Sports Highlights

The following are the top/expected stories at 2100 hours:

EXPECTED STORIES: *Updated report of Indian Boxing League.

STORIES ON THE WIRE:

SPO-CRI-IND-PANT Nothing like natural game at international level, must play according to situation: Pant

By C Shyam Sundar Chennai, Dec 16 (PTI) Often accused of not putting enough premium on his wicket, rising Indian batsman Rishabh Pant says he has now understood that there is no concept of "natural game" in international cricket where one has to play according to the situation.

SPO-CRI-IND-HETMYER

It was my best knock: Hetmyer Chennai, Dec 16 (PTI) Swashbuckling West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer described his match-winning 139 against India in the first one-dayer here as the best knock of his career but said he would have been happier had he finished off the game.

SPO-CRI-LARA-INTERVIEW

Kohli is cricketing version of Cristiano Ronaldo: Brian Lara By Kushan Sarkar

Visakhapatnam, Dec 16 (PTI) Virat Kohli is the cricketing equivalent of soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for his sheer commitment towards the game even though a K L Rahul can consider himself at par with the India captain in terms of talent, feels West Indies batting icon Brian Lara.

SPO-CRI-PRAVEEN It's all a lie, case of local politics: Praveen Kumar on allegation of assault

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Former India pacer Praveen Kumar on Monday said allegations of assault against him were an attempt to tarnish his image and driven by "local politics".

SPO-CRI-ICC-RANKINGS Kohli retains top spot among batsmen, Bumrah 6th among bowlers in ICC Test rankings

Dubai, Dec 16 (PTI) Indian skipper Virat Kohli retained his top spot among batsmen while the injured bowler Jasprit Bumrah slipped a rung to sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings issued on Monday.

SPO-CRI-U19-GARG Reached out to Prithvi Shaw for advice ahead of World Cup: India U-19 skipper Priyam Garg

Bengaluru, Dec 16 (PTI) India's Under-19 captain Priyam Garg has revealed that he sought former skipper Prithvi Shaw's advice on planning and team bonding during his preparations to lead the side's world title defence from January 17 to February 9 in South Africa.

SPO-ISL-MUMBAI-COACH Mumbai City coach alleges referee called his player monkey during ISL match, AIFF to probe

Bengaluru, Dec 16 (PTI) Mumbai City FC head coach Jorge Costa has alleged that the referee, who officiated his side's Indian Super League match against Bengaluru FC, called one of his players a monkey, a charge which the national federation will investigate.

SPO-ISL-NE-SCHEDULED ISL match between NEUFC-BFC in Guwahati to go ahead as per schedule

Guwahati, Dec 16 (PTI) The Indian Super League (ISL) match between NorthEast United FC and Bengaluru FC will be held as per schedule on Tuesday here with normalcy slowly returning to the Assam capital following days of unrest owing to the passing of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

SPO-CRI-IPL-AUCTION IPL auction to go ahead as scheduled despite protests over CAA

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) The protests over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act notwithstanding, the players' auction for the Indian Premier League will go ahead in Kolkata as scheduled on Thursday.

SPO-ILEAGUE-BAGAN I-League: Gonzalez's twin strike helps Bagan beat Gokulam 2-1

Kalyani, Dec 16 (PTI) Fran Gonzalez struck twice to help former champions Mohun Bagan halt Gokulam Kerala's winning run with a 2-1 victory in their I-League fixture here on Monday.

SPO-IOA-BATRA IOA chief to meet NSFs early next year to plan Olympics strategy

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra will meet the office bearers of 33 National Sports Federations early next year to chart out a plan to produce the country's best-ever show in 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Games.

SPO-CRI-WI-FINE West Indies fined for slow over-rate in first ODI against India

Chennai, Dec 16 (PTI) West Indies players have been docked 80 per cent of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate in the first ODI against India in Chennai.

SPO-CRI-BABAR-INTERVIEW I want to get where Kohli is today: Babar Azam

Karachi, Dec 16 (PTI) Prolific Pakistan batsman Babar Azam wants to achieve the "legend" status that Virat Kohli has acquired but concedes that despite the oft-repeated comparisons, he is still some time away from getting anywhere close to the Indian captain.

SPO-GOLF-PGTI Gangjee, Mane to compete at Bengaluru Open golf

Bengaluru, Dec 16 (PTI) Former champion Udayan Mane will hope for an encore when he tees up against a stellar field at the Bengaluru Open golf championship beginning here on Tuesday.

SPO-FOOT-WOM-U17 India U-17 girls take on Thailand in must-win match

Mumbai, Dec 16 (PTI) India will take on Thailand in a must-win match of the U-17 women's football tournament at the Mumbai Football Arena here on Tuesday.

SPO-CRI-JADHAV Kedar Jadhav: Under-bowled in recent times, experts divided on his utility

By Kushan Sarkar Visakhapatnam, Dec 16 (PTI) When it comes to street smartness, there are few in the current Indian team's limited overs set-up, who can match Kedar Jadhav's on-your-feet thinking.

SPO-CRI-PAK-SHAH

Unfortunate not to have played a single Test against India: Yasir Shah Karachi, Dec 16 (PTI) Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah on Monday said it is "unfortunate" to have not got a chance to play red ball cricket against India since making his debut and he is now eagerly waiting to test his skills against the likes of Virat Kohli in Test matches.