Cricket now

Images :X ‘Can Royal Challengers Bengaluru lift the IPL title for the second time in a row?’ Be it in Kannada or English, this aforesaid question has become the main talking point in various parts of Bengaluru. But for their beloved franchise to hoist the coveted trophy, RCB have to first wade through the challenge of Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1. For a moment, just glance through the league phase, the only point of difference between the two sides was net run rate. From RCB’s point of view, they would be quite confident of their batting unit. Even if Phil Salt doesn’t pass the fitness test ahead of the game, RCB would believe in Venkatesh Iyer to turbocharge the powerplay overs alongside Virat Kohli. After all, he played with a fair amount of panache in RCB’s previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Despite worry lines over Salt’s fitness and Jitesh Sharma’s form, RCB’s bigger concerns could lie somewhere on the bowling side of thin...

  Toxic fan culture is yet again back to haunt us. The Travis Head–Virat Kohli handshake issue has now reached Head’s wife and family, and yet again we have seen red lines crossed. May I say, this isn’t the first time. Each time something happens, we see these trolls (read rascals) discredit fandom and do something sinister. The fact is, no one – and yes, no one – can target a player’s family. It is a firm no. Having experienced it first-hand during the ban, I know what it is like for your mother, wife or child to be called names. This is where social media turns into filth, and something ought to be done immediately to mediate and monitor things. The toxic fan army on Twitter and other social media platforms need to understand that, by being blindly loyal to an individual, the larger cause is defeated. By attacking Head’s wife, no loyalty to Kohli is being proved. And this is perhaps the only truth. The Indian fandom, so focused on individuals, is actually vicious and poisonous...

Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan (Image: BCCI/IPL) Former India cricketer Suresh Raina heaped praise on Gujarat Titans’ (GT) opening pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan for their outstanding partnership in IPL 2026. Raina called them the greatest batting pair in IPL history. The pair has once again been the backbone of GT’s batting line-up which gave the team solid starts throughout the tournament. “Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan are the finest batting pair in the history of TATA IPL,” Raina said on JioHotstar. “In 46 innings together, they have put up 21 partnerships of 50 runs or more.” Sudharsan (638) and Gill (616) have scored a combined 1254 runs at the top of the order. The duo recently completed their 10 th century partnership in T20 cricket. Their consistent performance up top helped GT  finish in the second place in the points table with nine wins from 14 matches. Raina also compared their partnership with legendary IPL pairs like Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de V...

In a remarkable initiative promoting social inclusion and joy through sports, around 1,600 underprivileged and specially-abled children and individuals from vulnerable communities were brought together to witness the thrilling IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals at Eden Gardens on May 24 2026. The initiative aimed to ensure that the excitement and magic of live sporting experiences reached children and young individuals who often remain excluded from such opportunities. Beneficiaries included orphans, autistic children, specially-abled children, visually impaired individuals, rescued survivors of sexual trafficking, and children from marginalized backgrounds. The initiative was made possible with the generous support of Kolkata Knight Riders, which extended approximately 1,600 match tickets, helping transform a dream into reality for hundreds of children. Several leading NGOs and social organizations partnered in the initiative, including Child In Need Instit...

Arjun Tendulkar. Image :X I did a piece yesterday on Arjun Tendulkar and tried to talk about the burden of the surname. As expected, it polarised opinion. While a lot of people – yes, a significant number – empathised with Arjun, there were many who continued with the nepotism charge and said he was given all the facilities to succeed and yet hasn’t been able to achieve much. They argue that he is privileged and therefore deserves no empathy. My point is simple. Arjun hasn’t done anything to deserve being trolled either. He was picked up by LSG and remained on the bench for the entire season. Ask anyone in the franchise and they will tell you he trained diligently, turned up on time for every practice session, was a perfect teammate and did everything that was asked of him. To be a Tendulkar and sit on the bench couldn’t have been easy. And yet, in his mind, he was Arjun and not Arjun Tendulkar – just another cricketer waiting for his opportunity. He was finally given an opportunit...

Heartbreak for KKR Just 3.4 overs into the first innings, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) knew they were out of the playoff race, as Rajasthan Royals had sealed a convincing 30-run win over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. Though the team’s shoulders did not drop, KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar was visibly disappointed during an in-game interview. “We didn’t play our best cricket in the initial matches. I am proud of the boys and how they came back in the second half. We knew it wasn’t in our hands, and we will continue to control the controllables,” Nayar told the host broadcaster. Regardless of the outcome of the RR game, KKR’s bowlers put in a commendable effort to restrict Delhi Capitals to 203 on what looked like a beautiful batting track at Eden Gardens. KL Rahul caps off a stellar season KL Rahul was mighty impressive for Delhi Capitals throughout the season, finishing with 593 runs at a strike rate of 174.41. Not only was Rahul the face of DC’s batting, but he also impro...