NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: In Thursday’s thrilling match of IPL 2024, Punjab Kings batter Ashutosh Sharma nearly pulled off the impossible when he smashed 61 off 28 balls after coming as a number eight batter and threatened to take his team over the line in a chase of 193.

But in the 18th over, he was dismissed by Gerald Coetzee and that was enough for Mumbai Indians to eke out a narrow nine-run win. MI skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that the nerves of everyone in the field were tested and that Ashutosh, playing his first IPL season, was unbelievable.

"(It was) a very good game of cricket. I think everyone's nerves got tested. We did speak, before the game, that our character will be checked in this game and I don't think anything else was there except that.

"(When Punjab were 14/4) it was natural that you think you are ahead of the game. But at the same point of time, we knew that the IPL has a tendency to produce games like this where the opposition can make a comeback and how, and it was exactly like that.

"(Ashutosh was) unbelievable. Coming and playing like that and hitting almost every ball off the middle of the bat and at ease, knowing what he wants to do. It's wonderful. Very happy for him, just for his future," said Hardik after the match.

The win also means that MI are now at seventh place in the points table, though they are still in the bottom half. They will next face Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday evening. "We did speak in the timeout, that what it does not matter how good we look, we'll make sure that we keep scrapping and we keep fighting in this game."

"Yes, there are a lot of areas which in the bowling we can look at and make sure that we don't bowl those soft balls, which we gave as well. Yes, the batters kind of played really good shots but, at the same point of time, we were quite soft in certain departments and certain overs, and that kind of cost us (taking it) this far in the game but nevertheless, a win is a win," concluded Hardik.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Former Australia batter Stuart Law has been appointed as the new head coach of the USA team. While Law played over 50 matches for Australia and was part of the squad that finished second to Sri Lanka in the 1996 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, the 55-year-old is perhaps best known for the impressive coaching resume he has built since retiring from international cricket at the beginning of this century.

Law previously served as head coach of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the start of the past decade, as well as the West Indies in 2018, before moving on to work with Afghanistan and the Bangladesh Under 19 team at this year's ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup. Law will now take over as head coach of the USA for next month's three-match T20I series at home against Bangladesh, as well as this year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted with the West Indies in June.

While Law understands the enormous hurdles ahead, the Australian is delighted about the prospect of witnessing his inexperienced team make their way into international competition. "It is an exciting opportunity to join USA cricket at this time. USA is one of the strongest Associate nations in the sport, and I believe that we can mold a formidable squad going ahead. The first task will be to prepare the team for the series against Bangladesh and then set our sights on our home World Cup, which will be huge," Law said as quoted by ICC.

Venu Pisike, Chairperson of USA Cricket, believes Law has the necessary qualities to manage the squad with confidence and expects the team to achieve great success under his leadership. "Stuart is one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport. He brings a lot of experience to USA Cricket with his varied assignments, particularly in developing international sides over the years. His appointment will only help the team grow to their full potential. We are excited to have Stuart on board just before the World Cup and look forward to lots of successes together. We wish him all the very best," Pisike said.

USA are scheduled to play Canada in the T20 World Cup opener in Texas on June 1, before further Group A clashes against Pakistan (June 6), India (June 12) and Ireland (June 14).
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Mohun Bagan Super Giant became the Indian Super League (ISL) Champions by defeating Mumbai City FC by 2-1 at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan here on Monday night.

The Mariners thus wrested the title back from the Islanders courtesy of a goal each by Liston Colaco and Jason Cummings in this championship-winning clash in the City of Joy.

A late 89th minute strike by Lallianzuala Chhangte meant that the game went right down the wire, with eight minutes of added time in the second half adding excitement to this dramatic finish of the league stages. However, the home side held their lead dear despite playing with 10 men after the sending off of Brendan Hamill in the 91st minute of the game. Mohun Bagan Super Giant jumped to 48 points from 22 matches as a consequence of this result, thus edging past the now second-placed Mumbai City FC (47) by a solitary point.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) takes on table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) in its third home game of the IPL 2024 season on Tuesday.

Rajasthan Royals are currently on top of the IPL 2024 standings with 10 points and a net run rate of +0.767. The Royals have won five matches and lost one.

Meanwhile, the Knight Riders have played five games this season, winning four and losing one. KKR are second in the IPL standings with eight points.

The two teams have played each other 28 times in the IPL. RR have been victorious on 13 occasions, with the KKR winning 14. One match was abandoned.

KKR v RR head-to-head: 28
Kolkata Knight Riders: 13
Rajasthan Royals: 14
Abandoned: 1

The match starts at 7:30 PM IST (2:00 PM GMT) with the toss taking place half an hour before the match i.e., 7:00 PM (1:30 PM GMT)
KKR v RR match venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Allah Ghazanfar, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger, Tanush Kotian, Keshav Maharaj.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: India and Mumbai Indians (MI) star batter Rohit Sharma became the first Indian to smash 500 sixes in T20 cricket. The 'Hitman' achieved this milestone during his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede Stadium.

Rohit was at his vintage best in the match, scoring 105* in 63 balls. His knock was studded with 11 boundaries and five sixes. Amid the fall of wickets around him, the former Mumbai Indians skipper held the fort at one end, blazing away at a strike rate of 166.67.

With these sixes, Rohit's six tally has gone up to 502 sixes. The highest number of sixes in T20 cricket is by West Indies legend Chris Gayle (1,056 sixes), followed by WI all-rounder Kieron Pollard (860 sixes), Andre Russell (678 sixes) and Colin Munro (548 sixes).

In six matches this IPL season, Rohit has scored 261 runs at an average of 52.20 and a strike rate of over 167, with a century. Coming to the match, MI won the toss and put CSK to bat first.

After Ajinkya Rahane (5) and Rachin Ravindra (21 in 16 balls, with two fours and a six) did not make much impact, Gaikwad (69 in 40 balls, with five fours and five sixes) and Shivam Dube (66* in 38 balls, with 10 fours and two sixes) stitched a 90-run partnership. Later, MS Dhoni (20* in four balls) came during the final over and a hat-trick of sixes took CSK to 206/4 in 20 overs. Hardik Pandya (2/43) was the pick of the bowlers for MI. Shreyas Gopal and Gerald Coetzee got a wicket each.

In the run-chase, MI was off to a fine start, with Ishan Kishan (23 in 15 balls, with three fours and a six) and Rohit having a 70-run partnership. Rohit managed to score his second IPL ton, but did not get much support from the other end, except for another fifty-run stand with Tilak Varma (31 in 20 balls, with five fours). The Blue and Gold franchise ended with 186/6 on the board, losing by 20 runs. Matheesha Pathirana (4/28) was the pick of the bowlers for CSK. Mustafizur Rahman and Tushar Deshpande also got a wicket. 
 

BENGALURU [Maha Media]: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will face the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in match 30 of IPL 2024 on Monday.

The two teams previously met 22 times in the tournament with SRH holding a slight advantage.

RCB v SRH head-to-head 22:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 10
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 11
Tied: 1

The match starts at 7:30 PM IST (2:00 PM GMT) with toss taking place half an hour prior to the match i.e., 7:00 PM (1:30 PM GMT)
RCB v SRH match venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Squads:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mahipal Lomror, Reece Topley, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Saurav Chauhan, Suyash Prabhudessai, Swapnil Singh, Rajan Kumar, Karn Sharma, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Mayank Dagar, Alzarri Joseph, Cameron Green, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Yash Dayal, Himanshu Sharma

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Nitish Reddy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tripathi, Glenn Phillips, Anmolpreet Singh, Upendra Yadav, Jhatavedh Subramanyan, Sanvir Singh, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Marco Jansen, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Agarwal
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The Indian table tennis pair of Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran were stunned in the quarter-finals by a Malaysian pair of Javen Choong and Karen Lyne ranked 153rd in the world. Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran failed to secure a Paris Olympics 2024 quota from the World Mixed Doubles Table Tennis Olympic Qualification tournament in Havirov, Czechia on Friday.

The Indian table tennis players, ranked 18th in the latest ITTF mixed doubles world rankings, went down 4-1 which is 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11,11-8 against Malaysia's Javen Choong and Karen Lyne, ranked 153rd, in the quarter-finals. The eighth-seeded Batra-Sathiyan received a bye in the round of 16 of their knockout bracket. This was the Indian duo's second and last chance of securing a Paris Olympics quota at the World Mixed Doubles Table Tennis Olympic Qualifiers after suffering a quarter-final loss in the first knockout round on Thursday.

In the first knockout round, Sathiyan and Batra lost 4-1 (7-11, 10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 6-11) to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea pair Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong, the 21st seeds, in the quarter-finals. Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong eventually went on to win their knockout bracket and obtained a table tennis quota for their country at the Paris Olympics.

India have already secured Paris 2024 quotas for the women's and men's teams based on rankings, which also grants Indian table tennis players two quotas each in the men's and women's singles events. The Czechia meet was the final qualifying event for the mixed doubles table tennis competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Quotas in mixed doubles events for the Paris Olympics can also be obtained through rankings. The five highest-ranked eligible pairs (not already qualified and from a country different to those already qualified) in the mixed doubles world ranking, as of May 7, will obtain one mixed doubles quota place. Manika Batra-G Sathiyan are currently ranked 18th.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Kuldeep Yadav was delighted after producing a match-winning three-fer against Lucknow Super Giants and credited his performance to the unwavering hard work of support staff and physio especially Patrick and Vivek, who played pivotal roles in his rehabilitation journey.

Rahul was batting beautifully on 39 from 21 when he attempted to cut one going across him and feathered an edge behind off Kuldeep. It wasn't given out on the field, but Rishabh Pant quickly reviewed it and Rahul departed after scoring 39.

"I wasn't fit. Got myself injured in the first game. It was difficult to see the team struggling in the middle overs. Wanted to get myself fit for this game. Credit goes to Patrick and Vivek. They have done a good job to maintain me and get me ready for this game. All were good important wickets. Specially getting 3 wickets in the middle overs controls the run rate and the chasing target. I liked the first wicket. It was a good one and 2nd obviously, I have played a lot against Pooran. Execution was right and that was a good ball," Kuldeep said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Reflecting on his performance, Kuldeep emphasised the importance of clarity in his bowling plan, stressing the significance of length control irrespective of the format. His confidence and clear strategy were evident as he discussed his reliance on teamwork, especially in making decisions regarding the Decision Review System (DRS) in collaboration with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

"I'm pretty much clear with my plan. Just the length matters a lot as a spinner. Whatever the format you play in, the good length is always good. Just focusing on that. I am very very clear and just very confident as well. Whenever I feel like this is 50-50 (on DRS call), I try to go and whenever I feel like 60 or 40, I listen to Rishabh on what his thought is. DRS is something as a bowler want to take because you feel that there is a chance of getting a wicket. When you get 2 DRS, obviously 1 is there for me," Kuldeep added.
 

BHOPAL [Maha Media]: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced the schedule for exciting phase two TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) Fan Park across various states and cities in India that set to start from after April 7,2024. In Madhya Pardesh IPL will bring Fan Park on April 13 to 14, April 27th -28 and May 11th-12th at Ankur Cricket Academy , Bhopal . The entry  is free for everyone.  The success of first phase of TATA IPL Fan Park can seen easily in whole country that was oganized from March 22, 2024, to April 7, 2024.This Fan Park will capture all breathtaking moments on the giant screens and excitement will be doubled up with the music ,food stalls , beverages and some fun activities by IPL's official sponsors. 

“Five Fan Parks will simultaneously take place across five different cities every weekend and Kolhapur, Warangal, Hamirpur, Bhopal and Rourkela will resume the proceedings of the same on April 13 and April 14, over a weekend where Punjab Kings take on Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders square off against Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians host Chennai Super Kings in a blockbuster clash at the Wankhede Stadium.

The last 5 five Fan Parks of the season will take place on May 24, 2024 (Qualifier 2) and May 26, 2026 (Final) across Agra, Vadodara, Tumkur, Tezpur and Goa." stated by BCCI. The concept of Fan Park was introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2015. In this Fan Park, fans witness the LIVE action.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Six-time world champion boxer M C Mary Kom on Friday stepped down as India's chef-de-mission for the upcoming Paris Olympics, saying she is "left with no choice" due to some personal reasons.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha announced that Mary Kom had asked to be relieved from her position in a letter addressed to her.

"I consider it an honour to serve my country in every way possible, and I was mentally prepared for it. However, I regret that I will not be able to uphold the prestigious responsibility and would like to resign, owing to personal reasons," the 41-year-old stated in a letter to Usha.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Top seeded Indian Akanksha Salunkhe went down 2-3 to Egyptian Jana Safy in the quarterfinals of the RC Pro Series squash at St Louis in USA.

National Games gold medallist Akanksha went down 11-8, 3-11, 11-9, 5-11, 3-11 in a close battle in which she won the opening and third games on Thursday night.

The match, which lasted over an hour, is a part of the PSA Challenger Tour event and carries a prize money of USD 15000. 
 

BENGALURU [Maha Media]: Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) defeated Bengaluru FC by 4-0 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Thursday night to take the battle of becoming the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 League Winners to the final day of the league stages on April 15.

With 45 points from 21 games, the Mariners are trailing the top-placed Mumbai City FC (47) by two points. The Islanders and the Mariners clash on April 15 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, with the former hoping to retain their crown in this exciting last mile finish of the tenth season of the ISL. The equation was pretty simple for the Mohun Bagan Super Giant right from the onset of this encounter. Naturally, they approached the game with similar vision, unleashing their incredible attacking personnel on the field and giving them a free hand to work their magic around the Bengaluru FC unit. 

With four different scorers in Hector Yuste, Manvir Singh, Anirudh Thapa, and Armando Sadiku, the Mariners broke no sweat in capping off one of their most convincing victories of the campaign so far.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: India's campaign at the Badminton Asia Championships 2024 ended on a bitter note after Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and ace shuttler HS Prannoy suffered defeats in their Round of 16 matches in the women's and men's singles, respectively, on Thursday. Sindhu lost to world No. 7 Han Yue in a match that lasted for 69 minutes at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre in China with scores of 18-21, 21-13, 17-21. This was Sindhu's first loss to the Chinese shuttler in six matches.

Sindhu dominated the first game, leading by six points at the break. The two-time Olympic medalist was up 15-10, but Han Yue won six consecutive points to reclaim the lead and then raced away to win the first game. The Indian badminton player replied strongly, winning the second game handily to force a final. Sindhu began the third game strongly, leading 8-4, but the Chinese shuttler recovered to terminate Sindhu's Round of 16 campaign.

Sindhu defeated Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei, a former Youth Olympic Games winner, in the first round on Wednesday. Prannoy, rated ninth in the world, was defeated in the men's singles Round of 16 by Lin Chun-Yi of Chinese Taipei, ranked nineteenth, 18-21, 11-21.

Prannoy battled back from a four-point deficit in the first game to tie the game at 15 all. Lin Chun-Yi stepped up, winning the opening game before overwhelming the Indian shuttler in the second. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto were both eliminated from the women's doubles tournament. Ponnappa and Crasto, India's highest-ranked pair at world No. 20, fell to the world No. 3 pair of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida. 21-17 and 21-12 in 49 minutes. 
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Top-seeded Indian Akanksha Salunkhe advanced to the quarterfinals of the RC Pro Series squash tournament in St Louis, USA.

Akanksha, the reigning National Games squash champion, edged out Madeleine Hylland of Norway 3-2 (13-15, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-6) in 41 minutes in the second round on Wednesday.

She had received a bye in the opening round.

The player from Goa will meet Jana Swafy of Egypt in the quarterfinals at the USD 15,000 prize money PSA Challenger Tour event.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday lauded World Athletics' decision to award USD 50,000 to all its gold-medallists in the Paris Olympic Games and said he would like to see such incentive being given in other global competitions as well.

In a first for an Olympic sport, gold-medallists in 48 athletics events of this year's Paris Games will be awarded the hefty sum by WA, which has promised to widen the spectrum and include all three medal winners at the 2028 Los Angeles edition.

''Money-wise in athletics, there isn't the kind of money that is in tennis or football among other sports,'' said Neeraj during an online interaction facilitated by his sponsors JSW Sports.

''World Athletics' decision to announce prize money for gold-winning athletes at the Paris Olympics is a good start. It's a good addition.

''WA is getting very active. In due course, I suppose, they will also give monetary incentives in competitions like the Diamond League, which will be good,'' said Chopra, who is also a World Championships gold-medallist.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Two-time world boxing champion Nikhat Zareen is ready to step out of fellow Indian MC Mary Kom's shadow with a medal at the Paris Olympics, coach Blas Iglesias Fernandez has said. Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom has been the face of women boxing in India and her illustrious career inspired a Bollywood biopic in 2014.

She won the flyweight bronze at the 2012 London Olympics to cement her legacy and announced her retirement earlier this year. Zareen will make her Olympic debut in the 50kg event in Paris and Fernandez expects the 27-year-old to return with a medal around her neck.

"This is Nikhat's time to prove herself," the Cuban said in a Sports Authority of India (SAI) media release on Tuesday. "It's true that she had lived in the shadows of Mary Kom but now it's her chance to prove herself and make India proud."

Since 1990, Fernandez has worked with India's top boxers, including Mary Kom, and is the only foreigner to have won India's highest award for a coach. Currently India's high-performance coach, the 68-year-old was particularly pleased by Zareen's ring awareness.

"I love the boxing (style) of Nikhat. She is very intelligent. She has good ring tactics," he said. India could expect a second boxing medal in the women's event if Lovlina Borgohain, who won the welterweight bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, could find her "killer instinct", Fernandez said.

"Lovlina has to show more killer instinct," he said of the boxer, who had to move from 69kg to 75kg after the Olympic categories were revised. "I have seen some of her bouts and I think she lost them because Lovlina was not aggressive and proactive enough.

"If she can box to her potential, she can finish among the medals in Paris." India have bagged four women's quota places for Paris.

Fernandez was hopeful the male boxers would give a good account of themselves at the world qualifiers in Bangkok where India can potentially clinch nine Paris spots. "I reckon Nishant Dev and Amit Panghal can bag Paris quotas. They both have the potential to do this," he said.

"Men's boxing is very tough and should not be compared with women's where the competition is relatively easier."
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The upcoming IPL match between the Gujarat Titans and the Rajasthan Royals is generating significant excitement among cricket enthusiasts. Gujarat, despite facing recent setbacks, is determined to challenge Rajasthan's unbeaten streak and emerge victorious. 

However, Gujarat's strong historical record against Rajasthan adds to their confidence, and they are keen to leverage this advantage in their upcoming match at Sawai Mansigh Stadium here on Wednesday. 

Key players like Shubman Gill, who has been consistent at the top of the order, and Rashid Khan, renowned for his game-changing spin bowling, have been instrumental in Gujarat's success against Rajasthan in the past. Their contributions will be pivotal once again as Gujarat aims to assert dominance over their opponent. On the other hand, Rajasthan, led by experienced campaigner Yuzvendra Chahal, is eager to maintain their unbeaten record. Chahal's milestone of reaching 200 IPL wickets in his 150th appearance adds significance to the match, underlining his importance to Rajasthan's bowling attack. 

Contributions from other bowlers like Nandre Burger and Trent Boult, along with strong batting performances from Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, further strengthen Rajasthan's lineup. However, Rajsthan's success won't solely depend on Chahal. Contributions from other bowlers such as Nandre Burger and Trent Boult will also be crucial in maintaining pressure, picking up wickets, and restricting Gujarat's run-scoring opportunities. 

Teams
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c&wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Kane Williamson, Sharath BR (wk), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson, Darshan Nalkande.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The Indian men's hockey team would aim for a cohesive effort to avoid a hat-trick of losses when it takes on a formidable Australia in the third Test of the five-match series here on Wednesday.

The Indians were drubbed 1-5 and 2-4 by Australia in the first two matches of the series, which is a part of preparations for this year's Paris Olympics for both sides.

The tour is of huge significance for India as it will provide valuable inputs about the areas to improve to chief coach Craig Fulton.

And the first two matches have already done that as the Indian defence was put under continuous pressure by quick turnovers by the Kookaburras.

The Indian defence, led by skipper Harmanpreet Singh, did not have the best days in the first two games as it wilted when put under pressure and conceded both penalty corners and soft field goals.

The lack of ideas from the forwards inside the opposition circle is another area the Indians would need to address.

The likes of Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh and Sukhjeet need to make use of the chances they get if they are to outplay a strong side like Australia.

The Indian mid-field, however, has been decent so far.

Vice-captain Hardik Singh has been the backbone of the mid-field, which combined well with the strikers, to create plenty of opportunities.

India coach Fulton was expected to try different strategies during the tour and he already started that which was evident in the last two games.

From short and brisk passing hockey using the flanks to counter-attacking moves, all these gameplans were on full display from the Indians in the two games.

The Indians also used long aerial lobs from the deep to build attacks but failed to breach a resolute Australian defence.

With a world renowned drag-flicker in skipper Harmanpreet, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay and Amit Rohidas in the rank, India boast of a potent force in penalty corners and all their three goals in the tour came from set pieces.

But Fulton would be expecting more direct strikes from his penalty corner specialists.

The fourth match of the series will be played here on April 12 followed by the final games on April 13.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Indian American golfer Akshay Bhatia prevailed in a playoff to script a dramatic win at the valero Texas Open and earn his spot at next week's Augusta Masters, his first berth into a major tournament.

It was virtually the last spot left at the Augusta Masters and Bhatia claimed it after staving off a serious challenge from Denny McCarthy, who birdied eight of the last nine holes at the TPC San Antonio here.

The 22-year-old Bhatia (67), who started the day four shots ahead, went six clear before a stunning back-nine rally by McCarthy saw the two players tied at 20-under after 72 holes.

Bhatia then produced a 12-foot birdie to force a playoff and made birdie on the first extra hole to register an impressive wire-to-wire victory.

The win gets Bhatia into the Masters, a wish and promise he had made to his mother years ago. ''This is awesome,” he said.

''It's hard to win out there as it showed today. My mom's birthday was April 1 and her wish was to go to the Masters.'' The win earned Bhatia in excess of USD 1.6m and 500 FedEx He also qualifies for the US Open with his second PGA TOUR victory, and he moves to No. 34 in the world.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: All-rounder Marcus Stoinis' fine half-century was complimented brilliantly by pacer Yash Thakur's fifer as they guided Lucknow Super Giants to a comfortable 33-run win over Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2024 match here on Sunday. 

Opting to bat, LSG rode on Stoinis' 58 off 43 balls and his 73-run stand off 62 balls with skipper KL Rahul (33 off 31) for the third wicket to score 163 for 5.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: India's Yuki Bhambri and his French partner Albano Olivetti crashed out of Marrakech Open after losing the hard-fought semifinal to second seeds Lucas Miedler and Alexander Erler of Austria.

The unseeded Indo-French pair lost the gruelling last-four stage match 5-7 6-3 7-10 in the ATP 250 event on Friday night.

Bhambri and Olivetti had earlier knocked out third seeds Nicholas Barrientos and Rafael Matos in the quarterfinals.

It was a closely-contested match between the two pairs. Bhambri and Olivetti converted only two of the six breakpoints in the match while their opponents converted both their chances.

There was no let up in the decider between as the contest went down to the wire, where Miedler and Erler sealed the contest in the Super tie-breaker.

Bhambri has teamed up with Olivetti for the first time this season, having played with Dutchman Robin Haase in most of the tournaments.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming Monte Carlo Masters due to health reasons.

The withdrawal casts a shadow over Nadal's hope to return to Roland Garros in late May for his 15th French Open title, reports Xinhua.

"These are very difficult moments for me," Nadal wrote on social media. "Unfortunately I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte-Carlo. My body simply won't allow me. And even if I am working hard and making the maximum effort every day with all the will to play and compete again at tournaments that have been very important for me, the truth is that I can't play today."

The 22-time Grand Slam winner went through hip surgery last summer and has played only three matches, all in Brisbane, after his return to action at the beginning of this year. He defeated Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler before losing in the quarterfinals to Jordan Thompson, when he felt a hip injury flare-up which prompted his withdrawal from the Australian Open.

"You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events. The only thing I can do is to accept the situation and try to look at the immediate future keeping the excitement and will to play in order to give me a chance for things to get better," the Spaniard wrote.

Nadal, the best tennis player on clay ever, has clinched a record 11 titles in Monte Carlo, of which the last was in 2018 -- he fell at the semifinals in 2019, the quarters in 2021 and missed the 2020, 2022 and 2023 editions.

On nine of the 11 occasions, Nadal went on to lift the trophy at Roland Garros as well.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: National champion Velavan Senthilkumar shocked eighth seed George Parker of England to enter the quarterfinals of the German Open in Hamburg.

Senthilkumar, a 2023 Asian silver medallist, was consistent during his 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 second round win over Parker in 61 minutes on Thursday.

He started the match gaining an early lead, with the Englishman struggling to keep up with the pace of his rival.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant has been fined Rs 24 lakh for a second over rate offence in the 2024 Indian Premier League.

Pant was guilty of maintaining a slow-over in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders here on Wednesday.

The rest of his teammates were fined 25 percent of their match fees. ''Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Kolkata Knight Riders...'' said the IPL in a statement.

''As it was his team's second offence of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Pant was fined INR 24 lakhs. ''The rest of the members of the Playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each individually fined either INR 6 lakhs or 25 percent of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser,'' it added.

Delhi Capitals lost the game to KKR by 106 runs after the latter smashed 272 for seven, the second highest total in IPL history. It was Delhi Capitals' third loss in four games.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Mitchell Starc was a relieved man on Wednesday after he finally got among the wickets to help his team to a thumping away win over Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. Starc's $2.98 million deal with Kolkata made him the most expensive player in league history but he struggled to get going in his first two matches, going wicketless and bleeding a combined 100 runs.

But the 34-year-old redeemed himself against Delhi by claiming 2-25 in three overs with fellow Australians David Warner and Mitchell Marsh as his victims. Twice champions Kolkata racked up 272-7 before bowling out Delhi for 166 to soar to the top of the points table after three straight wins.

"You move on pretty quickly, because the games come thick and fast," Starc said after the match in Visakhapatnam. "Yeah, probably not the start I wanted, but we've been winning games, so that's what it's about.

"We're three-nil. And tonight, with bat and ball, we were pretty good, I think." Opener Sunil Narine blasted 85 off 39 balls as Kolkata threatened to post the league's highest ever total and eclipse Sunrisers Hyderabad's 277-3 against Mumbai earlier this season.

"It can be brutal at times, particularly on the bowlers," Starc said of the format. "I think we've seen on some of the grounds, some of the scores .. so yeah, you take a little bit of luck here and there.

"We're three-nil at the start of the season, and tonight we were pretty clinical with bat and ball. "Personal stuff aside, the team's start has been fantastic."
 

AHMEDABAD [Maha Media]: Gujarat Titans will lock horns with Punjab Kings in the 17th Match of IPL 2024 on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Shubhman Gill-led Gujarat Titans started their IPL 2024 campaign with a solid win against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at their home ground but soon came crashing down against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their second match in Chennai. But, soon they redeem themselves in the next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), by chasing 163 with five balls and seven wickets to spare.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) on the other hand, are in troubled waters. After winning just one game against Delhi Capitals (DC), they lost their next two against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). They failed to defend even 177 against RCB and could not chase down 200 against the LSG. 
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Star India grappler Antim Panghal has decided to back out from the upcoming Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 which will take place in Bishkek, starting from April 11. Panghal received wrestling quota for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic after he clinched a bronze medal at the World Championships last year. The 19-year-old wrestler planned to opt out from the Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 just to prepare for the Paris Games.

She had a magnificent 2023 season winning a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, However, she did not take part in any of the tournament after participating in the Asian Games. Panghal also decided to exempt from India's selection trials for the wrestling tournaments. Antim Panghal will be replaced by Anju in the Indian squad for the Asian Championships.

Anju sealed the bronze medal at the 2021 U23 World Championships. Meanwhile, at the trials in March, the 25-year-old grappler defeated the Asian Games gold medalist wrestler Vinesh Phogat in the semi-finals. Earlier, Phogat represented India at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the 53kg weight category. She also took part in the 48 kg freestyle division at Rio 2016 Olympics.

The Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 will kick off on April 11 and will conclude on April 16. The tournament will be followed by the Asian Qualifying Tournament for the Paris 2024. 
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Manimaran Siddharth on Wednesday dismissed star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli to get his first Indian Premier League (IPL) wicket, joining an elite company of bowlers who have got the legendary right-hander as their first-ever IPL victim. During the IPL clash between LSG and RCB at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Virat was looking in good touch, having made 22 in 15 balls with two fours and a majestic straight six. Then, Siddharth bowled a slower delivery that turned away from Virat, who mistimed his shot and was caught by Devdutt Padikkal, giving LSG their first wicket and opening the floodgates for a batting collapse.

There have been 10 bowlers who have got Virat as their first IPL wicket, including Ashok Dinda, Ashish Nehra, Albie Morkel, Chetanya Nanda, Doug Bracewell, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Harpreet Brar, Dewald Brevis, and now Siddarth. Coming to the match, RCB elected to field first after winning the toss. Openers Quinton de Kock and skipper KL Rahul (20 in 14 balls, with two sixes) gave LSG a measured start with a 53-run opening stand. There was a 56-run stand between Kock and Marcus Stoinis (24 in 15 balls, with a four and two sixes) which helped LSG cross the 100-run mark. RCB bowlers did put pressure on the batting towards the end, but Nicholas Pooran (40* in 21 balls, with a four and five sixes) finished off well for LSG, taking them to 181/5 in their 20 overs.

Glenn Maxwell (2/23) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB. Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal and Reece Topley took a wicket each for RCB. In the run chase, openers Virat Kohli (22 in 16 balls, with two fours and a six) and Faf Du Plessis (19 in 13 balls, with three fours) started off with a 40-run opening stand. But a game-changing spell from Mayank Yadav (3/14) put RCB on backfoot, reducing them to 94/5. Mahipal Lomror (33 in 13 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Rajat Patidar (29 in 21 balls, with two fours and two sixes) tried to put up a fight, but RCB could score just 153 in 19.4 overs.

Besides Mayank, Naveen-ul-Haq (2/25) was the pick of the bowlers for LSG. Siddarth, Yash Thakur and Stoinis got a wicket each. Mayank got the 'Player of the Match' for his spell. RCB is in the ninth spot with a win and two losses, giving them three points. LSG is at the fourth place with two wins and a loss, giving them a four points. 
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Despite suffering consecutive three defeats in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya showed confidence in his side to turnaround their campaign in the ongoing tournament and said the five-time champions need to "show a lot more courage." Riyan Parag's blitzkrieg left MI bamboozled as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) sailed to their third consecutive win in the IPL 2024 with a six-wicket triumph over the five-time champions on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium.

Parag played spoilsport in Pandya-led MI's team homecoming, who are still hunting their first win of the season. On a field that is known for some of the highest-scoring games, the hosts succumbed to 125/9, leaving RR to chase down a paltry target of 126. With three out of three losses, Mumbai has once again lived up to its tag of being a conventional slow beginner in the IPL. The Pandya-lead side suffered defeats against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad and were mauled by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batters in their following game.

Pandya scored the highest for the MI with 34 off 21 deliveries, while Tilak Varma played a crucial knock of 32 runs in 29 balls, taking MI to 125/9 after Rajasthan bowlers absolutely bossed Mumbai batters in their homecoming match. "Yes, a tough night, we didn't start the way we wanted to start. I wanted to counter, we were in a decent position to get us around 150-160, but my wicket allowed them to get back more into the game, I needed to do a lot more. It's okay, we didn't expect such a surface, but you can't always have it as a batter, it's nice at times for the bowlers to have a say. It's all about doing the right things, (correct) results happen at times, at some other times it doesn't," Pandya said in a post-match presentation.

The captain said his side needs to be more "disciplined" for the upcoming matches and do better. "As a group, we believe we can do a lot better, but we need to be a bit more disciplined and show a lot more courage," he added.

Mumbai will look to turn around the fortune when they take on Delhi Capitals at their home ground, Wankhede Stadium, on Sunday. 
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Chennaiyin FC scored three times in the second half to come from behind and secure a 3-2 victory against the Mohun Bagan Super Giant (MBSG) at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 on Sunday. With five different scorers on the sheet, it was an action-packed contest that saw a combined total of 30 shots being taken by both teams, as per an ISL press release.

Chennaiyin FC moved to the ninth spot in the table with 20 points from 19 games, and the team is firmly in the race to qualify for the playoffs courtesy of this breathtaking victory. Contrastingly, the Mariners (39) trail table-toppers Mumbai City FC (41) at present, thus adding immense significance to their clash on this very ground in the City of Joy on April 15.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant has copped a Rs 12 lakh fine for maintaining a slow over rate during the IPL game against Chennai Super Kings here.

Delhi Capitals pulled off a comfortable 20-run win over defending champions CSK here on Sunday. ''Rishabh Pant, the Delhi Capitals captain, has been fined after his team maintained a slow over rate during their IPL match against Chennai Super Kings,'' an IPL statement read. ''As it was his team's first offence of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Pant was fined Rs 12 lakhs,'' it added.

Openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner provided a thunderous start to the Capitals before Pant provided the final flurry to post a challenging target with a gutsy fifty.

The DC bowlers, especially pacers Khaleel Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar, then rattled the CSK batters and despite veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni's cracking 16-ball 37 not out, the defending champions suffered their first loss of the season. The win on Sunday was Delhi Capitals' first this season.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter Venkatesh Iyer completed 1,000 Indian Premier League (IPL) runs on Friday. Iyer achieved this milestone during his side's IPL clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).

In the match, Iyer showcased many glimpses of the hitter he is in the shortest format, scoring a half-century, his eighth in just 30 balls. His knock had three fours and four sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 166.67. In 38 matches for KKR, Iyer has made 1,013 runs at an average of 28.14, with a century and eight fifties in 38 innings. His best score is 104 and his strike rate is 131.73.

His first season with the franchise back in 2021 remains his best one. In 10 matches, he scored 370 runs at an average of 41.11 and a strike rate of 128.47. He scored four half-centuries that season, with the best score of 67. He also holds the distinction of being KKR's only centurion (with a ton in 2023) after Brendon McCullum, who lit up the league with a hard-hitting 158* in 73 balls in the opener against RCB back in 2008, turning the league into a household phenomenon. KKR's leading run-scorer is their former skipper and current mentor Gautam Gambhir, Having played for the franchise from 2011-17 and led them to two titles as a captain, Gambhir scored 3,035 runs in 108 matches at an average of 31.61 and a strike rate of 124.28, with 27 half-centuries. His best score is 93.

Meanwhile, the highest run-scorer in IPL is RCB's Virat Kohli, who has made 7,444 runs in 240 matches and 232 innings at an average of 37.78 and a strike rate of 130.27. He has scored seven centuries and 52 half-centuries, with the best score of 113. After KKR won the toss, they opted to field. After losing skipper Faf early, Virat Kohli had a 65-run partnership with Cameron Green (33 in 21 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and a 42-run stand with Glenn Maxwell (28 in 19 balls, with three fours and a six). Virat scored 83* in 59 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes and took RCB to 182/6 along with Dinesh Karthik (20* in eight balls, with three sixes) in their 20 overs.

Andre Russell (2/29) and Harshit Rana (2/39) were the pick of the bowlers for KKR. In the run chase, Phil Salt (30 in 20 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Sunil Narine (47 in 22 balls, with two fours and five sixes) put KKR to a fine start with a quickfire 86-run stand in 39 balls. After Vyshak and Mayank Dagar (1/23 each) dismissed the openers, Venkatesh Iyer (50* in 30 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (39 in 24 balls, with two fours and two sixes) guided KKR to a seven-wicket win with 19 balls to go.

Sunil won 'Player of the Match' on his 500th match for his knock of 47 and one wicket. RCB is sixth in the points table with a win and two losses. They have just two points. KKR is at second with two wins in two games, with four points.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: he two-time Olympic medalist Indian shuttler PV Sindhu was knocked out of the ongoing Madrid Spain Masters in the quarterfinals on Friday following a loss to Thailand's Supanida Katethong. The world-ranked 11th-ranked shuttler was defeated by her world-ranked 17th opponent in a 77-minute match 26-24, 17-21, 20-22. Sindhu won a hard-fought first game 26-24. The two-time Olympic medalist put up a brave fight during the other two games but fell short at crucial points of these games.

A victory would have helped Sindhu reach her first semifinal on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Tour since her return from injury earlier this month, as per Olympics.com. This was Sindhu's only second loss against Supanida in their nine matches. In October last year, Sindhu suffered a knee injury while playing against the Thailand shuttler, which sidelined her for the next four months. There was something to cheer for Team India as the mixed doubles duo of B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy reached the semifinals after beating Lisa Ayu Kusumawati and Rehan Kusharjanto 14-21, 21-11, 21-17. Their opponents in the semifinals will be the Indonesian pair of Rinov Rivaldy and Pitha Mentari.

The tournament started on March 26 and will end on March 31. The Madrid Spain Masters 2024 offers players ranking points for the Paris 2024 Olympics, taking place from July-August this year. The ranking period for badminton began on May 1, 2023, and will end next month.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Victory in their respective previous games might have eased the initial nerves but imperfections remain, hence Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders will eye a quick course correction to add steam to their campaign in an IPL 2024 match here on Friday.

The Royal Challengers defeated Punjab Kings by four wickets, while the Knight Riders elbowed out Sunrisers Hyderabad by four runs to garner some early points.

But entering the points table has not really eased some of the worries -– particularly pertaining to the top and middle-order batting.

The Bengaluru dugout might be a happy space after star batter Virat Kohli made a classy fifty on an unusually gripping Chinnaswamy pitch while chasing 177 against Punjab the other night, but that's only one part of the story.

Skipper Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Cameroon Green and Rajat Patidar are yet to hit the overdrive, and for the win against PBKS they had to rely on the last-minute cameos of Dinesh Karthik and 'Impact Player' Mahipal Lomror.

The Kolkatans have a much more capable bowling unit, at least on paper, and such a collectively underwhelming effort by frontline batters might push RCB into deep troubles against them.

Once they iron out that rough edges, RCB can look at their bowling unit that still needs to fill a couple of unticked boxes despite good outings by pacers Mohammed Siraj and Yash Dayal against Punjab.

Pacer Alzarri Joseph continues to be profligate and his figures -- 0/38, 1/43 -- might prompt the RCB think-tank to bring in England left-arm quick Reece Topley, who has impressive white-ball skills, in place of the West Indian for this match.

The Knight Riders offer a strikingly similar plot. Their top and middle-order consisting of captain Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine and Nitish Rana malfunctioned against SRH at the Eden Gardens.

It required a combined effort from impact sub Ramandeep Singh, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell -- the 6, 7, 8 -- for them to post a competitive total.

Shreyas, who is central to their batting plans, was dismissed for a two-ball duck, but the return to Chinnaswamy might give him a sense of relief as he had fruitful outings here in white-ball cricket in his last two innings.

The elegant right-hander made an unbeaten 128 against the Netherlands in last year's World Cup before making a 53 against Australia in the fifth T20I in December.

In bowling, Narine redeemed himself with a frugal spell (1/19) after a modest effort with the bat, but pacer Mitchell Starc, their record buy, and Varun Chakravarthy failed to impress, leaking over 50 runs in their four overs.

The KKR think-tank might not be unduly worried as their campaign is still at a nascent stage, but they would like to see the first-choice pacer and spinner finding their range at the earliest.

But it is unlikely that the Knights will make changes to their eleven for this match, unless they want to give a go to promising leg-spinner Suyash Sharma, who showed fine form during KKR's pre-season matches.

Squads: Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Match starts at 7.30 PM.
 

JAIPUR [Maha Media]: Rajasthan Royals meet Delhi Capitals in their second match of the Indian Premier League 2024 season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday. 

RR started their season campaign on a winning note after beating Lucknow Super Giants by 20 runs in Jaipur last week. Skipper Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten half-century to guide the team home, pillared with valuable contributions from Riyan Parag, Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals began their campaign with a loss to Punjab Kings by four wickets. Rajasthan Royals have won three of their last five matches coming into this match whereas the Capitals have won just one out of their last five. 

The two teams have played each other 27 times in the IPL. The Royals have come up victorious on 14 occasions, with the Capitals winning 13. The most recent meeting between the two was in April last year at the Barsapara Stadium when the Royals pulled off a 57-run victory. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium last hosted a match between the Royals and the Capitals in 2019 when the visiting side emerged victorious by six wickets. Rajasthan Royals’ highest score at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur is 214/2 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, achieved during IPL 2023. 
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Gujarat Titans skipper Shubman Gill was on Wednesday fined Rs 12 lakh for maintaining a slow over rate during their match against Chennai Super Kings here.

''As it was his team's first offence of the season under the IPL's Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offences, Gill was fined Rs 12 lakhs,'' an IPL statement said.

The Gill-led side suffered its first defeat in this edition of the tournament, going down to defending champions Chennai Super Kings by 63 runs here on Tuesday.

Leading an IPL franchise for the first time, Gill's Gujarat Titans won their opening match against Mumbai Indians by six runs.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Indian tennis stalwart Rohan Bopanna and his Australian teammate Matthew Ebden advanced to their third men's doubles semi-final this year, defeating Dutchman Sem Verbeek and Aussie John-Patrick Smith at the Miami Open here.

The duo, who had won the Australian Open earlier this year, overcame several unforced errors in the first set to win the gruelling quarterfinal 3-6 7-6 (4) 10-7.

The victory for the 44-year-old Bopanna, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will help him stay in the in top-10 in the ATP doubles ranking and ensure direct qualification for the Paris Olympics in July-August.

The cut-off date for rankings to be considered for direct Paris qualification is June 10.

CHENNAI [Maha Media]: Defending IPL champion, Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets in the inaugural match of the 17th edition in Chennai on Friday night. Chasing 174 for victory, Chennai Super Kings overhauled the target with 6 wickets in hand and 8 balls to spare. Rachin Ravindra scored 37 off 15 balls for Chennai.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Royal Challengers Bangalore amassed 173 for six in stipulated 20 overs. Anuj Rawat contributed highest 48 off 25 for Bangalore. Mustafizur Rahman picked up 4 wickets by giving away just 29 runs for Chennai Super Kings. He was adjudged player of the match.

The tournament kicked off in a star-studded opening ceremony at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium last evening.

On Saturday, Punjab Kings will take on Delhi Capitals in Mohali at 3.30 pm while Kolkata Knight Riders will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in Kolkata at 7.30 pm.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth showcased an impressive  performance in the Swiss Open Super 300 tournament, advancing to the semifinals afterdefeating Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei 21-10, 21-14 in the quarterfinals here on Saturday. 

Srikanth dominated the match from the start, establishing a commanding 7-1 lead early on and maintaining his momentum throughout both games before clinching the first game His consistent attack, comprising a mix of drops and smashes, enabled him to secure victory and secure a spot in the semifinal where he will face Lin Chun Yi of Chinese Taipei. Unfortunately, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George couldn't replicate Srikanth's success, as they suffered defeats in their respective men's singles matches. Priyanshu lost to Chou Tien Chen in straight games (15-21, 19-21), while Kiran was defeated by Rasmus Gemke (23-21, 17-21, 15-21).
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu's run at the Swiss Open was cut short by a Japanese teenager, while top Indian male shuttler Lakshya Sen lost to Lee Chia-Hao of Chinese-Taipei in the pre-quarterfinals of the Super 300 tournament here.

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, Priyansh Rajawat and Kiran George won their respective men's singles round-of 16 matches to advance to the quarterfinals late on Thursday night.

Sindhu, after bowing out in the second round of the recently-concluded All England Championships, lost to Japan's 17-year-old junior world champion Tomoka Miyazaki 21-16 19-21 16-21, while Sen was eliminated by Lee Chia-hao 17-21 15-21 in just 38 minutes in the round-of 16 contest.

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: India played out a goalless draw against Afghanistan after both sides failed to turn their opportunities into goals in a Group A fixture of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers here.

It was end-to-end contest in the first half on Thursday night with India coming close to scoring through Manvir Singh on two occasions and the hosts too had their share of chances.

With this result, India climbed to the second spot in Group A with four points from three matches, followed by Kuwait, who are on three points from as many games.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: In Table Tennis, India’s Sathiyan Gnanasekaran has clinched the Men’s Singles title at WTT Feeder Beirut tournament in Lebanon yesterday. World Number 103 Sathiyan defeated compatriot and World Number 74 Manav Vikas Thakkar, 3-1 (6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-4) victory over compatriot Manav Vikas Thakkar in the final yesterday. Earlier, Sathiyan overpowered World Number 39 Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-yuan in the semi-finals.

However, Manav had a heartbreaking day as he missed out on any gold medal despite making it in all three finals. He lost 1-3 to a Cuban pair in the men’s doubles final, partnering Manush Utpal Shah. Earlier, he lost in the mixed doubles final to another Indian pair of Diya Chitale and Manush Shah.

Overall, Indian paddlers had a good outing at the tournament making it to the three finals including two all-Indian finals in Men’s singles and Mixed doubles categories. Indian paddlers finished the tournament with two titles and three runner-ups finish.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) announced star opener Ruturaj Gikwad as the side's new skipper of the team on Thursday ahead of the upcoming season of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The decision marks the end of Dhoni's long reign at the helm of the CSK, during which he led them to five IPL titles.

"MS Dhoni handed over Chennai Super Kings' captaincy to batter Ruturaj Gaikwad ahead of the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. Ruturaj has been an integral part of Chennai Super Kings since 2019 and has played 52 matches in IPL during this period," CSK informed through an official statement on Thursday. He led the CSK in 212 IPL matches, winning 128 matches and losing 82. Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket on August 15, 2020, after leading the team to glory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Last year, Dhoni led the Chennai franchise to a record-equalling fifth IPL title against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. The 42-year-old, who remains one of Indian cricket's most admired faces, enjoying fandom that rivals that of some current stars, captained Chennai since the inaugural IPL season in 2008, barring two years when the franchise was suspended from the tournament over fixing charges. He handed over the captaincy mantle to star-all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja at the start of the 2022 season but returned to lead the franchise again after just eight matches into the season.

Ruturaj was part of CSK's victorious IPL 2023 campaign. One of the heroes of the campaign that year, the Maharashtra batter stitched important partnerships with fellow opener Devon Conway for the Chennai franchise. In 16 matches in the 2023 season, Gaikwad scored 590 runs at an average of 42.14. He also scored four half-centuries in the tournament, with a best score of 92.

In his IPL career since making his debut for the CSK in 2019 and finding 'yellove' from the fans, he has scored 1,797 runs at an average of 39.07 and a strike rate of 135.52. He has scored one century and 14 fifties, with best score of 101*. He has also featured in 9 T20Is for India, aggregating 135 runs with one fifty. He has also represented India in one ODI, scoring 19 runs.

The 17th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick off on March 22, with last year's champions going head to head with the Faf Du Plesis-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a South Indian derby at the latter's home arena--MA Chidambaram Stadium. CSK squad for IPL 2024: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni (WK), Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajay Mandal, Mukesh Choudhary, Ajinkya Rahane, Shaik Rasheed, Mitchell Santner, Simarjeet Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Prashant Solanki, Maheesh Theekshana, Rachin Ravindra, Shardul Thakur, Daryl Mitchell, Sameer Rizvi, Mustafizur Rahman, Avanish Rao Aravelly.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: The never-ending speculation surrounding Mahendra Singh Dhoni's retirement, Virat Kohli's 16-year-itch, the second chance that life has offered Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma's bleeding heart will make for intriguing sub-plots in the annual carnival called the Indian Premier League starting on Friday.

Dhoni, the 42-year-old evergreen captain, will once again smile wryly when asked if it's his last year. His heir apparent Pant, literally back from the brink after a life-threatening accident, will be desperate to show the world that he can still hit those one-handed sixes with elan.

In between, he could also be slipping in those quotable quotes behind the stumps that are considered broadcast gold.

Rohit will be the last person to show his scars hidden behind the typical 'Mumbaiya' nonchalance as he gets down to enjoying his evening dates at the Wankhede albeit without the captain's title. The partisan crowd would nonetheless look forward to those pulled sixes.

As for King Kohli, he would be in pursuit of that elusive jewel in his crown. By his own admission, he has been longing for a big title and his own passionate approach to the game would be a key factor in deciding whether the RCB men manage to emulate the women this year.

A bigger prize is also at stake for at least 10 to 12 other players, who will be vying for eight slots in the New York-bound flight that will take off at the end of May for the T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean.

There will be unbelievable comebacks by some, a few new stars will emerge, there will also be those usual rags to riches stories and all of it could unfold in a matter of four minutes, the time it takes to deliver one over. The late VB Chandrasekhar, who sat on the first auction table for CSK in 2008 to raise the paddle for Dhoni, had once famously said, ''It takes only four minutes for a star to be born in T20 cricket.'' Just like overnight stars, the merciless social media will find villains too.

The likes of Pat Cummins (SRH) and Mitchell Starc (KKR), who raked in big money during the auction, will shoulder a massive burden of expectations through the season.

For every six that they concede at the death or each yorker that turns into a full toss, the two will be reminded of salaries which are north of USD two million.

CSK and MI the eternal favourites ===================== Away from the money talk and purely on cricketing prowess, CSK would be the favourites for a sixth IPL title with a squad that has all bases covered. Their beloved ''Thala'', in any case, can make do with whatever he has in his arsenal.

Rachin Ravindra was a breakout World Cup star but who knows under Dhoni, he might become a T20 superstar.

Deepak Chahar, the much-maligned seamer who is often accused of making CSK his first priority, would like his wrists to do the talking for him and with Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, and Ravindra Jadeja in the mix, anything can happen.

And how can one forget Dhoni, the smiling assassin. All it takes is one six in T20 cricket and Dhoni's love affair with the maximum is eternal.

For Mumbai Indians, it has been a story of all or nothing.

Five titles till 2020 and three years of lull forced them to change a captain, who can still whip up crazy sentiments.

It will be a tightrope walk for Hardik Pandya the leader.

For other captains, they need to win the on-field games but Pandya needs to win the dressing room too. There will be seniors with bruised egos, knowing that a shot at leadership has bypassed them. They could well be difficult to handle.

If he wins that dressing room, half of his battle will be won as MI do have a solid batting line-up even if the bowling looks weak.

For RCB, the greatest inspiration could be the women's team that gave the men a crash course on how to play calmly at the business end where Kohli and Co. have faltered.

Kohli wouldn't mind 200 runs less but he would badly want that trophy. Dhoni has laid his hands on it five times, so has Rohit Sharma.

But what would rankle Kohli is the fact that even KKR has won it twice under his bete noire Gautam Gambhir.

However, Kohli alone cannot win it. The Dinesh Karthiks, the Faf du Plessis', the Glenn Maxwells and likes of Akash Deep need to believe that 'E saala Cup Naam de' (This time Cup is Ours).

Gambhir, who is now back in the KKR camp, would be as ambitious if not more.

No one has forgotten the ugly war of words that broke out between him and Kohli. In his familiar KKR dugout, Gambhir the coach could make a difference.

A middle-order comprising Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell can send shivers down any bowling attack's spine. And then comes Starc, who would need to justify his nearly Rs 25 crore deal.

The team that Gambhir quit, Lucknow Super Giants has a new coach in Justin Langer and it would like to do better than Play-offs this time but with a bowling attack that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Ditto for Delhi Capitals although Pant's comeback could well be the most emotionally charged story of this IPL.

Gujarat Titans, the team of the last two seasons, might not make it this time with no Pandya or Mohammed Shami, who is out injured, in its line-up.

Rajasthan Royals with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel and Jos Buttler will be serious contenders.

Sunrisers Hyderabad, despite having Pat Cummins as captain, and Shikhar Dhawan's Punjab Kings are not expected to go the distance.
 

NEW DELHI [Maha Media]: Naomi Osaka took another confident step in her comeback from maternity leave by easing past Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday to move into the second round of the Miami Open, where another returning mother awaits. Cocciaretto, ranked 51st in the world, represented a potentially tricky first test for Osaka with the Italian coming into Miami having won the WTA 125 event in Charleston last week.

But the step up in class proved too much as Osaka showed flashes of the form that carried her to four Grand Slam crowns, breaking Cocciaretto at the first opportunity while never allowing her opponent a break chance in the opening set. Osaka only needed one break in the second as well to get the job done, closing out the contest with an ace on her second match point.

The Japanese player next faces Ukrainian 15th seed Elina Svitolina, who is less than year into her return from maternity leave. "I was watching her last year and I was admiring all her runs in Wimbledon," said Osaka of Svitolina's run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon. "It's going to be a really incredible honour to play against her."