1. Debutant Jennings’ 100 Takes England to 288/5 on Day One of 4th Test vs India
Keaton Jennings impressed on his debut for England with a century, but off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin brought India back with a late three-wicket burst on the opening day of the fourth Test at Mumbai on Thursday.
England were cruising at 196/2 when they took tea but thereafter India reduced the visitors to 288 for five at stumps as Ashwin removed Moeen Ali (50) and Jennings (112) in the space of three balls and later got rid of Jonny Bairstow (14).
Ben Stokes (25) and Jos Buttler (18) were the unbeaten batsmen at close after an unfinished stand of 39 on a track that would be difficult to negotiate with passage of time.
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2. Dominant India Thrash Canada 4-0 in Junior Hockey World Cup Opener
Rated as strong favourites for the title, hosts India started their campaign on a resounding note spanking Canada 4-0 in their opening Pool D match of the Junior Hockey World Cup at the Major Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium at Lucknow on Thursday.
India were by far the better side on display and scored through Mandeep Singh (35th minute), Harmanpreet Singh (46th), Varun Kumar (60th) and Ajit Pandey (66th) to take the full three points from the match.
(Source: PTI)
3. Short on Star Power, IPTL Reaches India
After two intense legs in Tokyo and Singapore, the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) will come to Hyderabad on Friday for the final and decisive leg of the tournament.
Unlike the last two seasons, the IPTL falls short on star power with the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal not featuring this time.
However, star player of local team Indian Aces, Sania Mirza, said she is looking forward to play in her home town Hyderabad.
I am looking forward to go to Hyderabad. Actually the city has a very rich culture of sport, with amazing athletes coming from there. People follow the tennis all year round and have a deep knowledge of the sport in general. I really hope they come to support us.Sania Mirza
(Source: PTI)
4. Sachin Tendulkar Becomes Co-Owner of Premier Badminton League Team
Sachin Tendulkar ventured into the world of badminton on Thursday, becoming a co-owner of Premier Badminton League (PBL) franchise Bengaluru Blasters along with Telugu film stars Chiranjeevi and Nagrajuna, among others.
“Given the recent wave of success for India in badminton globally, it is right time to help grow the sport exponentially,” Tendulkar said.
Badminton is the epitome of fitness, flexibility, agility and skill and its adoption will contribute to India’s path to fitness. I’m excited to be a part of the Bengaluru Blasters team and wish them the very best for the upcoming season.Sachin Tendulkar
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5. Gilchrist Lifts World Billiards C'ship, Kothari's Run Ends
Multiple-time champion Peter Gilchrist added another feather to his cap as he pulled off a one-sided 1500-617 win against Indian national champion Sourav Kothari in the Long-Up Format final of IBSF World Billiards Championship at Bengaluru on Friday.
The Singapore-based champion did not allow Sourav to take lead in any of the visits to the green baize.
Gilchrist, literally, knocked Sourav out of contention in his 14th visit when he broke 354 points and then in his next visit scored a 150-break, taking his overall score to 855 against 205.
Sourav made a valiant effort to restore pride, but his break of 280 in his 28th visit did not make any difference in the match, with the score reading 588 against Gilchrist's 1299.
Gilchrist further extended his lead by posting a break of 110, with the scores at 1409 against Sourav's 588.
Gilchrist clinched the final in the 29th visit with a break of 27 points.
(Source: PTI)
6. Mkhitaryan Sparkles as Manchester United Reach Last 32 of Europa League
Manchester United are warming to the task in the Europa League as they booked a spot in the last 32 with a 2-0 win over Zorya Luhansk on a freezing night in Ukraine on Thursday.
Goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who made a mockery of his two-month exile from the starting lineup with a superb individual effort, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic secured an easy win that banished memories of their earlier group stage struggles.
The victory confirmed United a second place in Group A behind Turkish side Fenerbahce who ended Feyenoord's qualification hopes with a 1-0 away win over the Dutch side.
(Source: Reuters)