North Delhi Strikers Women have qualified for the final of the Adani Women's Delhi Premier League T20 after a seven-wicket DLS method victory against East Delhi Riders Women in the last league stage match held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday. North Delhi Strikers Women will now take on South Delhi Superstarz Women in the summit clash on Sunday.

After electing to bat first, East Delhi Riders Women posted a total of 150/2 in their 20 overs. In reply, North Delhi Strikers Women chased down the DLS-adjusted target with ease through Upasana Yadav's 65 off 44 balls.

Upasana Yadav and Mansi Sharma got the run chase off to a quick start. They were 26/0 in the fourth over. However, Sharma (10 off 10) was dismissed on the fifth ball of the same over, just before rain briefly halted play. The target was then revised to 113 in 14 overs via the DLS method.

India wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant is proud to see the redemption of Purani Dilli 6 in the ongoing Adani Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20 being played here at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Pant is presently playing in the Duleep Trophy and is confident that Purani Dilli 6 will do wonders in the semifinals.

"I wish I could be there for the semifinals, but my commitments with the Duleep Trophy have kept me away. Still, I have full faith in you all and I'm confident that you’ll continue to give your best out there," said Pant in a message to the Purani Dilli 6 team.

"Play with heart, trust yourselves, and stick together like the family we are and will be in the long run. Let’s make it count. I'll be cheering for you every step of the way. Let’s do this Purani Delhi," he added.

Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar converted his five-wicket haul into a seven-fer, while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad Aryan Juyal, and Rajat Patidar hit crucial 40s in leading India C to a four-wicket win over India D in a first-round match of the Duleep Trophy at the Rural Development Trust Stadium here on Saturday.

In the morning, India D resumed from an overnight score of 206/8. But they could add only 30 more runs to the total as Suthar dismissed Axar Patel for 28 and then took out Aditya Thakare to finish with excellent figures of 7-49 in 19.1 overs, including bowling seven maidens, as India C were set a target of 233 to win.

In the chase, India C were off to a flying start as Gaikwad and Sai Sudharsan hit boundaries consistently off Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh to bring up the half-century of their opening stand in just 6.3 overs. The duo eventually had a 64-run opening stand before left-handed Sudharsan was caught by Ricky Bhui against off-spinner Saransh Jain.

Four overs later, Saransh came back to have Gaikwad caught by Shreyas Iyer and dismissed him for 46. Juyal and Patidar hung around to hit ten boundaries between themselves and get India C’s chase back on track. But Saransh came back to have Patidar stumped while Juyal was caught in the deep off Arshdeep.

The stage is set for the prestigious Men's Asian Champions Trophy which will begin on Sunday here at the picturesque Moqi Hockey Training Base which overlooks the Nierji Dam in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia in China.

Reigning Olympic bronze medallist India start as favourites to defend the title while hosts China, Japan, Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia have arrived with hopes of a grand outing in the marquee tournament.

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris said he saw during his time playing for the now-defunct Deccan Chargers that Rohit Sharma had something special in him.

Styris and Rohit were together in the Deccan Chargers camp in the 2008 and 2009 IPL, where the side won the title in South Africa. Rohit went on to join Mumbai Indians and led them to five IPL titles, followed by making India win the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup in June.

“It (IPL 2008) was my first opportunity to be a teammate and see (and hear of ) Rohit Sharma. He was with us at the Deccan Chargers. He was 19 or 20 years old at that time and I could see then that this kid was something special. I’ve just come back from Sri Lanka where I commentated on India vs Sri Lanka, caught up with him there and he’s still the same guy that he was 16 years ago,” said Styris to cricket.com.

Veteran India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said the decision to bring in the Decision Review System (DRS) in this domestic cricket season will help the batters to improve their techniques.

The ongoing first round of the 2024 Duleep Trophy has the DRS available for matches at Bengaluru (India A v India B) and Anantapur (India C v India D) respectively. Ashwin illustrated his point by talking about India D batter Ricky Bhui’s batting technique of keeping the bat behind the pad playing a part in his dismissal at Anantapur.

On day two’s play, Bhui was trapped lbw by India C left-arm spinner Manav Suthar. Initially, the on-field umpire did not give it out, but India C skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad opted for the DRS and the decision was changed to out.

Real Madrid forward Rodrygo's first-half goal powered Brazil to a narrow 1-0 win over Ecuador in the South American World Cup qualifiers on Friday (local time).

Five-time World Cup winners registered their first win after three consecutive losses in the qualifiers. With 10 points, Brazil have moved to fourth place in the standings, eight points behind leaders Argentina and only two points ahead of sixth-placed Ecuador. The top six teams will advance to the 2026 World Cup.

In their first match since losing to Uruguay in the Copa America quarter-finals, Brazil had another disappointing game. Although they dominated possession, they struggled to create clear chances and seemed out of ideas on how to break down Ecuador’s solid defense.

Luis Suarez bid an emotional farewell to international football as Uruguay were held to a goalless home draw by Paraguay in their World Cup qualifier here on Friday.

The 37-year-old striker, a cornerstone of Uruguay's national team since 2007 and its all-time leading scorer, was given the captain's armband by manager Marcelo Bielsa for his last match, reported.

And the Inter Miami star came close to making his final appearance a memorable one, striking a stunning volley in the 18th minute that ricocheted off the post.

England captain and striker Harry Kane is inspired by football greats Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to feel motivated ahead of the UEFA Nations League clash against Ireland on Saturday.

England will start fresh under new manager Lee Carsley after losing the Euro 2024 final 2-1 against Spain.

Kane will play his 99th match for England when they lock horns against Ireland in Dublin. Ahead of the game, Kane shared the pain of not winning the major trophy but it makes him more motivated to turn that feat.

Taylor Fritz is now just one win away from ending the United States’ 21-year drought for a male Grand Slam singles champion. The 12th seed fought back to defeat his close friend and fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Friday, advancing to his first major final at the US Open.

The last American male to win a Grand Slam was Andy Roddick, who triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2003. Now, Fritz will face top seed Jannik Sinner on Sunday for a shot at the title.

Fritz, 26, had a challenging road to the final, coming into the tournament with just one win from the ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, as per ATP. But he made history as the first American male to reach a Grand Slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.