TimesofIndia.com in Durban: No team has managed to defend their T20 World Cup title yet and India will face a stiff challenge in the upcoming tournament in front of their home crowd. While the added pressure of playing in front of a home crowd will test them, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith says he would be surprised if India fail to reach the last four, noting an “interesting transition phase in Indian cricket.““Listen, with India’s talent, you can never write them off. It’s a home World Cup. And it does seem an interesting transition phase in Indian cricket, you know, between Gautam (Gambhir) and senior players and, you know, who’s next and how that transition happens. And it seems to be in an interesting place. So, it’s going to be good to watch how things go. But certainly from a talent perspective, India, if they’re not in the last four at least, I’ll be very surprised,” adds Smith.

The start of the 2026 T20 World Cup is less than a month away and Smith wants his team to beat India in the final of the multi-nation tournament. Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing SA20, league commissioner Smith said the Proteas have all bases covered with their squad.“Obviously, I’d like us to beat India in the final, you know (laughs)… I think if Shukri and the team can get their combinations right, I think there’s a real opportunity that the team can do very well. And, you know, I think there’s enough quality of ability to play spin there as well in that middle order, particularly in India. So, let’s hope, you know, that there will be a good World Cup around the corner,” says Smith in a select media interaction.

During the India Day of the SA20 last year, Smith had mentioned how he wants South Africa to beat India in the Test series. The Proteas not only achieved that but outplayed India across all departments, securing a historic 2-0 series win. Smith admitted he was pleasantly surprised by the team’s dominant performance in both matches.“We know it’s a tough place to go on tour. I was really surprised by how dominant we were in the test series. That really did surprise me. But it was brilliant. I mean, the test side over the last year, year and a half, has really been the beacon of light, you know, from a national team perspective. It’s been brilliant. Temba (Bavuma), Shukri (Conrad), you know, have done wonders. Hopefully, it continues,” adds Smith.The SA20 is now in its fourth season and Smith feels it’s the right platform for local players looking to make a name for themselves. Citing the example of Nqobani Mokoena, the former opener says there are enough opportunities for the players to put their name in the global hat.“Well, I think if you want to push for place in the South African team and you’re not in the kind of first 15 or 16 of names, this is the platform to do it. I think, you know, we’ve seen now, if you take IPL, I think last year we had 17 or 18 players from South Africa playing in the IPL. That’s the most international. And I think (that’s) because of the platform of, you know, SA20. So, I think if you’re a young player like Mokoena, no one knew about him until a few games ago.“So, now there’s these opportunities for players to put their name in the global hat. When I was playing, you had to play for South Africa to be seen. You know, domestic cricket never got noticed around the world. Now you’ve got a product that everyone globally is looking at and saying, oh, there’s some real talent around. You know, so I think if you want to push for places, this is the tournament to do it,” concludes Smith.

WPL 2026 season opener at the DY Patil Stadium was a night of pure theater, beginning with a star-studded opening ceremony and ending with a final-ball thriller. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) managed to edge out the defending champions, Mumbai Indians (MI), in a match that will be remembered for individual brilliance and a miraculous comeback.

WPL 2026: Nadine de Klerk pulls off dramatic turnaround as RCB defeat MI in a thriller

South African all-rounder Nadine de Klerk orchestrated a heist of epic proportions to give RCB a winning start. Chasing a target of 155, Bengaluru found themselves in deep trouble at 121/7 after 17.2 overs, with the required rate climbing steeply and the MI bowling attack, led by Nicola Carey and Amelia Kerr, looking impenetrable.

De Klerk, who had been dropped twice in the 19th over and survived a close run-out call, took the game into the final over with 18 runs needed off just 6 balls. After starting the over with two nerve-wracking dot balls from Nat Sciver-Brunt, the equation stood at a near-impossible 18 from 4, but de Klerk remained ice-cold under the stadium lights. She proceeded to dismantle the defense with a sequence of 6, 4, 6, 4, clearing the long-off boundary with immense power before sealing the victory on the final delivery to finish unbeaten on 63 off 44 balls*.

The victory was the culmination of a perfect all-round performance by de Klerk, who had earlier dismantled the Mumbai’s top order during her four-over spell. After Smriti Mandhana won the toss and elected to field, de Klerk utilized the “spongy bounce” of the DY Patil pitch to perfection, removing stars like Nat Sciver-Brunt and the MI skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to finish with career-best figures of 4/26.

Despite her early breakthroughs, Mumbai had managed to post a competitive 154/6 thanks to a resilient 83-run partnership between Sajeevan Sajana (45) and Nicola Carey (40). However, their efforts were overshadowed by the sheer will of de Klerk, who single-handedly dragged RCB across the line in the final moments of the game. This 3-wicket victory serves as a massive statement of intent for Bengaluru, proving they have the temperament to win from any situation as they look to dethrone the reigning champions this season.

Also WATCH: Dream start for Lauren Bell at RCB as Amelia Kerr becomes first wicket of WPL 2026

WPL 2026: Mumbai Indians stunned by late Royal Challengers Bengaluru surge

Defending champions Mumbai Indians appeared to have the match firmly in their grasp until a final-over explosion turned their certain victory into a heartbreaking defeat. After a shaky start where they were reduced to 67/4, the middle-order pair of Sajana and Carey played with immense maturity, counter-attacking against the RCB spinners to lift the total to 154.

Sajana was particularly aggressive, striking seven boundaries and a six in her 25-ball 45, while Carey provided the stability with a crucial 40. Their partnership gave the MI bowlers a target they felt confident defending, and for 19 overs, it seemed they were right. Shabnim Ismail and Amelia Kerr bowled with discipline, consistently picking up wickets and stifling the RCB chase, leaving the Bengaluru side needing a daunting 18 runs off the final four deliveries of the entire match.

However, the game shifted in a matter of minutes as Nat Sciver-Brunt struggled to contain a rampaging de Klerk in the ultimate over of the night. Mumbai’s fielding, which had been sharp for most of the evening, crumbled under the pressure of the death overs, with two critical catches of de Klerk being spilled in the penultimate over, errors that would eventually cost them the game.

As the final ball raced to the long-off fence for four, the Mumbai Indians were left to reflect on a game of missed opportunities and a rare failure to close out a match from a dominant position. While the defeat is a setback for Harmanpreet Kaur’s side, the fighting spirit shown by their lower-middle order remains a positive takeaway.

Here’s how fans reacted: 

Woowwwwww

What a game that was

Intense , kept swinging both ways and just the start a tournament like @wplt20 needs

Cricket is a beautiful sport . Love it

Nadine de Klerk you were 🤩

Well done @RCBTweets and @mipaltan
Fun start

❤️❤️

— DK (@DineshKarthik) January 9, 2026

Great start to the WPL. 🔥🔥🔥
Well done to RCB!
De Klerk lives up to the promise.👌#WPL2026 #RCBvMI

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) January 9, 2026

You knew it at the Women’s World Cup – Nadine de Klerk is going to be an absolute game changer wherever she goes. What a start to the WPL !! First of many this season for @rcb for sure …

— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) January 9, 2026

NADINE DE KLERK REMEMBER THE NAME

— Kevin (@imkevin149) January 9, 2026

Nadine de Klerk! I know a lot would hate me saying this but very Lance Kluseneresque that was! Sooo much fun! South Africa produces such great all rounders!

— TheRandomCricketPhotosGuy (@RandomCricketP1) January 9, 2026

What a game! Nadine de Klerk continues her unreal run since the WC. #WPL2026

— Peeyush Sharma (@peeyushsharmaa) January 9, 2026

Nadine de klerk is an absolute champion of a player #WPL2026

— Yash Rathi (@YashRathi1845) January 9, 2026

Nadine de Klerk scares me like nobody else does. I haven’t recovered from the World Cup onslaught Yet and she packs another punch against us.

What a player though..#WPL2026

— Cricketologist (@AMP86793444) January 9, 2026

Build Nadine de Klerk a statue. pic.twitter.com/EEUMJWpJ4L

— Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) January 9, 2026

First match of the season and what a thrilling match it was ⚡🔥

– Majestic innings from Nadine de Klerk 🙌#MIvRCB #WPL2026 #nandinedekelerk pic.twitter.com/REDBUOHzZs

— WomenCricket.com (@WomenCricketHQ) January 9, 2026

Also WATCH: WPL 2026 opening ceremony turns electric as Yo Yo Honey Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez and Harnaaz Sandhu steal the show

This article was first published at WomenCricket.com, a Cricket Times company.

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Mumbai: Bombay high court has directed Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) to take action if it finds that a structure allegedly constructed by a former corporator from Shiv Sena is illegal. The Sena functionary, Jyotsana Jadhav, is again contesting the civic elections on a party ticket.Justices Bharati Dangre and R N Laddha on Tuesday heard and disposed of a petition, filed in 2021, by Manoj Korade, husband of Shital Korade, a Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh candidate who had lost to Jadhav in ward 13 in the Feb 2017 UMC elections. Manoj sought a declaration from HC that Jadhav is disqualified under a sub-section of Section 10 (disqualification for being a councillor) of Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act for construction of illegal and/or unauthorised construction. He also sought direction to UMC to demolish the structure constructed at Parmar Chawl, Ambikar Nagar, within a stipulated period. Manoj’s petition said the land belongs to the state govt. In 2018, after Jadhav started the work of soil excavation and murum, he had complained to the authorities. However, Jadhav without permission from UMC constructed a ground-plus-one floor structure and was residing in it, said the petition. Manoj made representations to UMC to demolish it. His petition mentioned that Jadhav and her husband, Suresh, in a Sept 2018 reply to the tahsildar’s notice, said they repaired the old house and sold it to another person. At the hearing, Manoj’s advocate Laxman Deshmukh conceded that as Jadhav’s term had already ended, the relief sought by him to declare her disqualified as councillor does not survive. However, he said Manoj’s grievance against the illegal structure continues and urged HC to direct UMC to demolish it. UMC’s advocate said if Korade makes a fresh representation, it shall be considered. “…We can only observe that if any structure is unauthorised or is illegal, the corporation is duty bound to take an action,” the bench said. Therefore, it directed Manoj to make a fresh representation to the municipal commissioner if his grievance still subsists and the structure continues to stand. The commissioner “shall immediately look into the same, and if it is found to be illegal, it shall be followed by appropriate action”, it said. Jadhav’s advocate Jayant Bardeskar said she is not the owner of the property and the structure. The judges noted that Bardeskar raised a “serious dispute” over ownership of the structure. Hence, they “clarified that in any event, if the structure is found to be unauthorised or illegal, we expect the respondent corporation to initiate action against the owner of the said structure”.

India is at the cusp of a historic economic journey, with government policies and reforms giving the country “wind in its sails” even as global trade uncertainties intensify, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.Delivering the inaugural Bibek Debroy Memorial Lecture, Das said India has emerged stronger from successive global shocks and is now positioned to pursue sustained growth despite a fragmented global economic order, PTI reported.Atmanirbharta as resilience, not isolation“At a time when the consensus that powered globalisation in past decades has frayed and multilateral cooperation has become harder to achieve, India has embraced Atmanirbharta as the overarching principle of our policies,” Das said.Clarifying the approach, he added: “Atmanirbharta is not being isolationist, but a strategy to build core competence and resilience. Economic Atmanirbharta means developing the capacity to produce critical goods and technologies at home and reducing over-reliance on foreign sources.”A self-reliant economy, backed by strong domestic capabilities and an autonomous foreign policy, provides India greater strength to sustain growth and navigate external challenges, he said. “Together, they ensure that India’s rise is resilient, sustainable and beneficial to us and to the world.”From global shocks to ‘wind in our sails’Das said India has successfully emerged from what appeared to be “perfect storms” triggered by multiple global shocks since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.“And now with the policies that the country has adopted, the wind is in our sails. We are indeed on our path to Viksit Bharat,” he said.India, he noted, stands at an inflection point where shifting geopolitical alignments and trade policies are reshaping the global economic landscape.“India stands today at the cusp of a historic journey — from being an incredible India to a credible India. There will be headwinds and challenges emanating from known and unknown sources,” Das said.Fragmenting world, India’s strategic responseDas flagged the strain on global institutions and multilateral frameworks, saying traditional multilateralism is increasingly being sidelined by geopolitical rivalries, protectionism and fragmentation.“Key international institutions are struggling to deliver on their mandates… Trade and supply chains, once seen as neutral conduits of globalisation, are increasingly being utilised as instrumentalities of disruption and dominance,” he said.Reshoring, friend-shoring and restricted technology flows are fragmenting global networks, reflecting broader geo-economic fragmentation, Das added.Against this backdrop, India’s approach is pragmatic. “India stands for a cooperative and rules-based global system; but at the same time, we are proactively forging partnerships and strategies to secure our national interest in a world where power is more diffused,” he said.“We, of course, acknowledge that the multilateral system must be revitalised, even as we adapt to new alignments,” Das added.

AHMEDABAD: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Dr P T Usha on Friday expressed satisfaction about the efforts put in by the Gujarat government to create sports infrastructure to strengthen India’s prospects to host the 2036 Olympics.Ahead of IOA’s annual general meeting here on Friday, the Gujarat government gave a detailed presentation to IOA office-bearers on facilities and infrastructure being created keeping in mind India’s plan to bid for the Olympics, said the association’s senior vice president Ajay Patel.

Speaking at a press conference after the AGM, Usha said Ahmedabad’s sports facilities are becoming excellent.“A lot of new infrastructure is coming up. They have done a great job in building that indoor stadium where our event took place today. Ahmedabad is on its way to become a sports hub in the future,” the former athlete said.“They presented very nicely. Everyone was happy with the steps being taken by the Gujarat government,” she added.Patel said Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya were present at the meeting.“Gujarat government gave a presentation about the infrastructure that is being developed to strengthen India’s Olympic bid. Everyone present in the meeting were extremely satisfied with the steps being taken,” he added.Union home minister Amit Shah has said that India aspires to host the 2036 Olympics, and ten big stadiums will be built at the Sardar Patel Sports Complex in the Motera area to host the mega event.Last month, Shah had expressed confidence that Ahmedabad city will bag the hosting rights for the 2036 Olympic Games.Recently, Ahmedabad was awarded the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.

Amit Shah chairs NCORD meet

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday chaired the ninth apex-level meeting of the Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) in New Delhi, reviewing India’s strategy to tackle drug trafficking and substance abuse.During the meeting, Shah said the government plans to launch a nationwide campaign against drugs from March 31, 2026, for a period of three years. He said the initiative would involve action on multiple fronts and aim to accelerate efforts towards making India drug-free.Shah said all central government departments should prepare a roadmap extending up to 2029, along with a monitoring mechanism, to address the drug problem in a comprehensive manner. He described the drug challenge as being closely linked to narco-terrorism rather than a routine law-and-order issue, calling it a threat to the country’s future generations.He noted that drug abuse affects the health, thinking ability and performance of young people, and contributes to social unrest. Stressing the importance of public outreach, Shah said sustained awareness efforts were essential to prevent drug use.According to the home minister, the government’s approach rests on three pillars: strict action to disrupt drug supply chains, strategic measures to reduce demand, and a humane response to address harm among users. He said there should be no leniency towards those involved in manufacturing and selling drugs, while individuals who have begun using drugs should be dealt with sensitively.Shah emphasised the need to strengthen command, compliance and accountability, adding that the focus should be on outcomes and impact rather than the number of meetings held. He said action against kingpins, financiers and logistics networks of the drug trade should be regularly reviewed, along with efforts to improve conviction rates through the use of FSL and timely filing of charge sheetsHe also flagged changes in drug distribution and payment methods, calling for strategies to be updated from time to time. Shah said state police forces would form permanent teams in mission mode, with greater use of intelligence inputs and artificial intelligence.The home minister also inaugurated the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Amritsar office.