It was an eventful week for Indian sports but Indian
players failed to capitalize over a good start in all genres. In cricket, Team India lost a close test match to Australia even after a fiery run chase led by skipper Virat Kohli. Indian Hockey Team met disappointment while playing against Pakistan in Hockey Champions Trophy and also lost the last chance to claim Bronze medal playing against Australia. In Tennis, Indian Aces signed off from International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) after facing a defeat against UAE Royals on Saturday. The poor luck touched chess too wherein Viswanathan Anand played his fourth draw in London Chess Classic and is on the verge on busting out of the tournament.
Cricket
Virat Kohli, the Indian Captain led the run chase of 364 runs in the fourth inning of the 1st test match against Australia at Adelaide. He scored his highest test score of 141 but couldn’t save the game. India was steadily moving to clinch the win in last session of the day but the downfall started with Murali Vijay getting out at 99 following which wickets kept falling in succession. India lost the match for 48 runs which means Australia is leading the series 1-0 and will definitely have an upper hand in the 2nd test match starting on 17th December in Brisbane. While Mahendra Singh Dhoni is speculated to join the team in 2nd match, Australian captain announced himself out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
Hockey
In the semifinals of the Champions Trophy, India lost 3-4 to Pakistan in a thrilling encounter at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar on Saturday. Had they won, it would be the first ever instance of India reaching Finals of the Champions Trophy. India dominated the match in the first quarter but failed to maintain the momentum in later stages. India stood a chance to win the bronze medal in the next match against Australia on Sunday but again couldn’t end their 32-year-old medal draught in the Champions Trophy. The match was even 1-1 till 52nd minute when Matt Gohdes hit the winning goal and sealed the bronze medal for his team. In the final played on Sunday, the Olympic champion Germany beat Pakistan 2-0 to win the trophy.
Football
In Barclay’s Premier League, Chelsea returned to the winning path on Saturday with a comfortable 2-0 win over Hull City at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho’s side made a comeback in this game after losing their last game to Newcastle United. Eden Hazard hit the opening goal of the match in 7th minute and Diego Costa scored another goal in 20th minute to take a 2-0 lead which won them the match. Chelsea sits at the top of the Premier League point table with 39 points. Manchester United strengthened their position on BPL point table with a 3-0 win against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.