To discuss the tournament, FRANCE 24’s Gavin Lee is joined by renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, best known for coaching Serena Williams during one of the most successful partnerships in modern tennis, as well as helping guide Coco Gauff’s rise from a young age.

Produced by Gavin Lee, Alessandro Xenos, Antonia Cimini and Guillaume Gougeon

Rajat Patidar admitted that there were “a lot of runs” on the board after Sunrisers Hyderabad piled up 255/4 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL 2026 league-stage clash on Friday.Powered by half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen, SRH posted a huge total at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after captain Pat Cummins chose to bat first.SRH eventually won the match by 55 runs, but the result was not enough for them to finish in the top two. Both teams ended the league stage with 18 points each.RCB needed to score at least 166 runs to stay ahead of SRH on net run rate even in defeat, and they managed to do so by finishing on 200/4.Despite the loss, RCB finished on top of the table with a net run rate of 0.783, ahead of Gujarat Titans, who also had 18 points but a lower net run rate of 0.695. SRH ended the league stage in third place.RCB started aggressively through their new opening pair of Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli, who added 60 runs in just 27 balls.After both batters were dismissed within a gap of 14 runs, Devdutt Padikkal continued the attack before being caught in the deep off Eshan Malinga.Speaking after the match, Patidar said SRH’s batting and bowling execution made the difference.“Obviously, I think their top five batsmen played really well, and they purely dominated in the first innings.”Asked if there were too many runs on the board, Patidar said: “The top priority was to be on the top, but I think, there were a lot of runs in the first inning. I think 255 is a good score on this wicket. And I think their five bowlers executed the slow bouncers and yorkers pretty well.”“The slow bouncer was gripping a bit, but I think the way… their strength is slow bouncers and yorkers, they executed pretty well.”When asked whether it was difficult easy to hit the slow bouncers, Patidar said, “Obviously, Hyderabad, I think it’s a good wicket, but when you start bowling slow bouncers, slow into the wicket, I think it’s really tough for the batsman to score the runs.”

Terence Crawford believes that Richard Torrez Jr, now trained by Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, will “shock a lot of people” when he collides with Frank Sanchez.

The pair are gearing up for an IBF title eliminator this Saturday, featuring on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza.

Whoever emerges victorious should then be presented with an eventual world title shot, which could arrive against Usyk if he defeats Verhoeven and chooses to keep defending his heavyweight belt.

More likely, though, is that the Ukrainian will relinquish his IBF strap, allowing the winner of Torrez-Sanchez to face the next available contender for a vacant title.

In terms of experience, it must be said that Sanchez boasts a slight advantage, especially when considering his unanimous decision victory over world-ranked contender Efe Ajagba in 2021.

Against Agit Kabayel in May 2024, however, ‘The Cuban Flash’ seemed far less fluid than usual and ultimately suffered a seventh-round stoppage defeat.

Perhaps Torrez, the younger man by around seven years, could therefore capitalise on his opponent’s hampered mobility and produce a dominant performance.

Such an outcome is what Crawford expects to see on Saturday, telling Ring Magazine that the Olympic silver medallist could steal the show.

“I’m happy to see Richard getting his just [desserts]. I wish him the best and I think he’s gonna shock a lot of people come Saturday.”

This represents Torrez’s first outing with head coach ‘BoMac’, who most notably guided Crawford to three-division undisputed status.

Most significantly, the American scored a wide points victory over Guido Vianello in April 2025, but now arguably faces his toughest professional challenge against Sanchez.

NEW DELHI: Abhishek Sharma, Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan have been the driving force behind Sunrisers Hyderabad’s impressive IPL 2026 campaign. The trio has piled on runs consistently while showcasing SRH’s trademark fearless brand of batting throughout the tournament.

During SRH’s IPL 2026 clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the Hyderabad-based franchise achieved a massive milestone. Abhishek, Klaasen and Kishan became only the second batting trio in IPL history from the same team to score 500-plus runs each in a single season.

The SRH trio joined the elite list after Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler achieved the feat for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.

Klaasen has been SRH’s leading run-scorer this season, amassing more than 550 runs at an average above 50.

Explosive opener Abhishek has also crossed the 550-run mark in IPL 2026, scoring at a staggering strike rate of over 200.

Kishan, who captained SRH during the early phase of the tournament before regular skipper Pat Cummins resumed leadership duties, has also gone past 500 runs this season.

Already through to the playoffs, Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and opted to bat first against RCB.

RCB welcomed back captain Rajat Patidar, who replaced the injured Jacob Bethell in the only change to the playing XI, while SRH retained the same combination from their previous match.

SRH skipper Cummins admitted that finishing in the top two remained a long shot, but said the team wanted to give themselves the best possible chance by putting up a big total.

RCB currently sit on 18 points from nine wins in 13 matches, while SRH have 16 points from the same number of games. A victory for Hyderabad would keep alive their hopes of climbing to second place based on Net Run Rate.

“I think it’s a long shot finishing top two, but we just want to give it a crack. Want the boys to enjoy tonight,” Cummins said at the toss.

SRH’s decision to bat first appeared well-judged, with the Hyderabad surface looking dry and even, offering consistent bounce and carry – ideal conditions for strokeplay and aggressive batting.

Playing XIs:

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, R Smaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins (capt), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain

Impact substitutes: Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (capt), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood

Impact substitutes: Tim David, Kanishk Chouhan, Swapnil Singh, Abhinandan Singh, Jordan Cox.

Manchester United have confirmed that Michael Carrick will remain as the club’s permanent head coach after signing a new contract that keeps him at Old Trafford until 2028. 
The former United midfielder had initially stepped in as interim manager following the dismissal of Ruben Amorim in January, but an impressive run of performances convinced the club hierarchy to hand him the role on a long-term basis.

Carrick transforms United’s season

Carrick arrived during a difficult phase for the club and quickly managed to steady the situation both on and off the pitch. Since taking charge on January 13, the 44-year-old guided United to 11 wins in 16 matches, helping the team secure a third-place Premier League finish and qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Carrick speaks on new role

Reacting to his appointment, Carrick described the opportunity as a proud moment in his career. Having spent many successful years at Manchester United as a player, he spoke about the responsibility of leading the club and his determination to restore the team to competing for major trophies once again.

The former midfielder praised the mentality shown by the squad during the second half of the season and stressed the importance of building a united and ambitious environment moving forward.

Club hierarchy backs Carrick’s vision

Manchester United’s management believes Carrick has already brought stability and a clearer identity back to the club. Director of football Jason Wilcox highlighted the positive atmosphere created at Carrington and praised the manager for reconnecting the team with the club’s traditional values and style of football.

The club also credited Carrick for rebuilding confidence within the dressing room while delivering results during a challenging transitional period.

Summer rebuild now begins

With the managerial situation now resolved, Manchester United’s focus will shift towards the upcoming summer transfer window. Carrick is expected to play a major role in shaping the squad ahead of next season as United prepare for both domestic and European challenges.

The club will now look to strengthen key areas in the squad, improve depth and build a team capable of competing consistently for silverware under Carrick’s leadership.

Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard recently seemed to be daring the SEC to consider breaking away from NCAA governance.

Would the Big Ten follow suit?

On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I am joined by ‘Locked On Sun Devils’ host Philip Mulford discuss a big win for Kenny Dillingham.

The Sun Devils keeping Jake Hildebrand in the State of Arizona is massive in many ways.

Indiana faces 2026 coming off their first-ever national championship.

I talk with ‘Locked On Hoosiers’ host Jacob Goins and play a game of “what if” for their upcoming season.

/ @lockedoncollegefootball