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But what is being forgotten at the moment is that Rohit is making a comeback to the Test side and is under some pressure to perform. When he came into bat much earlier than expected in the 21st over itself, India had already lost four of its top order batsmen and had scored just 41 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara was batting relatively solidly at the other end. But the number three stalwart slowed down as he saw his partners departing in a quick procession....

Joe Burns, Adam Voges and Callum Ferguson, as well as wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, paid the price for a string of batting collapses, while seamer Joe Mennie was also axed after the innings defeat in the second test in Hobart. Four uncapped players – openers Matt Renshaw and Nic Maddinson, wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Handscomb and seamer Chadd Sayers – came into the 12-man squad. Wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade and seamer Jackson Bird, both given previous chances at test level before being discarded, were also recalled....

MORE: Must-see photos from Melbourne | Funny faces from the Open | Serena advances The third-seeded Romanian played four out of her five matches on Rod Laver Arena in this tournament but still went somewhat under the radar. Halep said that while her name was not in the headlines, she said stress got to her, not the pressure of the moment. “Not really pressure. I cannot say pressure. Just I was a little bit stressed....

Dodig, who won the French Open men’s doubles title last year, is Sania’s new mixed doubles partner after she parted ways with Brazilian Bruno Soares after the 2015 US Open. The Croatian was her Indian Aces teammate during the 2015 International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) and his flying volleys can surely come in handy for the Indian. However, they need to be wary of Kyrgios’ booming serve in their opener....

ZURICH (Reuters) - The possibility of a World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi turned out to be a false alarm, yet next year’s tournament will still have a major absentee after the United States’ extraordinary failure to qualify on Tuesday. Panama, meanwhile, showed it is perfectly possible for small nations to qualify without expanding the finals to 48 teams, which is planned for the 2026 edition, as they joined Iceland in reaching the tournament for the first time....

Reuters and Ipsos conducted a poll regarding U.S. interest in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and determined that two in three Americans do not plan to follow the World Cup, with only 7 percent indicating they plan to follow the event closely. The article discusses the growth of Major League Soccer in recent years, then states: “But soccer still has a long way to go before its marquee event can stake a claim alongside football's Super Bowl, the National Basketball Association finals, and baseball's World Series in American minds, the poll shows....

This article will argue that it the player of the tournament was, in fact, Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut. Though Spain was unable to defeat Serbia in the final, it was to no fault of Bautista-Agut, who went undefeated throughout the whole tournament. Though it would be easy to say Novak Djokovic was the player of the tournament or even Rafael Nadal, that would undermine how important Bautista-Agut was form the Spaniards....

After the league spent 35 years using the same classic leather ball, NBA Commissioner David Stern decided over the summer to replace it with a synthetically engineered model designed by Spalding that supposedly grips better, bounces truer and lasts longer. Several players immediately sounded off, including Shaquille O’Neal, who suggested that the ball’s designer should have his college degree revoked. Stern insisted that players would adjust and, according to Cuban, most have....

Earlier this week, the two-time World Series champion tweeted he would no longer wear a mask inside any businesses, saying it was “unconstitutional to enforce.” On Tuesday, he doubled down on the claim, suggesting that while the “liberal left” had criticized him and “guilt-shamed me for threatening the lives of millions of innocent people” most “well-adjusted, sane people” agreed with his stance. “If you want to wear a mask and live in fear for the rest of your lives, that’s certainly your prerogative,” Huff said in a video he posted on his Twitter account....

Coach Gus Malzahn is punishing Marshall, who was cited for marijuana possession last month, and views this as an opportunity for sophomore Jeremy Johnson. “We feel good about our quarterback position,” said Malzahn, whose team enters the season ranked No. 6. The Line: Auburn -19.5, Total: 57.5 Line movement: CG Technology opened Auburn a 23-point favorite, but that was before Malzahn’s decision on Marshall was made public. CG reopened the game Augurn -22, and money on the underdog has pushed the spread down from there....

He stood behind a podium with a nod to this past season's Iron Bowl stunner. This is brilliant. [via Eye on College Football]

The extraordinary situation — a public university keeping secret athletic department disciplinary actions — is unique not only for its clandestine nature but also the severity of the self-imposed sanctions. Auburn did not conduct recruiting of any kind from September 2017 to April 2018, Auburn athletics told AL.com: no official visits or unofficial visits by prospective players, no contacts or phone calls to any recruits during that time. Consider the context: While Auburn was making a run to its first NCAA Tournament since 2003, a time when basketball programs try to leverage their success, Pearl and his staff were not doing any recruiting....

The American University of Malta are placed third in the Group A table, with three wins and as many losses. They lost their last two games to Marsa. Meanwhile, the Southern Crusaders are fourth in the table. They have momentum on their side with two successive wins over the Royal Strikers. On that note, let’s take a look at the three players who could be the captain or vice-captain of your Dream11 team for the ECS T10 Malta clash between the two sides....

Ryan Mania won on his first ride in the Grand National here on Saturday just two years after giving up riding as he guided outsider Auroras Encore to a shock victory at Aintree racecourse. The Scottish jockey gave a perfect ride to the 66/1 chance – trained by Sue Smith wife of former leading showjumper Harvey – who beat home Welsh duo Cappa Bleu (12/1) and Teaforthree (10/1) while the 2011 runner-up Oscar Time was fourth....

Austin Chief Medical Officer Mark Escott announced Tuesday the state’s fourth-largest city will remain in Stage 4, the second-highest risk level. That stage advises individuals to avoid nonessential travel and recommends that businesses operate up to 25 to 50 percent capacity, in addition to the wearing of face coverings. Escott announced the rules, which are required by a City Council ordinance that authorizes public health officials to implement a mask mandate, an Austin City Council spokesperson confirmed in an email to Newsweek....

It’s difficult for anyone to be outright compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov because of just how much he accomplished in mixed martial arts. Prior to retiring at 29-0 he was quite easily one of the most exciting fighters of his generation. Now that he’s been able to ride off into the sunset, we can take a step back and look at his incredible body of work. Yaroslav Amosov, on the other hand, is 26-0....

Bacher led South Africa to a 4-0 whitewash over Bobby Simpson-skippered Australia in the 1969-1970 season. “In this age of a thousand cameras, it was stupid to even think of doing it (ball tampering), and incredibly stupid to go through with it,” he told the South African media. TV cameras caught Cameron Bancroft trying to change the condition of the ball last Saturday in Cape Town using a piece of grit-encrusted sticky tape during a Test won by South Africa....

After Australia was all out for 231 after being sent in to bat, the home side restricted South Africa to 224 for nine, with Marcus Stoinis taking 3 for 35. Alex Carey top-scored with 47 from 72 balls for Australia, Chris Lynn added 44 from 44 deliveries, and captain Aaron Finch 41 from 63 balls. The win set up a series-deciding third match in Hobart on Sunday. South Africa won the first match in Perth by six wickets....

It means a win against Japan in Saitama on Thursday will guarantee the green-and-gold a position in Russia. A draw against the Blue Samurai and victory versus Thailand five days later will also be enough to send Australia through. Goals from Ali Mabkhout and Ahmed Khalil saw the Emratis beat the Saudis to keep their slim chances of qualification alive. The visitors had begun the tie the stronger, and they opened the scoring inside 20 minutes as midfielder Nawaf Al Abed coolly converted from the penalty spot after he had been hauled down inside the area by UAE defender Mohamed Fawzi....