World Sports: India Lose 4-6 To Australia In FIH Pro League; Shots Fired Near Chiefs' Super Bowl Win Parade

Welcome to the highlights of the sports news and events on Thursday, February 15. Indian cricket lovers were treated to top knocks from Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja and Sarfaraz Khan on Day 1 of the third Test against England in Rajkot. Before that, a depleted South Africa took the fight to hosts New Zealand on Day 3 of the second Test in Hamilton, and the hosts still need 227 runs to win. In hockey, the Indian men's team lost a thrilling encounter 4-6 to Australia at the FIH Pro League. Meanwhile, the third edition of the Prime Volleyball League kicked off in Chennai. Check out the highlights of all the sporting action on Thursday, February 15, 2024 here. (Cricket News | Football News)

The batter will debut for India in their Rajkot Test against England, after receiving his maiden cap from Indian cricket great Anil Kumble in a pre-match ceremony. Khan has been a consistent run-getter in the domestic circuit and has now been duly rewarded for his efforts.

The third Test between India and England is scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM IST.

The second-string RSA lead the hosts by 257 runs at the time of writing, having survived three sessions on Day 3 of their Test match. The visitors will be looking to finish with a flourish but have bled wickets with more frequency in these last few hours; they currently stand at 226/7, with the tail-end working hard to ensure they return to the pavilion with an insurmountable lead in tow.

A tie earmarked by the neutrals for its tactical and technical offerings delivered on its promise, with Paris Saint-Germain edging Real Sociedad 2-0 in an entertaining first leg encounter. Meanwhile, it was more trouble for Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich, who lost the first of their two ties against Lazio by a goal to nil and also witnessed Dayot Upamecano receive a red card, ruling him out of the return fixture.

Chaos ensued at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl Victory parade in Missouri, after gunfire left one person dead and 21 injured. The shots were fired west of Union Station, the final gathering spot for the Chiefs and their fans in their triumphant procession of the city, resulting in a stampede as everyone present - players included - ran for cover.

Among those injured were nine children, who are all expected to recover at the time of writing. One individual, sadly, lost their life in the latest mass shooting incident in the United States of America.

Three have been arrested following the incident.

Here's how the schedule lines up for this crucial match:

Singles

HS Prannoy vs Weng Hongyang

Lakshya Sen vs Lei Lanxi

Chirag Sen vs Wang Zhengxing

Doubles

MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila vs Chen Boyang, Liu Yi

Suraj Goala, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy vs Ren Xiangyu, Hao Nan Xie

Contesting for their only test match against the South Africa women's team, Australia are down by three for 16, chasing 76 at the time of writing. Luckily, Australia have the impressive Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney on the crease, as they look to untangle themselves out of this mess and move toward the target.

A remarkable fight-back from the hosts had limited South Africa to a below-par total of 235. Chasing 267 in total, New Zealand got off to a positive start and ended the third day at the loss of one wicket with 40 runs in the bag. The Blackcaps are in the ascendancy at closing, with nine wickets and two days left to chase what should be an easy target.

“I would have loved to play in Doha, where the tournament team, as well as the amazing Qatar fans have always supported me greatly. Unfortunately I am not ready to compete and I won't be able to come to Doha where I really wanted to be and play again after that unforgettable win in 2014,” he wrote on social media. “I will focus on keep working to be ready for the exhibition in Las Vegas and the amazing Indian Wells tournament.”

India and China are tied 2-2 in the Asian Team Championships 2024 at the time of writing, both teams winning a pair of games, meaning that the match will be decided by the result of Chirag Sen vs Wang Zheng Xing!

Chirag trails his opponent at the time of writing.

Other results:

HS Prannoy beat Weng Hongyang (6-21, 21-18, 21-19)

Lakshya Sen beat Lei Lanxi (21-11, 21-16)

MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila lost to Chen Boyang, Liu Yi (15-21, 21-19, 19-21)

Suraj Goala, Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy lost to Ren Xiangyu, Hao Nan Xie (13-21, 9021)

A statement from the ICC has confirmed a huge ban for UK-based Rizwan Javed from all forms of cricket for match-fixing.

"UK based club cricketer Rizwan Javed has been banned from all cricket for 17 ½ years after he was found guilty of five different breaches of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Anti-Corruption Code for Participants (the ‘Code’)," read the statement.

The individual was found guilty of the following:

Article 2.1.1 – Being party to an attempt to fix, contrive or influence improperly matches or aspects of matches in the Abu Dhabi T10 2021 (on three separate occasions).

Article 2.1.3 – Offering a Reward to another Participant in exchange for that player engaging in Corrupt Conduct.

Article 2.1.4 – Directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any Participant to breach Code Article 2.1 (on three separate occasions).

Article 2.4.4 - Failing to disclose to the DACO full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

Article 2.4.6 – Failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the DACO in relation to possible Corrupt Conduct under the Code.

The Indian men's team felt the absence of star doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, as it suffered a narrow 2-3 loss to China in the Badminton Asia Team Championships group tie in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Star shuttlers HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen won their singles matches but China fought back with wins in the two doubles contests to make it 2-2, PTI reports. National champion Chirag Sen lost 15-21, 16-21 to Wang Zheng Xing in the fifth match as India conceded the tie. Already through to the knock-out stage, India finished second in the group, with China taking the top spot.

The Indian men's hockey team is taking on Australia for its third FIH Pro League 2023-24 match in Bhubaneswar. Harmanpreet Singh and Co have registered two wins on the bounce and are seeking a hat-trick today. But the Aussies are as tricky an adversary as it gets, and the hosts will need a strong performance to get over the line. Stay tuned.

Well, well. The Indian men have changed the complexion of the match in a space of 17 minutes. Blake Govers had given Australia a 2-0 lead in just the second minute, but the home team, with two penalty corner conversions from captain Harmanpreet Singh and field goals from Sukhjeet and Mandeep have gained ascendancy. They lead 4-2, with a quarter and change still to go.

The Aussies have turned the tables, and how. After India hit four goals in quick succession, Australia found four goals of their own to go from 2-4 down to 6-4, and have won the match in thrilling fashion to complete a hat-trick of victories at the FIH Pro League 2023-24 in Bhubaneswar. Aran Zalewski, Lachlan Sharp, Jacob Anderson and Jack Welch sounded the board for the visitors in the second half.

Just 45 days into 2024, and Sumit Nagal is already having a year to remember. After entering the second round of Australian Open and winning the ATP Challenger Tour title in Chennai, the 26-year-old from Jhajjar has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Bengaluru Open ATP Challenger.

All you need to know about the match, and how he got there is in our report here.

That's a wrap from us today. We will be back tomorrow morning with the lowdown on all the action from across sporting arenas. Till then, goodnight.