Jaipur: Vaibhav Suryavanshi struck the fastest hundred for any Indian and the country’s youngest ever in the IPL as Rajasthan Royals defeated Gujarat Titans by eight wickets in their contest here on Monday.

Suryavanshi hit 101 off 38 balls with as many as 11 sixes and seven fours as he became the youngest ever in the history of the tournament to complete a century at the age of 14 years and 32 days.

Chasing a stiff target of 210 on a friendly wicket, Rajasthan Royals went past the winning line, making 212 for two in 15.5 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored an unbeaten 40-ball 70 not out in the chase.

Earlier, skipper Shubman Gill struck 84 while Jos Buttler hammered unbeaten 50 to take Gujarat Titans to a formidable total of 209 for four.

Brief scores:

Gujarat Titans: 209/4 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 39, Shubman Gill 84, Jos Buttler 50 not out; Maheesh Theekshana 2/35).

Rajasthan Royals: 212/2 in 15.5 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 70 not out, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 101, Riyan Parag 32 not out; Rashid Khan 1/24).

Kolkata: Young Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh smashed half-centuries and shared a 120-run opening-wicket stand as Punjab Kings scored a challenging 201 for 4 against hosts Kolkata Knight Riders in an IPL match here on Saturday.

Opting to bat first, PBKS were off to a flying start with Priyansh, who had hit the fourth joint-fastest IPL ton earlier this season, made 69 off 35 balls while Prabhsimran made 83 off 49 balls as the KKR bowlers toiled without success till the 12th over.

Vaibhav Arora (2/34), Varun Chakravarthy (1/39) and Andre Russell (1/27) were the wicket-takers for KKR.

Earlier, PBKS made two changes, bringing in Glenn Maxwell and Azmatullah Omarzai in place of Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett.

KKR also made two changes, replacing Moeen Ali and Ramandeep Singh with Rovman Powell and Chetan Sakariya.

Brief scores:

Punjab Kings: 201 for 4 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 69, Prabhsimran Singh 83, Shreyas Iyer 25 not out; Vaibhav Arora 2/34).

New Delhi: Team India head coach and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir has reportedly lodged a formal complaint with the Delhi Police after receiving a death threat via email, which read: “I kill you.”

Gambhir received two identical threatening emails on Tuesday—one in the afternoon and another in the evening. Disturbed by the messages, he immediately approached the police and filed a formal complaint for an FIR while seeking enhanced security measures for his family, as reported by India Today on Thursday.

The cyber cell is working to trace the email’s origin and identify the perpetrator. This marks not the first time Gambhir has faced such intimidation; a similar threat was reported in November 2021 during his tenure as a Member of Parliament.

The threat comes just days after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Gambhir condemned the incident on Tuesday via X, writing: “Praying for the families of the deceased. Those responsible for this will pay. India will strike.”

Gambhir has urged law enforcement authorities to take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of himself and his family.

Bengaluru: Punjab Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in their rain-curtailed Indian Premier League match here on Friday.

Batting first, Tim David (50 off 26 balls) struck a counter-attacking fifty to lift RCB to 95 for nine in a match that was reduced to 14 overs per side after a delayed start due to evening showers.

In reply, PBKS completed the chase in 12.1 overs with Nehal Wadhera making a brisk 33 off 19 balls. Josh Hazlewood (3/14) bowled brilliantly for RCB, but his effort was not enough.

Earlier, RCB lost wickets at regular intervals with the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Marco Jansen doing the bulk of the damage for the visiting team.

Brief scores:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 95/9 in 14 overs (Tim David 50 not out; Arshdeep Singh 2/23, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/11, Marco Jansen 2/10).

Punjab Kings: 98/5 in 12.1 overs (Nehal Wadhera 33 not out; Josh Hazlewood 3/14).

Jaipur: Pacer Avesh Khan grabbed three crucial wickets as Lucknow Super Giants defeated Rajasthan Royals by two runs in a thrilling IPL clash here on Saturday.

For Rajasthan Royals, Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed a half-century, while teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi made a huge impact for the hosts.

Aiden Markram and Ayush Badoni struck half centuries and shared a 76-run fourth-wicket partnership as Lucknow Super Giants put up 180 for 5.

In reply, Jaiswal (74), Riyan Parag (39) and young Vaibhav (34) put RR in a winning position before Avesh, who returned figures of 3/37 by taking the wickets of Jaiswal, Parag and Shimron Hetmyer, restricted the hosts to 178 for 5.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants: 180 for 5 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 66, Ayush Badoni 50, Abdul Samad 30 not out; Wanindu Hasaranga 2/31).

Rajasthan Royals: 178 for 5 in 20 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 74, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 34, Ritan Parag 39; Avesh Khan 3/37).

Mumbai: Mumbai Indians beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by four wickets in their Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

MI chased down the target of 163 with 11 balls to spare with Will Jacks top-scoring with 36 off 26 balls. Ryan Rickelton chipped in with 31, while Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav made 26 each.

Captain Hardik Pandya played a cameo of 21 off just nine balls as MI reached 166 for 6 in 18.1 overs.

For SRH, captain Pat Cummins (3/26) was the most successful bowler while Eshan Malinga got two.

Earlier, Sunrisers Hyderabad scored a competitive 162 for five after being invited to bat.

SRH rode on useful contributions from Abhishek Sharma (40 off 28 balls), Heinrich Klaasen (37), Travis Head (28), Nitish Kumar Reddy (19) and some lusty hitting in the fag end from Aniket Verma (18 off 8 balls) to go past 160-run mark.

Brief Scores:

SRH: 162 for 5 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 40; Will Jacks 2/14).

MI: 166 for 6 in 18.1 overs (Will Jacks 36, Ryan Rickelton 31; Pat Cummins 3/26).

Chennai: Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming said MS Dhoni is “still going strong” and putting an end to the former skipper’s run in the IPL is not a role assigned to him.

The presence of Dhoni’s parents — Pan Singh and Devaki Devi — at the Chepauk for CSK’s match against Delhi Capitals on Saturday had fuelled speculation about an imminent his retirement.

“No, that’s not my role to put an end to it. I have no idea. I’m just enjoying working with him. He’s still going strong. I don’t even ask these days. You guys are the ones that ask (about retirement),” said Fleming in the post-match press conference.

The decision to send Dhoni at No. 9 attracted heavy criticism but on Saturday the legendary cricketer walked out at No. 7 but struggled to gain any momentum during his 26-ball 30 as CSK lost the match by 25 runs, their third straight defeat.

Fleming did not see Dhoni coming in the 11th over as a damage limitation move and said batting at that stage was really tough.

“The intent was there. When he went out, I think the ball started to grip a little bit more. We understood it was going to be good for the first half and then gradually get slower. So, we were keen to bat and then take pace with the ball.

“They did it really well. Vijay Shankar struggled to get timings all the way through his innings. But that period from 12 to 16 overs was difficult for all. It was tough to watch and certainly tough to be out there. So the game was just slipping away, and even with intent and different methods to do it, it was just too big a scale,” said Fleming.

However, Fleming admitted that CSK need to produce better outings with the bat, and they have not really exploited the resources in their ranks.

“We are focusing still very hard on bowling-wise to restrict teams but we do need to be better with the bat. We need to have one or two players in form, predominantly the top three or four.

“We need a bit more production there, and that then allows the power hitters to finish off to come in at the right spots. Here, we’re having to introduce players just not quite at the right time.

“We’ve got Dube as well, who’s close, but just not quite getting the job done. So there are thereabouts, but six to 20 to 15-run losses are annoying,” he noted.

Delhi Capitals’ senior batter KL Rahul did not allow CSK left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad to settle down, and DC head coach Hemang Badani said it played a big role in his side’s win.

“Rahul was clear enough that he was not going to let Noor settle down because he felt that Noor was somebody who was a crucial bowler for CSK.

“And he wanted to make sure that once you put the opposition’s best bowler down, it becomes difficult for the opposition to keep coming back after that.”

Rahul opened the innings for DC against CSK much against his middle-order slot in recent times, and Badani said the right-hander has the experience to tackle such shuffles.

“He is somebody who has been around long enough to understand the need of the hour. He has opened for India. He has batted at 4-5 in the recently concluded Champions Trophy. So I genuinely don’t think it’s difficult for someone of his calibre.

“If I had to make someone else do that, then I completely get your point that it’s not easy for a batter to shift. But I think he has got the calibre, the mindset, the understanding of the game to go up the order or bat at number 4,” said Badani.

Hyderabad: Gujarat Titans produced an all-round performance to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets in an Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

Opting to bowl, Mohammed Siraj starred with figures of 4/17 from his four overs, while Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (2/24) scalped two wickets each as GT restricted SRH to 152 for eight.

For SRH, Nitish Kumar Reddy top-scored with 31 while Henrich Klaasen made 27.

Chasing, skipper Shubman Gill led from the front with an unbeaten 61, while Washington Sundar made 49 off 29 balls.

Sherfane Rutherford too played his part with unbeaten 35 off 16 balls as GT chased down the target in 16.4 overs.

Brief Scores:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: 152 for 8 in 20 overs (Nitish Kumar Reddy 31; Mohammed Siraj 4/17).

Gujarat Titans: 153 for 3 in 16.4 overs (Shubman Gill 61 not out; Mohammed Shami 2/18).

New Delhi : The Sports Ministry has revoked the suspension imposed on the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), ending the months of uncertainty surrounding the sport and paving the way for resumption of activities, including selection trials for the upcoming Asian Championship in Amman.

The ministry had suspended the WFI on December 24, 2023 for lapses in governance and procedural integrity by the new body, which was elected on December 21.

The Sanjay Singh-led body had announced the conduct of Under-15 and Under-20 National Championships in Nandini Nagar, Gonda – the stronghold of former WFI chief Brijbhushan Sharan Singh – and the choice of venue irked the government since the former BJP MP was facing charges of sexual harassment.

The ministry, in its order, said that the WFI has taken compliant measures, so in larger interest of the sport and athletes, the ministry has decided to lift the suspension.

“I thank the government for taking this step. It will allow us to function smoothly. It was needed for the sake of the sport. The athletes were suffering for lack of competitions,” Sanjay Singh told PTI.

The ministry, though, has asked the WFI to follow certain directions, such as the federation has to ensure that there is a balance of power among the elected office bearers, and it keeps itself disassociated from the suspended/terminated officials.

It may be noted that Prem Chand Lochab, the new general secretary, was elected from the rival camp and the ministry’s directive could be understood in that context.

“The EC of the WFI must give an undertaking in this regard within 4 weeks.

Any violation of the undertaking will invite appropriate legal action, including the action under the Sports Code,” the ministry said in its order.

It also said that the WFI must ensure that the selection for all international events should be done in a free, fair and transparent manner as per the extant provisions of the Sports Code and the other latest instructions issued in this regard along with regulations issued from time-to-time by the UWW (United World Wrestling),” the order said.

WFI president said there is nothing that can’t be followed.

“We have already shifted to a new office and soon we will call for an EC meeting and also issue a circular for the selection trials. We have no issues in following these instructions,” he said.

The Asian Championship is scheduled to be held in Amman, Jordan from March 25.

The Indian wrestlers missed out on competing in Ranking Series tournaments in Zagreb and Albania due to the ministry suspension and the court cases filed by prominent wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia and Satyawart Kadian.

The wrestlers, who had led the protest against Brij Bhushan, had contended that the WFI did not have the authority to pick national teams since it was suspended.

The court had directed the Indian Olympic Association to restore the ad-hoc panel for managing the WFI but the sports body had refused, saying UWW, the world governing body, recognises only the WFI and won’t accept entries from the ad-hoc panel.

The UWW had threatened IOA to suspend WFI again if there was interference in its governance.

“We are so relieved that this suspension has been lifted. There was a compete lull, the young wrestlers were suffering for no fault of theirs. They were missing tournaments, there was no national camp. The suspension should have been lifted long back,” said a coach associated with a leading training centre in Haryana.