NEW YORK, May 29 (Reuters) - Major League Baseball is making a big bet on the business of women's sport, announcing on Thursday its first significant financial investment in a women's professional softball league.
The Athletes Unlimited Softball League launches on June 7 in a first-of-its-kind, wide-ranging partnership with minority investor MLB, the standard-bearer of "America's pastime" for well over a century.
Two months have passed since Shreyas Iyer instructed his batting partner, Shashank Singh, to forget about Iyer's approaching hundred and hit every ball for a boundary. It was towards the end of Punjab Kings' first innings in their opening game of this year's IPL, against Gujarat Titans.
Shashank seems amazed even now as he narrates it. When Mohammed Siraj started the final over, Iyer was the non-striker, three runs short of his maiden IPL century. Shashank hit a first-ball four. The next ball, full-ish on his legs, he chipped towards midwicket and took off for what he thought was a single, until Iyer, leading Kings for the first time, screamed for a two.
"It was a risky two but an easy one," Shashank says. "Most players, non-strikers, would have opted for the easy one and [especially when] someone is playing on 97. IPL hundreds are not easy.
"Shreyas pushed me for two. He was like, "Bhaag, bhaag, doosra bhaag." [Run, run, run for two.] If you see the video, while turning back for the second, I double-check on the scoreboard - if this guy is on 97, right!?"
Iyer did not face a delivery that over, off which Shashank smacked 23 runs. Punjab won by 11 runs. The captain had set an example for Shashank and the rest of the Punjab squad, not just with the match-winning knock but his sense of team goals that would be inspirational for the side, who made the IPL playoffs for the first time in 11 years, and last Monday sealed a top-two position.
bringing back T Dilip to the support staff. On Tuesday, reports claimed that the former fielding coach is all set to be reinstated after facing the axe earlier this year. Dilip had joined Team India towards the end of 2021 when Rahul Dravid was the head coach.
Rohit convinces Gambhir, BCCI to bring Dilip back
As per Cricbuzz, Rohit personally convinced the BCCI and head coach Gautam Gambhir to bring back Dilip for the England series. The report states that despite announcing his retirement from Tests, the former captain ensured that Dilip would be retained.
“Sources say Rohit, despite announcing his retirement from Test cricket, personally requested Gambhir to retain Dilip,” the report states.
Earlier on Tuesday, reports had stated that the BCCI had decided to bring back Dilip as they hadn’t found a suitable candidate to fill in his shoes. Dilip, along with current KKR batting coach Abhishek Nayar, was relieved of his duties in April. Now, he has been given a one-year extension and will travel with the team to England for the five-match Test series.
“Dilip is a good coach, who served the team well for over three years (from 2021). He knows most of these cricketers very closely. So, to have him on board for a big series (vs England) will do the team only good. So, there is no point in bringing in a fresh name at this stage, and Dilip is very popular with players too,” a source close to the development told news agency PTI.
Mumbai Indians' opening batter Rohit Sharma was hilariously seen imitating Shreyas Iyer after the IPL 2025 match against the Punjab Kings on Monday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. A video of the same was shared by Mumbai Indians on their official social media handle as the two players were seen having a friendly exchange.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag has taken a cheeky jibe at Rohit Sharma's struggle in the powerplay in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).
During the match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, in the Hindi commentary, former India opener Aakash Chopra raised a point that Rohit Sharma hadn't had much of the strike till the fourth over. Rohit had faced only eight balls in comparison to his opening partner Ryan Rickelton's 16.
Legendary Australia captain Steve Waugh has called Shubman Gill an excellent choice to lead India in Test cricket. Gill has been named India's 37th Test captain as he took over the reins from Rohit Sharma following the latter's retirement from the longest format. Gill will be leading a young Indian side after Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin bid adieu to the format.
Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on Heinrich Klaasen’s whirlwind century to thrash Kolkata Knight Riders in their last match of IPL 2025 on Sunday. While Klaasen’s unbeaten 39-ball 105 powered SRH to 278/3, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga and Harsh Dubey starred with the ball picking up three wickets apiece.
Brief score: SRH 278/3 (20) [Heinrich Klaasen 105*(37), Travis Head 76(40); Sunil Narine 2/42(4)] beat KKR 168/10 (18.4) [Manish Pandey 37(23); Jaydev Unadkat 3/24(4), Eshan Malinga 3/31(3.4)] by 110 runs.
Opting to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Sunrisers Hyderabad got off the blocks swiftly with openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head scoring boundaries for fun. Head hit two sixes and a four off Vaibhav Arora in the third over before scoring three boundaries off Harshit Rana in the next over as SRH romped past the 50-run mark. At the other end, Abhishek warmed up with two boundaries each in Anrich Nortje’s first two overs to take the side to 79/0 at the end of six overs. With Abhishek getting dismissed after consecutive sixes off Sunil Narine in the next over, Heinrich Klaasen stepped in to keep the momentum going. He smashed a six and three boundaries in Varun Chakravarthy’s first two overs before hitting a four and two sixes off Harshit Rana to complete his fastest fifty in IPL in just 17 balls. The wicketkeeper-batter continued in the same vein even after Head departed for 76 off 40 balls to take the side past the 200-run mark in the 15th over. The South African batter smashed boundaries to all parts of the ground reaching his century in just 37 balls, the joint-third fastest in the history of IPL, and remained unbeaten on 105 to take SRH to 278/3 in 20 overs. For KKR, Narine was the pick among the bowlers picking up 2/42 in his four overs.
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India’s Mahendra Gurjar etched his name in history books on Sunday when he registered a world record throw at the Nottwil World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Switzerland. Gurjar’s remarkable throw of 61.17 meters secured him the gold and record in the F42 javelin throw category. Athletes with movement moderately affected in one leg participate under the F42 classification. His throw surpassed the previous world record of 59.19 meters set by Brazil’s Edenilson Roberto Floriani in 2022.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar has made a surprising statement about Chennai Super Kings (CSK), suggesting that MS Dhoni’s presence has hindered Ruturaj Gaikwad’s development as a future leader.
Bangar’s comment came just before what might be Dhoni’s final IPL match, as the five-time champions face Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Sunday. He implied that both Gaikwad and Ravindra Jadeja have struggled to develop as leaders because they have been overshadowed by Dhoni.
India Squad Announcement for England, Highlights: Shubman Gill has been named the new Test captain of Team India, as the squad for the Test series against England was announced by the BCCI on Saturday. Wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has been chosen as the new vice-captain in Test cricket, meaning that pacer Jasprit Bumrah misses out on a leadership role. Pacer Mohammed Shami and batter Shreyas Iyer were among the big names left out of the squad announced by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. A new wera is expected to begin for India, following the Test retirements of stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Full India squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, B Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.
Winners in their debut season in 2022, runners-up in 2023, group stage exit in 2024 and come 2025, the Gujarat Titans are back in the playoffs with an eye on their second title. On paper, their batting looks top-heavy but such has been the dominance of their top order that the middle order hasn't been called into action too much.
Prasidh Krishna's breakthrough season has been the backbone of GT's bowling efforts with the lanky pacer being the all-phase wicket-taking option for skipper Shubman Gill. Sai Kishore, despite being underused in a few games, has shouldered the spin attack to compensate for Rashid's lean patch. All this shows how GT have moulded themselves into a well-knit unit that doesn't depend on a single individual to get the job done. Losing Jos Buttler for the playoffs is a massive blow but for these league games, he along with Gill and Orange Cap holder Sai Sudharsan continue to be a nightmare for bowling attacks.
Shubman Gill incredible double hundred against New Zealand on Wednesday set a tonne of records (January 18). In addition to becoming the highest individual scorer in the limited overs cricket match against New Zealand, Gill has become just the fifth Indian player to get a 200 in ODIs.Shubman Gill
The batsman struck three straight sixes to reach his first double-century during his elite innings in Hyderabad, which came in fine form. The list of his milestones and accomplishments in this nascent career is long and includes becoming the second-fastest player to 1000 ODI runs at the moment. Being the youngest player to strike a double century in ODIs is another noteworthy accomplishment made by the elegant batter. Here, including Shubman Gill, are the five ODI double-hundred-run scorers who are the youngest ever.
top five of the Order of Merit after finishing tied ninth at the Dutch Ladies Open. | Photo Credit: AP
GOLF
Diksha leads Indian charge at Jabra Ladies Open
In-form Indian golfer Diksha Dagar will look to build on her top-10 finishes and aim for the title when she tees off at the Ladies European Tour’s Jabra Open starting at Evian-les-Bains, France, on Thursday.
Apart from Diksha, the Indian challenge will also include Tvesa Malik, Avani Prashanth and Hitaashee Bakshi.
Pranavi Urs, who injured her wrist during the Dutch Ladies Open and had to withdraw, will rest out this and the next week.
Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri feels star India batter Virat Kohli should've continued to play Test cricket and even captained India in the upcoming England tour. Kohli recently retired from Tests after playing 123 matches ahead of the all-important England tour. The former India captain was just 770 runs from entering the elite list of batters with 10000 runs in Test cricket.
Women's FA Cup final: Chelsea v Manchester United
Venue: Wembley Date: Sunday, 18 May Kick-off: 13:30 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC Two, 5 Sports Extra and text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app
The defending champions versus the domestic treble chasers.
After days of uncertainty, Mitchell Starc has reportedly written an email to the Delhi Capitals (DC), informing them abo
Starc was part of the Dharamsala match that was suspended midway on 8 May after Pakistan attacked cities across the northwestern border. The players from the two teams – Punjab Kings (PBKS) and DC were evacuated from Dharamsala through a special train as the airport was closed.
Government bans China's Global Times' X handle for spreading unverified claims on Indian armed forces
The greatest of conquerors the world has ever seen had their own war cries before they took their men into battle. However, everyone's purpose was the same --- to invigorate their troops as they ascended towards their collective goal. On the 16th of August 2021, the hallowed turf of Lord's witnessed another conqueror blurt out the most fiery speech ever heard on a cricket field, which led to his men completing a victory for the ages.
Smriti Mandhana rises to 2nd spot in ODI batting rankings after prolific tri series
India batter Smriti Mandhana has risen to the second spot in the ICC women's ODI batting rankings following her remarkable performance in the recent tri-series against Sri Lanka and South Africa. Mandhana played a key role in India's triumph as she scored a magnificent hundred in the final of the tri-nation tournament against Sri Lanka and set up a comprehensive 97-run victory for her team.
Manchester United Staff Denied Europa League Final Tickets As Sir Jim Ratcliffe's Cost-Cutting Initiative Continues, Spurs Gift Tickets
Gold Storage Limit: How much gold can you keep at home without an income tax raid?
In India, gold is not just a metal, but a symbol of heritage, tradition, and faith. Across India, from north to south, people have a special attachment to gold. Be it a wedding or a festival, every happiness seems incomplete without gold. This is the reason why Indian families have been accumulating gold from generation to generation—sometimes in the form of jewellery and sometimes in the form of coins.
Virat Kohli Test Retirement: Anushka Sharma's Co-Star Katrina Kaif Reacts, Ananya Panday Shows Support
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is showing immense urgency in resuming the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League, and wrapping it up within the assigned window, as all franchises, except Punjab Kings, have been reportedly told to assemble their players at their respective home venues.
Sport includes all forms of competitive physical activity or games which,through casual or organized participation, at least in part aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainment for spectators.Sports can bring positive results to one's physical health. Hundreds of sports exist, from those between single contestants, through to those with hundreds of simultaneous participants, either in teams or competing as individuals. In certain sports such as racing, many contestants may compete, simultaneously or consecutively, with one winner; in others, the contest (a match) is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a "tie" or "draw", in which there is no single winner; others provide tie-breaking methods to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion. Many sports leagues make an annual champion by arranging games in a regular sports season, followed in some cases by playoffs.
Sport is generally recognised as system of activities which are based in physical athleticism or physical dexterity, with the largest major competitions such as the Olympic Games admitting only sports meeting this definition,and other organisations such as the Council of Europe using definitions precluding activities without a physical element from classification as sports.However, a number of competitive, but non-physical, activities claim recognition as mind sports. The International Olympic Committee (through ARISF) recognises both chess and bridge as bona fide sports, and SportAccord, the international sports federation association, recognises five non-physical sports: bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), Go and xiangqi,and limits the number of mind games which can be admitted as sports.
Sport is usually governed by a set of rules or customs, which serve to ensure fair competition, and allow consistent adjudication of the winner. Winning can be determined by physical events such as scoring goals or crossing a line first. It can also be determined by judges who are scoring elements of the sporting performance, including objective or subjective measures such as technical performance or artistic impression.
Records of performance are often kept, and for popular sports, this information may be widely announced or reported in sport news. Sport is also a major source of entertainment for non-participants, with spectator sport drawing large crowds to sport venues, and reaching wider audiences through broadcasting. Sport betting is in some cases severely regulated, and in some cases is central to the sport.
According to A.T. Kearney, a consultancy, the global sporting industry is worth up to $620 billion as of 2013.The world's most accessible and practised sport is running, while association football is the most popular spectator sport.
Welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage from Day 5 of the India vs England 2nd Test match being played at Edgbaston in Birmingham. India has s...
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