Cricket

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured a much-needed 23-run victory against Punjab Kings on Sunday to reach the playoffs and veteran pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was delighted. Superstar Virat Kohli and middle-order batter Venkatesh Iyer scored sparkling half-centuries as Kumar produced a devastating new-ball spell to send defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru into the IPL playoffs here on Sunday. Fresh from his ninth hundred in the IPL, Kohli scored a wonderful 58 off 37 balls (4 fours, 3 sixes), Iyer followed with a

It was Jasprit Bumrah's first game as MI captain on Thursday and he led from the front as Tilak Varma's 75 not out off just 33 balls helped MI beat Punjab Kings by six wickets in IPL. Mumbai chased down 206 under lights at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with Varma again top-scoring for them from No. 4 — giving a world-class score to their rarefied batting line-up after slumping to 88-3: within points of being floored by another strong attack despite playing

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru cruised to the top of the IPL table with a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders here Wednesday thanks to Virat Kohli's unbeaten 105. After a pair of ducks, Kohli came back with bang in Raipur and ran out the finish for his team batting first in chase of 193 to guide his chase home with class 60-ball innings. The 37-year-old struck his ninth hundred in IPL, hitting 11 fours and three sixes. Kohli also became the quickest

Kagiso Rabada of South Africa led an inspired pace attack as the Gujarat Titans surged to the top IPL table with a crushing 82-run defeat of Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. In Ahmedabad, hosts Gujarat defended 168 as Rabada followed up figures of 3-28 by with his fellow quicks routed Hyderabad for just 86, the lowest in IPL history. Fellow fast Jason Holder mopped up the Hyderabad middle and lower-order with 3-20. The former champions Gujarat jumped above Hyderabad and defending champions Royal Challengers

Left-handed opener Najmul Hossain Shanto scored an unbeaten half-century as Bangladesh stretched their lead to 179 runs on a rain-hit fourth day of the first Test against Pakistan on Monday. They were 152-3 in their second innings at the close on Sunday, Shanto having made an unbeaten 58 as he batted alongside Mushfiqur Rahim who was on 16 in the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. Bangladesh resumed on their overnight score 7-0 only to lost openers early, Mahmudul Hasan Joy trapped leg

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque dug in to take Bangladesh to 101-2 at lunch on the first day of the first cricket test against Pakistan on Friday. After Pakistan put the home side to bat, Shanto and Mominul added 70 runs for the unbroken third wicket, putting Bangladesh on track toward a daunting score. Shanto was 39 not out off 50 balls and Mominul was on 31, at lunch. The tall, lanky fast bowler also appeared to be a thorn in

Mitchell Marsh struck 111 as Lucknow Super Giants edged out defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru by nine runs in a rain-marred IPL clash on Thursday. Marsh plundered nine fours and nine sixes in his 56-ball onslaught to help Lucknow reach an impressive total of 209-3 in a rain-shortened clash that saw each team bat for 19 overs at Ekana Stadium at Lucknow. Chasing a revised target of 213, Bengaluru lost Virat Kohli for two as he was out to Prince Yadav on the

Sunrisers Hyderabad, thus, ended up at the top of the IPL table on Wednesday with their convincing 33-run win over Punjab Kings as South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen too scored a good knock (69). Klaasen's innings was centered around crucial partnerships, one of 88 with Ishan Kishan (55) to take Hyderabad to 235-4 in their home Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Klaasen and Kishan provided the firepower on top after openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head had flayed 54 off only 21 balls. Abhishek smashed

India said it was ready to allow Pakistani athletes to participate in multilateral competitions held on its soil as New Delhi looks to carve a niche for itself on the world sporting stage India's youth affairs and sports ministry stated in a document seen by AFP on Wednesday that bilateral sporting engagements including cricket with its arch-rival would remain off the table. They competed in a brutal war last year, and they haven't played a bilateral cricket series involving both since 2007. The

On Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the IPL 2026 Playoffs schedule and stated that final has been moved out from Bengaluru. After 70 high-octane league-stage games, characterised by phenomenal individual displays and needle-in-the-haystack moments, the IPL statement cited here indicates that the tournament enters its utmost phase. Qualifier 1 (the teams finished 1-2 in the standings) is scheduled for May 26 at the HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala for a direct place into the Final. The Eliminator, meanwhile, will

Punjab Kings won the toss and elected to bowl first. Match No 49, IPL 2026 Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Punjab Kings SRH last match results: Lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets When Hyderabad batted they made 166. KKR needed 38 more in 18.2 overs!! Punjab Kings: Punjab Kings last played against Gujarat Titans and lost the match by 4 wickets. Batting first, Punjab had posted 164 runs on the board -- a challenging target but achievable as Gujarat chased it down in

Keeping their IPL playoffs hopes alive by handing Delhi Capitals a comprehensive eight-wicket defeat, Chennai Super Kings were justified in putting up disciplined bowling and an unbeaten 87 from opener Sanju Samson on Tuesday. Delhi's decision to bat first on a challenging wicket proved costly as they stumbled to 69-5 before finishing with 155-7 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Chasing the target, Chennai lost two quick wickets early but Samson adjusted his 52-ball innings quite nicely as his side chased down the total

Rishabh Pant's inconsistent form is a microcosm of the Lucknow Super Giants' larger woes in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but head coach Justin Langer says it doesn't burden the captain, as one may think considering his price. In 2024 you bought the stumper-batsman for an outrageous $3.21 million, while retaining him this season, which is now having a terrible come and go malfeasance. Lucknow lost six games in a row, including Monday's loss to the Mumbai Indians by six wickets, and remained

Rohit Sharma, the former India captain returned to form with 84 off 44 balls and along with opener Ryan Rickelton put on a world-class performance from where Mumbai Indians cruised to a comfortable six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in match four of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here Monday night. Rohit, who missed five matches due to a hamstring injury return, was well partnered with Rickelton whose explosive 83 off 32 balls gave them the start they needed for another chase at

In the final of Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Sunday, Aaron Hardie stepped up with a 35 off 29 balls with the bat and then took regular wickets with the ball to help Peshawar Zakmi stay calm and defeat Hyderabad Kingsmen by five-wicket. Along with the ball, Hardie took four wickets, while he also marked a half-century (56 not out off 39 balls) to turn around and guide the Peshawar for a historic win. Abdul Samad (48 off 34 balls) offered decent support

In a high-scoring IPL clash on Sunday, Jason Holder took centre stage with 4-24 from his four overs in a sensational pace assault as Gujarat Titans edged out Punjab Kings by four wickets. Hosts Gujarat restricted top of the table Punjab to 47-5 after pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj struck twice in the first over of their innings, Sandeep Sharma (22) adding some respectability with a late order blitz as they scraped 163-9 in Ahmedabad. Gujarat's pursuit also faced regular wickets but opener Sai

Bowlers of Mumbai Indians are being hammered for their inability to protect what was then their highest first-innings total in the IPL during Wednesday's loss, yet MI captain Hardik Pandya wouldn't play his bowlers as scapegoats and said everyone had to shoulder the blame. Mumbai -- five-times victors - are languishing through a horrendous season and stay ninth in the 10-group standings with only two wins from eight matches. Led by India paceman Jasprit Bumrah, their highly-touted bowling group has struggled, with conditions

The Multani siblings have competed behind closed doors in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL), and it’s a little cruelly ironic that Arafat Minhas and Sameer Minhas – while showcasing bombs of offensive talent – are still doing it unsigned. Arafat, 21, is a left-arm spinner who has taken nine wickets in 10 matches to help Multan Sultans reach the playoffs. It was also when he was joined in the team by his younger brother Sameer, 19, who is still to make his

Hyderabad Kingsmen recorded a four-wicket victory over Multan Sultans on the back of Usman Khan's magnificent hundred in a high-scoring PSL encounter at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi Wednesday. It became a battle between two century makers, Khan and Multan Sultans batsman Steve Smith and this time the Hyderabad batter took the spoils. Khan came to bat at a point when Hyderabad were in dire straits at 48 for three chasing a target of 214. However, Khan (101 off 47 balls; 5x4s; 10x6s)

It's not the news Nottinghamshire were hoping for. Peter Siddle, the 41-year-old Australian quick who still finds ways to make batters uncomfortable, has pulled out of his planned overseas stint with the club for the 2026 Vitality Blast. For a team that had clearly earmarked him as a key piece of their bowling puzzle, it's a frustrating development — and one that arrives at an awkward time. What Nottinghamshire Were Getting When you sign Peter Siddle, you're not just signing a fast bowler.