It’s going to be a busy Diwali weekend for sports fans in India and around the world. Not only will a lot of them be busy cleaning and decorating their homes and buying sweets and crackers for the ‘Festival of Lights’ that will be celebrated on Sunday, 12 November, they will also have plenty of sporting action to keep them glued to TV, mobile or laptop screens.
With the working week nearly over and our focus shifting to the holiday weekend, we take a look at what’s in store in the ICC World Cup, Premier League, Formula 1 and more:
Note: The timings mentioned here are all in Indian Standard Time
Cricket
ICC World Cup (Star Sports Network): The final set of matches in the league stage of the showpiece event are set to take place on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday will witness the final double header of the tournament, with Australia facing Bangladesh in Pune in the day fixture starting 10.30 am and England squaring off against Pakistan in the day-night clash at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens starting 2 pm.
On Sunday, India face Netherlands at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium from 2 pm in what will be the final match before the semi-finals get underway.
WBBL (Star Sports Network/Fancode): Here’s what’s in store for the Diwali weekend as far as the ninth edition of the Women’s Big Bash League is concerned:
Saturday: Melbourne Renegades vs Perth Scorchers (8.30 am); Brisbane Heat vs Adelaide Strikers (1.40 pm).
Sunday: Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Thunder (4.40 am); Melbourne Renegades vs Melbourne Stars (8.10 am).
Football: Chelsea’s home game against defending Premier League and UEFA Champions League title holders Manchester City will be the biggest footballing event of the weekend, with the two teams currently at the opposite ends of the top 10. Also in the spotlight will be Manchester United’s home game against Luton Town and how they bounce back from their shock 4-3 loss against Copenhagen FC in the Champions League.
As for Indian football, Namdhari take on Real Kashmir in the I-League on Saturday with kickoff at 2 pm.
Here’s a detailed look at what’s in store across the major European leagues:
Premier League (Star Sports Network):
Saturday:
Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Tottenham Hotspur — 6 pm
Arsenal vs Burnley — 8.30 pm
Crystal Palace vs Everton — 8.30 pm
Manchester United vs Luton Town — 8.30 pm
Bournemouth vs Newcastle United — 11 pm
Sunday:
Aston Villa vs Fulham — 7.30 pm
Brighton and Hove Albion vs Sheffield United — 7.30 pm
Liverpool vs Brentford — 7.30 pm
West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest — 7.30 pm
Chelsea vs Manchester City — 10 pm
LaLiga (Sports18/JioCinema):
Saturday:
Rayo Vallecano vs Girona — 6.30 pm
Almeria vs Real Sociedad — 8.45 pm
Granada vs Getafe — 11 pm
Osasuna vs Las Palmas — 11 pm
Real Madrid vs Valencia — 11 pm
Sunday:
Barcelona vs Alaves — 8.45 pm
Sevilla vs Real Betis — 11 pm
Atletico Madrid vs Villarreal — 1.30 am
Serie A (Sports18/JioCinema):
Saturday:
Lecce vs AC Milan — 7.30 pm
Juventus vs Cagliari — 10.30 pm
Monza vs Torino — 1.15 am
Sunday:
Napoli vs Empoli — 5 pm
Fiorentina vs Bologna — 7.30 pm
Udinese vs Atalanta — 7.30 pm
Lazio vs AS Roma — 10.30 pm
Inter Milan vs Frosinone — 1.15 am
Bundesliga (Sony Sports Network):
Saturday:
Bayern Munich vs Heidenheim — 8 pm
Augsburg vs Hoffenheim — 8 pm
Darmstadt vs Mainz — 8 pm
Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund — 8 pm
Bochum vs Cologne — 11 pm
Sunday:
Bayer Leverkusen vs Union Berlin — 8 pm
Werder Bremen vs Eintracht Frankfurt — 10 pm
RB Leipzig vs SC Freiburg — 12 am
Ligue 1 (Sports18/JioCinema):
Saturday:
Stade de Reims vs Paris Saint-Germain — 9.30 pm
Le Havre vs AS Monaco — 1.30 am
Sunday:
Clermont Foot vs Lorient — 7.30 pm
Lille vs Toulouse — 7.30 pm
Metz vs Nantes — 7.30 pm
Stade Rennais vs Lyon — 9.35 pm
Lens vs Marseille — 1.15 am
Tennis:
Billie Jean King Cup (Official website): The 60th edition of the Billie Jean King Cup is set to conclude over the Diwali weekend, with the semi-finals taking place on Saturday and the summit clash the following day.
The first semi-final will be contested between the winners of Group B and Group D, currently led by Slovenia and Italy respectively, with the match starting at 2.30 pm. The second semi-final, which takes place from 8.30 pm, will be contested between the winners of Group A and Group C, currently led by USA and Canada respectively.
The winners of the two semi-finals will then lock horns in the final on Sunday at 7.30 pm.
Besides the Billie Jean King Cup, the finals of two ATP events — Sofia Open and Moselle Open — will take place on Saturday.