एक हार के बाद ही पाकिस्तान ने बदल दी अपनी टीम, उंगली टूटने से शान मसू…

Pakistan Cricket Team changes, Shan Masood injury update: वेस्टइंडीज के खिलाफ पहले टेस्ट में करारी हार झेलने के बाद पाकिस्तान क्रिकेट टीम की मुश्किलें और बढ़ गई हैं। एक हार के बाद ही पाकिस्तान को अपनी टीम में मजबूरी में बदलाव करना पड़ रहा है। टीम के सबसे बेहतरीन फॉर्म में चल रहे बाएं हाथ के बल्लेबाज शान मसूद दूसरे और अंतिम टेस्ट मैच से बाहर हो गए हैं। यह दूसरा टेस्ट 2 से 6 अगस्त तक पोर्ट-ऑफ-स्पेन में खेला जाएगा। djcc.club

સ્કોટલેન્ડના ગ્લાસગોમાં રમાઈ રહેલી કોમનવેલ્થ ગેમ્સ 2026માં ભારતીય ખેલાડીઓનું પ્રભાવશાળી પ્રદર્શન સતત જારી છે. ભારતના સ્ટાર વેઇટલિફ્ટર લવપ્રીત સિંહે પુરુષોના +110 કિગ્રા વર્ગમાં દેશ માટે સિલ્વર મેડલ પોતાના નામે કર્યો છે. બીજી તરફ, સીમા કાલીરામણે મહિલા ડિસ્કસ થ્રોમાં બ્રોન્ઝ મેડલ મેળવીને સફળતા મેળવી છે. આ બે નવા મેડલ સાથે ભારતે સ્પર્ધામાં અત્યાર સુધીમાં કુલ 16 મેડલ (3 ગોલ્ડ, 10 સિલ્વર અને 3 બ્રોન્ઝ) પોતાના નામે કરી લીધા છે.

લવપ્રીત સિંહ ગોલ્ડ ચૂકયો મળ્યો સિલ્વર

વેઇટલિફ્ટિંગની +110 કિગ્રા ફાઇનમાં લવપ્રીત સિંહે કુલ 388 કિલોગ્રામ (સ્નેચમાં 176 કિગ્રા + ક્લીન એન્ડ જર્કમાં 212 કિગ્રા) વજન ઉપાડીને બીજું સ્થાન મેળવ્યું. રોમાંચક ફિનિશ કરી. સ્નેચ રાઉન્ડ પછી ન્યુઝીલેન્ડનો ડેવિડ લિટ્ટી લવપ્રીત કરતાં 10 કિગ્રા પાછળ હતો. પરંતુ ક્લીન એન્ડ જર્કના બીજા રાઉન્ડમાં ડેવિડે 223 કિગ્રા વજન ઉપાડીને કોમનવેલ્થ ગેમ્સનો નવો રેકોર્ડ બનાવ્યો. આખરી પરિણામ જોઈએ તો ડેવિડે કુલ 389 કિગ્રા વજન સાથે લવપ્રીત કરતાં માત્ર 1 કિલોગ્રામ વધુ વજન ઉપાડીને ગોલ્ડ મેડલ જીતી લીધો.

"ગોલ્ડ ગુમાવવાનું દુઃખ છે, ભવિષ્યમાં વધુ સારું કરીશ"

માત્ર 1 કિગ્રાના અંતરથી ગોલ્ડ ચૂકી ગયા બાદ નિરાશા વ્યક્ત કરતા લવપ્રીત સિંહે ANI ને જણાવ્યું: "જ્યારે તમે ગોલ્ડ ચૂકી જાઓ છો ત્યારે સ્વાભાવિક રીતે દુઃખ થાય છે. પરંતુ હું એશિયન ગેમ્સ જેવી આગામી સ્પર્ધાઓમાં વધુ સારું પ્રદર્શન કરીશ." તેમણે ઉમેર્યું કે તેઓ આ મેડલ તેમના કોચ વિજય શર્મા, ભારતીય વેઇટલિફ્ટિંગ ફેડરેશનના સહદેવ સર, ભારત સરકાર અને ભારતીય નૌકાદળના કેપ્ટન વિજય કુમારને સમર્પિત કરે છે.

સીમા કાલીરામણ: એથ્લેટિક્સમાં ભારતનું ખાતું ખોલાવ્યું

ટ્રેક એન્ડ ફિલ્ડ ક્ષેત્રે પણ ભારત માટે સારા સમાચાર આવ્યા છે. સીમા કાલીરામણે મહિલા ડિસ્કસ થ્રો ફાઇનલમાં 58.65 મીટરના શાનદાર થ્રો સાથે બ્રોન્ઝ મેડલ પોતાના નામે કર્યો છે. સીમાના આ પ્રદર્શન સાથે જ ચાલુ કોમનવેલ્થ ગેમ્સમાં એથ્લેટિક્સ ક્ષેત્રે ભારતની મેડલ ટેલી પણ ખુલી ગઈ છે. હરિયાણાના ભિવાનીની રહેવાસી સીમાની આ સફળતા પાછળ તેના પતિ અને કોચ રવિન્દરનો મોટો ફાળો છે. રવિન્દર પોતે પણ જુનિયર અને સબ-જુનિયર લેવલે નેશનલ ચેમ્પિયન રહી ચૂક્યા છે, પરંતુ ઈજાના કારણે તેમની રમતગમતની કારકિર્દી અટકી ગઈ હતી.

ગ્લાસગો ખાતે ગુરુવારે (30 જુલાઈ) આખો દિવસ ભારતીય ચાહકો મેડલની રાહ જોતા રહ્યા હતા. દિવસના અંતે વેઈટલિફ્ટિંગમાં લવપ્રીત સિંહે સિલ્વર મેડલ જીતીને રાહત આપી હતી. ત્યારબાદ યોજાયેલી મહિલા ડિસ્કસ થ્રોની ફાઇનલમાં સીમાએ 58.65 મીટરના થ્રો સાથે બ્રોન્ઝ મેડલ જીતી લીધો.

Mumbai-based Team India batter Jemimah Rodrigues, 25, is a personality with multiple traits. As a kid, she began wielding her hockey stick successfully at inter-school competitions and state-level meets before switching it for another piece of wood, a cricket bat, again successfully at that. There’s another piece of wood that she melodiously switches to, and that’s her guitar, which has ensured this Indian women’s cricket team are stringing together their success story.

Jemimah is clearly the flag-bearer of keeping things cool in Indian women’s cricket, while sweating and even shedding a few tears in between.

From breaking down emotionally after playing the “innings of a lifetime” — an unbeaten 134-ball 127 — as the hosts and eventual world champions conquered the mighty Australians in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final at Navi Mumbai, to jumping with joy after India’s 270-run win over England in the first ever women’s Test in 142 years at the iconic Lord’s, Jemimah has had some serious fun en route. And that’s the reason, in this interview with mid-day, she insists that off-field aspects like team dinners, team bonding activities, karaoke nights, and even social media reel-making are crucial for on-field success.

Edited excerpts from the interview

Could you tell us what this Indian team does to chill?
We do have quite a few team dinners usually, and that’s when it depends on what the theme is. So, we either just go out to a nice place and talk or there are some fun games arranged there and we play and do this fun stuff which definitely helps the team bond better. Also, sometimes we just go out, like recently what we did as a team bonding thing was we went out to play Paintball. Battling around that Paintball pitch was so much fun.

We know you are brilliant at the guitar. So how do you guys plan these jam sessions? Is it you who initiates them and are your teammates always ready to sing along?
Usually, I bring my guitar along for say maybe a long bus journey. But sometimes it’s just very spontaneous or maybe while we’re having a team dinner and if there’s something like a karaoke or maybe if I’m asked to play the guitar, I go for it.

Jemimah with Smriti Mandhana

Tell us about the fun reels you and your teammates make on social media.
Every player has her own social media platform so they have their own way of putting their stuff out there. If we do it as a team, it’s always spontaneous, so nobody plans anything. We find something cool, something funny, and we end up saying, ‘Hey guys, do you want to do this?’ and that’s how we simply come together and do it.

Coach Amol Muzumdar is known to be quite the serious type. What do you guys do when you have to make him laugh or lighten the atmosphere around him?
I think people generally tend to assume that Amol sir is quite the serious type, but he actually loves having fun. In fact, he’s the one who is super-enthu when it comes to team bonding sessions and getting the team together. He enjoys his team bonding sessions and loves it when everyone is just having fun and having a good time.

International cricket comes with its fair share of pressures and more so at a World Cup or at your recent Test at Lord’s. How do you guys strike that balance between work and play?
While playing international cricket, one thing’s for sure, there’s always going to be pressure. But you’ve got to enjoy the pressure because what’s the fun if there’s no pressure? So, even as a team, we try and embrace pressure, enjoy it, have some fun in between, it’s important to have that balance between being too focused and too serious, or having too much fun as well. So, somewhere in between, you strike that balance and that’s what comes with being a professional cricketer. You know how and when to strike that balance and you know how to enjoy your cricket and the pressure along with it.

Jemimah with Arundhati Reddy (left) and Shreyanka Patil (right)

Being someone who values all formats of the game, what did this Lord’s Test win mean to you?
Just to realise, for a young girl, to be a part of such a historic Test which is being played at Lord’s after 140-odd years, felt extremely special. It was way beyond whatever I could’ve ever dreamt of or asked for. Irrespective of the result — if you just keep the result aside for some time — just to know that you’re a part of history, a part of a historic event at Lord’s, I mean, who gets to play a Test match at Lord’s and win it too? So, just imagining it was nice, and winning it feels great. I will always hold that Test match close to my heart.

For a young girl like you, coming from suburban Mumbai, dreaming big and winning the World Cup title and now achieving Test success at the iconic Lord’s, what’s your message to India’s young girls?
Everything starts with a dream. My message to India’s young girls is dream big, because the best part about dreams is that there’s no limit. So, the best thing they can do is just dream as much as possible, and then go out there and do whatever it takes to achieve that dream. Also, one last thing, I’d like to advise everyone that while chasing your own dreams, help someone else achieve theirs because, trust me, there’s no bigger satisfaction in life than that!

127 not out
Jemimah’s match-winning score against Australia in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup semi-final at Navi Mumbai

India pace bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur hailed former Mumbai and India captain Ajinkya Rahane for his character and commitment, saying he will miss his 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy-winning captain on the field.

Rahane, 38, who scored 5077 runs in 85 Tests, besides playing 90 ODIs and 20 T20Is, announced his retirement on Thursday.

Thakur, who played a crucial role in helping skipper Rahane beat Australia in the 2020-21 series, claiming a match haul of seven wickets and scoring 67 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test at Brisbane, credited Rahane for helping Team India bounce back on a tough tour Down Under. “We had that unfortunate game [first Test at Adelaide in December 2020] to start with, where we were 36 all out and lost badly [by eight wickets]. But the way we bounced back and the way Ajinkya handled things was incredible. That was a massive series [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and a different kind of challenge, where we were one game down with three to go,” Thakur, who has claimed 131 scalps in 85 international games so far, told mid-day on Thursday.

“I feel Ajinkya stepping into Virat Kohli's shoes [then skipper Kohli missed the last due to paternity leave] was massive because Virat is a giant and led Indian Test cricket from the front. He was literally carrying the Test team on his own and had brought in a lot of changes. He brought in that attitude of going on overseas tours and winning. So, when he was away, Ajinkya had to step in for the rest of the series,” said Thakur, 34, adding that Rahane deserved a chance to play 100 Tests.

“I will miss Ajinkya on the field because his commitment towards the game every team he played for was immense. I see a lot of youngsters coming in, especially in Mumbai, and for them, Ajinkya could be a wonderful role model to watch and follow. He deserved the 100-Test mark because players who’ve played over 80-85 games have earned it. It’s unfortunate he didn’t get to this 100,” Thakur signed off.

Former Mumbai Ranji Trophy head coaches Pravin Amre and Chandrakant Pandit described Test veteran Ajinkya Rahane as a silent warrior and highly committed professional, as the stylish batter announced his retirement from all forms of the game on Thursday.

Rahane scored 14,209 runs in 205 first-class games after making his debut for Mumbai against Karachi Urban in Pakistan in 2007, where he scored 143 at the National Stadium in Karachi, under head coach Amre.

“Ajinkya was always a silent warrior. I have just one regret as a coach. He could’ve finished as a legend, with 100 Tests. But it’s not his fault. He tried his best. Had he received support from the system, it would have been a great achievement,” Amre, who played 11 Tests and 37 ODIs, told mid-day on Thursday.

Ex-Kolkata Knight Riders head coach Pandit hailed Rahane’s discipline. “Ajinkya still has some cricket in him. He did well for Mumbai and KKR too. He’s one of the most dedicated, committed and well-disciplined cricketers with a great work ethic. Playing 85 Tests is no joke, yet his attitude and body language has been unwavering. He has always been very down to earth and I’ve always respected him for that,” Pandit told mid-day over the phone from Indore.

Amre also highlighted Rahane’s success in tough overseas conditions: “He has scored loads of runs in SENA countries [South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia]. Having performed for so long in those difficult conditions, he deserved a fitting farewell on the field.”

Ajinkya Naik, MCA chief
‘Ajinkya Rahane’s retirement marks the end of a remarkable chapter in Indian cricket. His dedication, composure under pressure, and commitment to excellence have made him one of Mumbai cricket’s finest ambassadors. His legacy will inspire generations to come.’