1. Jitu Shoots Silver at World Cup in Italy
Ace Indian shooter Jitu Rai shrugged off the disappointment of a poor Olympic campaign by clinching a silver medal in the 50m pistol event of the ISSF World Cup Final.
Jitu shot a score of 188.8 to finish behind China's Wei Pang (190.6). Italy's Giuseppe Giordano settled for the bronze medal with a score of 170.3 in the final.
"After Rio Olympics, I competed for the first time today at Italy. My performance at Rio was not good. (Rio 2016 Olympics ke baad maine aaj pehla match khela Italy mai. Rio mai acha nahi raha tha mera performance)," Jitu wrote on twitter.
2. Raina Returns to ODI Squad, Ashwin, Jadeja, Shami Rested
Suresh Raina staged a comeback for the first three ODI against New Zealand while three senior players including off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin were rested keeping a gruelling season in mind.
Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad however made it clear that Raina's inclusion is a short term move primarily keeping in mind his ability to bowl tight off-breaks in sub-continental conditions. The other two seniors rested were Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami, who are expected to play a significant part in the upcoming Test series against England and Australia.
3. SC Slams BCCI, Gives Friday Deadline to Agree to Changes
The BCCI faced the Supreme Court's wrath for its "defiant attitude" in implementing the directions of the Justice R M Lodha committee to reform cricket in the country and "hurriedly" disbursing around Rs 400 crore to state bodies.
The apex court decided to pass an order on the issue of implementation of directions of the committee headed by former CJI Lodha on Friday, after the counsel for Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined to give an "unconditional undertaking by tomorrow" that it will seek instructions to stop funds to the state bodies and abide by the panel's recommendations.
"You must not create a defiant attitude. This is not going to lead you anywhere," a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said, emphasising that transparency, fairness and objectivity were most important aspects in all decisions including disbursal of funds by BCCI.
4. Gambhir Has a Role to Play in Home Test Season: Bangar
Injuries to KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan have brought Gautam Gambhir back into the picture and batting coach Sanjay Bangar says the Delhi batsman will be a vital cog in the Indian Test team in long home season.
"Gautam Gambhir is a quality player. What he has done really well for the time he was out of the team was that he kept on performing for his (IPL) franchise and the state side. And when he got his opportunity in the Duleep Trophy, he was among the top run scorers. I think the untimely injury to KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan makes it sure there is a place for him. He has a proven record against spin bowling. And the number of Test matches we are going to play in India, he becomes a very important player at the top of the order," said Bangar.
India play against England, Bangladesh (one off game) and Australia after the ongoing three-match Test series against .
5. Spain Held 1-1 in Italy in World Cup Qualifier
Spain appeared to have started its new era better than Italy but the Azzurri maintained their unbeaten home record in World Cup qualifiers with a 1-1 draw in Turin on Thursday.
Vitolo scored in the 55th minute following a rare mistake from veteran Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon but Daniele De Rossi converted a penalty with eight minutes remaining after Eder was tripped by Sergio Ramos, and preserved his team's formidable home record. Italy has won 43 World Cup qualifiers, drawing the other seven.
"We made a good impression here," Spain coach Julen Lopetegui said. "Italy is strong and, if you let them, their players can hurt you. ... I am satisfied, we showed character and ambition. We are on the right path."
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