Sports Highlights

The following are the top/expected stories at 2115 hours: EXPECTED STORIES: *Report of Indian Super League match between Hyderabad FC and SC East Bengal in Vasco.

*Report of Pro Kabddi League.

*Report of AFC women's Asian Cup Group C match.

STORIES ON THE WIRE: SPO-FOOT-WOM-ASIAN-IND-PLAYERS World Cup dreams over for ''absolutely devastated'' Indian women football players By Philem Dipak Singh New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) For a bunch of Indian women football players hailing from humble backgrounds, life in the last one year has revolved around playing in the AFC Asian Cup and with that taking a shot at the elusive FIFA World Cup but that dream lay shattered after COVID-19 knocked them out of the tournament.

SPO-CRI-IND-SA-OVERVIEW India's Tour of SA: Big dent to KL Rahul's long-term captaincy ambitions, few careers near finishing line By Kushan Sarkar New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) A stand-in captain, who seemed stunningly short of ideas, few seniors at the business end of their careers and a dated approach in white-ball cricket -- India's woes during the tour of South Africa were many, turning what started memorably into an eminently forgettable outing.

SPO-CRI-WARNE-KOHLI Virat was inspirational as leader but his biggest contribution is emphasis on Test cricket: Warne By Kushan Sarkar New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Virat Kohli was an ''inspirational leader'' in his own right and without his passion for the game's traditional format, Test cricket's popularity would have dwindled in some of the other countries, legendary Shane Warne said on Monday.

SPO-CRI-IND-WOM-ICC-2NDLD MANDHANA Smriti Mandhana named ICC women's Cricketer of the Year Dubai, Jan 24 (PTI) India's swashbuckling opener Smriti Mandhana was on Monday named the ICC Women's Cricketer of the Year for the second time for her stellar run of form across all formats in 2021.

SPO-FOOT-ASIAN-WOM-IND-LD VIRUS All India matches at Asian Cup are cancelled, considered null and void: AFC Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) The Asian Football Confederation on Monday formally announced India's ouster from the ongoing Asian Cup for women here, saying that all their matches stand ''null and void'' after the hosts' withdrawal from the clash against Chinese Taipei owing to a massive COVID-19 outbreak in their camp.

SPO-CRI-TAYLOR-FIXING Former Zim captain Brendan Taylor says blackmailed to spot-fix after taking cocaine with Indian businessman; faces ICC ban New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor on Monday said is facing a multi-year ban from the ICC for failing to report a corrupt approach by an Indian businessman and also claimed that he was blackmailed after ''foolishly'' taking cocaine during that meeting.

SPO-CRI-IND-SA-DRAVID-SECURITY People will get security but we will also demand performances: Dravid Cape Town, Jan 24 (PTI) He is all for stability and security but India head coach Rahul Dravid says players will also have to deliver ''really big performances'' to justify the long rope given to them as he reflected on all that went wrong during a dismal tour of South Africa.

SPO-CRI-IND-SA-DRAVID Balance of ODI side an issue, accepts head coach Dravid, rues missing likes of Hardik and Jadeja Cape Town, Jan 24 (PTI) India's head coach Rahul Dravid had no hesitation in admitting that the ODI squad lacked balance with the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja unavailable to execute their all-round skills at numbers six and seven respectively.

SPO-CRI-ICC-2NDLD AWARDS ICC Awards: Babar Azam, Joe Root, Shaheen Afridi, Lizelle Lee bag top honours Dubai, Jan 24 (PTI) Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was on Monday named ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year while England Test captain Joe Root took home the top honours in the red-ball category, beating competition from, among others, Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

SPO-CRI-KOHLI-DAUGHTER Kohli requests media to refrain from publishing daughter Vamika's pictures Cape Town, Jan 24 (PTI) Star India batter Virat Kohli on Monday requested the media to abstain from publishing his daughter Vamika's pictures, saying images of the infant shown by broadcasters during the third ODI against South Africa here was a case of being ''taken off guard''.

SPO-CRI-ASHWIN-TAYLOR-FIXING Fold and leave table when other option is to bet: Ashwin New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) India off-spinner R Ashwin on Monday said former Zimbabwe skipper Brendan Taylor's stunning disclosure about being blackmailed into accepting money for spot-fixing by an Indian businessman should be a cautionary tale for all and it's important to simply ''fold and leave table'' when the other option is ''bet''.

SPO-CRI-IPL-LUCKNOW-NAME Lucknow IPL team to be called Lucknow Super Giants Lucknow, Jan 24 (PTI) The Lucknow franchise of the Indian Premier League will be called Lucknow Super Giants after its owners announced the name chosen by its fans.

SPO-FOOT-WOM-ASIAN-AUS Australia beat Philippines 4-0 in second half blitz, qualify for quarterfinals Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI) Title contenders Australia pumped in four goals in the second half to beat Philippines 4-0 and advance to the quarterfinals of the AFC Women's Asian Cup here on Monday.

SPO-CRI-PAK-SHAHEEN My performance in T20 WC win against India was most memorable: Shaheen Afridi Karachi, Jan 24 (PTI) Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who became the first Pakistani to win the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year award on Monday, said his match-winning three-wicket haul against India in the T20 World Cup last year was the most memorable performance of 2021.

SPO-CRI-BAVUMA-LD CAPTAINCY Being Temba Bavuma: Captain of 'People's' Republic of South Africa By Kushan Sarkar New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) In 2001, sixth grade students at the prestigious South African College Schools (SACS) in Cape Town were assigned a project -- ''Where do I see myself in 15 years?'' PTI PDS PDS PDS