A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Barcelona received a welcome boost on Tuesday when forward Lionel Messi was given the all-clear by medical staff and included in the squad for Wednesday's King's Cup last 16, first leg at home to Getafe.
England head coach Trevor Bayliss reckons his team cannot win the upcoming Ashes series unless their catching improves.
'They're going to need to get some cricket before coming back into the squad. It's all part of the management. We'll have to wait and see'
France stretched their unbeaten run against Croatia to eight games after a late goal by Kylian Mbappe gave the world champions a 2-1 win in their Nations League top-tier Group 3 match on Wednesday.
Nishant Agrawal was nabbed in a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS) at BrahMos' Wardha Road facility, an ATS official said.
In an afterthought, the contingent of camels caparisoned in rich bridal attire and silver bracelets jingling has been finally called in to march down the Rajpath, keeping alive the 66-year-old tradition of the country's main parade on January 26.
Roberto Firmino scored twice and Marquinhos and Philippe Coutinho also got goals as Brazil hammered Bolivia 5-0 in their opening World Cup qualifier in Sao Paulo on Friday.
Argentina got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start on Thursday when Lionel Messi's early penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a lacklustre match in Buenos Aires.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, content with the balance of his squad, says his players need to improve their fitness before launching their Primera Liga title defence.
Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Rakesh Maria on Tuesday deposed as a defence witness before a sessions court in Mumbai in the infamous television executive Neeraj Grover murder case.
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade says he is ready to compete for the United States in next year's Olympic Games, ending uncertainty over his involvement in the team's gold medal defence.
The tri-series in Australia, India's final ODI engagement before the World Cup, gets underway on January 16, says Chandresh Narayanan, casting a fascinating look at the survivors from earlier World Cups.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Images from football friendlies played on Wednesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
A multi-layered security cover has been thrown over the national capital ahead of Independence Day with over 40,000 security personnel deployed across New Delhi to keep a hawk-eyed vigil against any possible terror strike.
India skipper Virat Kohli, South Africa's AB de Villiers, England's Eoin Morgan and Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza attended the ICC Champions Trophy opening dinner on Tuesday.
Former Australia captain Allan Border has said that Victoria medium-pacer John Hastings, who was relatively unknown a year ago, is set to play an important role in Australia's defence of the World Cup.
The Spaniard missed the 2-1 defeat after injuring his hamstring against Manchester City before the international break.
Didier Deschamps has tough choices to make ahead of his young team's World Cup opener against Australia and the experienced Olivier Giroud could find himself on the bench.
Defender and dragflicker Varun Kumar who scored the maximum goals in India's successful campaign in Valencia will be joined by Vikramjit Singh and Gurinder Singh in the defence structure, while the midfield will be formed by Santa Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet, Sumit along with Harjeet Singh.
Describing Michael Hussey as a match winner, Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke on Wednesday said the left-handed batsman has a huge to role play in their World Cup title defence.
Images from the Nations League matches.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Wednesday said he was unaware why Michael Hussey was not given more time to regain fitness but added that the uncertainty over when he would recover could be the reason for dropping him from the World Cup squad.
Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is ready to play the mentor's role irrespective of who leads the team in their Euro 2016 opener against Ukraine on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho's side had paid lavish sums to bolster key areas by this time last year but, having claimed the title at a canter, the motto of this transfer window seems to be: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Oscar Pistorius will be committed to the hospital wing of one of South Africa's toughest prisons if the double-amputee Olympic track star is sentenced to jail time for killing his girlfriend, the head of the prison service said.
Spain midfielder Pedro has no regrets over leaving Barcelona in search of more playing time, despite failing to nail down a regular starting berth in his debut season at Chelsea. Consigned to life on the fringes of the starting side at the Nou Camp, Pedro joined the Blues in August and scored seven goals in 29 Premier League appearances as he struggled to adapt to life in England. Chelsea mounted a dismal defence of their title this season, finishing 31 points behind winners Leicester City in 10th place, while serial champions Barcelona won their sixth La Liga title in eight years when they beat Granada 3-0 on Saturday.
Hong Kong international Irfan Ahmed has been charged and provisionally suspended for failing to report an alleged fixing approach, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement on Tuesday.
Peter Handscomb struck his maiden ODI hundred and Ashton Turner smashed a blistering 84 not out to secure Australia's series-levelling four-wicket victory against India in the high-scoring fourth one-day international in Mohali on Sunday.
The reports suggested six members of the terror outfit infiltrated into the state by sea from Sri Lanka and moved to different cities, including Coimbatore, according to the police.
English Premier League matches have continued behind closed doors during the second lockdown announced on November 1. Supporters have not been allowed into sporting venues since the first lockdown was announced in March, barring a few exceptions.
Australia captain Michael Clarke has pulled himself out of Indian Premier League auction scheduled next month to take rest in view of important national assignments.
With Pakistan's Twenty20 World Cup title defence in complete disarray, captain Shahid Afridi has criticised the selectors for not consulting him before naming the squad.
Playing in front of defenders, for much of his career Kante's abilities had gone unnoticed given that as recently as 2013 he was playing in France's second division.
Brazil need solutions after coming unstuck against Swiss
Seven years after the Mumbai serial train blasts in which nearly 200 people were killed and over 700 injured, the trial in the case is still going on with the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court recording the statements of the accused. "The court is now recording the statement of the accused who wanted to depose as a defence witness in the case," said advocate Sherif Sheikh, appearing for some of the accused in the case
Friday's win should add weight to the predictions of many that Spain are favourites to capture a third straight European title.
