Mumbai Indians (MI) won an important toss, got the best of the conditions, and made excellent use of them to run away to their third win of IPL 2025,  beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by four wickets. They sent SRH in on an unusually sluggish pitch at the Wankhede Stadium and restricted them to 162 for 5. They then hunted down their target with 11 balls to spare, with a bit of help from dew – though not enough to force a ball change.

MI’s biggest match-winner on the day was Will Jacks,  who had made a quiet start to the season, but showed all his value in his sixth match with his new team. His 26-ball 36 was an important innings, but he made an even bigger impact with his offspin, bossing his match-up against SRH’s entirely left-handed top three and finishing with 2 for 14 in three overs.

Jacks’ three overs allowed MI to delay their use of their Impact Player, even though they lost their legspinner Karn Sharma – Player of the Match in their last game against Delhi Capitals – to an injury before he could bowl a ball. Not being forced to bring on a bowler as his replacement allowed MI to sub in Rohit Sharma at the start of their chase, and he gave them impetus with an early cameo. With Ryan Rickelton, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya also contributing handily, MI never allowed SRH’s bowlers to get a sniff.

For all that, though, this was a match won by MI’s bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah executed best, but their other fast bowlers also played their part in constricting SRH with a plan heavy on slower balls and yorkers on a surface where powering the ball down the ground seemed impossible at times.

This was why SRH only managed to post 162, despite a 59-run opening stand from Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head  both of whom enjoyed major slices of luck along the way. That SRH got that far was down to a strong finish, with the 18th and 20th overs bringing 21 and 22 runs respectively as Heinrich Klassen, Aniket Verma and Pat Cummins hit the only five sixes of their innings.

The first over of the match was an ominous one for MI. Deepak Chahar found Abhishek’s edge first ball only for the overhead chance to burst through Jacks’ hands at slip. Then Head flicked uppishly only for the ball to fall short of the diving Karn at midwicket.

The latter event happened in the third over as well, this time off Abhishek’s bat, and this time Karn’s futile dive also gave him a split webbing. He left the field and didn’t return to bowl.

St. Aloysius’ College, Rathnapura athlete Lahiru Achintha accomplished a rare achievement as he clocked sub four minutes to win a bronze medal in the 1500 metres at the Asian Youth Athletics Championship in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. 

He became the first youth athlete from Sri Lanka to have won a medal in the challenging discipline at the six editions old championship when he returned a time of 3:59.47 seconds to finish third.

Qatar’s Mubarak Abdi Said and Lebanon’s Mahmoud Abou Zeid finished first and second respectively. The 16-year-old Achintha was the youngest on the podium as he continues to shine as a clear future prospect for Sri Lanka.

Not many Sri Lakan athletes have clocked sub four minutes in the 1500 metres in the Under 18 age category. The national youth (U18) record of the distance remained 4:00.14 seconds from 2019 to 2024.

At the first selection trial held in February, both Achintha and Shavindu Awishka bettered the Under 18 youth record. While Awishka clocked 3:58.24 seconds to establish a new youth record, Achintha came up with a feat of 3:59.24 seconds to better the previous record.

Achintha also established a national youth record in the 3000 metres before the Asian event, prompting Sri Lanka Athletics to pick him for the team.

Achintha showed promise as a 14 year old when he turned tables on athletes in the Under 20 age category to win the cross country race held in January 2024.

Achintha’s bronze victory was a huge consolation for the Sri Lakan team in Dammam after the country’s two female athletes missed the corresponding girls event due to a faux pas.

Sri Lanka also won a silver medal on Wednesday when Lyceum International Wattala sprinter Dananjana Fernando finished second in the girls 100 metres.She clocked 11.92 seconds to beat India’s Aarti to the third place.

by Reemus Fernando

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) arrived at the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) headquarters to carry out an enforcement operation at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

The three-member ACC team, led by Assistant Director Al Amin, launched the operation following specific complaints. After an hour and a half of inspections across various departments, Al Amin addressed the media, confirming that the commission is investigating three separate allegations.

According to a letter from the ACC headquarters, the operation was prompted by “allegations of irregular financial gain and other forms of corruption in the selection process of various cricket leagues under the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”

Al Amin further revealed the two other allegations being investigated: discrepancies in ticket sale revenues from the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and embezzlement of funds during the Mujib Centenary celebrations.

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Third Division Qualifying League is being held again. The league saw a drastic reduction in participating teams after the entry fee was raised from Tk75,000 to Tk5 lakhs in the 2014-15 season.

This year, the fee was brought down to Tk1 lakh, and several conditions were relaxed-resulting in the participation of 60 teams. The ACC is looking into whether the previous hike in entry fees and the drop in team participation were influenced by individuals or decisions within the BCB.

“This year, 60 teams are participating, whereas previously there were only 2-4 teams,” said Al Amin. “That points to possible restrictions or pressure in earlier editions. We’ve collected documents to examine whether there was any undue influence from individuals or the board.”

On the matter of BPL ticket revenues, Al Amin pointed out irregularities. BCB President and BPL Governing Council Chairman had stated that Tk13.25 crore was earned from ticket sales in the latest edition – nearly matching the Tk15 crores total from the previous ten editions combined.

“In the past, tickets were sold through third-party contracts, with BCB receiving a share. In the last three to four seasons, BCB has been selling tickets directly,” Al Amin explained. “This sudden surge in revenue-Tk13 crore 25 lakhs in one year compared to Tk15 crore over eight years-raises questions. We have collected the records and will examine them for inconsistencies.”

The Mujib Centenary celebrations in 2020-21 are also under scrutiny. Mahmudul Hasan, another ACC Assistant Director, detailed further findings.

“A total of Tk25 crores was shown as expenses for the events, including concerts, but actual spending was closer to Tk7 crores. There are allegations of misappropriation involving around Tk 19 crore,” he said. “We have also found that Tk2 crores from ticket sales was not recorded.” (Cricbuzz)