Sports World, December 18: Napoli To Play Barcelona In UEFA Champions League Round Of 16; IPL 2024 Auction, American Premier League Begin Tomorrow - As It Happened

Hello and welcome to our live blog coverage of today's sports news and events. We have a football-first day ahead of us as the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 season's round of 16 draw is slated in the evening in Switzerland. Elsewhere, Punjab FC will lock horns with Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League. Meanwhile, table toppers Bengal Warriors will take on the UP Yoddhas in Pro Kabaddi League. Catch the highlights of all the action on Monday, December 18, 2023 here. (Cricket News | Football News | December 17 Highlights) 

10:45pm: ISL Update
Chennaiyin FC were disallowed two goals as they went down fighting 0-1 to Punjab FC in the 2023-24 Indian Super League match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

10pm: PKL Update
Table-toppers Bengal Warriors have played out a pulsating 37-37 tie with the UP Yoddhas in the Pro Kabaddi League. Interestingly, this was the second tied game of the season and the Warriors were involved in both.

9pm: IPL - Hazlewood Available Only In May
Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood will be away in March and April for the birth of his first child. Meanwhile, Bangladesh pacers Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam will be unavailable for IPL 2024 as they are likely to feature in the home series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Read more here. 

8:30pm: UEFA Europa League Playoffs 2024 Draw
Feyenoord and Roma will meet in the playoffs to enter the Europa League's round of 16 in a repeat of their title match in the UEFA Conference League in 2022. Roma won that match 1-0 in Tirana to give Jose Mourinho another European trophy. The draw on Monday pitted the teams who finished second in their Europa League groups with the clubs who were third in the Champions League groups.

5:45pm: UEFA Champions League Round Of 16 Draw
Defending champions Manchester City have been handed the most benign draw for the Round of 16 in the Champions League after being picked to play Copenhagen, the Danish champions making their first appearance at this stage since 2011. The draw was made at UEFA's headquarters, with the standout matchup being Napoli vs. Barcelona. Below are the fixtures:-
Porto (Portugal) vs. Arsenal (England)
Napoli (Italy) vs. Barcelona (Spain)
Paris Saint-Germain (France) vs. Real Sociedad (Spain)
Inter Milan (Italy) vs. Atletico Madrid (Spain)
PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands) vs. Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
Lazio (Italy) vs. Bayern Munich (Germany)
Copenhagen (Denmark) vs. Manchester City (England)
Leipzig (Germany) vs. Real Madrid (Spain)

4:25pm: PAK Arrange 2-Day Practice Game Before 2nd Test
The Pakistan men's cricket team will play a two-day practice game against Victoria XI ahead of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne. The match will be played at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on December 22 and 23. This game wasn't part of the original schedule, but concerns around lack of match practice led to Pakistan requesting Cricket Australia for a match. The Men In Green had slumped to a 360-run defeat on the fourth day of the first Test in Perth.

3:05pm: Amitabh Bachchan Becomes Owner In Indian Street Premier League
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has announced his association with the Indian Street Premier League as the owner of team Mumbai. The ISPL is India's first tennis ball T10 cricket tournament that will be played inside a stadium, according to a press release. The inaugural edition is scheduled to be held from March 2 to March 9 in Mumbai.

1:35 PM: Year-Ender 2023: Top Moments From Indian Sports
It was a remarkable year for India on the sports front. World Championships were won, historic feats registered and dominance displayed across playing fields in 2023. Let us relive five of the most glorious moments for Indian sport in 2023, through this year-ender.

Check it out here

12:01 PM: David Warner Can Play Test Cricket For Another Year, Feels Ian Healy
David Warner can continue playing Test cricket for another year if he continues his imperious form displayed against Pakistan in the just concluded first Test in Perth, former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy said. 

"What I love about him is his durability. We all know how fit he must be because he's maintained his pace between wickets. I just love the way that he kept going and his feet moved," Healy  said on SEN Radio.

"This is the bit I agree about Mitchell Johnson and what he said about, ‘Why have a swansong, your last three years hasn't been very good and now you're picking the way you can retire’.

Read more about it here

11:34 AM: Documentary Series Titled 'Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend' To Be Out Soon
Apple TV+ have released the teaser trailer for its upcoming documentary series titled - Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend, that will focus on World Cup winner Lionel Messi. It will be a four-part documentary and will be released on February 21, 2024.

Read more about it here

10:32 AM: Recap -  Ramandeep Kaur Clinches WBC India Light Flyweight Title
Punjab's Ramandeep Kaur clinched the prestigious WBC India title in the light flyweight division by eking out a narrow split decision win over eight rounds against Mamta Singh from Haryana. The Indian Boxing Council (IBC) sanctioned event showcased 10 fights including two title fights -- WBC India & WBC Middle-East at the Gachibowli Stadium on Saturday. Top-ranked Ramandeep entered her 14th pro bout with an impressive record of 10 wins and 3 losses while Mamta boasted an undefeated streak of four wins. Mamta faced an uphill battle, shedding weight and adjusting to a lower weight class, unlike her usual super flyweight bouts.

10:08 AM: Australia Announce Squad For Boxing Day Test Match Vs Pakistan
Australia have announced their 13-player squad for the upcoming Boxing Day Test against #Pakistan in Melbourne with uncapped pacer Lance Morris dropping out to return to home for domestic T20 duties. 

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner

9:56 AM: Bengaluru SG Mavericks Are Crowned As Tennis Premier League Season 5 Champs
Bengaluru SG Mavericks defeated Bengal Wizards in a fiery contested final at the season 5 of the Tennis Premier League in Pune on Sunday. Mavericks had the likes of Ramkumar Ramanathan and Vishnu Vardhan in their ranks to steer them to a title victory.

9:41 AM: 85th Senior National Badminton Championships Begins Today
The 85th Senior National badminton championships will begin today at Guwahati with Indian badminton sensation Lakshya Sen being the star attraction. The team events (men and women) begin today and will see seven teams (winners of zonal & inter-institutional events plus the host) fighting for honours.

9:12 AM: Year-Ender 2023: Key Highlights From Indian Cricket Team's Journey In World Cup
Indian cricket team had a fantastic Cricket World Cup 2023 despite their loss in the final to Australia by six wickets at Ahmedabad. Right from the first game, the Men In Blue put their feet down and displayed their authority on home conditions with bat and ball. Be it Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami or Shreyas Iyer; Indian cricket excelled under the guidance of Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma.

Read more about it right here

9:04 AM: FIFA Announce Club World Cup Dates In The United States
The first edition of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States will be staged from June 15 to July 13, 2025, world soccer's governing body said Sunday. FIFA said the 32-team tournament, which will officially be called Mundial de Clubes, would be “harmoniously aligned with the International Match Calendar” to ensure there would be enough of a gap between the final and the start of domestic leagues. 

Read more detailed report here

8:40 AM: Haryana Tops Khelo India Para Games Medal Tally
Haryana has topped the Khelo India Para Games medal tally with 40 gold, 39 silver and 26 bronze. Uttar Pradesh came in second with 25 gold whereas Tamil Nadu were third with 20 gold. Gujarat were fourth with 15 gold.

8:12 AM: Liverpool Frustrated By Manchester United
The Reds were left frustrated by their arch-rivals Manchester United after the former were held to a 0-0 draw at Anfield.  "I saw a lot of good things, the one thing I don't like is the result. We should have scored, we had the opportunities and should have had more clear-cut chances," Klopp told Sky Sports afterwards. "I can't remember such a dominant performance against Man United - even the 7-0 they were more in the game. If we play like this it is difficult for the opposite team to get out of their own half. The way United defended was clean with a lot of passion," the German added.

Recap
Indian cricket team got off to a winning start in the 1st ODI against South Africa as they won by eight wickets. Arshdeep Singh picked a five-for as the Proteas were decimated on their own turf. Elsewhere, Nathan Lyon picked up his 500th scalp as Australia bundled out Pakistan for 89 in the second innings to win the 1st Test match by 360 runs. Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by Manchester United at Anfield whereas Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Brighton.