Gujarat Titans win maiden IPL trophy

Debutants Gujarat Titans were crowned the Indian Premier League (IPL) champions on Sunday after they beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the final in Ahmedabad, The Indian Express reported.

Opting to bat first, Rajasthan never got going and posted a below-par 130-9 with Jos Buttler, this IPL’s leading scorer, topscoring for them with a rather subdued 39.

Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya (3-17) led by example with the ball. Pandya shone with the bat too, scoring 34 and forging a 63-run stand with Shubman Gill to help Gujarat overcome a slow start to their chase, according to the Indian Express.

Opener Gill remained unbeaten on 45, sealing Gujarat’s victory with a six and with 11 balls to spare.

Champions League agony for Liverpool as Real win

Liverpool's bid to claim the Champions League trophy for the seventh time ended in bitter disappointment as Vinicius Jr's second-half winner gave Real Madrid victory in Paris, BBC reported.

Jurgen Klopp's side ran into a one-man wall of defiance as Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced one of the great individual performances to thwart Liverpool time and again. 

Mohamed Salah, seeking revenge for his early departure through injury in the 2018 final against Real, was denied six times by Courtois who was simply unbeatable.

The victory also sees Carlo Ancelotti make history by becoming the first coach to win a fourth Champions League title.

Real were always a threat and the decisive moment came after 59 minutes when Vinicius stole in unmarked at the far post to score. 

This was also a final marred by chaotic scenes outside Stade de France with thousands of Liverpool fans, some targeted with pepper spray by French police, unable to get into the stadium, forcing the kick-off to be delayed by more than 30 minutes, according to BBC.

Liverpool's magnificent season brought them the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup - both won on penalties against Chelsea - but ended in a double disappointment in the final week of a stellar campaign.

The Champions League might have eased the agony of just missing out on the Premier League to Manchester City by one point, only for Liverpool to find themselves on the wrong end of a goalkeeping masterclass from Courtois. 

The Belgian was simply perfect as he was a constant thorn in Salah's side, turned Sadio Mane's shot on to the post brilliantly and commanded his penalty area with faultless handling. 

Salah held his head in disbelief on many occasions as Courtois manned the barricade for Real, leaving the Egyptian to nurse the pain of another Champions League final defeat by the Spanish giants.

Liverpool were not quite at their best and eventually paid the price for not taking chances as Real pounced in trademark fashion to win this tournament for a record-extending 14th time, BBC reported.

Klopp's side could not have given any more as they pushed to the final whistle but looked jaded towards the end - no surprise given the demands made of them this season. 

Liverpool will still take huge credit by maintaining a push for an historic quadruple until the final week of the season but the conclusion will sting. 

The occasion left even more of a sour taste given the events outside Stade de France. Liverpool are demanding a full investigation into how thousands of their fans could not get into the stadium, with dangerous numbers packed into small areas as kick-off approached, according to BBC.

Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs

Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 14 runs to book a place in the Qualifier 2 of IPL 2022, where they will face Rajasthan Royals, The Hindustan Times reported.

Chasing a 208-run chase, KL Rahul (79) and Deepak Hooda (45) kept Lucknow's hopes alive but they, perhaps, accelerated a bit too late and left too much for their finishers, as LSG fell short by 14 runs in the chase.

Harshal Patel (1/25) and Josh Hazlewood (3/43) were immense in the final two overs of the game, while Wanindu Hasaranga (1/42) took the important wicket of Hooda.

Earlier, Rajat Patidar scored a brilliant unbeaten century (112* off 55 balls) to take RCB's score to 207/4, according to The Hindustan Times.

Rahul had won the toss and opted to bowl against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Kolkata. The toss was delayed due to rain at the Eden Gardens, and the match began at 8:10 PM – being pushed by 40 minutes.

Govt to take over construction of Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium

The government has decided to take over the remaining construction works of the Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium in Chitwan district.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari, unveiling the policies and programmes of the incumbent government for the upcoming fiscal year 2022/23 at the meeting of the federal parliament on Tuesday, said that the government will coordinate and facilitate the remaining works of the Stadium.

Similarly, BP Koirala International Sports Village will be built in Gaindakot in Chitwan while the government will also build Fapla International Cricket Ground in Kailali district.

Furthermore, the new policies and programme include construction of international stadium with coaches in all seven provinces.

The sports villages will be built in every local level. Feasibility study will be conducted for establishing Sports University and further process will be taken forward.

Various international events will be organized to promote adventurous and mountaineering related sports.