In the limelight: Szocs says this victory gives her a lot of confidence for the future. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI Days after winning a silver medal in women’s doubles at the World Table Tennis Championship, Bernadette Szocs, the Romanian paddler, arrived in Ahmedabad with an eye on building on the World Championship glory. Three … Read more
Just mention World Cup and instantaneously football chimes into memory. It is an organic mental reflex, as this quadrennial championship is perhaps the biggest draw in sport and on a par with the Olympics. But, equally, in those countries that were a part of the British Empire of the past, World Cup also means the … Read more
Grandmaster Lalit Babu edged past Ayaan Trikha in 64 moves in the Aurionpro Grandmaster chess tournament at the World Trade Centre on Monday (June 16, 2025). All the top players from Levan Pantsulaia, Manuel Petrosyan, Luka Paichadze, Mihail Nikitenko, Mamikon Gharibyan and Boris Savchenkko won on expected lines. In the junior section, top seed Aansh … Read more
Gill and Jaiswal added 129 for the third wicket. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Not many batters can boast of having scored their first five Test hundreds in four different countries. Yashasvi Jaiswal, whose nascent career is still in its 20th match, has managed that feat. On Friday in the opening Test against England at … Read more
Yashasvi Jaiswal hammered 16 fours and a six in his century. | Photo Credit: Getty Images If you are looking for a soft landing in your maiden Test series as captain, England might not be the ideal place. However, on the opening day of India’s first Test at Headingley here on Friday, Shubman Gill & … Read more
England captain Ben Stokes with his Indian counterpart Shubman Gill during the toss of the first Test in Leeds on June 20, 2025. Photo: X/@BCCI England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first during the first Test against India in Leeds on Friday (June 20, 2025). It will be the first … Read more
England’s Joe Root is seen during a practice session ahead of the first Test | Photo Credit: Getty Images India will begin its Test series against England by playing the first Test on Friday (June 20, 2025). But an Indian legend’s fielding record in Tests could be toppled by an Englishman during the series. England’s … Read more
Indian batsman Karun Nair is seen during a practice session ahead of the first Test against England in Leeds. | Photo Credit: Getty Images On comeback trail, Karun Nair says the presence of childhood companions KL Rahul and Prasidh Krishna in the Indian dressing room adds a layer of comfort as he seeks to capitalise … Read more
File picture of former Australian cricket captain Tim Paine | Photo Credit: Getty Images Former captain Tim Paine has been appointed coach of the Australia “A” team for this season with the country approaching a transition to a new generation of players as a handful of Test stalwarts near retirement. Paine has worked in the … Read more
File photo of Australia’s batsman Marnus Labuschagne | Photo Credit: Reuters Marnus Labuschagne has been dropped and injured Steve Smith has been ruled out of the Australia lineup for next week’s series-opening cricket Test against the West Indies. Cricket Australia on Friday (June 20, 2025) said Smith would miss the opening match of the three-Test … Read more
Two more England players in wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones and Dani Gibson, were picked up by Melbourne Stars, who also showed interest in Jemimah Rodrigues. Photo: Emmanual Yogini/The Hindu India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has been retained by Brisbane Heat, with eight franchises picking up a total of 23 international players during the Women’s Big Bash League … Read more
Prem Kumar, second from right, picked up three wickets to restrict Spartans. | Photo Credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN Chepauk Super Gillies stormed into the playoffs with a commanding six-wicket victory over SKM Salem Spartans in the final league match of the Salem-leg of the TNPL at the Salem Cricket Foundation Ground on Thursday. Super Gillies … Read more
The Queens Hotel is listed as a minute’s stroll from the Leeds railway station, in the heart of the city centre. It’s the Indian team’s abode for the duration of its stay ahead of and during the first Test against England, starting on Friday. Long-term employees of the hotel insist that the throng of people … Read more
Indian captain Shubman Gill with teammates at a training session ahead of the first Test against England in Leeds. | Photo Credit: PTI It is quite fashionable – and a bit of truism too – to say that no team or player carries secrets anymore. Such is the speed at which information travels and so … Read more
England captain Ben Stokes at a training session on the eve of the first Test against India at Leeds. | Photo Credit: AP Headingley is one of England’s storied venues, with the Ian Botham Test from the 1981 Ashes, India’s unforgettable win in 2002 and Ben Stokes’ stupendous effort from 2019 coming immediately to mind. … Read more
Gill will have to shoulder the twin responsibilities of being the No. 1 batter and the leader. | Photo Credit: Reuters There is a staccato feel to Shubman Gill’s batting – half-cut, half-drive and the patented short-arm jab. The 25-year-old’s maiden pre-match media conference as India’s Test skipper was similar – sharp, brief and witty. … Read more
Champions of the 2025 Indian Premier League, Royal Challengers Bengaluru made their biggest splash by acquiring Josh Hazlewood for ₹12.5 crore – and he proved worth every rupee. The Australian pacer delivered a stellar season, claiming 22 wickets at an economy rate of 8.77 and a blistering strike rate of 12. The team’s most expensive … Read more
Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson pose with the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy on Thursday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Ever since the Pataudi Trophy was retired in March and the decision to found a new trophy for India’s Test series in England as the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, it has led to voices of dissent from various quarters. Also … Read more
India Test captain Shubman Gill during a nets session at Headingley on June 18, 2025 in Leeds, England. | Photo Credit: Getty Images India vice-captain Rishabh Pant on Wednesday (June 18, 2025) confirmed that Shubman Gill will bat at No. 4 in the Test series against England, while he will follow the skipper at the … Read more
FIie photo of Deepika Kumari. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Reigning compound individual World champions Ojas Deotale and Aditi Swami, Asian Games silver medallist Abhishek Verma and Olympian recurve archers Atanu Das and Bhajan Kaur have missed out on berths in the Indian team for the World archery championships, to be held in Gwangju, South … Read more
The winners (left to right) – K. Sundeep, Philippos Matthai, Syed Salman, C.P. Gowtham and Shivani Pruthvi New Delhi’s Philippos Matthai brought into play all his vast experience and undoubted driving skills to win outright in four categories in the Vamcy Merla Channai Gravel Fest, which doubled up as the second round of Octane Pits … Read more
Sri Lanka’s Milan Rathnayake celebrates the wicket of Bangladesh’s Nayeem Hasan during the second day of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Galle, Sri Lanka, on June 18, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP Bangladesh continued its dominance over Sri Lanka on the second day of the first Test on Wednesday, … Read more
Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja at a training session. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Sporting transitions are often intimidating and discomforting. Personnel change, demands shift, goals are reset and targets revised. In cricket, where captains often mould teams in their own image, a change at the helm brings about an entire identity switch. … Read more
Surya troubled the batters with his pace and accuracy at the death. | Photo Credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN Left-arm pacer Surya Anand’s incredible over — four wickets off five deliveries, including a hat-trick — swung the contest in Siechem Madurai Panthers’ favour in a TNPL match at the Salem Cricket Foundation ground here on Wednesday. … Read more
With several big names having recently retired — Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Stuart Broad and James Anderson, to name a few — the Indian and England Test teams must now go through a period of transition. There is, however, one comforting constant. If ever England need an experienced statesman to carry the load, they can turn to Joe … Read more
Ashwin’s Dragons have been cleared of ball-tampering allegations. | Photo Credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) on Wednesday confirmed that Siechem Madurai Panthers has formally withdrawn its complaint alleging ball-tampering by players of Dindigul Dragons during a TNPL fixture last week. In an official statement, the TNCA stated that the matter … Read more
Shoaib is third most experienced bowler in the England line-up. | Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: Getty Images For English cricket, 2025-26 will be a litmus test. The twin five-match series — first against India starting in Leeds on Friday and the second the Ashes in Australia later this year — present the biggest challenge for … Read more
Harsha Bhogle on India’s tour of England, commentary and more | Video Credit: Johan Sathyadas “I’ve never seen a stronger statement in favour of sport than this.” Way back in 1999, this line by Harsha Bhogle flowed through our TV screens even as a joyous Pakistan cricket team went on a victory lap in Chennai’s … Read more
A Single-Bench judge rejected BCCI’s challenge to the arbitral awards, ruling that the Court could not sit and act as an appellate authority over the arbitrator’s findings. | Photo Credit: The Hindu In a major setback to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the Bombay High Court has upheld arbitral awards, … Read more
Sachin Tendulkar during an event in Mumbai. File photo | Photo Credit: The Hindu Social media platform Reddit on Wednesday (June 18, 2025) announced Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as its brand ambassador. Sports fans will now have exclusive opportunities to engage with Tendulkar in Reddit communities, the company said in a statement. Through his … Read more