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

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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. 

Former Super Eagles winger Garba Lawal has explained why Paul Onuachu continues to impress at club level with Trabzonspor but struggles to show the same form for Nigeria.

The 31-year-old striker has been in outstanding form in Turkey, scoring 22 league goals this season, according to Transfermarkt. However, his record for the Super Eagles tells a different story, with just four goals in 34 appearances.

Lawal believes Onuachu’s success in Turkey is largely due to regular playing time and a system built around his strengths. At Trabzonspor, the team’s style suits his aerial ability and hold-up play, allowing him to thrive and remain confident in front of goal. His steady run of matches and clear attacking structure have helped him stay sharp, unlike his difficult spell in England where limited minutes affected his performance.

In contrast, Lawal said international football is a completely different challenge.

“It’s important to remember that national team football is a different ball game. Even in my day, we had strikers like Jonathan Akpoborie, who struggled internationally but would return to his club and score a brace or a hat-trick immediately,” he told Footy Africa.

The former winger also pointed to limited preparation time as a key issue.

“At club level, you have the luxury of time and consistent minutes to find your rhythm. With the national team, you don’t have time to gel; you might only get two or three sessions before a match. If you don’t produce instantly, you risk being dropped,” Lawal added.

The situation reflects a wider issue within the Super Eagles setup, where players often struggle to adapt when their club roles differ from the national team system. This is not unique to Nigeria, as many top players, past and present, have performed better for their clubs than for their countries.

Despite his challenges in green and white, Onuachu remains one of Nigeria’s most reliable scorers in Europe. His fine form in Turkey continues to raise questions about how best to use him at international level, with many believing the team must adopt a system that allows him to show the same clinical edge he displays week in, week out for Trabzonspor.

The visitors raced into the lead inside the opening two minutes thanks to Shevlin’s 15th league goal of the season.

Midfielder Mark Coyle spotted the run of the striker and played the ball in behind a hesitant Larne defence and Shevlin raced clear of Matthew Ridley before rounding Larne goalkeeper Rohan Ferguson and firing into an unguarded net.

Shevlin passed up a great chance to double his and his side’s advantage moments later but Rohan Ferguson produced a smart save to deny him while, at the other end, Ryan Schofield brilliantly saved from Andy Ryan after being set up by Sean Graham.

Both goalkeepers continued to impress – Ferguson blocking Zane Okoro’s low shot with an outstretched foot while Schofield got his body behind an ambitious volley from Ronan Doherty.

Larne’s frustrations were compounded when they were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Bent following a challenge on Shevlin in the 35th minute.

But they regrouped and drew level on the stroke of half-time when top goal scorer Ryan slotted home his sixth penalty of the season after Dylan Boyle handled inside the penalty area.

Rohan Ferguson came to the home side’s rescue shortly after the restart when he touched Shevlin’s goal bound header onto the post.

However, he was powerless to prevent the visitors regaining the lead just before the hour mark when Wylie was left unmarked six yards out to glance a header into the bottom corner of the net from a pinpoint Levi Ives delivery.

It was 3-1 with 20 minutes remaining when Patching netted his ninth goal of the season from the spot after Tomas Cosgrove was adjudged to have handled inside the area.

The scoring was completed with seven minutes remaining when Shevlin capitalised on some slack Larne defending to rifle home from 12 yards for his second goal of the night.