Category: Sports

** ICC Test Rankings: Jadeja becomes world No.1 all-rounder

Jadeja regained the top all-rounder spot from Jason Holder, who had held the position since February 2021

India’s Ravindra Jadeja climbed to the top spot in the ICC Test rankings for all-rounders on Wednesday after his match-winning performance against Sri Lanka in the opening Test in Mohali.

“Ravindra Jadeja’s performance at India’s recent Test win against Sri Lanka in Mohali has catapulted him to the no. 1 position in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings,” the ICC said in a statement.

His unbeaten 175 lifted him up to 17 places from 54th to 37th with the bat and he added nine wickets to move up to 17th with the ball.

His all-round contribution was enough for him to regain the top all-rounder spot from Jason Holder, who had held the position since February 2021.

** Remembering pioneers of Indian sports on International Women’s Day

When it comes to fighting against heavy odds and overcoming obstacles, Indian women have proved time and again that they are second to none. On the occasion of International Women’s Day let us look back at the achievements of four women who were the pioneers of women’s sports in independent India.

There were four women who represented India at the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki. They were Nilima Ghosh, Mary D’Souza Sequeira, Arati Saha and Dolly Nazir. The first two were track athletes and the second two were swimmers. Although they did not win any medals, what was admirable was their enthusiasm, passion to excel and eagerness to see that Indian women did not go unrepresented in world sport’s most important arena.

** ISSF World Cup: Rhythm, Anish win gold on final day, India top medals tally

Indian shooters won two medals on the final day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2022 in Cairo, Egypt on Monday.

The Indian team finished on the top of the medals tally with a total of seven medals comprising of four gold, two silver and one bronze.

In the last event of the ISSF World Cup, Rhythm Sangwan and Anish Bhanwala won the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team gold medal match against Thailand by defeating them 17-7.

** Ashwin goes past Kapil Dev’s 434 wickets; becomes India’s second-highest wicket-taker in Tests

Ashwin got to the mark with the wicket of Charith Asalanka in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Mohali

Indian off-spinner R. Ashwin on Sunday went past the legendary Kapil Dev’s 434 Test scalps to become the second highest wicket-taker for India in the longest format of the game, reaching the mark in his 85th match.

The 35-year-old Ashwin achieved the feat in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka. He began the match with 430 scalps and claimed two wickets in the first innings before adding three more in the second essay to cross Kapil’s mark.

Kapil had managed the feat in 131 matches. The legendary Anil Kumble tops the chart with 619 scalps which he claimed in 132 matches.

** Documentary on hockey Olympian Grahnandan Singh explores a Partition-era friendship

Bani Singh’s documentary ‘Taangh/Longing’ explores the life of her hockey champion father and the camaraderie he shared with his teammates on both sides of the Radcliffe Line

A frail old man leans heavily on his cane as he makes his way to a garden chair under a spreading tamarind tree. Those gnarled hands once held a hockey stick, those stooped shoulders once wore the rank of Commander in the Indian Navy. Grahnandan Singh or Nandy Singh was an old boy of Government College, Lahore, champion hockey player from the Punjab province of undivided India, Partition survivor, two-time Olympian, and keeper of a friendship that survived in the deep recesses of his heart for nearly 60 years.

“My father was a member of the Indian hockey team that won the gold in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. But I missed out on knowing him when he was a champion. It was only when he was fighting to stay afloat after a stroke that I met the champion,” says Bani Singh, Nandy’s daughter and the director of Taangh that was recently screened at Periyar Thidal as part of the 10th Chennai International Documentary and Short Film Festival.

Punjab

** Virat Kohli’s 100th Test: A look at his journey in whites so far

In the first 10 years of Test cricket, nobody has amassed as many centuries as Kohli did.

Virat Kohli has come a long way as a Test cricketer since his debut in 2011 against West Indies. The Delhi-lad did not have a good run in the first match as he could only score 19 runs. But after a decade-long journey, Kohli is now all set to play his 100th Test match in Mohali on March 4.

Having donned the white jersey in 99 Test matches, Kohli has scored 7962 runs at a stellar average of 50.39. Kohli led the Indian team in 68 Tests and won 40 matches. He has a wholesome win percentage of 58.82%.

Best five-Test records:

1. Kohli’s record of 20 Test centuries as skipper is the second-most for any player. Only Graeme Smith (25) is ahead of him.

2.  The former Indian captain’s 27 centuries since his debut are only equalled by Australia’s Steve Smith and are more than David Warner , Joe Root and Kane Williamson .

3. Kohli-led Indian team have won 24 Test matches at home.

4. Kohli also holds the record for most Test wins as Indian captain. Kohli led India to win 40 out of 68 matches

** Mumbai teen attempts record for batting longest, stays at crease for over 72 hours

19-year-old Siddarth Mohite passed compatriot Virag Mane’s 50-hour record, created in 2015, before batting for 72 hours and five minutes during a marathon net session

Eyeing a new world record for batting the longest, Mumbai teen Siddarth Mohite stayed at the crease for a whopping 72 hours and five minutes during a marathon net session and is now waiting for the Guinness Book of World Record to recognise the feat.

The 19-year-old Mohite passed compatriot Virag Mane’s 50-hour record, created in 2015, before batting for 72 hours and five minutes over the weekend.

** Rashmikaa, Humera pair triumphs Haryana Women’s ITF $15k tennis tournament

Hyderabad tennis players Shrivalli Rashmikaa and Humera Baharmus pair lifted the women’s doubles crown at the Haryana Women’s ITF $15k tennis tournament, in Gurugram on Saturday.

The talented youngsters, who were unseeded in the tournament, defeated top seeds Kovapitukted Punin of Thailand and Anna Ureke of Russia 6-3, 1-6, 10-3.

** Ind vs SL 3rd T20I | No escape from Shreyas for Sri Lanka as India completes sweep – February 27th, 2022

The No. 3 batter’s unbeaten 45-ball 73 takes the home team to yet another win with plenty to spare; visiting captain Shanaka’s quickfire knock of 74 goes in vain

There’s no stopping Shreyas Iyer. After hammering back-to-back half-centuries in the first two T20Is against Sri Lanka, the 27-year-old remained unbeaten on 73 off 45 deliveries as India completed a clean sweep, defeating the touring side by six wickets in the third T20I.

Chasing the target of 147 at the HPCA Stadium on Sunday, India captain Rohit Sharma opened the innings with Sanju Samson as Ishan Kishan was ruled out of the fixture after being hit on the helmet in the previous game.