Firstpost Spodcast Episode 162: Australia beat India in 5th ODI to win series 3-2; Liverpool knock out Bayern Munich in UCL and more

Welcome to Episode 162 of the Firstpost Spodcast and we being with the big cricketing news. India’s quest to find right combinations for the upcoming World Cup ended with a 35 run defeat in the decisive fifth ODI against Australia as they lost the series 2-3 in New Delhi on Wednesday. In what was their last game before the showpiece event in United Kingdom, the Indian innings folded for 237, exactly in 50 overs while chasing a 273-run target. Australia had put on board 272 for nine, built around Usman Khawaja’s (100) second hundred of the series. A shot clock to prevent time wasting, standard ball for the inaugural World Test Championship and free hit for a no ball are among the steps proposed by the MCC World Cricket Committee to spice up the longest format. The Committee, chaired by former England captain Mike Gatting and which also includes former India captain Sourav Ganguly, suggested some changes for the Test cricket in a meeting held in Bengaluru last week. The proposals were put out by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on its website on Tuesday night here. Champions League news now. Liverpool knocked out German champions Bayern Munich with a 3-1 victory in the last 16 second leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The first leg in Liverpool had finished 0-0 meaning the Reds ran out fairly comfortable winners in the end. In the other game, Barcelona cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 5-1 thumping of French side Olympique Lyon at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi scored twice and assisted as many as the Catalans completed a comfortable win after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. Indian football news now. The Indian women’s national team kicked off its campaign at the SAFF Women’s Championship with a resounding 6-0 win over Maldives at the Sahid Rangashala Stadium in Biratnagar, Nepal on Wednesday. In other news, Former India midfielder Renedy Singh was Wednesday named head coach of Neroca FC, succeeding Spaniard Manuel Retamero Fraile who left the club after its sixth-place finish in the just-concluded I-League.