Out-of-favour veteran Cheteshwar Pujara continued his good form in the English County championship with a second successive hundred for Sussex against Worcestershire in an away match but couldn’t stop his team from being enforced follow-on. Pujara scored 109 off 206 balls, his 52nd first-class century, following his 201 not out against Derbyshire in his first game of the season. Pujara, whose knock was laced with 16 boundaries, took Sussex to 269 all-out in reply to Worcestershire’s first innings score of 491, riding on skipper Brett de Oliviera’s 169. Pujara was 85 batting on the second day and completed his hundred with a pull shot in this second division encounter being played at the New Road ground.
Pant fined, Amre banned for a game
Following the altercation with on-field umpires, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has been fined 100 per cent of his match fee while assistant coach Pravin Amre has been slapped a one-match ban and copped 100 percent of his match-fee. Shardul Thakur too has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee. The incident occurred in the last over of the match against Rajasthan Royals when Rovman Powell hit Obed McCoy for a third consecutive six, chasing 36 in the last over. The third delivery was high full toss which Powell deposited into the mid-wicket stand. The square-leg umpire didn’t signal a no ball. The Delhi Capitals demanded a referral for a waist-high no-ball which was declined by the on-field umpires. Pant even suggested his batters to walk off the field. Capitals assistant coach Shane Watson tried to calm down Pant but Amre walked on to the field to talk to the umpires. Pant later conceded that it was mistake to send Amre on to the field but claimed Capitals were also wronged.
Kolkata, Ahmedabad to host IPL playoffs
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will stage the qualifier 2 and the final (on May 29), while the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host the qualifier 1 and eliminator of IPL-2022. As of now, the BCCI has decided to allow 100% crowd capacity during the IPL playoffs. There was speculation that the BCCI will keep the playoffs in Mumbai and reduce the crowd capacity due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country, but the Board has decided to wait and watch. The venues for IPL playoffs were formally decided at the BCCI’s Apex Council meeting. The league stage of the tournament will conclude in Maharashtra on May 22, after which the four teams will travel to Kolkata and Ahmedabad to keep the biobubble intact.
V-P opens Khelo India Univ Games
Exhorting the youth of India to make sport a part of their lifestyle, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu opened the 2nd Khelo India University Games at a colourful ceremony in Bengaluru on Sunday. Naidu said the New Education Policy has put a lot of emphasis on sport and it wants the state governments to reward sportspersons be it in admissions or promotions. Applauding the efforts of the Karnataka government and hosts Jain University, the vice-president asked the participants to make the best use of their chances to be the best.
Journalist banned for threatening Saha
The BCCI has banned journalist Boria Majumdar for two years for allegedly threatening India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha after its Apex Council in the meeting reviewed the probe committee's report on the matter. “The probe committee had recommended a five-year ban for him, but the Apex Council kept it to two years.”
Boxer Amir Khan robbed at gunpoint
Former world champion boxer Amir Khan has revealed he was robbed at gunpoint in London. Khan, 35, said he and his wife Faryal were safe after the incident, in which he had a watch stolen after being confronted by two men with a gun. “Just had my watch taken off me at gun point in East London, Leyton,” the British fighter tweeted.
Pollard retires from international cricket
West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket though he will continue to freelance in private T20 and T10 leagues across the globe. The 34-year old Pollard, who made his ODI debut back in 2007, fittingly played his last series against India, a country which has become his second home due to his long association with Mumbai Indians. He was a part of the 2012 ICC T20 World Cup winning West Indies squad. He never played Test cricket.
Sharapova is pregnant with first child
Former women's tennis world No. 1 Maria Sharapova is pregnant with her first child, the Russian announced on her 35th birthday. The five-time Grand Slam singles champion has been engaged since December 2020 to British businessman Alexander Gilkes. "Precious beginnings!!! Eating birthday cake for two has always been my specialty," she captioned the photo on Instagram. In the picture, Sharapova - who lives in the United States - is seen touching her stomach and posing on a beach. Sharapova followed the initial message up posting a thank you to those of her 4.2 million subscribers on Instagram who had congratulated her on the news. “Waking up in paradise and to so many beautiful messages,” she wrote. Sharapova won all four Grand Slam singles titles - including the French Open twice - before retiring in 2020.
