Sport

Ravindra Jadeja has been named in Saurashtra’s squad for their Ranji Trophy opener against Chhattisgarh on October 11, with Jaydev Unadkat as captain. The team will aim to improve after its group-stage exit last season and begin campaign in Rajkot.

Former India captain Anjum Chopra says Smriti Mandhana should develop her leadership style rather than emulate Harmanpreet Kaur. She believes Mandhana’s experience, including successfully leading Royal Challengers Bengaluru to WPL titles, will help her address India’s challenges across formats.

Anjum Chopra says Harmanpreet Kaur’s greatest legacy will be India’s 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup triumph on home soil. She credits the former captain with building a stronger team while questioning India’s T20 approach and highlighting concerns over bowling depth.

The Hyderabad Cricket Association has appointed Mamta Kanojia as head coach of the Hyderabad senior women’s team for the 2026-27 season. Harsha Harinarayan, Bogi Shravani, Kreethi, Anjana Chowdhary and S Monica Preeti will form the support staff.

Kakatiya Knights stunned Mighty Marathas in a dramatic comeback on the opening night of Archery Premier League Season 2 in Hyderabad. Defending champions Rajputana Royals and Chero Archers also began their campaigns with regulation-time victories over Prithviraaj Yodhas and Chola Chiefs.

Rajputana Royals defeated Prithviraaj Yodhas 5-3 in the opening match of the second Archery Premier League edition in Hyderabad. Ojas Deotale, Ella Gibson and Mete Gazoz helped the Royals withstand a strong Yodhas fightback and secure victory on Wednesday.

Samarth Dwivedi and Gaganjeet Bhullar shared the lead at nine-under 131 after the second round of the AM Green IGPL Krishna Invitational 2026 Hyderabad, while Veer Ganapathy and Manav Shah surged into contention with joint-best 61s

Saatvic Kumar Singh held a one-shot lead at the IGU Western India Junior Boys Golf Championship in Pune, with just three strokes separating the top seven players. Nilofer Sivamoorthy, Vihaan Jain and Shaurya Dagar shared second place

The Paralympic Committee of India organised a send-off ceremony for India’s contingent ahead of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games. The contingent will target around 100 medals after India’s record 111-medal haul at the previous Games in Hangzhou

Shubhankar Sharma fired a seven-under 65 to take a four-shot lead after the second round of the Vishwa Samudra presents Kapil Dev Invitational Tour Championship powered by NALCO at Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort in Greater Noida

Aditya Javvaji smashed a 107-ball century to help Hyderabad post 334/5 before bowling out Manipur for 155 in 45.1 overs in the BCCI Vinoo Mankad Trophy preliminary round in Rajkot. Hyderabad won the match by 179 runs on Thursday.

B. Rohan and Harsha Vardhan clinched two titles each in the boys’ under-12 and under-14 categories respectively at the Hyderabad District Athletics Association sub-junior meet at Osmania University. Tamanna Aadhya and Hanvita Raman also recorded doubles in the girls’ under-10 category

Top seeds Manish Sureshkumar and Vaidehee Chaudhari survived three-set battles to reach the semi-finals of the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in Delhi. Sureshkumar beat Parth Aggarwal, while Chaudhari defeated Aditi Rawat in contrasting quarter-final contests

India defeated Syria 2-0 in their second Group E match of the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup China 2027 Qualifiers, with Anushka Kumari scoring either side of half-time. The victory gave India six points ahead of their final match against Malaysia

Prithviraaj Yodhas have announced their eight-member squad for Season 2 of the Archery Premier League, featuring World No. 1 compound archer Andrea Becerra and World No. 3 recurve archer Matias Grande alongside leading Indian archers across both categories

Overnight leader Ishnidh Singh Virdi carded a one-over 73 to retain a one-shot lead after 54 holes at the IGU Rotary Southern India Bio-Gen Sansera Amateur Golf Championships. Harjai Milkha Singh moved to second, with Anas Khan third

West Indies legend Chris Gayle hailed the fearless approach of modern batters, saying their aggressive mindset has positively revolutionised cricket. Former all-rounder Dwayne Bravo backed the view, urging bowlers to innovate and improve as scoring rates continue to rise

Telangana’s eighth-seeded Naresh Gotte defeated top seed Naveen Siddam 338-321 in the final to win the South Zone Tenpin Bowling Tournament. Naresh overcame a 32-pin opening-game lead and held on despite Naveen’s spirited fightback

Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara backed Sanju Samson ahead of the second T20I against West Indies, saying there should be no questions over his place in the playing XI despite recent low scores and urging the team to support him

Fresh from defending their Asian Games hockey title, India will turn their attention to the Asian Champions Trophy Punjab 2026, scheduled from October 27 to November 5. Six teams will compete in Jalandhar and Mohali for continental honours

Harmanjot Singh and Kiran Matre will lead a 42-member Indian elite field at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon on October 18. Former champions Lili Das and Kavita Yadav headline the women’s field, alongside steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani

Carlos Alcaraz heads into the Shanghai Masters mentally refreshed after winning the Japan Open in Tokyo. The Spaniard, who returned from a wrist injury earlier this season, is seeking a strong finish to 2026 after struggling in previous Shanghai appearances

Australia return to South Africa for their first Test series there since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. Six players from that series remain in the squad, while South Africa have five survivors, setting up a potentially tense three-Test contest

Arunachal Pradesh will miss the Vinoo Mankad Trophy amid a legal and administrative deadlock within its cricket association. The crisis has already affected junior tournaments and threatens Ranji Trophy participation, leaving players across age groups without opportunities to represent the state nationally