Buenos Aires [Argentina], March 4 (ANI): Indian tennis player Sumit Nagal on Thursday outclassed World no. 22 Christian Garinto in the Argentina Open and registered his biggest win of the career.
In the second round clash, Nagal defeated Chile’s Garinto 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Indian had the upper hand in the game and dominated the match to secure an easy win.
This is his first-ever win over a Top 50 player. Nagal has faced top-ranked players like Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem in the past. He was even able to clinch the first set against Federer in the 2019 US Open. Nagal encountered Thiem in the second-round clash of the 2020 US Open.
Nagal will now face Albert Ramos Vinolas in the quarter-final on Friday.
Earlier, when being asked by ANI whether we could expect players outside the Big Three to win more Grand Slams going ahead, Nagal had said: “Tennis is a sport where anything can happen, to me if someone wins from the Top 3, it would not be a surprise as well.”
“To try to match what Federer does is very difficult. What I learnt from him is how he understands himself and how he reads the game. He will never make the same mistake twice, I felt that I learnt more when I played against Dominic Thiem. I would like to play the way Thiem plays, he is serving very smart, he has got a good forehand, I would love to have that in my game,” he had added. (ANI)

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 4 (ANI): Skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday equalled MS Dhoni’s record of leading India in most Test matches.
As Kohli stepped out for toss in the fourth Test against England at the Narendra Modi Stadium, it became his 60th Test as the skipper of India, and as a result, he equalled Dhoni’s record.
In the previous 59 matches, he has captained India in, Kohli has managed to register 35 victories and 14 losses. While ten matches have ended in losses for India.
Dhoni-led India in 60 Tests, and he managed to attain victories in 27 victories. In 2019, Kohli had surpassed Dhoni to become the most successful Test skipper for India.
Earlier, England won the toss and opted to bat first in the fourth and final Test against India. The hosts made one change to their lineup as they brought in Mohammed Siraj in place of Jasprit Bumrah.
On the other hand, England made two changes to their lineup as they brought in Dominic Bess and Dan Lawrence in place of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj.
England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Dominic Sibley, Dan Lawrence, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Dominic Bess, James Anderson, Jack Leach.
This is the 50th Test for Root as England skipper in the longest format of the game.
India had managed to defeat England by ten wickets within two days in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The match saw both India and England batsmen failing to shine and getting out to balls that did not turn and skidded through from the spinners. But critics have looked to blame the pitch for the failure of the batsmen.
The four-match series is currently being led by India (2-1) and the hosts just need to win or draw the final Test to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).
On the other hand, England is out of WTC’s final contention, and they would be playing just to end the four-match series 2-2. If England win the last Test, then Australia would qualify for the WTC final. (ANI)

Basel [Switzerland], March 4 (ANI): Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap had a humiliating start as they crashed out of the Swiss Open in the first round on Wednesday (local time).
Young prodigies Sai Praneeth, Sourabh Verma and Ajay Jayaram advanced to the second round of the tournament after winning their respective games in the opening round.
Olympic medalist Nehwal lost in a tough-fought clash against Thailand’s Phittayaporn Chaiwan 16-21, 21-17, 21-23 that lasted for 58 minutes.
While Nehwal’s husband Kashyap lost to lower-ranked Pablo Abian of Spain 15-21, 10-21 in straight games.
Praneeth outclassed Isreal’s Misha Zilberman 21-11,21-14 in just 34 minutes to progress to the next round of the competition.
Verma won against Switzerland’s Christian Kirchmayr 21-19 21-18 in his first-round clash. He faces eight seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the Round of 16. Ajay Jayaram defeated Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand 21-12 21-13 to enter the Round of 16 where he will face third seed Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.
Earlier, PV Sindhu got off to a winning start in the Swiss Open as she defeated Neslihan Yigit of Turkey. Sindhu secured a 21-16, 21-19 win over Yigit in the match to progress to the second round.
Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty started their campaign on a high as they outclassed Scottish pair Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley in the first round of the Swiss Open.
Also, Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth defeated compatriot Sameer Verma in the first round of the ongoing Swiss Open here on Wednesday. Srikanth secured an 18-21, 21-18, 21-11 win over Verma to progress to the next round of the tournament.
However, HS Prannoy crashed out of the tournament after losing to Dutch badminton player Mark Caljouw 21-19, 9-21, 21-17. (ANI)

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 4 (ANI): England won the toss and opted to bat first in the fourth and final Test against India here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.
The hosts made one change to their lineup as they brought in Mohammed Siraj in place of Jasprit Bumrah.
On the other hand, England made two changes to their lineup as they brought in Dominic Bess and Dan Lawrence in place of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer.
India playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Siraj.
England playing XI: Zak Crawley, Dominic Sibley, Dan Lawrence, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Dominic Bess, James Anderson, Jack Leach.
This is the 50th Test for Root as England skipper in the longest format of the game.
India had managed to defeat England by ten wickets within two days in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The match saw both India and England batsmen failing to shine and getting out to balls that did not turn and skidded through from the spinners. But critics have looked to blame the pitch for the failure of the batsmen.
The four-match series is currently being led by India (2-1) and the hosts just need to win or draw the final Test to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).
On the other hand, England is out of WTC’s final contention, and they would be playing just to end the four-match series 2-2.
If England win the last Test, then Australia would qualify for the WTC final. (ANI)

By Baidurjo Bhose
New Delhi [India], March 4 (ANI): Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is looking to start their camp by March 8 or 9, confirmed CSK CEO, Kasi Viswanathan on Thursday.
CSK skipper MS Dhoni and batsman Ambati Rayudu have already reached Chennai and the other Tamil Nadu players will soon be joining the camp.
Speaking to ANI, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said that the team is looking to start the camp for the upcoming season of the IPL by 8th or 9th of March.
“We are looking to start our camp from the 8th or 9th as we look to prepare for the upcoming edition of the IPL. Skipper MS Dhoni is here and the likes of Ambati Rayudu and all those available will be a part of the camp. We are also looking at the Tamil Nadu boys who are part of the team to join in,” he said.
Before the mini-auction, Dhoni-led CSK had released Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Murali Vijay and Piyush Chawla from the squad. Shane Watson who had retired after the IPL 2020 season will also not be seen in action. Apart from the Aussie all-rounder, no other foreign player was released from the squad.
In the players’ auction held on February 18, Chennai bought the likes of Moeen Ali and K Gowtham. The side also added Cheteshwar Pujara to their ranks for the upcoming IPL 2021.
CSK retained players: MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suresh Raina, Sam Curran, Josh Hazlewood, Imran Tahir, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Karn Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Mitchell Santner, Ravindra Jadeja, Narayan Jagadeesan, KM Asif, Lungi Ngidi, Sai Kishore.
The Chennai based franchise had a dismal outing in last year’s IPL. The side finished at the seventh position in the points table.
Suresh Raina had missed the IPL 2020 season after pulling out of the tournament due to personal reasons. CSK has won the IPL thrice and it is regarded as one of the most successful franchises in T20 history. (ANI)

New Delhi [India], March 4 (ANI): Former India batsman VVS Laxman on Thursday asked whether England would be carrying the scars of the previous two Tests in the fourth and final Test of the series.
India and England will be locking horns in the fourth and final Test of the series, beginning today at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
“Good teams and players realise that it’s the will to prepare that matters. While skills of both the batting line-ups will be tested, I’m eagerly waiting to see the mental approach of both sides. Will England carry the scars of the last two tests and whether India continues to be ruthless,” Laxman tweeted.
India had managed to defeat England by ten wickets within two days in the third Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The match saw both India and England batsmen failing to shine and getting out to balls that did not turn and skidded through from the spinners. But critics have looked to blame the pitch for the failure of the batsmen.
On Wednesday, India skipper Virat Kohli had agreed that spinning tracks are indeed subjected to more criticism as compared to other tracks in the world.
“I totally believe that. There is always too much noise and conversation about spinning tracks. I am sure if our media is in a space to contradict those views or present those views which say it is unfair to criticise just spinning tracks then I think it will be a balanced conversation. The unfortunate part is that everyone plays along with that narrative and they keep making it news till the time it is relevant,” said Kohli while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.
“Then a Test match happens, if it finishes on day four and five, nobody says anything, but if it finishes inside two-three days, everyone pounces on the same issue, it becomes the issue everyone is talking about. We lost in New Zealand on day three in just 36 overs, I am sure nobody of our people wrote about the pitch, it was all about how India played badly in New Zealand and none of the pitches were criticised,” he added.
Elaborating further, Kohli said: “Nobody saw how much the ball was doing and how the ball was moving and how much grass was there on the wicket. The reason behind our success is that we never crib about the pitches we play on. We will continue that as a team, it is always been the case that spinning tracks come into focus way more, when teams get bundled out for 40-45 on seaming tracks, nobody talks about that.”
The four-match series is currently being led by India (2-1) and the hosts just need to win or draw the final Test to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).
On the other hand, England is out of WTC’s final contention, and they would be playing just to end the four-match series 2-2. If England win the last Test, then Australia would qualify for the WTC final. (ANI)