Skipper Shreyas Iyer wreaked havoc on the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers as his unbeaten knock of 97, coupled with cameos by Priyansh Arya and Shashank Singh, helped the Punjab Kings post a mammoth 243/5 in 20 overs in Match 5 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday.

For the Titans, Sai Kishore was the pick of the bowlers with three scalps to his name.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bowling coach Bharat Arun has thrown his weight behind Andre Russell, backing the star all-rounder to bounce back in their crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday. After an underwhelming performance in their season opener against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Russell is keen to make a statement in their second match in Guwahati.

KKR endured a tough start to their campaign, losing to RCB by seven wickets. While Ajinkya Rahane, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and Sunil Narine contributed with the bat, their middle order failed to fire. Russell managed just four runs, while Venkatesh Iyer also fell cheaply, exposing a weak link that cost them the match. However, Arun believes Russell’s failure was just a minor blip.

“Sport is about failing. You fail more often than you succeed. Champions like Russell, I think, must be weighing on his mind that he failed the last game, and he is out to prove himself every single game. We are also hoping he will come good in tomorrow's game,” Arun said in the pre-match press conference.

Gujarat Titans have won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Punjab Kings in Match 5 of the 2025 Indian Premier League season at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Tuesday. The game marks the beginning of a new era for the Punjab Kings with skipper Shreyas Iyer at the helm for the first time for his new franchise after leading Kolkata to victory in the 2024 season, and under the tenure of newly appointed head coach Ricky Ponting.

“I would have loved to bowl. I am always someone who loves a chase. Take the challenge. There are so many familiar faces around. There is Ricky (Ponting). You need unity and synergy in the team. We have got a lot of all-rounders in the team. We are spoilt for choices. Since we will be batting first, we have only one spinner and three seamers,” said Iyer at the toss.

While Punjab triggered a major overhaul bringing in established match winners and a few familiar faces, having entered the mega auction with the highest purse of any team, the Gujarat Titans have retained their core players, with a few major and all eyes will be on the side to see how the 2023 winners fare in the new season after having finished in eighth position in 2024.

“It is a good cricketing wicket. There is some dew here. Just keep it in mind. Dew is a big factor here. Big targets can be chased down. Preparation has been amazing. We have our bases covered. The bowling attack is good. Very fortunate to play at the biggest stage of the world,” said Gujarat captain Shubman Gill at the toss.

Sanjay Bangar, the former India player and batting coach, said for him, the most heartening aspect of Ashutosh Sharma’s whirlwind 31-ball 66 not out, that gave Delhi Capitals (DC) an improbable one-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), was his solid stroke-play against spin.

With DC slumping to 65/5 in the seventh over, Ashutosh walked in and was on 20 off 20 balls before switching gears to smash an astonishing 46 runs off his next 11 balls to lead his team to an epic win with only three balls to spare at the ACA-VDCA Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

As pointed out by Bangar, who saw Ashutosh closely while being in the Punjab Kings set-up in IPL 2024, the all-rounder was solid in his shots against spinners, like carting leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for two fours and as many sixes, as well as taking a boundary each off Digvesh Singh Rathi and Shahbaz Ahmed. “In the Punjab Kings set-up, he was extremely impressive because if you look at the way Punjab Kings' season went last year, it was basically down to those two individuals, Ashutosh and Shashank (Singh), who were getting the team close and winning matches through some extraordinary skills.”

Real Madrid are working to close Trent Alexander-Arnold's pre-contract agreement as quickly as possible. The English wingback has been on Los Blancos' radar for two years and talks are undergoing between both parties in hopes of striking a deal before the end of the season.

If an agreement is signed, then Real will be legally obligated to tell Liverpool of the deal which has not happened as of yet, as reported by The Athletic.

Madrid had identified Trent as their top priority transfer target for next season as per reports in October. Los Blancos are aiming to bring in defensive reinforcements at the end of the ongoing season and are admirers of Trent, who will be out of contract in June.

In a boost for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), pacer Avesh Khan has been cleared by the BCCI to participate in IPL 2025.

Avesh, who had been nursing a right knee issue, received medical clearance from the BCCI’s medical team this week and will soon join the LSG squad,

Avesh has been out of action since late January, with his last India appearance dating back to a T20I in South Africa last November. He also missed Madhya Pradesh’s final league game in the Ranji Trophy due to discomfort in his right knee, which was linked to his domestic workload.

Legendary cricketer MS Dhoni has named Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium as his favourite stadium besides Chennai Super Kings (CSK) home venue Chepauk.

Dhoni led Men in Blue to its second ICC ODI World Cup title after a long wait of 28 years in 2011 at Wankhede. CSK, for which Dhoni has played since the inception of IPL in 2008 barring two seasons, and the MA Chidambaram Stadium, also known as Chepauk, in Chennai, have become more like a home for the wicketkeeper-batter.

"I wouldn't say I have a second favourite because we get the same kind of reception almost everywhere. Mumbai, I have a soft corner because in 2007, when we won the T20 World Cup, we came back here and got a very warm reception. The 2011 final was also here, and there are a lot of memories, so it has a special place in my heart," Dhoni said on JioHotstar's "The MS Dhoni Experience".

The Gabba, Brisbane’s iconic stadium, is set to be demolished following the 2032 Olympic Games, with cricket moving to a new 60,000-capacity venue in the Victoria Park area. This state-of-the-art stadium is being built as part of the Olympic infrastructure.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli unveiled the plans for the future of the state's sports venues on Tuesday, highlighting cricket’s central role in the decision. The sport had been in limbo due to the uncertainty surrounding the Gabba’s future after the state won the 2032 Olympics bid in 2021. This development provides much-needed clarity following years of speculation and shifting proposals.

Cricket Australia welcomed the announcement and said, "This decision gives us certainty about venues and scheduling which in turn allows us to ensure Brisbane hosts the very best possible international and domestic cricket. We strongly advocated building a stadium in Victoria Park together with Queensland Cricket, the AFL and Brisbane Lions, and cricket will play a major role in ensuring this significant investment delivers long-term benefits for cricket fans and the people of Queensland.

World No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland moved a step closer to her first title of the year with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over No. 22 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the Round of 16 at the Miami Open.

Swiatek needed 2 hours and 5 minutes to battle past former World No. 3 Svitolina, completing the quarterfinal lineup at the year's fourth WTA 1000 event on Tuesday morning, WTA reports.

Swiatek is eyeing her second Miami Open title -- she won this event in 2022 to complete the Sunshine Double (winning Indian Wells and Miami in the same year). The only other women to complete the Sunshine Double are Stefanie Graf (twice), Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.

Swiatek will now face an unexpected opponent in the quarterfinals: 19-year-old wild card Alexandra Eala of Philippines, who is in her sixth WTA 1000 event

A glorious free-kick from Reece James set England en route to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Latvia in the UEFA qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

An inch perfect free kick from James, a composed finish from captain Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze’s deflected effort secured all three points to put England top of their World Cup qualifying group.

England monopolised possession from the outset, but Latvia packed their penalty area and limited their opponents to shooting from examining angles or distance. Reece James made the breakthrough in spectacular fashion, meshing pace and curl to send a free-kick into the top corner.

Declan Rice laid the ball across goal for Harry Kane to make it two, before substitute Eberechi Eze jinking his way into a shooting position and sealed victory.

Thomas Tuchel’s charges now sit on maximum points from two games, while Paolo Nicolato’s team remain on three.