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Royal Challengers Bengaluru outclassed defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2025 opener.Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ticked off many boxes with a bold start to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 campaign that saw them decimate defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Virat Kohli, Krunal Pandya, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, etc. looked on song as the Bengaluru franchise secured a dominant 7-wicket victory in the season-opening clash on Saturday. The result also lifted fans’ hopes high, as chatter of RCB breaking their IPL title duck this season intensified, just after their first game of the campaign.While these are indeed early days in the tournament, the fans’ aspirations of “Ee Sala Cup Namde” skyrocketed, as many deemed that the squad is looking the most balanced the franchise has had in years.

A decision on India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics is set to take longer than expected as the IOC President on Thursday announced a “pause” on the entire process.

A decision on India’s bid for the 2036 Olympics is set to take longer than expected as the International Olympic Committee’s new President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday announced a “pause” on the entire process and set up a working group to figure out the “appropriate time” to identify a future host. In an online press conference after taking over as the first woman and the first African President of the IOC, the former Olympic champion swimmer said the consensus among the members was to reassess the process. Earlier, a decision on the bid was expected next year.

“There was an overwhelming support from the IOC members for a pause to be done and a review of the future host election process and we will be setting up a working group to look into this,” the 41-year-old Zimbabwean said after chairing her maiden executive board meeting in Lausanne.

“(This is) for two main reasons. Firstly, members want to be engaged more in the process and secondly there was a very big discussion on when should the next host be awarded,” he added in her opening remarks after the two-day meeting.

Coventry said the executive board members felt that the experience of already decided future hosts — Los Angles (2028 Summer Games), Brisbane (2032 Summer Games), French Alps (2030 Winter Games) — need to be studied before proceeding on future proposals.

“So there was a lot of discussion on when is the appropriate time to elect a future host. And also how we should be selecting a future host,” she added referring to the relatively shorter “lead-up time” that French Alps got due to awarding of the rights only last year.

India submitted a Letter of Intent to host the 2036 Games in October last year. A delegation, comprising high-ranking officials led by Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, is scheduled to be in Lausanne for informal talks on the issue next month.

Coventry said that visit will proceed as scheduled.

“We want all interested parties to be a part of this pause and reflect and of this review. I am aware of the delegation coming next weekend that will continue. They might be the first interested party for us to ask a couple of questions and to better understand from them.

“There is not going to be a specific pause on that but just on the entire process,” she said.

“We need to ensure that we have more membership engagement and also look at the timing. When is the most appropriate time, when is the best time, when is the most effective time (to decide an Olympic host).

“What is the most effective way we are not going to overburden any of the stakeholders,” she explained.

She, however, acknowledged that the global south (comprising Africa, the subcontinent and parts of Latin America) has been under-represented in the Olympic host movement.

“I think the Global South, in terms of host cities, is not really represented at all. But my job is to ensure that policies are in place to allow anyone who has the ability to host the Games,” she said.

ICC announced new powerplay rules for shortened T20 matches and clearly defined the number of overs allowed upfront with restricted field.The International Cricket Council on Thursday announced new powerplay rules for shortened T20 matches and clearly defined the number of overs allowed upfront with restricted field in its new Playing Conditions for the shortest format. As per the new rules effective from July, a reduced game of eight overs in an innings, which would have three overs as powerplay, will now have 2.2 overs of powerplay with only two fielders outside the 30-yard circle. Similarly, for a five-over innings, 1.3 overs will be of powerplay.

The ICC table on its website said for a six-over innings, 1.5 overs will be of powerplay; 2.1 overs of powerplay for a seven-over innings, 2.2 overs for an eight-over innings whereas a nine-over innings will have 2.4 overs of powerplay.

For an innings of 10 overs, three of those will be powerplay overs. For an 11-over innings, 3.2 overs will be of powerplay, for a 12-over innings, 3.4 overs will be of powerplay.

Similarly, 3.5 overs of powerplay will be for 13-over innings, 4.1 overs of powerplay for 14-over innings, 4.3 overs of powerplay for 15-over innings and 4.5 overs of powerplay has been slotted in the updated ICC table for 16-over innings.

Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh, 2nd Test Day 2 Highlights: Sri Lanka reached 290 for 2, with a lead of 43 runs at Stumps.A sublime unbeaten 146 by opener Pathum Nissanka and his crucial 194-run second-wicket stand with Dinesh Chandimal (93) helped Sri Lanka finish Day 2 of the first Test against Bangladesh in firm control, reaching stumps on 290 for 2 for a lead of 43 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo on Thursday. Nissanka scored a hundred in his second successive match after compiling a brilliant 187 in the first innings of the drawn Test of the series at Galle. It was a dominant batting display on a surface that had caused plenty of problems for Bangladesh just a day earlier, as Sri Lanka outclassed the visitors in every department. 

Gautam Gambhir defended captain Shubman Gill’s decision to under bowl Shardul Thakur in the series opener against England but it would be tough to justify his selection in the second Test beginning on July 2 India head coach Gautam Gambhir defended captain Shubman Gill’s decision to under bowl Shardul Thakur in the series opener against England but it would be tough to justify his selection in the second Test beginning on July 2. In his first Test since December 2023, Shardul was under-utilised in the pace department and was rather underwhelming with the bat, totalling five off 20 balls across two innings. Questions were raised about his presence in the playing eleven ahead of a specialist bowler when he rolled his arm over for six overs in the first innings before bowling 10 in the second. Like he often does, Shardul did pick a couple of wickets out of nowhere to raise hopes of an Indian comeback on day five but the bite in his bowling was missing. He alongside the likes of Prasidh Krishna offered too many loose balls, lacking consistency to test the opposition batters

During the entire Test, India dropped as many as eight catching opportunities, which tipped the scales in England’s favourdespite scoring a ton for India vs England in the 1st Test in Leeds, got quite a lot of flak due to his fielding mistakes. During the entire Test, India dropped as many as eight catching opportunities, which tipped the scales in England’s favour. The eight dropped chances cost India a whopping 250 runs, a valuable tally that held the power to change the visitors’ fate. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the prime offender with four dropped chances, followed by other top fielders. 

Italian Serie A side Lazio have brought back Romano Floriani Mussolini back to the club following a successful campaign at Serie B club Juve StabiaMussolini is back in Rome. Italian Serie A team Lazio have brought back Romano Floriani Mussolini back to the club following a successful campaign at Serie B side Juve Stabia where he was on loan. Romano is the great-grandson of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. He is the son of Alessandra Mussolini, a former European MP for Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party. The 22-year-old right back was first bought by Lazio in 2022 but did not play a game. He spent the 2023-24 season in Pescara (32 matches) on loan and then went to Juve StabiaAccording to a report in laziali.com. Mussolini was regular starter for Juve Stabia, making 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring one goal and had four assists. Juve Stabia wanted to buy him but Lazio bought him back. 

Fascist fan groups are common across Italy but Lazio’s hardcore supporters have a connection to the extreme right which stretches back to at least the 1970s. Their historic ultras group, the ‘Irriducibili’, had friendly relations with their equally right-wing counterparts at Inter and Verona.

Verona fans have aimed monkey chants at former Italy striker Mario Balotelli and AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie, hung swastikas in the stands at the Bentegodi and in one bizarre incident in 2014 parked cars at a party for fans in such a way so that they made the shape of the Nazi symbol.

Some 20 years ago former club president Giambattista Pastorello said he wouldn’t sign a black player for the club because of the likely reaction from supporters.

Nine years before that an effigy of black Dutchman Maickel Ferrier had been hung from the stands by fans wearing Ku Klux Klan hoods in protest at his potential — and subsequently aborted — signing for the club.

Prithvi Shaw has revealed that legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar continues to have faith that he can bounce back.career has taken a sharp nosedive in recent years. 2024/25 saw the talented opener dropped from Mumbai’s domestic teams, and he also went unsold in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction. However, despite all the downs, Shaw has revealed that legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar still has the faith that he can bounce back. He stated that after his own father, it is Tendulkar who has been a strong support system for him, revealing that he also shares a great bond with Tendulkar’s son, Arjun.

KL Rahul had a good start to the England Test series. He scored 42 runs in his first innings and followed it up with a well-crafted 137, albeit in a losing cause.India’s star batter KL Rahul had a good start to the England Test series. He scored 42 runs in his first innings and followed it up with a well-crafted 137, albeit in a losing cause in the first Test in Leeds. Rahul has been opening the batting for India in the ongoing series after Rohit Sharma called time on his career in May this year. Rahul, who has mostly been used as a floater in India’s batting line-up, has lived up to the expectations so far. Talking about his performance in the first Test against England, the credit for it goes to his commitment. Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani has pointed out Rahul’s commitment. He said that the player preferred the country over his newborn.

“I really liked the fact that he was someone who said, ‘I want to go to England early. I want to play the side game.’ Forget about the hundred he got – that came later. The intent – that’s what matters. The intent to be there early, to be prepared, to be with the side. Let’s not forget, he’s a young father, and I don’t think his child is travelling with him initially. So for him to say, ‘Country over my child’ – that’s a huge call,” Hemang Badani told Times of India.

“He could’ve easily said, ‘I’m not playing the side game anyway, I’ll just go straight to the Test match.’ But he didn’t,” he added.

Rahul was part of the Intra-Squad match that took place between India and India A. This was the only match simulation for the Indian cricket team ahead of the games vs England.

“KL made a statement I remember ahead of the Test series: ‘I care for this team, and I want to be here.’ He wanted to go to England. I could see the hunger in his eyes and in his words. In the absence of Rohit and Virat, he becomes the senior-most batter – and he has played that role really well,” said Badani.

“He’s played in England before. And in terms of maturity and technique, you can clearly see he’s more focused now. He knows he has to fill the vacuum left behind. The rest of the squad – apart from Karun – are mostly under 30. So he has to guide players like Sai Sudharsan, Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy – all of whom are new to this level,” he added. Despite welcoming his baby in March, Rahul left no stone unturned to prepare himself for the England Test series.

Indian cricket team, under the leadership of new captain Shubman Gill, suffered a disappointing five-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the first Test in Leeds.Indian cricket team, under the leadership of new captain Shubman Gill, suffered a disappointing five-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the first Test in Leeds. The match, which seemed to be heading towards a draw, was turned on its head due to a poor batting effort from India’s lower order. In the chase of 371 runs in the fourth innings, England reached home in the final session of the match. They did it quite comfortably as the Indian bowlers struggled for wickets. Former India player Ravi Shastri said that Virat Kohli was missed during the game. As England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley batted through the first session on Day 5 to take England to 117 for 0, Shastri said, “India need someone to do a Kohli. Should be someone designated. Kohli could do it for 3 people. Get in the face.”

Another ex-India star, Madal Lal, too echoed Shastri’s comment. “We were missing the passion and intensity Virat Kohli brought to the game. Ravi Shastri was right,” wrote Madan Lal on X after India’s loss to England.