CRICKET

India Wins To Level Series 1-1: Scintillating knocks from Man of the Match…Rohit Sharma (159) and KL Rahul (102) along with Shreyas Iyer’s 53 off 32 and some high-end blows from Rishabh Pant, who smashed 39 in just 16 deliveries helped India seal a massive victory by 107 runs against visitors West Indies, thus locking the series at 1-1 after the second ODI. Rohit en-route his century pelted 14 fours and five sixes. Rahul hit eight fours and three sixes to get to his ton. Both champions held key momentum and built 227 runs – opening stand. India scored a huge 387-5 in their 50 overs. For West Indies Sheldon Cottrell picked (2-82) in his 10 overs. In reply, West Indies finished their innings with 280 in 43.3 overs as Shai Hope made 78 and Nicholas Pooran scored 75. Kuldeep Yadav picked (3-52) including a hat-trick, thus becoming the first Indian bowler to claim two ODI hat-tricks. Mohammed Shami also snapped (3-39) in just 7.3 overs being the main strike bowler for India picking up crucial wickets of Pollard, Paul and Pooran.

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Top Picks – IPL Auctions: Some of the popular buys of the IPL auctions in Kolkata include: Australia’s Chris Lynn was sold to Mumbai Indians for Rs. 2 Cr; England’s Eoin Morgan was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs. 5.25 Crore; Robin Uthappa was picked by Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 3 Cr; Jason Roy from England was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs. 1.5 Cr; Aaron Finch of Australia was grabbed by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 4.4 Cr.; Glenn Maxwell of Australia earned a huge sum of Rs. 10.75 Cr; England’s Chris Woakes was sold to Delhi Capitals for Rs. 1.5 Cr.; Australia’s Pat Cummins was taken by Kolkata Knight Riders for a whopping Rs. 15.5 Cr; Sam Curran of England was bought by Chennai Super Kings for Rs. 5.5 Cr; South Africa’s Chris Morris was picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs. 10 Cr; India’s Jaydev Unadkat was sold to Rajasthan Royals for Rs. 3 Cr; Sheldon Cottrell of West Indies was bought by Punjab for Rs. 8.5 Cr; Yashasvi Jaiswal of India was picked for Rs. 2.40 Cr by Rajasthan Royals.

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FOOTBALL

Premier League Results: On 14^th December, Liverpool beat Watford 2-0; Burnley defeated New Castle 1-0; AFC Bournemouth 1-0; Leicester City and Norwich City were involved in a 1-1 draw; Sheffield United overpowered Aston Villa 2-0 while West Ham United won 1-0 V/s Southampton. The next day, favourites Manchester United and Everton drew 1-1; Tottenham Hotspur won 2-1 against counterpart Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City thrashed Arsenal 3-0.

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BADMINTON

BWF World Tour – Sindhu At 3^rd Place: PV Sindhu recorded a consolation win against China’s He Bingjiao in the third Group A match and ended her campaign on a positive note during the BWF World Tour Final. She beat Chinese opponent 21-19, 21-19 and ended in third place in the group.