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The second Test between South Africa and India at Johannesburg went in the hosts' favour with India losing at the venue for the first time. Even though India ended up on the wrong side of the result, there was one Indian who had reason to celebrate.

All-rounder Shardul Thakur took seven for 61 in the first innings to help India claw back into the game. Those bowling figures by Thakur are the best by an Indian against South Africa in Test cricket.

Special seven

Shardul Thakur took the wickets of South African skipper Dean Elgar, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen (right in left), Kyle Verreynne, Temba Bavuma, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi in the first innings of the second Test, finishing with figures of seven for 71.

Six of Thakur's seven victims in this innings were out caught. Elgar, van der Dussen, Bavuma and Ngidi were all out caught behind by wicketkeeper Rishab Pant. While Petersen was caught by Mayank Aganwal and Jansen by Ravichandran Ashwin, Verreynne was dismissed lbw.

Thakur required just 17.5 overs for his seven-wicket haul. This is second-fewest for an Indian pacer to pick up seven wickets in a Test innings. Irfan Pathan, who picked up 7 for 59 in 15.2 overs against Zimbabwe in 2005, is the only Indian pacer who has taken seven wickets while bowling fewer deliveries.

With his 7 for 61, Shardul Thakur now has the best bowling figures by an Indian in a Test innings against South Africa. The previous best was held by Ravichandran Ashwin, who took 7 for 66 against the Proteas in a Test match in Nagpur in 2015.

When it comes to away Tests, Thakur's bowling performances is the fourth-best by an Indian pacer. Kapil Dev has taken eight wickets in an away Test on two occasions -8 for 85 against Pakistan in Lahore in 1983 and 8 for 106 against Australia in Adelaide in 1985. Thakur's seven-for slots in behind Irfan Pathan's 7 for 59 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2005.

If we were to include the performance of the Indian spinners as well, Thakurs bowling figures are the sixth-best in away Tests for an Indian - Erapalli Prasanna heads the list with his 8 for 76 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1976 while Anil Kumble is fourth with his 8 for 141 against Australia in Sydney in 2004.

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Kolkata based ATK won the 2019-20 edition of ISL becoming the first club to win the title three times.

ATK were placed second in the ten team table at the end of the group stage of the tournament. By winning 10 of their 18 matches and drawing and losing four apiece, ATK finished with 34 points. While Goa topped the league table with 39 points, Bengaluru were third with 30 points and Chennaiyin took the last place in the playoffs with 29 points.

In the semi-final against Bengaluru, ATK lost the away game 1-0. But by beating Bengaluru 3-1 at home, ATK progressed to the final with a 3-2 aggregate victory.

The other semi-final between Goa and Chennaiyin saw two high-scoring encounters, with Chennaiyin reaching the final with a 6-5 aggregate win.

In the final that was played at the Fatorda Stadium, Margao, ATK went 2-0 up before Chennaiyin got on the score sheet.

As Chennaiyin chased the equaliser, ATK scored another goal in injury time to win the match 3-1 and lift the title once again. Having won the tournament in 2014 and 2016 as well, this was the third time ATK won the ISL.

Did you know?

ATK'S Roy Krishna, Chennaiyin's Nerijus Valskis and Kerala Blasters Bartholomew Ogbeche were the top scorers of this edition of the ISL with 15 goals each.

Among Indians in the competition, Bengaluru's Sunil Chhetri was the top scorer with nine goals. With 10 assists, Goa's Hugo Boumous topped the assists chart in the season.

Bengaluru's goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh topped the clean sheets table, having gone 11 matches without conceding a goal in the tournament.

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Before 2021, India had won a total of two medals in men's singles at the World Championships-Prakash Padukone's bronze in 1983 and B Sai Praneeth's bronze in 2019 That count was doubled in 2021 as Kidambi Srikanth clinched silver and Lakshya Sen won bronze in the event that was held in Huelva, Spain from December 12-19.

Even though the 2021 BWF World Championships had a sizeable number of withdrawals depleting the competition, Srikanth and Sen still had to put their best foot forward to finish with medals. The 20-year-old Sen came up with some impressive performances against higher ranked opponents to make it to the semi-final.

He lost against his compatriot Srikanth, a former world no. 1, in the semis to end up with bronze. Srikanth, who has been a different player since missing out on Tokyo 2020, fell at the final hurdle against Singapore's Loh Kean Yew. Srikanth, the first Indian to reach the mens singles final at the world championships, had to be content with his silver.

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It isn't often that an F1 season goes down to the wire and is decided by the final race of the season. It is rarer still that the final lap of the final race decides the winner. Despite its fair share of controversy, the 2021 F1 season saw both of these as Dutch driver Max Verstappen emerged as the champion in thrilling fashion.

The season was always a two-horse race between Red Bull's Verstappen and Mercedes seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. By the time the season headed to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 12. Verstappen had won nine of the 21 races held and Hamilton eight, but they were level on points heading into the final race. Even though Verstappen took pole position, Hamilton had taken the lead and it looked like he would win a record eighth Drivers Championship for most of the race.

A crash near the end of the race, however, eventually led to a one-lap face-off Verstappen grabbed his opportunity to win the race and the title and the photo shows his disbelief as he celebrates the title with his father, former F1 racer Jos Verstappen.

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Magnus Carlsen is now a reigning five-time World Chess Champion. Having first won the World Chess Championship in 2013, he has then defended his title in 2014, 2016, 2018 and most recently in 2021.

The 2021 World Chess Championship was played between Carlsen and the Russian challenger lan Nepomniachtchi in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 24 to December 12. Since all 12 regular games were drawn in the previous World Chess Championship in 2018, this one was increased to a best-of-14, with tie breaks if necessary.

It so happened that the Norwegian didn't even need the 14 games to assert his supremacy. Even though the first five games ended as draws, Carlsen won the sixth eighth, ninth and 11th games of the match. The last three games were made redundant as Carlsen retained his title with a 7.5-3.5 victory.

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Taking all 10 wickets of the opponents in an innings is one of the most special records in cricket. Before 2021, it had been achieved only twice in international cricket-by England's Jim Laker against Australia in 1956 and by India's Anil Kumble against Pakistan in 1999. On December 4, New Zealand's Ajaz Patel joined Laker and Kumble as the only bowlers to have taken all 10 wickets in an innings in Test match cricket.

Patel achieved the feat in Mumbai, his place of birth, against India. While Laker and Kumble had taken their 10-for in home Tests, Patel became the first to achieve it away from home.

Patel also became the first player to take 10 wickets in an innings in the first half of a Test match as Lakers came in the third innings of the match and Kumble's in the fourth innings. 2021 was good for New Zealand cricket in general. Even though they lost the final of the T20 World Cup, they had reason to celebrate in the longest format of the game.

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The T20 World Cup that was scheduled to be held in India was pushed to the United Arab Emirates and was held from October 17, just a couple of days after the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Board of Control for Cricket in India had successfully hosted the second leg of the pandemic-marred 2021 IPL-won by the Chennai Super Kings in the UAE and decided to do the same with the World Cup as well.

Hosts India, however, lost for the first time against arch-rivals Pakistan in a World Cup game and bowed out of the Super 12 stage itself. Even though England, Australia and South Africa all ended up with eight points with four victories and a loss, England finished top of their group and Australia second owing to their superior run rate.

Australia defeated Pakistan, the only unbeaten side in the Super 12 stage, in dramatic fashion in the semi-final to set up a final against their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand. Even though the Kiwis put up 172 in the final on November 14, the Aussies chased it down with ease, reaching the target with seven balls to spare while losing just a couple of wickets.

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India won its first ever medal at the FIDE World Women's Chess Championship by clinching silver in the 2021 event that was held from September 27 to October 2. The event was contested by 12 teams representing chess nations from around the world.

In the preliminary Pool A that comprised six teams, India finished second by winning three matches, drawing one and losing only to Russia.

Indian women defeated Kazakhstan in the quarter-final before pulling off a dramatic victory against a strong Georgian team in the semis. The Russians, however, proved too good once again in the final and the Indian team comprising Mary Ann Gomes, Bhakti Kulkarni, Vaishali R. Tania Sachdev, and Dronavalli Harika had to settle for a deserved silver in the competition.

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British teenager Emma Raducanu created a slew of records at the 2021 US Open. She became the first qualifier, male or female, to reach a Grand Slam final and went on to win it as well.

After coming through to the main draw after winning three qualifying games, Raducanu then won seven matches in straight sets to clinch the title. Raducanu defeated Swiss tennis player Stefanie Vogele in the first round, China's Zhang Shuai in the second and Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in the third. She then defeated America's Shelby Rogers in the fourth round, Switzerland's Belinda Bencic in the quarters and Greece's Maria Sakkari in the semi-final.

Up against a fellow teenager in the form of Canada's Leylah Femandez in the final on September 11, Raducanu completed her dream run in the competition to lift the title without dropping a set in the main draw.

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If India's athletes had a strong showing at the Olympics, the paralympians did even better at the Tokyo Paralympics that was held from August 24 to September 5. In fact, it was India's most successful performance at the event as we finished with 5 gold medals, 8 silvers and 6 bronzes.

Avani Lekhara was one of the stars as she scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal at shooting in the Paralympics. She won gold in her category in one event on August 30 and bronze in another event on September 3. This meant that she not only became the first woman to win gold but also the first woman to become a multiple medallist at the Paralympics.

There were two golds for India on August 30 as Sumit Antil claimed gold in a javelin event. There were two golds again on September 4 as well, as Manish. Narwal clinched gold in a shooting event and Pramod Bhagat won gold in a badminton event Badminton provided for more joy as Krishna Nagar too won gold in his category on September 5.

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For a country starved of gold medals at the Olympics. August 7 will remain special for a long-long time. Neeraj Chopra created history by winning gold in the men's javelin throw event to become only the second individual medallist from India after Abhinav Bindra to win gold at the Summer Olympics.

Chopra set the mark early, as he qualified as the top ranked athlete on August 4. His first throw of 85.65 m was enough for him to top his group in qualifying. In the final on August 7, Chopra once again set the benchmark early with a first throw of 87.03 m. He bettered it with his second throw of 87.58 m. which remained his best at the end of six throws as well. Considering none of the other finalists got past the 87 m mark, his first two throws were the best in the competition.

Chopra's gold is India's first gold since 2008, when Bindra won in the 10 m air rifle shooting event. Chopra's heroics is even more special because it is India's first medal in athletics since independence. Considering Chopra has started it off with a gold, there's hope for more in the years to come.

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The 2020-21 season of the NBA was the 75th season of the competition. The ongoing pandemic reduced the regular season to 72 games. The pandemic also meant that the off-season- the time between the end of the previous season and the start of this one-was the shortest in the league's history at just 72 days.

The Milwaukee Bucks won their first title in 50 years, having previously taken the title in 1971. They finished third in the Eastern Conference behind the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets with a 46-26 win-loss record. While the Bucks blitzed through the first round of the play-offs with a 4-0 win over Miami Heat they were taken the distance in the Eastern Conference semi-final against Brooklyn Nets, which they won 4-3.

By defeating Atlanta Hawks 4-2 in the Eastern Conference final, they won the conference title and made their way to the NBA Finals against Western Conference champions Phoenix Suns. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was the side's superstar, led them to a 4-2 victory against the Suns in the final in July to help the Bucks win the title. Antetokounmpo was named the NBA Finals MVP.

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Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates became the youngest rider to win the Tour de France twice, which was held from June 26 to July 18. He built his advantage with victory in the stage 5 time trial and took the yellow jersey in stage 8.

Pogacars dominance meant that he could ride defensively in the second week of the competition before going on to win the mountaintop finishes in the third week.

Apart from winning back-to-back Tour de France titles, Pogacar also won the mountains and young rider classifications for the second consecutive year.

Pogacar and his teammates rode at the front of the pack together as they reached the Champs-Elysees, and the Slovenia champion raised his fist in the air in celebration.

Pogacar’s gesture acted as a signal for those fighting for a prestigious stage win as the first accelerations took place. But the attackers’ efforts did not pay off and the stage ended in a mass sprint.

Cavendish, who consoled himself with the best sprinter’s green jersey, banged his handlebar in frustration after van Aert edged Jasper Philipsen to the line. Cavendish was third.

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UEFA Euro 2020 had the ambitious idea of hosting the tournament across a number of host cities in different countries. Such a plan, while difficult in normal times, was certainly impossible in 2020. Like many other sporting events. Euro 2020 too was pushed to 2021.

When it did happen in June-July 2021, it was conducted across 11 host cities, with 16 of the 24 participating nations making it through to the Round of 16. Italy, who were grouped with Wales, Switzerland and Turkey, finished top of Group A with three wins out of three.

In the knockout stages, Italy defeated Austria 2-1 after extra time in the Round of 16 and Belgium by the same margin in the quarter-final. The semi-final against Spain ended 1-1 after extra time, but Italy came out on top 4-2 in the penalties. The final against England at London on July 11 too went into penalties after the game ended 1-1. Italy won the penalties 3-2 to lift the Euro title for just the second time in their history.

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The COVID-19 pandemic not only pushed the Copa America from 2020 to 2021, but the venue was also changed from Argentina and Colombia to Brazil. Argentina, who were part of Group A along with Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, and Bolivia, topped their group with three wins and a draw.

In the quarter-final, Argentina defeated Ecuador 3-0. After the semi-final against Colombia ended 1-1, Argentina went through after winning the penalties 3-2. Angel di Maria scored the only goal of the final against hosts Brazil on July 10 to allow Argentina to win the title.

The victory meant that Lionel Messi, who has a stellar trophy-laden record with his former club Barcelona, finally won a trophy with Argentina. Following a sting of near misses with his country, Messi tasted success at the Copa America in 2021.

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