Sports News Highlights, April 18: Jesse Marsch's Ban Extended By Two Games; 21-Year-Old Pooja Yadav Gets National Call-Up

Mumbai Indians secured a thrilling four-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL match on Thursday. Chasing 163, MI achieved the target with 11 balls to spare, thanks to a well-balanced batting performance. Will Jacks top-scored with 36 off 26 balls, supported by Ryan Rickelton's 31 and contributions from Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav (26 each). Captain Hardik Pandya's quickfire 21 off 9 balls sealed the win as MI posted 166/6 in 18.1 overs. Earlier, SRH put up a competitive 162/5, fueled by Abhishek Sharma's 40 off 28 balls and Heinrich Klaasen's 37. Pat Cummins (3/26) was SRH's most successful bowler, while Eshan Malinga claimed two wickets.

Haryana's 16-year-old Nishchay grabbed his second medal of the meet as he won a silver with a personal best effort of 19.59m in the boys' shot put event on the third day of the Asian Under-18 Athletics Championship in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday. Nishchay, who had won a bronze on Wednesday, sent the iron ball to more than 19m four times out of his six attempts. His best came in the fifth attempt. The fourth throw was a foul. (PTI)

Canada coach Jesse Marsch was suspended for an additional game by CONCACAF's disciplinary committee, extending the punishment to two games for his conduct during the Nations League third-place match against the U.S. last month. In going beyond the automatic one-game ban for a red card, CONCACAF's disciplinary committee cited Marsch on Thursday for “for unacceptable conduct towards the match officials and for delaying the restart of the match by refusing to leave the field of play.” It said “more severe sanctions could be taken should incidents occur during future matches.” (AP)

Ace Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy once again demonstrated her strength in positional play as she defeated Polina Shuvalova of Russia in the fourth round of the FIDE Women라이브 바카라 Grand Prix in Pune on Thursday. China's Zhu Jiner, the second highest rated player behind Humpy in this tournament, scored another impressive victory against Poland's Alina Kashlinskaya, her third one here to emerge as the sole leader with 3.5 points.

Andrew Flintoff has opened up about the traumatic aftermath of his 2022 Top Gear crash, revealing he became reclusive for six months, struggling with "crippling anxiety," flashbacks, and nightmares. The former cricketer and TV presenter suffered severe facial and rib injuries in the incident.

In an emotional interview on ITV's The Jonathan Ross Show, Flintoff shared his harrowing experience, detailing the physical and mental scars that lingered long after the crash. A new Disney+ documentary promises an intimate look at Flintoff's career and his journey back to the public eye after the accident.

Kannaur Lokesh Rahul (born 18 April 1992) is an Indian cricketer who plays for the national team. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batter. He plays for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League and for Karnataka in domestic cricket. He recently welcomed his first child (baby girl) with his wife and actress Athiya Shetty. He is India's premier wicketkeeper-batter and is currently playing for DC in the IPL 2025.

It wasn't the Olympic final, but Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's competitive edge remained intact as she stormed to victory in the parents' 100m race during her son Zyon's sports day, leaving fellow mums to chase her shadow. The triple Olympic champion was also seen stepping on to the line and doing some warm-up exercises before the 'real' event in her son's school, even as fellow mums geared up for the race. (PTI)

Ace Indian cueist Sourav Kothari clinched the 2025 IBSF World Billiards title after an emphatic victory over multiple-time winner Pankaj Advani in the final in Carlow, Ireland. The cue sports world witnessed an unforgettable clash between two of India라이브 바카라 finest -- Kothari and Advani -- for the coveted title at the Snooker and Billiards Ireland (SBI) Academy on Wednesday. (PTI)

England are reportedly planning to call up seamer Sam Cook for the Test match against Zimbabwe, evident in their request for Essex to rest him this weekend. Cook, 27, has consistently impressed in county cricket, showcasing his skills as an accurate right-arm bowler. To manage his workload, he'll miss Essex's upcoming County Championship match against Worcestershire.

This potential call-up comes as England faces injury concerns among its fast bowlers. Mark Wood and Olly Stone are sidelined with knee injuries for the foreseeable future, while Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes are currently out due to toe and ankle issues, respectively.

On this day, on April 18, 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) began its inaugural season in Bengaluru with a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). New Zealand wicketkeeper and KKR opener Brendon McCullum stole the show by hammering a breathtaking 158 off just 73 balls--the highest individual score in T20 cricket at the time. His blitz, studded with 10 fours and 13 sixes, powered KKR to 222/3. RCB crumbled under the pressure. But the result of the match was almost irrelevant. What mattered was what this knock signified — the beginning of India라이브 바카라 biggest sporting carnival and the world's richest cricket league.

Indian squash player Veer Chotrani advanced to the semifinals of the World Championship Qualifying Event (Asia) after logging a come-from-behind win over home favourite Mohammad Syafiq Kamal in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. The second seeded Chotrani prevailed 9-11 11-6 11-6 11-7 against his sixth-seeded opponent to make the last-four stage. (PTI)

The Miami Heat bounced back from a regular-season series loss to the Chicago Bulls, eliminating them 109-90 in the NBA play-in tournament. Tyler Herro led the charge with 38 points, setting up a crucial matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. The Heat's win means the winner of their upcoming game will face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Sacramento Kings suffered a dismal 106-120 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in a high-stakes elimination game. The Kings' performance was arguably their worst of the season, marked by a lacklustre effort on both ends of the court. Despite a close first quarter, Sacramento's facade crumbled in the second, with a shocking 29-27 lead dwindling as they were outscored 19-44. The Kings struggled to stop Dallas's relentless attack, while their own offence resembled a preseason game more than the 83rd game of the season.

Justin Thomas is dominating the RBC Heritage with a three-shot lead after the first round, thanks to an impressive 10-under-par 61 at Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. Thomas matched the course record, notching 11 birdies, including six on the front nine and five in the last six holes after a bogey on the 10th.

Thomas's remarkable performance puts him ahead of fellow Americans Russell Henley and world number one Scottie Scheffler, who are tied for second place. Wyndham Clark, the former US Open champion, trails Thomas by four shots, while Matt Fitzpatrick is part of a group at five under par after a 66.

India has fielded a 56-member youth boxing squad—30 U-15 and 26 U-17 pugilists—for the Asian U-15 & U-17 Boxing Championships being held in Amman, Jordan, from April 17 to May 1. This is the first event organised by Asian Boxing, endorsed by both the Olympic Council of Asia and the newly-formed World Boxing.

Standout names in the U-17 boys’ squad include Sahil Duhan and Devansh, who clinched silver and bronze, respectively, at the 2024 Asian Junior Championship, along with Tikam Singh, the SGFI 2024 gold medallist.

At 43, Fernando Alonso continues to defy age and push the boundaries of endurance in a Formula 1 car and while the two-time world champion doesn't see himself racing at 50, he plans to take it one season at a time once his Aston Martin contract runs out in 2026. Aston Martin don't have a race-winning car at the moment, but their long-term ambition is to win the championship. (PTI)

At 21, Pooja Yadav, who hails from the outskirts of Varanasi, has become the first-ever woman from the Purvanchal region to make it to the Indian hockey team.

She has been training in the senior national camp in SAI, Bengaluru over the past few weeks and her efforts have earned her a spot in the 26-member Indian Women라이브 바카라 Hockey squad for the upcoming tour of Australia, scheduled to take place from 26th April to 4th May 2025 at the Perth Hockey Stadium.

Reece James felt Chelsea took "a step back" after suggesting they "disrespected" the Europa Conference League during their quarter-final second-leg defeat by Legia Warszawa. The Blues progressed to the semi-finals of the competition, in which they are the favourites to lift the trophy, after a 4-2 aggregate victory.

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