Cricket legends slam Team India for losing WTC Final

Agencies

New Delhi

Former Indian cricketers slammed India’s batting after a disappointing show in Sunday’s World Test Championship final against Australia.

Things went wrong for the Rohit Sharma-led side right from the beginning. India won the toss and asked Australia to bat first looking at the overcast conditions, not worrying about the fickle English weather that changes so quickly.

And then the team selection. The top-ranked spinner in the world, the bowler who has the most wickets in the WTC cycle, Ravichandran Ashwin, was not selected in the playing XI, even though there were five left-handers in the Aussie batting line-up.

Kohli talks so much about how to win a match you need a long innings. How are you going to do that if you play a ball so far outside the off stump?

The batting was in shambles today. It was just ridiculous what we saw. I mean, come on!

SUNIL GAVASKAR,

Agencies

New Delhi

New York: At least 13 people were shot, stabbed or hit by cars when chaos broke out among hundreds of people gathered in Syracuse, New York, early Sunday morning, according to police. Four people were shot and injured, five suffered lacerations and four were hit by cars, Syracuse Police Lt. Matthew Malinowski said in a news release. All are expected to survive. Police responded to a report of shots fired around 12:22 a.m. and found hundreds of people gathered near the intersection of Davis Street and Massena Street, Malinowski said.

There is no further threat to the public, Annapolis police said at the scene and online.

The stockpile of operational nuclear weapons rose in 2022, a leading conflict think-tank said on Monday, as it warned that the world was entering a dangerous phase. The estimated number of warheads in military stockpiles for potential use rose by 86 to 9,576, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) said, continuing a trend seen in the past few years. Dan Smith, Sipri director said that “those numbers are beginning to tick up”, albeit that they remain far below the 70,000-plus amassed during the 1980s. Russia and the United States of America together possess almost 90% of all the world’s nuclear weapons.

Agencies Sydney

A man was charged with dangerous driving on Monday after at least 10 wedding guests were killed when the bus they were travelling in crashed at a roundabout in Australia’s worst bus accident in almost 30 years, police said.

25 people were injured in the accident on Sunday near the town of Greta, about 180 km (112 miles)

Agencies

New Delhi

UN cultural and scientific agency UNESCO announced on Monday that the United States plans to rejoin and pay more than $600 million in back dues after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.

Officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for AI and technology education.

Agencies

New Delhi

northwest of Sydney, police said.

The bus carrying 35 passengers left the road and flipped onto its side at a roundabout after a wedding in the Hunter region, a rural area famous for its vineyards and wedding spots.

Police said the driver, a 58-year-old man, had been taken to hospital for mandatory drug testing. He was refused bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

Kyiv: A UAE delegation has visited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine on an official trip. Led by Mariam Al Mheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, the officials conveyed the greetings of President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and other UAE leaders, reported Wam. Mr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the UAE for its support during the country’s crisis, highlighting Sheikh Mohamed’s commitment to maintaining stability in the region.

India’s Virat Kohli passes through the winner’s mace during the presentation ceremony as Australia wins the ICC World Test Championship Final, at The Oval, in London on Sunday. ANI

TEAM INDIA PLAYERS LOSE 100% MATCH FEES

Dubai: Indian players have been fined their entire match fees for maintaining a slow over rate while opener Shubman Gill was docked an additional 15 per cent for criticising the umpire’s decision to rule him out in a debatable call during the World Test Championship final. The Australian players were also fined 80 per cent of their fees for maintaining a slow over rate during the marqueeclash, which they won by 209 run in London on Sunday.

India had to bat big in the first innings to stay in the game, but they couldn’t. There were some good moments for Team India, but I fail to understand the exclusion of Ashwin in playing XI, who is currently number one Test bowler in world.

SACHIN TENDULKAR, FORMER INDIA BATSMAN

Ahmedabad, which boasts of a stadium that seats over 100,000, is set to host the blockbuster India vs Pakistan clash on October 15 in the ODI World Cup later this year. Ahmedabad will also stage the tournament opener between England and New Zealand, the teams that contested the thrilling tied final in 2019, on October 5, while India are set to open their campaign against Australia in Chennai three days later. These are some of the marquee contests in the initial draft schedule of the 2023 ODI World Cup, prepared by the BCCI. The BCCI shared the draft schedule with the ICC, which then sent it to the participating countries for feedback before a final schedule is put out early next week. The draft schedule does not mention the venues for the semi-finals, which are likely to be played on November 15 and 16. The final will be on November 19 in Ahmedabad, which is also scheduled to host the opening game.

Agencies

Jaipur

Delhi Panzers put up a superb performance to overcome the Telugu Talons 29-27 in a nail-biting finish in the first clash of Matchday 5 in the Premier Handball League (PHL) here on Monday.

We lost the game on the first day itself. The big partnership that Australia put on was what really turned the tables in this game. Otherwise, the game was even. If you take away that partnership, the game was totally even.

ROGER BINNY,

Agencies

Paris

Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz there, after winning the French Open for a men’s-record.

Novak Djokovic now will add to the record he already held for the most weeks leading the tennis rankings — men’s or women’s — since the computerized system was set up a half-century ago.

Iga Swiatek, the women’s champion at Roland Garros, kept

z Djokovic has the second-most ATP Finals titles (5) after Federer (6).

z Djokovic remains the only player to have won over 60 Big Titles.

z He has won 67 out of 213 such championships.

z In terms of ATP Masters 1000 trophies, Djokovic leads the tally with 38 of them.

z Nadal has won 36 trophies, while Federer owns 28 honors.

her spot atop the WTA rankings, where she has been for more than a year.

Asking questions is the sign of a progressive human, society and civilizationquestions keep us away from stagnation.

Dr JagDeesh ChanDra CEO & Editor-in-Chief, First India