Firstpost Spodcast Episode 55: Prithvi Shaw's classy ton on debut, NorthEast United's win over ATK and more

Welcome to Spodcast, where we cover the big sports headlines for the day.

Eighteen-year-old Prithvi Shaw became the youngest Indian to score a Test century on debut on the first day of the Rajkot Test against West Indies. Shaw, who opened the innings with KL Rahul, scored a quick century, getting to the milestone in just 99 balls. India lost Rahul early once again, in just the first over of the match. Shaw then had a 206-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara who made a cautious start before opening up with a flurry of boundaries. Both batsmen punished a listless West Indies bowling and fielding performance.

The West Indian bowlers looked out of sorts yesterday. For a while, when Shaw and Pujara were scoring freely, the run rate went above 5. Pacer Shannon Gabriel was the only bowler who posed any threat to the Indian batsmen. West Indies are without three of their frontline bowlers. Alzarri Joseph is still recovering from a stress fracture of the back that he sustained late last year. Kemar Roach is yet to rejoin the team after rushing home following the death of his grandmother. Captain Jason Holder was also ruled out of the match following an ankle injury. Kraigg Brathwaite is filling in as captain in the first Test.

A minor controversy has been brewing in Indian cricket. Karun Nair spoke to the media about what he called a “difficult situation” to handle after being overlooked by the team management in the Test series in England. Nair said he had not had any conversations with the team management over why he was not part of the playing XI in any of those matches. Yesterday, Murali Vijay, who was dropped after the second Test against England, expressed disappointment at the lack of communication from the national selectors. He said, “Neither the chief selector nor any other person spoke to me in England after I was dropped from the third Test. None of them have spoken to me since. I did have a conversation with the members of the team management in England and that’s it.” Vijay failed to score more than 20 runs in both the Tests and was replaced by Shikhar Dhawan in the third Test. India won the third Test by 203 runs.

In ISL action, a last minute goal from Rowllin Borges helped NorthEast FC beat ATK 1-0 in an eventful match. 30 minutes into the match, ATK’s left-back Sena Ralte was red carded, leaving the team with just 10 men as they played on their home ground.

ATK managed to hold off repeated attempts by NorthEast FC for nearly the entire match, even threatening to take the lead on more than one occasion. However, in the 89th minute, a Rowllin Borges header off Gallego’s corner kick gave NorthEast the all-important goal that won the match.

Sports Authority of Goa executive director VM Prabhudesai announced yesterday that the much-delayed 36th National Games will be held in Goa next year, from 30 March to 14 April. The announcement was made after a discussion with visiting officials of the Indian Olympic Association. The games were scheduled for November 2018, but delays in stadium construction led to the postponement. Chairman of Games Technical Conduct Committee Mukesh Kumar, as well as IOA officials SM Bali and Dhanraj Choudhary, visited Goa to take stock of the situation.

An update on the Cristiano Ronaldo rape allegations. Following the press conference by the lawyers of Kathryn Mayorga in Las Vegas yesterday, where accusations were made that Ronaldo had sexually assaulted Mayorga in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009, the Portuguese star was left out of Portugal’s national squad for a couple of upcoming matches.

Matters could get worse for Ronaldo. Sponsors Nike and EA Sports yesterday expressed concern over the rape allegations. A Nike spokesperson said, “We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

On the other hand, Ronaldo’s current team Juventus backed him unequivocally. The club tweeted that Ronaldo “has shown in recent months his great professionalism and dedication, which is appreciated by everyone at Juventus.” It also tweeted, “The events allegedly dating back to almost 10 years ago do not change this opinion, which is shared by anyone who has come into contact with this great champion.”