SPORTS

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, Round 3 Live Scores: Follow the play-by-play updates from the 16 Elite and 3 Plate VHT Round 3 matches being played on December 29, 2025

Zinedine Zidane watched again and Riyad Mahrez scored again as Algeria reached the last 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 win over Burkina Faso on Sunday. The 34-year-old Mahrez took his tally to three goals in two games with a penalty in the 23rd minute. The ball went one way, the goalkeeper the other, and it was enough for the Fennec Foxes to advance to the knockout stage with a maximum six points in Group E. It came as a relief for the many Algeria fans who had made the relatively short trip to the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat. The team went out after the group stage in both editions after winning the 2019 title in Egypt.

The SG Pipers women’s squad hit the training ground as preparations intensified ahead of their opening match in the Women’s Hockey India League (HIL) 2025-26 tomorrow. The women’s side finished bottom in last year’s inaugural season of the Women’s HIL and will look for an improved campaign this season, starting with a clash against Ranchi Royals. Alongside them, the SG Pipers men’s team were also in training as they geared up for the Men’s HIL, scheduled to begin on January 3.

Nick Kyrgios won the latest version of the “Battle of the Sexes” in tennis, beating top-ranked women’s player Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-3 in an exhibition match that represented light entertainment rather than another landmark moment for gender equality. There was laughing and joking between the players, some under-arm serves, over-the-top grunting on shots, and even some dancing from Sabalenka during a timeout to entertain the crowd at the 17,000-seat Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai — where the most expensive tickets sold for approaching $800.

A business jet crashed Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said

The fact that Ubaidullah Rajput not only travelled abroad without a no-objection certificate but also represented a team from India, wore its jersey and wrapped the Indian flag around his shoulders after winning a match, did not go down well with the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation