*ISL Report: Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC in Bengaluru.

*Post match comments from India vs NZ T20I.

*Report of ATP Challenger in Chennai.

*Report of Men’s National Hockey Championship in Gwalior.

STORIES ON THE WIRE:

SPO-LD IND 1st T20 International: New Zealand crush India by 80 runs

Wellington, Feb 6 (PTI) A below-par India slumped to their worst ever defeat in T20 Internationals as New Zealand outclassed the visitors in all departments to win the first match of the series by a comprehensive 80-run margin here Wednesday.

SPO-IND-COMMENTS With eight batsmen we should be able to chase big totals: Rohit

Wellington, Feb 6 (PTI) India skipper Rohit Sharma Wednesday said that a line-up with eight specialist batsmen should have chased down the 220-run target set by New Zealand, however steep it might have looked for a T20 match.

SPO-IND-LD WOM Mandhana shines but India fail; New Zealand women win 1st T20

Wellington, Feb 6 (PTI) Smriti Mandhana remained an unstoppable juggernaut with a record-smashing half century but the Indian women’s cricket team failed to make it count, going down by 23 runs in the opening T20 International against New Zealand here Wednesday.

SPO-IND-WOM-COMMENTS I’ve to bat till 20 overs to avoid another collapse: Mandhana

Wellington, Feb 6 (PTI) The repeated failure of India’s middle-order to up the game when it matters has convinced Indian vice-captain Smriti Mandhana that she has to “practically bat for 18 to 20 overs” for the team to stay in hunt during stiff chases.

SPO-RANJI-FINAL Pujara out cheaply as Vidarbha inch closer to title

By Amanpreet Singh

Nagpur, Feb 6 (PTI) Saurashtra stared down the barrel after Cheteshwar Pujara’s second successive failure that put defending champions Vidarbha on the brink of an encore after a stirring fourth day of the Ranji Trophy final, here Wednesday.

SPO-ILEAGUE-LD REALKASHMIR Real Kashmir beat Gokulam Kerala under snow and rain, jump to top spot

Srinagar, Feb 6 (PTI) The fairy tale run of Real Kashmir Football Club in the I-League continued as the club from the Valley defeated Gokulam Kerala FC by a solitary goal to go to the top of points table here on Wednesday.

SPO-MITHALI-ICC Keen to avoid qualifiers for 2021 World Cup: Mithali Raj

Wellington, Feb 6 (PTI) The Indian women’s ODI team captain Mithali Raj feels the side’s confidence has gone up following the 2-1 series win over New Zealand and it is now aiming to avoid qualifiers for the 2021 World Cup by staying in top four of the ICC table.

SPO-IND A 1st ‘Test’: Focus on Rahul and fast bowlers Aaron, Avesh

Wayanad (Ker), Feb 6 (PTI) England Lions will be one of the innumerable stops that out-of-form opener KL Rahul will encounter in his road to redemption as he gears up to play for India A in the first unofficial Test.

SPO-FOOT-CHENNAI-BASEL I-League side Chennai City FC ropes in Swiss club FC Basel as partner by selling 26% share

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) I-League leaders Chennai City FC Wednesday signed a deal with Swiss champions FC Basel, which has nurtured current Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, to sell 26 per cent of its share, becoming the first Indian side to do so with a foreign club.

SPO-FED-IND Serve would be key on indoor courts in Fed cup: India coach Bhambri

Astana (Kazakhstan), Feb 6 (PTI) India Fed Cup coach Ankita Bhambri reckons a good serve will be the key on indoor courts when Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi fight it out with higher-ranked players in the Fed Cup here.

SPO-QADIR-KOHLI Qadir sees similarities between Kohli and Imran as inspiring leaders

Karachi, Feb 6 (PTI) Former Test leg-spinner Abdul Qadir sees a lot of similarities between India skipper Virat Kohli and ex-Pakistan captain and now Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying both inspire their team-mates by leading from the front

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