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Top Sports News Headlines Today, October 16, 2019: India face troubling questions after Bangladesh draw, red carpet welcome for Ganguly at Edens

Sports News Headlines Today, October 16, 2019: India drew to Bangladesh, a side which is ranked 83 places below them in World Cup qualifier. Meanwhile, red carpet was rolled out at Eden Gardens for Sourav Ganguly.

India drew 1-1 with Bangladesh on Tuesday.

Top Sports News Headlines Today, October 16, 2019: Bangladesh did not exactly rollover India, the match ended 1-1, but they very nearly pulled off a seemingly impossible result. When the groups for the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup joint qualifiers were drawn, it was widely assumed India would pocket six points from the two matches against Bangladesh. It was a prediction based on form, reputations – on paper at least – and past results.

Apart from a win over Afghanistan in 2008, Bangladesh hadn’t beaten any of the Group E teams – India, Oman and Qatar. Their chief coach, Jamie Day, was the assistant manager of a club in the fifth tier of English football. A majority of their players in the starting 11 were aged 19 or 20 – and without much experience of playing at this level. READ MORE

As India and Bangladesh locked horns on the football pitch, 61,486 plus fans inside the Salt Lake Stadium made it a spectacle worth remembering in India’s most football-loving city. When the Blue Tigers took to the pitch in Kolkata for the first time in eight years, club rivalry took a backseat.

As part of the preparation, a massive 80×60 feet tifo was conceptualised by the Blue Pilgrims, the Indian national football team supporters group along with fan groups of East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. READ MORE

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Sunil Chhetri prays during World Cup 2022 group E qualifying match against Bangladesh in Kolkata, (Source: AP)

Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri rues missed opportunities as the hosts barely managed to draw against Bangladesh. Chhetri accepted the team’s inability to score against their neighbours in a match they were behind till the 87th minute.

The 35-year-old took to Twitter to share his disappointment. Here is what he wrote.

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BCCI president-designate Sourav Ganguly arrives at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. (PTI)

Red carpet was rolled out at Eden Gardens for Sourav Ganguly as he returned from Mumbai after filing his nomination for the BCCI president’s post. And as the BCCI president-elect arrived at the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), things became chaotic.

It felt like a throwback to 1996, when the ‘Prince of Calcutta’ had returned home after scoring back-to-back hundreds in his debut Test series. Ganguly, however, described his century at Lord’s on his Test debut “30 times bigger than this”. READ MORE

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has again written to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to request for a change in the venue for India’s upcoming Davis Cup tie in Pakistan.

The Group 1 Asia/Oceania clash is scheduled to take place on November 29-30 in Islamabad, but the national federation has cited security concerns and asked for the tie to be held at a neutral venue instead. READ MORE