Sports World: Rafael Nadal Loses; India Vs Pakistan Highlight Of T20 World Cup 2024 Group Stage; Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Likely To Make T20I Return - As It Happened

Australia resumed batting against Pakistan on Day 3 of their third Test match, aiming to cut as much as possible into Pakistan's 197-run lead. Later in the day, Rafael Nadal lost to Jordan Thompson in the Brisbane International quarter-finals. In the evening, the India women's national cricket team beat the Australia women's national cricket team in the first of three T20Is. In the days to follow, the Dakar Rally will commence, followed by other big-ticket events, such as the Australian Open, the AFC Asian Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations, and the U-19 World Cup. The build-up to those continued in the early days of the new year. Here are the highlights from the sports world on January 5, 2024. (Cricket News | AUS vs PAK Scorecard)

11:00 pm: Dabang Delhi Elbow Out Patna Pirates In One-Point PKL Thriller

Powered by Ashu Malik’s 10-point effort, Dabang Delhi scored a thrilling 38-37 win over Patna Pirates in their Pro Kabaddi League match in Mumbai on Friday, according to reports from PTI. The win also lifted Delhi to the second place in the table with 35 points. In a blistering first-half performance, Dabang Delhi inflicted two All-outs on the Pirates for a 10-point advantage.

10:30 pm: India Women Beat Australia By 9 Wickets In 1st T20I

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur invited Australian women to bat first after winning the toss. Renuka Thakur Singh and Titas Sadhu destroyed the Aussie top-order and took four wickets early. But young talent Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry added 79 runs for the fifth wicket to post a respectable total of 141 runs on the board. Player of the match Titas Sadhu took four wickets in the match. Indian openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana toyed with Australian bowlers and with a 137-run opening stand, turned the match totally in India's favour. With a 9-wicket win in the first match, India take the lead of 1-0 in the three-game T20I series.

9:30 pm: IOA Appoints Raghuram Iyer As Its CEO

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday appointed Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals' former official Raghuram Iyer as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a year after it was due and following repeated reminders from the IOC. Read more here

9:00 pm: Ultimate Kho Kho: Telugu Yoddhas Beat Chennai Quick Guns

Telugu Yoddhas became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the ongoing Ultimate Kho Kho after their 38-30 win over Chennai Quick Guns in Cuttack on Friday, according to PTI. Rahul Mandal turned out to be the star for the Yoddhas, claiming 10 points and topping the attacking chart.

8:20 pm: India vs Pakistan Fixture Confirmed For T20 World Cup 2024

The highly anticipated encounter between India and Pakistan will take place on June 9 at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in New York.

The two teams have previously met at the tournament seven times: twice in 2007, including the Final, in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2021, and 2022. Only in 2009 and 2010 did they not compete in the prestigious Men's T20 event.

8:10 pm: ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Fixtures Revealed

The schedule for the ninth edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup has been released, with the event being co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States from June 1 to 29, 2024. The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five, with the top two teams progressing to the Super Eights:

Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and the USA

Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland and Oman

Group C: New Zealand, the West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea

Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Nepal

7:40 pm: Rafael Nadal Lose Against Jordan Thompson In Brisbane International

Rafael Nadal suffered a serious blow upon his return to action after he was dumped out of the Brisbane International 2024 by home favourite Jordan Thompson. The Spaniard exited at the quarter-final stage, having previously beaten Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler in the same competition. Read more here

7:00 pm: UWW Awaiting IOA's Confirmation To Grant Recognition To New WFI

According to reports from PTI, United World Wrestling chief Nenad Lalovic wants all stakeholders, including the WFI and IOA, to cooperate so that Indian grapplers are not inconvenienced by uncertainty prevailing in the sport and can enter international competitions in the crucial Olympic year. Lalovic, in his letter to the IOA ad-hoc panel in charge of wrestling, said UWW is willing to give recognition to the new Wrestling Federation of India if the Indian Olympic Association gives a "formal confirmation".

6:40 pm: IND-W Bowl First Against AUS-W In 1st T20I

India women's captain Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and decided to bowl first against Australian women in the first T20I match in Mumbai.

Teams:

India Women (Playing XI): Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur(c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh(w), Amanjot Kaur, Pooja Vastrakar, Shreyanka Patil, Renuka Thakur Singh, Titas Sadhu

Australia Women (Playing XI): Alyssa Healy(w/c), Beth Mooney, Tahlia McGrath, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Phoebe Litchfield, Grace Harris, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Megan Schutt, Darcie Brown

6:20 pm: Yuki Bhambri-Robin Haase Pair In Brisbane International Semifinals

According to PTI, India's Yuki Bhambri and his Dutch partner Robin Haase on Friday entered the semifinals of the Brisbane International ATP Tour tournament, beating the American pair of Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow in straight sets.

6:18 pm: Pankaj Advani To Participate In All India Snooker Open

Multiple-time world champion Pankaj Advani will be among the prominent names to take part in the All India Snooker Open to be organised at the National Sports Club of India here from January 6-19, according to reports from PTI. The tournament, named Baulkline 3.0, has a prize money of Rs 18.5 lakhs and will also feature last year's winner Laxman Rawat, runner-up Aditya Mehta and national champion Saurav Kothari, who won the inaugural edition in 2022. 

6:00 pm: Oscar Pistorius Out On Parole

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison on parole and is now at home, South Africa's Department of Corrections said Friday. Read more here

5:20 pm: ICC Awards 2023 – Shortlists

The winners of the ICC Awards 2023 will be announced later in January 2024. The nominees for the various awards of the ICC are mentioned below;

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year - Pat Cummins (Australia), Travis Head (Australia), Ravindra Jadeja (India), Virat Kohli (India)

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year - Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), Beth Mooney (Australia), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England)

ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Year - R Ashwin (India), Travis Head (Australia), Usman Khawaja (Australia), Joe Root (England)

ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year - Shubman Gill (India), Virat Kohli (India), Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand), Mohammed Shami (India)

ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year - Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Ashleigh Gardner (Australia), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), Nat Sciver-Brunt (England)

ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year - Mark Chapman (New Zealand), Alpesh Ramjani (Uganda), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Suryakumar Yadav (India)

ICC Women’s T20I Cricketer of the Year - Chamari Athapaththu (Sri Lanka), Sophie Ecclestone (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Ellyse Perry (Australia)

ICC Emerging Men’s Cricketer of the Year - Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka), Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand)

ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year - Marufa Akter (Bangladesh), Lauren Bell (England), Darcey Carter (Scotland), Phoebe Litchfield (Australia)

5:11 pm: Melbourne Stars Players Sam Harper Stable After Receiving Blow To Head, Taken To Hospital

Big Bash League side Melbourne Stars wicketkeeper Sam Harper was hospitalised after taking a blow on the head during a training session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. The 27-year-old was conscious and in a stable condition. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance and will undergo scans overnight. Harper's club said in a statement that they will provide updates about the player's health as and when they get the reports.

4:40 pm: Ranji Trophy 2024 Update

The 2024 season of Ranji Trophy, India's premier red-ball domestic cricket competition, has kicked off today. Teams are playing at venues across the country for what promises to be a fascinating season fuelled by well-entrenched rivalries. Among other games, Mumbai are taking on Bihar in Patna and scored 235 runs for the loss of nine wickets by the end of Day 1.   

3 pm: IND Vs AFG T20s Team Selection

For the first time in over a year, the senior duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli could play T20Is, having reportedly made themselves available for selection. It remains to be seen whether they are picked in the India squad for the T20Is against Afghanistan. The Ajit Agarkar-led panel is likely to announce the squad today.

1:20 pm: IND Vs RSA - Series Review

India, with their seven-wicket victory in Cape Town, scripted history as they had never won a Test match at Newlands before this. The win levelled the series 1-1 against South Africa and took Rohit Sharma's men to the top of the WTC standings. Read our series review here.

12:45 pm: Stumps In Sydney

The Australia vs Pakistan Test in Sydney saw a dramatic last session on the third day. Despite losing their last five wickets for just 10 runs, Australia wrested control of the match by taking seven PAK wickets for just 68 runs. At the end of Day 3, the visitors lead by 82 runs with only three wickets in hand. 

11:30 am: BCCI Bans Odisha Cricketer For Age Fraud

Age fraud has come back to haunt Indian cricket as Odisha's Sumit Sharma has been barred from participating in domestic tournaments after the BCCI found discrepancies in the player's documents. Read our report here.

10:05am: Italian Cup - Juventus Enter QFs

Juventus overcame an early error and came back from a goal down to rout last-placed Serie A club Salernitana 6-1 and reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals. The Bianconeri will face Frosinone next week. An errant pass from Juventus defender Federico Gatti led to a goal for Chukwubuikem Ikwuemesi 59 seconds in. The Bianconeri then struck back with scores from Fabio Miretti, Andrea Cambiaso, Daniele Rugani, Kenan Yildiz and Timothy Weah — plus an own goal from Salernitana defender Dylan Bronn.

9:30 am: FA Cup Update

Everton held on for a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace in the third round of the FA Cup, despite going down to 10 men when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was sent off in the second half. The Premier League teams will meet again in a replay at Goodison Park to determine who advances to the next round.

8:24 am: AUS Vs PAK Update

Australia lost three wickets in the morning of Day 3, in the third Test against Pakistan being played in Syndey. The score currently reads 220/5 in 90 overs, with Alex Carey and Mitchell Marsh. Marnus Labuschagne scored a half-century (60 off 147 balls) before departing and Steve Smith got to 38 when he was caught by Babar Azam off Mir Hamza's bowling. The Aussies are replying to Pakistan's 313 in the first innings, in what is David Warner's farewell Test.