Royal Challengers Bengaluru arrive at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium with a selection built around Raipur’s large boundaries and evolving surface demand rather than what produces the strongest lineup on paper. Virat Kohli anchors the batting. Jacob Bethell provides the power play aggression. Josh Hazlewood leads a disciplined pace attack. Every selection traces back to one principle: adapt across phases rather than rely on one department to compensate for another.

Born on May 8, 1970, in Belconnen in the Australian Capital Territory, Michael Gwyl Bevan became one of the defining cricketers of the ODI game long before “finisher” became fashionable cricket vocabulary. He did not arrive wrapped in theatre. There were no exaggerated flourishes to his batting, no grand declarations of intent. What he possessed instead was rare judgement. He understood tempo before limited-overs cricket fully understood itself.

There was a time in one-day cricket when a chase never quite felt over if Michael Bevan was still there. Scores mattered, of course. Averages mattered too. But Bevan’s greatness lived in something harder to quantify. It was the feeling he gave Australia, and just as importantly their opponents, when a match drifted into chaos and he calmly began rebuilding it ball by ball.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) welcome an in-form Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on home soil in Match 51 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday, May 8. Both teams come into the game on the back of contrasting forms.

The Delhi Capitals (DC) play their second consecutive home game when they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 51 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday, May 8.

Three batters are carrying enough current form to make this match their own. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has scored 404 runs from 10 innings at a strike rate of 237.64. Yashasvi Jaiswal brings 312 runs at 159.18 alongside the structural intelligence that makes RR’s top order function as a unit rather than two isolated performers. Sai Sudharsan has accumulated 385 runs at 158.43 for GT, doing it quietly enough that opposition coaches study him last and regret it first.

Malta arrives at the fifth T20I with a lineup built around what Marsa Sports Club consistently rewards rather than what looks strongest on paper. Mehboob Ali and Zeeshan Khan open with contrasting approaches designed for the powerplay’s early seam movement. Priyan Pushparajan anchors the middle order and the captaincy simultaneously. Two all-rounders extend both departments without specialist gaps. Every selection traces back to one principle: control phases rather than gamble on them.

Cyprus arrive at the third T20I with a selection philosophy built entirely around what Happy Valley Ground demands rather than what looks impressive on paper. Alexander Senn leads a lineup that prioritises batting depth, multi-skill cricketers, and disciplined medium pace over specialist-heavy combinations. The venue has consistently rewarded teams batting first this season, which makes powerplay wicket preservation and all-round flexibility the two most important tactical variables in this fixture.

The cricketing world stood in collective disbelief at the Ekana Cricket Stadium as one of the most remarkable streaks in modern cricket came to an abrupt end. In a high-stakes IPL 2026 clash between the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck, marking the first time in 1,110 days that the legendary batter failed to trouble the scorers in the IPL.

The UEFA Champions League 2025/26 has its final showdown set after one of the most pulse-pounding semi-final ties in modern football history. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have officially punched their ticket to the final in Budapest, surviving a relentless second-leg onslaught from Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. In a tie that saw eleven goals scored over two legs, the Parisian giants held their nerve to secure a 6-5 aggregate victory, ending Bayern’s hopes of a home-continent triumph and setting up a historic clash against Arsenal.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) will take on Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match 49 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. With the tournament entering a decisive phase, both teams will be keen to consolidate their positions in the points table.

The excitement reaches a fever pitch as the Pakistan national cricket team tours Bangladesh for a highly anticipated 2-match Test series. As part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, this series is crucial for both teams aiming to climb the points table. Pakistan, currently ranked 6th in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings, will look to dominate, while the 9th-ranked Bangladesh squad seeks to leverage its formidable home advantage. With star captains Shan Masood leading Pakistan and Najmul Hossain Shanto commanding Bangladesh, the 1st Test promises to be a thrilling contest between bat and ball.