The big story: England’s marathon India tour finally comes to a close

India and England will battle it out Bangalore for the final Twenty20 International on Wednesday, in what will be the series decider with both teams winning a game each. Poor umpiring decisions from the second game in Nagpur – which India won by five runs – has grabbed the spotlight heading into this game; England even promised to submit a report to the match referee.

Bangalore has historically produced batting-friendly wickets and the last time an international T20 game was played at the venue – in the World Twenty20 encounter against Bangladesh – the Indians edged out their opponents by a solitary run. England, on the other hand, come into the contest more angry than motivated after feeling hard done by a couple of questionable umpiring decisions. Both teams are expected to field unchanged sides from the previous game.

Other top stories:

Cricket:

  • West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell’s lawyer has “disagreed” with the one-year ban imposed on his client for missing three dope tests during 2015. Russell’s lawyer, Patrick Foster, called the 28-year-old a “clean athlete”.
  • The Supreme Court turned down a plea from the Board of Control for Cricket in India seeking only one BCCI representative to the International Cricket Council’s meeting in Dubai from February 2 to 5.  
  • Bangladesh batsman Liton Das was recalled for the one-off Test against India in Hyderabad starting on February 9. Skipper Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque and Imrul Kayes, all of whom missed the Christchurch Test against New Zealand due to injury, have also been selected. There is no place for young left-armer Mustafizur Rahman, though.
  • Australia picked veteran Michael Klinger and wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka later in the month. Jhye Richardson and all-rounder Ashton Turner are the new faces in the squad, which will be captained by opener Aaron Finch.
  • Australia’s stand-in skipper Matthew Wade was ruled out of the rest of the Chappell-Hadlee three-match One-day International series owing to a back strain. Finch will captain the side for the remaining two games.

Football:

  • Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger stated that his side was “not ready” to deal with the “physical play” of Watford in the wake of his side’s 1-2 loss at the Emirates on Tuesday.
  • Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp aplogised for his angry exchange with fourth official Neil Swarbrick on the touchline after Chelsea striker Diego Costa’s penalty was saved by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. The German revealed that he had yelled the words “no one can beat us” to Swarbrick.
  • On transfer deadline day, Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho joined Crystal Palace for the rest of the season. The French defender has been kept out of matchday duties for a number of disciplinary reasons this season.
  • Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce has blasted the Premier League scheduling games on transfer deadline day, stating that it is a huge distraction for the respective clubs’ players and managers, “I think the hard bit is the distraction. I had a player asking me if he was up for sale so that is what you get when you get this God-forsaken window,” Allardyce said.
  • Manchester City have reportedly signed 19-year-old midfielder Yangel Herrera on transfer deadline day. Venezuelan side Atletico Venezuela, on their website, reported that the 19-year-old was snapped up by the Sky Blues on deadline day of the transfer window. City, though, have not made an announcement yet.

Ultimate Fighting Championship:

  • UFC president Dana White thought that former champion Ronda Rousey’s career is “probably done”. Rousey lost on her comeback game, which was against current champion Amanda Nunes,  “I think she’s going to ride off in the sunset and start living her life outside of fighting,” White said.