Argentine football icon Lionel Messi, left, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, second left, Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, right, in Mumbai (@CMOMaharashtra/X via PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: A tense moment unfolded at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium when Bollywood actors Ajay Devgn and Tiger Shroff faced booing from the crowd during Lionel Messi’s event on Sunday. The incident took place during their felicitation by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.The event was part of Messi’s GOAT India Tour 2025, with Mumbai being the third destination following shows in Kolkata and Hyderabad on Saturday. However, amid the excitement of seeing Messi up close, the crowd’s displeasure became evident during the recognition ceremony.

It looked as if many spectators wanted to see only Messi rather than celebrity appearances.Tiger Shroff, introduced as a “youth icon” and “India’s youngest action star”, represented the Maharashtra government’s initiative, Project Mahadeva. This initiative aims to develop young football talent across Maharashtra. Ajay Devgn’s introduction focused on his disciplined work ethic and his connection to football through his film Maidaan, which tells the story of coach Syed Abdul Rahim. Nevertheless, as both movie stars entered the pitch, their entries were met with loud boos from sections of fans. Watch: The crowd did not spare Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. As he addressed the gathering, his remarks were again met with loud boos from sections of the audience. The mood briefly shifted when the CM invoked “Ganpati Bappa,” prompting chants of “Morya” from the crowd that drowned out the jeers and created an interesting scene at the venue.Messi remained professional throughout the uncomfortable situation. He greeted everyone with a smile and stood quietly as the crowd expressed their displeasure.The event improved when cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar met Messi for a special interaction. They exchanged gifts, with Tendulkar giving a Team India jersey and Messi offering a football, which received enthusiastic applause.The celebration included a patriotic display as Messi held the Indian flag. His teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul carried their national flags of Uruguay and Argentina, respectively.Messi and his Inter Miami teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul are scheduled to continue their tour in Delhi on Monday.

Mumbai Indians’ Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, in Hyderabad. (PTI Photo)

The five-time champions and one of the league’s most ruthless teams, the Mumbai Indians (MI) have almost all their boxes ticked on paper heading into the IPL Auction 2026 on December 16 in Abu DhabiMumbai Indians, tied with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as the most successful IPL team, were eliminated in Qualifier 2 last season (2025) by Punjab Kings (PBKS), thanks to a batting masterclass by Shreyas Iyer.

Mumbai Indians came late to the party last season, as they so often do, after losing four of their first five games partly due to not having Jasprit Bumrah at the start of the season. Once Bumrah came back, MI took off and won six games on the trot and qualified for the playoffs.MI had a win percentage of 56.2 in the 2025 season, much better than the 28.6 they had in the previous one (2024), when they finished last in the points table.Before the auction, MI released Arjun Tendulkar (traded to LSG), Bevon Jacobs, Karn Sharma, Lizaad Williams, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Reece Topley, Krishnan Shrijith, Satyanarayana Raju, and Vignesh Puthur.However, they have got Shardul Thakur (traded in from LSG), Sherfane Rutherford (traded in from GT), and Mayank Markande (traded in from KKR), to add depth in an already formidable squad. Ahead of the IPL Auction, here’s a look at the strong points of MI, areas they need to work on, and what to expect from them in Abu Dhabi.

Strength to strength

If anyone just writes the names of Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, among others, and tells that they all play for the same team in T20s, then perhaps there’s no need to write anything else about the strong points of that team. The names and their numbers tell the story on their own.In Jasprit Bumrah, MI have arguably the world’s best T20 bowler; he has 183 wickets at an economy of 7.24 in IPL. In the 2025 season, Bumrah (18) and Boult (22) had among them 40 wickets and conceded runs at just 6.68 and 8.97, respectively. Continuing their trend of unearthing domestic talent, MI introduced left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar last year, he took 11 wickets in 7 matches last season, and along with Deepak Chahar, Bumrah, and Boult, he played a key role in MI’s success with the ball.

With 717 runs at a strike rate of 167.92 and a ridiculous average of 65.18, Suryakumar Yadav had a dream season in 2025 and was the top scorer for MI.In Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma, MI have an opening pair that may not be the most destructive, but surely one that can demolish any bowling lineup. Rohit, 418 runs at a strike rate of 149.29, and Rickelton, 388 runs at a strike rate of 150.97, were the second and third among the top scorers for MI last season.And in their captain Hardik Pandya, MI have the best T20 fast-bowling all-rounder. In the 2025 season, he scored 224 runs at a strike rate of 163.50 and was the third-highest wicket-taker for MI with 14 wickets. But perhaps most important for MI was his return as a finisher. Pandya scored only 58 runs in 44 balls at a below-par strike rate of 131.8 between overs 15-20 in the 2024 season. On the other hand, in 2025, the all-rounder scored 182 runs in 109 balls at a strike rate of 167.0Naman Dhir was also a key player in providing MI with good finishes in the 2025 season. He hit 201 runs at 187.9 in the overs between 15-20 last season.Santner and Karn Sharma’s spin provided control to MI in the middle overs last season. In 13 matches, Santner took 10 wickets and gave away runs at only 7.92 runs per over. Karn played only 5 matches and was economical at 8.53 while also taking 7 wickets.While MI released Puthur and Karn before the auction, they have traded in leg-spinner Mayank Markande from KKR. Markande earlier played for MI in the 2018,’19, and 2022 seasons. MI will also have the services of Afghan off-spinner Allah Ghazanfar. MI bought him last season, but he was replaced by Mujeeb ur Rahman after being ruled out for the whole season due to injury.

Areas to work on

Not necessarily a weakness, but MI might be slightly concerned about Tilak Varma’s strike rate. Among the top 5 run getters for MI last season, Tilak had the slowest scoring rate of 138.31. He hit 343 runs off 248 balls in 13 innings. To put things in perspective, he scored at a strike rate of 164.1 and 149.6 in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, respectively.Will Jacks also had a below-par strike rate of 135.47 last season. However, as a possible backup for him, MI traded in Sherfane Rutherford from GT, who struck at 157.29 last season.

Do MI need to go to an auction at all?

While MI have almost all its boxes ticked, there are some holes, though very small, to fill.With only Rs 2.75 crore in their purse and 5 remaining slots, one of them overseas, MI may want to have an Indian middle-order batter as a backup option in the auction. Someone like Sarfaraz Khan might be on their list, but expect their scout team to again unearth someone from the domestic circuit whose name many may not have heard before.What MI would also like to have are some more Indian spin-bowling options. In Raghu Sharma and Mayank Markande, MI have two Indian leg-spinners, they might go for one or two Indian finger spin options at the auction.However, whether MI get the desired players or not, the auction is unlikely to decide their upcoming season. Hardik Pandya’s side looks formidable enough to take on any team to end their title drought and win the IPL silverware for a record sixth time.

Gukesh vs Hikaru Nakamura (GCL Photo)

NEW DELHI: Mumba Masters secured a commanding victory against Ganges Grandmasters with a score of 17-4, winning four out of six boards on the opening day of the Global Chess League (GCL).At Mumbai’s Royal Opera House, defending champions Triveni Continental Kings began their title defence with a 9-7 victory over Alpine SG Pipers.

The GCL Season 3 opener featured a notable clash between Alireza Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana. Caruana chose an aggressive Sicilian Dragon as Black but the strategy backfired as Firouzja gained control and secured victory in the endgame.Pipers’ Nino Batsiashvili scored the season’s first points by defeating Alexandra Kosteniuk with Black pieces. Kings countered through Wei Yi’s victory over Anish Giri in a Vienna Game.The matches between Vidit Gujrathi and R Praggnanandhaa, Zhu Jiner and World No.1 Hou Yifan, and Marc’Andria Maurizzi and Leon Mendonca all ended in draws. Firouzja earned Player of the Match honours.“I feel happy that we won. Wei Yi also deserves this (MOTM award). I’ll share it when I go back. I remember we had a very good run last year, and we have to defend (the title) now. Our opponents (Pipers) were one of the strongest teams; they have so many great players. To get this win was important,” Firouzja said.In the Mumba Masters versus Ganges Grandmasters match, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave defeated Viswanathan Anand playing with Black pieces. Masters gained early advantage when Bardiya Daneshvar won against Raunak Sadhwani. Wesley So and Vincent Keymer’s game ended in a draw with perpetual check. Harika Dronavalli and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov secured wins for the Masters.Polina Shuvalova scored the only win for Grandmasters by defeating Koneru Humpy. Harika and Mamedyarov’s victories sealed the dominant performance for Masters, with GCL newcomer So receiving Man of the Match honours. In the day’s final match, Alaskan Knights faced American Gambits in an intense board-by-board contest.The highlight was the game between Gukesh and Hikaru Nakamura, where Gukesh maintained consistent pressure in a tactical battle, but Nakamura managed to secure a draw.Teodora Injac claimed a crucial victory, while other boards saw close draws.The decisive game featured Leinier Dominguez against Richard Rapport, with Rapport securing the win to give the Gambits an 8-5 victory.Teodora Injac was named Player of the Match for her performance.Monday’s schedule includes American Gambits facing Mumba Masters, followed by SG Pipers versus Ganges Grandmasters. The day will conclude with Alaskan Knights taking on defending champions Triveni Continental Kings.

Erling Haaland of Manchester City (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Manchester City and Aston Villa ensured the Premier League title race remains finely balanced with convincing victories on Sunday, responding quickly after Arsenal moved five points clear at the summit a day earlier. Arsenal had strengthened its grip on top spot with a 2-1 win over Wolves on Saturday. That advantage was trimmed back within 24 hours as both City and Villa collected full points. City eased to a 3-0 win away at Crystal Palace, while Villa produced a dramatic comeback to defeat West Ham 3-2 at the London Stadium. City now sit two points behind Arsenal, with Villa a further point back in third. City settle score at Selhurst Park Manchester City gained a measure of payback for last season’s FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace with a dominant performance. Erling Haaland opened the scoring late in the first half, bringing up his 101st Premier League goal, before Phil Foden doubled the advantage. Haaland sealed the result from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to continue a prolific campaign that has already yielded 17 league goals. Villa show resilience again Aston Villa’s remarkable run continued as they claimed a ninth straight league victory, despite twice falling behind against West Ham. The hosts struck early through Mateus Fernandes, who netted after just 29 seconds, the fastest goal of the season so far. Villa drew level when Konstantinos Mavropanos turned the ball into his own net, but Jarrod Bowen restored West Ham’s lead before the break. Morgan Rogers took centre stage after halftime. He equalised five minutes into the second half and then completed the turnaround with a decisive strike in the 79th minute, underlining Villa’s growing confidence under Unai Emery. Forest deepen Spurs concerns Nottingham Forest moved further clear of relegation danger with a commanding 3-0 victory over Tottenham. Callum Hudson Odoi struck twice to put the hosts firmly in control, before Ibrahim Sangare added a late third. The defeat leaves Tottenham with just one win in seven league matches, increasing the scrutiny on head coach Thomas Frank ahead of a difficult fixture against Liverpool. Derby misery for Newcastle Sunderland claimed local bragging rights in the Tyne Wear derby with a 1-0 win over Newcastle. The decisive moment came shortly after halftime when Nick Woltemade inadvertently headed into his own net. It was a difficult afternoon for the German forward, who struggled to make an impact before being substituted late on. The results ensured the title chase remains intense, with Arsenal still leading but facing relentless pressure from City and a fast closing Aston Villa.