It was yet another action-packed day for sports lovers. Cricket action continued as the India women's cricket team played out an engrossing Day 3 in the one-off Test against Australia in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli returned home as the men's team continued their build-up to conquer the final frontier in South Africa. In other sports, Indian wrestling continued to be mired in controversy while a new crop of badminton stars are making all the right noises in the Nationals. Catch the highlights of all the action on Saturday, December 23, 2023, here. (Cricket News | Football News | IND-W vs AUS-W Test Scores | December 22 Highlights)
10:15 PM: 'I'm Not A Dummy Candidate' - New WFI Prez
Newly-appointed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Sanjay Singh has lashed out at the protesting grapplers for "engaging in politics" and has asserted that he is not a dummy candidate of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Sanjay is known to be a close confidante of Brij Bhushan, who had been accused of sexual harassment by the country's top wrestlers such as Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia. Read more here.
9:35 PM: Osimhen's Serie A Salary Doubled
Napoli's star forward Victor Osimhen signed a contract extension Saturday tying him to the Serie A champion until 2026. His current deal was set to expire in 2025 and Italian media reported that his salary has been more than doubled to 10 million euros (USD 11 million) per season, with a release clause between 120 million and 130 million euros. Read more here.
8:00 PM: EPL Update
West Ham beat Manchester United 2-0 at home in their Premier League bout. This was United's 13th loss this season. They only lost 12 games last season. The last time MUFC lost 13 games before Christmas was all the way back in 1930/31.
7:30 PM: No Jamaica In CPL 2024
Caribbean Premier League's 2022 champions Jamaica Tallawahs will reportedly cease to exist, and will not be a part of the tournament's 2024 season. They will be replaced by a new unnamed franchise that is based in Antigua and Barbuda. Read our report here.
6:44 PM: Indian Wrestling Controversy
In the latest development on the Indian wrestling controversy, Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav has thrown his weight behind Olympians Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, stating that he will return his Padma Shri award to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Read our report here to find out the details.
6:32 PM: IND To Visit PAK For Davis Cup?
The ITF tribunal has rejected AITA's contention that its Davis Cup team could face security concerns during the World Group I Play-off tie in Islamabad, paving the way for an Indian tennis team's visit to Pakistan for the first time in 60 years. More details here.
6:00 PM: Later Today..
Rebecca Welch will make history by becoming the first female official to referee in a Premier League match when she enters the pitch at 8:30pm IST tonight, to take charge of Fulham's bout with Burnley. Read all about it in our report here.
5:25 PM: MUN Vs WHU Update
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has handed a surprise debut to 19-year-old defender Willy Kambwala in the starting XI for the English Premier League 2023-24 derby against West Ham.
5:00 PM: IND-W Vs AUS-W: Stumps In Mumbai
At the end of day 3 in the one-off Test between India women and Australia in Mumbai, the Aussies lead by 46 runs and have five wickets in hand. Annabel Sutherland and Ashleigh Gardner are at the crease, and it promises to be an exciting fourth and final day tomorrow.
4:00 PM: Australia Women Retake The Lead
India's hopes of securing a second straight Test win on home soil have taken a significant beating with Australia women's national team racing into the lead on Day 3 in Mumbai. The Aussies are 209/4 at the time of writing, 22 runs ahead of the Women in Blue, who will hope to reach a breakthrough as quickly as possible.
3:00 PM: Still To Come
Sports fans can look forward to plenty this evening, chief among it a crunch Premier League tie between Arsenal and Liverpool. The pair are battling on top of the league table for the championship and a win either way could provide the momentum boost they each need to push on from here. Meanwhile, Manchester United, too, will be in action this evening while Chelsea will play tomorrow, a day before Christmas.
1:45 PM: Cricket Update
India-W are in a spot of bother as things stand in Mumbai. The Women in Blue set Australia a 187-run lead to chase and the Aussies are on track to surpass the mark at the time of writing. After the loss of two wickets, Australia are 140/2, merely 47 runs away from the mark, with Ellyse Perry and Tahlia McGrath on the crease.
12:30 PM: Football Round-up
Serie A - AC Milan came from a goal down to snatch a point late at ten-man Salernitana. Fikayo Tomori gave the visiting Rossoneri the lead early on before Salernitana turned the game around through Federico Fazio and Antonio Candreva. The in-form Luka Jovic, though, ensured that Milan left Salerno with a point in the bag through a goal in stoppage time.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, climbed up to fourth with a narrow win over AC Monza. Lucas Beltran, who signed for La Viola in the summer from River Plate, scored the only goal of the game.
Premier League - Aston Villa's 16-game winning run at Villa Park came to an end on Friday, December 22, at the hands of bottom-ranked Sheffield United. Villa were punished by the returning academy boy Cameron Archer, who put Sheffield United ahead in the 87th minute. Summer signing Nicolo Zaniolo, however, scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time to secure a point for the high-flying Villans.
11:30 AM: Bangladesh Seal Historic Win!
Najmul Hossain Shanto-led Bangladesh have sealed a first win in New Zealand over the Blackcaps. The Bangla Tigers bowled their opponents out for just 98 before chasing the score easily. Despite the historic win, Bangladesh lost the series to the hosts 2-1.
Read the full report here.
10:30 AM: Innings Break In IND-W vs AUS-W
Australia have finally managed to knock India all out for 406 runs, with the Women in Blue setting a target of 187 runs for their opponents to chase.
Deepti Sharma ended the Indian innings as their highest scorer with 78 runs, followed by Smriti Mandhana (74) and Jemimah Rodrigues (73).
10:15 AM: Manchester City - FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Champions!
Pep Guardiola's Manchester City collected their fifth trophy of the calendar year after beating Fernando Diniz's Fluminense in the FIFA Club World Cup 2023 Final. City scored four times to collect their reward, twice through Julian Alvarez. Meanwhile, Phil Foden added another in lieu of goal-machine Erling Haaland while Nino scored an own goal to cap Fluminense's misery.
Al Ahly beat Urawa Red Diamonds to secure a third-place finish.
9:00 AM: Cricket Update
IND-W vs AUS-W, Mumbai, State of Play - India will begin Day 3 of their one-off Test against Australia 157 runs ahead. The Women in Blue were rampant on Day 2, racking up a total of 376 with still three wickets left in their bank. Debutant Richa Ghosh scored a half-century in her maiden test, while Jemimah Rodrigues, Smriti Mandhana, and Deepti Sharma all notched 70+ scores. Sharma and Day 1 hero Pooja Vastrakar were on the crease when the umpires called Stumps on Day 2 and will resume batting on Saturday morning.
