Sahal, Suhail’s goals bring victory for the Mariners
The Mohun Bagan Super Giant youngsters justified their selection for the Super Cup 2025 after beating Kerala Blasters 2-1 in their quarterfinal clash at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday. Sahal Abdul Samad and Suhail Bhat scored either side of half time to give the Mariners a two-goal lead and despite some late incursions into the box from the Blasters, Sreekuttan’s goal came a little too late. Sahal opened the scoring against his former side in the 23rd minute. Adnan with some excellent footwork on the right flank, dances past Naocha and into the box. Passes the ball to Sahal who dinks it over the keeper after a close first touch. In the 51st minute Suhail Bhat doubled the lead. Ashique’s stepover past Hormipam opened up the space for a low cross in and Suhail, offering a speedy run to the far post knocked the ball into the net. In the 93rd minute, Sreekuttan reduced the margin for Kerala Blasters. Sreekuttan was played in by Jimenez after his shot is blocked. The young attacker smacked it high into the net past Dheeraj to score the consolation.
Hockey Bengal plans to introduce franchise women’s league; Gurbux raised questions on security at Pahalgam
Sudeep Pakrashi Hockey Bengal is planning to introduce a franchise-based women’s league in Bengal. Sujit Bose, the state minister for the Department of Fire and Emergency Service and the president of Hockey Bengal, revealed that plans are to organize the league with six to eight teams. The matches are expected to be staged on the Astro-Turf at Dumurjola Sports Complex in Howrah. “We will be the country’s first state to introduce a franchise-based women’s league. Considering plans so far, we will try to organize it either at the end of May or in June this year. A few city-based companies have expressed willingness to come forward with financial assistance to promote women’s hockey. Simultaneously, we will be requesting East Bengal and Mohun Bagan also to introduce women’s teams in the League,” said Bose while speaking to Parallel Sports during the occasion of Hockey Bengal’s 117th Foundation Day celebration program at the Hockey Bengal Maidan premises on Saturday. Incidentally, Bose also divulged that in a bid to make promotion of the game in Bengal, the state association will be initiating another Astro-Turf in the state where the competitive matches at the grass-route level will be held. Bose added, “Unless we provide quality ground and infrastructure for the young promising players they cannot improve the standard of the game. So, I desire to lay an Astro-Turf on this Hockey Bengal’s Maidan ground to successfully run our coaching program with under-14 and under-16 boys and girls.” Bose also announced that the newly-built Astro-Turf stadium with a capacity of around six thousand seats at the Salt Lake Stadium campus will be inaugurated with the prestigious Beighton Cup from 7th to 11th November. However, legendary Olympian Gurbux Singh was also present at the function on the day. Thanking Hockey Bengal’s president and the association for their effort to promote the game in Bengal, was vocal when asked about the recent terrorist-attack on the tourists at Pahelgam. Singh, now 89 said, “I question about the security system at Pahelgam. How could such a popular and important tourist spot become completely without security?” The young boys and girls, selected from different districts for Hockey Bengal’s forthcoming coaching programs were presented hockey sticks by the president and Gurbux Singh on the day.
Spirited Nagaland bow down to Sports Authority of India in the U-20 quarterfinals
Sports Authority of India entered last-four of the Swami Vivekananda U-20 Men’s National Football Championship, as they beat Nagaland in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw at the end of 120 minutes, at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Friday, 25th April 25. SAI will face the defending champions, Delhi, in the semi-final on 25 May. Nagaland were off to a good start as midfielder Pulovi scored a tap-in from a loose ball in the 25th minute to give his side the lead. Oinam Romio Singh, with just 11 minutes into the second half, scored with a header to bring Sports Authority of India back on level terms. The game was up for grabs entering the extra time, and Nagaland’s K Arap Konyak made the most out of it. The forward was in a perfect spot to convert the tap-in, in the 96th minute, giving Nagaland the lead once again. The celebrations, however, were short-lived as Sameer Gurung equalised again in the 107th minute with his left foot from inside the box, keeping SAI alive in the game. As the full-time whistle blew, a nerve-wracking penalty shootout awaited to decide the fate. Both SAI and Nagaland were on level terms after the first five shots each, before SAI goalkeeper K Rahul Kannan anticipated and saved Nagaland’s Haominlal’s penalty, giving his side a crucial edge in the sudden-death. Sameer, who had scored the extra-time equaliser, was up for the job once again. The midfielder delivered the winning penalty into the bottom-left corner to take SAI into the last four.
Real Madrid appeals to Federation to change referee for the Copa Del Rey final
Despite the mouth-watering clash between the arch rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid in Copa Del Ray final the main focus of the match has gone to Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea after Real Madrid officially appealed to the Royal Spanish Football Federation to change the referee of the crucial match scheduled to be held on Saturday in Sevilla. Real Madrid have issued a statement regarding controversy surrounding the referee. The key reason behind their appeal has been expressed through Real Madrid TV where it has been shown that Madrid won 64% of its games refereed by De Burgos, compared to 81% won by Barcelona under his watch. Even, some unconfirmed reports are coming that Real Madrid are considering boycotting the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona after their request to change head referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea was rejected by the Spanish football federation. Referee, Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, who will take charge of the El Clasico showdown in Seville, broke down in tears whilst revealing the pressure Real Madrid’s TV channel has put officials under this season. An emotional De Burgos told a news conference on Friday: “To see your son come from school crying because some kids have said his dad is a crook is very hard to take. “What I do is tell my son that his father is honorable. I make mistakes, like any athlete, but I am honorable. I want my son to be proud of his father and of the refereeing profession.”
Rajat Patidar becomes second fastest batsman to reach 1000 runs in IPL
Rajat Patidar achieved a brilliant milestone as he reached 1000 IPL runs in just 30 innings. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain achieved the feat during the IPL 2025 encounter against Punjab Kings on Friday. Patidar was the second fastest Indian ever to reach the milestone behind Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan, who reached the mark in 25 innings. The stylish right-hander also edged past Sachin Tendulkar and Ruturaj Gaikwad, both of whom took 31 innings to reach the milestone. Mumbai Indians’ Tilak Varma follows closely, having taken 33 innings to cross 1000 IPL runs. What sets Patidar apart, however, is a unique achievement — he is the first Indian batter in IPL history to reach 1000 runs with an average of over 35 and a strike rate above 150. This underlines his consistency and impact, especially in high-pressure situations, making him one of the most promising Indian batters in the current T-20 circuit. Punjab Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by five wickets in their rain-curtailed Indian Premier League match on Friday.
Sourav key attraction in the ‘decider’ of the DSA Cricket League Championship
Former Indian captain and the BCCI president Sourav Ganguly is going to be the key attraction in the deciding match of the DSA Cricket League Championship, organized by North 24 Parganas. The match will be held on 14th April Vivekananda Samity Ground, Agarpara. Rahara Sangha and Sukhchar UFC, will battle it out for the coveted title. The DSA will also inaugurate its official YouTube Channel and make live-streaming of the final match. Along with Sourav Ganguly, other distinguished dignitaries, including DM, North 24 Paraganas, Shri Sharad Dwivedi (IAS), MPs Partha Bhowmik and Sougata Roy will also be present on the day. DSA however has decided to honor its women’s cricket team, recent champions in the State Championship organized by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).
Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull banned from the IPL commentary panel in Kolkata!
Taking a strong exception to public criticism of their curator by Harsha Bhogle and Simon Doull, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has red-flagged the two cricket experts and requested the BCCI not to assign them commentary duty for Kolkata Knight Riders’ home matches. Bhogle and Doull got embroiled in the controversy when the former New Zealand cricketer opined that KKR should relocate their franchisee if the curator was not paying any heed to the team’s request for spin-friendly tracks while Bhogle said the team should get the home advantage. This was during a panel discussion on a popular website after KKR lost two of their first three home games. Infuriated by their comments, CAB secretary Naresh Ojha wrote to the BCCI nearly 10 days ago, requesting the removal of Bhogle and Doull from the commentary panel for their home games. Interestingly, neither Bhogle nor Doull was on commentary duty during Monday’s game between KKR and Gujarat Titans. However, sources close to Bhogle said the renowned commentator was not slotted for any KKR game. It could not be confirmed if the commentary roster was set before or after CAB’s formal complaint. “Bhogle and Doull are no longer part of the IPL commentary team for KKR’s home matches. However, the situation might change when Eden hosts the Qualifier 2 and the Final on May 23 and 25,” a CAB official told PTI. Ojha and CAB president Snehasish Ganguly were not available for comment. Both KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and head coach Chandrakant Pandit had expressed disappointment over not getting the expected spin-friendly conditions.
Shreyas and Kishan back in the BCCI contract; Pant gets an upgrade
Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan are back on the BCCI’s central contracts list for 2024-25 after being left out the previous time. The top tier of the contracts (A+) has four players –Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rabindra Jadeja. However Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja have retired from T-20Is after India won the T-20 World Cup in June last year. Rishav Pant has been promoted from Grade B to Grade A, which also has Mohammad Siraj, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, and Mohammad Shami. Pant had previously been in Grade A – for the 2022-23 season but was moved down to Grade-B after not playing for over a year following a horrific car crash in December 2022. He returned to play IPL 2024 and has since been part of all formats for India – he’s played 10 Tests, one ODI, and 10 T20Is since then – and has returned to Grade A. Iyer, meanwhile, is part of Grade B along with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal and India T-20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, while Kishan has been added to Grade C. The new entrants in the contracts’ list – all currently in Grade C – are Nitish Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Abhishek Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Akash Deep, Varun Chakrabarthy, and Harshit Rana. Shardul Thakur, KS Bharat, Avesh Khan, and Jitesh Sharma, who were all on the Grade C list – the lowest of the retainers – last year, have been dropped. The BCCI did not mention the amounts for the four contract categories, but the players in the A+ category are paid Rs 7 crore, the players contracted in A grade are given Rs 5 crore, the B-graded cricketers are allotted Rs 3 crore, and the cricketers listed in C-grade are paid Rs 1 crore.
