India men's and women's senior team were handed out defeats whereas football club Manchester United and Arsenal ended 2023 with defeats in the English Premier League. Let us review the sporting week that went by
The week that went by - Monday, December 25, 2023 to Sunday, December 31 as Indian men's and women's team suffered heartbreaking defeats in their respective matches. Here are the list of sporting events that went by from Dec 25-31, 2023. (Cricket News | Football News | Badminton News)
Cricket
In Cricket, the men's senior team lost the 1st Test match to South Africa inside three days as they went down by an innings and 32 runs in Centurion. Dean Elgar was the star of the show with a classy knock of 185 despite KL Rahul making a valiant 101. In the second innings, the visitors folded like nine pins as they were bundled out for 131.
The women's team suffered defeats in the 1st and 2nd ODI and in turn, surrendered the series to Australia women in Mumbai. Alyssa Healy's team were solid in the first ODI as they won by six wickets but in the second game, the home team put on a great show but despite Richa Ghosh's 96, they were undone by Australia's brilliance.
Bangladesh cricket team beat New Zealand cricket team in the 1st T20I by five wickets. The second T20I was a washout but in third T20I, the home team stood up as they won it by 17 runs (DLS method) as they drew the series 1-1.
Australia beat Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test by 79 runs at the MCG. Set a target of 311 in the second innings, the visiting team could not cope with the brilliance of Pat Cummins and co as the home team won in a canter as they went 2-0 up in the series.
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Football
Boxing day fixtures saw Manchester City return to winning ways with a 3-1 win over Everton whereas Arsenal were beaten on their home patch by West Ham with a 2-0 victory. Manchester United beat Aston Villa 3-2 at Old Trafford but were brought down back to earth by a 2-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest. Liverpool beat Burnley 2-0 whereas Tottenham Hotspur lost 3-1 Brighton.
Tennis
Rafael Nadal returned to the tennis after lengthy lay-off from the court as he made his way to the Brisbane International. Nadal will be playing the singles match against Dominic Thiem.
Wrestling
Vinesh Phogat returned her Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards as she became the latest wrestler after Bajrang Punia to return their honours to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.