NEW DELHI: Former England captain Kevin Pietersen lauded Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant for his fitness and efforts behind the stumps during the match against Gujarat Titans (GT) and said that the game time is crucial for wicketkeeper batter leading into a T20 World Cup, starting from June 1 in Carribean and USA.

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Mumbai Indians' (MI) match against Punjab Kings (PBKS), former Australian captain Aaron Finch lashed out at the Hardik Pandya-led side's bowling, highlighting a "lack of depth and consistency" beyond the star pacer Jasprit Bumrah.

NEW DELHI: Two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan announced his retirement from international badminton on Thursday, marking the Thomas & Uber Cup Finals in Chengdu, China as his final tournament on the international circuit.

AHMEDABAD: From the time Rishabh Pant elected to bowl first after a brief giggle to decide his decision upon winning the toss, everything went right for him in ensuring Delhi Capitals thrashed Gujarat Titans by six wickets.

DALLAS: Former Australian cricketer Stuart Law has been appointed as the head coach of its USA men's national cricket team ahead of their T20I series against Bangladesh scheduled next month just before the ICC T20 World Cup, the country's cricket board has announced.

BERLIN: Joshua Kimmich's sole goal helped Bayern Munich progress into the UEFA Champions League last four after beating Arsenal 1-0 (3-2 on aggregate) in the second leg.

MULLANPUR: Punjab Kings (PBKS) will host Mumbai Indians (MI) in match 33 of the IPL 2024 on Thursday.

GLASGOW: The Men’s ICC CWCL2 series between Scotland, Namibia, and Oman, which was originally scheduled for May 2-12 at Forfarshire CC, has now been postponed to happen from July 16-26 at the same venue due to adverse weather, said Cricket Scotland on Wednesday.

CHENNAI: It is too close to predict who will come out on top of the Open category in the 2024 FIDE Candidates Tournament in Toronto with five players, including two young Indian chess Grandmasters (GM), D. Gukesh and R. Praggnanandhaa, in the race, said former women’s world champion (1996-99), GM Susan Polgar.

NEW DELHI: With just 100 days remaining until the start Paris Olympics, the Indian men’s hockey team skipper Harmanpreet said the team is "hungry, focused and ready to shine".

NEW DELHI: Despite Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) disappointing loss to Rajasthan Royals, franchise co-owner Shah Rukh Khan came down in support of his team and said, "this seems to be God’s plan".

NEW DELHI: Para Asian Games gold medallist Sheetal Devi honed her archery skills while competing alongside able-bodied archers. She was at it again as the armless archer competed at the Khelo India national ranking meet for women at the DDA Yamuna Sports Complex.

NEW DELHI: Former Australia cricketer Tom Moody has heaped praise on Rajasthan Royals' (RR) batter Jos Buttler, calling him an "elite athlete" for standing till the last ball to hit the winning runs. He also opined that Buttler's knock has to go as one of the "great IPL 100s".

NEW DELHI: After getting elected as the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in September 2022, ex-India goalkeeper Kalyan Chaubey’s tenure has seen the federation steer through a heady mix of success stories and downfalls.

KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Shreyas Iyer has been penalised for maintaining a slow over-rate in the IPL 2024 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR).

HARYANA: Karnal’s Mani Ram dominated round one of the Gurgaon Open with a nine-under 63 to lead by two shots here at the Classic Golf & Country Club.

KOLKATA: Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Jos Buttler expressed his delight after clinching victory for his team against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Reflecting on the atmosphere in the dressing room, he noted that the "team seems settled" and everyone is "happy for each other's success".

NEW DELHI: Bengal Pro T20 League which is set to kick off immediately after the IPL in early June 2024, has roped in Servotech Power Systems as the franchise owner for one of the teams ahead of the upcoming season.

BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal made a winning return at the Barcelona Open, where the 12-time champion defeated Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3.

BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund turned around a 2-1 first-leg defeat by clinching a hard-earned 4-2 victory over resilient Atletico Madrid in the second leg on home soil.

GENEVA: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that the official mobile game for the Paris 2024 Olympics - Olympics Go! Paris 2024 - was launched to provide truly Olympic gaming experience to the fans.

KOLKATA: Back into the side as an Impact Substitute after an injury, Jos Buttler struck a counter-attacking unbeaten century to help Rajasthan Royals mount the joint-highest successful chase in Indian Premier League (IPL) history against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: Former Australia batter Michael Slater reportedly collapsed in the court after his bail application was rejected by the magistrate on domestic violence charges, according to reports.

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Kris Srikkanth said he was hurt by watching the Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowling performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad in a record-breaking IPL 2024 match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

PATNA: The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) has set up a Women's Cricket Development Committee, to foster the growth of women's cricket in the state.

NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu advocated for Dinesh Karthik’s inclusion in the 2024 T20 World Cup squad after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper batter smashed a 35-ball 83 in the losing cause against Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

BENGALURU: Australia allrounder Glenn Maxwell has revealed that he requested Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) management to omit him from the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), seeking a "mental and physical break" following a challenging beginning to his IPL 2024 season.

MADRID: FC Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez admitted that the man who will be in the Paris Saint-Germain dugout in the return leg of their Champions League quarterfinal had a huge influence on his career.

LONDON: Four goals from Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson's strike and a first goal in Blue from Alfie Gilchrist helped Chelsea record a dominant 6-0 win over Everton at Stamford Bridge.

BARCELONA: Former No. 9 Roberto Bautista Agut downed Roman Safiullin 6-3, 7-6(8) at Barcelona Open for the 399th tour-level triumph of his career. He saved a set point in the second-set tie-break before wrapping a one-hour, 59-minute first-round victory.

KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) takes on table-toppers Rajasthan Royals (RR) in its third home game of the IPL 2024 season on Tuesday.

BENGALURU: After Travis Head smashed his maiden IPL century in 39 deliveries, Dinesh Karthik waged a lone battle for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, smashing 83 in just 35 deliveries. However, Pat Cummins' three-fer proved decisive as it helped Sunrisers Hyderabad beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 25 runs in Match 30 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday night.

MUMBAI: Eric Simons, the bowling consultant of Chennai Super Kings, heaped praise on Matheesha Pathirana for his stunning spell of 4-28 in the side’s 20-run win over Mumbai Indians, saying that his wickets were a bonus, but the accuracy in his spell was bang-on target.

MUMBAI: After a 20-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) gave Mumbai Indians (MI) their first loss at home in IPL 2024, batting coach Kieron Pollard came out in support of captain Hardik Pandya, saying when the all-rounder will be at his peak, he will sit back and see people singing praises for him.

MONTE-CARLO: Stefanos Tsitsipas dispatched Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-4 to win his third Monte-Carlo title in four years.