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Bengaluru roars into IPL final as Patidar powers 92-run win over Gujarat

DHARAMSALA, India (AP) — Rajat Patidar hit 93 not out off 33 balls as defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached the Indian Premier League final by beating Gujarat Titans by 92 runs in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday.

The skipper smashed nine sixes and five fours in powering Bengaluru to the highest-ever total in IPL knockouts — 254-5 in 20 overs. Virat Kohli scored 43 off 25 balls, and Krunal Pandya added 43 off 28.

In reply, Gujarat was bowled out for 162 runs in 19.3 overs as Jacob Duffy picked 3-39 in four overs. Rasikh Salam Dar took 2-24, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-28) and Pandya (2-16) also picked a brace each.

Sunday’s final in Ahmedabad will be Bengaluru’s second straight and fifth in total. It awaits the winner of Qualifier 2.

Only two teams have won back-to-back IPL titles: Chennai Super Kings in 2010 and 2011; and Mumbai Indians in 2019 and 2020.

On Wednesday, Sunrisers Hyderabad will play Rajasthan Royals in the Eliminator at New Chandigarh. Gujarat will play the winner in Qualifier 2, at the same venue on Friday.

Put into bat, Bengaluru lost opener Venkatesh Iyer (19) cheaply. Kohli hit five fours and a six, adding 72 off 38 balls with Devdutt Padikkal, who scored 30 off 19 balls.

Jason Holder (2-39) then struck twice in three balls — first, Kohli was out bowled and then Padikkal was out caught as Bengaluru was down to 94-3 in 8.4 overs.

Gujarat could have gained further advantage, but Patidar was dropped on 20 in the 14th over.

He didn’t look back thereafter, racing to 50 off 21 balls with five sixes. He accelerated further, scoring the next 43 off 12 balls with another four sixes.

Patidar and Pandya put on 95 off 45 balls, as Bengaluru crossed 200 in the 17th over. The last 54 runs came off 20 balls as Gujarat was blown away.

The previous highest in IPL knockouts was Gujarat’s 233-3 against Mumbai in the 2023 Qualifier 2.

In response Tuesday, Gujarat started poorly — Sai Sudharsan was out hit wicket, losing grip of his bat which fell onto his stumps. He made 14 and was out off Duffy in the third over.

Four balls later, in the fourth, Kumar bowled captain Shubman Gill for 2. Jos Buttler fought back with 29 off 11 balls, with two sixes, but Gujarat then lost three wickets in six balls to slip further — 51-5 in 5.4 overs.

Josh Hazlewood bowled Buttler in the fifth over, and then Dar struck twice in the final powerplay over, removing Nishant Sindhu (5) and Jason Holder (0).

Gujarat was further down to 88-8 with Duffy picking another two wickets — Washington Sundar and Rashid Khan.

Impact sub Rahul Tewatia fought a lonely battle with 68 off 43 balls, his highest IPL score, but there was not much left in the chase after Gujarat’s initial collapse.

It was the second-biggest margin of victory (by runs) in IPL knockouts.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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