Weekly Digest (April 19-25): From Jadeja’s heroics to Super League’s dramatic collapse

From Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round heroics that took Chennai Super Kings to the top of the IPL 2021 table to the dramatic collapse of the breakaway European Super League, here are the major sporting headlines from the week gone by.

CRICKET

After hammering an unbeaten 28-ball 62, Ravindra Jadeja picked 3 for 13 and effected a run out as Chennai Super Kings went top of the IPL 2021 table with a 69-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. (REPORT)

 

Mohammad Rizwan excelled with the bat once again as he struck an unbeaten 91 and Hasan Ali scalped four wickets as Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 24 runs to win the three-match T20 series. (REPORT)

Mithali Raj says the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand will be her last World Cup and that she will be looking to play in a home series before taking a final call on whether to continue playing international cricket. (REPORT)

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s speedster T. Natarajan has been ruled out of the IPL 2021. The 30-year-old will miss the tournament after his knee injury flared up again. (REPORT)

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli became the first player to reach 6000 IPL runs during the match against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai on Thursday. (REPORT)

 

MS Dhoni featured in his 200th game as captain of the Chennai Super Kings when he took to the field against Rajasthan Royals during an IPL 2021 match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Dhoni has led the franchise in all but one game during the 2012 Champions League T20, when he handed over the reins to deputy Suresh Raina. (REPORT)

The bat-dominated opening Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ended in a dull draw on Sunday with rain wiping out the final session at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. (REPORT)

Sachin Tendulkar recovered from COVID-19 on Saturday. (REPORT) Axar Patel also recovered from COVID-19. He joined the Delhi Capitals camp on Friday. (REPORT)

FOOTBALL

Manchester City claimed a record-equalling fourth successive League Cup triumph as Aymeric Laporte’s late header sealed a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. (REPORT)

 

All six English clubs dramatically abandoned plans to join a European Super League on Tuesday, imploding the breakaway project with Spanish and Italian counterparts within 48 hours of the announcement. (REPORT)

Jose Mourinho was sacked as manager of Tottenham Hotspur on Monday after 17 months in charge of the London club and six days before it will appear in the League Cup final. (REPORT)

RB Leipzig dashed Bayern Munich’s hopes of wrapping up Bundesliga title on Sunday with three games to spare when goals from Amadou Haidara and Emil Forsberg eased it to a 2-0 win over 10-man VfB Stuttgart. (REPORT)

Barcelona striker Jennifer Hermoso grabbed what could prove to be a vital away goal as her side drew 1-1 with Paris St Germain in the first leg of its UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final on Sunday. (REPORT)

Manchester United failed to find a way past a resolute Leeds United as the sides played out a goalless draw at Elland Road. (REPORT)

Manchester United hammered Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 and Arsenal beat Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 in the FA Women’s Super League as the battle for the final Champions League spot intensifies. (REPORT)

 

Turkey and Italy will kick off the opening match of the 2020 European Championships at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on the 11th of June. (REPORT)

Former Manchester United star Ryan Giggs has been charged with assault against two women, police and prosecutors said in statements. (REPORT)

Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, one of the leading figures in the breakaway European Super League project, will step down from his role at United at the end of 2021, the Premier League club said. (REPORT)

Several hundred Arsenal fans protested outside Emirates Stadium before the English Premier League match against Everton on Friday to call for owner Stan Kroenke to leave the club over its bid to join the Super League. (REPORT) Banners bearing slogans calling for the removal of Liverpool’s American ownership were on view outside Anfield. (REPORT)

 

Matteo Darmian was Inter Milan’s unlikely saviour once again as the defender came off the bench to score in a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona on Sunday that moved Antonio Conte’s side a step closer to the Serie A title. (REPORT)

Bengaluru FC’s AFC Cup play-off match, scheduled to be held on April 28, was indefinitely postponed as the preliminary game to decide its opponents is yet to take place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (REPORT)

TENNIS

Top-ranked Ashleigh Barty beat Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Porsche Grand Prix, her first title on clay since the 2019 French Open. (REPORT)

 

Novak Djokovic crashed out of his own tournament after Russia’s Aslan Karatsev beat him 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the Serbia Open final. (REPORT)

Novak Djokovic said he hopes it will not become mandatory for players to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to compete on the ATP circuit and that their freedom of choice should be supported. (REPORT)

BADMINTON

The alarming increase in the COVID-19 cases in New Delhi has forced the postponement of the India Open badminton tournament due to be held from May 11 to 16. (REPORT)

Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth feels the compulsory breaks in training that players have to endure due to quarantine requirements ahead of major events undoes all the hard work they put in ahead of the tournament. (REPORT)

India shuttler Parupalli Kashyap feels the postponement of India Open — an Olympics qualifying event which was scheduled to be held in Delhi from May 11 — is disheartening. (REPORT)

SHOOTING

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has announced that it would host two selection trials to finalise the shooters eligible to compete in the Khelo India Games to be staged in November. (REPORT)

HOCKEY

Noted statistician BG Joshi passed away due to COVID-related complications in Sehore, Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. (REPORT)

The FIH Hockey Pro League matches between India and Great Britain, scheduled for May 8-9 in London, were on Wednesday postponed following the U.K. government’s decision to add India to the travel ‘red list’. (REPORT)

WRESTLING

The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) selection committee has chosen seasoned wrestler Amit Dhankar in place of youngster Sandeep Singh Mann in men’s 74kg freestyle category for the World Olympic Games qualifying tournament to be held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from May 6 to 9. (REPORT)

BOXING

India’s Amit Panghal (52kg) won the bronze medal at the Governor’s Cup in St Petersburg, Russia, after going down to world champion and familiar foe Shakhobidin Zoirov in the semifinals. (REPORT)

Sachin, the lone male boxer from the country to reach the final, produced another sterling performance to beat Kazakhstan’s Yerbolat Sabyr and take the men’s 56kg title in the World youth boxing championships. (REPORT)

 

Indian women boxers, featuring in seven of the 10 summit clashes, performed magnificently to secure seven crowns in the World youth boxing championships. (REPORT)

TABLE TENNIS

Sharath Kamal feels Manika Batra has enhanced her doubles game in quick time, putting the duo in good stead ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. (REPORT)

 

ATHLETICS

The planned training-cum-competition tour of elite track and field athletes – including Neeraj Chopra and Shivpal Singh – to Turkey was “suspended” due to concerns of hard quarantine upto 14 days upon arrival in the country. (REPORT)

Star sprinter Hima Das is confident that the Indian women’s 4x100m relay team, of which she is a part, can qualify for the Tokyo Olympics during the World Athletics Relay in Poland next month. (REPORT)

MOTORSPORT

The Japanese Grand Prix will remain at Suzuka Circuit until at least 2024, Formula 1 announced on Saturday. (REPORT)

The South India Rally scheduled for April 23-25 has been postponed to June in the wake of fresh restrictions imposed by the government due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. (REPORT)

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton expressed his concerns about the alarming COVID-19 situation in India. (REPORT)

George Russell apologised publicly to Formula One rival Valtteri Bottas on Monday for his behaviour after the pair collided at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. (REPORT)