Desi Talk

www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know Chess-World Champion Gukesh Suffers Early World Cup Exit Cricket-Meghalaya’s Choudhary Hits Record Eight Sixes In A Row W orld champion Gukesh Dommaraju was knocked out of theWorld Cup in the third round on Saturday as the top guns continued to falter in a highly volatile tournament. The top three finishers at the Goa, India event, which ends on November 27, qualify for the Candidates tourna- ment, an eight-player event that decides who challenges Gukesh for the world title in 2026. Joining top seed Gukesh on his way out of theWorld Cup were Grand Swiss champion Anish Giri of the Neth- erlands, the fourth seed, and world number 12 Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan. American Hans Niemann, twice world championship challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia and world number eightWesley So were eliminated earlier in the eight-round tournament. Six of the top 10 seeds have been eliminated. Gukesh needed only a draw with the white pieces to force a tiebreak against German world number 85 Frederik Svane but lost his way in the middlegame. Indians Arjun Erigaisi and Rameshbabu Prag- gnanandhaa both advanced to the fourth round. -Reuters M eghalaya’s Akash Kumar Choudhary became the first ever player to smash eight successive sixes in first class cricket and also raced to an 11-ball 50 - the fastest half century in the format - during a Ranji Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. The records were particularly impres- sive considering the 25-year-old is usually considered to be a fast bowler. On the second day of the Indian do- mestic match in Surat, Choudhary came to the crease with Meghalaya 576-6. After settling in with a dot ball and two singles, Choudhary launched into an as- tonishing display with the bat as he belted six sixes off left-arm spinner Limar Dabi. Despite becoming only the third man in first-class cricket to smash six sixes in a single over, joining Garry Sobers and Ravi Shastri in that elite group, he still was not done. He then cleared the boundary with the next two deliveries he faced to reach 50 in just 11 balls, breaking the previous record by one ball. Leicestershire batsmanWayne White had reached the milestone off 12 balls against Essex in 2012. -Reuters Cricket-Not Your Normal Cup Of Tea? India Flips Menu For Guwahati Test C ricket’s traditional meal schedule is getting flipped on its head in Guwahati, where the India and South Africa the players will have tea after the first session of the second test followed by lunch due to the early sunrise and sunset. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) has taken the un- usual step of reversing the normal refreshment order for the second test starting on November 22, which will be Guwahati’s first-ever test match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium. The decision was driven by the early start and fast fad- ing light in north-east India. “It is a practical decision,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, who hails from Guwahati, told cricket website ESPNcricinfo. “In winters, sunrise and sunset are very early here in north-east India. By 4 pm the (day)light recedes and you can’t play much after. Because of that we have decided to start early, so play will start at 9 am.” Reuters has contacted the BCCI for comment. The match will begin half an hour earlier than usual for red-ball tests in India. The first test in Kolkata from November 14-18 begins at 9.30 am local time, but the revised schedule for the sec- ond test will have the toss at 0830 am before a 0900 start. The first session will be played until 11 am when players have a 20-minute tea break. Lunch will be taken between 1320 and 1400, with the final session wrapping up by 1600. -Reuters Cricket-India Win Australia Series After Fifth T20 Is Washed Out In Brisbane T he fifth and final Twenty20 between Australia and India was washed out after a storm swept across Brisbane’s Gabba ground on Saturday, leaving Suryakumar Yadav’s tourists as 2-1 series winners. After being put in to bat, India’s open- ers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill made a bright start to the innings by putting on 52 without loss in just under five overs before the match was stopped, initially for lightning. Gill took the early initiative and pum- melled six fours in his 29 not out, while his partner Abhishek was dropped by Glenn Maxwell and Ben Dwarshuis on his way to an unbeaten 23. The sellout crowd at the Gabba hung around optimistically waiting for play to resume but the stormy weather persisted and the match was abandoned some 2-1/2 hours after it started. The opening match in the series in Canberra was also washed out before Australia won the second in Melbourne by four wickets on the back of the bowling of paceman Josh Hazlewood. Australia withdrew Hazlewood and a number of other players named in the Ashes squad so they could prepare to face England with the red ball and India won the third T20 by five wickets in Hobart and the fourth on the Gold Coast by 48 runs. Abhishek was named Player of the Se- ries for his 163 runs at an average of 40.75. “The way everybody chipped in in every game and we came back from being one match down, I think credit goes to all the boys; a complete team effort,” said Yadav. India, who top the ICC rankings in the shortest format, will head home with confidence and plenty of player options ahead of their defence of the T20World Cup title on home soil early next year. “I thought all in all it was a good series, two teams really going at it,” said Australia captain Mitch Marsh. “India won the games when it mattered so congratulations to them.” -Reuters PHOTO:X.com @DGukesh PHOTO:PWM Staff D Gukesh, World Chess Champion. Representative photo. 20 SPORTS November 14, 2025