SPORTS

The ugly bust-up between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli was quintessentially Delhi and waiting to happen.

Both don't believe in pulling punches and have been carrying their own baggages of mutual dislike for each other.

During their latest face-off, there was liberal use of the north Indian profanity which sounds similar to the name of English cricketer 'Ben Stokes'.

If pictures were taken of RCB’s batsmen at the moment the ball landed on the black-soiled Lucknow pitch, what would have been revealed? A sense of distrust, perhaps. How slow is the ball going to peel off the surface? How much do I have to delay my downward bat swing?

LSG knew the sluggish pitch. They knew the 127-run target. And yet, they batted poorly, trying to go too hard on a pitch that demanded skill and respect. The shots didn’t belong to this track; and unsurprisingly they combusted.

Off the second ball, Kyle Mayers went for an expansive punched-aerial hit off the back foot and could only send it as far as mid-on. At least, he was the natural aggressor trying to see if he could use his game to get some quick runs in the Powerplay. The others didn’t have much excuse, especially as they were batting with the knowledge that KL Rahul was unlikely to bat after injuring his right thigh during fielding. He hobbled out to bat as the last man, with 24 needed from 8, but unsurprisingly couldn’t do much.

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Singh on Sunday slammed the protesting wrestlers. He claimed that the athletes' protest at Jantar Mantar is being driven by the politicians.

Singh has been accused of sexual harassment by India's top wrestlers, including Bajrang Poonia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik. The wrestlers have been protesting at Delhi's Jantar Mantar since April 23.

Several prominent opposition leaders, including Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Chaudhary, former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik visited the protest site.

Days after an incident where one of its players misbehaved with a woman at a franchise party, Indian Premier League (IPL) team Delhi Capitals has come up with a ‘Code of Conduct’ for its cricketers.

According to the code, put in place for the "maintenance of the franchise's public image", players can no longer bring their acquaintances to their rooms post 10 pm and in case they wish to entertain their guests it should be in the team hotel's restaurant or coffee shop.

The players also need to inform the franchise officials when they wish to leave their hotel to meet someone. The advisory, shared with the players after their win over Hyderabad Sunrisers on Monday, comes with a warning: Any breach of the code might result in fine or even termination of the contract.

Batting icon Virat Kohli was extremely critical of his players in the aftermath of Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) demoralising defeat to former champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the recently concluded encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday. A misfiring KKR side led by stand-in skipper Nitish Rana outplayed Kohli's RCB side in match No.36 of the IPL 2023 at the famous M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Issuing an explosive statement after RCB suffered their fourth defeat of the new season at home, a dejected Kohli openly admitted that Royal Challengers Bangalore handed the game to the visitors. Kohli, who captained RCB for the third time in a row this season, blamed Bangalore's sloppy fielding and soft dismissals for their recent defeat to the two-time champions in the 16th season of the cash-rich league.