SPORTS

Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 12 runs in match 23 of the of the ongoing IPL 2022 season at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Chasing a target of 199, MI were restricted to a total of 186 for nine. Dewald Brevis top-scored for MI with a counter-attacking 49 while Odean Smith was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, having bagged four wickets. Earlier, PBKS managed to post a total of 198 for five against MI. After being put into bat first, openers Shikhar Dhawan (70) and Mayank Agarwal (52) hit half-centuries to give PBKS a solid platform, before Jitesh Sharma also played a fine knock of 30 not out. For MI, Basil Thampi took two wickets while Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat and M Ashwin also bagged a wickets each. Earlier, MI won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Former World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga has asked Sri Lankan players in IPL to leave the tournament and join the protestors amidst the worsening situation in the country. Sri Lanka is in the midst of a financial crisis with the foreign exchange severely hit, affecting its capacity to import food and fuel.

"I really don’t know but there are some cricketers who are lavishly playing in the IPL and haven’t spoken about their country. Unfortunately, people are scared to speak against the government. These cricketers are also working for the cricket board under the ministry and they are trying to protect their jobs. But now they have to take a step as some of the young cricketers also came forward and gave statements in support of the protest,” Arjuna Ranatunga told a news agency.

Former India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar is not someone to mince his words. Be it on the field or in the commentator's box, Gavaskar's words always manage to impress as well as entertain people. Keeping up with his streak of witty remarks, Gavaskar again hit the ball out of the stadium during an IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants.

During the match break, while the screen was showing the beautifully lit Marine Drive in Mumbai, Gavaskar had a request from his fellow British commentator Alan Wilkins. While comparing Marine Drive to the Queen's necklace, Gavaskar told Wilkins, "We are still awaiting the Kohinoor diamond".

Openers Prithvi Shaw and David Warner's fearless batting laid the foundation as Delhi Capitals out-batted Kolkata Knight Riders by 44 runs to notch up their second win in the IPL, on Sunday. On a batting belter, KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer's decision to put Delhi Capitals in backfired as they piled up 215 for five riding on half-centuries from Shaw (51 off 29 balls) and Warner (61 off 45 balls). In reply, KKR were all-out for 171 in 19.4 overs and it was left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav's evening at the Brabourne Stadium as he exacted sweet revenge against a franchise that didn't treat him too well during his stint as his career came to a halt.

SSudharsan made his IPL debut for Gujarat Titans on Friday after Vijay Shankar was ruled out with a back spasm. Here's a lowdown on the 20-year-old left-handed Tamil Nadu batter.

He was the breakout star of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) 2021, where he was the second-highest run-getter with 358 runs in eight innings at an average of 71.60 and strike rate of 143.77, in Lyca Kovai Kings' run to the Eliminator. Sai Sudharsan was previously part of Chepauk Super Gillies at the TNPL, but didn't make his debut until last year. After impressing in TNPL 2021 with his strokeplay, Sai Sudharsan was fast-tracked into Tamil Nadu's white-ball and Ranji Trophy sides.