Firstpost Spodcast Episode 216: England's victory over SA, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams' French Open 3rd round wins and more

The 2019 World Cup got underway on Thursday as England took on South Africa in the first match of the tournament. Ben Stokes’s standout all-round performance saw the hosts thrash the Proteas by a massive 104 runs. South Africa won the toss and put England in to bat first. They dismissed the dangerous Jonny Bairstow for a first-ball duck but there was no respite as Jason Roy and Joe Root scored at a fair clip to bring up England’s 100 in the 17th over. Roy made 54 runs from 53 balls while Root made 51 from 59 balls. England captain Eoin Morgan also scored a half century, making 57 from 60 balls, as he built a 106-run partnership with Ben Stokes. The best innings of the day came from Stokes, who smashed 89 runs form 79 balls, including 12 boundaries. Lungi Ngidi was the most successful bowler for the Saffers, taking 3/66 as England finished at 311/8. In tennis news from the French Open, women’s top seed Naomi Osaka survived another scare to make it to the last 32 while Serena Williams also qualified. Osaka came back from a set and 2-4 down to defeat former world number one Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a thrilling match on Thursday. Serena Williams thrashed Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara to step up her bid for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title. The 37-year-old cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory and next faces fellow American Sofia Kenin. If Williams and Osaka continue to win, they could face off in the quarterfinal, the first time since Osaka’s famous win at last year’s US Open final. In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic cruised into the last 32 for the 14th successive year, admitting it had been an emotional day playing for the first time in front of his four-year-old son. Djokovic is bidding to become just the second man to hold all four Slams at the same time twice. On Thursday, the world no 1 cruised to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 win over Swiss lucky loser Henri Laaksonen. He will face Italian qualifier Salvatore Caruso, ranked 147, for a place in the last 16. In shooting, India produced their best ever show at the ISSF World Cup after sweeping both the mixed team titles on Thursday for a final tally of five gold medals in Munich, Germany. India topped the medal count with five golds and a silver, while second-placed China bagged nine medals — two gold, two silver and five bronze medals. The pair of Anjum Moudgil and Divyansh Singh Panwar won the 10m Air Rifle mixed team gold, while the teenage pair of Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary won the 10m Air Pistol mixed team title, rounding off a dominating show by the Indian squad at the year’s third International Shooting Sport Federation world cup stage. Indian athletes won five gold medals and three silver medals at the Under-20 Eurasian Athletics Championships held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Thursday.