Category Sports News

The Indian Premier League match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala was abandoned because of reported floodlight failure.

The players walked off the field after 10.1 overs with Kings on 122-1, having just seen Priyansh Arya dismissed for a 34-ball 70.

Arya had made a blistering opening stand alongside Prabhsimran Singh, who struck 50 from 28 deliveries, after their side chose to bat at the toss.

Two floodlight towers were inactive at the time the innings was postponed.

ESPN Cricinfo reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said the match was called off “due to a significant technical failure”.

The BBC has asked the BCCI for comment but has been unable to verify the reports.

Earlier on Thursday, the BCCI moved Sunday’s match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians from Dharamshala to Ahmedabad due to “logistical challenges”.

Dharamshala sits close to the contested region of Kashmir, subject of raised tensions between India and Pakistan in recent days.

Thursday’s Pakistan Super League match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, due to be held in Rawalpindi, was postponed after Pakistan’s military said Indian drones were destroyed in various Pakistan cities.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering postponing the remainder of its season amid the ongoing tensions.

The Pakistan Super League is considering postponing the remainder of its season amid the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India.

BBC Sport understands the PSL is looking at all options, including halting the tournament for a number of weeks, moving it to a single city or outside the country.

Pakistan says 31 people have been killed and 57 injured by air strikes in the country and Pakistan-administered Kashmir since Wednesday morning as India responds to a deadly militant attack on Indian tourists in Kashmir last month.

James Vince, Chris Jordan, Tom Curran, David Willey, Sam Billings, Luke Wood and Tom Kohler-Cadmore are the English players involved in the PSL, while there are also English coaches at various franchises.

Thursday’s match between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, due to be held in Rawalpindi, was postponed after Pakistan’s military said Indian drones were destroyed in various Pakistan cities.

A Pakistan Cricket Board official told BBC Sport one drone misfired and led to an explosion in the street behind the stadium in Rawalpindi. The BBC has been unable to verify these claims.

PSL organisers remain keen for the tournament, which has eight fixtures outstanding, to be completed, but the safety of players remains their priority.

A senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official told BBC Sport: “If Rawalpindi is not safe, Lahore and Karachi are not safe because drones also attacked there. Any city of Pakistan is not safe because the drones have targeted smaller cities of Pakistan”.

The seven English players have held separate discussions over whether to return to the UK, with a split in opinion over whether to remain.

They held talks with the Professional Cricketers ‘ Association (PCA) on Wednesday to discuss the situation. It is understood feelings among those in Pakistan were mixed.

Other leading overseas names in the PSL include Australian David Warner (Karachi Kings) and former West Indies captain Jason Holder (Islamabad United).

The UK foreign office currently advises against all but essential travel within five miles of the international border between Pakistan and India.

The Indian Premier League match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals began as planned in Dharamsala on Thursday, but was called off after 10.1 overs after the floodlights went out.

Sunday’s match between the Kings and Mumbai Indians has been moved from Dharamsala to Ahmedabad.

Dharamsala is in the state of Himachal Pradesh, which borders Kashmir, and flights were cancelled to its airport on Wednesday, making it difficult for Mumbai Indians to travel.

“The venue change has been necessitated due to logistical challenges”, India’s cricket board (BCCI) said in a statement.

Twenty-six civilians were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir last month and India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants behind the attack – an allegation the neighbouring country has rejected.

WCL2, Amstelveen

United Arab Emirates 296-6 (50 overs): Chopra 101, Sharma 56, Wassem 41

Scotland 199 (43.3 overs): Munsey 43, McCreath 33; Singh 4-30, Khan 3-41

UAE win by 97 runs

Scotland slumped to a disappointing 97-run defeat by the United Arab Emirates, damaging their faltering defence of the World Cup League 2 crown.

The Scots made heavy weather of a three-wicket win over the same opponents on Sunday and on this occasion were comprehensively beaten by the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.

UAE captain Rahul Chopra made his first one day international century (101) to help steer his side to 296-6.

Opener Aryansh Sharma contributed 56 and Muhammad Waseem (41) added some late fireworks with his skipper, who made the most of his escape from a big lbw claim on 30.

Scotland’s response was lacklustre, losing a succession of batters to poor shots.

George Munsey was out for 43 in the 19th opener shortly after the departure of fellow opener Charlie Tear (27).

Richie Berrington and Finlay McCreath threatened to drag Scotland back into the contest but fell in quick succession for 32 and 33 respectively.

That left them on 164-5 at the end of the 35th over and from there the challenge quickly fizzled out as Simranjeet Singh finished with four wickets and Aayan Khan claimed three.

“Credit to UAE,” Berrington told ICC.TV. “It wasn’t our best day. At this level, you need to be a lot more consistent.”

It is just a third win from 14 competition outings for UAE, while Scotland sit mid-table with seven victories from their 13 matches.

Manchester United manager Marc Skinner says the inaugural Women’s World Sevens tournament will be “utter carnage and fun”.

United are one of eight teams taking part in the new seven-aside competition which takes place in Estoril, Portugal, from 21-23 May.

They are joined in the tournament – which has a prize money pool of $5m (£3.76m) – by Manchester City, Ajax, Benfica, Roma, Paris St-Germain, Rosengard and Bayern Munich.

Skinner said: “It’s tactically going to be crazy, which I think is what we want – we want carnage. It will make everyone laugh and it is entertaining.

“We listened to our players on this. If they didn’t want to go, we genuinely wouldn’t put our name in it.

“The ones that don’t want to – there’s three or four players who have pulled out for their own personal reasons – will still get any prize money if we win.”

Matches will have 15-minute halves, with extra time deciding tie-breakers, and an infinite number of substitutions are allowed throughout.

Skinner says United are in a pot with Benfica, Roma and PSG and the top two teams of that group will progress to the semi-finals.

Should they win the tournament, the prize money will be partly distributed among players in the squad, as well as being used by the club to recruit new signings.

It is significantly more than the 1.4m euros (£1.2m) this year’s Women’s Champions League winners could earn on 24 May.

“It’s a reason why we entered,” added Skinner. “For our team, where we don’t have Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester City’s budget, it’s huge if we’re going to be successful.

Skinner says United have not received any backlash from national team coaches who are preparing squads for Euro 2025.

The World Sevens takes place six weeks before the start of the Euros, which begins on 2 July, but international players are likely to be involved.

Asked if she wanted to play, England defender Maya Le Tissier said: “If the gaffer picks me, I will. I would love to play in it! It’s just a bit of fun.”

Norway striker Elisabeth Terland told BBC Sport: “It all fitted in perfectly after the season and after the FA Cup final.

“As a group, we love spending time together. That’s the biggest reason as to why we wanted to do it. Having a few days near Lisbon, playing some football, will be cool.”

England manager Sarina Wiegman said in March it would “not be too bad” as it could help players remain sharp at the end of the season.

“Well if you see now in the calendar for this summer, there is a gap – a gap with no football where players can have a little bit of rest,” she added.

“At the same time, players need to keep going because you want to be at your best for the Euros. There is a gap of no competitive games for a month.