Sport

Deepti Sharma praised Smriti Mandhana’s calm demeanour as she began her tenure as India’s full-time T20I captain against Zimbabwe. Young batter Anushka Sharma also spoke about the team’s aggressive approach and her readiness to bat at No. 3

India handed young all-rounder Niki Prasad her T20I debut as Smriti Mandhana’s side elected to bowl against Zimbabwe in Raipur. The match marks Zimbabwe’s first bilateral women’s cricket series against India and Raipur’s first women’s international match

Hyderabad beat Maharashtra by four wickets in the BCCI Vinoo Mankad Trophy. In the Women’s Under-19 T20 Trophy, Hyderabad beat Madhya Pradesh. Haryana, Bengal and Delhi also recorded wins. Hyderabad E Team drew with Andhra in the HCA league match

The Centre Court Pickleball League begins its second Hyderabad season on October 18, with eight franchises competing across seven league match days. The league has expanded its franchise purse to ₹10 lakh, with playoffs scheduled for December 5 and the final on December 12

India will look to correct their batting flaws against West Indies in Saturday’s fifth T20I in Bengaluru, with the series tied at 2-2. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to the squad after Arshdeep Singh sustained a shoulder injury in Hyderabad

Top seeds Jval Saurin Patel and Madhvendra Pratap Singh lost their seventh-round games at the National Sub-Junior Chess Championship in Hyderabad. Four players shared the open-section lead with 6.5 points, while Prishita Gupta led the girls’ section

Hyderabad golfer Saatvic Singh finished third at the IGU Gujarat Junior Boys Championship 2026 at Kensville Golf Club in Ahmedabad. The Class 10 student has enjoyed a consistent under-15 season and is expected to move up a category

Hyderabad’s Satya Chintagunta entered the boys’ under-14 singles final at the 31st Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in Delhi. He defeated Taanish Nanda 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a match lasting two hours and nine minutes.\

Nigeria will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C in Abuja from October 18 to 26, 2026. Six teams will compete in a round-robin format, with the top two advancing to the 2027 Africa Regional Final

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been added to India’s squad for the fifth T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru after Arshdeep Singh suffered a shoulder injury in Hyderabad. Arshdeep’s availability for Saturday’s series decider will depend on his recovery.

Test Twenty, a new cricket format featuring separate girls' and boys' matches with combined scores, will debut in Colombo from November 14 to 29, 2026. The tournament will feature 160 young players from five continents competing for four continental teams

India women's captain Smriti Mandhana says six T20Is before the inaugural Women's Champions Trophy will help India identify its playing style and team combinations. She praised Harmanpreet Kaur's leadership and welcomed the opportunity to face Zimbabwe in an upcoming series

Former India opener WV Raman has questioned India's fast-bowling depth following Bhuvneshwar Kumar's T20I recall, urging the bowling coach to develop young pacers. He also discussed India's Test combination, Hardik Pandya's absence, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's development and Smriti Mandhana's captaincy.

Chola Chiefs ended a five-match losing streak by beating Prithviraaj Yodhas in a shootoff after a 4-4 draw in regulation time in the Archery Premier League. Alejandra Usquiano scored a perfect 80, keeping the Chiefs’ top-four hopes alive.

Hyderabad’s Satya Chintagunta stunned top seed Aarav Challani in the boys’ under-14 singles quarterfinals at the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship in Delhi. Chintagunta won 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in a three-hour, 14-minute battle to reach the semifinals

U. Jhasiketh and D. Shivashankar struck centuries as Vikarabad defeated Achampet by 36 runs in the Telangana Cricket Association State-level Under-19 League Championship. Other winners included Karimnagar, Ranga Reddy and Mahabubnagar in matches played at Warangal

Denmark’s Niklas Norgaard led the rain-hit DP World India Championship with a six-under-par 66, while India’s Om Prakash Chouhan carded a four-under-par 68, placing him tied fifth among finishers. Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy opened with two-under-par rounds

India vice-captain Shafali Verma says the team aims to combine fearless cricket with smart decision-making ahead of the 2027 T20 Champions Trophy. She also discusses her comeback, improved consistency, bowling preparation and the responsibility of supporting captain Smriti Mandhana

Railways beat Hyderabad by five wickets in the Col CK Nayudu Trophy on Thursday. The scores also featured the HCA Senior Men’s Emerging Players Premier League fixture between Team A and Team B, and Hyderabad E Team’s match against Andhra

OU College of Engineering won the Osmania University Inter-College Table Tennis Championship, defeating St Joseph’s Degree College 2-1 in the final. MVSR College of Engineering secured third place with a 2-0 victory over CBIT in the championship

Mamata Medical College overcame an 11-point half-time deficit to defeat Freestyle Ballers 64-59 in the GM Sampath Kumar Annual League Basketball Championship. Sreekanth scored 29 points, while Golden Phoenixes also advanced to Level II with a 58-30 win over SBI Amravati

Telangana registered their second win in the 16th Hockey India Men’s Hockey National Championship, defeating Goa 3-2 in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday. Goa led 2-1 at half-time, while S Shiva Kumar, Aiyappa and Arjun Yadav scored for Telangana

Formula One driver Arvid Lindblad praised teenage cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and recalled a brief conversation with India captain Shubman Gill about the differences between their sports. Lindblad also discussed how technology, coaching and preparation help young athletes progress faster

Carlos Alcaraz has accepted a wildcard for the Erste Bank Open in Vienna after the Six Kings Slam was postponed. The Spaniard will return to the ATP 500 event for the first time since 2021, joining a strong field