The big story: Proteas, Lanka share spoils after Day 1 of first Test

South Africa and Sri Lanka shared the spoils on Day 1 of the first Test on Monday. South Africa got off to a good start after fine knocks from JP Duminy and Stephen Cook took them to 174 for two at Tea.

Sri Lanka though pulled things back in the final session with four wickets to restrict the hosts to 267 for six at stumps. Suranga Lakmal was the standout performer scalping a four-wicket haul.

Other top stories

Cricket

  • Azhar Ali’s unbeaten 66 helped Pakistan to reach 142/4 against Australia on a rain-affected first day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
  • Career-best knocks by Tom Latham and Colin Munro propelled New Zealand to a 77-run win over Bangladesh in the first one-day cricket international.
  • Cricket commentator Mark Nicholas is said to be recovering after being taken to hospital suffering abdominal pains during the Boxing Day Test match between Australia and Pakistan in Melbourne.
  • Jharkhand defeated Haryana to book their maiden Ranji Trophy semi-final berth after beating Haryana by five wickets in their quarter-final clash.

Football

  • Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino has been charged with drink-driving after being pulled over by police on Christmas Eve.
  • Sam Allardyce took a point on his return to management with Crystal Palace after their Boxing Day clash against Watford ended in a 1-1 draw.
  • Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed former boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been back to the club’s Carrington training ground several times this season.
  • Leicester City printed 30,000 Jamie Vardy masks for their Boxing Day game against Everton to show their support to the banned England striker, who is serving a three-match suspension.
  • Mumbai City players were handed suspension, fine for semi-final fracas against Atletico de Kolkata. AIFF’s disciplinary committee suspended players Thiago Dos Santos Cunha, Facundo Cardozo and club official Bhushan Tandel.  

Shooting

  • Satyendra Singh clinched gold at the National Shooting Championship after beating AMU teammate and Olympian Chain Singh in men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event on Monday.

Badminton

  • Coach Vimal Kumar feels there is no need for ace shuttler Saina Nehwal to stay away from playing PBL as the badminton league is not a “strenuous affair” like international tournaments.