Daily Sports Headlines December 12, 2022

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Chasing a target of 355 runs, Pakistan could only muster up a total of 328 runs in the second innings of the second Test in Multan. Saud Shakeel led the scoring charts for the hosts, scoring 94 runs while Imam-ul-Haq (60), Mohammad Nawaz (45) and Abudllah Shafique (45) also played important knocks. With the 2nd Test defeat, Pakistan have also lost the 3-match Test series 0-2, with one match still to go. For England, Mark Wood was the pick of the bowlers, producing figures of 4/65.



Chasing 188 for a win, India took the game to the Super Over, where they clinched the contest by four runs, handing Australia women their first T20I loss of the year. The foundation of the win was laid by a 76-run opening stand in 52 balls by Mandhana and Shafali Varma. The Indian vice captain, believed it was the most mature opening partnership she’s had with Shafali; one that didn’t resort to a ‘bang-bang’ approach.
“We have days when she’s batting well, and I give her singles,” Mandhana said in the post match press conference. “There are days when it happens the other way around as well. Today we actually didn’t go bang-bang. We were a little calculative. Good on her as well. Whenever she hit a six, she looked to take a single as well. This was the most mature powerplay we’ve had.




Argentina host Croatia on Tuesday evening in a World Cup semi-final between the competition’s last two silver-medallists.
Both nations endured physically and emotionally draining quarter-finals which were sent to penalties by a late equaliser. Argentina managed to recover from the shock of a quick-fire Dutch double to win on spot-kicks – unlike their South American rivals Brazil. Croatia extended their 100% record to five successive shootouts at the expense of the Selecao.



Another stunning win by England has helped them secure an unassailable 2-0 series lead and leapfrog Pakistan in the ICC World Test Championship standings. Pakistan, who had a good chance of securing one of the first two spots in the WTC standings before the series find themselves in jeopardy as they slip to No.6 on the table. They have now lost two back-to-back Tests from positions of strength. In both cases, the results could have gone either way with Pakistan having the home advantage but England have crushed their opposition with ease.


Time and again, some crazy fan stories keep emerging on social media, leaving sports fanatics gobsmacked. From the FIFA World Cup 2022 quarter-final between Portugal and Morocco, another such story emerged where a fan had to be escorted out of the stadium for a shameful act. In a few pictures and videos that have emerged on social media, it has been found out that the fan tried to throw water on Ronaldo while the Portugal captain was on the bench. The security officials soon got into action and took the fan out of the stadium. Much like Portugal’s Round of 16 match against Switzerland, Ronaldo didn’t make Fernando Santos’ starting XI in the last 8 contest against Morocco. While Ronaldo was with the rest of Portugal’s substitutes during the match, a fan tried to throw water on him.



The BCCI is likely to remove out-of-favour Test specialists Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma from its annual central contracts while Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav may get promotion when the list for the 2022-23 season is finalised during the Board’s Apex Council meeting on December 21. Hardik Pandya, who is being seen as future T20 captain, is likely to get a promotion to Group B from C. The meeting, which has 12 items on the agenda, will be held via video conference. A review of Indian team’s performance in the T20 World Cup and Bangladesh One-Dayers is not part of the agenda but if chairperson deems necessary, non-listed items can be considered for discussion. In a novel gesture, the Apex Council will also ratify a one-time payment for V Jaydevan, whose rain-rule formula is being used in domestic white-ball games for more than a decade now.



The dream was beautiful as long as it lasted,’ Cristiano Ronaldo wrote in a social media post that could be a foreshadowing of his retirement from the Portugal team. Cristiano Ronaldo says his dream of winning a World Cup for Portugal has “ended”, a day after his team’s crushing quarterfinal loss to Morocco. In an emotional message to fans on his Instagram social media account on Sunday, the Portuguese captain — who skirted around the topic of his expected retirement — has acknowledged that his elusive hunt for a World Cup title had finished after 19 years.



After the quarterfinal match he officiated on December 9 between Argentina and the Netherlands, controversial referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz has been “sent home”, as per media reports. Although Argentina advanced to the semifinals, Lionel Messi was uncharacteristically harsh of him following the match. In a match that was frequently interrupted by rising flares from both teams, Lahoz was called out for making questionable choices as he issued a total of 15 yellow cards.
Messi stated after the match that he did not want to talk about referees for fear of being penalised.



Lionel Messi set to achieve another MILESTONE. After having participated in Argentina’s triumph over the Netherlands in the penalty shootout, Lionel Messi is poised to break the all-time World Cup appearance record. The 35-year-old is playing in his second World Cup after making his debut in 2006.



Adidas unveils Al Hilm
The ball that will be used for the FIFA World Cup 2022 semifinals and championship has been unveiled by Adidas. Al Hilm will take the place of Al Rihla, which was the match ball used up until the quarterfinal rounds of the competition. Al Rihla’s groundbreaking adidas “Connected Ball” technology, which has aided match officials in making quicker and more accurate decisions during matches, will be included in the new ball as well.



CBF chief backs Argentina to lift 2022 FIFA World Cup
Argentina’s bid to lift the FIFA World Cup in South America received the support of Fernando Sarney, deputy president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). It is unlikely that many Brazilians are pleased with Argentina’s qualification given the fierce rivalry between Brazil and Argentina. In order for Argentina, led by Messi, to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, Sarney has advised them to put their rivalry to the side and work together.



2 Argentinian players suspended
Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel won’t be available for Argentina’s match against Croatia in the World Cup semifinals. The two players are suspended due to their yellow card accumulation. Lionel Scaloni will now have to adjust his strategy for the match against Croatia.



Kohli’s heartfelt tribute to Ronaldo
Following Portugal’s exit from the FIFA World Cup, one of Ronaldo’s biggest supporters, Virat Kohli, poured his heart out in a touching tribute he sent to the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Virat Kohli wrote on Twitter, “No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you’ve done in this sport and for sports fans around the world. No title can explain the impact you’ve had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That’s a gift from god. A real blessing to a man who plays his heart out every single time and is the epitome of hard work and dedication and a true inspiration for any sportsperson. You are for me the greatest of all time.”



The former Pakistani cricketer addressed the reports about their rumoured divorce recently. According to ETimes, talking to a news portal, Shoaib reportedly said, “It is our personal matter. Neither I nor my wife is answering this question. Leave it alone.”


Injured pace spearhead Josh Hazlewood on Monday was ruled out of Australia’s opening Test against South Africa in Brisbane this week, but skipper Pat Cummins “appears likely” to play. Hazlewood, who has a side strain and missed the just-completed second Test against the West Indies in Adelaide, was the only omission in a 14-man squad. But Cummins is set to return after also sitting out the 419-run win in Adelaide with a thigh problem.


IPL 2023 Auction: 5 Bengal Players KKR Can Target. Kolkata Knight Riders head into the IPL 2023 auction with the lowest remaining purse at 7.05 crores. They retained 14 players and need 21 players in the upcoming auction. After making the finals in IPL 2021, KKR finished with six wins and eight losses under Shreyas Iyer. Every franchise has a total salary cap of Rs. 95 crores in the auction. During the retentions, the 10 teams retained 163 players in their squad. Now, there are 87 slots available overall during IPL 2023 auction. SRH has the highest remaining purse with over 40 crores in their bank and KKR with 7.05 crores has the least purse remaining heading into the auction.

IPL 2023 Mini Auction: Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) can bid on these 3 players: Talking about the most underrated team in IPL history, it is Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the 2016 IPL, under the captaincy of David Warner, the team lifted the trophy by defeating RCB by 8 runs in the final match. After 2 years again this team managed to reach the finals but unfortunately failed to lift the IPL trophy. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won the trophy by defeating Hyderabad in the final of 2018.

That’s all for now. Thank you for your attention.