Cricket

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League with a broken finger, his Rajasthan Royals team say. The Royals say Stokes, 29, was injured while fielding during their four-run loss to Punjab Kings on Monday. England say their medical staff are in contact and Stokes will have a second X-ray "in the next 24-48 hours" to assess the seriousness of the injury. "I'm devastated," Stokes told the Mirror. "To suffer a broken finger in the very first game is just devastating."

Punjab Kings had staged a miraculous comeback last year after a disastrous start, nearly making it to the playoffs in the process, and captain KL Rahul will hope his side is able to build momentum early so as to not build too much pressure over the playoffs qualification towards the business end of the tournament. With their purchase of top-ranked T20I batsman Dawid Malan, and shoring up the pace department with the acquisition of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, Punjab will certainly fancy

The Pakistan Super League will resume on 1 June with the final on 20 June after it was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak. The Twenty20 tournament was halted on 4 March after seven cases were reported. A June restart was initially proposed subject to a Pakistan Cricket Board-commissioned independent report into how Covid-19 protocols were breached. Those plans have now been finalised with enhanced safety measures based on the commission's findings. "The board of governors endorsed all recommendations of the fact-finding panel,

Chennai Super Kings has started off this season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on a wrong note. CSK captain MS Dhoni has been fined Rs 12 lakh for slow over-rate

IPL 2021: Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw went for their big shots with impunity on all sides of the Wankhede Stadium, as Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 2, of the ongoing Indian Premier League 2021 season. Highlights Suresh Raina scored a half-century for CSKShikhar Dhawan slammed 85 runs off 54 balls for DCRishabh Pant hit the winning four for DC Openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw pummelled Chennai Super Kings into submission with their explosive batting as Delhi Capitals romped to a seven-wicket

Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan hit an unbeaten 74 as Pakistan chased 189 with a ball to spare to beat South Africa in the Twenty20 series opener. Pakistan required 11 from the last over, and three from two balls, with an overthrow sealing a four-wicket win. Rizwan, who hit nine fours and two sixes, shared 41 with Babar Azam, 45 with Fakhar Zaman and 48 Faheem Ashraf. Earlier South Africa made 188-6 with opener Aiden Markram making 51 and captain Heinrich Klaasen 50. Left-arm spinner

Australia completed a clean sweep over New Zealand with a 21-run victory in a rain-affected final one-day international of the series. The match was reduced to 25 overs a side after rain in Tauranga. Australia posted 149-7, with White Ferns off-spinner Leigh Kasperek taking three wickets in five balls to disrupt their progress. However, New Zealand once again struggled for impetus with the bat, finishing on 128-9. Alysaa Healy top-scored for Australia with 46 but she, Ashleigh Gardner and Rachael Haynes all fell

Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting's rousing speech during his first interaction with the squad earlier this week became a huge hit on social media, with fans drawing up comparisons between him and Kabir Khan -- a fictional character played by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in 2007 sports drama 'Chak De India'. While comparing the two motivational speeches, fans also pointed out that both Ponting and Shah Rukh Khan had a stubble addressing their respective sides. However, ahead of their opening match against Chennai Super Kings

CHENNAI, India - Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli believes Harshal Patel has solved the team’s death-overs woes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) following the seamer’s bowling masterclass in Friday’s victory against champions Mumbai Indians. Patel claimed three wickets in four balls in the dramatic 20th over and conceded only one run to help restrict a star-studded Mumbai to a modest 159-9. His 5-27 was also the first five-wicket haul any bowler has managed against five-time champions Mumbai, the most successful team

CAPE TOWN - An already depleted South Africa squad has been dealt a further blow after newly-appointed captain Temba Bavuma was ruled out of their four-match home Twenty20 International series against Pakistan with a hamstring strain. Bavuma was injured while batting in the One-Day International series decider that was won by the tourists in Pretoria on Wednesday. The opening T20 match is in Johannesburg on Saturday. South Africa are already without five of their leading players, including batsmen Quinton de Kock and David

MUMBAI: India cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar said on Thursday (Apr 8) that he has been released from hospital a week after he was admitted when he contracted COVID-19, but he will remain in isolation at home. Tendulkar, who turns 48 later this month, was previously quarantining at home after testing positive following mild symptoms. "I have just come home from the hospital and will remain isolated while continuing to rest and recuperate. I would like to thank everyone for all the good wishes

The richest franchise tournament in world cricket is back on Friday as the Indian Premier League kicks off its 14th edition. Global cricketing superstars - including India icon Virat Kohli and England all-rounder Ben Stokes - will be on show in the Twenty20 tournament, with ball-by-ball radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live sports extra and online. The 2021 IPL returns to India after last year's competition took place in the United Arab Emirates because of Covid-19. This year, for at least the

Rishabh Pant was appointed captain of Delhi Capitals for IPL 2021 after Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the upcoming season due to an injury. Iyer had injured his shoulder while fielding during the India vs England ODI series. Pant has a huge task ahead of him of replicating last year's success where Delhi Capitals reached the IPL final but lost to Mumbai Indians. Pant, though, is in the form of his life, playing a starring role for India in the Test series

Australia's Sean Abbott will join Surrey for their T20 Blast campaign and three County Championship matches. The 29-year-old all-rounder will replace Kemar Roach as Surrey's second overseas player when the West Indies seamer returns to the Caribbean in May. Abbott has played two one-day and seven Twenty20 internationals for Australia, and won the 2020 and 2021 Big Bash titles with Sydney Sixers. He could make his Surrey debut against Gloucestershire on 27 May. Abbott, who has also helped New South Wales reach the

Former England women’s international Sarah Taylor said on Tuesday she is excited about playing cricket again after joining Welsh Fire for the inaugural season of The Hundred. The 31-year-old, one of the best wicketkeepers of all time, was part of the England sides that won the Twenty20 and 50-overs World Cups in 2009. She made 226 appearances for England, including 10 tests, 126 one-day and 90 T20 games, before retiring from international cricket in 2019 after a battle with anxiety. Her last domestic

Fakhar Zaman's sensational innings of 193 from 155 balls came in vain as South Africa held on in a thriller to take their three-match ODI series with Pakistan to a decider. Pakistan seemed out of contention as they slipped to 120-5 in the 25th over of their chase of 342 - only for opener Fakhar to turn the game on its head with a superb fifth ODI ton and the highest score at Johannesburg. The left-hander brought up three figures from a fairly

The BCCI is bullish about holding the 10 IPL games in Mumbai between April 10-25 despite an enormous spike in Covid-19 cases in the city, saying creating a bio-bubble at an alternative venue would not be feasible at a short notice. Delhi Capitals’ Axar Patel, 10 members of the ground staff at Wankhede stadium and six event managers, deployed by the BCCI, have added to the growing list of positive cases in the Indian Premier League (IPL), starting April 9. Hyderabad and Indore

Megan Schutt and Alyssa Healy have powered Australia to a world-record 22nd straight ODI win, crushing New Zealand by six wickets and setting a new benchmark for dominance of the sport. In Mount Maunganui on Sunday, Meg Lanning’s side eclipsed the 21-match winning streak of Ricky Ponting’s 2003 World Cup winners to become the holders of the longest winning streak in any format of international cricket. Schutt’s 4-32 kept New Zealand to a below-par 212 from 48.5 overs at the Bay Oval before

With seven days to go for the high-octane Indian Premier League clash between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium, groundstaff have tested positive for coronavirus at the stadium.

CENTURION, South Africa: A century by Babar Azam set up a three-wicket, last-ball win for Pakistan in the first one-day international against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday (Apr 2). The Pakistan captain hit a stroke-filled 103 off 104 balls but his dismissal started a collapse in which fast bowler Anrich Nortje took four wickets in four overs. Rassie van der Dussen hit 123 not out, his maiden international century. But South Africa's total of 273 for six did not