Sports

LSG will hope captain Rishabh Pant finds form with the bat.
| Photo Credit: SANDEEP SAXENA

Lucknow Super Giants will hope its big guns can turn up and pull off a concerted effort against Mumbai Indians at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in their IPL match here on Friday.

The Super Giants’ fate has hinged on the efforts of Nicholas Pooran, who has scored 189 runs in three innings at a strike rate of nearly 220.

Rishabh Pant’s lack of form has been emblematic of LSG’s middle-order woes with the captain contributing just 17 runs in three essays. His task will be cut out against Vignesh Puthur. Pant has a strike rate of 92 against left-arm unorthodox spinners.

David Miller has ended unbeaten in two out of his three outings but his middling strike rate of 134 has not allayed concerns over the side’s batting form.

With the ball, Ravi Bishnoi has conceded at 12.54 per over in the three games so far, his worst economy rate through a season. Akash Deep joined the LSG squad on the match eve to bolster an injury-hit pace unit.

MI comes into the match on the high of a home win, but faces the daunting task of snapping a six-game losing streak on the road.

Mumbai Indians batter Rohit Sharma during a practice session ahead of the IPL match against LSG.
| Photo Credit:
SANDEEP SAXENA

Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav starred in MI’s chase against Kolkata Knight Riders. But the side will have its batting firing on all cylinders only when Rohit Sharma chips in with runs.

Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar claimed three wickets in the PowerPlay in their last game, and the new ball duo will again be tempted to attack early given LSG’s batting fragility.

Sai Kishore of GT celebrates after taking the wicket of Jitesh Sharma of RCB during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru on 2nd April 2025.
| Photo Credit: K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

It is not often that Rashid Khan is the bowler with the worst figures and yet his team wins at a canter. But Wednesday was one such occasion when Gujarat Titans, despite Rashid conceding 54 runs from four overs, thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by eight wickets.

Chief among the reasons — apart from Player of the Match Mohammed Siraj’s blistering opening spell — was left-arm spinner R. Sai Kishore’s performance (4-0-22-2).

The Tamil Nadu bowler accounted for Jitesh Sharma, who looked set to stage a remarkable rescue act after an RCB top-order collapse, and then caught and bowled Krunal Pandya for a measly five.

Krunal’s wicket was courtesy his own version of the carrom ball, a feat that would have made his statemate R. Ashwin proud. Coming as it did just days after he stared down Krunal’s more illustrious brother Hardik, it was a firm indicator of Sai Kishore’s confidence.

“I feel it was the most important spell because the wicket was very difficult to bat against fast bowlers, and batters, including me, were trying to maximise what we get out of the spinners,” said Sai Sudharsan, his teammate at both Titans and Tamil Nadu. “He was smart enough and used the right speeds and right angles. That’s why he had a great game.”

Sai Kishore has been with the Titans since inception, but he has played just 13 matches, including none in 2023. But going by this season’s efforts — even in the contest where Punjab Kings scored 243, he returned figures of 4-0-30-3 — he should play a lot more.

“Off the field, the amount of effort he puts, the amount of preparation he does in terms of [gaining] tactical advantages… I feel that is taking him a bit ahead of other bowlers,” opined Sai Sudharsan.  “He understands the game, the situations and uses his speeds and angles [well]. That’s why he is bowling the way he is.”

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Rinku Singh made a desperate attempt to get his hands on one of Rohit Sharma‘s bats. However, Rinku found no look as fellow KKR teammate Angkrish Raghuvanshi was the lucky recepient this time. After the match between KKR and Mumbai Indians (MI), Rinku was spooted inside the home team’s dressing room at the Wankhede Stadium. In a video posted by MI, Rinku was seen standing next to Rohit, who was checking the bats in his kit bag.

However, Rinku was teased by MI batter Tilak Varma for asking Rohit for a bat. “Dekho, khud ke naam pe itna acha bats aaya hai fir bhi bat maang raha hai (Rohit) bhaiya se,” Tilak can be seen as saying in the video.

Even MI captain Hardik Pandya joined the banter, sparking laughing riot inside the dressing room. “Rinku se savdhaan rahe, satark rahe,” MI captioned the video.

At the end of the video, Raghuvanshi had a big smile on his face after receiving a bat from India captain Rohit.

Rinku se#MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai pic.twitter.com/2NPuXCzURY

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) April 2, 2025

Meanwhile, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane acknowledged the discussions about sending Rinku up the order but explained that match situations often dictate such decisions.

“Yes, I mean, Rinku has been batting really well–for KKR and also for the Indian team, especially in this shorter format. He has been doing really well,” Rahane said.

“The talks about promoting him up the order are happening, but sometimes you have to play according to the situation and decide who is better suited at that moment,” he added.

However, Rahane assured that fans could expect to see Rinku getting more opportunities up the order in the coming matches.

“As I mentioned, Rinku has been batting really well, and you will see him bat higher up the order,” he concluded.

KKR have lost two of their first three IPL 2025 matches. They will now take on the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 3.

KKR and SRH have met 28 games in the IPL with Knight Riders dominating the head to head record by a convincing margin. SRH have won 9 whereas KKR have come out victorious on 19 occasions.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson, Varun Chakaravarthy, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Anukul Roy, Luvnith Sisodia, Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell, Mayank Markande, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Chetan Sakariya

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Aniket Verma, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abhinav Manohar, Pat Cummins(c), Wiaan Mulder, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari, Adam Zampa, Sachin Baby, Eshan Malinga, Simarjeet Singh, Jaydev Unadkat, Kamindu Mendis, Rahul Chahar, Atharva Taide

(With Agency Inputs)

David Catala during an interaction with the media in Kochi on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

With the All India Football Federation’s Super Cup less than 20 days away in Bhubaneswar, Spaniard David Catala may not have much time to study his team closely before its next big outing. But the new Kerala Blasters head coach is clear about what he needs to do first.

“I would like to change the mentality of the players, I know this season has been very hard for them and I would like to change things mentally a bit, to help them compete with another kind of mood,” said the 44-year-old at the Nehru Stadium here on Thursday.

“That is the first thing I’d like to change because I see some of them, they are very disappointed with the results of the season.”

Catala has landed here at a torrid time.

After making the playoffs thrice consecutively under Serb Ivan Vukomanovic, the Blasters finished a disappointing eighth in the Indian Super League this year, a season where the Kochi-based side now has its third coach after Swede Mikael Stahre and interim head coach T.G. Purushothaman.

Catala’s arrival at a time when the season is almost over should help him have a close look at the players and decide who should stay in his squad for the next ISL season.

“It’s clear we need to build a new team and new players. Coming now also gives me a good idea what we need for the future, to have a good team and to try to get the maximum in the next season,” said the former central defender who played over 500 professional matches before becoming a coach five years ago.

The defence had been the Blasters’ big weakness this season. The team scored 33 goals but conceded 37, many of them in the last few minutes of matches. Now, Catala is keen to find the right balance.

“We will try to find the balance to be a compact team and at the same time be an aggressive team,” he said.

The Blasters have the biggest fan base among ISL sides but the series of disappointing results made the fans bitter which put further pressure on the team this season. For sure, Catala will be under close scrutiny and that could put him under pressure right from the start.

But Catala, who had coached leading clubs in Cyprus, Croatia and in Spain’s third division earlier, is prepared for the challenge.

“If I decided to be a head coach and before that a professional football player, I would want this pressure. I have to handle this pressure and I like to handle this pressure. I’m ready for that,” he said.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s captain Pat Cummins with Kolkata Knight Riders’ captain Ajinkya Rahane before the start of an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, April 3, 2025
| Photo Credit: PTI

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins won the toss and decided to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL match here on Thursday (April 3, 2025).

KKR made one change, bringing in Moeen Ali in place of pacer Spencer Johnson, while SRH fielded the same XI.

Both the teams have lost two games and won one so far.

Teams

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Aniket Verma, Kamindu Mendis, Pat Cummins (capt), Simarjeet Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Shami, Zeeshan Ansari

Kolkata Knight Riders: Quinton de Kock (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Moeen Ali, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.

Following the win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Gujarat Titans (GT) opener Sai Sudharsan hailed pacer Mohammed Siraj for his performance, saying that his “attitude and energy” changes the whole team. Siraj was absolutely electric on his return to Chinnaswammy Stadium, this time in GT colours and he troubled his former team with a brilliant three-wicket haul on Wednesday, which paved way for an easy eight-wicket win while chasing down 170. Speaking in a video posted on the official IPL website featuring batting coach Parthiv Patel, Sudharsan said, “I only believe in Siraj bhai. He is a game-changer. The attitude and energy he brings, it changes the whole team. I enjoyed it. I had a feeling he would have a great game because he is a game-changer.”

On his own contribution with the bat, a fine knock of 49 in 36 balls, Sudarshan said, “Feels great. Always great to contribute for the team and getting those two points. The first two games they played really well. It is a great boost for us to beat the team which is in a good rhythm and hope we continue to play the way we play.”

Sudharsan is the second-highest run-getter in the tournament, with 186 runs in three matches at an average of 62.00, a strike rate of over 157 and two half-centuries. His best score is 74.

On the environment within the team, Sudharsan said that it feels like a family.

“It does not feel like an IPL set-up,” he added.

Coming to the match, RCB was put to bat first by GT, who won the toss and opted to field. As ex-RCBian Mohammed Siraj (3/19) reduced RCB to 42/4, a 52-run stand between Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma (33 in 20 balls, with five fours and a six) and a 46-run stand for the seventh wicket between Livingstone (54 in 40 balls, with a four and five sixes) and Tim David (32 in 18 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped RCB make 169/8 in their 20 overs.

Sai Kishore (2/22) and Prasidh Krishna (1/26) were also impressive with the ball.

During the run-chase, GT lost their skipper Shubman Gill (14) early, but top knocks from Jos Buttler (73* in 39 balls, with five fours and six sixes), Sai Sudharsan (49 in 36 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Sherfane Rutherford (30* in 18 balls, with a four and three sixes) took GT to a win with 13 balls and eight wickets in hand.

Siraj won the ‘Player of the Match’ for his spell.

Now, RCB is in third place in the points table with two wins and a loss, giving them four points. GT is a spot below them with the same win-loss record and points.

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

Manish Rathore (55kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) and Hitesh (70kg) recorded wins to enter the semifinals of the World Boxing Cup Brazil 2025 in Foz do Iguacu.

Rathore defeated Australia’s Paris Olympian Yusuf Chothia 3-0, Jamwal dispatched Germany’s Denis Bril 5-0 and Hitesh beat Italy’s Gabriele Guidi Rontani 5-0.

Rathore will face Nursultan Altynbek of Kazakhstan, Hitesh will take on Makan raoré and Jamwal will meet Gianluigi Malanga of Italy in the semifinals.