Latest National and International Sports News Today Transcript at 4:30 PM on 19 June 2024
Let’s begin with our top story in cricket: Here’s one of the top dismissals by a pacer in the T20 World Cup so far. After subtly shuffling his lengths, Jasprit Bumrah ripped in a hard-length ball that spat into Babar Azam. The length, shape, and bounce surprised the Pakistan captain who was caught in two minds, whether to leave or not, and in the end played something of a dab-leave. It took his edge to the first slip. Replays showed that the ball had straightened just enough from the angle to fox Babar. This was pure Test match length and quality.
More from the T20 World Cup: Former Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Monday, June 17 reacted to the reports surfacing that national cricket team head coach Gary Kirsten has said to the players that there is no unity in the team. Alvi’s comments come after it was reported by Pakistan media that Kirsten had handed the team a stern talk following the early exit from the T20 World Cup, calling out players for not supporting each other. On Sunday, June 16 following the win against Ireland, skipper Babar Azam was also the centre of attention for his post-match comments.
In football news: Igor Stimac’s five-year reign as head coach of the Indian national football team came to an end on Monday, June 17th after the All-India Football Federation decided to terminate the Croatian’s contract after a disappointing AFC Asian Cup campaign was followed by a failed attempt to take India to the third round of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers. During his tenure, India’s FIFA ranking went from 101 after the AFC Asian Cup in 2019, to 99 in 2023, to now 121. A statement on the AIFF website issued to Mr. Stimac by the AIFF Secretariat, wrote, “The AIFF thanks Mr. Stimac for his service to the National Team and wishes him well in his future endeavours.”
In other football news: The England-Serbia Euro 2024 match on Sunday, June 16 in Gelsenkirchen was marred by off-field tensions between both sets of supporters in the western Germany city. A brawl that involved 150 people outside of a restaurant has since resulted in eight fans – one English and seven Serbians – facing charges against them. A day later, the Gelsenkirchen police chief responsible for the conduct of the tournament, Peter Both has revealed what exactly led to the conflict between the two sets of supporters. He said: “The fact is that when they tried to enter the pub, there was an immediate physical altercation.”
More football news, The youngster, Jude Bellingham has taken his game up a few notches at Real Madrid and showcased the improvement he has made in one of his rare weak areas. It wasn’t a walk in the park but England secured a 1-0 win and three points from their Euro 2024 opener against Serbia; the winner scored by Jude off a stunning header. One that highlighted in equal parts his big-stage mindset, game IQ, and a number nine-like poaching instinct, tapping into an aspect of his game that’s been refined at Real Madrid over the past year. It all came together in the 13th minute in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, June 16th.
From Euro 2024: Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich and Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen could be the most exciting pair of young talents at the Euros. They are entrusted with Germany’s playmaking duties at Euro 2024. Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich roaming on the right of the veteran Ilkay Gundogan, and Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen buzzing on his left. Slotting two No 10s itself is a rare tactic in the modern game, deputing two raw youngsters for the role is rarer. It was not a strategy born out of necessity, but manager Julian Nagelsmann’s conviction that the team should be built around them.
In tennis news: Earlier this month, Sriram Balaji, the World No. 62 and the third-highest-ranked Indian doubles tennis player, arrived in Paris uncertain if he was playing the French Open at all. Balaji has been picked by World No. 4 Rohan Bopanna to partner him in the men’s doubles category for the upcoming Paris Olympics, ousting the higher-ranked Yuki Bhambri to make it to his first Games. Balaji told the Indian Express from London: “And as soon as we got into the draw, it was like a bonus for us. We didn’t have anything to lose. We were just playing free and just focusing on every point by point and then it worked actually.”
Lastly: In other tennis news: During a year that saw Sumit Nagal, India’s top-ranked singles tennis player, surge up the rankings, make the main draws of Grand Slams, and sustain the momentum by staying relatively fit, his friend and part-time coach Somdev Devvarman feels the younger player may go past him as far as a personal milestone is concerned. On Monday, June 17th the 27-year-old jumped six spots in the ATP world rankings to reach a career-high No. 71, making him the joint fourth-highest-ranked Indian man since rankings were introduced in 1973. Nagal, an accomplished clay-courter, hit the reset button after a first-round defeat at the French Open to stitch together a run at the Challenger level.
Click to listen to yesterday’s bulletin
Credit: Source link