Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association (VDCA) has installed four practice nets in the VIP car parking area of ACA–VDCA Stadium, comprising three turf wickets and one Astro-turf wicket with a telescopic net structure.

The facilities were inaugurated by Visakhapatnam North MLA and VDCA working president P. Vishnu Kumar Raju and VDCA secretary K. Parthasarathy in the presence of vice-president D.S. Varma and other office-bearers and members.

Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said the facilities would help players enhance their cricketing skills and provide valuable practice opportunities. He also took part in a batting during the inauguration. Several VDCA office-bearers and members attended the programme.

Cricket barely scratches the sporting surface in Japan but there is no dearth of fans here for a sport that many would struggle to identify on screen. And no one has more, at least among the volunteers at the Korogi Sports Park, than Harmanpreet Kaur.

Even though the Indian captain did not come out to bat as India first decimated the Japanese batting, then strolled past the 58-run target in five overs for an eight-wicket win, the player with jersey No. 23 remains famous.

“I don’t know the name but No. 23, I like her. My friend is an Indian and he also likes her game a lot. I really like watching the sport and her game,” a volunteer gushed.

India’s Shafali Verma plays a shot during the Asian Games women’s quarterfinal cricket match against Japan, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

The venue is not for the easy-goers. Changing at least two train lines — three for some — and then walking for 15-20 minutes to reach the venue that at other times is a baseball field, a sport far more popular in the country, quite a few suffered heatstrokes and had to be administered fluids under the scorching sun.

With open temporary stands and barely any provision for shade, only the hardcore fans turned up. Among those were Virendra Maja and Aniket Yagnik, who took leave from work and came all the way from Osaka to watch the Indian team play.

The two, originally from Madhya Pradesh, are big fans of Smriti Mandhana and Shreyanka Patil. “It is a proud moment for us to watch the Indian women’s team play in Japan. We applied for leave from work and drove here to cheer for them. It feels special,” Maja said.

On the field, Shree Charani knifed through the Japan batting for a four wicket haul, then Shafali Verma’s unbeaten 15-ball 40 meant the game was over in a blink.

The reward is a repeat of the Asia Cup semifinal against Bangladesh, a challenge that will be tougher than Friday’s outing. Jersey No. 23 will, however, have the crowd behind her.

The result: Japan 57 in 19.5 overs (Ayaka Kato-Stafford 25, Shree Charani 4/10) lost to India 59/2 in 5 overs (Shafali Verma 40 not out) by eight wickets.

In this year’s IPL, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had left jaws on the floor when he nonchalantly deposited Jasprit Bumrah over mid-on for a six off the first ball he faced from the ace pacer.

On Friday, under lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, another glimpse of the box-office duel between the precocious teen and seasoned operator was on view. This came in a mere practice session for the Indian team ahead of the first T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday, but the intensity of the battle was enchanting nevertheless. Sooryavanshi and Bumrah haven’t yet featured for India together.

Sooryavanshi had to be fairly measured on Friday evening, for Bumrah hit his straps and tested the young left-hander with the lengths that he found. The 32-year-old beat Sooryavanshi all ends up on one occasion with a peach on a good length, and also nailed his yorkers most of the time. Sooryavanshi wasn’t fazed, however, as he unfurled a delightful punch off the back foot later.

For Bumrah, it was largely about finding his groove after an injury layoff. He had hurt his left knee during the ODI series against England in July, and had failed to recover in time for the recent Test series versus Sri Lanka. He bowled in the nets for nearly 45 minutes.

The training stint was attended by the entire 15-member squad. After a light drizzle, India was in buoyant mood as it started with elaborate fielding drills. With fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh, who took over from T. Dilip in August, encouraging the players with the enthusiasm of a recent hire, flat and high catches as well as ground fielding were practised rigorously.

If greater emphasis on the fielding seemed noticeable, it may be to address India’s sloppiness on the tour of the United Kingdom in June-July. A number of catches were spilled as Shreyas Iyer & Co. suffered series defeats to both Ireland and England.

At a time when fast bowlers in India are being wrapped in cotton wool, Gurnoor Brar appears to be cut from a different cloth.

The tall Punjab and North Zone pacer, who has been fast-tracked into the India ODI and Test set-up, is neither averse to operating for long periods on unhelpful wickets nor holds himself back from bowling at high pace.

“It is very important to have a good mindset,” Gurnoor told reporters at the BCCI Centre of Excellence here, where he took four wickets for 88 runs against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal on a largely sedate pitch.

“If we go into the game thinking ‘there is nothing in the surface,’ we are already behind. I try to make the batsman feel I’m always in the game. That’s the motive I go into every game with — take the wicket out of the equation,” the 26-year-old added.

Gurnoor bowled nearly a fourth of North Zone’s overs, dismissed four of the top-six, and routinely beat batters for pace.

“Pace is very important for me,” he said. “But there are advantages and disadvantages. If we don’t stick to the right lines and length, runs can flow.

“From the beginning, I have always believed in training my body to high loads. No matter how much I bowl, it should not matter.

“There is a need for breaks, obviously. [But] I have an old fast bowler’s mindset: the more you bowl, the stronger you become.”

A self-confessed M.S. Dhoni fan, 17-year-old compound archer Prithika Pradeep is inspired by the cricket legend’s calmness as she prepares for her Asian Games debut.

A World youth silver medallist and World Cup Stage silver medallist in 2025, Prithika made her mark by topping the Asiad selection trials and then securing individual bronze and team silver at the World Cup Stage-4 in Madrid this year.

The Nagercoil-born Prithika, who was brought up in Pune and took to archery as a hobby because she liked the name of the sport, is sharpening her skills along with experienced team-mates V. Jyothi Surekha and Chikitha Taniparthi at the Sonipat camp.

“After winning the Madrid medals, I have gained in confidence. But now that is over. I have to focus on the Asian Games. Here, I get to learn by training with the seniors. They share their experience. Jyothi didi tells me to stay calm and give my best without taking pressure,” Prithika told The Hindu.

Pursuing a sport that demands composure, Prithika idolises ‘Captain Cool’ Dhoni. “My favourite is M.S. Dhoni. I admire him a lot. Novak Djokovic is also my favourite. But I like Dhoni’s mindset, calmness and quick decision-making. I read a lot of books on him.”

Prithika said last year’s inaugural Archery Premier League, where archers got 15 seconds instead of 20 to shoot an arrow, also helped her. “It gave me confidence. I enjoyed it. Exposure to foreign archers was also beneficial as they shared their experience.”

While fine-tuning her individual game, Prithika — going through the routine of meditation, warm-up, training, playing matches and gym work — is giving equal attention to teamwork. “We also train for team events — both women’s and mixed team, as we pair up with different male archers,” she said.

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The cream of Indian cricket’s second rung will be in action as the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy semifinal fixtures get underway at the BCCI Centre of Excellence from Sunday.

Defending champion Central Zone will take on East while last season’s finalist South Zone will spar with North.

East and North notched up contrasting victories in the quarterfinals. Where East, marshalled by Ishan Kishan, recorded a thumping innings and 210-run win over North East, Kanhaiya Wadhawan’s North conjured a dramatic 52-run success despite West Zone coasting at 195 for three while chasing 287.

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could only score eight runs for East but picked up two wickets with his left-arm spin in the second essay. The last-four clash will offer him another opportunity at bettering his middling First Class numbers (215 runs from 13 innings at average of 16.53).

Keeping him silent will be high on Central skipper Rajat Patidar’s priorities, and it remains to be seen if off-spinner Saransh Jain can aid him in this. Saransh is part of the roster but made his India debut in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, which kept him on the field until Thursday.

But fellow India international Gurnoor Brar — who didn’t play either Test in Sri Lanka — has been added to the North Zone squad and participated in Saturday morning’s practise. His entry further bolsters North’s pace attack, for it already has Anshul Kamboj and Arshdeep Singh.

North Zone’s Abid Mushtaq after winning the the Duleep Trophy 2026 Quarterfinal 2 against West Zone, played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) grounds, in Bengaluru on August 26, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
K. MURALI KUMAR

Jammu & Kashmir left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq starred in the win over West with a match-haul of nine for 99. Whether he gets the same purchase at CoE Ground 2 as he did on the red-soil wicket at Ground 1 will be intriguing to watch.

South has a solid batting line-up, led by skipper Tilak Varma, R. Smaran — 2025-26 Ranji Trophy’s leading scorer with 950 runs — and Karun Nair. There is also Shaik Rasheed, the highly rated 21-year-old, who made 627 runs in Andhra’s dash to the Ranji quarterfinals last season.

Andre Siddarth celebrated his 20th birthday in style, smashing a stunning 47-ball 82 (7×4, 5×6) to power Vida Kovai Kings to its third TNPL title with a 84-run win over Madurai Panthers in the summit clash at the MAC Stadium on Friday.

It was a remarkable turnaround for M. Shahrukh Khan’s men, who had just one win from the first four games before stringing together five consecutive victories to emerge triumphant in the 10th edition.

Electing to bat, Kovai Kings made 182 for seven, riding on a 117-run stand for the third wicket between Andre and B. Sachin.

After openers S. Radhakrishnan and S. Lokeshwar got the team off to a breezy start, Andre maintained the momentum by playing some stylish strokes. The tall youngster, blessed with a great sense of timing, cut and punched through square elegantly.

Andre had a slice of luck when he was dropped on 44 by ‘keeper Ramkumar off Rohan Bhutra, and he gleefully accepted the birthday gift by bringing up his half-century in 34 deliveries.

He then cut loose, first going after pacer G. Periyasamy, picking his slower deliveries early and depositing them over the ropes for a brace of maximums. He then did the same to Rohan in the next over, racing into the 70s. Though Panthers pulled things back in the last five overs through P. Saravanan’s four for 30, Andre and Sachin had by then done enough to get a competitive score on board.

Chasing 183, Panthers’ chase went awry immediately after pacer Deeban Lingesh and spinner M. Siddharth sent back the openers in the first two overs. N.S. Chaturved and V. Hari Ragavendra tried to rebuild the innings, but the latter was run-out attempting a needless single in the final over of the PowerPlay.

From there, Jhathavedh Subramanyan and Shahrukh broke through the middle-order and bowled their side to glory.

The scores: Vida Kovai Kings 182/7 in 20 overs (B. Sachin 39, Andre Siddarth 82, P. Saravanan 4/30) bt Madurai Panthers 98 in 14.2 overs (N.S. Chaturved 40, Deeban Lingesh 2/30, M. Siddharth 3/18, Shahrukh Khan 3/10).

Player-of-the-final: Andre Siddarth. Player-of-the-tournament: B. Sachin.

Twelve venues across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will stage the 2027 ODI World Cup, with the rainbow nation accounting for eight of the stadiums, the ICC announced on Thursday (July 30, 2026).

The marquee 50-over competition returns to Africa after 24 years. Back in 2003, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya hosted the eighth Men’s Cricket World Cup.

A spectacular ceremony in Johannesburg saw eight cities across South Africa, three in Zimbabwe and Namibia’s capital Windhoek unveiled as co-hosts for the tournament.

Also present to mark the momentous occasion were South Africa cricketing icons Graeme Smith, Makhaya Ntini, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada, alongside Zimbabwe’s Hamilton Masakadza and Namibia’s Rudolf Jansen van Vuuren.

The eight venues in South Africa are Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg), Centurion (Tshwane), Newlands Cricket Ground (Cape Town), Kingsmead Cricket Ground (Durban), St George’s Park (Gqeberha), Mangaung Oval (Bloemfontein), Boland Park (Paarl), Buffalo Park (KuGompo City, formerly known as East London).

The three venues across Zimbabwe are Harare Sports Club (Harare), Queens Sports Club (Bulawayo) and newly constructed Fale Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium (Victoria Falls).

The matches in Namibia will be played at the Namibia Cricket Ground (Windhoek).

“The return of this prestigious tournament to Africa after 24 years is a landmark moment for cricket. We are confident that South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will deliver an unforgettable event, showcasing the warmth, passion and rich diversity that make this region truly unique,” ICC Chairman Jay Shah was quoted as saying in a press release.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 will feature 57 matches, offering greater context, competitiveness and consequence with a new three-stage format that will deliver more competitive cricket and enhance the fan experience.

A Super Series will see the three teams ranked from 12 to 14 play a round-robin format, with the winning team moving on to the next stage. A 30-match round will feature 12 teams, with sides divided into two groups of six playing a round-robin format.

The top three teams from each group, along with the next best-placed team from both groups, will advance to the Super 7 stage.

The Super 7 will consist of 21 round-robin matches with the top four teams progressing to the semi-finals. The team that tops the Super Seven will play the fourth-placed side and the second-placed team will take on the third-placed side in the semi-finals.

Shahrukh Khan, captain of two-time TNPL champion Kovai Kings, expressed confidence in delivering a good show in the 10th edition.

The Kovai franchise finished sixth last year, failing to advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. But the skipper believed that the team, playing under a new ownership and rebranded as Vida Kovai Kings, had all the ingredients to put up a much better performance.

“I always try to pick a young team, and we’ve done that this year as well. There’s a new face to the franchise with new owners. We all feel that we have a team which can qualify. After that, it is just one game at a time,” said Shahrukh at the jersey unveiling event on Tuesday.

A settled core of players helped Kings win the title in 2022 (shared with Chepauk Super Gillies) and 2023 and led them to a runner-up finish in 2024.

Having lost some of his key members at last year’s auction, Shahrukh said that the side was focused on rebuilding its nucleus. The core is set to include R.S. Ambrish, who was part of the India under-19 World Cup-winning squad earlier in the year.

“Yeah, it’s good to have people from u-19s come and play. They’ve seen the pressure. They’ve played finals in u-19s. Obviously, this pressure is a bit more than what it is there. But still, these guys respond well to any situation that’s given to them,” Shahrukh remarked.