Sport

Pakistan elected to bowl after winning the toss against the Netherlands in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener in Colombo on Saturday. Skippers cited a fresh, grassy pitch and moisture, with both teams backing all-round depth.

Seone Mendez remained unbeaten in the league stage of the World Pickleball League, winning all six singles matches for Hyderabad Superstars. Her strong tennis foundation and consistency have powered the team into the top four with two games left

Bengal struck late through Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep to share honours on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Andhra. Ricky Bhui’s 83 guided Andhra to 264 for six after steady partnerships through the day

Rudrankksh Patil won gold in men’s 10m air rifle at the Asian Championship, with Arjun Babuta second. India also secured team gold and swept the junior podium as Himanshu, Ansh Dabas and Suresh Pranav clinched medals

India’s Aadrash Ram Jothi Shankar clinched bronze in men’s high jump with a 2.19m effort at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin. Praveen Chithravel and Yogita finished fourth in triple jump and shot put as Chinese athletes dominated

England sealed the Mixed Disability T20I series 4-1 with a nine-wicket win over India in Jaipur. Akash Singh’s 51 and Ravindra Sante’s 33 lifted India to 125, but Angus Garant Brown’s 62 powered England to a comfortable chase

The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup begins in Colombo with India defending their crown, Italy making a debut, and Pakistan’s refusal to face India adding intrigue. Twenty teams will compete in a tournament mixing politics, passion, and cricketing drama

Hyderabad pacer Mohd Siraj has replaced injured Harshit Rana in India’s T-20 World Cup squad. Rana sustained a knee injury in the warm-up match against South Africa in Navi Mumbai, with BCCI confirming his unavailability after medical scans

India’s challenge in the Badminton Asia Team Championships ended in the quarterfinals at Qingdao, China. The men lost 1-3 to Korea despite Kidambi Srikanth’s win, while the women fell 0-3 to China in the absence of PV Sindhu

Tamil Nadu won the team title at the Invitation Boxing Tournament in Bolarum, with 14-year-old Joshika named best boxer. Telangana bagged silver while Andhra Pradesh finished third. Dignitaries from Blue World Boxing Association and local organisations attended the prize distribution

Indian cueist Keerthana Pandian settled for silver at the Asian Snooker Championships in Doha after losing 1-3 to defending champion Narantuya Bayarsaikhan. The 23-year-old, who impressed throughout the tournament, faltered in the final despite a strong semifinal win

Sandhya Gora’s fine 72 and debutant Kesari Drithi’s five for 25 helped Hyderabad defeat Tripura by 58 runs in the BCCI Senior Women’s One-Day Championship opener at Ranchi. Hyderabad also dominated in men’s and junior cricket matches across formats

Former India spinner SL Venkatapathi Raju, part of the 2007 selection panel, recalls the team’s historic T-20 World Cup win under MS Dhoni. He sees similarities in the current squad led by Surya Kumar Yadav as India begins its 2026 campaign

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s stunning 175 off 80 balls powered India to a 100-run win over England in the U-19 World Cup final at Harare. Supported by Ayush Mhatre’s leadership and disciplined bowling, India posted 411 and bowled England out for 311

India face a fitness concern ahead of their Men’s T20 World Cup title defence after Harshit Rana suffered a knee injury in a warm-up match. Mohammed Siraj is the frontrunner for replacement, with Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar Reddy also in contention.

The ICC has announced a star-studded commentary panel for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, featuring Ravi Shastri, Nasser Hussain, Ian Smith and Ian Bishop, along with several former world champions and current players, for the tournament starting February 7.

India is assured of at least 19 medals at the BOXAM Elite International in Spain after a strong Day 3 performance, with Nitu, Preeti and Jadumani Singh reaching the semifinals as both the men’s and women’s teams impressed.

Indian women’s hockey forward Navneet Kaur says modern hockey demands strong defensive contributions from attackers as India prepare at the national camp ahead of the FIH Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Hyderabad, with qualification for the 2026 World Cup at stake.

Group D of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 features South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Canada and the UAE, with no past champions but several recent finalists and semi-finalists set to compete in Indian conditions.

India will face England in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final in Harare, aiming for a record sixth title. Skipper Ayush Mhatre, opener Aaron George and prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lead India’s charge against England’s pace spearhead Manny Lumsden

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said the decision to boycott the T20 World Cup match against India on February 15 was taken by the government and is “not in our control.” Pakistan will play the rest of the tournament starting February 7

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his team will travel to Colombo for the ICC T20 World Cup match against Pakistan on February 15, despite Pakistan’s boycott. India open their campaign against USA on February 7, with fixtures set by ICC

Royal Challengers Bengaluru won their second Women’s Premier League title with a six-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in Vadodara. Smriti Mandhana’s 87 and Georgia Voll’s 79 powered RCB to a record chase, making them holders of both IPL and WPL crowns

Varun Yadav’s unbeaten 113 and C V Chetan Aditya’s 76 powered Hyderabad to 303 against Andhra on day one of the South Zone U-14 cricket tournament in Vizianagaram. Andhra replied with 104/1, led by opener T Kinnu Kishal’s 55