FANS TO POP THE ISL BUBBLE
The Indian Super League is going to witness crowds for the first time, as the ISL final in Goa will open its doors on March 20. As per the State Government notification gatherings in public should be restricted to 50% capacity. Which means 9,500 football fans will be treated to championship football.
ISL organisers Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) is currently in discussion with the local authorities to facilitate the smoothest way in which the Final can be staged with spectators will all Covid protocols being followed.
With the number of daily cases slowly reducing and the 3rd wave gradually hitting a plateau, Goa has returned to normalcy. With the state legislative elections coming to an end, the football crazy Goan will be excited at the prospect of finally returning to the stadium.
Goans will be disappointed with the “Gaurs” virtually out from qualifying for the playoffs. This will be only the second time that Goa has failed to qualify for the playoffs in 8 years. A season riddled with drama was also marred when head coach Juan Ferrando left FC Goa for ATK Mohun Bagan mid-season. Nonetheless it will certainly be largely a Goan stronghold irrespective of who reaches the Final.
ALL EYES ON RAHANE AS MUMBAI PLAY GOA
After being dropped by the Indian team after a lengthy lean run with the bat, Ajinkya Rahane will be the centre of attention as Mumbai take on Goa in the Ranji trophy.
Despite being a fairly superior side to Goa, the coastal minnows have made a brilliant start by bundling out Mumbai for a paltry 163. In reply Goa finished day 2 at 114-2. Mumbai that drew their opening game against Saurashtra would have jumped at the prospect of dominating Goa from the go.
The Mumbai side that boasts of international cricketers like former Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, Sarfaraz Khan, Prithvi Shaw and Dhawal Kulkarni were ripped through as Lakshay Garg and Amit Yadav took a 6fer and 4fer respectively. Both Mumbai and Goa drew their opening games against Saurashtra and Orissa respectively. Goa will look to build on the healthy start provided by Amogh Dessai and Suyash Prabhudessai and put on a respectable 1st innings lead. Mind you in the case of a draw the team with the higher 1st innings score is adjudged the winner. Thus Goa is in a strong position to pull of an historic win against the most successful team in the Ranji Trophy with 41 titles.
16-YEAR OLD BEATS MASTER OF 64 SQUARES
This week also witnessed one of the great upsets in chess as 16-year old Indian, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa became the youngest player to beat Magnus Carlsen since he became world champion in 2013, a streak that extends to this day. Ramesh also became only the 2nd Indian to defeat Magnus after veteran grandmaster Viswanathan Anand.
After his win the chess prodigy he was glad to improve on his play from the tournaments first day and to avoid a draw against Magnus Carlsen in his next game which included 39 moves. For Carlsen it was another disappointing display that saw the Norwegian make uncharacteristic blunders. Pragg who was reeling for three straight loses hit his stride at the right time and claimed the momentous occasion of beating the “Mozart of Chess”.
CRISIS IN EAST EUROPE MAY IMPACT SPORTS
In Europe’s darkest hours since WWII, the Russians launched all out military attack on Ukraine thus waging war against its far east neighbour. Apart from the sanctions that were imposed this week after Russia invaded the rebel states of Donestsk and Lunhansk, the sporting world has taken cognisance of the same. The UEFA have called a high-level meeting with all its representatives to discuss the possibility of shifting this season’s Champions League final from St-Petersburg in Russia which was later confirmed, with Paris being the neew destination for the Champions League final.. In a statement UEFA announce “Following the evolution of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the UEFA president has called an extraordinary meeting of the executive committer in order evaluate the situation and take all necessary precautions. Interesting UEFA’s third biggest sponsor “ Gazprom” is a state owned Russian energy company.
Roman Abramovich who is the owner of Chelsea Football Club has faced scrutiny this week after his close ties with Vladimir Putin came into question. Labour MP Chris Bryant has called for Roman to be banned from entering the UK and owning Chelsea after the Russian invasion. Roman who bought the club in 2003 has overseen a golden generation in Chelsea’s history. English Premier League side Manchester United are also in talks to cut their renewal deal with sponsors Aeroflot which is a Russian airline.
IPL CONFINED TO ONE STATE
The Board of Control for Cricket in India have announced that the entirety of the IPL will be hosted by one state itself. Mumbai and Maharashtra will be the two cities that will host matches 55 matches will be played at Wankhede, Brabourne Dy Patil stadium and the remaining 15 matches will be played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune.
The decision to organise the tournament in one state was taken during BCCI’S IPL governing council virtual meet on Thursday. The decision was taken after last year’s edition of the IPL in India was forced to a halt mid-season after the escalation in the number of Covid cases and then continued in Dubai months later.