Introducing Sports and Pastime, a new podcast, featuring Faisal Sharif and Prem Panicker, two of the most interesting voices on cricket and sport. Faisal and Prem discuss the Indian team for the Champions Trophy and the BCCI's edict to the players in the inaugural episode of Sports and Pastime.
Jammu and Kashmir caused a major upset in the Ranji Trophy as they shocked defending champions Mumbai by five wickets on Saturday.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev expressed concern over the rising number of injuries among Indian cricketers, attributing it to the demanding schedule.
'Quickly assessing what's required to do here will be the key for us.' 'If we can assess quickly and adjust our batting or bowling quickly that will help us moving forward.'
World Champion D Gukesh's quest for a victory continued as Hikaru Nakamura defeated him in the tie-breaker of the 5-8 place play-off at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan both struck centuries as Pakistan completed their highest successful run chase in ODIs with a six-wicket win over South Africa.
Gambhir also backed Shubman Gill and urged people not to mix-up formats while comparing performances.
Rahul, who initially batted at No. 6 in the first two games, didn't look comfortable and fared far better at the familiar No. 5 position with a useful 40 off 29 balls in India's one-sided 142-run victory in the third ODI in Ahmedabad.
The Mission Olympic Cell is also considering higher incentives for retired Olympians and world-class players who want to take up coaching, in an effort to retain top talent within India.
Legendary Indian boxer MC Mary Kom has called for greater recognition for boxing in India, stating her goal is to make the sport as popular as cricket.
'Very very pleasing (with the way the series went). We knew there would be challenges that we could face.'
Francisco Moura's second-half strike earned hosts Porto a 1-1 draw against 10-man AS Roma in the first leg of their Europa League knockout round play-off on Thursday.
'India needs to score big because they will have to defend those totals without Bumrah.'
He reached his 73rd ODI fifty, seemingly poised for a big score. But his innings was cut short by an all-too-familiar foe: Adil Rashid.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka led by example and smashed a belligerent hundred to set up a 49-run victory over a depleted Australia.
Kerala batted out the entire fifth and final day to draw the match against Jammu and Kashmir and advance to the Ranji Trophy semi-finals on basis of the first innings lead.
PCB chairman Naqvi hits back at social media trollers after stadium revamp
Shreyas Iyer's ability to negotiate spin bowling effectively makes him a crucial asset for India in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Manchester City fans took a not-so-subtle dig at Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr during Tuesday's Champions League playoff game
Teenage Afghanistan off-spinner AM Ghazanfar has been ruled out of both the ICC Champions Trophy and the IPL due to a lower back fracture.
'A less tense US-China relationship would make Beijing less likely to provoke India -- including on the border -- in retaliation for its close defence ties with the US.'
Sarfaraz recalled how the side regrouped under the guidance of senior players like Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, something he feels that the present Pakistan side will need too.
'This introduction that has now been in place for sometime could well give that additional flavour for the chess players as they will be able to guess the pressure that a certain player is feeling during the course of a game.'
Posing a series of questions to the prime minister, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh also asked if Modi would convey to the US president that India would send its own aircraft -- like Venezuela and Colombia did -- to bring back Indian deportees in the future.
World champion D Gukesh played out a hard-fought draw with Hikaru Nakamura of United States in the first game of the 5-8 place play-offs.
Perry (57, 34b, 6x4, 2x6) and Ghosh (64 not out, 27b, 7x4, 4x6) were in sublime touch as defending champions RCB scaled down the target of 202 with ease in the tournament opener.
The stadium's capacity has been increased to accommodate 35,000 fans and new hospitality areas have been built.
Vidarbha made a grand entry into the Ranji Trophy semi-final after outclassing Tamil Nadu by 198 runs on Day 4.
When Kasturi Rajamurty won a gold medal in powerlifting at the WPPL World Cup in Russia, she sure had come a long way. From a life of penury to constantly being short of funds to fuel her passion, she had finally triumphed, and how.
Social media was quick to react, urging the former captain to 'focus on his batting' rather than engaging in photo sessions.
Surrey confirm deal with Reliance, keep majority stake in Oval Invincibles
Pankaj Advani, India's most accomplished billiards and snooker player, has secured his 36th overall national title and 10th men's snooker crown at the Yashwant Club.
England captain Jos Buttler defended his team's training schedule during their white-ball tour of India.
Catch the 4th episode of Sports and Pastime, a new podcast, featuring Prem Panicker and Faisal Shariff with Ramiz Raja as a special guest.
Spanish soccer club Espanyol on Monday have called for action against Barcelona defender Mapi Leon
It's a demoralising loss for especially considering Japan did not field their full-strength team, with several top players absent.
Kapil Dev believes the injury-enforced absence of key players like Jasprit Bumrah can hamper any team and hopes India's pace spearhead will return to action soon.
Rhythm Sangwan emerged victorious in the women's 25m pistol event at the Rifle/Pistol National Selection Trials in New Delhi, defeating double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker in a shoot-off.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League Knock-out phase play-offs.
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