Author: Staff Reporter

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Smriti Mandhana expressed her happiness after their nine-wicket win against UP Warriorz (UPW) in the ongoing WPL 2026 and praised her bowlers for making the batters’ job easier. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, she said: “It was the best seat in the house for me to watch Grace whack those balls. But the bowling, the way everyone bowled and chipped in and executed the plans, I mean, that was something really special to watch. (On Bell) I was just joking around about how she’s going to get plans back home, because in the last…

Former India coach Ravi Shastri praised India’s star batter Virat Kohli and suggested India captain Shubman Gill to follow the veteran’s work ethic and dedication to achieve greater success in his career. Shastri made the comments during commentary in the first ODI of the three-match series between India and New Zealand in Vadodara, as quoted by NDTV Sports. Highlighting Kohli’s discipline and hunger, Shastri said: “The single-mindedness, the hunger. The willingness to push that body to the limits. And I have seen that in my time when I was with the team, his work ethics probably second to none. I…

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 matches scheduled on January 14 and 15 could be played behind closed doors due to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections in Mumbai. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the matches will go ahead as planned, but the inclusion of spectators remains uncertain because of security concerns raised by the Mumbai Police. Explaining the reason behind the uncertainty to IANS, Saikia said, “The thing is that there is a local (municipal) election in Mumbai on 15th. So we are contemplating that we’ll go ahead with the matches. Whether there will be crowd in the…

Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal has created history in the Vijay Hazare Trophy by becoming the first batter to score more than 700 runs in a season twice. Padikkal reached the milestone during the quarterfinal against Mumbai on January 12, further underlining his dominance in domestic cricket. Earlier, Padikkal had crossed the 700-run mark in the 2020–21 season, and he has now repeated the feat in the 2025–26 edition. Previously, players like Mayank Agarwal (2017–18), Prithvi Shaw (2020–21), Narayan Jagadeesan (2022–23) and Karun Nair (2024–25) had achieved 700-plus runs in a single season once, but Padikkal is the only player to…

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has given India’s star batter Virat Kohli a new name — “Virat consistent Kohli” — to describe Kohli’s recent dream run in international as well as domestic cricket. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Irfan said: “The way Virat Kohli is batting, we can call him ‘Virat consistent Kohli’. Kohli deserves praise for the way he approaches his innings, especially for stepping out regularly at 37. When a batter steps out regularly, many things can go wrong. But Kohli’s head position is strong, and it shows his technique is strong. Your core needs to be strong,…

Nandni Sharma delivered a memorable performance for Delhi Capitals (DC) in the ongoing Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2026 on January 11. In her second WPL match, she took a historic five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick against Gujarat Giants (GG) in Navi Mumbai. Nandni is currently the Purple Cap holder with seven wickets in two games. While addressing the media after the clash against GG, Nandni opened up about the trust and encouragement she received from her captain, Jemimah Rodrigues. “Jemi kept telling me to do my best. She was guiding me ball by ball and that helped me a lot,…

India’s wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul has opened up about how batting at No.6 has completely changed his approach to the game and helped him understand his batting better. He explained that the role is very different from opening the innings, as it requires quick thinking, fast scoring, and strong decision-making from the very first ball. In the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara, Rahul batted at No.6 and remained unbeaten on 29 off 21 balls, finishing the chase of 301 runs with one over and four wickets to spare. Speaking to the broadcasters after the match, Rahul explained how the…

Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis believes that India’s stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will decide when to retire based on how their bodies respond to the demands of the game. Speaking to ANI, Kallis said such decisions depend largely on fitness levels and personal readiness, especially at the later stage of a player’s career. “He (Virat Kohli) obviously knows his body when you want to call it quits. Hopefully, he goes out to the bank. He certainly deserves it. Fantastic player (Rohit Sharma) and hopefully he also deserves to go out to the bank.” When Kohli and Rohit…

Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Nandni Sharma created history as she became the fourth bowler in WPL history to take a hat-trick. She has now joined an elite list featuring Grace Harris (2025), Deepti Sharma (2024), and Issy Wong (2023). She achieved the milestone in the fourth match of the WPL 2026 between DC and Gujarat Giants (GG) on January 11, 2026. It was also the first hat-trick of this ongoing season. Nandni’s first wicket came in her second over when she dismissed Sophie Devine, who missed out on a century by just five runs. Devine was caught by Shree Charani…

Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 14 runs in the third encounter of the three-match T20I series in Dambulla. With this win, they levelled the series, as the second T20I was washed out and Pakistan had won the series opener. Due to rain, the match was reduced to 12 overs per side. Pakistan won the toss and opted to field. Sri Lanka had a poor start, losing Pathum Nissanka for a duck in the very first over. However, every Sri Lankan batter contributed thereafter to set up a competitive total of 160/6. Captain Dasun Shanaka was the top scorer, playing a…