Cricket

New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets in 16.2 overs after Smriti Mandhana and Danielle Wyatt-Hodge easily chased down 142 runs. Mandhana maintained her exceptional performance over the past year while recording her quickest WPL fifty. She targeted Delhi Capitals’ bowling straight from the first over and remained unbeaten throughout her innings. Mandhana completed her innings with 81 runs scored from 47 balls including three sixes and ten fours. Wyatt-Hodge achieved a score of 42 runs from 32 balls

The cricket chief of Pakistan hopes that next week's Champions Trophy will become the first major multi-country cricket event in nearly three decades to pave the way for more similar tournaments. The 2009 Lahore attack on a Sri Lankan cricket team bus resulted in top cricket teams avoiding Pakistan which led them to shift their home games predominantly to the UAE. The Pakistan Cricket Board spent several years persuading international cricket organizations about the security of visiting the country. The cricket board managed

When D Gukesh pulled off a colossal "upset" victory over Ding Liren in the historic World Chess Championship this month, it was perhaps best the Indian prodigy could manage to showcase his calm under pressure and sangfroid. It was later also revealed that Gukesh's team for the World C'ship also included mental-conditioning coach Paddy Upton. Upton has notably worked with the Indian national team in the 2011 ODI World Cup winning year. Gukesh has exhibited coolness yet again at the ongoing Weissenhaus Freestyle Chess Grand Slam, something

Having departed from the squad, the Australia custodian fast bowler Mitchell Starc is the latest player to miss the ODI Champions Trophy due to personal concerns. The team will now head to the tournament with three frontline quicks missing for the ODI competition in Pakistan and the UAE. Starc’s withdrawal follows the exit of two pace stalwarts Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood who were sidelined with different injuries. With Starc’s withdrawal global champions Australia will now be relying on a mix of fringe

Former West Indies opening batter Chris Gayle backed India stalwart Virat Kohli to wind up his position on top of the ICC Champions Trophy run-scorers' graph. The left-hander also sent a lovely message for Kohli's longest-serving partner Rohit Sharma, urging him to hit sixes and stay on the Wankhede wicket for as long as he wanted. A little over seven years after fans around the globe last witnessed its action, the Champions Trophy returns to their lives on 19 February. The tournament is reaching new

India captain Rohit Sharma returned to form with an impressive hundred in Sunday's second ODI against England after being forced by poor performance to withdraw from a Sydney Test match a month earlier. Rohit Sharma opted out of T20 Internationals right after India won their second 20-overs World Cup title but his performance in test matches has been disappointing. Media reports claim that selectors questioned the Mumbai player about his post-Champions Trophy future because he'll turn 38 in April. Although Rohit scored only

The U19 women’s cricket team from India replicated their championship success! Recently in Malaysia the Indian U19 women’s team succeeded in retaining their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title. Their determination and confidence showed immediately and reached its peak when they defeated South Africa by nine wickets to secure the trophy spectacularly. Team captain Niki Prasad evaluates the factors which led to their victory while back in their home country. I called together my team before the final match and told them we

The Indian batting star Virender Sehwag complimented the stadiums located in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah for hosting remarkable matches during the current ILT20 tournament. Sehwag described UAE stadiums as having some of the best batting tracks that enable players to score big runs. My playing time here was limited but I participated in several matches for India and during the IPL and found batting in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi extremely enjoyable. Dubai Capitals fought Desert Vipers until the final ball but

The Champions Trophy match between England and Afghanistan will take place this month even though British politicians have urged for a match boycott due to Taliban restrictions on women's rights. The England and Wales Cricket Board announced Thursday that the February 26 fixture in Lahore would proceed after consultations with the UK government and the International Cricket Council in addition to England players. Since the Taliban regained authority in 2021 female sports participation was banned which led to over 160 British politicians demanding

On Wednesday India captain Rohit Sharma dismissed questions about his performance and international cricket future by stating his complete concentration was on the upcoming one-day international series against England and the Champions Trophy. Despite losing both the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia with a 3-1 defeat and suffering a 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand, Rohit Sharma at 37 rejected thoughts of test retirement amidst his extended poor performance period. He stepped away from Twenty20 international cricket after India won the World Cup

Bodybuilding attracted Gulbadin Naib's attention during his childhood instead of cricket. Arnold Schwarzenegger the Hollywood strongman served as his role model. After moving to cricket Naib advanced through the levels until he became instrumental in Afghanistan's dramatic ascent to international prominence despite ongoing conflict. During Wednesday night's match at Dubai's renowned 'Ring of Fire', the 33-year-old batting all-rounder played a key role in the action. When the Dubai Capitals began their chase of 190 against the Desert Vipers during Qualifier 1 of the

The US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Paris climate agreement through an executive order while a UAE cricket team established new standards for sustainability through their forward-thinking initiatives.  As an ILT20 franchise team in the UAE IPL-style T20 league the Desert Vipers have stopped using plastic bottles for players while also introducing team jerseys made from recycled materials.  Matt Bailey who leads strategy at the Desert Vipers remarked that they have become Dubai’s first sports organization to join the United

As the battlelines get drawn for the ILT20 Season 3 finale, Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram has backed the Desert Vipers to outshine. The Vipers, MSF's first team to clinch a playoff spot this season with their emphatic batting and bowling display, and defending champions MI Emirates finished the second spot in points table to qualify. The decisive wins on Sunday, (the double-header by played in Abu Dhabi and Dubai) with a large local crowd behind them, took Sharjah Warriorz and Dubai Capitals into the playoffs

India achieved a 150-run victory in the last T20 match at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday due to Abhishek Sharma's incredible century which helped them win the series 4-1.  England opener Phil Salt (55 off 23) took the initial step to chase the mammoth 248 target but received minimal support as his teammates lost their wickets around him. The Indian spinners secured early wickets which forced England to struggle at 68-4.  England fell apart dramatically reaching 97 all out in just 10.3 overs while

Usman Khawaja achieved his first double century for Australia while debutant Josh Inglis scored a hundred against Sri Lanka enabling the team to reach a massive 654 for six before declaring their first innings on the second day of the opening Test match on Thursday.  Australia achieved their highest test score in Asia through Usman Khawaja's marathon 232 and his century-plus partnerships with Steve Smith and Inglis.  At the Galle International Stadium stand-in skipper Smith scored 141 runs while Inglis hit 102 runs

The Arun Jaitley Stadium hosted a massive crowd on Thursday when Virat Kohli returned to the Ranji Trophy after 13 years. The Delhi & District Cricket Association's match against Railways saw fans arrive early to see the legendary cricketer play in the domestic tournament.  The excitement resulted in entry point congestion because the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) initially used only one gate for access. The Delhi Police stated they implemented additional gate openings to ensure proper crowd management.  The entry process

The ILT20 Season 3 heads into its thrilling conclusion while former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh admires both the high level of competition and the thrilling showings from players including young UAE spinner Aayan Afzal Khan.  The legendary Indian spinner comments that all teams in the UAE's IPL-style franchise league ILT20 have displayed quality cricket.  The competition is progressing well while we've observed outstanding cricket performances. The quality shown by all teams indicates they still have opportunities to turn their fortunes around in the

The stand-in captain Steve Smith announced that Travis Head will take on the role of Usman Khawaja's opening partner during the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle on Wednesday.  According to Smith Sam Konstas who showed strong performance as an opener in his series debut against India may play in the middle order now that Head has been promoted.  Smith recognized Head's effective performance against spin during the 2023 Australian tour of India as potentially beneficial for the upcoming two-Test series

The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Pakistan including group stage fixtures and the second semi-final will be available for general purchase from January 28 at 1 pm UAE time.  Fans interested in attending matches in the UAE now have the opportunity to register their interest through the official website before ticket announcements commence. India will compete in three matches in Dubai on February 20, February 23 and March 2.  General seating tickets for the 10 Pakistan matches will be available at

Senior pacer Mark Wood advised the England bowling attack on Monday to prioritize taking wickets instead of worrying about runs against India's ultra-aggressive batting unit.  So far in the series, Wood has demonstrated decent bowling throughout his first international assignment since July. The previous match in Chennai saw Jofra Archer concede 60 runs from four overs as Tilak Varma dismantled his bowling.  Under skipper Suryakymar Yadav India have moved their T20 performances forward and England needs to devise a strategy to face them