FORMER champion Garbine Muguruza began her Wimbledon campaign in dominant style as she made up for a rain delay to crush France's Fiona Ferro 6-0, 6-1 on Monday (28).
The Spaniard, champion in 2017, raced to victory in 49 minutes on Court 2 and came close to advancing without dropping a game as she led 6-0, 5-0.
Ferro showed some steel to avoid complete humiliation, nicking a game as 11th seed Muguruza netted a forehand, but it was only a temporary reprieve.
Muguruza is one of five former champions in the draw.
In another women's singles match of the first round, second seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won the first match at Wimbledon in two years on Monday (28), seeing off Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu in straight sets.
Sabalenka won 6-1, 6-4 under the roof of Court 1 and will face either Danielle Lao of the United States or Britain's Katie Boulter for a place in the last 32.
Last year's Wimbledon was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic while the start of first day's play at this year's event was delayed by rain on the outside courts.
INDIA and England will play their upcoming five-Test series in the UK for a new trophy named after Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson.
According to a report by the BBC, the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy will be unveiled ahead of the series, which begins at Headingley on June 20. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) declined to comment, the report added.
Earlier, Test series between the two sides in England were played for the Pataudi Trophy, named after Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi and his son, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi.
In March, the ECB informed the Pataudi family of its intention to retire the trophy.
Tendulkar is the highest run-scorer in Test history with 15,921 runs. The 52-year-old played 200 Tests between 1989 and 2013 and holds numerous records in both Tests and ODIs.
Anderson is England’s all-time leading wicket-taker and the most successful pace bowler in Test cricket with 704 wickets.
Since retiring from international cricket last summer, the 42-year-old Anderson has worked as England’s bowling consultant and currently plays county cricket for Lancashire, having signed a contract extension recently.
Tendulkar and Anderson played against each other in 14 Tests. Anderson dismissed Tendulkar nine times — the most by any bowler.
England are the current and final holders of the Pataudi Trophy, having retained it with a 2-2 draw in the series held across 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The move to rename the trophy follows a similar initiative by England and New Zealand, who last year introduced the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, named after Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe.
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England's Ben Stokes with teammates. Reuters/Peter Cziborra
ENGLAND have named a 14-player squad for the first match of the Rothesay Test Series against India, which is set to begin on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds.
Ben Stokes will lead the squad as captain and Surrey bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton returns to the Test line-up for the first time since earning his sole cap against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022.
The 31-year-old is still under close medical review after breaking his right little finger during the first One-Day International against the West Indies at Edgbaston last week.
Overton, who scored 97 against New Zealand, could strengthen the lower order batting with Atkinson missing and Chris Woakes still proving his fitness.
Woakes, 36, has been delayed by a bone stress reaction in his ankle and needs to demonstrate his readiness in Friday's (6) England Lions match against India A at Northampton. Having played just one county match for Warwickshire, his participation remains uncertain. He could edge out Sam Cook, who retains his place in the squad after a quiet debut against Zimbabwe.
England's Jamie Overton celebrates after taking the wicket of West Indies' Gudakesh Motie. Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Brydon Carse returns after recovering from a toe injury, adding to England's seam bowling options alongside retained duo Sam Cook and Josh Tongue. Matthew Potts has been overlooked entirely, meaning five seamers will compete for three spots in the final XI.
Jacob Bethell returns to the squad after missing the Zimbabwe Test due to Indian Premier League commitments. The 21-year-old left-hander impressed during England's winter tour of New Zealand, scoring three fifties after his surprise promotion to the crucial position.
However, Ollie Pope's sparkling 171 against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge has complicated matters. Captain Ben Stokes had previously backed his vice-captain, dismissing criticism as a "media agenda" following Pope's century. Selector Luke Wright offered no guarantees about Pope keeping the spot, admitting Bethell was "very close" to selection.
Another development concerns Jofra Archer's potential return to Test cricket. The Sussex seamer, who hasn't played first-class cricket since 2021 due to various injuries, is being lined up for the second Test at Edgbaston next month.
Archer will play a County Championship match for Sussex against Durham on June 23, which begins during the first Test. If he proves his fitness, the 30-year-old could make his Test comeback at Birmingham, providing a significant boost to England's bowling attack.
"Like anything with all these bowlers, he's got to keep ticking things off every day with no setbacks," said Wright. "But if all goes well and he gets through that Durham game, then he's available potentially for selection for that second Test."
England are managing several injury concerns, with Mark Wood and Olly Stone expected to miss the entire series. Captain Stokes has abandoned plans to play for the Lions after successfully returning to bowling following hamstring surgery earlier this year.
Surrey's Gus Atkinson was ruled out of selection due to a hamstring injury sustained during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month.
England will play five Test matches against India over the next couple of months, finishing on August 4 at the Kia Oval in London.
SQUAD: Ben Stokes (capt), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wkt), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.
(with inputs from agencies)
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Colombo will serve as Pakistan’s base for seven group-stage matches. (Representational image: iStock)
PAKISTAN will play their matches at this year’s Women’s Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka, as part of an International Cricket Council (ICC) arrangement that allows them to avoid playing in India, the official host of the tournament.
The ICC introduced the use of neutral venues after India declined to travel to Pakistan for the men’s Champions Trophy earlier this year. The move was aimed at managing tournament logistics between the two countries, which remain politically tense.
India and Pakistan were involved in a four-day military conflict last month, the most serious since 1999, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
Colombo will serve as Pakistan’s base for seven group-stage matches. The Sri Lankan capital joins Indian cities Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore and Visakhapatnam as host venues for the tournament, which runs from 30 September to 2 November, the ICC announced late on Monday.
If Pakistan qualify for the semi-finals, the first will be played on 29 October in either Guwahati or Colombo. The second semi-final is scheduled for 30 October in Bengaluru. The final will be held on Sunday, 2 November, in either Bengaluru or Colombo.
“The venues for the knockouts are dependent on Pakistan qualifying,” the ICC said in a statement. “Two alternative venues have been identified for one semi-final and the final.”
Eight teams will take part in the 50-over tournament: Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.
Australia won the previous Women’s World Cup, held in New Zealand in 2022, defeating England by 71 runs in the final.
(With inputs from AFP)
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Royal Challengers Bengaluru's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the IPL final against Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on June 4, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU (RCB) and Virat Kohli won their first Indian Premier League (IPL) title on Tuesday, ending a 17-season wait by defeating Punjab Kings by six runs in the final in Ahmedabad.
Bengaluru posted 190-9, with Kohli top-scoring for the side with 43. The bowlers then restricted Punjab to 184-7, despite an unbeaten 61 off 30 balls by Shashank Singh.
Kohli was seen in tears as Bengaluru prepared to shed the underachievers tag that has followed them since the league began in 2008.
After being asked to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Bengaluru failed to build big partnerships and fell short of the 200-run mark. Kohli anchored the innings, but the team was unable to accelerate significantly.
At the halfway point, Bengaluru were 87-2, with enough overs left for others to build around Kohli. However, Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Kohli with a well-directed bouncer, taking a running, tumbling return catch.
Jitesh Sharma added 24 off 10 balls to give some momentum to the innings. Liam Livingstone contributed 25, but the team couldn’t take full advantage in the death overs.
Punjab’s Kyle Jamieson picked up 3-48, and Arshdeep Singh bowled a tight final over, conceding only three runs and taking three wickets.
Punjab began the chase strongly. Opener Prabhsimran Singh, on nine, was dropped by Romario Shepherd in the deep. Josh Hazlewood, however, struck soon after as Phil Salt took a catch in the deep to dismiss Priyansh Arya (24), ending a 43-run opening stand.
Krunal Pandya removed Prabhsimran, and Shepherd dismissed Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer to put Bengaluru in control.
Pandya struck again to get rid of Josh Inglis (39), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Nehal Wadhera and Marcus Stoinis in the same over, sealing the win for Bengaluru.
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Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer (R) and his Royal Challengers Bengaluru's counterpart Rajat Patidar attend a press conference in Ahmedabad on June 2, 2025, on the eve of the IPL final. (Photo: Getty Images)
PUNJAB KINGS will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League final on Tuesday at Ahmedabad’s 132,000-capacity stadium, with both teams seeking their first title since the tournament began in 2008.
Punjab reached the final after defeating five-time champions Mumbai Indians by five wickets on Sunday. Captain Shreyas Iyer led the chase with an unbeaten 87.
Bengaluru go into the final with confidence, having beaten Punjab by eight wickets in the playoffs last week. This will be their fourth appearance in an IPL final, but they have yet to win the title.
Much of the crowd is expected to support Virat Kohli, the 36-year-old batter who remains one of Indian cricket’s biggest names. Kohli retired from Test cricket last month along with Rohit Sharma and has been Bengaluru’s leading run-scorer this season with 614 runs in 14 innings, including eight half-centuries.
Kohli has spoken openly about his desire to win the IPL and complete his career with the one title that has eluded him. After the playoff win over Punjab, he said: “One more to go.”
Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar said the team is aware of what the title would mean to Kohli. “Of course,” Patidar said when asked about Kohli’s importance. “I think he has given a lot of years to RCB and the international side also. I think we will try to do our best in the game.”
Punjab’s fast bowling coach James Hopes said his side would focus on recovery and mental preparation. He added: “It’s going to be a pretty big crowd, and a pretty big pro-Kohli crowd as well.”
Bengaluru’s bowling attack includes Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who returned from injury to take 3-21 in the earlier playoff against Punjab, helping to bowl them out for 101.
Hazlewood leads a pace unit featuring Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal.
Punjab, coached by Ricky Ponting, bounced back from a loss to win the second qualifier in Ahmedabad, which had been delayed by rain.
Iyer, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title last year, was signed by Punjab for $3.17 million at the November auction. He has scored 603 runs in 16 innings this season, just behind Kohli.
Iyer in form as Punjab seek first title
His unbeaten 87 off 41 balls in the previous match included five fours and eight sixes. “When I back myself and back my instincts, I think that's when I get the best out of myself,” Iyer said. “And also when other players revolve around you and keep performing, that also gives you a little bit of extra push to keep going.”
Hopes said Iyer remains calm under pressure. “He doesn’t get flustered very easily,” he said. “He knows what he has to do and he’s prepared to take that risk. He is a sensational captain and a sensational player.”
Punjab openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have been in good form.
They also have options in Josh Inglis, and allrounders Marcus Stoinis and Azmatullah Omarzai, who could all play a role in ending Kohli’s long wait for an IPL title.
Rishi Sunak backs RCB
Former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak has declared his support for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) ahead of their IPL 2025 final clash with Punjab Kings (PBKS). Citing his family ties to Bengaluru through wife Akshata Murty, Sunak said, “I’m married into a Bangalore family, so RCB is my team,” in an interview with The Times of India.
Sunak, who used to cheer for the team even while in Downing Street, said one of his most treasured items is a Virat Kohli bat gifted to him by Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar. “It’s one of my prized possessions,” he added.
This will be RCB’s fourth appearance in an IPL final—they have lost all previous ones. PBKS will be playing their second, having lost to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014.
Sunak praised the IPL’s impact on cricket development, especially for English players. “The IPL has transformed cricket. Every cricketer wants to play in it now,” he said, noting strong performances by RCB’s English players like Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone. He also highlighted the improvement of Jacob Bethell, who had to leave the RCB squad for England duty.
He added that the IPL and Women’s Premier League (WPL) are helping grow the women’s game and reflect India’s rising global influence: “India’s passions and tastes now have global impact.”