Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium has been cleared to host IPL 2026 after a government-appointed Expert Committee approved the venue for use on Monday.

The immediate implication is that Chinnaswamy – scheduled to host the season opener between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 28 – will also stage one playoff game and the final, in keeping with the tradition of the defending champions hosting the title clash.

A committee, appointed by Karnataka’s home minister G Parameshwara, conducted a thorough review of the stadium premises on Friday. The day-long audit involved several checks for structural compliance as well as measures taken to enhance crowd control around the venue.

On Monday, the final nod was given following a meeting between the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) officials, RCB’s top brass as well as members of the expert committee, chaired by G Maheshwar Rao.

The Chinnaswamy will host five RCB home games, while two others will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium in Raipur, as per a pre-arranged agreement between the franchise and the Chhattisgarh government.

RCB has committed to engaging with KSCA to roll out digital QR coded tickets as one of several measures to tackle overcrowding around the venue. They have also partnered with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) to ensure hassle-free travel.

The metro services will be extended until 1am on match days, while ticketing formalities are being worked out. It’s likely those with match tickets can travel free of cost. BMRCL is also likely to increase frequency of trains on all routes to prevent overcrowding.

This was an old-fashioned classic disguised as 21st century cricket. Probably the best ODI match of the year so far, tucked away as a gilateral decider in Mirpur. Two batters, Salman Agha and Tanzid Hasan, played stellar knocks while everyone else struggled on a pockmarked pitch. Yes, this was old-fashioned: there was the tragic Pakistan collapse, the comical Pakistan running, and the tragicomic Pakistan finish.

At the end of it all, Bangladesh won their second successive bilateral ODI series against Pakistan, the two series being 11 years apart.

Let’s start with just the last over: one wicket left, Shaheen Shah Afridi on strike, Rishad Hossain with the ball. 14 needed off six. Off the second delivery, Rishad ran back to collect a skier and spilled it at mid-on when he could have closed out the match. With 12 needed off two, a wide was given, then a sneaky review was taken by Bangladesh to reverse it. With 12 needed off the last ball, Afridi ventured down the track and missed the ball all ends up, and could have been off for a stroll by the time Litton Das remembered to whip off the stumps.

However, the match was a long way away from being a heart-stopper, and had mostly been a one-way dogfight with Bangladesh calling the shots. Then, Agha made a belated entry to the middle at 67 for 4. They were chasing 291 on a pitch that turned when you slowed it down, and bounced when you speared it in.

Taskin Ahmed was the early wrecker-in-chief for Bangladesh, taking out Sahibzada Farhan and Mohammad Rizwan in the first and third over. Maaz Sadaqat departed to an edge off Nahid Rana in the one over in between. Yet, debutant Ghazi Ghori and two-ODIs-old Abdul Samad got together to stem the bleeding: they poked and prodded, and sometimes middled one, as they laboured to a 50-run partnership in 67 balls. The highlight of their stand was at least four run-out chances, with many yes-and-no calls as nerves gave way.

Bangladesh were poor in the field themselves, with misfields and balls parried away by the close-in fielders – twice against Ghori and Samad – letting Pakistan stay in the contest for as long as they did. Ghori, in particular, rode his luck, smacking three fours and one eye-catching six into the deep-square boundary.

Ghori (29) and Samad (34) departed in quick succession. Having walked in with 224 needed off 36 overs, Agha built a case for Pakistan’s chase from one end, while Saad Masood, the other debutant of the day, kept the other end chugging along. Still, a rush of young blood was inevitable. They had put together a 79-run partnership for the sixth wicket when Masood rushed down the pitch, and Mustafizur Rahman rattled his stumps. Agha took off his gloves and helmet, and sunk to his haunches at the other end.

The pitch might as well have been laid out with Mustafizur in mind, as he kept angling balls away from the batters to finish with figures of 3 for 54. But Agha countered him – and the other pace bowlers – by mostly sticking to shots down the ground. His knock was peppered with nine fours and four sixes. This was as good a riposte as any with the bat, having been run-out in the previous game in rather unusual circumstances.

Here, he only kept the team’s needs in mind as he dug deeper in the middle with Afridi. Even when he bashed Rana down the ground in the 45th over to bring up his century, they still needed 48 off 35 balls with just three wickets left. He did not indulge in much of a celebration.

Agha and Afridi compiled 52 runs in 49 balls, but Agha was the first to depart: skying a cross-batted shot off Taskin to become his fourth and final victim of the night in the 48th over.

Afridi kept the fight going until the end, drilling two fours and two sixes in a knock of 37 off 38 and was only dismissed on the final ball.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh had put together an old-fashioned innings of their own after being put in to bat. When Tanzid smacked Agha over the ropes in the 33rd over, he was not wearing a helmet like the batters of yesteryears. He bumped his partner’s first at the other end, performed the sajda, and wiped away his sweat on a humid day in Mirpur. He had brought up his maiden ODI ton in the most old-school way possible.

His century was only one of two Bangladesh knocks that managed to go at or over run-a-ball. But even as he hit six fours and seven sixes, most of his run-making shots were along the ground. He stitched a 105-run opening partnership alongside Saif Hassan, who looked less comfortable in his stay of 36 off 55.

Tanzid kept one end stable through the middle overs, right up till when he cut a long-hop by Abrar Ahmed to Afridi at cover in the 37th over. It was a good reward for Abrar, who was Pakistan’s best spinner, bowling with varied pace and cramping up the batters throughout the middle overs.

Haris Rauf – returning after his expensive opening spell – might have learned his lessons from Abrar too, though he had to fulfil a different job at the death overs. He plucked out Litton Das (41) and Rishad (0) in quick succession, pulling his lengths shorter to throttle Bangladesh.

Rauf finished with 3 for 52, and the only reason Bangladesh managed 290 for 5 was because of a late surge from Towhid Hridoy, who scored 48 off 44.

Still, there were two lasting images from the day: one of Tanzid, smiling in celebration after bringing up his century. The other was of Agha after his dismissal – having struck a scintillating ton of his own, but wearing the glum look of a batter walking back with the job half-done.

Brief scores:
Bangladesh 290 for 5 in 50 overs (Saif Hasan 36, Tanzid Hasan 107, Towhid Hridoy 48*; Haris  Rauf 3-52) beat Pakistan 279 in 50 overs (Abdul Samad 34, Salman Ali Agha 106, Saad Masood 38, Shaheen Shah Afridi 37; Taskin Ahmed 4-49, Nahid Rana 2-62, Mustafizur Rahman 3-54 ) by 11 runs

[Cricinfo]

The 147th edition of the historic Battle of the Blues ended in a draw, with Jaden Amaraweera producing the only century of the Big Match to give fans a rare highlight after three days of largely uneventful cricket.

‎Amaraweera’s unbeaten hundred in the final stages of the match provided an individual milestone for spectators who had otherwise endured a contest dominated by cautious batting and slow scoring.

‎From the outset it appeared that S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia had approached the game with the intention of batting for a draw. Their first innings progressed at a snail’s pace, raising questions among critics about whether the Mount Lavinia side had come prepared to merely occupy the crease rather than push for a result.

‎The Thomians batted for a massive 124 overs but managed only 302 runs, a modest return for more than 500 minutes of batting. Openers Jaden Amaraweera and Avinash Fernando set the tone with an extremely cautious approach, adding 110 runs for the first wicket in 40 overs. Even their consistent batsman, Reshon Solomon, consumed 147 deliveries for his 66 runs.

‎In contrast, Royal College Colombo scored at a comparatively brisker rate in their first innings. Skipper Rehan Peiris and Ramiru Perera struck half centuries to guide Royal’s reply. The Reid Avenue school eventually declared their innings in 86 overs with nine wickets down, still trailing by 41 runs.

‎However, the declaration had little impact on the outcome, as the final day offered limited opportunity for a decisive result.

‎With the match drifting towards an inevitable draw, the stage was set for individual achievements. Amaraweera seized the moment, crafting the only century of the 2026 encounter. His composed unbeaten 100 came off 162 deliveries and included nine fours and three sixes, ensuring that the match would at least be remembered for a notable batting effort.

Jaden Amaraweera scored an unbeaten century in the second innings

‎Royal entered the contest as favourites, yet the Thomians once again managed to deny their arch rivals victory, settling for a draw in another chapter of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated school cricket rivalry