Category: Sports

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh shared birthday wishes for his teammate and former left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan, who turned 47 on Tuesday, calling him ‘one of India’s finest fast bowlers.’

“Wishing a very happy birthday to one of India’s finest fast bowlers, @ImZaheer. Your incredible skill, sharp cricketing mind, and calm temperament on and off the field have inspired generations of players. May this year bring you good health, happiness, and continued success in every endeavour. Have a wonderful day celebrating with your loved ones,” Harbhajan wrote on X.

Zaheer represented India in 92 Tests, 200 ODIs, and 17 T20Is, picking up 311, 282, and 17 wickets in the three formats, respectively. While his red-ball career saw him pick up 11 five-wicket hauls, he finished his white-ball career with a lone five-wicket haul in the ODIs.

Zaheer, who had joined IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants in August 2024, filling the vacancy left by Gautam Gambhir’s exit after IPL 2023, parted ways with the franchise after just one season this september.

Harbhajan, meanwhile, recently opened up on the IPL slapgate incident and bashed Lalit Modi for releasing the video. An 18-year-old video of the spinner slapping his former India teammate Sreesanth went viral when Lalit shared it on social media.

Harbhajan was critical of Lalit’s move and said that the latter might have been under the influence of alcohol when he put out the video, and that he failed to understand the motive behind pulling off such an act.

“Honestly, I didn’t understand why there was a need to make it public. I really don’t understand the motive behind that. I feel it would have been better if it hadn’t come out because there was no need for it. I don’t know what he was thinking when he released the video—maybe he was under the influence of alcohol or just messing around. If I were in their place, I wouldn’t have let any such video come out like that,” Harbhajan told IANS.

“Everyone thinks differently. What happened was wrong, and I have already apologised for it. What happened between me and Sreesanth at that time was not right. As a sportsman, I don’t think I should have done that. People learn from their mistakes, and if I had enough understanding back then, I wouldn’t have done it,” he added.

— IANS

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Indore, Oct 7 (IANS) South Africa centurion Tazmin Brits admitted the side’s loss in Women’s World Cup opener ‘didn’t sit well’, fuelling the teams winning comeback against New Zealand at the Holkar Stadium.

South Africa batting collapse that cost them in their first-up game at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, but the Proteas had key performances across both major disciplines against the White Ferns, securing six-wicket win on Monday.

Brits was named Player of the Match, smashing 101 from 89 balls as South Africa needed just 40.5 overs to complete their run chase after New Zealand set a target of 232 for the win.

It’s her fifth ton this calender year. She took the fewest (41) innings to hit seven centuries in the format, surpassing Australia veteran Meg Lanning.

Brits detailed to media post-game what adjustments she has made amid her consistent uptick in production.

“Nothing very different. I’ve just tried to expand my shot selection a bit more, and I’ve been working very hard on that,” she said.

Brits confirmed her team used the loss to England as fuel, to full effect, against New Zealand.

“(The loss) didn’t sit well with me,” she continued. “I didn’t even want to eat that night, and I overthought the process completely. But yeah, we put that in the past as quick as possible, and we said, we’ve got to move on to the next game.”

South Africa’s batting unit held up their end of the bargain, but their bowling brigade also played a role, restricting New Zealand for less than what they thought felt like par on the Indore pitch.

“I think it was a batting wicket. So, I think they were actually a bit short of runs. I definitely think maybe a 280 would have worked. I think it’s a good wicket. I think in the beginning, it was a bit more tacky, but I think our bowlers executed very, very well. I think they bowled great line and lengths and they put the pressure on,” Brits added.

Brooke Halliday, who scored 45 runs from 37 balls with six boundaries and bowled three overs for the New Zealand, thought her side misfired as a bowling unit.

“I think we probably overpitched a little bit, which made it a little bit easy for the South Africans to actually get in – and once you get in, I found it actually got a lot easier,” she told media post-game.

“It’s just those first 10-20 balls for a new batter is actually key. If we can’t execute our length and our line, it does help them. We’ll review today’s game and look into the next one against Bangladesh. The perks of the quick turnaround means that we can’t dwell on today too much.

“But I guess the biggest thing for us is that two games down, but there are still five games to go. If we win the next five, we’re very good chance of making that semi-final. It’s not a great start, but it’s a long tournament to go.”

–IANS

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Melbourne, Oct 7 (IANS) Experienced pacer Mitchell Starc, who hasn’t played ODIs since last November, has also been named in Australia’s home ODI squad against India with as uncapped batter Matthew Renshaw getting a recall.

Australia on Tuesday announced a 15-man squad to play India in three ODI matches beginning on October 19, along with a 14-member squad for the first two T20s that follow as Mitchell Marsh’s side continue their build up to next year’s T20 World Cup.

India’s white-ball tour begins on October 19 with the first 50-over match in Perth, followed by games in Adelaide and Sydney.

The five-match T20 series kicks off on October 29 in Canberra, with the first two T20s at Manuka Oval and the MCG, respectively, already sold out to the public, while fewer than 5000 tickets remain for the fifth match at the Gabba.

Marsh will again captain the ODI team in the absence of Pat Cummins, who is continuing his recovery from lumbar bone stress in preparation for the Ashes.

Starc, who retired from T20I cricket last month, will return to the international fold to take on a strong India line-up that includes former captains Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

The left-armer is one of four inclusions to Australia’s 50-over squad from that 2-1 defeat to the Proteas alongside Renshaw, Matt Short and Mitch Owen.

Owen and Renshaw are in the frame to make their ODI debuts against India, having performed strongly in 50-over domestic cricket. Left-hander Renshaw was previously called into the ODI squad in Pakistan in 2022 as cover but is yet to debut.

Dropping out of the ODI squad are Aaron Hardie, Matthew Kuhnemann and Marnus Labuschagne, with Labuschagne to continue to play four-day cricket for Queensland in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition ahead of the upcoming Test series against England at the end of the year.

Alex Carey will miss the first ODI in Perth to play in South Australia’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at Adelaide Oval on October 15, having missed the Shield title-holder’s opening round game after his call-up for the T20 series against the Black Caps.

Carey dropped out of the T20 squad to face India with white-ball wicketkeeper Josh Inglis recovered from a calf strain, while Nathan Ellis also returns following the birth of his first child.

Meanwhile, Maxwell is set to remain sidelined for the T20 series after surgery last week on a fractured wrist after he was struck at training in the lead-up to the New Zealand series.

“We have named a squad for the ODI series and first two games of the T20 series as there will be some management through the back end of the series as individuals prepare for the summer through Sheffield Shield cricket,” selection chair George Bailey.

“The majority of the T20 squad will remain together as it’s an important period in the build towards the World Cup next year; however, we are trying to strike a balance to ensure we simultaneously prepare certain individuals for the Test series ahead,” he added.

Australia ODI squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Australia T20I squad (first two games): Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

–IANS

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Chennai, Oct 6 (IANS) Patna Pirates produced a composed all-round performance to defeat UP Yoddhas 36-28 in a tense contest that swung several times before settling in favour of the three-time champions.

The Pirates, who began the evening at the bottom of the table, showed determination to claw back from an early deficit and eventually seal a morale-boosting victory. Ayan Lohchab scored 15 points, and in defence, it was Navdeep’s high five that took their team to the win. For the Yoddhas, Gagan Gowda, Super 10 went in vain

It was a close, high-tempo start between the Yoddhas and the Pirates. Gagan Gowda was in stellar form, notching nine raid points from just four raids, including a super raid that sent Ankit Kumar, Navdeep, and Balaji D off the mat. Mahender Singh added to the tally with a sharp tackle on Sudhakar M. After a cautious opening, the Yoddhas found rhythm through Gagan’s brilliance to take early control.

For the Pirates, Ayan was the standout. His sharp movements and fearless approach saw him dismiss Sumit, Bhavani Rajput and Mahender Singh to keep the pressure on the Yoddhas’ defence. Both raiders – Gagan and Ayan – dominated the mat with skill and precision, trading points in style. As the first 10 minutes ended, the Yoddhas held a slender but deserved four-point lead at 12-8.

The second phase saw momentum shift towards the Patna Pirates, who tightened their defence and capitalised on the Yoddhas’ errors. The Yoddhas could manage only two points as compared to the Pirates’ eight points in the next 10 minutes as Gagan and Bhavani struggled to break through. A super tackle by Deepak on Bhavani added to the Pirates’ confidence.

Ayan continued to be the main threat, executing decisive raids that sent key Yoddhas defenders like Hitesh off the mat. His clever do-or-die raids maintained pressure, while Deepak and Ankit supported with strong defensive work. At the end of the first half, the Pirates had turned the tide to lead 14-16.

Ayan continued his fine form, completing his super 10 with a series of confident raids that kept the Yoddhas’ defenders on edge. His quick movement and ability to convert do-or-die situations made all the difference as Patna slowly built momentum. The Yoddhas, meanwhile, struggled to find rhythm in attack despite occasional points from Shivam and Bhavani.

The turning point came with the first all out of the night, inflicted by the Pirates on the Yoddhas, which gave them a crucial lead. Deepak and Ankit were key in setting up the defensive traps, while Ayan’s raids ensured the pressure never eased. Gagan and Mahender’s attempts to rally were cut short as their opponents’ balance across departments stood out.

In the closing stages, the Pirates maintained their composure to see off a late Yoddhas push. Ayan, who crossed the 300-point milestone in the PKL, continued to lead from the front with his 15-point effort. Meanwhile, Navdeep marshalled the defence to perfection to complete a high five.

For the Yoddhas, Gagan’s super 10 and Mahender’s defensive grit stood out, but it wasn’t enough to turn the tide. The Pirates’ all-round consistency helped them hold firm and register an eight-point victory – a result that lifted them off the bottom of the table and reignited their campaign.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) The fifth day of the Archery Premier League (APL) saw the Rajputana Royals registering their fifth straight victory while the Kakatiya Knights woke up from their slumber to register first victory amid rainy and windy conditions here at New Delhi’s Yamuna Sports Complex on Monday.

While the Mighty Marathas defeated Prithviraaj Yodhas 6-2 in the first match, the Knights edged out Chola Chiefs 5-3. The last match of the day, between the Royals and Chero Archers went down to the wire and was decided in a shootoff after the scores were tied at 4-4 at the end of four sets.

The Marathas began in a strong fashion as debutant Aman Saini started his APL with a 10, but Abhishek Verma responded with a 9. Parneet Kaur stepped up and got a perfect 10 to keep the Marathas ahead.

Mrinal Chauhan and Matias Grande kept the contest close. But Gatha Khadake wasn’t in good form for the Yodhas, as Parneet Kaur’s 10 increased the lead to four points. Chauhan’s 10 almost sealed the set, which got confirmed after Andrea Becera shot a 9 for the Yodhas, who lost the first set 77-73.

The second set saw Verma stepping up first for the Yodhas and got a 10 this time. Saini caught the 10-ring line on his first arrow and Becera responded with a 10 as well.

Parneet held up long on her shot but still found the 10 for Marathas. Grande’s 9 next up and Chauhan’s response with a 10 gave the Marathas a 2-point lead. In the end the Marathas clinched the second set 74-73 after the judges downgraded one of Yodhas’s arrows. It was 4-0.

Towards the end of the third set, as the rain picked up, Verma got a 10 to bring the Yodhas back and they finally won it 75-72 to make it 4-2.

Match went into the fourth set, as the drizzle got stronger. But the Marathas maintained the consistency to clinch it 77-61 for a 6-2 win.

The Knights’ first win saw them beating the Chiefs with a four-set scoreline that read 75-75, 75-70, 73-75, 77-75.

The Knights got a 10 on their first three arrows, while the Chiefs took four arrows to find their first 10 in the opening set.

Jyothi dropped to a 9 on the fifth arrow for the Knights, but they still took a 57-55 lead.

Just when the Chiefs needed it the most, Ellison pulled off a 10. In the end, one of Chiefs’ arrows was downgraded and one of Knights upgraded by the judges as the set ended 75 apiece and the points were split.

In the second set, two 8s for Chiefs was a disastrous start, while the Knights got a 10 and a 9 to take a three-point lead.

As pendulum swayed and things got tighter towards the end, Brady Ellison shot a shocking 7 and Rohit fired a 9, which gave the set to the Knights 75-70 for a 3-1 lead.

Tarundeep Rai replaced Ellison for the Chiefs in the third set. He stepped up first and started with an 8. Jyothi came up for the Knights to find the 10 for an early two-point lead.

Anshika got another 8 for Chiefs for a disastrous start, while Nico hit a 10 and the lead increased to four points.

Yadav, in top form, found 10s on both his arrows but Jyothi’s perfect shot made it 46-all.

The final arrows saw Rai hitting a 9, but Rohit got an 8 and the Chiefs won the set 75-73 to make it 3-3 heading into the decider.

Nico’s 10 gave a slender one-point lead for the Knights at the start of the deciding set. Chiefs’ Yadav began with rare 9 and Elia responded with a 9 as well.

Marita-Paas got the first 10 of the set for the Chiefs. It was 37-37 at that stage. Yadav and Jyothi responded with 10s to make things exciting. At that point, Nico came up with a 10 on a crucial shot to regain one-point lead for the Knights.

Rai hit a 9 on the concluding arrows for the Chiefs and Rohit nailed a 10 to win the final set for the Knights 77-75, which also gave them their first win at 5-3.

In the final match of the day, the Royals stayed unbeaten and registered their fifth consecutive win, beating the Chero Archers in a shootoff after the scores were tied at 4-4 at the end of four sets.

After the Chero Archers won the first set 74-69, the Royals came back to level it at 2-2 by winning the second set 77-74 and then edged ahead 77-76 to take a 4-2 lead.

But the Chero Archers maintained their composure and outskilled the Royals 77-74 in the fourth set to force a shootoff at 4-4.

The Royals brought in Ella Gibson for the shootoff and it turned out to be a master stroke as she was the lone archer to hit the target while her three teammates and the four opponents missed.

Compounder Swati Dudhwal and recurve archer Mete Gazos were in fine form for the Royals, while Katharin Bauer and Mathias Fullerton were the most consistent for the Chero Archers.

While the match swayed like a pendulum, it boiled down to who blinks first; and it was the Royals who held their nerves better as the first round-robin stage moved into its last set of matches.

–IANS

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Indore, Oct 6 (IANS) Tazmin Brits credited recent batting camps for her stunning form after notching up her seventh ODI century – and fourth in five innings – as South Africa thumped New Zealand by six wickets at Holkar Stadium on Monday to claim their first win of the tournament.

Brits played a knock of 101 runs studded with 15 fours and a six to lead South Africa to 232 chase with 55 balls to spare. She took the fewest (41) innings to hit seven centuries in the format, surpassing Australia veteran Meg Lanning.

“Funny enough, I’m not one for records, but when you mention Meg Lanning, I’m glad I’m above that one. As long as we are winning the games, then I’m all good,” Brits said after bagging the Player of the Match accolade.

“I don’t actually know, I’m just backing myself a bit more. I’m trying to be as positive as I can. We actually had a lot of batting camps, I think that definitely helped. I’m trying to expand my range a bit more and not to be one-dimension,” she added on being asked her key to success.

Revealing her game plan for the chase, Brits acknowledged that a positive attitude helped her to extend her stay in the middle. “Just said wanted to be as positive as possible. Glad I could middle it. It’s actually funny, it was a new bat. I haven’t used it once. I think that’s going to be the lucky bat from now on.”

On her bow and arrow celebration, Brits replied, “Sinalo actually interviewed us and asked what celebrations next and I actually put it out to the fans. I said, “give me your celebrations, because the 50 will only remain for my dad.” And then I had these two young girls, they’re 13 years old. One stays in Australia, one stays in South Africa. But they come from South Africa and they asked me to do their celebration. So, yeah, that celebration was for them.”

South Africa faced a heavy 10-wicket defeat against England in their opening encounter after being folded for 69 in Guwahati. The Proteas will next take on hosts India in Visakhapatnam on Thursday while New Zealand will lock horns with Bangladesh on Friday in Guwahati.

–IANS

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Chennai, Oct 6 (IANS) Dabang Delhi K.C. continued to consolidate their spot at the top of the table, clinching another thriller against Jaipur Pink Panthers to register a 29-26 win at the SDAT Multi Purpose Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Monday.

With that win, the table-toppers completed the double over the two-time champions.

In a match that saw the defenders dominate, Sandeep registered a high five with seven tackle points, while Ashu Malik contributed with eight raid points. For the Pink Panthers, Reza Mirbagheri and Deepanshu Khatri recorded high fives, with Aryan Kumar also amassing four tackle points. Unfortunately for them, that wasn’t enough for their team to get over the line.

Ashu Malik did what he does best, setting the tone for his team with a super raid to open their account with a three-point lead. Deepanshu Khatri registered the Pink Panthers’ first point with a tackle, and it was their defence that ensured that they stayed in the contention during the early exchanges.

Fazel Atrachali bagged his first tackle to help Dabang Delhi hold onto a two-point lead, before a couple of tackles from Aryan Kumar, followed by a raid from Meetu levelled the score. An ankle hold from Deepanshu Khatri gave the Pink Panthers their first lead of the night, concluding the first quarter with the score at 6-5.

The defences slowly began to take charge of the contest with the tempo slowing down. Sandeep registered four tackles in the first half, while Ajinkya Pawar’s multi-point raid retained a two-point lead for the table-toppers. However, the closing stages of the half belonged to Reza Mirbagheri, who executed a couple of super tackles to complete his high five, giving Pink Panthers a 13-12 lead at half time.

The teams continued to trade blows with defenders dictating terms in this engaging contest. Vinay bagged a two-point raid to give the Pink Panthers the lead again, before Ashu Malik secured a two-point raid of his own, registering the first all out of the game to help Dabang Delhi get their noses in front again.

Sandeep completed his high five with a couple of tackles, while Ajinkya Pawar also chipped in to help the Joginder Narwal-led side establish a five-point lead. The tackles continued to fly in as Deepanshu Khatri completed his high five, becoming the third player on the night to achieve that feat.

Despite not having his most efficient performance, Ashu Malik continued to chip away to ensure Dabang Delhi K.C. hold onto their four-point lead with five minutes to go. A tackle by Saurabh Nandal built on that lead, but a super tackle by Aashish Kumar reduced the deficit back to three points for Jaipur Pink Panthers.

A super tackle by Aryan Kumar gave Jaipur Pink Panthers an opportunity with only a point separating the two sides. In the end, Neeraj Narwal came in clutch with a tackle Neeraj Narwal on Ali Samadi and then wrapped up proceedings with the final raid of the game, ensuring the table-toppers complete the double over their opponents with a 29-26 win.

–IANS

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Indore, Oct 6 (IANS) Tazmin Brits’ superb 101, along with an unbeaten 83 from Sune Luus, powered South Africa to a commanding six-wicket victory over New Zealand in their Women’s World Cup clash at the Holkar Stadium on Monday.

Chasing 232, Proteas were on a roll as the openers Brits and Laura Wolvaardt kept the scoring rate high early in the innings.

Brits and Wolvaardt smashed three boundaries in the first two overs of the powerplay to set the tone of their chase. The Proteas captain hammered two more boundaries in the next over before falling to Jess Kerr on the score of 14.

Sune Luus joined Brits in the middle and carried the momentum deep in the innings as the duo snatched the match away from New Zealand. After a brief caution, Luus and Brits kept finding boundaries at regular intervals to keep the run rate over five throughout their innings.

South Africa were 54/1 after the end of the powerplay. Brits hit Sophie Devine for two fours in the 11th over to continue putting pressure on White Ferns.

In the 13th over, Luus too joined the party with the first six of the match off Amelia Kerr. The boundaries kept coming from both ends as New Zealand bowlers failed to assert any noticeable halt to the scoring rate.

South Africa reached the three-figure mark in the 17th over with both batters cruising to their half-centuries. Brits was the first to reach the half-century with a four towards long-on in the 19th over. Brits upped the ante after completing her fifty as the duo stitched their fifth century partnership in ODIs in 2025 – the most by a South African pair in a calendar year.

They also broke the previous record for the highest World Cup partnership for any wicket for South Africa, bettering 128-run stand between Marizanne Kapp & Dane van Niekerk for the sixth wicket against Pakistan in Cuttack in 2013.

Meanwhile, Luus also raced to her half-century as South reached 159/1 after 26 overs. The flow of run remained steady as South Africa were marching towards a commanding victory before a run-put appeal by wicketkeeper give a slight tension in Proteas dugout. However, the replay showed that Brits comfortably landed her foot inside the crease before Isabella Gaze took off the bails.

The pair raised up 150-run stand before Brits reached her fifth ODI century of the year to score most hundreds in a calendar year surpassing Smriti Mandhana’s record of four tons in the ongoing year. Brits also took the fewest (41) innings to reach to seven ODI centuries.

Just after reaching the triple-figure mark, Brits was cleaned up by Lea Tahuhu to give some respite to the Kiwi camp. Her stellar innings of 101 in 89 balls, including 15 fours and a solitary six.

New Zealand tried to make a comeback in the match as they removed Marizanne Kapp (14) and Anneke Bosch (0) cheaply but there was not enough runs left on the board to defend as Luus and Sinalo Jafta remained unbeaten on 83 and 6 respectively as South Africa chased the target with 55 balls to spare.

For New Zealand, Amelia Kerr bagged two scalps while Jess Kerr and Lea Tahuhu got hold of one wicket each.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba starred with a four-wicket haul as South Africa bowled out New Zealand for 231, despite a fighting 85 from Sophie Devine.

Opting to bat first, Kiwis had a worst possible start as they lost veteran opener Suzie Bates on a duck, that too on the first ball of the match in her 350th international game for New Zealand. She was trapped in front of the wickets by Proteas pacer Marizanne Kapp to put White Ferns under pressure. It was Bates’ second consecutive duck in the tournament after failing to score against Australia at the same venue.

However, Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr staged a comeback for their side with a 44-run crucial partnership for the second wicket. After the early setback, the duo took a cautious approach and dragged the side to 38/1 after the end of the powerplay.

The partnership was put to an end by Nadine de Klerk in the 13th over as she removed Amelia Kerr for 23. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine joined Plimmer in the middle, and the duo engaged in another vital stand as South Africa didn’t give a chance to score freely despite the end of the powerplay.

Devine and Plimmer added a 57-run stand for the third wicket, with the former contributing more than half of the runs. Chloe Tryon brought the third scalp for Proteas with Plimmer handing a simple catch to Nadine de Klerk at long-on, reducing New Zealand to 101/3 after 25.4 overs.

Brooke Halliday’s arrival at the crease lifted the scoring rate for New Zealand, with Devine also supporting from the other end. Halliday played shots to her will and scored boundaries at regular intervals.

Meanwhile, Devine completed her 17th ODI half-century and continued to hold one end strong as the Kiwis crossed the 150-run mark. Nonkululeko Mlaba broke the 86-run partnership by removing Halliday in the 39th over. Halliday contributed a quickfire 45 in 37 balls laced with six fours.

New Zealand faltered after that and lost Maddy Green (4) and Isabella Gaze (10) quickly before Mlaba bowled out Devine for 85 in the 45th over to bring New Zealand’s innings to its decisive end. Devine’s knock was studded with nine fours and came at a crucial juncture for the side, while featuring in her 300th international game.

Mlaba returned with the figures of 4-40 in her 10 overs to bundle out New Zealand for 231/10 in 47.5 overs.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 231/10 in 47.5 overs (Sophie Devine 85, Brooke Halliday 45; Nonkululeko Mlaba 4-40) lost to South Africa 234/4 in 40.5 overs (Tanzim Brits 101, Sune Luus 83 not out; Amelia Kerr 2-62) by six wickets.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is likely to make his return to competitive cricket for Delhi in the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy later this month, and pending medical clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

IANS understands that Pant, who has been at the CoE since mid-September, is scheduled to have another assessment on his right foot next week by the medical team.

This agency also understands that Pant, who turned 28 on Saturday, has been rigorously training at the CoE and seems on track to take the field soon.

Earlier this month, Pant began his batting sessions in the CoE nets, an indication that his recovery has been going at a remarkable pace.

“As per the current progression, Pant could be cleared very soon. If he’s declared fully fit by the medical team, then he might be available for the two Ranji Trophy matches in Delhi from October 25, considering the one against Hyderabad begins on October 15, which is too tight for testing match fitness. When he links up with the Delhi team and turns out for them, it all depends on the all-important clearance,” further said the sources to IANS on Monday.

Pant suffered a fracture in the metatarsal of his right foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in late July, after inside-edging a reverse sweep off Chris Woakes.

That forced him to retire hurt on 37, with scans at the hospital later confirming the fracture. Remarkably, Pant returned to bat on the following day, despite arriving at the Old Trafford Stadium in a moonboot, and eventually made 54.

Since then, the longish recovery period meant Pant has missed out on playing in the ongoing two-game Test series against the West Indies and the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia, starting on October 19 in Perth.

If Pant fares well in the Ranji Trophy games for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, then he will be included in India’s squad for the two-match Test series against World Test Championship winners South Africa, starting on November 14 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Pant, India’s vice-captain in Tests, amassed 479 runs in seven innings at a stunning average of 68.42 on the tour of England, including hitting two sparkling centuries in the series opener at Headingley, Leeds.

–IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) Prakaash Sarran, Hruthik Katakam and Tavish Pahwa record dominant wins to march into the next round of the National Tennis Championship at the DLTA Complex in New Delhi on Monday.

Sixth seed Hruthik Katakam beat Rudra Batham 6–2, 6–1 in a clinical display that lasted 1 hour 10 minutes. Hruthik did not face a single break point throughout the match, breaking Batham’s serve five times across two sets to seal a convincing win.

On the other hand, eighth seed Tavish Pahwa delivered a composed performance to beat Gyansh Manchanda 6–3, 6–1. Pahwa broke serve midway through the opening set and carried that momentum into a one-sided second set, showing his class and shot-making from the baseline.

Meanwhile, top seed Prakaash Sarran of Karnataka also impressed in his outing, defeating Atharva Anant 6–1, 6–2. The match, played on Court 1 lasted 1 hour 34 minutes.

Sarran’s aggressive groundstrokes and solid serving allowed him to dominate throughout, conceding just three games in the entire match.

Persistent rain in New Delhi disrupted the day’s schedule of the tournament, postponing a few matches across the boys’ and girls’ u16 and u14 singles main draw rounds, along with the doubles sign-ins.

The tournament schedule will resume once the weather conditions are deemed suitable for play.

Besides the prestigious titles, the winners will be awarded with prize money with a total prize pool of over Rs 21.55 Lakh and kit allowance in the junior categories up for grabs. The winners and runners-up in the U16 and U14 singles events will also receive a tennis scholarship of Rs 25,000 each.

–IANS

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