Krunal Pandya is ready to conquer another Indian Premier League (IPL) season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The spin bowling all-rounder was the player of the match in the final of the IPL 2025 season to help RCB claim their maiden league trophy, after 18 years. Pandya was named the player of the match for his exceptional bowling figure of 2/17 in 4 overs.

It was not the first time that the spin bowling all-rounder was named the best player in an IP. When he was with the Mumbai Indians (MI), in the 2017 season, Pandya emerged as the best performer in the final. He did the same in 2025, to become the only player to be player of the match in IPL finals twice.

Krunal Pandya’s all-round performance helped the Mumbai Indians to win IPL 2017

In the final of IPL 2017, the Mumbai Indians were up against the Rising Pune Supergiants. The 20-over match was a low-scoring contest, but it forced the fans to stand on their toes out of excitement.

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The team led by Rohit Sharma won the summit clash by only 1 run, posting 129 runs in the first innings. With Ajinkya Rahane and Steve Smith, Pune started the run chase well, but eventually failed to meet the asking run rate, mostly because of Pandya.

The finger spinner bowled with an economy rate of 7.75, and added 47 runs in 38 runs with the bat. He was the top run scorer for the Mumbai Indians in the summit clash. Later, MI released him ahead of the 2022 season.

Best yet to come: Krunal Pandya said 4 years ago

Four years ago, after leaving MI, the all-rounder said that his best was yet to come.

“Everyone wants to be the player who has that award. But, honestly, not really. One thing I know is: my best is yet to come. And I feel it is going to come very, very soon. I’m well prepared,” Pandya said 4 years ago.

“I’m in a great zone. Just a matter of time. Because every cricketer has a phase where things go as he wants, so I want to be so, so ready for that phase where I grab it not with both hands, but with my entire body and make the most of it,” he added.

Did Krunal Pandya get his best IPL moment by winning the IPL 2025 Final?

Winning IPL 2025 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, as well as the second Player of the Match award, was it the best of Krunal Pandya? The 34-year-old again said that he is still a long way from going, as he has got the momentum after winning the IPL 2025.

“Feels really good that whatever I said in 2022 has come out exactly the way I said it. After 17 years of drought, and then in the 18th season, RCB winning the trophy and me being part of it – I had a decent, tiny contribution to their success – can’t ask for more than this.

“Going forward, I’m still hungry. I feel like this is just the beginning,” Krunal Pandya said to ESPNcricinfo ahead of the IPL 2026 season.

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KOLKATA: Bengal voters under adjudication waited through Monday for the promised first supplementary electoral roll as Election Commission kept revising the deadline before finally pushing it to midnight. The list with around 29 lakh names was finally uploaded at 11.45pm.Supreme Court, which had on March 10 ordered the publication of supplementary voters’ lists, will take up the case related to the SIR of the Bengal electoral roll for hearing again on Tuesday.The release of the list was preceded by day-long confusion among voters under adjudication.

Speaking to reporters in the evening, Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal said, “I don’t know how many names have been approved or rejected at this moment.” Around 60 lakh names on Bengal’s final vot-ers’ list were placed under adjudication.In all, 705 judges were drafted to scrutinise documents and decide whether they are genuine electors or not. “Till today, about 29 lakh pending cases have been disposed of. Whatever names have come through the e-sign of the judicial officer up to 4-5 pm today will be published. EC headquarters in Delhi is processing the exercise on the central server, and we hope the supplementary list will be published by 9-9.30 pm today. It takes 4-6 hours to prepare the list,” Agarwal said at a press briefing around 7.30pm.The names approved by judicial officers will be marked as “Name Addition,” and those rejected will be marked as “Name Deletion” on the supplementary list.The list can be accessed online at the EC website (https://voters.eci.gov.in/), CEO website (https://ceowestbengal.wb.gov.in/) and the ECINET app. Hard copies of the list will be available with DEOs, DMs, SDOs and BDOs. The list will also be displayed at polling stations on Tuesday, Agarwal said.The CEO said that following a meeting at Calcutta High Court a few days ago, scrutiny of documents was over in Kalimpong, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura.EC has constituted 19 appellate tribunals headed by former high court judges to hear appeals from across Bengal on inclusion or exclusion of names following the publication of the supplementary lists. The poll panel had announced that the second list would be out on Friday and the third on April 3.When asked when appeals can be filed, Agarwal said, “They can’t apply from tomorrow. Calcutta High Court will issue a notification. Following that, appeals can be made to the tribunals.”He also said the tribunals will take time to become functional. “Tribunals need office space and allied infrastructure. We have sought space from the state govt and have discussed the issue with the chief secretary. Once the state govt provides the space, we will inform the high court. The court will then inspect and determine eligibility. If the space is deemed suitable, the court will allow us to proceed. Otherwise, we will have to scout for alternative spaces. But we are trying to set up tribunal offices as fast as we can,” Agarwal said.Regarding the law and order situation in Bengal, he replied, “Law and order is a state subject. The chief secretary, home secretary, DGP and commissioner of Kolkata Police are looking into this. The DMs and SPs are also alert.”Replying to a query on the role of police, he said, “The role of police is good. They have taken prompt action in places where trouble erupted.”

Shreyas Iyer after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final against Sunrisers Hyderabad at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai. KKR won by 8 wickets. (PTI Photo)

Shreyas Iyer is the only Indian captain to reach the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with three different teams — Delhi Capitals (DC) in 2020, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2024, and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in 2025.Despite leading KKR to the title in 2024, Iyer did not receive much credit for the win and was released by the franchise the following season.Speaking on JioStar, former India cricketer Aakash Chopra explained why Iyer’s role as captain has often not been fully recognised and what could change that perception.“I think his contribution as a leader got diluted a bit in the narrative that’s often set by people who are not a part of the team. Two things happened at KKR with Shreyas Iyer. He was in a setup where the coach was also a very strong and popular personality. That wasn’t the case with MS Dhoni or Rohit Sharma, or even Virat Kohli at RCB, where there wasn’t such a dominant figure outside calling the shots,” Chopra said.“Here, you had Gautam Gambhir, a very successful player and a very good mentor. The others, MS, Rohit and Kohli, have been India Captains for a significant period and very successful ones. Credit is already given to them on a platter. In Shreyas’ case, he is not an India Captain. But he is now getting his due, because he is doing so well,” the former KKR player added.Iyer will lead Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL season after taking them to the final last year. In his first season with the franchise, he scored 604 runs at an average of over 50 and a strike rate of 175.07.Chopra also spoke about what could lead to wider recognition for Iyer as a captain.“If you think that if he wins one more trophy, everything will suddenly change and everyone will stand up and applaud, that may not happen. The appreciation may get louder, but his aura will not change overnight. Something like that can happen only in one scenario. The next T20 World Cup is in 2028. I am not saying that India’s T20 leadership will change immediately, but there is a possibility a couple of years down the line,” he said.“If he stakes a claim to that spot, scores run, which is the first criterion, takes his team to the playoffs, the final, or wins the trophy, and somehow becomes India’s T20I Captain in the near future, whether in 12 months or by the next World Cup, then everything will change. He could even become a World Cup-winning captain for India, and that aura is different. Then he would not need any endorsement from anyone,” he concluded.

NEW DELHI: To boost IAF’s strength, India is set to conclude several big contracts in the financial year 2026-27, including deals for buying 114 Rafale fighter jets, up to 60 medium transport aircraft (MTA) and additional airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems, the defence ministry has told a parliamentary panel.“There is an increase of 37.03% in IAF’s capital budget as compared to budget estimates for 2025-26. The allotted funds are planned to be utilised against some of the major new schemes like multi-role fighter aircraft (referring to proposed Rafale deal), combat enablers (AEW&C, Tejas MK1A), Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) and medium-altitude long-endurance RPA (remotely piloted aircraft), in addition to the ongoing committed liabilities,” the ministry told the parliamentary standing committee on defence, which submitted its latest report in Lok Sabha last week.In Feb this year, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the purchase of 114 Rafale jets under the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme; the proposed deal for the jets along with military hardware is expected to cost around Rs 3.25 lakh crore. Under the MRFA model, the new Rafales will be made in India by French company Dassault Aviation in collaboration with an Indian partner. “Keeping in view the modernisation of the armed forces, especially in the current geo-political scenario, the committee urges the air force to gainfully utilise the allocated funds for modernisation and technological upgradation in armament and in the procurement of other vital platforms,” the report said.The Defence Acquisition Board recently cleared a plan to procure 60 Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) for IAF, estimated to cost Rs 1 lakh crore. The programme aims to replace the aging An-32 fleet, requiring 12 aircraft in fly away condition and 48 to be manufactured locally. Top contenders include Embraer C-390 Millennium, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules and European Airbus Defence and Space with its A-400M.“Critical combat enablers like AEWACs, flight refuellers and special electronic intelligence and surveillance platforms are vital… These systems not only enhance our intelligence and battlefield transmission but also provide commanders with modern warfare’s electronic order of battle information. All these combat intelligence systems are extremely effective platforms for enhancing the combat capability of all three services,” the ministry informed the committee.The committee was also told that IAF is committed to self-reliance and is providing full-fledged support to national objectives. “In order to spearhead innovation and indigenisation, the IAF has formed a new directorate, named Directorate of Aerospace Design (DAD). This directorate actively interacts with industries, R&D institutions and academia to ascertain niche technologies in the aerospace domain and evolve modus operandi to convert them into tactical and strategic war fighting solutions, utilising indigenous resources,” the report said.

Sunil Gavaskar and Ranveer Singh (Agency Image)

With the Indian Premier League 2026 season just days away, an unexpected topic has captured the nation’s attention — Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Directed by Aditya Dhar and starring Ranveer Singh, the film has triggered a frenzy across the country, cutting through even the IPL buzz.The spy-action sequel, released last week, is enjoying a sensational run at the box office, raking in massive collections and shattering records. With demand for tickets skyrocketing, even one of India’s greatest cricketers, Sunil Gavaskar, has found it difficult to secure a seat in theatres.Veteran actor Rakesh Bedi, who plays a key role in the two-part film, revealed the amusing episode through a video on Instagram. While requesting fans to avoid sharing spoilers, Bedi recounted his recent meeting with Gavaskar and the unusual request that followed.“Talking about sports, yesterday I met one of the great sportspersons of India, the great Sunil Gavaskar ji. He said, ‘Rakesh ji, I am not able to get the tickets. So please arrange it for me,” said Bedi in the video.“So I am trying to arrange some tickets for him. I hope I am able to,” he added.The film is now on track to become the highest-grossing Bollywood movie of all time, a record currently held by its predecessor, Dhurandhar.The craze has extended into the cricketing world as well. Players from Gujarat Titans were recently seen visiting a theatre in Ahmedabad to watch the sequel, while Hardik Pandya, captain of Mumbai Indians, was also spotted at a multiplex enjoying the film.