World Sports: Indian Men's, Women's TT Teams Qualify For Paris Olympics 2024; Sri Lanka Beat Bangladesh On Last Ball In 1st T20I - As It Happened

Welcome to our live blog coverage of today's sports news and events. Third-placed Arsenal are set to face Sheffield United in the English Premier League and Hyderabad FC will take on NorthEast United in the Indian Super League. In cricket, Bangladesh will host Sri Lanka for the first T20I in Sylhet and Royal Challengers Bangalore Women will take on UP Warriors in match 11 of Women's Premier League 2024. Meanwhile, the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 semi-finals proceed into Day 3, with the Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh Vs Vidarbha matches interestingly poised. Follow the live scores and updates of all the action on Monday, March 4, 2024, here. (Cricket News | Football News)

Earlier in the day, Napoli followed up their 6-1 thrashing of Sassuolo with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Juventus in Serie A. Giacomo Raspadori scored the winner in the 88th minute at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona by redirecting in the rebound of a penalty kick from Victor Osimhen. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia had put Napoli ahead with an expert volley late in the first half. Then Federico Chiesa equalized with an angled shot midway through the second half.

Back on the circuit after nearly two months, Rafael Nadal showed little discomfort in his closely-contested exhibition match against fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal eventually lost 6-3, 4-6, 12-14 but dished out some trademark winners to delight the crowd. Nadal was making his comeback after sustaining an injury in Brisbane International in January, which ruled him out of the Australian Open. Before that, the tennis titan had been away for almost a year due to a hip injury. But the exhibition match is a good sign for tennis lovers. Check out his most eye-catching winner in the video below.

In what will come as a setback to the Chennai Super Kings, their reliable Kiwi opener Devon Conway has been ruled out of action at least until May. A thumb injury the southpaw suffered during the recently concluded T20I series against Australia will require surgery, that will sideline him for a minimum of eight weeks. Conway will most likely not be available for more than half the duration of the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024, which starts on March 22 and is expected to end in May.

A fusion of tennis, table tennis and badminton that has taken the USA by storm, pickleball is set to have its own World Series, comprising six major events every year and featuring players from across the globe including India, PTI reports. "In the first year, the Pickleball World Series will comprise 64 players in the individual format and six teams comprising four players each, from the US and the rest of the world, including India - which is the rising hotspot for pickleball," a statement from the organizers read.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad have confirmed that Pat Cummins will be their captain for the upcoming Indian Premier League 2024 season. The Australia Test skipper and 2023 ODI World Cup-winning captain will replace South Africa's Aiden Markram, who spearheaded SRH in 2023.

SRH had bought Cummins for a staggering INR 20.50 crore in the IPL mini auction in December last year. The 30-year-old seamer thus became the second-most expensive player in the cash-rich league's history after his Aussie teammate Mitchell Starc, who was snapped up by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 24.75 crore.

A security delegation of New Zealand Cricket has reached Pakistan to carry out a reconnaissance of the arrangements for the Kiwi side's tour in April to play a T20 series, PTI reports. The delegation, which includes two members of the NZC and an independent security expert, arrived in Pakistan at the weekend to visit Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

The 20-year-old French basketball star Victor Wembanyama has notched up 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Indiana Pacers on 117-105, and post a stat line that compares favourably with the two best big men in his team’s history. The 7-foot-4 Wembanyama has finished with six assists and six blocked shots, becoming the third rookie in NBA history to record 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. The others are Hall of Famers David Robinson (twice) and Tim Duncan, both of whom spent their entire careers with San Antonio.

The last game of the Bengaluru leg of Women's Premier League 2024 pits hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore against UP Warriorz. The match begins at 7:30pm IST, but before that, let's take a look at three key player battles to watch out for in the game. Read our report here.

Domestic cricket titans Mumbai have entered yet another Ranji Trophy final. They have defeated Tamil Nadu by an innings and 70 runs to march into the title clash. Ajinkya Rahane's team will face the winner of the other semi-final between Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh, which is fascinatingly poised in Nagpur. Vidarbha lead by 195 runs with five wickets in hand at the time of writing, with MP to bat fourth.

Rio Olympics 2016 bronze medallist Sakshi Malik has ruled out a return to competitive wrestling, saying that the long-standing protest against ousted WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment has left her mentally tormented. Malik had announced retirement in December 2023 after Sharan Singh's close aide Sanjay Singh was elected president of the national federation.

"It's been more than a year, there is so much mental pressure and we have been trying to fight in every possible way to make this protest a success, so I'll not be able to continue wrestling," Malik said in a panel discussion on the impact of the #MeToo movement in India.

Riding on Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama's half-centuries, Sri Lanka posted 206 runs on board after being invited to bat first in the first T20I match against Bangladesh in Sylhet. Stand-in captain Charith Asalanka played a crucial cameo of 44 of 21 balls to take the score past 200 runs. Now, Bangladesh need 207 runs to win the match.

Soumya Sarkar and Litton Das opened the batting for Bangladesh and Angelo Mathews started with the bowl. He dismissed Das in the first over and Bangla captain Najmul Hossain Shanto came to the crease in the first over. Three runs and one wicket from the first over.

BAN - 3/1 (1)

The Indian men’s and women’s teams on Monday scripted history as they qualified for the Olympics for the first time ever based on their world rankings, according to PTI reports. After the conclusion of the World Team Championships Finals in Busan last month, which served as the last qualifying event for the Paris Olympics, seven spots in the team events remained, which have been awarded to sides based on their rankings.

The Ranji Trophy final of this season will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from March 10 to 14, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) informed on Monday.

The announcement of the venue for the title clash was made after the 41-time champions Mumbai qualified for the final for the 48th time.

Prolific India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, the leading run-scorer in the ongoing Test series against England, has been nominated for the ICC Men's Player of the Month Award for February alongside New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka, according to PTI reports. "The International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed the shortlists of nominees for the ICC Men’s and Women’s Player of the Month awards for February 2024," the ICC said in a release on Monday.

Real Kashmir FC consigned 10-man Sreenidi Deccan FC to their third home defeat while etching a hard-fought 3-2 win in an I-League match in Hyderabad on Monday, according to PTI reports.

Sreenidi Deccan FC saw defender Sajid Dhot sent off for two bookable offences as they lost more ground in the I-League title race.

The earlier match between Deccan and Real Kashmir had ended in a 0-0 draw and the first half on Monday showed signs of that result being repeated as stoppages and injuries took the momentum out of the game.

A man was arrested during the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium on suspicion of tragedy chanting. Greater Manchester Police reportedly released the man on bail on Monday after the incident during City's 3-1 win over United on Sunday.

World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth on Monday announced his retirement from international badminton, bringing down curtains on a successful career during which he won the Singapore Open and also represented India at the Tokyo Olympics, according to PTI reports.

The 31-year-old from Hyderabad decided to hang his boots after battling nagging injuries since the Tokyo Games.

Jaker Ali is unbeaten on 68 runs and Rishad Hossain will be on strike in the final over. Dasun Shanaka to bowl the final over.

BAN - 195/6 (19)

Dasun Shanaka held his nerves and defended 12 runs in the final over. Rishad Hossain was dismissed on the first delivery and Jaker Ali got out on the third delivery. Shoriful Islam smashed a boundary on the fourth delivery and gave a single on the next delivery. Five runs were required on the last delivery but one single was possible. Sri Lanka won the match by 3 runs.

BAN - 203/8 (20)

Sitting at tied fourth, Grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh will have some catching up to do if they want to finish on the podium with four rounds remaining in the ongoing Prague Masters Chess tournament, according to PTI reports.

Praggnanandhaa and Gukesh share the fourth spot and the next round will be crucial for them both as Pragg, as he is fondly called, takes on leader Nodirbek Abdusattarov and Gukesh is up against tailender Mateuesz Bartel of Poland.

Barely two weeks before the start of the IPL, the enigmatic Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent speculation into overdrive by claiming that a "new role" awaits him in the "new season" in a viral social media post on Monday.

The former India captain, who led the Chennai Super Kings to their fifth IPL title last season, however, neither mentioned the league nor elaborated on the new role, leaving everyone guessing.

Hyderabad FC struck twice late in the second half to hold NorthEast United FC to a 2-2 draw at the Gachibowli Stadium in the Indian Super League in Hyderabad on Monday, according to PTI reports. Parthib Gogoi brought an end to his nine-match-long streak without finding the back of the net in the 32nd minute. Picking the ball down the centre against a haphazard Hyderabad FC backline, he backed his instincts to go for the goal from distance and converted the effort to secure his fourth strike of the season.

According to AP reports, regular midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Pedri will miss upcoming matches because of injuries sustained this weekend, Barcelona said on Monday.

De Jong had a lateral ligament sprain in his right ankle, while Pedri had a right thigh muscle problem. Barcelona said their “recovery will determine” their availability and did not specify how long they will be sidelined.

Indian Table Tennis teams - both men's and women's, qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024 and in cricket, RCB-W beat UPW by 23 runs in the last home-leg match. Sri Lanka defeated Bangladesh by 3 runs in a close 1st T20I match. We will be taking your leave. That's all from our side. Goodnight, Take Care!