1. Bangalore Beat Delhi, Qualify for IPL Play-offs
Royal Challengers Bangalore grabbed the last available spot in the IPL Play-offs with a six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils as Virat Kohli continued his superlative batting show by smashing 54 in the chase.
It was the RCB bowlers that set up the easy win by restricting Daredevils to a modest 138 for eight with leg-break bowler Yuzvendra Chahal (3/32) taking three wickets and Chris Gayle (2/11) scalping two batsmen in a single over.
RCB took control of match with smart bowling and overhauled the target with 11 balls to spare as Kohli anchored the chase with his unbeaten 54-run knock. His well-calculated innings came off 45 balls and had six shots to the fence.
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2. Spinners Guide KKR Into IPL 9 Play-offs
Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav sizzled with the ball as two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders rode on its spin attack to advance into the play-offs of the ongoing Indian Premier League with a 22-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Defending 172-run target on a slow and turning Eden Gardens pitch, Narine (3/26) returned his best figures of the season and was ably supported by left-arm chinaman Yadav (2/28) as Sunrisers could only muster 149 for eight.
Both KKR and Sunrisers finished their campaign on 16 points from 14 games, which was enough for both the teams to qualify for the play-offs.
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3. Pooja Knocked Out, No Olympic Quota for Indian Women Boxers
Indian women boxers failed to secure a single Olympic quota berth at the AIBA World Championships after Pooja Rani (75kg) bowed out of the event with a second-round defeat.
Pooja, faced with 2012 world champion Savannah Marshall of Britain, went down 0-3 in a lopsided contest to end India’s quest for Rio quota berths in the event.
Earlier, five-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and L Sarita Devi (60kg) had also exited after losing in the second round of an event where 12 slots in three Olympic categories are up for grabs.
Read: Mary Kom May Still Make Rio Cut, But Boxing’s Loss If She Doesn’t?
4. Spotlight on Krunal for Zimbabwe, Shreyas Iyer for WI tour
The focus will be on IPL performers like Krunal Pandya and Karun Nair for the short tour of Zimbabwe while Mumbai youngster Shreyas Iyer’s Ranji Trophy exploits may get rewarded with a place in the West Indies-bound Test team when selectors announce the squads for the two assignments later today.
The short limited-overs series in Zimbabwe may feature captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as it could be his last assignment this season given that India are set to play 17 Test matches starting with a four-Test series in the Caribbean. In case Dhoni also asks for rest, Ajinkya Rahane is expected lead the new-look side.
The four-Test assignment for Kohli in the Caribbean is expected to feature tried and tested faces. Kohli, Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma are some of the certainties in the squad, while the place for extra batsman might go to Iyer, who has amassed 1321 runs at an average of 73.38 in the current Ranji Trophy season having scored 809 runs in the previous one.
5. Anurag Thakur Takes Over as Newest BCCI President
Anurag Thakur was unanimously elected as the new BCCI President, while Ajay Shirke was chosen as Secretary in a smooth change of guard at a time when the world’s richest Board is sailing through choppy waters.
The 41-year-old Thakur replaced Shashank Manohar who quit the position to take up the ICC chairman’s job. The Maharashtra Cricket Association chief and business magnate Shirke expectedly filled in the Secretary’s post which was left vacant by Thakur’s resignation.
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10 Big Changes Proposed By New BCCI President Anurag Thakur
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