SPORTS

A fired up Virat Kohli roared back to form with a fine half-century as Royal Challengers Bangalore stayed alive in the IPL play-off race with a thumping eight-wicket win over table toppers Gujarat Titans on Thursday. This was after skipper Hardik Pandya scored a gritty 47-ball 62 to lift GT to a competitive 168 for five after opting to bat. Kohli (73 off 54) and captain Fa du Plessis (44 off 38) shared a match-winning 115-run opening stand before Glenn Maxwell (40 not out off 18) went ballistic to ensure the team got home in 18.4 overs.

By virtue of this win, RCB moved to fourth place in the standings with 16 points but will have to wait for the Delhi Capitals-Mumbai Indians game on Saturday to know their fate. A loss for Delhi would ensure RCB a play-off berth.

Lucknow Super Giants became the second team to confirm a place in the play-offs this season with a thrilling 2-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders.

Rinku Singh batted superbly towards the end of the innings to bring Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the brink of victory only for the franchise to lose by two runs in the end, thanks to a brilliant comeback from Marnus Stoinis as Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) became only the second team to confirm a place in the play-offs in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Nitish Rana scored 42 runs while Shreyas Iyer scored a remarkable fifty in the chase. Batting first, LSG openers KL Rahul (68*) and Quinton de Kock (140*) remained not out and scored 210 runs in 20 overs. Their stand was the highest opening stand ever in the IPL.

Veteran India wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha dropped a fresh bombshell on Tuesday, by seeking an NOC to leave his domestic Ranji side Bengal.

The development comes less than 24 hours after he was named in the Bengal Ranji side for its upcoming quarterfinal against Jharkhand in Bengaluru from June 6.

According to sources close to Saha, the 37-year-old, who had pulled out of the Ranji league stage citing "personal reasons", was not consulted before naming him in the squad.

Delhi Capitals defeated Punjab Kings by 17 runs in an IPL match here on Monday to inch closer towards play-offs qualification as they climbed to fourth place in the points table. Batting first, Mitchell Marsh struck a fine half-century to take Delhi Capitals to 159 for 7 after a sudden middle-order collapse. Marsh scored 63 off 48 balls with four fours and three sixes while Sarfaraz Khan (32 off 16 balls) also made useful contribution.

For Punjab Kings, Liam Livingstone bowled both off-breaks and leg-breaks to pick up 3 for 27 in 4 overs. In reply, Punjab Kings managed 142 for 9 with Axar Patel (2/14 in 4 overs), Shardul Thakur (4/36 in 3 overs) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/14 in 3 overs) among wickets. Jitesh Sharma top-scored with 44 off 34 balls.

With cricket being the most popular sport in the country, it was natural that the first sport that the majority of us tried our hands at was cricket.

Most of us have fond memories of playing gully cricket with our friends but there were occasions which we hated the most.

A batter refusing to leave the field and arguing with the umpire even after getting out was the most annoying thing in any gully cricket match.

You must be wondering, why am I, all of a sudden, bringing all this up.