SPORTS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated ace shuttler P V Sindhu for winning the Swiss Open, saying her accomplishments inspire the youth of India.

Sindhu clinched her second women's singles title of the season with a straight-game win over Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan at the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament at Basel on Sunday.

Playing her second successive final in the tournament, Sindhu, a double Olympic medallist, took 49 minutes to get the better of the fourth-seeded Busanan 21-16 21-8 at the St. Jakobshalle.

Kolkata Knight Riders are known to invest in young talent and they have done so this time too. Their head coach Brendon McCullum foresees a bright future for most of these lesser-known players, provided they are able to grab their chances.

"KKR have unearthed Varun Chakravarthy. Venkatesh Iyer also shot into prominence last season here when given the opportunity. I feel all of these players to some degree have the potential to be a future star but everything depends on the opportunity they get," McCullum stated on Friday, a day before the side opens its campaign against Chennai Super Kings.

Ahead of the 2022 IPL season, CSK have made a big change to their leadership.

"MS Dhoni has decided to hand over the leadership of Chennai Super Kings and picked Ravindra Jadeja to lead the team. Jadeja, who has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2012, will only be the third player to lead CSK. Dhoni will continue to represent Chennai Super Kings this season and beyond," read a statement from CSK.

Dhoni, who was the most expensive buy at the inaugural IPL auction held in February 2008, has been the skipper of CSK right through all the IPL seasons the franchise has participated. Under his leadership, CSK has registered a record 121 wins in 204 matches in the IPL.

Captain Pat Cummins and senior pacer Mitchell Starc produced a master-class of fast-bowling on a flat pitch at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore on Day 3 of the 3rd Test between Pakistan and Australia to hand a sizeable first-innings lead to the visiting team.

Pakistan lost their last 7 wickets for just 20 runs as Starc and Cummins unleashed a fiery spell of reverse-swing bowling towards the end of Day 3.

Captain Cummins bowled an impeccable line and length to pick up his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests while Starc spewed fire with his pace and reverse swing to take four as Pakistan were all out for 268, replying to Australia's total of 391. Australia openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner managed to see through three overs before stumps to take their side to 11-0, extending the lead to 134 overall.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri is all set to make his comeback behind the microphone after more than five years. Before becoming Team India head coach in 2017, the former India all-rounder had a stellar career as a television broadcaster and he was widely regarded as one of the best in the business, not just in India but across the globe.

From the 2007 World T20 final against Pakistan to the 2011 ODI World Cup summit clash against Sri Lanka, Shastri was behind the microphone when the Men in Blue dealt the final blow to the opposition and became the world champions.

“...In the air, Sreesanth takes it” or “...Dhoni finishes off in style”, these two sentences still fresh in the minds of every Indian cricket fan and give most of us goosebumps everytime we hear them.