Sports World: PV Sindhu Reaches Madrid Spain Masters Quarters - As It Happened

Thursday, March 28 saw a lot of sporting action take centrestage. Most notably was cricket with the IPL 2024 as Riyan Parag starred to hand his side, the Rajasthan Royals, a 12-run win over Delhi Capitals. In Football, EPL managers took to the press to address their side's needs and assess with an important week in the Premier League. In badminton, Madrid Spain Masters sees PV Sindhu sailed through to the quarter-finals. Get all the highlights and updates for March 28, 2024 right here. (Cricket News | Football News)

Chelsea advanced to the Women's Champions League semi-finals for the second consecutive season after defeating Ajax comfortably on aggregate.

Emma Hayes' team, who are seeking the quadruple this season, led 3-0 after the first leg and needed only to do the job at Stamford Bridge.

In the 33rd minute, Mayra Ramirez slid the ball past custodian Regina van Eijk's knees, giving them the early goal they needed.

"Insane" was the only word that Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Pat Cummins could think of to sum up the six-hitting slugfest against Mumbai Indians in the IPL in Hyderabad on Wednesday. It was a game of many firsts as SRH smashed 277 for three, the highest total in IPL history. Mumbai Indians kept themselves in the game before ending at 246 for five, according to PTI reports.

Spanish authorities want the former president of the country's football federation imprisoned for two and a half years after kissing a female footballer against her consent during Spain's World Cup win.

Luis Rubiales is accused of sexual assault and coercion after grabbing Jenni Hermoso and kissing her on the lips in August. Hermoso and her teammates described the kiss as unwelcome and unpleasant. Rubiales was compelled to quit, but he denies any wrongdoing.

Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner advanced to the Miami semi-finals by stopping Tomas Machac's incredible run at the ATP Masters tournament.

Sinner, the second seed, won 6-4, 6-2 over his Czech opponent, who was rated 60th.

Machac defeated Andy Murray and Andrey Rublev to reach his first Masters quarterfinal, but Sinner's level was too high.

In the semi-finals, the 22-year-old Italian will face Daniil Medvedev, the third seed from Russia, or Nicolas Jarry from Chile.

Victoria Azarenka defeated Yulia Putintseva to go to the Miami Open semi-finals, where she will face Elena Rybakina. The Belarussian 27th seed, who won her previous championship at the tournament in 2016, required nearly three hours to defeat Putintseva 7-6 (7-4) 1-6, 6-3.

Rybakina, the fourth seed, upset Greek eighth seed Maria Sakkari. 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-4. On the opposite side of the draw, American Danielle Collins defeated French 23rd seed Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Ukrainians have expressed pride and gratitude toward their men's national football team for qualifying for the European Championship, a rare bit of good news and a welcome distraction from the war with Russia, according to AP reports.

Though celebrations after Ukraine's 2-1 win over Iceland were muted as Russian missiles kept raining down on the country, the team's success gives Ukrainians something to cheer for this summer when the tournament kicks off in Germany.

Napoli defender Juan Jesus says he has been left feeling “very bitter” and “crestfallen” by the Italian league's decision not to punish Inter Milan player Francesco Acerbi for an allegedly racist remark toward him, according to AP reports.

The Italian league's sporting judge announced on Tuesday that there wasn't enough proof that Acerbi's insult to Juan Jesus was racist to impose what would have been a lengthy ban on the Italy defender.

Jalen Green scored 37 points and Dillon Brooks hit a pair of 3-pointers in overtime to lift the Houston Rockets to their 10th consecutive victory, 132-126 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Amen Thompson had 25 points and 15 rebounds and Brooks finished with 20 points for the Rockets, who remained one game behind Golden State in the race for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.

Houston’s winning streak is its longest since an 11-game run late in the 2017-18 season.

James Maddison is eager to have an opportunity to show Gareth Southgate what he can do in an England shirt – but insists he is old enough now to not sulk when he does not start.

The Tottenham playmaker will be hopeful of a place in Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad when it is announced in May, having made an eye-catching cameo appearance in the 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday.

Veteran opener David Warner, who has retired from ODI and Test cricket, along with all-rounders Ashton Agar and Marcus Stoinis, was on Thursday dropped from Cricket Australia's list of centrally-contracted players for the 2024-25 season, as per PTI reports.

Besides, Victoria opener Marcus Harris and pacer Michael Neser have also missed out on contracts that were offered to 23 players, according to a report by 'cricket.com.au'.

The 17th edition of the IPL registered record-breaking viewership on the opening day with 16.8 crore people witnessing the show, according to the host broadcaster, according to PTI reports.

Disney Star, the official broadcaster, said the opening day also registered a watch time of 1276 crore minutes -- the highest ever for the first day of any season.

The 17th season of IPL also witnessed the highest-ever peak TV concurrency for an opening day, with 6.1 crore viewers watching the broadcast simultaneously on the Disney Star network.

Left perplexed by Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya's tactics in the record-breaking IPL loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad, former Australia captain Steve Smith has said he cannot fathom why premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah bowled just six deliveries up until the 13th over of the match, according to PTI reports.

In a stunning display of power-hitting, Sunrisers Hyderabad posted the highest-ever IPL total of 277/3 before clinching a 31-run victory over an equally aggressive Mumbai Indians on Wednesday night.

Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey on Thursday congratulated PR Sreejesh on being appointed as co-chair of the FIH Athletes Committee, stating that the veteran goalkeeper can play a big role in directly impacting the lives of fellow players, according to PTI reports.

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Wednesday named its new Athletes Committee, to be led by co-chairs Chilean women's hockey team defender Camila Caram and Sreejesh.

The Andhra Cricket Association has served a show-cause notice to Hanuma Vihari a month after the India batter accused the governing body of unceremoniously removing him from captaincy and vowed not to play for the state again, according to PTI reports.

However, Vihari is yet to respond to the notice which was served after the ACA Apex Council meeting a few days ago.

“Yes, we have served him a show-cause notice and we are awaiting his reply,” an ACA official told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were all given lengthy bans for their part in Australia’s ball-tampering scandal six years ago.

Captain Smith and vice-captain Warner were both handed 12-month suspensions while Bancroft, the batsman who was caught on camera attempting to change the condition of the ball using sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa, was banned for nine months.

World's number one T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav will skip a few more IPL matches as he continues to recover from a sports hernia surgery with the National Cricket Academy (NCA) keeping a watch on his progress, according to PTI reports.

Yadav, who plays for Mumbai Indians, has been missing in action in the league and his team has lost both its matches so far.

LeBron James knows he is no good to the Los Angeles Lakers if he is not healthy, as the 39-year-old said he will prioritise his well-being over a playoff push.

The 39-year-old has been nursing an ankle issue for much of this season, though he returned from a one-game absence in emphatic fashion on Wednesday.

James finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists – his fourth triple-double of the season – to help the Lakers to a 136-124 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees has been reduced from seven members to six, with Chris Broad not included in the panel for 2024-25, according to PTI reports.

Broad, who had been on the panel since 2003, has refereed 123 Tests, 361 ODIs and 135 T20s, as well as 15 women's T20s.

A senior ICC official said Broad had been dropped as part of a restructuring process.

Bangladesh's Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid on Thursday became the first from his country to be inducted into the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires while India's Nitin Menon entered the top tier for an unprecedented fifth time, according to PTI reports.

Indore-based Menon, who joined the elite panel at the start of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, remains the only Indian in the 12-member club.

Jonathan Clauss is just the latest name to join Marseille's injury list. The defense has been severely hit, and it's a big blow before PSG's attacking armada led by Kylian Mbappe sets foot in town.

Alongside Clauss, Bamo Meïté and Amir Murillo have already been ruled out, while Samuel Gigot and Leonardo Balerdi are doubtful. Building a solid backline should give a real headache to interim coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who has managed to put the club back on track since he replaced Gennaro Gattuso last month. (AP)

Here is everything you need to know about it

“We’ve been working with him from last year. I think when you're working with a coach for the first time, you have to make sure that you adjust to their philosophy. There have to be rules. We are professionals. So, we don't complain,” said Russell during the pre-match press meet

“You know, that's cricket. It's up and down. It's only two games. We know with Maxie, he's going to win us a couple of games. He has made a slower start to the tournament, but we know that he's going to win games for us later on in the tournament,” McKenzie said in the pre-match press conference. (PTI)

Indian defender Bijay Chhetri has joined Uruguayan football club Colon FC on loan until the year-end, his Indian Super League (ISL) club Chennaiyin FC said on Wednesday. Chhetri thus became the first Indian footballer to sign for a Latin American club. Colon is based in Montevideo, while the club competes in Segunda Division Professional (second division) of the country, where it is currently placed third on the Group B league table. "I feel so excited to get this opportunity for the new challenge in my professional career. I hope to put in good performances to enhance my game, repay the trust shown in me by Colon FC and to keep the Indian flag flying high," Bijay said in a release. (PTI)

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has been charged with breaching English soccer's betting rules, the Football Association said on Thursday. Tonali is serving a 10-month ban issued by the Italian soccer federation for betting on teams he played for, which has ruled him out of action since October. Now he could be in more trouble after the FA said he breached its rules on 50 occasions by placing bets on matches from Aug. 12 to Oct. 12 last year. On Oct. 12, Tonali was sent home from Italy's training camp after being notified by police of his involvement in a betting investigation. (AP)

A tennis umpire from Tunisia who was banned for inputting wrong scores in matches lost his appeal at sport's highest court, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said Thursday. Abderahim Gharsallah went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge a seven-year ban for manipulating match scores at a lower-level tournament in Tunisia in 2020. (AP)

That's all from us here, till then, good night!