1949: The highest-scoring match in first-class history. There were 2,376 runs scored for the loss of 38 wickets in the Ranji Trophy semi-final between Bombay and Maharashtra in Poona. In all, there were 19 centuries: nine from the batsmen, ten for the hapless bowlers. In context, Maharashtra’s Bhausaheb Babasaheb Nimbalkar – who has a top first-class score of 443 not out – had a nightmare: he made 25 and 21.
1965: Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics pulled down 49 rebounds in a 112-100 win over the Detroit Pistons.
1980: All 11 Australians got a bowl, including Rod Marsh, who whipped off his pads for the first ten overs of his Test career, as the second Test in Faisalabad drifted to sleep today. A rain-affected game produced 999 runs for the loss of only 12 wickets, including double-centuries for Greg Chappell and Pakistan’s Taslim Arif, whose 210 not out was the highest Test score by a wicketkeeper until Andy Flower topped it in India in 2000-01.
1985: Isiah Thomas of the Detroit Pistons dished out 20 assists in a 121-114 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
1991: Monica Seles ends Steffi Graf’s streak of 186 weeks ranked as #1.
1996: After a fairly slow start to the World Cup, Brian Lara was back to his brilliant best in West Indies’ surprise quarter-final victory over South Africa. Lara flashed 111 off just 94 balls, and South Africa – who left out Allan Donald for Paul Adams – surrendered to spin, losing eight wickets to Roger Harper, Jimmy Adams and Keith Arthurton, and went down by 19 runs. It ended their run of ten wins in a row and West Indies, who 12 days earlier had lost to Kenya, were in the semi-finals, where they would meet.
2013: Laureus World Sports Awards, Municipal Theater, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Sportsman: Usain Bolt; Sportswoman: Missy Franklin; Team: FC Bayern Munich.
2020: NBA suspends 2019-20 season until further notice after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tests positive for Covid-19.