World Sports: Namibia Lose To Netherlands In ICC World Cup League 2; Indian Hockey Team Beat Spain In FIH Pro League - As It Happened

And that's a wrap! Catch you tomorrow for the sporting action from across the globe.

Welcome to our live blog coverage of today's sports news and events. The Indian cricket team finished off the third Test one day early, and by a record margin, but cricketing action continues in the sub-continent. The Netherlands thrashed Namibia by seven wickets for their first win in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 clash in Kirtipur, Nepal, and Afghanistan opted to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the second T20I in Dambulla.

Elsewhere, the Indian men's table tennis team lost to hosts South Korea in the World Table Tennis Team Championships. The men's hockey team are taking on Spain in the FIH Pro League. Follow the live scores and updates of all the action on Monday, February 19 here. (Cricket News | Football News)

Things went from bad to worse for Sheffield United, who lost 5-0 to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, February 18, 2024, after defender Mason Holgate was sent off for a reckless foul. Brighton capitalised on their advantage by taking a 2-0 lead into the break and added the final flourishes on the other side of the interval, courtesy of AFCON 2023's Young Player of the Tournament, Simon Adingra.

Later, a minute into the match against Luton Town, Rasmus Hojlund gave Manchester United the lead, intercepting a loose pass from Amari Bell before rounding the goalkeeper to tap the ball into an empty net. Hojlund scored his second a few minutes later, diverting a wayward shot from Alejandro Garnacho past the goalkeeper. Luton had pulled one back by the 13th minute, but neither team would find the net again in an otherwise enthralling tie.

Ten-man Real Madrid dropped key points at Rayo Vallecano, presenting Girona the chance to cut the gap between them and the league leaders. Real Madrid led early through Joselu but saw Dani Carvajal sent off in a frustrating result.

In Italy, AC Milan squandered the chance to leapfrog Juventus after losing 4-2 to AC Monza in the late Sunday night fixture. Bologna, meanwhile, kept up their Champions League chase with a win over Lazio.

India suffered a second successive loss in the World Table Tennis Team Championships, this time by a 3-0 scoreline against South Korea. Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai, and G Sathiyan all lost their respective singles bouts against their counterparts in straight sets, confirming a consecutive reverse for India.

JJ Smit's 26 was the standout score from the Namibian innings, who stayed well short of the desired target in their innings against the Netherlands. The pair are competing in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2, which Namibia currently lead, thanks to their win over Nepal.

Dame Lillard scored 39 points as East beat West in the NBA 2024 All-Star Game, 211-186. The East won all four quarters, some with huge margins, dealing a lasting blow in the annual NBA exhibition match.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 50 points for West, albeit his efforts went in vain, as Lillard was crowned the MVP for his role in the victory.

Led by Michael Levitt's half-century, the Netherlands beat Namibia in the ICC World Cup League 2 on Monday, February 19, by seven wickets. The Netherlands had restricted Namibia to a paltry 123 in just 35.1 overs, before they chased down the total with relative comfort. Namibia barely put a dent in the Netherlands' batting, but captain Gerhard Erasmus took all three wickets in a outstanding individual showing.

Delhi Capitals' Meg Lanning has steered away from the word retirement and hopes that she can lead the franchise to its first domestic cricket win in India across men's and women's formats.

"I don't like the word retirement, but it's been nice to be a little bit quiet, spend time at home, and play some cricket here and there," Lanning told DC.

"I still love playing, and I've been looking forward to the WPL, so really excited and hopefully can help Delhi win the title this year."

In an interview with the Indian Express, Indian women's hockey team head coach Janneke Schopman claimed that she doesn't feel valued here and that she has had to endure a dreadful time managing the team.

“Very hard, very hard. Because, you know, I come from a culture where women are respected and valued. I don’t feel that here,” she said, when quizzed about how she felt dealing with officials in India.

English skipper is not fazed by the defeat in Rajkot and says they will continue to back the players and continue with their attacking approach. "Our batting line-up is full of international-class players, we give them the freedom to play what's in front of them," said Stokes. "It's disappointing, but we'll leave it behind us and move on to the next one."

Marseille coach Gennaro Gattuso has been fired by the French league club, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. Gattuso was fired a day after Marseille lost 1-0 to Brest in the French league, a result that dented the club's hopes of qualifying for a European competition next season. Marseille and Gattuso have started a legal procedure to part ways and the club is actively looking for a replacement, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Gattuso's departure has not been announced by the club.

The Punjab Chief Electoral Officer's office has designated Indian cricketer Shubman Gill as a "state icon" for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. In a statement, Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said on Monday that Gill will engage in various campaigns aimed at voter awareness to ensure a voting percentage of 70 per cent. The poll panel has set the target of "Is Vaar 70 Paar".

India trail Spain 1-2 in the second quarter in their FIH Pro League 2023-24 encounter.

LeBron James still wants to participate in the Paris Olympics this summer, sure sounds like extending his NBA career for at least a couple more seasons is an option and said he would like to see his playing days end as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. “I told myself before the season, when I committed to being part of the Olympic team, obviously it was all predicated on my health,” James said. “As it stands right now, I am healthy enough to be on the team and perform at a level that I know I can perform at.”

"I don't know why she is saying these things. There is no discrimination in Hockey India. We treat both the men and women teams equally," the Hockey India source said. "Neither Hockey India not SAI (Sports Authority of India) has treated her badly. We have always given due respect and recognition to her."

Gulveer Singh fetched India's fourth gold medal in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships as he won the 3000m final race on the concluding day of competitions. Gulveer clocked 8 minute 07.48 seconds to finish on top of podium in the non Olympic athletics event. Keneshbekov Nursultan (8:08.85) of Kyrgystan and Jalil Naseri (8:09.39) of Iran took the silver and bronze respectively.

Palace boss Roy Hodgson has decided to step as their boss after much criticism of his side's downhill in the PL.

"I know the standards we have created because of what we have done in the past," he added. "I understand completely the doubts from people.

"But I know our standards and you demand our standards for what we have done in the past and I know it's not easy to sustain it. For a long, long, long time we did it. Maybe for 11 months it's not easy but we are there."

Hosts Sri Lanka have defeated Afghanistan by 72 runs in the second T20I to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.