1. Bangladesh Make Australia Fight Hard for Victory
In-from opening batsman Usman Khawaja struck an impressive half century as Australia overcame a mighty scare due to a middle-order batting collapse to eventually beat Bangladesh by three wickets and bounce back in their WT20 campaign on Monday.
Australia, who needed to win to remain in contention after losing to New Zealand in their opener, were cruising along nicely before suffering a batting collapse and they had to scamper at the end to chase down the target of 157 with nine balls to spare at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Click here for full match report.
‘We Have to do Better,’ Says Steve Smith After Beating Bangladesh
2. Pakistan’s Hafeez & Wahab Riaz Doubtful For Key Game v New Zealand
Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz and batsman Mohammad Hafeez are doubtful starters in a key World Twenty20 match against unbeaten New Zealand on Tuesday.
Left-armer Riaz was hit by a ball on the head during a training session on Monday while Hafeez has pain in the right knee. The Pakistan Cricket Board says in a medical bulletin that Riaz was hospitalized and later given the all-clear. It adds that his fitness will be assessed on Tuesday.
Hafeez had complained of knee pain for the last two days and the PCB says “it is likely that he would not be able to take part in the match against the Black Caps.”
3. Afridi to be Sacked After World T20: PCB Chief
Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi will be replaced as Pakistan’s T20 captain after the World T20 in India, PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan announced on Monday, while hinting his days as a player were also numbered.
PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan told reporters in Lahore on his return from Kolkata on Monday that the board and Afridi had a understanding that he would retire after the World Cup.
“He is captain till the World Cup under this understanding and he has said he will retire after the event. Even if he changes his mind and wants to carry on we will have to see whether he can be picked as a player or not,” Khan said.
4. Anand Beats Aronain to Jump to Joint Lead in Candidates’
Viswanathan Anand proved his true mettle yet again as he outclassed Levon Aronian in a long-drawn game in the ninth round of the Candidates Chess tournament on Monday.
Looking for a victory desperately with white pieces, Anand’s plan came good as the opening, middlegame and eventually the endgame panned out well for his third victory of the event wherein he was written off as a favourite.
With 5.5 points in his kitty from nine games now in what was conceived as the biggest challenge of the year, Anand shares the lead with overnight joint leader Sergey Karjakin of Russia. The Indian ace is now in excellent position to play a third match with Magnus Carlsen of Norway for the World Championship.
5. Chawrasia Rises to Career-Best World No. 151 Ranking
The long-awaited win at the Hero Indian Open has catapulted Indian golfer SSP Chawrasia to a career-best World Ranking of 151 and also earned him a two-year European Tour Card exemption.
The 37-year-old Chawrasia rose 92 places from his ranking of 243 the week before. It was also his third European Tour win –- all of them co-sanctioned with Asian Tour –- and tied him with Arjun Atwal with three European Tour wins. Only Jeev Milkha Singh with four wins has more.
The win also put Chawrasia into a category earning him an exemption into the European Tour this year and following two seasons. Chawrasia earlier played as a fully exempt member from 2008 to 2014 by virtue of his earlier wins in 2008 Indian Masters and 2011 Avantha Masters.
6. Djokovic Wants More Money Than Female Players
Tennis World No.1 Novak Djokovic believes that male tennis players should earn more money than their female counterparts, considering the fact that more people watch their matches.
“I think that our men’s tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches. I think that’s one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded more. Women should fight for what they think they deserve and we should fight for what we think we deserve,” said Djokovic.
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