Former New Zealand cricketer turned broadcaster Simon Doull had made heads turn when he said in 2018 that Shubman Gill will have a longer career playing for India than Prithvi Shaw.

Cut to now, and Doull’s prediction has come true so far, as Gill top-scored with a composed 90 in India’s first innings score of 263 and taking a 28-run lead in the ongoing third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Shaw and Gill were captain and vice-captain when India won the 2018 U19 World Cup in New Zealand. Later that year, Shaw made a hundred on Test debut against West Indies in Rajkot, while Gill took time to enter the Test cricket arena, but has now firmly established himself across all formats for India.

Akash Deep claimed the key wicket of New Zealand skipper Tom Latham as the visitors reached 26/1 in nine overs at tea on the second day of the third Test after Ajaz Patel claimed a five-wicket haul to restrict India's first innings to 263, allowing the hosts just a 28-run lead.

Akash Deep bowled Latham with a superb delivery that landed on a good length and nipped back to sneak through the gap between the bat and pad to disturb the stumps. Latham, who had survived a close appeal on the previous delivery, was out for 1 but New Zealand survived the next few overs to go in for tea at 26/1 in nine overs.

Devon Conway was batting on 15 and Will Young was on 8 at tea with New Zealand just two runs behind Indi and the game evenly poised once again on a knife's edge.

Earlier, Patel's five-wicket haul helped New Zealand bowl out for 263, preventing the hosts from taking a big lead. With Shubman Gill (90) and Rishabh Pant (60) batting aggressively in the morning, India were looking at taking a big lead as they reached 195/5 at lunch.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Faruque Ahmed said that veteran allrounder Shakib Al Hasan's participation in the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan is unlikely.

Shakib has been out of action since the last month's second Test against India in Kanpur. He missed the ongoing two-match Test series against South Africa due to safety reasons. He is aiming to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 League for Bangla Tigers to get some game time before the Caribbean tour.

Following their three ODIs against Afghanistan, Bangladesh will travel to the West Indies for a tour featuring two Tests, three ODIs, and three T20Is. Shakib, having retired from Tests and T20Is, will only participate in the ODI series in the Caribbean, as well as the Champions Trophy scheduled for February 2025. This will be his first ODI appearance since the World Cup in India last year.

World number six Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the American squad for the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Spain next month and will be replaced by 20-year-old and world-ranked 65 Ashlyn Krueger, the USTA said.

Krueger will join Danielle Collins, Caroline Dolehide, Peyton Stearns and Taylor Townsend on Davenport's team that will compete at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena from November 13-20, and for the first time, be held concurrently with the Davis Cup Finals at the same venue.

The US has also qualified for the Davis Cup Finals, which will be held from November 19-24. This year’s event will be a historic occasion, held concurrently with the Davis Cup Finals at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena.

Manchester City exited the Carabao Cup following a 2-1 defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur, who inflicted City’s first defeat of the season in all competitions to reach the quarterfinals.

Goals from Timo Werner and Pape Matar Sarr put the hosts in control in Round Four encounter in the capital.

Matheus Nunes produced a fine finish in first half stoppage time, raising hopes of a comeback by Pep Guardiola’s Blues but they couldn’t find a leveller in the second period to force penalties.

Timo Werner struck a fantastic early goal to give Spurs the perfect start which was enhanced further thanks to an equally-impressive finish from Pape Matar Sarr, before the visitors pulled one back on the stroke of half-time through Nunes.

Three first-half goals sent Leipzig through to the last 16 of the German Cup with a 4-2 win over St. Pauli on Tuesday.

The Red Bulls took the initiative against the defensive-minded visitors, needing just 12 minutes to break the deadlock. St. Pauli failed to clear the ball out of the area, allowing Yussuf Poulsen to slot home from six meters.

The hosts continued to press, and five minutes later, Christoph Baumgartner headed in Lutsharel Geertruida's pinpoint cross, reports.

St. Pauli halved the deficit on the half-hour mark when Morgan Guilavogui latched onto Johannes Eggestein's cutback pass.

Concerns arose when the BCCI announced on October 25 that speedster Mayank Yadav, who made his international debut in the T20Is against Bangladesh, would miss India’s four-match series against South Africa scheduled from November 8-15, due to injury.

Sources have told IANS that Mayank, who took four wickets in India’s 3-0 series victory against Bangladesh, is likely to be sidelined for a few months because of a back problem. Mayank is currently at the BCCI’s newly inaugurated Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

“He’s back here for another problem, which might keep him out for two-three months. Mostly its something related to the back, but there’s not much clarity into it. But then, it’s also something which is believed to keep him out for a considerable amount of time.

After the dominating performance throughout the season that led to their third Indian Premier League (IPL) title earlier this year, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will have the daunting task upfront of choosing their six retentions ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction. The side led by Shreyas Iyer finished at the top of the standings with nine wins in 14 games in the league stage and went on to outclass Sunrisers Hyderabad in the summit clash.

With the impressive performance last season, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh picked Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Phil Salt, and Sunil Narine as five possible retentions by the Kolkata-based franchise to keep their core group intact.

“KKR dominated the entire season, so it will be difficult for them to leave or retain anyone. But it's a matter of retention, so you only have limited numbers that you can retain. If I want to see or if I have to choose my 6 players, which 6 players will be there for KKR? I think Shreyas Iyer will be there, Phil Salt will be there, Narine will be there, Andre Russell will be there, Rinku Singh will be there," Harbhajan told Star Sports.

They worked long and hard for that dream for over a year and were within four minutes of realising it. But it wasn't meant to be for the spirited India junior men's football team, whose 2-3 defeat to Thailand ended their U17 Asian Cup and World Cup dreams.

Crestfallen, shattered, broken. You could run out of synonyms to describe the scenes in the Indian dugout after the full-time whistle. Some sobbed inconsolably, some had heads buried in their hands, and some were still trying to process what had just hit them. And why wouldn't they be? For 86 minutes of the match, India had the ticket to Saudi Arabia in their bag. Ultimately, one moment of quality from Thailand snatched it away from them.

Ishfaq Ahmed's boys always played with a proactive mindset and for all three points. They had been steamrolling opponents left, right, and centre. Their tally of 28 goals in nine matches this year says it all. They have beaten Indonesia at their home. Against Thailand, they led twice in an environment they had never played football in before -- a passionate opposition crowd, jeers, whistles, and non-stop drumming.

Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar reignited his domestic season in stunning fashion, blasting fifth fastest hundred in Ranji Trophy history in just 68 balls against Haryana on Tuesday.

Patidar's century not only secured him a place in the record books but also lifted Madhya Pradesh's chances in their third-round clash at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

Coming in at No. 3 on the final day of play, Patidar set the game alight with an electrifying knock that eclipsed the previous Madhya Pradesh record for the fastest Ranji Trophy century, leapfrogging Naman Ojha's 69-ball hundred against Karnataka in 2015. The all-time record remains with Rishabh Pant, who smashed a 48-ball hundred in 2016 against Jharkhand.