Shiva, Kavinder help Indian Tigers take 2-0 lead

Rohtak

Indian Tigers’ Shiva Thapa marked his return to the ring with a phenomenal 2-1 victory over Shamil Askerov of Patriot Boxing Team in the second home leg of the World Series of Boxing. Kavinder Bisht won his bout as India took a 2-0 lead against the Patriots. Bisht walloped Rasul Saliev in the 52kg category with a unanimous 3-0 verdict.

New Delhi/Kolkata
ICC chairman Manohar may agree to extension 

Shashank Manohar’s extension as the chairman will be one of the key points of discussion as the member nations of the International Cricket Council meet in Kolkata for its quarterly meeting starting tomorrow. Former BCCI president Manohar is ICC’s first independent chairman and, in all likelihood, will get an extension during the annual conference scheduled in Dublin in June. 

New Delhi
Fletcher should get credit for smooth transition: Gary

Handling a transition phase for any successful unit is a challenge in itself and that’s why the Indian cricket team’s most successful former head coach, Gary Kirsten, feels that Duncan Fletcher played a “huge role” during his four-year tenure, which has now become a footnote. “I think Duncan Fletcher and MS Dhoni played a huge role in creating an environment for young players to thrive. This has really helped younger players to deal with the trials and tribulations of international competition,” Kirsten said. 

Merzouga (Morocco)
Mena finishes 15th, Santosh 19th at Merzouga Rally

Oriol Mena and CS Santosh of Hero MotoSports Team Rally finished 15th and 19th, respectively, in the Merzouga Rally. In the fifth and final stage on Friday, Mena completed the last stage in the 13th spot with a timing of 41 minutes and 12 seconds, taking his overall timing to 15 hours, 43 minutes and eight seconds. Joan Barreda Bort of Honda Racing clinched the top spot with a timing of 13 hours, 28 minutes and 19 seconds. Santosh was 30th in the final stage, which he completed in 44 minutes and 57 seconds. His overall time over the week was 16 hours, 43 minutes and 19 seconds and it gave him a 19th place. — Agencies