Argentina’s Lionel Messi, right, and former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

NEW DELHI: The Wankhede Stadium witnessed a historic moment on Sunday as sports legends Lionel Messi and Sachin Tendulkar shared the spotlight during a grand event.Messi, as part of his four-city GOAT India tour, spent an hour at Wankhede engaging with young football players, cricket icon Tendulkar, Indian football legend Sunil Chhetri, and entertainment celebrities.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched ‘Project Maha-Deva’ at the event to identify and develop young football talent across the state.The stadium, which hosted India’s 2011 cricket World Cup victory, resonated with chants of “Messi… Messi” throughout the program. Messi arrived with Inter Miami teammates Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul shortly after Tendulkar’s entrance at 5:45 PM (IST).For the first time at Wankhede, the usual “Sachin… Sachin” chants were overshadowed by the crowd’s enthusiastic “Messi… Messi” cheers.The “Sachin… Sachin” chants returned to their peak when the cricket legend joined Messi on stage later in the evening.“I have spent some incredible moments here. A number of dreams have seen the finish line on this very venue. And without your support, we would never have seen those golden moments on this ground in 2011 (cricket World Cup).”“And today, having all three of them here is indeed a golden moment for Mumbai, Mumbaikars and India.”“When it comes to Leo, what does one talk about him? He has achieved everything. We really admire his dedication, determination, commitment.”The crowd alternated between chants of “Barca… Barca” and “Suarez… Suarez,” creating an atmosphere reminiscent of Barcelona’s Camp Nou.Messi presented his Argentina jersey to both Chhetri and Fadnavis during their interaction.The fans also celebrated Chhetri, who recently retired from international football after scoring 94 goals for India, with “Chhetri… Chhetri” chants.CM Fadnavis welcomed the visiting footballers with bouquets and presented Messi with a memento.Messi, wearing a white t-shirt and black track pants, walked on a red carpet amid loud cheers from fans who had arrived hours before the event.Notable attendees included Tendulkar, CM Fadnavis, former AIFF president Praful Patel, and Bollywood actors Ajay Devgan and Tiger Shroff.The exhibition match featured current Indian football team members Rahul Bheke, Konsham Chinglensana, women’s football star Bala Devi, and Chhetri in a 7-vs-7 format.Messi, Suarez, and de Paul kicked balls into the stands, took a lap around the ground, and interacted with young Project Maha-Deva players.The three footballers engaged with players from both Mitra Stars and India Stars teams during the exhibition match.Tendulkar presented Messi with his autographed India limited-overs jersey bearing number 10, while Messi gave him a football in return.Before the Wankhede event, Messi visited the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) for an undisclosed Padel event after arriving in Mumbai in the afternoon.The event took place across various stands and pavilions named after Indian cricket legends Sunil Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Vijay Merchant.

NEW DELHI: It’s been three long years since Shivam Mavi played a fixture in the Indian Premier League (IPL). His last outing was in IPL 2022; since then, he has either been on the bench or recovering from injuries. Gujarat Titans (GT) signed him for Rs 6 crore at the 2023 auction but mysteriously didn’t pick him for a single game. Another bout with injury followed, and the Uttar Pradesh pacer had to undergo extensive rehabilitation and start his journey from scratch. Franchises then started losing interest due to fitness concerns, and the bowler was convinced that he needed to find a long-term solution to stay on the park for longer periods.

His action needed some work, and side flexion was identified as the primary cause of concern. Once that was fixed, Mavi had regular appearances for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit but still couldn’t attract franchise interest. He was close to joining an injury-hit Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) during IPL 2025, but early recoveries of Avesh Khan, Akash Deep and Mayank Yadav meant Mavi remained with the franchise as a net bowler.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!With the next IPL auction just a couple of sleeps away, Mavi is supremely confident of landing a buyer this time around. He is injury-free, playing regular cricket and ready to make an impact for whichever team he goes to. Will there be a compromise on pace? “140+, all day. Every day.” Excerpts:

It’s been a long time since you last played an IPL match. Remember your last outing in the league?

It’s been three years since I played. I didn’t get a chance for two years. Then one year, unfortunately, I got injured when I came in the first match. So after that, I mean, I don’t remember, honestly. A long time indeed.

Shivam Mavi celebrates after taking a wicket in the UPT20 League. (UPCA)

You have played T20I cricket for India, were on the radar of many IPL teams, but somehow things didn’t click. How difficult has it been to undergo the lonely grind in the domestic circuit for Uttar Pradesh?

When you don’t get a chance, you look for answers in domestic cricket. What can I do here so that I can play for the country again? How can I grab the selectors’ attention? What am I missing to get to that level again? Such questions crossed my mind. So I tried to stick to the basics and find answers in the process, whether it’s bowling, batting or fielding. I was clear that I would keep performing and keep doing it regularly. Somewhere down the line, I will get a chance and I will go up again.

Does desperation creep in during these testing times, especially when you are not playing cricket?

Yes. It’s only human. What I have learned so far in my career is that what’s in your hands is just what you can do. I take it match by match. If I am getting this match, what can I do in it? If I am too desperate to do this or that, it doesn’t help, because you get wickets only through patience. By having patience, you know what you have to do. These are the basics that stuck with me and helped me perform. When I see my seniors and how they perform or how they have done throughout their careers, I keep learning from them. Then I try to stay at that level and remain mentally stable so that I can perform further.

Shivam Mavi was a net bowler with the Lucknow Super Giants.

When you are not playing for India or in the IPL, there are months without top-level cricket. You even played club cricket during that period. Was that the most difficult time to deal with?

At first, I was wondering why I was getting injured. So I worked on my action in the off-season. I fixed the side flexion because of which I was getting injured. You will see that since last year, I have been able to play regularly because I have worked a lot on my action. Whenever I get a 10–15 day window, I work on it further so that I can prolong my career and stay away from minor niggles. I play club matches in my free time. No matter how much you do nets, playing matches is important — whether it is domestic or anywhere else. Matches are matches for me. Maybe the competition level is a little low, but every over counts. Playing local matches also helps execute what I am working on in the nets. When I played the domestic season, I was feeling very good and comfortable. I was bowling at a good pace and in good areas as well.

You have spent a lot of time with Rinku Singh on and off the field. Anything he told you that has stayed with you?

Rinku told me once that what is our option to take the next step? It is domestic cricket. What do we do in domestic? We perform. He emphasised performing consistently and staying relevant. You see many cricketers making comebacks after six or seven years. Why and how do they do that? Because of consistent domestic performances. Rinku told me that it happens with everyone, the reasons are different, but everyone goes through this.

There would have been mixed feelings around auctions, right? From getting picked as a youngster to that bid by Gujarat Titans and then going unsold. How disappointing was the last one in particular?

I was very hurt. I wasn’t thinking about money; I just wanted to get picked by any franchise. I was fine even going at the base price. I just wanted to play. My name came up twice but went unsold on both occasions. I had played a decent amount of domestic cricket before the auction and had done well too. When I asked around, I was told it wasn’t a question of skill but my injury history. Franchises were unsure about me playing 14 matches. That’s when I realised I needed to fix my action and work on it. There were certain things I had to fix because my body would naturally give up when I bowled 140+ consistently.

Shivam Mavi has played six T20Is for India.

You were playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy when the last auction happened. How difficult was it to play for UP after going unsold?

I was very angry and disturbed. I went shopping with Rinku after the auction and bought whatever I felt like. I shopped a lot in anger (laughs). It was difficult to play the match after that, but playing the entire season became my focus.

The auction is a few days away, and your name is again doing the rounds. Are you confident this time?

Yes, I am confident. After fixing my action-related issues, I am confident of playing regular cricket. I am fit and playing all the matches. I played the whole season last year. I missed the first two Ranji matches because I wasn’t ready to bowl so many overs as I was coming back from injury. I had played in the UPT20 league, so I was ready for T20s, but then Ranji Trophy came, and I missed two matches. After that, I played the whole season.This season too, I have played T20s and the Ranji Trophy. Franchises keep a tab on domestic cricket. In longer formats, you can see a player’s fitness. Teams notice whether a player is playing regularly.

You spent time with Zaheer Khan and Justin Langer in the LSG dugout. How was it learning from Zaheer?

When I spoke to Zaheer bhai, he told me there were two options — go home or stay with the team. He personally suggested I stay because I would learn more. He said staying would help me learn by bowling to good players in the nets. Over two-and-a-half months, I learned a lot. Zaheer bhai always kept a close tab on me in nets and practice matches and told me where I needed to improve.

Any specific takeaway from the sessions with Zaheer Khan?

Zaheer bhai told me that the smoother your run-up and release towards the batsman, the less side flexion you will have, and the more pace and nip you will generate. Even though wickets were flat this season and the domestic season started one-and-a-half months earlier, I was still getting some help from the surface.

Is Mavi ready to bowl 140+ all day, every day?

Yes. This year, in all the matches I’ve played, I’ve been bowling around 140–142. In the UPT20 league, I was clocking 140, 142, 143. It depends on recovery. If I don’t recover well, the body isn’t as fast. But this year, I am bowling quicker than last year. There is no compromise on speed. Yes, it is increasing.

India’s Tilak Varma (PTI Photo/Shiva Sharma)

Tilak Varma’s rise in India’s T20I set-up continues to gather momentum, with the left-hander establishing himself as one of the most dependable batters in run-chases at the international level. Among players from Test-playing nations with at least 500 T20I runs while chasing, Tilak currently sits second on the list for batting average, bettered only by Virat Kohli. Kohli leads the chart with 2013 runs from 48 innings at an outstanding average of 67.10, with a top score of 94 not out.

At just 23, Tilak has already accumulated 518 runs in 15 innings during chases, averaging an impressive 64.75, with a highest score of 72 not out. The numbers underline his growing reputation as a calm and reliable presence when targets are on the board. The ongoing five-match T20I series against South Africa has further highlighted his form. Across the first two games, Tilak has scored 88 runs. He began with 26 in the opening match before producing a fluent 62 from 34 balls in the second T20I. Despite the quality of that innings, India suffered a 51-run defeat in the contest. Overall, Tilak’s T20I record continues to strengthen. He has amassed 1084 runs in 38 matches at an average of 47.13, striking at 145.50, with two hundreds and five half-centuries to his name. A closer look at his batting positions shows his strongest returns have come at number three. Batting there, Tilak has scored 443 runs in 13 innings at an average of 55.37, while operating at a strike rate close to 170. At number four, he has piled up 490 runs in 14 innings at an average of 54.44, including two fifties such as his unbeaten 69 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final, though his strike rate at that position drops to 128.60. Speaking ahead of the third T20I against South Africa, Tilak made it clear that flexibility is not an issue for him. He said he is ready to bat anywhere from number three to six, depending entirely on what the team requires from him.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi (ACC Photo)

NEW DELHI: Pakistan drew first blood in the high-voltage ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2025 clash against India as pacer Mohammad Sayyam produced an early breakthrough to dismiss the in-form Vaibhav Suryavanshi for just five runs at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!There was wild celebration from the Pakistan camp as Sayyam struck with a decisive delivery to remove India’s most dangerous batter cheaply.

The Pakistan dugout rose to its feet and applauded as Suryavanshi, who had tormented bowlers in the previous match, was sent back early. Sayyam bowled a probing delivery that Suryavanshi failed to judge properly, resulting in a simple catch to the bowler in his follow-through.After completing the catch, Sayyam threw the ball into the air and leapt in celebration, with his teammates rushing in to hug him as Pakistan celebrated a massive early success against their arch-rivals.Earlier, Pakistan captain Farhan Yousaf won the toss and opted to bowl first. The much-anticipated India U19 vs Pakistan U19 contest was reduced to 49 overs per side after rain delayed the start of play.Watch the video hereIndia, led by Ayush Mhatre, entered the match brimming with confidence after registering a commanding 234-run victory over UAE in their tournament opener on December 12. Suryavanshi had been the standout performer in that match, earning the Player of the Match award for his sensational 171 off 95 balls, an innings that featured nine fours and 14 sixes. His knock powered India to a mammoth 433 for 6, before UAE were restricted to 199 for 7.Pakistan U19, meanwhile, also came into the contest on the back of a dominant opening win. They thrashed Malaysia U19 by 297 runs, with Sameer Minhas producing a superb unbeaten 177 off 148 deliveries, including 11 fours and eight sixes, to earn the Player of the Match honour.Minhas’ innings helped Pakistan post 345 for 3, after which Malaysia were skittled out for just 48 runs, with Mohammad Sayyam and Ali Raza picking up three wickets apiece, underlining Pakistan’s bowling firepower ahead of the India clash.Pakistan U19 (Playing XI): Usman Khan, Sameer Minhas, Ali Hassan Baloch, Ahmed Hussain, Farhan Yousaf(captain), Hamza Zahoor(wicketkeeper), Huzaifa Ahsan, Niqab Shafiq, Abdul Subhan, Mohammad Sayyam, Ali Raza.India U19 (Playing XI): Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu(wicketkeeper), Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Kishan Kumar Singh, Henil Patel.

Abhishek Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav during a training session ahead of the third T20 International cricket match. (Image: PTI Photo)

DHARAMSHALA: By the time the Indian team reached the HPCA stadium on Saturday evening, the temperature here in the hills had started to drop. As the three-and-a half-hour long practice session progressed in chilly weather, the jitters in the Indian camp became apparent. South Africa have managed to reveal India’s deficiencies in more ways than one would have expected on this tour. Seldom does the Indian team go through a practice session as extensive and in tense on a match eve as it did on the eve of Sunday’s third T20I.As is the norm with this team, it was officially an optional session. But only Tilak Varma and Arshdeep Singh skipped the session. The South African team, on the other hand, took the day off and went hiking in the hills. They feel they are in a better space with the series locked at 1-1.

The T20 team under coach Gautam Gambhir seemed to be on auto-pilot mode for over a year. However, two months away from the T20 World Cup, problems have surfaced. It starts with the struggles of captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill and spills over to some incomprehensible strategies and selections.Saturday was more about going back to basics. When Washington Sundar was padding up at the top of the nets session, Hardik Pandya approached him and cautioned him, “This is a pitch where you have to be gutsy.” The pitch here has historically yielded big scores. But one can never discount the amount of movement and bounce the venue offers to the bowlers. The focus of the nets sessions was on polishing every batter’s technique. Once Sanju Samson and Washington Sundar were done with their batting in the nets, Surya and Gill hogged the attention for the rest of the evening. They hopped all four nets. Surya, in fact, batted for well over 90 minutes — that’s how long an entire team’s T20 innings lasts. They went through drills that are seen more at the academy level, where one works on the nuances of batting technique. Gill and Jitesh only joined Pandya for a range-hitting session under lights at the centre square after a thorough session of old-school batting in the nets.Surya, for one, eschewed his trademark pick-up ramps and swipes behind square on the on side against the pacers. The vertical bat and a compact defence were the order of the day. He did get into a phase where he dealt in sweeps and lap shots against the spinners. As he started to get beaten frequently, he switched to playing down the ground and practicing the inside-out shots over cover.Surya is the designated No. 3 in this batting lineup. But Axar Patel coming out to bat at No. 3 in the second over in the previous match must have hurt the egos of the frontline batters. Tilak Varma expectedly put it down to the team’s much-hyped flexibility.

“I’ve told the team that I can bat in any situation. But we want to be flexible. Axar has done a good job for the team in the T20 World Cup. So, one has to be ready for whatever the team needs. But I don’t mind doing that job,” Varma said on Saturday.Playing the moving new ball has been a major problem. Gill just stuck to punching the ball off the back foot. His frailties against the new ball pitching on a good length are well documented. The deliveries outside off have begun to catch the outside edge more often. Thus, one saw him working overtime on backfoot punches square of the wicket and uppercuts to make use of the field in the powerplay. As Surya retired to the dressing room, Gill hung back for a long and intense chat with Gambhir and assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate. For one who is obsessed about his batting, Gill must be aware there isn’t much time for him to iron out the chinks in his batting. As India try to find their best T20 game, South Africa seem to be more in control. “It might look as if we are slightly unsure given the amount of changes, but we have a pretty good idea of what our World Cup squad will be like,” South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said.

NEW DELHI: Football fans in Hyderabad experienced an unforgettable evening as they witnessed Argentine football legend Lionel Messi at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.The event presented a stark contrast to the chaos that had erupted in Kolkata earlier that day. Messi made his entrance under tight security measures while fans enthusiastically cheered for him.

The football icon enhanced the spectators’ experience by playing football and kicking some balls into the crowd. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was present at the venue to witness the occasion.Chief Minister Reddy participated in an exhibition match, which was part of Messi’s GOAT Tour of India. He shared some passes with the football superstar during the event. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also attended and took photographs with Messi.“Thank you very much for all your affection. It’s an honour for us to be able to spend these days here in India with you, so I’m truly grateful. Thank you so much,” said Messi. Messi was accompanied by his Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo de Paul and Luis Suarez during his visit to India.“I’m very happy. This has been a very special night. Thank you so much for your love and affection,” said Rodrigo de Paul.“Good evening everyone. Thank you for the love. A big hug!” said Luis Suarez.In preparation for Messi’s upcoming visit to Mumbai on Sunday, city police are implementing strict security protocols. These measures include prohibiting water bottles, metals, and coins inside stadiums.The authorities are setting up watchtowers to monitor the crowd movements effectively. They are taking additional precautions to prevent any stampede-like situations.These enhanced security measures aim to avoid the chaotic scenes that occurred in Kolkata during Messi’s visit on Saturday. At the Salt Lake Stadium, thousands of disappointed fans had protested after they couldn’t get a clear view of the football icon despite purchasing expensive tickets.The Mumbai police are determined to ensure a smooth and safe experience for both the visiting football star and his fans. Their comprehensive security plan reflects the lessons learned from the Kolkata incident.