A brief overview of all major sports happenings from around the world during the past week from 10th-12th January 2020.
Cricket
India Sweeps Sri Lanka Series
India beat Sri Lanka by 78 runs in the third T20I match to grab the three-match series 2-0. KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan made a 97 runs opening partnership to put up a 201 runs target. In response, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 123 in the 16th over.
The first T20I match between two teams was abandoned by rain whereas India won the second one by seven wickets.
Malinga To Step Down
Sri Lanka’s T20I captain Lasith Malinga announced that he will be stepping down from the skipper position after the latest 2-0 series defeat at the hands of India.
Football
Premier League Roundup
Liverpool downed Tottenham 1-0 to remain on the top of the Premier League table and extended its lead by 16 points.
Southampton recovered from an early setback to beat Leicester 2-1 in their League clash maintaining a five-match win streak at the King Power Stadium.
Manchester City dominated both of their weekend matches first downing Manchester United 3-1 and then thrashing Aston Villa 6-1 to grab the number 2 spot on the league table.
Chelsea and Manchester United secured comfortable wins in the race for the top four but 10-man Arsenal fell further off the pace after a limp draw at Crystal sports Palace.
Spanish Super Cup
Real Madrid Crowned Champion
Thibaut Courtois managed to break through enemy defense lines as Real Madrid claimed the Spanish Super Cup title after defeating Atletico Madrid in the final penalty shootout.
The final match was played at King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with both teams failing to score any goal despite numerous attempts.
American Football
Titans Surprise Ravens
Tennessee Titans kept up their shock victory sequence and defeated Baltimore Ravens 28-12 in the NFL Divisional Round to take a step forward in their super bowl journey. Titans had earlier ousted Defending champions and Superbowl favorites New England Patriots last week.
Final Four Confirmed
Titans’ victory over Ravens also confirmed the final four lineups for the NFL Semi-final. Tennessee Titans will face Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, January 20 whereas San Francisco 49ers are pitched against Green Bay Packers on the same day.
Tennis
Serbia Crowned ATP Cup champion
Novak Djokovic did double duty and won his singles match against world no. 1 Rafael Nadal as well as the doubles match to lead Serbia to the title victory of the inaugural edition of ATP Cup in Australia.
Rublev Wins Qatar Open
Russia’s Andrey Rublev made his Top 20 debut this weekend and won the Qatar Open 2020 championship after defeating Australia’s Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-6 (7/3).
The Russian Tennis pro entered the Qatar Open at number 23 and had jumped up five points to number 18 by the end of the tournament.
Williams Wins Auckland Open
Serena Williams sailed through the WTA Auckland Open Championship to claim her 73rd title victory and her first one after a gap of three years. Williams donated all of her prize money to the emergency relief efforts combating wildfires in Australia.
Golf
Grace Sweeps South African Open
Branden Grace did not disappoint his home crowd on Sunday when he sailed through the nine-under-par 62 to win the South African Open with a three-shot victory. The sensational victory aided by 10-shots-for-12-holes spree has put him among the favorites to win the European tour next.
Ormsby Wins Hong Kong Open
Wade Ormsby of Australia extended his two-shot semi-final lead over Shane Lowry to win the Hong Kong Open by a margin of four shots. The master golfer finished 17-under-par and grabbed te 1m winning purse as well.
Esports
Williams Qualify For LMES Super Final
Williams Esports recovered from connectivity issues as well as team disputes to win the qualifier round of Le Mans Esports Series Auto sport Show. The 12-strong team raced for 2 hours and pulled off a surprise victory over tournaments favorites the like ofJean  Alesi and defending champions Veloce Esports to book a place in the super-final.
IOC Looking To Incorporate Esports
The IOC – International Olympics Committee is considering a number of proposals to include the digital gaming community into the official Olympics sports in order to connect with the younger audience. IOC President Thomas Bach announced this on Friday after attending the opening ceremony of Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympics Games.
Skiing
Brignone Wins Slalom World Cup
Italian skier Federica Brignone kept her cool on the final day of Slalom World Cup’s combined event on Sunday to navigate the treacherous track on an overcast day that knocked out the tournament favorite Mikaela Shiffrin and her chief competitor Petra Vhlova.
Motor Sports
Paulo Goncalves Dies In Crash
Portuguese motorbike rider Paulo Goncalves has died after a crash during the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The 40-year-old suffered a fatal accident after 276 kilometers (171 miles) of the seventh stage.
The unfortunate incident was lamented upon by the motor sports community who sent their condolences from far and wide. The Seventh stage of Dakar Rally was also canceled following Goncalves’ untimely death.
MMA
Fairtex Downs Tomar
Stamp Fairtex knocked out Puja Tomar with a fierce attack in the very first round to win her challenge match at the ONE championship. Fairtex already holds two champion titles and if succeeded, the ONE victory will be her third title.
Soriano Vs Spicely Confirmed
The UFC- Ultimate Fighting Championship organizers have confirmed the much-awaited fight between Punahele Soriano and Eric Spicely to determine the middleweight champion. The bout will occur on March 28 at the Nationwide Arena that will also feature the heavyweight title fight between Francis Ngannou and Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
Boxing
Smith Jr. Defeats Hart
Joe Smith Jr. defeated Jesse Hart in a spectacular 10-round fight that was decided by a split decision on Saturday night’s pay-per-view lineup. Smith Jr. received 97-92, 98-91 for the 10 rounds whereas one judge favored Hard 95-94.
Munguia Stops O’Sullivan
Former middleweight champion Jaime Munguia downed Spike O’Sullivan in a fight that lasted 11 rounds despite Munguia scoring an early lead. However, O’Sullivan recovered in the later rounds and was only defeated by the stoppage in the 11th round.
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