Pramod Thomas is a senior correspondent with Asian Media Group since 2020, bringing 19 years of journalism experience across business, politics, sports, communities, and international relations. His career spans both traditional and digital media platforms, with eight years specifically focused on digital journalism. This blend of experience positions him well to navigate the evolving media landscape and deliver content across various formats. He has worked with national and international media organisations, giving him a broad perspective on global news trends and reporting standards.
VIRAT KOHLI on Monday (25) said he has "still got it" in him to ace T20 cricket after his attacking 77 guided Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first win of this IPL season.
Master batsman Kohli smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 49-ball blitz as hosts Bengaluru chased down their victory target of 177 with four balls to spare against Punjab Kings and bounce back from their loss in the opener of the lucrative T20 tournament.
Kohli fell to fast bowler Harshal Patel in the 16th over and soon Bengaluru lost another wicket before Dinesh Karthik (28) and impact substitute Mahipal Lomror (17) steered the team home in an unbeaten stand of 48 off 18 balls.
Kohli, who missed India's 4-1 Test series victory over England because of the birth of his second child, has played just two T20 internationals for India since November 2022.
Some critics suggested he is not an automatic selection for this year's T20 World Cup but Kohli has answered back with this latest knock.
"I know my name is just attached to promoting the game in many parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket, but still got it I guess," Kohli told presenter Harsha Bhogle after being named man of the match.
The 35-year-old Kohli spoke about his paternity break.
"We were not in the country. We were at a place where people weren't recognising us," said kohli.
"Just to feel normal for two months was a surreal experience. I was telling the guys that the voices got that much louder (back home) which wasn't the case for the last two months. It was amazing to be another person on the road."
Bowlers set up victory with pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj and spinner Glenn Maxwell taking two wickets each to keep Punjab down to 176-6 despite skipper Shikhar Dhawan's 45.
Kohli then took charge after he was dropped on the second ball of the chase by Jonny Bairstow at first slip off Sam Curran.
He capitalised on the spill on nought and hit the left-handed Curran for four boundaries including three successive hits to set up the chase in the first over.
His flowing cover drives, flicks on the on side and behind-the-wicket hits raised the noise at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium as chants of "Kohli, Kohli" filled the air.
"It's been going on for years," Kohli said about his love affair with his fans.
"At the end of the day you don't talk about the achievements, stats or numbers but the memories.
"It's what (India coach) Rahul Dravid says. The friendship, love, appreciation, backing has been amazing and is what you'll miss and never forget."
He raised his 51st IPL fifty in 31 balls and became the third batsman after Chris Gayle and David Warner to score his 100th 50-plus knock in T20 cricket.
Punjab fast bowler Kagiso Rabada struck early with the key wickets of skipper Faf du Plessis and Cameron Green -- both the batsmen out on three.
Kohli stood firm but Punjab bowlers got down a few disciplined overs to put the pressure back on Bengaluru, but the star batsman, and later Karthik, ensured victory.
Bengaluru invited Punjab to bat first and struck regular blows after Siraj send Bairstow trudging back to the pavilion for eight.
Batsmen failed to convert starts with Prabhsimran Singh and Curran out for 25 and 23 respectively.
Root, in his 156th Test, again played a crucial role after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a sunny day at Lord's. (Photo: Getty Images)
JOE ROOT finished unbeaten on 99 as England reached 251-4 at stumps on the opening day of the third Test against India at Lord's on Thursday.
England were struggling at 44-2 after Indian pacer Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in his opening over, removing openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Root came in and steadied the innings, building partnerships and keeping the scoreboard moving at just over three an over, slower than England’s usual 'Bazball' tempo.
Root, in his 156th Test, again played a crucial role after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a sunny day at Lord's. Stokes was 39 not out at the close, having added an unbroken 79-run partnership with Root for the fifth wicket.
Stokes appeared to tweak his groin towards the end of the day, raising concerns for England, especially as fast bowler Jofra Archer was recalled to the side after a long injury break.
Earlier, Root had shared a 109-run stand with Ollie Pope. The partnership, built over 35 overs, helped England recover after the early wickets. Pope scored 44 after surviving a close chance on his first ball.
"It's not always been the way we've gone about our cricket, but I think long term in the game hopefully that will reward us if we can kick on tomorrow," Pope told Sky Sports.
Before the match, much of the focus was on the return of Jasprit Bumrah, the top-ranked Test bowler, after he was rested in India’s 336-run win at Edgbaston that levelled the five-match series at 1-1.
However, it was Reddy who made the biggest early impact. Bowling from the Nursery End, the 22-year-old took two wickets in four balls on his debut at Lord’s, ending the day with 2-46 in 14 overs.
His third delivery dismissed Duckett (23), caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant off a gloved pull. With the last ball of the same over, Reddy bowled a full-length delivery that swung late and took Crawley’s outside edge, with Pant taking the catch. Crawley made 18.
"I feel great bowling from that (Nursery) end," Reddy said after stumps. "I don't know much about the slope, but from that end when I bowled it's been moving a lot, and after pitching also it's going good."
Root masterclass
Root reached his half-century with a glance through fine leg off Reddy, his seventh four, coming off 102 balls. He remained steady throughout the day.
Pope was dismissed to the first ball after tea, edging Ravindra Jadeja to substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who was fielding after Pant suffered a finger injury.
Harry Brook followed soon after, bowled by Bumrah between bat and pad for 11. Bumrah ended with 1-35 from 18 overs.
At 172-4, Stokes came in to join Root. Stokes, who last scored a Test hundred during the Ashes two years ago at Lord's, was on 27 when Reddy’s lbw appeal was turned down on umpire’s call.
Root went past 80 with an on-driven boundary off Reddy, and play was briefly halted due to a ladybird interruption at the ground.
In the final moments, Stokes defended Akash Deep’s last two deliveries of the day, unable to rotate the strike, leaving Root one run short of his 37th Test century and eighth at Lord’s.
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Djokovic serves to Italy's Flavio Cobolli during their men's singles quarter-final tennis match on the tenth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on July 9, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)
Djokovic to play Sinner in his 14th Wimbledon semi-final
Alcaraz aims for third straight final against American fifth seed Fritz
Sinner leads Djokovic 5-4 in head-to-head, winning last four matches
Fritz seeks to become first American man in Wimbledon final since 2009
NOVAK DJOKOVIC will face world number one Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz plays Taylor Fritz in the other last-four clash.
Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title and sees the grass courts of the All England Club as his best chance to achieve it. Now 38, he is preparing for what he calls the “biggest challenge” of his campaign.
The Serb, who has not won a Grand Slam since claiming his 24th major at the 2023 US Open, will be playing in his 14th Wimbledon semi-final, with 10 wins from his previous 13 matches at this stage. He has reached every final at Wimbledon since 2018, and his last semi-final loss at the tournament came in 2012 against Roger Federer.
A win on Friday would put Djokovic into his 11th Wimbledon final and 38th Grand Slam final overall. If he progresses, he would equal Federer’s Open era record of seven consecutive Wimbledon men’s finals.
Djokovic beat Sinner in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2022 and again in the semi-finals in 2023. However, Sinner has had the upper hand in recent meetings, defeating Djokovic at the 2024 Australian Open and again at this year’s French Open. The Italian currently leads their head-to-head 5-4 after nine encounters and has won their last four matches.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are the leaders of tennis today. I couldn't ask for a bigger challenge, for sure. I look forward to it,” Djokovic said.
Sinner, who brushed aside Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals, dismissed concerns about an elbow injury. A win for the 22-year-old Australian Open champion would send him into his first Wimbledon final. It would also mark his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final appearance, making him the sixth man to do so in the Open era.
“Me and Novak, we know each other better because we played quite a lot. So we understand what's working and what's not,” Sinner said.
In the other semi-final, Spain’s Alcaraz will be aiming for his third successive Wimbledon final when he takes on American fifth seed Fritz.
Alcaraz, 22, had a slow start to the tournament. He went to five sets against Fabio Fognini in the opening round and dropped sets against Jan-Lennard Struff and Andrey Rublev. But he returned to form with a straight-sets win over Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals.
The world number two is currently on a 23-match winning streak since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April. He has won 34 of his last 37 matches on grass.
“Taylor is playing great. The grass season has been really successful for him so far. I have to be ready for that battle,” Alcaraz said.
Fritz, 27, is looking to reach his second Grand Slam final. He lost his first, against Sinner, at the US Open last year. If he defeats Alcaraz, he will become the first American man to make the Wimbledon final since Andy Roddick in 2009.
Amanda Anisimova defeats world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
The American advances to her first Grand Slam final
Sabalenka’s run of Grand Slam finals ends
Anisimova will face either Swiatek or Bencic on Saturday
With the win, Anisimova is projected to reach world No. 7
American tennis star Amanda Anisimova produced the biggest win of her career by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals of Wimbledon on Thursday. The result sends the 23-year-old into her first Grand Slam final, where she will face either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic on Saturday.
The contest on Centre Court lasted two hours and 37 minutes and was interrupted twice during the first set due to spectators feeling unwell in the heat. Despite the stoppages, both players maintained their focus in a match marked by intense rallies and shifting momentum.
Anisimova, currently ranked 12th, held her nerve in key moments. Although she was broken for the first time in the second set after leading 30-love, she regrouped in the deciding set. After losing her serve in the opening game, she immediately broke back and went on a run of three consecutive games to take control of the match.
Sabalenka’s defeat ends her streak of reaching the last two Grand Slam finals and marks her third straight Grand Slam loss to an American player this year, following defeats to Coco Gauff at Roland Garros and Madison Keys in Melbourne.
Anisimova, the last American woman remaining in the draw, is set to climb to a career-high world No. 7 following this result. Sabalenka will retain her No. 1 ranking for a 39th consecutive week despite the loss.
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Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna in the line-up. (Photo: Getty Images)
ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat in the third Test against India at Lord’s on Thursday.
The decision brought India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah straight back into action after missing the second Test. Bumrah, currently the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, had been rested for the match at Edgbaston, where India defeated England by 336 runs to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna in the line-up. Akash Deep, who had taken 10 wickets in Birmingham in Bumrah’s absence, retained his place. That win was India’s biggest Test victory away from home in terms of runs.
Stokes had opted to field in both previous matches of the series. England had won the first Test at Headingley by five wickets.
England had already announced their playing eleven for the Lord’s Test, with one change — Jofra Archer returned to the side after more than four years out of Test cricket due to injuries. He replaced Josh Tongue.
India captain Shubman Gill, who has scored 585 runs in the series so far at an average of 146.25 — including innings of 269 and 161 at Edgbaston — said he would also have bowled first.
"I was a bit confused this morning but I would've bowled first," Gill said at the toss. "If there is anything in the wicket, it's in the first day."
The 25-year-old added: "The bowlers are feeling pretty confident. I'm feeling great, as a batsman you feel like you'll always be in the middle."
Stokes said: "The mood's good. It's been a very well fought two Test matches, set up the series nice but we're pushing to leave Lord's leading 2-1. Bodies are all good, a quick turnaround, everyone's fresh."
Teams:
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jamie Smith (wkt), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir
Jannik Sinner beat Ben Shelton 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second Wimbledon semi-final.
The world No. 1 showed no signs of elbow trouble, bouncing back after his previous injury scare.
Sinner was clinical on key points, breaking Shelton late in the second and third sets.
He extended his winning streak to 20 straight matches against American players.
The 23-year-old will now face Novak Djokovic in a rematch of the 2023 semi-final.
World number one Jannik Sinner shrugged off any doubts about his injured elbow to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second time with a clinical defeat of powerful American 10th seed Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
A high-octane contest on a muggy Court One was decided by slender margins with Italian Sinner seizing the few opportunities that came his way in ruthless fashion for a 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4 victory.
The 23-year-old Sinner, bidding to become the first Italian to win Wimbledon, will face seven-times champion Novak Djokovic, the man he lost to in the 2023 semis, in the last four on Friday.
Sinner dropped two points on serve in the opening set but could make no impression on Shelton's booming delivery either before reeling off seven points to storm through the tiebreak.
Shelton continued slugging it out with the three-time Grand Slam champion but the American faltered at 4-5 in the second set, Sinner taking control as he converted just his second break point opportunity of the contest.
It was a repeat performance in the third set as Sinner applied the pressure in the 10th game and Shelton duly cracked, serving a double-fault before bashing a forehand long on match point after two hours and 19 minutes.
Sinner has now won an incredible 20 successive Tour-level matches against American players and his last 15 sets against Shelton who must be sick of the sight of him.
After Monday's lucky escape against Grigor Dimitrov who retired hurt when leading by two sets after Sinner had appeared to also suffer an elbow injury, this was business as usual for the man who has reached the last four Grand Slam semi-finals.
"Of course, the feelings are definitely different. I'm very, very happy about today's performance," Sinner said.
Sinner's suspect elbow was given a thorough test by the 140mph serving of Shelton, but apart from one moment in the second set he appeared untroubled by it.
"When you are in a match with a lot of tension, you try to not think about it," he said.