Week In Review, March 4-10: Satwik-Chirag Win French Open Title; India Thrash England 4-1

The two victories were the highlights for Indian sports lovers in a week that had lots to offer, across disciplines. Let us review all that went down in the world of sports from March 4 to 10, 2024.

Cricket

The fifth and final Test in Dharamsala was reduced to a no-contest soon after the Indian bowlers skittled the visitors for 218 runs in the first innings on Day 1. Playing his 100th Test, Ravichandran Ashwin picked up nine wickets in the match and his teammates complemented the off-spinner's efforts to make the momentous outing extra special for him.

Centuries from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill led India to a 477-run total, and the home team's bowlers again reigned supreme to trigger an English collapse and bowl them out for 195. With the victory by an innings and 64 runs margin, India displaced Australia from the top of the International Cricket Council's Test rankings. India are now the number one-ranked team in all three formats of the game.

Down Under, the second and final Test between New Zealand and Australia was on a knife edge at the end of the week. After stumps on Day 3 (Sunday, March 10), Australia needed 202 more runs in their pursuit of a 279-run target, with six wickets in hand in Christchurch. The Aussies lead the series 1-0.

In Sharjah, Afghanistan won the first ODI against Ireland by a handsome 35-run margin and the second game was washed out, which gave the Afghans an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The final clash will be played on Tuesday (March 12).

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka clinched the T20I series 2-1 in Sylhet against Bangladesh to gain bragging rights in the long-standing sub-continental rivalry. Sri Lanka won the first game by a mere three runs and needed a strong batting performance in the deciding third encounter to seal the series. The ODI leg of the tour begins Wednesday (March 13).

Back home, Vidarbha and Mumbai set up an enticing Ranji Trophy 2024 final by winning their respective semi-finals against Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, respectively. The Maharashtra derby title clash got underway on Sunday, with Vidarbha bundling Mumbai out for 224 and then getting reduced to 31/3 themselves at the end of a riveting Day 1 at the Wankhede Stadium.

In T20 franchise cricket, the Women's Premier League saw three nail-biting thrillers in as many days. A Deepti Sharma hat-trick took UP Warriorz to a one-run heist on Friday. The following day, Harmanpreet Kaur smashed a 48-ball 95 that guided her team to an incredible win over Gujarat Giants and secured their passage to the play-offs. The week ended with Delhi Capitals edging out Royal Challengers by a solitary run to book their play-off spot.

Football

In a fascinating English Premier League 2023-24 clash between two titans of the tournament, Liverpool fought back to hold Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Anfield in what was the last EPL clash between Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola before the German coach steps down at the end of the season.

The UEFA Champions League round of 16 saw Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris-Saint Germain progress to the quarter-finals with contrasting results in their return-leg fixtures against RB Leipzig, Copenhagen, Lazio and Real Sociedad respectively.

In the Indian Super League, Mohun Bagan came up with a season-best performance to dismiss arch-rivals East Bengal 3-1 in a one-sided Kolkata derby at the Salt Lake Stadium. The win took Mohun Bagan past Mumbai City in the top spot of the standings on goal difference and confirmed their playoff spot.

Other Sports

India's trailblazing pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came up with a near-invincible campaign at the French Open, not dropping a single game en route a memorable title in Paris at the same venue that will host the Paris Olympic Games 2024 in July-August - the Arena Porte de la Chapelle. Satwik and Chirag dismissed the challenge of Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan 21-11, 21-17 in the final.

At the Indian Wells, India's top-ranked singles tennis player Sumit Nagal made the main draw cut despite losing to South Korea's Hong Seong-chan in the second round of qualifying. This was made possible by Spanish legend Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the event owing to lack of full fitness. Nagal entered the fray as a lucky loser, but that's where his luck ran out as he succumbed to Milos Raonic in the opening round.

Finally, in the Formula One's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen continued his title defence by cruising to victory for Red Bull.