A bumper year is in store for all sports fans as 2018 will see Russia host the biggest extravaganza: The football World Cup. Asian Games, Hockey World Cup and CWG too should keep you hooked if you are a lover of sport. Times Sport provides a ready reckoner.
CRICKET

JAN 5 TO FEB 24: India’s tour of South Africa: 3 Tests, 6 ODIs and 3 T20s

After a year or so of dominating performances at home, 2018 promises to be the acid Test for Virat Kohli and his boys as they will travel to South Africa to achieve what no Indian team has in the last 25 years. Beat South Africa in South Africa. There are testing tours to England and Australia too.

JAN 13 TO FEB 5 : Under-19 WC: New Zealand

India fell at the final hurdle to West Indies in Bangladesh in 2016. Can the talented Prithvi Shaw change the script this time in New Zealand?

APRIL 4 TO MAY 31: IPL 2018

With a new broadcaster in place and the inaugural champions and runners-up in Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings back in the mix, IPL XI is set to get bigger and better.

JULY 3 TO SEP 11: India’s tour of England: 5 Tests, 3 T20s and 3 ODIs

In 2014, India spectacularly won the Lord’s Test to go ahead 1-0 in the fivematch series, but they lost the last three to go down with a whimper. The ODI series win was convincing, but Kohli flopped as a batsman across both formats. Time for a redemption song as captain and batsman.

NOV 3 TO NOV 24: Women’s World T20, West Indies

This is the first time the ICC is hosting the women’s World T20 independently and hosting it in the land of the defending champions, The West Indies, will be a good indicator if the concept is a hit or a miss.

DEC 2018 TO FEB 2019: India’s tour of Australia: TBC: 4 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20s
Virat Kohli won the round as captain when the two teams battled each other in an acrimonious but entertaining series in India early last year, but Steve Smith‘s stature rose as a batsman with three quality tons on tough wickets. The battle for bragging rights will continue come December next year.

FEB 22 TO APRIL 3: Australia tour of South Africa: 4 Tests

Australia have never lost a series in South Africa since 1994. With Steve Smith being in the form that he is, it will be a fascinating battle especially if Dale Steyn is fit and firing.

FOOTBALL

The biggest sporting spectacle apart from the Olympics, the Fifa World Cup will kick off in Russia for the first time. Some footballing superpowers like Netherlands, Italy and Chile have not qualified which may impact viewership early on, but with stars like Messi and Ronaldo featuring in a World Cup for probably the last time, expect viewership to rise after the initial few days.

JUNE 14 TO JULY 15: Russia: Football World Cup MAY 26: Champions League final 2018: May 26, Kiev

Can anyone stop Real Madrid from clinching a hat-trick of European crowns? They do not seem to be in great form at least in La Liga. The New Year presents a new opportunity.

MAY 24: Europa League final, Lyon MARCH 17: ISL final

TENNIS

Last year was all about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal dancing to the tune of Yesterday Once More as they shared the Slams and battled for the No.1 spot. With Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray getting back in the scheme of things, one can expect 2018 to be a lot tougher for the two ageless gladiators.

JANUARY 1 TO JANUARY 7, Maharashtra Open: Pune: JANUARY 15 TO JANUARY 28: Australian Open MARCH 8 TO MARCH 18: Indianwells Masters MARCH 21 TO APRIL 1: Miami Masters APRIL 15 TO APRIL 22: Monte Carlo Masters MAY 6 TO MAY 13: Madrid Masters MAY 13 TO MAY 20: Rome Masters MAY 27 TO JUNE 10: French Open JULY 2 TO JULY 15: Wimbledon AUGUST 6 TO AUGUST 12: Rogers Cup, Toronto AUGUST 12 TO AUGUST 19: Cincinnati Masters AUGUST 27 TO SEPTEMBER 9, 2018: US Open, NY OCTOBER 7 TO OCTOBER 14: Shanghai Masters OCTOBER 29 TO NOVEMBER 4: Paris Masters NOVEMBER 11 TO NOVEMBER 18: London Masters

SHOOTING

AUGUST 31 TO SEPTEMBER 14: World Championship, Changwon, South Korea

Chance for Indian shooters to live up to the hype.

FORMULA ONE
The clashes between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel made 2017 an arresting one for F1 fans. 2018 can be another intriguing chapter in their rivalry. Watch out for the young and restless Verstappen too.

MARCH 25: Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne APRIL 8: Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir APRIL 15: Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai APRIL 29: Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Baku MAY 13: Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona MAY 27: Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo JUNE 10: Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal JUNE 24: French Grand Prix, Le Castellet JULY 1: Austrian Grand Prix, Spielberg JULY 8: British Grand Prix, Silverstone JULY 22: German Grand Prix, Hockenheim JULY 29: Hungarian Grand Prix, Budapest AUGUST 26: Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps SEPTEMBER 2: Italian Grand Prix, Monza SEPTEMBER 16: Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore SEPTEMBER 30: Russian Grand Prix, Sochi OCTOBER 7: Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka OCTOBER 21: US Grand Prix, Austin OCTOBER 28: Mexican Grand Prix, Mexico NOVEMBER 11: Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo NOVEMBER 25: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina

GOLF

Will this be the year when Tiger Woods finally breaks the No.14 Major hoodoo and inch towards the all time record of 18 owned by the legendary Jack Nicklaus? Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy will have something to say about it too. Among Indians, Anirban Lahiri, Shubhankar Sharma and Gaganjeet Bhullar will look to chart new territories.
MARCH: Indian Open: Dates to be confirmed

APRIL 5 TO 8: Augusta Masters

JUNE 14 TO JUNE 17: US Open: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, New York

JULY 19 TO 22: British Open, Carnoustie

AUGUST 9 TO 12: PGA Championships: Bellerive Country Club, St Louis, Missouri

BASKETBALL

NBA finals have been dominated by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors over the last three seasons. Time for other sides to catch up and break that dominance.

FEBRUARY 18: NBA All Stars, Los Angeles APRIL 14: NBA Playoffs APRIL 30 TO MAY 1: Conference semifinals MAY 13: Conference finals MAY 31: NBA finals
BADMINTON

Despite heartbreaks in finals, PV Sindhu captured the nation’s imagination with some epic battles. Kidambi Srikanth too broke new ground as he won four Superseries crowns. Badminton is clearly the No. 2 in terms of popularity after cricket in India and with performances like the ones in 2017, interest in the sport and Indian players’ performances will only keep growing.

DEC 23 2017 TO JAN 14 2018: Premier Badminton League JANUARY 29: Indian Open Superseries, New Delhi TBC: Syed Modi International Championships, Lucknow MARCH 14 TO 18: All England championships, Birmingham JULY 30 AUGUST 5: World Championships, Nanjing NOV 20 TO NOV 25 : World Superseries Finals: Venue TBC

OTHER SPORTS

JANUARY 21: Mumbai Marathon FEBRUARY 4: Indian Derby PRO KABADDI LEAGUE: Dates to be announced TOUR DE FRANCE: July 7 to July 29

QUADRENNIAL EVENTS

ASIAN GAMES: Jakarta and Palembang, August 18th to September 2. Keep an eye out for Indian shuttlers, the hockey team and shooters here. Indian track and field athletes will also look forward to this event as they have produced good results.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Gold Coast: April 4 to April 15 India generally do well here and the medal count is far more respectable than it is in the Olympics. Time for the contingent to reinforce that faith that the nation has.

HOCKEY MEN’S WORLD CUP: Bhubaneswar: November 28 to December 16 Indian hockey was in the news for mostly the wrong reasons in 2017 what with a performing coach, Roelant Oltmans being shown the door and the cancellation of the Premier Hockey League. India won the Asia Cup and had mixed results in the Hockey World League events but on home turf, they will be expected to do better.
HOCKEY WOMEN’S WORLD CUP London: July 21 to August 5 India’s women have had good results lately and they can make it a British summer to remember if they at least qualify for the last four. Coach Harendra Singh has a chance to make it a Chak De! moment.
Source : timesofindia