Category: Sports

Smaran Ravichandran, a talented 21-year-old cricketer from Karnataka, made headlines on Friday by scoring a remarkable double century against Punjab in a Ranji Trophy match held in Bengaluru. He reached this amazing milestone after facing 270 balls, hitting 25 fours and 3 sixes. Thanks to his incredible performance, Karnataka took a strong lead, scoring 416 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.

On the first day of the match, Karnataka bowled Punjab out for just 55 runs, with fast bowler Vasuki Koushik shining by taking 4 wickets. Even star batter Shubman Gill could only score 4 runs during this match.

Who is Smaran Ravichandran?

Smaran Ravichandran is an up-and-coming player in Indian domestic cricket. In just a short career, he has played 5 first-class matches, 9 List A games, and 7 T20 matches, scoring over 600 runs along the way. Notably, he has made three centuries and won a match with a brilliant century in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

His journey began with a fantastic performance in the CK Nayudu Trophy, where he scored 829 runs. He also impressed everyone by scoring an unbeaten 104 runs in the Maharaja T20 Trophy. Despite facing rejection from the Karnataka senior team previously, Smaran’s hard work paid off when he was finally picked for the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024/25. He proved his worth by scoring a century in the final, showing that he can shine on big stages.

In a surprising turn of events, Novak Djokovic left fans in shock during his semi-final match at the Australian Open 2025. After losing the first set 6-7 against Alexander Zverev, Djokovic had to retire due to a ‘muscle tear’ in his left leg.

The crowd at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena gasped as Djokovic walked off the court. Many fans started to boo him, but Zverev quickly stepped in to calm the crowd, saying they shouldn’t boo a tennis legend like Djokovic.

Djokovic, who had a tough quarter-final match against Carlos Alcaraz, faced accusations of pretending to be hurt so he could surprise his opponent. But in a post-match conference, he confirmed he really did have a muscle tear that made playing too painful.

“I tried everything I could to manage the pain,” Djokovic said. “But it just got too hard to handle.”

At 37 years old, Djokovic is the only one left from the famous Big Three of tennis after Rafael Nadal’s retirement last year. Andy Murray, another rival, also retired after the 2024 Paris Olympics, but he is now part of Djokovic’s coaching team.

When asked if this could be his last time playing at the Australian Open, Djokovic was unclear. “There’s a chance, but I’ll have to see how the season goes,” he said. “I love coming to Australia; I’ve had my biggest wins here. I am healthy and motivated, so I hope to return.”

Alexander Zverev, who is currently number two in the world and has been a runner-up in two Grand Slam tournaments, will play the winner of the other semi-final match between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton.

Volodar Murzin made history in December 2023 when he won the 2024 World Rapid Chess Championship. The 18-year-old clinched the title in New York after drawing with Karen H Grigoryan in the final round, following a thrilling win against R Praggnanandhaa, where his king made a stunning move. Murzin finished the tournament with an impressive score of 10 out of 13 games, featuring seven wins, six draws, and no losses. He also scored notable victories against top players like Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. This victory made him the second-youngest rapid chess champion in history, just after Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who won at 17 in 2021.

In a surprising turn, Murzin expressed that he no longer wants to represent the Russian Chess Federation (FSHR) because all competitions are held under their banner. He also mentioned he wants nothing to do with the current leaders of the FSHR. Alexander Tkachev, the Executive Director of the FSHR, criticized Murzin, reminding him of the advantages he has received, like education and support from the country. Tkachev expressed disbelief that someone could enjoy these benefits while also criticizing Russia. Murzin currently holds a world ranking of No. 69 by FIDE with a rating of 2657. This situation could become interesting for FIDE, as its president, Arkady Dvorkovich, is known to be linked to Russian politics.

India’s hopes in the Indonesia Masters badminton tournament ended early as Lakshya Sen and the top men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in the second round on Thursday.

Lakshya Sen, who is ranked 10th in the world, had a tough match in men’s singles against Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto. After losing the first game, Sen managed to win the second but ultimately lost the match with scores of 16-21, 21-12, and 21-23 after 50 minutes of play.

The men’s doubles champions from the Asian Games, Satwik and Chirag, also faced a challenging match, losing to the Thai pair of Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh with scores of 20-22, 21-23. They reached semifinals in their last two tournaments, but this time they couldn’t make it past the second round.

Earlier, the mixed doubles team of Dhruv Kapila and Tanshia Crasto lost a close match to Malaysia’s Pang Ron Hoo and Su Yin Cheng with scores of 21-18, 15-21, and 19-21.

In women’s doubles, experienced players Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto lost in a hard-fought match against Malaysian pair Pei Kee Go and Mei Xing Teoh, with scores of 21-13, 22-24, and 18-21.

Lakshya Sen, who has won medals in the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games, started his match slowly and lost the first game. Although he played better in the second game, he couldn’t keep up in the final game, trailing behind at 9-11 after making several mistakes.

On Wednesday, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and rising star Priyanshu Rajawat also lost in the first round.

On Thursday, Madison Keys made history by reaching her first-ever Australian Open final. She amazed everyone by beating world number 2, Iga Swiatek, in a thrilling match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes! The final score was 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8). Keys showed incredible determination and skill on the famous Rod Laver Arena.

Now, she is set to face Aryna Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, in the final on Saturday at Melbourne Park. Earlier that night, top-ranked Sabalenka won her match against her good friend Paula Badosa, with a score of 6-4, 6-2, and is just one win away from making history as the first woman to win three Australian Open titles in a row since 1999!

Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, ranked No. 1 in the world, has defeated Paula Badosa with a score of 6-4, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena. This victory means Sabalenka is heading to the Australian Open women’s singles final for the third time in a row!

Sabalenka is aiming to achieve something special: if she wins the final, she will be the first woman to win three straight titles in Melbourne since Martina Hingis did it in 1997. In the first set, Sabalenka played impressively, hitting 19 winners and breaking Badosa’s serve twice, even though she lost her serve once. She won the set 6-4.

The second set was even better for Sabalenka. She improved her serve performance from 69% in the first set to an amazing 90% (9 out of 10 serves) and broke Badosa’s serve two more times while only facing one break point herself. The entire match lasted just one hour and 23 minutes!

With this win, Sabalenka’s record against Badosa now stands at 6-2, and she has won all their Grand Slam matches, including a previous one at the French Open last year. This win also marks Sabalenka’s 20th consecutive victory at the Australian Open, with her last loss at this tournament happening in the fourth round against Kaia Kanepi in 2022.

Stay tuned for more updates!

In a thrilling match in the Ranji Trophy, a tall fast bowler from Jammu and Kashmir named Umar Nazir Mir stunned some of India’s biggest cricket stars, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Shivam Dube. Mir, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, took four important wickets, leading to Mumbai’s batting collapse. At one point, Mumbai had lost 8 wickets for just 110 runs!

Umar Mir is 31 years old and comes from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been part of Indian domestic cricket for a long time and even played in the India C squad during the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy.

In his cricket career since making his debut in 2013, he has played 57 matches, claiming 138 wickets. He is skilled in both List A and T20 formats, with best performances like taking 6 wickets for 53 runs against Services last year.

This season, he is doing really well! He has already taken 11 wickets in just three Ranji Trophy matches, with an incredible bowling average of 9.81. In his latest match against Mumbai, he took the wickets of top players with amazing skill.

His first big wicket was Rohit Sharma, who only scored 3 runs. Mir’s fast delivery caused Rohit to hit a catch. Then he bowled Ajinkya Rahane out for 12 runs and caught Shivam Dube for a duck. Mir’s performance helped his team, Jammu and Kashmir, take control of the game. Fans in nearby buildings watching the match were buzzing with excitement after Rohit’s dismissal

Abhishek Sharma had an amazing game in the first T20I match against England on Wednesday, scoring a quick 50 runs in just 20 balls! This was one of the fastest half-centuries in T20 cricket. He also hit a record eight sixes, the most by any Indian player in a run chase during a T20I match. The game took place at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India’s bowlers did a fantastic job, getting England out for only 132 runs. Varun Chakravarthy took three wickets for 23 runs, and Axar Patel took two wickets for 22 runs. England’s captain, Jos Buttler, was the only one who put up a fight, scoring 68 runs off 44 balls before getting out.

When India came to bat, they chased down the target in just 12.5 overs and won by seven wickets. Abhishek Sharma made a sensational 79 runs off just 34 balls, hitting eight sixes! Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma also helped out with 26 and 19 runs, respectively.

Abhishek’s sixes included three against Adil Rashid, two against Mark Wood, and one each against Jofra Archer, Jamie Overton, and Gus Atkinson. His eight sixes beat the previous Indian record of six sixes in a T20I chase, shared by players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

The record for the most sixes in a T20I chase globally is 18, set by Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan. From Full Member teams, Richard Levi from South Africa holds the record with 13 sixes against New Zealand.

Indian players, especially left-handers, have a history of dominating in T20I matches against England, inspired by legends like Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj, who mentored Abhishek, holds the record for the fastest fifty in T20 cricket, scored in just 12 balls back in 2007.