Sport
All-round Ravindra Jadeja leads Chennai into IPL final

Ravindra Jadeja starred with bat and ball as Chennai Super Kings beat holders Gujarat Titans by 15 runs on Tuesday to enter the Indian Premier League final that could be skipper M.S. Dhoni’s farewell.
Four-time winners Chennai posted 172-7, a total their bowlers defended as they bowled out Gujarat for 157 in a play-off believed to be the last home match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium for the 41-year-old Dhoni, AFP reported.
The left-handed Jadeja returned figures of 2-18 with his spin bowling following his 22 runs, which boosted the Chennai total after Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 60 on an awkward pitch for batting.
Fireworks lit up the sky as Chennai made their 10th Indian Premier League final.
Gujarat, led by Hardik Pandya, will have another shot at making the final, which is on Sunday in Ahmedabad, when they take on the winner of the second play-off between Lucknow Super Giants and five-time champions Mumbai Indians.
The spotlight remained on Dhoni, who is India’s most decorated player, leading his country to two World Cup triumphs including the inaugural T20 crown in 2007 and has played mentor to younger heroes including Virat Kohli.
Believed to be playing his last IPL as a player, Dhoni has attracted huge crowds across venues with fans turning up in Chennai’s yellow as a tribute to the cricketing great.
His home venue was nearly packed to capacity as fans cheered every move of their hero, who raised the noise when he came into bat.
But the crowd soon fell silent as the superstar, who has been troubled with a knee injury in this season but has not explicitly said he is retiring, fell to Mohit Sharma for one off two balls.
Earlier Gaikwad registered his fourth half-century of the season as he capitalized on a reprieve on two when he was dismissed in the second over only for the delivery to be called no-ball.
He hit back with a six and four and soon converted Chennai’s modest start to a strong opening stand of 87 with New Zealand’s Devon Conway, who made 40.
Chennai wobbled after Gaikwad’s departure but Jadeja’s 16-ball cameo, which included two sixes, and one hit over the fence by England’s Moeen Ali in the final over fired Chennai to what turned out to be a winning total.
Shubman Gill attempted to drive Gujarat’s chase with his 42 but the rest of the batting faltered.
Fast bowler Deepak Chahar, who took down Gill, and the Sri Lankan duo of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana also took two wickets each.
Rashid Khan attempted to pull out a rabbit in his 16-ball 30 but fell in the 19th over and Pathirana sealed the deal on the final ball.
Sport
FIFA OKs creation of Afghanistan women’s refugee team

FIFA has approved the creation of an Afghanistan women’s refugee team that will compete in matches overseen by the world governing body.
According to FIFA, the team — composed of female players of Afghan nationality who obtained refugee status abroad — would first operate under a one-year pilot phase, which will help the organization determine the long-term viability of the program, Reuters reported.
The FIFA Council must approve the team’s establishment. Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, called the approval a “landmark” moment, adding that “FIFA is committed to giving every girl the possibility to play football.”
FIFA regulations require teams to receive recognition by a national federation in order to compete. The Afghan Football Federation, however, has not acknowledged its women’s teams, in fact banning all women’s sports across the country.
Afghanistan has not had a women’s side compete in an official match since 2018.
Sport
India suspends Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament

India’s cricket board has suspended the money-spinning Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 tournament amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, Reuters reported on Friday.
Thursday’s IPL match was abandoned midway after fighting began in India’s border regions, but the cricket board attributed the disruption to a power failure at the stadium in the hill city of Dharamsala.
The world’s richest cricket tournament began its current season on March 22, and the final fixture was scheduled to be played on May 25, with matches being spread over 13 venues across the country.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have been locked in conflict since Wednesday, when India targeted multiple locations in Pakistan, claiming they were “terrorist infrastructure” in response to a deadly attack in Kashmir last month.
New Delhi named two Pakistani nationals as suspects and accused Islamabad of being involved in the attack, a charge Pakistan denied and sought an independent probe.
India’s army said Pakistan’s armed forces carried out “multiple attacks” using drones and other munitions across the entire western border on Thursday night and early Friday, a claim Pakistan denied.
Sport
IPL 2025: Dharamsala match abandoned due to security concerns

Thursday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings was called off mid-way through due to security reasons.
This was after the floodlights at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala were switched off and spectators asked to evacuate the stadium.
According to IANS, Arun Dhumal, IPL Chairman, said that the decision was taken as a precautionary measure, based on the red alert issued in Jammu.
Indian media reported the match was called off following air raid alerts in nearby areas, which forced a blackout in the hill town.
The Punjab side was 122 for 1 in 10.1 overs when the lights went out which at first was attributed to floodlight failure. But later the teams and the spectators were evacuated from the stadium for their security.
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