DENVER — It was a heavyweight clash without heavyweight hockey.
The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild, Stanley Cup contenders who are rarely easy to play against or break down, opened their titanic Western Conference semifinal playoff series by trading chances and goals like it was an All-Star Game. Except for the intensity, atmosphere and stakes.
The National Hockey League’s best team during the regular season, the Avalanche scored the first three goals, still managed to trail by one late in the second period, then scored five of the final six to beat the Wild 9-6 in Game 1 Sunday in Colorado.
It was unexpected and spectacularly entertaining for everyone except the goalies and coaches.
Advertisement
We hardly knew what to make of it. Except this best-of-seven actually may live up to the hype that began about the time the Wild traded for Quinn Hughes in December to announce themselves as a serious threat to the Avalanche.
But it was Colorado’s Norris Trophy defenceman, Cale Makar, who made the difference in Game 1 by returning from the medical room to score twice in his team’s four-goal third period.
“That’s Cale Makar doing Cale Makar things,” Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “I wasn’t that concerned; I know he’s tough and he was going to be back at some point.”
After Minnesota missile Marcus Foligno launched Makar into orbit with a hit on the forecheck less than three minutes into the game, the player regarded as the best defenceman in hockey went straight to the bench, then the dressing room, and was not seen again until the second period.
Advertisement
The Wild saw too much of Makar in the third when he twice zipped shots past rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt from the right-wing circle.
“Just a weird game,” Makar said. “Coming from the last few games we played (in the first round against the Los Angeles Kings), it was really tight out there. Today, it just felt a little bit more open and sometimes that can be a tendency to kind of lack a little bit on the defensive side. I don’t think we’re going to see that again. Just probably a one-off. But I liked that we were able to stick with it and find a way to win, obviously, in a unique way.”
Makar said of Foligno’s legal hit: “I obviously saw it coming. I tried to absorb it. Just a weird kind of fall there. I tried to kind of back out of it as I saw he was kind of coming at me. I knew he was trying to separate myself from the puck. It’s a very common thing; you’re going to see it every single night. Just unfortunately caught me in a weird spot like that. I think I’ve got to find different ways to go back on pucks.”
Makar’s return was a game-changer. Had he not — had he been seriously enough injured to miss the rest of the game and others — it could have decided the series.
Advertisement
“You’ve got to give him a lot of credit, right?” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “Comes back not feeling great after the injury in the first. Gets sorted out and taken care of, but comes back and has a great finish to the game.
“But I’ll say, there’s not too many guys this time of year that aren’t playing hurt and digging in and playing through that stuff. That’s what makes the playoffs great. That’s what’s expected; it’s not a one-off. The bulk of guys on every team that are still playing and will continue to play are going to play hurt and injured. I think they all deserve the credit. Tonight, it was Cale. Tomorrow night, it’ll be somebody else.”
Game 2 is here Tuesday. And Game 1 is probably a one-off because the slack defending, missed coverages, poor plays with the puck, were so uncharacteristic for the Avalanche and Wild, who have in common that they do not often beat themselves.
The Avalanche led the NHL in team defence during the regular season, then allowed only five goals in their four-game sweep of Los Angeles in the playoffs’ first round.
Advertisement
The Wild hit that total on Sunday when Foligno scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 16:55 of the second period, nearly disfiguring both Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood and the net as Minnesota’s heavy forward crashed into the post while giving Minnesota its only lead, 5-4.
As for his team’s defensive play, although the Wild were ventilated in Round 1 by the Dallas Stars’ power play, they yielded only four five-on-five goals during a six-game win. The Wild dominated at even strength. The Avalanche scored seven five-on-five goals Sunday.
A power-play goal by Colorado’s Artturi Lehkonen offset Foligno’s shorty as the defensive powerhouses skated into the third period tied 5-5.
But Makar scored from a poorly-defended faceoff play at 3:21 of the third period, and Nazem Kadri beat Wallstedt cleanly from 35 feet on a breakaway to make it 7-5 at 5:43.
Advertisement
And after Matt Boldy’s bounce pass to the front of the net caromed in off teammate Mats Zuccarello to bring the Wild back within a goal with 3:59 remaining, Makar scored again 65 seconds later, creating room to get his shot past Boldy and through Artturi Lehkonen’s screen.
Nathan MacKinnon, who let the puck get past him on Foligno’s breakaway, scored into an empty net with 2:08 to go.
Eight different Avalanche players scored and 13 skaters finished with at least one point. MacKinnon had a goal and two assists and was plus-three. Devon Toews, Makar’s defence partner, had four points and was plus-four.
Hughes led the Wild with a goal and two assists. Minnesota’s offensive stars, Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov, finished with only a single assist each. The Wild played without top centre Joel Eriksson Ek and key defenceman Jonas Brodin, both injured.
Advertisement
“Listen, that was a crazy game,” Landeskog said, and not in an admiring way. “Let’s just call it for what it is. But I think we did a good job on the bench, in the room, talking about what we needed to focus on, settling down when we needed to when they kind of had momentum. We’ll enjoy this one tonight, and then tomorrow we’ll sort out what we can do better.”
Both teams did enough to lose.
“It’s not that we weren’t emotionally engaged in the game and physically engaged in the game, because I think we were,” Bednar explained. “But not enough on the defensive side. We were on the offensive side. The forecheck looked good (and) we did some good things. But like when it came to the defending, I feel like we forgot a little bit just how hard we need to work to be good defensively. We were easy in some areas and loose on some gaps and late a few times, and they play hard offensively.”
The Avalanche hadn’t played in a week. They had plenty of rest and practise for the series. The Wild, however, eliminated the Stars on Thursday night and didn’t know until late Friday that they’d be flying the next day to Denver to start on Sunday.
Advertisement
But Minnesota coach John Hynes bristled at the idea that his team could have used a practice to prepare for the Avalanche.
“I don’t think our practice has anything to do with it,” he said. “I think it’s all about wrapping your head around the series and understanding the differences between Colorado and Dallas. I think if we went out there for a 30- to 35-minute practice, it wouldn’t have made one ounce of difference on this. It’s about the mindset and understanding the differences between the two series.”
Italian Andrea Pavan said he is “optimistic” about a return to playing after he fell down an open lift shaft in February.
The incident occurred before the South African Open at Pavan’s private accommodation near Stellenbosch Golf Club when the lift doors opened but there was no lift car in the shaft, causing him to drop three storeys down.
The 36-year-old was taken to a local hospital with severe shoulder damage and fractures to several vertebrae in his back, and had major surgery.
“It’s hard to say a precise goal, there’s more like steps,” said Pavan.
Advertisement
“Around three months we’ll see how well the bone has healed. Around six months it’s about where complete bone healing happens and we’ll see how the joint is moving by then.
“It depends on if there are other tissues that were damaged if I need a second surgery. And there’s the possibility of necrosis when the blood flow is not sufficient for the bones. There is that risk, but so far it seems like things are positive enough.
“The shoulder is a very demanding joint. Hopefully it’s a little less than a year that I can play with a full swing but it’s just so new and such a big injury there are just a lot of unknowns. But I’m hopeful and the only thing I can do is to try and improve and take it day by day.”
On the day of the incident, Pavan had been preparing to drive to the Stellenbosch course for breakfast and an afternoon pro-am tee, when he returned to his apartment to retrieve a locker key that had been left there.
Advertisement
Speaking to the Naga Munchetty programme on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “I walked back towards the elevator, I opened the door – one of those doors that get into the apartment straight away – and by the time I realised the lift wasn’t there I’d already taken a step.
“The next thing I know I’m just at the bottom of the elevator, luckily not unconscious but in a lot of pain and screaming for help.
“Somebody heard and I was somehow able to get my phone out and call my caddie, who was in the car. From then on it was just trying to survive the pain and waiting for the ambulance and all the firefighters who got me out.”
The two-time DP World Tour winner spent seven days in hospital in South Africa, having surgery on a complete fracture of his shoulder, and has now returned to his home in Texas.
Advertisement
Pavan paid tribute to the “amazing” support from the golfing world during his time in hospital.
“The amount of people who came to the hospital to visit me when the tournament was happening was truly overwhelming,” he said.
“There were a lot of players – friends of mine – who actually stayed up to 2am and waited for me to get out of surgery and they were playing in the tournament the next day, Matteo Manassero, Manuel Oliveira and others.
“I was just truly surprised and it was comforting and overwhelming to feel you were not alone going through this.”
Beforehand, many felt their encounter was likely to go the distance, especially with Benavidez moving up from 175lbs and Ramirez having never previously been dropped.
Advertisement
As it happened, though, Ramirez was forced to suffer two knockdowns – and a nasty swelling on his right eye – before being relieved of his WBO and WBA titles.
Benavidez, meanwhile, is now the unified cruiserweight champion and has the option to move back down to light-heavyweight, where he holds the WBC world title.
In that division, he would likely be targeting an undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol, but ‘The Mexican Monster’ could alternatively make an audacious move up to heavyweight.
Speaking with Fight Hub TV, Jose named unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk as perhaps the only man who could present his son with some semblance of a challenge.
“Right now, I’m going to be honest with you: I don’t see any danger for David Benavidez at 175[lbs] and at cruiserweight.
“Nobody can beat David, this is ‘The Monster’ era. At the end of the day, he’s beating everybody in every division, so [he] might as well go to f***ing heavyweight.
“I think the biggest challenge would be Usyk. That’s something like out of this world. That’s the only guy that I think could [challenge him], that would be crazy, that would be another big challenge because he [Usyk] is the pound-for-pound best in my opinion.”
French teenage prodigy Paul Seixas announced on Monday that he will ride the Tour de France in July for the first time, raising hopes of a first home winner in more than four decades.
No Frenchman has won the Tour since Bernard Hinault did so for a record-equalling fifth time in 1985.
The 19-year-old Seixas has been in stunning form this season, winning seven races and pushing all-time great Tadej Pogacar close in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege Monument one-day classic a week ago.
He has ridden two week-long stage races and four one-day classics this season, and has not finished below second.
He will be the youngest rider to start a Tour in 89 years when the Grand Boucle begins in Barcelona on July 4.
In a video posted to social media by Seixas’s Decathlon CMA CGM team, he is shown visiting his grandparents in the eastern Haut-Savoie region near his home in Lyon.
“I’ve come here to announce to you something special, I have a race in July,” he tells his grandparents, before they guess that he is talking about the Tour.
Advertisement
Seixas’s potential participation in the sport’s most prestigious race has been the subject of much speculation, especially since he has demonstrated that he is already one of the best riders in the world.
Many experts believe it is too soon for him to tackle the 3,333 kilometer (2,069 mile) long three-week race, which includes eight mountain stages, including five summit finishes.
It will be his first grand tour and the first time he has tackled a race longer than eight days.
Edidiong Ezekiel during his home bow for Enyimba FC
Enyimba FC striker Edidiong Ezekiel has said reigning champions Remo Stars F.C. should expect a tough battle when both teams meet in their Nigeria Premier Football League matchday 36 game on Sunday.
The forward will face his former club at the Enyimba Stadium in Aba as the People’s Elephant look to claim an important victory in the closing stage of the season.
Ezekiel, who played for Remo Stars during the 2022/23 season, admitted he still has good memories of his time with the club but said his main focus is now helping Enyimba win.
Advertisement
“I have beautiful memories of my time at Remo Stars, and I am looking forward to playing against them this weekend,” he said.
“I feel a bit emotional regarding the memories I had with them but right now the pride of the People’s Elephant is my priority.”
The striker also called on Enyimba supporters to come out in large numbers and back the team in what is expected to be a difficult contest.
Advertisement
“I want to call on the esteemed fans of Enyimba to turn up in their numbers and support us as we go for a non-negotiable three points against Remo Stars,” Ezekiel added.
The striker has made 28 league appearances for Enyimba this season, scoring four goals and providing one assist.
Sunday’s match is important for both clubs as Enyimba aim to climb higher from 13th position on the table, while Remo Stars continue their push to finish strongly in the league.
A Minnesota Vikings fan sits in the Metrodome stands with a bag over his head during fourth-quarter action against the New Orleans Saints, with Dec. 18, 2011, in Minneapolis capturing frustration as the game slipped away in a 42-20 loss during a difficult late-season stretch. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings spent big during the free agency periods of 2024 and 2025, and because they scaled back in 2026, resetting their salary cap, they might be for sale, or so goes the theory from Pioneer Press‘s Charley Walters.
The Wilfs have spent aggressively, which makes the sale speculation tougher to buy.
Walters delivered the spicy take inside his weekly article, and the theory landed big time in front of shocked eyeballs, as nobody anywhere thinks or thought that the franchise is for sale.
Advertisement
Minnesota’s Spending Habits Tell a Different Story
Do you perceive the Vikings as for sale?
Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf speaks with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during second-quarter action of a Wild Card game at U.S. Bank Stadium, with Jan. 15, 2023, in Minneapolis capturing a brief in-game exchange between leadership figures as postseason intensity unfolded on the field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Walters: The Vikings Could Be For Sale
Walters wasn’t shy about unloading his theory, writing, “It’s beginning to look as if Vikings ownership now could be mirroring Twins ownership, which has sought to sell its team. Figuring they were championship worthy, the Vikings a year ago spent more money on player payroll in the offseason ($350 million) than any of the NFL’s other 31 teams.”
“This offseason, the Vikings have spent just $226 million, second lowest in the league. It appears Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf have decided on a significant payroll slash this year. The Vikings won’t admit it, but this sure looks like a rebuilding year. This is the 21st year the Wilfs have owned the Vikings. Until this year, they have made a commendable attempt at winning the Lombardi Trophy.”
Advertisement
Regarding the pursuit of a Lombardi Trophy in 2026, it is unclear why Walters thinks the Vikings have ruled themselves out. They boasted a Top 3 defense last year and signed Kyler Murray in March. Those components should suggest playoff contendership.
Walters continued, “Meanwhile, the Twins’ Pohlad ownership isn’t unlike what Red McCombs did with the Vikings in 2005 before selling to the Wilfs. McCombs, who bought the Vikings for $246 million in 1998, cut player and coaching staff payroll to a bare minimum and waited until he got his price ($600 million) from the Wilfs.”
“If the Wilfs, who curiously still haven’t named a permanent general manager since firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah last January, were to sell the Vikings today, they could get between $8 billion and $9 billion.”
A Misinterpretation of Free Agency Spending
Advertisement
Walters equated the Vikings’ small-ish free-agent spending as evidence that ownership is chomping at the bit to sell. The first part is true; the second part is not.
In 2024, Minnesota used $167 million on new contracts. That ranked fourth-most in the NFL. In 2025, Minnesota used $270 million on new contracts. That ranked second-most in the NFL. A franchise cannot continually rank near the top of free agency spending; it’s impossible. It’s why there’s a salary cap.
When a club opts to spend freely for a year or two, it must scale back soon after. The scaleback is happening in real time right now. In fact, if Minnesota wants to spend next year or in 2028 free agency, it can now do so — because it held off on spending future years’ money in 2026.
Vikings’ Free Agency Spending, NFL Ranking, Since 2011:
Teams spend big, then they reset. Then, they do it again. The Vikings do it consistently. In fact, fans are probably looking at another year of quiet spending in 2027.
No Shred of Evidence beyond the Rumor Article
For those who want to see the Vikings led by new owners, you’re going to be waiting for a while.
Advertisement
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling tweeted Sunday, “A source close to the Wilfs said there’s ‘zero truth’ to the notion the Vikings owners are thinking about selling the team. They’ve long talked about the team staying in the family for multiple generations, and both Mark and Zygi Wilf’s kids have taken on larger roles with the team in recent years.”
Tennessee Titans general manager Ran Carthon connects with Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah during joint practices in Eagan, with Aug. 16, 2023, in Minnesota marking a preseason evaluation period where executives exchanged perspectives while observing roster battles and player development up close. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY NETWORK
The Athletic‘sAlec Lewis added, “You can only spend millions in cash over cap for so long without premium results. That’s the extent of this. And just for the record: The Wilfs aren’t selling the Vikings. Zero truth to that whatsoever. Source close to ownership made that abundantly clear.”
In the end, Walters’s take about the owners’ would-be sale of a team boiled down to one man’s opinion — a hot take.
Mike Florio’s Take
NBC Sports‘ Mike Florio interpreted Walters’s theory as if it were credible, noting, “While the ever-inflating values of NFL franchises could tempt more than a few current owners to take $10 billion or more and run, there’s not enough there to justify a conclusion that this is anything other than a cap correction after the Vikings overplayed their hand in 2025, due primarily to the very bad decision(s) made about the most important position on the team.”
Advertisement
“While no one will objectively conclude that the Minnesota roster screams out ‘Super Bowl contender’ for 2026, the spending decisions don’t immediately point to a potential sale of the team. Still, perception is reality. With the hypothesis morphing into the beginnings of a theory, it could be time for the Wilfs to make the case publicly that they aren’t getting ready to pound a ‘For Sale’ sign in the front yard.”
Minnesota Vikings fans cheer as the team enters the field through the tunnel at EverBank Stadium, with Nov. 10, 2024, in Jacksonville showing strong road support as a traveling crowd in purple energized the atmosphere ahead of a regular-season matchup. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
Walters’s thesis is pretty straightforward: the Vikings could be for sale because they rolled back the spending this offseason. The only problem with that hypothesis? It’s standard operating procedure to reduce spending after Top 4 spending sprees in consecutive offseasons.
If anything, onlookers should have expected and predicted a “boring” free agency.
In Tuesday’s $150,000 Brierly Steeplechase, the opening day feature of the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival, Stern Idol will attempt to exceed his own previous achievement in the race.
The import under Ciaron Maher’s care shoulders 75kg for the 3450m journey.
Two years ago, the nine-year-old set the metric weight record by winning with 73kg, eclipsing Some Are Bent’s 71kg from 2010, and marking the highest since Deckard’s 75.5kg (11 stone 12 ounces) success in 1939.
Stern Idol faces his toughest weight assignment to date, 1kg beyond that in last year’s Grand National Steeplechase where he ran fourth; trainer Maher acknowledges the hurdle but backs his horse strongly.
Advertisement
He comes off a 25-length demolition under 72kg in Terang’s Spencer Memorial Steeplechase (3850m) on April 19.
“I suppose it can stop him, he’s got 10 kilos on most on the field, but he’s big though,” he said.
“With the weight, it’ll be a test.
“He was a good win the other day, he’s come through it well and he seems to get around there pretty well.”
Advertisement
Stern Idol, the $2.10 Brierly Steeplechase favourite, meets Leaderboard receiving 6kg, with only Mark Walker’s The Mighty Spar (67.5kg) also over 65kg.
At 65kg sit $3.20 elect Hit The Road Jack and Instigator, who trailed Stern Idol by a long neck when second in the 2024 Brierly Steeplechase.
The Brierly Steeplechase constitutes Stern Idol’s lone start at the Warrnambool Carnival, whereas Leaderboard, The Mighty Spar, Castrofrancaru, Hit The Road Jack and Instigator might follow up Thursday in the $350,000 Grand Annual Steeplechase, which had 11 declarations Monday.
Seeking repeat glory in the 5500m event is star Duke Of Bedford.
Advertisement
The $300,000 Warrnambool Cup on Thursday’s program over 2350m Listed sees recent Group 2 Chairman’s Quality (2600m) winner Newlook at the forefront.
Discover racing odds at the betting sites ahead of Stern Idol’s Brierly Steeplechase bid.
Apr 24, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) walks to the on deck circle during the third inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The three-game interleague series between the Atlanta Braves and host Seattle Mariners that begins Monday will be without one superstar and perhaps a second.
Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a strained left hamstring suffered while running to first base the previous day in Colorado.
“The MRI showed a Grade 1 strain, so not too serious, but serious enough that we had to put him on the list,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said before Sunday’s 11-6 victory against the Rockies.
“It’s not going to be just a couple days,” Weiss continued. “It’s gonna be more than that, so we need to put him on the IL, and, hopefully, it’ll be sooner than later. No idea with these soft tissue injuries how long they’re gonna take, but I think the silver lining is that the MRI showed it wasn’t too serious.”
Acuna had played in each of the Braves’ first 34 games this season after appearing in just 144 over the previous two campaigns after suffering a torn ACL in May 2024. The five-time All-Star and 2023 National League MVP had heated up after a slow start, batting .381 over his past six games.
Advertisement
“All things considered, it could have been a lot worse,” Weiss said.
Meanwhile, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, coming off a record 60-homer season, sat out the past two games with discomfort in his right side that required an MRI.
“Cal is continuing to make strides,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Sunday’s 4-1 loss to visiting Kansas City. “He’s got a little soreness in the side. We’ll continue to look at it day to day and go from there and continue to assess it.”
Raleigh, who has never been on the injured list in his six-year major league career, said he’s hoping to avoid that.
Advertisement
He said he first felt the discomfort after Friday’s game.
“Didn’t really think too much of it,” Raleigh said. “It’s normal. Things happen in games throughout the season, but I woke up the next day and it stayed sore, and I let the staff know. I was just trying to play it safe.”
Raleigh, who won the Home Run Derby at last year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta, also recently heated up after a slow start with five homers in a seven-game span from April 20-27.
Advertisement
The 29-year-old said he felt much better Sunday and even took swings in the batting cage pregame to test his oblique area.
“It felt good,” he said. “(Sunday) was a good day. Obviously, everybody’s leaning on the cautionary side, which is to be expected. In the moment, you hate it, but down the line, I think they’ll pay dividends.”
While the Braves swept their three-game series in Colorado to improve to an MLB-best 25-10, the defending American League West champion Mariners lost all three to the visiting Royals to drop to 16-19.
Monday’s series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers in Braves rookie JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.92 ERA), a Seattle-area native, and the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03).
Advertisement
Ritchie, who attended high school on nearby Bainbridge Island, will be making his third major league start. After winning his debut April 23 at Washington, he didn’t get a decision Wednesday against visiting Detroit when he allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits over 5 1/3 innings, with four walks and four strikeouts in a game the Braves won 4-3 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Gilbert didn’t get a decision Tuesday in a 7-1 victory at Minnesota despite allowing one run on six hits over five innings. He’s 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two career starts against Atlanta.
HYDERABAD : It was as if Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins had a premonition of the seven–wicket defeat when he said, “it’s very unlikely we’re going to win every single game for the rest of the season,” at the toss.
For, the toss was the only thing that went right for the hosts, as the Kolkata Knight Riders’ spin twins Varun Chakravarthy (3/36) and Sunil Narine (2/31) did the rest on a very hot day when the players would have been excused if they wanted to be someplace else than the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium.
The raucous cheers of the Sunday crowd as the Sunrisers cruised to 71/1 in the powerplay — identical for both teams — was soon silenced as Chakravarthy, back in the side after being the impact player in the previous match, derailed the innings by dismissing Travis Head (61; 28b, 9×4, 3×6).
Chakravarthy, who conceded 29 in the first two overs, turned on the screws in his second spell of 2-0-7-2 as the Sunrisers lost eight wickets for 58 runs to collapse between overs 11 and 19 and be dismissed for 165. It was way below par — KKR replied with 169/3 — and bucked the trend of the last three matches between the teams since 2025, when the team batting first scored upwards of 200 and won by margins of 80, 110 and 65 runs.
Advertisement
The 61-run stand for the second wicket between Head and Ishan Kishan (42; 29b, 4×4, 2×6) was the sole bright spot for the Sunrisers and a reality check, if they needed after five consecutive wins, of a soft underbelly that their middle order is when Heinrich Klaasen fails to come good.
The South African mainstay of the SRH batting fell to a stunning onehanded catch by Rovman Powell, diving full length to his right at midwicket after Klaasen carted Cameron Green for 10 in the previous two deliveries, and with an indisposed Nitish Reddy missing, the back end of the innings lacked the drive that took them to 107/2 at the halfway stage.
The KKR batters complemented the excellent show of their bowlers on a strip tailormade for batting. Impact player Finn Allen, who replaced fellow New Zealander Tim Seifert in the XI, missed out after smashing Cummins for 27 runs in the fourth over but skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s calm presence was all that Kolkata needed as they chased down the target in 18.2 overs for their third straight victory.
Though the skipper fell for 43 (36b, 4×4, 1×6) on threshold of victory, his 84–run (66b) partnership for the second wicket with Angkrish Raghuvanshi (59; 47b, 5×4, 2×6) ensured there were no more hiccups.
Apr 17, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels pitcher José Soriano (59) delivers during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images
The Chicago White Sox were one win away Sunday from reaching a pivotal milestone in their long rebuild.
But the White Sox will get a chance to again get within a game of .500 on Monday night when they visit the skidding Los Angeles Angels in the opener of a three-game series.
Davis Martin (4-1, 1.95 ERA) is slated to start for the White Sox against Jose Soriano (5-1, 0.84) in a battle of right-handers enjoying breakout seasons.
Both teams suffered losses Sunday afternoon. The visiting White Sox missed a chance to complete a sweep of the San Diego Padres as they fell 4-3 in the finale of a three-game series.
The host Angels squandered an early lead and fell to the New York Mets 5-1 in the rubber game of a three-game set.
Advertisement
The loss ended a five-game winning streak for the White Sox, who never trailed in the first two games of the series while outscoring the Padres 12-2. Chicago had a chance to extend its surge in the ninth inning Sunday when Tristan Peters singled off All-Star closer Mason Miller with two outs and stole second but Miller struck out Luisangel Acuna.
The loss cost the White Sox (16-18) a chance to move to .500 but did little to diminish the internal confidence that they’re ready to become contenders. Chicago, whose 178-342 record since the start of 2023 is the worst in the majors, has not been at .500 beyond the sixth game of a season since it ended the 2022 campaign at 81-81.
“They believe in each other, they believe in themselves,” White Sox manager Will Venable said, “We’ve just got to continue to battle and, as we continue to just play good baseball, we continue to develop that belief. So, a good series for us.”
Advertisement
While the White Sox might finally be ready to turn a corner, the struggles continue for the Angels, whose 10 consecutive losing seasons and 11-season playoff drought are each the longest active streaks in baseball.
The Angels have lost 12 of 14 following an 11-10 start. The only team with a worse record is the Mets. Los Angeles has scored three runs or fewer in 11 of its last 14 games. The Angels didn’t get a runner beyond first Sunday after Jorge Soler’s first-inning RBI single.
“Offensively, we’ve all dialed in to what our approach is going to be,” said Jo Adell, who hit into an inning-ending double play immediately after Soler’s single. “We’re just going to continue to show up and do what we do.”
Martin and Soriano are opposing each other for the second straight start.
Advertisement
Martin earned the victory last Tuesday night, when he allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings as the White Sox began their winning streak by beating the Angels 5-2. He has given up two runs or fewer in each of his last five starts.
Soriano suffered his first loss of the season after giving up three runs over five innings. He entered Tuesday having allowed just one run over 37 2/3 innings in his first six starts.
Martin is 1-1 with a 2.66 ERA in four career starts against the Angels. Soriano is 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in three games (two starts) against the White Sox.
Former India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara praised the all-round performance of Jason Holder after Gujarat Titans (GT) secured a four-wicket win over table-toppers Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2026 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday night. Speaking on Star Sports, Pujara highlighted Holder’s contributions with both bat and ball, underlining how the West Indies all-rounder had influenced the outcome of the high-pressure encounter.
“The way Jason Holder has made an impact on this team, both with the bat and the ball, has been impressive. He contributed to key wickets, including the important dismissal of Shreyas Iyer. Overall, his presence has taken the team to a different level,” JioStar expert Pujara said.
The former India batter further emphasised Holder’s value in the GT line-up, particularly in addressing concerns around the middle-order batting. Holder’s versatility to bat at number five, six, or seven was noted as a key factor in providing balance and stability to the side.
Advertisement
“GT had some concerns around the middle-order batting, and his flexibility to bat at No. 5, 6, or 7 adds great balance to the side,” Pujara added.
Coming to the contest, GT defeated table toppers PBKS by four wickets in a last-over thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium, powered by Jason Holder’s four-wicket haul and crucial knocks from Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar.
PBKS posted 163/9 after recovering from an early collapse through a 79-run stand between Suryansh Shedge (57) and Marcus Stoinis (40), but Holder’s 4/24 restricted them.
In reply, GT chased down 164 in 19.5 overs despite losing early wickets, with Sudharsan anchoring the innings with 57 and Sundar finishing unbeaten on 40, sealing the win with a six. The victory moved GT to sixth place with 12 points, while PBKS remained on top of the table with 13 points.
Advertisement
Holder won the Player of the Match (POTM) award for his match-defining bowling figures of 4/24 in 4 overs. Holder claimed the wickets of PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis and Xavier Bartlett.
(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
Tushar Deshpande’s Brilliant Final Act Ensures Thrilling Win For RR Over Gujarat Titans
You must be logged in to post a comment Login