Despite the name, Indian success at the tournament hasn't been particularly regular with none from the host nation winning any title in the past two editions.
Simona Halep will delay her start to the 2025 season and skip the Australian Open due to pain in her knee and shoulder, the former world number one said on Thursday.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Fans can expect a wide open tournament in the absence of an overwhelming favourite in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy.
Real outclass Majorca, to meet Barca in Super Cup final
A resilient 72-run unbroken partnership for the eighth wicket between Jaymeet Patel and Siddharth Desai, following a commanding 148 from opener Priyank Panchal, kept Gujarat on the brink of a third Ranji Trophy final as they finished day four at 429/7 in response to Kerala's 457.
At 27, the second seed is still seeking his first Grand Slam title and hopes to become the first German man to win the Australian Open since Boris Becker in 1996.
It's a demoralising loss for especially considering Japan did not field their full-strength team, with several top players absent.
Sachin Tendulkar, whose batting records and impact on international cricket have stood the test of time, was on Saturday conferred with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award
Jannik Sinner begins his Australian Open title defence against Nicolas Jarry while women's champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on 2017 U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens
With show-stopper Mohammadreza Shadloui in full flow, Haryana Steelers won the final with consummate ease.
Zverev fresh for Australian Open final after being spared gruelling Djokovic test
'I have no idea about such a medal. Never got one,' says Surya Shekhar Ganguly, the national chess champion between 2003 and 2008.
A summary of Wednesday's Champions League Round of 16, Second Leg, matches.
Learner Tien is the youngest American man to reach the third round of the Australian Open since an 18-year-old Pete Sampras in 1990.
Shami last played for India in the ODI World Cup final in November 2023. He had sustained an ankle injury on his left leg that required surgery.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the Indian men's doubles badminton pair, have gained recognition for their speed, power, and height, earning praise from top international opponents.
Out of the 10 gold on offer on the opening day of athletics competitions, Maharashtra and Services picked up two each, while Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu claimed one each.
-French flair topped American firepower as Gael Monfils turned back the clock to dump fourth seed Taylor Fritz out of the Australian Open on Saturday and celebrate his place in the last 16 with a dance on court.
'It is a beautiful portrait of Ek Bharat, Sreshth Bharat.'
Aryna Sabalenka took a step closer to a first trophy of the year before her Australian Open title defence begins later this month.
Davis Cup heavyweights Australia and the United States eased through the first qualifying round on Saturday but Britain were knocked out as Japan hit back from 2-1 down to win 3-2, while Denmark staged a dramatic comeback to overcome Serbia.
Javelin thrower Sachin Yadav of Uttar Pradesh, 18-year-old high jumper Pooja Singh of Haryana and long distance runner Sawan Barwal of Himachal Pradesh rewrote National Games records and won gold medals on the concluding day of athletics competition. Yadav sent his spear to a Games-record distance of 84.39m in his fifth attempt, while Pooja cleared 1.84m to defend the women's high jump gold. Barwal won the men's 5000m in a time of 13 minutes and 45.93 seconds, bettering the earlier Games record.
Rising sprinter Animesh Kujur and star hurdler Jyothi Yarraji picked up their third and second gold medals respectively at the National Games.
Lee, 2019 Hong Kong open winner, had finished as runner-up in the last edition and his dream of winning the title remained unfulfilled after he went down in the final for the second time in two years.
Cheptegei suffered burns to more than 75% of her body in the attack in Kenya on Sunday.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday with the battle for the constructor's title going down to next weekend's Abu Dhabi season-ender
Now, all the runners who did not automatically clinch spots in the semi-finals by placing race again in repechage round, with between two and six runners, depending on the distance, moving on.
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is among 23 athletes whose competition artefacts have been inducted into the World Athletics Heritage Collection.
Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei died after allegedly being doused in petrol and set alight by her former partner.
Inspired American teenager Learner Tien outlasted three-times Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev to reach the third round
The tears flowed freely for the South African players as they realised the trophy they had fought so hard for was once again out of reach.
Daniil Medvedev destroyed his racket and a net camera in a mid-match meltdown as he survived a huge scare against Thai wildcard Kasidit Samrej.
Fadnavis, seen as a front runner for the chief minister's post, will meet the top party leaders.
'We believe in ourselves, we believe we're a top team.'
I-League 2 team Sudeva FC launches collaboration with VfB Stuttgart for grassroots development
A summary of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League Knock-out phase play-offs.
The Ranji Trophy resumes on Thursday, promising a star-studded spectacle as Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant headline a host of big names returning to action.
Jannik Sinner retained his Australian Open title with an emphatic 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev on Sunday
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers emerged victorious in the men's Hockey India League, securing the title with a thrilling 4-3 win over Hyderabad Toofans in the summit clash.
