Varun Chakaravarthy (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field against Afghanistan in the second T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. India won the opening T20I by seven wickets and currently lead the three-match series 1-0.India made one change to their playing XI, with Bishnoi replacing Chakaravarthy.Speaking at the toss, Iyer said: “We are going to bowl first. You have a fair idea of how the wicket plays, and it gives the bowlers an idea, a little bit of an advantage. It wasn’t comprehensive because we could have won by a huge margin. As a bowling unit, we could have picked wickets in the middle. Varun is injured and Ravi Bishnoi comes in.”Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not included, while Sanju Samson retained his place in the team.

Why is Varun Chakaravarthy not playing?

Chakaravarthy is not playing the second T20I after suffering a side strain during the opening match.“Varun Chakaravarthy experienced sudden-onset discomfort in his left lateral abdominal region while bowling his third over in the first T20I. Scans have revealed a side strain, and he has subsequently been ruled out of the remaining two T20Is. Bishnoi replaces injured Varun,” BCCI said in its statement.

Afghanistan unchanged

Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran said his team would also have preferred to bowl first.“We would have bowled first as well. We want to play positive cricket, we didn’t get a good start that day, but we covered in the middle. We will try to do better tonight. We are playing the same XI.”Afghanistan have made no changes to their playing XI.Playing XIsAfghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (w), Ibrahim Zadran (c), Sediqullah Atal, Gulbadin Naib, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq FarooqiIndia: Sanju Samson (w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravi Bishnoi

JJ Gabriel should have become Man Utd’s youngest-ever player this week, but instead, he might be approaching the end of his Old Trafford career.

This should have been the week when JJ Gabriel etched his name into the Manchester United history books. A debut against Brighton on Wednesday would have made him the first 15-year-old to ever play for the club.

Instead, it is the week when his future at Old Trafford appears to have reached the point of no return, no matter how much United insist they still believe the situation can be rectified. The question should be how badly they actually want to fix it.

United sources are bemused by what has prompted Gabriel to issue a formal notification that he wants to leave the club. It is a big enough issue to cause him to refuse to train with the first team this week, effectively ruling himself out of that Brighton game.

Amateur sleuths can probably suss out what is going on here. Gabriel scored a hat-trick on his UEFA Youth League debut against Sabah on Thursday, but then promptly deleted a raft of posts on Instagram and removed all mention of United from his social media channels.

A few hours after that game at Leigh Sports Village, Michael Carrick handed Champions League debuts to 19-year-olds Harry Amass and Shea Lacey. Another 19-year-old, Tyler Fletcher, was on the bench.

Gabriel was ineligible for that fixture because he wasn’t on United’s ‘A’ list when they submitted their squad to UEFA and because he isn’t yet 16, he couldn’t be added to the ‘B’ list.

He will be old enough to be on the B list when United head to Madrid to face Atletico next month, and a Champions League debut was always more likely once the legwork had been done in securing qualification to the next round.

It now looks pretty clear that wasn’t enough for Gabriel, or for his father Joe O’Cearuill, a voiceforous supporter of his son on social media and a major influence on his career. The former Republic of Ireland international has never shied away from trumpeting just how good he believes his son can be.

He has regularly posted videos of his goals on X and clips from behind-closed-doors training sessions and games and industry sources claim he can be difficult to deal with. He has previously denied talking to other clubs about a move for his son.

Rather than taking a debut in the Carabao Cup, Gabriel is ready to toss it all away at United, just as he considered doing barely a year ago when he came close to joining Manchester City. He has also accepted invites to Barcelona and has met first-team players at the Nou Camp. His commitment to United can certainly be questioned.

Could United have done more? Director of football Jason Wilcox intervened in 2025 to keep Gabriel at the club, and he has regularly trained with the first team since then. He met Ruben Amorim, has been backed by Michael Carrick, given regular exposure to the seniors at Carrington and told the pathway is there.

It’s interesting to look back at Gabriel’s hat-trick at Leigh Sports Village last Thursday now. He celebrates enthusiastically, thanks teammates for assists and doesn’t look like a player who has thrown his toys out of the pram because he isn’t involved in the first-team.

The Asian Games will pose a different challenge for the Indian women’s hockey team, with lower-ranked opponents likely to offer more scoring opportunities than the top sides they faced at the World Cup, coach Sjoerd Marijne said. Apart from China, all other teams competing at the Asian Games are ranked below India. At the World Cup, World No. 8 India faced higher-ranked sides such as Australia and Netherlands. “In the World Cup we had top-ranked teams, except South Africa, in our pool, while here that is not the scene. You would play lower-ranked opponents and get more opportunities to score, so we have to be effective in that way.

“It’s a different approach to keep being sharp and focused. The focus should be on us — what can we do better from the last match, which was against Germany in the World Cup? “How can we create opportunities and do better against the next opponent, Uzbekistan?” Marijne told PTI in an exclusive interview from Japan.

India’s women’s team finished fifth at the World Cup last month, its best performance since the inaugural edition in 1974.

The Salima Tete-led team lost only one match in the tournament, but a goalless draw against Australia cost them a place in the last four.

Marijne now wants his players to use the disappointment of missing out on a World Cup semifinal as motivation to win the Asian Games gold.

“You don’t get to play many World Cups and to come that close to a medal and miss it is disappointing. I told them that not reaching the semis should be a motivation for the gold in the Asian Games,” the Dutch coach said.

“We wrote history in the World Cup. It is important that they realise they have done something extraordinary, which had not happened after 1974. Now the target is the Asian Games and let’s do even better there.” The coach said increased expectations following the World Cup should be seen as a compliment rather than pressure.

“It’s nice to come into a position when people expect more from you. I don’t see it as pressure, but as a compliment.

“The main thing is the mental side — staying focused on our job, the challenge ahead and how can we do better. If we are able to do that, the chance of a good outcome is bigger and better,” said the 52-year-old.

Marijne also stressed the importance of acclimatisation in Japan, which is more humid than Europe, but added that adapting to different conditions was not a major concern for a team that has played across continents.

“It’s a little more humid in Japan, so acclimatisation was important. We also did some fun things like playing mini golf and team activities.

“Other teams are also coming from different countries and it’s normal to constantly adjust according to the conditions, like we have played in Australia, Argentina, Europe and now Japan in different conditions,” he said.

Marijne identified India’s disciplined defence as one of its biggest strengths from the World Cup.

“Our strong defence can make it very difficult for the opponents to score. I don’t want to jinx this, but the discipline and culture we are focusing on is the basis of the success and we must not forget that.

“It’s important to keep the basics right and that’s what we did in the World Cup.” Marijne, under whose tutelage Indian finish fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, also urged his players to remain humble despite their newfound confidence.

“The team has confidence from the World Cup, which is good, but too much confidence is arrogance. I told them that we need to stay humble and there is no room for overconfidence. We have to keep working hard. I tell them to be connected with each other. Being a team is about continuing to work on connecting with each other and the girls are doing well in that aspect,” he said.

Marijne said the team’s emphasis on unity would continue to be symbolised by its “unity thread” and “crystal ball”, which he introduced to the players and support staff during the World Cup.

“That will not change. It reminds them of what is required as a team and that they are there for each other,” he said while showing his unity band.” PTI MJ APA APA

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

Neeraj Chopra Wins Silver, Yashvir Singh Bronze As India Seal Double Podium In CWG Javelin

Afghanistan XI vs India: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran (c), Sediqullah Atal, Gulbadin Naib, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Same team for Afghanistan despite the loss in the first game. 

Texas quarterback Arch Manning went viral on social media after laughing at a controversial AI-generated video during a media availability. 

Manning, 22, was riffing with reporters during an availability on Monday and was asked about seeing clips of the mayhem following Texas’s historic win over No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday. One reporter asked about whether he saw any of the AI edits going around social media. 

“I saw a few AI edits but that’s about it,” Manning said with a laugh. “I saw an AI edit of Sark’s interview. Of him slapping [reporter] Holly Rowe? Yeah, it’s hilarious.”

A tangible portion of the Texas press corps, which includes print and television, can be heard laughing along while Manning delivered his response. Evan Vieth, the reporter who asked Manning the question, tweeted the video with the added caption that Manning’s answer was “gold.” The video quickly went viral Monday evening and as of Tuesday morning has been viewed more than 20 million times. 

During the game on Saturday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian walked away from the traditional postgame interview with reporter Holly Rowe, yelling “Texas fight! Hook ’em!” and running off. Rowe was visibly annoyed after the fact. 

In response, a social media user AI generated a revolting video of Sarkisian turning back and slapping Rowe in the face and yelling at the camera. The video went viral, but received many more views after Manning brought attention with his comments. 

AI videos and edits have become common on major social media sites over the past several years following growth of the technology. They are often used to spread misinformation or make jokes at the expense of their subjects. 

Sarkisian also ran away from reporter Laura Rutledge at halftime, claiming that they made him wait too long. Rutledge said on the broadcast that he apologized to her at the time before running off, and that a technical issue was to blame after Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s interview prior. ESPN issued via Rutledge a public apology to Sarkisian to begin the third quarter, shouldering the blame for the technical issues. 

Texas was trailing 20-3 at the time before coming back to win 24-23, the biggest comeback of the 21st century against an AP No. 1 team. 

We waited seven long months for NFL football to return, but a historic Week 1 made the wait well worth it.

Records fell across the league as several of the game’s biggest stars delivered unforgettable performances to begin the season. 

Josh Allen came through when the Bills needed him most, Derrick Henry further cemented his place among the all-time greats and T.J. Watt joined exclusive company. Meanwhile, the Bears and Panthers produced a Week 1 shootout unlike any the NFL had seen before.

From record-breaking individual performances to points coming at a historic pace, the opening week had a little bit of everything. Here are the numbers that put an unforgettable Week 1 into perspective:

• The 791 points scored across 16 games this week tied 2012 for the most points scored in Week 1 NFL history.
• Sunday’s 13 games combined for 693 total points, averaging 53.3 points per game, making it the highest-scoring Week 1 Sunday in NFL history

• The 96 combined points between the Bears and Panthers is the most in a Week 1 game in NFL history; the previous record was 88 points in 2018, between the Saints and Buccaneers.
• The Bears 59 points is the 2nd most they’ve scored in a game in the Super Bowl era (61 points in Week 14, 1980 vs the Packers).
• The Bears 59 points are the most they have ever scored in a regular-season road game.
• The Bears recorded six rushing touchdowns for the second time in franchise history, and for the first time since 1941.
• The Bears and Panthers combined for 96 points, tied for the 12th-most in a game in NFL history.
• Since the start of the 2025 season, the Bears now have three games with 250+ rushing yards. The rest of the NFL only has four in that span.

• T.J. Watt recorded his 10th interception of his career; he joins Julius Peppers as the only players in NFL history to record 100+ career sacks and 10+ interceptions.
• T.J. Watt is the first player in NFL history to have two sacks and an interception in two different season openers; his last one came in 2017 (sacks became an official stat in 1982).

• Josh Allen became the first quarterback in NFL history with 80 career rushing touchdowns.
• Josh Allen recorded his first career road win at the Texans; entering Sunday, he was 0-4 at Houston, including the playoffs, with just two total touchdowns; this was also the Bills’ first road win at Houston since 2006.
• Josh Allen recorded his ninth game with 2+ passing touchdowns and 2+ rushing touchdowns; no player in NFL history has more than four (Steve Young).
• DJ Moore recorded 100 receiving yards in his Bills debut, the second-most by a Bills player in their debut in franchise history (John Brown had 123 in 2019).

• Derrick Henry recorded his 26th career game with 100+ rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns, passing Jim Brown (25) for the most such games in NFL history.
• Henry finished with three rushing touchdowns, giving him eight career games with 3+ rushing touchdowns; he is the sixth player in NFL history to reach that mark, joining LaDainian Tomlinson (12), Jim Brown (10), Priest Holmes (nine), Emmitt Smith (nine), Marshall Faulk (eight)
• He is now up to 33 career games with multiple rushing touchdowns, the third-most in NFL history behind Emmitt Smith (36) and LaDainian Tomlinson.
• He passed Marcus Allen for the third-most rushing touchdowns in NFL history, now up to 125.
• Since 2016, Henry now has 125 rushing touchdowns, which is 51 touchdowns more than the next running back in that span (Josh Jacobs and Ezekiel Elliot have 74).

• Gibbs became the fourth player in NFL history to record 14 career games with 2+ rushing touchdowns before turning 25 years old, joining Jim Brown (15), Todd Gurley (15) and Christian McCaffrey (15).
• Gibbs is now the sixth player in NFL history to accumulate 50 touchdowns in his first 50 career games, joining Chuck Foreman, Jim Brown, Steve Van Buren, Larry Johnson, and Marcus Allen.

• John Harbaugh wins his first game as the New York Giants head coach.
• Tonight is just the third Giants win over the Cowboys in their last 19 meetings.
• The Giants have now defeated the Cowboys in consecutive meetings (Week 18 of 2025 and Week 1 of 2026) after Dallas had previously won 8 consecutive games.
• Jaxson Dart completed 23 of 29 passes (79.3%), posting the highest completion percentage of his career. This was also Dart’s 2nd career game with 3+ pass touchdowns.
• Prior to Sunday, the Giants were 0-8 against the Cowboys in Week 1 primetime games. It was their first win over Dallas in primetime in Week 1.
• Jets and Giants have won their openers for the first time since 2009.

• Justin Jefferson is the third-fastest player in NFL history to reach 8,500 career receiving yards (95 games); the only two players ahead of Justin Jefferson (95 games) are Julio Jones and Lance Alworth, who both reached 8,500 career receiving yards in 90 games.
• With two touchdowns on Sunday, Jefferson has already matched his receiving touchdown total from last year.
• Justin Jefferson’s 39-yard touchdown reception from Carson Wentz was Jefferson’s first deep touchdown (20+ air yards) since Week 16, 2024.

• Josiah Trotter became the only player with a sack and a pick six in their NFL debut; prior to Sunday, no player had ever accomplished this in their NFL debut.

• With a 59-yard reception against the Broncos, Travis Kelce passed Jason Witten for the second-most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history.
• Kelce now trails only Tony Gonzalez, who holds the NFL record for receiving yards by a tight end with 15,127.

• In his Chiefs debut, Kenneth Walker III rushed for a career-high 173 yards, surpassing his previous high of 167 rushing yards against the Chargers on 10/23/22.
• Walker is now the first and only player in Kansas City Chiefs franchise history to record 150+ rushing yards, a 50+ yard rushing touchdown, and a receiving touchdown in the same game.
• Walker had 105 scrimmage yards in the first half, the most in any first half of his career.
• Walker had two rushes of 25+ yards on Monday night, which is already more than any Chiefs running back last season.
• Walker’s 173 rushing yards and 191 scrimmage yards are both the most by a running back in a game started by Patrick Mahomes.
• Walker outgained the entire Broncos offense Monday night, finishing with 191 scrimmage yards compared to Denver’s 176 net total yards.
• Walker generated +101 rushing yards over expected against the Broncos, the most by a Chiefs running back since at least 2018. Walker also forced 14 missed tackles, the most by any Chiefs player in a game over that span.
• Walker has the most rushing yards in a team debut since Michael Turner with the Falcons in 2008 (220).

Conor Benn came up short when challenging for the WBC welterweight title on Saturday and former undisputed light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor has now given his opinion on whether ‘The Destroyer’ can ever capture world honours.

Ryan Garcia made a first successful defence of the WBC title as he ran through Benn in just two rounds in Las Vegas, flooring the Briton with a prodigious right-hand and then stopping him on his feet. 

Whilst Garcia now looks set for unifications after defeating his WBC mandatory challenger, fans are questioning where Benn can go from here and if he should remain at world level or drop down and attempt to get his hands on the British title.

In an interview with Seconds Out, Taylor admitted that the outcome of Benn’s world title bid was what he expected it to be, stating his belief that Benn is a domestic-level fighter.

“It was something that I kind of expected, really. I have said it for long enough and I have said it numerous times, I don’t think that Conor Benn is anywhere near world level.

“I know that I sound like I am being critical of him, but I am just saying what I think. I do think that he is domestic/European level at best. 

“He is getting these fights and these opportunities because of the pull that he has got. He has got this commercial pull and he is getting opportunities off the back of that.”

‘The Tartan Tornado’ then went on to declare that he does not envisage Benn ever getting his hands on a world title, despite his fellow Briton being just 29 years old. 

“I don’t think that he is any better than that [British/European level], I don’t think that he will win a world championship, but he has got massive appeal.”

Benn is set to move back up in weight following his first stoppage loss, with a big leap up to either middleweight or super-middleweight expected to be confirmed soon and possibly even a trilogy showdown with Chris Eubank Jr.

Am I the bravest human alive?

Courage comes in many forms. There’s the courage to risk your life and run into a burning building to save someone else’s life. There’s the courage to start your life anew when you’re unhappy. Just completely give up on your easy, comfortable existence to chase your passion and begin again.

And then there’s what I’m about to do. I’m about to leave Ohio State at No. 1 in my power ratings even though the Buckeyes lost to Texas on Saturday. I’m doing this even though I know that the majority of people who read this column, or see the rankings shared on social media without reading a single word I’ve written here, will not understand how power rankings work.

They will think these are the same thing as an opinion poll, and they will drag my name through the internet mud. They will curse me. They will call me stupid. They’ll probably call me ugly, too, just to be a little meaner than they need to be. Some may wish death upon me.

And all I have to do to avoid this undeserved punishment is move Ohio State down a couple of spots. But I will not! I have too much integrity! I will face the backlash, for I know I am right!

CBS Sports 138: Texas surges to No. 1 spot, Michigan returns to top 25 in college football rankings

Chip Patterson

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We must remember that power ratings are meant to predict future results, not to react to past results. So, yes, Ohio State blew a 20-point fourth-quarter lead against Texas on Saturday night, and the Buckeyes have lost three of their last four games. There are plenty of questions to ask Ryan Day and the Buckeyes about what’s going on and how they can fix things.

But you know what? There might not be much to fix. They lost the game, but their performance wasn’t horrible. In fact, their performance was better than Texas’ in a lot of the areas I look at. The Buckeyes outgained the Longhorns, averaged more yards per play, and had an edge in explosive plays. They also missed a 45-yard field goal with 4:16 left that proved rather consequential! If the kick is good, the Buckeyes probably win, and you’re yelling at me for not knocking Texas enough instead.

Now, you can argue that I should knock Ohio State’s rating down because it has a kicker who can’t be relied on, but all those numbers are already baked in, and guess what? Kickers miss field goals. We just focus on them more when they come in key spots.

So, anyway, that’s why I’m brave. Because I could’ve knocked Ohio State down a peg or two to avoid the backlash, but that would be dishonest, and I’m too courageous to be dishonest. No need to call me a hero, though I understand why you might be inclined to.

Title odds via DraftKings

Fell out of Top 12: Oklahoma, Texas Tech

Former England footballer Raheem Sterling has admitted dangerous driving after he crashed a Lamborghini into motorway barriers in May.

The 31-year-old, from Berkshire, also admitted possessing nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation, and failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Sterling, who appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, was arrested after crashing on the M3 in Hampshire on the morning of 28 May.

Sterling has 82 England caps, the last of which was won at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The former England winger pleaded guilty to driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3, the A327 and Minley Road before he crashed.

He was in possession of six canisters of nitrous oxide, a Class C drug.