Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to field first against Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 15 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday. Hosts Kolkata Knight Riders have made one change in their playing XI with Moeen Ali coming in for Australian pacer Spencer Johnson, whereas visitors Sunrisers Hyderabad also made a few changes with Kamindu Mendis making his IPL debut in place of Abhinav Manohar. Simarjeet Singh replaces Travis Head.

Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said, "We are going to have a bowl first. It looks like a pretty good wicket. I'm terrible at reading wickets. Have a crack with the ball. We have played in the final. They played really well last year.

Gujarat Titans fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada has gone back home to South Africa from the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to some personal reasons.

Rabada had played the first two matches of the franchise in IPL 2025, where he returned with expensive figures of 1-41 and 1-42 in the side’s matches against Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Rabada had missed GT’s eight-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru due to personal reasons. “Kagiso Rabada has returned to South Africa to deal with an important personal matter,” said a statement by Gujarat Titans on Thursday.

After facing disqualification in the Chinese Grand Prix for technical infringements, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has expressed confidence in the team's abilities to overcome any challenges in the season ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Ferrari faced double disqualification from the Chinese Grand Prix after Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc finished fifth and sixth in Shanghai. However, the British driver won his first race at Ferrari with a top finish in the Sprint race.

“I was at the factory during the week and was really impressed with how the team digested and worked through the analysis and figured out ways of working better moving forward – better processes and just making sure that, hopefully, that doesn’t happen again,” Hamilton said.

Ahead of their next match against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2025 season, Mumbai Indians players including Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Deepak Chahar and Karn Sharma visited the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.

In a picture shared by the franchise on social media on Thursday, Suryakumar and Deepak were seen along with their wives Devisha and Jaya, respectively.

In their previous match against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians registered a dominating eight-wicket win and ended their two-game losing streak in their first home fixture at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

Premier New Zealand batter Kane Williamson feels Virat Kohli’s dismissal in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s eight-wicket defeat to Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 was just a case of how situations like this happen on certain occasions.

At the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kohli was cramped on the pull and was caught at deep square leg off left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Arshad Khan for just seven. "It was just an instinctive shot—one that Virat has played a million times before. This time, it went straight to the fielder. He’s hit it for six plenty of times, he’s flicked it along the ground, but sometimes, that’s just how the game goes," said Williamson on JioHotstar.

“It was a huge wicket for GT because Virat at Chinnaswamy is incredibly destructive. He has scored around 3,000 runs here and knows how to bat long and play match-winning knocks. So, getting him out early was crucial for Gujarat Titans," he added.

Diogo Jota scored a 57th-minute goal to see Liverpool win the Merseyside derby 1-0 against Everton and retain a 12-point lead in the Premier League.

Jota's goal after Luis Diaz's back-heel was enough to beat a well-organized defense and leave Arne Slot's side needing just 13 points from eight games to assure the title.

Jack Grealish needed just two minutes to open the scoring for Manchester City at home to struggling Leicester City, taking advantage of an assist from Savinho, reports.

Omar Marmoush doubled the lead before the half hour, showing there is life without the injured Erling Haaland.

VfB Stuttgart will meet third-tier side Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup final after a 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig.

The home team started strong and took the lead in the fifth minute when a poorly cleared corner kick fell to Angelo Stiller at the edge of the box. The midfielder then unleashed a stunning volley that went under the crossbar.

Ermedin Demirovic nearly doubled the lead shortly afterward, but his shot was saved by Leipzig goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoort, reports.

Leipzig began to find its rhythm and created several opportunities, with Lois Openda and Xavi Simons testing Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nubel, who remained solid throughout the first half to maintain his team's narrow lead.

FC Barcelona won 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid to secure a Copa del Rey final spot against Real Madrid

For the first time since 2014, the Copa del Rey Final is going to be a Clasico as Barcelona have won at the Metropolitano for the second time in a fortnight and are through to the final of a competition they have already won a record 31 times.

Ferran Torres' first-half goal sealed Barca's spot in the Cup final in a game where Barca dominated the first 45 minutes before Atletico took control after the break, reports.

Barca coach Hansi Flick surprised many with his starting lineup, fielding Torres ahead of top scorer Robert Lewandowski, while Fermin Lopez started instead of Gavi, who replaced the injured Dani Olmo.

Uncapped fast-bowling all-rounder Arshad Khan comes in for fast bowler Kagiso Rabada as Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bowl first against an unchanged Royal Challengers Bengaluru in match 14 of IPL 2025 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s match is also table toppers, RCB’s first home game and fourth ranked GT’s maiden away game of the ongoing season. After winning the toss, GT skipper said Rabada is unavailable for the clash due to personal reasons, paving the way for Arshad to come into the playing eleven.

Extending their dominance in white-ball cricket, New Zealand’s young squad sealed an emphatic 84-run victory over Pakistan in Hamilton on Wednesday, securing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. With several first-team regulars absent due to franchise commitments, the Black Caps fielded a relatively inexperienced side. However, according to Mitchell Hay, experience was never an issue for this promising squad.

“There are some pretty experienced guys here, both internationally and domestically, which have been great to talk to and learn from,” Hay remarked after the second ODI. “On paper, guys may not have played a lot of international cricket, but within the group, there's immense knowledge to tap into. It’s a great place for New Zealand cricket to be in, with healthy competition for spots.”

Hay himself was at the center of New Zealand’s triumph, narrowly missing out on a maiden international century. His blistering knock of 99 off 78 balls proved instrumental in guiding the hosts to victory. Partnering with Muhammad Abbas, the duo stabilized the innings after a shaky start, ensuring that New Zealand posted a formidable total.