Sport
KKR thrash RCB by 7 wickets in IPL

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) made a joke out of a target of 183 set for them by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, chasing the target down with seven wickets and 19 balls to spare.
Virat Kohli batted through the innings and stayed unbeaten on 83 off 59 as RCB put up a target of 183 for KKR to chase. Openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt then came in and upended whatever advantage RCB had. The pair smashed 85 runs in the powerplay alone, with Narine eventually falling for 47 off 22 balls. Salt also fell for 30 off 20 after which Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer took over. Venkatesh returned to form with a 30-ball 50 and Shreyas hit the winning runs with a six, finishing unbeaten on 39 off 24 balls, Hindustan Times reported.
RCB captain Faf du Plessis fell early but the hosts managed to get off to a strong start largely thanks to Kohli. He, along with Cameron Green, ensured that RCB scored 61 runs in the powerplay. Kohli then cruised past a half-century for the second consecutive time this season. The partnership between the two ended on 65 off 42 balls when Green fell to Andre Russell on 31 off 21. His Australia teammate Glenn Maxwell then finally found his touch after two poor outings in RCB’s last two games, thanks in part to KKR fielders dropping two straightforward catches off him. Maxwell’s luck ran out in the 15th over after he had scored 28 off 19 balls.
Harshit Rana and Andre Russell then led the way as KKR managed to largely restrict RCB in the death overs. They hit 16 runs off the last over from Starc and Kohli stayed unbeaten on 83 off 59. Dinesh Karthik hit 20 runs in eight balls and was run out off the last ball and RCB’s innings ended on a score of 182/6. Kolkata Knight Riders earlier won the toss and chose to bowl first.
Sport
Afghanistan qualify for U19 Cricket World Cup 2026

Afghanistan’s U19 cricket team has officially qualified for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, following the final day washout in the Asia Qualifiers.
After securing three big wins in their first three games, today’s match against Nepal U19s was washed out. Thanks to their superior Net Run Rate, Afghanistan U19s topped the table and book their berth in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026, which will take place early next year in Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Sport
Afghanistan U-19 cricket team defeats UAE

Afghanistan’s national under-19 cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates by 180 runs on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten streak in the group stage at the ICC Men’s U19 CWC Asia Qualifiers.
In this match, Afghanistan scored 359 runs for the loss of only 4 wickets at the end of 50 overs.
This marks Afghanistan’s third consecutive victory in the regional group stage.
Previously, they had defeated Hong Kong and Oman by 8 wickets each.
Afghanistan is set to face the host nation, Nepal, on Saturday (April 19) in what will be their final group-stage match.
The winner of that game is likely to secure a spot in the 2026 ICC Men’s U19 World Cup.
Sport
IPL 2025 Orange and Purple Cap leaderboards: Kuldeep moves up to No. 3
Here’s how things look on the run-scorers’ and wicket-takers’ tables after Sunday’s matches

Following Sunday’s double-header in this year’s Indian Premier League, a few batters have gained places in the Purple Cap leaderboard. No change was made in the Orange Cap leaderboard.
Orange Cap leaderboard
There is no change in the top three on the run-scorers’ table but a few batters have gained places. Nicholas Pooran is still the No. 1, having accumulated 349 runs in six innings.
This is followed by Gujarat Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan, who has 329 runs, and Mitchell Marsh, at No. 3 with 265 runs despite missing LSG’s last game.
Beyond the top three, 11 other batters have crossed the 200-mark.
Notably, Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Virat Kohli who has advanced places to be fifth behind Shreyas Iyer (250 runs) after his 62 not out off 45 balls against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Sunday’s afternoon game.
He is two runs shy of Shreyas.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav’s 28-ball 40 in Mumbai Indians’ 12-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) has taken his tally to 239.
Purple Cap leaderboard
Noor Ahmad and Shardul Thakur remain the top two in the list but there’s a new bowler at No. 3: Kuldeep Yadav.
Kuldeep was DC’s best bowler on Sunday, picking up two wickets and leaking just 5.75 an over as MI posted 205 for 5. He now has ten wickets and an overall economy rate of 5.60, better than the other bowlers with same number of wickets in the list.
Hardik Pandya, Prasidh Krishna, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed also stay on ten wickets.
Hardik couldn’t move up after going wicketless for the first time in this IPL, against DC.
Monday’s match
Today’s match, Monday April 14, will see Lucknow Super Giants take on Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow. This match is expected to deliver a thrilling battle for fans as MS Dhoni will lead the Chennai Super Kings team – much to the fans’ pleasure.
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Dhoni is however poised to hit a batting milestone, which could be reached today. Dhoni needs only 39 runs to reach a 4,000 T20 run tally in India. Commentators expect thunderous celebrations by Dhoni’s fans in the stadium if he hits the mark.
For fans across Afghanistan, this exciting match will be broadcast live and exclusively in the country by Ariana Television. Fans can tune in from 5:30 pm.
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