India’s cricket bosses yesterday led nationwide tributes following the death of the country’s wheelchair-bound “superfan” Charulata Patel at the age of 87.
The grandmother shot to attention after being spotted in the crowd watching India play Bangladesh at last year’s World Cup in England, enthusiastically blowing a vuvuzela and with the Indian tricolor painted on her cheeks.
After the match — which India won — captain Virat Kohli and vice captain Rohit Sharma sought out Patel and asked for her blessings for the rest of their campaign.
Photo: AFP
She was later featured in a Pepsi promotion cheering on the India team for the tournament.
Kohli said that she was “one of the most passionate and dedicated fans I’ve ever seen.”
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) paid tribute on Twitter after Patel’s family announced her death.
Photo: AFP
“#TeamIndia’s Superfan Charulata Patel-ji will always remain in our hearts,” the board wrote.
The family wrote on Patel’s official Instagram account that she had died on Monday.
They thanked Kohli for making her a social media sensation, saying that “she loved the attention.”
Meeting Kohli and Sharma had been “the best day of her life,” they said. “She told us this on multiple occasions.”
ENGLAND VS SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa yesterday grasped the initiative by dismissing both England opening batsmen between lunch and tea on the first day of the third Test at St George’s Park.
England were 117-2 at tea after captain Joe Root won the toss and decided to bat on a placid pitch on a hot, sunny day.
Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley gave England a solid start, reaching lunch at 61 for no wicket.
However, South Africa came back strong, dismissing both opening batsmen and keeping a tight rein on the scoring rate after lunch.
Kagiso Rabada had Sibley caught at backward square-leg for 36 and Anrich Nortje had Crawley caught in the same position for 44.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj conceded only 22 runs in 19 unbroken overs from the ground’s northern end, enabling South African captain Faf du Plessis to rotate his four fast bowlers from the southern end.
With the four-match series tied at 1-1, batting first appeared to be a considerable advantage on a pitch that had a covering of grass, but offered no help to the bowlers.
It was the sixth successive Test toss lost by Du Plessis.
South Africa picked new cap Dane Paterson as a specialist fast bowler in place of all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius.
“He’s a skiddy bowler who hits the top of the stumps,” said Du Plessis, who surprisingly decided that Paterson would share the new ball with Philander, with the quicker Rabada and Nortje having to wait for their turn.
England brought back fast bowler Mark Wood in place of the injured James Anderson.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two