1. MS Dhoni’s ODI Team Set for Bangladesh Challenge
It’s going to be a fresh new beginning for a full-strength India in limited overs cricket after the World Cup semifinal exit, as they face Bangladesh in the first match of the three-match ODI series on Thursday.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is back at the helm, along with six other ODI specialists to take on a side that made the cricket world sit up and take notice by reaching the 2015 World Cup quarterfinals, where they were knocked out by an in-form Indian side. The series is a platform for the hosts to exact revenge for the World Cup defeat, which had turned ugly after the then ICC President Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh accused the umpires of favouring India.
As far as the Indian team is concerned, even a 3-0 result against the hosts will not be enough for the second-placed side to claim the number one spot in the ICC rankings, while a favourable outcome for the home team will boost its qualifying chances for the 2017 Champions Trophy.
But if you want a little in-depth look into the Indian squad for the series, click here for our list of ‘5 Things to Look Out for in the ODI Series vs Bangladesh’.
2. Mortaza Upbeat About Bangladesh’s Chances of Beating India
Bangladesh ODI skipper Mashrafe Mortaza says they are going into the three-match series opener with the belief that they have the wherewithal to beat India in Thursday’s game.
“I firmly believe India are favourites but when we get on the field, we don’t think who is favorite or who is not. I hope we can play our best cricket. After the 2007 World Cup, we started to believe that we can beat any team,” Mortaza said on the eve of the series-opener.
“We never lost our mental strength despite losing matches. Of course, if we are playing against a higher-ranked team they will be the favourites but we don’t think that we can’t beat them,” Mortaza added.
3. Indians Haven’t Forgiven Me for Sachin Wicket in WC: McGrath
Reliving one of his most cherished cricketing rivalries during his 14-year-old career, former Australian speedster Glenn McGrath said that the Indian fans still haven’t forgiven him for getting iconic Sachin Tendulkar out in the 2003 World Cup final.
Chasing a mammoth 360 for a win in Johannesburg, India crashed to 234 all out with McGrath drawing first blood after getting Tendulkar caught and bowled for 4 in the very first over of the innings.
“I had some great battles with Sachin. In fact, the Indians still haven’t forgiven me for getting him out in the 2003 World Cup final,” McGrath said in an interaction with ESPNcricinfo.
“Sachin hit me for a four in the first over and the next ball, I dug it in short and he served up an easy caught and bowled to me,” he added.
4. French Open Champion Wawrinka Beaten at Queen’s Club
French Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka was pulled back to earth by big-serving South African Kevin Anderson on the Queen’s Club grass as the Swiss bowed out of the Aegon Championships 7-6(4) 7-6(11) on Wednesday.
Anderson hurled down 22 aces, the last one on match point, to send Wawrinka spinning to his first loss since he beat world number one Novak Djokovic in spellbinding fashion in the Roland Garros final earlier this month.
“I’ve just played these guys a lot of times, and I think it gives me confidence, knowing the guy I beat today just won the French Open and I watched him playing and beat the best players in the world doing it,” said Anderson after the win.
5. Barcelona’s Neymar Named in Fraud Lawsuit
A Spanish judge has accepted a legal complaint filed by Brazilian investment fund DIS that alleges it was the victim of a fraud perpetrated in Barcelona’s signing of forward Neymar from Santos.
DIS, which owned 40 percent of Neymar’s rights when he was at Santos, alleges it was paid less than half the cash it was entitled to when the player agreed to join the Spanish and European champions in 2013.
2 Barcelona executives, Neymar, his father, Santos and two of the Brazilian club’s executives were all named in the lawsuit, according to a court statement published on Wednesday.
However, this is the first time that Neymar himself has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit linked to the transfer.
6. The Lalit Modi Saga, Why All This Fuss?
Now here’s one from our own newsroom.
To wrap up your Thursday morning sports bulletin, here’s a quick video for all our viewers who may share the same sentiment as us - why such a big fuss over Lalit Modi? If he’s really such a criminal why isn’t he being brought back to the country?
Tired of just asking the questions, Mendra Dorjey... lets loose.
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