International
Title race wide open as Man City, Liverpool share 4 goals in Premier League
Manchester City and Liverpool drew 2-2 in the game of the week in the Premier League to see City keep their one-point lead over their rivals for this season’s title.
A thrilling game saw Pep Guardiola’s City open the scoring thanks to Kevin de Bruyne’s deflected shot in the fifth minute, although Liverpool needed just eight minutes to replay with Diogo Jota’s finish after good work from Trent Alexander Arnold and Andy Robertson on Sunday night.
Gabriel Jesus then ghosted in at the far post nine minutes before the break to put City back in front in a thrilling first half, Xinhua reports. The excitement continued after the break with Sadio Mane equalising almost directly from the kick-off and despite chances at both ends and Raheem Sterling seeing a goal ruled out for offside, it ended 2-2 to leave the title race still wide open.
Chelsea recovered from painful home defeats against Brentford and Real Madrid with a 6-0 win away to Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
Thomas Tuchel’s men, looking like a team with something to prove, were 3-0 up by the 21st minute with goals from Marcos Alonso, Mason Mount and Timo Werner. Kai Havertz added a fourth just after the half-hour and Werner and Mount doubled their tally in the 49th and 54th minutes before Chelsea eased up to save their legs for next Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal in Madrid.
Tottenham strengthened their claim for a top-four finish thanks to Heung Min Son’s hat-trick and some excellent first-half saves from Hugo Lloris that saw them win 4-0 away to Aston Villa.
Dejan Kulusevski also scored for Spurs, for whom Harry Kane was excellent despite not scoring.
Arsenal remain fifth, but lose ground after a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton, who took a two-goal lead thanks to Leandro Trossard on 28 minutes and Enock Mwepu, before Martin Odegaard’s late consolation for Arsenal.
Anthony Gordon’s deflected first-half strike gave Everton three vital points in their battle against relegation against a hapless Manchester United, who are in real danger of not playing in Europe next season.
Everton’s win gained extra importance 24 hours later as the bottom of the table Norwich beat Burnley 2-0 at Carrow Road, with goals from Pierre Lees-Melou after nine minutes and Teemu Puuki in the 86th minute denying Burnley the chance to remain within a point of Everton.
Leeds United look safe from relegation after Raphinha, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison gave Jesse Marsch’s men a 3-0 away win to condemn Watford to an eighth successive home league defeat while lifting Leeds nine-points clear of the bottom three.
Brentford punished West Ham’s tired legs after Thursday’s European game against Olympique Lyon as they won their London derby 2-0.
Bryan Mbuemo and Ivan Toney scored second-half goals for Brentford, who dominated and are now safe from the drop after four wins in their last five matches.
Newcastle United can also breathe much easier after Chris Wood’s second-half penalty gave them a 1-0 win at home to Wolverhampton.
Finally, first-half goals from Ademola Lookman and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall helped Leicester City to a 2-1 win at home to Crystal Palace in a mid-table clash.
Dubai, Dec 30: India’s premium fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is nominated for the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for Men’s Cricketer of the Year. Alongside Indian ace, who is also nominated for the Test Cricketer of the year, Australia’s Travis Head and the English batting duo of Joe Root and Harry Brook also made the list for the prestigious honour.
Bumrah nabbed 15 wickets from eight outings, including a couple in the final against South Africa, as India went unbeaten at the 2024 T20 World Cup.
India’s spearhead also had a memorable year in the longest format by picking 71 wickets in 13 Tests, the most scalps taken by a bowler this year.
In the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, Bumrah is leading the wicket-takers charts with 30 wickets at an average of 12.83. He also completed 200 Test wickets and became the first bowler to achieve the feat with an average less than 20.
Indian bowling attack’s nemesis Head also made the list after shining across all formats for his country. After playing a vital role in the 2023 ICC World Cup final, Head continued his form as he was the third highest scorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup with 255 runs in seven innings, with his highest score being 76 against India. The left-hander is also the leading run scorer during the ongoing BGT helping Australia get in a good position to solidify their spot in the 2025 WTC final.
Root, England’s premier batter, made 1556 runs from 17 Tests at an average of 55.57, his second-best annual run tally in Tests after amassing 1708 runs in 2021. It was also the fifth instance of Root scoring over 1000 Test runs in a calendar year.
With six Test hundreds to go alongside five fifties, Root’s impressive run saw him become the joint-fifth highest century maker in Tests (36) alongside Rahul Dravid. In addition to his batting exploits, Root impressed by picking a four-wicket haul in the Test series against India.
His teammate Brook scored 1100 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 55, comprising three fifties and four hundred-plus scores, including a maiden triple century coming in Pakistan, and became England’s breakthrough batter in the format.
International
CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources
New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”
“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.
Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.
Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.
International
It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027
India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.
The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.
This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).
It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.
Protests intensify in Bihar against BPSC 70th PT Exam; political support grows
SC issues notice on CBI plea against Ram Rahim’s acquittal in 2002 murder case
PM Modi blasts AAP as ‘Kattar Beimaan’, says Delhi suffering under ‘AAPada’
Mumbai: ‘Ghar Mein Ghuske Marenge..’, MNS Leader Avinash Jadhav Vows Revenge After Mob Forces Marathi Youth To Apologise Over Language Row In Mumbra
10 Kerala CPI-M activists get double life term; ex-MLA gets 5 years’ jail for murder of 2 Cong workers
‘Hamari Awaz Ko Na Kuchla Jaye,’ Say Farmers As Their ‘Dilli Chalo’ March Is Halted At Shambhu Border Amid Tensions With Police; Visuals Surface
Rajasthan Tragedy Update: 8 People Killed, 35 Injured, 40 Vehicles Charred As LPG Tanker Explodes On Jaipur-Ajmer Highway; Visuals Surface
‘No Compromise On Law & Order’: Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Assures Support To Telugu Film Industry Amid Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 Stampede Row
Who Was Suchir Balaji? OpenAI Whistleblower Found Dead Allegedly By Suicide In San Francisco
With Constitution in one hand and Manusmriti in the other, Rahul Gandhi quoted Savarkar and asked BJP – Who do you believe in?
-
Crime2 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra3 months agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra3 months agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News3 months agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra3 months agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Crime3 months agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
-
Maharashtra2 months agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News3 months agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface