D. Deepesh, just 18, has created a buzz with pace for Madurai Panthers in the TNPL this season.

The 2026 u-19 World Cup winner has repeatedly crossed 140 kph, even touching 146 kph. But he’s also been varying his speed, having worked on that with mentor Sandeep Warrier during the two-week gap after the TNCA First Division League.

“I got a good idea. That’s been helpful. We didn’t just work on speed alone. We worked on slower ones and yorkers, and bowling according to the situation. Speed is my natural ability,” Deepesh said after his team’s third successive win, against SKM Salem Spartans, at the NPR College Ground here on Monday.

“Ever since I started playing in the u-19 circuit, we have spoken a lot and have been working closely. He has been very helpful to me.

“In fact, I would say he’s the only person I’ve always spoken to about my bowling. Even this morning, I spoke with him. We discuss my bowling plan before almost every match,” Deepesh, who finished with three for 38 after conceding 45 in three overs against Vida Kovai Kings, said.

The spell followed a tidy one for 25 in the opening match against Trichy Grand Cholas. The youngster acknowledged the support he received after the initial setback.

“Even after I got hit, the team didn’t let me down. They were very encouraging. The bowling coach (assistant coach A.C. Prathiban) backed me a lot. We spoke about it. Pressure got to me in that situation. So today [Monday], I focused on bowling without letting the pressure get to me,” he said.

And he delivered on the promise, taking three for 18 in his last two overs after going for 20 runs in his first two.

After a crucial victory against Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters in the Maharani Trophy KSCA T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Tuesday, Hubli Tigers’ captain Vrinda Dinesh credited her side’s batting prowess as it rose to the top of the table with one match remaining.

After a 17-run victory against Mysore Warriors at the start of the tournament, the Tigers lost two consecutive matches to the Gulbarga Mystics and Blasters.

However, Vrinda & Co. turned their season around by winning the reverse fixtures against the Warriors and Blasters back-to-back.

“It was just about timing. We just had to click early on and the [twin victories] turned the momentum for us,” Vrinda told The Hindu as she alluded to the team’s patience in coming back strong after two losses.

The right-handed batter, alongside Niki Prasad and C. Prathyoosha, has been pivotal in Tigers’ recent victories. The 25-year-old has accumulated 170 runs at a tournament-leading strike rate of 170.

“As a team, we believe batting is our strength, and our bowling can defend any target,” the skipper stated. “In batting, we believe it’s Prathyoosha, me or Niki. If one of us is there throughout the 20 overs, the team will sail through.”

Vrinda also commended the role of the Tigers’ support staff in helping her improve as a leader.

“There’s something to learn in every game. There have been certain moments where they’ve told me, ‘you could’ve done something differently’ or something was really well done. These insights have helped me get better.”

With the Tigers now in a good position to qualify for Sunday’s final, Vrinda is focused on staying composed rather than looking too far ahead.

“Everybody in the team knows their roles, and it’s just about showing up on that particular day,” she signed off.

What the Indian women had and the men lacked in England was better planning, more time to acclimatise (players have been there since May for the World Cup and the T20I series), sensible selection, superior captain-coach co-ordination, better fielding (that catch by Richa Ghosh at silly mid-off was one of the finest ever), keener awareness of the game situation, all of which added up to a resounding Test win. The men’s 0-4 loss in the T20 series following the 0-2 loss to Ireland shone a light on issues that have been long glossed over.

Admittedly, the men were without Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah (rested), and skipper Surya Kumar Yadav (sacked) from the World Cup-winning side. Player-of-the tournament Sanju Samson was handled poorly, his increasing insecurity (with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings) used as a weapon against him.

Added to that was the mishandling of Sooryavanshi himself who was thrown in the deep end in England when he might have profited from starting out in Ireland. He was advised to ignore the noise around him, advice coach Gautam Gambhir himself followed, playing everything close to his chest. India failed to get the best out of their two top batters.

Misplaced belief

India believe they can field two or three T20 sides of roughly equal strength. The IPL, on which such a belief is based, is played on good tracks where explosive batters prosper and all-rounders miss out because of the impact substitute rule. As Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said in England, “What works in India won’t necessarily work here.”

Perhaps having so much skill in their ranks worked against the team. When there are many claimants for a slot, players try too hard, or attempt the spectacular regardless of the state of the match, the wicket or the opposition. An element of selfishness creeps in, especially if a player feels anxious. Sometimes nothing succeeds like failure. Were the Indian men undone by their own riches? Was competition for places a curse rather than a blessing? When teams begin to lose, individuals become overkeen to protect their territory.

If the women appeared more settled, and less troubled by selection, it had everything to do with coach Amol Muzumdar and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. The communication lines were clear. Television caught the captain preparing to declare in India’s second innings casually looking over her shoulder at the coach whose nod was almost imperceptible. There is respect here, and a maturity to understand their respective roles.

Contrasting attitudes

Muzumdar has been an outstanding mentor, bringing to his task a calmness and an empathy for the players which begets trust and respect, as Harmanpreet has acknowledged more than once.

Gambhir’s approach is more along the lines of “my way or the highway”, and his prickly nature can be intimidating. All is forgiven when the team succeeds, but brought into sharper focus when it does not.

Consistently poor fielding and catching are usually indication that there is a problem within the team. At no time did the Indian men look like the world champions they are; they have fabulous batters and excellent bowlers, but apparently not a great team — and that is worrying. A good showing in the one-day series will probably erase the results in T20; this is often the way. Earlier results tend to be forgotten, and thus forgiven.

The women were professional, and deserved the win. Yastika Bhatia’s century at Lord’s — Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli don’t have one there — and Kranti Gaud’s five wickets in an innings have a significance far beyond the honours board.

Striking a balance

Smriti Mandhana’s two half centuries, the success of the off spinners Deepti Sharma and Sneh Rana, an unbeaten half-century by Richa Ghosh point to team effort in the win. Harmanpreet’s fifty in the first innings and her measured captaincy throughout, unhurried, skilfully maintaining the balance between attack and defence was crucial too. India haven’t lost a Test yet in England, having now played ten.

The women’s victory coming on the heels of the men’s defeats might exaggerate some of the differences. Teams are judged by results, however, not on potential or future hope. In the here-and-now, the Indian women’s team has a lesson or two for the men’s.

Mark Butcher keeps his word. “I will find you in half an hour,” he says. He sure does.

He says a lot more over the next half an hour. And you are fascinated. He is a sharp analyst of the game, and very articulate.

Earlier this year, his comparison of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s batting style with that of West Indies great Gary Sobers had attracted much attention. “I watched him make that 175 (off 80 balls) in the under-19 Cup final (against England at Harare).

“The incredible long high back-lift, the huge follow-through, the complete circle almost where the bat finishes around…you know, Sobers used to hit a lot of shots with his feet together.”

He believes what Sooryavanshi has achieved already is extraordinary. “Even if his career ends up not reaching the expectations that other people have, which I think is very unlikely, he has still done something at the IPL that all of the greatest players have never done before,” Butcher points out.

“None of them have managed to score a strike rate of 230, hit that many sixes, be that consistent in the entirety of the IPL.”

Butcher, himself a left-hander who played some brilliant Test hundreds for England, including an unforgettable match-winning 173 against Australia at Headingley in 2001, enjoys watching another southpaw. “Smriti Mandhana is just an incredibly graceful player,” he says. “Very, very lovely to watch. She reminds me of David Gower.”

Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues are also among his favourite batters. He shares his passion for music with Jemimah. They have, in fact, jammed together on guitar. “I like listening to Indian music, too. I enjoy all kinds of music.”

Looking back at his career, in which he scored 4,288 runs from 71 Tests, against some of the best bowlers of all time, he says the innings at Headingley will always remain closest to his heart.

“We won’t be talking if not for that innings,” says Butcher. “My main memory is about that summer, really. I wasn’t expecting to play Test cricket again. I went to my father and he completely changed my batting.”

When Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of both the French Open and Wimbledon, it appeared as if Jannik Sinner had no credible threats. Then at Roland-Garros, when the World No. 1 lost in the second round under sweltering conditions, a new foe emerged — heat.

Tuesday at Wimbledon was Sinner’s first test against this unconventional adversary, and to his immense credit, the 24-year-old came out unscathed to beat German Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 in two hours and 35 minutes.

Temperatures were admittedly not as bad as Paris, and just about touched 30 degrees. Nonetheless, it felt harsh because of the high prevailing humidity. With the entirety of Court No. 1 bathed in sunshine and there being no cloud in sight, it was difficult to spot even an inch of shade to retreat to. Yet, Sinner found a safe haven — in his clutch play.

“It’s a good step forward,” he said after sealing his berth in Friday’s semifinal. “We worked a lot after Paris. Discussed what went wrong and prepared in the best possible way. It was a huge test. But I felt really comfortable on the physical side.”

Tennis-wise, Struff had the attributes to trouble Sinner. From a height of 6’4”, his service was his biggest weapon, and on grass, as always, it acquired an additional layer of menace.

The 36-year-old was also in form, having overcome the likes of Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz en route his maiden Major quarterfinal.

Sinner’s usually solid ground-strokes had deserted him for much of the first week, and this continued in the first set on Tuesday as well. But at 5-5, the defending champion broke through, putting together a sequence of two forehand winners and a fierce return that hurried Struff into a low — and ultimately futile — volley. A hold to 15 gave him a one-set lead.

Margins remained tight in the second stanza, and worryingly, Sinner’s serve started wobbling. He couldn’t consolidate a break at 2-1, and then had a distressing time in the tenth game as Struff ran up a set-point.

However, the Italian turned it around like the flick of a switch, hammering two service winners and an ace. In the tie-break that ensued minutes later, Sinner landed five big first-serves, and soon led two sets to love.

At the French Open against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Sinner was 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 ahead before melting under the torrid weather. But here, he didn’t let those bad memories bog him down, with the immaculate drop he executed to lead 2-1 in the third set indicative of his calm mind. A break of serve seemed imminent, and it duly arrived in the eighth game when Struff sent a stretched backhand long. Sinner leaned forward, and dashed to the finish like an expert runner on a smooth downhill home stretch.

Indian juniors advance

Elsewhere, India’s Arnav Vijay Paparkar overcame third seed Keaton Hance of the United States 6-2, 6-3 to enter the third round of the boys’ singles.

On Monday, Arnav and his Thai partner Kunanan Pantaratorn had booked their place in the doubles second round while Maaya Rajeshwaran and her U.S. comrade Thea Frodin had done the same in girls’ doubles.

When Shane Warne first asked Isa Guha her opinion on cricket, and respected that, she felt she had arrived as a commentator. One of the pioneering female pundits, she is a popular voice on both television and radio.

The former England seamer is also one of the voices of the cricket season in Australia, where she has a big following, thanks in no small measure to her subtle sense of humour and the freedom with which she expresses herself, especially when she shares the mike with Kerry O’Keefe or Adam Gilchrist.

Her favourite commentator remains the late Warne. “I would say Warnie, because of his cricket brain,” Isa tells The Hindu.

“Being able to talk cricket with him was great. He gave me a lot of encouragement. He was asking me and genuinely respecting my opinion.”

Isa, who took 148 international wickets during her decade-long career for England, also relished her experience of commentating on the IPL. And she is delighted that women’s cricket is now getting its due.

“I remember back then we were just the curtain-raiser to the men,” she says. “No one really knew that we were playing. And now they have a super huge stage all to themselves.”

That certainly wasn’t the case when England won the 2009 World Cup, beating New Zealand in the final at Sydney.

One of the highlights

It remains one of the highlights of Isa’s career. She was the bowler who provided the breakthrough for England in the New Zealand innings.

Her finest spell, however, came in a Test match, a year earlier. She took nine wickets in the Ashes Test at the Bradman Oval in Bowral.

“In the few games before, I hadn’t really been playing, so I was low in confidence,” she recalls. “But I got to Bowral and I really want to play there. It had an aura about it that felt quite special. The home of Don Bradman. Trees everywhere. White picket fence.”

And she got the nod. “I just really wanted to do well,” she says. “And I got an early wicket and then it just flowed.”

And she helped England retain the Ashes.

The script was written long ago — small island nation, eliminated at the group stage, goes home with a good story. Cape Verde has not read it.

Three games in at the 2026 World Cup, it is unbeaten, through to the knockouts, and nobody is quite sure what to expect from the African nation.

Cape Verde became a FIFA member in 1986. After failing to qualify for the 2002 extravaganza with a loss to Algeria in the Qualifiers, the country made steady progress.

Cape Verde attained its first AFCON qualification in 2013 and came close to sealing a World Cup berth in 2022, only to fall short at the final hurdle due to a last-game draw against Nigeria.

Four years later, it went one better — topping its CAF group ahead of Cameroon to book its tickets for the North American showpiece.

Cape Verde’s first test was against a Spanish side that had dismantled defences on the way to the EURO 2024 title. The Sharks held the Spaniards to a goalless draw through an exemplary display from their 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha. They then came from behind to hold Uruguay 2-2.

Saudi Arabia, too, could not find a way past the Cape Verde defence.

It now has a date with Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the round of 32. A year ago, that sentence would have read as fiction. However, Bubista’s men have spent the last three weeks making the football world question everything it thought it knew. Why stop now?