Rajasthan Royals continued their dominant run in the Indian Premier League 2026, defeating Mumbai Indians by 27 runs in a rain-curtailed 11-over-a-side clash at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday.Leading the charge was Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed a scintillating unbeaten 77 off 32 balls, laced with 10 fours and four sixes. He shared a blistering 80-run opening stand with teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who hammered 39 off just 14 deliveries. The pair laid the foundation for Rajasthan’s imposing total of 150/3, which ultimately proved too much for Mumbai.The match, delayed by over two-and-a-half hours due to rain, turned one-sided soon after the Royals’ innings. Mumbai Indians crumbled early in the chase and were reduced to 46/5 inside five overs, losing key batters Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya for single-digit scores. Despite some late resistance, they finished at 123/9, slipping to their second consecutive defeat.Chasing 151, Mumbai’s troubles began in the very first over when Rickelton, after hitting a six, miscued a rising delivery from Jofra Archer and was caught by Dhruv Jurel. Suryakumar Yadav showed brief intent with a six but fell soon after to Nandre Burger, leaving Mumbai at 20/2.Sandeep Sharma then struck a crucial blow, trapping Rohit Sharma lbw – the sixth time he has dismissed the Mumbai skipper in the IPL – as the five-time champions slid further. Ravi Bishnoi tightened the screws by removing both Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma in quick succession, effectively ending Mumbai’s hopes.Earlier, Rajasthan Royals got off to a flying start with Jaiswal hammering 22 runs in the first over off Deepak Chahar. Sooryavanshi then took on Jasprit Bumrah, smashing him for two sixes in a fearless display. Jaiswal continued the onslaught, hitting Trent Boult for back-to-back sixes as Rajasthan raced to 50 in just 16 balls.Sooryavanshi’s explosive knock ended when Shardul Thakur had him caught near the boundary, while AM Ghazanfar removed Jurel and skipper Riyan Parag. However, Jaiswal remained unbeaten till the end, ensuring Rajasthan Royals posted a match-winning total and climbed to the top of the table with three consecutive wins.

Bayern Munich are nothing if not consistent, so consistent that in the midst of their run of 12 Bundesliga titles in 13 years and 17 consecutive appearances in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, they slide under the radar. They are the perennial contender one often takes for granted but on Tuesday at the Bernabeu, Bayern failed to recede into the background. In the first test of title credentials since a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal in November, Vincent Kompany’s side proved they were not only contenders but the new favorites to win the Champions League, outdoing Real Madrid in a 2-1 victory in the first leg of the quarterfinals.

It came as little surprise that Bayern were the aggressor in the game, especially as a flawed version of Madrid chose to take their chances on the counter and place faith in the star-studded players on the pitch. The visitors, though, really took the game to the hosts – they pinned them in for the opening 15 minutes of the match, limiting Los Blancos to zero shots while they racked up four and generated 1.03 expected goals in the process. Bayern had implemented a high-intensity pressing style that they have perfected over the course of the season, going full throttle as often as they can. Patience was required but Bayern’s unflinching approach feels tried and true at this point, Kompany’s side reaping the reward of their hard work shortly before the break.

Their persistence was on full display as Michael Olise intercepted Vinicius Junior’s pass, as strong a signal as any that Bayern’s impactful attackers should be off to the races. In the span of 10 seconds, Olise connected with Joshua Kimmich before receiving the ball again and leaving it in the control of Serge Gnabry. Three bodies surrounded him as he played a well-placed pass to Harry Kane in front of him, Madrid attempting to close down the space around the England captain while leaving Gnabry free to roam from Kane’s right to his left. Kane sent the ball Gnabry’s way, who then spotted Luis Diaz in front of him as he came up with a simple finish from close range.

If that play was not brutal enough, Madrid were caught in Bayern’s intense wave moments after the whistle blew to open the second half. Vinicius‘ pass over the top was meant for Alvaro Carreras but he needed a beat to gain control of the ball. Against Kompany’s Bayern, though, opponents are not afforded the space to breathe – Aleksandar Pavlovic inserted himself into the crevice of space between Carreras and the ball and in no time, the ball was at Olise’s feet. The France international made a run, two Madrid defenders attempting to close the space between him and the goal. It was no matter – he was wise enough to spot Kane behind him and the talisman put enough power behind the ball to make sure it flew into the back of the net, Bayern’s relentlessness on full display.

The great trade-off of Bayern’s style is the high line that comes with it, Madrid boasting the type of players that can exploit that space and the opportunities afforded by sloppy play from center back Dayot Upamecano. They benefitted from the return of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who led his team with 52 passes and reminded of his elite talents as a goal-creating right wingback with an excellent pass to Kylian Mbappe for Madrid’s lone goal of the game in the 74th minute. Los Blancos have the quality to match Bayern’s 20 shots and to take 37 touches in the opposition box, equally capable of creating a back-and-forth game that lived up to the billing of a match between two of Europe’s most accomplished sides.

And yet, Bayern were not just going toe-to-toe with Madrid. They outdid them in just about every regard, even those Madrid do well. The two finished level on shots but Bayern generated 2.99 expected goals along the way. Los Blancos nearly hit 40 touches in Bayern’s box but Bayern had 45 of their own in Madrid’s, a jaw-dropping figure if there ever was one. Every decision felt like a favorable one for Bayern, even the risky ones – Manuel Neuer may be weeks removed from his 40th birthday but the World Cup winner was in fine form with nine saves, his otherworldly efforts offering a stark reminder that Madrid counterpart Andriy Lunin was merely the understudy to the injured Thibaut Courtois.

Bayern’s style of play is a tactical riddle that is hard to solve, in large part because it lacks restraint. Arsenal have cake-walked to their status as the oddsmakers’ choice to win the Champions League because they have perfected the art of assuming full control of a match by wearing the opposition down through precision and efficiency rather than exuberance. Effective as it may be, Bayern are now the Gunners’ dramatic foils – Arsenal are pragmatic to a fault, dragging themselves through a 1-0 game at Sporting Lisbon in which they were outshot 11 to seven and outdone 0.83 to 0.78 on expected goals, Kai Havertz‘s stoppage time goal saving the day.

Bayern have their flaws, too, but they offer an entirely separate case study in result-oriented soccer, one that offers a stark reminder that playing on the front foot has its benefits. It is a bet that defaulting to players’ individual tendencies and affording them freedom will pay off, a bet that Real Madrid has tried to take for years without the foundation of a tactically balanced roster to back it up. Whether or not Bayern will come away with a seventh Champions League title in the process is to be determined but after Tuesday’s showing in Madrid, Kompany – who won four Premier League titles with a Manchester City team that entertained constantly – has made as compelling an argument as any that the strategy just might work.

“I think the team has, in the end, earned the right to play the way they do,” Kompany said in a post-match interview on the UEFA Champions League Today post-match show. “They’ve done it in Paris, they’ve done it here. They’ve earned the right to be that team and I remember when I was lucky to be a part of some very good teams. The biggest thing you want to have in these types of games is that you can still be yourselves and then after that, with the talent on the pitch, it’s margins but we can make those margins fall in our favor.”

The Premier League will have at least five teams in next season’s UEFA Champions League after earning an extra place through UEFA’s European Performance Spot (EPS).

The additional slot was confirmed on Tuesday following Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Sporting CP in the quarter-final first leg.

UEFA gives extra Champions League places to the two leagues with the best overall results across its three club competitions. England has led the rankings for most of the season, with all nine of its clubs reaching the round of 16.

Although only five English teams made it to the quarter-finals, strong results earlier in the competition ensured the Premier League stayed well ahead. This means that finishing fifth in the league this season will now be enough to qualify for the Champions League, just as Newcastle United benefited in the previous campaign.

La Liga is currently expected to take the second extra spot, ahead of Bundesliga and Portugal’s league. However, Germany could still close the gap after Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 2-1, while SC Freiburg remain in European action.

The fight for fifth place in the Premier League is very close. Liverpool currently hold that position with 49 points, but several teams are still in contention, including Chelsea, Brentford, Everton, Fulham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Sunderland, Newcastle United and AFC Bournemouth.

There is also a chance the Premier League could send more than five teams to the Champions League. If Aston Villa win the UEFA Europa League and finish outside the top four, they would still qualify, increasing the total number of English teams.

The same situation could apply to Liverpool, who are still competing in Europe. If clubs win continental trophies and finish just outside the top four, it could open the door for even more Premier League teams to qualify.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are also in the Europa League quarter-finals and could secure a place by winning the competition, even if they finish lower in the league table.

As it stands, the Premier League is set for another strong presence in next season’s Champions League.

Jasprit Bumrah vs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – that was one contest everybody was eager to watch in the Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals IPL 2026 match in Guwahati. Persistent rain in the city meant the game was reduced to 11 overs a side, with the start delayed to 10:10 pm IST. Overs were lost, but not the excitement. On the first ball that Sooryavanshi faced from Bumrah in the second over, he whacked it into the stands. It was a rare loose delivery by Bumrah’s usually high standards, and Sooryavanshi found it in the slot, launching it over wide long-on. Bumrah merely smiled and walked back to his mark. But that was not the end. On the fourth ball of the same over, Bumrah was hit for another six, this time over backward square leg.

Bumrah to Vaibhav

Advertisement

Boom for 6:

RR vs MI Match!

Wtf he did tji 3 ball 2 six to bumrah pic.twitter.com/924V9meRjg

— voice of vision (@voiceofvision3) April 7, 2026

Earlier, Hardik Pandya said MI chose to bowl first due to the rain-affected conditions, adding that it’s early in the season with room for improvement, and confirmed the return of himself and Trent Boult to the lineup.

“We are going to bowl first. It has been under covers, in rain-effected games you should bat second. It just gives you a clear idea what total should be. (Is it because there’s been rain and there will be more rain and it’s a truncated game that he opted to bowl?) Yes, that has been always the back of the mind,” Pandya said at the toss presentations.

Speaking about MI’s loss in their previous match, Pandya said that it’s still early in the tournament and that mistakes are expected. He said that the team is focused on improving and executing their plans moving forward.

“I feel it’s just the start of the season. We are bound to make mistakes and there are always going to be some very long tournaments. You don’t win the IPL in the first couple of weeks and at the same point of time, you don’t lose it as well. So, yes, we just spoke about in the group what better things we needed to do. And now, you know, it’s just a quick turnaround, so just want to focus on this game and see how we can execute the plans which we have decided,” Pandya said.

Rajasthan Royals have begun their campaign strongly by winning both their IPL 2026 matches and will aim to carry that momentum into their third game as well.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai Indians opened their campaign on a high with a win over the Kolkata Knight Riders, but then faced a defeat against the Delhi Capitals in their second match. They will be keen to win in their third match and get their momentum back on track.

Featured Video Of The Day

IPL 2026 | Delhi Capitals Wins By 6 Wickets Against Mumbai Indians: Redemption For Sameer Rizvi

Jaguars’ Liam Coen makes eyebrow-raising Trevor Lawrence comment fans will love originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a good first season with Liam Coen at the helm, as the franchise posted a 13-4 record and made the playoffs.

Advertisement

Trevor Lawrence had a good season also, throwing for over 4,000 yards, 29 TDs, and 12 interceptions, as the Jaguars looked to have turned a corner.

Yes, the playoff loss to Buffalo wasn’t ideal, but it was a good first step for Jacksonville under Coen, and there is surely more to come.

As for Lawrence in Year 2 with Coen? The head coach thinks there is a lot more in Trevor’s locker.

“Look, four new systems, multiple different head coach situations, OCs, whatever it is. Go throughout the season, and you find out, I mean, doesn’t miss a single practice, doesn’t miss a single throw in practice, played the whole season. Obviously, MVP finalist, Comeback Player of the Year finalist, did some great things,” Coen said via NFL.com. “There is so much room to continue to improve.”

Advertisement

More: Giants’ sending confusing Dexter Lawrence message

What are Jaguars’ expectations in 2026?

Well, winning 13 games again looks to be a tall order, but say another double-digit win season, and this time, winning a playoff game would be considered an improvement.

As for Lawrence, more of the same in 2026, but perhaps cutting down on the turnovers, as he had 12 interceptions and five fumbles.

So, tidying that up will be on Coen’s wishlist, but otherwise, led by the stellar defense, the Jaguars appear poised to be among the AFC elite in 2026.

But they will only go as far as Lawrence goes, so in Year 6, the hope is that we see the best Trevor yet in the NFL.

Advertisement

More NFL news:

Football at its very best. That was Arne Slot’s memory of Liverpool’s richly entertaining meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last season.

OK, Liverpool ultimately went out, beaten at Anfield in a round-of-16 penalty shootout by the team that would go on to win the competition for the first time, but Slot loved the way his side played and still maintains it was “the best game I’ve managed in my career.” 
They meet again almost 12 months on, with Liverpool – and Slot – in a very different place.

Indeed, the Dutch coach appears to be fighting for his job heading into the upcoming quarterfinal doubleheader with the European champions that starts with the first leg in Paris on Wednesday.

A 4-0 loss at Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday was Liverpool’s latest poor result of a season that initially began with so much hope after the club’s record summer splurge of $570 million on new players on the back of cruising to the Premier League title.

With the Reds having long given up hope of retaining their league title, the Champions League is their only remaining chance of a trophy.

On current form, that looks unlikely.

While Liverpool has lost four of its last seven games in all competitions in a run of results that has piled the pressure on Slot, PSG is on a four-match winning run that contains back-to-back victories over Chelsea in the Champions League’s round of 16 (5-2 and 3-0).

Only one team has retained the Champions League since the turn of the century – Real Madrid won it for three straight years from 2016 – but PSG looks in good shape to do so.

Slot and Liverpool might just be happy to get out of the Parc des Princes with a fighting chance of advancing going into the second leg at Anfield.

There are three other quarterfinal matchups: Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich, Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid, and Sporting Lisbon vs. Arsenal.

Heavyweights meeting early again 
It’s one of the more unlikely Champions League facts: Madrid and Munich – winners of the title a combined 21 times – still haven’t met in the final.

They won’t this season, either.

The two European heavyweights are, however, meeting in the knockout stage for the sixth time in the past 14 seasons – and it has been a one-sided rivalry.

Madrid, the record 15-time champion, has won all five of its two-legged matchups with Bayern since the 2011-12 season: once in the last 16, once in the quarterfinals and three times in the semifinals, most recently in 2024.

Bayern might never have a better chance to end that miserable run, given the German champions are unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions. Star striker Harry Kane is expected to be available, despite missing Saturday’s win over Freiburg in the Bundesliga with a minor ankle issue sustained in national team training last week.

Madrid is coming off a comfortable round-of-16 win over Man City but, more recently, a 2-1 loss at Mallorca on Saturday that hurt its Spanish league title hopes.

Barcelona-Atletico again and again and again 
The players of Spanish rivals Barcelona and Atletico might be sick of the sight of each other by next week’s second leg.

That’s because their upcoming Champions League doubleheader will complete a barrage of five meetings between the teams in the space of two months, culminating in three matches in 10 days.

On Saturday, Barcelona came from behind to beat Atletico 2-1 on the road to strengthen its hold on the Spanish league lead. In February, they met in the Copa Del Rey with each winning big at home and Atletico advancing on aggregate.

They have met twice in the Champions League knockout stages and both times at the quarterfinal stage, with Atletico going through in 2014 and 2016 on its run to the final each season. Atletico played the second leg at home on those occasions, too.

The first leg of their current head-to-head is on Wednesday.

Gyokeres back at Sporting 
Fresh from guiding Sweden into the World Cup, Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres makes a first return to the club that turned him into a globally renowned striker.

At Sporting, Gyokeres scored 97 goals in 102 games, including 54 last season when he outscored the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah. Quite the rise, then, for someone who previously had barely played a top-tier league game.

Since joining Arsenal for $85 million, goals haven’t been so easy to come by – he has 16 in 42 matches in all competitions – but remains first choice under coach Mikel Arteta, who values his line-leading qualities.

And, after his recent heroics for Sweden when he grabbed a hat trick against Ukraine and then the crucial late goal against Poland in the winner-takes-all playoff, Gyokeres should be full of confidence on his return to Lisbon for Tuesday’s match.

Sporting will look to make home advantage count like it did in the round of 16, completing a turnaround against Bod/Glimt by winning the second leg 5-0 for one of the great Champions League fightbacks.

Australian opening batter David Warner, who is currently playing for the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, has been charged with drink-driving following an incident in Maroubra, Sydney, on Tuesday. It has been reported by Australian media that the 39-year-old was pulled over by New South Wales Police during a random breath test. Reports indicate that Warner attempted to stop and park his vehicle shortly before reaching the testing site, prompting officers to approach the stationary car. After being subjected to a roadside test, he was found to have consumed alcohol above the acceptable limit.

At the station, Warner reportedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.104, more than double the legal limit in Australia. He was subsequently charged, arrested, and taken to Maroubra Police Station. The former Australian batter has been ordered to appear in court next month.

“About 5:30pm today (Sunday 5 April 2026), police were conducting stationary random breath testing on Malabar Road, Maroubra,” the police statement read. “A van was seen to allegedly stop short of the testing site and park. Officers attached to Traffic and Highway Patrol Command approached the vehicle and subjected the driver – a 39-year-old man – to roadside testing which returned a positive result.”

Warner was taken to the Maroubra police station in Sydney. He has been asked to appear in the courty next month. 

“He was arrested and taken to Maroubra Police Station where a second test allegedly returned a reading of 0.104.

“The man was issued with a Field Court Attendance Notice for drive with middle-range PCA to appear before the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday 7 May 2026.”

Impact on PSL Campaign

The timing of the incident does put question marks on his campaign for the Karachi Kings in the PSL. Warner, who is the captain of his franchise, had been granted a brief personal leave from the tournament to visit his family between fixtures. But what happened in Australia might force the franchise management to overlook such requests in the future. 

Karachi Kings sit at the top of the PSL table with three consecutive wins. Warner has been pivotal to their success, amassing 93 runs so far, including a crucial half-century against Rawalpindiz. The Kings are scheduled to face Peshawar Zalmi on Thursday, April 9, at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Featured Video Of The Day

IPL 2026 News | RCB Outplay CSK For 2nd Win On Trot, Ruturaj Gaikwad & Co Suffer 3rd Loss

Toronto Blue Jays All-Star catcher Alejandro Kirk is expected to miss about six weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured left thumb, manager John Schneider told reporters Tuesday (via MLB.com).

The 27-year-old Kirk suffered the injury during the Jays’ 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday when a sharp foul tip off the bat of Austin Hays struck the bottom part of Kirk’s mitt. Soon after, Kirk was removed from the game and replaced in the lineup and behind the plate by Tyler Heineman.

The loss figures to be a significant one for the defending American League champions. Kirk was off to a slow start at the plate, but overall, he’s a career .267/.343/.398 (108 OPS+) hitter across parts of seven MLB seasons. That’s strong production by the standards of catchers, and Kirk is also a plus defender at the position. Last season, he earned his second All-Star selection.

The Jays, 4-3 to start the season despite having played the Athletics, Rockies, and White Sox thus far, have been hit hard by injuries in the early going. They have, in essence, a full rotation on the IL, including offseason addition Cody Ponce, who is likely to miss the entire remainder of the 2026 season. On the position players front, Kirk joins outfielder Anthony Santander and Addison Barger on the IL.

What’s next at catcher for the Jays?

Heineman, 34, immediately becomes the regular behind the plate for Toronto. He was highly effective in that role in 2025, as he put up an OPS+ of 114 and a WAR of 1.9 in just 61 games. Across a much larger sample, however, Heineman has a career OPS+ of 83. The Jays could use something more in line with his 2025 outputs, but those were probably driven by the small sample.

To take Kirk’s spot on the active roster, the Jays have called up catcher Brandon Valenzuela, whom MLB.com ranks as the No. 24 prospect in the Jays system. The 25-year-old is, like Kirk, a native of Mexico, and he has an OPS of .712 in 586 games across eight minor league seasons. He’d been on the Triple-A Buffalo roster before his promotion. Valenzuela figures to work as Heineman’s backup while Kirk is out.