Latest News
IPL 2025: Patidar, bowlers lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru to first win over Chennai Super Kings in Chennai since 2008
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ended their Chennai jinx in style, beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) there got the first time since the first IPL – by a whopping 50 runs, CSK’s biggest defeat at home. The contest was so dead that more than half of CSK’s chase was all about finding out if and when MS Dhoni would bat. He eventually did so at No. 9, only for the second time in his career.
The build-up was all about how RCB would tackle 12 overs of spin, but the conditions rolled out inverted the spotlight: how would CSK handle eight overs of traditional seam and swing from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazelwood? Not very well, as their combined figures of 7-0-41-4 demonstrated.
And that after RCB’s batters dominated the CSK attack on what was not a straightforward pitch. Like Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar, Khaleel Ahmed drew seam movement and extra bounce, but CSK didn’t have any more such bowlers. Rajat Patidar led RCB’s innings, full of intent, capitalising on a dropped catch when he was on 17, and finishing with 51 off 32 balls. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were allowed to bowl only five overs, which were taken for 59 runs.
Khaleel drew some seam movement and uneven bounce in the first over, but CSK hadn’t planned for such conditions. They don’t have quick bowlers who can hit the good length and just short. They were going to open with Ashwin, and they did. Only for the first ball to not come out right and for Phil Salt to pull him for a six. The over went for 16, forcing the early introduction of Noor.
On his way to the Purple Cap, Noor and Dhoni recreated a lightning stumping to get rid of Salt for 32 off 16 balls, but Devdutt Padikkal denied them any relief. The left-hand batter took down Jadeja in ways Jadeja is not accustomed to: a sweep and a charge down the wicket to consign him to a 15-run first over.
When Ashwin got Padikkal out for 27 off 14 deliveries, CSK would have hoped to re-establish control. But the presence of Patidar meant they were not able to bowl spin at Virat Kohli, who struggled to achieve even a run a ball. Patidar took a six off Noor the moment he overpitched. Kohli, playing Matheesha Pathirana for the first time, took 16 runs off his second over, and RCB were 109 for 2 in 11 overs.
Like Ashwin earlier, Jadeja nearly had his own back when he drew a mis-hit from the enterprising Patidar, but Deepak Hooda dropped a sitter at long-off. In the next two overs, Patidar offered three half-chances, but none of them was taken. Kohli’s offering was taken, though, and the pressure on Liam Livingstone, and eventually his wicket, reduced RCB to 145 for 4 in the 16th over.
RCB kept the intent up, though, and Jitesh Sharma hit the second ball he played for the shot of the match, an inside-out drive off a Noor wrong’un over extra cover for six. Patidar played a delectable pick-up shot off a Pathirana slower ball in the next over. This 27-run stand in 13 balls gave RCB the impetus they needed before the death overs.
In the death overs, though, both fell, even resulting in just one run off the 19th over, bowled by Pathirana. However, Tim David took them 20 past what CSK believed to be par with three sixes in the last over, bowled by Sam Curran, who has now bowled four overs for 47 runs in two matches.
Hazlewood got Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in his first over with steep bounce, and Bhvuneshwar took his 73rd powerplay wicket when he nicked off Hooda.
Dhoni kept teasing his fans by batting after Jadeja and Ashwin. Yet there were 4.4 overs left when he walked out to bat at No. 9. Only in the last two overs did he get some hits in, but couldn’t avoid a record home defeat.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 196 for 7 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 51, Phil Salt 32, Virat Kohli 31, Devdutt Padikkal 27, Liam Livingstone 10, Jitesh Sharma 12, Tim David 22*; Khaleel Ahmed 1-28, Ravichandran Ashwin 1-22, Noor Ahmad 3-36, Maheesha Pathirana 2-36) beat Chennai Super Kings 146 for 8 in 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 41, Shivam Dube 19, Ravindra Jadeja 25, Ravichandran Ashwin 11, MS Dhoni 30*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 1-20, Josh Hazlewood 3-21, Yash Dayal 2-18, Liam Livingstone 2-28) by 50 runs
[Cricinfo]
A total of 146 players will be competing for 27 available slots in the WPL 2027 mini auction on October 28 in Kochi. Of these, England batter Sophia Dunkley and Australia captain Sophie Molineux are the only two players who have listed themselves at the maximum base price of INR 50 lakh.
The auction pool has 119 Indian players, including 22 capped and 97 uncapped players, with 20 slots available for Indian players. The overseas pool has 27 players – 14 capped and 13 uncapped – including six from Associate teams, with seven slots available.
G Kamalini (released by Mumbai Indians), Kiran Navigre (released by U P Warriorz), Heather Graham and Jess Jonassen have registered at the second-highest base price of INR 40 lakh, while a total of 30 players have registered at INR 30 lakh.
Among the notable absentees are West Indies allrounder Deandra Dottin, who was released by UPW, and Australia legspinner Alana King, who was released by Delhi Capitals. Lizelle Lee, who was DC’s highest run-scorer last season, has also not listed herself after being released by the franchise.
What the teams look like going into the auction
Only two English players – Dunkley and Kira Chathli (INR 10 lakh) – have registered for the auction, with several others, including Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Alice Capsey, Dani Gibson, Lauren Filer and Linsey Smith opting to skip the WPL next year.
Cricinfo has learned that England are likely to play three T20Is in Sri Lanka in early February, which will clash with the final week of the WPL. While the ECB is likely to allow players to stay in India to complete the tournament, most players have instead chosen to prioritise their international commitments ahead of the Champions Trophy later that month.
The relatively low salaries on offer at the WPL are also understood to be a factor in many English players deciding not to register, with most internationals earning significantly more to play in the Hundred (up to £190,000 last year) than the highest permitted base price in the WPL of INR 50 lakh (£40,000 approx).
Molineux was part of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru [RCB] title-winning squad in 2024, and had bagged 12 wickets in ten games at an economy rate of 7.31. She was retained by RCB for the 2025 season but a knee injury ruled her out of the season. Dunkley, meanwhile, played for Gujarat Giants [GT] in 2023 before opting not to register for the 2024 season. She went unsold in the 2025 auction.
Among the premier internationals who have listed themselves for INR 30 lakh are Australia allrounder Grace Harris (released by RCB), Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, South Africa left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba and South Africa allrounder Chloe Tryon.
UPW, who released nine players, will go into the auction with the biggest purse of INR 3.75 crore.
[Cricinfo]
Pakistan withstood a middle-order counterattack from Pavan Rathnayake and Janith Liyanage to see off Sri Lanka by 37 runs. In the first match of a tri-series that also includes England, the pair appeared to have put Sri Lanka on course with a 119-run fifth wicket partnership, with the visitors well in front and requiring just 55 from the last seven overs. Liyanage’s wicket, however, saw the bottom fall out of the side, with Sri Lanka losing their last five wickets for 15 runs to allow Pakistan to breathe a sigh of relief.
The win had been set up by Salman Agha, who marked his return to the Pakistan side with his fourth ODI hundred to hold off a collapse and steer the hosts past 300. By the 22nd over, Pakistan had lost four wickets, and looked vulnerable with a relatively long tail. However, Salman’s 90-ball 107 navigated Pakistan expertly out of danger with sizeable partnerships with Hasan Nawaz and Arafat Minhas.
Sri Lanka deprived Shaheen Afridi’s side of a big finish, though, with Eshan Malinga and Asitha Fernando striking multiple blows in the death overs to ultimately bowl Pakistan out for 305. Those runs they had left on the table looked set to cost them dear at the climax of the context. The dew had set in, and Rathnayake and Liyanage were beginning to reverse Pakistan’s early dominance that had seen them skittle Sri Lanka’s top four with few dents made to the chase.
Afridi rotated his cast of bowlers, but aside from Naseem Shah, there appeared no remedy to the free flow of runs. Haris Rauf, Minhas, Saim Ayub and Afridi himself were all worked over, particularly by Rathnayake, who was especially methodical in the way he timed his innings to dance in tune to the required rate. Afridi was sensationally blown out of the attack with a pair of pulled sixes off the hips, in stark contrast to Pakistan’s own struggles against the short ball.
A pair of tight overs from Faheem Ashraf finally induced Rathnayake into a false stroke as he spooned one to Salman at short cover, only for Dasun Shanaka to pick up the slack. But with 53 runs to go, Liyanage chipped Rauf to long-on, and Pakistan blew the house down. Afridi prised Shanaka out the following over, and though the tail limped on briefly, it was only a matter of time.
Pakistan will look back fondly at their dominance in the first 25 overs, which closely mirrored Sri Lanka’s own success in the first innings. Sri Lanka’s top order was ineffective in keeping pace with the asking rate, and Naseem bowled a tidy spell up front, which included the wicket of Avishka Fernando. Ashraf took a sharp catch after Saad Baig dropped the skier, the allrounder showing good reflexes to scoop the ball up. It was, all told, a difficult evening behind the stumps for the debutant, and, in truth, a poor day out for Pakistan’s fielders throughout the innings.
Sri Lanka’s fortune with the toss had carried over to the ODI series, and they inserted Pakistan in Rawalpindi. There was early swing on offer, but it was the extra pace from Dilshan Madushanka that accounted for both openers. Ayub and Fakhar Zaman were both undone by the short delivery, leaving Babar Azam and Baig to rebuild.
The duo put on 74 and were beginning to get the asking rate ticking upwards. However, Babar’s frustrating recent knack of giving away auspicious starts reared its familiar head once more. Malinga was Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler through the innings, and he landed one short that rushed onto Babar, who was late on the pull just five shy of a half-century. Soon after Baig, who had shown promise as well as a willingness to pull rather than back away from bouncers, miscued one himself, holing out to deep fine leg.
It was precisely the sort of situation Salman – dropped from both the Test side and T20 captaincy in the last two months – thrives in, rebuilding during the middle overs of an ODI. He did so flawlessly, halting Sri Lanka’s momentum while staying on top of the run rate, keeping the strike ticking along, and adeptly covering for Nawaz, who had made a more sluggish start. He capitalised when Sri Lanka erred by turning prematurely to Kamindu Mendis’ spin, taking 11 off the 25th over to turn momentum around.
Sri Lanka began to look more toothless with the ball through those middle overs as Salman’s comfort grew. He dominated the stand and brought up his half-century off 48 balls. Nawaz had begun to loosen his shoulders too, illustrated by a six off legspinner Sachindu Colombage, but Asitha rooted him out the following over, ending the fifth-wicket stand ay 97. Salman played a similar shepherding role with Minhas for the sixth wicket, the pair putting on 64, with Salman once again taking on the lion’s share.
Twenty-six runs came off the 44th and 45th overs, but just as Pakistan looked for a big finish, Sri Lanka’s bowlers hit back. Minhas and Salman fell trying to hit sixes, and Pakistan’s lower order soon followed, with Malinga getting rid of Ashraf and Naseem off successive balls. A pair of lusty blows from Afridi allowed Pakistan to scratch past 300.
For long stretches of Sri Lanka’s chase, it appeared as if Pakistan’s unproductiveness in those death overs would cost them. Instead, on a dewy early autumn night in Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s pace attack – which shared nine wickets between them – ensured Salman’s efforts would not be wasted.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 305 in 49.5 overs (Babar Azam 45, Salman Agha 107; Eshan Malinga 4-46, Asitha Fernando 3-59, Dilshan Madushanka 2-67) beat Sri Lanka 268 in 48.1 overs (Kamindu Mendis 44, Pavan Rathnayake 79, Janith Liyanage 60; Shaheen Shah Afridi 3-55, Naseem Shah 2-43, Haris Rauf 2-48, Faheem Ashraf 2-49) by 37 runs
[Cricinfo]
An estimated 550,000 people took part in demonstrations across France today to protest against teaching conditions in schools, rising fuel prices and the cost of living.
Marches were largely peaceful and took place in several major French cities, including Paris, where 110,000 people attended.
“We just want to study, we just want a future” one student taking part in the protest in the capital told BBC News, while another said they were ” just trying to make things change”.
But French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said some groups “at the margins of these protests” caused the situation to “degenerate”.
According to the French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, 1200 people were arrested. Officials also reported looting in cities such as Marseille, where masked 8ntruders also entered the city hall. In Lyon, the tourist office was set on fire and shops were damaged.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any vandals and looters would be “prosecuted and punished”, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of left-wing party La France Insoumise, said demonstrations had been calmly mobilised.
Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze at Limoges City Hall after a reported break-in and arson inside the 19th-century building during protests there.
(BBC)
Heavy showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in the Northern, North-central, Central, Eastern, North-western and Uva provinces
Molineux, Dunkley enter WPL 2027 auction with top base price of INR 50 lakh
Ranawaka accuses govt. of using JVP cadres and police to suppress political opponents
Six killed as speeding bulker crashes into vehicles, shop in Akurana
Prof. Peiris, summoned by CIABOC, appeals for Ven. Gnanasara’s release
Tusker Agbo found safe and in good health
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Latest News7 days agoNissanka’s return headlines Sri Lanka’s Test squad against Pakistan
-
News6 days agoSri Lanka, India caught in US-Iran ship crisis
-
Features2 days agoKotahena:A Small Enclave, An Extraordinary Legacy
-
Latest News7 days agoImran Khan’s PTI braces to fight federal takeover of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
-
Latest News6 days agoMissiles intercepted near Riyadh after Saudi coalition hits Yemen fuel depot
-
News3 days agoAsgiri Mahanayake calls for immediate release of Gnanasara Thera
-
Latest News6 days agoKusal Mendis’ unbeaten 87 hands Sri Lanka consolation win
-
Latest News7 days agoFormer Zimbabwe player and umpire Sarah Dambanevana dies aged 36