Cricket now

    Images :X The fifteen-member squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup, which is set to take place across England and Wales in the months of June and July, was announced on the 3 rd of May. The ODI World Cup winners have set the benchmark very high; a tournament where they made an entire country believe. Walking in as champions of another format surely does give them the confidence, but also the pressure of added expectations from an entire country full of cricket lovers. The squad selection has sparked a few discussions and needless to say certain decisions are being praised while some others are being debated over. Regardless, Indian women walk in with their heads held high and with immense faith in a team that has more than enough firepower. Three key players to watch out for: Arundhati Reddy- As a pace-bowling all-rounder, she has immense importance in this format, especially on English soil. The pitches in England could offer some nip. The pacer also generates a fair...

  Image :X The Indian team for the forthcoming T20 World Cup has now been announced. The recent results in South Africa notwithstanding, the team does stand a realistic chance of doing well in the UK. What should also help is that India will be in the UK from the end of May and will be playing three games against England as part of the build-up. Add to it a couple of warm-up matches and the preparation should be perfect. When we note that India toured the UK at the same time last year and won both the T20 and ODI series, it does give us hope and adds to the optimism going into the tournament. A look at India’s group makes it evident that two out of the three teams – India, Australia and South Africa – should advance to the semi-finals. The schedule too works well for India. India play Pakistan in Birmingham on 14 June and have the Netherlands in Leeds on 17 June before facing South Africa in Manchester on 21 June. By then, they will be well into the competition and have had a ta...

Ruturaj Gaikwad (PC: CSK/Instagram) Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Ruturaj Gaikwad led from the front with a match-winning 67-run knock to guide his side to a dominant eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their second meeting of IPL 2026 in Chennai on 2 May. While chasing 160, Chennai lost their in-form opener, Sanju Samson (11), early. Gaikwad then took responsibility and scored a composed 67 off 48 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes, at a strike rate of 139.58. He stitched a crucial unbeaten 98-run stand with young batter Kartik Sharma (54*) to finish the game in 18.1 overs. During the post-match presentation, Player of the Match Gaikwad reflected on his team’s performance and mindset for the game. “We started well, then they got momentum,” he said. “We pulled it back after the powerplay and were chasing 20–30 runs fewer. It was about getting a good start and then one of the batters had to go deep.” He also spoke about the team combination and the role of y...

Hardik Pandya and Ruturaj Gaikwad (PC-BCCI) The official broadcaster announced the revenge week of the Indian Premier League 2026 and what a week it has been! Just when we thought that things were settling at a new normal, the proverbial “sting in the tail” strikes back and surprises everyone. It is not the teams taking revenge; the league itself is out to take revenge on those trying to outguess how it will turn out! In a sea of 200 plus scores, the veritable super over, the magical Quidditch in a game of lesser mortals, took over with Kolkata Knight Riders registering a win in a close contest with Lucknow Super Giants. The super over itself was a bit of a damp squib but the images of the wily old fox Sunil Narine bowling out a hapless looking Nicholas Pooran and restricting LSG to just two runs will remain etched in our minds. For KKR, the day belonged to Rinku Singh, who hit the winning four and that after a magnificent 83 off 51 balls to rescue a beleaguered KKR outing. Just whe...

Dhoni, Suryakumar, and Rohit (PC: MI) Hardik Pandya was watching from outside the nets. Inside, MS Dhoni played a perfect pull shot. That was enough for the Mumbai Indians captain. “Mahi bhai, love you darling, bye, bye,” he said before walking back to the dressing room. CSK posted the video clip on their X (formerly Twitter) handle. A while later, the three World Cup-winning captains — Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav — were captured in a frame. Both CSK and Mumbai Indians posted the visuals on social media. That was one for the archive. The three have five ICC crowns between them and 10 IPL titles. CSK and MI will play their return-leg fixture of the ongoing IPL at Chepauk today. Will Dhoni eventually take the field? It is learnt that mystery remains over Dhoni’s participation in this match as well. The CSK management has left it to him to decide, and according to sources, the former captain hasn’t conveyed anything to the team management yet. It is learnt that Dhoni ...

KL Rahul (PC: IPL/BCCI) Delhi Capitals (DC) opener KL Rahul guided his side to a commanding seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a high scoring IPL 2026 clash on Friday in  Jaipur.   While chasing a strong target of 226 runs, Rahul scored 75 runs off 40 balls, including six boundaries and five maximums at a strike rate of 187.50. His brilliant effort earned him the Player of the Match award. During the post match presentation, Rahul reflected on the importance of the win and his side’s mindset after disappointing results. “We play the sport to win,” he told the host broadcasters. “After playing for so many years, wins do matter. You score runs and break records, but you don’t get the points… The dressing room’s always been a decent place. We try to keep that dressing room as balanced as possible. Results haven’t gone our way.” Rahul’s form this season has been outstanding. He is currently the orange cap holder with 433 runs from nine...

Delhi Capitals ( Image: X) Delhi Capitals sealed a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Batting first, RR put up a total of 225 on the scoreboard but the Delhi Capitals batters chased it down with five balls to spare. Here are some of the highlights from the match: Starc strikes on comeback as RR openers fall early Delhi Capitals made an electric start with the ball against Rajasthan Royals, picking up two crucial wickets inside the powerplay. Mitchell Starc marked his comeback in style, post a long injury lay off, dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal off his second delivery after being smashed for a six in the first ball. Jaiswal miscued a full toss, with Starc completing a sharp catch. Kiwi pacer, Kyle Jamieson followed up brilliantly, removing the in-form prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Starc also made his presence felt in the death overs when he dismissed Ravindra Jadeja and set batter Riyan Parag to shift the momentum in DC’s fav...