Latest National and International Sports News Today Transcript at 4:30 PM on 17 June 2024
Let’s begin with our top story: In World Cup news: Pakistan captain Babar Azam has defended his captaincy after Pakistan’s early exit from The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Babar said in his post-match press conference: “We did not play well as a team. It’s not that we lost because of one person. As a team, we lost. As a team, we could not click.” Pakistan, which failed to chase down a run-a-ball target against rival India and lost to the US in a major upset, nearly messed up against a spirited Ireland bowling attack. The Babar Azam-led team somehow managed to cross the line and registered a scrappy three-wicket win in their last match of the T20 World Cup.
From the India versus South Africa-W match: India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana recorded the highest ODI score by an Indian woman at home after slamming her sixth ton against South Africa at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, June 16. Opting to bat first in the opening ODI of the three-match series, Mandhana battled a top-order wobble as India was reduced to 99 for five. The left-hander reached her half-century in 61 balls and doubled up in 116 balls as India crossed the 200-run mark. The hundred also marked the first ODI ton by an Indian batter at the venue and Mandhana’s first at home.
In other cricket news: All-rounder Imad Wasim has blamed the mindset of the current Pakistan cricketers for not being able to compete against the top teams of the world. The 35-year-old all-rounder, who came out of retirement for the T20 World Cup 2024 bats for a total reset in the way Pakistan play their white-ball cricket. Imad told reporters at Lauderhill: “I personally believe that you should play fire with fire. And even if you lose, you can sit down and say to yourself that on that day we were not good enough.”
In Badminton news: On Friday, June 14th, HS Prannoy’s 19-21, 13-21 loss took 62 minutes, after being sucked into rallies where he arrived with a start-up's energy to innovate, and Kodai logged a 9-to-5 shift of dreary paperwork instead. At its core, the prevalent men’s singles playing style in badminton is deadly dull and ponderous. Short rallies with slam-bang kill, raining down monster smashes or alternately the stamina-testing ho-hum of unvarying retrieving, waiting for the opponent to blink if you aren’t smacking an impetuous error sooner instead. HS Prannoy was born to construct creative, clever repartees with back-and-forths in rallies. But he is forced to finish second-best to Kodai Naraoka in a tossed-up, typical Groundhog Day game.
In football news: Lionel Messi, Argentina’s World Cup-winning captain, has given his take on his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe’s recent comments, calling Euros more complicated to win than the World Cup. Messi told ESPN Argentina: “He also said that the South American teams didn’t have the same high competition as the Europeans. Everyone values what they play.” It’s not the first time Mbappe has been brought on fire from South American football. He had taken a jibe at the South American teams in May 2022. It was Messi and Co, who beat France the same year to clinch a third world title in a thrilling penalty shootout finish to the World Cup final in Doha, Qatar.
In other football news: When a 17-year-old produces such outlandish talent, it’s inevitable that he is compared to the finest in the world. Hence, the burden of being likened to Messi for Lamine Yamal. His passing repertoire is baffling for a teenager. He could chip, curl, roll, nutmeg, slide-rule, back-heel, or side-foot the ball to find the man he wants to find, even from narrow angles and nonexistent space. He told GQ: “When you learn to play on the street, in the end you have more resources, because it is more street football, without so many rules, and that generates more mischief in you compared to someone who has trained in a school.”
From Euro 2024: Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich and Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen could be the most exciting pair of young talents at the Euros. They are entrusted with Germany’s playmaking duties at Euro 2024. Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich roaming on the right of the veteran Ilkay Gundogan, and Florian Wirtz of Bayer Leverkusen buzzing on his left. Slotting two No 10s itself is a rare tactic in the modern game, deputing two raw youngsters for the role is rarer. It was not a strategy born out of necessity, but manager Julian Nagelsmann’s conviction that the team should be built around them.
Lastly: In Athletics news: Five years ago Sachin Yadav divided his time between playing tennis-ball cricket in Khekada, Baghpat, and attending coaching classes hoping to clear exams for a government job. A fast bowler and floater in the batting order, Sachin was no great shakes. From being a local tennis-ball cricketer at 19 with no future in the sport, he is now rubbing shoulders with the most promising javelin throwers in the country. Sandeep Yadav, a local javelin coach, with a knee eye for talent, saw a different future for Sachin. The 24-year-old is now seventh on the all-time India list for men’s javelin throw and only one of 10 men from the country to throw over 82 metres.
