SKY Breaks Silence After Report Claims He's Leading Coup Against Mumbai

In a surprising development on Wednesday, multiple reports claimed Yashasvi Jaiswal has decided to make a shock switch to Goa from Mumbai due to personal reasons, leaving a domestic powerhouse that laid the foundation for the left-hander's blossoming international career. According to news agency PTI, Jaiswal wrote to the Mumbai Cricket Association on Tuesday, expressing his wish to leave Mumbai for Goa, and the governing body swiftly accepted his request.

Later in the evening on Wednesday, a report claimed that there was a 'coup underway' in the Mumbai team and 'there is a possibility' that Suryakumar Yadav may also follow his teammate. The report, however also added, sources close to the batter have denied the development. 

However, Suryakumar Yadav laughed off the report. He posted the screenshot of a report, which had the caption: "In fact, rumour mills suggest, Suryakumar Yadav is actually playing the lead role in getting players to consider a move". SKY comment was satirical. "Script writer hai ya journalist? Agar hasna hai toh I will stop watching comedy movies and start reading these articles. Ekdum bakwas," he wrote on X in a post that went viral.

Meanwhile, Jaiswal is the third cricketer from Mumbai in recent times to have moved to Goa after Arjun Tendulkar and Siddhesh Lad. Lad and Tendulkar had moved to Goa ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Jaiswal last played for Mumbai against Jammu and Kashmir in their Ranji Trophy Group A league round match from January 23-25 following the strict implementation of the BCCI directives that all India players should play domestic cricket if not on national duty.

In that game, Jaiswal had made his sole appearance in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season along with India captain Rohit Sharma.

The two India stars flopped on their domestic return, with Jaiswal scoring 4 and 26 as Mumbai lost by five wickets to Jammu and Kashmir for the second time in the tournament's history.

While Jaiswal rose swiftly through the ranks in Mumbai cricket to emerge as one of the brightest batters in the country and duly earned a spot in the national side, it wasn't always a smooth ride for the youngster.

Moving from native Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh at the age of 12 to pursue his cricketing dream, Jaiswal went through several hardships. He spent nights in a tent before he was spotted by coach Jwala Singh who took him under his wings and developed his game. 

With PTI inputs 

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Pakistan's Sufiyan Muqeem Creates History, Becomes 1st Batter To...

Pakistan spinner Sufiyan Muqeem established a world record on Tuesday, becoming the player with the highest individual score at number 12 position in an ODI match. Muqeem achieved this record during his side's second ODI of the three-match series against New Zealand at Hamilton. While chasing 293 against the Kiwis, Muqeem came to bat with his team at 174/9 and scored 13 in 10 balls, with a four and six. He also had a brief partnership with Naseem Shah, who smashed 51 in 44 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes.

Naseem himself fell short of Mohammed Amir's record score of 58 at number 11, which he made against England at Nottingham in 2016. Naseem was the concussion substitute of Haris Rauf, who was hit on his helmet, hence Muqeem being the number 12th man for Pakistan, as per Wisden.

Kiwis beat Pakistan by 84 runs at Hamilton to secure the ODI series 2-0 with a game to go. After Pakistan opted to field first, NZ put on 292/8 in their 50 overs. After being reduced to 132/5, knocks from Muhammad Abbas (41 in 66 balls, with three fours) and Mitchell Hay (99* in 78 balls, with seven fours and seven sixes) saved NZ.

Muqeem (2/33) and Mohammed Wasim (2/78) were the top bowlers for Pakistan.

During the chase, Pakistan sunk to 72/7 due to fiery spells of Ben Sears (5/59) and Jacob Duffy (3/35). A fightback from Faheem Ashraf (73 in 80 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Naseem (51 in 44 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) did help Pakistan reach a better position, but not a victory.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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IPL 2025 Points Table: RCB Lose Top Spot After Loss To GT

Royal Challengers Bengaluru lost its top place in the IPL 2025 points table after losing to Gujarat Titans on Wednesday. Currently Punjab Kings lead the table followed by Delhi Capitals, RCB and Gujarat Titans. Barring Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, all teams have played three matches each. Lucknow Super Giants' Nicholas Pooran is the highest run-scorer and holds the Orange Cap with a tally of 189. Chennai Super Kings' Noor Ahmad continues to lead the highest wicket-takers' chart, and holds the  

Jos Buttler made a fifty marked by creativity and sustained aggression to support the impeccable spell of Mohammed Siraj as Gujarat Titans carved a smooth eight-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match on Wednesday. Buttler (73 not out, 39b, 5x4, 6x6) and B Sai Sudharsan (49, 36b) added 75 runs off 45 balls for the second wicket, as the Titans ended up at 170 for two in 17.5 overs, while chasing RCB's 169 for eight.

However, the Gujarat side's chase did not start as they would have liked, losing skipper Shubman Gill for a laboured 14.

The Titans' skipper clobbered Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six but fell in the very next ball to the pacer, lobbing him to Liam Livingstone in the deep.

But it brought together Sudharsan and Buttler, who extracted runs off the RCB bowlers in contrasting style.

Sudharsan's innings was an antithesis to the modern T20 ethos, as it was all about elegantly timed shots such as a wristy flick for a boundary off Yash Dayal or a square cut for four off the same bowler.

There was a touch of impishness too to the innings when he moved across and scooped pacer Josh Hazlewood for a six over the stumper's head.

However, a second attempt to play a similar shot off the Australian ended his stay, giving a simple catch to Jitesh Sharma.

But Sudharsan's dismissal, which came in the immediate aftermath of RCB taking the second ball in the 13th over, was a minor jitter in Gujarat's chase, which was marshalled so effectively by Buttler.

The Englishman was slightly jittery to begin with but once he found the right gears, he was unstoppable, fetching those thunderous shots off the shelf regularly.

Buttler reached his fifty with a sumptuous six off spinner Livingstone over long-on off 31 balls and his imperious touch was evident in the three sixes he hammered off Hazlewood to finish the match.

Buttler and Impact Sub Sherfane Rutherford (30 not out, 18b) added 63 runs for the third wicket as Gujarat strolled home.

Earlier, Siraj led a group of fired-up GT bowlers as they limited the vaunted RCB batting unit to 169 for eight despite a providential 54 by Livingstone.

Once the Titans decided to bowl first, they would not have envisioned such a domination over a potent batting line-up even considering a rather unexpectedly slow and grippy pitch.

The slip-down started with the wicket of Virat Kohli (7), who began with a lovely cover driven four off Siraj (4-0-19-3).

But the ace batter fell to left-arm seamer Arshad Khan, who came in for Kagiso Rabada, attempting a pull that ended in the hands of Prasidh Krishna at fine leg.

Thereafter the RCB top-order was poleaxed by GT bowlers led by Siraj, who joined the side after a seven-season stint in the red and gold jersey ahead of IPL 2025.

Phil Salt, who was dropped on zero by Buttler off Siraj, skipper Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal paraded back to the hut as RCB slumped to 42 for four in 6.2 overs.

However, Salt, who slammed Siraj for a 105 metre six, and Devdutt might feel a tinge of regret because both of them tried to give space to themselves for big shots only to get castled by Siraj.

However, the Royal Challengers found some stability through Jitesh Sharma (33, 21b) and Livingstone (54, 40b, 1x4, 5x6) as they added 52 runs off 38 balls for the fifth wicket.

The impressive left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (2/22), who varied his line and pace exemplarily, broke the alliance, dismissing Jitesh, who skied him to Rahul Tewatia.

It was a redemption point for Tewatia as well because he had earlier dropped Livingstone on 9 off Sai Kishore.

It proved costly for GT as the English batter hammered an off-colour Rashid Khan for three sixes in an over, two in a row, to reach his fifty in 39 balls.

Livingstone milked 46 precious runs for the seventh wicket with Tim David to take RCB past the 150-run mark. PTI UNG UNG AH AH

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BCCI Springs Into Action, Reprimands LSG Star For Priyansh Arya Send-Off

Lucknow Super Giants spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi was fined 25 percent of his match fees and handed a demerit point for his unusual 'letter-writing' celebration after dismissing Punjab Kings batter Priyansh Arya. The Board of Control for Cricket in India penalised Rathi for "breaching the IPL Code of Conduct" during LSG's match against PBKS at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday. PBKS won the game by eight wickets.

"Digvesh Singh admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 and accepted the Match Referee's sanction," an IPL media advisory stated.

"For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding." The controversial celebration took place on the penultimate ball of the third over during PBKS' chase of 172.

Digvesh bowled a short and wide delivery, which Arya attempted to pull without much foot movement, only to top-edge the ball.

DIGVESH RATHI DROPS AN ABSOLUTE BANGER CELEBRATION.pic.twitter.com/kJWRa0xWtM

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 1, 2025

Shardul Thakur sprinted from mid-on and completed a running catch.

As Arya walked back to the pavilion after scoring eight off nine balls, Digvesh, his teammate from the Delhi T20 League, mimicked writing a letter — an act seemingly directed at Arya.

The umpires took note of the gesture and had a word with the bowler as it also drew immediate comparisons to West Indies pacer Kesrick Williams, who popularised the 'notebook' celebration after dismissing opponents, including a famous spat against Virat Kohli during a 2019 bilateral series.

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammed Kaif, while doing commentaries, did not appreciate Digvesh's antics.

The leg-spinner was the pick of the LSG bowling lineup, picking up 2/30 runs in his four overs.

However, the rest of the LSG bowling attack failed to make an impact as PBKS chased down the 173-run target in just 16.2 overs.

The win propelled PBKS to second place in the IPL 2025 points table. PBKS, RCB, and DC currently have four points each, having won their first two matches.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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LSG Owner Sanjiv Goenka Confronts Rishabh Pant, Recreates KL Rahul Scene

The sum of Rs 27 crore that Lucknow Super Giants spent on Rishabh Pant isn't looking good at the moment. The wicket-keeper batter has hardly gotten his bat to do the talking in the first three games for the franchise. Even his captaincy decisions have been questioned by many, with fans on social media already putting the label of a "Rs 27 crore flop" on the wicket-keeper batter. After LSG suffered their second defeat of the season, at the hands of Punjab Kings, the franchise's co-owner Sanji Goenka confronted Rishabh Pant again on the field, asking some tough questions.

Goenka has developed a reputation of asking questions to his team's captains. In the past even KL Rahul has had to face Goenka's wrath on the field over the team's defeats. Pant was subjected to a similar confrontation after LSG's defeat against Delhi Capitals in their opening match of the season.

Lucknow then bounced back with a victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad but slumped to a defeat against Punjab on Tuesday. Goenka didn't shy away from confronting Pant again on the ground, triggering a social media storm. The LSG co-owner was even seen pointing finger at Pant during the conversation.

Sanjiv Goenka and Rishabh Pant after the match. pic.twitter.com/AzyGSCYPLd

— Vishal. (@SPORTYVISHAL) April 1, 2025

Scene created between Goenka & Pant. #PBKSvsLSG pic.twitter.com/oU9AS4kbN5

— Kunal Yadav (@Kunal_KLR) April 1, 2025

Sanjeev Goenka - The worst IPL owner.

In every match, he keeps talking to Pant with an intense look, interfering too much in cricketing decisions.

He doesn't even let the players catch their breath after a loss.@LucknowIPL @RishabhPant17 #LSGvsPBKS #PBKSvsLSG pic.twitter.com/PNRVDqu7uI

— Sachin Shukla (@imsachin_20) April 1, 2025

Goenka be like: Gussa toh bahut aa rha h tujh pr, pr kya karu Public dkh rhi h !!#LSGvsPBKS #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/Dmg25fmMdj

— Cricket Adda (@Aslicricketer23) April 1, 2025

Sanjiv Goenka started abusing Rishabh Pant in the Dressing Room after losing LSG vs PBKS IPL match again.#SanjivGoenka #RishabhPant #LSGvPBKS #IPL2025 pic.twitter.com/qlJsiGtyaV

— (@Crickaith) April 1, 2025

After the game, Rishabh Pant admitted that his team was about 20-25 runs short against Punjab.

"It (the total) wasn't enough, we were 20-25 runs short, but that's part and parcel of the game. Still assessing the conditions at our home ground. It's always going to be difficult to get a big total when you lose early wickets, but each and every player is trying hard to take the game forward. The idea was to get a slow wicket. I think the slower balls were sticking in. We got to learn from this game and move forward. There are a lot of positives, can't say much," he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

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'You're From Punjab...": MI's New Hero Reveals Rousing Message From Hardik

Mumbai Indians record-shattering IPL debutant Ashwani Kumar revealed the words of encouragement he received from skipper Hardik Pandya and his favourite scalp out of the four top stars he bagged against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Mumbai Indians (MI) continued their policy of unearthing new talent and presented the 23-year-old left-arm seamer to the world. On his debut, Ashwani became the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul on an IPL debut. Before enchanting the spectators with his scorching spell, Ashwani, who hails from Punjab, received a simple message from Hardik to bowl fearlessly and enjoy.

"It is a really good feeling. I didn't expect things to play out like this. Hardik bhai told me you are from Punjab, and the people there are not scared of anything. You have to scare the opposition and enjoy," he said in a video posted by the IPL.

He sent shivers down KKR's spine when he took his position and began charging down at the batters. The 23-year-old made his IPL debut a day to remember and returned with figures of 4/24.

Ashwani's wicket pool included established stars featuring skipper Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and hard-hitting Andre Russell.

"My favourite wicket was Andre Russell because he is a big player," Ashwani said when asked about his favourite wicket.

Ashwani didn't waste time and struck on his first ball in the IPL. Rahane tried to go after the boundary but only found Tilak Varma's hands. Initially, Tilak gobbled up the chance as the ball fumbled out of his hands, but he held his composure to complete the catch on the second occasion.

"When the ball fumbled I just hope he somehow gets hold of it. My strength is a bouncer and I can bowl a yorker as well," he said.

Ashwani's sizzling spell restricted Kolkata to 116 which Mumbai effortlessly chased down to open its win account with an 8-wicket triumph.

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IPL 2025 Early Trends - Batters Dominate Like Never Before

The last season of the IPL was a revolutionary one, witnessing an unprecedented domination of bat over ball- there were record totals, sixes galore and the run-rate soared higher and higher like never before. There was mayhem in the powerplay with teams like Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders redefined batting in the first six overs - incidentally, they were the two finalists last season. The 2025 edition has also started with a bang and if the first week is anything to go by, the bar has already been raised by the batters. We look at the early trends and numbers that define the first week in IPL 2025. 

Note: All numbers updated till end of Match 10 

Run-Rate at an all-time high 

If the batters scaled K2 last season, they seem set to trek Mount Everest in IPL 2025! The collective run-rate in the first 10 matches this season is a stunning 9.91, a few notches higher than the 9.53 at the same point last year. There has been some outstanding hitting already in this edition. A total of 194 sixes were hammered in the first 10 encounters in IPL 2024. That number has been surpassed quite comfortably this season and stands at 204! The 200-run mark was breached five times in the first 10 matches in IPL 2024. It has already been crossed six times this season. 

Powerplay Carnage 

The major feature of IPL 2024 was the carnage witnessed in the powerplay.

Teams went helter-skelter in the first six overs with maximizing runs the mantra of the season. Conserving wickets and accelerating later was a thing of the past! The run-rate in the first six overs in the first 10 matches in IPL 2024 was 9.34 and there was a strong correlation between teams who maximized the powerplay and success - Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders were the two most destructive teams in the powerplay and it was not a coincidence that they played each other in the final. Powerplay batting has been taken to another level this season with the average run-rate in the first six overs in the first 10 matches at a mind-boggling 10.2. Teams have already scored 70 or more six times in the tournament. 

Chasing slight advantage 

The team chasing has won six of the first 10 matches this season, keeping with the historic trend, where batting second has always been an advantage. However, batting second is the overwhelming preference this season with the captain winning the toss electing to chase on nine occasions! 

Left-handers ruling the roost 

The three leading run-getters so far this season are all left-handers. Five on the top 7 list are southpaws. Nicholas Pooran is the highest impact batter so far with two stunning performances to start his campaign for Lucknow Super Giants. He hammered a sensational 75 off just 30 deliveries against Delhi Capitals at Visakhapatnam before smashing 70 off just 26 deliveries in a successful 191-run chase against Sunrisers in Hyderabad. The feature of his batting has been the clean striking - Pooran has blasted a total of 13 sixes in his two innings this season! 

Spinners more restrictive

Spinners have bagged 54 wickets so far this season at an average of 28.7, strike rate of 18.7 and economy of 9.18. The pacers, on the other hand, have picked 69 wickets at an average of 31.7, strike rate of 18.4 and economy of 10.28. 

The struggle of the Big 3 

Still early days but interesting trends are emerging in season 18 of the IPL. The Big 3 - Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders - who have 13 of the 17 titles between them - have had an indifferent start in the tournament. MI's batting has let them down in both matches and the bowling also lacks the firepower without Jasprit Bumrah. CSK have also struggled with the bat and depend heavily on Rachin Ravindra and Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order. Defending champions, KKR, need their middle-order - the likes of Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer and Andre Russell to fire if they are to compete with the more formidable batting line-ups like SRH, DC and LSG in the tournament. Like CSK, they have won one and lost one encounter. RCB and DC have looked to be the two best units so far this season and have won both their matches. Both the franchises are yet to win the IPL!

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