The big story: The Indian juggernaut rolls on
Despite Bangladesh’s stubborn resistance, India wrapped up the only Test in Hyderabad with a 208-run win on Monday. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja picked up four wickets each while pacer Ishant Sharma was rewarded for his excellent display with a couple.
The win also gave India’s sixth straight Test series win, having won in Sri Lanka [2-1], South Africa at home [3-0], West Indies away [2-0], along with their recent triumphs against New Zealand [3-0 whitewash] and England [4-0].
Virat Kohli’s men, currently ranked No.1 in the world, have now gone 20 Tests unbeaten, equaling the record set between 1977-’80. Australia will be arriving in India at the end of the month to play the four-Test Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Other top stories
Cricket
- India women crushed Zimbabwe by nine wickets in their World Cup qualifier match. Leg-spinner Poonam Yadav spun a web around the Zimbabwean batters, dismissing them for just 60. Yadav finished with figures of 5/19.
- England have named Joe Root as Alastair Cook’s successor in Tests. Ben Stokes will take over as his deputy.
- Irfan Pathan starred in West Zone’s crushing eight-wicket win against North Zone. Needing just 108 to win, Parthiv Patel’s side cruised home with 7.2 overs to spare. Pathan finished with figures of 3/10.
- Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has hinted at expanding the Big Bash League with more teams in the upcoming seasons.
- Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq lamented that his side is not playing the standard of cricket that ‘the world is demanding’ in a ESPNCricinfo interview. The former Pakistan skipper also advocated for one captain across formats.
- England pacer Stuart Broad attributed the Brisbane Test of his side’s disastrous 2013-’14 Ashes contributing towards ‘making him as a cricketer’. Broad coped with a torrent of abuse from the Australian media and public before the Test, and scalped a five-wicket haul on the first day.
Football
- Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri suggested that he could drop key players before their next English Premier League fixture. The Foxes currently lie dangerously outside the relegation zone.
- Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger stated that playmaker Mesut Ozil was “lacking in confidence” ahead of the Gunners’ Champions Leaguen round of 16 match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
- Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola heaped praise on midfielder Jack Wilshire, who is spending the season on loan at Bournemouth. Guardiola said that the Englishman made a “lasting impression” when the former, at Barcelona, faced Arsenal in the Champions League.
Tennis
- Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov beat David Goffin 7-5, 6-4 to lift the Sofia Open title for the first time in his career.
- USA beat Germany in the Federation Cup in Los Angeles in a tie that was marred by a soloist singing the old national national anthem of the Germans, which has strong links to the Nazi era, on day one.
Golf
- American Jordan Spieth fired a bogey-free two-under par 70 on Sunday to lift the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and thereby lift his ninth career PGA tout title.