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Welsh Fire are the worst performing franchise in The Hundred’s short history.

Last year, both the men’s and women’s teams finished rock bottom. Neither side has won the tournament and the men are yet to reach the play-off’s.

But tech billionaire Sanjay Govil sees it differently.

Behind the sorry stats and rank records the Indian-American IT entrepreneur saw a unique opportunity that no other Hundred franchise could offer.

So much so that he committed to beating 15 prospective owners to buy a 50% share of the team for £40m during last year’s sales of The Hundred franchises.

“With the Welsh Fire you’re not just getting a team, you’re getting a whole country behind it,” Govil told BBC Sport Wales.

“Last year they finished last, both in the men’s and the women’s hundreds. So we have a real opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Despite only visiting Wales once before, the importance of building a connection between the team and the people it aims to represent is not lost on Govil.

He is hopeful that strategic decisions made on and off the field will illuminate Welsh Fire’s unique standing as the only franchise “with a country behind it” and bring people closer to the divisive competition.

Four of The Hundred’s teams have changed their names in line with their owners’ brands around the world but – despite his ownership of Washington Freedom in the Major League Cricket (MLC) – this was never an option for the Montreal-born businessman.

“I did not come with the intent of changing the name or that we are taking over, I want this to be a Welsh team.

This week’s auction may present Govil with another opportunity to sprinkle some Welsh talent on his new teams.

Aneurin Donald’s strike rate of 216.9 was the highest in last year’s T20 Blast after impressing for Derbyshire, the Swansea-born batsman could be a shrewd addition.

Chepstow’s Ben Kellaway enjoyed a breakthrough summer with bat and ball for Glamorgan. The all-rounder went from strength to strength earning himself a Hundred deal with Welsh Fire in the process, and it would not be a surprise if history repeated itself.

Whilst he is not Welsh-born, Glamorgan’s Asa Tribe will be an attrative option for Govil and his coaching staff if they are hoping to strengthen Fire’s connection to Wales.

The 21-year-old is coming off the back of an imposing winter having impressed for both Paarl Royals in the SA20 and England Lions on their red-ball trip to Australia and white-ball tour against Pakistan Shaheens.

Govil is the founder and chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions, a company with an annual revenue of $2bn and 20,000 employees globally. He also owns Zyter TruCare, one of the leading healthcare technology platforms with 43 million members.

But it was not just Govil’s love for cricket that convinced him to part with millions.

“One of the main attractions for The Hundred was the fact they had women’s cricket. There’s a lot of young girls who are now playing in the US and it’s a lot more mature in the UK.

Whilst he may be a stranger to Wales, Govil is quick to point out his familiarity with franchise success.

His Washington Freedom side have won the most games in the three years of MLC, taking home the trophy in 2024 and finishing runners-up in 2025.

“I have a history of doing this, it’s not just the Washington Freedom. I had a professional badminton team in India and in the very first year we won the championship,” the Maryland-based entrepreneur said.

“Even business, I’ve taken over assets, which are really underperforming and turned it around.”

The secret to his success?

“It’s all about looking at a big picture, having the right components, and creating an environment which is very fertile towards success,” he explained.

Fire have already been busy trying to acquire the right components.

Salt, Chris Woakes, Marco Jansen and Rachin Ravindra have joined the men’s side as direct signings whilst Freya Kemp, Georgia Wareham and Georgia Voll have signed with the women’s team.

If Govil is to be successful in reversing the fortunes of his new franchise, the team’s performances on the field will need to mirror his own bold confidence.

The next step to building this team will come in this week’s inaugural auction.

As well as having the opportunity to build a competitive team Govil will have the chance to shine a light on Welsh talent and create an identity fans are more likely to subscribe to.

Britain’s Emma Raducanu was overpowered by sixth seed Amanda Anisimova at Indian Wells, losing 6-1 6-1 in a third-round encounter lasting only 52 minutes.

In an ominous sign of the struggle to come, Raducanu was broken in the opening game.

It quickly became apparent the 25th seed had no answer to the American’s determined approach, and the first set ran away from her with just 11 points won.

The second immediately took on a similar pattern with Raducanu finding herself three games behind before managing to hold her serve.

Having enlisted Mark Petchey as a temporary coach after parting with Francisco Roig in January, Raducanu last week said she had been hoping to rediscover her “natural way of playing” in an attempt to build towards the form that saw her claim the 2021 US Open.

But there was to be no reprieve, as Anisimova impressively took a further three games to progress.

The performance marked a stark contrast to Raducanu’s second-round match, a comprehensive 6-1 6-3 victory over Russian Anastasia Zakharova.

Earlier on Sunday, world number one Aryna Sabalenka hit 23 winners as she beat Jaqueline Cristian to move into the fourth round.

The Belarusian, 27, had been on track to take the opening set but double faulted as she looked to serve it out.

A swift break back allowed the four-time Grand Slam champion to take it 6-4, though, and she followed that by winning the second set 6-1 to seal victory.

“I knew that she was not going to give up easily,” Sabalenka said of Romanian Cristian, the world number 35.

She will next face 16th-seeded Naomi Osaka of Japan, who beat Colombian Camila Osorio 6-1 3-6 6-1.

Osaka, another four-time Grand Slam champion, is playing her first tournament since withdrawing before her Australian Open third-round match in January with an abdominal injury.

Other third-round match-ups in California include fourth-ranked Coco Gauff, of the US, against rising Philippines player Alexandra Eala.

In the men’s competition, fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev was taken to three sets but held off American Brandon Nakashima 7-6 (7/2) 5-7 6-4.

A masked fan unplugged a video assistant referee (VAR) monitor in a German second division match on Sunday as the referee was went to the pitchside screen to check a penalty award.

The incident occurred at the end of the first half of Preussen Munster’s 2-1 home defeat by Hertha Berlin in Bundesliga 2.

VAR had intervened and referee Felix Bickel was asked to review the incident on a pitchside monitor, but found the screen blank.

“A masked spectator from the active fan section illegally entered the pitch and unplugged the technical equipment,” Preussen Munster said in a statement.

With Bickel unable to make the call, the decision was left to the VAR official Katrin Rafalski in Cologne, ruling that it was a foul and for Bickel to award a penalty, which Hertha scored.

“Preussen Munster regrets the incident and will do everything in its power to identify and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice,” the club added,

“Furthermore, immediate measures have been taken to prevent similar incidents in the future. Initial findings indicate that this was a planned action – a banner to that effect was displayed in the home section shortly after the technical malfunction.”

Arnold Palmer Invitational – fourth-round leaderboard

-15 A Bhatia (US)*, D Berger (US)

*Bhatia wins after first hole of sudden-death play-off

-12 C Young (US), L Aberg (Swe); -11 C Morikawa (US); -10 S Theegala (US), R Henley (US), MW Lee (Aus); -8 H Hall (Eng), R Fowler (US)

Selected others: -6 J Spieth (US), A Scott (Aus); -2 S Scheffler (US), X Schauffele, R MacIntyre (Sco); +1 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); +6 T Fleetwood (Eng)

Akshay Bhatia beat fellow American Daniel Berger on the first sudden death play-off hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando.

Berger, who had led since the first round, bogeyed the par four 18th as he missed a putt from seven feet, while Bhatia made par to seal his third PGA Tour win.

Bhatia, 24, went into the final round a shot behind Berger, but four birdies on the back nine which included a 57ft putt on the par four 11th plus an eagle on the par five 16th saw him card a three-under par 69.

That put him on 15 under for the tournament, level with Berger, who shot a 70.

“Everyone knows when you show up to Bay Hill it’s going to be a test and to play one of the hardest golf courses,” said Bhatia after winning his first PGA Tour title since the 2024 Texas Open, also won via a play-off. “And to succeed is really cool.”

Berger, 32, who has not won on the PGA Tour since 2021, led by five shots after the second round.

But his lead was cut to one on Sunday morning when the third round was completed, having been delayed because of darkness on Saturday.

“Obviously it didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Berger said. “But at the start of the week if you told me I would have a chance on the 18th hole to win Bay Hill, I would be ecstatic with that. So a lot of positives, a lot of things to learn from.”

American Cameron Young and Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg were tied for third place on 12 under, while world number one Scottie Scheffler carded a 73 to finish on two under in a tie for 23th.

England’s Harry Hall was tied for ninth on eight under.