Sports World, December 19 Global Headlines: West Indies And England In ODI Action; IPL Player Auction Sees Record Deals In Dubai; South Africa Beat India In Gqeberha - As It Happened

It was a busy day with the IPL 2024 player auction hogging all the limelight and so it did with the likes of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc going for 20+crore deals. In ODI cricket, Team India lost to South Africa by eight wickets in the 2nd ODI in Gqeberha. In Pro Kabaddi League, Haryana Steelers dished out a splendid all-around show to earn a gritty 31-29 victory over Gujarat Giants and in a way became the first team in season 10 to register four successive wins. Follow the scores and updates of all the action on Tuesday, December 19, 2023, here. (Cricket News | Football News | IPL Auction Highlights | December 18 Highlights) 

11:59pm: And That's A Wrap!
And that concludes today's action in the sporting world. Tune in tomorrow for similar updates from cricket, football, tennis and much more.

10:01pm: Manchester City In FIFA Club World Cup Action Tonight
English Premier League and European champions Manchester City are in FIFA Club World Cup action tonight against Japanese side, Urawa Reds.

9:15pm: IPL Auction Update
More than eight hours after it began, the IPL 2024 Player Auction is done and dusted, and each team has picked the big guns it deemed necessary. Check out the complete list of sold and unsold players here.  

8pm: IND All Out For 211
After some resistance from the lower order, the Indian innings finally folds for a total of 211. The Men In Blue are bowled out in 46.2 overs, with left-arm seamer Nandre Burger dealing the most damage (10-0-30-3). Sai Sudharsan top-scored for the visitors with 62, his second consecutive half-century in the series.

6:35 PM: IND Vs RSA Update
India are three wickets down and have scored 131 runs off 30 overs in the first innings. Young Sai Sudharsan was the third man to be dismissed - he scored 62.  Follow the match live here.

6 PM: IPL Auction - Who Is Sameer Rizvi?

Among the high-profile 20-crore-plus buys of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins at the Indian Premier League 2024 mini-auction, there was another deal that caught the layviewer's eye. It was that of the 20-year-old Sameer Rizvi, who was bought by Chennai Super Kings for INR 8.4 crore. Who is this uncapped player and why was he bought for such a helfty amount?

Find out in our profile here.

4:05 PM: IND Vs RSA, 2nd ODI Toss Update

South Africa have won the toss and chosen to bat first in the second ODI against India in Gqeberha. Rinku Singh is making his ODI debut, replacing Shreyas Iyer in the XI. Follow the match live at our blog here.  

2:30 PM: Cummins Becomes Most Expensive Buy In IPL History

Australia skipper Pat Cummins became the most expensive Indian Premier League buy in history on December 19, 2023, when his services were secured by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 20.50 Crore at the IPL 2024 Player Auction. Sunrisers, who had spent big on Travis Head earlier in the day, went toe-to-toe with Royal Challengers Bangalore, pipping them to the finish line in a record deal.

Read more here.

1:20 PM: IPL 2024 Possible Date Revealed 

Keeping up with the Indian Premier League 2024 theme, the potential date for the 2024 tournament has been revealed. The competition could begin on March 22, 2024, and go on until the end of May. Final details, however, will be confirmed in alignment with the Indian General Election. 

Read more here. 

12:30 PM: Half Hour Till IPL 2024 Auction 

Being held for the first time outside India, the IPL 2024 Mini Auction will witness 333 players go under the hammer in a bid to bag a contract with one of the ten franchises. Only, those ten teams have just 77 slots available between them! 

Read where the teams stand with their retained and released lists here. 

12:00 PM: The Day Ahead 

December 19 had plenty in store in terms of sporting entertainment, especially for fans of cricket. Starting today, the American Premier League will bring T20 action to the States while in the neighbouring Caribbean, West Indies will face England in the fourth ODI of their bilateral series. Before that, however, India will take on South Africa in Gqeberha while in Dubai, 333 players will go under the hammer in the IPL 2024 Mini Auction! 

11:00 AM: Fernando Diniz's Fluminense Through To FIFA CWC Final

A goal each from Jhon Arias and John Kennedy helped Fernando Diniz's Fluminense qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Final, where they will face either Manchester City or Urawa Red Diamonds! 

10:00 AM: ICYMI - Argentina Celebrate World Cup Win Anniversary 

Argentina are currently basking in the celebrations of completing a year since their iconic FIFA World Cup win over France in Qatar a year ago. Lionel Messi, the star of the show in the Middle East, was serenaded in stone, 12 months after his heroics, with a new mural paying him tribute. 

9:00 AM: Euro Football Round-up 

UEFA Competitions - The day before witnessed the revelation of knockout ties in the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and the UEFA Europa Conference League. Among the highlights were Barcelona's impending bout against Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain's upcoming battle with Real Sociedad, and Arsenal's long-awaited return to the UCL knockouts with Porto on the opposite side of the draw. 

Serie A - Charged by Luis Muriel's second-half wonder-strike, Atalanta BC bounced back from a goal down to beat Salernitana 4-1. Muriel restored parity early on after the interval with a sensational volley from outside the box after Lorenzo Pirola had given Salernitana an early lead. Mario Pasalic put Atalanta ahead soon after while Charles De Ketelaere scored and assisted a goal each late on to seal the points. 

La Liga - Surprise league leaders Girona continued their reign on top of the Spanish league table, thanks to their 3-0 win over Deportivo Alaves on Monday night. Striker Artem Dovbyk scored twice for Girona, either side of a goal from attacker Portu, as Michel's outfit went clear atop the summit. 

Primera Liga - Sporting Club beat rivals FC Porto on Monday night to go top of the league after 14 games played. Ruben Amorim's men scored twice, once in the first half and once in the second, and were assisted in their quest by Porto's Pepe receiving a red card with barely five minutes of the second half played. 

Preview!

Hello and welcome to our live blog coverage of today's sports news and events. The IPL 2024 player auction in Dubai is where everyone will be training their gaze, as top cricketers like Shardul Thakur, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc are up for grabs. Meanwhile, the Indian men's cricket team will look to seal a series victory with another convincing win in the second ODI against South Africa. Elsewhere, the American Premier League will begin in Houston, Texas.