1. Daniel Ricciardo Wins Monaco Grand Prix 2018.
As tales of sporting redemption go, few will have been harder to earn than Daniel Ricciardo’s very personal journey to the top spot of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. By the time the Australian had successfully persuaded the Prince and Princess of the principality to join him in swigging from a champagne bottle on the podium, his sheer joy was clearly infectious.
A mixture of disbelief, relief and exhaustion were etched across his face, if indeed alongside the usual beaming grin that had been so notably absent when a win here had been so cruelly wrenched from his grasp two years ago.
Even before the weekend began Ricciardo had been confident enough in the form of his Red Bull to talk of possible redemption for the incident in 2016 when a team pit stop error cost him victory. By race day he had done everything he needed to put it within his grasp. Quickest throughout practice and then untouchable in qualifying, Ricciardo had entered the race as clear favourite.
He duly finished it on top, in front of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari in second and Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in third, the order in which they had begun on the grid. The race was, as is often the case, something of a procession on the narrow streets of Monaco but was far from straightforward for Ricciardo.
He had led from the off and looked to be fairly comfortable in front until he suffered a power problem on lap 28 in the MGU-K. He was unable to use seventh and eighth gears, had to adjust his brake balance forward and needed to ensure he looked after his tyres as it became clear the race would have to be run with only one stop.
2. Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018: Complete Highlights.
Shane Watson`s unbeaten 117 helped Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clinch the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) title after an 8-wicket win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday. Chasing 179 runs, Chennai didn`t get the start they wanted as Faf Du Plessis departed early for 10 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/17) bowled a fiery spell in the powerplay and put SunRisers on top during that period. After Du Plessis` dismissal, Watson took over the batting responsibilities and hammered the SRH bowlers all over the park. After taking ten dliveries to open his account, Watson looked unstoppable and reached his century in only 51 balls hitting 7 fours and 8 sixes. Suresh Raina (32) chipped in with a crucial knock but it was Watson who stole the show and helped his team win their third IPL title. Barring Rashid Khan and Bhuvneshwar, all other SRH bowlers were expensive with an economy of over 10 runs per over. (SCORECARD)
Earlier, Kane Williamson (47) and Yusuf Pathan (45*) helped Hyderabad post a competitive total of 178/6 against Chennai in the IPL final at the Wankhede Stadium. After being put into bat by Chennai captain MS Dhoni, SRH openers Shikhar Dhawan and Shreevats Goswami were off to a cautious start. Goswami was trying to settle in but he was run out after a horrible mix up in the 2nd over itself and was dismissed for 5 runs. Dhawan looked in fine touch for his 25 but a superb delivery by Ravindra Jadeja foxed the opener and he was clean bowled by him in the 9th over. Williamson continued to hit the balls after settling in. He hits 5 fours and 2 sixes to give SRH some control of the game and forged a decent partnership with Shakib Al Hasan (23) in the middle overs. He was eventually dismissed for 47 runs in the 13th over. Pathan played some ferocious shots laced with 4 fours and 2 sixes as he remained unbeaten on 45 runs off 25 balls. Carlos Brathwaite scored a quickfire 11-ball 21 runs in the end to help his team reach 178. Lungi Ngidi yet again starred with the ball for Chennai returning with figures of 1/26 in his four overs.
3. Vikas Gowda, India’s Only Discus Throw Gold Medallist At Commonwealth, Retires.
Indian Olympic Discus Thrower and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Vikas Gowda has announced his decision to retire from the sport. He holds the distinction of being only the fourth individual gold medallist from the country in Athletics at CWG. With his CWG gold, he became only the second Indian male athlete to claim the top spot in an athletics sport after Milkha Singh who won the men`s 440 yards at the Cardiff 1958 Games.
The decision comes as a big surprise considering that the Asian Games are just over two months away. Vikas had won Silver in 2014 Asian Games & Bronze in 2010 as well as a silver at the 2010 CWG. His Personal Best throw is at 66.28m which is presently the national record.
Vikas was born on 5th July 1983 in Mysore but grew up in Maryland in the United States of America (USA). Athletics runs through his bloodstream, considering his father used to coach the Indian Olympic track team back in 1988.
Gowda first started making headlines at the World Junior Championships when he finished 8th and just three years later, won the silver medal at the Asian Championships in Incheon. He finished at a lowly 28th in the Rio Olympics 2016 before bagging a bronze medal at the 2017 Asian games.