Cricket

It was only to be expected that Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s landmark Indian Premier League title victory last year would be a roller-coaster of emotions followed by an utterly tragic stampede. A passionate team finally ended the titleless run, with Virat Kohli in a sense of fulfilment — as the master batsman was able to lay his hands on the only trophy not in his cabinet. Last season, the RCB held firm until the end, finishing second in the league stage then winning both

By now, a timid man would have quit. But there is no surrender in the vocabulary of Mohammed Shami, a veteran fast bowler who still roars like a lion. Cruelly ignored by the selectors despite his consistent habit of taking wickets in domestic cricket, Shami tore up the field on Sunday with a blistering spell of fast bowling. With unrelenting accuracy, he sent two players back to the pavilion as the right-armer laid down the foundation for Lucknow Super Giants’ first victory of

Explosive knocks by openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to their first victory of the IPL season with a commanding 65-run thrashing of Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday. Australia's Head made 46 off 21 balls and together with Abhishek, who smashed a 48 off just 21 balls, set the platform for Hyderabad's total of 226-8 at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. Hyderabad then dismissed the three-time winners Kolkata for 161 in 16 overs to earn their first points after losing their opener

The Pakistan Super League technical committee on Thursday rejected an appeal by batter Fakhar Zaman and upheld a two-match ban imposed on him for ball tampering, the country’s cricket board (PCB) said. Earlier in the week, the PCB had suspended the 35-year-old for two PSL matches after Beirut was proven guilty of the offence during Lahore Qalandars’ four-wicket loss to Karachi Kings on Sunday — a decision that Fakhar later challenged. Any decision by the PSL technical committee, according to the Code of

Pakistan international Fakhar Zaman was banned for two matches on Tuesday after being found guilty of ball tampering in the country’s showpiece T20 league, cricket bosses said. Video footage showed the 35-year-old opener changing the condition of the ball during his team Lahore Qalandars’ game against Karachi Kings in Lahore late Sunday. “Zaman has been banned from playing in two Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches after being found guilty of a Level 3 offence due to ball tampering,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)

Cooper Connolly had an Indian Premier League debut to remember as he withstood a torrent of wickets falling around him and helped steer Punjab Kings to a nail-biting three-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans on Tuesday. A tidy bowling effort, led by Vijaykumar Vyshak, had seen Punjab limit Gujarat to 162-6 at the New Chandigarh Stadium after Shreyas Iyer chose to chase. Last year’s finalists Punjab seemed on course for a routine win as opener Prabhsimran Singh and Connolly went after the bowling,

When England’s national football team announced their squad, much debate was sparked again over the inclusion of a man who nearly always raises more questions than answers — Trent Alexander-Arnold. Thomas Tuchel's decision to drop the right-back was unexpected, especially given that he had overcome recent fitness concerns and hit form at Real Madrid. “It’s a sporting decision,” Tuchel said, making it clear that despite his quality other players are ahead of him at the moment. Yet the absence has resurrected divided views

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane fired a shot at Cricket Australia after its $2.7 million all-rounder Cameron Green was unable to bowl as they kicked off their IPL season with defeat. Green was snapped up by three-time champions Kolkata in December's auction for 252 million rupees to become the most expensive overseas buy in Indian Premier League history. Mumbai Indians chased down the 220 that Kolkata scored at Wankhede Stadium on Sunday but Green hit a four and a six while batting

Lahore Qalandars batsman ‌Fakhar Zaman has been charged with ball-tampering in ⁠Sunday’s Pakistan Super ⁠League (PSL) fixture against Karachi Kings, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement. The incident happened in the ⁠final over, when Karachi required 14 runs to win. Fakhar was engaged in a short conversation with Lahore captain Shaheen Afridi and fast bowler Haris Rauf where he and Rauf threw the ball between them. The umpire then came to Rauf and requested the ball. After consultations with the

And the shorter wait is the one that deserves much more scrutiny. It was the second in successive World Cups for Northern Ireland, who last appeared on the biggest stage four decades ago. Any regret about finishing third in a group with Brazil and Spain was tempered by the expectation of an imminent return. There has been no additional seat at the international football dining table. That World Cup hiatus under Italy’s belt includes failure to qualify in 2018 and 2022 (those two

A consortium of Aditya Birla Group, Times of India Group, Bolt Ventures and Blackstone has bought Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for $1.78 billion, the consortium said on Tuesday. Seller United Spirits, the India unit of UK-based drinks giant Diageo, kicked off a strategic review of its 100 per cent stake in the Bengaluru franchise in November, describing it as "non-core" to its main liquor business. That interest is fueled by rising team revenues and the record valuation of the

England coach Brendon McCullum will keep his job after the Ashes debacle, with cricket chief Richard Gould saying he has the capacity to "adapt and evolve". Ben Stokes’s men were beaten 4-1 on their five-Test tour of Australia that began in November and ended in January. And their terrible performances were accompanied by reports of excessive drinking among players during a break, sparking concerns over the dressing-room culture. Subsequent revelations that vice-captain Harry Brook had been embroiled in a tussle with a nightclub

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the schedule for IPL Fan Parks for the first three weekends with the opening phase of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 set to take off across India. Apart from the stadiums, the Fan Parks will be available in 15 cities across 11 states for at least three weeks of IPL action, giving fans a chance to enjoy live IPL game frenzy in an atmosphere full of festivity with a large audience. The

The Indian Twenty20 World Cup hero Shivam Dube was so confident a train ride in disguise would keep him incognito that he waited until after his fellow passengers fell asleep to break out the snacks — not needing them while they were awake, he thought. But just as Dube thought his ruse would come crashing down, it was his quick-witted wife who saved the day for the 32-year-old. He planned to go home soon after India won the World Cup — defeating New

Following the culmination of a thrilling ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in which India lifted a record third title, the International Cricket Council has announced the final tournament prize money distribution. In accordance with the record-breaking boosts to ICC prize money announced in 2024, a total of US$11.25 million will be awarded to players from each of the 20 nations involved in this unprecedented tournament. India received the largest portion, with the defending champions winning $2,639,423 after their final victory over New

India's Twenty20 World Cup-winning cricket team were presented with a bonus of 1.31 billion rupees ($14.24 million) by the country's cricket board on Tuesday, six times what they received for winning the title in Ahmedabad.[AD65] India claimed their third men’s T20 World Cup title on Sunday with an emphatic 96-run defeat of New Zealand in a one-sided final for a record $2.34 million tournament prize. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the world’s richest cricket board, confirmed the extra payout

But the most spicy redemption story of all was written by India opener Sanju Samson, who went from being not a first-choice opener to becoming player of the tournament as they held on to the men's Twenty20 World Cup title. The 31-year-old arrived at the tournament carrying the weight of scrutiny after enduring a prolonged slump in form throughout last year and into the early part of this one. His returns were modest and hit or miss, and suspicions had arisen over whether

Writers India's See the order scanned away a record limit to reject New Zealand 255/5 'in the last of ICC Men's T20 World Cup, 2026 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday. The mammoth total is now not only the highest T20 score ever made in Ahmedabad, it is also the highest-ever score at a T20 World Cup final and becomes the third-highest team total in T20 World Cup history. At one point of time, it seemed India is heading towards a total

The India national cricket team scripted history on Sunday, lifting the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, with a thumping 96-run win over the New Zealand national cricket team. India became the first team to win back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, while also becoming the first side to lift the trophy three times. The night was also historic for the hosts, as India became the first country to win a T20 World Cup in its own country.

It may not have been the neutral’s thriller, but it was everything India wanted. They were the first men’s team to retain the T20 World Cup and the first side to win it on home soil, drowning New Zealand in a flood of runs before 100,000 ecstatic and almost entirely blue‑tunic’d fans. New Zealand appeared dispirited while giving up 255 and miserable in trying to get it, and after taking a wander through the majority of their innings with defeat already an inevitability