Sports

Dinesh Karthik, left, and Jitesh Sharma (Photo Credit: RCB on X)

BENGALURU: Coming in at No. 6 in the 16th over against Mumbai Indians on Monday, Jitesh Sharma got going against Trent Boult following up a boundary with a maximum. In fact, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicketkeeper-bat scored 24 off eight Boult deliveries. He even picked up a loose ball from Jasprit Bumrah to send it into the long-on stands during his unbeaten 19-ball 40.
Sharma’s repertoire of shots garnered a lot of attention. A utility player of high value, Sharma, who was roped in by RCB for Rs 11 crore this season, came into his own with the Punjab Kings in 2022. At RCB, Dinesh Karthik has taken the 31-year-old under his wings and the result — from one finisher to another — is telling.
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Sharma, a like-to-like replacement to Karthik — who hung up his boots after last season — worked extensively with the now RCB batting coach during the off-season. On the eve of RCB’s home game against Delhi Capitals, Sharma spoke about Karthik’s role in reshaping his game.
“It’s been a great journey till now. During the off-season I worked hard with him (Karthik). The shots I am playing right now are a replica of what he used to play. He is trying to turn me into a new player because he believes that I can play all around the circle.”
After an underwhelming 2024 season, Sharma emphasised on the mental blocks he has been able to clear.
“Last year’s performance was because of mental issues. I was not mentally in the game because I was thinking ahead and about the future. When I met Dinesh bhai, he told me that it’s a human error. It’s not rocket science; it happens to everyone,” he explained.
Having sorted his mental demons, Sharma also revealed that confidence building is a part of his training regime.
“My confidence doesn’t rely on the score. It always depends on my process and how I train. It’s because, if I have confidence in the end result, then the variables go up and down. So, I mostly keep my confidence high during practice,” he added.

Lionel Messi of Inter Miami CF and Ryan Hollingshead of Los Angeles FC battle for the ball during the CONCACAF Champions Cup 2025 Quarter-final second leg match between Inter Miami CF and Los Angeles Football Club at Chase Stadium on April 9, 2025 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are headed to the CONCACAF Champions Cup semifinals and it took a dramatic three-goal comeback to get there.

Messi scored twice, including a penalty kick in the 84th minute, to lift Inter Miami past LAFC 3-1 on Wednesday night — good enough for a 3-2 aggregate win in the two-leg series. The Herons needed three unanswered goals to win the series and ensure that they wouldn’t lose a tiebreaker.

And for Messi, the series clincher was reminiscent of how he led Argentina past France in the World Cup final in 2022. He scored two goals in that match, one on a penalty kick — then another in the penalty-shot shootout that decided the final. And those goals came against France’s Hugo Lloris, who was also in net for LAFC on Wednesday night.

Lloris couldn’t solve Messi in the World Cup final — and couldn’t in this one, either. When the final whistle sounded, Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano punched the air in celebration.

Oscar Ustari made two huge stops in the final minutes for Inter Miami, who will face either the Mexican club Pumas or the Vancouver Whitecaps in the tournament’s semifinals. The first leg of that two-leg matchup is set to start on either April 22, 23 or 24.

Aaron Long scored in the ninth minute to give LAFC a 1-0 lead, but it put Inter Miami in a much deeper hole than that. Inter Miami lost the series opener at LAFC 1-0, so Long’s goal not only gave LAFC a 2-0 aggregate lead — but it also gave his club control of the away-goals tiebreaker.

That meant Inter Miami needed at least three goals from there to advance. It might have seemed unlikely.

With Messi, all things are possible.

Messi started the rally in the 35th minute, getting loose near the top of the 18-yard box and scoring with the left foot to tie the match at 1 — giving Inter Miami some hope. It was Messi’s 41st goal in 48 appearances across all competitions with Inter Miami.

Noah Allen gave Inter Miami a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute on a bit of a fluke; he chipped a ball into the box, playing it toward Federico Redondo. Lloris came off his line, anticipating Redondo to play the ball — but it bounced off the grass, skipped past both of them and ended up in the side of the net.

That knotted the aggregate at 2-2, but LAFC still held the away-goal tiebreaker. And in the 67th minute, Inter Miami thought it grabbed the lead in the series when Messi played a ball into the box that Luis Suarez appeared to flick into the net on a header — but the flag came up for offside, taking the goal off the board.

Inter Miami kept the pressure on throughout, then argued successfully for a handball call that Messi turned into a 3-1 lead and a spot in the semifinals.

BENGALURU: Thanks to the auction process, players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) regularly come up against their old teams, some with a sense of nostalgia and others with, perhaps, revenge in mind. Regardless, little love is lost as they pursue IPL glory and its riches.
Mohammed Siraj, currently with Gujarat Titans, is a case in point as he made an emotional return to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last week and did enough to hand Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) their first loss in three matches. Emotions will run high again when unbeaten Delhi Capitals (DC) take on RCB on Thursday.
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Several DC players have a connection with RCB and their home ground. There is Faf du Plessis, who led RCB for three seasons until the franchise relinquished their hold on him ahead of the auction last year. The 40-year-old missed out on silverware but came close to etching his name as RCB’s most famous captain since he led the team into two playoffs. He scored more than 400 runs in each season, a remarkable 730 runs in 2023 being the highlight.

Du Plessis, now deputy to Axar Patel in DC, could add a few more at a ground that was his second home not long ago, though his fitness remains a concern. He sat out the previous game against Chennai Super Kings due to a groin niggle.
Capitals’ assistant coach Matthew Mott was non-committal on du Plessis’s availability.
“The beauty of the schedule so far is we’ve had some really good breaks and Faf’s had a good break. He’ll get assessed today by the physios with a view to playing. To the naked eye, he certainly looks like he’s moving around a lot better.”
Then, there is Australian pace merchant Mitchell Starc, who cut his teeth in the IPL with RCB in 2014. The left-arm pacer picked up 34 wickets in two seasons before a foot fracture ruled him out of the 2016 edition.
KL Rahul is another who returns to his home ground with a new team again this season. The stylish batter, who missed the opening match due to the birth of his daughter, scored a match-winning 51-ball 77 in the previous contest against CSK. Rahul, who spent four seasons at RCB, was widely speculated to return home at the auction but was snapped up by DC for Rs 14 crore.
Both the teams come into the contest on the back of wins, with RCB prevailing in a tense defence of their tall total against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. While skipper Rajat Patidar and Virat Kohli scored crucial half-centuries, the takeaways from the match were the return to form of southpaw Devdutt Padikkal and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma’s game-changing unbeaten 19-ball 40.
Barring leggie Suyash Sharma and pace ace Josh Hazlewood, all the other bowlers conceded runs, especially in the second half of Mumbai’s innings, but they managed to soak up the pressure at the death.
This new-look RCB have got a lot off their back. They conquered Kolkata Knight Riders, CSK, and MI in their own dens, but came a cropper against the Titans at home. They will hope that loss is an aberration, since the Capitals have plenty of bowling ammunition, especially with spin duo Kuldeep Yadav and Axar in their ranks.

Gujarat Titans’ players celebrate the wicket of Rajasthan Royals’ Shimron Hetmyer. (PTI Photo)

Sai Sudharsan’s elegant 82 off 53 balls and a disciplined bowling performance powered Gujarat Titans to a thumping 58-run win over Rajasthan Royals at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday, taking GT to the top of the IPL 2025 points table.
Electing to bat first, GT posted a formidable 217/6, thanks to Sudharsan’s masterful knock, peppered with eight boundaries and three sixes. Valuable contributions from Jos Buttler (36), Shahrukh Khan (36) and Rahul Tewatia (24 not out) added crucial impetus to the innings. Sudharsan anchored the middle overs with class, stitching an 80-run partnership with Buttler, before falling in the 18th over to Tushar Deshpande.
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Chasing 218, Rajasthan Royals were rocked early as Arshad Khan and Mohammed Siraj removed Yashasvi Jaiswal (6) and Nitish Rana (1) inside three overs. Captain Sanju Samson (41) and Riyan Parag (26) counterattacked with flair, but Impact Sub Kulwant Khejroliya broke the stand, and Rashid Khan soon removed Dhruv Jurel.
Despite a fighting 52 off 32 from Shimron Hetmyer, RR collapsed to 159 all out in 19.2 overs. Prasidh Krishna (3/24) cleaned up Samson and Hetmyer in quick succession to seal the win. Rashid Khan (2/37) and Sai Kishore (2/20) were equally effective.
With their fourth win in five games, GT climbed to first place with 8 points and a net run rate of +1.413. RR, meanwhile, suffered their third loss in five outings and dropped to 7th, with a deteriorated NRR of -0.733.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 217 for 6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 82, Jos Buttler 36, M Shahrukh Khan 36; Maheesh Theekshana 2/54, Tushar Deshpande 2/53).
Rajasthan Royals: 159 all out in 19.2 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 52, Sanju Samson 41; Prasidh Krishna 3/24, Rashid Khan 2/37, Sai Kishore 2/20).

PSG’s Desire Doue, right, takes a shot during the Champions League quarterfinal first leg soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa at Parc des Princes stadium in Paris.
| Photo Credit: AP

Paris Saint-Germain were made to sweat to secure a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, coming from behind after a shock opener from the visitors on Wednesday (April 9, 2025).

Morgan Rogers stunned the home crowd by putting Unai Emery’s side ahead in the first half but PSG swiftly turned the tide as teenager Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia struck back before Nuno Mendes got the third in added time to give the newly crowned Ligue 1 champions a well-deserved victory.

PSG’s dominance on the ball was evident as they dictated the tempo with a blend of composed possession, technical precision, and their trademark high pressing under Luis Enrique, the coach who groomed Doue into near-stardom.

Villa, whose seven-game winning streak in all competitions came to an end, will need to show more in the return leg next Tuesday.

“By order of the Paris SG fans,” a banner draped over the Auteuil Kop read — a cheeky nod to the Peaky Blinders television series, which takes place in Birmingham.

Emiliano Martinez, ever the villain in France who was greeted by a barrage of boos, whistles and expletives, made his presence felt, blocking Vitinha’s low shot and denying Ousmane Dembele, whose venomous half-volley seemed destined to rattle the net.

Two saves in quick succession, and the Villa keeper was proving his worth early on.

High up the pitch, PSG were suffocating Villa, swarming with intent. It was Villa, however, who converted first on their first clear chance.

A mistake from Mendes in midfield allowed John McGinn to pounce, nicking the ball and slipping it to Youri Tielemans. The Belgian looked up, saw the gap, and whipped a cross into the path of Rogers, who finished it off with an ice-cool tap-in.

Four minutes later, PSG levelled when Doue curled one in from the edge of the box, sending the ball sailing over the grounded Martinez and under the bar.

It was yet another superb display by the 19-year-old Doue, who scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Liverpool in the last 16.

The hosts continued to press following the break and after a superb combination in the midfield, Kvaratskhelia fired a shot that went in off the inside of the near post to make it 2-1.

Achraf Hakimi came close to adding another goal at the end of a sharp counter-attack, only for Martinez to fully stretch to tip away the ball.

PSG were denied a penalty claim and Hakimi had a goal disallowed for offside but Mendes netted two minutes into added time when he cut inside Ezri Konsa and slotted past Martinez, who left the pitch with his head down.

Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the Champions League quarterfinals first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund, at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain.
| Photo Credit: AP

Imperious Barcelona thumped visitors Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday after Robert Lewandowski netted twice against his old club to earn the Catalans a sizeable lead.

The treble-chasing Barca predictably dominated the opening stages and grabbed the lead following Raphinha’s strike in the 25th minute. A string of saves from Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel frustrated Barca for the remainder of the first half.

Barcelona emerged more determined following the break and it took them only three minutes to score the second with Raphinha assisting Lewandowski, who nodded home from close-range.

The Polish striker extended their lead in the 66th minute from just inside the box while Lamine Yamal wrapped up another demolition job by Barcelona in the 77th minute.

Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo shakes hands with Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (down) after winning the Monte Carlo ATP Masters Series Tournament round of 32 tennis match on the Ranier III court at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Novak Djokovic’s latest bid to win a 100th career title ended on Wednesday (April 8, 2025) in another shock defeat to a familiar face.

Alejandro Tabilo, who handed the 24-time Grand Slam champion a surprising loss at the Italian Open last year, beat Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Back on clay, Djokovic said afterward he didn’t have high expectations.

“I knew I’m going to have a tough opponent and I knew I’m going to probably play pretty bad,” Djokovic said. “But this bad, I didn’t expect.”

Djokovic, who recently lost the Miami Open final to Jakub Mensik, turns 38 next month — shortly before the French Open starts on May 25.

Defending French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz earlier started his clay-court season by rallying to a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Francisco Cerundolo in the second round of

The second-seeded Alcaraz was coming off a surprising loss to Belgian veteran David Goffin in his first match at the Miami Open.

Another upset seemed possible when Cerundolo, ranked No. 22, took the first set but Alcaraz dominated the rest of the match and converted five of his seven break points across the second and third sets.

Alcaraz is seeking a second title of 2025 and to finetune his clay-court game ahead of a bid to retain his title at Roland Garros starting next month.

Tabilo clinched victory on his second match point when Djokovic returned his strong serve long.

Djokovic had saved one match point in the ninth game when he was trailing 5-3 and 30-40 on his serve, clipping a neat drop shot over the net which his Chilean opponent could not reach.

Djokovic then held for 5-4.

Lorenzo Musetti, the 13th seed, beat Jiri Lehecka 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 to set up a last-16 match against fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini, who beat top-seeded Alexander Zverev on Tuesday.

Daniil Medvedev overcame Alexandre Muller 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-2, and fourth-seeded Casper Ruud beat Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-1.

Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils, a pair of 38-year-old Frenchman, were eliminated by Daniel Altmaier and seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev, respectively.

The Monte Carlo Masters is the first big clay-court tournament of the year on the ATP Tour.

India opened their account in the Billie Jean King Cup with a 2-1 win over Thailand in the group stage in Pune on Wednesday. Shrivalli Bhamidipaty set the tone for the hosts with an emphatic win, before the experienced duo of Ankita Raina and Prarthana Thombare helped India get off the mark in the tournament held at the Mhalunge Balewadi Tennis Complex. Bhamidipaty picked up where she left off on day one, delivering another commanding performance against Thailand’s Lanlana Tararudee.

Playing only her second game in Indian colours, she brushed aside her opponent in an hour and 15 minutes, displaying an array of strokes to win 6-2, 6-4, giving India a 1-0 lead in the tie against Thailand.

The second game of the day saw Sahaja Yamalapalli take on Mananchaya Sawangkaew, in what proved to be a nail-biting contest. The two players went toe-to-toe, putting some exceptional tennis on display.

Mananchaya won the first set 6-3, before Sahaja showed immense grit and determination to take the second set 7-6 (7-3).

Trailing 0-1 in the final set, the young Indian unfortunately had to retire hurt, bringing curtains on a thrilling match that lasted two hours and 23 minutes.

The experienced Indian duo of Ankita and Thombare then got the better of Peangtarn Plipuech and Patcharin Cheapchandej in the doubles game.

The Indians bagged the first set before faltering in the second. However, they dished out a superb performance in the tie-break, sealing a victory in the super tie-break, with a scoreline of 7-6, 3-6, 10-3 in an hour and 55 minutes.

India had lost to New Zealand 1-2 on Tuesday. India will take on the Hong Kong in their third match on Thursday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu made a winning start to the Badminton Asia Championships with a straight-game win over Ester Nurumi Wardoyo of Indonesia in the women’s singles while Lakshya Sen made an early exit from the men’s singles draw in Ningbo, China on Wednesday. The 29-year-old world number 17 Sindhu won 21-15 21-19 in 44 minutes against 19-year-old Wardoyo, ranked 36th. Sindhu will be up against world number four and third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the pre-quarterfinals on Thursday.

Meanwhile, 2021 World Championships bronze medallist Sen dished out a lackluster performance against Lee Chia Hao of Chinese Taipei, a finalist at the All England Championships, to lose 18-21 10-21 in the first round.

Earlier in the day, HS Prannoy also made an early exit as he lost to Zu Guang Lu of China in the men’s singles opening round.

Prannoy, who hasn’t been at his best since suffering a bout of Chikungunya, lost to his Chinese opponent 16-21 21-12 11-21 in a round of 32 match.

Kiran George, however, made it to the pre-quarterfinals with a 21-16, 21-8 win over Dmitriy Panarin of Kazakhstan in 35 minutes.

In women’s singles, Aakarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyaya, Malvika Bansod lost their respective matches to crash out of the tournament.

While Aakarshi lost to world number three Han Yue of China 13-21 7-21 in 31 minutes, Anupama was beaten by world number 13 and eighth seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 13-21 14-21.

Bansod was beaten by Gao Fang Jie of China 14-21 8-21.

In women’s doubles, Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra suffered defeat to Chinese Taipei’s Shuo Yun Sung and Chien Hui Yu 11-21 13-21.

In men’s doubles, the unheralded duo of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar Rethinasabapathi beat Sri Lankan pair of Madhuka Dulanjana and Lahiru Weerasinghe 21-3, 21-12 in a round of 32 contest.

However, the Indian duo of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K lost to Chinese Taipei pair of Chiu Hsiang Chieh and Wang Chi-Lin 19-21 12-21.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)