New Delhi, Dec 3: Skipper Virat Kohli scored his sixth double hundred as India reached 500 for 5 at lunch on the second day of the third cricket Test against Sri Lanka at Feroz Shah Kotla ground, here today.
Kohli (225) was at the crease at the break with Rohit Sharma (65) being dismissed by Lakshan Sandakan at the stroke of lunch. Brief Scores: India 1st innings: 500-5 in 117.5 overs. (V Kohli 225 batting, M Vijay 155; Lakshan Sandakan 3/148).
New Delhi, Aug 6: The BCCI on Thursday suspended the IPL title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the event's upcoming edition amid heightened tensions in Sino-India diplomatic ties.
The BCCI sent out a one-line statement, without giving details, saying that Vivo would not be associated with the IPL this year. "The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd have decided to suspend their partnership for Indian Premier League in 2020," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Vivo released its own statement saying that the two entities "have mutually decided to pause their partnership for the 2020 season".
Vivo won the IPL title sponsorship rights for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a reported sum of Rs 2,190 crore, approximately Rs 440 crore per annum.
The two parties are now working out a plan in which Vivo might come back for a fresh three-year period starting 2021 on revised terms.
However, a top BCCI official offered a different view. "Here we are talking about diplomatic tensions and you expect that after November, when IPL ends and before the next IPL starts in April 2021, there would be no anti-China sentiment? Are we serious?" a veteran BCCI official said on conditions of anonymity.
The anti-China sentiment in the country peaked after the violent face-off between the Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. India lost 20 soldiers in the clash, while China also acknowledged unspecified casualties.
The stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) caused outrage across India with several calls for boycotts of Chinese companies and products.
The BCCI is now likely to float a tender for new IPL title sponsors as mandated by its constitution. The glitzy T20 league starts on Sept. 19 in the UAE, forced out of India due to the rising COVID-19 cases.
The new development is in stark contrast to what came out of Sunday's IPL's Governing Council meeting, where it was decided that Vivo, along with all the other sponsors, will remain on board.
This was after the BCCI had announced in June that all sponsorship deals pertaining to IPL will be reviewed in the aftermath of the clash in the Galwan Valley.
However, after Sunday's meeting, there was a huge backlash on social media about the BCCI holding on to Vivo.
Both parties then began thrashing out an amicable separation plan, at least for this season.
However, the end of this deal could spell losses for the franchises as they get a substantial share from the sponsorship pool. Half of the annual Vivo sponsorship money is distributed equally among eight franchises, which comes to Rs 27.5 crore.
"As of now, it will be very difficult for the BCCI to match the sponsorship amount at such short notice. Therefore, both BCCI and the franchises should be prepared to lose out on some money -- BCCI more but each franchise from Vivo's exit will potentially lose 15 crore," the official said.
"This year will be difficult for everyone but the show must go on," the official said.
Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.
Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.
"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.
"We're not ruling any option out."
The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.
Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.
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The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.
Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.
The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.
"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.
Mar 2: Indian captain Virat Kohli was left frustrated and deflated as New Zealand won the second Test inside three days in Christchurch on Monday to sweep the series.
India started the day at 90 for six and were all out for 124, before New Zealand chased down the required 132 to win for the loss of three wickets in 36 overs.
It ended a disappointing tour for India and Kohli as New Zealand, who won the first Test by 10 wickets early on day four, wrapped up the series with ease.
New Zealand are now unbeaten in their last 13 home Tests, winning nine of them, and in the past decade their record as hosts is played 39, won 20, drawn 13 and lost five.
In the latest series, on traditional New Zealand green wickets, India managed scores of 165, 191, 242 and 124, reflecting the low contributions from Kohli of 2, 19, 3 and 14.
Kohli came to New Zealand as the world's top Test batsman and oozing charm as he described New Zealand as the “nice guys” of cricket.
But during the series he lost his top ranking to Australian Steve Smith and when Kane Williamson went for three in the first innings of the second Test the pressure showed when he gave the New Zealand skipper a very animated send-off.
There was further evidence of frustration when he was caught on camera yelling an obscenity at a group of New Zealand supporters on Sunday.
The end came quickly for India on day three as Tim Southee and Trent Boult tormented the batsmen with their variety of inswing and outswing deliveries targeting both sides of the stumps.
Hanuma Vihari was the first to fall, in Southee's second over, when he turned a legside delivery too fine and was caught by BJ Watling diving to his left.
Five balls later and with no addition to the score, India's other overnight batsman Rishabh Pant was caught behind off a Boult delivery that swung away.
Mohammed Shami was caught for five by Tom Blundell at deep mid-wicket and Jasprit Bumrah was run out when trying to give the strike to Ravindra Jadeja, who was unbeaten on 16.
Boult and Southee signed for most of the dismissals with Boult taking four for 28 and Southee three for 36. The swing pair accounted for 25 of the 40 Indian wickets in the series.
There was enough seam and swing available for India to keep the New Zealand batsmen guessing but Bumrah and Umesh Yadav were unable to apply consistent pressure and Mohammed Shami was troubled by a sore shoulder.
New Zealand coasted through a century opening stand by Tom Latham and Blundell before losing three quick wickets.
Latham notched his 18th half-century and second of the Test before he was caught behind off Yadav for 52, Kane Williamson had a short stay for five, and Blundell went for 55.
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