Sports World Today, December 27, 2023: IOA Forms Ad-Hoc WFI Supervision Committee; Bangladesh Beat New Zealand In Napier; Proteas On Top Against India On Day 2 - As It Happened

Cricketing action was aplenty as Australia dominated proceedings against Pakistan on day 2 of the second Test at the MCG. Elsewhere, Proteas' fightback was led by their former skipper Dean Elgar who remained unbeaten on 140 as the home team led India by 11 runs on day 2 of the first Test. New Zealand cricket team suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in the 1st T20I in Napier. In PKL, Jaipur Pink Panthers drew their encounter with Dabang Delhi. Follow the scores and updates of all the action on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, here. (Cricket News | Football News | IND Vs RSA Scorecard | NZ vs BAN Scorecard | December 26 Highlights) 

11:55 PM: Adios!

And that we call it a night! Good night everyone!

11:01 PM: Tottenham Hotspur Suffer Major Blow, Lose Cristian Romero For Four To Five Weeks

Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero will be out of action for four or five weeks with a hamstring injury, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Wednesday. The Argentina international, who only returned from a three-match suspension at the start of this month, sustained the injury during Saturday's 2-1 Premier League victory over Everton.

10:00 PM: EPL Mid-week Fixtures Continue Today

Manchester City travel to Everton as they look to regain lost form in the Premier League after Liverpool topped the table after their 2-0 win over Burnley yesterday.

9:10 PM: RSA - 256/5 (66) - Stumps 
Bad lights stopped the play earlier than expected. Dean Elgar remained unbeaten on 140 runs and Marco Jansen is with him on 3 runs not out. A day clearly in favour of South Africa with Elgar's century and David Bedingham's fabulous fifty on debut. India had a few things to cherish at the end, but bad lights played spoilsport. 

8:35 PM: Michael Schumacher: 10 Years In Come

It has been 10 years since the horrible accident of the Ace Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher in the Alpine resort of Meribel and the sports world still waits for the moment he will come out of the coma. His brother, Ralf Schumacher takes care of him.

7:40 PM: Mayank Agarwal To Lead Karnataka In Ranji Trophy

Experienced opener Mayank Agarwal was on Wednesday named as Karnataka captain for the first two matches of the upcoming Ranji Trophy season. The promising young batsman Nikin Jose has been appointed as Agarwal’s deputy. However, KL Rahul has not been named in the 16-man squad considering India’s upcoming assignments at home against Afghanistan (three T20Is) and England (five Tests) across January and February, according to PTI.

7:10 PM: IND Vs RSA 1st Test, Day 2: At Tea, Elgar Is Unbeaten On 115

Veteran South African batter, who announced earlier that he would retire from international cricket after the Test series against India, scored his 14th century in Test cricket. After chasing India's 245 runs in the first inning, Elgar has hit 21 boundaries so far in his unbeaten 115-run inning. David Bedingham was also unbeaten on 32 runs with him at the crease after the Umpires called for a tea break.

6:30 PM: Sunil Gavaskar Rates KL Rahul's Ton In 'Top 10 Of India's Test History'

KL Rahul's brave century during the ongoing opening Test against South Africa here on Wednesday drew high acclaim from the legendary Sunil Gavaskar, who has rated the knock "in the top ten in the history" of India's red-ball cricket, according to PTI. Rahul, who walked into the middle while the Indians were four down for 92 on Day 1 on Tuesday, made a gutsy 101 off 137 balls before being knocked over by debutant pacer Nandre Burger, as the visitors were all out for 245.

5:50 PM: IPL 2024 Auction: Shubham Dubey Wants To Buy House For Family

Shubham Dubey’s life took a turn for the better when Rajasthan Royals acquired him for Rs 5.60 crore in the recent IPL player auction, and that sunny moment washed away all the early turmoil in the Vidarbha man’s life.

Dubey, an aggressive middle-order batter who impressed in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with a strike rate of 185, had seen his father taking up odd jobs like selling paan to buy a cricket kit for him. Read more here

4:25 PM: IOA Gets Involved In WFI Drama 

The Indian Olympic Association has today created an ad-hoc committee to supervise the Wrestling Federation of India's activities after the Sports Ministry suspended the organisation. Just days after a drawn-out election process, WFI came under scrutiny when new President Sanjay Singh, aid to the outgoing Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, announced Under-15 and Under-20 Nationals in Gonda before the end of the year, thereby not providing wrestlers with the requisite 15-day notice. 

IOA will now manage athlete selection, submitting entries for athletes to participate in international events, organizing sports activities, handling bank accounts, managing the website, and other related responsibilities on behalf of the WFI

3:30 PM: BAN Beat NZ Again! 

Bangladesh has caused a major upset in Napier by beating New Zealand in the first T20 International between the two teams! Having restricted the hosts to a meagre 134 runs, the Bangla Tigers chased down the total in just 18.4 overs to record a significant victory. Mahedi Hasan took home the Player of the Match award with two wickets for 14 runs and 19 runs with the bat. 

2:50 PM: IND Vs RSA Update 

The Indian batting has come to a close with KL Rahul dragging the Men in Blue to 245 with a 101-run knock. The onus now shifts on South Africa, with the Proteas gearing up for a long day of chasing the Indian total and, perhaps, even surpassing it. 

2:00 PM: AUS Vs PAK, Stumps On Day 2

As the match officials called Stumps on Day 2 of the Australia-Pakistan Boxing Day, here's what the state of play looked like: Pakistan, having lost six wickets, had reached 194 and were trailing Australia by 124 runs. Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood were the stars of the show for Pakistan, racing past their respective half-centuries to cut into Australia's lead. 

Read the full match report here. 

12:45 PM: Football Update

Ex-Liverpool star Sadio Mane settled the Cristiano Ronaldo-Karim Benzema reunion in the Saudi Pro League, scoring twice late on in Al-Nassr's 5-2 win over Al-Ittihad. 

Al-Ittihad led in the 14th minute courtesy of Abderrazk Hamdallah's first of two goals on the night but were pegged back to level scores when Cristiano Ronaldo converted from the spot five minutes later. Al-Nassr then budged ahead through Anderson Talisca, taking the lead with themselves into the break. 

Hamdallah scored his second shortly after play resumed, but Ronaldo's second successful spotkick - after Fabinho had received his marching orders - restored Al-Nassr's lead, which Mane later turned into a rout with two late strikes. 

12:15 PM: Cricket Update 

Bangladesh have kicked off their first T20I against New Zealand in New Zealand in sensational fashion. Buoyed by their first ODI win in the country, the Bangla Tigers have claimed four wickets in the first seven overs, with Shoriful Islam and Mahedi Hasan bagging two each. New Zealand, who have had no answer to the Bangladesh bowling attack so far, have lost Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, and Glenn Phillips for a combined score of 15!

11:00 AM: Football Update

According to reports, Igor Stimac has added Trevor Sinclair to the Indian national football team coaching staff ahead of the AFC Asian Cup 2023. Sinclair, a member of the England squad for the FIFA World Cup 2002, shared a dressing room with Stimac at West Ham United around the turn of the century and would later play for Manchester City. 

Read more here. 

10:00 AM: Cricket Update 

Australia's home Test against Pakistan on Boxing Day has entered Day 2, with the visitors looking to match the 300+ total the hosts set for them on Day 1. Leading the Test series 1-0, Australia raced off to a flying start in the second match, setting up a target of 318 for their opponents to chase. Marnus Labuschagne stood out for the Aussies, leading a balanced top and middle-order batting performance with 63 significant runs. 

At Tea on Day 2, Pakistan had cut 68 runs into Australia's lead for the loss of one wicket. 

9:00 AM: Boxing Day Recap

Manchester United 3-2 Aston Villa - Rasmus Hojlund finally netted his maiden Premier League goal as Manchester United came from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 at Old Trafford. Villa led by two before the half-hour mark, courtesy of strikes from John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker, much to the dismay of a dejected home crowd. Manchester United, however, staged an incredible comeback after the interval, with Alejandro Garnacho scoring twice to level things up before Hojlund found the winner late on. 

Burnley 0-2 Liverpool - Goals from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota helped Liverpool ease past Burnley on Boxing Day. The Reds led early through Nunez's sensational strike and later had two goals disallowed. Jota, however, ensured an easy finish for the title chasers by netting the insurance goal in the final minutes of the match. 

Other Results - Luton Town edged Sheffield United dramatically in a battle of the new boys on Boxing Day, with the Blades inadvertently scoring two own goals late on to gift their opponents all three points. Bournemouth, meanwhile, continued their fine form of late through a straightforward 3-0 victory over Fulham; the Cherries have now won 19 points out of a possible 21 in their last seven games under Andoni Iraola. Earlier in the day, Chris Wood returned to haunt St James' Park, netting a hattrick in Nottingham Forest's 3-1 win over Newcastle United.

Preview!

Hello and welcome to our live blog coverage of today's sports news and events. While India will look to bounce back with both bat and ball on the second day of the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, Bangladesh will kick-start their three-match, year-ending T20I series against New Zealand in Napier. In football, Mohun Bagan will face Kerala Blasters for what is expected to be a cracker of a clash in the Indian Super League and the Pro Kabaddi League, Jaipur Pink Panthers will take on Dabang Delhi.