Steph Curry plays career-best, Lewis Hamilton knighted, and more5 min read
Reading Time: 3 minutesAdithya G
Happy New Year folks! 2020 is behind us and that, by itself, is something to rejoice. Let’s hope for non-stop sporting action in 2021 and see what caught the headlines in the sports world this past week.
Cricket
Williamson closes in on 7000
After his boxing day masterclass, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson started the new year with a bang, with an unbeaten century. He is just 11 runs short of becoming the fastest batsman to score 7,000 runs in the longest format, overtaking the likes of Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, and AB de Villiers.
New beginnings for T Natrajan
After making a splash in IPL 2020, he found a place in the Indian team touring Australia as an effective seamer in the shorter formats. He was the highest wicket-taker in the visitors’ T20I series win – six wickets in three games at an average of 13.83 and an economy rate of 6.91
Injuries to Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav might just open the door to the Test team for the earnest fast bowler from the small village of Chinnappampatti, Tamil Nadu. He has been included in the squad for the third Test and fourth Test
Football
CR758
After Lionel Messi broke a scoring record last month, could Cristiano Ronaldo be far behind? It was the Portuguese superstar’s turn to overtake Brazilian legend Pele in the list of all-time leading goalscorers with a brace for Juventus in a Series A match against Udinese.
Ronaldo has now scored 758 goals for club and country. CR7 is now just a goal behind the all-time record tally of Josef Bican (759).
Messi 500
Argentine Lionel Messi became the first non-Spanish player to play 500 La Liga games after his appearance against Huesca. His assist in the game for Frenkie de Jong’s winner was his 200th for Barcelona in all competitions.
Chris Wilder’s Blades heading for the Championship?
Sheffield United are the first English top-flight team to fail to win any of their first 17 games in a season since Bolton Wanderers in 1902-03 (22). A 118-year-old record! They’ve two points from 17 games with draws against Brighton and Fulham.
Formula One
Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton became the sport’s sixth knight after Sir Stirling Moss, Sir Jackie Stewart, Australia’s Sir Jack Brabham, and the co-founders of Williams Sir Frank Williams and Sir Patrick Head.
Hamilton secured his record-equalling seventh World Championship in 2020 as part of team Mercedes. However, the new knight may not feature for the silver arrows after reports emerged that he has rejected a contract proposal by Daimler, Mercedes’ parents, and 1/3rd owner of the F1 team. Hamilton’s contract with the team ended on January 1st, 2021.
NBA
Steph Curry shuts critics down with career-best performance
“Cue the Jordan meme, right?” Steph Curry quipped when asked if his stellar performance against Portland Trail Blazers was personal. “I take all that personally. [It was] just an opportunity to kind of assert my will on the game early and try to create some energy.”
After being criticized for some lacklustre performances at the beginning of the season, Curry finished with 62 points in a 137-122 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. He finished 18-for-31 from the field and was 18-of-19 from the free throw line with five rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes.
Becky Hammon makes NBA History
Former WNBA player Becky Hammon became the first woman to lead a team in an NBA contest. During Los Angeles Lakers’ 121-107 win over the San Antonio Spurs, Hammon took over the Spurs’ bench duties when head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected in the first half.
Popovich was sent out by official Tony Brown after shouting and entering the court when he was unhappy over a foul call from the referee
Author’s Note: Adithya G is a freelance writer who is passionate about sports.
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