Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on Friday extended New Year greetings to everyone and urged people to "spread love and compassion".
Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday extended greetings to his fans on the occasion of New Year and said "may 2021 be a year to always remember for the best reasons".
India's former hockey captain Ajitpal Singh fondly remembered his 1975 World Cup teammate Michael Kindo, who passed away in Rourkela on Thursday. Kindo was 73.
On Wednesday, the Board sent an exhaustive 30-page long list of Covid protocol, including the Standard Operating Procedures (TOI has a copy) to all the teams for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, which will kick off the severely curtailed 2020-21 domestic season from January 10.
Canterbury fast bowler Matt Henry was called up to the New Zealand squad for the second Test against Pakistan, starting on Sunday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, to replace the injured Neil Wagner, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said on Friday.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) celebrated the historic achievement of star spinner Rashid Khan who was named the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Decade and featured in the T20I Team of the decade as well.
The 31-year-old’s woeful form is definitely a worry for the hosts ahead of the third Test in Sydney starting from January 7. While some have questioned Smith’s technique against the Indian bowlers, former Australian skipper Kim Hughes offered a different point of view.
The middle-order batsman said the Aussies have been stifled by a leg-side trap set by India. In both the Tests so far in Adelaide and Melbourne, India have crowded the leg side with fielders and the fast bowlers have predominantly bowled straight at the stumps when the ball gets old.
Australia's batsmen must balance aggression with discipline to combat India in the third Test in Sydney after being pinned down by their bowlers in the first two matches, number three Marnus Labuschagne said.
Liverpool will start 2021 in a familiar position at the top of the Premier League but with a rejuvenated Manchester United leading a pack of challengers who are all within striking distance.
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is expected to make an eagerly awaited return from injury as his side look to battle back into the Bundesliga top four with a win over high-fliers Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Since 2018-19, when Virat Kohli’s boys won the series 2-1, there has been a remarkable decrease in Aussie run-rates. In 11 innings (8 in 2018-19 and 3 on the current tour), the Australians have touched a run-rate of 3.0 only once, in the first innings of Perth where they won the Test.
Neymar laughed off controversy Thursday over reports he was throwing a mega New Year's party for 500 guests, posting a video online of preparations for what he called a "low-key dinner" with family and friends.
Will Pucovski's history of bouncing back strongly from concussion-induced breaks gives Australia assistant coach Andrew McDonald confidence that the young opener will not have trouble in scoring runs if drafted into playing XI.
After displacing Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to reach the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson on Thursday said he was just trying to do the best for his side which reflected in the rankings. Willamson did briefly occupy the top spot towards the end of 2015, but either Smith or Kohli have been number one since. This year too, Smith was at the top for 313 days and Kohli for 51, before Williamson surged ahead.
Three days after bagging the ICC Men's Test Cricketer of the Decade award, Australia batsman Steve Smith on Thursday said he is humbled to get the honour and thanked all the supporters for showing faith in him. He further said he is excited to see what the next decade has in store for him.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has been sued by former umpires John Holder and Ismail Dawood for alleged racial discrimination during their time in the board's employment, a report said.
Rohit Sharma, who had missed the limited-overs series as well as the first two Tests against Australia due to a hamstring injury that he sustained during the IPL, was seen taking catching practice in the photographs.
Training in the town of Milton Keynes in England, champion shuttler PV Sindhu is leaving no stone unturned to put on a medal-winning show at the Tokyo Olympics next year.
There were deaths that left fans distraught, there was a retirement that was expected but still seemed unacceptable, training across sports shut down for most of the year and athletes copped with one cancelled tournament after another as fear of the virus took precedence over the desire to compete.
India captain Virat Kohli held on to his second position while stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane broke into the top 10 after gaining five places in the latest ICC men's Test batting ranking released on Thursday. Rahane climbed to the sixth spot after scoring 112 and 27 not out to inspire India's eight-wicket series-levelling win in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne.
Los Angeles superstar LeBron James celebrated his 36th birthday on Wednesday with another NBA milestone, scoring double-digit points for the 1,000th straight game in the Lakers' 121-107 victory over the Spurs in San Antonio.
San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon made history on Wednesday, becoming the first woman to take charge of an NBA team when she took over after head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected.
The Indian team management is likely to prefer Shardul Thakur over left-arm pace sensation Thangarasu Natarajan in the third Test against Australia in place of injured Umesh Yadav.
Kane Williamson leaped from third to first after his player-of-the-match effort leading the Black Caps to a 101-run victory over Pakistan this week, scoring 129 in the first innings and a rapid 21 in the second when New Zealand were building a lead before declaring.
New Zealand pace bowler Neil Wagner battled through the pain of two broken toes in the first Test against Pakistan but coach Gary Stead said he would miss the second match at Hagley Oval in Christchurch starting on Sunday.
David Warner may play the third Test against India even if he is short of full fitness as Australia look to the veteran opener to strengthen the top order, assistant coach Andrew McDonald said on Thursday.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane was annoyed his side could not seal victory after they were held to a 1-1 draw at Elche on Wednesday and slipped two points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman heaped praise on the Indian cricket team for their eight-wicket victory against Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
The Australia-India women's ODI series slated for next month has been postponed to next season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.
Lewis Hamilton has been knighted in Britain's traditional New Year Honours list after equalling Michael Schumacher's record of seven Formula One world titles.
An off-key Liverpool were frustrated for a second successive game by struggling opponents as they were held to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Real Madrid were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw at struggling Elche on Wednesday, losing ground in the La Liga title race to leaders Atletico Madrid.
Manchester City kick off the New Year at Chelsea on Sunday, eager to move on from a recent COVID-19 outbreak and get back to putting pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Being dropped from two Tests in South Africa in 2018 despite being the designated vice-captain was probably the lowest point in Ajinkya Rahane's career. It was a turbulent time for Rahane. His spot in the Test XI seemed to be in jeopardy and his future in limited-overs cricket too didn't look promising.
India's Ravindra Jadeja is for now in the same bracket as England's Ben Stokes as an all-rounder, says former India wicket-keeper batsman Deep Dasgupta. Jadeja played an integral role in India's win against Australia in the second Test, returning with figures of 1/15 and 2/28 and scoring 57 in India's first innings.
Interestingly, Ajinkya Rahane, as Test captain, has a 100% win record. He has captained three Tests so far and won all three. The first was vs Australia in 2017 in Dharamsala, when India won by 8 wickets and then vs Afghanistan in Bengaluru in 2018. India won that match by an innings and 262 runs.
Playing alongside top international players in the Indian Premier League has developed a fearlessness in opener Shubman Gill and quick Mohammed Siraj, said India coach Ravi Shastri after the duo excelled in the second Test against Australia.
Opening batsmen David Warner and Will Pucovski have been included in Australia's 18-man squad for the third Test against India in Sydney but Joe Burns has been dropped after twin failures in Melbourne.
The challenges in a post COVID-19 world were new and unusual but unlike other Indian sports, cricket could partially redeem itself, thanks to the deep pockets of the BCCI and an intent to ensure that the "show must go on" with a glitzy Indian Premier League in an alien land.
New Zealand's bowlers produced a late final session surge to guide their side to a tense 101-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Mount Maunganui on Wednesday and kept alive their hopes of reaching next year's World Test Championship final.
Cricket Australia interim Chief Executive Officer Nick Hockley on Wednesday confirmed that Team India and Australia will not travel to Sydney on New Year's eve and will stay in Melbourne for a couple of days.
Australian authorities are asking fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) not to cheer too loudly during the third Test against India next week as the city grapples with an outbreak of Covid-19. The New South Wales (NSW) government restricted movement and tightened curbs on gatherings in Sydney on Wednesday, as the state recorded 18 new cases.
The five-bowler strategy worked out perfectly for India in Melbourne but the Ajinkya Rahane-led side has some tough calls to make in the batting department, especially the opening slot, ahead of the third Test against Australia in Sydney with Rohit Sharma available for selection.
India's win in Melbourne on Tuesday is one of their best when it comes to fighting against adversities.
Winning an away Test match in SENA (SA, Eng, NZ and Aus) countries is no more a rarity in Indian cricket. But India doing it at the MCG without batting first is indeed rare.
In 2011-12 Down Under, Ashwin managed just 9 wickets in three Tests at an average of 62.77 (SR 112). Then during the 2014-15 tour, Ashwin scalped 12 wickets in three Tests @ 48.66 (SR 85.8). On both tours, his wickets mostly came when Australia had already put a massive total on the board and went for the slog, or against tailenders.
TOI has learnt from reliable sources in the BCCI that the 29-year-old Natarajan, who took two for 70 on his ODI debut and then scalped six wickets in the three-match T20 International series at an economy rate of 6.91, is set to replace fast bowler Umesh Yadav.
The year of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is arriving. That would be 2021. Ever since the Olympics were postponed nine months ago, local organizers and the IOC have been biding their time. They've said we'll have to wait until early in 2021 for details about how the Olympics can open on July 23 in the middle of a pandemic. That time is here.
Australia head to the third Test against India desperately searching for answers to their batting woes and with fingers crossed that sidelined opener David Warner will be ready to slot back into the side in Sydney.