Punjab Kings (PBKS) won the toss and elected to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 44 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, here at the Eden Gardens.

For PBKS, Azmatullah Omarzai and Glenn Maxwell comes in for Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett, whereas for KKR Rovman Powell and Chetan Sakariya replace Moeen Ali and Ramandeep Singh.

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said, "We are batting first. Since we are playing on the same wicket they played on. Can see a few cracks, will get an idea on how its playing. It's always been great to play in front of this crowd. Another day to come here and embrace. We have been getting brilliant starts. We are talking about a few situations, need to play to our best ability and believe in ourselves. I want the bowlers to take wickets, it changes the momentum."

On a high after four wins in a row and rising to the fourth position in the points table, Mumbai Indians will be hoping to ride the momentum when they meet Lucknow Super Giants in Match 45 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.

Mumbai Indians are currently in the fourth position with 10 points from nine matches and would be aiming to strengthen their case for a place in the playoffs with another win. Their opponents, Lucknow Super Giants also have 10 points from nine matches but are down at sixth position on net run rate.

Hardik Pandya's team has finally found its mojo after starting their IPL 2025 campaign with back-to-back defeats and suffering losses in two successive matches again. One of those defeats was against LSG at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes Ayush Mhatre, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Priyansh Arya, and Prabhsimran Singh are destined to play international cricket in future.

Mhatre, just 17, was roped in by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as a replacement for injured skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, and impressed fans and experts with his bold strokeplay while making 30 and 32 against Mumbai Indians (MI) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

“The shots, the three shots this Ayush Mhatre played against the Mumbai Indians the other night in Mumbai… The way he took off, unbelievable shots for a 17-year-old, against a star-studded Mumbai Indians line-up to come out and express himself in that fashion caught everyone's eye.

“I think Ayush Mhatre has got a future. When I look at him, some of the shots he played, I think this guy, if he's handled properly and is with the right kind of people, he is someone who can go a long way," said Shastri in the latest episode of the ICC Review show.

The Indian women’s hockey team fought valiantly but fell short in its opening game of the Australia tour, going down 3-5 to a clinical Australia 'A' side at the Perth Hockey Stadium in Perth on Saturday.

India found the back of the net through Mahima Tete (27’), Navneet Kaur (45’), and Lalremsiami (50’) while Neasa Flynn (3’), Olivia Downes (9’), Ruby Harris (11’), Tatum Stewart (21’), and Kendra Fitzpatrick (44’) scored for Australia 'A'.

The match began at a frenetic pace, with Australia 'A' asserting early control and breaking the deadlock through a well-constructed field goal by Neasa Flynn (3’). The home team continued to press hard, and in quick succession, Olivia Downes (9’) and Ruby Harris (11’) capitalised on defensive lapses to score two more field goals, ending the first quarter with a commanding 3-0 lead.

India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur said she is personally excited to see how young left-arm spinner N Shree Charani fares in the upcoming ODI tri-series, where the side will face hosts Sri Lanka in the opening game at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

Hailing from YSR Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, Charani grabbed attention by picking four wickets in two games for Delhi Capitals (DC) in WPL 2025, where her ability to control run flow and outsmart batters in middle overs stood out. She later picked nine wickets in three games of the Senior Women’s Multi-Day Challenger Trophy in Dehradun, before getting a maiden call-up to the Indian team.

“Charani is someone who really impressed in the WPL and we have been looking forward for some left-arm spinner who can really do well for the team. I'm personally very excited to see how she's going to do in this particular tournament,” said Harmanpreet in the pre-series press conference on Saturday.

After rewriting history with a strong jump of 6.64m to break Anju Bobby George's 23-year-old record at the Federation Cup, long jumper Shaili Singh said that it is just the beginning of her journey.

The 21-year-old broke the record held by her coach and legendary Anju Bobby George at the National Federation Cup Athletics, held at Maharaja's College Ground in Ernakulam. Shaili leapt 6.64m, surpassing Anju’s 2002 mark of 6.59m.

"Breaking Anju ma'am's long-standing Federation Cup record is a moment of pride for me. Her achievements have always been my inspiration, and to follow in her footsteps means everything. This record has stood for 23 years because of how exceptional she was, and I'm honoured to now be part of this legacy. This is just the beginning of my journey, and I hope to continue making my country proud with many more milestones to come," Shaili said.

Team India has confirmed 43 medals at the inaugural Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships, organised by the newly recognised Asian Boxing body under World Boxing, with four more pugilists punching their way into the semifinals on Day 7.

India is now assured of at least 25 medals in the U-15 category and 18 in the U-17, as all semifinalists are guaranteed bronze.

Aman Siwach (63kg) and Devansh (80kg) led the charge in the U-17 boys' section, both securing Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) wins over opponents from the Philippines and Jordan, respectively, in the last set of quarterfinal bouts.

In the girls’ division, Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) posted a commanding 5-0 win over Jordan’s Aya Alhasanat, while Himanshi (70kg) ended her bout in the very first round with an RSC against Palestine’s Farah Abou Layla, joining their cohorts in the penultimate round.

Paris Saint-Germain's bid to become the first team to go unbeaten through a Ligue 1 season ended in disappointment on Saturday (IST), as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Nice at the Parc des Princes.

Despite having already clinched the title earlier this month, the loss brought their 30-game unbeaten league run to a halt. PSG remain atop the Ligue 1 table with 78 points while Nice climbed to fourth with 54, boosting their Champions League hopes.

The home side dominated the opening half-hour and created chance after chance but it was the visitors who took the lead through Morgan Sanson as he marked his first start of the season by applying a clinical first-time finish to Badredine Bouanani's through-ball in the 35th minute.

The lead lasted just six minutes as Fabian Ruiz scored with a sumptuous half-volley to level but any thoughts the PSG fans might have had of their side going on to dominate were extinguished 22 seconds into the second half when Sanson scored his second, volleying the ball into the net from close range.

Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen was eliminated from the Madrid Open on Friday, suffering a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Russia's Anastasia Potapova in a match that lasted one hour and 40 minutes.

Zheng's exit in the round of 64 leaves no Chinese players remaining in either the men's or women's singles tournaments in Madrid. The gold medallist from the Paris Olympics was seeded eighth but struggled to find her rhythm against Potapova, ranked 87th in the world, on a warm and sunny afternoon.

Zheng's main problem was with her serve, as she managed to win just 40 percent of points in the first set, while Potapova was much more consistent, winning 64 percent of points on first serve to keep Zheng under pressure, reports.

Chennai Super Kings batters faltered again as Harshal Patel claimed four wickets to his name, alongside two wickets each by skipper Pat Cummins and Jaydev Unadkat, to restrict the hosts to 154 all out in 19.5 overs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday. For the batting side, Dewald Brevis’ 25-ball 42 was the highlight of the innings.

After having opted to bowl first, Mohammed Shami gave SRH the perfect start by finding Shaik Rasheed’s (0) outside edge on the very first ball, which saw Abhishek Sharma take a difficult catch at first slip. Youngster Ayush Mhatre (30), who made his debut against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, continued his impressive breakthrough by smashing Pat Cummins, Shami, and Jaydev Unadkat for six boundaries in the next three overs before Harshal Patel claimed the wicket of Sam Curran (9).