The weirdest international cricket tournament is set to commence this week. Relevance? Well, television wants it. More importantly, it provides an opportunity for an India-Pakistan match which can only be played either at the two World Cups (T20 and 50-over) or at the Champions Trophy. Other teams can be forgiven for thinking they merely make … Read more
Kyle Jamieson will replace injured pacer Lockie Ferguson in New Zealand’s squad for the Champions Trophy. File photo | Photo Credit: ANDREW BOYERS Kyle Jamieson will replace injured pacer Lockie Ferguson in New Zealand’s squad for the Champions Trophy after the ICC Event Technical Committee approved the change on the eve of their campaign-opener against … Read more
Nat Sciver-Brunt did the star turn with an all-round show. | Photo Credit: SPORTZPICS/WPL Mumbai Indians 5, Gujarat Giants 0. The head-to-head record in the WPL became even more embarrassing for the Giants on Tuesday night. After bowling GG out for 120, MI posted a much needed win by five wickets, with 3.5 overs remaining. … Read more
Preparations underway at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium which is scheduled to host India’s games of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, in Dubai, UAE, on February 18, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI When the last Champions Trophy game was played at The Oval in 2017, it was the dream match-up the organisers could wish … Read more
Mohammed Azharuddeen en route his ton. | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY Mohammed Azharuddeen needed a DRS review to overturn the on-field decision off the final ball of the first day’s play between Gujarat and Kerala in the Ranji Trophy semifinal here and remain not out going into the second day. The wicketkeeper-batter went on to … Read more
Vidharbha’s Parth Rekhade celebrates the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI He had dismissed Ajinkya Rahane, India’s Test series-winning captain Down Under, off the first ball of his ninth over. Then he accounted for Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain at present, off the third ball. But it was the wicket of Shivam … Read more
Hemang Badani, posing with the ILT 20 trophy, bats for an environment where the players can play their own game | Photo Credit: Instagram/hemangbadani76 Former India cricketer Hemang Badani added another feather to his cap as a coach after masterminding Dubai Capitals to the ILT20 league title last week. Badani’s other titles as a coach include … Read more
Even a five-day match can at times turn on its head in a solitary over. The same was on display at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium here on Tuesday when a rookie spinner put Vidarbha in the ascendancy against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy semifinal. In a small window of 12 minutes at the fag … Read more
Mumbai’s Shivam Dube in action . | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI In the Indian cricket landscape increasingly driven by the Indian Premier League and T20Is, Shivam Dube has been tagged as a T20 specialist batter. The man himself, though, served yet another reminder for being seriously considered as an all-rounder and stressed on his ambition … Read more
Gujarat Giants’ Beth Mooney plays a shot during the Women’s Premier League (WPL) Twenty20 cricket match. File. | Photo Credit: AFP Mumbai Indians skipper Harmanpreet Kaur won the toss and chose to bowl first against Gujarat Giants in their Women’s Premier League match here on Tuesday. MI handed debuts to two U-19 World Cup-winning Indian … Read more
Kerala’s Mohammed Azharuddeen in action. | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY When Sachin Baby edged one to the cordon off the second ball of the day, it felt like all of Kerala’s patient build-up might fizzle out. But, Mohammed Azharuddeen’s first First Class century in seven years ensured Kerala took control of the Ranji Trophy semifinal … Read more
Union Home Minister Amit Shah attends the closing ceremony of the 38th National Games in Haldwani. Photo: X/@mansukhmandviya Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday attended the closing ceremony of the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani. He praised the Pushkar Singh Dhami government for the successful organisation of the National Games and lauded his … Read more
A file image of Shikhar Dhawan and Jasprit Bumrah during a training session | Photo Credit: PTI India will feel Jasprit Bumrah’s absence “very strongly” in the Champions Trophy but they still have a great chance to win the tournament considering their recent form and a host of match-winners at their disposal, reckons former opener … Read more
File photo of head coach Gautam Gambhir with bowling coach Morne Morkel. | Photo Credit: Getty Images India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel has left for his home in South Africa due to a family emergency. Morkel, who was appointed for the job in September last year, had travelled to Dubai with the Indian team on … Read more
Losing fast bowler Lockie Ferguson to a foot injury is another setback for New Zealand in Champions Trophy | Photo Credit: The Hindu New Zealand has had another setback ahead of the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan, losing fast bowler Lockie Ferguson to a foot injury. Ferguson was injured in a warm-up match … Read more
Intrigue, uncertainty, backstage drama. The ICC Champions Trophy has seen it all even before the curtains go up on the tournament and it would only get more stirring over the next three weeks, starting with the opening clash between Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi. Eight teams will vie for a trophy, often talked up … Read more
A billboard depicting portraits of the captains of participating cricket teams in ICC Champions Trophy 2025, installed at a roadside, in Lahore, Pakistan. | Photo Credit: AP The ICC Champions Trophy is being revived after eight years with holders and hosts Pakistan playing New Zealand in the opening game of the ninth edition on Wednesday … Read more
The Australian cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Monday to participate in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. File photo The Australian cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Monday to participate in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. The tournament begins with a match between hosts Pakistan and New Zealand in Karachi on Wednesday. Pakistan are also … Read more
Smriti Mandhana en route her 47-ball 81. | Photo Credit: Sportzpics/WPL Royal Challengers Bengaluru landed here without some of its key players. That isn’t showing, though. Smriti Mandhana’s women came up with a near perfect performance on Monday night to post their second win in as many matches in the third edition of the WPL. … Read more
Sachin Baby plays a shot on the opening day. | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY There was a stark contrast between the teams fielded by Gujarat and Kerala during the Ranji Trophy semifinal being played here. While Gujarat opted to go with four medium-pacers, Kerala chose just two frontline pacers in its team. Kerala skipper Sachin … Read more
Vidarbha batter Danish Malewar continued his good run in the Ranji Trophy. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI For a rookie who debuted in Vidarbha’s season-opener, Danish Malewar appeared flawless en route crossing the 500-run mark in the season and his sixth fifty-plus score against an intimidating opponent in the Ranji Trophy semifinal. Just when he … Read more
Top knock: Shorey played an effortless and timely 74. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI Dhruv Shorey gave a solid start. Danish Malewar played an innings with flair. Karun Nair appeared effortless at the crease. But neither of them could convert their knock into a real big one. As a result, despite crossing the 300-run mark, … Read more
Sachin Baby in action. | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY A conservative, unbeaten half-century from captain Sachin Baby helped Kerala post 206 for four against Gujarat on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Monday. The day’s play was a battle of patience as either side refused to … Read more
India’s H. S. Prannoy. File | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR HS Prannoy fought valiantly, but India went down 0-3 to a second-string Japan in the quarterfinals of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships to end their campaign on a disappointing note on Friday (February 14, 2025). Also Read | India thrash Macau 5-0 to … Read more
Cars and motorcyclists drive past a billboard depicting portraits of the captains of participating cricket teams in ICC Champions Trophy 2025, installed on a pedestrian bridge on a road in Karachi, on February 16, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP Cricket fever has gripped Pakistan as the Champions Trophy unfolds with fans eagerly waiting for the … Read more
She has an excellent wrong ’un. And she can get it right quite often, as she showed on Sunday night in the Women‘s Premier League (WPL). Priya Mishra used her googlies splendidly to set up a much-needed victory for Gujarat Giants, against UP Warriorz, at the BCA Stadium. The Giants, playing at home for the … Read more
Harshit Rana will be aiming to make his presence felt during the Champions Trophy. | Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK In theory, Harshit Rana is Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy. In reality, of course, there is nobody in India, or elsewhere, with the skill and control to fill in for Bumrah. … Read more
Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana during a practice session ahead of the team’s opening match against Bangladesh in the ICC Champions Trophy, 2025, at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai on Sunday (February 16, 2025). | Photo Credit: ANI Mohammed Shami’s right hand has more sleight than a magician. A simple cock of … Read more
Cricketer Arshdeep Singh. File photo | Photo Credit: RAGU R Harshit Rana has been the flavour of the season as far as India’s emerging crop of fast bowlers is concerned but one of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s finds is unlikely to start in India’s playing eleven in the Champions Trophy with Arshdeep Singh still considered … Read more
Vidarbha’s Akshay Wadkar | Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy Mumbai has a legacy of a strong lower order bailing the team out, especially in big knockout games, right through the history of the Ranji Trophy. While Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar was cautious about the allrounders’ trio of Shams Mulani, Shardul Thakur and Tanush Kotian, his Mumbai … Read more