Delhi Capitals (DC) started the new IPL season with a thumping six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, and the DC skipper Axar Patel accepted that he is 'very happy with his bowling unit.' Asked to bat first, LSG were bowled out for 141 thanks to the seamer Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan's three wickets apiece. Riding on Sameer Rizvi's unbeaten 70 runs, DC chased down the target comfortably and started their campaign with an easy two points. Speaking during the post-match presentation, Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant said, "It finished early, but in the middle it had become close. We just needed one partnership, and that's what we spoke about in the break. Very happy with the bowling effort. When we started with the ball, we knew there was a bit of help for the bowlers, which was communicated to whoever was coming onto bowl. You see how the match is going, there was a bigger and smaller boundary, and I was seeing who I could bowl, in the end, I might have miscalculated." Speaking about the Player of the Match, Sameer Rizvi, he said, "The plan was to play Rizvi, but also have the option to Ashutosh Sharma. Last year, Ashu did it in the first game and this time, Rizvi. He works hard on his game and keeps asking how he can improve himself." Rizvi played an unbeaten knock of 70 runs off just 47 balls, which helped his side chase down a challenging target of 142 runs with six wickets and 17 balls to spare. Reacting to the defeat in the first match of the season, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant said, "I think the best way to recover from it is to ignore (on his unlucky run-out). I think that's the best way looking forward because you know something like that, you can't control, but thinking about it definitely puts you on the back foot. On the idea behind sending Badoni ahead of Pooran in the batting order, he said, "I think the idea was very simple. Like he's taking charge in the middle overs. He's not batting in the top order anymore because I'm batting up the order. And that's why it happened because, you know, we wanted to explore that lefty-righty option at the top, so they couldn't bowl a left-arm spinner. Unfortunately, I got out at the wrong time. Otherwise, Axar Patel still had to bowl one over in the power play, and that gives us the edge over them." Rishabh Pant came to open the LSG innings, and when asked if he would open the batting for LSG throughout the season, Pant said, "I think it's a 50-50 call, but we'll see. But you will definitely see me in the top order." Delhi Capitals have now secured five consecutive wins against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL, making them the third team against whom DC has achieved such a streak. Previously, they had also won five consecutive matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad between 2020 and 2023, and against Rajasthan Royals from 2018 to 2020. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 April,2026 11:06 AM IST | Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) | ANIFormer Pakistan captain Younis Khan is unhappy with the massive fine imposed on fast bowler Naseem Shah by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his reported comments against a political leader on social media, saying that such actions is not in the best of the players and the game. Shah was reprimanded and fined by the disciplinary committee of the PCB after a tweet on his social media account, where he made some sarcastic remarks about the Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who had visited the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on March 27 during the opening match of the Pakistan Super League. The board's committee reached its verdict in just three days imposing the heavy fine of 20 million rupees on Shah for breaching the players code of conduct. Younis said that the fine was excessive and could have been avoided. "Once Naseem (Shah) had apologised for the tweet and also made it clear his social media manager was behind it and he had fired him, now the board could have let Naseem off with a warning and much lesser fine," Younis said. He said such actions only contribute in demoralising players. "The board should be taking care of its players." Younis said that if things are taken so seriously then even selectors and officials of the board should be fined when they make misleading statements or fail in their duties. He urged the PCB to reconsider its decision as Shah had shown his remorse for the incident. The PCB after Shah's tweet has issued fresh guidelines for all its centrally contracted and domestic contracted players that they or their social media managers have to first get clearance from the board before posting anything on social media and that no posts of political nature would be tolerated. The board has made it clear any political posts can lead to a 10 million rupees fine. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsYounis Khanoever
02 April,2026 11:02 AM IST | Karachi | PTIHis friends used to fondly call him "Vivian Richards of Mumbai" for the way he used to bat but Anil Gurav, one of Dronacharya Award winning coach late Ramakant Achrekar's earlier disciples, could never make the grade due to choices that he made and lived on to regret. Gurav, who is said to have been one of Acherkar's best students but never made it to the Mumbai side beyond playing club-level cricket, passed away here on Tuesday at his residence in Nalasopara. Gurav was a few years senior to legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli at the Shardashram Vidyamandir, and it is said that coach Achrekar would even take the two batters who went on to play for India to watch their senior at the nets. "Achrekar sir used to make Sachin and others watch him in the nets. He was a player that one could learn from," recalled Nadim Memon, a veteran Mumbai curator and councillor in the Mumbai Cricket Association. "He was among Achrekar sir's favourite boys," he added. Despite his talent, Gurav could never make it to the senior level. He played in the U-16 and U-19 levels, while also represented Acherkar's Sassanian Cricket Club and Kamath Memorial. "His friends used to call him 'Vivian Richards of Mumbai' not only because he had a square cut which looked similar but he was equally good on the leg-side," Memon said. Gurav is also believed to have given his bat to Tendulkar during their school days with which the latter scored his first century in competitive cricket. It is said that Gurav's brother Ajit was involved in illicit activities which led to a lot of trouble being faced by the family from the police. While his career never took off, Gurav also took up the habit of drinking and drifted away from the game. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 April,2026 10:48 AM IST | Mumbai | PTIRishabh Pant promoted himself up the order in Lucknow Super Giants opening defeat to Delhi Capitals but the skipper isn't sure whether he would be facing the new ball through out the entire course of Indian Premier League this season. Pant (7) was run-out at non-striker's end after Mukesh Kumar of DC deflected a straight hit from Mitchell Marsh but the data indicates that the flamboyant left-hander has been at his best when he has opened the innings. In 23 games that he has opened across all T20s, his strike-rate has been 159 with a century and five fifties. "It's a 50-50 call," Pant said when asked if he would continue opening throughout instead of the crack pair of Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh. Asked about his run-out, Pant said: "The best way to recover is to ignore the run-out. You can't control something like that, but thinking about it puts you under pressure." He also conceded that he was forced to bring in all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Sub after a batting collapse which effectively ended a chance to play a specialist spinner in Digvesh Rathi. "We didn't secure a partnership, so we had to use the option as an impact sub because we were a few runs short." He also defended the move to send Ayush Badoni ahead of Nicholas Pooran. "The idea was simple - he would take charge in the middle overs since I opened (on Pooran battng at 5). We had a role defined for Badoni, when we lose early wickets, that's the time he can make a mark. "There was enough with the new ball, but you can't put the opposition under pressure. But the way the boys bowled, that's a positive," he said. Pant admitted that 16 wides in a defence of 142 did hurt LSG. "Extras hurt, but when you're trying to defend a small score, you tend to put in the extra effort." DC skipper Axar Patel said that since wickets fell early, young Sameer Rizvi, who won the game with an unbeaten 70 off 47 balls, was sent early. "Had it been towards the end, we would have sent Ashutosh Sharma. But the way Ashu played in last season and this season Sameer, I couldn't be happier." Rizvi, on his part, said: "Coaches backed me throughout last season and I was told that I will bat No. 4 throughout the season come what may. When we lost four wickets, Stubbs told me not to take undue risk as ball was swinging. So plan was to hit the loose balls for boundaries." This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 April,2026 10:40 AM IST | Lucknow | PTIIndia women’s cricket team spinner Shreyanka Patil made it amply clear who her allegiance lies with at the ongoing IPL through her latest Instagram post. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Shreyanka Patil (@shreyanka_patil31) Patil, 23, shared this picture, wearing a short red dress, to her 4.9 million Insta followers with the caption: “It’s that time of the year where I just can’t look beyond red. #RCB #RCBfans.” The post received nearly five lakh ‘likes.’ Patil’s love for RCB should come as no surprise. The talented offie picked up as many as 11 wickets across nine matches of the Women’s Premier League this season to help RCB clinch their second title.
02 April,2026 10:25 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentMumbai has two world-class cricket venues in the Wankhede Stadium and the DY Patil Stadium besides of course the Brabourne Stadium — all three situated within a 35 km corridor. However, the country’s commercial capital is an infrastructure-saturated zone. And due to this, pushing for a new one-lakh capacity cricket stadium in Thane — as proposed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis — risks creating a geographical white elephant that could remain underutilised for most part of the year. To truly honour the chief minister’s pledge of expanding playing spaces, the government should pivot from the mega-structure plan to Mumbai’s age-old maidans concept. Mumbai’s cricketing future depends on reviving its vanishing maidan culture, not by adding more concrete to an already saturated mix, and the Mumbai Cricket Association will be better served by prioritising versatile open grounds for its local tournaments and grassroots programme. The state should conduct immediate feasibility studies on repurposing specific plots like the unreserved Mulund dumping ground, the surplus Kanjurmarg metro land, and/or the Eastern Waterfront (MbPT). The Mulund dumping ground, a 50-acre site undergoing bio-mining, has recently seen proposals for a golf course. However, a golf course serves only the elite few, whereas a new ‘North Azad Maidan’ could benefit thousands of local cricketers. Transforming underutilised land parcels into playgrounds is more feasible than creating another international venue. It’s time to prioritise players, who need pitches to bat/bowl on, over stadiums with empty seats. After all Mumbai’s cricketing legacy is built on active grit, not grandstands. Jagdish Achrekar was MCA’s Treasurer before the 2022 elections The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper
02 April,2026 09:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Jagdish AchrekarPunjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer was fined Rs 12 lakh after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their IPL match against Gujarat Titans here.Punjab Kings defeated GT by three wickets to start their IPL 2026 campaign on a winning note. "As this was his team's first offence of the season under Article 2.22 of the IPL's Code of Conduct, which pertains to minimum over-rate offences, Iyer was fined INR 12 lakhs," stated a media release. Pacer Vyshak Vijayakumar and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal shared five wickets among them as PBKS limited GT to 162 for six. Despite a stuttering batting effort, Punjab went past the line in 19.1 overs. Young Australian batter Cooper Connolly led them home with an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 April,2026 09:44 AM IST | Mullanpur | PTIPunjab Kings batter Cooper Connolly says head coach Ricky Ponting told him to dominate while he looked forward to learning from captain Shreyas Iyer on his IPL debut against Gujarat Titans. Connolly struck a match-winning 72 not out (44 balls; 5 fours, 5 sixes) in his maiden IPL outing as Punjab Kings made a winning start to IPL 2026 here on Tuesday. "I woke up in the morning with a little bit of nerves, which I was really happy about. I was really looking forward to getting out there and playing my part the best I can," Connolly told JioStar. "Ricky Ponting just kept me calm and collected. He told me to play my game, go out there and dominate. It was a nice team performance. We were very strong with the ball and made things easier for ourselves." "I was looking forward to spending time out in the middle with Shreyas Iyer and just sort of picking his brains a little bit. He's a world-class player. I've played a little bit of cricket with (against) him for Australia A and Australia. He is a great player for a reason, and hopefully, I can learn as much as I can," he added. The 22-year-old said he looks up to former Australia and PBKS player Shaun Marsh as his idol. "It was a nice moment when I got picked up. Shaun Marsh was the first person I spoke to about it and he gave me some good words," Connolly said. "Growing up, I played at Western Australia with him for a long period of time and he has always been good to me. I looked up to him as a mentor and an idol," he added. Meanwhile, legendary India spinner Anil Kumble expressed his surprise at Gujarat Titans bringing on their most successful bowler from last season Prasidh Krishna late into the attack. Prasidh returned 4-0-29-3 but his late spell could not avert a defeat for the Titans. "It was very surprising that the Gujarat Titans brought in Prasidh Krishna, the Purple Cap holder (in IPL 2025), only in the 13th over," Kumble said. "...that short length troubled all batters throughout the game and Prasidh found that very early in his spell. But he was brought in too late in the innings. You rarely have a bowler bowl all four overs in the last eight overs of the innings. "You can't hold him back like that, and that's why the last over of Prasidh Krishna went for 14 runs. For GT's sake, Prasidh should have possibly bowled at least one over between the sixth and 10th overs, because he was ideally suited to that surface," Kumble added. Talking about Yuzvendra Chahal who returned a fine 4-0-28-2, Kumble said the veteran leg-spinner made smart changes throughout his spells. "He didn't try too many variations in terms of how he set up the batter. He kept bowling slightly wider and was very smart in that sense. He looked at the conditions and then aimed for the bigger side of the ground," Kumble noticed. "He knew that if someone had to take him on that side, they had to connect really well, which they couldn't. Those wickets of Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler came at the right time for Punjab Kings, because Gill was looking good to capitalise on a strong start," he added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
02 April,2026 09:39 AM IST | Mullanpur | PTIKolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad brace for battle at the Eden Gardens after defeats in their IPL-19 openers last weekend. Both posted 200-plus totals, only to find them inadequate, Royal Challengers Bengaluru blasting their way past SRH’s 201 in Bengaluru, while Mumbai Indians overwhelmed 221 at Wankhede vs KKR. While conditions at both venues were grossly ‘batting friendly’, there was no missing the fact that the bowling units of both SRH and KKR lost the plot. Under pressure, the bowling lost shape and shoddy fielding made things worse. SRH had to recover after their top-order misfired, while the Knights squandered momentum after openers Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen had provided a rollicking start. The areas that need addressing became obvious, and Thursday should reveal results of rectifications. Rather expectedly, the Eden track too has a bias for batsmen, but will, as always, also lend itself to subtle skills. Both teams have key pacers missing due to injuries and other factors, and it will be up to Vaibhav Arora to pick up the reins for KKR even as Blessing Muzarabani and Kartik Tiyagi find their feet in the big league. Aussie Cameron Green, carrying a lower-back injury, continues to not get the clearance to bowl. His restriction on bowling as instructed by Cricket Australia, was highlighted by KKR skipper Rahane after their last defeat. So, why pick him (for a record Rs 25.20 crore) when you knew he wouldn’t be able to bowl, KKR head coach Abhishek Nayar was asked on Wednesday. “The idea of picking a player in an auction is not always short-sighted. For us, Cameron Green the cricketer and all-rounder was really important. As a franchise, we invest in the player, and what he can bring to the table at his best, and we know what Green can do. We felt he could [ultimately] take that Russell legacy forward,” he replied, before adding: “It’s just unfortunate that he hasn’t been able to bowl so far.” Meanwhile, bowling surely is SRH’s weakest link, and they sorely miss another Aussie, Pat Cummins. 8-3KKR’s win-loss record against SRH at the Eden Gardens Five No. of games KKR have won against SRH in their last six encounters 10No. of wickets picked by Cameron Green in 13 IPL matches for RCB in the 2024 edition
02 April,2026 09:32 AM IST | Kolkata | Arup ChatterjeeDelhi Capitals started off their IPL 2026 campaign with a win away against the Lucknow Super Giants. DC chased LSG's total of 142 runs with 6 wickets in hand and 3 overs to spare.Sameer Rizvi starred with the bat for DC as he scored an unbeaten 70 runs of 47 balls to guide his team home. He was well supported by Tristian Stubbs, who scored 39 runs off 32 balls and helped DC recover from an early collapse.Speaking after the defeat, LSG captain Rishabh Pant admitted that his team fell short with the bat. The southpaw further added that he was happy with the team's fightback in the early overs with the ball in hand."When you score 140, you are not really going to put opposition under pressure, especially on a good wicket like this. But you know, one positive that, you know, boys fought hard, the way we bowled, especially the way we started, definitely some good signs going ahead in the season." Pant said.Talking about his batting position in the next matches, Pant remained coy on whether he will open the innings again. "I think it’s a 50-50 call, but we’ll see. But you will definitely see me in the top order," he added. LSG's next game is against SRH, while Delhi Capitals will face the Mumbai Indians. Axar Patel happy with Sameer Rizvi's performance DC skipper Axar Patel was delighted with his team's performance and praised his bowling unit for restricting the opponents to a low total. He further praised Sameer Rizvi for his match-winning knock and was impressed by the young star's shot selection in a crucial stage of the innings."It finished early but in the middle it had become close. We just needed one partnership, and that's what we spoke about in the break. Very happy with the bowling effort. The plan was to play Rizvi, but also have the option to Ashutosh Sharma. Last year Ashu did it in the first game and this time Rizvi. He works hard on his game and keeps asking how he can improve himself." Axar Patel said.
01 April,2026 11:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentDelhi Capitals started off their IPL 2026 campaign with a win away against the Lucknow Super Giants. The Axar Patel-led outfit survived an early scare before chasing LSG's total of 142 runs with 6 wickets in hand.Sameer Rizvi starred with the bat for DC as he scored an unbeaten 40 runs of 47 balls to guide his team home. He was well supported by Tristian Stubbs, who scored 39 runs off 32 balls and helped DC recover from an early collapse.Delhi Capitals lost early wickets in the power play while chasing LSG's total. KL Rahul departed on the first ball of the innings as he was caught on the boundary on Mohammed Shami's bowling. Wickets continued to tumble for Delhi as they lost Nitish Rana and Pathum Nissanka in quick succession. Nitish Rana was caught in the slips and was dismissed for 15 runs off 17 balls. Axar Patel came in at number 5 but was dismissed for a golden duck, getting clean bowled on the first ball he faced. Prince Yadav starred with the ball for LSG, taking 2 wickets in an over and putting LSG back in the game.At the end of the power play, LSG were 33 runs for the loss of 4 wickets with Tristian Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi at the crease. The duo stitched a partnership of over 100 runs and guided the visitors to an important victory in their first game of the season. DC restricted LSG to 141 runs in the first innings Having put to bat first, Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) opening batsman Mitchell Marsh scored 35 runs off 28 deliveries, including two boundaries and three maximums. Captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was dismissed on 7 runs. The LSG skipper was unfortunate to be run out and started his IPL 2026 campaign with a low score.Ayush Badoni was dismissed on a duck, while star batter Nicholas Pooran managed to score just 8 runs. Abdul Samad played a fighting knock of 36 runs in 25 balls to propel his team towards a competitive total of 141 runs.DC's Lungi Ngidi and T Natarajan claimed 3 wickets each. Kuldeep Yadav also returned with the figures of 2 wickets for 31 runs in 4 overs. Skipper Axar Patel chipped in with 1 wicket.
01 April,2026 11:11 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
-1775067422599_d.png "Rishabh Pant (Pic: AFP)")
