Mumbai Indians' (MI) star batter Suryakumar Yadav remains optimistic about his form heading into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), despite a tough run in his last T20I series against England. The dynamic right-hander, who managed only 28 runs in five matches during the England series, joked about his struggles during the CSK vs MI pre-match press conference, assuring fans that he believes a turnaround is on the horizon.

Suryakumar, who has been a vital cog in Mumbai Indians’ middle order, will lead the five-time champion in their season opener after captain Hardik Pandya, who is currently serving a one-match suspension won't be available for the match.

Reflecting on his recent international performances, the 34-year-old revealed that his decision to bat at No.4 in T20Is was a strategic move to allow young Tilak Varma to make a greater impact at No.3. "Fortunately, in the IPL, the form has been good,” said Suryakumar in the pre-match presser.

Lewis Hamilton delivered a statement win in the Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix, securing his first victory for Ferrari and silencing the doubts surrounding his switch to the Italian team.

The seven-time World Champion, who has dominated at the Shanghai International Circuit in the past with six Grand Prix wins, put in a commanding performance to finish 6.889 seconds ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.

The victory comes as a huge boost for Hamilton, who endured a difficult outing in Australia, where he struggled to get comfortable in the SF-25. After his disappointing performance in Melbourne, critics were quick to question whether he could adapt to his new surroundings at Ferrari. However, Hamilton hit back at those doubts, highlighting the challenges of transitioning to a new team.

Ashleigh Gardner has been ruled out for the rest of Australia's T20I tour of New Zealand due to a finger injury, with uncapped Brisbane Heat and Queensland all-rounder Charli Knott being called up as a replacement.

Gardner left the field immediately after being struck on her right index finger while attempting to catch a powerful return shot from Sophie Devine during the 17th over of Friday's first T20I in Auckland. She was taken for scans, which revealed a fracture in her right index finger. Gardner will undergo further scans and consult with a specialist upon returning to Sydney.

Serving as vice-captain to Tahlia McGrath on this tour, Gardner’s replacement for Sunday’s second T20I has yet to be confirmed.

Knott, a 22-year-old off-spin bowling all-rounder, has earned her first call-up to the Australia squad following a standout domestic season. In the 2024-25 Women's National Cricket League, she was the fourth-highest run scorer with 542 runs at an average of 54.2, including her maiden WNCL century - a match-winning 110 against South Australia at Adelaide Oval.

South Korea’s Byeong Hun An hopes a mind shift in his mental approach will steer him to a maiden PGA Tour victory after charging into contention at the Valspar Championship with a 4-under 67 on Friday.

The 33-year-old An hit five birdies against a lone bogey at Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead Course) in Palm Harbor, Florida where his 5-under total was good for tied second place alongside Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune (66) and 2023 FedExCup champion, Viktor Hovland (67). American Jacob Bridgeman leads the USD 8.7 million tournament by one stroke after a 69.

Chinese Taipei’s Kevin Yu and three-time PGA Tour winner, Tom Kim sit in a share of 14th after rounds of 68 and 66 respectively as the Asian contingent showed up in strength on the second day.

Carlos Alcaraz was defeated 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 by Belgium’s David Goffin in the second round of the Miami Open on Friday (local time). Goffin managed to break the second seed in each set, sealing the win on his second match point when Alcaraz, sliding across the court, couldn't return a forehand that Goffin expertly placed in the corner.

Next for Goffin is American Brandon Nakashima, who triumphed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 over Roberto Carballes Baena.

Six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic marked his highly anticipated return to the tournament with a dominant 6-0, 7-6(1) win over Australia's Rinky Hijikata, advancing to the third round. This was Djokovic’s first Miami appearance since 2019 and his victory was his 410th ATP Masters 1000 match win, tying him with Rafael Nadal for the most all-time wins in the series.

Lewis Hamilton has claimed victory in the first Sprint of the 2025 season at the Chinese Grand Prix, the Ferrari driver putting in an assured drive to add to his tally of wins in Shanghai and claim his debut P1 for the Scuderia.

After a strong start when the lights went out, Hamilton went on to build a commanding lead and – while it was not entirely smooth sailing, his SF-25 experiencing graining on the tyres at one stage – the seven-time World Champion looked in stunning form across the 19-lap event.

Max Verstappen spent much of the Sprint running in second but lost out to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with a few laps to spare, putting the Red Bull in third, while Mercedes’ George Russell held onto fourth despite a late-race battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, the latter having to settle for fifth.

Ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) starting their IPL 2025 campaign on March 22, Sarandeep Singh, the former India spinner and national selector, believes Virat Kohli has evolved into someone who knows when to do the improvisation in his batting and then run the game accordingly.

As per statistics from Cricket-21, in IPL 2024, Kohli showed a new approach to his T20 batting while becoming the tournament’s leading run-getter with 741 runs in 15 games. His powerplay strike rate stood at 161, which was up from 120, his usual strike rate in that phase. 72% of his runs came in boundaries during the powerplay.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the return of the IPL Fan Parks for the 2025 season, expanding the premier cricket viewing experience to 50 cities across 23 states and one union territory.

"The 2025 edition of the IPL Fan Parks will span 10 weekends, starting on March 22 and concluding on May 25. From Tinsukia (Assam) in the northeast to Kochi (Kerala) in the south and from Amritsar (Punjab) in the north to Goa in the west, the Fan Parks will cover the length and breadth of India," the BCCI said in a release on Thursday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has lifted the ban on the use of saliva to shine the ball in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season commencing on Saturday. The decision was taken during the meeting of the captains and managers at the board's headquarters in Mumbai after the majority of captains approved the proposal.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) in May 2020 barred players from using saliva to polish the ball as a temporary measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in September 2022, it was permanently banned by the ICC.

According to the Cricbuzz report, lifting a ban on saliva is one of the key decisions made by the BCCI and the IPL management for the upcoming season.

India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy revealed that a light-hearted dressing room banter with the talismanic Virat Kohli resulted in him getting the shoes gifted by the former skipper, which he wore when he hit his first Test century against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“Back in the locker room, he (Kohli) once asked Sarfaraz (Khan), ‘Sarfu, tera size kya hai?’ (Sarfaraz, what’s your shoe size?), and he said, ‘Nine.’ Then he turned to me, and I thought, ‘Oh my god, I have to guess this correctly,’ because even if they weren’t my size, I really wanted his shoes. I said, ‘10,’ and he gave them to me. In the next match, I wore those shoes and scored a hundred!" said Reddy in a podcast on PUMA’s Youtube channel on Thursday.