Sports

LSG vs MI LIVE Score, IPL 2025 LIVE Cricket Updates© BCCI/Sportzpics

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will leave the Premier League club at the end of the season, the 33-year-old Belgian announced on Friday (April 4, 2025).

De Bruyne has lifted 16 trophies since joining City from German side VfL Wolfsburg in 2015 — a haul that includes six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2023. He has also been named the Premier League Player of the Season twice.

“I’ll get straight to it and let you all know that these will be my final months as a Manchester City player. Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here — and you deserve to hear it from me first,” De Bruyne posted on Instagram.

“Every story comes to an end, but this has definitely been the best chapter,” he added.

There has been speculation about De Bruyne’s future at the club for months, as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

Not many cricketers in the world have the knack of identifying talents and nurturing them like MS Dhoni does. The likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma all played under Dhoni’s leadership, but their journey to the pinnacle of cricket, by their own admission, might not have been possible without Dhoni. He backed Kohli after his initial struggles and also suggested Rohit to open the innings in order to utilise his abilities to the fullest. However, Kohli and Rohit aren’t the only ones reaping rewards of Dhoni’s cricketing accumen.

A lot of cricketers who have been under Dhoni’s wings have enjoyed success at both, international and franchise, levels. Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana‘s journey has been similar, yet so different.

Pathirana had a very little exposure of cricket, having been born into a family of musicians. However, his talent was identified by none other than Dhoni, who was impressed straightaway.

What followed next was an IPL contract from the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who signed Pathirana as an uncapped overseas player for Rs 20 lakh, albeit a replacement for the injured Adam Milne.

Since then, Pathirana has been honing his skills under Dhoni’s watchful eyes, even reprsenting Sri Lanka 31 times so far. 

In a video shared by CSK, Pathirana’s parents lifted the lid on Dhoni’s impact on their son’s career, who even considers the wicketkeeper as his father.

“No words for MS Dhoni. He is real God. How Matheesha respects his father. Like that, he respects Dhoni,” said Matheesha’s mother.

“In Sri Lanka, you are my father, in India it is MS Dhoni,” added his father.

“I treat MS Dhoni as my father figure because of what he has done for me in cricket. The support he has given me in cricket is very similar to what my father gave me at home,” said Matheesha.

In 2023, Pathirana had a breakthrough IPL season, playing 12 games and claiming 19 wickets. In 2024, he continued his impressive form, picking up 13 wickets in six games. 

In total, Pathirana has played 22 matches for CSK, taking 39 wickets with an economy rate of 7.88 and a best bowling figure of 4/28.

Chennai Super Kings squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Devon Conway, Rahul Tripathi, Shaik Rasheed, Vansh Bedi (wk), C Andre Siddharth, Rachin Ravindra, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vijay Shankar, Sam Curran, Anshul Kamboj, Deepak Hooda, Jamie Overton, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Matheesha Pathirana.

Team Jamshedpur FC in action© X (Twitter)

Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), all eyes will be on star Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Rohit Sharma, who has been struggling for form in the competition so far. LSG and MI, both teams that have struggled for consistency so far with just one win and two losses, will be locking horns at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Friday. The Hitman has not found his groove in the tournament so far, having made 21 runs in three innings at an average of 7.00 and strike rate of 105.00 and best score of 13.

A surprising statistic has emerged about Rohit, who has garnered acclaim for his hard-hitting approach with the Indian team, but has delivered underwhelming results in IPL over the years. He has crossed the 400-run mark in a season only twice since 2017, in 2019 (405 runs in 15 matches with two fifties) and 2024 (417 runs in 14 matches with a century and a fifty).

Since 2017, as per ESPNCricinfo, 15 players have scored at least 2,500 runs in the league. Amongst them, Rohit has the lowest-strike rate of 130.09. In 118 matches since 2017, Rohit has scored 2,775 runs at an average of just 25.00 and a strike rate of over 130, with a century and 14 fifties to his name in 117 innings and best score of 105*.

LSG has not been a very favourable opponent to Rohit as against them he has made 165 runs in six innings at an average of 27.50 and a strike rate of over 142.24, with a half-century. His best score is 68 and he has scored a half-century against LSG.

Rohit’s fans will be keenly hoping that he will find his mojo in the match against LSG.

Squads:

Mumbai Indians Squad: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Vignesh Puthur, Corbin Bosch, Raj Bawa, Robin Minz, Satyanarayana Raju, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karn Sharma, Reece Topley, Bevon Jacobs, Krishnan Shrijith, Arjun Tendulkar

Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, David Miller, Abdul Samad, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Ravi Bishnoi, Manimaran Siddharth, Prince Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Himmat Singh, Akash Maharaj Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Aryan Juyal, RS Hangargekar, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Akash Deep, Mayank Yadav, Shamar Joseph, Arshin Kulkarni.

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

Venkatesh Iyer and Vaibhav Arora (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) delivered a resounding performance, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 80 runs in the 15th match of IPL 2025 on Thursday at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
The victory was shaped by Venkatesh Iyer’s explosive batting and Vaibhav Arora’s fiery bowling, both playing key roles in KKR’s dominance.
Batting first, KKR lost early wickets but found stability with a strong middle-order performance.
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Venkatesh Iyer led the charge with a scintillating 60 off 29 balls, smashing seven fours and three sixes at an incredible strike rate of 206.90.
Iyer walked in when KKR was 97/3 in the 11th over, following Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal.
He quickly turned the momentum in KKR’s favour, forming a crucial partnership with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (50 off 32).
Iyer’s ability to attack spinners and pacers alike ensured KKR accelerated in the final overs.
His innings ended in the 19th over, caught by Aniket Verma off Harshal Patel, but he had already powered KKR to an imposing 200/6 in 20 overs.

Defending 200, Vaibhav Arora struck in his very first over, dismissing dangerous Travis Head.
He continued his lethal spell, removing Ishan Kishan (2) and Heinrich Klaasen (33), breaking SRH’s resistance. His figures of 3/29 put KKR in complete control. He later went on to win the Player of the Match award.
SRH crumbled under KKR’s bowling pressure, getting bowled out for 120 in 16.4 overs.
Apart from Klaasen (33) and Kamindu Mendis (27), no batter could make a significant impact. Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell provided crucial breakthroughs to complement Arora’s brilliance.
KKR’s commanding victory was powered by Venky Iyer’s attacking knock and Vaibhav Arora’s match-winning spell, ensuring their team’s dominance in IPL 2025.

Javi Hernandez celebrates the winning strike for Jamshedpur in the first leg of the ISL semifinal against Mohun Bagan Super Giant in Jamshedpur on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

: Javi Hernandez produced a fantastic goal in added time to help Jamshedpur FC snatch a 2-1 win against the league shield champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the first leg of the ISL semifinal at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Thursday to secure the crucial advantage.

Jamshedpur opened the lead through Javier Siverio midway through the opening half before Jason Cummings brought Mohun Bagan back into contention with an equaliser before the break.

Just when it appeared that Bagan would be heading home with a draw, Hernandez produced a stunner to ensure that Jamshedpur goes into the second leg (at Kolkata on April 7) with a one-goal lead.

Jamshedpur enjoyed the home advantage as Bagan looked rusty arriving after a prolonged break following its successful league campaign. The home team nearly got a penalty in the sixth minute when a cross inside the Bagan box by Jamshedpur winger Sanan Mohammed hit the hand of defender Asish Rai. But the referee read it differently to deny the host’s appeal for a penalty.

Jamshedpur continued the momentum and found the lead in the 24th minute through Siverio, who nodded home after the towering Stephen Eze reached him unmarked by heading a long throw from Muhammed 
Uvais.

Mohun Bagan found its rhythm after the half hour and created multiple openings before seeing its efforts rewarded in the 37th minute. Cummings produced a perfectly executed free-kick which found its way in through the top corner to stun the packed galleries into silence.

Hernandez’s spectacular effort in the end handed over the advantage to Jamshedpur.

The result: Semifinal 2, Leg 1: Jamshedpur 2 (Javier Siverio 24, Javi Hernandez 90+1) bt Mohun Bagan SG 1 (Jason Cummings 37).

Kolkata Knight Riders’ under-fire middle order finally delivered as Venkatesh Iyer silenced his critics with a 25-ball fifty while Angkrish Raghuvanshi struck a fluent half-century to power KKR to 200/6 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL on Thursday. KKR’s new-look opening pair continued to struggle, with Quinton de Kock (1) and Sunil Narine (7) falling cheaply after SRH opted to bowl. But an 81-run partnership by skipper Ajinkya Rahane (38 from 27b) and Raghuvanshi (50 off 32 balls; 5×4, 2×6) laid the foundation for a competitive total.

SRH gained ground in the middle overs when 26-year-old Sri Lankan Kamindu Mendis delivered a rare sight in IPL history, bowling with both hands in the same over on debut.

The ambidextrous Sri Lankan first bowled left-arm spin to Raghuvanshi before switching to off-spin against the left-handed Rinku Singh.

The over proved pivotal as he dismissed Raghuvanshi, breaking KKR’s momentum.

Momentum slowed with boundaries drying up for two overs, but Iyer (60 off 29 balls; 7×4, 3×6) and Rinku (32 not out from 17 balls; 4×4, 1×6) reignited the innings.

Iyer’s desperate pull off a Simarjeet beamer ended the drought, and Rinku smashed three consecutive boundaries off Harshal Patel before Iyer tore into Simarjeet with back-to-back fours.

Rinku capped off the over with a massive six over long-on, yielding 17 runs.

Iyer was at his belligerent best against Cummins in the 19th over, hammering the SRH skipper for 4, 6, 4, 4 in succession as KKR notched their first 200-plus total of the season. The hosts hammered 78 runs in last five overs.

Lighting up Eden Gardens with some fireworks

Sit back and enjoy Rinku Singh and Venkatesh Iyer’s super striking

up for Iyer in the process!

Updates https://t.co/jahSPzdeys#TATAIPL | #KKRvSRH | @KKRiders pic.twitter.com/AAAqnOsRy8

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 3, 2025

Earlier Pat Cummins struck early in the third over, setting up de Kock with a short ball that was miscued to deep midwicket, while Shami dismissed an out-of-sorts Narine with a wide yorker that took the edge behind.

From 16/2 in 2.3 overs, KKR recovered through an 81-run stand between Rahane and Raghuvanshi.

Rahane broke the shackles with two crisp pull shots for sixes off Shami and Cummins, as KKR reached 53/2.

Raghuvanshi complemented Rahane with stylish stroke play, piercing gaps with drives through cover and square region.

His standout strokes came against Zeeshan Ansari — a clean lofted six over long-off and a well-placed reverse hit past backward point. He reached a well-deserved 50 off 30 balls.

However, Ansari broke the partnership in the same over as Rahane gloved a reverse sweep to Heinrich Klaasen.

Captain Cummins’ decision to underutilise spin on a pitch with variable bounce was debatable.

Leg-spinner Ansari bowled just three overs (1/25), while Mendis wasn’t given another over after his match-turning spell.