Sport

Hardik Pandya marked his return with an unbeaten 77 to guide Baroda to a seven-wicket win over Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Abhishek Sharma’s quick fifty and Anmolpreet Singh’s 69 went in vain as Baroda chased 223

Former England batter Robin Smith, famed for his battles against West Indies pacers and his powerful square cut, passed away at 62 in Perth. He played 62 Tests, scored 4236 runs, and was a Hampshire legend remembered fondly by fans

Yashveer’s century powered Hyderabad to a 114-run first-innings lead against Kerala in the Cooch Behar Trophy U-19 match at NFC Ground. Aaron George and C Siddarth Rao also contributed with half-centuries as Hyderabad posted 382 in 80.3 overs

Future Kids School won both boys’ and girls’ titles in the Secunderabad Basketball Club Under-14 league in Hyderabad. The boys beat Oakridge International 54-39, while the girls defeated Niraj Public School 40-30. Rishab and Laasya were named most valuable players

Hitesh Chauhan, India’s junior No 1, entered the second round of the ITF M15 Gwalior after beating Aditya Balsekar in three sets. Other Indians had mixed results, with Manish Sureshkumar and Maan Kesharwani advancing, while several compatriots exited early

Sri Lanka will host Pakistan for a three-match T20I series in January 2026 at Dambulla ahead of the Men’s T20 World Cup. The series will help both teams prepare, with Pakistan set to play all World Cup matches in Sri Lanka

India defeated Switzerland 5-0 in Madurai to qualify for the FIH Men's World Cup quarterfinals. Manmeet Singh scored twice on his birthday, while Sharda Nand Tiwari converted two penalty corners. India topped Pool B with nine points from three matches

Tilak Varma says he loves ODI and Test cricket and learns a lot from Rohit and Virat, especially about intensity and fitness. He credits Gautam Gambhir for pushing him in practice and hopes to prove himself in the South Africa series. Dale Steyn expects top batters to shine

Flutter Entertainment India has partnered with the Aditya Mehta Foundation, committing ₹60 lakh to upgrade training, rehabilitation and adaptive gym facilities, provide nutrition and coaching support, and fund customised adaptive equipment for para-athletes preparing for major global competitions, including the 2028 Paralympics.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot dropped Mohamed Salah in the 2-0 win over West Ham, sparking debate about his future. Slot said Salah remains vital for the club and is expected to return against Sunderland in Wednesday’s midweek Premier League clash

Shubman Gill will undergo a fitness test at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence to decide his availability for the South Africa T20Is. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya has been cleared to return and will play Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches for Baroda

Kuldeep Yadav hailed Virat Kohli’s 135-run knock against South Africa in Ranchi, saying it reminded him of Kohli’s peak years between 2016 and 2019. Kohli’s innings powered India to a 17-run win in the series opener

India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak dismissed speculation over Virat Kohli’s ODI future, saying his fitness, form and impact make him indispensable. Kohli’s century powered India to a 17-run win over South Africa in the Ranchi ODI

Hyderabad made a strong reply to Kerala’s first-innings total of 268, reaching 71/1 at stumps on the opening day of the Cooch Behar Trophy under-19 third-round match at NFC Ground. Aaron George remained unbeaten on 42

Hyderabad women defeated Goa by seven wickets in the BCCI under-23 T20 cricket championship at Nagpur. Chasing 111, Hyderabad reached 114/3 in 17.5 overs, with Mamatha scoring an unbeaten 38. Goa had earlier posted 110/6 in 20 overs

Telangana swimmers M Suhas Preetham and A Kashish Srivastava bagged silver medals at the ninth SGFI National Swimming Championship in Delhi. Suhas finished second in the under-19 boys 100m butterfly, while Kashish won silver in the under-14 200m breaststroke

Olympian Sift Kaur Samra expressed confidence that shooting will be included when India hosts the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Fresh from medals at KIUG and Asian Championships, she said the event will inspire youth and boost sports culture in the country

Pranav Susarla and K Nageshwari emerged champions in the boys and girls under-15 categories of the 56th Telangana State-ranking Chess Tournament at LB Stadium, Hyderabad. The event also saw winners across under-7, under-9, under-11 and under-13 categories

Adilabad bagged a double, winning the boys and girls titles in the 44th Telangana State junior inter-district kho kho championship at Patancheru. They beat Ranga Reddy and Mahabubnagar in the finals, while Hyderabad and Karimnagar settled for bronze medals

Royal United FC won the TFA B-Division Shivkumar Lal Football League Championship at Gymkhana Ground, finishing with 24 points. They beat Maisram Stars 2-1 in the final league match. Maisram Stars finished second, while BHEL won the discipline award

Veteran hockey umpire M A Jaleel passed away in Hyderabad after a prolonged illness. Aged 75, he was a former national player for the Postal and Telegraphs Department and officiated in many national tournaments. He is survived by his family

SSGF Hyderabad finished third in the 17th Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junior National T20 Cricket Championship in Goa, defeating Delhi by 35 runs. Goteti Sravan starred with 30 runs and 3/17, while Haryana beat Punjab to win the title

IM Dhruva Thota, rated 2411, won the under-19 Telangana State Chess Championship in Wanaparthy. He will represent Telangana at the under-19 National Chess Championship in Jamshedpur from December 16 to 24. Top performers were felicitated by Dr Murali

Former India captain Shabbir Ali met his ‘Guru’, Olympian Arun Ghosh, in Kolkata. Ali recalled the 1974 Indian Youth Team’s unbeaten run under Ghosh, which made them Asian-level champions. He said the reunion was nostalgic and truly special