Sports News Highlights, March 15: ISL Play-Offs Schedule Out; Lando Norris Clinches Australian GP Pole

Good Morning to all! Get the live updates and news taking place in the world of sports today right here

Formula One fans will be eager to know who will take pole in the season's first race - Australian Grand Prix as the likes of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton battle it out to take podium.

What a tournament Mirra Andreeva is having! The 17-year-old has defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-6(1), 1-6, 6-3 to advance to the Indian Wells Open 2025 final.

The Australian Grand Prix 2025 Qualifying will start at 10:30am IST. For all the schedule, timings and other details, you can check here.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri has topped the FP3 at the F1 Australian GP on Saturday. He was followed by George Russell with Max Verstappen coming in third.

LA Lakers, who are without the injured pair of LeBron James and Luka Doncic, are going neck and neck with Denver Nuggets.

Former half-marathon world record holder Kibiwott Kandie is suspended while under investigation for failing to provide a doping sample, the Athletics Integrity Unit said Friday.

Track and field's investigation body said Kandie has been charged with "evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection." (AP)

Ex-Australia Rugby Union captain Rocky Elsom has been handed a two-year jail sentence after he was found guilty of misusing corporate assets while being the president of French club Narbonne. An arrest warrant has been issued in his name but Elsom's whereabouts remain unknown.

• Miami Heat 91-103 Boston Celtics

• Philadelphia 76ers 100-112 Indiana Pacers

• Atlanta Hawks 98-121 Los Angeles Clippers

• Houston Rockets 133-96 Dallas Mavericks

• Memphis Grizzlies 124-133 Cleveland Cavaliers

• Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111 Orlando Magic

• San Antonio Spurs 134-145 Charlotte Hornets

• Denver Nuggets 131-126 Los Angeles Lakers

• Utah Jazz 118-126 Toronto Raptors

• Phoenix Suns 122-106 Sacramento Kings

The Azteca Stadium has been renamed Banorte Stadium before it hosts its third men's World Cup next year.

Latin America's largest soccer stadium — 87,500 seats — has taken the name of one of Mexico's leading banks, stadium owner Ollamani said on Friday.

Naming rights to the stadium were part of Banorte's deal to loan 2.1 billion pesos ($105 million) to be repaid over 12 years, according to Ollamani's filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange. (AP)

Belgium squad: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Antwerp), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig); Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (Genoa), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt); Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Bryan Heynen (Genk), Jorthy Mokio (Ajax), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge); Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Lyon), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Alexis Saelemaekers (Roma), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

The lights go green, and Q1 is officially a go. The F1 season begins. Motorsport fans can CLICK HERE to follow the proceedings live.

Sunrisers Hyderabad get a massive boost ahead of the upcoming season. Their star all-rounder is set join the team soon. CLICK HERE to read details

Lando Norris clinches pole as he starts another season on a high. His McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri will start second while Max Verstappen will begin from the third spot tomorrow.

1 Lando Norris (McLaren)
2 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4 George Russell (Mercedes)
5 Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls)
6 Alex Albon (Williams)
7 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
8 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
9 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
10 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
11 Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls)
12 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
13 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
14 Jack Doohan (Alpine)
15 Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)
16 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
17 Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)
18 Liam Lawson (Red Bull)
19 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
20 Ollie Bearman (Haas)

"It's the perfect way to start the year. A big congrats to the team, everyone has done an amazing job to start with a 1-2. But it is just quali right, let's see tomorrow. The car is extremely quick and when you put it together it is unbelievable, but it is hard to put it together. I'm never going to get ahead of myself, I'm confident the car is in a good place but we have never run it in the wet..."

A first-half double from Fabio Miretti, his first brace as a professional, gave Genoa a 2-1 win over Lecce in Serie A on Friday.

The midfielder scored two exceptional goals to lift 12th-placed Genoa to equal on points with Torino, which has a game in hand.

• March 29: Knockout 1 – Bengaluru FC (home) vs Mumbai City FC • March 30: Knockout 2 – NorthEast United FC (home) vs Jamshedpur FC • April 2: Semi-final 1 (First leg) – Winner of Knockout 1 (home) vs FC Goa • April 3: Semi-final 2 (First leg) – Winner of Knockout 2 (home) vs Mohun Bagan Super Giant • April 6: Semi-final 1 (Second leg) – FC Goa (home) vs Winner of Knockout 1 • April 7: Semi-final 2 (Second leg) – Mohun Bagan Super Giant (home) vs Winner of Knockout 2 • April 12: Final – Winner of Semi-final 1 vs Winner of Semi-final 2

On March 15, 1975, India won the Hockey World Cup. It was their first World Cup title and till date remains the only one. Read more details HERE.

The Women's Premier League (WPL) 2025 summit clash will be played today in Brabourne Stadium. Mumbai Indians women and Delhi Capitals women are set to face each other in the final. The match will start at 07:30 PM IST.

India's impressive performance at the Special Olympics Winter Games continued on days three and four, with the athletes adding 15 more medals to the country's total in Turin, Italy. India's overall medal count has now increased to 24, building on the nine medals won in earlier events. In alpine skiing, Deepak Thakur and Giridhar showcased exceptional skills, each winning gold medals in the Intermediate Super G M04 and M05 categories, respectively. Additionally, Abhishek Kumar earned a silver medal in the Novice Super G M01 category.

Neymar was ruled out by Brazil for the World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina this month. Neymar, goalkeeper Ederson and defender Danilo were not fit to play for unspecified reasons, coach Dorival Junior said in a video published by the Brazil Football Confederation. The 33-year-old striker, who rejoined Santos in January, played his latest match on March 2 and was substituted for an apparent left thigh injury. He sat out the Sao Paulo state championship semifinal against Corinthians a few days later.

Rookie Avani Prashanth and Pranavi Urs successfully made the cut at the weather-affected Australian Women's Classic, while the more experienced Diksha Dagar fell short. Avani, in her maiden season, shot an even-par 70 to add to her first-round score of 72, finishing at 2-over for 36 holes and tying for 40th place. Pranavi Urs, with rounds of 73 and 71, made the cut right on the line, tying for 60th place. Diksha Dagar, a two-time LET winner, carded scores of 74 and 73, missing the cut, which was set at 4-over par. In an impressive comeback, Sarah Kemp, who had seriously injured herself in a freak golf cart accident eight months ago, breaking her tibia and fibula, shot a sensational 62 (-8) and moved into a 2-shot lead with one round remaining.

Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia moved into joint lead at THE PLAYERS Championship with a 6-under 66 and reached 10-under 134 at Ponte Vedra Beach. He shared the lead with Australian Min Woo Lee (67-66). The two-time PGA Tour winner, Bhatia, started from the 10th and had four birdies. On his second nine, he dropped shots on the first and the seventh, but also birdied four times. Min Woo also started from the tenth and had seven birdies against one bogey on his final hole, the ninth. The duo was tied for the lead at 11-under 133.

With that, we conclude our coverage of today's sports news and events. Live updates will continue from our dedicated blog for the Women's Premier League final between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. We will be back tomorrow morning with this one-stop shop for all things sport. Until then, goodbye.