhomme joined Watling New Zealand were 197/5, with all their recognised batsmen gone and England’s 353 looking a long way off. The dismissal of Henry Nicholls for 41 before lunch had the tourists feeling they were heading for a comfortable first innings lead, but Watling patiently chipped away at the deficit.
Basketball:
NBA- Kawhi Leonard nailed the go-ahead basket with just 15 seconds remaining to lift the Los Angeles Clippers to an entertaining 122-119 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Leonard finished with 24 points and six rebounds, while Paul George had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers, who won their fourth consecutive game. Clippers’ Lou Williams scored all 26 of his points in the second half in front of a crowd of 19,000 at Staples Center arena. James Harden had 37 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who have lost their last two games after going on an eight-game winning streak. Williams gave the Clippers a 118-117 lead with 30 seconds remaining by draining a three point shot. Harden then made two free throws to restore Houston’s lead, 119-118, with 22 seconds to go.
Olympics:
Doping- The prospect of Russia being banned from next year’s Olympics loomed closer on Friday as a World Anti-Doping Agency panel recommended the country’s drug-testing authority be declared non-compliant with international rules. In a statement, Wada said its Compliance Review Committee had recommended that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency be suspended again when the global anti-doping watchdog’s Executive Committee meets in Paris on December 9. If Wada chiefs adopt the recommendation, Russia faces severe sanctions including a possible ban from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The CRC issued its recommendation after asking Russia to explain “inconsistencies” in laboratory data handed over by Moscow to Wada investigators in January. Full disclosure of data from the Moscow laboratory was a key condition of Russia’s controversial reinstatement by Wada in September 2018. Rusada had been suspended for nearly three years over revelations of a vast, state-backed doping regime which including a systematic conspiracy to switch tainted samples at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
Equestrian- Double Asian Games medallist equestrian Fouaad Mirza secured an Olympic quota after finishing as the top-ranked rider in his group in the qualifiers, ending a wait spanning nearly two decades. The 27-year-old was the highest ranked rider in Group G for the South East Asia, Oceania in the individual eventing category after the end of the Europe stage earlier this month. However, the official confirmation will be announced by the International Equestrian Federation on February 20. Imtiaz Anees [2000 Sydney] and Late Wing Commander IJ Lamba [1996 Atlanta] are the only Indians to have represented India at the Olympics. Mirza, who was honoured with the Arjuna Award in August, finished with a total of 64 points from six qualifying events.
Boxing:
Vijender Singh- India’s Vijender Singh recorded his twelfth straight win in professional boxing after outclassing Ghanaian veteran Charles Adamu in Dubai on Friday. The 2008 Olympic gold medallist was adjudged winner by unanimous decision in a bout that he dominated from start to finish. Singh thus completed his second win of the year. The 34-year-old started cautiously, measuring his opponent but kicked into gear in the second round. In the opening exchange, Singh floored his opponent with a right hook. That was the first of many standing counts Adamu would receive on the night. Adamu was unable to cope with his opponent’s onslaught and regularly bore the brunt of massive right-hand punches. By round three, Singh was dictating terms in the contest and boxed with an open guard, perhaps seeing Adamu struggle. The 42-year-old was no match in speed and strength. Briefly, in the fourth round, Adamu showed some fight and landed a couple of short-arm jabs himself but soon ran out of steam with Singh wearing him down with body shots and quick bursts. Round six and seven were a cruise for the Indian and the referee had to stop the bout to start a standing count on two more occasions. The bout, which was reduced to 8 rounds instead of 10 midway through for as yet unknown reasons, was ultimately a cakewalk for Singh. Adamu deserved credit for going the distance and perhaps the only disappointed for the Indian boxer was that he could not force a stoppage to win by a knockout. The door was eventually shut on Adamu when the unanimous decision was announced and the Singh juggernaut continued to roll on, in the professional boxing arena.
Mayweather return- Floyd Mayweather has teased a possible return to fighting, writing in an Instagram post he was “coming out of retirement” in 2020. The former welterweight boxer revealed news of the comeback beneath a photo of him wearing boxing trunks and hand wraps. “Coming out of retirement in 2020,” Mayweather wrote in the Instagram post late Thursday, giving no additional information. In a separate post late Thursday, Mayweather wrote he was working with UFC tycoon Dana White on a event for next year.
Chess:
Tata Steel chess tour- Viswanathan Anand drew with Ding Liren of China and Wesley So of the United States before going down to Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia on the first day of Tata Steel Chess tournament in Kolkata on Friday. World champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway steered ahead of the rivals winning two and drawing one game and ended the day with five points overall as each of the rapid games are worth two points for a win and one for a draw. With Carlsen surging ahead, Hikaru Nakamura of the United States emerged on the second spot with four points in all. Anand shared the third spot with Anish Giri of Holland, Ding Liren and compatriots Vidit Gujrathi and P Harikrishna.
Shooting:
World Cup- India finished their engagements at the ISSF World Cup Final on a high, with their shooters featuring in teams that won the President’s Trophies for both the 10m air pistol and air rifle mixed team competitions on Friday. In the mixed air pistol final, Manu Bhaker first paired with world No 1 Russian Artem Chernousov to get the better of the India’s Saurabh Chaudhary and Olympic champion Anna Korakaki 17-13. It was then the turn of Divyansh Singh Panwar to team up with Croatian legend Snjezana Pejcic, to win the trophy in the 10m air rifle mixed team competition. Divyansh and Snjezana prevailed 16-14 over India’s Apurvi Chandela and D Zhang. It got even better for India when Shahzar Rizvi also won bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition. Both Manu and Divyansh had earlier won their individual 10m competitions air pistol and rifle, ensuring that India topped the medals tally with three gold medals.
