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.

Delhi seamer Harshit Rana’s promising domestic season took an exciting turn on Tuesday as he was called up to join India’s squad for the third Test against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, sources say.

The 22-year-old Delhi fast bowler, who impressed in the ongoing season with both ball and bat, is likely to make his Test debut on Friday. He is set to miss the round four matches for Delhi and will be leaving for Mumbai on Tuesday evening.

The young pacer’s call-up to the Test squad marks another step in what has been a rapid ascent in India’s domestic scene. A day before India’s recent series loss to New Zealand in Pune, he was also named in the 18-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

Rana's inclusion comes after a stellar performance in Delhi’s Ranji Trophy third-round match against Assam, after being released from his role as a travelling reserve with the national team to gain match practice.

After their bronze medal-winning campaign at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia, the Indian Junior Men's Team have had some time to reflect on their performance at the marquee event where they beat New Zealand in a thrilling play-off match to win the bronze.

Echoing the team's sentiments, Skipper Amir Ali said, "We were very disappointed after missing out on the final due to goal difference. But as a team, we decided there was no point looking back at what we could have done better. We decided to focus on the bronze medal match and told ourselves that we can't go back home empty handed."

The player draft for the inaugural Lanka T10 Super League will take place on November 10 in Colombo. The tournament is scheduled from December 12 to 22, featuring six franchise teams and showcasing local and international players in cricket's fastest format.

Each franchise will select up to 17 players and a minimum 15 players for their squads. With the player registration deadline closing on November 1 and the direct player signing deadline on November 5, each franchise must sign six players directly from each category: one Icon player, one Platinum player, one Category A player from Sri Lanka, and one from overseas, similarly from category B, allowing franchises to secure one local and one overseas player.

The draft will have 11 rounds, with the first round decided by a manual draw and the remaining rounds determined by a randomizer for pick orders. The randomizer uses an algorithm to ensure all franchises have an equal weight.

Australian wicketkeeper-batter Mathew Wade has announced his retirement from international cricket and will step into an assistant coaching role with the national side.

Wade calls time on a 13-year international career having appeared for Australia on more than 200 occasions, with the majority of those coming via the two white-ball formats. A T20 World Cup 2021 winner, Wade finishes up having played 36 Test matches, 97 ODIs and 92 T20Is for Australia, having also captained the ODI and T20 sides.

The wicketkeeper-batter, however, will continue to play white-ball cricket for Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes, as well as in some overseas leagues. Plans for his post-playing career are already in train with the 36-year-old set to be Australia's wicketkeeping and fielding coach for next month's T20 series against Pakistan.

Kane Williamson will not travel to India for the third Test in Mumbai to ensure he is fit for the upcoming three-Test series against England, the New Zealand Cricket said on Tuesday.

Williamson has been battling a groin complaint he picked up against Sri Lanka last month and hasn't featured for the BlackCaps through their drought-breaking victories in the opening two matches of the series against India.

"A cautious approach will instead be taken which will see Williamson continue his groin injury rehabilitation in New Zealand ahead of the first England Test starting at Hagley Oval on November 28," it said in a statement.