SPORTS

Umran Malik breathed fire on debut when India locked horns with New Zealand in the first of the three ODIs on Friday, November 25 at the Eden Park in Auckland.

Malik didn't get a chance to play in the three-match T20I series and the Indian team management had to face a lot of criticism for benching him.

However, Malik played in the first ODI and didn't take much time to make his mark by any means. The speedster is known for cracking up speeds and he lived up to his reputation.

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has blasted the BCCI for sacking Virat Kohli as India’s captain earlier this year following the Men in Blue’s disappointing T20 World Cup campaign. Two weeks ago, Team India was bulldozed by England in the T20 World Cup semifinals, handing them a stunning 10-wicket defeat in Adelaide before going on to beat Pakistan in the final to lift the iconic trophy in Melbourne.

Salman Butt pointed out this particular reason why the Indian Cricket Board removed Virat Kohli as the skipper at the start of 2022. However, despite the change in captain with Rohit Sharma taking over from Virat Kohli, the fortunes of the Indian cricket team didn’t change.

It was deja vu all over again as fans were treated to another upset in the World Cup when 4-time Champions Germany succumbed to Japan 1-2 in their Group E encounter on Wednesday.

This is the punishment for a lack of killer instinct – a charge one can never lay at the door of the very best German sides. Hansi Flick's men should have been out of sight by the halfway point of the second half, but were not ruthless enough. The longer it stayed 1-0, the longer Japan felt they could get something out of the game. Soon after their goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda made multiple saves to keep his team in the game, Japan went to the other end and tested Manuel Neuer.

A month ago when India and Pakistan were up against each other in the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 clash, Melbourne Cricket Ground was filled with over 90,000 fans.

The final between England and Pakistan witnessed over 80,000 fans flocking to the stadium to watch the summit clash.

However, one month later, when Australia hosted England for an ODI match at the same venue, the pictures that emerged from the stands are not what the stakeholders of cricket would want to see.

Iranian players did not sing their national anthem before their opening game at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar against England. This gesture made Iranian fans emotional, as some women in the audience even broke down. Ahead of the game, Captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh said the team would "collectively" decide whether or not to refuse to sing the anthem in support of the anti-hijab stir. And it is clear that they chose to stand for the massive movement back home. Defender Ehsan Hajsafi even said Iran's World Cup players are the "voice" of the people. 

In a striking act of solidarity with protesters in Iran, the men’s national football team decided not to sing the national anthem in its opening World Cup game against England.