Rohit Sharma opens for India in the first Test.
Top Sports News Headlines Today, October 2, 2019: India will be desperately hoping that Rohit Sharma replicates his limited overs success in the traditional format as India take on South Africa in the first Test of the three-match series on Wednesday. The build-up to the experiment has not been ideal to say the least with the batsman failing to score in the only warm-up game before the series. Wriddhiman Saha has replaced Rishabh Pant for the series opener in Visakhapatnam.
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur suffered their heaviest home defeat in Europe as Serge Gnabry struck four goals for Bayern Munich in a 7-2 romp to seize control of Champions League Group B on Tuesday. In the other match, Real Madrid were held to a shock draw by Club Brugge at Santiago Bernabeu.
Hours earlier, the 22-year-old had let out a roar in celebration, shaken hands with his opponent, walked over to his bench and started packing his kit. That was his celebration for his straightforward 6-4, 6-2 win over Facundo Bagnis in the final of the Buenos Aires Challenger – his first Challenger title in two years. The win and the 80 ranking points that came with it have propelled Nagal to a career-high rank of 135. Festivities though were the last thing on his mind. Read more
Former India captain Kapil Dev became second member to resign from the ad-hoc Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC). Kapil’s decision came after Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Ethics officer DK Jain issued notices to the panel members — Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy are the other two — on conflict-of-interest charges pressed by Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association life member Sanjeev Gupta. Read more
A life member of the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA), 45-year-old media-shy businessman Sanjeev Gupta has so far sent close to 400 emails to the CoA, most of which highlight cases of non-compliance within the BCCI and its affiliated units. Read more
Tottenham Hotspur suffered their heaviest home defeat in Europe as Serge Gnabry struck four goals for Bayern Munich in a 7-2 romp to seize control of Champions League Group B on Tuesday. Master marksman Robert Lewandowski also scored twice as Bayern responded to going behind early on in devastating fashion, running riot on a rain-lashed night in north London. Read more
Even though it’s a fairly young batting unit, South Africa have men who can handle what’s thrown at them. Aiden Markram has been earnestly preparing for spin for a while now, with spin-camps in India overseen by their new batting consultant Amol Muzumdar. Elgar had gone back to his father Richard after the last India tour, muttering, “I need to do something about it (playing spin)”. Read more