Michael Hussey negative, Wriddhiman Saha gets conflicting results

New Delhi

CSK batting coach Michael Hussey has recovered from Covid-19, paving the way for his return to Australia. However, SRH’s Wriddhiman Saha has received conflicting results in two coronavirus tests.

New Delhi

Race-walker Irfan negative in second Covid test

Olympics-bound race-walker KT Irfan and four other elite track-and-field athletes have returned negative for Covid-19 in a confirmatory second test conducted at the SAI centre in Bengaluru.

Birmingham

Sharma makes cut; Sandhu, Bhullar bow out

Shubhankar Sharma shot a 1-under 71 in the second round to qualify for the weekend rounds at the British Masters. Sharma was even-par after two rounds and made the cut, which fell at a 1-over. Ajeetesh Sandhu (74-72) missed the cut by one shot, while SSP Chawrasia (75-76) and Gaganjeet Bhullarr (77-76) had a rough week. Meanwhile, in Cape Town, Tvesa Malik shot an even-par 72 to be tied-fifth — two shots off the lead — after the first round of the South African Women’s Open golf tournament.

Chennai

Online games with Anand, other GMs raise $50K

A series of exhibition matches featuring five-time world chess champion Viswanathan Anand and a few other Grandmasters has raised $50,000 (approximately Rs37 lakh) for Covid-relief in India. On Thursday, Anand, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Nihal Sarin and Praggnanandhaa R played simultaneous games on chess.com against a total of 105 players. — Agencies

Melbourne

‘No excuse!’ Paine after criticism of ‘sideshow’ comment

Australian cricket team captain Tim Paine was compelled to issue a clarification today regarding his comments on the methods of the Indian team, following which he received severe criticism online. Though Paine stood by his comments that his team indeed got distracted by India’s “sideshow” during their home Test series loss earlier this year, he clarified he didn’t offer them as an excuse for the defeat. India had won the series 2-1. A day after being heavily criticised online by Indian fans for his comments regarding the Indian team, Paine clarified his views while chatting with former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist in a podcast. “I was asked a number of things, and one of those was talking about the challenges of playing against India. One of them is the distraction they can create,” Paine said. “There was a lot of talk that they weren’t going to Brisbane. They’re always changing gloves and bringing out physios and all that can get on your nerves. Just said that was one of the things that probably distracted me and took my eye of the ball at times,” Paine said. — TNS, Agencies

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