BCCI reverts to home-away format
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) technical committee under the chairmanship of Sourav Ganguly decided to revert to the home-away format of the Ranji Trophy league matches. The BCCI had last year decided to host Ranji Trophy matches at neutral venues for the 2016-17 season after numerous complaints about home teams doctoring the pitches. However, most of the domestic captains gave the neutral venues format a thumbs down during the Captains Conclave in Mumbai earlier this year, when it became clear that the idea was a flop. There will be groups A, B, C and D with seven teams who will be playing six league games, with top two from each group advancing to the quarterfinals. The Duleep Trophy, he said, will be played with the pink ball like last year and most matches will be played under floodlights.
Shooter Sanjeev Rajput bags gold in KSS championship
Two-time Olympian Sanjeev Rajput stamped his class in the men's 50-metre Rifle 3 Positions event on the final day of the XVII Kumar Surendra Singh (KSS) Memorial shooting championship at Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range, comfortably winning the gold medal ahead of fellow India internationals Satyendra Singh and Chain Singh. Representing Haryana, Sanjeev shot 461 in the finals while silver medallist Satyendra ended on 453.4 and Chain claimed the bronze with an effort of 442.5. Both Satyendra and Chain represented the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU).
'Never tried to avoid taxes'
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, who appeared in a Madrid court in connection with a tax evasion case, told a Spanish judge that he had "never tried to avoid taxes". Ronaldo has been accused by the Spanish prosecutors of defrauding the authorities of almost 15 million Euros. According to a statement in Spanish released by his public relations firm, the 32-year-old Ronaldo told the judge: "I have never hidden anything, and never tried to avoid taxes," reports the New York Times. Ronaldo is accused of defrauding Spanish authorities of €14.7m (£12.95m) between 2011 and 2014. As per reports, the prosecutor's office, in a statement, said Ronaldo had knowingly used a "business structure" created in 2010 to hide his income in Spain from his image rights.
PKL debutants Gujarat crush Delhi
Gujarat Fortunegiants made a blazing debut as they routed Dabang Delhi 26-20 in the fifth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. Dishing out a defensive masterclass, Gujarat forced an all-out once in each half as they cruised to the big win. Star defenders Fazel Atrachali (four points) and Abozar Mohajermighani (two points)—both standing at either corners—made their presence felt in a tremendous fashion. Sukesh Hegde, Rakesh Narwal and Sachin bagged three raiding points each for Gujarat. R. Sriram's late show was the only bright spot for Delhi. Sriram bagged five points from just eight raids, while Anand Patil accumulated three touch points.
Chandimal to return for second Test against India
Newly-appointed Test captain Dinesh Chandimal will return for the second cricket Test against India starting at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed on Tuesday. Chandimal missed the opening match of the three-Test series at Galle as he was down with pneumonia. The wicket keeper-batsman was hospitalised on the eve of the opening game, which the hosts lost by 304 runs to trail the series 0-1. Veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who was the stand-in skipper for the first Test, is still recuperating from a finger injury.
Harikrishna holds Navara; rises to top in Biel chess festival
Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna vaulted to the tied top spot, after drawing his seventh round tie against Czech Grand Master David Navara in the 50th Biel chess festival. The World No. 20 Indian, playing with black pieces, was wary of the Czech's attacking prowess and started off on a defensive note to lead the game towards neutral territory after a mere 24 moves. Harikrishna had to be at his defensive best as the game saw both the players repeating moves thrice before they agreed to share the points. He will take on former two-time FIDE World Chess Champion and Ukrainian Grand Master Ruslan Ponomariov, in his second last game of this 10-man round-robin tournament.
Ashwin regains 2nd spot in ICC Test rankings
Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin regained the second spot in the bowlers' list while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja continued to hold on to the top spot in the latest Test rankings announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Ashwin, who is on 849 points, climbed one spot, pushing Sri Lanka captain Rangana Herath to the third position. India pacer Mohammad Shami has gained one slot to be ranked 23rd. Among the batsmen, Indian top-order star Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper Virat Kohli have managed to hold on to the fourth and fifth positions respectively thanks to their excellent form in the Galle Test.
Prannoy, Kashyap advance; Jayaram bows out of New Zealand Open
Indian shuttlers H.S. Prannoy and Parupalli Kashyap stormed into the second round of the New Zealand Open Grand Prix Gold after winning their respective opening rounds of the men's singles event. Fourth-seed Prannoy, who recently clinched US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament title, swept aside Indonesia's Shesar Hiren Rhustavito to post a comfortable 21-14, 21-16 win in a one-sided clash that lasted 36 minutes. Kashyap, on the other hand, took just 22 minutes to ease past Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia 21-5, 21-10 and make progress. Prannoy will now lock horns with Indonesia's Firman Abdul Kholik while Kashyap will cross swords with local shuttler Oscar Guo on Wednesday.
Upset with government, Indian Deaflympics team refuse to leave airport
The Indian continent of hearing impaired athletes that participated in the 23rd edition of the Summer Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey, refused to leave Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday morning as there was no one around to receive them or celebrate their success. The contingent of 46 athletes and support staff said they were upset with the government not welcoming their success in the games, which included winning four medals, including one gold. This is the best showing ever for the country in this category. It is also learned that the players wanted to speak to Sports Minister Vijay Goel but he paid no heed to their request.
Bangladesh tour unlikely unless pay dispute resolved: Steve Smith
Australian skipper Steve Smith has reiterated that the players are unlikely to tour Bangladesh unless the ongoing pay dispute between warring Cricket Australia and Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) will resolve. CA chief executive James Sutherland had earlier called on the ACA to enter into a period of intense negotiations over coming days in order to resolve the ongoing pay dispute between the two governing bodies in toto. Imposing a deadline on the stalled Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) negotiations, Sutherland said that the matter would be referred to independent arbitration if the pay dispute with the players remains unresolved by early next week, with CA also pledging to abide by the umpires' decision. Australia's tour to Bangladesh is scheduled to begin in three weeks, that is, from August 22.
