The IPL is back, Indian sailor creates history and more…7 min read
Reading Time: 5 minutesAdithya G
Here’s a round-up of all the action from the world of sports last week.
The IPL update
The biggest domestic T20 tournament has begun, albeit without crowds and players in protective bubbles.
RCB Begins with A Win
Royal Challengers Bangalore 160/8 (de Villiers 48, Maxwell 39, Bumrah 2-26, Jansen 2-28) beat Mumbai Indians 159/9 (Lynn 49, Yadav 31, Patel 5-27) by two wickets
Defending champions Mumbai Indians lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore on the opening night. MI were asked to bat by Virat Kohli and they could manage only 159/9 in 20 overs. Medium pacer Harshal Patel stole the show with a sensational bowling effort that resulted in a five-wicket haul.
AB de Villiers guided RCB to a last-ball win with a timely 27-ball 48.
Delhi Beats Chennai
Delhi Capitals 190/3 (Dhawan 85, Shaw 72) beat Chennai Super Kings 188/7 (Raina 54, Moeen 36, Avesh 2-23) by seven wickets
Last year’s finalists, Delhi Capitals began this year with an easy win over Chennai Super Kings.
CSK set a seemingly stiff target of 189 but the dazzling Delhi openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw cracked a 138-run partnership to lead their team to seven-wicket victory with eight deliveries to spare.
KKR Sinks Hyderabad
Kolkata Knight Riders 187/6 (Rana 80, Tripathi 53, Rashid 2-24) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 177 /5 (Pandey 61*, Bairstow 55, Krishna 2-35) by 10 runs
KKR became the first IPL team to successfully defend a total this year as they defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs. Half-centuries from Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi propelled KKR to 187 for 6.
SRH lost their way in the chase and despite a superb 92-run partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey, they couldn’t quite get over the line.
Punjab Kings Outshine Rajasthan Royals
Punjab Kings 221/6 (Rahul 91, Hooda 64, Gayle 40, Sakariya 3-31) beat Rajasthan Royals 217/7 (Samson 119, Arshdeep 3-35) by four runs
Rajasthan Royals fell agonizingly short whilst chasing a massive target of 221 against the newly christened Punjab Kings.
Led by a sensational century from their new skipper Sanju Samson (119), Rajasthan Royals needed 13 runs off the final over but could only manage nine. With 5 runs required off the last ball, Samson sliced the ball towards the cover boundary but couldn’t get the timing right as Deepak Hooda ran in from the deep to take a fine running catch
In the first innings, PBKS skipper KL Rahul’s classy knock of 91 alongside Deepak Hooda’s belligerent half-century pushed his team to a healthy total.
Sailing
Nethra Kumanan becomes first Indian woman sailor to qualify for Tokyo Olympics
Nethra Kumanan became the first Indian woman to qualify for the Olympics and also the first Indian sailor to get a direct entry into the Summer Games.
Nethra Kumanan earned her spot at the Tokyo Olympics in the Laser Radial category after she led the 10-race series at the Mussanah Open Championship in Oman convincingly in April 2021. In the medal round, she finished sixth, and was placed second overall.
She first made a mark with a bronze medal in the World Cup last year after having competed in the Asian Games in 2014 and 2018.
Cricket
Australian Women Retain Rose Bowl
Australia secured the Rose Bowl – a trophy that they contest against New Zealand in women’s ODI cricket – when they beat the hosts 3-0 in the ODI series.
New Zealand last held the trophy in 1999.
During the series, offspinner Leigh Kasperek became the first Kiwi to take six Australian scalps in an ODI and just the fourth White Fern to capture six ODI wickets in a game.
Her 38kmph slower delivery in the third game caught the eye of many. Watch it below:
Football
Real Madrid Take El Clasico Honours
Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema made it to the scoresheet to help Real Madrid complete the El Clasico double over Barcelona and are now in second place in the La Liga table, a point behind Atletico Madrid. Oscar Mingueza scored the lone goal for Barcelona as Lionel Messi went without scoring in a Clasico for the 7th straight time.
Leeds Shock City; Ole beats Jose
10-man Leeds United stole a win at the Etihad as Manchester City slipped to lose only their second game in their last 24 league matches.
Stuart Dallas’ goals on either side of Liam Cooper’s red card secured the away win for the newly promoted side.
Manchester United came from behind once again to beat Spurs away from home. Goals from Edinson Cavani, Mason Greenwood and Fred ensured three points for United after Son Heung-Min scored the opener in the first half.
NBA
Steph Curry Passes Wilt Chamberlain to Become Warriors’ All-Time Leading Scorer
Stephen Curry became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer against the Denver Nuggets. In an impressive showing, Curry finished with 53 points as  the Warriors eased to a 116-107 win.
Chamberlain’s record was held for nearly 60 years before Curry came along.
The Warriors improved to 26-28 with the win and remained in 10th place in the West, keeping pace with the victorious Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs in the race for seeding in the play-in tournament. The fourth-place Nuggets fell to 34-20.
Jazz Becomes First Team To Register 40 Wins
Donovan Mitchell became the first Jazz player since Karl Malone to score 35 points in three consecutive games as his 42 point-haul against Sacranebto helped Utah Jazz become the first team in the NBA to reach the 40-win mark.
It was Utah’s 24th straight win at home and the team’s 11th win in 13 games.
Boston Celtics Erase 17-Point Deficit to Pip Minnesota Timberwolves in Overtime
Jayson Tatum’s career-high 53 points saw Boston Celtics overcome a 17-point deficit to defeat Minnesota Timberwolves 145-136 in overtime. 35 points of his tally came in the second half.
Tatum, the youngest player in Celtics history to score at least 50 in a game at 23 years and 37 days. Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Marcus Smart 24 points and eight assists.
Author’s Note: Adithya G is a freelance writer who is passionate about sports.
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