
Sarfaraz Khan slams 138 off 114 in Chennai, sends strong message to selectors
Captain Ayush Mhatre fell for 13, while Musheer managed 30 before giving his wicket away. Sarfaraz added 72 runs for the fourth wicket with Suved Parkar in just 15.1 overs, before Parkar was dismissed by Sonu Yadav. Later in the day, Aakash Parker's unbeaten 67 off 100 deliveries further strengthened Mumbai's total.Sarfaraz, who shed 17 kilograms during a rigorous off-season fitness regime, looked sharp on Monday as he eyes a return to the Indian Test side. He will be hoping for a consistent run of scores through the Buchi Babu tournament.The Mumbai batter last represented India in the home Test series against New Zealand, which India lost 0-3. He began the series with a sparkling 150 in Bengaluru but struggled thereafter, making scores of 11, 9, 0 and 1 in his next four innings.Although selected for the India A tour of Australia before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sarfaraz did not feature in the five-Test series. He later scored 92 against England Lions in a tour match but missed out on selection for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. He also went unsold at the IPL 2025 auction.Sarfaraz, who made his Test deubt in 2024, has played six Tests and scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10.India are set for a packed home Test season, starting with a two-match series against the West Indies from 2 October, followed by a two-Test series against South Africa in November.- EndsYou May Also Like
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AIFF explains ISL U-turn, says Supreme Court move guided by legal advice
Facing criticism for its sudden U-turn, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday, August 18 issued a defence of its handling of the Indian Super League (ISL) crisis. The governing body said its actions stemmed from legal advice, which suggested that the Supreme Court be first addressed on the National Sports Governance Bill before shifting attention to the ISL weekend, however, unfolded in a haze of contradictions. On Sunday, the AIFF confidently declared it would press the ISL matter before the Supreme Court at 10:30 am the next morning. By evening, that assurance was retracted, leaving stakeholders baffled. Clarity only returned when Amicus Curiae Gopal Sankaranarayanan, supported by Samar Bansal, confirmed the ISL issue would indeed reach the court's attention. "Based on advice received that the National Sports Governance Bill 2025 had passed both the houses of Parliament, the AIFF's Senior Counsel advised during a briefing meeting on Sunday late evening that this is the first aspect that needs to be brought to the attention of the Hon'ble Supreme Court," the federation said in its clarification was followed by another—AIFF claimed it was still weighing when to officially raise the ISL matter, but the Amicus Curiae had already moved ahead. By Monday, the case was mentioned before the timing couldn't have been more sensitive. The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on the draft constitution case, which will shape Indian football's governance. On Monday, AIFF's senior counsel made oral submissions, with the court asking for written arguments ahead of the next hearing on Friday, August its statement, AIFF stressed the broader stakes of the dispute. 'The AIFF intends to use this opportunity to represent to the Hon'ble Supreme Court the urgent need for commercial continuity and to determine the future structure of its top-tier league, in the interests of players, clubs and other parties all of whose livelihoods are at stake due to the current impasse,' it the root of the chaos is the non-renewal of the Masters Rights Agreement (MRA) between ISL organisers Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the federation. With the 2025-26 ISL season 'put on hold' since July 11, there's no calendar, no fixtures, and no guarantee of when—or if—the season kicks standoff has already hit home. Eleven clubs have jointly warned that without clarity, they 'face the real possibility of shutting down entirely.' Some have halted first-team operations, others have frozen salaries, and hundreds of Indian and foreign players are staring at uncertain futures.- Ends


News18
an hour ago
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Grateful for the journey and support: Rishabh Pant remembers Test debut
New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant marked the anniversary of his Test debut on Sunday. Pant, who made his debut on August 18, 2018, had received his maiden Test cap from then India captain Virat mark the occasion, Pant reshared on his Instagram story a post originally uploaded in 2018, where he was seen receiving the cap from Kohli.'Special day. Grateful for the journey and Support," he wrote. On August 18, 2018, 10 years after a Delhi-born right-hander Virat Kohli's generation-defining entry to international cricket, another Delhi youngster, Rishabh Pant, stepped up to fulfil the heavy shoes of legendary MS Dhoni as India's premier wicketkeeper-batter and a massive some promising outings in white-ball cricket since his debut in 2017, Pant was handed his debut Test cap during the Test against England at Nottingham. His first scoring shot was a six against Adil Rashid, and it served as the sign of a thrilling ride that was about to his Test debut till now, Pant has entertained Indian fans, saved his team with several counter-attacking knocks, while also frustrating in equal measures with his audacity, which often comes across as 'stupidity' or 'recklessness' to a Test cricket purists accustomed to the traditional defensive, ugly and patient form of red-ball his debut, Pant has played 47 Tests for India, scoring 3,427 runs in 82 innings at an average of 44.50, with a strike rate of 74.16. He has made eight centuries and 18 fifties, with the best score of 159*.The rising 'SENA'pati for India, Pant is Asia's most successful wicketkeeper-batter in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia (SENA) nations. In 30 SENA Tests, he has 2,160 runs at an average of 41.53, with six centuries and eight fifties, outdoing all his Asian counterparts in runs and centuries in these tough two of Pant's eight centuries have come at home conditions, having scored four of them in England and one each in South Africa and Australia against some of the scariest bowling attacks in the is also the Indian wicketkeeper-batter with the most Test tons (eight), having surpassed MS Dhoni during the recently concluded tour of the Leeds Test, the 27-year-old swashbuckler was the second designated wicketkeeper batter with a glorious feat of twin centuries to his name, after Andy Flower, who achieved the feat against South Africa in Harare in 2001 with scores of 142 and 199*. Becoming the first Indian to do so was indeed special for the youngster as it marked a shift in their collective brand of cricket.A remarkable six-hitter, Pant matched legendary Virender Sehwag (90 sixes) in six-count after the end of the English summer, with 73 of these sixes coming in the WTC itself. He is the second-best six-hitter in competition's history, with England skipper Ben Stokes (86) at the top ICC World Test Championship run-getter: He ended the English summer with 2,731 runs in ICC WTC history, above ex-skipper Rohit Sharma's (2,716 runs) at an average of 43.34 and a strike rate of 74.25, with six centuries and 16 fifties. He is the 11th-highest run-getter in the competition's history. (ANI)


News18
an hour ago
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BCCI mourns the passing of Vece Paes
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