Sports

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli celebrates the dismissal of Mumbai Indians’ Tilak Verma during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, India, Monday, April 7, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Royal Challengers Bengaluru takes on Delhi Capitals in a battle between form sides at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday (April 10, 2025).

RCB has enjoyed a good start to the season, winning three of four matches, while DC sits pretty with three straight victories.

Also Read | RCB skipper Patidar fined ₹12 lakh for team’s slow over-rate

The only blemish for RCB, incidentally, came in its first home match, against Gujarat Titans.

RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, who came into his own with a 32-ball 64 against Mumbai Indians a few days ago, will hope that a sweet homecoming awaits.

The home team will be encouraged by consistent contributions from Virat Kohli and Jitesh Sharma. Experienced left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, who bagged four wickets against MI, has exceeded expectations with the ball.

If opener Phil Salt can find his groove, RCB can be near unstoppable.

Homecoming

The match offers K.L. Rahul the chance to show his wares in a familiar setting. The Karnataka cricketer, a batting mainstay for DC, has benefitted from shifting to a more attacking approach.

Rahul will be tasked with taking on the new ball, in the event that Faf du Plessis is not fit. The South African missed the previous match, but he did have a hit in the nets here on Wednesday.

DC assistant coach Matthew Mottremained non-committal on the availability of the 40-year-old. “I think he’ll get assessed today by the physios. He certainly looks like he’s moving around a lot better. He’s a key player for us,” Mott said.

Asked about the nature of the injury, Mott said: “It’s somewhere in the groin area”.

Gujarat Titans players celebrate the victory over Rajasthan Royals by 58 runs during the TATA IPL 2025 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji

Gujarat Titans’ investment in B. Sai Sudharsan is paying off handsomely. He was bought for his base price of ₹20 lakh by GT for its maiden season.

He was retained ahead of this year’s IPL for ₹8.5 crore. His reputation as one of India’s finest young batters continues to grow just as impressively.

Sai Sudharsan on Wednesday (April 9, 2025) night gave another exhibition of his exceptional skills as a top-order batter at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The left-handed opener from Tamil Nadu made a sparkling 82 off 53 balls (8×4, 3×6) to help the Titans post their fourth win in a row. Chasing 218, Rajasthan Royals could make only 159, the host thus winning by 58 runs.

This was the third fifty of the season in five innings for Sai Sudharsan; he had struck 49 in another. He lost his opening partner Shubman Gill early though. The GT captain was bowled by the pace and movement of 
Jofra Archer, who has been on a remarkable comeback after his disastrous, record-breaking spell against 
Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Sai Sudharsan, however, found an able ally in Jos Buttler, on whom there was much focus as the England batter was making his first appearance against his old team for which he had scored more than 3,000 runs. They put on 80 for the second wicket before Buttler (36, 25b, 5×4) fell lbw, on review, to Maheesh Theekshana.

Sai Sudharsan continued to pace his innings superbly. And he displayed a wide array of strokes, as he drove, cut and lofted with panache.

At the other end, there was some hard-hitting by M. Shahrukh Khan (36, 20b, 4×4, 2×6) and Rahul Tewatia
 (24 not out, 12b) to ensure GT made enough runs after being asked to bat first.

The Royals needed a bright start if they were to chase down that stiff target. But they lost two early wickets, and though skipper Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag added 48 for the third wicket, it was always going to be a tough ask. Shimron Hetmyer (52, 32b, 4×4, 3×6) did make an attempt, though, before he became one of 
Prasidh Krishna’s three victims.

NEW DELHI: Despite a thrilling four-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants in a high-scoring IPL clash on Tuesday, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) received a morale-boosting message from team owner Shah Rukh Khan, which quickly struck a chord with fans and players alike.
Also See: GT vs RR, IPL Live Score
Chasing a massive 239-run target at Eden Gardens, KKR came agonisingly close, finishing at 234/7. Ajinkya Rahane‘s 61 off 35 and Rinku Singh‘s unbeaten 38 in the final overs kept hopes alive, but Lucknow held their nerve, thanks to Nicholas Pooran‘s 36-ball 87 and Mitchell Marsh’s 81 earlier in the evening.
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In the aftermath, KKR shared a video of CEO Venky Mysore reading out a deeply emotional and inspiring message from Shah Rukh Khan to the team. Titled with SRK’s words, “Hold our head up, and face the next game,” the note emphasised resilience and reflection over regret.
“It’s a sad loss because we were so close, but so many good things to take away,” Mysore read. “We can fight and put up a big score… Sometimes our best is not good enough. I think this was one of those days.”
SRK reminded the players that, “We were only one ball away, one hit away,” and urged them to “leave the defeat behind” and take lessons from the narrow loss. “Seeing it maturely, I feel a bit of heartbreak brings the team closer,” the message concluded.
While Akash Deep and Shardul Thakur’s vital breakthroughs helped Lucknow edge ahead, the fighting spirit shown by KKR wasn’t lost on their beloved owner.

The message has since gone viral, resonating with fans for its blend of sportsmanship and emotion. With three wins in five games, LSG now climb the table, while KKR — with two wins — look to regroup, carrying SRK’s words of encouragement into their next challenge.

After an injury-marred 2024, a fully fit Neeraj Chopra is set to begin his 2025 athletics season at the Doha Diamond League, with his focus not just on distance but also on maintaining consistency, according to Olympics.com. For his season opener, the reigning javelin throw world champion and Paris 2024 Olympics silver medallist returns to a familiar venue in the Qatari capital, where he has launched his last two seasons.

The Indian star won the 2023 edition with a throw of 88.67m and secured second place in 2024 with an effort of 88.36m, finishing behind Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch, the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist.

“Last year taught me a lot but I was proud to be on the podium for India once again at the Olympic Games. I’m now fully fit and really enjoying the hard work that Jan Zelezny and I are putting in,” Chopra said, referring to his coach, as quoted from Olympics.com.

Last season, Neeraj grappled with a groin issue before clinching silver at the Paris Olympics, where Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem claimed gold with an Olympic record. He also finished second in the Diamond League Final, competing with a fracture in his non-throwing left hand.

“I know the fans expect big things from me when I compete (in Doha) – and with good conditions and a great atmosphere that’s definitely possible – but I pride myself on my consistency, which I believe is one of my greatest strengths. For me, that’s more important than just chasing a number,” he said.

Across six events in 2024, Chopra made the podium each time winning twice and finishing runner-up on four occasions.

Following the Doha Diamond League, Neeraj is set to headline the Neeraj Chopra Classic in Haryana on May 24. Dubbed the NC Classic, the one-day meet is recognised as a World Athletics ‘A’ category event.

Amiya will hope to prove he still has the speed to match the new group of Indians.
| Photo Credit: File Photo: RITU RAJ KONWAR

Veteran sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick will return to action after a long break, hoping to prove he still has the speed to match the new group of Indians when he lines up for the 100m at the third Indian Open athletics meet here on Thursday.

The 32-year old former national record holder last turned out at the Open Nationals last year but was disqualified for a false start in the heats. Prior to that, he had participated at the 2023 National Games in Goa, finishing a disappointing seventh. He was, however, part of the Odisha relay team at the 2025 National Games.

Also returning to action at the Birsa Munda Stadium after more than a month of recovery will be javelin thrower Sachin Yadav. He is fourth on the World leading list for the year with a 84.39m throw for gold at the National Games, where he twisted his ankle.

Sachin is fourth on the World leading list for the year with a 84.39m throw for the gold at the National Games.
| Photo Credit:
File Photo: RITU RAJ KONWAR

His mark also makes him the fifth best Indian thrower of all time. Sachin targets the 85.50m mark to qualify for the World Championships later this year. Asian Championships bronze medalist Abhishek Pal has entered in the 5,000m.

Among the women, all eyes will be on Srabani Nanda — participating in both the 100m and 200m — after a disappointing outing at the National Games in February and Sanjivani Jadhav in the 5000m, among the few events that has decent participation in the women’s section that otherwise has few entries across events despite the AFI making it mandatory to participate in one of the Grand Prix/ Indian Open meets to qualify for the Federation Cup.

Priyansh Arya’s attack approach brought him rich rewards in the match against Chennai Super Kings.
| Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Priyansh Arya waltzed from 80 to 102 in the space of four deliveries against Chennai Super Kings in Mullanpur on Tuesday. He did so by taming CSK’s fastest bowler Matheesha Pathirana, walloping the Sri Lankan slinger for three consecutive sixes before bringing up his maiden IPL century with a four between short third and backward point. In that blitz were two back-to-back pulls that sailed over the midwicket and square leg boundaries, showing scant regard for Pathirana’s pace and reputation as a death-overs specialist.

In the lead-up to his debut IPL season, having been picked for ₹3.8 crore by Punjab Kings, the 24-year-old from Delhi had given special attention to the challenge of conquering the fast bowlers. Belonging to the stable of Sanjay Bhardwaj, who has trained the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Nitish Rana and Joginder Sharma, Priyansh stationed himself at his coach’s residential academy in Bhopal before the marquee assignment to work on his shots against pace.

“Priyansh trained in Bhopal for 20-25 days. He practised a lot against fast bowlers, specifically on the cut and pull shots,” Bhardwaj told The Hindu. “In the IPL, unless you are a player capable of taking on the fast bowlers, you won’t get preference. The world’s best pacers are there and unless you master how to dominate them, you won’t be successful. He would play 200-300 pulls and 200-300 cuts every day. He faced side-armers and medium-pacers. The practice wickets were bouncy.”

Priyansh set the tone for the night by cutting Khaleel Ahmed over backward point for a six off the very first ball of the game. That he had been dismissed for a first-ball duck by Jofra Archer in the previous game had no bearing. Bhardwaj puts it down to Priyansh’s see-ball, hit-ball approach.

“His main strength is attacking and he does it on instinct. He does see and play rather than think and play. When you think and play, it leads to doubt or confusion,” the coach said.

The Rishabh Pant-led Lucknow Super Giants registered a slender four-win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Sunday to register their third win in five matches. Despite scoring 238/3 in 20 overs, LSG survived a scare after some terrific batting from Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane, Venkatesh Iyer and Rinku Singh. Ultimately, Pant’s side won by four runs. However, fans were intrigued when Pant received medical attendance at the start of the 13th over. KKR had reached 149/2 in 12 overs with Ajinkya Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer in full flow. Pant looked liked having an issue on his back.

Coincidentally, immediately after the medical break, KKR lost Rahane, Ramandeep Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell in successive overs. A section of social media users compared the incident to Pant’s medical time-out during the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa when Heinrich Klaasen was in full flow. 

Did Rishabh Pant Use Fake Injury Tactics Of T20 World Cup 2024 Final vs KKR In IPL 2025?#RishabhPant #IPL2025 #DCvsKKR #FakeInjuryDebate #CricketControversy pic.twitter.com/OOKCpuFiNe

— cricketwebs (@cricketwebs_com) April 8, 2025

Rishabh Pant is so good at the art of slowing the game down with an injury !! We’ve seen that before #KKRvsLSG #KKRvLSG pic.twitter.com/4fEPM14CuX

— Cricketism (@MidnightMusinng) April 8, 2025

KKR lost today’s match because of an unsportive mischief of Rishabh Pant. KKR was going strong untill Pant’s pretension of injury lying down on the ground. Then batters lost stance. Once Rohit Sharma said the same tactics was adopted by Pant against a foreign country.

— Sahadev Mohanty (@SahadevMohanty) April 8, 2025

Rishabh Pant’s masterclass #KKRvsLSG pic.twitter.com/5hzCkA5hzR

— Utsav (@utsav__45) April 8, 2025

Speaking about his ;medical timeout’ during the T20 World Cup final, Pant made an interesting admission. “I actually thinking what to do because the momentum had suddenly shifted (in South Africa’s favour), they had scored plenty of runs in 2-3 overs, so I was thinking when will that moment come when we will the World Cup final,” he told Star Sports.

“I was asking the physio to take time. When Rohit bhai asked if my knee is fine I said, ‘Bhaiya, mast acting kar raha tha’ (I was acting all this while). Sometimes you have to do these types of things in matches. I’m not saying it works every time, but it does work sometimes and if it works at that kind of a moment, then nothing like it.”