Punjab Kings have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants in match 13 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

For Punjab, New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson is making his debut for the franchise.

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer said, “We are going to bowl first. It's a new ground, new pitch, dew could be a factor as well and this being a red-soil pitch, we want to chase. The players have the freedom to express themselves. You have to play the situation, the important goal is to win. We try to keep things simple. We don't know how the pitch is going to play but we have to adjust quickly. Lockie comes into the team.”

On the other hand, Lucknow are fielding the same 11 which won against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant said, “We wanted to bowl first but there are things which are not under our control so happy to bat first. There are a lot of people who have come to support us, we are definitely going to give our best. No changes for us.”

Northern District have won the Plunket Shield First-Class competition in decisive fashion in Dunedin on Tuesday, for the first time since 2011/12. It is a poetic moment for Neil Wagner, who concludes his domestic career at the same ground he started at back in 2008.

Coincidentally, Wagner’s debut game was for Otago against Northern District. He made the move up north for the 2018/19 season.

The Kiwi pacer retired from international cricket in 2024 and has now secured one of the only honours he had not been able to in 17 years.

Indian women’s hockey stalwart Vandana Katariya has officially announced her retirement from international hockey, bringing an end to an extraordinary career that spanned over 15 years.

With 320 international appearances and 158 goals to her name, Vandana leaves as the most capped player in the history of Indian women’s hockey. But beyond the numbers, she leaves behind an inspiring legacy—a tale of resilience, quiet determination, and a relentless hunger to push Indian women’s hockey to greater heights.

The 32-year-old forward, who made her senior team debut in 2009, was an integral part of some of the most defining moments in the sport, including India’s historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she became the first and only Indian woman to score a hat-trick at the Games.

New Zealand batter Mark Chapman will miss the second Chemist Warehouse ODI against Pakistan in Hamilton, on Wednesday (IST) due to a right hamstring injury. Chapman sustained the injury while fielding during the first ODI in Napier and a subsequent MRI scan revealed a grade one tear which will require a short period of rehabilitation.

Chapman, who scored a career-best 132 in the series opener at McLean Park, will return to Auckland for rehabilitation with the aim to be available for the third and final ODI at Bay Oval on Saturday.

Top-order batter Tim Seifert will replace Chapman in the squad in Hamilton. Seifert joins the squad off the back of a memorable T20I series against Pakistan where he topped the run scoring charts with 249 runs averaging 62.

Jakub Mensik overcame rain and an opponent chasing history when he stunned six-time champion Novak Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(4) for the Miami Open trophy.

The 19-year-old Czech player stopped Djokovic from claiming the 100th tour-level title of his career to become the second-youngest titlist in tournament history behind Carlos Alcaraz, who lifted the trophy in 2022 as an 18-year-old.

"To be honest I don't know what to say. It feels incredible, obviously. It was probably the biggest day of my life and I did super, which I'm really glad [about], to show the performance and keep the nerves outside of the court before the match. I feel just super happy and I think that the feelings will come later," Mensik said in his on-court interview.

Hardik Pandya is back to lead the Mumbai Indians as the five-time champions won the toss and elected to bowl first against Gujarat Titans in ninth match of IPL 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.

Both teams are coming off a defeat in their respective opening games and a win for one of the two sides will get them to open their account in the points table. Hardik had missed MI’s season opener against Chennai Super Kings due to a one-match ban he copped for maintaining a slow over rate last year.

Apart from Hardik, spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is also included in the playing eleven, with Robin Minz, Will Jacks and Vignesh Puthur, who took 3-32 against CSK on debut, making way. “The simple reason is we don't know how the pitch will play, plus the dew factor. It's always better to bat second on the black-soil pitch. Only last year we played on black soil, otherwise we have been playing on red soil. Last year, we had the game under wraps but couldn't finish it.”

The historic gold medal clinched by the Indian men’s regu team at the Sepak Takraw World Cup 2025 in Patna, has been a result of multiple years of training at various Sports Authority of India (SAI) centres. India defeated Japan 2-1 in a dramatic final showdown in the competition, held from March 20 to 25 at the Pataliputra Indoor Stadium.

The Indian contingent returned home with a total of seven medals, including one gold, one silver and five bronze. The men’s regu team secured gold, while the women’s doubles team clinched silver. Bronze medals were won by the men’s doubles team, women’s regu team, mixed quad team, women’s quad team, and men’s quad team.

Their victory was lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took to X to commend the achievement, stating, “This spectacular performance indicates a promising future for India in the global Sepak Takraw arena.”

Lahore Qalandars have appointed Russell Domingo as their new head coach for the 10th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) after Darren Gough stepped down due to "unavoidable personal commitments".

Gough was initially named Qalandars' head coach for the Global Super League in Guyana last year, with a long-term plan in place for him to continue in the role for PSL 10. Despite Qalandars' early exit in the group stage of the Super League, the franchise was impressed with Gough’s tactical expertise and had backed him for the upcoming PSL season.

"It's a sad news for myself and the Qalandars that I will not be able to make it to the PSL this year due to personal commitments that were unavoidable. However, my best wishes with the team, as once a Qalandar always a Qalandar.

Bayer Leverkusen kept their Bundesliga title hopes alive after closing the gap on leaders Bayern Munich to three points with a 3-1 victory over VfL Bochum on Saturday.

Leverkusen made their intentions of staying in the title race clear early on. Dominating possession and controlling the tempo, the hosts were rewarded in the 20th minute when Aleix Garcia found space outside the area and curled a shot into the top corner, leaving Bochum goalkeeper Timo Horn with no chance, reported.

But the visitors, desperate for points in their relegation battle, made quick response. Six minutes later, Felix Passlack stunned the home crowd with a volley from the edge of the area to level the scores.

Despite enjoying over 70 percent of the possession in the first half, Leverkusen struggled to convert their dominance into further goals as Bochum defended well and looked dangerous on the counterattack.

Brazilian football is once again in search of a leader after the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced the dismissal of head coach Dorival Junior on Friday. The decision comes after a series of underwhelming performances, culminating in a crushing 4-1 defeat to Argentina in Buenos Aires—Brazil’s worst loss in a World Cup qualifier.

CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues confirmed Junior’s departure at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, signaling the beginning of yet another coaching hunt.

“The confederation announces that Dorival Júnior’s cycle is over,” Rodrigues stated. “From now on, we will work in the search for a substitute. Much has been said about (the confederation) contacting A, B or C coach, but I should say that (comment) was never coming from this president or anyone that the president authorized.”

Junior, 62, took charge of the national team 14 months ago but failed to inspire confidence. Brazil has struggled in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, currently sitting in fifth place, with only the top six teams earning automatic qualification.