Rajasthan defeat Punjab by 6 wickets

Rajasthan Royals comfortably beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in their IPL match on Saturday, The Indian Express reported.

Batting first, Jonny Bairstow was back among runs with a fine half-century as Punjab Kings put up a challenging 189 for 5.

Bairstow scored 56 off 40 balls with eight fours and a six. Jitesh Sharma (38 not out off 18 balls) and Liam Livingstone (22 off 14 balls) also played nice little cameos at the back-end to spruce up the total, according to the Indian Express.

For the Royals, Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 28 in 4 overs.

In reply, the Royals scored the required runs in 19.4 overs with Yashasvi Jaiswal making 68 off 41 balls.

Arshdeep Singh was the best bowler with 2/29 in 4 overs, Indian Express reported.

Liverpool draw with Spurs boosts Man City’s EPL title bid

Liverpool drew with Tottenham 1-1 and went to the top of the English Premier League on Saturday but handed Manchester City a chance to pull three points clear, Associated Press reported.

The end of a 12-match league winning run at Anfield dampened Liverpool’s bid for a quadruple of trophies.

City was at home to Newcastle on Sunday when the defending champion can regain first place and go three points ahead.

Son Heung-min’s close-range finish from Ryan Sessegnon’s pass put Tottenham ahead in the 56th minute, according to the Associated Press.

Tottenham’s resolute defense was repelling Liverpool attacks until a shot from Luis Díaz outside the penalty area deflected off Rodrigo Bentancur and beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Despite Tottenham holding Liverpool for a second time this season, the point hurt its attempt to overhaul Arsenal in fourth place with three games to go.

Ahead of Thursday’s north London derby, Arsenal was a point ahead of Tottenham, and plays Leeds on Sunday, Associated Press.

Hangzhou Asian Games postponed until 2023 due to Covid-19 crisis

The Asian Games 2022, which were scheduled to be held in September in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, has been postponed until 2023 due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The Olympic Council of Asia confirmed that the Asian Games will be postponed until 2023, Reuters reported.

The call, which was first confirmed by the Chinese state media, has been taken with China is battling a resurgence in Covid-19 infections. Shanghai, the financial hub of the country, has been under a lockdown for a month now while more curbs have been introduced in Beijing, which is on edge now.

The decision comes even as China was able to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing earlier this year. There were strict Covid-19 protocols in place and the Games were held behind closed doors in February 2022.

Notably, India's Sports Minister Anurag Thakur had said last month that a call on India's participation in the Asian Games would be taken depending on China's assessment of the situation and its readiness to host the continental event amid the rising cases, according to Reuters.

"All other participating nations are discussing and in some time India will also take a decision but before that the host nation should make it clear what are they thinking and how much prepared they are," Thakur had said.

The Asian Games is the latest in the list of major sporting events which have seen delays or cancellations due to the Covid-19 crisis. The biggest global sporting event, the Olympic Games, were postponed until 2021 due to the pandemic in 2020. The Summer Games went ahead even as a section of the public in Japan were against the country hosting the global sporting spectacle.

The Olympic Games went ahead without any major Covid-19 impact as athletes from across the globe experienced the new normal as they deal with the pressure of the Olympics in Tokyo.

The 2018 edition of the Asian Games were held in Jakarta and Palembang. India had finished 8th in the medal table with a total of 69 medals, including 15 gold medals. India's elite athletes will set their sights on the Commonwealth Games in the absence of the Asian Games this year. The CWG will be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8, Reuters reported.

 

Delhi Capitals win by 21 runs

Delhi Capitals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 21 runs in an Indian Premier League match on Thursday, The Indian Express reported.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and decided to field first.

With this win, Delhi Capitals have played 10 matches and won 5 games, according to The Indian Express.

They are at the 5th spot in the IPL points table.