Flamboyant India and Mumbai Indians batman Suryakumar Yadav, who made his international debut against England after a lengthy wait on the sidelines, recalled being nervous on the momentous day but a simple advice to self calmed him down.
Gayle hammered eight sixes in his explosive innings and brought up a staggering 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket with a maximum off Kartik Tyagi.
A look at the few bright spots, the many worries, and moments that made for a distinctly indelible 2020.
Batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Friday credited the Indian Premier League for helping develop India's bench strength, saying the current lot has benefitted by constantly playing against world-class performers in the T20 league.
World Championship triple silver medallist Jyothi Surekha Vennam overcame the mighty Korean challenge twice, including in a gripping but controversial final, to win the women's compound individual gold at the Asian Archery Championships in Dhaka on Thursday.
Bhavani, who reached Tokyo on Tuesday, wasted no time to start her training.
Rahul Banerjee is hoping to carry forward the legacy of archery by looking to draw inspiration from his cricketing hero Sachin Tendulkar to script history at the Mecca of Cricket with a medal in archery at the Olympics.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said overseas players would, from January 1 2019, become eligible to play for England after living in the country for three years rather than a previous seven.
IPL can be truly said to have come of age. It is now more Indian than ever before. Teams often fielded fewer than the four allowed foreign players. Indian batters and bowlers were simply better in performance, consistency and reliability, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Out-of-form archer Chekrovolu Swuro has been replaced by Reena Kumari in the four-member squad for the Beijing Olympics.
As the 16th edition of the glitzy Indian Premier League is set to unfold, let's take a look at the driving force of the T20 league and what's in store in this edition.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Images from Tuesday's IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, in Abu Dhabi.
India's women archers won a team bronze in the recurve section to take their medal's tally to three at the World Cup Stage 2 in Gwangju, South Korea, on Thursday.
The Indian women's recurve team of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombayla Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro settled for a silver medal after being tamed by Korea in the Archery World Cup Stage I in Shanghai on Sunday.
The International Cricket Council said "cricket is nothing without diversity" as racism remained a topic of global debate following the death of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd died last week gasping for breath as a white police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the handcuffed man's neck, leading to violent protests across America.
Sachin Tendulkar will be rooting for an Indian victory, but at the same time keep a keen eye on David Warner, Rashid Khan and Jofra Archer, the players who can be potential 'Game Changers' in the six weeks of the World Cup.
The legendary PT Usha will be officially elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the governing body's polls on Saturday, ushering in a new era in country's sports administration.
Amid heightened military activities by the Chinese military opposite eastern Ladakh on its side on the Line of Actual Control, top Indian Army leadership would be briefed about the force's operational preparedness at a high-level meeting to be held here next week.
Steve Smith, David Warner, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler will arrive in the UAE late on Thursday night (UAE time) from the UK and on arrival will undergo RT-PCR test for COVID-19.
India's Paralympians presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an autographed stole on Thursday during a breakfast hosted by him to felicitate the contingent at his residence in New Delhi.
Young shooting sensation Manu Bhaker became the second Indian after judoka Tababi Devi to win two medals at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) after winning a silver while the men's hockey team moved to the semi-finals with a 4-2 win over Poland, in Buenos Aires, on Friday.
Kohli earns more from brand endorsements and IPL appearances than he does playing for India.
The Indian markswoman started off well and went on to finish with 560 points, which was enough to earn her place in the final.
Athletes and officials from eight disciplines of archery, badminton, table tennis, hockey, judo, gymnastics, swimming and weightlifting landed in Tokyo
A gold medal in the prestigious World Cup Final eluded Deepika Kumari once again as she settled for her third successive silver after being pipped by Korean Olympic champion Ok-Hee Yun, in Paris on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians will look to continue in similar vein when they lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in
In T20 Internationals, Rohit Sharma has accumulated 2800 runs from 110 matches, at an average of 32.41 and a strike rate of 138.36.
Pratima is a basketball player who has represented India and Delhi.
Player of the Tournament Williamson leads a team that includes six players from Sunday's dramatic final at Lord's.
PT Usha set to get elected as IOA chief, first woman occupant of top job
Kolkata Knight Riders resemble a sinking ship ahead of a rather inconsequential IPL-15 match against bottom-placed Mumbai Indians who, even if already out of reckoning, will have their tails up in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
Flavour of the season Rahul Tewatia didn't prove to be third time lucky in what turned out to be an incredible death overs performance by the Delhi Capitals pace attack in their 13-run victory against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Root enjoyed the utmost respect of players in the dressing room and that there was no clear 'natural successor'.
The Indian team on Monday underwent its first outdoor session since arriving in Chennai, ahead of the opening Test against England.
'We felt that seam isn't going to offer as much in terms of being a threat, it's more of a holding role.'
Left shaken by a bunch of world-class operators, the Indian team's white-ball stars will be aiming to put up an improved batting effort in the second T20 International against England in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The Olympic silver medallist's inspiring fitness tips.
