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Yastika Bhatia. Image :BCCI Women Trisha Ghosal, Chelmsford India’s no 3 for this game, Yastika Bhatia admitted that months of hard work behind the scenes made her comeback innings against England even more special as she helped India recover from an early collapse to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. Here’s excerpts from Yastika’s post match press conference: “A lot of work has gone into coming back” Having spent a lengthy spell away from the game recovering from ACL surgery, Bhatia spoke candidly about the challenges of rehabilitation and the people who helped her return to international cricket. “I’m very grateful,” she said. “A lot of work has gone into coming back again into the team. The Centre of Excellence, the physios, trainers, surgeons, my family and friends all supported me through that period.” Bhatia explained that ACL recovery often involves rebuilding strength from scratch and admitted there were phases where progress seemed invisible. “There were days where no...

India Women (PC: BCCI) India began their England tour with an emphatic win. They scored 188/7 in their 20 overs after being sent in to bat, while England fell well short of the total, managing just 150/8. India started their innings on a poor note with stand-in captain Smriti Mandhana becoming the first Indian woman batter to be dismissed off the first ball of a T20I match. Her RCB teammate Lauren Bell got the better of her. Credit also has to be given to the field placement as England stand-in skipper Charlie Dean got it spot on, placing a short extra cover where Mandhana eventually got caught. In the same over, fellow opener Shafali Verma holed out to mid-on trying to play a lofted on-drive. With captain Harmanpreet Kaur rested, Yastika Bhatia found a place in the playing XI and burst onto the scene with a flurry of boundaries against Issy Wong, giving Jemimah Rodrigues at the other end enough time to settle before playing her shots. Wong conceded 27 runs in the second over. From ...

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Image: IPL/BCCI) “Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s bat swing has been outstanding. What’s even more remarkable is how beautifully he clears his front foot to create room for balls aimed at his legs. This freedom allows him to play the way he does. That innings was nothing short of spectacular!” This was not Joe Public’s opinion, but something the great Sachin Tendulkar posted on X minutes after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s epic 29-ball 97 in the IPL Eliminator. And if we look around us, it is not hard to see why he wrote what he did. Indian cricket badly needs a new star. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is now done, while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are nearing the end. Jasprit Bumrah is in and out, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya are also blowing hot and cold, and Rishabh Pant is struggling. While Shubman Gill is holding fort in red-ball cricket, Indian white-ball cricket is in search of its next star. With an innings laden with 12 sixes, Vaibhav could well be on his way to becoming...

Sooryavanshi starred with the bat for RR. (PC: BCCI) Rajasthan Royals (RR) teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi revealed that the coaches told him not to take pressure in the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after smashing a record-breaking 29-ball 97 in New Chandigarh. Playing his first ever knockout game in the IPL, Sooryavanshi showed no signs of fear as he took apart SRH’s well rounded bowling attack to cleaners. The swashbuckling batted got to his fifty in 16 deliveries, making him the joint fastest to reach the milestone in the IPL playoffs history. He came close to smashing the record of the fastest ton but fell three runs short of the coveted three figure mark. During the mid-innings break, Sooryavanshi said he was told to enjoy himself and bat like he’s been batting in the practice sessions, an advice that paid dividends. “No, it was somewhere in my mind, but all the coaches told me to do exactly what I’ve been doing in practice, enjoy the game, and not take pre...

Indian team doing a catching drill. Image :Trisha Ghosal, Revsportz Trisha Ghosal, Chelmsford The India women’s team wrapped up an engaging and eventful practice session at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground in Chelmsford on Tuesday evening, blending serious preparation with moments of genuine laughter ahead of the T20I series. What started as a routine warm-up quickly turned into one of the more entertaining fielding sessions seen at training grounds in recent times. Water balloons became the tool of choice for India’s catching drills, forcing players to soften their hands while taking catches. The concept was simple — catch cleanly or risk getting drenched. Quite a few balloons burst during the exercise, and at one stage Smriti Mandhana ended up with water splashed all over her sunglasses. Yet the mood within the group remained extremely light-hearted, with players laughing through the session while still maintaining intensity.   Shafali and Renuka Steal the Show The f...

RCB outclass GT in Qualifier 1( PC- IPL official instagram handle) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) registered a resounding victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2026, held at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. Batting first, RCB posted a massive 254 on the board, with GT’s bowlers finding it difficult to adapt to the surface while poor fielding further compounded their problems. RCB eventually sealed a commanding 92-run win to book their place in the IPL final for the second successive year. Here are some of the highlights from the game: RCB batters unleash carnage in the powerplay RCB rained boundaries in the powerplay with smart shot selection, precise timing and excellent placement to keep the scoreboard moving. They took on the likes of Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj with confidence and ease. Venkatesh Iyer looked promising with a range of 360-degree strokes but fell to Rabada after mistiming a shot that resulted in a top edge, brilliantly caught by Shubman G...